Work sucks - I know...

[CJR]

This won't make any sense, I bet. But I don't even care.

Okay, I'm a server at a fairly well known restaurant. There are like 600 locations in the US.

Today I worked 2pm-5pm. That is some of our slowest hours during the day. In that amount of time, I made a total of $13.95 dollars in tips. I sold about 75$ worth of food and beverages. So I made 18.66% tips today - that is very high. Usually a server makes 12% or lower.

HOWEVER - When a server doesn't make enough money to make minimum wage, they have to have a manager clock them out and it prints out a "Tip Report" sheet that you have to sign, the manager has to sign, and then it is put in your file as a record that you didn't make enough tips.

The manager was busy, and as she walked by I was like "I need your card swipe". She swiped me and ran off. The paper that I needed to sign printed out because I didn't make minimum wage, so I had to go get her to sign it. I hunted her down and presented it to her. This is what came out of her mouth -

Her: "Ashton, I didn't swipe you for this."
Me: "Uh... yes you did."
"I didn't know that's what the swipe was for, I thought you were late." (If you are too late to clock out, you have to get a manager swipe.)
"I didn't have time to tell you what it was for, you were in a hurry."
"Ashton, if you're not making percentage, that is not acceptable. If I had known what that swipe was for, I wouldn't have done it. This is simply not acceptable."
"Those things only print out when you don't make minimum wage."
*sternly* "I know that."
"I made 18.66% tips."

Then she did this weird face and another server (we'll call her DH, who had been listening to our conversation, handed me a slip.

When a server clocks out, three slips of paper are generally printed out. An hour counter, showing how many hours they've worked that week and what direct (meaning left on the table, not the credit card) tips they earned each day.

The second slip is a detail of your food and beverage sales, along with your tips on the card and your direct ("table") tips. It also shows your percentage total.

The third slip is pretty useless and shows your direct ("table") tips.

Anyway, I usually throw out the second and third slips because I don't need them. The other server, DH, had found my slips that I threw out and showed them to the manager.

I was crying by now because I was being yelled at when I did nothing wrong. Another server (we'll call her DE) chimed in, "Ashton made 19%, that's really good."

And then the manager did an about face and started going on about, "Ashton you get so defensive, if you would just shut up and listen you would know that I'm not mad at you, I'm just letting you know that if too many of these happen, then you and we managers can get in trouble. I need to counsel you when this happens, it's company policy."

I was still crying, I talked to the general manager, and pretty much got told that I need to be retrained as a server.

:banghead:

I don't even know anymore. This doesn't even make sense probably. Sorry.

 

[3CsMommy]

I caught h-e-you know what for no real reason at work today too. I think the heat wave in our part of the country has just made everybody short-tempered and cranky.

 

[Harleychin]

I worked as a server for years and personally I always had a hard time with the corporate ones.
There were always a lot of rules that wasted time and not alot of common sense.

 

[BooBoo*TheKiddo*]

Wow, that thing was crazy but let me tell you it can be worse.

I work as housekeeper in a hotel. Our rooms totals were...
Friday = 20+ (under 25)
Saturday = 36
Sunday = 33
Monday = 30
Tuesday = 19
There was no tips left at all in those 5 days and some of those people live like pigs, it was just disgusting.

I dont understand how the whole restaurant thing works but you'd think they'd be happy you got that much in tips...means you had satified customers.
Hang in there Ash

 

[threewingedfury]

It'll get better Ash. They just have to realize that less people are eating, not that you weren't making your cut. Corporate can be a PITA. But that's pretty much with any chain these days whether it's a sit in restaurant or fast food. They have their expections that are hard to meet.

BTW - Did you mean to refer to Blink-182? Hehe..

 

[Laurie]

Pash I know you're upset. And I know sometimes it's really, really hard to just look at your Manager and say, yes ma'am/no ma'am or yes sir/no sir but in life and in the workforce sometimes you just have too. There's is never anything wrong with being retrained especially when you're retrained and the people retraining you go--what the heck? Pash knows exactly what they are doing.

Rules are there for a reason even though sometimes the suck rocks! You getting yelled at was most likely a result of your manager getting yelled at because if it's one thing we all know in the workspace shinola rolls down hill!

You know I really love you Pash so I just have to say--girly girls cry--brawny guys in the WWE do not--LOL! try not to let them see you cry, buddy.

