To The Person Who Doesn’t Tip,

When you sit down at the table in my section of the restaurant, it becomes solely my obligation that your evening is as enjoyable and relaxing as possible. In order to make that I possible, I will keep your drinks full, make sure your appetizers and entrées get to your table quickly, and say yes to almost every request you make. Keep in mind, I will do all of this while doing the same things for several other tables. If you think this sounds easy, you must not have ever waited tables.

These are only my responsibilities that you can see me do. I will also make every salad that I carry out to a table, run food for other waitresses whenever I have a chance, run bus tubs full of dirty dishes that are really heavy and do small tasks that my coworkers ask me for help with. I will carry large buckets of ice to fill the drink machine so your soda stays cold, and I will continuously remind the kitchen staff that you wanted your food in a Cajun restaurant to not be spicy at all. Then, after you eat and make a nice little mess on your table and the surrounding floor area, I will clean all of it up to prepare for the next group of people who will sit there.

The minimum wage in the state of Tennessee for waitresses is $2.13. Therefore, basically my entire paycheck comes from tips from my customers. So it is utterly defeating when I am running around the restaurant trying to keep everyone happy, and I come to clean off your table only to find that you have left me little to no tip. I just spent most likely an hour or more serving your table for basically no pay. I’m sure if you spent an hour at work, and then your boss told you that you weren’t getting paid, you would have a problem with that too.

Now, I know tipping is not mandatory. It’s not a state law and most restaurants only enforce a gratuity on large parties. The restaurant I currently work at doesn’t even charge gratuity. So, even when my workload is doubled because a large group is sat in my section I’m not guaranteed compensation. No one can force you to tip, but it is a sign of thanks and respect and just plain old manners. It might not seem like it to anyone who has never worked in a restaurant, but being a waitress is hard and tiring work. You might argue that it isn’t your job to pay me. You might justify not tipping me because the owner of the restaurant should be responsible for that. I could almost see your point, but without the customers there is no business. So, I am pretty much working for you when you’re in my section. In that case, you are now my boss, and honestly, I expect more out of my boss.

If you can’t afford to go out to a nice restaurant where the wait staff takes care of everything you need, you shouldn’t go out to eat. Or you should go to a fast food restaurant, because those workers do actually get paid from their work. It is disrespectful not to tip, plain and simple. Working as hard as I do without being tipped leaves me feeling less than human. It’s like you think I don’t deserve to be paid for all my hard work. So, I want you to think about this the next time you feel like being a rude patron in any waitress’s section.

From A Waitress Who Deserves Better