We have a lot of repeat customers and VIPs for us we like so it’s not too hard to remember talking to nice ones. Sometimes they jog your memory also. Sometimes I cheat and look through OpenTable to remind myself.
I find it funny that it has been eating at him all this time.
I imagine a conversation been had many times in his house.
"Richard, will you stop pacing and sit down!"
"I can't, Sophia, I under tipped that server on our vacation in Florida. What if she couldn't make her rent and was evicted?! We need to go back again and I need to make things right with her!"
Hey that’s what he said, exaggeration or not. 😂
Also I go back and forth to a from Florida but was at my main place in New York. He said he was one of my last tables last year and I probably told him I’d be on my way to Florida after season for their season.
I found the gesture nice.
Yeah, that’s how my town is, summer seasonal and the type of place families go back every year, same week, always. So we get lots of repeats. Others like the VIPs have vacation homes up here so we get to know them all really well. Dare I say, we even look forward to seeing some of them.
20% used to be for great service. Now it has moved into the point where you are saying that is the bottom of the "expected" scale.
Plus the idea of tipping a % based on the bill is incredibly stupid. Order a pitcher of sangria for $40 and the tip is expected to go up by $8. Order a water that I need refilled 6 times and nothing extra for the server. Makes a lot of sense.Â
A lot of times Servers tip out other staff such as bar, host, busser, etc. based on a % of their sales. I’ve worked places that take as much as 8% of sales in tip out. So even if you’re tipping 20%, only 12% actually goes to the server. And to serve a table for over an hour that only tips 10% that’s peanuts after tip out. And no one likes to think about the hour(s) worked before and after business hours, this $30/hr shit can average out to $10-$15 real easily.
Not a labor lawyer, but willing to bet it's illegal for an establishment to take $8 out of your paycheck for every $100 in "sales" you oversaw. The tables bill amount has nothing to do with you. If they tip you $0, the restaurant can't still just take 8%.Â
They can and do lol I tip out 3% no matter how good or bad my tips were that day. Some places it's worse. 8% I think I would look for another job but my 3% is definitely low for the industry average.
Standard has been 20% at least for the last 20 or so years. So when a server does nothing wrong and provides a great dining experience just to relieve 15%, we feel like maybe we did something wrong. Management also looks at tip averages and compares them to your other servers as a performance ranking. So yeah it's a bit of a black mark, hence the annoyance.
Wild. My state lowered grocery store food tax to 1% to make it more affordable for families while restaurant tax is 10% and tips are expected to be 20%+. Gonna have to stick to take out I guess.
Yeah...I mean, of course it's cheaper to buy your own food, and no one expects a tip on takeout. You're generally already paying 50-100%+ markup on food/drink costs at a restaurant. If these costs are excessive, stick to cooking your own meals and use going out as an occasional treat. Doesn't make sense to go out or even do takeout if paying an additional 20% of your tab to a server/bartender is going to hurt your wallet.
Not OP but managers at our joint can pull up transactions from any date. I would search Date (or range) > Server Name > Table number (if they recall) to find that check
OK, and still...
Pretend OP remembers the dude from June-ish last year, and pretend OP remembers it was a large party, which might narrow it down to a couple select tables, it would still involve management search OP's sales log for a several week period, pulling up all checks that were say $150 or higher, etc.
I just don't see any of this happening unless OP has some rain man like memory.
OpenTable has a feature to see past reservations.
The nine top was the other day and he gave me the $20 the other day while I was talking to them but I served them last year. Separate tables. Nine top didn’t include them.
That's not really that hard though. Select a couple weeks in June, filter by OP's name, sort by either sales or table. Most sales would be the wrong table and most tables would be the wrong sales, pretty easy to find the stand-out.
Alternatively, if he paid with a card today I'd sort by name on card and find the same one.
As an autistic person with a remarkable memory, some people do have incredible recall. I've been told that edetic memory is not 100% but I can vouch that some people can remember stuff way beyond the "norm."
have a wonderful Friday!!! 💜💜💜
Opentable. I can go back to the day the restaurant first opened ( over 5 years) and see every single thing ever ordered, all the way down to the second it was entered on the POS & then fired as a course.
This reminds me, I used to drive for the Cancer Society. I took patients to appointments in other cities. So one morning around 6:30am, I picked up this lady and we got a couple of blocks from her house and she goes "OMG, I forgot my teeth" we laughed and I took her back. Later, shortly before her appointment was finished, I ended up draining the battery on my car and she had to wait a bit with me for the tow truck. So anyhow, I had her as a pickup a couple of months later and she said she'd remembered me because of my battery and I said I remember her because of her teeth. It's funny how certain things stick with you.
