More proof servers are scumbags

gilesfan said:
I can't decide if you are comparing me to those guys or not. I am not disrespectful at all and I do not ask anything of servers that isn't in their job duty. I don't cry if there is a wait, I either wait or go elsewhere.

I don't understand paying someone 20% on top of the already inflated cost of the product just to twist a cap or pour a beer. If there is a really good server that is on top of things and adds something of value, I have no issue putting a 10-15% tip on. But, for me to walk up to a bar and for the guy to reach in an ice chest, grab a beer, and twist the cap; there is no chance in hell I"m adding 20% to that.
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Becaus you're a low-class meathead. If you did that in my bar you'd be banned.
 
gilesfan said:
I can't decide if you are comparing me to those guys or not. I am not disrespectful at all and I do not ask anything of servers that isn't in their job duty. I don't cry if there is a wait, I either wait or go elsewhere.

I don't understand paying someone 20% on top of the already inflated cost of the product just to twist a cap or pour a beer. If there is a really good server that is on top of things and adds something of value, I have no issue putting a 10-15% tip on. But, for me to walk up to a bar and for the guy to reach in an ice chest, grab a beer, and twist the cap; there is no chance in hell I"m adding 20% to that.
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Sounds perfectly reasonable to me. I can grab a beer and twist off the top myself. I feel completely different about waiters or waitresses busting their asses to keep up with a dozen tables or more and still remembers to check on me every few minutes. It's a tough job but there is some truth that they should do the job well and with a smile whether they getting a big tip or not.

I'm lucky that in Japan you get excellent service most everywhere, even at convenience stores, and are never expected to tip. In fact, they don't know what to do with one - I've tried. When I visit the States I'm usually embarrassed at how lazy, incompetent, uninformed and indifferent the service people are at their jobs. Good service is more the rarity instead of the norm, ime.
 
Runnin said:
Sounds perfectly reasonable to me. I can grab a beer and twist off the top myself. I feel completely different about waiters or waitresses busting their asses to keep up with a dozen tables or more and still remembers to check on me every few minutes. It's a tough job but there is some truth that they should do the job well and with a smile whether they getting a big tip or not.

I'm lucky that in Japan you get excellent service most everywhere, even at convenience stores, and are never expected to tip. In fact, they don't know what to do with one - I've tried. When I visit the States I'm usually embarrassed at how lazy, incompetent, uninformed and indifferent the service people are at their jobs. Good service is more the rarity instead of the norm, ime.
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Don't get me wrong. While I am a huge overtipper because I am in the industry, I will not hesitate leaving nothing if I get horrible service. For my birthday 2 years ago, I had a party of 25 people. I called and made the reservation. When I got there they weren't prepared and treated me and the rest of my party like crap. One of my friends never got their order taken. Some had to go to the bar to get their drinks and that even took forever as they watched a manager sit on his butt while a supposed new bartender got her butt handed to her. As the birthday girl I didn't get my food until we were already paying out our checks, while many never got their food at all. Tab was still $300 and they got nothing from a table full service industry people. It wasn't that things went wrong, it was that they didn't care that things went wrong, never apologized and rolled their eyes when we asked if we were ever going to get the food we ordered. Somehow made it seem like it was our fault. Servers got $0 when they could have gotten $150+. I don't tolerate lack of service.
 
rniki10 said:
Don't get me wrong. While I am a huge overtipper because I am in the industry, I will not hesitate leaving nothing if I get horrible service. For my birthday 2 years ago, I had a party of 25 people. I called and made the reservation. When I got there they weren't prepared and treated me and the rest of my party like crap. One of my friends never got their order taken. Some had to go to the bar to get their drinks and that even took forever as they watched a manager sit on his butt while a supposed new bartender got her butt handed to her. As the birthday girl I didn't get my food until we were already paying out our checks, while many never got their food at all. Tab was still $300 and they got nothing from a table full service industry people.
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I'm guessing they didn't come out to your table and sing Happy Birthday.

That kind of service when you've made a reservation is just inexcusable. You should've written the manager a letter and sent a copy to the owner.
 
Runnin said:
I'm guessing they didn't come out to your table and sing Happy Birthday.

That kind of service when you've made a reservation is just inexcusable. You should've written the manager a letter and sent a copy to the owner.
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Happens all the time. Renee is probably a good one, but she's certainly over qualified for the position based on the experience I've had with others in the industry.
 
gilesfan said:
Happens all the time. Renee is probably a good one, but she's certainly over qualified for the position based on the experience I've had with others in the industry.
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Service must really suck in VA. With a few exceptions I usually get great service at most places I go to.
 
gilesfan said:
Happens all the time. Renee is probably a good one, but she's certainly over qualified for the position based on the experience I've had with others in the industry.
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zitothebrave said:
Service must really suck in VA. With a few exceptions I usually get great service at most places I go to.
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Likewise. Certainly this is partially a factor of the sorts of restaurants and bars I usually frequent, but I'd say 90+% of the time I receive something between very good to phenomenal service — even in joints that are usually slammed (like Big Star), and often even, moreover, in little neighborhood dives. This extends beyond Chicago and throughout the Midwest, really.

Must be a Virginia issue.
 
jpx7 said:
Likewise. Certainly this is partially a factor of the sorts of restaurants and bars I usually frequent, but I'd say 90+% of the time I receive something between very good to phenomenal service — even in joints that are usually slammed (like Big Star), and often even, moreover, in little neighborhood dives. This extends beyond Chicago and throughout the Midwest, really.

Must be a Virginia issue.
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Must be an issue stemming from the patron.
 
Dalyn said:
Observations From A Tipless Restaurant

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5
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As someone who waited tables in late high-school and early college, this is something I've thought was quite sensible and would support; normalizing wages and fixing service-charges, I think, would not decrease quality of service but would likely markedly increase the quality-of-life of servers. I also really like (and concur) with the author's argument that one major aspect of the tipping system (particularly in the US) is that it "offer[s ...] servers up as objects of control".

Next, a (really awesome) restaurant in Chicago run by Grant Achatz (of Alinea fame) works on a similar model regarding service-charge and server compensation, but they extend the ethic to payment for the entire meal: you purchase tickets in advance for your table (in two-, four-, or six-person units, with optional drink-pairing packages at an additional cost), the price being entirely inclusive, and thereby no currency is exchanged during the dining experience. This is a further depresses overhead (in part, because the restaurant is thus almost always full, no tables are wasted by people reneging on their reservations, et cetera) and allows Achatz et al to pass those savings on to the customer both qualitatively and quantitatively.
 
Yeah, I very rarely get bad service at a restaurant. Id say, like jpx, 90%+ of the time I get very good to great service with little-to-no complaints.
 
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