$1 a drink/beer is my standard........Sometimes it works out to 40%......Meals, always 15%

OK....back when a bottle of beer was 2 bucks at the packed college bar/music venue....they got a 50% tip...every beer...even the guys ;)

edited: I was still a cheap bastid though....when beer was 1.50, I'd have qtrs after a few...pay the correct amount and toss a buck in the jar...66% :)

I made it up in quantity back then....now one of the 20 yr. old college kids behind the bar owns the joint :)

LMAO you think my parents took us out to eat? I can almost count on one hand how many times in my life in their home we went out to eat on my dads dime. My mothers parents were well off as were her family, they let her struggle because she married, out of rebellion, the high school punk. My Grandfather would take us out to eat, it was otherworldly to me.

I knew what day of the week it was based on what was on the dinner table, 3 days a week it was fish my dad caught, the other days is was things like pasta, hot dogs and beans meatloaf etc...

I think we went to a sit down restaurant 2X in my life growing up.

We were not frugal due to my parents growing up during the depression, my grandparents grew up during the depression. My parents were poor because my dad could not hold down a job. It would turn out despite his HS diploma he had a 7th grade education being pushed through the school to get him out and not their problem anymore.

As I have said, I have my reasons for my tipping rules and it is mostly based off of my experiences. If you tip 20% and it turns out to be $1.80 and you are good with that and feel that falls within the rules of a polite society then your conscious is clear. I am not judging anyone.

I was just tossing my $0.02 in that I prefer not to tip below $5. I honestly do not think it is a NY thing it is just something I worked out on my own.

Jim, I'm not knocking you brother....I get where you're coming from ;). I've been blessed with an "easy peasy" path through life, thanks to my parents and some pure natural talent that I can't explain. I was just making general comments about southerners, and how my parents and grandparents (both sides) grew up....I guarantee they never had a purchased meal in their lives before adulthood....not even a burger or a slice. They are not stingy types...quite the contrary....neither am I. Just a different perspective I was sharing....

You're a good guy...don't take my comnents as negative....that's not my intent at all.

jims5543,

In general I agree with you. But don't forget. TIP means "to insure promptness". Basically, take care of me and I will give you something extra. Unfortunately it is now expected you will pay an additional 20% of the bill. Wait staff agreed to minimum wage or in NJ I believe it is legal to pay $2.15 per hour and work for tips. If you work for tips I would think you act accordingly. When I enter an establishment I expect to tip 20% and work up or down based on my experience with the server. I do not hold the server responsible if the hostess/ maître D slams them with multiple large tables or the kitchen is in the weeds.

I think the OP was correct in asking for the change. Based on his post it seems the server did misunderstand and thought she could keep the change. But based on the description of service the change certainly was not deserved. I don't think it comes down to whether or not $4.00 is a big deal but if it is deserved or not. Reward bad behavior/poor service and you will insure the same in the future.

I was out with my mother a few months ago and she insisted on paying for lunch. The tab was around $77 (at the Mount Vernon restaurant). She hands the waitress $80 and says that she does not need change, about a 5% tip. The waitress was pretty astute and said she would bring change back but my mother insisted that no change was needed.

I looked at the check and the paltry tip she was getting ready to leave and added to it. I think the waitress knew she was getting ready to get stiffed and was trying to give my mother a chance to check the math. The service had been great and a tip consistent with that was warranted.

I'm with others here; if the service is crap I will leave nothing or very little and even speak to a manager. I will also take care of those that take care of me.

My neighborhood Chinese food take out that has no tables has the obligatory tip line on the CC receipt. I just laugh at the thought. I drive there to pick it up, no way they are getting a tip.

Here is a question: since when did tipping the pizza delivery guy become a thing? We do it but I know that it was not always common practice.

So from a fundamental standpoint, why do we expect to tip the waiter?

We don’t tip the chef? We don’t tip our Drs. We don’t tip the DMV.

Why is wait staff different?

Why should their lively hood be based on being cheerful?

