Originally Posted by
JayhawkCO
I'm a server at a chain steakhouse.....(snippagio, molto....
As a side note though, everyone please remember the auto-grat is not the ONLY tip that can be given. If you get the best service of your life, and see an auto-grat is on the ticket, don't just sign the ticket and assume 18% will thrill the server (I know, I know, we're happy with ANY tip, right?
). Even if there's not an additional tip line, you can always add (and take away for that matter, in cases of particularly bad service).
Oh, you naive waif.......
For me, who broke in behind a soda fountain at 13 and learned the bartenders' trade as a collegian, splitting tips with cocktail waitresses (before turning to an honest living), the mere sight of an "Auto-Grat"" (sounds like a condition of the bowels I'd rather avoid!) is an offense against public decency, nigh unto mopery in a public conveyance, and may extend to gratuitous abuse and false detainer(although modestly if not warmly acceptable when printed in big type in the menu and at the door).
I generally tip (in the US) at about 20% (of the net, pre-tax check), with a "up" for good service and a "solid hit" for despicable treatment. Whilst I comprehend the frequency with which the hosts of big groups under-tip, and the miserly habits of a dozen couples dining "Dutch" in a restaurant priced higher than their usual haunts, "them's the hazards!"
Don't expect me to be the guarantor of your performance, simply the judge and jury regarding recompense for same.
But, Hell, these days, even cafeterias have "waitrons" wandering about refilling the ice tea ("Sweet?", Unsweet?) and cadging tips...