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28ol25
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TalesFromRetail
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The Chinese Wedding [Epic Worst Day] Part 3 of 3
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**The finale of an extremely long/involved story. All of it is 100% true of my "Worst. Day. Ever!"**
If you missed the first two parts, here are the links.
**[The Chinese Wedding {Epic Worst Day} Part 1](http://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromRetail/comments/28m8l5/the_chinese_wedding_epic_worst_day_part_1_of_3/)**
**[The Chinese Wedding {Epic Worst Day} Part 2](http://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromRetail/comments/28niuc/the_chinese_wedding_epic_worst_day_part_2_of_3/)**
6:15 - I pull up to the Restaurant to my final drop off an hour and 15 minutes over.
(**9½ out of 10** on the "pissed off" scale. Possibly foaming at the mouth, not sure)
I had been going over the details of the day in my head during the long traffic ridden drive over. Pretty sure Father of the Bride (FotB) wasn't going to pay for the extra hour plus and this added to my wrath. I mean, I was tricked into putting on a bow that both SneakyWC and FotB knew they couldn't put on. I was almost run over in the middle of Sunset Blvd. Forced to do car repairs on the asphalt in my only good suit. Made to do an unscheduled pick-up knowing full well they should have paid for it. I'd been yelled at, insulted, my top button on my shirt was broken, definitely had to take my suit to get dry cleaned... not a happy camper at this moment.
Maneuvering the Limo to the side of the curb, we are cheerfully greeted by 30 Wedding guests all outside waiting to catch the first glimpse of the Newlyweds. I had been so focused on my inevitable confrontation with FotB that I had neglected to fully grasp just how the Groom and Bride were doing. I hadn't checked on them in a while. They had been in the back of a sweltering hot limo with no power for close to 45 minutes. With no means to roll the windows down, you can imagine what that would do to makeup and hair.
I open the door to a crowd of cheers only to be followed by "**[OOhhhhh! uhhh](http://www.zrxoa.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=194792&d=1385094606)**" and then followed by awkward silence. The door in front of me is blocking my view but the bride finally steps out. I my [face falter's as the Bride emerges](http://www.reactiongifs.us/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/shocked_joey_friends.gif) from the Limo. Her makeup was smeared, eyeliner dripping down, part of her base makeup was stained on her neckline... the crowd and I were speechless. Not only had she been crying but her new husband was worse for wear as he emerged looking like he ran a marathon himself. Uhh, crap! what the hell! The back of the limo had power, why didn't they turn the A/C on? Then it dawned on me. When the cable was severed, it tripped the circuit breaker to the back panel so apparently they had NO AC. Just hot air blowing during the trip back and they never told me as had rolled the partition up. Uhhh... holy crap... was NOT expecting this!
The FotB has daggers in his eyes and a face vaguely reminiscent of that [dude from Big Trouble in Little China](http://gregbem.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/bigtroublelittlechina.png). He starts to lose it and all his wraith is directed at me.
* "*...what the Hell IS THIS!!! You DARE TREAT MY DAUGHTER THIS WAY!!!!* **I DEMAND A FULL REFUND**"
I've already experienced the wrath of this man twice today and now I was about to get it again.
* "*I'M GOING TO SUE YOU!!!!*"
Snap!!! I lost it... Mountain St Draidr is about to blow. If you've ever heard that expression that someone can get so mad that they see red, well I can personal validate that I saw red.
(I'm so livid I'm **Hearing what the Smell of Red Tastes like** on the "pissed off" scale.)
I'll leave out the expletives I said during this epic rant because I am pretty sure I was legally insane at this point. I spouted off every swear word I could think of... then made a dozen more up just for flavor. I was so pissed that I was ready to fight all 30 of them and lose in a glorious defeat and I wouldn't have cared. FotB balled up his fists and was ready to strike. To his credit, he didn't and I still have no idea why (besides my foaming at the mouth rant and wild arm flailing motions).
The crowd was stunned into silence, the bride was weeping in her grooms arms, people from across the streets were stopping to watch. Pretty sure an open jawed mouthed mother covered her child's ears in horror.
The FotB stands his ground and with controlled fury and tells me that he will not pay.
According to him, I owe HIM the cost of the epic screw ups that occurred and reimbursement of the Bow. Uhh what? He is going to charge ME for ruining the bow after all that just happened? He was the one that insisted it be placed on the Limo when he was told NO in the first place. .
This stuns me back into reality. My top had blown, my fury ebbed and now I was able to think straight. He wants to Sue ME! Ohh **HELL NO!**
* "Wait wait wait... You're going to sue me? I'm going to Sue you! [I don't give him any opportunity to respond] **Fact 1**, You knew you weren't allow to put that @!#$% bow on my Limo but you did anyways! The Boss told you over the phone ABSOLUTELY NO BOW but you conspired with the Wedding Coordinator and blindsided me to put it on! You Lied! Period! **Fact 2** Your Wife and Daughter Bride MADE me go out in traffic, endangering my life to go get a bow... a @%#$ing BOW! The contract states that putting the driver in ANY DANGER, including LIFE THREATING SITUATION is grounds of termination of the run [I show him the line in the contract he signed]. **Fact 3** That bow that you and SneakyWC had me put on caused Physical Damage to this Limousine. Damage that YOU are responsible for. It severed a power line AND possibly caused permanent engine damage."
This speech (which I had rehearsed in my head on the way over) had me running through lines after lines coherently. My throat was sore, my voice was shot and my blood pressure was probably off the charts but I was able to get all my points out. Pretty sure one of the guests whimpered "*..seriously? is his face is purple?..*". It probably was.
The bluster from FotB was definitely gone at this point. His body had relaxed, shoulders less tense as he realized he was up a crap creek, and I was the only one giving out paddles. With his daughter still sobbing and my own bluster was fading, the scene became much more calm and controlled. I was still very pissed, but FotB wasn't finished with me yet. Just the shouting match had ended.
* "Lets talk about this" his eyes were no longer looking at me. A sign that he knows what I said was true. "Lets negotiate an arrangement in price."
The dude was NEGOTIATING with me... in front of 30 guests, his weeping bride of a daughter and a stunned crowd still gathering. No attempt to take me aside or speak one-on-one. I was floored... honest to God stunned at his gall.
* "...*Negotiate*? what's to negotiate!?!?! It was your *negotiating* that **STARTED** This whole thing! You didn't want to pay my company the $80 bucks for the extra pick up which caused the wedding to start late in the first place... Then you didn't want to hear NO for an answer with the @#$@ing Bow being put on the car!"
I let my words hang there for a bit and then said the thing I regretted. To this day I wish I could have taken them back. True or not, Right or Wrong, there are just some things you shouldn't say. I have no excuse for my words and the events of this day are certainly not ones I'll use.
* "It was your cheapass who caused ALL of this to happen. You didn't want to pay extra or hire another Limo company that would ALLOW a bow to be placed on the front... probably because you were too cheap... so all this happened. **You f&#$ing RUINING your daughters Wedding!** Do you know that?!?!?"
The shock of what I said caused the crowd to avert their eyes and move away. This was a low blow. I should have just taken his attitude like a man, should have let the boss handle all of this, should have done a lot of things but I let my anger control me. Most of the guests went inside and others kept their distance and the Bride/Groom vanished to wallow in reception pity.
FotB had tears welled up in his eyes and his body was shuddering from the pain of it. My heart sank. I just officially ruined his daughters wedding and insulted a proud man in front of his family and relatives.
All of my anger was gone... vanished with the sight of this broken man who realized he Royally screwed up. I croaked through a weak apology but it was too little too late. The damage was done.
We calmly discussed some business things and he agreed not to press any of the issues with the Limo. Nobody was suing nobody. I told him I would do my best in controlling my Boss but if there was permanent damage, there was nothing I could do about it. As we parted ways, he actually shook my hand. Uhh... what? He shook my hand after that Epic meltdown? Are you crapping me?!?! Wait... $20 bucks in my hand. HE TIPPED ME?!?!? HOLY CRAP the guy actually TIPPED me after all this...
My mind was swimming in "WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED" thoughts and I hazily make my way to the car. I dial up my Limo buddy and proceed to explain EVERYTHING in as much detail as possible.
I'm still on the phone as I pull into the nearest gas station to [Clock Out]. I put the nozzle in, start to fill the tank and continue talking in animated detail. I'm wandering around as I talk, being pumped full of adrenalin and all, when I notice something. I **Burst out laughing** and my poor friend is wondering WTF is going on. I can't breath I'm laughing so hard. Tears are actually welling up in my face and I'm coughing to get air in my lungs.
* *through bursts of laughter* "...**The bow.... its still on the front of the car!**" *Edit: just the cut up ribbons were in the back, the headpiece had never been removed from earlier.*
**Epilogue**
The Boss was told this story in full gory detail a few days later after he calmed down. I gave him the bow for him to deal with if the client was to press any issues. We never heard from the FotB, the Bride or Groom again and they never called to claim the remains of their Heirloom. The Bow however, became something of a legend at my old work as the story got passed from driver to driver. I ended up keeping the remains of the Bow after enough time had passed in lost and found. I ended up losing it in a move a while back and now I'm attempting to find an old photo I took of it. No luck so far as I might have left it in the same box as the bow.
In the end, The Boss was still pissed at me for about a month but as there was no permanent damage other than the severed cable, he eventually let it go.
I've told this story hundreds of times to friends and family and it gets retold just about every Christmas to anyone who brings someone new. It brought a lot of anger and pain to me for a while, but I matured and grew a backbone. I can now laugh at my misfortune because I can't change the past. Only learn from it.
Special Note: If you are, or, somehow know the Chinese couple who this story is about, please tell them this. "*Please accept my humblest apologies for all that happened this day. Now you know my side of the story and I hope to hear from you again over a beer if you are ok with it. I am truly sorry for all that happened that day. I wish you two the best of luck wherever you are and my deepest sympathy goes out on your behalf.*"
Thanks for taking a journey with me on the worst day I've ever had.
*Thank you for the Gold whoever you are*
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromRetail/comments/28ol25/the_chinese_wedding_epic_worst_day_part_3_of_3/
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1kfba7
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TalesFromRetail
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Owner decides no tipping, and flat 18% service charge. Results in better service, more reliable tips, more consistent tips for all workers.
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what a great idea!
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromRetail/comments/1kfba7/owner_decides_no_tipping_and_flat_18_service/
| 55 | 52 | 1,376,582,374 | 16 |
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18pvto6
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TalesFromRetail
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Lucky for you, not for me.
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Lowly gas station clerk here, where outside of gas, the number one seller is: cigarettes, followed in a close second by Lotto and Scratchers. They may even be neck and neck, and share first place.
So, I hear all the standard quips;
•Make sure it's lucky!
•Which one will win next!?
•Give me the winning number!
•If I win - you win; I'll be back to buy you a house!
Yeah sure, Ha-Ha, sure you will - I laff cause I know they're not serious... but, some will at least tip.
One time, this lady gave me $20, because she was on a low-level lucky streak on Scratchers, where she'd win a little bit more than what she'd spent; like $15 for each $5 or $10 dollar ticket. Her last win of the day, before she was going to head home was for $20 on a $5 Scratcher. So, I preemptively congratulationed her on her 'big win', when the scanner said that she'd won $100!
She didn't believe me because the scratch-offs had only amounted to $20. However, I informed her that she had one of those special symbols that increased her prize by 5X! Yay!
This nice lady gave me a $20 tip for sharing this surprise windfall with her.
Now, there's no requirement for tipping; we're not a casino, and I'm not a dealer, but this next guy...
My highest personal winner, and he had asked me to pick the ticket for him; won $5,000! Woo-Hoo!
Believe me, I was genuinely happy for him, and he was very verbally appreciative to me, like I'd had something to do with it.
...but, later selfishly, I thought; ''Hmmm, he didn't even give me a tip."
AITA
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromRetail/comments/18pvto6/lucky_for_you_not_for_me/
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15mqgaa
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TalesFromRetail
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I peaked early. I had my best customer when I was 16.
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So sophomore year of high school (2002), I worked for a small mom and pop hardware store in a nice town in New England. The place was famous for being about twice the size of a 7-11, but still having almost everything you could find at a big box store.
The retail workers there knew where everything was, and there was always at least one employee standing in the front by the entrance to immediately say "Hi! How can I help you today?" and then take the person to the location of whatever they asked for (I always found it funny that the older folks saw this as "Good Customer Service" while the younger folks (correctly) saw that it was a loss prevention measure). We would also carry things out to folk's cars, be it charcoal, propane tanks, bird seed, et cetera. The owners VERY explicitly told us that we are NOT to accept tips from customers for helping carry a customer's purchase.
So a little old lady comes in. I'd guess she was in her mid 80s, almost five entire feet tall, might weigh 90 pounds if she was soaking wet and had rocks in her pockets. Perfectly done hair that never moved independent of the rest of her head, and dressed in very colorful, ornate blouses with a giant brooch on her lapel. Just a well put together, dignified woman.
She lived at the old Private School that had been converted to senior apartments a few blocks away, and wanted some lawn chairs so she could host guests in her garden.
She was a super sweet and pleasant woman, and it only took us about 5 minutes to find a chair that she liked the looks of that was also light enough for her to move and fold/unfold it herself. She bought three of them. When she went to the cashiers, she asked for a hand getting the chairs back to her apartment. Due to her age, seeming frailty, and the fact that she was just such a pleasant customer, my bosses got her address and told her they'd have them delivered that afternoon.
So an hour or two later, the store's pretty dead, and my boss says "Hey Fergee, why don't you go deliver those chairs to that lady?" I immediately said yes, grabbed the chairs, and made the quarter mileish walk to her building.
She lets me in, shows me where to put the chairs, and before I can say "Thank you for shopping at Local Hardware Store," she's already grabbed my right hand and put a handful of Werthers and Bazooka Joe gum in it. I'm super surprised and can barely say thank you, but when I manage to stammer that out, she goes and puts a $20 bill in my hand too. I tell her through habit that I can't accept tips (even though this was 2002 and that was almost four hours of work that she just tipped me), but thank you so much for the thought.
The lady looks right in my eyes, closes my fingers around the candy and the money, and says, with absolutely delightful sincerity "Honey, if you don't think your bosses want you to have this money, just don't tell them about it!"
We both had a pretty good laugh about that, and I gave her a hug, thanked her again, and went on my way. I took her advice and didn't tell my bosses, instead saying she tipped me in candy (which they were still a little put off by).
I took the $20 and invested it in an Ozzy Osbourne Greatest Hits CD (a friend had just introduced me to Crazy Train a few weeks prior and I was obsessed), which was the start of a lifelong love of all things heavy metal.
Marie, I assume you're dead by now, but I hope the rest of your life whipped ass and you died peacefully in your sleep after a long, fun day with family and friends.
​
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromRetail/comments/15mqgaa/i_peaked_early_i_had_my_best_customer_when_i_was/
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egzu1m
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TalesFromRetail
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Some times it's the little things that make the job worth it
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I was working at a popular Big Box electronics store with a well-known tech-services and support department and I had a client who was an older woman (probably 75+) with an old laptop (no, this is not some kind of joke); it was probably 12–14 years old. It was busted 6 ways from Sunday, dead battery, charging port that you had to really work at to get it seated so it would get power, one hinge was totally wrecked, the CD drive was missing its faceplate, the drive tray itself was bent, the screen was cracked, and the bezel was being held on by tape… I mean this laptop had done its tour of duty three times over.
Anyway, she was emphatic about getting the screen repaired. But it was one of those situations where it would literally cost more than I could convince myself to tell the client it was worth. So I did something that 99.99% of the time you do not do in computer retail and I asked what was so important about this particular computer.
Well, it turns out her great-granddaughter had died 3 years prior and the only pictures she had of her were on that computer, and no one had ever told her that it was possible to move the pictures to something that wasn’t on improvised life support. So she was afraid of losing the pictures of her great-granddaughter.
So I worked with her for a few more minutes to get an idea of what she used her computer for (little bit of online shopping and some email), then grabbed one of the PC sales team I knew and trusted, gave her the rundown on the lady and the situation and asked her to find her a good option for a replacement computer, get her signed up for a data transfer, include a 32gb flash drive then come back to me.
Got her set up with a new laptop, transferred all the files from her old computer to the new computer and the flash drive and signed her up for a 1-on-1 training session so I could help her to learn how to use the new computer, the flash drive, and get her set up with One-Drive so she wouldn’t need to worry about losing her pictures.
After it was all said and done, she was so grateful for the help and service that she tried to hand me $50. I couldn’t take it for multiple reasons, but mostly because it was my job to help people with their computer problems and find solutions to their technological needs and that was exactly what I had done. I didn't feel I had done anything above and beyond my job. Well, she insisted on knowing what she could do to thank me.
Jokingly, I said, “Well, we love chocolate chip cookies.” She smiled, said OK and left. I figured that was it. I came in for my shift the next day to find that she had dropped off what looked like a baker's gross worth of home-made chocolate chip cookies.
Cookies make the best tips!
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromRetail/comments/egzu1m/some_times_its_the_little_things_that_make_the/
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hot
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3o92f4
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TalesFromRetail
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A huge parking lot and Alzheimer's
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I work at a warehouse where people buy groceries, etc in bulk. I work with the cart crew which means I also help people load up their vehicles; or sometimes search for their vehicles. This happened yesterday afternoon.
I'm going about my day as usual. Just bringing carts from the lot to the front and back again. I turn around to head out to the lot again when a slightly distressed woman (W) gets my attention.
>>W: "Umm, excuse me! I need your help. I was getting out of my car and there was a gentleman with his shopping cart asking me if I can help him find his car. Can you help him?"
>>Me: "Oh, yeah! Go do your shopping, don't worry about it."
>>W: "I think he really needs help. He's just standing outside my car."
While it isn't too uncommon for people not being able to locate their vehicles, I sometimes just don't understand how others are supposed to make finding their car any easier. I mean, it's not my car and I don't know where they parked. I know our parking lot is huge but just because I know the parking lot doesn't mean I can really find a car. But whatever -- I don't get paid by the cart. So I head to the back of the lot where the woman directed me to.
I don't see anybody trying to find their car. I'm shuffling back and forth looking down each of the aisles and in between cars. I soon find a shopping cart abandoned with some food items and a prescription bag in it. Not that's it's too important, but I notice the receipt stapled to the prescription bag totaled over $60. I don't see anybody near the shopping cart. I don't know if the man accidentally left his things here, if he went off still searching his vehicle. I didn't even know if these items belonged to the man that was described to me earlier.
Not wanting the merchandise to be stolen or missing somewhere, I take the cart and start weaving through all the aisles towards the front of the store hunting down this man so I can get back to my work. This is when the same woman came running up to me again. Why she wasn't inside shopping I don't know; I guess she's been concerned too.
>>W: "Look, there he is. He can't find his car!" *points behind me*
I look over and there is indeed an older man (OM) standing in the middle of a parking lot strutting around aimlessly. I thank the helpful woman, and approach the man with the basket of things I just found.
>>Me: "Excuse me, sir. Does this basket belong to you?"
>>OM: *looks down in the basket* "Oh, why, yes. Those are my things. That's my prescription!"
>>Me: "Oh, great! I found it in between a couple cars back there. I can help you find your vehicle."
At this point I'm just trying to get him out of the middle of the parking lot since he's creating sort of a traffic jam. Oh gosh, he is walking so slow. I already know this is going to take a while. But that's okay -- I'm hourly. I can be patient.
>>Me: "So, what am I looking for? What color car is it?"
>>OM: *is staring down at the basket again* "These are my things. You found them! That's my prescription right there!"
I don't know what else this could be but Alzheimer's disease. I don't know how severe he has it, but I just had this conversation not even 15 seconds ago. I can only feel bad for people who have to live with this every day. He's one of the nicest men I've ever encountered at my job. There's not really much I can do with this man except continue to stay patient.
>>Me: "Oh, yeah! I just found this basket with your things in it. What color is your car? Do you know the make is?"
>>OM: "Yeah, it's gray. It's like this gray but darker." *refers to a car parked next to us* "I know the plate numbers. It's F-E-X... no, 5-E-X."
>>Me: "Okay, and you parked out here in the lot? Or did you park in the structure?"
>>OM: *takes a long pause* "I-I'm not sure. I may have parked in there."
I'm just slowly pacing with him back to where I found his cart earlier, keeping my eyes peeled for a dark grey coupe or sedan.
>>Me: "Do you have your car keys?"
>>OM: "Yes. Yes, I do." *fumbles through his front jean pocket and pulls out a ring of what appears to be house keys*
>>Me: "Are you sure these are the ones to your car?"
I'm trying to talk with him as friendly as possible. This whole fiasco probably cost me close to 30 minutes by now. I definitely don't want to upset this man but it's getting a little difficult remaining patient with him considering we're walking oh so slow about the parking lot and he's trying to backtrack insisting that his car is down this specific aisle, and then this one, then that one.
>>OM: "I'm having a hard time trying to find my car. I think I need someone to drive me around and help me look for it."
>>Me: "Oh, don't worry! I'll help you find your car. Do you have your car keys with you by chance?"
>>OM: "Yes, I have them." *goes through his pocket again and hands me the correct set of keys this time*
>>Me: "I'm just going to try and find it quicker by using the alarm. Maybe we can listen to it from here."
>>OM: "Did you ever find my cart? I'm parked somewhere over there."
>>Me: "I already found your cart! It was somewhere in between a couple of cars right around here!"
I push on the panic button with his keys and hear a faint car alarm in the distance, and I hear it coming from the other side of the parking lot. I try and convey this information to the man but he's insisting that he parked over in this area.
>>OM: "I think I parked somewhere right here."
>>Me: "Let's go over there. I think you parked across on the other side of the lot!"
>>OM: "I left my basket right over here. I had my prescription here and all of my things."
He definitely wasn't being a rude kind of stubborn. But he didn't park over here where he left his cart of things. I push the panic button again and I try to show the man where I think it's coming from.
>>Me: "Let's go and try to look over here. I think I can hear --"
>>OM: *fumbling through his pockets* "Oh dear, I think I lost my car keys. I can't find them!"
>>Me: "I have your car keys! Let's walk over here this way!"
I see his car about a minute later and point at the car who's alarm is going off. And for the record, it was a gold car.
>>OM: "That's it! That's my car over there!"
>>Me: "Yup, the car alarm makes it real easy sometimes."
As we're nearing close to his car, I use his keys to pop open the trunk, getting ready to load up his things so he can be on his way. I guess he still doesn't quite understand that we already found his car.
>>OM: "Where did you find my basket?"
>>Me: "Oh, I found it over there, so you must've passed by your car when you were looking for it."
>>OM: "It must be over there then. That's where I parked!" *starts to turn his cart around and head the other way back where we came from*
>>Me: "Oh, no! Don't worry -- I just found your car right here! *clicks the lock button on his keys so he can hear the honk right in front of him*
>>OM: "That's my car! You found it, thank you so much!"
I quickly load up his things in the back of his car so this poor man doesn't end up lost again. I try to guide him to the front seat of his car so he doesn't try to wander away.
>>Me: "Alright, sir. Sorry it took so long to find it! Here are your keys back." *hands him both sets of keys* "Have a great evening!"
>>OM: "Young man, did you ever find my prescription?"
>>Me: "Yeah I did! It's in the back of your car with all your other things."
>>OM: "Okay, don't run along quite yet."
I don't know why, but I'm always uncomfortable accepting tips from our customers. I'm not a server, but some people for some reason feel the urge to leave us something after loading their car. Or in this case, spending 45 minutes to find their car! He opens up his wallet and I see a bunch of $20 bills. I'd really hate to accept a tip from this man. He just needed someone to help find his car. I don't feel like I deserved anything for the act of courtesy.
>>Me: "Oh, please, sir. No tips! Don't worry about it. Have a good evening, alright?"
>>OM: "But I was going to give you $20, are you sure?"
>>Me: "Please, don't worry about it. I really appreciate it though!"
The older man was taken back, and looked as though he was about to cry. I don't know if it was he was thankful for the help, not accepting the tip, or anything else.
>>OM: "Thank you. I"m so glad you helped me find my car. You really took a load off."
________
Fast forward to early today when I started a new shift. I get called inside from the parking lot by one of the front end managers. He asked me if I was the one who helped a man yesterday find his cart. I told him that I did. I guess the older man called my store later yesterday evening and told my manager how happy and relieved he was finding his car, and that he struggles with that often.
Working outside the warehouse we hardly get any recognition from the managers, so this made me very happy that he called. A little bit of patience with a man can really pay off.
TL;DR A sweet man with Alzheimer's can't find his car. After we find it he calls the store about how delighted my courtesy made him.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromRetail/comments/3o92f4/a_huge_parking_lot_and_alzheimers/
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21ck8n
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TalesFromRetail
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Cow patty slinging douche from a podunk town can't tip.
