Sometimes, you simply do not feel like cooking. You do not want to pick a meal everyone will “sort of” like, making sure you have all the ingredients, cooking the food, then cleaning up from the meal itself. That is why restaurants are available where you, your family, friends, or significant other can enjoy a meal together. I will gladly wait on you, taking your order, making sure your meal arrives to you and that you have a wonderful experience at my place of employment. All I ask in return is for respect and a decent tip.
I know that sounds crazy, right? How do people expect you to pay for your whole meal and a tip? You came in to have a nice meal. Now, when it comes time to pay, you consider the prices to be outrageous and you feel over-charged, as if you did not see the prices when you first ordered. Because of this, you decide to under-tip your waitress. She did everything fine; she greeted you with a smile, showing respect for you and your table, even after you changed your order about three times. When you asked for extra napkins, another fork, another plate, and then more sauce, she brought them to you as fast she could, even though you asked for each item separately, making her run back and forth to the table.
I get it. Not all servers are perfectly fast on their feet, or maybe they messed up on your order, even if you did not have many add-ins or substitutions (this time.) Next time you are at a restaurant, look at what your server and other workers are doing. Watch them wait on three or more other tables, remembering that table 1 needs extra napkins and table 4 has a peanut allergy so they need to make sure that nothing touches their food. Please realize that you are not the only patrons in the restaurant who need something. Understand that when something is wrong with your food, it is not always the servers fault. Sometimes blame can be put on the line cooks, the chefs, or anyone else that works at the restaurant. Understand that you could be doing all of this work yourself, but instead, you decided to come out and have someone do it for you. Because of this, you need to compensate this person accordingly.
I hope you keep all of this in mind when it comes time to leave. When you pay for your bill at the end of your meal, you are paying for the food you just consumed. But when you leave a tip for your server, you are paying them for their kindness, services, and busting their butts just to make sure you have a wonderful meal.
This is a form of livelihood for so many people. This is how we pay bills, put food on our tables, raise a family, and make our dreams come true. This is how I will be paying for graduate school. This is how my co-worker will pay for her new baby’s necessary items. This is how the bus boy in the back will buy his first car.
Please, if you do not have enough money for your bill and a tip, then you do not have enough money to be eating at a restaurant, so stay home.