swoosh

Destin, FL

Server accused of serving himself $71.23 tip

What this person did was wrong. However, "Crazy" is clearly off the mark. And from now on I'll address this person as "Clueless. " Clueless prefaces his post by saying he owned a restaurant for 11 years. BS. First, the average dining experience lasts between 35 and 50 minutes, not 10-15. Second, servers pay a percentage of their sales to the restaurant for bartenders, hosts, and bussers. If your bill is 100 dollars before tax, and you leave a 15 dollar tip, that's 15%. The server is required to pay between 3-5% of their sales of that check whether you leave a tip or not. If you leave nothing, the server has to pay 3 to 5 dollars to the restaurant anyway. If you left 15 bucks, which is 15% in this case, the server is really only netting 10-12 dollars. Thirdly, tipping is optional, but food and drink is priced to allow for tips to be added onto a check. 15 to 20% is pretty standard and ensures good service. That extra % is priced into the menu! Another point, if you believe you recieve the same service at a Denny's as you do at an Outback, I'd either frequent that Denny's or ditch the Outback. Waiting tables isn't easy. Dealing with the public period isn't easy. And trying to explain these things to people like Clueless is generally a waste of time. Tossing out a generalization that servers bring home over a hundred a day is ludicrous. People should think before they spout off. And if this goofball posting above me owned a restaurant, no wonder he no longer does.  (Oct 27, 2009 | post #5)