Ode to Server

[devildeac]

What does this have to do with Ode to Server? :roll:

The thread started with a discussion of servers and progressed to cooking. I would say the two are related however tangentially.

Gratuitous thread hijack with solicitation of Windsor'sDaughter as ultimate ulterior motive :roll: .

I'm not soliciting - I've already won her over!

5 yard penalty and loss of posting privileges, err, down.

Back to your regularly scheduled thread ;).

If you have a complaint, report me to a mod ;)

About that last statement, I'm not as dumm (sic) as I look (or type), but I will look into it... :roll:

[colchar]

About that last statement, I'm not as dumm (sic) as I look (or type), but I will look into it... :roll:

I was having some fun with that one ;)

[OZZIE4DUKE]

I usually figure tips at $1 for every $6 of the bill, not counting sales tax, so that is roughly 18% at a regular full service restaurant. I don't tip on sales tax - that doesn't make sense.

Sorry to be a little more precise but 1 in 6 = 16.66% haha, sorry...

I usually divide by 10 and multiply by 2.5(Excellent service), 2.0(Good service), 1.5(Expected service),1.0(Lousy service). I have rarely(its been years)given a 1.0.

Gimme a break. It was 4:46 in the frickin morning when I posted Let's just call it a typo. :roll:

[bjornolf]

According to the "experts", the base number for tipping at a buffet is 10%. That's what I usually give, unless the service is lousy or excellent.

[TillyGalore]

I worked at a 4 star inn in Vermont, thus have very high standards, but also realize they are working for tips as the paycheck sucks. I start the tip at 20%, if the waitstaff fills my glass without me asking, they'll get 20%. If I have to ask, the percentage starts going down. If they do absolutely nothing and I have to ask for everything and/or they don't acknowledge our presence for what seems like forever, they get 10%. I RARELY leave a 10% tip as I've been there and done that, thus don't have the heart to leave that much, never mind nothing at all.

I also tip delivery folks depending on the gas situation and how far they had to travel. When Dominoes was across the street, they'd get a couple of dollars from me, the higher gas prices were, the more they'd get.

I absolutely will not put money in a tip jar for people taking my order. That is their job, and I believe they get paid at least minimum wage, unlike waitstaff who get paid next to nothing.

[bjornolf]

The best single meal of service I EVER got at a restaurant was at Darryl's, which closed, but it was between Durham and Chapel Hill when I was at Duke. They also had AWESOME cornbread. This guy was unbelievable. He brought our food fast, refilled our drinks when we were down to about 1/4 of a tank, even got down on his hands and knees to shove a rolled up towel under our table when he noticed it was rocking a little. He was also very friendly the entire time. He got a 30% tip.

My wife's favorite service story was at our favorite restaurant, Sweetwater Tavern, here in Centreville, VA. I LOVE that place. They do "team" serving, so you might not have the same person doing EVERYTHING the whole time, but it gets done pretty fast. Anyway, my wife got the most expensive thing on the menu, the crabcakes. They were delicious as always. The waiter was very good. At the end of the meal, she was scooping her leftover garlic mashed potatoes into the doggie bag when she noticed a hair in them. It was the same color and length as her hair. She figured it had just fallen off into her food. However, just as she pulled it off and went to put it in a napkin, the waiter walked by. I have NEVER seen a person's eyes get that wide in my life, not even in a horror movie. She tried to explain that it was probably just one of hers, but he would have nothing of it. He whisked her plate away and went and got the manager, who came out and told us that the $22 entree was on him. He also gave us a voucher for free dessert for two in the future and his personal card to call if we ever needed anything. The waiter brought my wife a brand new set of potatoes in a carry-out container. It was awesome. We tipped him for the total if the crabcakes were included, of course. We always do that if something gets taken off or if we have a coupon or something, since the waiter still has to do the same amount of work.

