Do you act rude to your waiter?
Last year, you and others went wild over the article that covered “10 Rude Things Restaurants Do” in detail. Many of you shared your horror and other stories when dealing with waiters, while many of you shared your horror and similar stories when working as a restaurant waiter with customers.
Today you will be introduced to the 10 rude things restaurant customers do.
10 Rude Things Restaurant Customers Do
- Be on the phone while the waiter waits.
The waiter is there to take your food order, and talking on the phone while ordering can accomplish two things at the same time. Otherwise, let them go attend other people or take a break from waiting for you if you wish to be on the phone before you order. Avoid turning the meaning of the word “waiter” into someone who waits for you, instead of someone who waits on you.
- Not know what to order after telling the waiter to come over and take the order.
This is separate than making the waiter wait around while you are on the phone. If you tell the waiter you are ready, and you start deciding what to order after the waiter is ready to take your order, you are actually wasting someone’s time. The waiter is paid to attend to you when you are ready and when you need something. If you are not ready or do not need something, the waiter can attend to other customers and things. Ever wonder why your food came out late? Some other customer made the waiter wait while deciding what to order. Very rude customer, right?
- Sit down, order free water and not order anything on the menu for a long, long time.
This point sends many waiters into a panic mode for a good reason. “Will they order? What are they waiting for? Will they get more people to join them? Will they simply leave in the end? Am I going to lose money because of this? Will my manager ask me why that table isn’t ordering?” are some of the thoughts created in the minds of the waiters by the people who sit down to drink water and look at the menu for a long time. Tell the waiter you are stuck and cannot decide what to order to have the waiter happily and honestly help you get something.
- Treat waiters very poorly in general.
I have dined with many people who treat waiters very badly. From having bad attitude to scolding waiters verbally and openly, many people have the idea that waiters are second class citizens that should be treated badly because of being there to serve customers for tips. “The waiter is serving me, and I leave their kind a tip. Thus I do not have to be nice with them, and simply must order them around.” It is one thing to realize waiters are being extra nice to get tips. It is a completely unrelated thing to make them go through extra stressful tests just to release any unrelated stress yourself or to feel superior.
- Blame the waiter for the bad food.
Many customers do not realize that it is mostly the chefs that make the food, and not the waiters. If the food is bad, it is all right to associate it with the chef and also the waiter. Sure, the waiter works at the same establishment and may represent the food too, but the waiter did not prepare the food directly. Therefore, if your food is bad, it may be all right to express your frustration and disappointment to the waiter. It may not be a good reason to blame the waiter for the bad food entirely, however. The waiter simply wants you to have a good time so that you can like them and leave a good tip. Blaming them for bad food usually only results in them hating both you and the chef.
- Give a very small tip in general.
This is probably the most important point from the perspective of the waiters. Yes, almost all restaurants pay the waiters an hourly salary. The waiters are doing a job and getting paid. However, many people leave waiters very small tips instead of normal tips. I personally am of the belief that waiters should usually not be tipped unless they do a very good job. However, some of the reasoning of many other people, including the reason that many restaurants pay their waiters a very low salary because of the idea of tips, makes me realize that this belief of mine needs more customization. Therefore, I recommend tipping the waiter more than just a small tip, if possible, when the waiter has done a good job.
- Get mad instantly over any sign of a mistake the waiter makes.
Food is a very yummy and risky business. Waiters have to take all the custom orders as fast as possible, by either memorizing the orders or writing them down somewhere. If the waiter forgets to give you water without ice or even gives you your steak well done instead of medium rare, simply point it out.
- Make waiters uncomfortable by flirting with them or making fun of them.
A lot of people do not have social skills, and waiters work in a highly social environment. When a waiter is flirted with or made fun of for any reason, that waiter is actually put on the spot in front of all the surrounding customers also. Such spotlight makes many people uncomfortable and embarrassed, yet many customers keep doing such a thing to waiters because of the idea that the waiter, because of being paid to serve and be a slave, can endure such treatment.
- Take out your anger about non-waiter related issues in the tip.
