Before you start saying how I'm writing this because it affects me directly, although this may be some-what true, I'm writing this to hopefully change how guests treat servers on a daily basis. Over the past almost six years I have been serving tables. I was fourteen when I first started.
At fourteen, a sophomore in high school, I took this job, not because I needed it as my livelihood, but because my parents wanted me to know how to work to succeed in life. As I grew older and left for college my job became more necessary.
Despite everything I had put away and saved from the previous four and a half years of working, I still was low on money. I knew I needed a job after I got settled into school. So I started serving again.
Overall, tipping is only recommended and not required. This still baffles me. As a server my job is to literally serve you. I run myself back and forth to keep you satisfied and not angry.
As a server, I technically make $2.15 an hour; however, I have yet to see a paycheck due to tax. This is true for almost every server, and this is why tipping is so crucial.
Imagine this: you are a server and you are working a busy Saturday night. Your section is full and you are continuously running everywhere to keep your tables happy. Your section is not only full, but you are also sharing a party of twelve with another coworker.
It comes time for two of your four tables to check out, so you drop their bill making sure they know there is no rush, and that they should take their time if needed. One pays in cash, and the other is the party with nine separate checks. Eventually you cash them out and they leave. You go to your smaller table and realize that the change you gave them was all gone, and they left you $0.00 for your service. You start to think if there was anything you could have done to have given them better service, but you could not, and you should be focusing on your other tables anyway.
You got to look and see what your party left you, and to your demise you realize that half of your guest have stiffed you and the other few left under 10%. You start to worry. You know tip share takes out 3% which limits you and your coworker to only $5 each. Side note, this table had been sitting at your table for over two hours, holding up one of your few tables during a busy dinner shift. You begin to feel frustrated due to the fact they ran you like crazy and would not once look you in the eye when asking for something.
Situations such as this happen all the time, and it is never because of bad service, but because many people still don't believe tipping is important at all.
While tipping remains not at all mandatory, this remains controversial. This system makes servers completely in the control of their customers. Those who do tip regularly, say that the gratuity system is reliable for receiving great and attentive service. While this could be considered true, most argue that a server's wage should not be full of risk and unrestricted.
So, to those who refuse to tip and don't see a problem with their action I just want to ask why? Are you uneducated on the fact that the server helping you is making their living off of your tips? Is it because you can't necessarily afford to tip? Are you not tipping because it took to long for your food to come out or you weren't receiving enough attention from your server? Or are you just clueless to the fact that servers wage is $2.15 before tax and tips?
Regardless of the reason, if your server did a good job please avoid not tipping them. That way they won't have to pay 3% or more of your bill out of their own pocket. That way they can actually make a living from working hard at their job.
Remember next time to please tip your server. They are more than likely trying their best to accommodate you and your fifty modifications for your meal, or your extremely messy table, and every extra side of sauce you ever could need. Don't forget your endless supply of bread or soft drinks.
Please remember that the person serving you is a real person; give them a smile or just an acknowledgement that you know they exist as such. Please remember that the real person serving you is doing the best they can and is depending on you to ma
