03/10/2024
If you can’t afford to tip your server, don’t go out to eat!!! Here’s how this all unfolded:
This table started off pleasant. When they were sat, I brought 5 plates but realized there were 6 people so I brought 6. When I brought the 6th plate, a woman was asking me why I brought 6 plates and I said “oh I just miscounted and missed the little guy!” (Her younger son) and she said to me “well he’s just a baby so he doesn’t really count” and I kind of just giggled because…who cares that I brought an extra plate?
I start to take drink orders and one of the daughters orders a specialty lemonade. This is important for later. Then the same woman who was questioning me bringing 6 plates wanted to know about our coffee. I explained what coffee we have - mind you, this is my 2nd day off of training so I’m still learning things as I go. The woman asks me if I would charge her if she ordered a cup of coffee and didn’t like it. I told her that I could also just bring her a sample of the coffee to see if she likes it before she fully commits to it and she agreed to that but made sure to ask for cream and sugar with it. I brought out like 1/4 of a cup of our coffee with cream and sugar and told her that if she liked it I would fill up her cup and she was very appreciative and called me very sweet. I ran around and did some other things and when I came back I was getting their food order. It took about 15 minutes for these 6 people to order because of all of the modifications, questions, changing their minds and INTERRUPTING. They would not stop interrupting each other or me when I was taking their orders. After they ordered, the woman said she did not care for the coffee and that it was cold and ordered another drink. In the back of my mind, I said to myself “you ordered a sample of the coffee and put cold creamer in it” but I kept it to myself, smiled and apologized and took the coffee off of the table. I did not charge her anything obviously. Later, the girl who ordered the specialty lemonade decided she didn’t like it - totally fine, it’s a weirder flavor pairing so I offered to get her a different drink. She just wanted a regular lemonade. The woman with the coffee sample said she wanted to try it. When she tried it, she said she would drink it and to just bring her daughter a regular lemonade. Then she asked if we would charge for both which I explained that yes we would have to charge for both lemonades because they’re made at our bar and are both being consumed. She said never mind, just take this one and bring us a regular one. I had the specialty lemonade removed from their bill (it’s like a dollar more than a regular lemonade) and brought the girl her lemonade. The food came to their table, they were pleased with the food, and the service continued as normal. I checked back as they were finishing to see if they needed anything else and they asked for a box and a refill. I brought a box and the refill. Then the same woman asked for a container for something else. I bring that. Then she asks for a second container. I ask if she just wants one more. I bring her the other container and then they ask for the bill. I bring them the bill and continue servicing another table. When I walked by their table, I heard the grandma at the table say something like “man why was this food so expensive.” Whenever people comment on a bill, unless there’s any sort of a mix up, I keep it to myself because I know they saw the prices on the menu as they ordered. The woman with the coffee earlier flags me down and asks why it says there are 6 seats on the bill. I explained that when we put the food in for everyone, we split it by seat so they know where it’s going. She said there weren’t 6 seats. I explained that she ordered bacon and eggs and an apple juice for her son so we counted him as a seat at the table. She was really upset about this for a moment and then asked “well is the tip already included?” And I explained no that’s for parties over 6. She all of a sudden was no longer upset. They paid with one card and I brought everything back. I asked if they wanted a bag for the things they were taking home and she was quite snotty and said “yeah sure fine.” I run food for one of my tables and then bring the bag to her. The rest of the table had left already but the woman with the coffee sample from earlier is still there. She then stops me and proceeds to tell me something along the lines of this:
“When it comes to service, if there’s food or drinks on the table that are unwanted, just leave them. We know they’re getting thrown out anyway, so just leave them at the table. You will be tipped more. We would have tipped more if you would have left the coffee and the lemonade”
I explained to her that it’s policy. If they don’t like an item and don’t want to pay for it, we have to take it back.
She then said to me “it’s not about policy. It’s not about money. It’s about your service. I’ve dined in 5 star fine dining restaurants and the goal is for the service to be the best. Not worrying about the money or the policy. I own and run businesses and know that it’s about how you come across not how the money shakes out.”
It took everything in me to not explain to her that I have been working in restaurants for 10 years including some of her fancy fine dining restaurants and could tell her that no restaurant will just allow customers to consume food that they claim they don’t like or don’t want for free. I wanted to tell her that from the moment she was complaining about 6 plates to worrying about paying for the coffee to overhearing that they thought the bill was too expensive, I knew they weren’t going to be tipping me very well anyway. I didn’t do that though. I smiled and nodded. I thanked her for her feedback and asked if there was anything else I could do for her, and we ended our interaction. I picked up the check after cleaning the table to see the lovely note she wrote for me and the less than 15% tip they left for me. I hope she knows I didn’t leave that interaction thinking that if I would’ve given her free s**t I would’ve had a better tip. I left that interaction knowing that she is the worst type of customer that other servers have to deal with and any sort of business owner wouldn’t be complaining about not being left the food she didn’t pay for and blaming the tip on the service rather than their inability to afford feeding 6 people at a restaurant that is not known for being a bargain.
Thought I’d share my lovely experience with other servers here that understand i
