Customer service, or not...happens everywhere...

[taabru45]

What do you do when you are being ignored? What I was wondering....like this....

A bunch of us city inspectors were having coffee one morning and the
> waitress crew was having a nice conversation up by the cash register. I
> looked
> at the menu, saw that the company had listed all their restaurants,
> address
> and even the phone numbers for each restaurant. So I whipped out the
> cell
> phone and one quick call to the restaurant that we were in -- "HELLO,
> LEO'S CONEY ISLAND MAY I TAKE YOUR ORDER?" "CERTAINLY YOU CAN TAKE OUR
> ORDER,
> TABLE 36 WOULD LIKE SOME MORE COFFEE!"
> That location was out of business a few months later. They still have 29
> other restaurants.

 

[learnintoplay62]

:lol: :lol: :lol: Great idea Steffan. Did you ever get your coffee?

 

[taabru45]

Here is another unsatisified customer http://tinypic.com/r/1ymu1l/5

 

[Ravon]

I've left a nickle a couple of times when the service was really bad. I figure if don't leave anything it could be construed that I'm just a tight wad and not just PO'd :wink: .

 

[adorshki]

I've left a nickle a couple of times when the service was really bad. I figure if don't leave anything it could be construed that I'm just a tight wad and not just PO'd :wink: .

And for us real chain-jerkers, you could superglue some fishing line to it, and jerk it off the table when they reach for it. :twisted:

 

[fronobulax]

In this case the wait staff deserved it, but before we get too nasty with pennies soaked in syrup, let's make sure the wait staff getting stiffed is really at fault. For example, it's not the waiter's fault that the kitchen screwed up your order so you had to wait 10 more minutes. (Of course, excellent service in that case would be when the manager comes to the table, explains there will be a delay, apologizes for the kitchen and brings you a complementary glass of wine to sip while you wait).

 

[Ravon]

I've only done that when the waitress was either ignoring me or rude.... or both

 

[john_kidder]

I learned when I married my bartender in 1978 that the servers, like Aretha Franklin, mostly just need a little respect.

 

[davismanLV]

In this case the wait staff deserved it, but before we get too nasty with pennies soaked in syrup, let's make sure the wait staff getting stiffed is really at fault. For example, it's not the waiter's fault that the kitchen screwed up your order so you had to wait 10 more minutes. (Of course, excellent service in that case would be when the manager comes to the table, explains there will be a delay, apologizes for the kitchen and brings you a complementary glass of wine to sip while you wait).

Thanks for the support, frono. As a server, we are sometimes put in impossible situations which are beyond our control. Of course, I've had people waiting on me just be REALLY CRAPPY at their jobs, or they don't care, which pisses me off. Giving bad service is not in my nature, and it makes me nuts when I'm put in a situation where I can't do my job well.

 

[kevin the bass man]

pennies soaked in syrup? I thought you were supposed to put the pennies in your drink? guess I've been doing it wrong.

 

[Ian]

I learned when I married my bartender in 1978 that the servers, like Aretha Franklin, mostly just need a little respect.

Plus one from me on this. Let's not forget that these minimum wage slaves often put up with all sorts of S... all day with little or no thanks from Management. Is it really the end of the world if you get to wait a couple of minutes for your coffee ?

 

[fronobulax]

In this case the wait staff deserved it, but before we get too nasty with pennies soaked in syrup, let's make sure the wait staff getting stiffed is really at fault. For example, it's not the waiter's fault that the kitchen screwed up your order so you had to wait 10 more minutes. (Of course, excellent service in that case would be when the manager comes to the table, explains there will be a delay, apologizes for the kitchen and brings you a complementary glass of wine to sip while you wait).

Thanks for the support, frono. As a server, we are sometimes put in impossible situations which are beyond our control. Of course, I've had people waiting on me just be REALLY CRAPPY at their jobs, or they don't care, which pisses me off. Giving bad service is not in my nature, and it makes me nuts when I'm put in a situation where I can't do my job well.

My wife's nephew worked a lot of service jobs and his stories pretty much convinced me that stiffing wait or bar staff on tips was almost never a good thing to to. I have learned being on both sides of the tech support hotline that the best way to get good service or correct bad service is to make sure you are dealing with the person who can actually change something before you get angry, start making demands or even lay out a specific complaint in a calm and considered manner. So at an eating establishment, I usually discuss the situation with a manager or floor walking troubleshooter if I can. If I do feel the need to confront the waiter I a) wait until the meal is over since there are immature people in the service industry who will react to criticism by spitting in my food or something similar :wink: and b) start the conversation with a question rather than an accusation. "I waited much longer than I expected for my coffee refill. Is there something going on that I might like to know about?"

Now I confess that I have never tipped anyone in a music store although I am becoming convinced that paying a slight premium to keep a brick and mortar store in business is beneficial. (See, we can bring some guitar content into this).

