Ah, Campers. Let me clear this up right now, I’m not talking about the kind you see pictured to the left. This is a restaurant industry term. You civilians out there would say “we haven’t seen each other in ages, and we’re catching up!” Or something like that. We in the Biz see it as “holding up one of my tables for hours and therefore detracting from the amount of money I could be making”.
Let me break it down so the Campers out there understand why they receive exasperated looks that turn downright evil the longer you stay at your table, nursing your ice water long after your meal is over and the waitress has deposited the check. In a restaurant there are only so many tables. Those tables must be equitably divided between all of the servers. If a restaurant is properly staffed, that means most servers will get two or three tables, four at the most. Those are your tables, period. Once they are all full, you don’t get anymore until they leave.
The average restaurant meal at dinner will run an hour to an hour and a half max- that’s with appetizer, a soup and salad course, entree, dessert and after dinner drinks or coffee. Your bill for, lets say, three girlfriends catching up, will run about $90 to $100, especially if you got cocktails. So hopefully, if you all aren’t stingy, you’ll leave me about $15.
That’s awesome, but what if you hold my table hostage for three hours, expecting me to keep your ice water, bowl of lemons, coffee, and mountains of Splenda and creamer stocked up. Are you going to tip me an additional $10 or $15? Probably not. You’re feeling good and generous about the original $15. But you and your gossipy friends have managed to stay for the length of two average meals, yet I should only make money for one?
Folks, as I have stated in many previous posts, I am making $2.65 an hour without my tips. So I need all of the tables in my section to be producing tips at all times! Nothing is worse than watching all the other servers flipping tables right and left, a whole new group every hour in their section, while you have two tables of campers who clearly plan to stay until the cows come home.
Bottom line is this. If you plan to tip me for taking over my table for the night, than giddy-up! I will cheerfully keep your coffees and waters full, and I will even entertain you with jokes, fun stories, and whimsical tunes. Or, I’ll leave you completely alone and let you recount your entire four years in highschool with each other. Whatever you want. Nothing would make a waitress happier than having a table (or a section of tables) who want to stay all night, only requiring the occasional refill after they have finished their meal- provided the table tips accordingly.
Show me the money!! Otherwise, put down the coffee cup and let the hostage (my table) go, because you are seriously cramping my action. And my action pays my bills. I’m just saying.
Let me first say, that I think it is awful that servers are paid such a pitence, because tips are not required, therefore, servers only make more if they are tipped. I also understand that the more tables you turn, the more money you make. However, that should be an issue taken up with the manager, not the customer. Ask for more tables to be assigned to you. If I am paying good money to be fed and entertained, it is my right to stay as long as I want at a table; provided it is not past closing time. And, let me add one more thing. I think servers forget that tips are NOT required. I tip based soley on performance. If my order is wrong and I have to wait 20 minutes for a refill on my drink, I might cut in half. If you are rude when I complain, you get zero. That said, if you are polite and quick with the food and refills, I might double your tip. And, don't get me started on the "18% gratuity" added to parties of 6 or more. Isn't a gratuity exactly that? What if your service was awful and I'm not grateful? Just some thoughts by someone that loves to eat out.
Marta, I finally found you! Love the blogs, at least those that I have ready so far.
Marrietta
Very interesting. If we're out with friends, we always take our time, and tip generously when the service is good. How do we communicate to our server that the tip will be worth it?
smmitchell: Yeah, I really wish there was a better system, but from what I understand, restaurants wouldn't make any money at all if they paid servers minimum wage. I do think tipping should be based on the quality of service; I work with some people who are horrible servers and they act confused when they aren't tipped very well…it's definitely performance based.
Marrietta: Yay!! It was so good to see you again!! Thanks for checking out my blog!! I've got a lot of new features and such rolling out in the new year so stay tuned…
amionajourney: Great question! The short answer is, you probably have to come right out with it, I don't think there is a code or signal. Maybe you could joke, you know, as the server provides you with that third, perfectly timed refill that you didn't have to ask for you could say "Wow, somebodies going for a huge tip!" and laugh. At that point, the server knows that you are either playing with their emotions or plan to leave a great tip.
Thanks for reading and commenting everyone!! Hope you all have a blessed New Years Eve and an awesome New Year!!
Just to throw my two cents in: I hate it when people tell me they're good tippers. Most of the time, that's a signal to me I'm getting shit. 90% of the people who say something like "oh, it'll be worth your while!" leave 10% or so.