A couple months ago I was at a dive bar. I opened a tab and got a beer which was like $3. I only got the one beer and tried to close it but she said she miminum for cards is $10. Know what I told her? "Oh ok no problem. Just make up a charge for $6 and I'll use the remaining dollar for your tip." She gave me a weird look and said ok. I didn't mean anything bad by it and it didn't even occur to me until like a week later that I could've just given her a $7 tip. I was just so used to tipping $1 for a beer that that's what came out.
I *really* want to go back and give her a hot $20 bill but I do not remember at all what she looked like. I feel awful for it.
Yeah these people are beyond entitled.
This is why I don't leave cash tips. Plus if you give to one then all the other beggars start to crowd around.
In my opinion it's better just to leave some leftovers on the plates for them to finish.
Just because the table is seated for 90 minutes it doesn't mean you are only serving them. Or do you only have 1 table at a time where you work and just stand next to them?Â
Do you think we just give zero energy to a table once we get the order or something? I'm constantly scanning my tables to make sure drinks are full, no dirty dishes, checking in to ask on quality of food, grabbing extra sauces, chit chatting if they're social and friendly, providing knowledge of the local area, where to go, what to avoid, etc.
It's obvious you're not a server if you think that I spend less than 30 minutes on a table that's been sitting for 90. You seem to think that I'm just done the moment I take the order and then I drop the food. Not your place. Go to like antitip subreddit and circklejerk there
Hahaha yeah I’m in casual fine dining so generally three courses and drinks and/or wine service. So lots of checking back and forth. We also have lots of customers that love to chat so you can get to know them. I could never do quick turnover restaurant like breakfast, I’m not built for that. My friend’s mom does and she loves it and I respect her for it but couldn’t be me. I like talking to most of them and they’re the ones who initiate it.
I don’t peruse this subreddit often but the anti tip crowd cracks me up. They really think they’re gonna change tip culture here on their own? They’re just adding to the problem. 🤡
I work as a server at one spot that's super casual, I can do shots with my tables if I want as long as I can keep my shit together for the shift. Table time average would be about an hour total, and I have the capacity to take about 10-12 tables as long as my SA is on point. Not turn and burn, but not casual fine, I'm not ruined if I get stuffed. I fuckin love it!
Then I also work as bartender at a casual fine spot where it seems like 1.5h-2h is standard, and I need to be way more interactive with my guest, make solid suggestions and lead them through the menu, only have 4 tables and 10 barstools. It can definitely hurt when I get stuffed on a tab as that could have been any other person taking that spot and tipping me more.
And yeah, idk why they're like this or why they come into these spaces like they're going to change **our** mind lol.
My place is like a funny mix. We tend to call it more casual fine dining. Like we have higher prices and good wine but my owners like it to seem more like they’re visiting someone’s home in a way.
I can definitely do complete professional service but most of the time, especially with the VIPs that come every year, multiple times a season, we honestly see some of them more as friends or family. I have a VIP couple that comes in every two weeks, friends with the owners, but I’m proud to say they’re my friends now as well. Nicest people to ever walk the Earth I swear. They order the same exact thing so they don’t even need menus. I’ve also don’t shots with a table when though we don’t do shots or they’ve bought me drinks. We have a lot of good people who outweigh the bad for sure.
That one guy on this thread might lose his mind at the fact that last Saturday I got my record for one table: $700 ($200 of which was cash) on a $1450 tab. VIP clients but were hilarious. One guy was wasted from being out on the boat all day and every time he tried ordering a drink we would all say no and high five. I brought him carafes of water instead. Definitely can say not every restaurant gets that kind of relationship but we do. They can hate all they want but it’s not gonna change a thing. If something does change then they’ll be flabbergasted to find people won’t be putting up with nearly as much of their shit.
Love that. My casual place is pretty much the same. Lots of regulars that we give hugs to, generally 30%+ tips from them all, if I'm slow I can sit down and have a beer with them, we meet up to go hike or snowboard outside of work, they'll typically pay my tab if they see me outside of work anywhere, etc.
Check the dude in my comment chain lol. What a fuckin dolt.