When I visit I'll stop in at your "very well known" restaurant order the fabulous chicken and dumpings AND macaroni and cheese and maybe even coca cola cake and I'll tell everyone very loudly that you're best server I've ever had in my entire life!

 

[Lynn & The Chins]

AWE, Laurie, that was nice!!!

Ash, it's true -- they are only "barking" (that's what we call it) at you because upper management is barking at them.

Smile, be gracious and do the retraining -- show them you are a big enough person to accept an opportunity to get better...and then knock their socks off with your tip percentages!!! :thumbsup:

 

[CJR]

Laurie, that was the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.

And Lynn, I will try to do that.

Tiff, yes I meant to have the Blink-182 reference.

Thanks everyone, I just had to vent. >.<

:hearts:

 

[AZChins]

Just smile and be patient. Other people have bad days, too. All you can do when you have a bad day is remember how you felt when the manager was so mean/strange/rude to you and don't do that to other people. I used to be a server in a busy Italian restaurant with a really cranky manager. I'd just take the blame for everything and that really helped...not to mention that I would get a better section because I didn't explode at him like everyone else did.

 

[Riven]

She left me roses by the stairs... surprises let me know she cares...

I think that a lot of people forget the your waiter/waitress should be tipped for THEIR service. If the food is bad, high priced, etc...that's not their fault. It's not unusual for me to tip $4 - $5 on a $20 ticket if the service is good. The means my drinks are always full, and my order is taken in a reasonable time, you check in with me in case I need something, but don't hover over me. If I need something and you're standing around bs'ing, if you act like I make your life hard ( even though I know it's probably not my fault ) or you hear you b'ching about other customers to other staff, I probably won't leave you anything. Tips are earned, not given.

With that said, write an editorial stating to your local paper. And next time tell your boss you didn't make the rules or the slip happen, you have a good tip percent and if they are too overworked to know what they're swiping for they should hire more help.

 

[Laurie]

Nicole you are so right! It bothers me so much to go out with my parents who I think are low tippers! We always go to the same 3 places for breakfast--we always have awesome food and the same waitresses, yet I don't feel they tip enough, which is why I always leave the tip! One of the gals, Kelly, knows both my dad and little sister, Lynelle, eat dry rye toast (gag!) I think remembering stuff like this is great! When I order from Kelly I get fruit and she knows only to bring me grapes because I can't stand cantaloupe and for some reason everyone's fruit is cantaloupe and grapes. These kind of things make someone really a great server.

Remembering you always drink two glasses of iced tea--a plus too! I love it when I don't even have to wait or ask for another glass.

I also tip well because I know that's their livelihood--it's what they do for a living just as I am a data center operator--when they do a good job or a great job it should be rewarded IMO.

 

[addictedtochins]

You are not getting a tip from me! I have checked your past posts and your "service" of keeping me updated with stories and pictures of your chins SUCKED. It's been over 2 months. You hereby have received your 1st written warning and if you don't improve you may be subject to further harassment :hammer:

 

[Riven]

LOL

We went and ate somewhere one night, there was 5 adults and 4 kids, and the food took forever, THEN we they finally did bring our food, they "forgot" to put in an order for the kids... all of them. It took over an hour to get any food, and the place was not busy. We didn't leave a tip. If I think someone tips low, I'm not ashamed to toss a couple more dollars on the table. That is their living, and if they are good at it, they deserve a good tip, if they're bad, the don't. Unlike other professions you can't chose your server. If you have a bad experience at almost any other service professional you can chose not to go back to that one ( ex. my mom's a groomer, if she doesn't do a good job she loses clients) , but not so with serving staff, if you want to eat at that place, you just take the server you get usually.

I am bad about updating threads.. I always forget, lol.

 

[AZChins]

They would accommodate customers when they would request certain servers at the place I worked. I had a couple of regular groups of people for lunch. They always left tremendous tips and that made me very happy because it meant that I was doing a good job.

If you really want to make the day of your server, leave them an extra big tip. Leave that person $10 on a small check of maybe $15 or $20. Or, slip extra money right into the server's pocket. "This is for you, I don't want you sharing it with the busboy."