My dad's favorite story was from Thiesmann's, owned by the former Redskins QB. My dad went over there for lunch during work one day. He was in uniform, and it was raining. He was wearing his Air Force rain coat, which, of course, was wet. He had laid it over the back of his chair. A bus-girl at the adjoining table spilled half a glass of water on the OUTSIDE of my father's already wet raincoat. She apologized profusely, and my dad said it was no big deal, seeing as how it was a raincoat that was already wet. When the meal was over, they wouldn't let his entire table (five guys) pay. The waitress informed him that "Joe's picking up the tab". Turns out, Thiesmann was having lunch in the restaurant with his girlfriend and saw the whole thing. Dad went over to thank him. He was wearing his diamond studded "7" (his number) necklace. When dad thanked him, Joe gave him a picture autographed to me. It was so cool. I still have that picture. He was one of my faves even before that.

[TillyGalore]

The best single meal of service I EVER got at a restaurant was at Darryl's, which closed, but it was between Durham and Chapel Hill when I was at Duke. They also had AWESOME cornbread. This guy was unbelievable. He brought our food fast, refilled our drinks when we were down to about 1/4 of a tank, even got down on his hands and knees to shove a rolled up towel under our table when he noticed it was rocking a little. He was also very friendly the entire time. He got a 30% tip.

Ironically, my worst experience ever was at a Darryl's, though in Raleigh. We complained to the manager about the how slow things were and when he only offered a coupon for the future my friends and I told him no thanks, we weren't going to come back again. One of my friends refused to leave a tip, that is the only time I've left a 10% tip, at least that I can recall right now.

[CathyCA]

The best single meal of service I EVER got at a restaurant was at Darryl's, which closed, but it was between Durham and Chapel Hill when I was at Duke. They also had AWESOME cornbread. This guy was unbelievable. He brought our food fast, refilled our drinks when we were down to about 1/4 of a tank, even got down on his hands and knees to shove a rolled up towel under our table when he noticed it was rocking a little. He was also very friendly the entire time. He got a 30% tip.

My wife's favorite service story was at our favorite restaurant, Sweetwater Tavern, here in Centreville, VA. I LOVE that place. They do "team" serving, so you might not have the same person doing EVERYTHING the whole time, but it gets done pretty fast. Anyway, my wife got the most expensive thing on the menu, the crabcakes. They were delicious as always. The waiter was very good. At the end of the meal, she was scooping her leftover garlic mashed potatoes into the doggie bag when she noticed a hair in them. It was the same color and length as her hair. She figured it had just fallen off into her food. However, just as she pulled it off and went to put it in a napkin, the waiter walked by. I have NEVER seen a person's eyes get that wide in my life, not even in a horror movie. She tried to explain that it was probably just one of hers, but he would have nothing of it. He whisked her plate away and went and got the manager, who came out and told us that the $22 entree was on him. He also gave us a voucher for free dessert for two in the future and his personal card to call if we ever needed anything. The waiter brought my wife a brand new set of potatoes in a carry-out container. It was awesome. We tipped him for the total if the crabcakes were included, of course. We always do that if something gets taken off or if we have a coupon or something, since the waiter still has to do the same amount of work.

My dad's favorite story was from Thiesmann's, owned by the former Redskins QB. My dad went over there for lunch during work one day. He was in uniform, and it was raining. He was wearing his Air Force rain coat, which, of course, was wet. He had laid it over the back of his chair. A bus-girl at the adjoining table spilled half a glass of water on the OUTSIDE of my father's already wet raincoat. She apologized profusely, and my dad said it was no big deal, seeing as how it was a raincoat that was already wet. When the meal was over, they wouldn't let his entire table (five guys) pay. The waitress informed him that "Joe's picking up the tab". Turns out, Thiesmann was having lunch in the restaurant with his girlfriend and saw the whole thing. Dad went over to thank him. He was wearing his diamond studded "7" (his number) necklace. When dad thanked him, Joe gave him a picture autographed to me. It was so cool. I still have that picture. He was one of my faves even before that.