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I work two full time jobs to put me through school and pay off my debts. This can be very tiring, but I try everything in my power to keep positive, smile and give my customers the best service possible. On a Saturday my night shift at our local bar was going extremely well, we were very busy and all the patrons were tipping very well. I had a gent come in at around 5 pm (cow patty slinging douche) with his son. They were very normal all night until around 12 when his son had left (cow patty slinging douche decides to stay at the bar). 12:45 rolls around and it is last call (our bar closes at 1:00 am). I ask him if he needs anything else for last call and when he said "no", I asked him if he would like me to close out his tab for him, which he agreed. He racked up a $50 bar tab; which is to be expected when you are at a bar for 8 hours. I take back the ticket and noticed he left me not one single cent for a tip. I looked at him and said "are you kidding me", which I know probably isn't an ideal or professional thing to say, but I was furious. I waited on this guy for 8 hours, gave him the best service I could, amongst waiting on the other hoards of people that were there, and he couldn't tip me even one dollar. I cannot understand people that know waitresses and waiters live off of their tips but refuse to tip anything at all, especially when you stay at a place so long and know the person that is waiting on you is doing everything they can to make you happy. Boggles my mind.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromRetail/comments/21ck8n/cow_patty_slinging_douche_from_a_podunk_town_cant/
| 21 | 20 | 1,395,776,755 | 16 |
tipping
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relevance
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18nj16
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TalesFromRetail
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Pro Bowl Douchebag
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This was several years ago when I was living on Oahu, happened to my live in gf at the time. She worked at a national chain on the island and every year during the Pro Bowl players would come in with large groups of family and friends. One night right before closing time a certain offensive lineman for an NFC West team came in with a group of more than 15 people. They stayed for a couple of hours past close and ran up a tab of well over 3k(this is probably why they let them stay so late, that and the fact that dude is the biggest person you've ever seen). At the end of the meal the check was brought to the table with the standard 18% gratuity added. My gf was just waiting for them to leave and doing other things around her station so she could jet the minute they were gone. They all get up and leave and she makes her way to the check...
Not only had they subtracted the added gratuity but they had also chosen to leave her 5.00. On 3k+. FIVE DOLLARS. My ex was so upset that she immediately started to cry and by the time she calmed down they were all already gone. Now I'm definitely not saying that the NFL player in the group was the one who made the decision to short change her but due to his perennially being "franchise" tagged by his team I did know that he was making 12-14 million dollars a year. Every year. What a classy bunch.
This story does have a happy ending however. The next day Bryant Young came in(his name is ok, since he's awesome I'm assuming?) with his family, much smaller group. She recognized him since I made her watch Niners games with me and told him that she was a big fan because he seemed so nice on the field(yes, my gf is that kind of person). He asked her if she'd met any other players and she told him what had happened the night before. He expressed his dismay and told her not to judge all players off of that. They chatted some more and she told him I was from the Bay Area and was a huge niners fan. He had her call me at work and then got on the phone and talked to me for a couple of minutes. At the end of the meal he tipped her out 500 bucks. Great dude BY.
Edit: grammar
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromRetail/comments/18nj16/pro_bowl_douchebag/
| 326 | 67 | 1,361,045,921 | 16 |
gratuity
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relevance
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103zcmn
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TalesFromRetail
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Lady wants a discount. Why can’t she just get a discount?!
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I work in a sort of high-end pet supply store that gets super busy around the holidays, like most retail.
Before I tell the story, some background:
1.we have a rewards program that gives you a point for every dollar you spend. Once you earn 200 points, you get a $5 off coupon to use on a future purchase. At 300, if you save your points, it increases to $10 off. At 1000 points, you get $50 off. You get the picture. When someone is checking out, we ask them if they are part of the rewards program. If they have a coupon they can use, we are able to see this coupon and ask if they want to use it or keep saving points. This is one of two discounts we can apply based on what we see on the account.
2. The second kind of discount we can apply- we have 10-15% off for people who meet certain criteria - first responders get 15%, dog walkers get 10%, and - this is the relevant one - people who live in certain buildings that surround the store get 10% off certain items. We don’t verify any of this; anyone could come in and, for example, tell us they live in a nearby condo building and we’d be like “ok cool!” and make a note on their account that they get this specific discount. The notes we make are very obvious and impossible to miss. I especially tend to be pretty generous with discounts because it’s not MY money, lol.
3. Our rewards program sends out text messages periodically. They’ll say something like “$10% off (specific product), today only, in-store and online!” or “Earn double points this weekend, in-store only!” They discount ones ALWAYS have a promo code attached that you have to provide. The messages NEVER say, like, “here’s a code for 10% off your whole order, whenever you want!” They’re always for specific days. The retail associates/anyone working in the stores have no control over/input on these texts. We just enter promo codes and apply discounts accordingly.
4. Not super relevant, but to live in this area, you have to be wealthy. Like extremely well-off. It’s in the downtown area of a busy American city. All the residential development has occurred in the last 5-10 years; it used to be very industrial. Cost of living and gentrification are through the roof. All the buildings around us are brand new luxury high-rises. I will never in my life be able to afford living here. None of these people actually NEED a discount.
Ok, the story. It’s super busy, the Sunday before Christmas, and I’m at the register checking out a lady who is with what I assume is her mother. The Lady was young, in her mid-20s probably, and as you read this please give the least charitable reading possible; she was very annoyed and condescending. I get her account brought up and I ring everything up. She has 146 points, so no discount yet. It comes to about $89.
Lady: “Are their any discount on my account?”
Me: “Not yet! You don’t have enough points right now, but next time you come in you’ll have $5 off.”
Lady: “What? I’m positive I have a coupon on my account. You guys send me text messages all the time.”
Me (ignoring the text message comment because I can tell she doesn’t have any idea what she’s asking for): “So, you need 200 points to get the first coupon. Right now, you have 146 points.” (I turn the screen around so she can see exactly what I’m referring to) “You need 54 more points to get a discount, so next time you’ll have one.”
Lady (again): “But isn’t there a discount? You guys send me text messages ALL the time.”
Me: “There will usually be a code for a discount- do you have the text messages with you?” (knowing very well there are no specific discounts for today or this weekend)
Lady: (halfheartedly thumbs her phone screen) “I don’t know, I probably deleted them.”
Me: “So the text messages will usually be for a specific kind of item on a specific day, and will have a promo code attached. I don’t know of any promos going on today, and I can’t give a discount without a promo code.” (Technically I can, but….I’m not rewarding this kind of behavior for no reason)
Lady: (to her mother but loudly) “This sucks. It’s almost $100 and I don’t have a discount. I thought I had a discount.”
Me: “I’m sorry about that. If you’d still like to buy this, the total is $89.”
Lady: “I can’t believe this. This sucks. I don’t have ANY discounts”
Pause; I can only assume she’s waiting for me to just give her a fucking discount to make her happy. I’ve been in retail/food service my whole life, and a younger me would have absolutely panicked. I didn’t budge, I just gave her an apologetic smile and a shrug. She eventually pulls out her card and pays. The transaction is complete and I ask if she wants a receipt.
Lady: “But I’m a resident in (specific building). Don’t I get a discount?! Isn’t it on my account?!”
Me: “I….I’m sorry, but I don’t see that anywhere on your account. I can add it right now so you get the discount next time, but the only way I can apply it to this transaction is if I void it and then ring everything up all over again.”
Lady: (You can tell she’s furious because now she can actually blame something on US) “It wasn’t on my account?! Fine. No. That’s ok.”
As she’s leaving she’s still saying, LOUDLY, “This sucks. I can’t believe it. I spent all that money and didn’t even get a discount. This sucks.”
I finally kind of snapped and called after her, “Do you not want me to fix it?” which wasn’t the best call on my part, but she didn’t even turn around as she left, and the store was very busy so there’s a chance she didn’t hear me or didn’t know it was directed at her.
Best part is, I went through her previous transaction to see where we dropped the ball/didn’t give her a resident discount. She hadn’t even been in the store since April, and she had never, not once, gotten the discount she claimed was on her account.
Anyway, I hope she had a merry fucking Christmas. I gave the next people in line a bag of free dog treats to thank them for their patience.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromRetail/comments/103zcmn/lady_wants_a_discount_why_cant_she_just_get_a/
| 728 | 52 | 1,672,926,467 | 16 |
15%
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hot
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bgkpyh
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TalesFromRetail
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You give $5 to charity, you get $5 off, why is that so hard?
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I worked at a retail store a few years ago and we had a special sale where customers donate to charity and get a 20% coupon for the whole day. Now the point of the sale was to give money to local charities. 100% of the money donated went to charity. It was a $5 minimum and the customer receives $5 off of their first purchase PLUS a 20% coupon to use all day on anything in the store. So basically the customer is not out any money. They don't lose money by donating.
​
So in walks this Karen. She comes up to my register and wants to purchase a dress and get the charity coupon.
Me: Ok I will add the $5 donation and you will get that $5 taken off the price and then I can apply the 20% to your total.
Karen: No, I don't want to spend $5. I just want the 20%!
Me: Oh you can only get the 20% when you donate $5 to charity. But you get the $5 off your purchase as well as the 20%
Karen: I don't want to give money to charity!
Me: Well that's the whole point of the sale...
Karen: Well that's $5 I could spend on myself!
Me: ...You aren't losing $5, you get the $5 off the dress PLUS the 20%. You get BOTH discounts.
Karen: Just give me the 20%!
Me: I can't do that unless you donate.
Karen: This is ridiculous!
Me: Yeah it is...
​
Karen refuses to donate so I sell the dress to her for regular price and she goes on her stupid way. I really don't understand why she was so hostile and refused to donate.
I do know some people are very picky about which charities they give money to but we had the charities listed at every register and they were all local places and all the money stayed in the local area so it wasn't like it was going to a CEO's jet or something.
EDIT: many of the comments seems to be confused about this sale so I don’t blame Karen. I see now I probably did a bad job explaining the sale as it is a bit convoluted and confusing. But the main point of our transaction was when she said that’s $5 she could spend on herself even though the cost would have come out even before the 20%.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromRetail/comments/bgkpyh/you_give_5_to_charity_you_get_5_off_why_is_that/
| 3,410 | 259 | 1,556,048,530 | 16 |
20%
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relevance
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150zbo3
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TalesFromYourServer
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Guy didn’t tip on his $50 tab
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That’s fine. I can eat it. But then proceeding to encourage your friends to also not tip is, I must say, super gross. Shout out to your girlfriend for telling you to shut the fuck up.
ETA: I was still at the table.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/150zbo3/guy_didnt_tip_on_his_50_tab/
| 1,562 | 402 | 1,689,490,992 | 15 |
tip
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relevance
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1ikp6cl
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TalesFromYourServer
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Largest tip I’ve ever received. Wasn’t even my table
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I bartend at night at a chain restaurant. Our morning bartender is my arch nemesis. He’s the worst. Doesn’t clean up after himself (leaves broken glass laying around, the whole bar is sticky cause he doesn’t get a towel for the sani bucket most of the time, if he spills something he leaves it for someone else), doesn’t restock anything, doesn’t know the measurements for our prep even though he’s worked there for two years ??, super lazy, pawns all of his tables off on others by 3:30 so he can leave right at 4 when I get there.
Yesterday, Morning Bartender just had one guy at the bar, no tables otherwise. The man had already ordered and was just waiting on his food, and already had two drinks. My manager was counting down Morning Bartenders drawer when he turns to me and says “does she know I’m transferring him to her?” I stopped taking his tables when he asked to transfer them to me, so he stopped asking, now he just leaves. I didn’t figure I’d be taking that guy at the bar since his food was almost out, but Morning Bartender is always in a rush out the door. I took over, the guy got his food and the only thing I got for him the rest of the time he was there was one single shot of tequila. That’s it. Dude left a $200 tip, Morning Bartender won’t see a penny of it.
Before I get anyone saying “you don’t know what he has going on outside of work, maybe he’s in a rush for a good reason” he’s not. I know exactly what he has going on outside of work, all he does is share his business, and it’s fucking girls 20 years younger than him and going to the “studio” to work on his “rap career”. He’s 40.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1ikp6cl/largest_tip_ive_ever_received_wasnt_even_my_table/
| 2,994 | 37 | 1,739,026,991 | 15 |
tip
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relevance
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a6aw0d
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TalesFromYourServer
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Oh so you think that tipping culture is wrong?
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So I work at a local restaurant with some great lunch specials. I recently started working morning shifts and had a table of three ladies call ahead with their order (which is already irritating). After they get their food they chow down and as it always goes they want to check out at the worst possible time (for me anyways) so I'm having lunch punch cards shoved in my face and different payments and I haven't even handed them their tickets yet.
Get things squared away and comp one lady's food because she gets a free lunch special per her punch card. Go to pick up the checks after they leave and there's nothing, nada, zilch.
One of the other regulars let's me know they always do that because they don't believe in tipping culture and think it's wrong. Cool, so I just served you for $2.68 an hour.
I swear next time they come in they can have an employee who makes an hourly wage, like my manager, wait on them.
I realise that in the long run I make quite a bit more than $2.68 an hour but it's still a bummer busting your ass for someone and not making anything.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/a6aw0d/oh_so_you_think_that_tipping_culture_is_wrong/
| 2,133 | 1,125 | 1,544,836,273 | 15 |
tip
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relevance
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j8k35g
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TalesFromYourServer
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Drunk, belligerent, and loud guests try to stiff server and leave the greatest tip ever.
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This is not my story, but a friend's with her permission. I'll call her Melissa.
One night right before closing a table of 12 walked in and proceeded to order basket of wings after basket of wings, expensive liquor shots all around. They started yelling when the restaurant ran out of the highest end liquor they were drinking... obviously this was my friend's fault, but kept ordering liquor shots.
This went on for 3 hours. My friend knew these jerks weren't going to tip. When they finally stumbled out of the door, she started to clean their nightmare of a table. Then she noticed something on the floor.
A ball of wadded up money.
She surreptitiously reached down and pocketed it, and finished cleaning the table. She went to the bathroom later to count it. It was over $400.
The customer never called to complain. Guess he was so drunk, he didn't know where he dropped his wallet.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/j8k35g/drunk_belligerent_and_loud_guests_try_to_stiff/
| 3,074 | 252 | 1,602,334,922 | 15 |
tip
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relevance
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trrrhs
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TalesFromYourServer
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Lady wrote “I’m poor sorry :(“ on the tip line after she bought a 70$ meal
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Too poor to tip but not too poor to go out for drinks and a meal?? Stay home then I’m poor too bitch
Dear people from other countries: We did not make the rules for how restaurants work here. You are expected to tip regardless of if you think the system is stupid because we rely mostly on tips for our salary. All Americans know that and it is totally the customer’s responsibility. They know they’re being shitty by not tipping. It’s not just a nice gesture, it’s expected here.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/trrrhs/lady_wrote_im_poor_sorry_on_the_tip_line_after/
| 1,474 | 324 | 1,648,593,365 | 15 |
tip
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relevance
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yq3rga
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TalesFromYourServer
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Any tips to deal with Table Campers?
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I’ve been a server for many years, and the one thing that annoys me more than anything is table camping. The table is done ordering anything, they’re closed out, and everything is bussed that can be….yet they still stay. When you’re relying on most of your pay in tips, this cuts down my ability to make money tenfold. I had people walk out because every table was full, but more than half of them were closed out. I understand you’re enjoying the ambiance and conversation with your table….but I made $8 off of one table that was there for 5 hours. I cant pay my bills with that.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/yq3rga/any_tips_to_deal_with_table_campers/
| 1,079 | 307 | 1,667,954,490 | 15 |
tip
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relevance
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sbeq2u
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TalesFromYourServer
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Getting stiffed without any known reason sucks but what’s the dumbest reason someone HAS given you for not tipping?
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I’ll go first. One of them was written on the ticket next to the $0.00 “y’all slow af” as if I control how fast the food comes out especially on a busy Friday night.
Another one was when I got $3 on $120. They circled “loaded mash” and wrote “never got this”. It would be understandable if they did say something about it during my two check ups on them but they’re like “yeah we’re great”. And this was also a busy night so yeah my bad I didn’t notice your missing loaded mash out of 5 other tables and for food I didn’t run
Edit: I can’t believe I forgot to mention this one. It wasn’t my table but I saw the two guests talking to a manager and they pointed at their server so I’m thinking “oh no they’re upset with him”. So later I ask the manager and she said that they said he was fantastic and “left the best tip they’ve ever given ANY server”… $4
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/sbeq2u/getting_stiffed_without_any_known_reason_sucks/
| 910 | 419 | 1,643,003,264 | 15 |
tip
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relevance
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1i8hfn0
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TalesFromYourServer
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Yacht Races in Michigan. Paying the bill twice.
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I have a few good stories during yacht races and I thought I would share one. Every summer there are 2 different yacht races that end on Mackinac Island,Port Huron to Mackinac and Chicago to Mackinac, the latter usually having more boats. These 2 races bring in thousands of boaters, families and sponsors. It’s normally the busiest time of the summer and ALOT of drunk sailors walking around hammered.
I was working at a popular restaurant and had a 20 top in my section I was going to flip 3 times 430 730 and 10. First 2 go by within a problem besides the “how come we didnt get the cute girl jokes “ both tables are in the 1200 1500 dollar range and normally I don’t auto grat but when these guys are this drunk I always do. By the time the 3rd table shows up I’m beat.
3rd table walks in and everyone but the captain is absolutely hammered. I’m talking like cant put fork in their mouths being complete assholes. I tell them unfortunately I can’t serve them. (Which I really enjoyed doing) All the “well there goes your tip” and other stupid comments began. “Why didn’t we get the hot waitress” shit like that. Again I’m getting super fed up but what are you going to do. Finally the captain called me over and said order 2 of every appetizer, ceaser salad and 20 oz rib-eye Med Rare for everyone, one check bring it to me. Awesome that’s a 1500 dollar check,no drinks great last table.
As I’m rolling silverware after I pre-bussed the table the captain comes over and hands me his card and says “Hey man great job I don’t know how you put up with Assholes like that every day”
I went and ran the card told him grat was included something like 280. He asks for a copy of the receipt and says there will be something extra on the table for you. I’ll never forget watching as the captain walked up to the table and said “ok guys I’m out of here you should be ashamed of how you talked to the waiter” “ Here is the bill it comes out to roughly 100 a piece with out tip” I suggest you tip him nicely or you will be walking back to Chicago” As he was walking out he said “By the way Credit card machine is down pay in cash” and he walked out! They were all ready to go and drink more and wanted to leave in a hurry. I saw them all pulling out wallets and left a pile of cash I walked over and I counted out 18 hundred dollar bills! The captain made these guys pay the bill again! It was by far the most money I have ever made in a shift by a lot. So Captain Mike if you’re reading this Thank you again!
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1i8hfn0/yacht_races_in_michigan_paying_the_bill_twice/
| 473 | 13 | 1,737,675,219 | 15 |
tip
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hot
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1i3wl31
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TalesFromYourServer
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Tip Sharing
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I've only had experience as a cook and management, not a server or bartender. In the process of starting a restaurant and want to know opinions on tip sharing. Personally, I feel its unfair as servers who don't pull their weight are given an extra share from a server who gives amazing service, or cooks who really didn't do much to change the service. Some of my future staff say they like tip sharing because it makes everything equitable. From those that have years of serving experience, do you think tip sharing is fair? Why/why not? Thanks in advance (and before you attack me, all staff are paid well but American culture makes people tip compulsively since most customers don't ask a server their pay rate)
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1i3wl31/tip_sharing/
| 23 | 45 | 1,737,164,392 | 15 |
tip
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hot
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1i36oc7
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TalesFromYourServer
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Paying and eating in a restaurant does not give you entitlement to make the worker's life more difficult ! WHY DO PEOPLE DO THIS ? DO YOU HAVE ANY CONSCIENCE ?
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The restaurant closes at 11:00 PM and sure enough there is 1 table left that has finished eating 1 hour ago and has only drinks on the table. 10:55 PM I ask to bring the bill to the table because restaurant is closing soon, sure enough they want to order one last drink. ( OK I REALLY CANT DENY THEM I NEED TO BE POLITE). So I bring them last drinks knowing they will need time to finish it up and the bill.
11:00 PM. I turn off the music. Restaurant is closed. Sure enough they are waving hands calling me and ask me why did I turned the music off they were enjoying it. I explained I need to close the restaurant. They wanted me to leave the music for just few more minutes. ( OK I DONT WANT TO BUT I NEED TO BE POLITE). So I leave the music on for 15 more minutes.
11:15 PM I turn off the music and I start doing shift money counting thinking they will leave after I finish up what is left to close. Sure enough I hear them "EXCUSE ME WAITER !!!"....I go to their table and they want another drink. This is when I deny them and say sorry the cash register is closed I can't bring you anymore drinks we are closed for the night.
11:40 PM. I've done everything I need to close the restaurant even changed my clothes from working outfit to civilian and I am waiting for them to leave. I can't trow them out or be rude when I already said multiple times we are closed.
11:45 PM. They call me again. Asking to turn back on the music and to bring them more drinks. I said I can't do that we have closed and I need to lock the door. I turned off the AC which I kept for almost an hour running after closing so they don't get cold its winter. They start asking me to give them a bottle of wine to go and they will pay tomorrow. I explained I CANT DO THAT, I can't give them anything without a bill.
They started complaining how they payed a bill over 300€ and gave me a 5€ tip and I should be more hospitable to them, that I am a bad server for not giving them what they want and keep constantly asking me "WHY" "WHY" "WHY" when I said multiple time we have closed. They left a bad review, send a e-mail mentioning my name and that I refused to serve them. Of course I had trouble the next day with the Owner and the Manager.
This is what I really wanted to say but I could not:
A) READ THE CLOSING TIME ON GOOGLE
B) CLOSED MEANS NO MORE ORDERS, FINISH UP AND LEAVE
C) I DON'T GET PAYED OVERTIME IF I DID I WOULD EARN 50% MORE EACH HOUR, MORE THEN THE TIP YOU LEFT ME
D) I HAVE A LIFE, I HAVE A MORNING SHIFT, I NEED SLEEP, I WORKED FOR 9 HOURS ON FEET, I NEED REST
E) I STAYED FOR AN HOUR OVERTIME BECAUSE OF YOU, I LEFT THE MUSIC TURNED ON AND AC SO YOU DONT GET COLD
F) WHY DO YOU NEED TO COMPLAIN AND USE MY NAME TO SEND AN E-MAIL, WHY DO YOU NEED TO MAKE MY JOB MORE DIFFICULT
G) I DONT CARE HOW MUCH MONEY YOU HAVE SPEND HERE, I DON'T GET ANY % OF IT, I HAVE A FIXED SALARY NO MATTER IF WE HAVE 10€ OF TRAFFIC OR 100000€
H) I CANT GIVE A FREE DRINKS ON A PROMISE TO PAY TOMORROW THIS WILL GET ME FIRED IF FOUND OUT
I) GO TO A NIGHT CLUB AND DRINK THERE THEY WORK UNTIL MORNING
Yes I wrote it like I was yelling because that is what was going in my mind, but I needed to keep my mouth shut.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1i36oc7/paying_and_eating_in_a_restaurant_does_not_give/
| 415 | 105 | 1,737,082,474 | 15 |
tip
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hot
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ffiue8
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TalesFromYourServer
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Jerk gets exactly what he asked for.
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Last night I worked a 14 top. They were all terrible people, douchiest people I have ever come in contact with. The royal family of Douchland. One guy sits down and orders a beer. He says, “Every time you come to the table I want you to have a beer for me.” I thought he was probably just joking, so I leave and come back and he says, “Where is my beer? Did you really forget what I told you like 2 minutes ago? Wow.” So I said, “OH! I am so sorry it won’t happen again.” So, for the next 2 hours, no matter what. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. I approached the table I left a beer. After about
45 minutes the beer began to pile up. A friend of King Doucherbottom tried to take one that I put down, but I grabbed it and said, “Sorry sir, this is your friends beer I would be happy to get one for you if you like.” Long story short he ended up buying 25 beers at 8 dollars a pop with a 20% mandatory auto-grat on the table. He maybe drank 4. I have never felt so good in my life. It doesn’t pay to be an arrogant ass folks!
EDIT: Man, thanks everyone! This was a crowning achievement in my 7 years of serving. I work at a place where some people come in and treat me like a piece of stew meat, and I have learned to play the game in order to make money. I love my job and the people I meet, but I get stepped on a lot. Its nice to win one and have you guys appreciate it.
EDIT AGAIN: This is incredibly humbling. I knew it was a good Server Tale, but thank you guys! I don’t post much on anything ever, so this means so much that you guys liked what I did.
To answer some questions: They split the bill seven ways. They did not even look at the charges. I put down the bill and the cards went on top. Their total bill was about 1200 everything included, beer, food, and all. This not common at a 14 top where I work, but not surprising. I came out making around 240 before tip out.
I work at an independent fine dining italian restaurant outside of Chicago.
Every time I put a beer down he said nothing. If he would have acknowledged my presence and told me to stop I would have. He said nothing. I started to feel bad, for a couple minutes, and then he yelled at me like a dog to get the food out faster. THAT IS WHAT HE WANTED. I just want to reiterate that. HE ASKED FOR IT. Also, I was watching him drink. If at any point his behavior/ consumption increased I would have stopped. He walked out the exact same way he walked in. Like a doucher.
The beer was SURROUNDING HIS SEATING AREA. Just bottles and bottles and bottles. It was incredible.
I make my own drinks where I work, as we don’t have a typical bar, just a large server station. No bar tender was involved.
