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Why don't the restaurants just charge more and pay their workers better?
A mandatory tip is not a tip. If it is mandatory why would the servers give better service?
I wish I were young enough to waitress again in a place that made earning decent tips possible. Back in high school, in the 70's, I worked first in the coffee shop of a very famous restaurant, later the dining room. I made more in the coffee house side. $2.15 an hour salary. I average $20+ per hour in tips. On a Saturday working the 'big counter' from 8 am-2pm I'd bring home close to $200. At that time we reported I believe $1.75 per hour in tips, minimum wage was about $4.00 an hour then.
Amazing isnt it? Ive watched the wait staff roll out with 7-8+ hundred bucks a night.....each.
Yours sounds like a one-of-a-kind establishment, HortySir. Congratulations on running a clean ship.Sorry, some guests come in to relax over a good meal and escape from the greasy spoon syndrome that has the industry by the balls. They have had microbiology and know there are things growing underneath nails that have dirt between the nail and the finger, and a smile does not negate personal filth that is transferred by handler to person trying to relax.Thank you!
My guests come in to relax over a great meal and escape from their daily grind.
The do not need to see a frump that will just cause them to ponder what their deal is.
Servers are "checked in" by a manager and a Smile is part of our uniform standards.
If I see that dirt, my back goes up faster than a cat eyeing a dog that is 12 times its size. The last bite goes on the spoon, the spoon is rested in "finished" position emily post style, the napkin is folded, I pay my bill and the tip and I leave, no hassle for me.
I quite frankly don't care whether they "figure out the frump". I just get the hell out and never go back for any reason. I'd starve before I put myself through that kind of a non-professional experience again. Good consumers deserve what they pay for.
An excerpt from a page at the cdc linking to statistical deaths caused by food-borne illnesses:
Food-Related Illness and Death in the United StatesMore than 200 known diseases are transmitted through food (1). The causes of foodborne illness include viruses, bacteria, parasites, toxins, metals, and prions, and the symptoms of foodborne illness range from mild gastroenteritis to life-threatening neurologic, hepatic, and renal syndromes. In the United States, foodborne diseases have been estimated to cause 6 million to 81 million illnesses and up to 9,000 deaths each year (2-5). However, ongoing changes in the food supply, the identification of new foodborne diseases, and the availability of new surveillance data have made these figures obsolete. New, more accurate estimates are needed to guide prevention efforts and assess the effectiveness of food safety regulations.
Surveillance of foodborne illness is complicated by several factors. The first is underreporting. Although foodborne illnesses can be severe or even fatal, milder cases are often not detected through routine surveillance. Second, many pathogens transmitted through food are also spread through water or from person to person, thus obscuring the role of foodborne transmission. Finally, some proportion of foodborne illness is caused by pathogens or agents that have not yet been identified and thus cannot be diagnosed. The importance of this final factor cannot be overstated. Many of the pathogens of greatest concern today (e.g., Campylobacter jejuni, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, Cyclospora cayetanensis) were not recognized as causes of foodborne illness just 20 years ago.
In this article, we report new estimates of illnesses, hospitalizations, and deaths due to foodborne diseases in the United States. To ensure their validity, these estimates have been derived by using data from multiple sources, including the newly established Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet). The figures presented include estimates for specific known pathogens, as well as overall estimates for all causes of foodborne illness, known, unknown, infectious, and noninfectious
The trouble with people educated in human health is that you cannot shame nor beat out of them the facts of nutritional health, not to mention egregious issues of food-borne illnesses caused by food handlers who never were taught the largest cause of foodborne illness is handling food with a cut or open wound. Salmonellosis is transferred in that way, and people under 5 and over 60 are susceptible to death or lifelong illnesses from a bout with the disease at either end of the age spectrum. An education in vector routes of foodborne illness is paramount to minding people's very dependence on food servers to pay attention and do things that maintain human health, not dismantle it.
I think you misunderstood me Becki.
I was just talking about the guest seeing a "frumpy" sad-sack server grumbling over their problems.
I assure you that mine is far from a greasy spoon.
We recently had a perfect corporate inspection and the only thing the health dept. ever manages to find is some missing grout in the store room floor tile.
I frequent quite a few up scale restaurants in SF... and have never been charged a set gratuity on a table less then 8. And even then its only 18% At up scale restaurants... i EXPECT a better level of service. However most waitstaff in this city are not worth a 5% tip as far as i am concerned.
A tip is something you give for good service rendered. A tip is voluntary.