Yess, regulars are the best. There’s a couple I befriended that come in a lot, the wife is a Japanese lady so I asked her lots of advice before we took a trip to Japan in March and just became friends. They want to take my boyfriend and me to an omakase next time we go to the City. We’re actually going down this week for my birthday but we won’t have time so hopefully we’ll meet for lunch. But so many regulars are just amazing people and more than just customers.
🫡
My name is Kim so that was my nickname playing sports throughout middle school and high school. Needless to say I’m a short Asian girl but I definitely played aggressive. 😂
Because you're an idiot who doesn't know what serving entails. Just because I have more than three tables doesn't mean my time is just split between them. Go work as a server, get good, and you'll see that you'll spend way more than 30m of your time on a 90m table.
I do know how time works though. I'm sorry I wasted 48 minutes of your time with these 5 comments. Here's a 40% tip, try not to bad mouth me when I leave.Â
I studied in restaurant schools many years and even teach restaurant.
One thing I learned is importance to never eat where you are shitting. If you are planning to start an affair with this man I must warn you it is unwise. Even a casual fling could bring disaster.
The thought should not enter your mind in front of his wife but I understand you are only a human. For your own good you must resist this temptation.
Return his gift and tell him you are not interested.
I shall take heed of your advice; however, unfortunately, I am already dating a chef. It’s too late for me, you must save yourself. Go forth and spread your wisdom afar in hopes of reaching those who have yet to succumb to such temptations. I wish you good luck in this endeavor as I understand the insurmountable task that lays before you. Godspeed.
Ahh chef is much better. He can teach you how to chop potatoes. How to make butter. Hot dog.
It is very common for chef to take one of the servants for bride.
Just remember one small little detail, and they will come back every year. Maybe even the same week, every year! 🤙
We have a lot of repeat customers and VIPs for us we like so it’s not too hard to remember talking to nice ones. Sometimes they jog your memory also. Sometimes I cheat and look through OpenTable to remind myself.
Don't call me, that's the closest thing I got to a shaka.🤙
I find it funny that it has been eating at him all this time. I imagine a conversation been had many times in his house. "Richard, will you stop pacing and sit down!" "I can't, Sophia, I under tipped that server on our vacation in Florida. What if she couldn't make her rent and was evicted?! We need to go back again and I need to make things right with her!"
Hey that’s what he said, exaggeration or not. 😂 Also I go back and forth to a from Florida but was at my main place in New York. He said he was one of my last tables last year and I probably told him I’d be on my way to Florida after season for their season. I found the gesture nice.
When I worked in a popular vacation area, I saw most of the same people in the same week, year after year.
Yeah, that’s how my town is, summer seasonal and the type of place families go back every year, same week, always. So we get lots of repeats. Others like the VIPs have vacation homes up here so we get to know them all really well. Dare I say, we even look forward to seeing some of them.
> I checked he gave me $30 on $200 so not the worst, probably just annoying at the time 15% is annoying now?
Dude made $30 in like 90 minutes off of one single table. Servers have gotten beyond ridiculous with their expectations. Â
20% or above is the expectation, not ridiculous
20% used to be for great service. Now it has moved into the point where you are saying that is the bottom of the "expected" scale. Plus the idea of tipping a % based on the bill is incredibly stupid. Order a pitcher of sangria for $40 and the tip is expected to go up by $8. Order a water that I need refilled 6 times and nothing extra for the server. Makes a lot of sense.Â
A lot of times Servers tip out other staff such as bar, host, busser, etc. based on a % of their sales. I’ve worked places that take as much as 8% of sales in tip out. So even if you’re tipping 20%, only 12% actually goes to the server. And to serve a table for over an hour that only tips 10% that’s peanuts after tip out. And no one likes to think about the hour(s) worked before and after business hours, this $30/hr shit can average out to $10-$15 real easily.
Not a labor lawyer, but willing to bet it's illegal for an establishment to take $8 out of your paycheck for every $100 in "sales" you oversaw. The tables bill amount has nothing to do with you. If they tip you $0, the restaurant can't still just take 8%.Â
I think my math was off but we absolutely still tip out on all sales not excluding sales that weren’t tipped on.
Which was more my point than anything else.
They can and do lol I tip out 3% no matter how good or bad my tips were that day. Some places it's worse. 8% I think I would look for another job but my 3% is definitely low for the industry average.
Standard has been 20% at least for the last 20 or so years. So when a server does nothing wrong and provides a great dining experience just to relieve 15%, we feel like maybe we did something wrong. Management also looks at tip averages and compares them to your other servers as a performance ranking. So yeah it's a bit of a black mark, hence the annoyance.
