Restaurant Courtesy

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(I did not write the following but I have been a server for 8 years and this is all so true...for those of you who are servers, you will get a kick out of this, and for everyone else, these are some rules to live by! ) - Becca







THIS IS SOMETHING EVERYONE SHOULD READ!! ESP. IF YOU'VE NEVER WORKED IN A RESTAURANT! THIS IS THE BULL WE HAVE TO PUT UP WITH AND DEAL WITH EVERYDAY! READ IT! I MEAN IT! WHILE YOU'RE AT IT THINK OF HOW YOU ACT IN A RESTAURANT AND IF YOU APPLY TO ANY OF THESE, IF YOU DO YOU ARE BANNED FROM EATING OUT FOR LIFE...CUZ ITS TRUE...I HATE YOU!

I got this from a group I belong to on facebook ...
**I know there are spelling errors in it, but I didn't write it!**

"1. Don't ask me for your check, then wait till I run to a computer, and then all the way back to your table just to throw your credit card at me without looking it over. Why didn't you give it to me in the first place, if you weren't even going to LOOK at the bill?

2. Don't snap your fingers at me. Don't wave at me like I am blind. I see you, I'm busy.

3. Don't argue with me about the menu. We don't have whatever wild creation you are craving. I know the menu, and after all, I work here, remember? "Last time I was here they made it for me this way." Good for you, now go to Burger King and have it your way, then.

4. No, I don't want to split your check six different ways so you can all pay in cash. DO SOME MATH!

5. WHY do you steal my pens? Do I come to your office and steal your keyboard? It's something I need to WORK with... take my pen again and see if your wallet is still in your pocket when you get home.

6. What ever happened to please and thank you? ....the "Give me a Sprite" crap is just plain rude.

7. It's not your birthday. We know you are lying and NO we don't like singing to you. Do we look happy that we have to clap for you? Also, I don't understand why some tell their server 600 times "It's her birthday, it's her birthday" and still act like shocked and embarrassed. We're bringing you a micro waved brownie... get over it.

8. Just because you come here regularly does not make you special. This means you are a regular pain in the butt. Yay for you, needing extra everything. I cringe when I see you sitting in my section.

9. Read the menu, please. It's fact the people tend to order entrees that have PICTURES. I don't care if you didn't know that there are peppers in that meal, you should have gotten off your cell phone and read the menu. We don't cook surprises, idiot.

10. For those of you Sunday morning church goers...I know your intentions are good, but do you know how many of those little God pamphlets we get EVERY SUNDAY? Like 10...and I have honestly never seen anyone keep them...so sorry but they all go in the trash. Not that I don't appreciate the sentiment, but a piece of paper saying "God is the way to Happiness" is NOT a tip...

11. If you are in a bad mood, keep it to your self. Don't snap at me because you forgot to ask for lemon in your water. I'll be sure to bring it back with some snot in there, too.

12. Listen to me, please. I don't stand at your table and talk to you for fun. When I tell you I'll be right back with your side of cheese and a coke refill, I don't need you to say, "Yeah, hey and I need another coke." No kidding, man I just told you that I'm getting it.

13. The hair in your salad is YOURS. Sorry lady, but you're the only person in the joint with long, red hair. Nice try.

14. If your child is screaming, leave. You don't want to hear it, I sure don't... and I'm pretty sure you will notice all the dirty looks you're getting. I'll never understand why people try and sit through a meal with a raging beast child. I will be more than happy to pack your food to go. Just GO if you haven't got that parenting knack down yet.

15. If you think I am staring at you, pacing back and forth waiting for you to pay your bill so I can leave..... I am. When I tell you my shift is over and you agree to the check, GIVE ME YOUR MONEY. I have better things to do than watch you sip your melted margarita and ignore the fact that you owe me money.

16. This is a restaurant, not your house so re-arranging is forbidden. Yes, I mind if you move this table over to that one and take chairs over here. We sat you at that table for a reason, moron. Sorry you want to make room for all your friends who "just want waters."

17. Those nice people who smile at you when you walk in are called hosts. They will seat you. Don't get mad when you wander to a random table and don't get immediate service. YOU ARE A SELF SEATER, AND I HATE YOU.

18. When you WORK at a restaurant, and tip like crap... you should be shot. YOU of all people see what goes on, and know how hard we work. Show some respect, or join the rest of the white trash at Wendy's dollar menu. Then quit your job, because I hate you, too.