I cannot deny the illegality of it, but I do not regret it!
The BOH and bussers enjoyed the undisturbed beers. I felt so good bringing them back in a bus tub of ice. It was like seeing the excitement of children on Christmas morning.
My manager saw the bill and was pissed, but no reports of anything we would be liable for as of yet!
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/ffiue8/jerk_gets_exactly_what_he_asked_for/
| 10,622 | 222 | 1,583,700,421 | 15 |
tip
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top
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g6qpf6
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TalesFromYourServer
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The nastiest customers gave me the greatest serving experience of my life
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This happened years ago, but it still feels like it was yesterday. I (29f) was serving at a Steak ‘n Shake, and was about 70lbs bigger than I am now. I’m very white, with blonde hair, so you wouldn’t know by looking at me that I’m almost fluent in Spanish. As I was cleaning a table one night, the one right next to it was seated for me. While wiping the dirty table, I heard the new table talking loudly about me in Spanish. They were saying how big my butt was, how fat I was, how they didn’t want to be served by someone so disgusting, not knowing that I 100% understood them. My initial reaction was anger and tears; I wanted to give them bad service and not even try to be nice. But, I wanted to be the bigger person. I walked to the table and did my “welcome to Steak n Shake! My name is Brandi and I’m here to help you out,” but I said it all in Spanish. The look of shock and embarrassment on their faces gave me one of the greatest feelings ever. Then, I listed every burger, every milkshake flavor and every side item in Spanish. For the entire meal, I spoke no English at all, and I gave them the kindest/most attentive service I’ve ever given anyone. The nicer I was, the more humiliated and ashamed they were. When one of them asked quietly if he could have some more water, I already had a tray in my hand with his water on it. They refused to speak Spanish to me, and would hardly even look at me. When they left, they closed their ~$25 check, then left me a $50 bill under a plate for my tip. Such a glorious day! Everyone always asks why I didn’t spit in their food, give them bad service, or ring in their order wrong. Kill people with kindness baby! That’s the way I do it
Edit: I never expected so much love from this post! I hardly post anything at all because I assume no one will notice. I was having an awful day, and the positive comments here have really helped cheer me up. Thank you everyone!!!
Edit 2: I wish I had time to respond to every comment. Again, thank you everyone! On top of the stupid virus insanity, I’ve been sick and struggling. Reading these comments is helping me keep smiling!
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/g6qpf6/the_nastiest_customers_gave_me_the_greatest/
| 7,345 | 199 | 1,587,662,334 | 15 |
tip
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top
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cs1zus
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TalesFromYourServer
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If you’re gonna raise hell about nothing, first ensure that it cannot bite you in the ass
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This was an average weekday morning-early afternoon shift at the diner. I get sat with a two-top of older women. They seem snappy when I get their drink orders(OJ, 2 waters, and 2 coffees) but besides that nothing I can’t handle. They place their order and one woman wanted grilled onions added to her home fries, ok no problem just a $.99 up change as noted in the menu.
They enjoy their food and I drop off their check(The homefries lady covered the bill) and I almost immediately get called back over. The homefries lady proceeds to lace into me about charging her $.99 for the grilled onions and how stupid I was for doing that. I then talk to my manager to which she replied “It’s on the menu but it’s only $.99 and I don’t want an angry letter” so she takes it off my check. That’s when I notice that I had forgotten to ring in the OJ, so I fixed my mistake.
I return the updated bill and homefries lady goes berserk. “WHY IS THE BILL MORE EXPENSIVE YOU SAID YOU WERE GONNA REMOVE THE UPCHARGE!”
I calmly reply, “I have removed the upcharge but I also realized that I had forgotten to charge you for the OJ that you finished”. She was speechless and her friend was trying super hard not to laugh. Her little tantrum caused her bill to be $2 more expensive, instant karma is amazing!
Her friend tipped me 30% and gave me a warm showing of gratitude while homefries lady was in the bathroom, most likely drowning her neighbors cat.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/cs1zus/if_youre_gonna_raise_hell_about_nothing_first/
| 5,691 | 123 | 1,566,139,232 | 15 |
tip
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top
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15jx76j
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Angry man child threw a fit over something that was his fault and wife made it up to me
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So last night I get sat a 5 top family. It’s a husband(dad) and wife as well as some extended family members. They’re really polite and extremely over-the-top nice to me from the get go, except for the dad. He automatically orders appetizers with a million modifications and I can tell he’s a picky eater and is being rude about it…oh well. I bring out their apps and they’re perfect to his standards. Amazing. The time comes for them to order entrees and the dad orders fish and chips, no modifications.
About 20 minutes later I come out with their entrees and the dad asks for an extra tartar sauce for his meal. We do not have tartar sauce and instead the fish and chips come with an aioli(as stated on the menu). I inform him we don’t have tartar sauce and ask if he wants an extra aioli. He flips his shit and yells “what the fuck do you mean you don’t have tartar sauce?! If I knew that I wouldn’t have ordered this!!!”
I ask if he wants any other sauce or if he wants to change his entree(even though it’s his fault for not reading the menu and not even asking in the first place if we had tartar sauce) and he says no. He demands we make tartar sauce for him. I tell him we don’t have the ingredients. He mutters how I’ve ruined his dinner and the rest of the family is silent. He chooses to keep his food so whatever, I walk away and let them eat.
After about 10 minutes he says he’s done and has me take away his food he barely touched. I noticed that he leaves the table and doesn’t come back at all. The wife informs me they’re ready for the check so I bring it to them. I’m processing her card and she asks if she can say a few words. I say yeah is everything okay? She says: “hey I just wanted to thank you for taking care of us you were amazing, and I’m so sorry that rude people give you shit for things that are out of control. I hope you have an amazing night, you were great”. I realize she was PISSED at her husband and she must’ve said something to him. She proceeds to tip me 25% and leave. It felt really good to have some sort of apology when I thought they would’ve sided with him.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/15jx76j/angry_man_child_threw_a_fit_over_something_that/
| 5,429 | 347 | 1,691,347,659 | 15 |
tip
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top
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kfu6b7
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TalesFromYourServer
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Please don’t ask your server to “surprise you” with a meal. You’re a grown adult order your own food.
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This is a story from a few years ago, but is still one of my favorites.
I worked in a small town restaurant. There was only one other restaurant in the town at the time, so lunch time would get pretty busy with local farmers, local oil rig guys, and other people that worked around town. I had a 8 top of oil rig gentleman from out of state.
So, this particular young gentleman decided he was going to flirt with me from the very beginning. Not even cute flirting just obnoxious flirting. I also had a BF. I had a full restaurant, and other stuff to attend to so I didn’t have time to sit around and flirt, nor did I want to.
The time comes to order food. Everybody else in the group is real straight forward, easy, nice. I get to him and he says, “Well, I don’t know what I want sweat pea why don’t you surprise me *wink*”
I hate when people do this. You’re a grown adult, you should know what you want to eat. I don’t know a single thing about you other than you’re cringeworthy. I try asking him to at least narrow it down for me and he won’t. So, after making sure he doesn’t have any food allergies I give in and agree.
What did I order for him? The spiciest pasta on the menu. I did ask him if he liked spicy and his response was “I do if you do!” *cringe*
Being a small town restaurant, 90% of our menu was made from scratch. So, I made sure to tell the cook that cooked his pasta to make it extra spicy because of above reasons. The cook gladly added extra chipotles, jalapeños and habaneros.
I bring out the food. Let them all dig in. I check back after 5 minutes asking how everything is. Everyone, except for homeboy, said it was great. Homeboy couldn’t answer because he was too busy holding back tears from how spicy it was. I leave and hear all of his buddies burst out laughing and say he deserved it. Another guy ended up paying for his meal and tipping me well over 20%. So, in the end it worked out and good lord did it feel good to finally give someone what they deserved (and asked for).
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/kfu6b7/please_dont_ask_your_server_to_surprise_you_with/
| 5,095 | 409 | 1,608,327,216 | 15 |
tip
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top
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1i8z6vw
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TalesFromYourServer
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Added gratuity to tables
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My workplace automatically adds 18% gratuity to parties of six or more which I feel is pretty common practice. However, when it’s time to give the bill I’m always conflicted. Do I tell the tables gratuity is added? Or should they know because it’s on the menu? It feels almost deceptive to me. Servers from all around: what would you do? Tell the table or just assume they know because it’s on the menu?
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1i8z6vw/added_gratuity_to_tables/
| 114 | 73 | 1,737,735,648 | 15 |
gratuity
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relevance
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z6yzl9
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TalesFromYourServer
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The Auto-Grat Gamble
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I haven't been a server for a while, but when I was one, the only thing I hated about it was Sundays. This is a comment I made today on another post and I think you all might appreciate it:
>18% auto gratuity was invented just for the Sunday clowns. My boss was so cool; you could basically gamble it. If you looked at a group and they didn't look like they were going to tip, you hit em with the 18%. Or you can risk it all and let them tip on their own.
>I always love when the groups came in that you hit with the auto-grat and they tried to make you feel bad like "we would have tipped more though!" "Yeah, well, just because you were hit with the auto-grat doesn't mean tipping is closed. You're free to tip more right now actually! No? What do you mean you're going to give us a poor review? Awwww... " *high fives GM*
We don't deserve to be abused. If auto-grat isn't a thing at your establishment, there are a bunch of restaurants hiring around you right now. The customer isn't always right. You can dip out right in the middle of a table and you'll get hired somewhere else. Don't think it's going to follow you wherever you go. You don't even got to tell anybody else about that restaurant that you just dipped out from. If you work don't appreciate you, go find a place that does.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/z6yzl9/the_autograt_gamble/
| 1,203 | 267 | 1,669,648,276 | 15 |
gratuity
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relevance
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qmu9hz
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TalesFromYourServer
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What would you do if party of 8 ask for separate table to avoid autograt?
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Last night a party of 8(6 ladies and 2 babies) walked in, the first question they asked, did you charged for big party? I answered yes for party over 6. Right then they decided that they are 2 separate group but would have 2 table next to each other.
It was late so i just don't give a damn, they ended up didn't tip anything but they can afford $90 of merchandise that my restaurant sells.
*edit: we charged gratuity for Party of 6 and over. So 6 technically count. Also our autograt is only 15%, and I have the call whether or not to autograt guests.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/qmu9hz/what_would_you_do_if_party_of_8_ask_for_separate/
| 1,329 | 278 | 1,636,059,033 | 15 |
gratuity
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relevance
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dre4kq
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TalesFromYourServer
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Minimum gratuity and how it can be a blessing and a curse. That time it didn’t go well for me.
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I was working for a corporate restaurant known for pizza and having the name of a state in their title. This was in Orange County California.
I think it was a Tuesday and I was closing server, it was so dead we were out of sidework. I think I was actually polishing the tins we used for creamer because the shift manager couldn’t come up with anything else for me to do. The rest of the floor had been cut hours before, it was just me and the bartender. My total sales were less than $200. All I could think about was getting a cold beer in ten minutes after we finally locked the doors.
And then, as I am sure you can guess, a group of 8 walked in and stood semi-patiently at the host stand. The bartender gave them a table as I put away the polishing stuff and went to greet them. And then I saw....
The 8-top was an Indian family. This was not at all unusual, the area of OC this restaurant was located in was heavily populated by several neighborhoods of different minorities, several of which were Indian, I had no issues waiting on anyone, I think servers who engage in profiling are just negative people and generally, assholes. However, it cannot be denied that the Indian culture eats very late at night and is known for making meals a social event. A lot of Indian familys liked to eat at this particular restaurant because we had several vegetarian options, which is popular in that culture. Everyone at this restaurant had waited on Indians several times, and just like any other culture, sometimes things went smoothly and sometimes they, well, didn’t.
Inwardly I sighed because I knew I was going to be there for a while, BUT I was also at least going to double my sales, and since it was an 8top %20 included gratuity was gauranteed.
With the knowledge that I was at least going to be able to put gas in my car that week I approached the table with a new spring in my step and introduced myself.
“Hi, I’m a Super Rad Ninja, I’m going to be taking care of you guys tonight, can I get you started with something from the bar or perhaps a mango iced tea or a soft drink?”
Literally, 8 pairs of eyes just staring at me in response. Not a word was said, just a solid 5-10 seconds of scrutiny by the whole party.
Finally, the gentlemen sitting at the very head of the table said, in heavily accented, but perfectly understandable English, “We would like eight glasses of water. I am the only person who speaks English, speak only to me. Please do not disturb our party until we notify you”.
He did not seem to be trying to be mean, more like he was giving an instruction, I felt perhaps this was part of his custom, I wasn’t sure.
I came back with waters and baskets of bread, then went to the bar to wait to be “notified”.
Half an hour later I was beckoned by the same man at the table. Who proceeded to order an outrageous amount of food. If I recall correctly it was 6 pizzas, at least 5 appetizers and 2 or 3 pasta dishes, as well as salads for everyone. I repeated the order back to him, he agreed that was correct, and then, the part I had been dreading....
(At this particular restaurant it was policy to verbally inform that a minimum gratuity would be included. Servers previously had downplayed that in an effort to collect additional gratuity from unasuming guests. Several complaints had been received after people re-examined their receipts. It always made me uncomfortable to say it, but I was compelled.)
.... “yes sir I will get all of that food going for you, and just so you are aware, since you are a party of 8, a minimum gratuity is automatically applied to your bill.”
Then, the UNTHINKABLE happened. This guy, looked at me, processed what I had just said, and turned to one of the other men at the table and said something in a different language. They had a quick conversation, and then the other guy got up and went to the bar and sat down.
The head dude looked back at me and said, with finality: “We are now seven.” And made a dismissive gesture with his hand.
I was totally floored; I had thought I had seen it all, but food service will always give you a new experience. I put in their massive order and actually heard the back of house staff groan when the printer in the kitchen spat out a ticket.
The guy at the bar ordered something by pointing at the pictures, when his food came up he predictably carried it over to the table and ate with his people.
The rest of the service was relatively uneventful. The bartender transferred the lone diner’s check to me and went home, the kitchen staff finished their sidework and went home and it was just me and the manager sitting at the bar watching these people hang out. Occasionally I was “summoned” to clear dishes or refill water.
For three hours.
My manager finally told them that they had to leave because I was approaching 8 hours on the clock and was required to clock out and after that there wouldn’t be anyone to serve them. This was just before 1am, they had arrived a few minutes before 9pm.
They reluctantly paid and left.
I’m sure you don’t need to ask if I got tipped.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/dre4kq/minimum_gratuity_and_how_it_can_be_a_blessing_and/
| 122 | 25 | 1,572,851,405 | 15 |
gratuity
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relevance
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x5oo4p
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TalesFromYourServer
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Is this legal
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I work in Dallas, Tx. My restaurant has recently started doing an automatic 18% gratuity on all tables. Our management told us yesterday that if a table tips on top of the 18%, we have to get it approved by said manager. Meaning, we have to pick up the bill before the table leaves and if they tip over management has to go to the table and confirm they meant to leave additional money on top of what’s included. It’s not always possible in a high volume place to pick up a bill before a table leaves, especially when you have 6 tables at one time
during peak hours. As if that’s not already bad enough, starting last night if a manager doesn’t sign off on your additional tip, they are saying they won’t honor it and it’s automatically money lost. Is this even legal? I’m thinking surely they can’t actually not give us the money as the customer wrote it and signed off on it. I don’t want to say anything before knowing if they actually can or can’t do that. I’ve tried googling it, but haven’t found the answer I’m looking for. If anyone in this thread knows how that works, I’d greatly appreciate any clarification.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/x5oo4p/is_this_legal/
| 919 | 180 | 1,662,302,684 | 15 |
gratuity
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relevance
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9ge7sb
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TalesFromYourServer
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Hero manager goes to bat for me. The customer is NOT always right.
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In my 20’s I lived in a small town with proximity to 2 US national parks. Summer was inundated by tourists, and in winter there was world class skiing. I worked at a popular restaurant/bar right at the base of the resort. It was perfect for me as I could spend all day snowboarding, take the last tram of the day, then ride down to work.
Our bar was the hotspot for après ski and our restaurant would open for dinner only promptly at 5:30. There was frequently a line of 30 or so patrons waiting outside when we opened the door. We were always slammed and it was not unusual for us to serve 120 covers per server with 10 servers on during a shift.
Our dining fare was casual: prime rib, roast chicken, etc. we also had a large salad bar. You could make an entree of the salad bar for $6.95 or add it on to any entree for $3.00. We’d also have a special entree every night that included salad bar in the price of the special.
This particular night, my 2- top was a pleasant enough couple that came in with the first wave after the door opened. The restaurant was still pretty empty.
I approached the table to get a drink order and tell them about the nightly special. The lady ordered a Diet Coke and her date ordered a virgin strawberry daiquiri.
I go to the bar and get berated by the bartender for making him bust out the blender on a drink with no alcohol. Not my fault, dude.
I deliver the drinks, and they’re ready to order. She wants the special and he wants prime rib. I mention hers comes with salad bar and ask if he wants to add it on to his for $3.00. He scoffs at me that he would not like to add it. No skin off my nose. I go to put in the order.
As I’m typing it into the computer I see them get up and go to the salad bar together. The take a salad plate and load it up with a comically large salad. They return to their table, and commence to share the huge salad.
If we were busy , I probably wouldn’t have noticed and if he hadn’t been such a jerk about it, I probably would have let it slide. When you’re tips are your entire income you’ve got to learn to hold your tongue or you may not get a good tip.
I went over to them and said, “You know you’re not really supposed to share the salad bar. Can you try to be little less obvious about it?”
The guy flies into a rage and demands to talk to the manager.
Now every other restaurant I’d ever worked in had a policy that the “customer is always right” and they’d bend over backward to accommodate assholes since people are much more likely to share a bad experience than a good one.
My manager on duty that night was this awesome guy named Stevie that didn’t like to take anyone’s shit.
He listens to the guy’s tirade which concluded with the guy saying I should be fired. Stevie is nodding and looking empathetic. I’m sort of hovering nearby since I’m nervous about what this guy is saying. I figure I’ll probably have to apologize.
Stevie motions me over. The irate guy has a smug look on his face.
Stevie says, “Now that I have my server here, let me see if I have this straight: You were STEALING salad bar and you want me to discipline my server because she asked you to knock it off? Maria_von_Trapp, print out their check for me, please.”
I bring it back. He looks at it and says, “Ok we’ll charge them for one full price salad bar, the Diet Coke and the (laughs) virgin Daquiri.”
He then tells the diners to get up and follow him to the cashier station at the front of the restaurant.
“But we didn’t eat yet,” the guy splutters.
“No, and you’re not going to. Not tonight. Not ever. Now pay your tab, and get the fuck out of here. “
The lady looked embarrassed the guy was red faced with anger.
I was amazed. Best manager ever. He even added auto gratuity when he was adjusting their check so I still got a 15% tip. Honestly hearing him tell them to fuck off was better than any other tip I could have received.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/9ge7sb/hero_manager_goes_to_bat_for_me_the_customer_is/
| 3,698 | 96 | 1,537,132,248 | 15 |
gratuity
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relevance
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w4tz8u
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TalesFromYourServer
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"Well this how we've done it at other restaurants and it always works out."
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I work at a local BBQ joint and we don't do reservations. We have large groups come in all the time and as long as they're okay waiting for tables to clear up then there is usually never an issue. Our sections usually hold up to 30-36 people depending on which one you get.
Well we had a 46 top come in around 3 o'clock one day and they were a softball team with parents and coaches. Since they were such a large group they would have to be in two different sections and have two different servers. So our hostess relayed all of that information to the head of the party and requested that they sit with who will be together on the checks. He just replies "We just do jersey numbers for checks." And then just walked away to sit at the bar and drink water while he waited, which he was told would be close to an hour since we had just filled up for our midday rush.
Our poor 15 year old hostess didn't know what to do so she came to us and told the servers that she didn't think they were going to sit at the same tables. I, luckily, was not gonna be a server for the group and volunteered to go explain the situation better and let them know where they'd be sitting. So I go out to where they're waiting and break it down for them a little better. I even tell them that they're okay sitting at different tables as long as they stay in the same server section. Apparently even that was too much to ask.
"That just doesn't make sense to us. Why can't we do jersey numbers?"
"You can absolutely do numbers, but one server will have 35 of you and then the other 11 will be in a different servers section. So if you have singles or smaller groups they could fit in the 11 and the team can be in the bigger section. That's also the section with the bigger tables so it'd work out perfectly."
"Our kids like to sit together though. And the adults like to sit together too. So we can't do that?"
"You're free to spread out however you'd like to in the given sections. It's just gonna get confusing on the servers and if they have people in a different sections than their own. Plus it makes it easier and faster for the kitchen."
"Well this is how we've done it at other restaurants and it always works out. I just don't see why we can't do it how we always do when we go out. It'll be hard for us to figure out where to sit."
At this point, I realized I was just wasting breath. The rest of the group was listening in but I was only really talking to the guy who gave his info for the wait. I really didn't know what else to say without being stern with them so I just told them that this is what would work best for our restaurant and that if they could do as requested by the servers taking care of them that it'd be smooth sailing. Told them I'd check on their wait time and headed back inside.
I go and hunt down the two servers and explain the conversation and told them that I didn't think they'd listen about sitting even in the same sections and to prepare themselves. I don't think either of them were ready for the shitshow that preceded.
It was an absolute nightmare. Not only did they ignore the sections request but they had somehow grew in size and were now a group of 52. Our hostess had set out menus for the 46 at all the tables for them and yet they spread out in the other servers entire section as well. She at least guided most of them to the correct tables and got menus for the additional six. That was just the easy part.
Their group was taking up 9-10 tables at this point and the servers are figuring out who's on what check. Like I said they ignored even the request to sit in one section so they were all spread out. One check had 6 people all at different tables and in separate sections. I felt so bad for the servers watching them scramble around between all the tables. And one of our servers, the one with the bigger section, is on her first summer serving so she's still a little green.
I was cut and was finishing my side work when they started getting their food. It apparently took another hour and a half for everyone to get their food out. And one server was ringing in food for over 20 minutes because of the way the checks were split.They were complaining that other tables were getting food before they all got their food. Server had to explain that orders from those other tables were still being rung in between their food orders as well. They didn't like that answer and demanded that their food come out next. Our kitchen does their tickets in order so not much we can do if your food isn't up next and not even made yet.
It was all around terrible for the servers and expos who brought out the food. And I'm guessing they didn't have a good time either because not one person tipped 20 percent and 5 of the checks didn't tip at all. And of course we don't do auto gratuity so one server owed money after tip outs for their checks.
Overall just don't understand why people can't sit with who they're paying for. Especially with a group that size. I understand wanting to socialize but they didn't even try to make it easy. I'm from a fairly large family and whenever we go out it's usually always separate checks. Only a couple times will we be at seperate tables and at that point somebody just orders for who they have on their check to make it easy.
Sorry for the long post. Curious to see if others have the same problem. It's seems(to me, at least) like it's always softball/baseball teams that are the ones that have more of an issue with this and it's not too hard if they're only split between two or three tables but when it's a whole section it just gets messy.
TL:DR 46 top comes into restaurant. Refuses to sit with checks after being asked, even within the same servers section. Becomes a 52 top. Upset that food came out at different times and tipped poorly.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/w4tz8u/well_this_how_weve_done_it_at_other_restaurants/
| 877 | 142 | 1,658,443,074 | 15 |
gratuity
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relevance
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v9eoo2
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TalesFromYourServer
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Does your restaurant allow adding gratuity? If so, I may have a hack for you.
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My restaurant only allows us to add gratuity to checks if the guest agrees to it, or if it's a contracted party.
So, if a table wants split up the bill, I just let them know that gratuity is included for split checks. 99.9% of the time they agree and are fine with it. Otherwise they choose to have one check. I feel like it's a win either way.
I told the other servers at work and now pretty much everyone does it.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/v9eoo2/does_your_restaurant_allow_adding_gratuity_if_so/
| 26 | 4 | 1,654,886,973 | 15 |
gratuity
|
relevance
|
1fowu6x
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Oops. Didn't mean to tip that much.
|
Idk how to preface this or word it in a way that doesn't dox me, but I'll do my best. I work at a place that hosts parties and sometimes we'll accommodate people more than usual.
Sometimes we'll schedule parties at 4:30 on Mondays when we close at 5, and the server won't know until they see the schedule. It's fine.
Hi. I'm the Monday server. Initially I saw party at 4:30 meaning I'll be out by 7. I didn't know it'd be closer to 9 until I got in that day and looked at the contract. There was also emails to read. This party had extremely specific instructions, so with myself and Sara, the other unsuspecting server, they had the perfect staff.
We accommodated the fuck out of them. Sara and I worked out a system. We bent over backwards for these people and we bent the rules for them. A lot. It paid off at the end because they tipped us $500 on top of their original gratuity.
The group had the same event tonight. Sara called one of tonight's servers yesterday to brief her. They didn't walk in blindsided like us. She told her everything about it and explained our working system. It still was terrible for them. Because this is not something we do. We felt like the extra money on a Monday made it worth it, so we were trying to get them to stick to it so these people would come back. Here's the thing though.
