Response to: A Server's Guide to Eating Out

A guy named Nathan has a post on: http://www.askmen.com/fashion/how_to/4_how_to.html This is MY response to his post. Most of this post is all over the internet, but he added a bunch of SELFISH, LAZY things, which I would like to respond to the entire thing in my own blog to it. I have seen this guide ALL OVER the internet, just written differently. This is a response for all servers who think they deserve a tip ALL THE TIME NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS. They need to realize that unless automatic grauity is added, we don't have to tip servers. A tip is supposed to be EARNED, IT'S NOT A RIGHT! Here it goes:

"A Servers Guide to Eating Out!! A SERVERS GUIDE TO EATING OUT (There is a bulletin floating around about this. I added a little bit, but who ever started it is a genius!) The next time you're out eating at a restaurant, look at your server. Do you think they are really happy to be doing that job? The answer is no, they are not, but it's what we do, and we do it for the money, so please help them out. Its a tougher job than you think and you should hook it up accordingly! There are SO many people out there flooding the restaurants w/o any knowledge of how to tip. Here is a guide for the general public to follow. Feel free to print out and store in your wallet and/or purse. :)"

Totally 100% DISAGREE that whoever started this was a "genius", because the person that started this was a SELFISH and UNCARING server.

"1. CHILDREN First off, try to be aware of the ratio of adults to children. Two, MAYBE three kids to one adult is fine, but when you have a table of one adult and six children? Well, it's usually a disaster waiting to happen. Also, please DO NOT let them open and dump stuff on the table (ie; salt, sugar, etc). IF YOU DO, you must leave an extra $5 for the server to clean up YOUR child's mess and to re-stock the now unusable wasted items. We are neither their babysitter nor their parent. The least you can do is pay us for the extra work. Also make sure you control your kids and don't let them scream or run around the restaurant. It's very distracting, annoying, and not to mention dangerous if they get ran over by a server with hot food in their hands. Fair warning."

Leaving extra money when customers have LEFT already is STUPID and is RIDICULOUS for someone to pay for service they will NOT be receiving since the act of cleaning a mess up is done AFTER the customer has left the restaurant. Sorry, but $5 more is a HUGE AMOUNT for clean up work. Cleaning, in my opinion is NOT SERVICE, because it DOESN'T BENEFIT MY SERVICE. When customers LEAVE the restaurant, do you HONESTLY THINK THEY ARE THINKING ABOUT THE MESS THEIR SERVER HAS TO CLEAN UP? HELL NO, THEY DON'T!!!

"2. "THE CAMPERS": If you feel the necessity to stay for longer than 15 minutes after you pay, its an extra $3 every 30 minutes. We make our money from the tables. If you are in one and we can't seat it, we don't make money. It's that simple."

There is NO SUCH THING as "RENTING A TABLE" in a restaurant. You can rent a ROOM in some restaurants, but that money goes to the RESTAURANT OWNERS, NOT the SERVERS. You have to remember, customers aren't "RENTING" a table like a lane at a bowling alley. Paying ANYTHING MORE for ZERO MORE service = ZERO MORE TIP. If I am getting refills during let's say an extra half an hour I would stay, that's SERVICE, so I would give a DOLLAR MORE, that's IT. $3 would be INSANE, especially for only 15 minutes. That's just SELFISH on the SERVER'S PART to think they would deserve that much just for sitting longer.

"3. COMPLIMENTS: Telling a server they are the best server they've ever had is not a tip. If we are good, let us know by leaving us more money. We cant pay our bills on compliments. It's not that we don't appreciate the praise (we really do), its just that it's not an excuse for leaving a 10% tip. 90% of the time that we are told that we are the best server you have ever had, we can feel that 0 tip coming. It really shouldnt be like that people. Whos fault is it that we prejudge??"

I AGREE 100%. If you really mean that the server was so great, PAY UP! ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS!! You say they are great, words are cheap as they can come, so give some extra money if they were THAT GREAT. I don't understand WHY customers would say their server was so wonderful, then leave them with like 10%? That boggles my mind. I guess some people really think 10% is a good tip.

