Michigan server who got $10,000 tip says she was fired in ensuing dispute (1 Viewer)

[efil4stnias]

That's true, but the kitchen staff gets paid the same regardless of if they do a good job that day/night or not. And while you may go/not go based on how good the food is, the tip for the wait staff is supposed to be based on the service they provide, not the quality of the food.

Agree. That is why i struggle, at times, when the food was well beyond my expectation.

I would like to show my appreciation to the cooks too.

 

[St. Widge]

My BF is like you and is amazed at my relatively "easy going" attitude whenever we out dining. He, on the other hand, will absolutely reflect his displeasure in the tip. lol.

Did your BF ever wait tables? I find that lots of times people who don't tip well or are likely to tip much lower for bad service didn't wait tables. (Although to be fair some people who did wait tables are harder on wait staff because they know how it is supposed to be done.)

I personally start at 20% as a base line and go up from there for great service. I've only ever gone down to like 15% for truly terrible service and even then, I kind of felt bad about it because as you said, you never know what people are going through that day.

 

[St. Widge]

Agree. That is why i struggle, at times, when the food was well beyond my expectation.

I would like to show my appreciation to the cooks too.

I agree. It's a sheetty system because it's only set up so that we pay most of the salary of the wait staff. Tips aren't really rewards for good work, they are what people in that business depend on to make a living. It's really salary for them.

But, it would be nice to be able to reward the kitchen for doing a great job. I do understand that some places do have wait staff share tips with the entire staff including the kitchen, but I hope those places pay the wait staff more than minimum wage to start with.

 

[Semper]

20% is standard. 15% is below standard. My boss once left $40 for a $600+ tab. I felt bad and went back and gave the waitress $50 out of my pocket. He is an abysmal tipper.

 

[Optimus Prime]

20% is standard. 15% is below standard. My boss once left $40 for a $600+ tab. I felt bad and went back and gave the waitress $50 out of my pocket. He is an abysmal tipper.

When did that start? I always thought that 15% was the standard

 

[livefromDC]

Agree. That is why i struggle, at times, when the food was well beyond my expectation.

I would like to show my appreciation to the cooks too.

Totally get that. I've sent compliments to the chef, asked to speak to a manager to report just how great the dish was prepared, and on rare occasions asked for and got the opportunity to speak to the chef. I've never tipped though. I honestly didn't know it was a thing I should be doing.

 

[Grumpy Old Manatee]

and not to derail this thread, but alcohol at a restaurant is extortion lol.

Went to a local place ( Previously Houstons ) for dinner not long ago- ordered Angels Envy and water. Had 2.

I paid $17 PER GLASS- so $34 for 2. A bottle of Angels retails for $50. So i basically paid them the wholesale price of a bottle that will net them another 20 servings at $17/ per serving

Nex ttime will be iced tea lol

Triple retail at restaurants, for alcohol, has been a thing for decades. They always claim that it involves the server delivering it, the barkeep ( or sommelier if they have one) providing it, and the dishwashers having to clean the glassware.

But yes, paying $45 for a bottle of wine that retails for $15 ( bourbon in your case) is nuts, but we do it.

Kinda’ like paying for season tickets for a sports team that delivers a mediocre product.

 

[Eeyore]

The Racist History of Tipping

Employers pay tipped workers $2.13 an hour. Why? Reconstruction-era racial discrimination.

www.politico.com

 

[Semper]

When did that start? I always thought that 15% was the standard

I have waited and bar tended. I over tip.

 

[0rion]

Totally get that. I've sent compliments to the chef, asked to speak to a manager to report just how great the dish was prepared, and on rare occasions asked for and got the opportunity to speak to the chef. I've never tipped though. I honestly didn't know it was a thing I should be doing.

Then you get into probably needing to tip/thank the sous chef's since they did all/most of the cooking.

 

[saintmdterps]

I guess the kitchen does deserve part of tips, but part of the problem is that restaurant owners in the U.S. has tricked us all into paying a large part of the salary of wait staff. While it's technically a "tip", wait staff depend on tips to actually make any kind of money since their base hourly salary is way below minimum wage in all but very nice restaurants. On the other hand, the kitchen is at least getting minimum wage and probably more depending on skill. But, I'll confess that's it's been 20 plus years since I waited tables so maybe it has changed.

In the summer of my freshman year of college I worked both in the kitchen then as a server. In the kitchen we were paid a higher hourly wage, but of course got tips as a server. This was 1980, but I figured my average hourly wage as a server to be $9-10 per hour vs $3.50 per hour in the kitchen. Guess where I was happier?

The entire tip culture is screwed. It is indeed corporate America expecting the population as a whole to subsidize its workers via tips.

edit: My son was a server/barback the last three summers. I'm glad to hear the phrase "in the weeds" is still used to mean you're behind. I asked Carter how his shift was and he said "In the weeds all night, but tips were good!"

 

[St. Widge]

Triple retail at restaurants, for alcohol, has been a thing for decades. They always claim that it involves the server delivering it, the barkeep ( or sommelier if they have one) providing it, and the dishwashers having to clean the glassware.

But yes, paying $45 for a bottle of wine that retails for $15 ( bourbon in your case) is nuts, but we do it.

Kinda’ like paying for season tickets for a sports team that delivers a mediocre product.

The markup on alcohol is how most restaurants stay in business/make a profit. The margins on food given the labor cost and overhead is very low. It's why a liquor license is so important for any sit down restaurant with wait staff.

 

[0rion]

Alcohol adds up.....I always let my wife drink when we're out and wait until we get home to crack one. Plus I generally don't like to drink beer when I eat. Ruins the taste of both for me.

 

[St. Widge]

In the summer of my freshman year of college I worked both in the kitchen then as a server. In the kitchen we were paid a higher hourly wage, but of course got tips as a server. This was 1980, but I figured my average hourly wage as a server to be $9-10 per hour vs $3.50 per hour in the kitchen. Guess where I was happier?

The entire tip culture is screwed. It is indeed corporate America expecting the population as a whole to subsidize its workers via tips.

It certainly depends on the restaurant and even the shift the wait staff is working. For instance wait staff always make better money working a night shift on Friday or Saturday than say the lunch shift on a Tuesday or Wednesday. I worked at O'Henry's which was more or less a locally owned Chili's and I was lucky to make over minimum wage when working a mid-week lunch shift. That even applied sometimes on a Saturday night if you got stiffed on a few big tables.

 

[saintmdterps]

and not to derail this thread, but alcohol at a restaurant is extortion lol.

Went to a local place ( Previously Houstons ) for dinner not long ago- ordered Angels Envy and water. Had 2.

I paid $17 PER GLASS- so $34 for 2. A bottle of Angels retails for $50. So i basically paid them the wholesale price of a bottle that will net them another 20 servings at $17/ per serving

Nex ttime will be iced tea lol

Draft beer is even worse!