I’ve waitressed for three different restaurants. It can actually be a good way to make money however, it will cause a lot of stress. You deal with people that don’t understand how hard it is to be a waitress.
Through my years of being a waitress, I’ve encountered many different kinds of tippers. In some instances there are really nice people who tip you 20% or more. However, there are also people who leave you one dollar, when they spend a total of $50 at the restaurant. Here are a few rules to think about next time you go out and eat, as told by me, a waitress.
1. Tips should not be influenced by the quality of the food.
I cannot stress this enough! People need to understand that we do not cook the food! We are in charge of smiling, and making your experience a pleasant one. The people in charge of the food are the people in the kitchen, not us! Therefore our tips should not be reflected on how well the food was cooked.
2. You don’t always have to tip 20%.
We understand that money can be an issue.
3. However, we also rely on tips to make a good paycheck every week.
Please keep that in mind.
4. Be friendly with your waitress/waiter.
This might have nothing to do with tipping but it has to do with the way that you treat your waitress. Everyone makes mistakes. However, there are some people that freak out with every single little thing.
5. Once again, you are not forced to leave a good tip.
If there was a small problem with the service and you are not content, it is completely understandable. However the “rule” is that if you are not really satisfied with your service at least leave 10% of the total bill.
6. Do not, I repeat, do not leave a dollar per person as a tip.
When I worked at my last job, I was walking by a table when I heard a lady say “Okay how about we leave a dollar each.” Let me tell you, this was a table of four people, who ate four pasta dinners. Their check was about $90.00 and they left me four dollars. Four dollars. I thought that was completely crazy.
7. Ask who the tip jar is for. Don't assume it goes to your waiter/waitress.
If you’re going to put the waitress’s tip in the tip jar in front of the cash register, please ask her if those are her tips. At my old job we also had a tip jar in front of the cash register. That jar was for the people who came in and bought a slice of pizza and decided to leave a dollar, not for the people who were waited on. Some customers would put a ten dollar bill in there that was supposed to be for me, and I wouldn’t be able to take it. This is really important! Ask the waitress/waiter first. The safest bet is to tell her “this is your tip” and give it to her!
These are the basic rules of tipping from my point of view. Next time you go out and eat, keep these in mind, and keep in mind that tips are basically what waitress/waiters rely on.