"4. THE SALVATION PAMPHLETS: Prayer cards or some other religious pamphlet is NOT a tip. First off, it is insulting that you assume we are devoid of religion and have a need to be saved by someone like you. Again, just like compliments, we can't pay our bills w/ prayer cards. The reason most of us aren't in church is because so many of you give us that lovely lunch rush on Sundays."

Someone giving a pamphlet for a tip is CHEAP and is doing wrong by the server UNLESS the server did poorly. If customers want good service, they need to PAY for it with MONEY, NOT with pamphlets or prayer cards. Pamphlets and prayer cards don't pay the server's bills. I cannot believe that customers really think a pamphlet is a tip?

"5. TIPPING: Who ever started telling people that 10% was a normal tip? It's a terrible tip. Leave the 10% tip to the rude, unpleasant waitress at Denny's who took 45 min. to refill your coffee. It is not 1960. Cost of living has gone up dramatically since then. 18% is the MINIMUM amount of what you should be tipping your servers (unless, of course, they are truly awful). But just look at the tax line and multiply by 2 or 3. This gives you your minimum tip amount. Remember, our companies pay us minimum hourly wage for tipped employees, which is $3.13 in FL, $3.09 in IA, $2.38 in MD & $2.13 in TX). Also, you must tip on the TOTAL amount, including tax. This is because we have to tip-out according to OUR TOTAL sales (which INCLUDES tax). We give a portion to the bussers, the bartenders, and the expediter in the kitchen. We tip-out on tax, so YOU tip on tax as well."

I disagree on some parts and agree on some parts. I disagree that you should leave ANYTHING for waiting 45 mins. for a refill, because that's NEGLECT, which should get a STIFF in that type of situation. WHO in the world has 45 mins. to wait for a refill and even servers themselves wouldn't want to wait that long for service? TIPS are for SERVICE, NOT for NEGLECT! 18% is the minimum amount for DECENT, GOOD, SERVICE. If the service sucks, the tip will also. I agree with tipping on taxes, because the tip should be based on the TOTAL BILL, NOT the SUBTOTAL since servers have to pay taxes on their tips. If I have to wait 45 minutes for a refill, there will be NO tip for the server, a talking with the manager, and a letter to corporate as well for NEGLECTING YOUR JOB DUTIES. I wouldn't wait 45 minutes for a refill, because I would just go to fill it up myself personally if I had to wait that long, because I am NOT LAZY like some servers are. 45 minutes is NOT WORTH waiting for a drink of ANY KIND, even a bar drink. I have gotten refills in less than 30 seconds, that's right, LESS THAN 30 seconds before, so there's NEVER A REASON, EVER, TO MAKE A CUSTOMER WAIT THAT LONG, EVER! That's inexcusable service!

"6. THE COMPLAINERS: If you get a discount because your food was prepared wrong or something, do not take it out of our tip. We didn't cook it. That wasn't our job. The cooks get paid hourly regardless if the food tastes bad. However, we only make what you give us. We're there to get your drinks, take your order, bring your food, and be attentive to your eating needs, ONLY. Keep that in mind. (Also, we dont care who did it for you last time you were here, If we tell you that we cant do something, we cant do it. Who ever that was that did it for you last time only makes our life harder because we still get griped at by you people for doing what we are supposed to do.)"

