2008 Woodie Awards
LETTER TO THE EDITOR - Servers deserve more appreciation
Robert Canada
Issue date: 10/3/08 Section: Opinion
Being a server has its pros and cons. The public always complains about not getting good service, but no one seems to want to pay for quality service. Tipping is not a courtesy, it is a custom.
For example, most severs and bartenders I know don't have health insurance and to make a decent living he or she has to work nights and weekends. Servers in Iowa make $4.25 per hour, but are expected to make up for the lack of hourly wage in tips, but lately the general public is coming up short.
I have been a server for eight years and bad tipping has run a muck. Generally, on a good Saturday night if my sales were about $1,000 or more, I could make $200 and up, after giving the bartender 10 percent of what I made for the night, now I'm lucky to walk with $100 on both totals.
Being a server means a guest never has an empty glass of soda, a prime rib is cooked the way they want it, their food is boxed for them. I usually also compliment their cologne or perfume and normally I would get tipped $20 on a $100 bill. Not so much any more I'm fortunate sometimes to get $10 or $15 on that total.
I realize the economy is bad, but if someone's is willing to pay $3.50 to $4 for a gallon for gas to fill up their car and then drive to a restaurant and spend $50 on a meal for two people, then they should tip. I'm not saying give a server more than 15 percent. If the service is mediocre then that is a different story, but when a sever goes out of their way to give you a memorable dinning experience, "make it rain," with cash or on the credit card slip.
A couple weeks ago my friend Jade waited on two guys, who I knew for a fact were bad tippers because I had waited on them a week prior. They left me $4.50 on a $55 bill, so I warned Jade. She treated them well and they spent $110 and left her a $4 tip.
If you're a bad tipper on purpose or uneducated on how to tip, don't expect to get treated well at any bar or restaurant you go to regularly, servers always remember a bad tippers face as well as a good one and if you tip well, every server in the restaurant will know.
For example, most severs and bartenders I know don't have health insurance and to make a decent living he or she has to work nights and weekends. Servers in Iowa make $4.25 per hour, but are expected to make up for the lack of hourly wage in tips, but lately the general public is coming up short.
I have been a server for eight years and bad tipping has run a muck. Generally, on a good Saturday night if my sales were about $1,000 or more, I could make $200 and up, after giving the bartender 10 percent of what I made for the night, now I'm lucky to walk with $100 on both totals.
Being a server means a guest never has an empty glass of soda, a prime rib is cooked the way they want it, their food is boxed for them. I usually also compliment their cologne or perfume and normally I would get tipped $20 on a $100 bill. Not so much any more I'm fortunate sometimes to get $10 or $15 on that total.
I realize the economy is bad, but if someone's is willing to pay $3.50 to $4 for a gallon for gas to fill up their car and then drive to a restaurant and spend $50 on a meal for two people, then they should tip. I'm not saying give a server more than 15 percent. If the service is mediocre then that is a different story, but when a sever goes out of their way to give you a memorable dinning experience, "make it rain," with cash or on the credit card slip.
A couple weeks ago my friend Jade waited on two guys, who I knew for a fact were bad tippers because I had waited on them a week prior. They left me $4.50 on a $55 bill, so I warned Jade. She treated them well and they spent $110 and left her a $4 tip.
If you're a bad tipper on purpose or uneducated on how to tip, don't expect to get treated well at any bar or restaurant you go to regularly, servers always remember a bad tippers face as well as a good one and if you tip well, every server in the restaurant will know.
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