Archive for the ‘Other’ Category

Hey customers, this is for you. When you go out to eat, the Server has a set of guidelines that they must follow when they are waiting on you. A lot of you don’t know this, but you have some guidelines as well. When you follow these simple steps, you actually will receive better service because you are speaking your Server’s love language; therefore, they will then be eager to please you. Read the rest of this entry »

I went out showing my shirts tonight. If you don’t know, I go out many Friday and or Saturday nights in the Dallas Fort Worth area and show my shirts. I generally come home with a lot fewer shirts than I take with me. In fact I have seen about 15,000 waiters and waitresses and maybe once came home with every shirt I took out.   So in other words, these waiter and waitress shirts move well. I always come home so pumped up that I can’t sleep for several hours. So I thought I would document my fun. Amanda stayed home with Tessa. She didn’t get much sleep last night. Anyways, it was a very slow night tonight. I showed up to my first restaurant, Carrabbas at 9:30 and the parking lot looked like it was 10:30. It’s funny how I can tell what is going on inside the restaurant by the parking lot. I know that if there are three great parking spots available then first cuts have been made and it’s generally ok for me to go in. If I can’t see three great spots this means the waiters and waitresses are a little to busy for me. I will a lot of times catch the food runner leaving early or the guys on a smoke break in the parking lot. I will show them my waiter/waitress shirts first and a lot of times they have to own one because they love them so much. They can also generally give me a good feel for the restaurant and sometimes the manager.

I love Waiters and waitresses. I love everything about you. You have no idea how great it feels to see you guys laughing at my shirts. I know you have a rough job and I want you to smile when you see me come in. I, like you, believe that everyone should be a waiter or waitress for at least a year or so. I do believe that this world would be a better place.    

Anyways, most of the restaurants I visited tonight were pretty dead. When you have a slow night, I have a slow night. It’s cool though. I got some good waiter waitress pics to put on the site and I got some surveys filled out. I always survey 100 waiters and waitress before I introduce another shirt. I will put 20 jokes and let them rate them from 1-10 and I will put the most popular on the shirt. This has saved me a few times. I think something will be a hit and something else I might just put up to fill up space and I get a surprise. For instance “everything that is wrong with your food is the kitchens fault” was never expected by me to make it to the shirt, but the waiters spoke.

I got asked to leave by two managers tonight. That is a little higher than normal. I generally get asked to leave a restaurant once per shift I work. That still amazes me though. I would think that every restaurant manager would love me. After all, they used to be a waiter or waitress and they should know what its like to need a laugh after a tough night. It’s not like I am causing a commotion or anything. I am the only person who is serving the waiters and waitress except bartenders and drug dealers. You would think they would welcome me with open arms. I guess even some restaurant people are up tight, on a power trip and just plain old sticks in it the mud. It’s funny because it usually takes me two nights to get though a normal size “restaurant row” so I will just call the next night and ask “is ______ closing tonight?”  It’s amazing how the host won’t miss a beat and give up the information. “Oh no, ____ is closing”. I just pop back in and show my shirts and generally do well regardless. I sure would love to see the manager that asked me to leaves face at the next Saturday morning meeting when half his waiters and waitress are wearing our shirts. They just can’t keep us down. I often times have fantasized about posting all the “no bueno” managers names and restaurant names on this site and give you the corporate number so you can call in a fun report on that particular manager. I don’t think I would ever do that but its still fun when they ask me to leave to say “what’s your name?” You should see the look on their face as they tell me. I just write it down and keep great records. I like to know what I’m getting into next time I go out. I guess I can handle getting asked to leave once per shift, on average, for the fun and success I have when I’m out. I can’t recall one person not liking the waiter waitress shirts that I create.

Ever wonder why I am constantly saying waiter and waitress? Check out our frequently asked waiter and waitress questions for a full explanation. I assure you its for a reason.

One of my favorite things is when I see a waiter or waitress that I have met a year or more ago who still is wearing the shirt they got from me. I have heard that a customer is not a customer until they wear the product out. Well I meet people all the time who have done just that. Then sometimes I will run across a waiter or waitress that did not get one and they will run to me and tell me how much they have regretted not getting one and they want one of every shirt I have. It is so rewarding. I love this job.

