One thing I have never been able to understand is the concept of tips. How did this start? How did it become mandatory in some situations
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Before I get started, I'd just like to remind you that we met, only once a hellluva long time ago at Millers place and seemed to be able to converse. Hence why I added you on lj(and vice versa).
This is not me bitching at all because I used to ask myself this all the time. Until I started working at a restaurant and have been for the last two years. People come to a restaurant, not only for the food but for the experience. Being a server/bartender shouldn't be just about taking orders and running food to a table, not if you intend to make a 15% tip. A good sever goes above and beyond what's expected of them. Making sure your meal is exactly how you want it, answering any of your questions and suggesting something you might enjoy but may have never had before. If you're not satisfied then a good server will do what ever they can to change that. They're making sure your drinks are always full and your table is always clean. If you're celebrating something special they may even ask their managers if they can do something nice for you. So it really is a lot more then just bringing you your food...you could go to McDonald's for that kind of service. Maybe it's just because of the type of restaurant I work at. I mean you don't get this kind of service everywhere. I don't get it when I go to Swiss Chalet, but I'm not really expecting it when I go there. However, they do a lot of work just to bring me my quarter white meal with fries. A lot more than you probably think. So my $2.25 tip on a $15 bill doesn't feel like it's in vein. And it's not mandatory that you tip. You do so at your own discretion, and if you do it doesn't even have to be 15%. You decide what you feel you should be tipping. Believe me, I've gone beyond what's expected of me with most of my tables and I've been left some pretty crappy tips. That comes with the territory and it's something that servers are aware of. It doesn't shock me, sometimes people just think that tipping $10 on a bill of $100 is a lot (although it's not just so you know). But working under these terms is a decision we've made knowingly. Just like the cashier at Walmart that doesn't get tipped and the pushy salesperson at the boutique who earns a commission that you don't directly pay them.
So really, the gratuity should be earned by the person serving you. And yes, WE are serving you, not the company we work for. They pay us to push their products and provide us with a means to so, but, aside from cooking your food ourselves, we do all the rest. So don't be mistaken by that thought. Maybe it's just me and I'm a perfectionist at my job, who has quite possibly been brainwashed by the company I work for, but this is what I expect when I go to a restaurant. It always has been and it's what my tip pays for. If the server meets my needs and does all of these things well then he deserves it. If not then I tip him based on the job he did.
I hope this has cleared some misconceptions you clearly have about the service industry.
I think I take my job too seriously, what do you think?
This is not me bitching at all because I used to ask myself this all the time. Until I started working at a restaurant and have been for the last two years. People come to a restaurant, not only for the food but for the experience. Being a server/bartender shouldn't be just about taking orders and running food to a table, not if you intend to make a 15% tip. A good sever goes above and beyond what's expected of them. Making sure your meal is exactly how you want it, answering any of your questions and suggesting something you might enjoy but may have never had before. If you're not satisfied then a good server will do what ever they can to change that. They're making sure your drinks are always full and your table is always clean. If you're celebrating something special they may even ask their managers if they can do something nice for you. So it really is a lot more then just bringing you your food...you could go to McDonald's for that kind of service. Maybe it's just because of the type of restaurant I work at. I mean you don't get this kind of service everywhere. I don't get it when I go to Swiss Chalet, but I'm not really expecting it when I go there. However, they do a lot of work just to bring me my quarter white meal with fries. A lot more than you probably think. So my $2.25 tip on a $15 bill doesn't feel like it's in vein. And it's not mandatory that you tip. You do so at your own discretion, and if you do it doesn't even have to be 15%. You decide what you feel you should be tipping. Believe me, I've gone beyond what's expected of me with most of my tables and I've been left some pretty crappy tips. That comes with the territory and it's something that servers are aware of. It doesn't shock me, sometimes people just think that tipping $10 on a bill of $100 is a lot (although it's not just so you know). But working under these terms is a decision we've made knowingly. Just like the cashier at Walmart that doesn't get tipped and the pushy salesperson at the boutique who earns a commission that you don't directly pay them.
So really, the gratuity should be earned by the person serving you. And yes, WE are serving you, not the company we work for. They pay us to push their products and provide us with a means to so, but, aside from cooking your food ourselves, we do all the rest. So don't be mistaken by that thought. Maybe it's just me and I'm a perfectionist at my job, who has quite possibly been brainwashed by the company I work for, but this is what I expect when I go to a restaurant. It always has been and it's what my tip pays for. If the server meets my needs and does all of these things well then he deserves it. If not then I tip him based on the job he did.
I hope this has cleared some misconceptions you clearly have about the service industry.
I think I take my job too seriously, what do you think?
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p.s. Wow that was one ignorant post
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