This is directly related to number 6 above. If the food was bad, some nearby customer was annoying, the seating arrangement was uncomfortable or the music in the background was too loud, the waiter probably could not do anything about such things. If you believe in the idea of tipping a waiter, realize that the waiter is to be tipped based on his or her performance as a waiter, and not on other things, even if they are in the restaurant. Only if something the waiter does is bad or has direct power over and refuses to fix that bad something, specially after you point it out, should you consider taking out your disappointment in the tip as a logical connection to dealing with the waiter.
- Expect the waiter to be different without changing oneself.
This is probably the point of all points. This is where majority of the people treat waiters and food like religion, expecting the waiters to either follow suit or get burnt. Instead, the customers should communicate with the waiter and arrive at a compromise. If the waiter is acting rude, tell them they are rude by being nice yourself and let them know you would like them to be different. If you do not want to be bothered by the waiter while you eat, let them know about it too. Bring up your preferences or observations in front of the waiter, if they bother you or if you think they can help your experience, while also considering the actual preferences or comfortableness of the waiter.
How do you or your customers behave at restaurants?
Are you a customer yourself? Have you noticed any customers with the above trends? Have you done any of the other things yourself, maybe for the reasons listed above, or maybe for some other reasons? What do you think of the customers who do any of the above things? Do you treat your waiter nicely? Do you blame your waiter for any bad food? Have you seen customers make fun of or flirt with waiters, thus making them uncomfortable?
Please comment below to share what you think. Thank you for reading! 
I worked as a waitress at Waffle House for almost a year. It was probably one of the most rewarding experiences I've had. Now… that being said. Some days it was the most stressful, nerve wracking job I've ever had. There were days when I'd bust my tail for 10 hours and maybe make twenty dollars in tips (and that was my sole income).
A few specific times stick out in my mind, of just utter retardedness. I was working 3rd shift with another girl, and we were taking turns on the customers that game in. I got this, you got next so on and so forth. Well at the time there was a basketball tournament and one side of the store and one team, and the other side had another team. The other girl got the "good" group… as there were 20 or so of them she ended up making almost 50 dollar tip. My group same size, left me nothing.
Another time a group came in, and they had just been out at the club, and were buzzing off that, loud and somewhat unruly (but not to the point that they could be kicked out), and they were just running me ragged. Again no tip. Another of my customer's (a regular) told me that he heard them say they were going to mess with me the entire time (complain, send orders back, and just be rude.)
Other times though I had really wonderful experiences. One of the regular customers gave me over 30 fuzzy posters (already colored) and at least a hundred markers for my birthday. There was the "Breakfast Club" which was a group of older guys that would come in almost every morning for coffee, that you couldn't help but smile at them and enjoy their company.
Finally working as a waitress really changed how I tip. It's rare that I leave nothing, and most time I tip like crazy… (Example: A chicken sandwich from Waffle House that cost 3 bucks and I leave a twenty and walk out.) Sometimes a tip like that can make someone's day. When you live on your tips as income, sometimes a ten dollar tip, or a twenty dollar tip is just what you needed to make that final bill, or gas for your car for the week.
Wow, thanks for sharing Veronica!
I've never been to a Waffle House i think, hmmm.
Regarding the two basketball groups, was there something about your group that you notice in people who do not leave tips? And regarding the rude group, I wonder if people do that because they love to feel macho in situations where there won't be major lashbacks because of the waiter who is working and has to maintain discipline?
Do you really leave a $20 tip for a $3 sandwich?
Or is that only at Waffle House because you know them? I did something similar once by mistake. Your point is one of the reasons I usually think a lot about my idea of not leaving a tip because a waiter gets paid by the restaurant too: maybe the real income for waiters, or many waiters, does depend on the tips. If I may ask, did you get paid the minimum or something similar by Waffle House?
Every friend (including myself) that I've ever known in a variety of states and restaurants (chains and privately owned) has always made $2.13/hour or something similarly low. Taxes take all of the money in their paychecks. Unless they've had an incredibly poor couple of weeks, their paycheck will always be for zero dollars. Their only income is tips.
