refused service because of bad tipping

[Papa_Complex]

Originally Posted by Kaneman

I don't know where you eat, but I get stellar service 90% of the time...and we eat out quite a bit. Stay away from chain restaurants run by a corporate entity that really treat their people like shit and you'll get better service....and usually better food.

TGIFridays? Really? People still eat that shit? Jesus.

I generally get good service too, hence why I'm known for being a notorious over-tipper. Servers tend to remember me if I start to frequent a place. It doesn't matter if it's a 4-star, or Denny's.

My job is to provide a service, whether I'm doing it with a camera or fixing someone's computer issues. Been doing computer service for 20+ years either in the manufacturing end or here, in the university (last 12+ years). I've also worked in a parking lot in every position from parking attendant to assistant supervisor. I know what it's like to be directly serving the public, believe me.

Originally Posted by t-homo

So what would a professional server do better than the college students who are working their way through college and eatin ramen at home?

Ummmmm... ACT like a professional, perhaps? If you're in a service industry, you provide service. That is your product. Do better than basic, and you get paid better than basic.

Originally Posted by OTB

Actually, we do have "professional" servers; people who have gone to school for service, done legnthy apprenticeships for little money, worked their way up through better and better establishments, so perhaps, depending on the [places you frequent, you may come across one.

By the same token, I was GM of a 3 star place a few years back; most of the staff were VERY talented. But every barrel always has a bad apple or two. I had one waiter that scooped up a smaller (10%) tip off a table, scoot up to the front of the restaurant and hand it back to the customer with the remark...."Here, you must need this more than I do".........

Fired on the spot.......

You don't need to go to school, in order to be a professional server. You need to act like a professional, have pride in the job you do, treat the customer like the boss that he is, and not do the sort of thing that you described here.

My objection is to the idea that giving extra, on top of the basic cost of the meal, is MANDATED. In one case my group waited 45 minutes to be seated, another 45 for our server to come by, and a half hour for our meals. If a server from another section hadn't topped us up with hot bread and water every now and then, we'd have been long gone. The only reason our server showed up at all was because one of our party went to the manager and complained. It wasn't THAT busy, that night. When the server finally did show up he took a seat at our table, then went on to explain that he'd been slow because he was on a "team building session" with the other servers, the night before, and was massively hung over.

I don't care what anyone says. I DO NOT give a gratuity in a situation like that. I will not be mandated to do so.