Economic Depression & A Strange Concept

So I said before that we are in a unique situation. On the one hand, you have people coming into the industry that have never had to before. On the other you have a customer base who is also strapped for cash and doesn't feel quite right leaving more on the table then they have to. A coworker of mine at one of the many restaurants I've worked in once pointed out the strange nature of how the whole system works. Who came up with it? A server gets paid $2.13 an hour (I know some states they get more, but here in Texas that's what it is!) by the house to maintain the beverage stations, often a bread or chip station, clean and reset a 3-6 table section, sell specials, perform upsells, and rigamarole of other duties, varying by restaurant. They are the face the customers (yes, a restaurant has customers, not guests) associate with the kitchen and the restaurant as a whole. Yet the house only pays them $2.13, and then the house gives the customer the labor bill in the form of a blank line on a credit card slip, right below the amount the house already expects. Also, we close at 10, yet we're still there at midnight. The whole system is a strange behemoth of a working mess.

So now you know how the server makes money. The 'guest' leaves a range from 5%-25% based on the total bill. There are many servers out there that mistakenly believe that "hooking it up" or providing free food or beverages is going to increase their gratuity. In most cases, except where you know who you're hooking up and they know what you're doing, the bottom line is the bottom line, and thats what the 'guest' will tip on. On the other hand, if you work in a restaurant where you tip out (pay for) bussers or hostesses or bartenders a set percentage, skimping on a table that you know isn't going to tip very well (I'll go over how to tell in a later post.) it may behoove you to forget about a soup or a tea if you can. No reason to pay more for services when you're not going to get paid for the services you render. Of course, from the house's point of view, that is technically stealing. I have had managers that will walk the whole floor and write down every single table with a tea or soda on it, then go to his aloha and check every single open ticket and then call you out. On the floor, in front of your (my) tables no less. How must that have looked to my 3 tables, all next to eachother? "Why didn't you charge for those 2 teas?" Honestly, I just hadn't had a chance, I had just taken their entree orders after ringing back their starters. It was very disconcerting for me, and very unprofessional of him as a manager.

I think the most important attitude for serving is just to remember there is no easy way to die doing what we do, and what can't kill you can only feed your fire and make you stronger! Get stiffed? They lost face not you. They just took your wages out of your hand, stole from you. It's not your fault (unless it really is your fault) but you have 2-5 other tables ready to take care of you. If you make people your friends, and treat them with respect, 95% of the time you will always land on your feet as far as tips are concerned. On the other hand you have good days and bad, just keep taking tables.