My job compensation is based on performance. So long as I am not an *******, I get great reviews. That’s getting to be a dick at times (you just have to be right!).

tadd, I expect it has been mentioned previously but.. Your servers make 2.13 an hour, they rely on tips to get paid. The 2.13 per hour is usually absorbed by taxes. Many, many times when working in the service industry my checks would be $0.00.

All other restaurant employees are paid an hourly wage in most cases.

Tadd, re-read what you see in this thread about countries where it isn't.

That is why.

Bi:
As I have mentioned my first wife did the olive garden waitress thing and it was brutal. So I fully understand that they get reduced wages to 'compensate' for their tips.

I just would like to know why we do it that way.

Tervuren is closest with other places give a regular wage and it sucks. My response would be, why does it suck. Almost every other job isn't tipped.... Fast food isn't tipped.

Personally I think it is expectation. It has been done this way, for whatever reason, and evolved to this. We as a society expect a given behavior from wait staff and our control thereof. As a different example, I think 'we' (as a society) have gotten to see the hospital as a hotel. Its not. You go to get a service that is supposed to get you better...not be pampered. Yet the hospital my lady works at is reimbursed with respect to patient satisfaction scores. Talk about dumb. You go into the hospital feeling like crap, often get a treatment feeling like crap, and now days get sent home as soon as possible to lower costs (often feeling like crap) and yet the hospital gets graded on satisfaction?? I see this as a direct corollary to wait staff and tipping. Do we tip our nurses if they do a good job? No, we just expect it.

I see the exact same for wait staff. If someone is rude or you isn't getting served according to your definition of fast, then complain to the manager. Why should the employee get shafted? Almost all other jobs aren't.

where are you getting your facts?
The only tips you get taxed on are the ones you claim. not hypothetically made.

with your math, servers should make as much as teachers, and other higher educated fields. which I disagree.

It may be a bartender thing.

But yes, there are baseline taxes on an assumed tip based on the tab amount.

The taxman wants his money even if someone pockets cash and doesn't report.

If you haven't experienced this, I wonder if it is based an a place that serves alcohol?

I like the restaurant being tip based, it really isn't an objective performance/job when done well.

What I don't like are things like bell hops,I'd rather carry my own luggage anyway...

The whole bell hop things just makes me feel awkward.

I worked fine dining catering in my late teens. still friends with the owners.
They would charge a gratuity based on total amount (bar+alcohol+food). Now this is where it was interesting. There would be some clients that would refuse to pay the gratuity, and that was perfectly okay. owner still paid a base rate per event that was comparable to the min wage back then...
we also pocketed tip money at the end of the night from clients, and bar tips (when authorized by the clients as well).

didn't matter when they switched payroll to independent contractors...

In the end I am not looking for pats on the back, just trying to convey there are people that know they are lucky and try to share a bit and not be stingy.

Furthermore, I saw in this thread someone mention philanthropy, I decided a few years ago to get involved in... well.. something... I was kind of overwhelmed by the choices.

You may appreciate this.

Time to go OT in OT.

A forum friend from another forum, who I am friends with IRL as well, mentioned to me this time waster website called "The Chive" about 5-6 years ago, he said it was a nice way to kill some time when you need a break from the BS at work.

It is a fun cheeky website with things guys like, stupid topics, half dressed girls and funny content.

Then I discovered there was a whole other side to it, there was a Charity, they say they are a drinking group with a charity problem. More accurate, they claim they are just trying to make the world 10% happier. In 2015 I became a Green Ribbon Donor, and I actively participate in many flash funding events that they start or find and get behind.


https://chivecharities.org/

Bill Murray found out about them and he is now elbow deep in their shenanigans as well. I probably have 4 Bill Murray overpriced t-shirts from the Chive.



Funny side story, my wife thought my involvement in the Chive was purely because of boobies. I told her it was more than that. She did not believe me.

Back in 2015 we were at Universal Studios, I was wearing my BFM (Bill effin Murray) t-shirt that day. It was myself my wife and my then 12 year old son.

