Customer Appreciation vs. Leftover Change.

Tips are not a regular occurrence at my workplace. This is probably because we are more fast food than fine dinning and also because I reside in a land where the 10% tip gets ignored constantly. I don't hope for tips, they are just nice to receive and makes you feel appreciated for the job that you did. However, my policy is that as long as the customer is nice, courteous and not an outright meany, I'm quite happy for that to be my tip of table. Though, cash, undeniably, is always a good.

So here is the setting of one not so ordinary Saturday night.

• Fifty person reservation. (Our tiny restaurant only holds a total of fifty-five, uncomfortably).
• A grand numbered birthday party.
• Lots of kids of walking/toddling age. (Can already see the dilemmas there).
• Some pre-ordered set menu meals, approximately five separate meals.
• Each person paid for drinks as they went, separately.
• Each person had to pay their own amount via the hostess.
• Guests would not sit down so therefore giving out meals was difficult.
• Maneuvering around guests to get to tables was pretty much impossible.
• A lot of 'excuse me' and 'please' from the waitressing staff.
• Only appreciation was from the two hostess, every other guest just thought that we were in the way.

Everything had run pretty smooth, in spite of the chaos, until we got to the end of the night where payment was due. While I have the utmost respect for the Hostess; she did a brilliant job in organising people and payment at the end of the night, it was the other guests that I felt were rude and selfish.

There were a lot of guests drinking alcohol that they had brought in themselves. This was fine, and a very cheap corkage fee was charged per person who consumed the alcohol. I let the Hostess deal with this after explaining it to her and she seemed to understand the situation.

When she had come to pay she had forgotten, not deliberately, about the corkage issue. I told her the waitress had counted about fifteen individuals consuming alcohol. Before she even got a chance to answer her husband, who was one of those consuming the alcohol spoke quite forcefully.

Hostess'-Rude-Husband: I don't think there was that many people.
Me: Well, sir, the waitress had kept an eye out and there was that many counted between them.
Hostess'-Rude-Husband [in an agressive manner]: I don't think so. There is no way there was that many people drinking.

Did Hostess'-Rude-Husband count them? Because I don't think he did, he was busy drinking with them.

While we may have been slightly off in numbers due to people moving about there was a least ten or more people drinking. Then all of a sudden everyone was interested in money. Everyone had something to say, over the top of the hostess. She tried quietly at one point to tell me gently that we should count the numbers. Then all of a sudden one of the ladies decided to speak loudly to me.

Ungrateful-Lady: We left them a big tip. If they want to count that many people then they can take it out of their tips.

Are you kidding me?

This made me angry and dumbfounded. Yes, tips are usually founded on what is leftover from the whole number. However, after working a whole night, dodging and running around fifty people. It would have been thoughtful that a deliberate and nice tip was left. Not some snotty leftovers. It felt like despite the hard work and effort to ensure everyone had a good time, it was only worth the change.

Corkage is cheap, in fact its so cheap that any pocket change could pay for it. It is not about how much tip is 'left over' to us in the end because it doesn't really matter to the whole total, its the procedure. I have to write down how much corkage there is and charge accordingly so that my boss knows what was going on. Putting a few less corkage does not really change my tip situation at all, it is no advantage to anyone.

Finally the amount of corkage charged was settled. The hostess had a list of people and we went through it quickly checking them. Whilst it did not really settle my mind, it was better than nothing, and the hostess had not been aggressive nor uncooperative.

In fact, the guests had somehow manage to sneak in bottles of soft drink into the restaurant whilst we had a large range in our fridge. Due to the chaos, we didn't know until later when we were cleaning up. Otherwise I would have charged them our price of soft drink and fight that down tooth and nail with Hostess'-Rude-Husband and Ungrateful-Lady.

Lesson from the night? Big party functions are messy. There is no way to have one that is straight forward and follow the rules. So next time there is corkage involved, there will definitely be a better system in place.

They left an approximate tip of $10 for fifty people with a bill total of approximately $500.
The next night I got a $20 tip from a group of twelve people of a bill less than $200. (With very little hassle and very little 'extra attention' given).

