I am a server and I was wondering if people tip less on purpose when they see we are really busy.?
Some nights when we are really busy at the restaurant I work at, I have noticed some people tip less. The service they recieve is still great though. The food comes out fast, and the customers always seem to be happy. When they leave though they only leave around 10%. Is this because they think since we are so busy we will be making good money that night anyways? That is the only thing I can come up with, and it really ticks me off because we are working 10X harder on those really busy nights.
patchouli2008-02-19T12:10:22Z
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That doesn't affect my tipping. I usually tip around 15 - 17%, unless the service is phenomenal, then I tip 20%, and if it's really ridiculously bad, then I tip about 10%... maybe the server is doing the best they can or having other problems in their life.
I worked a couple of times as a server and I know how hard the job is and how little the base pay is. I don't know if it's the best system, but it's what we have for now. When I was a server the base pay rate was $2.68 / hour! So if we didn't get tips.... yikes!
I often think how ridiculous our system is. What other job that you know of puts the worker under constant scrutiny and evaluation??! What if other jobs were paid that way??! ....if each act was individually evaluated and paid accordingly?! And what if some customers are just cheap, or really strapped financially, or are having a really bad day, or they just don't like something personal about you? Should your pay really be determined by those factors too? I don't think it should, but for now it is.
I'm also bothered by the whole popularity contest of tipping servers. The really hot people who are hams and butter up their customers (as long as it's not too over-the-top), often make significantly better tips. A more reserved person whose service is just as good often makes a lot less. So what are we really tipping on.... the quality of the service or the entertainment and attraction factor of the server?
I wonder what other people think about these things.
When you are busy, believe me, the service you give each table is not as great, as when you are less busy. The personal touch is just not there. You may fill the drinks and give fast service but they hardly get your attention otherwise. Your customers do see the difference. A good waiter or waitress is a treasure. I customarily tip between 15 and 20% unless I get remarkably terrible service then about 12%. More even, if I want to see the waiter eyes pop and I just feel like passing a great night on to the waiter or waitress. I really like to tip.
Probablly, if you're very busy, you're not able to spend as much time with the customers as they are used to on nights when you aren't so busy. Also, they might have had to stand in line before they were seated at a table, and that might sour their mood.
Usually, if I can see that the place is full, and the waitress is very busy, I'll cut her some slack and not complain if I don't get my tea refilled promptly, etc.
The only times I tip less than 15 percent are when I don't have much money or when I think the service was really bad.
I don't think that people always see how busy servers really are. The see all of the customers you have, but they also think there are so many servers that service should be just a good if not better than usual. I myself never tip poorly, the tipping I do is based on how friendly the server is. I understand that they don't have control over the kitchen, and as long as they keep me updated, and let me know that I have not been forgotten about, that's fine with me.
It's usually the case that when servers are busy they tend to spend less time at each table, since they have more to cover. They may still provide perfect service, satisfy all the customer needs and manage to check up, but it is still less overall time and can even seemed rushed. For this reason people may perceive the service wasn't as great because not as much time has been spent at their table.
I've noticed this first hand many times other people complain about the service even though I point out it is really busy.