Goodbye Waiters, Goodbye Tips, Don't Let the Door Hit You on Way Out
- Thread starter TeeJay
- Start date
But the problem is you don't know what your talking about!!!! So you should be talking.
True. I was a trainer. And in didn't matter "generation". It was the age. And future plans.
I did it for a living. So I made sure I was good at it. Most it's their college job or a stop on other career choices. Especially in the chains.
The smaller chef run restaurants tend to have older better servers. Who can, as we say, "read the table". It's an art to figure them out. A combination of dress, looks, age, body language, initial greeting where you can sum up where you need to go.
Believe it or not I don't automatically tip big. Having been in the business I can tell the difference between a bad server and one "in the weeds". A bad kitchen and a slammed one.
And when it's shitty managers get called. It's rare but I don't hesitate.
Just a tip. I used to hate piling of dishes and the like. I have a clearing carrying system I used that I could clear a table of 5 one go but I needed the dishes to stay where they are to do it right. Both from the table and to the dishpit.
You are out btw to be catered to. It's part of the experience. When I'm out(rarely these days as I prefer my own cooking) I let the experience happen.
Sorry, I still see absolutely no place where a waiter can get stressed and what exactly involved in the job except taking order, bringing food, and refilling drinks. The chef messed up the order? What can the waiter do about it? Nothing. So, why stress? Because the customer will complain. Of cause he will, but you still cannot do anything about it. Why stress? But let me crunch numbers once more. The average table bill is $120 (3 people at $40, but, IMHO, it is usually more than $40). Average time: 90 minutes. Number of tables served simultaneously: 5 (otherwise waiters will have too much free time). Each table requires about 6 visits (take order, bring drinks, bring food, bring check, 2 visits to refill the water). If additional visits are needed (in case of desert, salad, coffee), then the average check will be higher. So, each table takes 4 visits per hour (1 long and 3 short) to a total of 20 visits per hour each of 3 minutes long. Total bill per hour = 120*5*60/90=$400. Total tip = 400*0.18=$72. 5% tip-out = 400*0.05=$20. Total tip left to the waiter is $72-$20 = $52 per hour. If the waiter makes $25-$30 per hour, it simply means that he has less new tables per hour and is actually doing half of the job.
Where was I wrong. Please, note that I also used a very low number of per person check. Posters with "experience", could you, please, give us your itemised breakdown.
Where was I wrong. Please, note that I also used a very low number of per person check. Posters with "experience", could you, please, give us your itemised breakdown.
It might seem that way for someone that wants his next vehicle to be a Rivian Truck, but don't forget that half of the people living in Toronto earn less than $50k per household. You think these people are lowly wretches that don't deserve to go to restaurants without being fleeced extra money via tipping?
It's ridiculous and arbitrary... if people deserved tips (i.e. extra financial compensation) based on how 'hard' a job is, there are many other people that deserve tips. But it's not... in the rest of society it's a matter of supply and demand. Servers are a dime a dozen.
Easy. It isn't 5 table sections anymore. It's three table sections on busy nights. 4 on slow. Half your tables at least are only 2 people.
Average tip is NOT 18%. Sometimes it's cultural. Chinese consistantly tip 10%. French are cheap. As are some other cultures. Tip pool stays the sane.
As to # of tables served openers and closers(say 4 out of 12-14 on the floor) will get five turns on a busy night. Four on the slower. The rest are two to three turns. Start times are staggered with the bulk cut by 9-930. Really it's only a 6-9 pm window for the rush.
And waiters have side work as well. Numerous clean ups, restocks, preps to do. They do more back work than you think. Food prep as well.
Don't get me wrong. I made good money. But I was opener closer. Five nights a week. With top upsell ability and turn ability. I knew how to combine both.
And I made about 10% of my total sales in tips per month. Sales were maybe 20000 in that time for slow to busy on dinner. This was 20 years ago but I have friends still in it and my numbers match. They are at maybe 25-30000 per month now but slightly reduced take home due to increased tip pools( It was 3% for me on average) add in about another $1000 for lunches per month and maybe another $1000 in actual pay checks.
As to doing half the job we assist eachother. Large parties running food, server slammed(all tables sat at once, happens all the time), other things to help. I bussed my own tables, made drinks, expedited food (dressed it on the line). Sat tables for hostesses. Whatever. That's what happens on good floors.
Stress I can't explain it. You have to work a few shifts to really understand it. You are being pulled in so many directions. There is no playbook, every table in different. Timing food courses, judging kitchen times(yup that's us not the cooks) when to send courses in. Product knowledge for food, wine, drinks, allergy issues, picky eaters. Some rushed some relaxed. Managers ordering you to other things while you are still getting back on track. And all the while you can't show it. At all. It builds up in some. And once in awhile blows.
Anyone who has done the job understands.
You're not going to get it unless you've worked it. Take our word for it, it's way more stressful you or more most people have any idea. I already mentioned this, out of every 10 servers I hired, I would say about only 3 could handle it. Even out of those 3 usually two would have complete breakdowns at some point in the first few months and sometimes even subsequent ones after. You just won't get until you try doing it.
