Tipping Etiquette

If you ordered this in one of your cheap states where the waitstaff get $2.50 per hour, you'd be paying $10.00 for the lunch, presumably about $1.50 for taxes, and another $2.00 for a tip (at 20%). Let's say you're there for one hour. They're getting their $2.50 salary, and a $2.00 tip. That's $4.50 per hour. Even if you ate in a state that paid the $5.15 per hour someone mentioned, that's still only $7.15 per hour. Both are criminally low paid.

Mame wrote:

If you ordered this in one of your cheap states where the waitstaff get $2.50 per hour, you'd be paying $10.00 for the lunch, presumably about $1.50 for taxes, and another $2.00 for a tip (at 20%). Let's say you're there for one hour. They're getting their $2.50 salary, and a $2.00 tip. That's $4.50 per hour. Even if you ate in a state that paid the $5.15 per hour someone mentioned, that's still only $7.15 per hour. Both are criminally low paid.

However, during that same hour, you probably would have been service 5 to 10 tables.

At $2.00 a pop, that would be $10 to $20 in tips, plus your miniumum payment.

Chai... I've known this for a long time but have never told you... you are a smart smart woman.

So, how is everything tasting?

It's not $42/hour for all the hours worked, and even makes a difference during the time of week.

Mame wrote:

You are only required to be polite, cheerful, and make sure they got the right order.

I still say if you think that was all that was required of you, you weren't a very good server.

Quote:

The rest of your comments are similar in vein to jpinmilwaukee's - ill-informed assumptions.

I didn't assume anything, I gave some suggestions as to what else might explain why you seem to have had a particularly easy-peasey experience as a server. I really wasn't being sarcastic either, I thought perhaps you didn't work at a very busy restaurant-- also you mentioned that American tourists were the more difficult customers, and I was thinking perhaps it actually is easier to deal with customers in Canada, if people there really tend to be politer? Don't anyone jump on me for generalizing about Canadians, it's just a thought in response to it being noted that Americans are obnoxious to wait on.

cyphercat wrote:

Mame wrote:

You are only required to be polite, cheerful, and make sure they got the right order.

I still say if you think that was all that was required of you, you weren't a very good server.

Quote:

The rest of your comments are similar in vein to jpinmilwaukee's - ill-informed assumptions.

I didn't assume anything, I gave some suggestions as to what else might explain why you seem to have had a particularly easy-peasey experience as a server. I really wasn't being sarcastic either, I thought perhaps you didn't work at a very busy restaurant-- also you mentioned that American tourists were the more difficult customers, and I was thinking perhaps it actually is easier to deal with customers in Canada, if people there really tend to be politer? Don't anyone jump on me for generalizing about Canadians, it's just a thought in response to it being noted that Americans are obnoxious to wait on.

Maybe some people can multi-task easier than others - I've never understood why a server bringing some water to one table can't nip over to another one and check on things, then on the way to the kitchen, give another new table some menus and say that you'd be right with them - some people can only do one thing at a time. If you know the menu, the prices, the vagaries of the cook that day, what's the problem? I loved it when I was doing it. I'd do it again if I didn't live in such an expensive city and was willing to work nights.

And I wasn't trying to bash Americans. I am very fond of my American relatives and friends; I also said I'd seen some rude Canadians. I think Americans do tend to be a bit more vocal and to be frank, the servings are usually the issue. American restaurants serve huge portions compared to the rest of the world. I could never eat an entire breakfast at one of your Applebee's or family restaurants.

I have an unusual bias about getting asked how everything is several - maybe five or six - times a meal, particularly if I am in conversation or have my mouth full. The wait staff there in Italy don't do that, in my experience - they keep an eye on you from the side and if you seem to need something then they'll come over. So, there isn't all this happy foo foo going on there like it does here in the US - that is at its most pesky, a result of the effort for tips, as well as probably a directive from management. It must be a strain for at least some waiters.

I think $8.00 and whatever tips you get, is more than adequate for what they do. What do they do? They smile at you, bring you menus and water, take your order, bring you your food, supply with you odds and sods, then present you with your bill. It's not rocket science........ Here in North America, there is no apprenticeship for such positions because they don't take a lot of brains. Good "people-people" excel; bad ones don't get tipped or they get fired.

and...

you are there to perform a basic function - bring someone their eggs and ham... but speaking of difficult, yas a waitress, you are not required to compute, calculate, answer difficult questions, teach anything to anyone, or operate on a brain. You are only required to be polite, cheerful, and make sure they got the right order. It's not worth more than $8.00/hour + tips. I don't even know if it's worth that.

What I hate is when you sit down in a restaurant and a waitress comes up to your table and says something like: "Hello, my name is Summer, I'm your waitress this evening! How are you doing?"