Tuesday, September 04, 2007

Stereotypes and ignorant people

The Insane Waiter pointed this out. This is the ignorant ghetto assholes I wait on all the time. Except in my case, where our restaurant is, we get $2-$4 on that $160 check (happened to me yesterday, to a co-worker today, both checks beyond $160). This is a daily occurrence in our restaurant - the crap tip/stiff after great service by a ghetto table. I wish I could say I've never seen someone so ignorant, but I wait on this type of person with far to frequent a regularity. Share this around the internet please.




Simply put, if you can't afford the tip, you can't afford the food.

So in a Red Lobster it looks like this - ghetto 4 top walks in. 4 raspberry lemonades, 2 shots of Patron ("no make those doubles"), a strawberry daiquiri and a sunset passion colada, lobster rolls and lobster crab stuffed mushrooms. Follow that with 2 Ultimate Feasts, no fried shrimp sub extra scampi, with extra sides of snow crab legs, plus an Admiral's Feast ("make sure that it is fried hard, tell them I want my shit well done...") and a Sirloin and Lobster ("I want the steak well done. Well well done."). 4 salads with 7 times the amount of dressing any other ethnic group would use. Always French and Ranch or French and Blue Cheese, or a bucket of Caeser dressing with a couple of pieces of Romaine lettuce. And 4 extra piles of napkins. And 4 baskets of bread (and of course the 5th basket of bread just before they go home so they'll have some to take with them). Enough steak sauce and Tabasco to drown a cow. 2 pieces of banana's foster cheesecake to go, and 2 Coronas for desert. $160+ in a blink.

This "table" comes into my store every night. EVERY. NIGHT. Numerous times.

Doesn't matter who serves them, it never turns out good. Not even for servers of the same ethnicity.

On the above table, it would be easy to cut $25 from the bill so you can leave an appropriate tip. Does it ever happen? Nope. It's like there are schools and families in my city that are intentionally teaching people how to be ignorant and rude.

Do other ethnic groups do this you might ask? Rarely. Very rarely.

And then don't get me started about the mess they'll leave you at the table, or worse what happens when they bring their children with them. And you'll really set me off if I start talking about them parking in the handicap spots, although they all are in their 20's-30's and quite capable of walking. And I have at least 200 posts in me about scams and BS complaints they'll use to try to get something comped, or to try and get gift cards sent to them.

And yet Red Lobster bends us over (BOHICA!) daily because the customer is never wrong. Ever. And if you are wrong, just call Orlando, and they'll send you gift cards anyhow. And we'll have to deal with you yet again.

And yet they wonder why our turnover rate is so high.

30 comments:

Unknown said...

Brother hammer, it sounds like Lobster boy is borderline racist toos. Lobsterboy, do yourself, Darden and the guests a big favor and quit already. It's obvious that you're miserable there and I can't imagine that you're making a great impression on any of your tables. Turnover is high but apparently not high enough because you're still there bitchin about your ghetto patrons. Stop your whining and get off the pot. If you're above all this rude, no tipping behavior, feel free to apply at a fine dining establishment where you don't have to deal with "certain groups". That's assuming they'll have you.

Lobster Boy said...

Monique,
Seeing as how you really have no clue as to my ethnicity, it is quite ignorant for you to assume that I might be borderline racist. If I'm black, can I call others of my race "Ghetto"? There is trash in every race, I'm anti-trash. I just deal with ghetto at a 10 to 1 ratio, with the only other group coming close in annoyance factor is self-entitled soccer moms. And self-entitled soccer mom's don't post ignorant things like this video on YouTube.

But thanks for the career advice.

Lobster Boy.

Mrs. Wendi Mac said...

I hate people like that... 5% tip - seriously?!?!?! I had an 8 top come in and had one of best servers took care of them and they left her not a thing. Luckily I don't have to wait on these people - I just get to hear from my servers who do.

I've had people like this demand that I not charge them the 19% gratuity for their group event of 10+ people "because we want to handle it on our own." Usually they end up canceling their event booking when I tell them tough shit. I wish there was a simple way just to tell people we don't need their business...

Unknown said...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=41PWXdp_tMY

Insensible said...

What was that supposed to be?

I couldn't understand any of what was said.

lilmiscantberong said...

Are you people kidding me??

I've said this before, and I'll say it once again -

We as customers do not "Owe" you as servers ANYTHING.

You chose to take this job, a job description was given to you, along with a pay scale.

Tipping is not required, it is a compliment unless there is a specific place designated on the bill for gratuity.