You must tip. If you cannot tip or you do not believe in tipping, go to McDonalds do not go to a full service restaurant. You must pay for your service. Even bad service. Tipping is not discretionary. It is required. The government is taxing your server as if you are tipping then. Servers do not make a living wage without tips- they don’t make a wage at ALL after taxes. If you don’t like the system, don’t go out to eat. But if you do, you must expect to tip, except in extenuating circumstances. You should be ashamed of yourself for not tipping- its the same as you doing your job but not getting paid- you probably wouldn’t be to happy with that.
Thanks for sharing Kelsey!
Regarding tips: the comparison with doing job confuses me. I’m trying to understand this more please.
At any job (anything: mechanic, waiter, cashier, driver, web designer, director, etc), I get paid by the person who hired me or gave me work.
Waiters also get paid by the owner of the restaurant.
How does tip get added for waiters but not for anyone else? Why do customers “have” to tip waiters? Lower wages are the problem between the waiter and the person they agreed to work for. It’s not the responsibility of the customer to make sure the waiter gets paid enough.
Do you also always tip McDonald’s employees, post office workers, cashiers, mechanics, bus drivers, and Disneyland employees who walk around dressed in different mascots?
Look, the system isn’t perfect, but that’s the way it is. Restaurants in the U.S. DO NOT pay waiters more than $4 an hour, and they rely on tips as the income. Waiters then have to tip their hostess, busser, food runner, expo, and bartender based on their sales. So, when you come in and run up a $100 check and leave me no tip, I still have to pay my support staff. Which means I am paying money OUT OF MY POCKET to wait on you. So, if you don’t feel like tipping, go to one of the hundreds of Chipotle type establishments, please.
Kelsey, Perhaps you are a bit misguided. Paying for your service is at the discretion of the customer. I have to pay the cost of the food and nothing else. If I get my hair done. I pay for the equipment, lights, chairs, shampoo, and other things. The labor that goes into doing hair and maybe fitting you into her schedule at the last minute is the only thing that warrants a good tip. Now, if the beautician has a bad attitude, did not have to fit me into the schedule at the last minute, or or did not have to do much, the tip will reflect that as well. So no, I don’t subscribe to your “You have to pay for the service rendered even if you received bad service.” The services they provide, taking your order, bringing it to you, and refilling your drink is part of the job that the server signed up for when they took the job. Unless the server has had no experience with eating out or has been living under a rock, he/she should have known this beforehand. When I tip, it is for going above and beyond the call of duty. Being friendly, making sure our food is cooked properly, being attentive with regards to refills so that we don’t go empty or have to ask for more, bringing us Cokes to go, etc. will warrant a hefty tip. If all they do is go through the motions, taking our order, bringing our meals, forgetting condiments repeatedly, and never refilling our drinks will ensure NO TIP!!!!
Veronica, Sorry for such bad experiences.
It is terrible for a large group to not tip at all! Unless the service was terrible, something should have been left. I am sure that you are a great server and deserved to be compensated accordingly.
It is also terrible for a group to come in with the sole purpose of making your evening as horrible as it could be. Just shows that perhaps they were not raised properly and taught manners. I am sure if you “messed” with them at their job, they would not appreciate it.
It probably does make your day when small children draw pictures for you. Probably makes up for the rude and high-maintenance customers you get.
While I would love to tip my servers that well, a $20 tip on a $3 meal, I just can’t afford to do that. It’s great that you were financially able to do that and make someone’s day!!!
When we eat out, we are very polite and mannerly. We even say thank you to the server when they bring us the bill. Every tiime they come by to take our order, brings us our drinks, meals, appetizers, or desserts, brings us condiments or refills, we say, “Thank you!” If refills are needed, I will say, “Could I have a refill of Coke. I know you are busy, just when you get the chance.” I never fault the server for something that happens in the kitchen or behind the scenes. If I think something was forgotten, like a shake at Steak and Shake, I will ask, “Did I forget to order a strawberry shake?” That way I take the blame instead of putting the blame on the server. I just think that it is better to eat a little crow, then show out and be a Jack—. If we get great service, I will tip at least 20% sometimes up to 40%. I will always let the manager know and the company know by shooting them an e-mail. Hope that the e-mail correspondence helps the server.
