How Has Tipping Personally Affected You?

[Ns1]

No. I expect employees to do their best regardless of where they work, not bust a nut in your food because you didn't tip them 20%. Is it some kind of American exceptionalism? Are Americans servers really that much better than everyone else in the first world?

No, they just think they are.

 

[LevelSea]

I have eaten many great things in my life - I have never said "goddamn that shit was so good, I'm going to give the chef 20% because that meal changed my life"

yet servers want 20% for bringing me a check, refilling my water, and telling me the specials for the night. GFY. You don't even bring the food out to the table, your goddamn food runner does that for you. You don't even have to know shit about wine, your sommelier does that for you. Finally, you don't even clear the tables, your fucking busser does that for you.

In conclusion, do your fucking job and stop bitching - my cup is empty and I need a refill.

And Pedro is busting his ass in a hot kitchen, getting no tips. You don't see him posting pictures of receipts on Facebook when he does a shit job.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I have eaten many great things in my life - I have never said "goddamn that shit was so good, I'm going to give the chef 20% because that meal changed my life"

yet servers want 20% for bringing me a check, refilling my water, and telling me the specials for the night. GFY. You don't even bring the food out to the table, your goddamn food runner does that for you. You don't even have to know shit about wine, your sommelier does that for you.

You've never eaten food that you thought was to die for? I pity you.

I've had the chef come out and ask me how I liked a seafood special I ordered once. It was a bowl of seafood with a saffron broth and it was damned good. When the waitress brought it out I looked at it and thought, wow... that's not what I was expecting but it was mind blowingly good. So good that every time I return to that restaurant I hope they have that special again because it was THAT good.

 

[JSt0rm]

And Pedro is busting his ass in a hot kitchen, getting no tips. You don't see him posting pictures of receipts on Facebook when he does a shit job.

You guys are crazy. I already broke down all these arguments in the other thread. Go find them there.

 

[JulesMaximus]

but the golden corral is expensive, it's like 13$ to eat there

That's about what my martini or glass of wine costs usually.

 

[LevelSea]

You've never eaten food that you thought was to die for? I pity you.

I've had the chef come out and ask me how I liked a seafood special I ordered once. It was a bowl of seafood with a saffron broth and it was damned good. When the waitress brought it out I looked at it and thought, wow... that's not what I was expecting but it was mind blowingly good. So good that every time I return to that restaurant I hope they have that special again because it was THAT good.

When the chef came out to talk to you, did you hand him a wad of cash?

 

[JSt0rm]

You've never eaten food that you thought was to die for? I pity you.

I've had the chef come out and ask me how I liked a seafood special I ordered once. It was a bowl of seafood with a saffron broth and it was damned good. When the waitress brought it out I looked at it and thought, wow... that's not what I was expecting but it was mind blowingly good. So good that every time I return to that restaurant I hope they have that special again because it was THAT good.

They probably have no idea what saffron tastes like.

 

[LevelSea]

You guys are crazy. I already broke down all these arguments in the other thread. Go find them there.

Yeah, Pedro doesn't know what wines the chef/sommelier told the servers to recommend.

 

[JulesMaximus]

When the chef came out to talk to you, did you hand him a wad of cash?

No, of course not. That's not why he came to our table.

 

[LevelSea]

They probably have no idea what saffron tastes like.

Michelin star restaurants in Asia, no tips. Cold, canned dogfood at Golden Corral in bumfuck Nebraska, 20%. Makes perfect sense.

And yeah, I've got saffron in my cupboard at home.

 

[CZroe]

Say, what was your cat's name?

Mayne

LOL!
Beat you to it.

From the "Name this kitten" thread:

Trident.
Mayne.
NeckBeard.
HAL.

 

[JSt0rm]

Yeah, Pedro doesn't know what wines the chef/sommelier told the servers to recommend.

the Chef doesn't recommend wines. He has enough to do

The sommelier was at one time... wait for it... gasp... a server. The somm isnt telling you what to sell. Their job is to create a long term game plan for the cellar. Believe me I've had my somm get mad because I'm selling too much rare wines.

Now at tgif? Yeah the manager got a list of what wines to upsell with each dish and those kids are just beginning to learn about wine. As I said, service isnt binary.

 

[JSt0rm]

Michelin star restaurants in Asia, no tips. Cold, canned dogfood at Golden Corral in bumfuck Nebraska, 20%. Makes perfect sense.

And yeah, I've got saffron in my cupboard at home.

What do you use saffron for?

 

[LevelSea]

What do you use saffron for?

bouillabaisse

 

[JSt0rm]

bouillabaisse

How often do you make that?

 

[JSt0rm]

I guess we are done playing.

 

[zinfamous]

I have eaten many great things in my life - I have never said "goddamn that shit was so good, I'm going to give the chef 20% because that meal changed my life"

yet servers want 20% for bringing me a check, refilling my water, and telling me the specials for the night. GFY. You don't even bring the food out to the table, your goddamn food runner does that for you. You don't even have to know shit about wine, your sommelier does that for you. Finally, you don't even clear the tables, your fucking busser does that for you.

In conclusion, do your fucking job and stop bitching - my cup is empty and I need a refill.

And that is basically what happened. Servers used to do all these things, as that was part of their job. Staffs were small, then they got rather large and redundant with less individual responsibility, yet the demands on the business model never changed--they merely became more expensive for the consumers.

However, tips in these situations are often part of a general pool, no?

 

[Ns1]

You've never eaten food that you thought was to die for? I pity you.

Sure I have - afterwards, I have never said "hey chef here's 20%, that meal was AMAZEBALLS". I did, however, ask for a tour of the kitchen, got my menu signed, and got a picture with said chef. And I still didn't tip him.

 

[Ns1]

However, tips in these situations are often part of a general pool, no?

Sure, and the argument can be made that a compensation model where all staff are paid fairly is a far superior method than a shared tip pool which BOH staff cannot participate in.

 

[LevelSea]

How often do you make that?

4 or 5 times a year. My parents live near the coast, so I buy a bunch of seafood when we visit.

 

[JSt0rm]

And that is basically what happened. Servers used to do all these things, as that was part of their job. Staffs were small, then they got rather large and redundant with less individual responsibility, yet the demands on the business model never changed--they merely became more expensive for the consumers.

However, tips in these situations are often part of a general pool, no?

Yes. Its one of 2 scenarios

1. Full pooled house. Meaning everyone gets a certain number of points based on the job they do and all tips are shared.

2. Servers keep their tips however they pay out a % of sales to busboys, food runners, the bar and expediters (sometimes)

Notice I said % of sales. They need to make sure they are not shit so they dont lose money in this scenario.

 

[JSt0rm]

Sure, and the argument can be made that a compensation model where all staff are paid fairly is a far superior method than a shared tip pool which BOH staff cannot participate in.

we went down this road already. If you want to put forth a legit argument you need to do that. Otherwise you are just repeating the same statement as if it is fact.

 

[JSt0rm]

4 or 5 times a year. My parents live near the coast, so I buy a bunch of seafood when we visit.

You should think about only buying enough saffron to use for each stew. The shelf life is 2 years but its better fresher. The best shift meals were the ones when they used the "old" saffron.

 

[highland145]

I guess we are done playing.

We're not done. No one has asked about canoe beer yet.

...stomps foot....


ie, I learned a middle school joke.

 

[JSt0rm]

beer and saffron mussels with kaffir lime leaves. One thing I hate about the west coast is I have not found the GOOD mussels.