Again, you chose the job, as I chose mine. I know what I am going to make every single week and budget accordingly, might I suggest you purchase a calculator, calculate your hourly wage multiplied by the precious hours you spend catering to others, and there you have it, a base number with which to pay your bills.

Not enough there?

Switch Jobs!

Unknown said...

Tipping is NOT required. Can you please point me to that law?

That being said, I do tip 20% for a job well done. On the other hand, I won't hesitate to tip 0% if I have bad service. On top of that, I will tell you exactly WHY you didn't receive anything, and dare you to complain about it.

Like someone said, if you don't like your job, find a new career. Don't get mad at your guests because you didn't make enough in tips to pay your rent. Unionize and fight for better wages. Do something instead of generalizing people and b'ing about it on the internet.

TheDame said...

Tiffany- We'll believe that when we see it. Of all the times I've been stiffed (about 4 times over the last year), I have never once heard a "Miss, we feel you have not given us the level of service we expected, and because of this we are not planning on leaving you a gratuity." The day that happens I shall win the lottery, marry a knight in shining armor, and leprechauns will dance at our wedding. You know why? Because NO ONE ever acts in such a manner. Even when I receive shitty-ass service, I don't tell the server. I don't even tell the manager, though I'm sure you've talked to a manager or two in your life. Nope, I give them 10% because I know that even shitty service is still service, which is what your tip is paying for. But every time I take care of a table that stiffs me, it's always "Everything's great!" and "We're doing fine" and "No we don't need anything right now". Until they get the check. So why do they stiff? Some self-inflated sense of ego that makes you feel better about yourself by knowingly dicking over someone else. On the contrary, the customers that know a server isn't always a mind reader, and speak up about what they dislike, in a polite manner, will have the problem quickly remedied and probably get something back for being so honest. Do you think I like giving out free desserts and discounts? To the people who handle things like rational adults, I most certainly do enjoy it. Because after all the crap I deal with in just one shift, such etiquette DESERVES to be rewarded. If I could, I'd give free dessert to any customer who said "please" and "thank you", out of sheer gratitude. When someone is obviously courteous but nevertheless has a problem, I will bend over backwards trying to please them because they are being NICE. And you know what? Those folks that are decent people no matter how badly you messed up their order because of another table's screaming child drowning out all other sound are the reason I LIKE serving. The only truly shitty server is the one who doesn't want to serve any longer. Everyone else is just too busy to kiss your ass.

J said...

I quit waiting tables BECAUSE it was making me racist. I was one of three white servers in my restaurant, and NO ONE wanted to wait on the "baby momma section" of our floor, which was frequented by two moms, and a minimum of four kids. FREE MEALS AT O'CHARLEY'S! I've never been back since the day I walked off the floor.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
smile4ufrme said...

If you don't want to tip... go to a buffet... but even there if you have any sense of right and wrong, you will still leave a little for whoever had to keep cleaning up after you......Get a brain, anyone who thinks a server can live off of the paycheck.... Thank God we have some good people come in. NOT just the cheapskates and trash.... by the way most people start out being servers, because they love people... and they still do its just the trash we would love to weed out

smile4ufrme said...

Monique.. I went to the sight you gave...and all those videos are on low class cheap resturants... and that is where cheap tippers belong... so go to those, oh yeah and on delivery drivers... so stay home and cook or call in an order... or if you want expensive food with little tip,,, try take out.. I really wish we as servers could live by the standard of... you get what you pay for

Anonymous said...

I get the ghetto trash in my job too, all the time. I work in a sports bar/restaurant/game room/bowling alley adult chuckie cheese type thing. I talk about my people all the time on my own server site. Anyway, trust me, it doesn't get better. And we don't have french or thousand island. They more or less cry.

RagingServer.com

The Ribeye of your Dreams

Anonymous said...

lilmiscantberong:

Tipping might not be a law, and yes, we did choose to work as servers, but tipping IS a social norm in this day and age, and to stiff a server is just hateful and rude, especially if they gave you great service.
I work my ass off every weekend, and we have a very large "inner city" crowd that comes in from downtown to play games, bowl, and generally make our lives miserable.
I run, I stay in good spirits with my tables, I get them laughing, and still, I and every other server at my job get stiffed left and right. It's not just the Caucasian servers that hate waiting on black clientèle, the black servers hate it themselves. We have a couple of black servers who utterly refuse to take black tables, because they know what kind of tip they're going to get. The rest of us don't have that luxury, and every now and again (rarely), we are surprised. It's usually the guys with the wads of money and their girlfriends wearing a couple pieces of yarn and some giant ankle holders that give the worst tips, that and the fat black girls like Sharece in that video. Wait tables for a day or two and see what we deal with. It doesn't matter if you're black, white, yellow, green, blue, red or whatever you are. Rednecks, ghetto black folks, and foreigners are going to regularly stiff you and you can't say a word to them.