A tip isn't mandatory, but it is implied. I tip 20-25% no matter what. I don't need them to be my friend, I just need them to bring me my food. Maybe this isn't common, but I've hardly ever encountered bad waitservice anywhere. There's the occasional one that's not in the best of moods, but what the fuck do I care how they feel about their day as long as I get what I ordered?
I don't blame them for being pissy sometimes. If I had to deal with all the uppity ignorant assholes that are out eating I'd probably hate life too.
At $60 and hour? Even from a mom and pop greasy spoon place i would except FIRST class service.
I don't care if THEY are having a bad day. I am not eating there to deal with their personal problems. Wait staff is paid to be nice, helpful and most of all friendly AND courteous.
I expect to be greeted with a smile, not a sullen snarl
I expect to have my drink refiled, without having to ask. (no, dont fucking refill my drink that just fucking annoys the hell out of me)
I expect my order to be taken in a timely manner.
I expect my order to be taken down correctly.
(if only)
I expect my food to come as ordered and if not taken away and replaced.
(i got a plate full of gravy after ordering no gravy, the wait person refused to replace it, she did not hear me)
I expect my server to come and check to see if my order is to my liking.
(not just breeze by and go..how are things)
I expect my server to make sure my table is cleared and wiped down after we are finished.
(this seems to have fallen by the wayside of late)
I expect my check to come and not have to ask for it.
I expect all of that from a minimum wage server.... without a tip involved. That is THEIR job. All of that is what they are being paid by the employer to do.
A tip is what you leave in appreciation service rendered.... 15% is standard.
For 25%.... They better deliver over and above all of what i just listed.
A tip isn't mandatory, but it is implied. I tip 20-25% no matter what. I don't need them to be my friend, I just need them to bring me my food. Maybe this isn't common, but I've hardly ever encountered bad waitservice anywhere. There's the occasional one that's not in the best of moods, but what the fuck do I care how they feel about their day as long as I get what I ordered?
I don't blame them for being pissy sometimes. If I had to deal with all the uppity ignorant assholes that are out eating I'd probably hate life too.
At $60 and hour? Even from a mom and pop greasy spoon place i would except FIRST class service.
I don't care if THEY are having a bad day. I am not eating there to deal with their personal problems. Wait staff is paid to be nice, helpful and most of all friendly AND courteous.
I expect to be greeted with a smile, not a sullen snarl
I expect to have my drink refiled, without having to ask. (no, dont fucking refill my drink that just fucking annoys the hell out of me)
I expect my order to be taken in a timely manner.
I expect my order to be taken down correctly.
(if only)
I expect my food to come as ordered and if not taken away and replaced.
(i got a plate full of gravy after ordering no gravy, the wait person refused to replace it, she did not hear me)
I expect my server to come and check to see if my order is to my liking.
(not just breeze by and go..how are things)
I expect my server to make sure my table is cleared and wiped down after we are finished.
(this seems to have fallen by the wayside of late)
I expect my check to come and not have to ask for it.
I expect all of that from a minimum wage server.... without a tip involved. That is THEIR job. All of that is what they are being paid by the employer to do.
A tip is what you leave in appreciation service rendered.... 15% is standard.
For 25%.... They better deliver over and above all of what i just listed.
all depends on where i am and what we are doing.....i am a pretty good tipper but the social set all are over tippers....we actually have fights over this .....leaving 40 % or more...but it just depends....the kid waitress at the local pool hall...who remembers my husbands drink order without asking....who keeps track of who has come and gone.....and can tell you times etc....who knows not to auto refill my drink and knows i dont care to waste food and will order accordingly......she always gets a fiver....regardless of tab
we totally stiffed a waitress a couple of weeks ago.....she didnt warn me the plate was hot.....and she hit me in the head with her elbow while waiting on the table behind me
a good professional wait person should stroll out with a pocket full of cash.....when we go out to a fine dining where the wait person knows us.....damn its an hour or two of heaven.....i love being catered to...who doesnt...he knows to tell the bar tender not to even fuck up my vodka with vermouth , he doesnt care that i ordered a martini...he knows i want a double vodka......he knows i dont like sour cream but love butter.....and yea he gets a damn good CASH tip.....i never put the tip on the debit or credit card.....i always try to tip in cash
and if we are drinking heavy....hew ill normally drop a drink or two from the tab....i always wonder about that....he is giving away someone's else property or is he picking it up?
