Nice comeback.

I was actually backing up my statement.

One more thing. You've been here since mid 2006 and you haven't realized yet that people don't play nice on here? If you like rainbows and fuzzies and cherry trees and sunshine, I can tell you where to go.

That's a shame with the Jamaican restaurant, since it seemed like you really liked the food and I'm sure the environment was fun. Again, sometimes it just comes down to ignorance--not knowing, not stupidity--that we are talking about here. There are certain places that employ individuals who don't know not to cut raw meat on the same cutting board as they cut a salad. This seems like common sense to some, but these people really just didn't know. It's crazy when you think about how many times these things really happen. There was a news story recently where a restaurant got closed down for rats. In the previous inspection, though, no rats were found. You never know. I'm not saying to be afraid, just educate yourself.

Didn't you note the sarcasm in my statement? Well, if not, then I'm telling you explicitly that yes, I have noticed people don't play nice here. And I've been told to go there before (Happy Pony Rainbow Land), but I like GreekChat just fine, dear. :p

Lol ok truce. I had to laugh at this post.

Whoa. See now, that is scary. That's why there are signs in the bathrooms of restaurants telling employees to "wash their hands" before returning to work.

Truce! :)

i have done that many times. i insist on taking a steak back if its not cooked right. the cooks at my restaurants are mostly idiots and i swear i could cook better lol.

p.s- servers really DO appreciate the "pleases", "thank yous" and 18% and up tips (unfortunatly, most of my tables that i get dont do that kind of stuff:mad:)

thought you guys would appreciate this..
 

TIPPING for DUMMIES

The next time you're out eating at a resturant, look at your server. Do you think they are really happy to be doing that job? The answer is no, they are not, but it's what we do, and we do it for the money so please help them out. Its a tougher job than you think and you should pay them accordingly!

There are SO many people out there flooding the restaurants w/o any knowledge of how to tip. Here is a short guide for the general public to follow. Feel free to print out and store in your wallet and/or purse.

1. CHILDREN "THE LITTLE DEVILS":
If you have children, DO NOT let them, open and dump anything on the table (ie; salt, sugar, etc). IF YOU DO, you must leave an extra $5 for the server to clean up YOUR CHILD'S mess & to restock the now unusable wasted items. We are neither their babysitter nor their parent. The least you can do is pay us for the extra work. Also make sure you control your kids and don't let them scream or run around the restraunt. It's very distracting not to mention dangerous if they get ran over by a server with hot food in their hands.

2. "THE CAMPERS":
If you feel the necessity to stay for longer than 15 minutes after you pay, its an extra $3 every 30 minutes. We make our money from the tables. If you are in one and we can't seat it, we don't make money.

3. COMPLIMENTS:
Telling a server they are the best server they've ever had is not a tip. If we are good, let us know by leaving us more money. We cant pay our bills on compliments. Its not that we don't appreciate the praise, its just that if you say that and then leave 10% it's an insult.


4. THE SALVATION PAMPHLETS:
Prayer cards and any other religious pamphlet is NOT a tip. It is insulting that you assume we are w/o religion and must save us. Again, like ..3, we cant pay bills w/prayer cards. We'd go to church on Sundays if it wasn't mandatory to work on Sundays because EVERYONE who goes to church follows it by eating out.

5. TIPPING:
It is not 1960. Cost of living has gone up dramatically since then. 18% is the MINIMUM amount of what you should be tipping your servers. Just look at the tax line and multiply by 2-3, this gives you your minimum tip amount. Remember, our companies pay us minimum wage (minumum wage for servers is $6.75 in CA, $3.13 in FL, $3.09 in IA, $2.13 in TX) And we are taxed on 10 percent of your meal automatically anyway. So if your meal is $100 and you leave $10 and we tip out $4-5 to the busser, bartender, and whoever else then we pay tax on 10 dollars and we make $5. It seems small but it adds up. How many times do you eat out per week and do this? HERE'S A GOOD RULE OF THUMB: SINCE 18% IS THE MINIMUM, JUST LEAVE 20% FOR GOOD SERVICE. IT'S SIMPLE TO FIGURE OUT...LEAVE ONE DOLLAR FOR EVERY FIVE DOLLARS OF YOUR TOTAL BILL (PRE-DISCOUNT!!! AS IN, IF YOU HAD A COUPON OR VOUCHER OF SOME SORT...YOUR SERVER STILL HAS TO TIP OUT AND PAY TAX ON THE TOTAL BILL, NOT THE BILL AFTER DISCOUNTS!!) USE YOUR FINGERS TO FIGURE IT OUT IF YOU HAVE TO, JUST DON'T BE CHEAP! Your server will remember you next time and service will remain great, if not get better if he/she knows that you KNOW how to tip.

6. THE COMPLAINERS:
If you get a discount because of your food was prepared wrong or something, do not take it out of our tip. We didn't cook it. The cooks get paid hourly regardless if the food sucks. However, we only make what you give us. (Plus, remember what happens in the movie "Waiting" when you bitch and then send something back!!! Just kidding, that barely EVER happens....)