I saw a girl I used to work with at another restaurant years ago. She told me how happy she was to be gone from that horrible place. I smiled and told her she would find something wrong with this one soon enough. I have learned that there is no such thing as a perfect job and that something is going to drive you crazy everywhere you go. People carry their environments with them. Your problem is not your job; you are the one that needs to change. Sorry I just felt like preaching for a minute. Regardless, it’s true.

So I went to about 10 restaurants tonight. I generally only visit six or seven per night but like I said, it was a dead night and a few of them I was only inside for 5 minutes or less. The key to my success is to be in and out. I try to allow 15 minutes per restaurant on average. I was once in Sports city café in Mesquite for like 30 minutes but then again I left with like 20 waiter waitress shirts less than what I came with. So in other words it was well worth it. I must have made 15 trips to my truck to get more shirts. They were apologizing. I’m like, “ladies I will run all night long if you keep handing me twenty’s. This fat boy will shock you and how long I can run”. Run is exactly what I do when I am going to get a shirt for a waiter or waitress. I am not about to make them wait. I love to serve waiters and waitresses. After all they are the best people to serve.

Oh yeah, we are looking for a few more people to show our waiter waitress shirts. It’s an easy part time job that pays very well. If it works out, you could have part ownership in the company. We are going to do so many things that we just don’t have the money for right now, but let me tell you its going to be great.  

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Those shirts are AWESOME and they speak the truth! I was a waiter for over 4 years and that’s EXACTLY what it is like. For those of you out there that seem to get bad service everywhere you go, it is because you leave a bad tip! And YES we remember you! When a notoriously bad tipper walks in the door all the servers, say “Not me, not me, PLEASE NOT ME!” Then after they are stuck with you, they don’t bother to give you service because you don’t bother to tip us! Makes sense right? Who wants to work for nothing? You know that you don’t. The average server’s hourly pay nationwide is about $3.00 an hour and they rely on YOUR TIPS to pay their bills. How would you like it if you went into work one day and you didn’t get paid because your boss didn’t feel like it, or you made one little typo on a report, or your boss “forget” to bring extra cash. You would be angry wouldn’t you? So restaurant goers, if you want to go out and eat and you are on a limited budget, be sure to INCLUDE THE TIP into your budget. If you can’t afford the tip, then you can’t afford the meal out. Your server is on a tight budget as well and it is a waste of their time, if you don’t tip them. Also, show a little kindness. Don’t talk on the phone while your ordering, look them in the eye and say “please” and “thank you” then tip your server accordingly. If you do these small things, you will see your service improve dramatically! Tip Guideline: Average Service- 15% Good Service- 20% Excellent Service- 25% or more! Tip one of these percentages of the entire check (yes that includes taxes, alcohol and free meals).

Hey customers, want to know the meaning of common restaurant words? Look no further! Be careful, it’s not all pretty.

In the weeds- This is when we are so busy we can’t think straight. These are the times that we might be sweating in your food. Sorry about that.

Cut- This is when we finally get to stop taking tables (stop earning money) while we continue to work for another 30 minutes to sometimes an hour for free doing our side work.

Side work-this typically includes clean up/restocking duties such as cleaning the drink machine, re stocking ice, wiping down menus, stocking straws and to-go cups and lids, washing tea and water pitchers, restocking sugars, sweet and lows and equals (also called “sugar caddies”). This is generally 30 minutes to an hour after your shift. It is very common to have side work before and during your shift as well. 

Real job- This is what many servers dream about and sometimes, temporarily find. (See our “real Job” Article)

Double- This is where we work two shifts in one day (lunch & dinner), generally with a several hour lunch but sometimes straight through.

Double/triple sat- This is when the host stand sits us twice or even three times in a relatively short amount of time. Unless you are a very skilled/experienced server, this can really put you in the weeds fast. Waiting tables is like a very delicate balancing act.

Grazing- this is where we sneak around and grab food in the back and eat it. Some managers are cool with is and some are not. Either way, it still goes on. We walk 5-20 miles a day; it takes fuel to keep up the stamina.

86- to get rid of/ we are out of. If you 86 the onions you are saying you don’t want onions. If you 86 prime rib, it means we are out of prime rib.