Which girlfriend? [/snark]

(Joe's second wife, Jeanne, is one of my friends, and the stories she told would curl your hair!)

[bjornolf]

Which girlfriend? [/snark]

(Joe's second wife, Jeanne, is one of my friends, and the stories she told would curl your hair!)

This would have been about 1983 or so, so that might have been her. My dad didn't know whether he was married or not, so it could have been a wife.

[WindsorsDaughter]

Sales tax out here is 9.2%, so I usually double & round up for most service. If service was just okay, I'll round down a bit.

WD, my hubby was a waiter & bartender for years, so he insists paying on good tips, but he is actually more particular about what constitutes what good service. Do you find yourself being a little more critical/aware of service provided to you, since you know what you think should be done?

I am probably one of the worst people to serve, because I am so critical. I am very bad when I have a horrible server. I had a girl once at Hooters (an establishment where the breasts are bigger than the brains) who looked at me and my friend went to continue her conversation came back a few minutes (3-5) later and asked for our drinks.. went back and talked than got the drinks and so on. If we needed something we had to have another server go get it highly frustrating. I left her a tip to support the tip share of her sales.. but I also left a note on the credit card receipt giving details as to what went wrong and everything. It was bad. Oh and no worries about having her throw the receipt away so the manager couldn't read it, because I gave it to him directly. Serving a server is nerve racking for me because I know they know the expectations and rules.

[Sue71]

My dad's favorite story was from Thiesmann's, owned by the former Redskins QB. My dad went over there for lunch during work one day. He was in uniform, and it was raining. He was wearing his Air Force rain coat, which, of course, was wet. He had laid it over the back of his chair. A bus-girl at the adjoining table spilled half a glass of water on the OUTSIDE of my father's already wet raincoat. She apologized profusely, and my dad said it was no big deal, seeing as how it was a raincoat that was already wet. When the meal was over, they wouldn't let his entire table (five guys) pay. The waitress informed him that "Joe's picking up the tab". Turns out, Thiesmann was having lunch in the restaurant with his girlfriend and saw the whole thing. Dad went over to thank him. He was wearing his diamond studded "7" (his number) necklace. When dad thanked him, Joe gave him a picture autographed to me. It was so cool. I still have that picture. He was one of my faves even before that.

When I was in Maine last summer, my friends & I went to a very nice restaurant for dinner one night. The brilliant server managed to spill oil (from a plate of dipping oil for our bread) down my back. She never even flinched and kept going. My friends were mopping me off when she brought a salad over and asked what happened. When we told her she shrugged and said, "Oh, sorry." Um yeah right. I asked for the manager, who never came (mgr that night also happened to be the owner, so I thought he *might* be interested). They didn't take anything off the bill either. Not only about a tip of about $1 (just to piss the server off), but my friends have never been to any of the owner's restaurants since.

[WindsorsDaughter]

I don't like wine either.. What is Rye?? I like vodka..lol well mixed drinks too

Rye is Canadian Whiskey (think Crown Royal).

Ohh okay! One of my favorite shots is made with crown. This could work

[DukeUsul]

Here's my server story. Last year, not long after our Katie was born, Lisa and I hit Nana's in Durham for a nice upscale anniversary dinner. The service was excellent throughout the meal and the food was quite good. Right about as we were finishing our entrees, I noticed a cockroach crawling up a door jamb. It was about to go around the other side of the door and attack a party of six on the other side. Our server happened to be walking by. I gave him a surreptitious beckoning signal and whispered to him that there was an insect he probably wanted to take care of and nodded in the general direction. He swooped through the doorway, quickly and gently swiped up the wriggling bug into his hand and went over to the threatened table and asked how everything was. Very smooth. When he came by to take our dessert order, he was extremely thankful. When we received our bill, I noticed that both our desserts and wine were not on it. I called him over and told him they were missing and his response was "yes, I know" with a grin. He got a full tip of over 20% on what would have been the full price of the meal.