TOTALLY DISAGREE!!! If I get a discount, it's usually because the SERVER messed up, NOT the kitchen staff. 90% of food mistakes are the SERVER'S MISTAKES. Putting in an order wrong, forgetting to put in an order, delaying putting in orders, bringing out OBVIOUSLY wrong food such as a wrong entrée, wrong side dish or things missing, etc. are ALL the SERVER'S FAULT if they bring out the food and took the order. Putting in the order wrong, forgetting to put in an order, and delaying putting in orders are ALWAYS the SERVER'S FAULT NOT MATTER WHO BRINGS OUT THE FOOD. If I order lightly cooked fries, if they are dark, it's like DUH, even if you put in the order correctly, if you can ****SEE**** they are dark to TELL THE COOK TO RECOOK SOME FRIES and DO NOT BRING IT OUT TO ME LIKE THAT. USE YOUR HEAD INSTEAD OF BEING A LAZY ASS!! When you say the "ONLY" things you are responsible for is those things you listed, you need to think again. Even though you put the order in 100% correctly, if you can ***SEE*** my side dish is wrong or missing or my ranch is missing or my entrée is wrong, it's on the person that is making the TIP that is supposed to ***********EARN*********** their tip by VERIFYING WHAT THE HECK THEY ARE BRINGING THE CUSTOMER. Think about it logically. It's my server's fault if I get my wrong side dish delivered to my table if they bring out my food as well as took my order all because they could have CAUGHT that mistake in the kitchen. Considering my server is the person that BROUGHT me my food, they could have PREVENTED me from RECEIVING ANY OBVIOUS MISTAKES that they don't have to touch the food to know it's a mistake. So if they would have caught the mistake beforehand in the kitchen, then when the server brought out the food, the side dish would have been CORRECTLY BROUGHT TO THE TABLE. So basically what I am saying is NO MISTAKE would have been brought to the customer. The SERVER is the person that is supposed to PREVENT MISTAKES from getting to the customers. THAT ***IS*** THEIR JOB. One time a waitress forgot my husband's baked potato. Considering she WROTE DOWN the order, she did something totally STUPID. She actually was reading the ticket on the tray to see why the baked potato wasn't there as if she couldn't have done that BEFORE she LEFT THE KITCHEN. She NEVER once APOLOGIZED, even though it WAS HER FAULT 100%. I do NOT care if she put in the order correct, because she could have still VERIFIED that the tray had NO baked potato IN THE KITCHEN, NOT AT OUR TABLE since it was HER THAT BROUGHT THE FOOD OUT, SHE HAD TOTAL 100% CONTROL OVER WHAT THE HELL SHE WAS TAKING TO THE TABLE IF IT WAS CORRECT OR NOT. It's like DUH, are YOU BLIND? I mean seriously. My husband wasn't rude about the situation at all, but NEVER got ONE sorry. It's things like that, that make customers feel SUPERIOR to STUPID IDIOTS LIKE THAT, that we have severing us today. When something is MISSING such as an entire side dish when it's only 2 customers to a party, there's something wrong with that server. I know what it's called, LAZINESS AND BEING VERY UNCARING. I understand sometimes things get overlooked, but I cannot understand an ENTIRE SIDE DISH just be missed? Especially considering my condiments were brought BEFORE the entrées came out, so she only had my burger, fries, my husband club sandwich, fries, and a baked potato to verify. The baked potato was missing. With ONLY 5 items to verify, so this wasn't really that difficult that she couldn't have gotten it correctly brought to our table.

If another server brings out the food, my server could have brought out sides of condiments BEFORE the food came out, because the other server bringing out the food is NOT getting tipped from the customers so it's not like they are going to care if the order is being brought out correctly or not. As a server, YOU are responsible for YOUR OWN TIPS. YOU can make sure the customers have their sides or bottles of condiments BEFORE the food comes out NO MATTER WHO BRINGS OUT THE FOOD. Remember, it's YOUR TIP on the line, the other server that is bringing the food out is just getting tipped from SALES, NOT if they bring out the food right or wrong. So it is 100% up to YOU if you want to be LAZY ASS or if you want to make 100% sure your customers at the very least have the sides or bottles of CONDIMENTS they have ordered BEFORE the food comes out. You should NEVER wait for another server that won't get penalized or rewarded for bringing out the food correctly for items you do NOT HAVE TO. Ranch, ketchup, mayo, mustard, etc., do NOT need ANY COOKING, so it shouldn't take more than 5 or so minutes to get them to the customer. There's NEVER a reason to wait until the food comes out to bring out sides of condiments UNLESS the customer refuses the offer to get them brought out ahead of time.

Also, I have had times when I had an item that was going to be discontinued and got it made by ASKING. There is NOTHING WRONG with ASKING if they can still make something. All the manager can say is NO. You DON'T KNOW UNLESS YOU ASK.

"7. THE FREE STUFF: If you happen to get anything for free and you did not have a problem with your dining experience, most of the time it is because the server thinks you will realize that they are giving it to you for free. There should be a little extra tip thanking the server for the free item. They could get in a lot of trouble giving away free stuff. You should give them hazard pay for it."

