Public Service Announcement
I work in a restaurant. I have been around restaurants since before I was born. The red clay tile of a restaurant kitchen is so familiar to me that it's almost more like home than home is (Although I don't want to mislead anyone into thinking that I would *ever* tile my own kitchen in said red clay tiles).
Due to my long history in restaurants, the following statement would never have come to be a surprise to me.
Servers are paid less than minimum wage.
In the Commonwealth of Kentucky, where I live, work and play, servers are paid a measly $2.13 an hour. They live off the tips you give them. The $2.13 they make barely covers the federal, state, local taxes and Social Security/Medicare deductions that are automatically taken from each check. If you do not tip your servers, they cannot continue being servers. If they they quit, they will be replaced by less competent servers. You will go to the restaurant, and your service will be substandard, and you will never realize that it was all your fault in the first place for not tipping the original server well enough.
Tonight was the last night of such a server in my restaurant. This was someone who had worked for the company for several years. Finally, she got to the point where she stopped, and said to herself, "I am sick and tired of running myself ragged for a party of four who leave me a $2 tip." She put in her notice, and now she doesn't work for us anymore. And I can't really blame her.
Pass on the word: Tip 20% or higher for good service. Tip off the non-discounted portion of the bill (for example, if the manager doesn't charge you for your steak because it was overcooked, that's not the server's fault, seeing that he or she didn't actually overcook your steak, and should still be tipped off the full portion of the bill). 20% is the standard for good service. I repeat, 20% is the standard for good service. If you are not sure how to calculate 20%, you are probably not literate, and therefore not reading this blog. However, if you are literate and not completely offended by the last sentence, you can figure out 20% of your total by moving the decimal point one place to the left and then multiplying by two (For example, on a 21.34 check, it'd be 2.13*2= 4.26). Round up. If the $.74 cents to get the the next dollar is going to break you, you have no business eating out. By all means, tip less for substandard service. But remember: Your server can't read your mind either, and that is not in the job description.
When you go to a restaurant, you are paying for someone to come up with the recipes, do the grocery shopping, prep and cook the food, put it on plates, carry it to you while you sit and relax, clear the table and do the dishes. You are paying someone to get you drink refills. That doesn't even include all the little things that are necessary for the restaurant to run, such as printing menus, paying for equipment, air conditioning, light bulbs, etc. If you can't tip properly, don't eat out.
The above blog is dedicated to all servers struggling not to strangle customers who don't understand tipping procedure.
Thus ends my rant.
Due to my long history in restaurants, the following statement would never have come to be a surprise to me.
Servers are paid less than minimum wage.
In the Commonwealth of Kentucky, where I live, work and play, servers are paid a measly $2.13 an hour. They live off the tips you give them. The $2.13 they make barely covers the federal, state, local taxes and Social Security/Medicare deductions that are automatically taken from each check. If you do not tip your servers, they cannot continue being servers. If they they quit, they will be replaced by less competent servers. You will go to the restaurant, and your service will be substandard, and you will never realize that it was all your fault in the first place for not tipping the original server well enough.
Tonight was the last night of such a server in my restaurant. This was someone who had worked for the company for several years. Finally, she got to the point where she stopped, and said to herself, "I am sick and tired of running myself ragged for a party of four who leave me a $2 tip." She put in her notice, and now she doesn't work for us anymore. And I can't really blame her.
Pass on the word: Tip 20% or higher for good service. Tip off the non-discounted portion of the bill (for example, if the manager doesn't charge you for your steak because it was overcooked, that's not the server's fault, seeing that he or she didn't actually overcook your steak, and should still be tipped off the full portion of the bill). 20% is the standard for good service. I repeat, 20% is the standard for good service. If you are not sure how to calculate 20%, you are probably not literate, and therefore not reading this blog. However, if you are literate and not completely offended by the last sentence, you can figure out 20% of your total by moving the decimal point one place to the left and then multiplying by two (For example, on a 21.34 check, it'd be 2.13*2= 4.26). Round up. If the $.74 cents to get the the next dollar is going to break you, you have no business eating out. By all means, tip less for substandard service. But remember: Your server can't read your mind either, and that is not in the job description.
When you go to a restaurant, you are paying for someone to come up with the recipes, do the grocery shopping, prep and cook the food, put it on plates, carry it to you while you sit and relax, clear the table and do the dishes. You are paying someone to get you drink refills. That doesn't even include all the little things that are necessary for the restaurant to run, such as printing menus, paying for equipment, air conditioning, light bulbs, etc. If you can't tip properly, don't eat out.
The above blog is dedicated to all servers struggling not to strangle customers who don't understand tipping procedure.
Thus ends my rant.