Having been a server in various restaurants over the years, I have noticed some alarming and blatantly rude trends sweeping through the restaurant business. Restaurants of the Pioneer Valley must have quite the mixture of feelings concerning our return to the area, for the summers in Amherst are no doubt ghostly in comparison to the hopping school year.
However, some young people were never taught by their parents how to dine out politely, causing students to behave in ways that would make servers wish they had never come back at all. On one hand, I feel that any server in this area should have a bit more understanding considering the demographic they are serving – young students who are somewhat poor and extolling the virtues of newfound freedom out of the watchful eye of their parents.
On the other hand, this is not just a “student” issue; people in general do not understand the trials and tribulations of working at a restaurant. The general dining population with some exceptions is surly, rude, at times cheap, and on the whole not suited for eating in public. To remedy this situation, I offer you New Rules for Restaurants, and why they should be implemented. I hope that by doing this, server and guest alike can unite in the sheer pleasure of what brought them together in the first place: food.
Rule #1. If you cannot afford to tip your server at least 20 percent of your total bill, you cannot afford to dine out, period.
Why: In Massachusetts, the server’s wage is $2.63 per hour. Yes, that wage is hourly, not by the minute. Tipping your server 20 percent of your total bill is not a gift for excellent, backbreaking service – it’s the lowest common denominator. Say for instance you meet Sally, a server at the local Feedbag. You and your friend eat dinner and your bill comes to roughly $18.00. You tip Sally $3.60 (20 percent) because you are not stupid, and Sally did her job. You were Sally’s only table that hour. That means that Sally made $6.23 in that hour. Sweatshop workers in Cambodia make more than that (not really, but it’s not far off). It’s not your fault though, you tipped 20 percent; you did the right thing.
However, let’s look upon 20 percent not as the maximum amount you can tip the way Americans seem to believe, but as a jumping-off point. I know, you’re thinking “that’s crazy,” but keep reading and I might persuade you. Sally made $6.23 that hour that you were in her care, which really sucks, huh? Imagine that Sally is your best friend, or girlfriend, or sister, or mother, or mother of your child. Would you want that person in your life to be making that little money per hour? I doubt it. Entertain this tipping scheme for a moment, keeping in mind the aforementioned special person in your life who made $6.00.
If your server does their job, in that they get your food, drinks and check out in a quick and neat fashion, they don’t swear at you or spill hot soup on you purposefully, and they are at least courteous, you should always tip 20 percent.
If your server does the above and they are funny, nice, caring, approachable, good conversation, mindful of your children and their needs, and if they are honest with you about what tastes the best and is the best value, you should absolutely tip more.
I’m not talking 50 percent but even 22 percent would make a difference. Servers work 13-hour shifts sometimes with people breathing down their necks, angry about food, beverage and the world. If your server can stay positive and competent, they surely deserve more than $3.60 on an $18.00 bill.
Under-tipping a server who is a crabby jerk is not the answer to bad service. You are giving this mean person more reason to be mean and horrible. Tip the server 15 percent at least (think: minimum wage) and always speak to a manager. That is the only way the server will be corrected or fired. No server will ever say “Gee, that last table didn’t tip me well or at all, maybe I should take some Lithium, suck it up, and be nice.” More often than not, an un-tipped server will continue to suck if not sink to new lows.
Under-tipping a server for a long wait on your food, or food mistakes when a server honestly rang the item in correctly is unacceptable. There are often three servers to one grill cook, and those servers often have at least two orders to place at one time. That’s a lot of orders for one person; people are bound to make mistakes, and orders are bound to take longer than McDonald’s. Taking this out on your server is wrong.
As a last note on tipping, more often than not, you will not be the only table that a server has in one hour, but this does not let you out of the above tipping scheme. Most restaurants are corporate and do not allow servers to have more than three or four tables at a given time. If you take that information as reason to tip below 20 percent, we’re back to square one with three tables giving Sally $1 or $2 tips. Those tips combined with her wages still don’t equal what those idiots at Coach make for organizing expensive bags while looking bored.
The best way to think about tipping is this: you’re paying for a service; if you go to a hardware store and buy a hammer, you can’t decide if you will pay full price for the hammer based on how nice the clerk at the register is. Sure, the tip is not included in the price of a meal, but in order to ensure good service for you and others in the future, pay it forward, and pay it well.
Thomas Naughton is a Collegian columnist.