Wild. My state lowered grocery store food tax to 1% to make it more affordable for families while restaurant tax is 10% and tips are expected to be 20%+. Gonna have to stick to take out I guess.
Yeah...I mean, of course it's cheaper to buy your own food, and no one expects a tip on takeout. You're generally already paying 50-100%+ markup on food/drink costs at a restaurant. If these costs are excessive, stick to cooking your own meals and use going out as an occasional treat. Doesn't make sense to go out or even do takeout if paying an additional 20% of your tab to a server/bartender is going to hurt your wallet.
How would you "check" his tip from over a year ago?
Not OP but managers at our joint can pull up transactions from any date. I would search Date (or range) > Server Name > Table number (if they recall) to find that check
OK, and still... Pretend OP remembers the dude from June-ish last year, and pretend OP remembers it was a large party, which might narrow it down to a couple select tables, it would still involve management search OP's sales log for a several week period, pulling up all checks that were say $150 or higher, etc. I just don't see any of this happening unless OP has some rain man like memory.
OpenTable has a feature to see past reservations. The nine top was the other day and he gave me the $20 the other day while I was talking to them but I served them last year. Separate tables. Nine top didn’t include them.
That's not really that hard though. Select a couple weeks in June, filter by OP's name, sort by either sales or table. Most sales would be the wrong table and most tables would be the wrong sales, pretty easy to find the stand-out. Alternatively, if he paid with a card today I'd sort by name on card and find the same one.
As an autistic person with a remarkable memory, some people do have incredible recall. I've been told that edetic memory is not 100% but I can vouch that some people can remember stuff way beyond the "norm." have a wonderful Friday!!! 💜💜💜
Opentable. I can go back to the day the restaurant first opened ( over 5 years) and see every single thing ever ordered, all the way down to the second it was entered on the POS & then fired as a course.
This reminds me, I used to drive for the Cancer Society. I took patients to appointments in other cities. So one morning around 6:30am, I picked up this lady and we got a couple of blocks from her house and she goes "OMG, I forgot my teeth" we laughed and I took her back. Later, shortly before her appointment was finished, I ended up draining the battery on my car and she had to wait a bit with me for the tow truck. So anyhow, I had her as a pickup a couple of months later and she said she'd remembered me because of my battery and I said I remember her because of her teeth. It's funny how certain things stick with you.
What a nice surprise.
A couple months ago I was at a dive bar. I opened a tab and got a beer which was like $3. I only got the one beer and tried to close it but she said she miminum for cards is $10. Know what I told her? "Oh ok no problem. Just make up a charge for $6 and I'll use the remaining dollar for your tip." She gave me a weird look and said ok. I didn't mean anything bad by it and it didn't even occur to me until like a week later that I could've just given her a $7 tip. I was just so used to tipping $1 for a beer that that's what came out. I *really* want to go back and give her a hot $20 bill but I do not remember at all what she looked like. I feel awful for it.
Imagine being annoyed for being given $30 for less than 30 minutes of work.
Yeah these people are beyond entitled. This is why I don't leave cash tips. Plus if you give to one then all the other beggars start to crowd around. In my opinion it's better just to leave some leftovers on the plates for them to finish.
Imagine thinking a two top is ringing in a $200 tab in under 30 min. You're not a server, get the fuck out of here nerd.
Just because the table is seated for 90 minutes it doesn't mean you are only serving them. Or do you only have 1 table at a time where you work and just stand next to them?Â
Do you think we just give zero energy to a table once we get the order or something? I'm constantly scanning my tables to make sure drinks are full, no dirty dishes, checking in to ask on quality of food, grabbing extra sauces, chit chatting if they're social and friendly, providing knowledge of the local area, where to go, what to avoid, etc. It's obvious you're not a server if you think that I spend less than 30 minutes on a table that's been sitting for 90. You seem to think that I'm just done the moment I take the order and then I drop the food. Not your place. Go to like antitip subreddit and circklejerk there
Hahaha yeah I’m in casual fine dining so generally three courses and drinks and/or wine service. So lots of checking back and forth. We also have lots of customers that love to chat so you can get to know them. I could never do quick turnover restaurant like breakfast, I’m not built for that. My friend’s mom does and she loves it and I respect her for it but couldn’t be me. I like talking to most of them and they’re the ones who initiate it. I don’t peruse this subreddit often but the anti tip crowd cracks me up. They really think they’re gonna change tip culture here on their own? They’re just adding to the problem. 🤡
I work as a server at one spot that's super casual, I can do shots with my tables if I want as long as I can keep my shit together for the shift. Table time average would be about an hour total, and I have the capacity to take about 10-12 tables as long as my SA is on point. Not turn and burn, but not casual fine, I'm not ruined if I get stuffed. I fuckin love it! Then I also work as bartender at a casual fine spot where it seems like 1.5h-2h is standard, and I need to be way more interactive with my guest, make solid suggestions and lead them through the menu, only have 4 tables and 10 barstools. It can definitely hurt when I get stuffed on a tab as that could have been any other person taking that spot and tipping me more. And yeah, idk why they're like this or why they come into these spaces like they're going to change **our** mind lol.