I agree 100% if I didn't have ANY PROBLEMS to give MORE to THANK the server for the freebie and I actually DO this. Usually though, if you have a free item it is due to bad service and probably the current server's bad service, NOT a previous experience. Also, if there is a huge comp, you know what, the MANAGER is the person giving away the free stuff, NOT the server unless the server PAYS for it out of their own pocket, which is HIGHLY UNLIKELY, so WHY thank the server then if the MANAGER is the person that gave the free stuff? I should be thanking the MANAGER, NOT THE SERVER in that situation. If the free stuff was from a previous experience, that was from the MANAGER or CORPORATE, NOT from the current server. If servers don't ring up soft drinks, I will give a bit extra in the tip ONLY if the service was decent. I feel if you really sucked, NO AMOUNT OF FREE STUFF WILL SWAY ME TO TIP YOU ANYTHING IF YOU WERE HORRIBLE.

"8. THE LATE ONES: First, we'd prefer you to be respectful enough to come in no later than thirty minutes to closing time. Remember, we can't just clock out and leave as soon as you've finished paying your bill. But if you must come 10 minutes before closing or any time near closing, hurry up, order your food, and get out. Closed means closed, not social hour. It's incredibly rude to sit there and take your sweet time. You should take a hint when the only people you see in the restaurant are employees. We can't leave until you leave because we have to do our side work, roll our silverware in most cases, and clean the table you're sitting at. We don't want to stand there waiting for you for an extra hour just because you don't want to go home. We recommend a 24-hour establishment if you wish to sit into the wee hours of the night."

I agree 100% that it is VERY RUDE to go to a restaurant when it's almost closed. Customers are selfish when they do that.

"9. THE TABLE HOGGERS: This is a slight variation of the "campers." If you only come in for coffee/dessert, to do paper work, or to have a meeting, don't sit there taking up our tables for hours. We're not a coffee shop, or a small, local diner. If you want to sit for hours with your cheesecake or your business associates whom you think are your friends, do it in a different setting, or compensate us in the tip."

Sorry, but NO EXTRA COMPENSATION for "JUST SITTING", because a tip is for actual "SERVICE", so if there is NO SERVICE to speak of, there should NEVER be ANYMORE TIP TO GIVE. Tips are ONLY for SERVICES RENDERED, NOT for taking up a table. Also, at certain times, restaurants are NOT BUSY and do NOT have ANY WAIT, so if some people are at a table when it's not busy, SO WHAT! It will NOT affect your tip, so WHY CARE? If you are serving me more with refills, then OF COURSE tip more, but just for "sitting" is NOT a REAL REASON TO TIP MORE.

"10. THE GREET: When we come up to the table to greet you and ask how you are doing, simply do the kind thing and let us know, and be honest. Why not? If you're havin' a bad day, tell us from the beginning and maybe we'll be a little more helpful and/or sympathetic. But any reply will usually do. A confused stare, or complete silence does not suffice as a reply to "How are you doing?". Also, most of us are REQUIRED to say certain things during the greeting, so please don't interrupt our greeting to say "Sweet tea", "Can we get some bread?", or "What are the soups?" If a server tells you their name, try to remember it, they have told you for a reason, and will probably get pretty mad if you yell, EXCUSE ME, SIR/MAAM!!! every time you want something. It is also extremely important to look at your sever, and remember what they look like, so that you dont make yourself look like a complete fool by confusing another server for your own. It is pretty insulting to know that you people dont even care enough about the people that bring your food to take half a second to see what we look like."

I don't care about chit-chatting, because I just want to place my order. If you want to chit-chat, do it AFTER I have placed my order.

Also, it's comical that you said this: "It is pretty insulting to know that you people dont even care enough about the people that bring your food to take half a second to see what we look like." Think about what you are saying. If you don't want to take a half a second to make sure I have the correct ENTRÉE, then what kind of tip do YOU deserve? My husband and I have gotten delivered wrong entrées from the SAME SERVER that took the orders. It's pretty bad when they can't tell the differences between bbq chicken nachos(what I ordered) and quesadillas(I was brought by the SAME SERVER) or crabmeat au gratin(my husband ordered) and fried shrimp w/fries(my husband was brought by the SAME SERVER). I think it's pretty INSULTING that a server would be so STUPID as to BRING you the completely WRONG FOOD to your table. It makes the server look like a complete IDIOT and VERY UNCARING. WHY should customers care about what you LOOK LIKE, if you do NOT *********CARE********* if the customer has the correct food or not? You can glance to see if I have a correct entrée or not definitely, but yet, we have been handed wrong entrées from the SAME SERVER that took our orders. Isn't that a bit RIDICULOUS that they couldn't VERIFY if we had the correct food considering we were only 2 people? If we were a party of 10, I would have been a bit more forgiving, but a party of 2, ANYBODY should be able to get the orders correct to the table if they took the order as far as OBVIOUS mistakes go.