We were walking by the newish at the time Transformers ride, this pretty 20 something blonde girl with a medic uniform on walked up to me and commented on the BFM shirt and asked where I got it. I told her I was a Chiver.

She replied she had to make sure and asked if we wanted to go on the Transformers ride. We said yes and she said, follow me. We walked through the gift shop with her telling people along the way, they are with me. We walked up to the front of the ride, she turned to us and said "Chive on!!" and walked away, never to be seen again.

I was RAK'd!! Random act of Kindness which is a mantra of The Chive.

My wife was floored, why would a complete stranger do this over a stupid T-shirt?


She told me, you better pay this forward.


I joined up the next evening to be a Chive Green Ribbon donor.

I took it a step further, we went to a Space X launch in Cap Canaveral in 2016 or so, we stopped at a BBQ joint in Satellite Beach on the way back down. I noticed in the corner a man having dinner with his son, the son had downs syndrome looked to be in his 30's. I told my wife to look at how they are interacting, that man really loves his son and you can see from across the room the special bond they have.

Now, my years of listening to Howard Stern, knowing about Gary the Conqueror and Wendy the Special Adult has taught me, you may never ever stop raising a child with downs syndrome. It is a lifetime commitment.

Before we left I flagged down their waitress, I paid their tab including a generous tip and gave her a note to pass on to the dad telling him how awesome he and his son were. I told her not to do anything until we were gone.

In the confusion of it all I never signed my check credit card receipt for my check so I had to call an hour later when I got home to authorize the waitress to process the payment and add a tip.

The manger was on the phone and handled that, then he handed the phone over to the waitress who told me she never saw something like that in her life, and that the father was stunned, speechless and choked up over it. I told her about Chive Charities and this is what we do, make the world 10% happier. She said she was looking into it.

He got RAK'd! It felt amazing to pay it forward.

It always feels amazing to see how much impact Chive Charities has on peoples lives every day.

I have purchased and had purchased free beers at bars because of these tshirts.


I did not tell that story for any kudo's I told it so you understand where my reasoning to be generous comes from.

I have always been a generous tipper it was not until I got involved with the Chive that I stepped up my game.

I am extremely fortunate to be where I am today, I have owned my own business for the last 20 years some ups and some downs but for the most part it has afforded me a very comfortable life that I am proud of, I worked my ass off.... actually I still work my ass off to be where I am.

I will NEVER forget how much $5 meant to me in 1995 to have someone hand me a $5 bill back then would mean the world to me.

I know there are people today like that. I try to pay attention, you can notice little things with people, I try to be that guy that can do something nice for people that will appreciate it. Not for the glory, in many cases I try to do something really nice to complete strangers I know will never see me again but will tell a story for years to come.



I agreed with the OP many posts ago and made it clear the waitress was rude to assume that he was handing a tip off.

Well Jim, I know you aren't looking for a pat on the back....but that was one nice read man :).
I do like your style....I tend to do the same thing...probably not nearly to the extent you do, ....but my parents make me seem like scrooge though ;).

I enjoyed reading that...thanks!

May I ask WHY do you keep mentioning the IRS? This is *********IRRELEVANT************ to tipping. NOBODY CARES what the server has to pay the government NOR does the customer have any control or say so about it. If the server wants to make more, then they might want to work where they make a normal hourly wage such as $10/hr or more. There are other jobs out there that pay more than min. wage.

I would like for you to explain to me how the IRS assumes the server made $16? Does the server claim the cash tips they got? If so, why don't they take any overages out their cash tips so they don't over claim?

In that situation, when some customers pay at least $16 in tips in CASH, you wouldn't claim the $16 in cash to compensate for the IRS saying you made that when let's say you got stiffed. Understand what I am trying to say here?

WHY, when they are MOST of the time at fault, here's why:

Ask yourself these questions as a server:

1. WHEN do you put in my order? Do you wait or do you go put it in immediately after taking it? If you are double sat or triple sat, you can still go put in each order into the computer after taking each table’s order. By not doing that can result in a much longer wait and that would be YOUR FAULT.

