Do you just eat it or send it back?

[SMUalphachi]

I've been serving for three years now and I've been working in food service for a little longer than that. I've worked at two family-owned Italian restaurants and am now working at a corporate casual dining chain that I have been at for two years.

I get paid $2.13 an hour, but my paychecks are usually $0.00 because of tax. I do claim all of my tips because servers are very likely to get checked by the IRS and I don't want anything to happen to me! However, I have never NOT made at least $5.15 an hour, even on slow days with bad tippers. This is mostly because I'm good at my job and my tip average is usually between 18-22%. At my casual chain restaurant when I'm working to-go orders, I'm also taking tables and they are suffering from limited service while I am also working on to-go... I'm still getting paid $2.13 an hour for this, so tipping on to-go is incredibly important - it can make or break a night for me. And when you're sitting at my table and you don't tip me, I am PAYING out of my own personal money to serve you. And believe me, that is not how I prefer to spend my money. I have to tip out bar and bus depending on my sales - not on my tips. This includes if I have a table that did not order alcoholic drinks and even if I clean the table instead of the busser.

That being said, the job does provide good money for me because I have high sales and I generally make good tips. I wouldn't be doing it if I didn't make money. Still, I have lost most of my faith in the goodness of human beings because some people are so rude and unpleasant... I'm here to make your day better. Sit back, relax, and please be pleasant to me like I am to you. I know many people like to think otherwise, but my life is not some big conspiracy theory to ruin your experience in our restaurant. I had a table that had a bad experience last night (though this particular one wasn't my fault) and I still feel guilty about it the next day. I like this job because I like to make people happy.

I would never hesitate to send food back in a restaurant. I never get angry if somebody sends food back to me if it is not prepared correctly. YOU are paying for your meal and you should be 100% happy with it. That is what restaurants are for! On the other hand, please don't send something back just because you changed your mind after you ordered or want a free meal. This one woman complained yesterday how awful her meal was - after she ate 90% of it!!! She asked for a box to take the rest home... go figure. Somebody overheard her laughing about how she can always get free meals. Classy.

Last thing - I've never seen ANYBODY tamper with food. That is gross and unacceptable. I'm not saying it doesn't ever happen, I'm simply saying that I have never personally seen it at any of the restaurants I have worked at and that it must be incredibly rare. And you can bet that if I saw a coworker walk out of the restaurant without washing their hands, I would freak out. The vast majority of us do care about your health, I promise!