Just the Tip: The Best and Worst Restaurant Patrons on the Planet Waiters have it pretty hard. They make one-tenth of a decent hourly wage. They do headstands for you. They put up with merciless taunting just because of their unusual names. They have to put up with assholes. Lots of assholes. People like this. And this. SEE MORE: • 6 Foods You Probably Eat You Didn’t Know Had Plastic in Them • The Grossest American and European Dishes Duke It Out Do you think they have time to untangle your stupid origami boots? And for what, a measly $2? A $10 is all right. At least it’s, you know, actual money. And then they leave shit like this. Customers are the worst. Right? Just the worst. … Except when they’re Peyton Manning. The quarterback tipped $200 — on top of an already included 20 percent — at the Angus Barn in Raleigh, NC. (Unfortunately, the server who posted the receipt online got fired.) Or Aaron Collins. Aaron Collins’ dying wish was to surprise a bunch of waiters with $500 tips. </noscript> Or these people: (It’s hard to read, but that’s a 100 percent tip. And possibly a Goatse drawing.) These patrons asked their waiter to pick a number between one and 10 … This woman left her waiter this note, along with $20: This guy can’t do math, but he gets points for effort: See? It’s not all bad. But seriously, tip well and tip often. Just think: It can either make or ruin someone’s day. But if your waiter is an asshole, feel free to leave her origami boots made out of Christian Monopoly money. SEE MORE: • 4 Ways to Look Crazy in Public • Clam Eating Salt Will Make You Lay Off Seafood for a While
Lerris 16.07.12 @ 10:12 pm “Make one tenth of a decent hourly wage” I Love it when these self entitled idiots trot out this line. You make the same minimum wage as everybody else, if you happen to suck at serving so badly that you don’t make minimum wage after your tips your employer is still required to pay you the same federal minimum wage the rest of us poor bastards who don’t get to lay guilt trips on people because we aren’t tipped employees get. In fact, since you can collect tips, you probably make more than most of us minimum wage schlubs.
PJ 17.07.12 @ 12:13 am Or, you could be a waiter in Australia and earn $20+ an hour, and not even have to worry about tipping. Booyah.
Kathryn Jordan 17.07.12 @ 12:32 am I’m a server and while I DO make a much smaller hourly wage than most people, I AM NOT a “self entitled idiot.” Whether or not you “suck at serving” has no effect on the flow of business and the type of clientele that frequent your particular restaurant. I work in a sports bar and many of the customers are far from classy. Even though the standards at my restaurant are higher than those of many formal dining venues, some customers are simply not impressed and tip accordingly. The fact of the matter is that if you don’t work for a restaurant that is part of a corporation, you may not see a minimum wage makeup (if you do not manage to make minimum wage) simply because of legal costs on your end. The point? Yes, many servers do eventually make minimum wage, but dealing with people like you, Lerris, doesn’t make it easy. Serving can be lucrative, but working your butt off for people who leave a 5% tip is an easy way to put anyone in a bad mood.
Guest 17.07.12 @ 2:54 am Actually, in some areas of the country, waiters are permitted to make less than the hourly minimum. Usually under three dollars an hour. Employers are not required to make up the difference. One of the many reasons I decided never to be a waiter. Asshats like you were most of the other ones.
UGuyzRMedieval 17.07.12 @ 6:27 am This is not about “the planet”, o American solipsists. It’s about one country where, in a parody of free enterprise, waitstaff essentially work for a restaurant for free, on the understanding that individual customers will pay their wages if they’re nice enough. In most of the rest of the world, waiting is regarded as a JOB, i.e. something that the EMPLOYER has to pay you a living WAGE for. Tips are a bonus. America baffles me.
Adahl87 17.07.12 @ 11:02 am Minimum wage in the state I live in is 7.50. My sister makes 2.65 an hour as a waitress for a local restaurant. Explain how a tip is a bonus, please.
Powermohawk 18.07.12 @ 4:38 am What most people fail to realize is that if restaurants in America were forced to pay the wait staff $15 an hour +, your entree would cost much more. You would pay more without any options. In that case, your server wouldn’t suffer because the company and kitchen made food you didn’t like. They simply hand it to you and keep you comfortable. Just because the food was shitty doesn’t mean the service was. I can’t begin to understand how a server should get stiffed when they didn’t make your shitty meal.
Patrick Ian McCurry 18.07.12 @ 4:42 pm Not all of America. The nicely sized state of Oregon demands servers be paid at least minimum wage not including tips.
Taporter2 19.07.12 @ 4:23 am Your tips are built into your wages. Ours are not. Tip when you’re here, and stop wearing capri pants.