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Bad food service. It's like the movie Waiting, but not as funny.
noir_blood
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Friday night I went out to a restaurant and got what I felt was kinda bad service. The waitress wasn't really personable, and didn't stop by often. We ordered some chips and queso and they didn't arrive until our meal, kinda defeating the purpose of it being an appetizer. It also took her a long time to notice my drink was empty, and even longer to check up on us after we had finished dessert so that I could ask for a check.
I complained about that with the person I was with, but they said that I should take into account that it was a Friday, and the place was somewhat busy.
Now, having never worked in the food service industry, I will admit that I'm somewhat tough on my waiters. In order to get a good tip, they should be personable and prompt, at least when it comes to the drinks, as I understand the food can sometimes can be out of their control. But if the place is busy, how much should I take that into consideration? Should
I figure people can post examples of really bad service. I don't want to turn this into a discussion of whether we should tip or not though.
I complained about that with the person I was with, but they said that I should take into account that it was a Friday, and the place was somewhat busy.
Now, having never worked in the food service industry, I will admit that I'm somewhat tough on my waiters. In order to get a good tip, they should be personable and prompt, at least when it comes to the drinks, as I understand the food can sometimes can be out of their control. But if the place is busy, how much should I take that into consideration? Should
I figure people can post examples of really bad service. I don't want to turn this into a discussion of whether we should tip or not though.
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They should earn their wages by giving proper service then.
Personally if the service I receive is half decent I'll give them the standard tip. If they do something that pisses me off, no tip.
I get mad when people feel they are entitled to this money simply because they chose to work in a field where they are paid with tips. You are entitled to a tip for good service, not by default.
And as far as the water/ress being too busy, I think this is a time when body language would come into place. If they look flippant then they probably just suck, but if they look rushed then it's because the place is busy and understaffed. I've certainly had good service at busy restaurants, but then again they were well-staffed.
They should do something about that, then.
If they're not doing their job to 100% of their capacity(yes, taking account busy days, sick days. whatever their 100% would be at that moment), then they don't deserve the tip.
If they're doing the minimum of their job and expect me to tip because the business they're in screws the little guy, then no, they shouldn't expect a tip.
Whatever happened to doing your job the best you can do?
But basically, it was a few years ago, Green Bay vs Vikings to determine who would get into the playoffs. Vikings are down by like 6, 4th quarter, 4th down. Jackson drops back, sees a man open...
Waitress steps right in front of me as Im already standing up looking at the TV, and asks if we need anything.
Seriously? Im very obviously watching the game...pay attention to your surroundings lady. Like I said, it wasnt really her fault, but jesus that stuck with me. In order to make myself feel better I tipped her a ton. I figured Id feel good about myself for doing that instead of being a dick. It worked. Vikings lost
Anyway...
The other time I remember was probably the worst human being ive ever met. We were at a bar in chicago, it was someones birthday so we had this all you can drink until 12 wrist band thing. My girlfriend offered to go get everyone drinks a few times instead of all of us going there.
Now, my girlfriend knew about 3 people at the bar, and we all had wristbands. So two or three times of her getting us all beers later, and I go to get a beer. The bartender then has the nerve to tell me that she is watching us cause she knows for a fact, without a doubt, my girlfriend is handing drinks to people without wristbands. I calmly tell her that she doesnt even know anyone here who doesnt have one, so the bartender must be mistaken. She tells me shes not fucking around and she will have us kicked out.
Whatever.
So now, the bartender refuses to serve me, anytime I go near her area of the bar, I wait like 30 minutes. So I just spend the rest of the night avoiding her like the plague. Still, she gives me dirty looks and once again finds me at the bar to yell at me about how my girlfriend is giving drinks away...
So, i take this oppertunity to appologize that this misunderstanding occured, ordered a few drinks and tipped her like 12 bucks. Problem solved? Nope...
She still refuses to serve me when im around her section. So I still avoid her. Eventually, its like 11:45. The bar is packed so theres only place that is clear. Me and a buddy go to that section, low and behold, the bartender from before is handling that corner. She then walks up to my buddy, gets him a drink and ignores me.
I wait 10 minutes, its now 11:55, she walks by me and says "12:00, party over!" Even though its not 12 yet...
So I wait, its now like 12:15 and eventually I yell for her attention. She then proceeds to tell me "its passed 12, no more drinks", and walks away. Now im super pissed, cause even if I cant get a free drink due to my wristband, I still want a damned drink. So I yell "hey bitch!" And get her attention. She starts cussing me out and calls a bouncer over to kick me out.