2. FORGETTING to put in an order. My husband and I have experienced this for REAL that servers ADMITTED to our faces they have FORGOTTEN TO PUT ORDERS IN. All of them were appetizers, bar drinks, and a cup of soup.

3. Did you put in the order CORRECTLY into the computer? Have had many times servers ADMITTED to our faces they did not do that correctly. Have had wrong entrées before due to our server putting in the order wrong. Have had wrong bar drinks too due to the server putting in the order wrong.

4. Did you FORGET ANYTHING I ORDERED such as a SIDE DISH? We have had this happen a number of times as well.

5. Did you DROP anything I ordered? Luckily, we have not had this happen, but I have seen a server once drop some fries from a plate before and I did have a waiter spill some margarita martini when pouring into a martini glass. In other words, it is possible, not likely, but very possible.

6. Did you remember to GET my food? We have had a server do that before. Also, we have had a number of servers forget bar drinks.

7. Did you bring out my food obviously correctly if you bring my food out? Do you realize how many times OUR OWN SERVER brings out DUH mistakes like the side dish is wrong, the entrée is wrong, something obvious is not correct bacon that isn’t covered up isn’t extra, extra crispy when you can clearly notice that it isn’t without touching anything, etc.? Every DUH mistake you bring out is YOUR FAULT I am waiting for what I did order by you wasting my time bringing me the wrong item or wrongly prepared item or forgot something. While we all make mistakes, I would have to say a good 90% of the time, servers NEVER COMPARE THE WRITTEN ORDERS TO THE FOOD, because they are TOO LAZY and DON’T CARE!!

8. Servers DO wait to put in entrée orders when appetizers, side salads, or cups of soup are ordered. THAT *IS* THE GOD’S TRUTH! Sometimes it’s TOO LONG THEY WAIT! If it’s another server, it still doesn’t make it the kitchen staff’s fault I have the wrong side dish for example since that is something that’s obvious. It’s either my server that didn’t put in my order correctly or this other server that didn’t compare the ticket to the food or that this other server did compare the ticket to the food, but just missed it(HIGHLY UNLIKELY, but possible).

9. WHEN do you come to GET MY ORDER? That part is covered in #2 below.

10. WHEN do you DECIDE to LET ME ORDER? That part is covered in #4 below.

11. WHEN do you decide to DELIVER MY FOOD? That part is covered in #1 below.

12. Do you, because they are out of something, decide to assume everyone wants the closest thing so you do the ordering for me? That part is covered in #3 below.

13. WHEN do you decide to check up on WHERE the food is? If the kitchen staff somehow lost the ticket, did you wait 30 minutes and then decide to find out that or did you check after 10-15 minutes to see that our food was getting started on?

1. Once, we had a Red Lobster waitress had our 2 entrées on the tray as well as 2 side salads that were for a couple that wasn’t even there when we ordered. Anyway, instead of bypassing their table to hand us ours first since WE DID ORDER FIRST(common sense would tell you that it takes more time to cook food than it does to fix a side salad anyways even if it wasn’t our server that delivered our food, but it was our waitress that delivered our food), she decided to hand them theirs first off the tray. THAT IS SOMETHING THAT IS IN THE SERVER’S CONTROL TO HAND OUT THINGS OFF THE SAME TRAY IN THE ORDER IN WHICH IT WAS ORDERED IN!!