Regulars- These are the people that are in the restaurant so much everyone knows their name and what they like to eat. This is sometimes good and sometimes bad, it generally depends on their restaurant manners and how they tip.

Canadians- well I’m not sure I should tell you this one.

Tip out-this is what we pay to the host stand, busboys, bartenders, food runners, team workers… this is generally based on our sales, not our tips. In other words, if you don’t tip, we now get the privilege of paying to wait on you.

Top- this is the amount of people at a table (2 top, 5 top, 8 top…)

Taking out the trash- This is generally code for “out side smoking”.  Back in the days it was done in the kitchen.

Sexual harassment – this is generally acceptable practice in a restaurant setting. Things that would cause a million dollar settlement in any other industry are done multiple times per day in every single restaurant across the country.

Campers- This is when your table sits at the table after they meal is done. If we are slow, it’s not too much of a big deal, but when busy this is costing us money. Please compensate appropriately for this. In other words TIP US MORE!!!!

Crop Dusting- This is something that happens when you least expect it.

Pay Check- This is the worthless piece of paper that we trash every other week. We trash it because most servers only make $2-$3 per hour and taxes get it all.

Sick- This means nothing at all. Get to work, we need you, period!

Verbal tips- This is when you tell us how great we are. Generally this is followed with a lousy tip. “Please hold all verbal tips; let’s stick to cash only” is on our Black “Hey You” T-shirt.

Break- Sorry but we don’t know what this means. If you want to know the meaning of this word you will have to ask an industry that follows labor laws.

Bus Tub Buffet- This is the act of eating off of someone’s plate, after they are finished. It would amaze you at how common this is.

Liquid funk- I don’t think anyone knows for sure what this is but it a watery liquid that is almost constantly on the floor in the back of every restaurant. I would guess that it is a combination of melted ice, mop water, spilled drinks, washed hands drippings (we don’t dry our hands) mixed with miscellaneous food particles (could be pre or post table food). As it mixes with more and more things it gets thinker and thicker. Yummy, don’t slip and fall.  

Dead- This is another way of saying the restaurant it extremely slow.

I am totally on board with you guys and as far as you want to take this. I have been thinking about this website for at least the last 3 or 4 years, I just didn’t know how to go about it. I think what you’re doing is great, and needs to be done. I want to be a part of this, and I am excited to see what happens. I can’t wait to hear back from you and to see what I can do to help and get this show on the road. P.S. I found this site with such great timing, it is Mother’s Day, I was the only mom working at my restaurant tonight (apparently all the other mom employees got the night off) and I got almost all 10% or lower tips, one guy actually left me 30 cents, and I came home just racking my brain on what I could do to turn this around. Thank you guys so much, and I will support you every step of the way!!

Laura

Alright…
I am currently a waitress and here is the deal. When you walk into a restaurant and we have never seen your face before, you will be given wonderful service, even if YOU the customer has an attitude. Your server will take very good care of you, try their best to get everything out to you correctly and in a timely manner. If they are mistakes with your food, IT IS MOST LIKELY an error made by the cooks (even though the server is blamed) and we are happy to make the corrections. The reason we do this is because the reward in the end is customer appreciation in the form of a quality tip. Now if you repeatedly come into a restaurant and complain, are rude, and DON’T TIP, why should we waste our energy on you, when it can be put it forth to another table that we know will leave us a good tip if we put the work in? I don’t see how that doesn’t make sense. Treat others how you wish to be treated, right? If you visit your favorite restaurant a few times a month and continue to be rude and leave bad tips, I’m sorry but your service will continue to get worse and worse. If you come in and you are rude and leave a really good tip, like 25% or more consistently, your sever will probably breath a heavy sigh when you get there, but you will get good service because the servers know a good tip is coming. If you are super nice, but leave a bad tip then you will probably get okay service. The server knows you will be nice, but still there is nothing in it for them so you will come second to the other tables.
If you want to use a coupon, split a meal or ask the price of something that is typically not an issue, but do you see the commonality of these things? They imply that you are cheap and cheap people don’t tip! When you see table, after table, after table doing this it is really hard not to think that it will happen every time. I would say a good 80% of the people that ask these questions will leave you a tip under 10% if they tip at all.
I also think a lot of people will use ANY excuse NOT to leave a tip, such as well my food was slightly cool when it came out, he/she didn’t bring enough extra dressing, he/she didn’t smile big enough when we were greeted. If you need something more, just ask politely and we will gladly run back and get it. Don’t keep it to yourself and then use it as an excuse to not tip. How do we know if you don’t tell us?
Yes, servers are people too and they have feelings and they have bad days. Maybe the service wasn’t perfect, but maybe they were having a bad day. It is hard sometimes to keep up that perfect smile and beaming attitude when half of your tables are treating you like dirt. I honestly think that every single person in the entire county should wait tables for just a couple of months so they can understand exactly what it is like and all the work that we have to do, because it is A LOT MORE than putting in your order and bringing it out. It takes a lot of work, stamina and energy and most people could not handle it. If some of these people that are so awful to wait on tried to be a server, most of them would not last a week!
By the way, if you take a girl out on a date, whether you or her wait tables or not, and you don’t leave a tip, it is VERY tacky. You look cheap and unappreciative.
Anyway, I think those shirts are awesome. There is a lot of truth written on them. People really need to think about how they behave in a restaurant or any public place for that manner. For some reason, a lot of people think it is okay to be rude and talk down to customer service people for no reason at all. Maybe talking down to them, makes you feel better about your crappy life or gives you a venue to let out some anger that you won’t allow yourself to take out on a friend, loved one, or job. I don’t know.
Let’s just all try to be a little nicer and show some appreciation for once!

