Monday, December 17, 2007

Holiday Dining Etiquette

For the other waitresses and bartenders out there, I hope this sends a message.

It's odd to me that the tips seem to dwindle in the holiday season. Generally speaking, unless your waitress takes your order incorrectly, brings you the wrong food or just neglects your table- there is no excuse to tip less than 20%. For those of you that need a little help that means for every 5 bucks you spend, 1 dollar of tip is earned. $50= $10 tip.

If you are Jewish (and I say that figuratively) and you think that 20% is too high, there is a simple solution for you: Don't go out to eat, order take out, or cook your own food. We bring you your drinks, we bring you your food and most importantly we clean up your mess. If that doesn't deserve an adequate tip then STAY HOME.

It seems that during the last few weeks, a less than 20% tip is more than common...it's commonplace. I am just not sure I get the thought process behind tipping less during the holidays. If you can afford to go out to eat then clearly you are not financially troubled. Believe it or not, if we are waitressing or bartending...chances are we ARE FINANCIALLY TROUBLED.

We scrub walls on weekend mornings, clean up floors embedded with cheerios, cover ourselves in your used marinara sauce and most importantly we serve you. We make $2.13 an hour and work till 2 am on weekends- while your children are tucked into bed. Giving us 42 dollars on a 38.25 bill won't cut it. We have to buy the presents you luxuriously already have as you read our menus.

We are not dumb people, many of us have college degrees but waitress on weekends because we need money not only for the holidays but to pay bills.

So stop being a tightwad and do your job, because if the check is on your table- we already did ours.

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