Don't you realize that customers do NOT CARE what the person LOOKS LIKE that is serving them, just as some servers don't care about their customer's food being correct? So if you don't care about my food, WHY should I care about WHO YOU EVEN ARE? Caring is a 2-WAY STREET.

"11. THOSE CELL PHONES: Don't ever be on your cell phone when we come up to greet and/or take your drink or food order. Gosh, that's rude. And if you MUST talk during your meal, keep your voice down out of respect for other guests. No one wants to hear some loudmouthed malcontent, yelling at someone on the other line, making people around him stare, and making his/her server feel awkward. And no one cares how well your presentation or your TPS report went, or how your stocks, bonds, and mutual funds are doing. If you want to impress people, do it with your TIP. If you're on your cell phone when we walk up to the table, we're just going to talk and keep talking to you as if you have our full, undivided attention. If you didn't hear us ask if you wanted cheese on your burger, tough luck. Get off the cell phone next time. Just please show some respect and give us your attention for a couple of minutes. If you are in any kind of a hurry it is very important to stay off of the phone. Some servers refuse to speak to people who are on the phone, and will simply let you sit there on the phone, wondering where we are because you are thirsty."

I AGREE 100% with this one. It's so RUDE to be on your phone and completely ignore the server. I feel being on a cell phone is just a rude as continuing a conversation instead of paying attention to the server.

"12. TO-GO: Always remember to tip the take-out order servers! They work just as hard as a server, and hardly ever get tips for it! WE DESERVE TO BE TIPPED TOO!"

That is BS that they work “JUST AS HARD”! If that was the case, fast food places(excluding Sonic Drive) would ACCEPT tips and it would be a NORMAL PART of going to eat at a fast food place. Also, servers that do table service only would be pretty mad to know that servers that do COUNTER service aren’t working NEARLY as hard to be receiving the tips that they are getting and they are doing WAY THE HELL MORE WORK WITH THEIR TABLE SERVICE, but may get close to the same amount or less. I’d be pissed off to know that bagging someone’s food was just tipped 15%, but my table service I would have just provided that was MUCH MORE WORK was ONLY tipped 10%. YOU KNOW IT’S WAY MORE WORK TO GIVE TABLE SERVICE THAN TO GIVE A TO-GO ORDER TO SOMEONE! Don’t give me that crap about “THEY WORKED JUST AS HARD”, because it’s BULL SHIT! BAGGING MY THINGS IS NOT VERY HARD WORK. Serving me at a table is! YOU KNOW THAT’S THE TRUTH, otherwise fast food employee’s(excluding Sonic Drive-in) would get tips too.

Do to-go servers normally give refills? NO
Do to-go servers at the COUNTER to-go normally have to WALK to give the check or change? NO
Do to-go servers have to BRING food, condiments, drinks, etc. to a table? NO