The figures pretty much speak for themselves. And that's the difference between customer's appreciation to service and leftover change.

How to Treat Snobby Ex Servers.

In the line of work that I do you meet a lot of interesting characters. Some times at first glance you can misinterpret what people are like, which has happened to me before. So you learn to be less critical of people and treat people with the same respect that you would like to be treated because one day it might just get you out of trouble.

Waitressing is not just a job about taking orders, delivering food, serving drinks and providing general chit-chat. It is a service and therefore it means that actual human interaction and communication is necessary, and that includes from putting on a fake smile to nervously laughing at jokes that you would not find funny in 'real life'.

You learn that as a waitress that not all people are as kind and generous as you. You realise how easily your own sense of humanity is forgotten because of the way some customers believe you should be treated simply because they paid for your service. As a waitress you realise that you begin to act differently as a customer and you show more compassion.

There is this customer, Snobby-Ex-Waitress, who is, not just simply the rudest customer, but one of rudest people that I have ever met. Some times I give customers excuses for being rude, its part of the job to ignore and smile. But Snobby-Ex-Waitress does not have any excuse because she was once in the same position as me and all the other girls at the restaurant. I would assume that your experiences as a waitress somewhat give you a honorary badge and understanding of what it is like to be a waitress and therefore teaches you a lesson on what you should be like as a customer.

Snobby-Ex-Waitress used to work with my Boss in another restaurant. She is grumpy, does not say a word of 'thank you' or 'please' and her actions speak of the lack of manners she seems to possess. However, the moment that she sees my Boss and talks to him her whole attitude changes and she becomes the nicest person in the world. So sweet that it makes my teeth ache.

The first time I served her I paid particular attention to her because of her connection to my Boss. But how do you do the right thing by someone who thinks they are better than you? You don't. So this is my pay back. I serve her without a smile. I speak with as little amount of words as possible. I give her her meal, and walk away. I don't even bother to wish her a 'good day'. After all why should I waste it on someone who simply shows no respect to people.

Snobby-Ex-Waitress is in her late 40s and has children and grandchildren of her own. And just when you think that it doesn't get any worse. Her daughter now also works as a waitress, Snobby-Ex-Waitress-Jr. Exact same attitude as her mother. I can't believe that they have different attitudes as a waitress because it's too difficult to believe. I don't believe that any customer would like to be served by Snobby-Ex-Waitress or Snobby-Ex-Waitress-Jr. due to their ugly attitudes.

If Snobby-Ex-Waitress had not worked as a waitress then maybe I would be more forgiving. But formerly being a waitress does not give you the right to act like a pretentious snob and believe that you are standing on some fancy pedestal.

So I treat her as she treats me, deal with it.

Tales of an Eccentric Boss #2

Tales of an Eccentric Boss #2:

That Nagging Voice

I've been doing my job for a good five years now. I know the ins and outs of the business, the nature of the business and what I need to do in order for things to be good. I'm great at my job, I know it. But some times the Boss likes to remind me that I can't do all the right things, even if I have been doing it for the past five years.

Boss bring up certain points about the business once in a while. Things like wipe windows, fold napkins, clean soy sauce contains and all the little things that you try and do on the down time.

He likes to mention it once...

Then twice...

Then of course a third time, just on case you missed it.

And if you missed it the first three times, a fourth just for good measure.

I have realised that its almost like a grieving pattern when you first encounter my Boss in this manner. First you feel like you're constantly not doing the job right. Not true (on most parts, I hope) he just likes to gently remind you of certain things. Then you get pretty angry and frustrated because its not like you haven't done this before. Then finally you just learn to ignore, because you've been doing it a long time. And you are damn good at it.

I'm not sure why Boss feels the need to be the way that he is. Maybe that's the nature that he is or maybe he feels like this way he is in control. I'll go with the 'in control' option.

Excuse Me Waitress?

So I'm back from a mini-holiday?

Unfortunately not true.

I am still around. 

Working less, studying more, having very little social life in the middle. 

But then that's what its all about?

Ready to be amused...