19. You should never go out to eat and be in a rush. It's just not fair to anyone. If you walk into a place that has a 70min wait, why do you wait, and expect to get your food in 15 minutes? I don't care if you're trying to catch that 8:45 movie... Go tell the cooks who are crashing that you need your burrito before you watch the new Spiderman flick. I predict you'll get the finger. It's not MY fault the food takes a long time... especially your extra well done steak.

20. Don't take plates out of my hands unless I ask you to, and certainly don't reach for drinks off of my tray. Ever heard of balance? When I tell you a plate is HOT, I'm serious... so why do you grab it away from me like its golden? I can put it down, ya know. Also, that water isn't going anywhere. I don't need your help I can manage to set a glass down. If I spill it on you, it's probably your own fault. Then I'm sure you'll tip me less just because it's an excuse to do so.


RULES FOR TIPPING (i really like 3 its so true!!)

The next time you're out eating at a restaurant, look at your server. Do you think they are really happy to be doing that job? The answer is no, they are not, but it's what we do, and we do it for the money so please help them out. It's a tougher job than you think and you should pay them accordingly!
There are SO many people out there flooding the restaurants w/o any knowledge of how to tip. Here is a short guide for the general public to follow. Feel free to print out and store in your wallet and/or purse.

1. CHILDREN "THE LITTLE DEVILS":
If you have children, DO NOT let them, open and dump anything on the table (i.e.; salt, sugar, etc). IF YOU DO, you must leave an extra $5 for the server to clean up YOUR CHILD'S mess & to restock the now unusable wasted items. Don't get mad if you ask for crackers and your server tells you they're out when you just saw another table eating crackers with their soup -- can you blame them for not wanting to clean up the mess afterward? We are neither their babysitter nor their parent. The least you can do is pay us for the extra work. Also make sure you control your kids and don't let them scream or run around the restraint. It's very distracting not to mention dangerous if they get ran over by a server with hot food in their hands.

2. "THE CAMPERS":
If you feel the necessity to stay for longer than 15 minutes after you pay, it's an extra $3 every 30 minutes. We make our money from the tables. If you are in one and we can't seat it, we don't make money.

3. COMPLIMENTS:
Telling a server they are the best server they've ever had is not a tip. If we are good, let us know by leaving us more money. We can't pay our bills on compliments. Its not that we don't appreciate the praise, it's just that if you say that and then leave 10% it's an insult.

4. TIPPING:
It is not 1960. Cost of living has gone up dramatically since then. 18% is the MINIMUM amount of what you should be tipping your servers. Remember, that steak is $12.99 not $22.99 because restaurants aren't required to pay minimum wage in most states! ($2.13 in Texas, New Jersey and most of the south!) We are taxed on 13 percent of your meal automatically anyway, not to mention we have to tip out a percentage of our sales - your bill - to the hosts, bartenders, and bussers. So if you don't leave a tip, WE END UP PAYING FOR YOUR MEAL!! So move that decimal one spot left and multiply by 2.
($25 = $2.50 x 2 = $5)

5. THE COMPLAINERS:
If you get a discount because of your food was prepared wrong or something, do not take it out of our tip. We didn't cook it. The cooks get paid hourly regardless if the food sucks. However, we only make what you give us. And don't ever leave a percentage on the total after the discount or comp -- always tip on what the total would have been.

6. THE LATE ONES:
If you come into the restaurant 10 mins before closing or any time near closing hurry up and order your food and get out. Closed means closed, not social hour. It is so rude to sit there and take your sweet time. We can't leave until you leave because we have to do side work and clean the table you are sitting at. We don't want to stand there waiting for you for an extra hour just because you don't want to go home. We recommend 24 hour establishments such as Denny's if you wish to sit into the wee hours of the night.

7. THE TABLE HOGGERS:
If you only come in for coffee or a dessert, to do paper work, or to have a meeting, doesn't sit there taking up our booths for hours. We are not Starbucks or a hotel restaurant. If you want to sit for hours, go there or else you better leave a good tip for us and camping fee included.

8. THE GREET:
When we come up to the table to greet you and we ask how you are doing please let us know. We honestly want to know how you are doing. If you are in a bad mood we want to know that from the beginning. A confused stare or complete silence does not suffice as a reply to "How are you doing?" Also don't interrupt our greeting and say "I want coffee", "Can we get some bread," or "what are the soups?"

