Bleh
Today was so long. Ever have one of those days were you feel like you never fully woke up? I had my morning coffee and breakfast but I was SO tired. I didn't even stay up late or anything, my body was simply not co-operating. At school I was in a shitty mood and felt really anxious. I usually feel anxious whenever I think about what I'm doing in school, or rather why I'm there at all. I have a lot of pressure from my parents to have a degree and function in a real way in the world, to not have a job but rather a career. Although I can't live my life for them I do feel it would feel amazing to have their respect and for them to be able to brag about me to their friends. They respect me and love me now, but I know they won't think I've fully grown up until I have a stable career/job, but when it comes to me personally I couldn't care less for school, nothing I've done yet has made me be like "Wow, I'd really love to do this..." Maybe I'm not looking in the right places. Anyway, class seemed to never end, then I came home and relaxed till I had to go to work. Putting the following under a cut because it's long.
Working at CPK is different from my previous restaurant. It's a lot busier but the people that go there range from really young kids that spend next to no money (some don't even tip, which is infuriating) to really old folks and lots of foreigners in between. My beef today though is, tipping out. In a restaurant, servers usually have to give up a portion of the tips they made in order to tip other people that work at the restaurant, at CPK we have to tip-out the bussers, hosts, food runner and bartender. I was used to tipping out the busser and bartender at my previous job and we didn't have a food runner (wasn't as busy, so we could all help each other out) but I'd never heard of anybody tipping out the hosts. This is annoying simply because, all those people make a lot more hourly than I do. I make $2.15 an hour, so I literally rely on my tips to make any money at all. All bussers, hosts and bartenders make at the very least minimum wage - but I've been told it's more than that, around $9 or so - so it's a bit frustrating to have to pay them out of my money. Don't get me wrong, their work is GREATLY appreciated, I wouldn't make nearly as much as I make if my bussers weren't so amazing in setting tables up, and if my food runner didn't deliver my food promptly my guests would wait too long (CPK is so busy that we sometimes have two food runners since we're unable to get to it in time, usually because we're taking orders, delivering drinks, etc) and the bartender makes all our alcoholic drinks. The host naturally just sits people (over-simplifying their job, it's annoying as hell too especially there because they constantly have to have a list since there's almost always a wait)
So for instance today my total sales were around $930, this includes all foods and drinks. My tips were around $140 but I had to tip out $38... that's a lot of money to have to give up! Walking out with $100 on a tuesday night is great no doubt, but knowing that you made 140 and can't take it all kinda kills. Also, the bussers are NOT responsible for picking up guest plates as they usually are in other restaurants, in fact if we - the servers - fail to pick up plates they will leave them there for us because it's not part of their job. Their duties are to pick up cups, silverware, wipe the table and set it up, we have to do everything else, so we bus our own tables for the most part. The food runner also gets our help; let's say there's food ready for 3 or 4 different tables, he wouldn't be physically able to take them all at the same time so the servers run food out constantly. Hosts for the most part do all the sitting but it's not unusual for a server to sit people. The bartender stands alone but he gets a tip from us even if he doesn't make a single drink for us (which can and has happened) and I find that to be unfair. Tonight, Andres was behind the bar, he's an awesome cat but not only does he make more hourly, he also takes bar-guests, up to 10 at any given point and they all tip him like any other server so he's making money from all angles pretty much.
I guess what I'm saying is I know that tips are an essential part of any restaurant but it's annoying to know that the company has US compensate for how they pay them. Guests tip us based on how well we perform but we don't have that liberty when it comes to the people we work with, it's all calculated for us in the computer so if Andres for instance spent all day ignoring my drink orders and taking forever to make them, my tables may tip me less but I still have to tip him based on my total sales. The structure is unfair, I'm not saying I don't want to tip, as a server I fully believe in tipping, but also because I'm under scrutiny I have to scrutinize.
While I'm on the subject, here's a little something I've been wanting to write up for a while. Some quick guidelines on how to be awesome when you go out to eat:
a) If you like your server, and you're all having a nice time, make your tip count! Servers remember good guests and will treat you twice as nicely next time. We're like dogs, if you give us a bad tip and we have to see you again we won't be happy, but if you tip nicely we'll want to do everything short of giving you a reach-around. Too many times have I had "good" tables go wrong when it comes to tipping, and it really sucks! If everything went okay and your server did good, go at least %18!
b) Don't ask for things you don't really want. Keep in mind that all we do all day is run around for you and other guests. If, for instance, there are toppings or items in something you just DON'T want, don't hesitate to say you don't want them! People constantly ask for those things to be on the side, but it all becomes a waste if nobody eats them so keep African children in mind when doing this.
