Tons of college students return home or stay near school to get jobs for the summer. This means that they spend numerous hours trying to save up just enough to help them start off the next school year. If you're like me, you're a server and being a server is not easy. Beyond the aching feet, back, joints, and constant running around the restaurant, serving is mentally straining as well. Servers get covered in food, sweat, and sometimes bodily fluids. More often than not, your server is exhausted. Cut them some slack.
1. This is how we pay bills.
Servers make less than minimum wage. Personally, I make $2.13 an hour and after taxes my paychecks look like enough to snag a four for four dollar meal from Wendy's that night. I don't make minimum wage. What you give me is what I live off of. If I only make $5 that day, I only made $5.
2. Our job is to literally serve you.
Not only is this job mentally and physically straining, but I'm an actual servant. I get paid less than five dollars an hour to wait on people hand and foot, day in and day out. As if being a waitress isn't demeaning enough, you leaving a crappy tip, or worse than that, no tip at all, is just a slap in the face.
3. I will remember you.
If you come in to my restaurant and I'm serving you and you leave a bad tip, I will remember that. Therefore, I will not give you good service the next time. I'll give you a reason to not like me as your server.
4. Being fake nice is hard.
I'M NOT A NICE PERSON AND I'M BEING FORCED TO BE NICE TO YOU. NO WAY AM I WANTING TO DO THAT FOR FREE. LEAVE A GOOD TIP.
5. Your kids aren't cute.
It is not cute to let your children run around in restaurants, or to throw food, or to make a mess of any kind. I can forgive your crying baby (they are an infant), but I cannot forgive your child making my table sticky and gross, nor can I forgive the fact that you didn't try and clean it up.
6. I gave you those refills for free.
You see that soda you're sippin'? That's not free. But I gave you that free refill because I'm trying to be nice. You know what is free? Water. If you wanted to come to a restaurant for free things, get water. Otherwise, you should have enough money to get soda and tip well.
7. Yelling at me from across the room is not nice.
In fact, chances are that I'm in the middle of something. I'm probably handling another table. So, you yelling at me, "Can I get some ranch?" is not my priority. I promise that I'll come check on you again. Give me time.
8. I'm sad and poor.
I know it's not your job to make sure I'm doing OK (quite the opposite actually), but I am poor and probably sad because I'm poor. Have mercy on my financially unstable soul and leave a good tip.
9. I control your food.
Ultimately, I control what happens to your food. If you don't treat me well as a server, I will make sure that your sandwich has extra super duper tomatoes on it, OK?
10. It's the nice thing to do.
As if being a waitress wasn't enough of a struggle, it's 10 times harder when it feels like we aren't making sufficient money. It's very discouraging and makes us feel like we aren't doing a good job.
11. I work long nights and early mornings.
Have you ever had to work until 1:30 or 2 in the morning and then wake up at seven to do it all again? It's difficult. With that lack of sleep comes some brain fuzziness. Sometimes we'll forget to bring you napkins or that extra ketchup, but I promise it's not out of malice. It's from sleep deprivation.
If you have a server that is working hard to give your the best service possible, be nice. Leave at least 15 percent and go home knowing that you didn't skimp out on someone. Be a customer that we're excited to see again. Be better than the majority and tip your servers appropriately.