It was made very clear to the person paying last night that she was paying gratuity for Sara and myself. They were gushing about how happy they were. The entire tab was to be paid today, but they made it a point that they wanted to tip me and Sara. Even when they cashed out, it was stressed they were paying OUR GRATUITY only this day. She chose to write in the extra $500. Sara and I were ecstatic, and honestly it made it worth all the bullshit for us.
Now they're saying that was a mistake and they thought they were tipping for both nights. Is this even worth fighting? Like, the $250 doesn't break me but I kind of want to tell them kindly to fuck off. Kinda rude accidentally tipping $800 then taking it back. Or am I selfish and entitled? I'll probably give it back. I'm just irked.
TL:,DR I may or may not have gotten fucked out of a $500 tip last night.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1fowu6x/oops_didnt_mean_to_tip_that_much/
| 38 | 24 | 1,727,240,959 | 15 |
gratuity
|
hot
|
1fn9psv
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
The recent decline of service
|
I catch myself judging other servers every time I go out to eat. Usually not pretty harshly and I’m usually extremely understanding especially if it’s busy but I’ve had some really horrible experiences that I need to talk about. For context I also live in a major city where gratuity is automatically added to most checks so that can also play a part into why servers don’t give the best attitude or feel like they don’t have to try as hard.
Experience 1. We greeted at the door with a promise of buy one get one free drinks for happy hour. Once we sat down I asked our server if there were other happy hour specials related to food. She explained 20% off the entire bill. Awesome so we placed an order for two drinks and calamari appetizer and a pasta entree. The first red flag was the pasta coming out first so I flagged my waitress down and politely reminded her about the calamari. I wasn’t super concerned at this point because I figured she sent both dishes out separately since one is an entree and the other is an app and the kitchen just ran out the first dish. Also even if she forgot it wasn’t a big deal because I wasn’t particular about which order the food came out I just wanted both items and if they came at the same time or not I would eat them both together. After twenty minutes and the calamari still hadn’t arrived we requested it taken off the check since we had already finished the pasta and were ready to leave. Why did it take her another twenty minutes to even bring over the bill? At this point my patience was thin since we had been waiting for so long and no check up and when she finally brought over the check that was my final straw. Neither the 20% off or the BOGO drinks was applied. Apparently for the BOGO it was PER PERSON and the second drink after drinking the first would be applied as the free drink. That was obviously never properly explained to us which was extremely irritating because it was made to be misleading and I feel like as a good server you would over explain any specials or promotions so as not to cause confusion.
Experience 2: I recently went to a popular brunch spot and I asked for a table for six since my friends were meeting me. It was just me holding the table and my friends were all about 10, 15 minutes away. I was totally fine waiting and I knew I had left earlier than my friends so I figured I’d order a quick cocktail. I waited for FIFTEEN minutes and was not greeted by a single server despite the restaurant having less than ten tables occupied and multiple waiters. I was extremely annoyed because I feel like it’s customary to greet a table even if the whole party hadn’t arrived just to at least get started on drinks or to see if they would like to put in an appetizer while they waited. When she finally did come over all she asked was if i wanted to wait or place an order after fifteen minutes; no greeting or offering of water. My friends literally arrived 1 minute after I shooed her away because I was so annoyed. During the dining experience we also had to flag her down every-time we wanted refills on our cocktails or to order more food. She never once voluntarily walked over to the table to check on us.
Do I have unrealistic high expectations for service or is this normal? I know some customers can be extremely needy and it irritates me so much if a table flags me down but in these instances if I didn't get her attention I feel like I would not have received anything.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1fn9psv/the_recent_decline_of_service/
| 80 | 44 | 1,727,056,864 | 15 |
gratuity
|
hot
|
1fbscmx
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Rough night
|
At the beginning of my shift tonight. I had nowhere to park as my job uses most of its lot as “valet”. When I parked in the alley for a minute to tell my manager I had no spot, she got upset at me parking where I did.
Later on, a woman who apparently had Covid sent back a bar item because she couldn’t taste it. My coworker and manager then jumped on me saying I made it incorrectly.
After that, a homeless man walked out on an order of apps and my manager and the owner of my place quadrupled texted me saying I didn’t do my job. We are bartenders servers and cooks at this place and at the time there were two of us working. Mind you it’s 2am. Since I started everyone had been quite passive aggressive towards me and most of the team were new to America and couldn’t speak to me well in English. We aren’t allowed credit card tips but the restaurant charges a 15 percent gratuity to all checks. Should I blame myself for quitting or was this just a doomed situation.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1fbscmx/rough_night/
| 67 | 8 | 1,725,781,059 | 15 |
gratuity
|
hot
|
1d96ssl
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Legal? $0/hour + tips
|
First time posting but I am not sure who to ask. This is in FL:
A friend just mentioned to me that the restaurant they recently started working at pays them nothing hourly. Like quite literally, nothing. As a busser they only make tips on their bi-weekly paycheck, minus taxes. This is truly the first I have ever heard of that being implemented.
Is that even legal? The restaurant has an automatic 18% gratuity/ service charge on all checks, so does that make the legal difference?
I'm just baffled and really want to know if that's truly a thing now.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1d96ssl/legal_0hour_tips/
| 38 | 24 | 1,717,638,185 | 15 |
gratuity
|
hot
|
1ad2scg
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
kitchen nightmares or take the owner to court?
|
So, I waited a long time to write about things here. I’ve been working at this restaurant in downtown Chicago in a food hall, but I’ve been experiencing way too many legal issues, gratuity issues, scheduling issues, and I just decided to go ahead and file complaints with the Chicago office of labor standards and the State of Illinois labor department.
I’ve been working here since October 27 as the host and a server, and I have yet to see all of the gratuity that I am owed. I waited an extra two weeks because apparently I wasn’t on the payroll yet, so the first check I got was double what I should’ve got for the first check which already made me skeptical of the owner. We haven’t gotten paid on time consistently, and we got paid through Zelle as opposed to the payroll app Gusto.
I still don’t have all my paystubs and she acts like she doesn’t see my emails. There is no HR person. It’s just the owner and her husband, the co-owner and she has been extremely uncompromising and unfair for whatever reason. She doesn’t like that I apply pressure.
I worked as a server for a few days out of the week, especially during happy hours, and then on the weekends and when i worked alone, i earn a significant amount of tips, which I am legally and rightfully so owed. The owner kept trying to say that because I wasn’t hired as a “tipped employee” I wasn’t entitled to my tips, which is actually incorrect because according to the law, a tipped employee is anyone who earns over $30 a month and tipped wages and their role, which myself and another employee definitely did. Then on December 23, she Zelle paid me $142 and asked does this sound right after I said “as long as you get the documentation that shows how much gratuity I’m owed.”
She replied if you’re able to get specific receipt and keep track of how many tips you’re owed that would be great. I said no problem and presented her all of the receipts that I was owed about $1000 in tips total. then she tried to double back and say i wasn’t hired as a tipped employee and actually these tips are actually hers and basically avoiding accountability and the fact that she owes me. So i filed my complaints.
Now i guess she’s trying to do an illegal tip pool and say everyone shares tips, but im like- you can’t try and say we’re gonna split tips now that you see how much you owe because you owe me and another employee our tips. Meanwhile the one person working as the sole server gets to keep all his tips no questions asked?
Now my schedule is changed and I only work weekends and one day a week as opposed to the schedule we both agreed on. I could literally go on because the restaurant deserves an episode of Kitchen Nightmares if I’m being honest. At least the chefs love their job and the food’s decent, but this is enough to drive anyone mad. I lowkey wanna sue her for damages bc at this point I’m just waiting for that complaint to catch up to her.
UPDATE: She literally fired me today, the restaurant is Lizzy J Cafe in Chicago, Illinois.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1ad2scg/kitchen_nightmares_or_take_the_owner_to_court/
| 161 | 31 | 1,706,448,905 | 15 |
gratuity
|
hot
|
177fxcr
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Does she like me?
|
I work at a somewhat high end style restaurant usually serving by myself. I been doing this for about 2 years. (19 years old) There is this one girl who comes in fairly often for take out orders. I seen her a couple times where her mom places the order on the phone and she picks it up but overtime she got progressively better with her tips. In fact, I actually recognized her from high school but we didn’t know each other I just seen her face a couple of times and knew her name.
At the start her mom used to always pick up the order however after she came and picked up the order once, she started to be the one picking up the order for her mom all the time. She used to tip around 10-12% but as time went on, she started tipping 20% + every time. I got so curious that I checked the ticket to see if it was her mom paying but it was in fact her paying and she was the one tipping from her own card.
What really gets me is that occasionally she would write “Thank you!” On the ticket with a heart or “:)” next to the gratuity. I thought she was just being wholesome as she always saw me work by myself but after some time, she made a dinner reservation for a her high school prom. She came in with a big group and she tipped me 100% writing “Thank You!” with a heart. After this I was super skeptical if she liked me or not. She still comes in every so often doing the above things. But I also noticed that she started to come in to order for herself and not just picking up an order her family made. (Remember I said I worked at a somewhat high end restaurant so food is fairly expensive especially for a high school student)
I’m sorry if this post seems childish but I’m just wondering does she like me or am I reading too deep into this and she’s just being wholesome?
Edit: A lot of people are asking if I’ve ever talked to her and she usually tries to engage in conversation every 2-3 visits. One time she brought her little sister in and the sister keep saying she liked my hair, shoes, shirt, etc. (Im an only child so I don’t understand how siblings behave if they see someone that their older sibling likes.) Most of the conversations are just basic small talk such as “how’s business” or something similar to that. Also I forgot to mention is when it’s busy, we always catch eyes with each other however, I’ve always caught eyes with other customers so this info doesn’t seem that relevant to me.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/177fxcr/does_she_like_me/
| 72 | 40 | 1,697,252,578 | 15 |
gratuity
|
hot
|
14uopar
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Money Talks
|
Today I took a party of 25 as soon as I came into my shift. It was a disorganized shit show to no fault of my own. Nothing was set up when I came in. This was the managers fault who was supposed to delegate the set up to the hosts and bussers. They asked me to set up but I was also supposed to start taking drink orders. I asked for help and everything got done a little late and the party decided to take it out on me verbally but thanks to our auto gratuity, they couldn’t take it out on me through the tip.
On to the next part of this story…while I was trying to process all the different payments for that big party (alcohol had to be separate as it wasn’t included in the buffet pizza price) one of my coworkers (not a host) asked if I could take more tables. I said not right now, let me finish closing out this table. I assumed he would relay that information to the hosts. Come to my surprise, when I walk over into the other part of my section, there were two tables sitting there all pissed off! I apologized and let them know what happened, got their drinks and food orders quickly and apologized again. I made sure I was on top of everything they needed, offer complimentary dessert etc etc.
This is the “funny” part. One table barely said anything, and didn’t really acknowledge my apology so I was like damn okay, I’m not getting a tip from this table. The other table was like “Oh no worries! We totally get it, it’s not your fault etc etc, and were very nice throughout the whole interaction. Guess who still tipped 20% and who stiffed me?
I just think it’s funny how people let words portray something completely different than what their money says. I am no stranger to extremely nice tables stiffing me or tipping like shit but this one left me scratching my head.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/14uopar/money_talks/
| 45 | 4 | 1,688,876,257 | 15 |
gratuity
|
hot
|
146ytsg
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Tips and Catering
|
So I do catering events in the summer and recently found out the owner/head chef keeps 50% of the required gratuity on every event. Their cut can be anywhere from $100 to around $2000 They are hard working, do the majority of the cooking and work side by side with staff, but......is this legal in the U.S? When we have events with lots of staff it reduced our tips by a lot.
Maybe the tip laws for owners only apply to restaurants?
Help me out here.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/146ytsg/tips_and_catering/
| 7 | 10 | 1,686,502,289 | 15 |
gratuity
|
hot
|
13tjjjv
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
A tip for avoiding karma…
|
Just thought this might give a few people a smile since it’s cheered me right up.
Had a table in the pub I work in last night. The guy holding the tab (we’ll call him Steve) was awful to my team right from the start. Rude, condescending, clearly thought he was above pub staff because he’s in possession of an Amex. Clicked his fingers at us to get served, referred to each of us as oi, told me I can’t be a pub manager because I’m “basically 12” and I need someone who will “put the man in manager”, and made several comments about how I should focus on finding a man to take care of me and stop me working.
We gritted our teeth and smiled through it (the rest of his group was fine, just him and his wife that were awful to us) but did put 12.5% service charge on his tab for the attitude. I usually don’t put service charge on drinks tabs when they order at the bar but made an exception this time, and made sure everyone knew to give them a bill before they settled up so they could request to remove it if that’s what they wanted to do.
Steve eventually got so drunk I had to cut him off - none of the rest of them wanted to do shots so he did 6 by himself and that was the end of that. His wife (who was sober and the designated driver) came to tell us she was taking him home and that she had his card to settle up. I printed her a copy of the bill, she told me to get a move on and she wasn’t going to stand around while I figured out how to work the till. Mostly just to be cheeky I put a gratuity request on her card payment (which she would’ve been free to decline, since I deliberately looked away in an effort not to stare while she paid. She got frustrated with me again when the charity donation request came up after the tip request - and once we’d navigated the minefield of her accidentally donating 25p to a cancer charity she asked me if she was done now.
When I told her she needed to enter the pin to complete the payment, she began huffing that she’d already done that.
I was thinking, surely not. My luck is not that good. She can’t have done what I think she’s done.
Checked the receipt and yep. She’s tipped us his PIN number.
I won’t say the exact amount but it started with a 6.
Their tab was £450. Service charge was £54. Then another £60+ on top of that because she was too busy condescending me to read the screen.
Almost worth the four hours of disrespect, that.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/13tjjjv/a_tip_for_avoiding_karma/
| 93 | 12 | 1,685,225,090 | 15 |
gratuity
|
hot
|
13psf51
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Auto-Grat on all dine in orders.
|
I live in city that sees a lot of tourists from all over the world. I work at a small restaurant close to a national park. As a lot of our customers are from other countries that aren’t familiar with the practices of tipping, as a courtesy, add 15% gratuity for all dine in checks, with the option of adding 3%, 5%, and 8%.
No matter how many corny jokes, ranch dressing or refills, lot of times people will see the 15% and not add because “tip is included”.
Should I talk to my boss about upping our base tip, possibly to 18%. Or just be grateful i’m even getting it. Any suggestions?
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/13psf51/autograt_on_all_dine_in_orders/
| 19 | 37 | 1,684,857,178 | 15 |
gratuity
|
hot
|
zop1py
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Do you prefer auto-grat? Pros and cons?
|
Just got a new job at a fine dining place opening this next week. Tips are part of the bill with automatic 20% gratuity regardless of party size. Do you think this is preferable to letting people decide their own tips? Does it average to more or less? And then, do people ever tip on top of the auto-grat in your experience?
Thanks!
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/zop1py/do_you_prefer_autograt_pros_and_cons/
| 11 | 6 | 1,671,334,924 | 15 |
gratuity
|
hot
|
672lcc
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
30 Top of business people with whole room reserved turned into a 14 top with kids
|
It's Friday night and I come into work to learn I will be sharing a 30 top party of business people with another server. The reservation does not come in until an hour after my shift starts and will be taking up the entire patio that me and the other server are working in that night. We will be taking no other tables all evening due to this.
No worries I say, they have a $1,300 minimum and will have an automatic 17% gratuity added to their bill. Not too bad I guess, we will each end up with about $90 minimum after tip out. It will make for an easy night.
As the party start showing up and sitting down I am getting concerned. About 30 minutes in there are only 10 people there and a few more walk in ambit later. As I pass out the last of the drinks from the bar the party host let's me know they are ready to order.
Great.
So we end up finishing up putting in their order and they are at about $550 for the whole party, not bad for a 14 with kids, but we are going to have a problem with the host is told that he must either spend $750 more to get to the minimum.
He pulls us aside once we return to the table and tells us that he knows that there are way less people than were supposed to be there. He tells us to go ahead and take the second table apart and take some other tables. We each end up with two more tables within 5 minutes as well as taking care of the party.
Cool guy host is great for the whole party and everything goes smooth. We end up making $39 each from it and each are kinda bummed since I have only made $60 on a Friday night and it looks like I'm not getting any more tables.
My GM comes over to me and my partner and tells us that cool guy host wants to see us. We walk over and he thanks us and shakes our hands and gives us each a bill. I shove it straight down in my pocket and we walk to the back after a few words. We don't know if it's a 20 or a 50 or a 100, hopefully not a 10! We both pull out our bills and we each have an extra 100!!! We each made more off of the party than we would have otherwise and got out of there extra early that night.
TLDR; Cool guy host understood how our night got messed up from his party and took care of us with an extra $100 tip each.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/672lcc/30_top_of_business_people_with_whole_room/
| 845 | 35 | 1,492,958,899 | 15 |
gratuity
|
top
|
kedvrq
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
I love every part of my job
|
Except dealing with large parties. We have three table sections, so we emphasize quick flipping (an hour or less per table). If you get a table of 15, that will be the only table you have until they’re gone. Most large parties don’t adequately tip where I work, and they may hog your section for over a hour and a half. You can see the frustrated look on our servers’ faces when they are about to get sat a party. Obviously we don’t charge gratuity, but we pay tip share. Is it bad that I don’t want to go all out for large parties anymore since 90% of the time large parties don’t properly tip?
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/kedvrq/i_love_every_part_of_my_job/
| 764 | 116 | 1,608,140,703 | 15 |
gratuity
|
top
|
qkxau4
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
The audacity of not having a fish and loaves miracle built into catering
|
I managed a catered event at my restaurant for a church group. They gave us a headcount of 150 and paid for enough food for 150 people. How many showed up to the event? 219. We told them we had only prepared food for their headcount of 150. The leader proceeded to quote me John 6:9 (the fish and loaves miracle). When the food did not magically multiply itself, and only the first 150 people got fed, he had the gall to blame us for purposely not preparing enough food and gave us a bad review. Fortunately for us, he had already prepaid the gratuity. Also, he is not the leader of the actual church, with whom our restaurant has an impeccable reputation.
Adding that the meal consisted of hamburgers, potato salad and chips. So it’s not like I could do smaller portions to make it go further (as we might have been a to with, say, a taco bar). But not for 32% more people.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/qkxau4/the_audacity_of_not_having_a_fish_and_loaves/
| 330 | 52 | 1,635,830,971 | 15 |
gratuity
|
top
|
9s2qpm
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Service Charge
|
Just a quick little rant. Last night we went to dinner (there were 6 of us) and we were charged an automatic “service charge.” I work in the industry and I know this is a thing but it still bothers me. I didn’t see any sign posted anywhere stating they charge that and it was not mentioned to us before we got the bill. The server would have gotten more of a tip from us had they left it to our discretion so we left only the added charge and nothing extra. What are your thoughts or opinions on adding gratuity ?
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/9s2qpm/service_charge/
| 0 | 16 | 1,540,729,074 | 15 |
service charge
|
relevance
|
x0heke
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
I want to know from a server POV.
|
Heard an interesting comment from a server that felt loaded and wanted to give servers to an opportunity to enlightening me, “show me how the sausage is made” as it were. Mind you it’s been a while since we have been out.
Dined out for lunch, 2 top sitting at the outside bar. We were served all our food, everything went smoothly and had great service. When the server dropped our check this was their check drop comment.
“You will see a 19% ~~tip~~ charge on your bill [circles receipt], this goes towards things like heath care and tips for the staff[points inside].”
All well and good here, but then they said this.
“If you would like to tip your server you can add that additional tip here[shows additional tip area].”
What did this mean? I didn’t leave an additional tip as I felt like the 19% (which is taxed) was appropriate for lunch. Did I stiff the server, is ownership taking their tips? Please with all you experience tell me some tales as to why this server would say this.
Edit: added some context to the quotes.
Edit 2: Location. This is in Washington State.
Edit 3: TIL service charges and tips are different things.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/x0heke/i_want_to_know_from_a_server_pov/
| 145 | 63 | 1,661,753,964 | 15 |
service charge
|
hot
|
842hk8
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
The perfect group with children.
|
Thought to cheer you all up a little bit, as this made my night yesterday!
My restaurant has a private dining room, where one server takes care of a group of 10-22 people the whole night (or 3 hours if there are multiple groups coming in). I was working that last night and could see on the booking sheet that it'll be for 16 people, no biggie. 7 of them would, however, be children... You can see where this is going right?
WRONG. They were the most well-behaved human beings I have ever witnessed throughout my 7-year restaurant career. Their order was simple, they brought plates forward after finishing them, not stacking, just bringing them closer to me so I didn't have to go run around the huge table, the children were colouring quietly in their books and were politely ordering their own drinks, and as a cherry on top, they paid the bill with 10% service charge included with 1 single card transaction (we get the card tips as well).
These people are out there, somewhere... I just hope this wasn't my only shift with them!
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/842hk8/the_perfect_group_with_children/
| 675 | 27 | 1,520,928,508 | 15 |
service charge
|
top
|
pa4jyz
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
"Don't you remember me?!"
|
I recently found a new job after losing my serving job due to Covid. About a week and a half at this new job I get sat a family of three; mom, dad and preteen daughter.
I greet them and introduce myself, asking if I can start them with beverages. They're perfectly polite and I return with drinks. Then the dad says to me: "Don't you recognize me??"
I'm confused. "No Sir."
Dad: "Are you kidding me!? We left you a really great tip! We were just here a month ago!"
Me: "Sir I wasn't working here a month ago. I was hired two weeks ago."
Dad: "No, you were our waitress and I tipped you, A LOT!"
Now he was getting angry and insisted I was lying. His wife looked embarrassed.
Then he started trying to be passive aggressive but honestly he wasn't very good at it. Anytime I walked passed his table or checked on them he would say something like:
"Wow, you're giving such great service!" Or "You're doing amazing, great job!".
To try to rectify once more, I ask him directly:
"Sir, are you truly upset with me? I really was not employed here a month ago, I believe today is my 10th day here."
He was still passive aggressive saying: "Oh no, no, no! You're wondwrful!" And grinning like a mad man. I just smile and say "Okay".
Honestly I thought it was funny that he was upset about this and it didn't really bother me, I'd always reply "Thank you!" to his fake compliments.
Towards the end of their meal I stop by to offer dessert or a check. My manager happened to be walking past and I say to her: "Hey, these guys were in here just a month ago and they can't believe that I don't remember them."
My manager chuckles and says "Well, that's because we hadn't hired you yet." then walks off.
The dad is giving me a death glare because I just proved that I was honest and that he'd been mistreating me all evening. When I brought the check which is digital, he was asking how to tip less than the 15% - 25% than the machine had offered as a suggestion.
Dad: "I want to tip you exactly 6.2%. How do I tip exactly 6.2%? That's all you're getting! Exactly 6.2%!"
His wife was mortified and asked him to lower his voice, but mostly just stared down at the table.
I point and show him where to type the custom tip percentage. He keeps trying to look into my soul to make sure he's upset me. I can't help but picture a toddler screaming and crying while watching him have a tantrum. I had no fucks to give.
I let him know I'd definitely remember him next time. I'm thinking about calling him "6.2% generous tip guy" or maybe just "6.2%" when I see him next.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/pa4jyz/dont_you_remember_me/
| 3,171 | 200 | 1,629,739,649 | 15 |
15%
|
top
|
1fnsfob
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
I still remember his Hawaiian shirt
|
It's been a couple years on this one but it was still on of the most memorable days serving I had.
It was maybe 2 in the afternoon so the lunch rush had died. I was one of two servers on. Maybe 3 tables come in.
2 top comes in. Bigger guy in an orange Hawaiian shirt and a skinny girl in a casual dress.
Guy is a bit loud but obviously in a good mood. Orders his drinks super enthusiastically. He's a little annoying, but friendly. Girl looks a little embarrassed but they seem to know each other.
Two older women are eating near them and are finishing up as I bring the guy and his companion their food. The guy points to the table with the women and asks me to please bring me their check.
This is sweet, but not unheard of. I thank him for his generosity, he says no problem. He pays their bill, I tell the women, they're super happy.
But then as I bring him the bill to sign, he sees a table of 5 sitting down. He orders a beer, says they are gonna be there for awhile, and to go ahead and bring him that family's bill too, when they are done.
To speed this up, he ends up paying for 5 tables total, besides his own, while he was there. And he told me after the first table to not point him out, just leave it anonymous. 4 were 2 tops, and all were happy, but the 5 top was absolutely stunned. It was 2 parents and their kids and I got the impression they didn't eat out a lot but the mother seemed on the verge of happy tears. I still remember the dad asking for the bill and telling him "Yeah, funny thing. There isn't one."
I don't remember the exact numbers, but I made out really well that day (the other server too). He tipped me well over 20% on all the other tickets and 100% on his own (which his own bill wasn't even anything crazy). And all but one of the other tables tipped me as well.
He finally left when the restaurant was empty (about 330) and he was the last table. I wonder if he would have kept going.
