Server Tipping

Reader Feedback:

My name is Stephen and I am a student at Mohawk Valley Community College. I am studying restaurant mgmt. and my collegues and I serve dinners to the public during the week. What I am finding is exactly what you were talking about, people whose main concern is money. Sorry, but that is not how to be a proper server and I am so sick and tired to going out to eat at various restaurants and finding that the waiter/waitresses do not know how to serve properly. Most servers I find today are just out there with the "what's in it for me attitude" which revolves basically around money. If you serve properly and set the tip issue asside and take care of your tables like you are supposed to then we would have a better breed of servers. People will leave a tip and that's all there is to it. So just forget about money and do your damn job like you are supposed to because the money part is second nature. I do feel that the gentleman that wrote this was right on and he deserves a handshake.

Stephen

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Yes, I do withhold a portion of the tip for bad service in many cases. Sometimes, though, being a woman, I'm concerned that doing so will perpetuate the myth that women don't tip well. If I feel that the server is not prioritizing me because I'm a young woman, then I will give 15% on the pre-tip amount of the check and then I will write a letter to the owner of the restaurant letting them know about the specific problems I had.

If someone provides wonderful service, I will gladly tip then much more up to 30%.

Elizabeth Parra

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I have been in the restaurant business for over ten years, and I agree with the majority of people who say that a tip is something that a waitperson must earn. I generally tip between 20-30%, 20% being the lowest I will tip for average service, however I do not have a problem leaving a much smaller tip if the waitperson has not earned it. I work very hard, and I am very good at what I do as a bartender/server. I feel that if you want a good tip, that is what it takes. If you are not willing to do that, then you deserve to be shorted.

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I've been a server before and I have experienced getting small tips even if you've done an exceptional service. It is a common guest explaination that the restaurant bills them with service charge so "...why tip them? we're paying service charge anyway." But in my opinion as a server, having small or big tips must not stop you from giving an exeptional service towards your guest. It is your duty to provide a consistent and standard customer service, even beyond their expectations. A reward for giving a good days job doesn't always come in money.

tql_joe

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Yes, people do "punish" servers with bad (and no) tips. Most of the time it is the server's fault: no coffee refills, doesn't check to see if everything's OK, ignores smaller tables to concentrate on the larger parties, etc. But it also happens when it's not the server's fault. Recently, I got stiffed due to a slow kitchen and a rude hostess. It took 30 minutes for the meal to get cooked. I checked back with the customers often and repeatedly apologized for the delay. At one point, the customers asked the hostess if she could find out from me how much longer (they had to be somewhere). She spun around and said, "Well, OBVIOUSLY the food isn't ready yet, or she would have brought it to you. GOD! Why are people so stupid?!" I was standing in the wait station when I heard this from across the restaurant! I tried everything I could to make up or the nastyness the hostess gave them - I even paid for their dessert. It didn't help and I doubt I'll ever see them again!

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