2. Once, we had a waitress that greeted us which we ordered an appetizer as well as our drinks when greeted. I saw she tucking in chairs at empty tables and pretty much doing everything but coming back to get our entrée order. Well, I found out what happened. She brought out our appetizer and when I asked she said that she wanted to wait to put in our entrée orders. The thing is, that delayed us more by not at least coming to GET our orders. That way, when the appetizer was ready, we wouldn’t have gotten delayed eating our appetizer since we then had to give our entrée orders when we could have given our entrée orders WELL BEFORE THAT and we would have gotten our entrées faster due to that she could have just left to put our entrée orders into the computer after delivering our appetizer instead of taking time to order when our appetizer was sitting in front of us. The point is, SHE delayed our entrées as well as to be able to start eating our appetizer because she could have at least TAKEN our entrée orders and then when our appetizer would have been brought out, could have immediately gone to the computer to put our entrée orders in. What she did was make us wait while our hot appetizer was sitting in front of us, we couldn’t touch it, because we had to order our entrées and could have done that wayyy before that. She also delayed our entrées because we had to spend extra time AFTER our appetizer arrived to give her our entrée orders when we could have done that wayyyy before that.

3. Once, we had a waitress that assumed that because they were out of raspberry topping for a cheesecake slice when we had ordered dessert that she’d bring us strawberry. Turns out, she knew when she put in the order that the computer had it the manager told us. So she did it on PURPOSE to be so lazy and uncaring as to not come to ask if we wanted the next closest thing. We didn’t, we sent it back, so she had MORE WORK. Also, she didn’t even think about what if someone is allergic to strawberries. I just honestly can’t believe someone would do that. If they are out of something, common sense would be to come to see if the next closest thing is ok. Not everyone wants the next closest thing. So it wasn’t like it was just getting the order wrong by accident or by not verifying the written order with what she was bringing or putting in the order wrong by accident, this was on PURPOSE to be LAZY and to ASSUME. I didn’t know at first that she did that. I thought at first she just was that stupid(or truly just messed up(highly doubt it)) to bring us strawberries on top of a cheesecake when we ordered raspberries.

4. Your server delays coming to get your order or delays you ordering due to personal conversation. We have had that before as well. Once, we had a waiter that we didn’t know after waiting 15 mins. for a table on Mardi Gras day ask us BEFORE we ORDERED ANYTHING “How’s y’all’s Mardi Gras” “Go to any parades.” See, I don’t mind chit chat with a stranger, but be considerate to do it AFTER we have our orders into the computer so you don’t take up our time.

We have also had servers not come to get our order due to playing around. Sometimes taking a long time or a longer time has A LOT to do with the server: My husband and I have had 3 TIMES where servers FORGOT to put food orders into the computer. We also have 8 times servers forget to get bar drinks from the bar. Once a waitress forgot to put in a bar drink into the computer. Two of the 3 times it was an appetizer and the servers ADMITTED doing so. The third time was a cup of bisque which is normally served before a meal just like a side salad is. My husband and I also have had delays due to that the servers delayed putting orders into the computer when they COULD have such as deciding to buss a table first or decide instead of a mini-greet(I’ll be right with you all), one waiter I saw decided to take a party of 6 people’s drink/appetizer orders instead of putting in our food orders into the computer. I can understand if they call you over, but if they don’t, you should be putting that order into the computer not delaying our food. The longer you wait to put in orders, the LONGER WE WAIT!! So truly think about that MOST of the time when you wait a LONG TIME for your food or bar drinks even, it could be the server’s fault. 9 times out of 10, your server had *SOMETHING* to do with the delay in most cases! That’s the GOD’S TRUTH!

Continued next post:

Continued:

90% of the time it's the SERVER'S FAULT:

1. They can put in the order wrong into the computer or if it's a written ticket they submit, they could have written something down wrong or hard to read.

2. They could have forgotten to put in the order in the first place.

3. Servers can also misunderstand what the customer is saying such as 2 times when I ordered 2 sides of bbq sauce and the stupid idiot servers thought I didn’t want bbq sauce on my ribs when I NEVER ONCE SAID I didn’t and I didn’t say “ON THE SIDE”, I SAID SIDES, which means extra. One of those times I said extra even.

4. Most mistakes with food are visible:

A. Condiments of any kind regardless of who brings out the food can be brought out by the server ahead of time.

B. If someone orders extra crispy bacon with their pancakes, then the bacon looks limp, not stiff, and you can even see some white fat on it, guess what? MY SERVER COULD HAVE SEEN THAT TOO AND TOLD THE COOKS IT WASN'T CORRECT, TO RECOOK IT INSTEAD OF BRINGING IT TO ME WRONG IN THE FIRST PLACE!