We all have our share of customers we hope to never see again, but I'm sad I never saw Mr. Flaming Orange Hawaiian Shirt Guy again. He was a cool dude.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1fnsfob/i_still_remember_his_hawaiian_shirt/
| 1,201 | 34 | 1,727,118,103 | 15 |
20%
|
hot
|
b7dfvl
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
"You don't look like a Juan"
|
This happens to me fairly often. For context I live in the US and my name is Juan. My ancestors are mainly from Spain/Italy so I'm pretty "white" looking I guess. I've been serving for a few years and this is the number one comment I consistently get the most when I introduce myself to tables. "You don't look like a Juan". I have even had a few people call me a liar and demand to know my "real" name. I usually just brush it off, smile and point to my name tag. I'm not sure if people think it's funny or if they are just ignorant. I try not to let it get to me but honestly it's a little annoying.
​
Well anyways I just put in my two week notice a few days ago at my current job and I've been in a "who gives a fuck mood" (I still do my job and give good service). Yesterday I got a 4 top consisting of 2 older couples, I do my thing greet them and introduce myself and of course the first thing out of one of the guys mouth is "Juan?, You don't look like a Juan." I looked him in the eyes and with a smile I said "yes sorry I left my sombrero and my maracas at home tonight". (Through the years I have thought of the many ways I could respond to this remark). The look on his face was priceless it was like I was looking at a real life Pikachu meme. I paused for what must have felt like forever to him and asked the group if they wanted anything to drink. Guy didn't look me in the eyes for the rest of the night and the table got awkwardly quiet every time I approached. They tipped 20%. I hope he learned a lesson. Shout out to the people who ask me where I'm from instead of questioning my name.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/b7dfvl/you_dont_look_like_a_juan/
| 3,929 | 264 | 1,553,965,374 | 15 |
20%
|
top
|
6ni50r
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Stereotypical bad tippers
|
Hey guys! This might actually not be the right subreddit to post this on, but nevertheless, I do want to hear your perceptions on this.
I know it's bad to judge, and in many cases one could be wrong when judging, but quite some times the stereotypes for certain people are correct. With that being said, who are the stereotypical bad tippers that you have encountered or know of? This is not meaning to offend anyone, it's just based on experiences. For me, it's usually ladies in their 20s-30s that are low tippers for me(I'm a girl), that always seems to be the case, even if they get amazingly good service. there are way more that I can think of as well, but anyway, who are yours?
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/6ni50r/stereotypical_bad_tippers/
| 38 | 55 | 1,500,150,439 | 15 |
bad tipper
|
relevance
|
g6t0ey
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Any of you found "church people" to be really poor tippers?
|
Sundays we always had our big post-church crowd starting at 11a. We didn't have a set "Sunday brunch" but plenty still came in that time frame.
But they were also some pretty bad tippers. My spitball average was around 5-7%. And I wasn't a bad server - I had two regular groups of ladies who particularly sought me out on Sundays, knew me by name. But danged if they didn't also only tip 7%. I was still really kind to them, because I wanted to do right by them and also help our restaurant's image. But man, I thought Jesus taught people to be generous, not stingy!
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/g6t0ey/any_of_you_found_church_people_to_be_really_poor/
| 27 | 36 | 1,587,669,742 | 15 |
bad tipper
|
relevance
|
r9ys6i
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Do you show your personality to your guests? How much do you think it affects your tips?
|
I think I’m a decent server but I don’t really show my personality to my guests because I’m naturally introverted and can be kinda awkward at times. I would imagine people do tip more when they see you have a personality and can connect well with other people. I do wonder though if bad tippers (ie less than 10 percent) would actually tip decently if they see your personality.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/r9ys6i/do_you_show_your_personality_to_your_guests_how/
| 16 | 20 | 1,638,765,745 | 15 |
bad tipper
|
relevance
|
jdi0uu
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
What was the most passive aggressive table you’ve ever had?
|
I had a couple who ordered a few menu items to share and one of them was a quesadilla with a side salad, which was the only thing they ordered that required cutlery. When I went to check on them after they first got their food they said everything was fine but I did see one of them kinda picking at the salad with their hands. I didn’t think much of it because I 100% brought them cutlery along with their side plates and napkins. I came back a little later and the salad was still basically untouched but again, no complaints at all even when I asked “can I bring you guys anything else?” Whatever, maybe they wanted to take it to go or they didn’t like it but didn’t care enough to complain over a small side salad.
When I billed them out I was really surprised that they only tipped 5%. They were pretty friendly and everything seemed to go smoothly so I chalked it up to them just being bad tippers and moved on.
A little while later I go back to bus the table and guess what I find? Two sets of rolled up cutlery sitting on the table. These people somehow managed to misplace the cutlery I brought, assumed I just forgot to bring any and then decided to be as passive aggressive as possible by not eating the salad and stiffing me on the tip after insisting everything was fine.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/jdi0uu/what_was_the_most_passive_aggressive_table_youve/
| 20 | 6 | 1,603,034,291 | 15 |
bad tipper
|
hot
|
d02vbm
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Can I get you something to drink?
|
The year is 2016; I am a college student waiting my way through college at generic Italian chain B. I pride myself in being a good server by checking on my tables frequently but not obnoxiously and by generally reading their body language to see if they are actually enjoying themselves when not being asked. Tips here are average (15-20%). On this particular evening I had 2 guests seated on one side of a booth (hereafter referred to as Couple).
Me: Good evening folks my name is AbrahamLeo I’ll be taking care of you this evening.
Couple: Great, actually we are waiting on one more
Me: (yay I love when parties come in waves instead of all at once /s) Great, can I get you folks going on some drinks or an app while we wait?
Couple: a couple of waters and generic local drafts please.
Coming right up. I run off to grab their drinks for them and after a reasonable amount of time their third person arrives (hereafter referred to as BT for Bad Tipper).
Me: How are you doing this evening? Can I get you something to drink
BT: I’ll take generic cocktail
The rest of the meal goes off without a hitch. Their body language is happy and they say they have everything they need every time I check in with the table. Heck the guys even get a second round of drinks.
It’s time for the check and unsurprisingly the couple is on one and BT is on the other. The couple tips about 20% and BT tips about 5%... I chalk it up to well that sucks and bitch about it to my coworkers as we all tend to do, but let it go until…
flashforward a few days later at college. My classmates and I are few minutes early for class and are waiting for the class in front of us to end and that’s when I realize BT is in my class, and so I find myself in the unique position of actually finding out what I did to apparently piss this guy off.
Me: (casually) Hey weren’t you at generic restaurant B this weekend?
BT: (also casually) yeah catching up with friends
Me: (still casually) yeah, I was your waiter. You guys looked like you had a good time. So is there a reason you tip only 5%?
BT: (obviously taken aback at being confronted) what?
Me: is there a reason you tipped so badly? I’d like to know so I can avoid in the future (kinda but mostly cause fuck you I want to put you on the spot).
BT: Honestly? Water.
Me: what about water?
BT: You never got me water
Me: you never asked for water
BT: You got my friends water.
Me: your friends asked for water along with their drinks. You never once thought to ask for water in the 6 times I came to ask you if you need *anything else* or like when you ordered a second generic cocktail after I asked if I could you guys another drink?
BT: You should have gotten me water man. (because how could he possibly in the wrong)
Me: That is one of the pettiest reasons I have ever heard for leaving a shitty tip. A 5% tip for not getting you something you *never* asked for? 5% to server might as well be a slap in the face. 5% is “fuck you, you were bad, and I want you to know I thought you were bad.” Next time you feel like tipping that low they better have forgotten to order your food, brought it out cold, never asked you about it and then charged you full price when you brought it up.
BT: (Shrugs) you should have gotten me water
Me: oh fuck off, (and walkaway)
Then everybody stood up and clapped while chanting “You suck” until BT broke down crying and hung his head in shame (Not really. That shit doesn’t happen in real life, but he did avoid sitting anywhere near me the rest of the semester).
​
TLDR: Told a shitty tipper what I thought (off the clock) and then went on my merry way.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/d02vbm/can_i_get_you_something_to_drink/
| 32 | 12 | 1,567,699,938 | 15 |
bad tipper
|
hot
|
b2nho3
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Constant complaints
|
This is mostly a rant post. I'm getting sick of these constant complaints.
In the last couple weeks, my restaurant has gotten way busier. During the off season, we mostly attract locals and business people. These days, we have been attracting a much more diverse crowd, namely tourists, older ladies, families, and a group of moms with kids.
Our uniforms aren't revealing compared to other establishments in town. Yet I get unwanted attention from ladies who look at me up and down in a disapproving way. The other day, a lady looked at me and scoffed "Short skirt!"
My main problem is that I've been getting numerous complaints about our food. My average tip went down by 3-5% in the last two weeks, from people getting angry at me for bad food. I check on my tables at least twice and they always say everything is fine. Only when it's time to pay the bill, they start complaining and mention that the food was awful, took too long to arrive, they are never coming back etc. On top of my tips, my sales have suffered as a result of voids and discounts. I serve more tables, but my sales are considerably lower than they should be.
I don't really talk about my guests with my coworkers, I thought for the last two weeks I was unlucky and somehow ended up serving all the difficult customers. But my coworkers have been talking about how they've been getting a lot of bad tippers, so that's how I know I'm not alone.
I'm getting tired of dealing with multiple complaints. On top of that, ladies are extremely rude to me like I'm way below them. I'm very patient with rude people, but I'm starting to feel exhausted dealing with so many rude people in one day. It also doesn't help that our new manager lacks people skills. I heard he is friends with the owner.
I have served in many different establishments, but rarely came across people like the ones I'm talking about. I thought they will come and go, but I found out from coworkers that our usual crowd during the spring/summer season is generally difficult. We will get a lot of tourists who spend less, don't tip, walk out on their bills that we will have to pay for if we don't want to be written up. Our section will be twice as big, but our sale will be the same.
I used to love my job, but I don't feel that way anymore.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/b2nho3/constant_complaints/
| 13 | 3 | 1,552,940,212 | 15 |
bad tipper
|
hot
|
ad8pj1
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
A rant about simply not knowing about tipping expectations
|
I'm tired of tourists who act like they don't know about our tipping customs. It's a FACT, pretty much everyone knows about the tipping customs in US and maybe Canada. If they don't know that 15-20% is the norm, they are at least aware that tipping is a huge part of our dining culture.
Tourists have several excuses for not tipping:
* "Well, they can hear our accent, they probably already know we don't tip in our countries."
* "They will think we don't know about their tipping customs"
* "It's deceptive, why am I expected pay extra?" - So according to their logic, taxes are deceptive too right?
* "It's the employer's job to pay their workers a fair, livable wage. It shouldn't be my job." - So why are you penalizing the employee for this? It's not the worker's fault he/she is getting paid tip minimum. These same people will complain when prices increase as a result of wage hike.
* "20% is too much. I'm just gonna decide that $xxx is more than enough."
I've gone out to eat with people from all sorts of cultural backgrounds, and bad tippers often complain about how North American tipping customs are stupid and unnecessary. They then stiff their servers. Sometimes they tell me "You're tipping too much! Tip (this and that amount) instead!" Yeah, they hate tipping so much, they tell ME how much to tip because the standard percentage amount is too much for them.
Tourists know that servers rely on tips. I find that tourists in general to be rude and much more demanding, running me ragged for extra this, extra that, complaining that food isn't cooked to their liking, etc. No matter how friendly I am, no matter how great of a service I give them, they stiff me nonetheless.
* "Service was great (but I won't tip you anyway because I'm sure you would've been less nice if you knew we weren't gonna tip)"
I'm not saying ALL tourists are bad. I've served many Germans, Irish, Scandinavians, Brazilians, and Mexicans who tip well. But I definitely find that some ethnicites (including a few whose official language is English) are completely "oblivious".
My coworkers often give lectures on how to tip when they find that their foreign guests have stiffed them. Personally I'm not brave enough to do this, and besides it's considered a fireable offence at my workplace (and pretty much anywhere else I've worked at).
Off the topic but somewhat related, another thing that bothers me is when servers who work at ethnic restaurants tip bad when they go out to eat. Shouldn't they be familiar with tip customs? They are servers themselves. I've read many Yelp reviews about servers at ethnic restaurants going after guests for not tipping enough, or putting service charge on bills even for just one person, even when the menu doesn't mention anything about service charge.
This post wasn't meant to be long. But I've worked at many restaurants that were dependent on tourists, I'm just frustrustrated.
Thank you for reading.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/ad8pj1/a_rant_about_simply_not_knowing_about_tipping/
| 0 | 22 | 1,546,802,191 | 15 |
bad tipper
|
new
|
a421vn
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Out of curiosity, do you as servers agree with the customs that America puts in place regarding tipping?
|
Some examples:
\-18-20% tip is generally expected for good service
\-You should only tip on food and non-alcoholic beverages unless you're tipping a bartender
\-You should still tip on the total bill even if you get part of the meal comped or have a discount
​
I'm honestly curious to hear how servers feel about the different tipping customs, especially because things change over the years
Edit: for everyone saying you should tip on alcohol, I’m glad I’m learning now because I’m not yet 21 so I’m happy I didn’t mistakenly stiff a serve when I shouldn’t have! I always tip 20% or more as is and would hate to come off as a bad tipper :/
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/a421vn/out_of_curiosity_do_you_as_servers_agree_with_the/
| 0 | 20 | 1,544,203,831 | 15 |
bad tipper
|
new
|
uvqwnd
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
I want to thank CERTAIN investors of my restaurant
|
Today was probably our busiest day we've ever had. Multiple private parties and a sports game and understaffed. I greet 2/3 of the private parties as soon as they arrive and since they own the place, one recognizes me, hands me a 50$, the second introduces me to the host, Investor. and I proceed to serve and bartend both parties. Party 3 was chill, no problem and doesn't need a mention in this story. Party one, that recognized me, is amazing stay in their area, all on one tab, closes on one tab, huge tip. Party two, comes up to me 3 hours in, Host says I'm not paying for all these mother fuckers... I look at him and say everything is under one tab. His 20 person, multiple entre, huge drink order, huge tab, now needs to be separated. I say, I'll handle it, and walk away. I walk away and nearly burst into tears. My four other bartenders are getting their asses handed to them. Our whole restaurant is getting slammed, no letting up... And this guy... wants separate tabs. Then, low and behold, one of the host's buddy's comes up to me after I went to everyone in near tears asking what they ordered so I could separate tabs... 900$ worth... he brings me his card and says I'm going to pay for everything. I stop, look him dead in the eye, Thank you, you've just made my life so much easier!!! Party one still being super easy. Party two, now closed... 600+ on both parties in tips... Host of party two opens a new tab and tips 10% on his tab over 100$. I'm really glad he didn't pay for the huge tab. Certain investors seem to be good tippers, this host of party two can go fuck right off... Thank you for my rant... Today was a fucking day.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/uvqwnd/i_want_to_thank_certain_investors_of_my_restaurant/
| 23 | 2 | 1,653,275,548 | 15 |
good tipper
|
hot
|
mp2yb0
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
"How's it going, sir?" "Good, how about you?"
|
So I just got a job as a server for a local bar / restaurant. One of my coworkers let me have his table and told me he was a good tipper (20%) with usually a $50 bill. I bring him his drink and his appetizer. Next is the main course.
About 15 minutes later, I check with him and ask him how's it is going. His response is "Good, how about you?"
I paused for a second as it sounded a little aggeessive and this is my first week, then he said, "Sorry, I am on the phone a lot and it's a force of habit."
I am just wondering how you answer? If you are short staffed or are in an stressful point in my life it's not like I can tell the guest my problems. Basically, it's pointless asking, unless you are really close, as the answer will always be great. What am I supposed to do, make my problem my guests? Have a quasi-therapy session?
So how do you answer this asinine question?
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/mp2yb0/hows_it_going_sir_good_how_about_you/
| 18 | 5 | 1,618,187,056 | 15 |
good tipper
|
hot
|
ctchba
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
My table wrote me a bad review
|
So I work at this sports bar restaurant and on Tuesday nights we have a roast beef and pork sandwich special. I was the only waitress there that night and we were pretty dead all day except for the bar which was fairly full of most of our regulars. Until 6 tables show up at the same time. One of them being a 7 top. Of course each of these tables gave me an attitude from the start and were being extremely needy and running me back and forth and were ordering complicated things asking for special mods. Our pos system always was not sending in the sandwich special so the kitchen wasn’t getting any of them so I had to rewrite all of my orders neatly so the kitchen can read it, and the orders were complicated, and the time I’m using to get that I need to get all these whack ass tables something so it’s taking forever. There’s only two cooks and they’re both incompetent and one of them is stoned. Orders are taking forever and most of them coming out wrong. They put up a few orders of fries for my table of 7 and my manager tells me to run them over to my table cause the rest is coming in just a sec. so I take them over and assure them that their meals are coming right out. Yeah it was a lot longer than expected. The cooks accidentally made an extra order of fries and onion rings so they told me to give them to that table. My manager put the grat on the check for me.
Couple days later I find a review on the restaurants Facebook page.
“Last night will be the last night we ever go to Nick's. To the waitress's credit there was only 1 of her and obviously no one else interested in assisting her and that included the abysmal excuse for a kitchen....however there were only maybe 15 patrons in different stages of their meals so I'm not even sure that a good excuse......3 of 6 roast beef sandwiches were wrong....fries came out at 20 minutes...sandwiches came out at 45 minutes....without us saying a word you did throw an extra order of fries and onion rings at us for waiting so long.....too little too late....rolls felt like they had been outside of the packaging for a while and the beef.....well if that's what you are known for, you need to rethink your bread and butter.....oh and to add insult to injury an automatic 18% tip was added for 7 people.....you screwed the waitress....this crowd was good tippers.....”
Edit: and on top of all of that going on, I also had to answer phone calls and take pick up orders and put in and put together grub hub and Uber eats orders
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/ctchba/my_table_wrote_me_a_bad_review/
| 14 | 9 | 1,566,366,178 | 15 |
good tipper
|
hot
|
1esyn92
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Strange interaction led to no tip
|
So this happened a while ago but I still think about it often. I waited on a table of four ladies celebrating a birthday. Their tab was $500+ and everyone seemed to be having a good time. They asked for to-go boxes, and when I returned the ladies were SILENT and acting so strange towards me. They paid and left no tip.
I was obviously confused. My manager then pulled me aside and said a man nearby (not from my table) walked up to the ladies while I was gone and told them I put their to-go boxes on the dirty floor and packed their food in dirty boxes. He then told my manager and left.
I told my manager I would never do that. He checked the cameras and it showed me using clean boxes.
I’m just baffled at why this random man would approach my table and lie? Or did he think he saw me doing something malicious? Anyways, I’m still pissed about losing out on a potentially great tip.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1esyn92/strange_interaction_led_to_no_tip/
| 492 | 37 | 1,723,737,005 | 15 |
no tip
|
relevance
|
148gq26
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Worst case of no tipping from a 5 star hotel I worked at.
|
Last year I was working for the room service of a 5 star hotel on a private island where for reference the cheapest room costed 700 euros a night.
One night while working alone I received a call at around 11 PM from the VIP suite where a group were staying for a wedding (room service would end at 11:15 and we were supposed to leave island soon after). They made an order for some fancy sandwiches and wine. The chef who took the order was pissed too since they had shut the kitchen down and only he was left but he still took the order on the condition that we split the tip between each other. While he prepared the the food I made the barman who was closing down too re-unlock the bar just so I could get the special wine they wanted.
Once everything was ready I rushed the food to them (also the suite is across an unlit cobblestone courtyard away from the rest of the hotel), I opened their bottles, served the food and of course after the over 300 euro bill they decided to give the 20 year old who brought them the food absolutely nothing in tips, not even writing something down on the check.
I was honestly most pissed for the poor chef, when I told him there was no tip you could see his faith in humanity disintegrate in real time.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/148gq26/worst_case_of_no_tipping_from_a_5_star_hotel_i/
| 431 | 67 | 1,686,666,507 | 15 |
no tip
|
relevance
|
1goq7li
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
That one time I was called The Help
|
I once had an elderly regular, Mr. James, come in for lunch to celebrate his 91st birthday. He and his wife, Ms. Sara, were truly very kind people and generous tippers. Towards the end of the meal I asked Mr. James if he enjoyed himself:
Mr. James: "Oh yes, everything was wonderful, the food, the ambiance, the help," as he gently pats me on the arm.
I honestly didn't care. They left 30% on a $250 bill. Later when I recalled the conversation to another coworker, they were rightfully offended for me. This isn't 1955.
Coworker: "OMG, that's awful. Did he really say that?! WTF!"
Me: "It's ok. They left a nice tip, plus he's old and probably doesn't know any better. And he's gonna die soon anyway."
Two weeks later Mr. James died.
The end.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1goq7li/that_one_time_i_was_called_the_help/
| 855 | 91 | 1,731,325,034 | 15 |
generous tip
|
relevance
|
7qd12i
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Regulars made me cry yesterday.
|
Backstory:For the last 6 months or so, I have been working weekends at a family-owned breakfast/lunch diner. 75% of the customers are regulars that come in between 3-7 times/ week. We are located between a senior-living community and a home for developmentally disabled adults, so not typically a large-tipping crowd.
So yesterday, a couple comes in for breakfast, like they do every Saturday. I bring their drinks and their menus together, since they always get thw same drinks. I greet, we banter, I give them a few minutes for the wife to decide (he always hets the same thing). Come back, take their order, banter a little more, crack some jokes, everyone is chuckling, go pit their order in, get refills. Everything is going swimmingly.
As I am dealing with other tables, I look up and see they are headed to the door. I call over "Thanks guys, have a great day! See you next weekend! " they wave and smile and head out as I head over to grab their check and buss the table. I see they left a $100 bill on the check... *the $32.00 check*. Clearly someone fucked up. I ran out to the parking lot hoping to catch them before they left.
"Guys! I think there was a mixup!" I call out.
"Nope! No mixup!" smiles the husband.
"Oh, there has to be! You left *way* too much money!" I said.
"No we didn't. You are great every week and we just wanted to help make your life a lottlw better." he smiled again, and headed on to his car. His wife smiled too and said "We hope the rest of your day is as wonderful as you are." as she too headed to the car.
Ya'll, they left me $67. I have been waitressing off and on for 16 years and though I have seen people get generous tips, it has never happened to me. I walked back inside and cried. I was still teary when I ran my next order out. I am still tearing up just thinking about it.
I mean, it's no $14k, but it made my whole weekend.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/7qd12i/regulars_made_me_cry_yesterday/
| 1,364 | 31 | 1,515,949,592 | 15 |
generous tip
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relevance
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juh1w3
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TalesFromRetail
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Old guy yells at me while I help his wife pick out a vibrator.
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So, if the title and my post history isn’t self explanatory I work in a sex store. The stories I could tell just from my year here could fill a book, particularly because I work in a rather “methy” small town in Canada.
I also work late shifts most nights so, it gets
Interesting.
Anyways tonight I had 2 fine glossy eyed specimen enter my store and they set off a few retail red flags immediately, so I kept an eye out, but offered my assistance and didn’t bother them while they looked around. For some context, everything in my store is under a magnet lock so I have to come over and unlock whatever product they are wanting off the hook. They asked me to come grab a few items off the wall and put them behind the counter while they continued to browse.
As I head back to the counter I hear a tell tale cardboard rip and see that the lady had ripped a box of lingerie off the hook and was examining it. (While swaying drunkenly mind you) I walked over and gently asked for it back from her so I could tape the product back up since the box was all mangled now and she didn’t want it. As I’m turning around to do this she rips off another one.
I turn around and calmly say “Hey could you just be careful not to rip the merchandise off? I can grab anything if you want to look at it.”
She apologized immediately and slurred that she was just trying to see the back, I told her it was not an issue. (probably just heavy drunk hands) So I took both items back behind the counter to fix.
As I did this, Drunk hubby walks up to the counter and raises his voice at me as his wife continues to look around
(Side note, I’m incredibly upbeat and cheery, that’s just naturally how I am and It works great to de-escalate situations. So imagine me genuinely smiling and being helpful through all this)
Drunk: D Wife: W Me: M
D: We’re not spending anymore fucking money here. We would but we don’t wanna buy anything else from you.”
M: “Because I asked her very nicely to be careful with the products?”
D: “ ITS NOT LIKE SHE DID IT ON PURPOSE!!! I’m coming back tomorrow to speak to your boss!”
Me: “okay for sure feel free!! I’m just doing my job making sure stuff doesn’t get damaged. Anything else I can help you with?” (my boss will honestly probably tell the guy to fuck off)
D: “NO. We’re leaving. “
W: *looking intently at the wall of vibrators* “Wait hold on I like this one”
D: “Babe lets go, we’re fucking LEAVING. NOW”
W: *looking at 3 different vibrators* “Wait”
D: (practically screaming at this point) NO. NOW.
M: “Can I help you choose from any of those?”
D: “I SAID WERE FUCKING GOING NOW”
W: “One more minute. Does this one recharge?”
Me: “No, not that one! But I do have this one over here that’s 40% off and is rechargeable :)”
W: “It comes in pink?”
Me: “Yup right here!”