9. CELL PHONES:
Don't ever talk on your cell phone in a restaurant. This is probably the rudest thing to do. If you must be on your cell, at least keep your voice down in respect for other customers. If you are on your cell phone when we walk up to greet your table we will walk away until you get off your phone. Just show some respect and give us your attention for a couple of minutes.

10. TAKE-AWAY OR TO-GOS:
Always remember to tip the take-out order servers! They work just as hard as a server, and hardly ever get tips for it! WE DESERVE TO BE TIPPED TOO!
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Replies

  • iRun4wine
    iRun4wine Posts: 5,126
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    I was a waitress for 7 years- LOVE IT! Got a good chuckle out of most of them. Thanks for sharing... :flowerforyou:

    Unfortunately, I wouldn't doubt it will be a matter of time before someone posts that they are "offended" by something on this list.
  • CherokeeBabe
    CherokeeBabe Posts: 1,704 Member
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    AHHHHHHHHHHHH, I was a waitress in the past too, thanks for the post! :laugh:
  • singcoz528
    singcoz528 Posts: 154
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    I was a waitress for 7 years- LOVE IT! Got a good chuckle out of most of them. Thanks for sharing... :flowerforyou:

    Unfortunately, I wouldn't doubt it will be a matter of time before someone posts that they are "offended" by something on this list.


    Yea that's why I had to put up that I didn't write it lol...just thought it was funny
  • smae1980
    smae1980 Posts: 794 Member
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    YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • LittleSpy
    LittleSpy Posts: 6,754 Member
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    Also, don't forget to tip your DELIVERY DRIVERS! They make less than minimum wage, too. :wink:
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
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    Oh I am so offended. :angry:



























    :wink: :laugh:
  • mvl1014
    mvl1014 Posts: 531
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    Having worked in a few restaurants, I can honestly say there is no shortage of whining from both sides of the counter. :wink:
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
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    Also, don't forget to tip your DELIVERY DRIVERS! They make less than minimum wage, too. :wink:

    I remember a friend ordering Italian food one night. Like $100 worth of food...........she hands him 5 bux........I jump in with a 20 and say thanks dude!

    She was astounded and commented it isnt like he DID anything..............Uh he bagged it , made sure you had all your little extra side of this side of that, had plates and utensils, it was hot and yummy and YOU didnt have to go pick it up!

    Worth 20 bux to me!!:flowerforyou:
  • richmondhillgal
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    I was a server for several years and I can understand some of this. However, being on the "tipping" end of things, I have to say just because I am a single woman doesn't mean I won't tip well. If I get attentive service, and occasional stop by to see if all is well, you will get better than a 20% tip or more, even if my bill is two bucks. On the flip side, if you bring me something I didn't order, I never see you to get a refill on a beverage so I don't choke but you have loads of time to gossip with the coworkers to gripe about your pay, etc., odds are good you will be lucky to get anything other than a dirty look. I understand in most areas a server's pay is ridiculously low, bordering on slave labor. I know they must rely on people tipping. Be nice to me and I will be more than generous with you. :) I did giggle at several of these.
  • familygirl37167
    familygirl37167 Posts: 2,088 Member
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    omg I so agree with most of this..thanks for the great laugh..I am a server!!
  • 100x2xLose
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    I'm going to be the one to say I'm Offended. I know, people suck, and working in the service industry sucks double. This, though, is why I really hate going to restaurants.

    Tipping is not mandatory. We tip IF you do your job well. If you're cranky, if you get more than half our order wrong and are rude about it, if you don't refill our drinks, or if you disappear after bringing the entrees, I will not tip or I will tip low. There's a reason for the system Americans use, and it's to keep service in restaurants at its best. Work hard for what you get.

    I'm not one of those people who doesn't believe in tipping. In fact, recently I left a 50% tip for an incredible waiter I had. He went out of his way to make our meal, and we felt he deserved it.

    I have tipping brackets I follow:

    - Terrible service, no drink refills, wrong order with no apology or with huffiness attached, or other: 0%
    - Average service: 20-25%
    - Friendly server, mistakes made but resolved, 25-30%
    - Outstanding server, thinks of things before even I do (bringing drinks before they run out), makes dining experience incredible: 30-50%

    Wait staff need to understand that their job is to serve. Service, ya know? So if they don't really "feel like" being friendly (not just civil), don't "feel like" splitting cheques or cleaning up childrens' messes they should not be servers. Go find a job that allows you to avoid all those things.