C. Any wrong side dishes or entrees are the fault of the server if they bring out the food even if they put in the order right. You can tell the difference between a baked potato and mac n' cheese, yet, a waiter at Logan's Roadhouse was so stupid as to bring me mac n' cheese when I ordered a baked potato. I noticed it within 5 seconds of the food hitting my table. Like DUH a baked potato looks completely different from mac n' cheese.

D. Any MISSING side dishes, appetizers, condiments, or entrees ARE the server's fault if they bring out the food as well. Have had that happen a few times or so. Our servers aren't blind, so they can tell if something is missing or not.

E. I have seen a red steak delivered to someone before at Outback which means let's say the customer ordered their steak well done, that the server could have noticed the color difference as in someone's example “Steak cooked rare instead of well done ? It’s not your server’s fault, they didn’t cook it, it’s the kitchen’s fault.”

F. If something LOOKS burnt such as a piece of bread with the food and the person didn't order it burnt, my server is at fault for serving me that.

G. If my server forgets an item that an entree or appetizer comes with, that's their fault if they brought me my food without the item such as a side dish or ranch.

H. I have ordered at Outback my fries "lightly cooked" "Not overdone and yellow not brown." I have had their fries before cooked the way I like them before many of times before this time I am talking about. This stupid waitress decided to blame the kitchen staff for REALLY DARK BROWN FRIES as if she was blind or something and my husband even told me he could see that they were really dark. My husband may not agree with me on every subject of course, but with that, you could EASILY tell just by LOOKING that those fries were overdone and very dark. She said she put in the order correctly. I am thinking, SO? I wish I could have said "Are you blind?" That was HER FAULT she DECIDED TO SERVE ME THOSE FRIES THAT WEREN'T CORRECT. I noticed the mistake within 3 seconds of my food being placed in front of me.

http://www.bunrab.com/dailyfeed/dailyfeed_images_feb-07/df07_02-04_baconn.jpg

http://www.bunrab.com/dailyfeed/dail...-04_baconn.jpg


You can tell in this picture above the bacon is very crispy just by simply LOOKING at it.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vv2IGE5obwk/RwVi-0hZziI/AAAAAAAABjc/m6bP-Te_wJE/s320/IMG_8338.jpg

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vv2IGE5obw...0/IMG_8338.jpg


You can tell in this picture above the bacon is NOT CRISPY, just by simple LOOKING at the bacon.

While the server didn't "COOK" the bacon, it's obvious to the *SERVER'S* EYES that one batch of bacon is crispy and the other isn't to decide to BRING the food to the customer wrong or not. It's my server's fault if they decide to bring me the bacon that's like in picture 2 if I ordered it crispy that she or he didn't tell the cooks it was wrong and get them to cook the bacon more instead of SERVING it wrong. WHY bring it out only for the food to be sent back?

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_DzuAhw_RcXU/TAyZ38A67EI/AAAAAAAAALo/R6zLKIKy1do/s1600/DSC_0006.JPG

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_DzuAhw_RcX...0/DSC_0006.JPG

You can clearly see the fries are overdone in the picture above if the customer ordered them "NOT OVERDONE, lightly cooked."

http://www.orthogonalthought.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/dsc_6087_550.jpg

http://www.orthogonalthought.com/blo...c_6087_550.jpg

In this picture above, you can see the fries don't appear overdone and the bacon is NOT CRISPY. If a customer asked for their bacon to be crispy, I would REFUSE to serve it and I would have enough CARING and COMMON SENSE to get that fixed **BEFORE** I brought it to the customer only to have the customer send it back or leave me a bad tip for not caring about their food.

