Always Waiting

So this post is not going to be crafty but don't worry I've got a list of things to blog about. This is more of a "You need to learn this" post. Its about how to tip you wait staff. Now I'm sure many of you think you know how to do this....but you probably are wrong. No offense.

Let's just start off by saying I am a waitress so this applies to me and that's why I think its important. It is very possible and probable that you, your children, and your grandchildren will at some point have a waiting job as well. Therefore it applies to you too.

I know that the general rule to go by is 10-15%. This rule sucks. At my job we are required to claim 12% of our total sales as tips. So obviously if everyone tips 10% I won't make that line. Which means I will need a managers approval to claim the tips that I did make and it will look like I didn't claim all of my tips. Now I'm not saying I'm a bad waitress. There are many times where I make more than that 10-15% but it's annoying when one or two tables ruin my whole tip percentage. If your waiter/tress does a good job, tip them the most that you think they deserve. Don't be cheap. As a waitress I make $2.15 an hour. How much do you make? because I'm pretty sure it's more than that. You can argue that there are nights when I make more than minimum wage, which is true. But let's be honest, with this economy not as many people can afford to go out to eat. There are far more days where I don't even make minimum wage because it's slow and there aren't a lot of customers.

Now, I want to touch on a stereotype. Two actually. Old people and young people. The stereotype is that you suck at tipping. One dollar does not a tip make my old friends. The wait staff dreads when you come in and dreads having you as a table. Change this stereotype. Prices have gone up. I know you've noticed. This means that the tip should go up as well.

Here is something that particularly irks me. If you have a coupon, or kids eat free, tip as if you didn't. At my job we have a night where kids eat free. So it's annoying when a table of 6 comes in, 4 of which are kids, so their bill that would be $60 is only $20 and they tip you for the $20. I did $60 worth of work for you especially since kids tend to take more patience so please tip accordingly.

No one waits because they like it because no one likes it. It isn't a fun job and people aren't fun to wait on. I know at some point you've had to deal with a mean/bad/annoying customer. That's almost a daily thing for a waiter especially at a popular restaurant. So tip well from now on.

Very good movie by the way.