 

[ticklechin]

You are not getting a tip from me! I have checked your past posts and your "service" of keeping me updated with stories and pictures of your chins SUCKED. It's been over 2 months. You hereby have received your 1st written warning and if you don't improve you may be subject to further harassment :hammer:

I second that!!!!!!!!!!!:hilarious:

 

[CJR]

I thought I talked about the girls enough, but I guess not! I'll get some new pictures and such tonight.

 

[caiti]

I think that a lot of people forget the your waiter/waitress should be tipped for THEIR service. If the food is bad, high priced, etc...that's not their fault.

I hate when people do that. I'll go out with someone or multiple people and they'll say "Ugh, my food tasted gross and it was undercooked so I'll leave 10% instead of 20%" and I'm like "Guys--the waiter/ess DOESN'T COOK THE FOOD..." I recently went to a restaurant in Boston and the cook accidently put the sour cream on my tacos when the order was written not to. The waitress was really apologetic and I was like "Hey, it's not your fault. And I think I'll live. No worries." It's a shame that people yell at the messenger.

Pash, I'm sorry that your manager is a butt. They're probably just taking the fact that they are going to get yelled at out on you, like everyone said. Whenever they yell at you just try to think of something funny like Bessy attacking them and maybe it'll be easier to take and not suck as much.

 

[VolunteerChin22]

I was in the restaurant business for 10 years - corporate to small, fast food to fine dining. Each one has its negatives. I've had bosses I couldnt stand, Ive had bosses who were fired for sexual harassment (not to me) Ive had bosses steal from the tips of employees...I am sure your boss really wasnt mad at you - they were probably on the recieving end of a you suck "motivational" talk.

Living on tips is hard. I had a customer once stiff me on a $130 tab because the risotto was "undercooked" and not one other person had complained the entire night and I tasted it. I offered to replace it immediately and the lady said it was fine and the man acted like i'd keyed his car. He wanted to get out of what should have been a $25 tip for great service (20% is pretty standard IMO). And the guy even blacked out at the table and spilled wine everywhere during the soup course and I cleaned all that mess up right away and asked her very discretely if he was alright not wanting to embarrass the guy (he was older and seemed slightly off). Gee thanks. I've never said anything to a customer about a tip but man I really wanted to that night.

One of my biggest pet peeves were campers. In the time you have sat at a table and left me $5 staring into each others eyes over empty cokes for 3 hours I could have turned that table 3 times. $5 might have been appropriate for your meal price but not for 3 hours. If you camp - you need to leave the tip by the hour or take the party elsewhere lol.

But the good thing is - if you don't like the job you can always get a new one

 

[3CsMommy]

(That guy with the risotto sucks! May he never have a server that good again.)

Agreed with all of the above on tipping. I try not to go to restaurants that tip share (break apart tips and distribute them among the servers and kitchen staff by percentage) as well. If I don't have contact with the busser, for example, or the bar tender, I don't want my tip going to him/her. I'll tip my servers, my bartender, my busser, but a communal pot isn't fair to those who work their keisters off giving great service while someone else slips out for a smoke every 15 minutes. I know that shared tipping was put into place for situations like the above but unfortunately, I've only seen one restaurant locally where I would consider it a fair practice, and that's b/c of 8 different waitstaff members I've enjoyed being assisted by, every one is a career server with brains and the personality for the work. (One of them remembers my name and my drink order, and he's only been our server twice.)

If I'm going to leave a 25% tip for excellent service (and I do), that money should go to the people who make my experience great, not the meth head in another section that dragged herself in late and spilled drinks on her big table of the hour.

 

[VolunteerChin22]

Ugh I hate tip share too - we used to have a sunday brunch where we would charge a flat rate of $18 per person for the all you can eat buffet (it used to be worth it with peel and eat shrimp and oysters on it but they took them off) and each person was gratuitied...but we all had to share it. Problem was, it was in an old house and we had to completely remove tables from the bar, set up long folding ones, put out all the skirting and clouding, bring down all the chaffers (22 of them) and various other things from UPSTAIRS in the house the night before we could leave - we would be there til 1am and have to be back at 9am. Then we'd have to break everything down, wait for it to be washed, take it all back upstairs and reset the room. For maybe $40 on a good Sunday - usually $20. Mother's day was the only day that was worth it. No one had any idea that we shared the tips or that we had to break down and set up all that junk. I hated Sundays.