W: “And waterproof? “
M: “Absolutely! “
W: “Yeah I’ll take that! “
So he stands with his arms crossed and brows furrowed while I grab the products for them, then he has to fork over $350 for all the stuff they grabbed. I happily bagged it all and asked all the basic questions, followed up by my best wishes for a lovely evening. And smiled because he didn’t say another word and I make commission :)
I’m honestly really looking forward to seeing if he tries to contact my boss tomorrow
Oh and I took down his license plate and gave 911 a lil tip there’s a possible drunk guy in a big truck who just left the sex shop :))
EDIT: my boss messaged me to let me know if dude calls and tries to complain he’ll be asked kindly not to shop at our stores any more. My boss doesn’t put up with abuse of his staff and that’s why I love him.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromRetail/comments/juh1w3/old_guy_yells_at_me_while_i_help_his_wife_pick/
| 3,125 | 109 | 1,605,419,418 | 15 |
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axdf0a
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TalesFromRetail
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Don't wanna pay $200 for your gas? Enjoy paying $8,000 for a new dock.
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Kinda long; TLDR at the bottom
​
I worked at a small marina on a lake during the summer from when I was seventeen all the way until I graduated college and moved away. For the most part, it was the summer job every high school/college student dreams of. My boss was super laid back, most of my customers were super rich nice retirees that tipped well, and if there were no customers I could read, mess around on my phone, swim in the lake, etc. To this day it was the most enjoyable job I've ever had. For the most part my customers were in a good mood when they came to get gas for their boats. I can count the number of irate/bad customers that I've had over the course of six years on both of my hands. This customer is the only one that I had ever had that tried to get away without paying. It didn't end well for him.
​
So I was manning the marina by myself that day; it was still the off season (pre-Memorial Day) and we were only open on weekends. Most people were just starting to take their boats out of storage and business was super slow. It was nearing closing time, and I had a whopping total of three customers come by over the course of the day. Didn't make a lot in tips. I didn't really mind though, as I had brought along my DS and had spent the time playing Pokemon. I'm just about to head inside to start closing for the day when I see a boat speeding along to the dock. Now my boss' rule for taking customers at the end of the day was "take them at your discretion" which basically translated to "take them if you want or turn them away I don't really care." I had nothing better to do, so I decide to just stay open a little late and help this guy out. I got a little excited when I noticed that this guy (let's call him Mr. Mingy Moneybags, or Mr. MM) had a really fancy new wake boat. The people who own these things are usually filthy rich and tip well, as wake boats usually have monstrous gas tanks that can hold 30-60 gallons of gas (my car, for reference, holds about 15 gallons) and their bills are usually very high.
​
Mr. MM pulls up to the dock and I helped moor his boat. I then start filling it up. I make myself comfy while I do this as Mr. MM said his boat takes 50 gallons and was almost empty, so it would take a while to fill it. This was back in 2013 when gas was still super pricey, and we only sold ethanol free gas so the price was just over $4.00 per gallon. Mr. MM complains to me about the price and I just shrug, saying that I'm not the one who decides what the prices are. He grows more and more agitated as the bill keeps climbing. I ask him if he's sure that he wants to fill up all the way. He just gives me a clipped "yeah" and continues to stare at the numbers ticking up on the pump. Finally, 47 gallons of gas later, Mr. MM's boat is filled and his bill comes out to just over $190 dollars. It was the most expensive bill I had ever seen up to that point. I turn to him and ask him how he's going to pay. He makes a show of patting his pockets and looking around his boat for a while. I just raise my eyebrows. He finally turns to me and says that he forgot his wallet.
​
Now I have had people forget to bring money before. And I'm usually very understanding about it. What I'll usually do is hang onto something of theirs as collateral (usually a driver's license, sometimes their car keys or phone). I put it in the lockbox and wait for them to go home and grab their wallets. Pretty much everyone who owns a boat on this lake also lives on/near the lake, so it's never been an issue. Something that I ALSO did that I didn't tell the customers that I was doing was writing down their boat's tag number. If they didn't pay by the end of the day, I could give the tag number to security and the could pull up their boat registration, which had their name, address, the works. Up to this day I had never had to report a customer to security.
​
When Mr. MM states that he doesn't have his wallet, I quickly glance at the tag on the side of his boat and jot down the numbers. I then address Mr. MM.
​
Me: Well sir, it's the end of the day, so if you could hurry home and get your wallet ASAP I would appreciate it. I'll also need something of yours to keep as collateral.
Mr. MM: Oh that'll take too long. Do you have a phone on you?
Me: Yeah, in my purse
Mr. MM: If you could give me your phone I can call my wife, she can drive down here with my wallet in no time.
​
This answer satisfies me, so I turn to go into the building and grab my phone. While I'm doing this, I hear him turn his engine on. Not too unusual, so I keep going on my way. Then I hear a massive VROOOOM followed by a loud crunch. I whip around and see this guy speeding down the lake. He had pulled a runner on me. BUT because this man is apparently an idiot he also forgot to untie his boat from the dock completely. He got the rope off the cleat next to him but had apparently forgotten about the one tied to the back of his boat, which I had left some slack on. Now, normally the cleats on the boat would lose in this situation, or maybe the rope would snap, but our dock was a super old, crappy, splintery mess. So instead the cleat that was nailed into the dock got pulled completely free, along with an enormous chunk of wood. There was also a huge crack running down the length of the plank. This dumbass was now speeding down the lake with a piece of the dock dragging behind him.
​
There's not really much I can do about Mr. MM now, so I go inside and radio security. I give them the tag number, along with a description of him and his boat. I also mention that he damaged the dock and owes almost $200 in gas. They thank me and say they'll get right on it. I then text my boss what happened and sent him a picture of the freshly ruined dock. He is PISSED and says Mr. MM better be prepared to fix it. I then go inside and finish closing for the day. I had to include a note to finance about why we were almost $200 short for the day and explained that security was working on it.
​
The very next day my boss calls me. Security had gotten the police involved for theft and destruction of private property (the dock technically belonged to the neighborhood association). They got to him that very same day because of course they did, they had his address. Also, turns out the guy wasn't even married. He just told me that BS to get me to turn my back. The association threatened to press charges and bring the guy to court unless he agreed to the following terms:
​
1) He would pay what he owed for the gas
2) He would be banned from registering a boat on this lake (it was either for 10 or 15 years, I can't really remember)
3) He would pay to COMPLETELY REPLACE the dock he damaged
​
Mr. MM, apparently belonging to the "throw money at problems to make them go away" school of thought, or perhaps just realizing that if it went to court he would probably lose (the whole thing was caught on the security cameras), agreed to the terms without much of a fight. The marina was closed for 3 weeks while the dock was being rebuilt. I returned to work after that to admire our brand-spanking-new dock. The new dock's planks were composite instead of wood, and we got brand new pilings too. No more splinters! The new dock cost the guy nearly $8,000 dollars. To this day, I don't understand why a guy with so much money to throw around got so agitated about paying $200 for gas for a boat that must have cost him well over $60,000.
​
TLDR: guys tries to run after refusing to pay his $200 gas bill, damages dock, has to pay $8,000 for a new one.
​
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromRetail/comments/axdf0a/dont_wanna_pay_200_for_your_gas_enjoy_paying_8000/
| 3,263 | 114 | 1,551,738,940 | 15 |
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9stm3c
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TalesFromRetail
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“Are you going to report that car?”
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Forgive formatting, I’m on mobile.
Ok so some background: 16 (nearly 17) years old, I work as a shopping cart strategist/janitor for a local chain of supermarket. I’m out in the parking lot to collect a riding cart a disabled woman brought out. I come up to drive it back in and she asks me to leave the cart, as she forgot something back in the store (and declined my offer to run it out to her car). No big deal, she heads back inside. I notice her car is no longer inside the lines of the handicap space, but it’s close enough, not out in the street or anything, and has a sun visor over the windscreen, blocking her handicap tag. She told me she’d be back out in just a minute so I thought nothing of it.
A few minutes go by as I collect some more carts, and as I pass by the Lady’s (L) car again a Guy (G) in a sedan with out-of-state plates pulls up beside me and rolls down his window, presumably to ask if we sell alcohol (I get that question a lot from OOS customers, as we don’t have a liquor license). I halt my train of shopping carts so I can talk to him, and his question took me back a couple steps:
G: Are you going to report this car?
Me: Come again sir?
G: I SAID, are you going to report this car?! I saw you taking pictures of it!
Me: (annoyed by his rudeness) No sir I wasn’t, and I haven’t taken a picture of it, my phone is in my locker inside the store.
G: Well you better report this car to your manager, or I’ll call the police. The store needs to uphold these handicap spaces, and this car has bad plates and no handicap tag, it’s parked illegally and it looks abandoned!
Me: The owner of the car was just outside a couple minutes ago, she is disabled. She forgot something in the store and left her sun visor up, but I can assure you that she has a handicap tag. Also her plates may be worn down, but they are clearly readable New Jersey handicap plates.
G: Bring your manager out here right now or I’m going to call the police.
Me: One moment sir, I’ll go grab my manager (who also works customer service and is currently helping L).
I come back with my manager and L in tow. L rides the electric cart up to G’s driver side door.
Me: This is my manager K, what was your complaint sir?
G: This car is parked illegally and doesn’t have proper handicap identification. Your employee tried to tell me that it is properly identified and is not abandoned.
K: Well this customer informed an employee of her situation, and though her car may not be parked perfectly, it is within the handicap area and is not taking up multiple spots. You, however, appear to be loitering in our parking lot, a felony clearly marked on our signs and enforceable up to a $250 fine. Also seeing how you’re parked in this handicap spot without any tags or plates, I could call the police for you, and they can decide for themselves the guilty party, as I’m sure you’re aware that is illegal, considering what you told my employee about this car.
G: Whatever, your store sucks anyway.
L: At least their employees are helpful and friendly, not dirtbags like you. Now beat it, a**hole!
Guy peels out of the parking lot like the cops are already chasing him, and the customer, my manager, and myself all have ourselves a good laugh.
Customer gives me a $2 tip for standing up to her, and although we’re not allowed to accept tips, my manager gives me a nod and says “you handled that so professionally for a teenager, you deserve it.”
I later find out from my manager that the guy got pulled over for speeding and was charged with DUI just outside our parking lot. Karma is a b*tch.
TL;DR : A**hole tries to report “abandoned car” in a handicap space to the police if he doesn’t speak to my manager about it. Manager and car owner are brought outside and manager tears the dude a new one. Later the guy gets arrested for a DUI.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromRetail/comments/9stm3c/are_you_going_to_report_that_car/
| 1,139 | 43 | 1,540,944,380 | 15 |
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hot
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2od7p7
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TalesFromRetail
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Can't Believe I Had to Deal with this Crazy...
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...nice woman on Black Friday.
I was the backup cashier for a big name bookstore on Black Friday. I opened the store at 8 am, expecting the worst because of the groups of people at either end of the store. However, it stayed relatively quiet for this most auspicious day of the year.
I was walking around in the Toys and Games section, which was BOGO 50% off, and spy this young but petite woman trying to lug around a TON of Elf on the Shelf accessories (books, clothes, dolls) which are not part of the sale. Like a good retail slave, I notify her of the sale, and then I ask her if I can hold those items for her at the register. She thanks me politely for the assistance, gets excited about the deals, and gets back to shopping. I pass her again about 10 minutes later, and she's got another armload which I also take back to the register. I do this about four more times (no exaggeration she had A TON of toys).
When she was finally ready to check out, she comes to my till. i eye the pile of goodies nervously, and ask her if its ok to ring these items up in separate transactions. She had gotten two of everything: two play tents, to of the learning touch globes, two elephants, two lions, to tigers...oh wait that's Noah. Well you get the gist. She had a ton. The "smart computer" would only get her bogo on the cheapest items, some $5 packs of math dice, instead of buy one $140 globe get the next $140 globe %50 off.
She agrees to do separate transactions to get her the best deal. Since I'm going to be with her for a while, chat her up. When she tells me that she's not buying these gifts for her or her children but for the children of some underprivileged kids from a nearby shelter. I was incredibly touched. She was so patient and sweet through the whole thing. Not in a rush like so many other Black Friday deal vultures. She even got the store membership that we offer to get her even more of a discount! Yay for reaching my quota on the first transaction.
In the end she spend about $624. None of it on herself. Since she has to make several trips out to her car I help her load it up. And she gives me a $20 tip. Insane. It made my day. People like her are the reason I come to work. Good patient people.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromRetail/comments/2od7p7/cant_believe_i_had_to_deal_with_this_crazy/
| 1,550 | 63 | 1,417,790,947 | 15 |
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top
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1r99z1
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TalesFromRetail
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Old lady "accidentally" drops $20 after I install her wiper blades.
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So I work in an autopart store, and here in California it finally started to rain. This usually means we get a rush of people buying wiper blades and wanting them installed on their car. We do this for free because we go "the extra mile."
We recently hired two new female employees and they still haven't gotten used to putting wiper blades on, so I'm the only one able to do it.
We start to get really busy and there's a bunch of people waiting on me to put their blades on. Its raining and I'm getting soaked so I'm in a not so good mood.
So I'm helping this old lady put her wiper blades on and she is thanking me and trying to give me a $20 tip which I refuse because we can't take tips ( I would have made a lot of money today but since I'm one if the supervisors I can't accept it.)
She then proceeds to drop the money, gets in the car and just winks and waves at me as she is leaving. I smiled and picked up the $20 bill and waved back. That made my whole day.
TL;DR: old lady found a loophole in our policy to tip me $20
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromRetail/comments/1r99z1/old_lady_accidentally_drops_20_after_i_install/
| 1,346 | 150 | 1,385,168,116 | 15 |
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19bg255
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TalesFromYourServer
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A very rude customer kinda left me $99 tip.
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So, I am working as a bartender in a small bar in a small town. Not only do I fix drinks, but I am also responsible for selling tokens to an air hockey table. They come $1 a piece.
The other night this very drunk guy asked for a single token and threw me a hundred dollar note. I gave him a token and asked to wait while I open the register and get him the change. He left immediately. I got 99 dollars as fast as I could and ran after him to return it. The dude was near the air hockey table.
I started to politely explain that I have his change and that he should take it. But I couldn't finish, cause he interrupted me with a "Who the fuck are you? Fuck off now." And so I just left. The guy never came back for his money.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/19bg255/a_very_rude_customer_kinda_left_me_99_tip/
| 2,708 | 116 | 1,705,769,528 | 14 |
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ksetv3
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TalesFromYourServer
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Ever lose a friend because of their stingy tipping?
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I had a friend I would meet after work for happy hour once a week. The bar offered 2 for 1 drinks and apps. I always tipped on the full amount. In other words, add the price of the free drinks and apps when calculating the tip. He never did that, despite me reminding him. I tolerated it because he was scraping by on his salary at the Electric Company. Still didn't think it was justified but tolerated it nonetheless.
His mom passed away and left the entire family fortune to him. He told me the amount (never a good idea) and it was breathtaking. But he continued his stingy tipping. I could barely tolerate it before but now it was inexcusable. I started to despise him as a result. I eventually ended our friendship because of it. There were a couple other reasons too but that was the final nail in the coffin.
Anyone else have a similar experience?
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/ksetv3/ever_lose_a_friend_because_of_their_stingy_tipping/
| 1,974 | 543 | 1,610,031,328 | 14 |
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ulos74
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TalesFromYourServer
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US customers tipping in USD currency even when they are in a different country
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i work freelance in hospitality in bars and restaurants and events in the Netherlands in some of these places we get alot of US customers think boomer cruise ship types .... they come in to the bar or restaurant .... dont get me wrong they are super nice and friendly and its nice that they tip .... but i find it a little entitled that they just assume they can tip in US dollars .... we use euros in the netherlands btw .... i mean apart from rolling it up to snort cocaine with .... what am i supposed to do with it ... like most groups on reddit im assuming this is a very US centric group ..... so how do you cope when someone from another country comes into your place of work and leaves you a tip that is not in your own currency ....
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/ulos74/us_customers_tipping_in_usd_currency_even_when/
| 1,389 | 468 | 1,652,094,557 | 14 |
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1kaq8dy
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TalesFromYourServer
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Waitress/Server Questions
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I just recently started a new job as a Server at this busy local restaurant in my town. I don't have any prior waitress training, I do have plenty of customer service experience and I have a very bubbly personality. I trained for a total of 5 days, I was given a welcome packet that explained who the owners are, how the restaurant was founded, rules and regulations, etc., I now have 2 packets that go over our extensive menu (which I need to memorize) and the majority of our menu items are made fresh in house. I mentally prepared to be overwhelmed, it's a new job and it's going to take some time to get everything down. I finished my first 4 days on the floor, working mornings and honestly most of them were good. My first day was small, I only had 3 tables in my section and it was a good learning day, I got about $70. Day 2 was busier and I made few mistakes (I did completely forget about a table, oops), I made about $130. Day 3 was insanely good and busy for a Saturday morning, I didn't stop running around, I had about 6 tables in my section, and surprisingly I stayed organized and only forgot a couple of things, I did get stiffed on one table who's order was over $100. I brought home $260 that day. I also didn't have time to drink water, eat, or even use the bathroom. Day 4 was absolutely brutal, Sunday morning in my town is BUSY, upon arriving there, we were packed, I finish my chores and got thrown on 6 tables, I was sprinting everywhere I went, I didn't drink enough water, or eat (we don't even get discounted food), and I started making mistakes, ringing in orders wrong, I literally didn't write "ALLERGY GLUTEN FREE" on this lady's ticket, I told myself it was gluten free and sent that to the kitchen. Next thing I know, two of my managers are looking at me with harsh glances as they hold that lady's sandwich... I didn't write it on the ticket, I absolutely f--d up, that was my first "freebie", meaning any order messed up in the future is on me to pay.. it feels harsh, my past job was so welcoming when you made mistakes and I fear that I'm going to get fired. Oh and I made $130 that day.. I want to do good, I actually want to be perfect but I know that's unattainable.. it feels harsh and I want to know if this is normal??..
I also wake up every morning before work with my stomach knotted up, full of anxiety, I get nauseous and can't eat.. then I go work 8-9 hours without food or water, I understand why I'm making mistakes but I don't understand why they're so strict, the owners honestly seem stingy. I only make $2.15 ish/hour, my tips have been about $600 in the past 4 days, I don't get discounted food, even if I wanted to buy the full priced item, I can only order it at certain times (idk those times yet).. I had to use $150 of my own money for my bank (we don't have a till in the restauant) and if I f--k up on an order that's $10-30 I need to pay. I also understand the weight of serving someone food they're allergic to, I felt my heart drop because I f--d up and could of killed someone.. but my management could of kept it a little more down to earth, I'm sure they saw my panicked look and teary eyes. I cried twice on Sunday.. 2nd time was from a table asking me about their order that I took, AND I NEVER PUT IT INTO THE SYSTEM. I know I'm going to make mistakes and I've made it right every time I do mess up.. it was literally like my 3rd day, they seemed a little anal about it.
Any tips?
My coworkers have just told me to keep working good and learning from my mistakes, that I won't get fired as long as I fix them and make sure the guest is happy.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1kaq8dy/waitressserver_questions/
| 23 | 22 | 1,745,939,274 | 14 |
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hot
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1jaxpei
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TalesFromYourServer
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Stiffed on $150
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I’ve never been stiffed on a bill over $100, in fact I hardly get stiffed at all.
First table of the day. Bill was about $150. Table was sweet but had horrible table manners. Said everything was amazing.
Horrible table manners because they kept interrupting me. I would be talking to another table and look up for a second and they’re trying to talk to me across the room while I’m talking to other guests.
Half the table paid cash, no cash left on table. The other half paid card.
The most ANNOYING part about it. I was busy taking another tables order, and a man comes up to me and hands the tip slip back to me with 0 tip. Like why did you have to interrupt me to hand me this? But oh the food and service was amazing they said
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1jaxpei/stiffed_on_150/
| 606 | 47 | 1,741,934,481 | 14 |
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hot
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1ik4jd7
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TalesFromYourServer
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Cried during my first week as a server
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Hi everybody ! I work at a red lobster in a nicer area of my city and this is my first serving job. I’ve only been there for about 2 weeks but have learned the hard way why serving isn’t for everyone. To be more specific I wanted to know if my reaction was reasonable or if the industry just isn’t for me. During my first 2 days of serving by myself I got a $0 tip on 2 different occasions. I wasn’t too bummed because it wasn’t that much but I was still disappointed. I tried to better myself after that and just move on. Up until recently I was very confident with my service so I expected more out of my customers. I had a table the other day, 2 military guys. They were very sweet and everything went smoothly. I even gave them free biscuits to go! Their tab was about $145 after tax so when I went to grab it I was pretty confident I got a good tip, considering they were so sweet to me. They gave me a nothing. My first reaction was anger then I went to the restroom and cried my eyes out. I got cut not too long after so I left with nothing that night. Do you think my reaction was valid ? Be honest!
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1ik4jd7/cried_during_my_first_week_as_a_server/
| 52 | 36 | 1,738,959,386 | 14 |
tip
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hot
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1hx5roi
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TalesFromYourServer
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I thought a regulars wife passed away
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I work in a Mexican restaurant that's very popular among the older folk in the area, and we have regulars that come every week sometimes multiple times. One couple would come every Wednesday sit at the table right by the door eat nachos and were generally very kind, they left generous tips as well!
One day a few weeks ago the husband came in all by himself and wanted to sit at a different table than usual looking a bit sullen, not wanting to pry I just waited on him as usual and he was noticeably much less talkative and ordered street tacos. he ate quickly and left saying thank you.
This repeated for a few weeks when one day he seemed the most sad I've seen him and after he was done he said to me with a smile " You have no idea how much I appreciate you guy." And left a 100% tip. After that I was sure something happened to his wife, I was hoping maybe she was just sick of nachos and didn't wanna go with him, but after that visit I was convinced she had passed.
A Few weeks later Lo and Behold in walks the husband and his wife!!! He had the biggest smile on his face walking in and so did his wife, they sat in the usual spot just like old times and ordered the same food. I was so confused! After she had got up to use the restroom I went over and FINALLY asked where his wife was and he told me, "Oh! Her and her sister were on a diet for a few months! 😃" I laughed and told him what I thought had happened and he let out the loudest belly laugh and said It was nice that I cared about how he was feeling.
So I feel very stupid right now but at least she's okay!
TL;DR Regulars wife went on a diet and he was sad eating without her
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1hx5roi/i_thought_a_regulars_wife_passed_away/
| 1,342 | 41 | 1,736,400,462 | 14 |
tip
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hot
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a5wsbd
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TalesFromYourServer
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Shamed a mean, shitty customer - best day of my life.
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I am no longer a server, but was one all through college... I worked at a franchise of a chain of 24-hour restaurants that is notorious for cheap breakfasts and shitty service. Big yellow sign with red letters.
Like all of you, I took great pride in my job and how I treated my customers. In all honesty, if I could find a server job that offered good insurance and steady tips, I would consider going back to it. I really, truly loved waiting tables and making people's lives a little more pleasant, at least while they were in my section. It sounds cheesy, but it's true.
I had several 'regulars" that always sat in my section, but there were other servers that had their regulars as well. One of them was a really pleasant, jovial man... and his horrible, nasty wife. She was the kind of woman who got off on being a bitch and making other people's lives miserable. One particular day, I had to cover some tables in a different server's section because a server called in sick. I was warned about this couple when they came in, but had never waited on them before so I wasn't sure exactly what to expect. I was told that she had a habit of complaining endlessly about everything, demanding to speak to the manager every time they came in and berating the servers and cooks at every turn. The husband (who often came in by himself) was the opposite - friendly, good-natured, well-liked.
As soon as they were seated, before I could even get their drink orders, the husband got up from the booth and walked outside for a few minutes, leaving me alone with the wife. I put on my best smiley, cheerful face and greeted her. She refused to make eye contact with me and instead scowled and snarled, "You would think that, as much money as we spend here, you people would know what we like to drink! Why do we have to keep going through this? I want ICED TEA, NO LEMON!!". She didn't tell me what the husband wanted, and I didn't ask... I was just so taken aback by the anger straight out of the gate that I just turned on my heels and walked away.
I poured her an iced tea - NO LEMON!! - and brought it back to her. Before I could even set it down, she snapped, "I already know what I want to eat, and we're in a HURRY." (bear in mind that the husband is still outside). I took her order, still trying to be pleasant, and before I could walk away she snarled "and the last time you people brought the food out, it was COLD!! I do NOT want cold food! And I want EXTRA CHEESE on my scrambled eggs!! and SALSA!!". Her voice seemed to drip with more and more anger with every word she spat out.
As I was ringing up the order, I thought of a thousand things I wanted to do, then I hit up on an idea... instead of getting back at her, I was going to not only go out of my way to make her meal as perfect and delicious as possible, but I was going to embarrass her as well.
I made sure everything was perfect... piping hot, lots and lots of cheese on the eggs, fresh salsa warmed up to room temperature. By the time the meal was ready, the husband had returned to the table and was happily chatting with one of the servers. I mustered up my best scared/sad face as I brought out the food to her. As I sat it down, I started to tear up, just a little, and expressed in gushing, flowery terms how sorry I was for how badly she was treated the last time she was here, and how hard I worked to make sure the food was absolutely 100% according to her specifications, and that I felt SO BAD for how she was treated the last time she was here, that I was going to pay for her meal out of my tips and how I hoped that she would be willing to accept my apology on behalf of the whole restaurant for her miserable experience. I really laid it on as thickly and sweetly as I could.
