On Mon, 03 Oct 2005 10:16:24 -0400, MW > wrote:
>On Sun, 2 Oct 2005 18:36:02 +0000 (UTC), (Steve
>Pope) wrote:
>
>>Nellie Paris > wrote:
>>
>>>Why should often-ignorant customers get to choose how much a server is
>>>paid for each transaction? I don't get to choose the pay of the Wawa
>>>clerks who rings up my coffee if I don't feel she smiled enough at me.
>>>Food servers are different than salespeople who work on commission,
>>>and they are not independent contractors who get to choose how to run
>>>their stations. They should be compensated fairly.
>>
>>Restaurants and waitstaff are free to implement service-charge
>>based systems, so please don't blame the diners.
>
>And servers *DO* get to choose how they act. They choose whether or
>not they act friendly to a customer, or even whether they service the
>customer by getting the extra napkins, new silverware, or even refill
>a drink.
>
>I have been to so many restaurants with horrible service, that i
>rarely go out to eat anymore. That is a shame, but it just got so bad
>I thought it was more irritating to go out than it was to prepare my
>own meal at home.
>
>I have never not tipped a server due to a lateness with food (I know
>the kitchen has an an influence there) or anything else I thought was
>beyond their control.
>
>However, I have left _NO_TIP_ many times when I have had food
>literally dropped or thrown on the table in front of me, never to see
>my server again - and have had to ask other servers or the host/ess to
>get something for me, or to get my check so I can pay and leave.
>
>When I receive bad (and I am talking distinctly _BAD_ ) service, I
>leave no tip. If a server does such a awful job without seeming to
>care, I think they deserve that. If a server performs satisfactory,
>even if it is unremarkable, I leave 15%. Above satisfactory, 20%.
>Excellent service, 25%.
>
>I would not mind a mandatory service fee if it were not a percentage
>of my meal.....why should I pay more to a server because they brought
>me seafood instead of chicken? Was the plate that much heavier for
>them?
If this tipping system is so great, why do we have such bad overall
service? I do not think a low tip encourages a server to reconsider
the quality of service he or she is giving. Do you? The servers just
assumes the low/non-tipper is cheap.
It's of course a very imperfect system, but the cost of the food often
reflects more work on the part of the restaurant staff. Not always, I
know. Maybe a service charge could replect the time spent at the
table, in an ideal world. I am not really for a percentage of the
bill as a charge either. I would rather see service built into the
menu prices, with no tip or service charge at all. If you don't like
your chicken, you can't decide not to pay for it, so why do we get to
decide what to pay for the service?
I wonder what kind of management is going on in the places where you
have such shoddy service. Why aren't these servers being disciplined,
retrained, or fired? We need more managers like Jesse!
Nellie Paris