My server's job isn't just to bring out what the kitchen staff gives them, it's also getting the order OBVIOUSLY correct to the table as much as possible in order to get that good tip. As someone said on a blog or forum “They just want to be tipped well and will do pretty much anything reasonable to get your money”, which that IS VERY REASONABLE to think OUR SERVERS ACTUALLY CARE ABOUT THEIR TIP TO GET THINGS RIGHT TO HAVE A BETTER TIP!!

Get what I am saying here? MOST of the mistakes happen due to either your server if they bring out the food or another server that doesn't compare the ticket to the food(assuming the order was put in correctly by the original server of course).

You also can notice if someone has wing sauce "On the side" vs. "On the wings" themselves. This isn't rocket science.

Most of the things that are wrong with the food can be caught by the server if they bring out the food, even if they didn't cook it. If it's another server, they can catch obvious errors on the ticket and menu(such as menu states the item comes with bbq sauce and the ticket doesn't say "no bbq sauce") if the ticket was correctly put in by the original server that took the order. Condiments(in bottles or on the side in containers) can always be offered to be brought out ahead of time REGARDLESS of WHO brings out the food to the table.

So most of the time when the food has something wrong with it, chances are, your server or another server could have caught the mistake before it got to you in most instances. I NEVER said ALL, but in most cases, it can be caught BEFORE bringing out the food(unless another server brings out the food with the ticket wrong), because then the original server that took the order is at fault for putting the order in incorrectly into the computer.

There are few rare cases where the food being wrong is the kitchen staff's fault such as raw food(such as raw chicken), slightly undercooked or overcooked food that you'd have to CUT into to know if it was under or overcooked, or anything the server cannot see with their eyes unless they were to TOUCH the food. Things such as a pickle under a bun the server can't notice unless they lift the bun, so unless they put the order in wrong, they wouldn't be at fault, but in general most food mistakes can be caught BEFORE bringing the food to the table.

What I am saying is, MOST mistakes ARE PREVENTABLE by the SERVER if they bring your order to you that they can NOTICE things wrong by comparing those written orders to the plates of food.

Continued next post:

Continued:

Once a waiter at Chili's said "The kitchen forgot" when I had ordered 2 sides of mayo and 1 side of mustard. The thing is, my waiter brought out the food, so NO, HE HE HE HE HE FORGOT, the kitchen staff didn't step out the kitchen to bring me my food and forget obvious missing containers from my plate that aren't covered up by anything. MY WAITER DID THOUGH!!

You walk in one room in your house with a plate of food, but forget the ranch. Even if your mom or significant other plated your food, which you even told her you wanted a side of ranch for your fries, but you bring it to another room. HOW IS THAT THEIR FAULT? It's YOUR FAULT YOU LEFT THE ROOM WITHOUT THE RANCH AND DIDN'T NOTICE IT SINCE IT'S SOMETHING OBVIOUS YOU DON'T HAVE TO *TOUCH* TO NOTICE THE MISTAKE!!

Even if he didn't bring out the food, that waiter could have prevented that type of thing from being forgotten since it needs no cooking to bring it out ahead of time. It is always the person bringing out the food that is at fault for any type of mistake that you don't have to TOUCH the food to notice the mistake, unless of course, the order was put in wrong by the original server that took the order with another server bringing out the food. Of course unless, the kitchen goofs up, making it correctly even if the ticket is wrong, but that's highly unlikely scenario.

I cannot believe you honestly think that the server is not at fault for most food mistakes. WE LIVED THROUGH THE "DUH" MISTAKES, SO WE CAN SEE WITH OUR EYES WHO WAS AT FAULT!!