 

[davismanLV]

My wife's nephew worked a lot of service jobs and his stories pretty much convinced me that stiffing wait or bar staff on tips was almost never a good thing to to. I have learned being on both sides of the tech support hotline that the best way to get good service or correct bad service is to make sure you are dealing with the person who can actually change something before you get angry, start making demands or even lay out a specific complaint in a calm and considered manner. So at an eating establishment, I usually discuss the situation with a manager or floor walking troubleshooter if I can. If I do feel the need to confront the waiter I a) wait until the meal is over since there are immature people in the service industry who will react to criticism by spitting in my food or something similar :wink: and b) start the conversation with a question rather than an accusation. "I waited much longer than I expected for my coffee refill. Is there something going on that I might like to know about?"

Once again, the absolutely correct way to handle the situation. If a server can't seem to manage their responsibilities, find out what the problem is, and tell someone who can actually do something about it. From the other side, if I have customers who need more coffee and I'm stretched beyond my limit by circumstances beyond my control.... I have bussers, fellow servers AND managers to help me. That's when I grab a manager and stick a coffee pot in their hand and say, "Hit tables 86 and 91 with coffee for me, please!!" Of course, this is all assuming that the management staff are team players and they realize we are all on the same team. Bad managers abound, looking to place blame and point fingers instead of working like the rest of us. Ahhhh, the joys of the service industry.

Of course, there are the FUN parts too!! A while back I waited on a BEAUTIFUL young couple. He was a real looker and she was beautiful. It was very obviously a first date. You could tell. After I explained the cocktail specials, he started encouraging her to order the cocktail. She declined. He kept it up. She said no, thanks. He kept it up. She said no. Finally he said, "Why don't you want to order that margarita?" And she leaned closer and hissed at him, "BECAUSE I'M PREGNANT!!"

I wish y'all could have seen the look on his face!! PRICELESS!! We had a great laugh at the bar over that one!!! :lol: :lol:

 

[ArchtopAnimal]

.......Of course, excellent service in that case would be when the manager comes to the table, explains there will be a delay, apologizes for the kitchen and brings you a complementary glass of wine to sip while you wait).

We got our meals for free in Denny's , when this happened . The chain closed down in Australia in 1990 ; pity , it was reasonably
good food and pricing :-( Lucky to get a "sorry" anywhere else. Pizza Hut had a 20 min. timer on each table in a promo that went belly-up . They couldn't get a pizza out the door at lunch time
in under 25 mins , and lost a load of money on 20 min-or-free . I got 4 free lunches , before that was cancelled :lol:

 

[poser]

An international student once suggested to me that we tip at the wrong time. He said that in his country, they tip the waiter before the meal. That way, you pay for the level of service you want in advance.

 

[gjmalcyon]

I learned when I married my bartender in 1978 that the servers, like Aretha Franklin, mostly just need a little respect.

Plus one from me on this. Let's not forget that these minimum wage slaves often put up with all sorts of S... all day with little or no thanks from Management. Is it really the end of the world if you get to wait a couple of minutes for your coffee ?

That's part of the problem - they are not paid minimum wage as a base, but less. Often in the $3 -$4 per hour range, with the expectation that tips will make up the difference.

My wife waitressed through college, and has me well-conditioned to tipping generously.

In cash, please. Turns out many restaurant owners charge their wait staff some percentage (often in excess of the credit card processing fee) to convert tips on credit cards to cash.

 

[davismanLV]

So I've never heard of a restaurant charging a server for their tips on a card. That's horrible. The thing people don't seem to understand is, as a server, you're the only one in the restaurant getting tips (on the floor). So they pretty much portion it out. It's not your money. It belongs to everyone. Everyone has their hand out.

At the end of the day, I have to give 3% of my total sales to the busser, 2% to the food runners, 1.5% to the bartenders, and 1% to the host. On busy days there is a stocker who scrapes plates and keeps the dish room organized and he/she gets another 1%. So 8.5% of your total bill is already spoken for. I get to keep anything beyond that. So if you leave me 10% of the check.... I get 1.5% because 8.5% is already spoken for. And my tip out is based on the SALES not on what I'm given. If someone tips less than 8.5%.... it actually costs me money out of my pocket for them to eat there.

I had a couple today that were of a group of people who, as a whole, have a reputation of being horrible tippers. They had a lovely lunch, and then used their M-life card (from MGM/Mandalay Bay Resort gaming and points card) to apply their points toward the bill. They had enough points to completely pay for their meal, it cost them ZERO. Obviously they put plenty of money into the machines. They left me NOTHING. Not one cent.

Those are the customers that ..... well, I'm sure they'll get what's coming to them eventually. I don't need to wish ill on them. But that's SHAMEFUL in my book.

 

[killdeer43]

But that's SHAMEFUL in my book.

To say the least! :x

Joe

 

[taabru45]

Even in my worst times I've never been that cheap....they deserve to have to bus their own table...Steffan

 

[fronobulax]

They had enough points to completely pay for their meal, it cost them ZERO.

Chill folks. When I was learning the ways of the world, I was taught to tip on a percentage of what I paid which I understood to be the cash that left my wallet. Eventually I received a second lesson that was I should tip on the total bill, before I used any coupons, two for one specials, reward points, gift cards or anything else, but it had never occurred to me that if I paid zero and tipped nothing I was stiffing the server. Obviously I have learned but I am surprised at the number of people I run into who still think like I used to.

In the specific case cited, bad tippers are probably not going to change based upon how they pay, but let's not confuse ignorance with a deliberate intention to be a bad tipper.