Her husband, who was happy and smiling and cheerful just seconds ago, stared her down with a sick, horrid look, his face turning bright red. She was MORTIFIED, her face turning equally red... she hung her head and said, "ummm.... okay...". I asked her if everything was to her satisfaction this time, and if it wasn't, I would rectify it immediately. She stared at her plate, pushed it around a bit, and said, "ummmm... yeah...". The husband is staring her down, clenching his jaw. He politely ordered his meal and as I was walking away, I heard him hiss at her, "what did you say to her? What did you DO??".
She was silent and sulking for the rest of the meal, and he was polite but not overly chatty. When they were finished, she stormed out before he even left the table, head hung. He apologized profusely to me for how she had acted and left a generous tip on top of paying the tab. To the best of my recollection, she never acted like a bitch to any of us ever again.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/a5wsbd/shamed_a_mean_shitty_customer_best_day_of_my_life/
| 9,241 | 166 | 1,544,729,657 | 14 |
tip
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top
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as2oo2
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TalesFromYourServer
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I caught a couple dining and dashing on me!!
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Our restaurant has two parts, the full restaurant, and the “waiting bar” that’s in a different room. If you’re bartending in the waiting room, you’re your own busser/server/bartender. People can order a couple of apps and drinks while they wait for their buzzer to go off. Last nights dinner rush was about a 2 hour wait. I was bartending in the waiting room.
The couple comes in and sits at a table, off the bat they’re weird because it was pulling teeth getting their order. I finally get it and continue with my busy ass night. Everything is going as smooth as can be until they start their plan.
I notice that she pulls her wallet from her purse and goes out the door presumably to the bathroom. (It’s located around the corner from the building) No big deal. I’m still wheeln’ And deeln’, bussing tables, making drinks and deliver food.
That’s when I notice dude is no longer at the table but the purse is still on a chair. Hmmmm. I do a thing or two more and then print their ticket, put it in a book, and then go to the purse. It’s empty. Like just an empty bag. I pick it up and go to find one of them around the corner thinking maybe dude just went to the restroom. (It’s been about 5-10 minutes since the chick was in the restaurant)
When I round the corner he’s a good 50-60 yards past the restroom on the way to the parking lot. Not wanting to accuse them I shout out, “hey man, you guys forgot your purse, and tab”.
That’s when the guy takes off so I start sprinting after him. We get to the parking lot and he’s running to a car that I can now see she’s waiting in. Still running I pull my phone out and start snapping picks of the car. We both get there and I say, “go ahead and take off on your tab, it’ll be worse for you once the cops show up to your house!”
They don’t leave, she walks back and pays her $63 dollar tab, stiffs me on the tip and leaves. Fuck them, I still consider that a win. Decoy purse....holy shit. Scumbags.
Edit: I get it, it can be dangerous to chase someone for a tab. I need to clarify though, my GM and place of work would of ate the tab. This isn’t about the tab/tip, and I’m trying to grasp how a couple of you are giving me shit for it. I’ll repeat what I responded to someone, Fuck this job and fuck their tab! ..... these people live a life off of mooching off of hard working people, and who knows what other industries they con. All I know is that with the chance given, I fucking refuse to to be considered a win in their fucked up con book on this night. I mean, to each their own, right?
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/as2oo2/i_caught_a_couple_dining_and_dashing_on_me/
| 5,546 | 411 | 1,550,527,355 | 14 |
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top
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a98bly
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TalesFromYourServer
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When you pull up to your diner at 4:45 am to open it at 5 and there are 10 Highway Patrol cars outside...
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It can be heart-stopping, but they were just there waiting for me to open so they could have some Christmas Eve breakfast before hitting the roads. Cook was a gem and got the orders out fast and perfect and pretty, and I ended up cashing them out, 16 guys, all separate checks (we feed LEO's on duty half price) with $95 left over for me!! Split it with the cook (had to insist he take it) because that's just a damn good idea this time of year!
​
Tomorrow is my weekly Veterans' breakfast, which is usually free coffee and half price breakfasts, but the boss told me to feed them all for free, so looking at a very Merry morning tomorrow! I still don't intend to do it sober...
​
If you have to work tomorrow, I hope it's a great day for you!
​
Edit: Well, thanks for the kind comments, upvotes and even GOLD!
​
It turned out to be a very lovely morning only working 4 hours or so. We fed about 50 people and lots of gifts and hugs were exchanged. Local dignitaries showed up for photo ops (annoying side effect of getting lots of veterans together) but at least they brought gift cards that a lot of those guys really needed. My family was able to come in and all the Vets swarmed them to tell them how wonderful I am ;-) Most of the vets were prepared to pay bills by card and when they didn't get a bill, they were confused as to how to tip me, which I was happy to wave off\~I make plenty of money off this regular event. A fair amount of them slipped me enough cash that I was able to tip out the BOH an extra $100 on top of the cash gifts I have been saving up to give them.
I do love this work most of the time. I hope you do, too. Cheers everyone!
​
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/a98bly/when_you_pull_up_to_your_diner_at_445_am_to_open/
| 5,118 | 97 | 1,545,682,390 | 14 |
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top
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idwe87
|
TalesFromYourServer
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Party of 25, 15 mins before closing? In a restaurant already at full capacity? Yeah, no sorry that’s not gonna happen.
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Last night 15 mins before closing four people walk up and tell us they have a party of 25. The restaurant already has every table taken except maybe one or two 4 tops and we have a wait list of 20 mins already. I let them know we unfortunately would not be able to accommodate them tonight. The four people angrily huddle together to discuss what they are going to do. One of the group members comes back to me and tells them their party is now only 20. I tell her we still would not be able to accommodate them as we are about to close and I already have a wait list. They huddle together again. She comes back and says ok, it will just be us 4. Suspicious, but they are not going away so I say fine and and seat them 20 mins later.
Y’all, tell me why when their server starts taking their order, not only do they order for themselves but they put in to go entrees with their server for THE OTHER 20 PEOPLE.
The kitchen of course became backed up because my restaurant prioritizes to go orders over people who are seated. Every guest sat way longer than usual and all the servers had to stay way late because of this.
Oh, just simple to go orders you ask? Nope. Every time the server put in a to go order then came to check on the table they wanted to CHANGE THEIR ORDER or modify it in some way. The poor server spent half her time in the kitchen explaining to the chefs the specifics of what these people wanted.
But that’s a great tip right? Over $400 worth of food? Guess again. They only tipped on the food the 4 people who were seated received.
If a host tells you we can’t accommodate your party it’s FOR A REASON. I am not lying to you or trying to cheat you, so why the fuck are you gonna do that to us? Go to hell.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/idwe87/party_of_25_15_mins_before_closing_in_a/
| 5,066 | 206 | 1,598,015,322 | 14 |
tip
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top
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rz85sc
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TalesFromYourServer
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18% gratuity automatically added to my bill.
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Went to a breakfast spot in Chicago a month ago and receive my bill with gratuity automatically added in. With option for additional tip. As a server I absolutely love this! I don’t understand why more restaurants don’t do this or go this route. It wasn’t a super high-end restaurant by any means just a normal breakfast spot.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/rz85sc/18_gratuity_automatically_added_to_my_bill/
| 750 | 209 | 1,641,671,142 | 14 |
gratuity
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relevance
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wnzydd
|
TalesFromYourServer
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Big Top , You Kill me
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We had a reservation for tonight for 15 people, and I was on the rotation to get it. I was super stoked because anything with 6 people or more gets an automatic 20% Gratuity.
ANYWAYS, they stagger in, and it ends up being like 25 people. I have all of their drinks in and on the table, and Im now starting to get food orders. Some people are being super annoying and getting up and moving around, but I'm managing.
So im like 10 people in, and then they tell me its going to be all separate checks. LOL - No its not. I tell the guy whose like "in charge" that with a party this large I can only do 1 check. My manager agrees with me that we arent going to split that fucking bill up, especially after theyve all been switching seats and ordered a whole bunch of shit already. So he gives me a card, and just tells me to keep him up to date with the total. No worries - PHEW.
And I take the orders, put them in, and then a little bit later go around to check on drinks, its super hard to get peoples attention, so I'm going 1 by 1, and next to me, MAYBE a foot away, a girl goes "Where the fuck is our server" and I just pop my head next to her and say "Shes right here. What can I get for you." she looks embarrassed, as she should be, because - what the fuck? She wants a drink. Done.
Anyways, its just a super demanding table, and i have to turn down other tables from the hostess because I wouldnt be able to handle this table plus more than maybe 2 other small tables.
Food starts coming to the expo line, so I go to take mine (and i know theyre mine because they had super specific mods), and another server tries to fucking take my food to his table. And I stop him and say "No dude, this is for my table, here's my ticket" and he tries arguing with me, and im showing him the mods, and hes still not backing down and the kitchen comes out to tell him that it is indeed mine. So now hes YELLING at me "Why are all these fucking dishes up here! Take your plates! What are you doing?!" and i LOSE it yall.
I scream back "Im TRYING to take my fucking dishes, but youre sitting over here BITCHING and FUCKING around and not LISTENING. SO FUCK OFF."
Everyone gets there food.
Main dude wants to close the check, so I bring him the itemized bill, and it also shows the auto gratuity added and the new total with the gratuity. I dont know if he didnt look or if he just felt bad for me, but I got a double tip and made 300$ on that table.
THANK fucking GANESH.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/wnzydd/big_top_you_kill_me/
| 1,871 | 90 | 1,660,460,410 | 14 |
gratuity
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relevance
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xsetr1
|
TalesFromYourServer
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business isn’t doing automatic gratuity right
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hi friends. i posted a month or 2 ago about the hotel that i work at rounding down change that’s due back to the customer, since we don’t do exact change. i unfortunately did not take y’all’s advice as i still work there, and i bring you another story about the mismanaged shit that’s going on. 😃
for the past few days we’ve been doing buffets for breakfast, which include an automatic gratuity. we have no sign posted about auto grat, and we only tell people about it once we drop off the checkbook—i’ve felt really uneasy about this, bc i’ve been explicitly told NOT to tell them when they first walk up. however, we will comp the gratuity if they have a problem with it, so i believe there’s nothing illegal going on?
the whole situation still does not sit right with me. isn’t auto grat supposed to protect the server in case ppl don’t want to tip? my supervisor has told us to simply comp the person if they raise any sort of fuss, which is good since we don’t post a sign anywhere that we do this, but bad since the server is the one losing money for this mistake. a few tables had a problem with this, and 1 table genuinely thought by just writing their own total without gratuity that we would ignore the one literally printed onto the receipt. and guess what i had to do after they complained to the front desk? ✨comp them✨
i as the server do not feel protected, and why even have auto grat in the first place if we’re just gonna handle it stupidly and take it off at the first hint of a complaint? i have brought this up to the supervisor, who has told me that the manager apparently doesn’t want to put up a sign, even though that would make the grat legally enforceable and the customer can be held responsible for paying the tip no matter how much they complain (as far as i’ve researched, at least).
to answer your next question, im still working here bc i left my last job after only 2 months and i don’t want either a string of short-lived employment or a long gap on my resume, so unless things get really bad here i’m probably just going to put up with the BS.
is it worth bringing this up to the manager myself? maybe he needs to hear a server’s perspective. he’s usually very kind to me and listens to the servers’ complaints so i was surprised when i heard he wanted it handled this way.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/xsetr1/business_isnt_doing_automatic_gratuity_right/
| 5 | 9 | 1,664,577,616 | 14 |
gratuity
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relevance
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1scbiz
|
TalesFromYourServer
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Drunks should get auto gratuity...
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Last night I had a table of 5 eat dinner and then continue to drink 5 bottles of wine. I served them from 8-1, well past the end of my shift. Their bill comes to $200. One of them hands me a stack of money and says, "I'll take the remaining balance." The money counts to $160, I hand him another bill for $40. He hands me 2 cards and tells me to split it. I do, then give the cards back to the owners.
As I'm watching them sign their receipts, I realize what is about to happen. Everyone is really drunk. Too drunk to think about the bill. They leave, I pick up the 2 credit card receipts. Yes, I was right. One left a $5 tip and the other left a $9 tip. I was left with a $14 tip on a $200 bill for a table I served for 5 hours.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1scbiz/drunks_should_get_auto_gratuity/
| 79 | 34 | 1,386,452,184 | 14 |
gratuity
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relevance
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8y2qzn
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TalesFromYourServer
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Thoughts on adding automatic gratuity to large groups?
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So the town I work in actually just passed a law banning businesses from adding automatic gratuities to checks. If a business does they get fined. This came to my knowledge after a large group (28 people) game in without calling ahead or anything. They had me and one other server split the large group to make everything faster and easier. Everything went well, no issues, and yet me and this other server got a total of $22 in tips from this group. We were obviously pretty ticked. When talking to my manager about how unfair that it he told me about that new law. He also told me about how it came to be an issue. Bad servers would get these large groups, know there was an automatic 18% or whatever tip being added, and not give a crap about giving the group good service. So basically these automatic tips were protecting bad servers. The only thing is that it then screws over the good servers who end up in a situation like mine.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/8y2qzn/thoughts_on_adding_automatic_gratuity_to_large/
| 32 | 23 | 1,531,338,308 | 14 |
gratuity
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relevance
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1cjlhau
|
TalesFromYourServer
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Supervisor/manager is pissed that I make more than him and I feel targeted.
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I was hired at this hotel as a buffet attendant and at the same time, they hired a manager/supervisor. Said supervisor gets paid like $30 an hour and he was always a server/bartender making tips. I get a percentage from the buffet, usually over $100 a day, plus credit and cash tips since guests can order items too.
Seems my supervisor didn't know that I was making all this money until recently when he started helping with payroll. I decided to start splitting my cash tips with him because he helps and was grateful. The other day I forgot my cash tips (it was like $10) and I texted him about it and he said "Oh it was just $10, I took it, you wanna keep it?"
None of the other managers get any of my tips. It seems supervisor complained to chef that he does a lot and doesn't get any gratuity. Chef who is nosy told me I need to be fair and ask for the gratuity to be split. Now supervisor disappears at times and doesn't help as much.
It also seems people from the restaurant know that I make all this money and they make comments. What to do?
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1cjlhau/supervisormanager_is_pissed_that_i_make_more_than/
| 69 | 66 | 1,714,776,513 | 14 |
gratuity
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hot
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16xwqlm
|
TalesFromYourServer
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Made 4 bucks off a 200 bill
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Like the title says, I only made 4 bucks from a table of 9 last night. They ordered 5 of the most expensive meals we have, then a couple of the largest burritos we have. Only 7 of them actually ate anything, but their bill was $200.79 due to our prices. I kept drinks full, I did multiple refills on their drinks. Made sure all their food came out at the same time, I didn’t mix up anyone’s food.
When it came time to pay, one guy paid on card. I bring back the receipts for him to sign and I do my spiel of “top copy is mine, the one under is yours. Please remember to sign the bottom line on the top one for me”. I did add in a line of “Just so you know, we don’t have automatic gratuity here, so whatever you want to tip is up to you. Y’all have a good evening!”
After a couple minutes I came back to the table (most of the people had already gotten up and were half out the door) I grabbed the slip and saw no tip. Not even a line through or anything. I show my manager and even she was frustrated for me. They all left and I found 10 bucks on the table. And due to our tip share, I only got 4 of that. I don’t mind tip share at all!! But it sucks when a big bill like that doesn’t tip or tips super low like that.
I wish I could sit down with the “big boss” as we call him and ask him why we don’t have auto gratuity, but I’ve been told he would laugh in my face if I so much as asked. Apparently he is a jerk when it comes to those types of questions. Gotta love a boss who only cares about sales and not his employees. He’s known for being rude. Thankfully he only comes in once a month or so. But UGH!!! Just wanted to vent
*edit to add a word. Forgot to say “a couple of” and typed too fast. Oops*
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/16xwqlm/made_4_bucks_off_a_200_bill/
| 268 | 154 | 1,696,253,506 | 14 |
gratuity
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hot
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1139msu
|
TalesFromYourServer
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Rant about management
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Alright y’all I just gotta rant about what just happened at my work.
At my work we don’t include automatic gratuities for large parties. Last night, my coworker had a large party of around 15 people and he received a $0.56 tip for a bill around $400. He posted in the group chat about it and ask if we could implement an automatic gratuity for large parties. The next morning management reviewed the footage and said he did a poor job.
Now here’s where I come in. Last night after he posted his message in the group chat I wrote “I agree.” I didn’t know if he did a good job or not I was just agreeing with the statement for an automatic gratuity. Now, management is mad at me and wants to give me a written warning for it on my next shift.
That’s my rant. Just wanted to talked about it, thanks for listening y’all.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1139msu/rant_about_management/
| 44 | 17 | 1,676,498,006 | 14 |
gratuity
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hot
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os8v8z
|
TalesFromYourServer
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I got to live out a server’s fantasy. Ten years of pent up frustration and staircase wit, reading stories here and thinking about what I would’ve done, and a whole pandemic-load of stress, I unleashed it all on this guy in a righteous fury.
|
SETTING
I work at a Japanese restaurant and my bosses are the best. I have basically been adopted into their Korean family. I have a lot of responsibility and a lot of trust. Their daughter/GM Amy is my best friend. Of course, like everyone these days, we’re short-staffed. We try not to over-extend ourselves, leaving tables empty if either the FOH or BOH are falling behind. However, last Saturday one of the sushi chefs had to leave part way through the shift so Amy had to move from the floor to the sushi bar, leaving just Ben and me on the floor.
As it happens, earlier in the evening I had a guest who tipped me $100 on his ~$90 check. I say this not just to brag (partly to brag, though, hell yeah) but because it comes up.
ACT 1 (The boring part)
Party of 7 came in. They were, initially, pretty normal. The one weird thing was that this guy (“Jack,” late 20s?) asked me while I dropped off water if people had been “treating me good” today. I told him that most people were good and one guy was great, and that I would be right back. I had prioritized bringing them water (as a basic necessity) over a table that had been ready to order before Jack & Friends came in. That was where we were, rush-wise.
For the rest of the meal, though, Jack was nice. It was obvious we were busy. He told me multiple times that I was great, that I was doing a great job, etc. He “did things to help me” (like collect menus). And yes, I was energized by his comments. I brought them a refill for their pitcher of ice water when they didn’t need it. Checked in when all one person needed was a little more iced tea.
Once I finally got a moment, I had a whole convo with them about how good and authentic our food is. Birthday Boy Joey (congrats on escaping the 27 club) originally wanted to order a Korean dish which we can’t serve right now because it’s slow-cooked which normally takes a lot of time out of the Mrs’s schedule and she’s doing over 50hr/week in the kitchen already. But we got to have a nice convo about how the bibimbap (which one person got) is the best in town. [Much abridged]
However, I had gotten *enough* of a sour note from the times that Jack wanted to keep me engaged at the table and I had to walk away and help another customer (Eg, when they weren’t all ready to order but I couldn’t stand there and watch them think) that my brain was already churning with responses for the argument that hadn’t occurred. My brain does this all the time. The argument never takes place. Until now.
ACT 2
Jack came up to our server station to pay. At the time I thought, “Ahh, one of those gracious types that wants to get the bill before anyone knows.” Ben came up to me in the station and reminded me to put the autograt on because I sometimes forget and sometimes I “forget.” Menu states autograt is included for parties of 6 or more, sometimes I trust people. Today, not so much.
So I came out with the check and Jack’s like, “Hey, I want you to know this was the worst service I have ever received in City, ever. I mean ever, in all of City. Your service tonight was absolutely awful. And I’m not saying you should be ashamed, I think whoever trained you should be ashamed because you don’t know what you’re doing at all.”
Well, I’ve been a server in a pandemic for a hot minute now and I told him, “Well, sir, as you know, this is the end of the pandemic and restaurants are *totally back to normal*. There is no staff shortage. We are actually *overstaffed*.”
That wasn’t the reply he expected, I think.
This is where things go a *little* fuzzy, because my heart started racing and I can’t really provide a complete transcript. Most of what he said was repeating himself, worst in town, no way to run a business, a few specific comments about Ben (who he called “your bus boy”), yadda yadda. For the rest of the conversation, everything I said was *dripping* both in sarcasm and saccharine. And I mean **SOPPING.** This was sweetness weaponized because I was already gloves-off. Particularly when he called me a piece of shit *somewhere* in this exchange, I don’t even remember how he said it.
So, here are our back-and-forths (each new paragraph somewhat removed from context):
Me: Well, this restaurant opened in Jan 2015 and I’ve been working here since Feb 2015 and I am such a *bad server* that they have been *dying* to fire me ever since!
Jack(Ass): Yeah I bet they are.
(lol, wtaf. *He said that*.)
Jack: You should talk to customers like we’re human.
Me: And that’s why you came up to say all this, right? Because you understand that I’m human?
Me: Well as a server it’s obviously my job to make sure you have the worst night out. That is my goal every night, to ruin your dinner. I’m glad you understand.
(THESE ARE THINGS I SAID ALOUD WITH MY ACTUAL MOUTH HOLY SHIT I STILL STRUGGLE TO BELIEVE)
Me: And I *thank you*. Thank you for giving me a reason to talk to you *the way I want to talk to you*. Because it’s not often that I get to say all the things I want to say. And you gave me this opportunity.
Jack: I’m not asking for anything for free.
Me: You aren’t going to *get* anything for free.
Jack: I’m not even mad.
[Ben passing by laughs out loud]: Yeah you aren’t mad.
Me (talking in full puppy mode): Aww, yeah, you aren’t maaaad. I believe yooouuu.”
So with his card having been run and his check signed, I asked him how many boxes he and his party needed in order to leave.
ACT 3
In the 30 seconds it took to grab those boxes, I came up with another retort. And now was no time to start letting things go unsaid. So I brought the box to the table and I said, “You remember how when you first sat down you asked how people had been treating me? And I mentioned that most customers were good but one customer had been *great*? Well, that one customer, his check was $90 and he tipped me $100. So, you know, I think he thought I was a good server.”
I was actually a bit surprised when the rest of his table “Awwwww’d.” Sure I’d thought we were getting along before, but when Jack came up to confront me I thought they’d all be complaining about me behind my back. Typically, like follows like. And this woman at his table, henceforth Stella, I don’t know her relationship to him, she said “You know you *deserve* it!”
I SAW THE OPPORTUNITY AND I DUG IN. I said, “It really is those exceptional customers that make or break your day, you know?”
Well shit, *he* knew what that meant even though *she* didn’t. So he said, “Well I would have tipped you if you had brought our drinks out within 40 minutes!”
I said, “Don’t worry, autograt’s been included in your bill” and walked away.
20+ feet away I could hear him say/shout that he’ll just file a chargeback. And “You probably don’t even know what a credit card is, retard.”
I vented to the dishwasher for a little while and when I came back to the floor Stella was with Ben. She had insisted that we allow her to tip us via credit card. She apologized to me a thousand times and I told her that I totally understand she is not the same person as him, that she is different, etc.
I said, “I could tell you were—”
Stella: “DYING INSIDE!”
So she tipped us as well.
THEN Ben and I are once again in the server station rehashing wtf just happened when Joey, the birthday boy, came up to our doorway and told me that he really hopes this doesn’t ruin my whole night and he is so sorry. I again told him I’m so sorry (I did say that, not sure what for, I guess that’s just a force of habit) and I wished him a happy birthday.
EPILOGUE
So this motherfucker was all about ‘face’ and he humiliated himself in front of *everyone*. Got a little embarrassed and went mask-off in front of his buddies.
Bottom line is dude was not expecting me. He wasn’t expecting me not to cower. He wasn’t expecting me to remind him that his restaurant experience doesn’t exist outside of reality. He wasn’t expecting me to be *secure in my employment.* He didn’t expect that this would be anything but him intimidating a server.
When I talked to Amy she said she couldn’t even tell whether Jack and I were fighting. She was like picking up on tension but he and I were so *polite* that she wasn’t sure if I was just having a conversation or what. *That* is my pride and joy. I did so good my best friend couldn’t tell I was drawing and quartering a man.
And you know my favorite part? I got paid to do it! This asshole is standing there while I run his credit card, and he’s signing away a $40 gratuity, while I tear into him. Some people get off on that, I guess!
Regrets? I actually have some. After a whole whirlwind of saying everything on my mind I wish that when Jack said he’d file a chargeback that I said something along the lines of “That’s theft and fraud. You don’t want to commit theft and fraud, do you?” but at the time I was just pissed off that he might actually do it (my boss has told me we deal with fraudulent chargebacks often) so I was kicking myself for giving away that he’d already paid gratuity.
And I wish I could be sure that his party knew it was never about the tip, it was about the disrespect. When I said that the other guy gave me $100, it was to prove my value as an awesome server, not because I’m upset that Jack didn’t tip (or thought he didn’t tip). They probably still don’t know what he was saying to me by the server station; I doubt *he’d* tell them.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/os8v8z/i_got_to_live_out_a_servers_fantasy_ten_years_of/
| 1,095 | 33 | 1,627,335,794 | 14 |
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pp6gku
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TalesFromYourServer
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23 people to serve, 15 minutes before close
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I work at a relatively nice restaurant. I don’t think Jeff Bezos will be in anytime soon, but it’s higher end and everyone has that expectation of it.