Now, we had already complained to this bouncer about her service, asking him if there was anything he could do. He couldnt. So, even though he was technically on her side, he did not kick me out, and instead, got the manager for me since I complained. The manager conceeded that she was having a bad day and appologized, but did not offer me anything, but assured me she would be dealt with.
I hope she got fired. She was honestly a terrible human being. One of the worst people ive ever had to deal with ever. And Ive never gotten into a dispute with someone in service before or since, Im usually very very easy going and forgiving. Mistakes are one thing, but to go out of your way to be a bitch to me because you thought you saw my girlfriend do something is just insane.
The crazy thing is, she would still serve my girlfriend, just not me. Even though according to her, it was my girl doing stuff wrong, not me. The woman was seriously insane.
Thats my service horror story. I honestly still hold hatred for that woman.
A lot of getting good service is knowing how to communicate with your server. If you're ready to order, close the menus and stop browsing through them. If you want something - another drink, whatever - look for your server and make eye contact with them, they'll usually come right over. When you're ready for your check, push all the plates toward the center of the table. It's common sense, really, but I'm often surprised how many people don't think to do these things.
I always try to tip well even when the service does suck, unless my server is actually rude or impolite - something I've never had happen to me. I don't expect them to talk to me, just to bring me my food. And even if it does suck, it's probably not the server's fault, so leave a good tip, they get paid less than minimum wage without them.
I just find generally bars won't give a shit about reasons or finding out what really happened. Their bartender / bouncer wants you out? You're outta there. Doesn't matter what for.
Basically what Al_wat said. If you can tell the person is new and really trying, go easy on 'em and give the poor waiter/waitress 15%. If they look like they just don't care or hate their job, inspire them to find somewhere else to work by refusing to pay them to do jack shit.
Now, as far as busy times go: I know most restaurants assign sections to wait staff so that once they're maxed out, they don't get any more tables. So there's really no excuse for shoddy service in this situation; if there's a problem with getting your food out on time, they should come tell you what it is. If they take a long time to refill your drink, they should apologize and look like they give a damn, etc.
When I go out to eat, it's because I expect to be served. I don't pay 5 times what I'd normally pay for a similar meal plus the wait staff's wage in order to receive bad service.
Having said that, most waiters/waitresses who mess up or forget your table are human too. Give them some leeway, but constant screwups should not be rewarded.
The worst tip you can give is not nothing -- it's The Penny. The Penny should not be given lightly. I've only given one out once. Leaving no tip leaves room for doubt. "Did he just forget to leave a tip?" "No," The Penny says, "I remembered your tip, and you sucked."
So if you're keeping score:
20% -- Awesome service, friendly wait staff, everything perfect.
15% -- You got what you expected out of the meal. The wait staff is allowed to slip up once or twice.
10% -- You were largely dissatisfied with the meal and the wait staff was unsatisfactory.
5% -- Bad service, late food, late refills and the meal put a damper on your evening.
The Penny -- You saw your waiter once to take your drink order and when you saw him next he was messing around with the hostess in the restroom an hour later.
I worked at a Round Table Pizza in Novato, CA. In most of them, they have a few large banquet rooms that you could reserve for parties or football or whatnot. We'd usually be booked up on the weekend. Parties back-to-back with a little time to clean up. We would take care of making balloons, little placemats for kids, cleaning before and after, serving and everything. Some checks would be around $100-$500 or so with all the pizza, beer and sodas.
People would trash the rooms and ask for group discounts and everything. And then walk away perfectly happy not tipping a dime. That's about the only time I'd get angry about it.
Yeah, this is generally true. Which only serves to prove just how insane and out of her mind this bartender was. Cause she tried to get me kicked out and couldnt because she was so out of line. And the thing is, I did react poorly and call her a bitch, so that shouldve been grounds for me to go. But because of how crazy this lady was, even the other staff wasnt on her side.
The fact she failed to get me kicked out makes the whole event a bit more tolerable.
In Washington State this isn't true, but as far as I know it's the only place.
If your drink is empty, flag them down. They may be covering 6 other tables and genuinely not notice. If they're just standing around talking at the wait-station, yeah they suck... but this does not normally happen.
If someone isn't smiling at you and acting happy to be there, it's probably because they are busting their ass. It's also been proven that when waitstaff smile too often, they get less money in tips because people assume they're having fun being there.