Hi. I was here a few years ago. I have to say. This site has gotten better. The emails are hilarious! Believe me. The one thing that can make a reasonable calm person like myself crazier is uninformed, inexperienced diners. It is true in every restaurant venue. I can safely say that I have seen it all. Been through it all. I have been followed into restrooms, thrown baking soda on two year old vomit before bringing out the gloves and garbage can to clean up the mess. I have been given entirely too much information about others anatomy simply because I’m making your tequila sunrise. If I make your ceaser salad tableside on a busy Saturday night when I have three bottles of wine to decant. first courses slowly dying in the window and a desert order sitting in my pocket. Only to get a half smile and a comment on how it’s a little wet. I may just throw in the towel and become a bank teller. But nope. I do this. Because I’m good at it. Just please people. If you happen to eat yellow mustard on your filet mignon at home. Don’t ask me to get you a side of it when you come into my dining room. The sous-chef will see and then he’ll throw something… and then I’ll spend half the night trying to not get another order from somebody who doesn’t want any butter used for anything! If i were to suggest one thing to customers it would be to respect the menu. Denny’s is one thing. But if there is a name anywhere on your menu realize that it was created by you from a chef. Usually a guy with decades in a kitchen. A couple of degrees who fortunately knows better than the average Joe. Enjoy it. Have a dining experience. And let your server lead you through it. Were good. We know what we’re doing. Leave your preconceived notions at home. Just think. You hate it when your five year old refuses to eat broccoli at home because it looks like a bush. We hate it when you refuse to try the foie gras just because it’s a protein you’ve never had the privilege of trying before. try it first. Save your morality for important things. veal eventually turns into beef. Ducks aren’t really all that photogenic. Frogs may appear in pet stores but they’re also very tasty. Sweet breads are incredible. Just eat.

Sara

Some might ask the question, why is tipping important? For those of us who are or have been in the business, this seems like a silly question. But for those who have never been around this great industry of food service, I will take a minute and do my best to answer this age old question. Because your waitress has bills to pay. Wow, that was easy.

For those who would like a more detailed “smart person” answer, because your waiter make almost zero on their check. I’m not talking about when most people say they make “no money”. I’m talking literally zero. I’m talking, we work all week (40 hours) and our check says $0.00. Then you work you tale end off for someone and because you are not perfect in their eyes, they think you do not deserve a tip. I believe that full effort deserves full tip (20%+). That’s right, 20% is where we start now days. So to get back to the original question, why is tipping important. The answer is, because you owe it to your waiter every single time. It is part of the cost to dining out.