[WindsorsDaughter]

My dad's favorite story was from Thiesmann's, owned by the former Redskins QB. My dad went over there for lunch during work one day. He was in uniform, and it was raining. He was wearing his Air Force rain coat, which, of course, was wet. He had laid it over the back of his chair. A bus-girl at the adjoining table spilled half a glass of water on the OUTSIDE of my father's already wet raincoat. She apologized profusely, and my dad said it was no big deal, seeing as how it was a raincoat that was already wet. When the meal was over, they wouldn't let his entire table (five guys) pay. The waitress informed him that "Joe's picking up the tab". Turns out, Thiesmann was having lunch in the restaurant with his girlfriend and saw the whole thing. Dad went over to thank him. He was wearing his diamond studded "7" (his number) necklace. When dad thanked him, Joe gave him a picture autographed to me. It was so cool. I still have that picture. He was one of my faves even before that.

When I was in Maine last summer, my friends & I went to a very nice restaurant for dinner one night. The brilliant server managed to spill oil (from a plate of dipping oil for our bread) down my back. She never even flinched and kept going. My friends were mopping me off when she brought a salad over and asked what happened. When we told her she shrugged and said, "Oh, sorry." Um yeah right. I asked for the manager, who never came (mgr that night also happened to be the owner, so I thought he *might* be interested). They didn't take anything off the bill either. Not only about a tip of about $1 (just to piss the server off), but my friends have never been to any of the owner's restaurants since.

My manager well two of them are very big into making the costumer happy they would have freaked out had anyone spilt anything on a guest. They're meal would have been free and desert would have been offered. He is ridiculous with comping meals. Which is good and bad. At least they act like they care about the guests. Although I had four cups of coffee (nice and freshly brewed) spill down my leg, which of course resulted into me becoming a sobbing server, and 1 of these managers said, "Krysta cant you do that somewhere else?" All the other servers just looked at her like seriously? While one held up my soaking apron to show her the coffee, while the other manager who also lacks employee person skills came with the biggest ice cube i have ever seen and told me to go ice my leg. haha

[WindsorsDaughter]

Here's my server story. Last year, not long after our Katie was born, Lisa and I hit Nana's in Durham for a nice upscale anniversary dinner. The service was excellent throughout the meal and the food was quite good. Right about as we were finishing our entrees, I noticed a cockroach crawling up a door jamb. It was about to go around the other side of the door and attack a party of six on the other side. Our server happened to be walking by. I gave him a surreptitious beckoning signal and whispered to him that there was an insect he probably wanted to take care of and nodded in the general direction. He swooped through the doorway, quickly and gently swiped up the wriggling bug into his hand and went over to the threatened table and asked how everything was. Very smooth. When he came by to take our dessert order, he was extremely thankful. When we received our bill, I noticed that both our desserts and wine were not on it. I called him over and told him they were missing and his response was "yes, I know" with a grin. He got a full tip of over 20% on what would have been the full price of the meal.

That is good a lot of people don't do that, they assume the bill is cheaper so the tip is as well. I had a roach crawl onto my table at a bbq restaurant near my house. Our meal was comp'd but the server made 20 bucks of us. And the manager apologized, as did the server. I apologized for my friend who had let out a blood curtling scream as I would have if it was a wasp (i am terrified).

[Ben63]

My tip is mostly based on one factor, something I like to call ECR, or Empty Cup Recognition. The best servers are the ones who take your cup without asking before it is empty. If a cup sits empty on my table for more than a minute or two, I begin to be frustrated because I am now thirsty. I generally leave decent tip because most of the places I go are cheap eats and I feel bad leaving 87 cents.

[CathyCA]

Which girlfriend? [/snark]

(Joe's second wife, Jeanne, is one of my friends, and the stories she told would curl your hair!)

This would have been about 1983 or so, so that might have been her. My dad didn't know whether he was married or not, so it could have been a wife.

That would have been Cathy Lee Crosby, his GF of 7 years, assuming that he wasn't going out on her, too.