I wish I were young enough to waitress again in a place that made earning decent tips possible. Back in high school, in the 70's, I worked first in the coffee shop of a very famous restaurant, later the dining room. I made more in the coffee house side. $2.15 an hour salary. I average $20+ per hour in tips. On a Saturday working the 'big counter' from 8 am-2pm I'd bring home close to $200. At that time we reported I believe $1.75 per hour in tips, minimum wage was about $4.00 an hour then.
Amazing isnt it? Ive watched the wait staff roll out with 7-8+ hundred bucks a night.....each.
Yep, those talking about 'doing away with tips', haven't a clue to what they are wishing for. They'd make dining out so expensive that only the 1% could do so regularly. Then how many choices would they have on their every other year dining experience?
Why Tip someone for a job I am capable of doing myself? I can deliver food. I can drive a taxi. I can, and do, cut my own hair. I did however, tip my urologist, because I am unable to pulverize my own kidney stones.
Why Tip someone for a job I am capable of doing myself? I can deliver food. I can drive a taxi. I can, and do, cut my own hair. I did however, tip my urologist, because I am unable to pulverize my own kidney stones.
In a way i agree.... they are already being paid to do that job. I tip becasue i like to tip..... and do it generously.
I do NOT want to be forced to pay a tip to someone who may or may not have done a good job.
A year ago I was in New York city for my daughters first art gallery showing. The second night I was there I stopped at a restaurant just around the corner from my hotel called "(aged.)" for a few martini's. Bombay Sapphire, 2 drops of vermouth, stirred not shaken (shaking bruises the gin), up. Chatted with Katarina the bartender for couple hours.a good professional wait person should stroll out with a pocket full of cash.....when we go out to a fine dining where the wait person knows us.....damn its an hour or two of heaven.....i love being catered to...who doesnt...he knows to tell the bar tender not to even fuck up my vodka with vermouth , he doesnt care that i ordered a martini...he knows i want a double vodka......he knows i dont like sour cream but love butter.....and yea he gets a damn good CASH tip.....i never put the tip on the debit or credit card.....i always try to tip in cash
Why Tip someone for a job I am capable of doing myself? I can deliver food. I can drive a taxi. I can, and do, cut my own hair. I did however, tip my urologist, because I am unable to pulverize my own kidney stones.
In a way i agree.... they are already being paid to do that job. I tip becasue i like to tip..... and do it generously.
I do NOT want to be forced to pay a tip to someone who may or may not have done a good job.
I'd tip you extra.
A year ago I was in New York city for my daughters first art gallery showing. The second night I was there I stopped at a restaurant just around the corner from my hotel called "(aged.)" for a few martini's. Bombay Sapphire, 2 drops of vermouth, stirred not shaken (shaking bruises the gin), up. Chatted with Katarina the bartender for couple hours.a good professional wait person should stroll out with a pocket full of cash.....when we go out to a fine dining where the wait person knows us.....damn its an hour or two of heaven.....i love being catered to...who doesnt...he knows to tell the bar tender not to even fuck up my vodka with vermouth , he doesnt care that i ordered a martini...he knows i want a double vodka......he knows i dont like sour cream but love butter.....and yea he gets a damn good CASH tip.....i never put the tip on the debit or credit card.....i always try to tip in cash
The next night, my daughter, her friend and myself went there for dinner. I ordered a sapphire martini, up. The waiter didn't ask for any more details. A few minutes later, Katarina personally delivered our drink orders. She said, "I recognized you from last night, 2 drops of vermouth, stirred not shaken".
On the way out, I stopped at the bar and gave Katarina a tip, because that was just damn good service on her part.
By the way, if you are ever in NYC, visit (aged.) at 88th St, I highly recommend the filet.
jillian, have you been there yet?
A year ago I was in New York city for my daughters first art gallery showing. The second night I was there I stopped at a restaurant just around the corner from my hotel called "(aged.)" for a few martini's. Bombay Sapphire, 2 drops of vermouth, stirred not shaken (shaking bruises the gin), up. Chatted with Katarina the bartender for couple hours.a good professional wait person should stroll out with a pocket full of cash.....when we go out to a fine dining where the wait person knows us.....damn its an hour or two of heaven.....i love being catered to...who doesnt...he knows to tell the bar tender not to even fuck up my vodka with vermouth , he doesnt care that i ordered a martini...he knows i want a double vodka......he knows i dont like sour cream but love butter.....and yea he gets a damn good CASH tip.....i never put the tip on the debit or credit card.....i always try to tip in cash
The next night, my daughter, her friend and myself went there for dinner. I ordered a sapphire martini, up. The waiter didn't ask for any more details. A few minutes later, Katarina personally delivered our drink orders. She said, "I recognized you from last night, 2 drops of vermouth, stirred not shaken".