RagingServer.com

Jessica said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Guess my name is Honey said...

I had considered getting a serving job at a Red Lobster around here and now I'm not so sure. I was told that another girl there earned a fair amount in tips, but to be able to afford a new Audi she must have been doing something else on the side...

Anyway, having some food service experience both in the front and back I can certainly empathize with what the wait staff puts up with. I certainly agree with, "if you can't afford the tip you can't afford the meal." So, for a couple of people I might try to keep the check under $50. For anybody who says switch careers if you can't live off of your wages alone, keep in mind that wait staff earn about half the minimum wage in some cases. Can anybody live on that alone? Do you seriously expect anybody to work for just $2.50 per hour? We have to be tipped! If tips weren't necessary the managers would simply pay us more. If you don't feel like tipping then either stay home and cook your own food or go to a fast food joint. I know there are some establishments who have no spine and will appease the rudest guests, but some are more willing to say "screw you" to troublesome guests and discourage them from returning. I know it sounds odd, but if the bad customers went away wouldn't nicer people want to eat out more often? And then the bad customers can be relegated to diners with intentionally poor service.

AthensDoorGuy said...

I really feel for you. I just happened upon your blog today and I think it's great. Interestingly enough, I just posted an entry in my blog earlier today that I think you might enjoy that touches on this very subject. Check it out: http://athensdoorguy.blogspot.com/2007/10/thanks-for-coming-in-but-let-me-show.html

Unknown said...

Yeah dude, this is borderline racist.

I was a server and a bartender for a long time and people of all races, ages, and socio-economic groups can be cheap.

I know it's popular to rant about crappy tippers, but I'm sure no one complains when they are over tipped - I never did.

No one runs out to a customer to give them back part of an undeserved tip. The fact is that it all evens out in the end - it's just part of the game.

Maybe you should work at a place with clientele more to your liking. If not, you should at least discontinue making irresponsible posts like this one.

STFU said...

To Monique and Lilmisscantberong:

GO MOVE TO THE MOUNTAINS AND DON'T BOTHER ANYBODY. Both of you sound ignorant. Do the world a favor and don't breed. We don't need any more people in the world with your lack of class. Do you know what TIPS stands for?
T: to
I: Insure
P: proper
S: service
so next time you go back somewhere that you have tipped shitty - - - trust me! - all the servers know about it! Your face is memorized and you are quickly moved to the bottom of my "give a shit" list. Don't be surprised when you go home because someone has put visine in your drink/food etc and you get a ripping case of the bubbly-guts!
Tipping is a part of society. 15% for alright service, 20% for great service and anything above that for exceptional service. By exceptional service, I mean ketchup for your burnt (well, well done)steak, a whole package of napkins, ketchup for everything else on your place, 6 raspberry lemonades per person, dealing with the complaint about no alcohol in a frozen drink...need I go on?
**FYI** frozen drinks are supposed to be like that. It's mixed with a blender full of ice for fuck sake. You want strong? get a shot.
Let me put this in to stupid people terms for you...

If you are at work and your hourly wage is $10 an hour, and you get your paycheck and notice that your boss only paid you $8 an hour. Do you confront your boss? OF~FUCKING~COURSE~YOU~DO. as you should. now.... this is where you have to follow me..

If you go out to eat and we see that your tab is $50. We expect to get $8 MINIMUM from you. If you leave us $3; do I have a right to complain to you?

Don't be a hypocrite. I think you both should wait tables for one month. just one. trust me, you will hate yourself and people OF ALL RACES that act the way you do.

STFU said...

to trevor:

I agree with you completely! No one ever complains when they are over tipped, but at the same time, when awesome tippers are in the restaurant, ALL servers/bartenders know about it. That way they are taken care of. Its just as important to take care of the people that take care of you, and the people that don't take care of you shouldn't be taken care of.

fedup said...

I refuse to wait on any ghetto tables...period....

g said...

I stopped going to Red Lobster years ago for the fact that it seemed to attrack the ghetto crowd.

The one by me which is in the suburbs of Detroit.

These ghetto people would come in and just seem to demand everything. Their kids noisey.

A couple time of this and I refused to go to Red Lobster any more.

People I know that have went miles out of their way to find a non ghetto Red Lobster which they thought was safe said ther're like a magnet for the ghetto people.