You may think "oh well, work for your wages!". Minimum wage in California in some areas is as high as 9.50$/hr. It is completely LEGAL to pay waitstaff less than 6$/hr in most areas, in some cases as little a 3-4$/hr.
I'm not saying shitty service is excusable, but the person serving your food is just the messenger. If they took your order properly, came by to check on you once in a while and showed interest in whether you were having a decent evening, they've done enough to earn 20% in tips.
edit: To everyone above bitching about the food. WAITERS DONT COOK YOUR FUCKING MEALS. YOU ARE A DOUCHE.
I would like to chime in here and say that this depends on what state you live in.
If you live in California, for example, and work as a waiter you still get paid the state minimum wage, so, even if you didn't get a tip you'd be making as much as plenty of other people working other entry level jobs.
However, there are definitely some states where waiters get paid less then the states normal minimum wage so, check to see what kind of state you are living in.
Edit: Cervetus beat me! But, now we know at least two states do it.
I would have been inclined to tell that bitch off myself but I can be kind of a hothead when I drink.
Also I know I sounded harsh above, but I generally do not pay less than a 15% tip. In fact, I've probably paid less than 15% less than 20 times in my entire life.
The minimum wage thing depends on county last I knew. It's worded in such a way that your tips + hourly / hours worked have to equal minimum wage. Then they tack on 15% and tax it. If you're family, they can pay you even less.
NNID: Hakkekage
Seems that for California and Washington the laws are statewide, according to a quick wiki search I just did.
Talk about exploitative.
Two things for people who are complaining about bad service:
One, most servers do not like their job and would gladly take some other job if they had the chance, but they can't. They're usually students who need work with flexible hours. Their managers usually know they're in a bind and use this to exploit them. There's not a hell of a lot of jobs going around right now, especially for students.
Also, I can't help but feel most of the people complaining don't travel much. In the US servers, even the bad ones, do everything but give you blowjobs compared to other countries. Take the service I usually got in Israeli restuarants, for instance. I probably would have been sitting down for 15 minutes before I got my drinks; even fountain drinks, like cokes or bottled water, had to be paid for individually, it was often well over 30 minutes after I ordered that I actually got my food. The servers might have visited my table three times over the course of the whole meal, which usually took at least an hour, even if the restuarant only had about half a dozen people in it. The servers sure as hell didn't smile at me and ask me how my day was, or what I was doing in town, or whatever, like some people seem to expect.
And you know what? I still tipped, because that's what you're supposed to do.
Which is still a pitifully low amount of money, but they aren't actually getting just that little.
But the minimum wage is not state wide, it's based on the area in which you live. In most cases they can get away with paying the state minimum, which if you're in the bay area is not enough to live in a cardboard box and eat roaches. Though they were trying to change this, maybe they already have. I think San Mateo county increased the minimum wage to like 11$/hr and started cracking down a while ago, which is awesome.
Wait, I'm slightly confused at what your saying here. There is a state wide minimum wage for california. Counties can set their own, but there is an official state wide minimum wage.
Cry me a fucking river. I will never give money away out of being guilt tripped.
https://twitter.com/Hooraydiation
Which is not enough to live on if you are in any metro area.
edit: Try living off of 8.50$/hr anywhere in the Bay. You better put in 70 hours a week if you like not being homeless.
And if that happened, sue the shit out of that company.
Someone has to do something. Either that or we're just ignoring one problem and having other people take the responsibility to make up for it somewhere else.
Yeah. If you can't make enough tips to cover minimum wage, you're either the unluckiest bastard in the universe and got stuck with jerk after jerk at your tables or you're a lousy waiter.
I get bad service they get no tip.
I get bad service that is beyond the server's control [bad food, ceiling tile falls on my head, etc], they get a tip, and the manager gets a good bitching about the rest while affirming that the server had nothing to do with it.
Oh, well, yes. I agree.
More like guilt tipping, eh?
Sue them for what? Firing you?
If you aren't making enough tips to hit minimum wage, the company would probably be able to easily argue that you were a shitty, unproductive waiter and fired you for that.
Big thumbs up to this. Kitchen staff don't get enough shit for the food they fuck up in my opinion, and I was a cook for several years. They can slack off and fuck around because they don't have to face the customers. If you talk to a manager of a private place, they will talk to the owner, who probably works in the kitchen.
I'm not positive on what you think you'd sue for. You're not firing them because their a protected class but because of poor job performance.
Of course, depending on the state you're firing them because of no reason at all. In at will states you only give a cause for termination of employment if you want to fight unemployment payments.