I used to work in a small little burger joint that specialized in great service. If you were a customer, you could barley tell who your server was because there was some much server interaction. One waitress would get your drink order, and another waiter would take your food order, another would drop your food. Someone else would swing by and check up on you and someone totally different would drop a check and your server would complete your transaction. It was fantastic service for the customer because everyone was paying attention to you Read the rest of this entry »

OK, I could rant and rave ALL DAY on this topic. I’ve been in the restaurant business for a long time and the different races/ethnicities/genders/ages don’t tip equally. They may tip equally in other areas, or even at fine-dining restaurants, but not in casual dining restaurants. There are a lot of decent to good tippers out there, but don’t get me started on which races/ethnicities/genders/ages, etc. don’t tip (in casual dining restaurants, anyway). Believe me, it’s true, certain races/ethnicities/genders/ages, etc. tip horribly, if at all, and what’s really bad is that you can determine it 80-90% of the time. I don’t know if they are ignorant, or just don’t care. If you don’t believe in tipping, work in a restaurant for a month and see if you don’t change your mind. (Had that happen to a server I knew. See used to tip 10% until she started waiting tables, now tips 20%). Tip 20% or Drive-through or get it To-Go (however, the To-Go person appreciates a little something, especially if they have to walk out-side in the cold and/or rain to bring out your food! They usually just make minimum wage). Oh, and by the way: If you go to a restaurant that does NOT include the gratuity (tip) for large parties (ASK if your not sure!!!) and you don’t tip, the server basically paid you to eat. (And sometimes they are near tears in frustration because they spent their time and energy on you for $3.13 per hour and don’t want to wait on you, or any other parties, again). BE CONSIDERATE, DON’T BE STINGY AND ASK FOR YOUR PALTRY 3 CENTS BACK, AND DON’T BE A MORON! That server had to tip out the busser and bartender (even if you didn’t get drinks) on your total bill. If you have 25 people and run up a $300 tab, the server just paid $6.00 in tip-out for you to eat. (BTW, It should be a $60 tip for those of you who can’t do basic math and there are calculators in phones these days, use those!) It may be the only tip they recieve their whole shift because of time taken with the large party. That is the only money that server is making if they are spending all their time on you. Most of them are college students and single parents and live off of your generosity!!!!! IF YOU DON’T WANT TO TIP, don’t come in. If you can’t tip, then you don’t have enough money to eat in a restaurant, or at the least, order water so you’ll have money for the tip. And while I’m on the subject, if you had GREAT service, told the server you loved them, told the manager how great they were, but tip them $5 on a $100 tab, this is an insult. (Should be $20. Hell, you just spent $100 on food, $5 on the “tip”. I’m sure you can reach in your pocket and pull out another $15). Just so you know… If you don’t agree with the practice, yell at the Federal Gov’t and the restaurants, but don’t screw the server. The gov’t is the one who allows $3.02 per hour deduction to be subtracted from the minimum wage of that state. For example, NC is $6.15 per hour. Subtract the $3.02 per hour and a server is being paid $3.13 per hour. Hey, when the minimum wage goes up to $7.15 per hour, servers/bussers will be paid $4.13 per hour! Woohoo! BTW, if restaurants paid the servers more per hour, the food prices would just go up, anyway, so it would be equal. If the service isn’t good, chances are that there are situations you don’t realize (short-handed, etc.). Most of time, the server gets great feedback, and then there will be one bad day, and they’ll get complaints. Talk to a manager, they may be able to help, but don’t take it out on your server. Most of them really want you to have a good experience!!!! After all, they make their living that way. Also, if the food was taken off because it was wrong/cold/didn’t like it, etc. please give your server something! That stuff is beyond their control and they just spent their time and table on you that they could have gotten a tip on from someone else. Hell, tip them bigger, you got free food for crying out loud, you jerks!!!! Also, when you are done eating, leave!!! Go have your conversations somewhere else. The server loses money while you sit there, unless you are considerate enough and leave extra money for the extra time you sit there. The server will love you. Also realize the server usually has more than one table. They are usually required to run food, stock ice/plates, etc. and can’t be there every second for you. Be patient!! For any other information, this website is a good one: 86badtips.com (and, no, I don’t run it or know the people who do. I just agree with them.) Take care and remember your servers! At least the hairdresser gets paid more than minimum wage! If you tip them, you can tip your server. Here’s to great tips!!!