Cracker barrell us becoming a ghetto magnet too.

Earnest Balky said...

i really dont think people realize server checks are normally 10 dollars?

Sorce said...

Wow, I was loving this blog until I read this particular entry.

I must agree, it is borderline racist and here is where you exposed yourself, "4 salads with 7 times the amount of dressing any other ethnic group would use. "

Really now? See, before, I was comfortable with your description of cheap tippers overall but you just had to go and falsely accuse an entire group of people of such behavior.

Leaving a gratuity is a social norm, not the law. You can't call the police and have someone arrested for not tipping you. Furthermore, most dining establishments don't even establish that tipping is required unless the party is over a certain number of people. There is a reason for that.

I am not saying not to bitch about it. To the contrary, I think you should. I work in hospitality, myself, so I get where you are coming from. There are @ssholes everywhere. But if you have become so racist that you can't do so without spewing hate towards groups of people, you are totally in the wrong line of work. Your job is to work with people from all walks of life. You need to do everyone a favor. Quit and find something less "colorful"...if they will have you, as another poster said.

Please Help said...

I work at a Red Lobster as well as a server and a bartender and I must say that everything lobsterboy said is completely and utterly 100% true. Im sorry, Monique if you feel that way, and truly believe that you do not have to tip, then what do you think would happen if nobody tipped? NO ONE IN A NORMAL STATE OF MIND WOULD TAKE THE JOB AS A SERVER AND THERE WOULD BE NOBODY LEFT TO SERVE YOUR CHEAP ASS.

Also, as stated earlier, I have never had a customer tell me that they are not tipping me because of bad service.

purplegirl said...

All you people talking about this being "borderline racist" and how terrible that is: you've obviously never worked restaurant or retail. It's not a hard and fast rule, but generally speaking, people from certain sub-cultures act certain ways--be that white trash, "ghetto" people, college students, Hispanics, soccer moms, etc.

Mel said...

When I was in college, I worked at Red Lobster(1996-1997). I had this kind of table at least once I night when I worked there. Frozen lemonades, salad with french and ranch, drowned in dressing (When I was trained to make salads, I was told to put a bed of lettuce down, then the dressing, then the vegetables and cheese on top. I learned rather quickly that when I had this table, to make the salad and then dump 4 ladles of dressing on top of the whole thing, otherwise you were running back for more dressing before they even had the chance to put their fork in the salad!)

Although I know this is your hell quite frequently, it did give me a chuckle to read word-for-word what I experienced over 10 years ago. Some things never change.

Anonymous said...

i have been a server for the past year and i believe that tips are not required. You have to work for tip, that is how you make your income is from the "generousity" of other guests who come into the restuarant. If you do a crappy job as a server then they dont have to leave anything, you need to learn to do your job better but i will speak for myself. yes i have done crappy jobs on tables and people still leave me tips, but its more than what i had before they came in. if you want money bad enough you will pick up any tables and be thankful for what you get. and just to be honest, if you get stiffed on any kind of table whether it be from ghetto blk ppl or old couples, then u must be doing something wrong, REALLY WRONG!

youwillfindout said...

First off I can't believe this uneducated waste of human tissue dare post a blog like this. I wish I could see her in person, not only to rip her atrocious weave she has glued to her head, but I would also love to spit in her face.
Let me ask you a question, brainless, when you go to an auto mechanic and get your car done, mind you I am saying this hypothetically because we all know you ride the bus, do you argue with the mechanic and refuse to pay the labor charge?
UH Uh les mes thinks bout dis? I's guesses nots. Right!!! You passed the first part of the test. So when a server waits on your pathetic ass with you ten kids, do you think they do this out of the kindness of their hearts?
All I have to say is this. When you get your welfare check at the beginning of the month, the first thing you want to do is take your ten kids to Red Lobster to feast. Tipping is not optional it is part of the service charge. You are black and need to be educated in that sense because, a news flash for you and your ghetto friends, black people do not want to wait on black people so what does that tell you.
I'm laughing about this whole blog because karma is a bitch. YOU are the reason racism will never die. I have tons of black friends who encouraged me to post this. You aren't black but are a "nigger" and that's a huge difference.
Also servers can tell when someone is or isn't going to tip and based on your nasty attitude..well let's put it this way..how does my spit taste in your filet mignon (that's how you spell it because you probably didn't know). If you think this doesn't happen even in fine dine restaurants than I would suggest leaving your fishy ass home.

youwillfindout said...

Why isnt my blog I previously posted being accepted.