Thanks for your hard work. Sounds like you are a great server with a great heart.
"Sit down, order free water and not order anything on the menu for a long, long time."
Bravo! Remarkably!)))
lol Alex, have you done this?
I have done that once or twice but that was because I was with someone else and was not hungry at the time. Sometimes I really do only want water.
Athena, so the other person did order something other than just water?
I bartend at the movie theater (yes we have a full bar and a large menu too). People very often come out and order something and forget to leave a tip. It is a bar. I am sure you won’t go broke if you leave a buck or two when you order a mixed drink that costs 10 bucks. And if 10 is all you have then buy a cheaper drink to have enough to tip. Unfortunately, the majority of african americans do not tip. Not being a racist, just statistics – 2 out of 10 african americans tip, 8 don’t. Even if they spend $80-100 worth of food/drinks. White people tip better – like 2 out 10 do not tip. IT is sad. I only make $2 an hour.
Athena, I do this sometimes, too. It is usually (99.5%) of the time because I am waiting for the other person in the party to arrive and I do not want to fill up on either appetizers or a soda before ordering the main entree.
Thank you so much for sharing your story! I have a few friends with similar experiences and it's such a shame to see how some people are rude enough not to leave a tip. Here's to hoping for more success!
Hey Bruce, thanks for your comment. What are your rules for leaving a tip?
Great article. The author must have worked as a waiter
I worked, for a year, part-time, and all I can say is : You nailed it down.
So many times I looked to myself like a piece of sh…, but…it was just a temporary job for me, and, it was fun.
This article has reminded my student life when I did a part time job as a waiter in a restaurant.
I'm rather to polite than being rude to the waiter.
Strani
And you get more with honey than with vinegar. We are always polite. As a result, they usually don’t charge us for drinks or dessert.
Thank you for all this great information. Ten Rude things!
Indeed, Interesting post. I really enjoy reading. Thanks.
I've worked in restaurants before, so i know to be polite to waiters..
I am a waiter in Oklahoma, and we only make $2.13 an hour plus tips, and typically all of my hourly wage (the 2.13) is paid out in taxes, so when I get my paycheck for my hourly wage, it usually is $0 to $20, meaning over the span of two entire weeks that is all my hourly wage adds up to. So I can say I really do just live on tips. I don't know if the hourly wage is different in other states, but after working as a waiter I ALWAYS tip 15 percent at least because I know the hourly wage is infintessimally small. Especially when you have 6 tables or more at once, it is literally impossible to give great service. It's a rough job sometimes, but I am grateful I have a job.
Okay, so Earlier today I got a customer today talk down on me. She said "I want my cucumbers now!" I told the manager that I needed the cucumbers asap. It took about 2 minutes, after she received everything and was all finished she complained to my gm and told him " very slow service," and she didn't even leave a tip
David,
If I complain to a manager or server, which is rare, I would always go to the server first to avoid the manager being aware of the problem and getting upset with the server. If that did not rectify the situation, then I would go to the manager. With this economy, I would not want anyone to get into trouble.
Nice post, when it comes to waiters its the service they offer that matters, not come across any rude or ill mannered waiters till now, have always made sure to tip the waiter for the service. Thanks for sharing.
looks quite good…
I hate when customers will purposely place an item such as hair, glass, band-aids in their food to get a free meal. We, the workers, know the customer has done it because often it is just too unbelievable to be true.
YES! lol one time someone literally put sunglasses in a pitcher of sangria and sent it back!! wtf!
Becky, I have heard of people doing this. Can’t believe that people would actually do it. I am sure it happens more than you think. There are still good customers out there.
I really enjoy reading. Thanks.
i want it
I was at this dinner with my parents, my uncle and aunt, and my cousin, and it was all fine for a while. Then suddenly my cousin felt sick, and my aunt had to take him home. The waiter approached us again and noticed my aunt and cousin missing, and casually asked, (a bit distracted but polite) "Oh where did those 2 people go?" My dad scolded him rudely calling him disrespectful and rude, and that he should have referenced the latter as "The Lady and The Boy" It was uncomfortable for me to just watch, seeing as the waiter is just someone trying to make a living, being as nice as possible. I never treat waiters badly and always leave tips. Well except, one time a waitress was being a bitch.