I was about to say, him or anyone who's never worked in the industry just won't get it because they just can't see it. Unless you've worked it, people won't understand.
the pro-tipping crowed nevewr mention restaurant bosses stealing tips from thier workers
Servers at Ontario restaurant challenge boss' demand for a cut of their tips
Serving staff at an Ontario restaurant are speaking out against their boss, who they say is taking a portion of their tips – and wanted an even bigger cut.
In an emotional video posted online, Cayley Pozza said she worked at The Buccaneer in Port Stanley for three years but quit on Saturday after feeling “forced out” over her refusal to sign off on an increase in “tip outs” to her boss from 1.5 to two per cent.
She shared an image of a notice posted in the restaurant last week that says: “STARTING FRIDAY FEB. 9, 2018, TIPOUT TO CHRIS WILL BE 2%. PLEASE READ AND INITIAL. THANK YOU.”
Pozza said she wrote and dropped off a letter to Chris Georgeopolous on behalf of her co-workers outlining their collective response. The letter says that staff were “deeply saddened and disgusted by the most recent policy change, in regards to increasing an already illegal tip out to yourself.”
Pozza said she was called out by Georgeopolous after her shift on Saturday and ended up resigning.
She said the tip out amounts are based on the restaurant's sales. On a normal night of $1,500 in pre-tax sales, a server would be required under the new policy to pay $30 to Georgeopolous, plus smaller amounts to hosts, bartenders and managers on duty, according to Pozza. Georgeopolous would be getting $7.50 more per shift.
Pozza said that the increase might not seem like much to the restaurant owner or others but that it’s a “huge amount of money that someone like me with little kids…I see that hit and it affects me.”
“None of us servers agreed to sign his new policy change because we make under poverty level, realistically, and I don’t believe because minimum wage went up he should be paying for that increase by deducting our tips,” Pozza added.
https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/serve...boss-demand-for-a-cut-of-their-tips-1.3800839
https://www.reddit.com/r/ontario/comments/3etq3y/restaurant_owner_taking_100_of_tips/
Servers at Ontario restaurant challenge boss' demand for a cut of their tips
Serving staff at an Ontario restaurant are speaking out against their boss, who they say is taking a portion of their tips – and wanted an even bigger cut.
In an emotional video posted online, Cayley Pozza said she worked at The Buccaneer in Port Stanley for three years but quit on Saturday after feeling “forced out” over her refusal to sign off on an increase in “tip outs” to her boss from 1.5 to two per cent.
She shared an image of a notice posted in the restaurant last week that says: “STARTING FRIDAY FEB. 9, 2018, TIPOUT TO CHRIS WILL BE 2%. PLEASE READ AND INITIAL. THANK YOU.”
Pozza said she wrote and dropped off a letter to Chris Georgeopolous on behalf of her co-workers outlining their collective response. The letter says that staff were “deeply saddened and disgusted by the most recent policy change, in regards to increasing an already illegal tip out to yourself.”
Pozza said she was called out by Georgeopolous after her shift on Saturday and ended up resigning.
She said the tip out amounts are based on the restaurant's sales. On a normal night of $1,500 in pre-tax sales, a server would be required under the new policy to pay $30 to Georgeopolous, plus smaller amounts to hosts, bartenders and managers on duty, according to Pozza. Georgeopolous would be getting $7.50 more per shift.
Pozza said that the increase might not seem like much to the restaurant owner or others but that it’s a “huge amount of money that someone like me with little kids…I see that hit and it affects me.”
“None of us servers agreed to sign his new policy change because we make under poverty level, realistically, and I don’t believe because minimum wage went up he should be paying for that increase by deducting our tips,” Pozza added.
https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/serve...boss-demand-for-a-cut-of-their-tips-1.3800839
https://www.reddit.com/r/ontario/comments/3etq3y/restaurant_owner_taking_100_of_tips/
It's illegal in Ontario for owners to take tips. That came several years ago.
Do your homework.
And what makes you think these cheapskate wage thieves will follow this law? It is still going on
Very few do it. I only ran into it once.
And that before it was illegal. You are taking a few bad eggs and falsely claiming it's systemic. It isn't.
A server can anonymously report it and nail any owner.
lmao
Love the "work is stressful please tip me comments"
Its like welcome to the world snowflake
Not every job is wonderful
MANY restaurants take servers tips
Fuck go look in Chinatown, the servers keep NOTHING as owners expect 100% of tip to go to the business
And the servers can end it with a phone call. And the vast majority of restaurants are compliant. As I said, I worked in several, had friends in more. Only ran into it once.
There are bad owners in every industry. Who break labour laws and take advantage. That's why the labour boards and laws exist.
Most aren't. But remember this. Tip pools for the other employees still exist and are valid. But servers tip out based on SALES not tips recieved.
So when you don't tip it COSTS Servers to take care of you. Is that what you want to happen?
It does not cost the server nothing to serve customers. It's the employers' responsibility to pay ther servers not the customers.
