2008 Woodie Awards
Tip your bartender or waitress
Cameron Ross
Issue date: 9/23/05 Section: Opinion
- Page 1 of 1
It is customary in the United States to tip your server 15 percent of the bill when eating at a restaurant. Unfortunately, the general public usually tips closer to 10 percent.
A restaurant server is one of the few jobs a non-college graduate can earn a living at. It is also the leading job for women without a college education.
It is unfortunate how often guests do not tip the customary 15 percent that a server generally deserves. There are definitely exceptions to this rule, but for the most part servers are hard workers.
For those of you who have not been burdened with waiting tables, imagine seating two parties of five people at once (the classic "double seating"). That is ten drinks the server must fetch within a varying time depending on which franchise you are in.
Wait! Hold on! You cannot forget that some people like two drinks, and some even three. People need water to go with their Pepsi and their Long Island iced tea.
During my experience waiting tables I would usually have five or six tables at once. It was not usually difficult to wait on five or six tables until a customer scolded me since their steak was under-cooked; the broil chef in the kitchen did not want to fall behind the 15 minute time period they must cook a piece of raw meat.
After all, the cooks do not get in trouble for under cooking a steak, the server gets the wrath of the unhappy guest and the manager will just order the server to take care of it because they do not enjoy giving out complementary food.
"People have very high expectations but don't keep open minds," said Steffani Migliouri, a former server.
Perhaps someone should start a union for servers. Anyone can become a server at a restaurant. The reason they must take abuse at their job is because they can be replaced easily.
Servers deserve to be treated with courtesy. With my experience, managers at restaurants do not support their servers because "the customer is always right." A cliche' statement which most servers would roll their eyes at.
When you walk into a restaurant remember that the person taking your order is playing slave to you and perhaps three or four additional parties. Remember, they are not the ones who cook your food or wash your silverware.
A restaurant server is one of the few jobs a non-college graduate can earn a living at. It is also the leading job for women without a college education.
It is unfortunate how often guests do not tip the customary 15 percent that a server generally deserves. There are definitely exceptions to this rule, but for the most part servers are hard workers.
For those of you who have not been burdened with waiting tables, imagine seating two parties of five people at once (the classic "double seating"). That is ten drinks the server must fetch within a varying time depending on which franchise you are in.
Wait! Hold on! You cannot forget that some people like two drinks, and some even three. People need water to go with their Pepsi and their Long Island iced tea.
During my experience waiting tables I would usually have five or six tables at once. It was not usually difficult to wait on five or six tables until a customer scolded me since their steak was under-cooked; the broil chef in the kitchen did not want to fall behind the 15 minute time period they must cook a piece of raw meat.
After all, the cooks do not get in trouble for under cooking a steak, the server gets the wrath of the unhappy guest and the manager will just order the server to take care of it because they do not enjoy giving out complementary food.
"People have very high expectations but don't keep open minds," said Steffani Migliouri, a former server.
Perhaps someone should start a union for servers. Anyone can become a server at a restaurant. The reason they must take abuse at their job is because they can be replaced easily.
Servers deserve to be treated with courtesy. With my experience, managers at restaurants do not support their servers because "the customer is always right." A cliche' statement which most servers would roll their eyes at.
When you walk into a restaurant remember that the person taking your order is playing slave to you and perhaps three or four additional parties. Remember, they are not the ones who cook your food or wash your silverware.