Waiters get paid minimum wage and so you can work full time,make crappy tips, and for two weeks receive a pay check of 35 cents. The restaurant is required by law to make it LOOK like all of their employees are making minumum wage.Therefore,Payroll claims enough for each person to show this on their pay check. Many times,they claim more money than you actually saw.1.Problem:a table splits a check half cash, half credit card. The person with the credit card tips and thinks that it's all good, while those who paid the rest in cash do not leave anything. The scariest thing to hear on a 300 dollar check is…"put 50 on the card and we'll pay the rest in cash" because you have a big chance of receiving 10 dollars rather than 60 dollars.2.I always leave a min. of 5 dollars. No,I'm not talking about grabbing a beer at the bar. Ya, 20% of 16 dollars is $3.20, even if I stop ordering after my 15 dollar burrito and then proceed to sit and chat for 2 hours. That is two hours of their time and money they could could be making on other tables. I mean, it's 5 bucks. Good tip: If you can't afford to tip your server, youshouldn't be eating out.3."Hi everyone, how are you tonight?" followed by a response of "two iced teas" ESPECIALLY when there is no eye contact or smile. I don't understand people who are mean and problematic to someone who is for handling their food.4.If your server clearly has many tables and you receive less than perfect service, have understanding. Not only are they stressed, they are probably equally as frustrated that they are receiving less tips for more work just because their manager understaffed or somebody didn't show up.5.If a table ignores me or acts annoyed that I am trying to serve them, I am less likely to approach the table.If you don't want anyone to bother you while you are eating, then eat at home or pack a sack lunch. We don't have a choice, we have to do our job.6.When I hook a table up, I get the worst tip.Although you clearly have the right to tip your 15-20% based on the total bill presented to you, you received free or cheaper items.I tip my 20% based on the total bill I should have received. At LEAST a few extra bucks.
I am really thankful to this topic because it really gives useful information -*'
People just because you are spending money dont mean you have to treat people like crap!
Do not even get me started with some customers I had to deal with it! My mom owns the restaurant so I try to be as patient as possible because I know this is her business. I only work on Saturdays because I have college during the weekdays and that one day is so stressful! I praise waiters/waitresses/people that work in food industry because the customers are quite ridiculous. What gets me mad is people judge and say whatever the hell they want to you. They look at me working as a waitress and treated me as if I know nothing or that I am uneducated. Until one customer asks me, do you go to college? When I say yes his/her eyes light up and other customers look as if they are shocked. I don’t understand, haven’t you heard of a working student? Anyways, they treat you like your dumb when I probably know ten times more in mathematics and biology than them! (not gloating, just trying to make a comparison to some of these “uppity” customers). So a lady calls, places an order, isn’t even looking at the right menu. I send out her food. She complains that there is lettuce, tomato, onion and pickles on her cheese burger. Last time I checked, a burger comes like that. So I tell her, “Ma’m if you read our menu you would see what burgers are served you with. I don’t think you were reading the correct menu.” Then she tries to downgrade me by telling me, “Listen I know you work there and all probably at minimum wage but when I order a cheeseburger it usually is just cheese and meat”. Funny b/c last time I ordered at Applebees or McDonalds, the sandwiches come with stuff on it unless you specify. The point is, did she really have to get “personal” and stray off the topic by going to wages? She was obviously being defensive. And these are how most restaurant customers are. If they have nothing to say they start talking about their own life and praising themselves and putting you at the bottom of the social status pyramid.
If anybody wants to read a good book about how hard the minimum wage jobs really are; physically and mentally, read “Nickel and Dimed” by Barbara Ehrenreich
My niece is going to college and got a job this summer at a Pizza Hut. She makes about $2/hr..yes $2 and change per hour. She didn’t have any food service experience before, and the first day she started someone called out and they had her be the only server for the whole night with no training. Plus they have her greet and seat the customers, take phone orders, and clean the tables in between everything else. AND she has to clean up at the end of the night. In other words, they are paying her as a waitress at $2/hr but making her do multiple jobs. I can’t imagine that what some of these chain restraurants are doing by hiring people under the title of waitress and then making them hold mulitple positions is legal.
