Tip your waitresses. It’s a simple concept. They bring you food! Why wouldn’t you give them a little bonus? I love when people bring me food!
Waitressing is challenging. ‘Everybody should waitress at least once in their life’ isn’t a saying because waitressing is fun and easy! Dealing with customers and their bad tips is no cup of tea.
Even if you are a poor college kid, you still need to tip when you go out to eat. Did you know that minimum wage for a waitress in Wisconsin is $3 an hour? Three dollars! That means, in a five-hour shift, they make $15 on their paycheck, before taxes. They can spend big after that!
Where I waitress, I’ve gone home from a five hour shift with a measly $13 from tips in my pocket because there are cheap, cheap customers out there. The rule of thumb used to be double the tax or 15 percent, but the rule should be always tip at least 15 percent. If you were needy, messy or a group bigger than four you should definitely go to at least 20 percent.
But when you get a server who messes up a little bit or is kind of unhappy, maybe you should consider the fact that their hourly wage hardly covers their gas to get to work! If they don’t make tips, they don’t make money.
Even if the waitress is terrible, you should still tip! I’ve heard when driving, if you get cut off by someone or your bumper is being ridden, instead of getting angry you should attempt to imagine that they are rushing to the hospital for a loved one. It gives you a chance to feel my empathy. This should be a rule for tipping as well! Give the same benefit of the doubt to the waitresses.
If the server is crabby and not extra peppy, maybe their cat died or they have to go to the dentist after work. Remember, they are bringing you food — be grateful!
Many waitresses are poor college students, just like you. They also need money. If you don’t have enough money to tip, you should NOT be going out to eat! Save your dough and eat some Easy Mac at home.
The main bulk of a waitress’s pay comes from tipping, so never stiff! It is rude to leave a bad tip, but it’s better than stiffing. You know all that change that sits in your pocket, purse, or car that you never use and hate to carry around? Throw that down for a tip! It’s a win-win situation. You ditch your change, and the waitress gets an extra boost in her tip.
Another rule. Do not take your life frustrations out on your waitress. Once when I was waitressing, this man got very upset about a 30-cent charge for extra tomatoes on his burger. He found it necessary to yell at me, loudly, in front of the whole restaurant because the charge was specifically “my fault.” I was amazed at how upset he got. And, of course, this man stiffed me.
Learn some self control if this sounds like you! Bring your own tomatoes if you can’t handle the extra charges!
Just because you are going out to eat to relax, avoid cooking or to celebrate something special does NOT mean it is the server’s job to wait on you hand and foot! Avoid making the server make several trips to the table to bring refills, then a knife, next some mayo and more napkins. Last, don’t leave an extreme mess! It’s unnecessary. If you are nicer to your server, they will be nicer to you.
Moral of the story: Be nice. Be grateful. Tip well.