c) Don't camp out. While I definitely believe that you should take as long as you need to finish your meal and shouldn't be rushed out of a restaurant, I also think people should be a little bit more aware of their surroundings. If you're done with everything and have gone through desserts and coffees... kindly leave. Not only are you holding other people from sitting and enjoying a meal, you're also costing your server money (because other sections will get sat, and not his/hers)
d) Try not to bust out the cellphone and using the easy tip calculator! that's an awful sight for a server because they don't know if you want to make sure to give them just the bare minimum or the upside - you want to go above and beyond. Just do this: For good or great service, take the first number and double it (so if your total is $40, your tip should be $8) for "okay but could be better service" just go from there, make it 6 or 5 instead of 8, your server will get the hint and improve. It's unreal how some people don't understand the concept of tipping or always tip the same no matter what.
e) Be attentive of your surroundings. Basically most restaurants are divided into sections usually consisting of 3 to four "tables" (a table could also be a booth, or an actual table) and a server is assigned to each section. If you see your server greeting or going to other tables besides your own, those are the ones that make up his/her section. Now, what I mean by be attentive is either be patient (if the restaurant is busy) or be direct (if it's not and you're still not getting prompt service) there's no need to settle, there's plenty of awful servers out there, but when a place is swamped even the nicest, most attentive servers (.. me!) will have to rush around and not be as nice as they'd like to be.
f) Don't be overly nice. After all, a server's job is just that, to serve. There's no need to be rude and ask for things as though you magically deserve them, but it's rather odd to me when people are like "Can I get another drink... whenever you get a chance/when you're not busy/when you can" and also "don't mean to bother you but can I get..." nonsense people! I'm working here, my job is to make sure you get what you need as soon as you need it. I try my hardest to refill drinks before they're fully done so as to not have to be asked for them, but if it should happen then I'll try to get it as soon as possible. If I were to do things when I "got a chance" I would never fucking do them because there's always shit going on. Also, don't feel as though you're being a bother by asking, it's our job to do these things. Be courteous yes, your servers will appreciate that, but I don't believe in the way some of these are worded.
g) The most important of all... do not be afraid to over-tip. I know this sounds greedy and stupid, but you will make your servers day if you give him a really nice tip. For instance, today I had a table of two girls, they were roughly around 16-17 (stop it, sickos) and they only spent around $22, but they were very nice and we had a great time joking back and forth. I even made a mistake and rang in the wrong salad for the one girl but promptly realized my mistake and had a new one out in less than a minute (God bless salads) so all was well. They gave me an $8, if we were to go back to my quick tipping guide I should've only gotten around $4, but they liked me enough to give me a little more than that. Obviously this won't always work, I can't expect a table that spends $150 to give me more than $30, but the inverse is usually true and I'll only get around $20 or so. The point here is, you don't have to pinch pennies when it comes to tipping, if you're that person that's always taking a dollar back when your friends say they've gone over, change your ways (if service was good) chances are that dollar you gave your server will end up in the bussers' hands anyway!
If you guys have any complaints about service or any feedback from what I said, feel free to leave comments.
Working at CPK is different from my previous restaurant. It's a lot busier but the people that go there range from really young kids that spend next to no money (some don't even tip, which is infuriating) to really old folks and lots of foreigners in between. My beef today though is, tipping out. In a restaurant, servers usually have to give up a portion of the tips they made in order to tip other people that work at the restaurant, at CPK we have to tip-out the bussers, hosts, food runner and bartender. I was used to tipping out the busser and bartender at my previous job and we didn't have a food runner (wasn't as busy, so we could all help each other out) but I'd never heard of anybody tipping out the hosts. This is annoying simply because, all those people make a lot more hourly than I do. I make $2.15 an hour, so I literally rely on my tips to make any money at all. All bussers, hosts and bartenders make at the very least minimum wage - but I've been told it's more than that, around $9 or so - so it's a bit frustrating to have to pay them out of my money. Don't get me wrong, their work is GREATLY appreciated, I wouldn't make nearly as much as I make if my bussers weren't so amazing in setting tables up, and if my food runner didn't deliver my food promptly my guests would wait too long (CPK is so busy that we sometimes have two food runners since we're unable to get to it in time, usually because we're taking orders, delivering drinks, etc) and the bartender makes all our alcoholic drinks. The host naturally just sits people (over-simplifying their job, it's annoying as hell too especially there because they constantly have to have a list since there's almost always a wait)
So for instance today my total sales were around $930, this includes all foods and drinks. My tips were around $140 but I had to tip out $38... that's a lot of money to have to give up! Walking out with $100 on a tuesday night is great no doubt, but knowing that you made 140 and can't take it all kinda kills. Also, the bussers are NOT responsible for picking up guest plates as they usually are in other restaurants, in fact if we - the servers - fail to pick up plates they will leave them there for us because it's not part of their job. Their duties are to pick up cups, silverware, wipe the table and set it up, we have to do everything else, so we bus our own tables for the most part. The food runner also gets our help; let's say there's food ready for 3 or 4 different tables, he wouldn't be physically able to take them all at the same time so the servers run food out constantly. Hosts for the most part do all the sitting but it's not unusual for a server to sit people. The bartender stands alone but he gets a tip from us even if he doesn't make a single drink for us (which can and has happened) and I find that to be unfair. Tonight, Andres was behind the bar, he's an awesome cat but not only does he make more hourly, he also takes bar-guests, up to 10 at any given point and they all tip him like any other server so he's making money from all angles pretty much.