Obviously she doesn’t have experience so she isn’t the best at her job, but she is a good nice kid and polite. She has put up with all kinds of abuse from customers and then left $1 or $2 for a tip or nothing. I find it unbelieveable that these places can get away with paying anyone less than minimum wage. She told me that if she doesn’t make at least minimum wage WITH her tips included than the company pays the difference. Most nights she makes minimum wage or just above it for all her hard work. She had to buy slip-resistant shoes for the job and I am not lieing when I say she didn’t even make enough money the first week to cover the cost of her shoes! This poor kid comes home exhausted.
My point is that there are rude ignorant people where ever you go, but when the customers start calling people names and using inappropriate language these restraurants, whether chains or not, should be held accountable if their Managers do not step in to assist and defuse the situation. If customers are ignorant and not raised to show respect, it should be the job of the Manager to ensure that the staff is not abused in any way or disrespected. I say either act right or you don’t eat! Hey, it worked in my home growing up.
i see #4 happended to a lot of people , don’t wanna be racist but indian people seems to be very picky and like to make terrible jokes and oh in the end very lil tips o well
Had an incident whereby we ordered food, the waiter never repeated the order. So he ended up bringing an extra plate we never ordered. So i told him we only ordered 2 not three, he went and still brought another plate. Now i told him we only ordered 2, so he got so angry, my hubby tried to call him so that we could take the extra plate as takeaway, but boy the guy was too angry. He came to get the dishes before we even finished eating and all that time the situation got so tense, he couldn’t talk to us. We paid him a small tip which he refused and stormed outside, and was telling other customers how we had messed his day buy paying a small tip. In my opinion I believe he spoiled his own day by his rotten attitude… His the only waiter we ever paid a small tip!
I really find this list inadequate, I feel like it was written by someone who hasn’t waited tables before. Some of them are spot on, but the list could be better. While I appreciate the attempt at understanding from a non-server, allow me to contribute a bit for the sake of increasing awareness and understanding between servers and their customers:
My 10 rude things restaurant customers do to waiters:
1. Snap at me to get my attention. I have a name, and most likely told you what it was at least once when I greeted you, if you were paying attention. Use my name, ask for it again if you need to, and save the snapping for your dog.
2. Ignore the server. We don’t talk to you unless we have information to convey or have a question (the “how is everything?” is generally required by management, we don’t make the rules). Don’t answer our “Hi, how are you?” with “I’ll have the steak.” And if we as if you want milk or cream with your coffee, “yes” is not an appropriate answer. Listen to what we ask/tell you; we have valuable information to give regarding the meal you’re about to pay for.
3. Interrupt me while I’m with another table. You are not more important than they are. Quietly get our attention and we’ll get to you once we’re done with what we’re doing.
4. Sit for an hour after you’ve finished your meal. This is mostly an issue when we’re busy or at the end of the night (most servers get cut and sent home before close, just because the restaurant is still open doesn’t mean your server is going to be there until closing time). If we’re busy, you’re keeping us from making more money from another table. If you’re going to stay for long, tip us accordingly to help make up for the money we’re losing, and if it’s the end of the night, at least let us take away your old dishes/glasses and the receipt, so the dishwasher can finish up and the managers can start their paperwork.
5. Reject the table at which you are seated by the hostess and ask for “the table over there.” There is more to the seating process than just filling empty seats. There is a rotation to ensure servers get approximately equal numbers of patrons, and get them at large enough intervals to allow for good service. “That table over there” may be in a section where the server hasn’t been scheduled to come in yet, or has just been triple sat with 3 other tables who are picky about where they sit, and the server is probably running around and feeling pretty crazy as is. It’s even possible that that table as been reserved (reservations are often mapped out ahead of time to make it smoother during the night). Just because a table is empty doesn’t mean it’s available to you.