    You should have spent one day dealing with the crap I saw as a housekeeper at a 4 star resort. And you know what? I got almost no tips that summer, working minimum wage minus board. I was happy to have a g.d. job, and grateful for the tips I got, rather than complaining on Facebook about how miserable my life was.
  • 100x2xLose
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    Oh, and breakfast always gets 100% tip, because it's every bit as much work but it often costs way less than a dinner.
  • robin52077
    robin52077 Posts: 4,383 Member
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    I think this is hilarious!
    Been there!

    I always tip 20-25%

    My honey thinks 10% is good enough, and only if the service is great. If they screw anything up at all he says "there goes her tip".
    I am forever reminding him that SHE didn't cook your food too well done, or leave that beard hair on your plate. If the cook messes something up, it does NOT affect how I tip the waitress.
    I think there have only been two times in my life when I have refused to tip. And it was for severe attitude problems. Like, if you throw anything down on the table rudely, snatch anything out of my hand, or swear at me, you are SOOO done...
  • iRun4wine
    iRun4wine Posts: 5,126
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    I tip very well, too. Usually those who are/were servers tip better. I guess it's the whole "walk a mile in my shoes..." thing :wink:
  • roylawrence87
    roylawrence87 Posts: 970 Member
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    No offense to servers, but you gotta work for that tip. I am not gonna just give you money for service that sux. Sorry you picked the work. You knew what it was gonna be like. Work is just that, work. I understand you need tips to survive but work for em. Don't feel like you are entitled to them. But I do agree to most of this thing. Bad customers suck. Kinda goes with every job I have had. I work in the warehouse industry servicing forklifts. Those grumpy customers suck. They have to spend thousands of dollars with me everytime they see me and hate me for it. Doesn't mean they can't be civilized.
  • karenjoy
    karenjoy Posts: 1,840 Member
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    In the UK we don't tip in the same way as you guys do. We get a service charge added to the bill automatically and so tipping the waiting staff is over and above. I will tip if I get good service, but we don't tend to work on a percentage basis like my Canadian husband does, I have to show him the bill and say look a 15% charge was added to it. We also don't tip in bars etc in the same way, my Husband finds it very strange. But also we have minimum wage for waiting staff. I had a job as a waitress and although I worked hard and was always hugely polite, tipping was rare because the clientele were mainly elderly and if they did tip it would be the 'keep the change' type of tip, usually very small amounts. I also worked as a barista and we were not allowed to take tips even if offered them, the company said good service is the very LEAST people should expect, and so tips were not allowed.

    My son works as a KP in a pub as his part time job while he is in School, he works his bum off and once a month gets a share of the very meagre tips. I think we are pretty tight this side of the pond
  • mromnek
    mromnek Posts: 325
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    I have only used this twice in my life... but, if service is particularly horrid, I do not leave the table without leaving my tip. My tip will be a few pennies. Why? Because to me it sends the signal... I am not just a cheapskate who didn't tip you. I tipped you what I felt your service was worth.
  • mromnek
    mromnek Posts: 325
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    In the UK we don't tip in the same way as you guys do. We get a service charge added to the bill automatically and so tipping the waiting staff is over and above.

    Ohhhh... I know it isn't the server's fault, but an automatically charged gratuity means no tip. I know that they do that to ensure wait staff gets tipped, but I find it offensive. So, 15% it is.
  • cmnkyrun16
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    Having worked in a few restaurants, I can honestly say there is no shortage of whining from both sides of the counter. :wink:

    Pretty much.

    I've been a server as well, and here in California it's minimum wage, unless you have experience, in which case you get more, etc. (this is pretty much the state you want to be an employee in).

    It does stink to work your tail off for no money, but realistically you can let it make you bitter or go do something else.

    You can't know everyones life situation, or take every "small" tip as a slight. You don't know that old man didn't just lose his wife and isn't out in public for the first time without her. You don't know that newlywed couple didn't just have to save for two months to go out in the first place.

    That said, I try to tip what I consider to be pretty reasonable (25-35%), but that's because I eat at the same place pretty routinely, and ask to be seated with my favorite servers, who are fantastic people.
  • Vallandingham
    Vallandingham Posts: 2,177
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    I tip well. Probalbly because I have worked in the service industry (35 years ago!) and I have two daughters that have worked as waitresses.

    I do have a problem, though, with the fact that anyone that provides a service now expects a tip. There is a tip jar on practically every counter you lean across.

    Kind or irks me to pay $3 or $4 fo a cup of coffee and there is a tip jar on the counter. A large percentage of service persons see a tip as an expected charge rather than gratuity for good service.