Lol you're actually quite right, my experience has been fairly similar, purplegirl!! I guess the definition of "worth your while" can be different for servers than it is for customers! Lol. Happy New Year!!
Dear smmitchell, please stay away from my restaurant. The power trip attitude of "I can cut your pay in half or even NOT pay you at all!!!" gets very, very old. Most people who think this way do not tip well anyway. You're not doing me a favor by tipping me, you're being a decent human who understands that I make massively below the actual minimum wage. Just like I'm not doing you a favor by being a good server, I'm just doing my job. This "I am the God of the Restaurant!" attitude frustrates me more than anything. Because when you hear someone saying "I'm a good tipper, but if I get bad service…" that always means they're justifying themselves to complain and none of the other servers are in the back defending you, because you're either a mediocre tipper or a jerk.
PS- Most of us are not allowed to have more tables to assigned to us. Certain corporations have rules in place that servers get so many tables, and if anyone were to complain that would mean my manager's ass as well. So you can bet I'm not getting that extra table, even if I want it.
Anonymous: I absolutely agree with you. On all counts. smmitchell sounds like aputz to wait on! Might be a cool person in other respects, but please don't come sit in my section! And you're right, the person who claims to tip well under their idea of ideal circumstances is rarely a good tipper, because they are rarely satisfied with anything on their life! Spot on with your PS too. God bless! Hope to see you at Live Chat Monday tonight!!
If you get so bent out of shape at people getting their moneys worth at a restaurant, I suggest you quit complaining and find another line of work. Servers are consistently complaining about “their lot in life.” I’ll never forget one of my first jobs as a teenager as a busboy…waiters and waitresses constantly bad-mouthing and whining about how awful their jobs are, how rude or demanding their customers are, how they don’t get enough shifts or get too many shifts, blahblahblah. Then they’d finish off the night with booze and/or drugs.
Being a waiter or a waitress should be a temporary or supplemental job; not one to base a career off of (unless you’re a pro at French Laundry or something – which I doubt most of you are.)
You are basically a customer’s servant for a given amount of time…if you don’t like that idea, I suggest finishing school, starting your own line of work, or using the intellect that places you so far above your customers to find a job with a dependable pay schedule.
You can let me know all the tips to become a better restaurant customer, but I don’t care. You’re just the server. I’d like to see what the owner has to say…and chances are, he or she will side with me everytime.
So quit complaining and realize that you are the ones responsible for basing your career and livelihood in this industry….it won’t change until you do.
Hi Nick! Thanks for reading and for commenting! I had to edit your comment a bit, because I have a strict policy about certain words and phrases, check out my About page: http://howrc.com/about/
So, I’m not so concerned with people getting their money’s worth, I like to get what I pay for too! But I get irritated with people trying to milk the system, something I would be ashamed to do. Personally, I love people and I love my job. 85-90% of customers are awesome! Just got a belated Christmas card with a financial gift in it a couple weeks ago from a customer, and I made a $150 tip not too long ago, so its a great job.
Also, being saved and sanctified, I don’t finish my shift off with booze or drugs, I finish it off with a late dinner and some television with my husband.
Servers are not servants, because slavery was abolished quite awhile ago, so the customers don’t own the server, they are paying for their services, and there are definite boundaries to those services. For instance, I can call the police on a man who thinks he can fondle any part of my body while I wait on him.
I did finish school, but statistics show that there are quite a lot of college grads waiting tables these days, you know, the recession and all. In fact, I work with a teacher who needs to wait tables as a second job to make ends meet.
Quite a lot of restaurant owners and manager are fans of this website and the Facebook page; they leave comments and send me emails to that effect all the time. Most of them were servers before they ascended the ranks, so they experienced the same irritations.
This site is dedicated to the cheap, rude, arrogant, insensitive, 10-15% of restaurant customers who believe they are the owners of the establishment, instead of one of a large group of people eating there at any given time. These people should get some manners and realize they don’t deserve free everything, and if thats what they want they should open their own restaurant.
I doubt you’re one of those. For the people who don’t act in these deplorable ways, this website is meant to be humorous. Thanks, and God bless!
Nick, bussing is not serving by any means and until you wait tables yourself please don’t judge those who do. This blog could be applied to being a better customer – period. The lack of customers saying please and thank you, talking on phones while checking out, saying “give me” and “get me” instead of “may I please have” … it’s sad. (And no, I am not a server or a retail employee.)