Be Nice to Your Waitress!

In February of 2009, I got a job as a server at a chain restaurant which I will remain nameless. There's nothing wrong with them. I love working there. It beats being an indoor lifeguard which I have been for 5 years. However, there were several things I was not aware of until I starting working that I wish every one who ever goes out to eat at a restaurant would know.

1. We make LESS than minimum wage: Many people do not know this, but server wage in Massachusetts is $2.63 an hour plus tips, compared to $7-$8 an hour plus tips in states like New York and California. Our cost of living is not much cheaper yet we make much less than our counterparts. Essentially the $2.63 disappears due to taxes so we are entirely dependant on tips. Many other countries include gratuity into the bill, so I have received no tips from foreigners on more than one occasion not knowing that gratuity is not included in the United States. A lot of work for no money at the end of the day is never uplifting.

2. TIPS stands for "To Insure Prompt Service": Back in the olden days, customers would tip the waitress at the beginning. The more money they gave, the better service they would receive. However, in today's world the tip is received after the bill, which makes things more unpredictable for the waiter/waitress. You could give great service and receive a crummy tip, or be having a bad day and receive a great tip. You never know.

3. We lose 20% or more to tipping out: Tipping out is when you give a percentage of your tips to other members of the service team. Mainly, this is the bartenders, the bussers, the hosts, and the food runners. Bartenders make the specialty drinks, namely alcohol, bussers clean the tables, hosts seat the tables, and food runners, well, run your food to the tables. These other positions tend to make minimum wage ( $8 roughly) plus tips. So if you are having a bad tip night, you will lose most of your tips to tipping out. No good.

4. There are some things that are simply NOT the waiters fault, so don't punish them: Sometimes the food takes forever because the kitchen gets behind. Sometimes the drinks take forever because the bar gets behind. Sometimes the restaurant is understaffed so the waiter/waitress has too many tables and gets behind. As long as your server explains what is happening and it appears to not be their fault, don't punish them by giving them a crummy tip. Punish the restaurant for poor service by not coming back, but don't punish the server for things out of their control. There have been several instances where food took forever to make because the kitchen got slammed. I explained to the table what was going on and they said I was doing great, that it wasn't my fault etc. Then I get really poor tips. I get punished for someone else's poor service. Again, no good!

5. Our schedule is unpredictable: We do not have a set schedule like most places. Schedules are done on a week basis, so you never know what you are working two weeks from now. Only for the following week. Granted, what shifts you get tend to stay constant, however you are never really sure until the final schedule goes up for the week. This makes planning for special events almost impossible unless your restaurant is flexible and takes requests for days off with a smile. Luckily, where I work is one of those places that are pretty reasonable when it comes to requesting days off.

So the next time you are at a restaurant and your server is working as hard as he/she can, brings your drinks and food with a smile and checks in on you to make sure everything is okay, please tip them nicely, as this is how they make a living. If they are shooting the breeze with their coworkers and ignoring you, by all means, give them a crummy tip. Just keep in mind the five points I brought up is all I ask. :-)