Here's A Tip For You...

Expectation, which is really a symptom of a sense of entitlement, is the mother of all disappointment.

If you participate in any restaurant related fora, a perennial bone of contention for many of their participants is TIPPING. And understandably so.

Buy low, sell high.
That's another good one.

On one end of the spectrum, you have those who see restaurant food as just another commodity with all costs built in to the price of the item being ordered, and gratuity being a strictly optional grace to be bestowed upon the server at the patron's whim. On the other end of the spectrum are hospitality workers, some of whom work in states with sub-minimum wage provisions for those in traditionally tipped professions, who feel un- or under- appreciated by the general public who obviously don't understand how hard it is to be a server because if they did, obviously, they would tip and/or tip even more.

I fall somewhere in the middle. As a general rule, I tip

- 10% for buffet type situations (which is really, really rare these days because I hate buffets)

- about 20% for good service in a full service restaurant,

- up to 30% for truly exceptional service from the rarely encountered professional who has elevated food service into an art form, and

- twice in my life, $0.01 for unapologetically shitty service and attitude.

I treat servers with respect, always say please and thank you, do the partial self-bussing thing, and, having worked in the industry at times in my life, try my best to discern between server error and back of house issues when assessing gratuity.

I don't feel obligated to leave money in tip jars, but if I do, I think it's really nice when the person behind the counter says thank you as if they're grateful.

And while I've had the rare but unpleasant experience of having to make up for cheapskates who make a practice out of not tipping at all in full service restaurants regardless of quality of service, I personally think they are the lesser of two evils when compared to hospitality workers who feel entitled to a minimum gratuity from every patron who crosses their path, and who also, to be fair, are probably not the majority.

But if you read tipping threads, you will find they are a vocal minority who like to try to shame the public into forking over their hard earned money not based on service, but because

- people don't know how hard it is to be a server

- people don't understand we have to do sidework

- people don't understand that some servers make less than minimum wage by law

- people don't understand that servers have to tip out the bartender and busboys

- people don't realize what assholes the general public can be

and the list goes on and on and on...

Here's what I have to say to those whiny servers besides *BOO.FUCKING.HOO*:

- I'm pretty sure that lady who has to scrub other people's toilets for a living has some idea how hard it is to be a server.

- You mean that when you don't have customers to serve, you actually have to fold some napkins or polish silverware while you're yapping to the bartender about whateverthehell drama is going on in your life at the moment?

- If you chose to work at Walmart or McDonald's, you'd get paid minimum wage - GUARANTEED.

- You have to give away so much of your hard earned tips to other people so often that it isn't even worth it to work most nights and you still wanna work there?

- It's called the Hospitality industry for a reason. If it's that taxing on your psyche to deal with the assholes who are the general public, perhaps you're better off working the graveyard shift in a warehouse, which is another place you are sure to make minimum wage.

I personally look forward to the day when we in the US adopt the generally European model of building a fare wage for the waitstaff into menu prices. But in a place where people who choose to wait tables are more than likely able and qualified to work in other positions that offer more predictable wages, we're talking about a situation in which people who want to gamble on something usually far better than minimum wage are demanding that the dining public guarantee a return on that gamble.

Isn't that asking a little too much from life?

shinae