I guess what I'm saying is I know that tips are an essential part of any restaurant but it's annoying to know that the company has US compensate for how they pay them. Guests tip us based on how well we perform but we don't have that liberty when it comes to the people we work with, it's all calculated for us in the computer so if Andres for instance spent all day ignoring my drink orders and taking forever to make them, my tables may tip me less but I still have to tip him based on my total sales. The structure is unfair, I'm not saying I don't want to tip, as a server I fully believe in tipping, but also because I'm under scrutiny I have to scrutinize.
While I'm on the subject, here's a little something I've been wanting to write up for a while. Some quick guidelines on how to be awesome when you go out to eat:
a) If you like your server, and you're all having a nice time, make your tip count! Servers remember good guests and will treat you twice as nicely next time. We're like dogs, if you give us a bad tip and we have to see you again we won't be happy, but if you tip nicely we'll want to do everything short of giving you a reach-around. Too many times have I had "good" tables go wrong when it comes to tipping, and it really sucks! If everything went okay and your server did good, go at least %18!
b) Don't ask for things you don't really want. Keep in mind that all we do all day is run around for you and other guests. If, for instance, there are toppings or items in something you just DON'T want, don't hesitate to say you don't want them! People constantly ask for those things to be on the side, but it all becomes a waste if nobody eats them so keep African children in mind when doing this.
c) Don't camp out. While I definitely believe that you should take as long as you need to finish your meal and shouldn't be rushed out of a restaurant, I also think people should be a little bit more aware of their surroundings. If you're done with everything and have gone through desserts and coffees... kindly leave. Not only are you holding other people from sitting and enjoying a meal, you're also costing your server money (because other sections will get sat, and not his/hers)
d) Try not to bust out the cellphone and using the easy tip calculator! that's an awful sight for a server because they don't know if you want to make sure to give them just the bare minimum or the upside - you want to go above and beyond. Just do this: For good or great service, take the first number and double it (so if your total is $40, your tip should be $8) for "okay but could be better service" just go from there, make it 6 or 5 instead of 8, your server will get the hint and improve. It's unreal how some people don't understand the concept of tipping or always tip the same no matter what.
e) Be attentive of your surroundings. Basically most restaurants are divided into sections usually consisting of 3 to four "tables" (a table could also be a booth, or an actual table) and a server is assigned to each section. If you see your server greeting or going to other tables besides your own, those are the ones that make up his/her section. Now, what I mean by be attentive is either be patient (if the restaurant is busy) or be direct (if it's not and you're still not getting prompt service) there's no need to settle, there's plenty of awful servers out there, but when a place is swamped even the nicest, most attentive servers (.. me!) will have to rush around and not be as nice as they'd like to be.
f) Don't be overly nice. After all, a server's job is just that, to serve. There's no need to be rude and ask for things as though you magically deserve them, but it's rather odd to me when people are like "Can I get another drink... whenever you get a chance/when you're not busy/when you can" and also "don't mean to bother you but can I get..." nonsense people! I'm working here, my job is to make sure you get what you need as soon as you need it. I try my hardest to refill drinks before they're fully done so as to not have to be asked for them, but if it should happen then I'll try to get it as soon as possible. If I were to do things when I "got a chance" I would never fucking do them because there's always shit going on. Also, don't feel as though you're being a bother by asking, it's our job to do these things. Be courteous yes, your servers will appreciate that, but I don't believe in the way some of these are worded.
g) The most important of all... do not be afraid to over-tip. I know this sounds greedy and stupid, but you will make your servers day if you give him a really nice tip. For instance, today I had a table of two girls, they were roughly around 16-17 (stop it, sickos) and they only spent around $22, but they were very nice and we had a great time joking back and forth. I even made a mistake and rang in the wrong salad for the one girl but promptly realized my mistake and had a new one out in less than a minute (God bless salads) so all was well. They gave me an $8, if we were to go back to my quick tipping guide I should've only gotten around $4, but they liked me enough to give me a little more than that. Obviously this won't always work, I can't expect a table that spends $150 to give me more than $30, but the inverse is usually true and I'll only get around $20 or so. The point here is, you don't have to pinch pennies when it comes to tipping, if you're that person that's always taking a dollar back when your friends say they've gone over, change your ways (if service was good) chances are that dollar you gave your server will end up in the bussers' hands anyway!
If you guys have any complaints about service or any feedback from what I said, feel free to leave comments.