We close at 10pm Sunday-Friday and the hours are posted online and on the door. A table for 23 came in at 8, no reservation, and requested to all sit together. My manager said fine, come on it! Just wait an hour and 45 mins first. So… come in at 9:45pm… 15 mins before closing. Nobody told me til 9:20. Fine. Parties of 8 or more get gratuity automatically added so maybe it’ll be worth my time, even though I have to split it with one other server.
9:55 rolls around and they come in and sit. I make them order dessert first and put it in Togo containers because the bakery and bar close strictly at 10pm no questions asked. My half of the table eventually orders, save for one guy taking his sweet time. He takes his time and then orders an appetizer. Fuck you dude but whatever, ill ring in the $15 appetizer for your meal even though I’ll barely get tipped for it.
Nope, we were out of all appetizers, so he reluctantly orders a burger (RARE!? Ew). Around 11:15, an hour and 15 mins after we close, they’re ready to check out. ALL. SEPARATE. TABS. 22 checks and a shit ton of cash payments needing change I didn’t have later, I realize… someone didn’t pay. Ok. Cool. So you wasted my time AND stiffed me? Guess who it was!! Rare burger guy.
I’m mad now. I should’ve gone home an hour ago and the tables total was only like $500, so between me and my coworker we only get like $40 each because they barely ordered anything. I want my $3 tip from this dickhead and I want it now.
I find my manager, tell her he stiffed me. He’s gone. She begins to compensate the check, when I notice some movement outside. They’re back! All of them! To pay the tab maybe?!?
Nope.
To take pictures in front of the restaurant, With everyone INCLUDING the guy who stiffed me. Cool. I tell my manager and we march outside. Dickhead is standing there with his gf beginning to walk the other way, but no. We RUN across the street. We start yelling “ONE OF YOU GUYS STIFFED US” and point directly at rare burger guy.
He owes me $25 for his burger not even including the tip. He starts walking away like he doesn’t hear us, but we’re chasing this man so he gives up, already embarrassed In front of his girlfriend and 21 other friends.
He pulls us aside and hands us $20. That’s all the money he’s got on him. At this point, what fucking ever dude. I’m ready to go home. So we take the 20 and leave, no satisfaction from it.
You know, if he was nice, if they didn’t come in so late, if he didn’t deliberately do it and then stupidly hang around outside, I would’ve just let my manager compensate it. But you ALL wasted my time. So we chased him down, And it still didn’t make me feel any burger.
So, rare burger eating dickhead, fuck you.
Edit:
I would like to say that I wrote this experience while heated directly after getting off my shift. I’ve had a lot of people commenting on me being unprofessional.
I understand it was not the tables fault for coming in so late. That was on my manager. I did not give them any less energy or help than I would give a 2 top coming in during regular business hours. However we were doing a hard close because it was a holiday and we were getting our asses handed to us all day long. Meaning yes, they did have to order quickly. However my manager informed them of the closing times when they had come in 2 hours before being seated, which I believe is enough time to check out a menu on your phone or even grab a menu and see what you’d like to order.
This table was all very young people, I believe we were the only restaurant willing to accept a 23 top and they had not planned on a fine dining experience. A majority of them ordered directly off of the small plates menu, which is the low calorie/cheap version of the main meals. Most are appetizer sized.
I explain I rushed them but I gave them about 20 minutes to order despite needing to put in the order by 10. They didn’t order til like 10:15 and it was because I tried my best to give them time.
I had no choice in having to ring in their dessert first, it was under instruction of my manager. And no, I don’t boss my manager around- she was going to comp the check but I saw him outside. I could have said it wasn’t him, but I was irritated and didn’t think it was fair for him to leave, so I told her and she asked me to come outside with her and point out the person. He just so happened to be walking away so we had no choice but to run over to him.
And, save for the rare burger guy, I got tipped on top of the added gratuity on a lot of my tabs. We didn’t stand around glaring at them, we made sure they had everything they needed and kicked up some small talk while waiting on their food. His friends apologized on his behalf when they found out he had stiffed us.
That all being said, I did not react the best. I would like to add that this was how I was feeling about it, but I put on my serving persona at work and do not express anything negative I’m feeling towards customers. This is all what I really wanted to say and feel, but on the outside I’m just serving as I always do. For the most part these flaws were under instruction of my manager, but I do know I could have been more positive about the situation. Thanks 👍🏼
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/pp6gku/23_people_to_serve_15_minutes_before_close/
| 670 | 55 | 1,631,766,887 | 14 |
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top
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apugs8
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TalesFromYourServer
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4 Year-old Sneaks Into Server Station To Try To Steal Lapel Pins Off My Apron When I'm Not Looking
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Alright so this story also belongs in r/entitledparents but I thought id post it here first.
TL;DR at the bottom. Strap in cause it's a long one.
Just for back story, I'm an avid pin collector and have 100+ at my house. I've been collecting for about a year now and am very proud of all my different pins, especially considering that any given pin could have cost anywhere between 1-15 dollars. The most I've ever paid for one pin was 25 bucks and the most expensive one in my collection cost about 60 dollars (found at a pin swap) so I've sunk quite a bit of money and time into this hobby but I genuinely love it and don't mind spending the spare money when I have it.
Now The whole left pocket of my server apron is covered with about 20 of some of the favorites that I own. I'm the only server at my work with anything on my apron so its a good way to set myself apart. Not only that but it's a good way to connect to certain customers if they see one from something they also like which increases my tips. Kids also love them and the conversations with them typically end with me showing them pictures of my whole collection, small talk about where I get them from, and a 25% tip for including and being so kind to the little ones. Then we all leave with a pleasant experience, right?
Wrong. So I was working the morning shift at the little German restaurant I work at. We were completely dead like always, there was only one other 2 top in the restaurant and a couple of regulars at the bar when this family of 3 come in. a mom, dad and there small (probably 3 or 4 years old) son. I go up to great them and am in the middle of my introduction when I hear the son scream “MOMMA, MARIO!!” referring to my pair of Mario and Luigi pins. Immediately I see an opportunity to start being friendly with these folks so I start to ask him about his favorite games and he tells me about his new switch and I act jealous which makes him smile. I don't normally like kids very much but he was cute and seemingly polite up until this point.
I finish up their drink order and as I'm walking away I hear the boy go “momma, I want the little Mario and Luigi!” and her reply “okay we’ll get it for you.” Alright, weird wording but I figured she just meant they'd buy him a set when they got home. I come back with their drinks, and when I set them down the mother say “excuse me my son wants some of your pins” Thinking she was asking where I got them from I chuckle and tell her it was part of 4 pieces set that you could get cheap on this specific website. Annoyed by this she says, “No, he wants YOURS. Right now.” and puts her hand out like I was sposed to just drop them in there. I was pretty shocked as I only half believed people like this existed. I really did try to be as polite as I could, so I replied “I'm sorry miss, but I don't give away my pins to my friends, let alone strangers. I hope you understand. Are yall ready to order?” She is furious at this point
Mom-“EXCUSE ME, ARE YOU SERIOUS?”
Me- “yes ma’am, I'm sorry it's really nothing personal.”
Mom- “He wants it and he's been good all this year (it's mid-February) HE DESERVES IT. YOU HAVE LOTS HOW CAN YOU BE SO SELFISH. IT'S FROM A KIDS GAME AND VIDEO GAMES ARE FOR BOYS ANYWAY”
Me- “Look I bought it with my money and I'm not just giving it away. (starts to address the son) I’m really sorry little man, they're just not up for sale right now. (kid looks dejected but stays silent) so are yall ready to order?”
They begrudgingly order and I go back to the server station to input the order when suddenly I feel hands slip around my waist. I obviously freak out cause who the hell is grabbing me from behind so I spin around and yell “WHAT THE HELL” only to be greeted by the little boy looking mortified that had been caught trying to steal the pins right off my apron. I didn't yell exactly but I was angry and loud when I said “ARE YOU FOR REAL? GET BACK TO YOUR FREAKING TABLE KID.” He started crying and ran to his parents while I ran to my manager and told him the whole truth including me snapping at the kid. I told him I was about to go confront them and asked if he would wait in the server station within earshot in case the lady tried to make up some lie about how I talked to her and he agreed.
I go back out and oh man has hell broke loose. The sons scream-crying, the mom’s infuriated, and the dad is just watching the whole thing go down like he's been the whole time. As soon as I show my face the mom GOES OFF
Mom- “WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE TO TALK TO MY SON THAT WAY. HE'S A CHILD, HE SAW A TOY AND YOU, A GROWN ASS WOMAN, TOLD HIM HE COULDN’T HAVE IT BECAUSE IT WAS YOURS. WHAT DID YOU EXPECT HIM TO DO?
Me (trying to be as nice but firm as possible because I'm terrified of conflict of this is putting my stomach in knots)- “Ma’am your son was told that he could not have someone else's property politely and calmly. YOU threw a fit over that. Then your son was caught in an employees-only area trying to stealing it right off my body and scared me to death while doing it. We're all lucky I didn't take a swing at him as I turned around because I didn't know who was grabbing me. I'm sorry I raised my voice but you've gotta understand he CAN NOT do that.”
Mom- “ARE YOU DUMB? HE'S JUST A KID AND YOU TOLD HIM HE COULDN’T HAVE SOMETHING HE WANTED. JUST GIVE HIM THE DAMN PIN.”
Me-“NO. I take pride in my collection and I'm not going to just give them away to whoever likes them.”
Mom-”YOU CANT SPEAK TO ME LIKE THAT YOUNG LADY. I WANNA TALK TO THE MANAGER.”
So my GM comes out and listens to her spew lies and exaggerations About how rude and inappropriate I've been. He tells her the exact same thing I did About how her son overstepped and how I don't owe her anything except friendly service which he believed I gave her. He then adds “you're lucky she doesn't want to press charges for attempted theft.” the mom is still livid but her whole demeanor changes to fear.
Mom- YOU KNOW WHAT WE DONT NEED THIS CRAP. COME ON \*SON\* AND \*HUSBAND LETS GO. WE WILL NEVER BE COMING BACK TO THIS DUMP. WE WILL RUIN YOU!’”
And then she storms out. With all the excitement my manager and I completely forgot about their food and payment until it was too late. I offered to pay for all of it because I did feel but my GM insisted it wasn't my fault and he would just comp the food entirely because he's awesome.
So moral of the story; teach your kids that stealing is wrong and to respect other peoples property. Also to keep there hand the hell away from people they don't know.
TL;DR woman gets mad when I won't give her son my Mario and Luigi pins and then even madder when I raise my voice when he grabs my waist from behind in an attempt to steal it.
EDIT: a few of Yall were wanting to see my collection so here's some of it. the first picture is of the apron featured in the story, and I'm pretty sure the larger Mario and Luigi are the ones the child was trying to steal. the second is my guitar and ukelele straps that hang on my wall :) [https://imgur.com/gallery/qHwriXf](https://imgur.com/gallery/qHwriXf)
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/apugs8/4_yearold_sneaks_into_server_station_to_try_to/
| 2,873 | 247 | 1,549,985,448 | 14 |
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7nzz03
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TalesFromYourServer
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I had a $20 tip stolen today, by a customer.
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Obligatory "I'm writing this on mobile, please excuse the formatting" (question- I'm always looking at Reddit from my mobile, do posts from mobile show up weird to people on desktop? I always see people mention to excuse their formatting)
I worked morning shift today behind the bar, as I do every Wednesday. An hour before my shift ended, two women came in; one wanted to place a to-go order, the other was just tagging along. I placed the order, told them it would be 10 minutes, that was that. I tried to cash her out, but she told me to wait because she was on the phone. One of my regular couples had just cashed out and left my tip on the tray. I walked with them to the back door, and asked another server to cover me at the bar on my way out. She obliged.
I'm gone maybe 2 minutes. I come back to the bar and notice that the tray my regulars left was empty. Confused, I asked the man that was sitting near them if I was crazy because I KNOW there was a $20 tip on that tray when I walked away. He said he wasn't sure, that was that.
I'm talking to myself out loud, and to some of my other regulars that were at my bar. I'll be ME and the woman that accompanied the woman who placed the to-go order will be CL for crazy lady.
ME: Maybe P&G (the regulars who just left) accidentally put it in their pocket when they left, or maybe they put it in the tip jar and I didn't notice.... *starts digging through the tip jar*
CL: I KNOW YOU AIN'T ACCUSING ME OF TAKING YOUR MONEY. I AIN'T SEEN NO MONEY AND I DON'T NEED NO ONES MONEY.
ME: Ma'am, no one is accusing you. I think I must be going crazy. Maybe I put it somewhere else? *starts walking around lifting things, looking through receipts, digging through the trash can*
CL : I'M FIXING TO GET LIVE UP IN HERE! I AIN'T GONNA BE HAVING NO ONE SAY I TOOK THEIR MONEY! SHIT.. WHAT THE FUCK I LOOK LIKE? I AIN'T TAKING SHIT FROM NO ONE!
ME: I'll be right back, I'm going to check on your friends order. *walks away and calls my regulars that left the tip to ask them if they picked it back up by mistake, just to be 100% sure because I still don't want to believe someone stole my tip. They confirmed it was a $10, $5, and some $1's*
I bring the to-go order out and I'm flustered. I don't know what to say. I can't just accuse someone of stealing my tip with no concrete evidence. So I just hand the bag over, cash the crazy ladys friend out and they leave.
Well, we have a security camera. I told the owner what I think happened and how the crazy lady jumped all over me, when I didn't even hint that anyone had stolen it. You know what they say about a guilty conscience. Owner gives me the number to our computer guy because he can't figure out how to rewind the security feed. The computer guy says he'll be there in a few.
Computer guy shows up and I give him the approximate time the money went missing. Sure enough, plain as day, it's shown that when I walked away the crazy lady sat down in the empty barstool next to the money. You see her grab a napkin, place it over my tray with the money, and she waits a second. Then she reaches back out, grabs the napkin with the money under it and stuffs it in her pocket to make it look like maybe she was just saving the tissue to use to blow her nose later. I'm not even sure her friend saw her. I was so focused on crazy lady, I didn't look.
I'm so upset. The owner suggests I call the police. I'm hesitant because it's only $20, but he convinced me that's not the point, it's the principle. Police show up, watch the video, get a copy of the clip, get my information, and tell me they may know who she is and she'll be charged with larceny. Our restaurant is really close to the police station so we see these guys a lot and always give them stellar service. I was really surprised and genuinely touched that they took my report so seriously for such a small amount.
So yeah, that was my day. I've been a bartender for 13 years and I've never had a customer steal a tip, or anyone for that matter. What a shitty thing to do. I hope they figure out who she is.
TLDW: A tag-along with a to-go customer stole my $20 tip from the bar. It was caught plain as day on security camera and she's going to be charged with larceny.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/7nzz03/i_had_a_20_tip_stolen_today_by_a_customer/
| 1,521 | 154 | 1,515,034,099 | 14 |
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relevance
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1fjvmrx
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TalesFromYourServer
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Guy changes $100 tip
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hello! i’ve never posted here (or anywhere on reddit) im sorry if i break any rules!
about 2 weeks ago i watched a smosh reddit stories video about a man who had tipped his server very well to impress his date, then changed it to $20. obviously that guy is a pos. what i didn’t expect was for it to happen at the restaurant that i work at.
my coworker Miranda and manager Alex (fake names) were telling me about how Miranda got a $110 tip from a table of two people who’s bill was about $100. she was obviously very happy because that’s an over 100% tip. two days later, i come in to work and see the check on the bar. i asked why it was out (usually the servers keep their checks in a book/basket in the office). she said “the guy who gave me that great tip decided he tipped too much and wants his money back”. i guess he must have seen the charge on his bank statement and got worried. then she said “he says this is the second time this has happened to him”. i guess he was assuming that we changed his tip?? even though HE totaled AND signed the check. anyway, he came to get his refund and re-sign the check. he didn’t leave ANYTHING for the tip. not even a cent. he was visibly annoyed because of a mistake HE made and then left with his new copy of the receipt. when he left, we realized he left his credit card. i was thinking “yes karma he’ll have to face us again” no. he made us bring his card to his car. i suggested Miranda take it out to him, but Alex ended up taking it himself. i was a bit irritated because 1. he’s not a paying customer anymore 2. we don’t do curbside service and 3. he’s an a-hole.
unfortunately there’s no satisfying, vengeful ending to this story except for the fact that he’s got a bad reputation at my restaurant. i’ll post an update if he ever comes back.
EDIT: i am the hostess and i don’t have much control over interactions like this. if i was the manager i would’ve handled it differently.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1fjvmrx/guy_changes_100_tip/
| 156 | 81 | 1,726,673,354 | 14 |
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1bdgm7r
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TalesFromYourServer
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Tipping on a Happy Hour
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Hello, patron here,
I am hoping to gather some honest thoughts from folks in the serving industry around tipping on discounted prices.
Postinos has a $25 bottle and board after 8pm every Monday and Tuesday.
With just doing the bottle of wine and bruschetta board my total came out to be around $27. And so while I understand that we receive quite the discount with that deal, I was shocked to see that I was suggested to tip based off the price of the bottle and board as if was not the happy hour deal ($70ish) I normally tip 20% on my total but I was not expecting to be suggested to add $14 as tip - which is a 50% tip on the $27 bill.
The service was good, but it wasn't like we ordered a ton of drinks or multiple glasses of wine that the server had to attend to - we poured our own wine and was brought out a single board. If it was multiple touch points or requests I would not feel weird about tipping higher.
Am I being dumb/rude to question this suggested tip? I would never order a $50 bottle of wine and only went for this deal so I was rather conflicted. Plus the server was watching me put in the tip with the hand held payment machine so I felt extra pressured to pay a tip I felt was too high for the service.
I know I can tip what I believe is right, but I don't want to be an asshole. It was just unexpected and even the server said “People get quite upset about that after we explain that \[being charged at the full price, not the happy hour total\]" when I inquired if the machine was correct.
Full disclosure: I worked in customer service for over 6 years, but in a barista position, not serving tables. I was not reliant on tips like servers often are, and I acknowledge that, but please don't attack me for not knowing what it's like to work in a customer service position.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1bdgm7r/tipping_on_a_happy_hour/
| 87 | 111 | 1,710,298,115 | 14 |
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151x6ra
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TalesFromYourServer
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Another Server Rant
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I’ve been a server at a casual sports-themed, family friendly bar/grill for about four years and have had maybe two or three negative interactions with customers in that entire time. Usually when things go wrong I’m able to diffuse the situation pretty easily.
We are open seating/no host, so it’s common that everyone will come in at once (we’re situated above two hockey rinks where there are often youth tournaments).
Yesterday, this family of 6 came in for lunch. They sat down while I was getting waters for an 11 top and a 4 top that sat down maybe 5 minutes before them. I greeted them while dropping off waters and they had to wait another few minutes for me to grab their drink orders. From the beginning, the two young children were being unruly to the point where the parents warned me that if I didn’t give them cups with lids they would deliberately pour them on the floor. (Great parenting, right?)
So I get their drinks followed by their food. They ordered more than could fit on one tray, so the food runner had to go back to the kitchen for the woman’s wedge salad. I bring it out to her and make sure everything looks good. I check on them a few minutes later, and they say all is good. They then pull the food runner aside and tell her there’s too much bleu cheese dressing on the salad.
This is where things get cloudy. According to the food runner, when she asked the woman if she wanted anything else, she grabbed the menu and pointed at the Greek salad.
I had the runner get a Greek salad going and removed the wedge from the bill. We got the Greek salad out and everything seemed fine. The family is pretty rude the whole time, like not even looking up or turning toward me when I attempt to check on them. I knew the most I’d get from them was 10% based on their overall attitude so I really didn’t think much of it.
Then comes time for the bill. The woman used a coupon for a free appetizer, then makes a point to say that she shouldn’t be charged for her salad. I kindly responded that of course we removed the wedge, since she didn’t like it. She goes off about how the food runner told her it would be free and she was so turned off by the amount of dressing on her first salad that she didn’t even want anything and the only reason she ordered a replacement is because it was free. (Mind you, she ate the whole thing.)
I spoke with my manager and he said to comp it since there was some confusion. When I dropped off the check, I let her know that we took care of it but that in the future she would be charged for anything she orders and eats. She starts yelling about the terrible customer service, telling me that she’s a server and would never treat someone like that (after I literally gave her what she wanted!!!). She then has her husband cross off his $5 tip (the bill was $65 after she got a free appetizer and that salad comped). What a fucking nightmare. People trying to cheat the system piss me off.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/151x6ra/another_server_rant/
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service charge
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1445223
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TalesFromYourServer
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Ive Had ENOUGH!
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TL:DR owner/boss has been taking portions of our tips to pay for any beer bottles or food that was accidentally not charged on customer order ticket. Boss disrespects, belittles and starts rumors about a waitress. Not paid for staying after end of shift to clean for 1-2 hours . Knowingly has waitress pour liquor from BIG bottles and refill into used smaller bottles ( less cost for boss. Threatens Waitress with termination of employment or withholding 50% of tips earned that same shift. Lets family dog (NOT a service dog) run around in dining area through kitchen, makes Head Waitress wipe and sweep up all visible dog hair . way too much going on
I am 1 of 3 waitresses employed at a Chinese/American Restaurant and Bar. Its not small like Red Lobster nor is it BIG like a Buffalo Wild Wings (BW3's). It looks like a 2 story home but is big enough to have the kitchen, small bar area, pool table and 5 boots. Across from that is another bar(big),a large room that could seat 52-53 Patrons. Attached ks another large banquet sized room fitting 60-70.
My boss is also the owner who is Korean. Ill call her 'H'. Long time close friends with my mom. I've been working full time for 5-6 years there.
For the past 5-6 yrs, i have kept my mouth shut bc of H and moms friendship. But now, Im putting my fear & anxiety aside and speaking out to hopefully get advice from other more knowledgable and more experienced waitresses/servers. I won't listen everything but just a few that's been causing my mental health to be bad enough its affecting me physically, emotionally and mentally
#1 paid hours start 3pm-10pm(end of shift).
I am left alone from about 10:05pm (waitress C leaves) to anywhere from 11pm to 12am, cleaning ENTIRE restaurant- all tables and boots that were missed, wash all cups, dry then stacked away. Refill all ketchup bottles,soy sauce bottles,salt & pepper shakers restock both beer coolers, dry & roll fork, sweep wood floor, vacuum both large sections and small section... There's just about 3-4 more tasks. BUT, WAIT FOR IT...........🤨
Every beer bottle sold must be talked on the customers ticket order. Then its added up and they pay the total. If I served a beer but mistakenly forgot to tally it on ticket, I am required by my boss/restaurant owner, to pay out of next days tips I earn. I've given from $3 to $50smthing. On weekends its packed AF, and with only 2 waitresses of age to serve (3rd server 'C' is underage). As Head Waitress, also doing a hostesses and bussers duties and bartending the main big bar. With 1 waitress/hostess/bartender serving 20--40 customers give or take, this guy and that table of 12, the 4 at the bar all needing another beer. I tend to forget to tally some. Im legit running to kitchen to get food, taking to tables, getting beet for bar people, then suddenly a phone call. Oh YAY its a to go order.
I don't get scheduled breaks nor food break. I've had to hold my P🌊SS for the last 6 hours bc I've no chance to go 🧻🚽...
Oh And any dine and dashes or food item we've accidentally not charge (its written on ticket just was not seen well to enter price on cash register), yea that comes out of my tips also.
Is that something my boss can do? Can I report it to Ohio Labor Law Office or Attorney General?
There is much more crap. From asking me (i always refuse and she says she will either fire me and have the other waitress do it or she will take $ form my tips. I still refuse) to refill all the small liquor bottles with the bigger ones she buys. Im sure lots of bars do this illegal stuff but when you're putting me in a spot and risking me getting into legal trouble, UH UH, NO WAY JOSÈ😵😤
To physically being in the kitchen and hearing her talk so much crap about one of us, in Korean to her kitchen helper/friend. She's even spoken to me about some she's fired and some currently working, saying rude, disrespectful things ( she's even said how my face isn't pretty this or that day or how stupid i am to miss tallying beer bottles more than once in a month.
Im just sick and tired of her clothes to me and putting me in these situations. Making me charge all alcohol drinking customers full price yet she has her favorites and has me charging them about $3-$3.50 less than everyone else. To me, that's just BS. Ive because so stresses and my anxiety starts attacking me when I'm leaving home and driving to work. Sometimes its so bad, I get nervous and fearful bc she intimidates me and tries to make me feel bad for her when she tells me how stressed she is and how us waitresses are making HER lose $$$ from missed food or beer. What about us though? I myself am living off of and relying on tips rn. 2 paychecks ( a personal type check) a month are accounted for.
Its affecting my health,losing weight bc im so stressed on work days that I can't eat before work . i have to take anxiety meds now and see a therapist (im already diagnosed with anxiety, ptsd,ADD and depression) but my boss has caused even my PTSD to worsen.
Wow im so sorry this was a novel. Any suggestions, advice etc is PROFOUNDLY APPRECIATED!
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1445223/ive_had_enough/
| 22 | 7 | 1,686,218,646 | 14 |
service charge
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