6. Transfer your tab from the bar/waiting area to your table without tipping your first server. When you get a drink at the bar, then transfer it to your table, the bartender isn’t getting tipped on the service they gave, while you’re table server will likely be getting tipped on service they didn’t give. Close your tabs when you can, or at least give a few dollars to the bartender or cocktail server before you go. Yes, your bartender/cocktail server is a real server and deserves a real tip (read:18-20%). Just because you’re not at a table doesn’t mean they worked any less hard for you.
7. Expect us to be a mindreader. We don’t know what allergies you have, what foods you like or don’t like, whether you like cream or sugar in your coffee. For every table who thinks we should just “assume,” there’s another table who would get offended if we assumed we knew their preferences better than they do. Tell us if you have a life-threatening allergy to nuts, or if you prefer to avoid dairy, or if you want ketchup with your meal. Tell us if you think something’s wrong so we can fix it. If you don’t say anything, we’ll assume you don’t need anything and leave you alone.
8. Name drop to try and get special treatment. I don’t care who you know or how important you think you are. If we’re on a wait, knowing the owner isn’t going to magically make a table appear out of nowhere. If you think people should finish up and leave more quickly so you can have your table, feel free to go up and tell them, but we can’t and won’t (see #4).
9. Don’t make room for us. This is mostly in non-fine dining restaurants, but if your server comes to drop off a couple plates at your table with full hands and the space in front of you is filled with something else, don’t just sit there and stare at us, make room so we can put the food where it belongs. We don’t have 8 hands, just the normal amount.
10. Fail to tip. Most restaurants require servers to give part of their overall tips to the bar staff, the hostess, and/or the bussers each night. If the service was really awful (and something under the control of the server, not just that you didn’t like the food), you don’t have to tip a lot, and your server should recognize that a low tip can often indicate poor service on their part. However, if you don’t tip anything at all, that server still has to give a certain amount of their net sales (which you helped raise by ordering food) to other people straight out of his/her tips, and is therefore LOSING money for waiting on you. And if you loved the service, show it financially. As much as we like to hear all about how great everything was, the “verbal tip” won’t pay our bills. The best: a good tip and complements on service to the manager. To calculate a good tip, give $1 for every $5 you spend. Round up if you’re in-between. We will remember you and give you great service next time. If you’re a bad tipper, we’ll remember that too, and everyone in the restaurant will know you’re cheap and that giving great service won’t be worth it next time you come it.
Bottom line, we’re all people who deserve to be treated with respect. Use good manners, and when we say “it was a pleasure” at the end of the night, we’ll really mean it.
I’m a waitress, and I work at a small establishment, (14 tables) but I’m the only waiter per night, and the waiter has to do the dishes, make the pizzas and make the salads on top of doing just the waitressing. It’s pretty stressful at times, and since it’s a smaller establishment, there’s people that think they don’t need to tip (As in someone orders 10 pizzas, (about 160 dollars) and they don’t tip me.
The worst though, is getting a customer that does talk down to you. I’m 16, and I remember getting this one customer, where I stuttered over an order, and what I got from him was “is this your first time waitressing? I SAID (YELLS ORDER REALLY LOUD)!” The room was full, and I literally left the dining area in tears.
In adittion to getting ZERO benifits, and at minimum wage, making maybe 15 dollars in tips a night.
I don’t hate my job, but i’m under the impression that most people are jerks.
Um – you are a fucking idiot. Unless you are not from the USA, in which case I suppose you can be forgiven as tipping is different in Europe. HOWEVER, if you are in fact American – you are a fucking idiot. How the fuck have you ever gone this long thinking you should maybe tip decently if people do a really good job??? Have you ever been on a date? Been laid? Second date? I’m guessing not if the woman you are with happens to know about your tipping views. Dumbass – ALL people in the service industry make about half of MINIMUM wage. This is because everybody is supposed to tip. 15% is considered standard for all meals, and pretty actually, everything. 20 percent is what many people leave. MANY. 15 is really minimum. Your waitperson is not required to do a great job for this tip. IT IS STANDARD. Waiters very often have to pool tips with host/hostesses, busboys, other waiters… So if you don’t leave a tip, you are kind of screwing everyone not just the waiter. If you can’t afford it don’t go to a fucking restaurant fucktard.