Then, GEE, they DON'T WORK AS HARD, NOW DO THEY?
When Wendy's people fix 3 cokes and put a hamburger combo in a bag with ketchups and napkins, NOBODY tips them, so WHY tip for 3 cokes at Chili's plus one entree to-go that I go inside to pick up? At Applebee's, the utensils are in a bag along WITH a napkin, so there's LESS work there to put that into the bag than a fast food employee has to do.http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=470548Look at this website. Look at ALL THOSE PEOPLE THAT DON’T TIP FOR TAKE-OUT. BottomFeeder said “There's no point in doing so since all this person did was wrap up my food that someone else made for me, and that's it.”Kaiser said “Tipping on take-out? Why, because you carried the styrofoam containers from the kitchen and bagged them for me?”SDscooby said “Agreed, I don't tip on take-out. That’s just ridiculous.”Incorporeal said “I don’t tip for takeout, I tip about 20% + when I eat in though.”Hunter S. Thompson said “And no I don't tip if I get take out. If someone delivers it then I will.”Stitkacik said "Takeout = no tip."nhluhr said "This means no tips for Takeout."Eric Anderson said "And I NEVER do for takeout."Look at ALL THESE PEOPLE that AGREE that tipping for take-out is STUPID if you actually go inside the place to pick it up. If I get it delivered to my car or get pizza delivered then I will tip 15%, NO more than that though. Also, I will NOT tip at ALL if they can't get the order correct. Like I have gotten delivered a pizza and they actually charge for extra cheese sauces at Papa John's. NONE of the 5 cheese sauces were delivered quite a number of times. If the delivery drivers can't DOUBLE CHECK the box BEFORE handing it to me, FUCK THEM! Same thing goes for take-out that is delivered to my car. If I have ordered fries as a side and you have in my bag "beans", well you won't be getting a tip for bringing me the WRONG food that I have to WAIT LONGER for in the car for because you were TOO DAMN LAZY TO DOUBLE CHECK THE BAG. The food HAS to be correct for me to tip at Sonic Drive-in. I have stiffed people at Sonic if the food is WRONG. I even bought a gift card a few months ago at Chili’s and someone ahead of me in line was getting some food to-go worth almost $20 worth. I saw her pay with a $20 bill and her put back *ALL* the change in her purse. I thought to myself *WAY TO GO GIRL!*

People at fast food places(excluding Sonic Drive-in) and TAKE OUT SERVERS do the following:
1. They give me napkins
2. They give me ketchups or syrups or butters, or jellies or whatever condiments
3. They put the item in a bag
4. They ring up the item and give people change
5. They fill a cup with ice and soft drink or whatever drink like tea.

Can you tell me WHY should I tip for the SAME AMOUNT of SERVICE that we all NEVER tip for at a fast food place(NOT including Sonic) just because it happens to be a "SIT DOWN" restaurant? At KFC for instance, I’ve gotten a 6 piece meal with sides. They put my plastic utensils and napkins. They put it into a bag and they took the order. I’ve even seen the CASHIER get some of the food like she got a thong for the biscuits and put them in HERSELF in the box, meaning, SHE BOXED food for NO TIP at all. Isn’t that the SAME EXACT THING that a sit-down restaurant to-go employees do? I am NOT talking about people that get car-side-to-go. Bringing me my food to my car IS service to tip for, but me getting out of my car to pick it up inside the restaurant ISN’T service to tip for, because it’s just like picking up McDonald’s, which is called “COUNTER SERVICE.” COUNTER SERVICE, IS JUST THAT, COUNTER SERVICE LIKE FAST FOOD PLACES(EXCLUDING SONIC DRIVE-IN OBVIOUSLY)!I will repeat it again in a little different way incase if you don’t understand how STUPID and RIDICULOUS it is to tip for take-out.The take-out servers and fast food servers(excluding Sonic Drive-in) do the following:

1. Bag my stuff.
2. Put me napkins and utensils
3. Put any condiments in a bag
4. Ring the order up initially
5. Put money in register when customer gets there.

What's to tip for here? FAST FOOD PEOPLE DO THE SAME EXACT THINGS? Do you truly know of a difference? A phone called order is just like if I was standing telling the cashier what I wanted. It's just a DIFFERENT way of taking an order down. KFC workers do more work. The utensils are separate from napkins. Applebee's has it all-in-one little bag with a napkin, fork, knife, and salt & pepper packets also. A KFC worker that TOOK MY ORDER AND RUNG IT UP AS WELL got chicken and biscuits to put into the boxes. She even put the sides in the containers. Those employees don't get tips, so WHY tip for LESS WORK at Applebee's? That's just plain STUPID and VERY UNFAIR! WHY tip for service that we don't ALL TIP FOR when we order at fast food places? THAT is NOT FAIR to tip for a take-out entree at Chili's, but NOT for a combo at McDonald's. When I order hotcakes and sausage at McDonald's, the cashiers get me butters, syrups, knives, forks, and jelly for my sausage. They bag it too and ring me up as well just like a to-go server. Do they get a tip for that? I think NOT! Is that truly *FAIR* if I don’t tip them, but I tip a Chili’s employee for my to-go entrée? HELL NO, IT’S NOT and fast food workers may end up doing even MORE WORK than that Chili’s employee for no tip at all. That’s just NOT FAIR, it really ISN’T! WHY wouldn’t you want to be FAIR TO EVERYBODY in the world and tip when for the *AMOUNT OF WORK* that is being done and COMPARE it to what we don’t tip for? It’s just not right to tip for one pasta entrée with the bag of utenils and napkin(all-in-one), but not to tip for a McDonald’s combo that the server has to fill a glass, bag the food, and give condiments like mayo if it is requested. THAT’S MORE WORK than that ONE pasta entree, but they NEVER get tipped.