7. THE FREE STUFF:
If you happen to get anything for free and you did not have a problem with your dining experience, most of the time it is because the server thinks you will realize that they are giving it to you for free. There should be extra tip thanking the server for the free item. They could get in a lot of trouble giving away free stuff. You should give them hazard pay for it.

8. THE LATE ONES:
If you come into the restraunt 10 mins before closing or any time near closing hurry up and order your food and get out. Closed means closed, not social hour. It is so rude to sit there and take your sweet ass time. We can't leave until you leave because we have to do sidework and clean the table you are sitting at. We don't want to stand there waiting for you for an extra hour just because you don't want to go home. We recommend 24 hour establishments such as Dennys if you wish to sit into the wee hours of the night.

9. THE TABLE HOGGERS:
If you only come in for coffee or a dessert, to do paper work, or to have a meeting, don't sit there taking up our booths for hours. We are not Starbucks or a hotel restraunt. If you want to sit for hours, go there or else you better leave a good tip for us and camping fee included.

10. THE GREET:
When we come up to the table to greet you and we ask how you are doing please let us know. We honestly want to know how you are doing. If you are in a bad mood we want to know that from the beginning. A confused stare or complete silence does not suffice as a reply to "How are you doing?". Also most of us are REQUIRED to say certain things during the greeting, so please don't interrupt our greeting and say "I want coffee", "Can we get some bread?", or "What are the soups?"
& YOU MIGHT THINK THIS IS RUDE BUT WHERE I WORK WE HAVE TO GO TO THE TABLE WITHIN 30 SECONDS SO ONCE YOU SEE US APPROACH YOUR TABLE STOP YOUR CONVERSATION BITCHES & LET ME DO MY SPIEL then continue on with what you were saying.


11. THOSE DAMN CELL PHONES:
Don't ever talk on your cell phone in a restraunt. This is probably the rudest thing to do. If you must be on your cell, at least keep your voice down in respect for other customers. If you are on your cell phone when we walk up to greet your table we will walk away and not return until you get off your phone. Just show some respect and give us your attention for a couple of minutes.



!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!SERVERS READING THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Please repost this so the word can get out, since so many people are uneducated about tips and our lives depend on this - at least for now......

SIGNED, YOUR FELLOW RESTAURANT EMPLOYEE

P.S. Leaving us a giftcard to our restaurant with a few dollars on it, is NOT a good tip. Granted, it will be useful since we will probably have shift meals, but sometimes we just want the dough!!

Waitressing was actually one of my favorite jobs that I've ever had, and if I could make the kind of living at it that I do at accounting, I would totally do it for the rest of my life.:D

#8 is my pet peeve though. Showing up at 7:58 when the restaurant closes at 8:00 does not qualify as "making it in time". I remember we had a couple do that one time. The cooks had already shut down the grill and cleaned it. The couple ordered grilled cheese and chili. The chili was still hot, but the grilled cheese was achieved by placing bread in the toaster, then sticking it in the microwave to melt the cheese.:p

They get taxed on the tip, whether they get one or not.

Question for servers (while we're on a hijack anyway)...

Does it mess you up if the tip is included on a credit card or is it better if it's cash? I've often wondered if it delayed when you get the money so I usually leave the tip in cash. However, it's more convenient to put it on the credit card (because I usually don't carry cash at all).

I think I should add too, in some states, servers don't even make minimum wage.

What? You mean income tax? Unless they're TEH DUMB, most servers only claim tips up to what would make min. wage. And if you can't make min. wage in tips, you're pretty bad at your job.

If your restaurant claims tips for waitresses based on a % of the bills, that's pretty shitty.

*I've never worked for a restaurant that accepts credit cards but...*
Credit card tips seem like they'd be easier to "trace" and force the server to claim all of their tips. Which means you end up paying a shitload more income tax out of your base pay.
And servers don't make a standard min. wage, but it IS required that if a server isn't making the difference between their base pay and min. wage in tips, the restaurant has to make up the difference.

Yeah, that's the other reason I figure it's better to leave the tip in cash.

I believe being polite goes a long way when dealing with anyone. I've had my share of rude waiters/waitresses which impacted the tip they were given. Depending on the restaurant and what I ordered I will send something back. More recently, I was out with a friend of mine @ the Cheesecake Factory. I ordered a turkey burger w/ honey mustard on the side. Another waitress brought us our meal but didn't bring everything that we asked for. So after asking her for it, she brought it over (again not the original waitress). I told her the fries w/ my meal were not hot and she just said okay and walked away...never asking me if I wanted new ones or something else. Our original waitress only came to the table to bring the bill. What really made me angry is that when the manager came over to ask if everything was okay (as he was making rounds) and I told him the same thing and he just said okay and walked away. That was by far the worst manager at any restaurant that I've been to and definitely my worst experience at the Cheesecake Factory.