Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Let me clue you in


I have a bone to pick with some of you fellow restaurant workers, especially those who are Darden Employees, ESPECIALLY those who are servers.

When you go to another restaurant, you need to tip well. Period. If you come into my store and whip out your Red Lobster or Olive Garden pay stub, get well taken care of, and then leave a crap tip you need to be punched in the face. Repeatedly.

If you get our employee discount - 25% on up to 8 guests - it is a significant discount. There is NO EXCUSE to leave less than a 25% tip. You aren't out a penny. In fact, you are still 15% percent ahead if you consider the minimum appropriate tip had you not had a discount. Honestly, if I go to one of our restaurants, and my original bill is $100 (thereby $75 after my discount) I would NEVER consider leaving less than the discounted amount. If the service is so bad that my fellow server has not earned the $$$, I will ask for a manager and explain what happened, and why I care. And you have to be really bad for this to happen. I will also tell the server who I am, and why their tip sucks. I won't slink out leaving a shit stain of a tip hoping somebody learns a lesson. It's that kind of ignorance that allows a continuation of poor service by servers around the country. If you suck, I'm neither afraid nor ashamed to tell you why. Does that make me an opinionated prick? Perhaps, but I do actually know what I'm talking about.

Even worse, are the dirt bags who come and eat in their own store and leave crappy tips. How stupid are you? We know where you park. And we won't forget. Ever. And we talk. To everyone you work with. Really.

If you can't afford the tip, you can't afford the food. It's that simple.

Keep that in mind everyone. Take care of each other.

And tell your co-workers about this post. Especially if they are crappy tippers. Just write the link down for them and suggest they check it out. You don't even have to say why. Invite them here, I've done the rest.

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13 comments:

6th Floor blog said...

You've gotta be either really stupid or have some nerve to go to your own store and tip badly. Wow, the thought just astounds me.

Chris Meirose said...

I've seen it done. Repeatedly by a former co-worker. I had a really bad tip of some girl from RL store 630 last night, exactly what this post is talking about. Get a clue people.

Big Chris

Unknown said...

I have seen it done by fellow coworkers and other darden restaurant employees!

And even the district managers and stuff they only leave you the 15% minimum no matter what.

Grrrr.

Fiona said...

I've seen it done where I work - basically we get a 50% discount at our F&B outlets (hotel company) and charges are put through our payroll account, so no cash actually changes hands, we just have the 50% charges put onto our payroll account. I've seen so many people put the tip on the stub, meaning the tip is discounted by 50% too!!!! Instead I always make a point of paying the tip in cash and making sure it's related to the FULL amount of the bill, prior to any discount.

I was in Colorado Springs recently and almost ate at a Red Lobster, but Joe's Crab Shack pulled me over ;)

Trish said...

i always tip the 25% discount when i go out to another darden store. if i happen to mention to the server at any restaurant that i am a server too, i'll still tip pretty big (20-30%) so that they aren't tempted to come in and shite tip me back.

i did leave a server (at a buffalo wild wings) a 10% tip once. he didn't know i was a server, of course, but i think i would have been ignored even more if he knew that i was (the "oh, she knows what it's like to be busy, they'll understand if i'm a few minutes later checking on them" sort of thing) the guy who didn't do much more than print out our check for us - the assistant manager took our order, got our drinks and everything for us, etc. so i mean i'm not going to leave a guy a big tip when he didn't do any work for it - but other than that i try to think how i would feel if someone left me the tip that i'm leaving them. if i'd done that to a table, i'd understand the crappy tip because well i didn't do my job for them. i don't know if that makes me a shitty person, but well i do expect to see a server for at least 30 seconds if i'm going to leave him some of my own hard earned cash...

back to darden- we have a manager at our store that will brgin in a ton of family - like an 8-12 top - and get the whole checked comped. they sure as hell don't leave the kind of tip that would make up for an entire comped check!

oh, and our restaurant is having everybody re-do the server tests (like, all 4-5 of them!) ... i don't really know why, but we had to do them. so one of the server's daughter came in and had to wait while her mom finished the test, and so she went ahead and ordered food. the mom freaked, sayting i didn't tell her she could order anything i'm not paying for it blahblahblah; since she just ordered soup and salad she caved and said she would pay for it, but she didn't tip the server who waited on them that's for sure! this lady doesn't tip out food rneito i guess it's not surprising she didn't tip her daughter's server. still, it's a pretty shitty thing to do to someone... o darden, how wonderful it is to be an employee of you.

Jack Weber said...

We started adding 15% grat to all employee checks (including the Employee Ticket through our takeout) at the last restaurant I worked at; being stiffed or undertipped by our own employees (usually not servers, though once I got screwed by a six-top of drunk servers who went to have girl time in the restroom and left their husbands to pay the tip) was epidemic. And there was a group of RL servers who were known horrible tippers, too, and I know some of our servers went back and requested them so they could return the favor.

Manuel said...

Same story, different company. No offence but its usually the part time crew or the "i'm just doing this til i get a real job" types. Gets on my tits big time. There is a mager who comes to our restaurant from another outlet, he drinks and eats well. You have a laugh with him, but he never ever tips. He is getting nothing from me next time...

Unknown said...

yet another reason corporate places suck.

SkippyMom said...

I could not believe this! These are the last people who should ever tip shitty.

Where is the empaty? The manners? Jeesh the common decency?

I am sorry this happened...chin up!...although I remain flabbergasted!!

Anonymous said...

A tip is a privelage not a mandate. I have served and eaten... been tipped horribly and continue to tip up to 50% of the bill. Yet I always remain mindful that a tip is a privelage.

Unknown said...

I have to say I'm ashamed to realize I am one of those people... I'm a host at another Darden restaurant and since I'm trying to get the cheapest stuff available I always only tip to cover my tipshare... I always just assumed that since I was grabbing my food from the kitchen anyway the bartender doesn't actually have to do anything to get that food to me.

You do have a point, though that it is really rude to do that. You have changed my ways, Lobster Boy!

Anonymous said...

I think its Stupid that the company and the sorry azz severs expect other people to pay for the hired help!!

Anonymous said...

I work at Red Lobster and personally like most of the employees and managers. I don't think it's fair to blame Darden when a server that works for them stiffs you on a tip.
We had one server who came in and stiffed another one by giving them less than 5% after their 25% discount.
This server didn't work their for long and was lazy when he did. I am not going to hold this person's actions against every server at our restaurant or even Darden who had absolutely no idea.