If a server brings the food to the customer's car such as car-side-to-go, then I would tip ONLY if the food was correct as far as something the server could SEE. I would tip $2 at the most for most to-go orders ONLY if they would bring it to my car. I have NEVER gotten car-side-to-go, but I DO tip at Sonic Drive-in ONLY if I get my order delivered correctly as far as what the server can SEE with their EYES.

"13. PAY ATTENTION: If you are dining with someone else, and especially if there are several people at the table, pay attention to the questions that we ask you when we take the first order. Chances are that we are going to ask each and every person the same or at least similar questions. If the first person is asked what side they want and what salad dressing they want, you should make our life a little easier and tell us everything you want including your side and salad preference without making us ask. Also there is know absolutely no reason we should have to repeat what the sides are, or what kinds of salad dressings we have. Shut you mouths for a few minutes, quit talking amongst each other, and listen to what I have to say. Most of the time, it will have something to do with your food!"

I AGREE VERY MUCH 100%! I cannot understand WHY, especially old people, have to have the sides repeated a billion times as if they cannot READ the menu. What a TIME WASTER for EVERYONE. I HATE SUCH INCONSIDERATE PEOPLE that take up VALUABLE TIME to have things that are already in print on the MENU. THE ONLY reasons that repeating things on the menu would be acceptable would be for people that have bad eyesight or have trouble reading. If you can READ and have good eyesight, don't be so god damn lazy as to make your server WASTE TIME reading stuff already in front of you. It's so ridiculous when you hear the side dishes repeated 4 or 5 times, because each person is too damn LAZY to READ THE DAMN MENU FOR THEMSELVES. Don't customers realize that when they take up time like that, it affects OTHER CUSTOMER'S TIME getting refills and other things? When I say I am ready to order, I am READY to order. If I have any questions, I will ask them BEFORE I order such as things that aren't listed like the ingredients in most side salads usually aren't listed. All restaurants make side salads differently, so I ask.

"14. THE PICKY ONES Some people try to make things absolutely as difficult as possible for us. Quit being so picky. Who cares if you dont like cucumbers on your salad. They arent poisonous. Unless you are deathly allergic to something, pick it off of the plate your self. My Gosh, likes it isnt enough for us to have to remember that 2 of you wanted Ranch on your salad, 1 of you wants Honey Mustard on the side, 3 of you want Caesar salads, but one Caesar gets dressing on the side, and one of you wants coleslaw! Give me a freaking break! Lets give the seaters a little bit of love here too. By saying that you are picky, we are also talking about your table selection. Dont kill the seaters by asking them for a quiet table on a Friday night at 7:00. Come on. There are no quiet tables. If you want quiet, stay home! When you go to put your name on the list, if there is someone in a wheel chair with your party, request a table rather than a booth, and dont get mad when people that came in after you get seated first. I bet they went to a booth. And the same goes for those of you who refuse to sit at anything other than a booth. Just ask for it first. Dont wait until it is your turn to be seated and then get mad and gripe that you were given a table. If you are a larger person, dont try to squeeze into a booth, admit your overweight, ask for a table. Dont get mad at the seaters for not assuming you want a table. They dont know any better."

