I worked in a family owned wing place in a blue collar city. For the most part, customers were absolutely fantastic. A lot had clearly been servers at some point in their life, had enough manners to treat me as a person if they had not and even some who didn’t know proper tipping procedure were genuinely nice enough to make me not care all that much. Dinner was always busy while late night was typically slow and easy going. I have two instances of being stiffed on checks over 100 dollars.
The first was an enormous (for the small place) party of 16. The family came in at 11:40 (when we closed at quarter to twelve) and were immediately rude, demanding and unorganized. It was apparent the check would be large, the tip little, my side work would wait while i answered their demands and they would try to get at least one thing comp’ed.
After a few sexually suggestive comments from one of the men at the table, having to wrap several left-overs of one or two wings for the entire party, fetch refills continuously because they never requested them at the same time and declined my offer of getting them one while i ran to refill others and fighting to get one woman in particulars attention to clarify her order when it wasn’t remotely on the menu the check finally arrived at $111. I was hoping for five bucks, The service? How I treated everyone, warm, patient and friendly. The man paying the (thankfully) single tab told me the tip was on the table. I noticed they left some of their leftovers so i ran to grab to give it to them in the parking lot noticing they didn’t tip at all. I thanked them for their patronage.
The second stiff came from a group of 12 from I believe India. One at the table spoke English, a male (often Indian men treat women harshly– at least from my experiences) he was no exception. They mostly drank Corona, were loud, disturbing others in the restaurant and had me split the check 12 ways after I had asked them in the first place if they wanted separate checks. They left me two dollars on a combined check of over a hundred. My coworker noticed that the two dollars a table getting coffee next to them didn’t have the two dollars on it anymore. They stole another table’s tip. We split the tip and laughed about it over a drink at the end of our shift.
And a good story too! Serving can be a lot of fin if you get a decent group of people. I had a party come in late before we were about to close. No problem, as long as you order before the kitchen closes (everyone knows kitchen folk get MAD when people order 30 minutes before close, even). It was large, about 10 or so, some ate, some got water and some got cocktails. We joked the whole time, they were from out of town and visiting the area, and the entire table was polite, funny and engaging and treated me with incredible respect. They stayed later than my manager would have liked but they were so nice no one really minded. Their check was only about 70 bucks, they gave my a hundred and eighty for the tab, told me I was a wonderful server and everything was excellent. Even without, my highest percentage tip ever for sure, they would still have been one of my favorite tables.
Submitted by: BoSo it’s a friday night.
I work in one of the most popular restaurants in town, it’s a mexican/american place that has been around for over 50 years.
Weekend nights are always extremely busy for us, and a wait for a table for 2-4 can be over 90 minutes. Parties can be even longer.
So, during the dinner rush, it is pivotal to cycle your tables as much as possible.
A table of four hispanic people gets sat in one of my booths that can easily fit six, but i’m okay with it. They order four waters, but insist that they want to wait to order food.
About 15 minutes later, I look back to see two more people have joined their table. I grab them drinks. It’s okay.
As this is happening, my other two tables (which can comfortably fix six) get up and are cleared. Of course, we’re on a wait so i’m expecting two more tables any moment. I walk away to go talk with some coworkers.
I walk back out, only to see about 10 adults and 5 kids quickly connecting BOTH of my tables into some sort of booth-table fiesta disaster. They managed to cram (somehow) about 12 bodies into my booth and the rest around the tables.
At this point, my manager tells me that I have no choice but to take them.
I busted my ass and gave them great service for this party of TWENTYONE. Margaritas, Chips & Salsa, Kiddie Cocktails, oh they wanted it all.
After dinner, they decided to make my section home for the next couple hours. About thirty minutes after the wait had cleared, they decided to pay their tabs (8 of them).
At this point, I was beyond frustration as everyone else was clamoring on about how much they had made and I was sitting here dealing with THIS.
After collecting all of my tips, I ended up with $17.12. Which I calculated to be about a 5% tip.
Never again.
Submitted by: John
Working in the restaurant industry during the holidays can be both a blessing a curse. It is one of the few times when being a server can really pay off, because there’s no need to play casino slot machines to try and get your bills paid for this month.
That is of course if you’re willing to put up with both the good and the bad…
The Bad
- Large Parties – The holiday season is not complete without, you guessed it, holiday parties. Be prepared to push tables together, clean up wrapping paper and offer coffee for hours after the meal is over.
- Out of Date Diners – Holiday parties can also bring out some people who only go out to eat a few times a year. There’s always a possibility you’ll have the older customer who is trying to use an expired coupon from 1985, while tipping 10% because it was the norm back in the day.
- Separate Checks – When you start putting tables of families and friends together, be prepared for the following situation.
Server: “Hi, can I take your order?”
Customer: “Sure, first off, we’re on separate checks, the two on the end need their bill split, add the lady next to them on mine, the gentlemen across from me is on his own and gets a senior discount, what are the soups today?”
- Working Long Hours – When you’re scheduled during the holidays, its usually a pretty safe bet that you aren’t going to get cut early.
- Not seeing family/friends – This was a huge one for me, and probably the worst part about being a server during the holidays in my opinion. While your friends and family are making plans and getting together, there’s a good change you’ll be working while they’re having their parties. Nothing was worse than carrying a tray of dishes back to the kitchen while looking at the clock and saying “Happy Freakin’ New Years!”
- Generous tips – Most of the time being a server, getting a great tip from a table can be like playing a game of roulette. Although, you may think your chances are good, sometimes you get shafted. This is usually not the case though during the holidays when 20% tipping becomes the norm, and some choose to go above and beyond that. I know that I always try and tip over 20% during the season because I’ve been in my waiter’s shoe’s before. Pair this seasonal generosity with the increase of business, and servers can feel leave feeling like millionaires after a good night.
- Large Parties – I know this was also listed as a down side, but when you get a nice family who appreciates the work you’re doing, you’ll get a generous tip on top of the gratuity added.
- Nicer People – The Holidays can bring out the best in people, and whether it be the music, booze or presents, a happy customer is the best kind of customer.
To the old lady drinking coffee at my bar tonight who ordered $100 worth of take-out food and left me a $30 tip…I just want to say thank you, that really made my night.
We always complain about the bad ones and sometimes the nice ones get overlooked.
Submitted by: Chris