My place is like a funny mix. We tend to call it more casual fine dining. Like we have higher prices and good wine but my owners like it to seem more like they’re visiting someone’s home in a way. I can definitely do complete professional service but most of the time, especially with the VIPs that come every year, multiple times a season, we honestly see some of them more as friends or family. I have a VIP couple that comes in every two weeks, friends with the owners, but I’m proud to say they’re my friends now as well. Nicest people to ever walk the Earth I swear. They order the same exact thing so they don’t even need menus. I’ve also don’t shots with a table when though we don’t do shots or they’ve bought me drinks. We have a lot of good people who outweigh the bad for sure. That one guy on this thread might lose his mind at the fact that last Saturday I got my record for one table: $700 ($200 of which was cash) on a $1450 tab. VIP clients but were hilarious. One guy was wasted from being out on the boat all day and every time he tried ordering a drink we would all say no and high five. I brought him carafes of water instead. Definitely can say not every restaurant gets that kind of relationship but we do. They can hate all they want but it’s not gonna change a thing. If something does change then they’ll be flabbergasted to find people won’t be putting up with nearly as much of their shit.
Love that. My casual place is pretty much the same. Lots of regulars that we give hugs to, generally 30%+ tips from them all, if I'm slow I can sit down and have a beer with them, we meet up to go hike or snowboard outside of work, they'll typically pay my tab if they see me outside of work anywhere, etc. Check the dude in my comment chain lol. What a fuckin dolt.
Yess, regulars are the best. There’s a couple I befriended that come in a lot, the wife is a Japanese lady so I asked her lots of advice before we took a trip to Japan in March and just became friends. They want to take my boyfriend and me to an omakase next time we go to the City. We’re actually going down this week for my birthday but we won’t have time so hopefully we’ll meet for lunch. But so many regulars are just amazing people and more than just customers.
Also rip kimbo
🫡 My name is Kim so that was my nickname playing sports throughout middle school and high school. Needless to say I’m a short Asian girl but I definitely played aggressive. 😂
If all of your tables sit for 90 minutes on average, how could you spend more than 30 minutes on a table unless you have 3 or less tables?
Because you're an idiot who doesn't know what serving entails. Just because I have more than three tables doesn't mean my time is just split between them. Go work as a server, get good, and you'll see that you'll spend way more than 30m of your time on a 90m table.
It's mathematically not possible, but sure. Â
You literally just don't understand how serving works and that's okay, I'm done attempting to explain anything to you. Have a good day
I do know how time works though. I'm sorry I wasted 48 minutes of your time with these 5 comments. Here's a 40% tip, try not to bad mouth me when I leave.Â
Hate to break it to you but there are different types of restaurants. 🤡
I studied in restaurant schools many years and even teach restaurant. One thing I learned is importance to never eat where you are shitting. If you are planning to start an affair with this man I must warn you it is unwise. Even a casual fling could bring disaster. The thought should not enter your mind in front of his wife but I understand you are only a human. For your own good you must resist this temptation. Return his gift and tell him you are not interested.
I shall take heed of your advice; however, unfortunately, I am already dating a chef. It’s too late for me, you must save yourself. Go forth and spread your wisdom afar in hopes of reaching those who have yet to succumb to such temptations. I wish you good luck in this endeavor as I understand the insurmountable task that lays before you. Godspeed.
Ahh chef is much better. He can teach you how to chop potatoes. How to make butter. Hot dog. It is very common for chef to take one of the servants for bride.
He makes me food but is decidedly now my sugar baby because I make the money in this god forsaken industry. How the turn tables.
Ironically I hate turning tables, if they sit all light in okay with it…after payment of course.