That's RUDE, because picking off CHOPPED UP CUCUMBERS is a NIGHTMARE and TIME-CONSUMING to sort through the salad as a customer. Then you end up biting one of those nasty things(I HATE CUCUMBERS PERSONALLY). You are SO DAMN LAZY to say your CUSTOMERS should have to do ANYTHING. YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO **************EARN****************** YOUR TIP TO GET THE ORDER CORRECT IN THE KITCHEN INSTEAD OF BEING THAT STUPID TO TAKE OUT THE SALAD KNOWING YOU CAN ****SEE**** CHOPPED UP CUCUMBERS WHEN I SAID I DIDN'T WANT CUCUMBERS. If you cannot SEE them, then I won't count off tip points for it UNLESS you admit it is your fault. I'll agree if it's just like 2 big pieces of cucumbers like in Red Lobster's salads, I don't mind picking it out the salad, because it's NOT CHOPPED UP, but when it's chopped up like Outback or Chili's salads, it's a PAIN IN THE ASS FOR THE CUSTOMER TO PICK ALL OF THEM OUT THEMSELVES and to sort through all the salad dressing as well. WHAT A MESS for the customer. What about the people allergic to let's say cucumbers? For them, just removing them may not be enough. Pickles on a bun is NOT just about picking them off, because the JUICES of the pickles get into the bun, so you cannot just pick them off without having pickle juice taste.

Also, you say "it isnt enough for us to have to remember that 2 of you wanted Ranch on your salad", for starters, you aren't supposed to have to "REMEMBER" A DAMN THING IF YOU *****WRITE****** THE ORDERS DOWN. You simply put the order into the computer from the written order, then if you bring out the salad, you make sure that there are indeed 2 sides of ranch with the salad by COMPARING THAT WRITTEN ORDER WITH THE PLATE OF FOOD. If another server brings out the food, if the ticket is correct, that server could verify the ticket ***********BEFORE************** BRINGING THE FOOD TO THE CUSTOMER. I know at Red Lobster, the servers make the salads. So if that is true in most restaurants, the salads should be 100% correct, because the SERVER is actually preparing them, NOT ANYONE ELSE. There's NEVER an excuse to get a salad order wrong if you make the salad yourself and are bringing the salads out with the dressing.

You say "Quit being so picky", I say "QUIT BEING SO DAMN LAZY TO GET WHAT CUSTOMERS WANT!"

"15. DONT BE GREEDY Many of you go out to eat, and expect to be waited on hand and foot. You want everything right then and there. Listen people. We usually have more than just your table. We have other people to deal with too, who probably have the same I want it now mentality. Be patient, give us just a minute, and we will get whatever it is you asked for. If we have forgotten, remember, we are human too. Dont get mad, just ask again. WE WILL GET IT FOR YOU! Most of us have so many things running through our heads that it is a miracle we remember our own name. Not only your needs, but we are also thinking about how we are going to make our bills for the month since most people dont tip worth anything. Despite how things may sound, there are still a few good tippers let in the world. Just remember, we greatly appreciate the good tips. Not only do the good tips pay our bills. they buy our groceries, and in most cases PAY FOR OUR COLLEGE! SIGNED, YOUR FELLOW RESTAURANT (and former restaurant) WORKERS "

You shouldn't have things "RUNNING THROUGH YOUR HEAD", because you should WRITE ALL REQUESTS DOWN. Even if it's someone asking for their check or napkins or a refill, because it's VERY EASY TO FORGET when you do NOT WRITE THE ORDER DOWN AND VERIFY THE PAD OF PAPER WITH THE EVERY SINGLE THING THAT IS WRITTEN DOWN.

OF COURSE we'd get mad, just as YOU WOULD when YOU have a server YOURSELF FORGET SOMETHING YOU ASKED FOR. WHAT DO YOU EXPECT? Especially if you are TOO DAMN LAZY TO WRITE THE ORDER DOWN, then WHY EXPECT US TO BE NICE TO YOU IF YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT IF YOU FORGET ABOUT SOMETHING by PROVING THAT by being TOO DAMN LAZY NOT TO EVEN ATTEMPT TO TRY TO REMEMBER IT BY YOU NOT WRITING IT DOWN? Customers shouldn't EVER have to ASK SOMETHING AGAIN. It's the SERVER'S JOB TO REMEMBER IT BY WRITING IT DOWN AND REREADING THE WRITTEN REQUEST. So if I just asked for my check, table 4 wants 4 refills, table 7 wants a side of ranch, and table 3 wants a margarita, well you should have written down EACH REQUEST and then went down the line to get EACH REQUEST. So you should be going to get my check FIRST, then the 4 refills, then the side of ranch and then put in the margarita order. You shouldn't be forgetting things, because you should have the request written down and you should be verifying that you have done those requests.