“Hi! My name is Tiffany*, and I’ll be your server tonight,” the young woman gushes while flashing a megawatt smile. Her face indicates she is just thrilled to see us. “Can I start you off with something to drink? A glass of wine, maybe?”
“No thank you,” I answer sweetly. “We will have two diet cokes.”
“Oh,” she says, as her face falls. But, then she turns on the smile again for her next attempt. “Then, can I interest you guys in some appetizers? We have some wonderful..”
“Thank you,” I gently interrupt. “We’ll go ahead and order. We each want a salad, and we will split a Tour of Italy.”
“Oh,” her voice is now a dull monotone. “Fine, I’ll have that right out for you.”
For the rest of our meal, “Tiffany” doesn’t turn on the smile. She is no longer thrilled by our presence. Though we order a dessert to share, we are not again treated to her gushing voice. In fact, there is more than a hint of sarcasm. She doesn’t quite slam the food on the table, but since we are not big spenders, we aren’t worthy of her attention. She makes sure not to give it.
Olive Garden Restaurant is not the best Italian food restaurant in Denton. Not by a long shot (I’ll give you a tour of Giuseppe’s another day). Still, we eat there regularly. It has almost become “McDonald’s” for us: it’s a quick and relatively inexpensive place to eat, because we split meals. We share a meal for two reasons:
- since it’s cheaper, it keeps our pocketbook fatter
- the servings are humongous, too much for one person to eat, so if we share it keeps our waistlines thinner
Fortunately, that surly service is not the norm at our local Olive Garden. In fact, several of the staff there wear “bling” on their collar (little buttons saying they give good service), because I called the corporate office to brag on them. Did y’all know you could do that? Just ask the manager for the number and give them a call, and that server will be given an award button. I won’t be making that phone call for “Tiffany.”
I’m quick to praise people, when the service warrants it. That can have benefits, too. In fact, Mr. Tucker likes to marvel that on our first three dates, I praised the staff and we either got discounted or complimentary meals each time. Compliments can equal complimentary!
For a woman who is as willing to rant as I am, I rarely make complaints. Usually, I leave a 20% gratuity, but if service isn’t good that tip drops to 15% or even 10%. In retrospect, I should probably tip the same amount, but tell the manager. That way, according to Lifescripts “Ultimate Tipping Guide,” I’ll get good karma AND ensure that the server learns to give better service to every customer.
I’ve never worked in the food service industry. I can only imagine how physically and emotionally demanding the job can be. If, however, one has chosen to work as a server, here’s a little tip for you: one should remember that the word “gratuity” came from the Latin word “gratuitus” which means “free, spontaneous, voluntary.” No one has to give you any tip at all unless they want to do so! Make them want to do so. While giving excellent service might not ensure an excellent tip, giving lousy service will definitely reduce the tips that one receives.
So, how do y’all handle it when you don’t get good service at a restaurant (or anywhere else for that matter)? Do you complain? Are you as quick to give compliments? I’m just curious. And, if you work in food service, go ahead and give your thoughts. Give us some tips on how we should deal with service that is sub-standard.
*this name was changed to protect the guilty, you can insert any generic teenage name
Well, all my boys–all 5–do/have worked in the food industry through high school or college. I always tip very well. If I get bad service (from the waiter) I only leave 10-15%. If the food is bad, I never blame the waiter and tip less. It’s not their fault.
That’s a good idea on calling corporate to commend a good server. That’s really a good idea for any one in a service industry that does an outstanding job.
kacey’s last blog post..Want to Know a Secret?
I’m pretty strong about not blaming the server for bad food either. I always try to keep smiling at them, even if things are going wrong. I guess they are entitled to bad days, but they should never bring the mood to work!
I waitressed my entire way through college. The hard part about waiting tables is being an actress and learning to read people.
No one wants an irritated waitress that semi-slams plates on tables. I don’t care how irritated you are, you have to hide it. You also have to get a sense of how often to check in on each table, and each one is different. Waiters who hover and interrupt conversations are just as annoying as the ones who leave you stranded there, straining your neck looking around for them.
I know in some chain restaurants, the servers are “encouraged” to sell drinks and appetizers. By encouraged, I mean, if they don’t sell the goal amount they can be docked. I hated working in places like that!
The other big thing that Tiffany doesn’t get is that a lot of people do not tip based on the size of the check and that the smaller the check, the more likely you will get a tip greater than 20%. A couple of tables like you and your husband are far better than one big party and much less work, too!
I’m not sure if actual studies have been done on that, but I saw it all the time. Maybe I should conduct my own
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Interesting observation! In fact, I think it’s true…at least in my case. A lot of times, I just throw cash on the table and later realize it was a whopping 30%. I knew you had worked food service and would have something to say
Our standard is to start at the 10% rule and good service takes you upwards, and poor service takes you down, down, down.
I also always make sure to notify a manager if I have received exceptional service or horrid service…simply because without feedback sometimes they don’t really know how there employee is working out.
I hate to say this but this young lady would have been getting a lower than 10% tip from us.
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20 percent at least normally, but Leon has been known to leave a dollar to make a point on rare occasions that made your waitress looked like a perfect gem. Complaining to the manager does little good at some restaurants - other than to give us a clear understanding why their servers are like that.. they learned from the best (aka, the worst).
We used to go often to Olive Gardens for the quick and easy factor; the last few we have been to were repeatedly so much worse than before, we just quit going.
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Ah, the eternal quandary of tipping for poor service. In general I always tip 20%, but I do the same thing you do, poor service slowly, but surely lowers the tip. To be honest, unless there are specific and very obvious examples of poor service, 20% is the norm when I go out, but I have been known to leave a lot less, and I have also been known to let them know WHY I’m leaving a lot less.
I’ve also taken to using the internet for either complaints or praises, because most of these chain type restaurants do have forms you can fill out with your input. Perhaps not as effective as a phone call, but I know I’d never get around to actually making the call, so…
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Having worked in almost all positions in a restaurant, I tend to be particularly generous to servers. I try never to leave less than 15% (upwards of 25-30% depending on how spectacular the service was) mostly because, though a server should not let it affect their work, people have bad days. It could be that the server who is being less than friendly just found out their mother has cancer or that their father just passed away. You just never when your generosity through their bad day may be enough to make a difference so that they start treating their next customers better.
I am quick to complain, but I’m also quick to compliment. I think I got that from witnessing my grandfather at a restaurant ask for the manager and lay on heavy praise for our server. I have certain expectations regarding service…if they are not met, I let someone know and if they are surpassed, I make sure management is aware.
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I agree with you wholeheartedly. I try to keep an open mind, and I’ll praise before I complain. I even start complaints with a phrase complimenting anything that was good (if there is anything
). Thanks for stopping in.