We had a waiter once which he did write our orders down just the 2 of us at a seafood restaurant. When he brought out our food, he also brought out another table's food on the tray along with ours and put it down on a tray jack. Our waiter(not someone else), we saw he didn't get his pad of paper out to see which plates of food went with which customers. He put in front of my husband fried shrimp with fries, but my husband ordered crawfish au gratin with a baked potato. No one is blind here, so there's no excuse for this and it made a delay in our service. Turns out, he didn't even have my husband's entrée on the tray. Our waiter came back to say I quote "I grabbed the wrong plate from the kitchen." Our waiter ADMITTED HE MESSED UP! The kitchen didn't make the wrong food or forget, our waiter didn't compare his written order to the food to make sure which plates he was going to bring out to us. What he honestly should have done is done one table at a time since doing too much at once causes situations like this trying to do multiple tables at the same time. It wasn't more efficient, because he messed up and you are more likely to mess up trying to do 2 tables at once. He should have gone in order of request that if the other table ordered before us, he should have just brought out their food only and made our table a separate trip. I saw he just AIMLESSLY put plates out to the customers. It's so IGNORANT and LAZY! The speed in which my husband got his food was 100% ******OUR WAITER'S FAULT ENTIRELY****! He grabbed the wrong plate and didn't verify the items if they were correct on the plate. His job is to make sure he *SERVES* it correctly as much as he can see without touching the food. The side dish nor the main dish was even remotely not even close to the other even. Certainly not a caring waiter.

Could you HONESTLY blame the kitchen staff even if our waiter would not have admitted fault, he still was at fault. NO ONE IS BLIND HERE, NOBODY! Everyone can read. So there was NO REASON for this stuff to happen, yet, it happens.

There are no circumstances beyond their control in a good 90% of cases. 10% would be where they can't control, the rest they sure can control it. We know, we have been through it me and my husband many of times over the years with servers. We see what's going on. If your server brings you the wrong item, that's TIME that the SERVER messed up, NOT the kitchen. I don't care if the kitchen staff makes the wrong food, bringing it to me completely wrong is the 100% fault of the SERVER if they are our server. If it's another server that didn't take the order, they still should know which table is for example table #3 at. They should know WHICH TABLE they are bringing the food to whether it's your own server or another server.

It's very rare that it's not the server's fault. Things like if I order no pickles if you took my order and brought out my food, which there are some pickles under a bun that you'd have to lift it to see it, unless you admitted putting in the order wrong, I will assume it's the kitchen staff that is at fault and probably is.

Things like raw chicken tenders aren't the fault of the server.

A slightly over or undercooked steak if the order was put in correctly is not the server's fault.

Also, some people assume things as well, that end up being wrong.

If another server brings out a wrong side dish or if they are missing items other than condiments, no it's not the server's fault if they put in the order correctly, but it still counts against the tip. It's part of the service.

Why also is it when you say "no pickles" or "ONLY lettuce and onions", they still have a pickle on the plate? WHY servers can't understand that if the customer states they don't want pickles, that means on the plate, because otherwise, they'd specifically state they would have wanted it "ON THE SIDE." Think about it. WHY do I keep having servers bring me some pickles on the plate when I ordered no pickles? NO SERVERS ARE BLIND OR ILLITERATE that they cannot determine any of the obvious errors that don't have to be touched to notice the mistakes or mistake.

So I don't get your stance on WHY you don't most of the time take off for incorrect obvious food errors and long waits in most cases?

HOW will the server ever **LEARN** to check on things and go in order of turns if you don't teach them to? They will just keep doing bad service over and over again if you pay them well anyway. Most of the time, they have SOMETHING to do with your long wait or wrong with your food issue.

I am really curious WHY aren't you thinking with some COMMON SENSE with these issues? We all know our server isn't cooking our food(although, some restaurants will make the servers make side salads and desserts. Red Lobster makes servers make side salads. ) Well, anyway, for most of the food, you know the server isn't making it, but they still have eyes and still can READ. So if it's your OWN server they should KNOW from their WRITTEN ORDER WHAT you ordered as far as most of the items on your plate or bowl if something doesn't look right or is missing. Your server is supposed to have KNOWLEDGE of WHAT they are serving you, NOT just bring you anything and not care.

If it's another server, your server that took your order should have brought you things that need no cooking such as any condiments you ordered BEFORE your food arrives so you have what you need when your food arrives. Your server also if they had time should offer you refills if you need any before your food arrives.