On the way out, I stopped at the bar and gave Katarina a tip, because that was just damn good service on her part.
By the way, if you are ever in NYC, visit (aged.) at 88th St, I highly recommend the filet.
jillian, have you been there yet?
I agree... that was very good service...and well deserving of a generous tip.
Now, how would you have felt if the was drink wrong several times in a row and she was grumpy and sullen? Then ignored you the entire night becasue she was pissed off...and you had to keep flagging her down to make a new drink. Would you want a mandatory 25% tip added to your bill for her?
A year ago I was in New York city for my daughters first art gallery showing. The second night I was there I stopped at a restaurant just around the corner from my hotel called "(aged.)" for a few martini's. Bombay Sapphire, 2 drops of vermouth, stirred not shaken (shaking bruises the gin), up. Chatted with Katarina the bartender for couple hours.
The next night, my daughter, her friend and myself went there for dinner. I ordered a sapphire martini, up. The waiter didn't ask for any more details. A few minutes later, Katarina personally delivered our drink orders. She said, "I recognized you from last night, 2 drops of vermouth, stirred not shaken".
On the way out, I stopped at the bar and gave Katarina a tip, because that was just damn good service on her part.
By the way, if you are ever in NYC, visit (aged.) at 88th St, I highly recommend the filet.
jillian, have you been there yet?
I agree... that was very good service...and well deserving of a generous tip.
Now, how would you have felt if the was drink wrong several times in a row and she was grumpy and sullen? Then ignored you the entire night becasue she was pissed off...and you had to keep flagging her down to make a new drink. Would you want a mandatory 25% tip added to your bill for her?
Bad service = bad tip.
SF is moronic by wanting to make tipping mandatory.
I'll bet they can't enforce it in ChinaTown (which ain't that far from The Embarcdero), and that is where the business will go.
I agree... that was very good service...and well deserving of a generous tip.
Now, how would you have felt if the was drink wrong several times in a row and she was grumpy and sullen? Then ignored you the entire night becasue she was pissed off...and you had to keep flagging her down to make a new drink. Would you want a mandatory 25% tip added to your bill for her?
Bad service = bad tip.
SF is moronic by wanting to make tipping mandatory.
I'll bet they can't enforce it in ChinaTown (which ain't that far from The Embarcdero), and that is where the business will go.
Right.... but how would you have felt if you had not choice...and the 25% was mandatory?
When is a tip not a tip? VERY good question. It would seem that waiters in San Francisco want a raise. They are pushing for a 25% mandatory tip to be placed on your restaurant bill. It will no longer be a reward for good service... but a given, an automatic gratuity.
Understand, they already make $9.92/hour as minimum wage. Restaurants are tacking on a health care surcharge at about 2% of the bill. As it stands... waiters only have to report 15% to the IRS, even if they make more then that.
Think about that. One table, one check of $50, they will make $12.50 in a tip. Are they wroth $22.42/hour?
Now increase the number of tables to 4. Is a waiter worth $59.92 per hour?
Would you pay a mandatory 25% tip in a restaurant?
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF/99.7 Now) Its a question many of us ask when we go out to a restaurant. How much should I tip? Whether your service is good or bad, some San Francisco restaurant workers want to implement a 25% standard tip onto your bill for you,
San Francisco Restaurant Workers Want To Make 25% Standard Tip Rate « CBS San Francisco
General Services Agency : Minimum Wage Ordinance (MWO)
In San Francisco, Health Care Shows Up on Restaurant Bills - Health Blog - WSJ
Bad service = bad tip.
SF is moronic by wanting to make tipping mandatory.
I'll bet they can't enforce it in ChinaTown (which ain't that far from The Embarcdero), and that is where the business will go.
Right.... but how would you have felt if you had not choice...and the 25% was mandatory?
Seriously I wouldn't dine at such places. I think it would kill the industry, at least until repealed.
I'd find a business that broke the law.
I agree... that was very good service...and well deserving of a generous tip.
Now, how would you have felt if the was drink wrong several times in a row and she was grumpy and sullen? Then ignored you the entire night becasue she was pissed off...and you had to keep flagging her down to make a new drink. Would you want a mandatory 25% tip added to your bill for her?
Bad service = bad tip.
SF is moronic by wanting to make tipping mandatory.
I'll bet they can't enforce it in ChinaTown (which ain't that far from The Embarcdero), and that is where the business will go.
Right.... but how would you have felt if you had not choice...and the 25% was mandatory?
