Originally Posted by
Springs1
Have had my entree completely rung up entirely wrong(server admitted to it), had my husband had the same thing as well happen at another restaurant, had forgotten to put in appetizer orders, side salads/cups of soup, etc. Have had lots of bar drinks forgotten from the bar(twice a long time(once 30 minutes, another time 25 minutes), etc.
In your situation, since that server didn't even pay for a soft drink off your bill(could have out of their own pocket if the manager didn't comp anything with YOUR SERVER asking(NOT YOU), I would have completely stiffed. Now if you would have been offered a comp from the server(meaning you didn't ask the manager), 8%-10%. Now if you had to ask for a manager and you did the complaining to get the freebie yourself, then stiff would be in the server's future. Usually the reason why this happens is that they either are playing around or purposely going out of order of turns so that's why they forget. In a situation before, our waiter was playing around on the job instead of WORKING, so he forgot what he was going to do.
It all depends on the situation. Once, our waiter admitted he forgot to put an appetizer order in(we ordered it at the greeting along with our drinks). I did see why though. I had remembered he went to hug someone he knew. Well, anyway, unlike most that don't care, our waiter PROFUSELY apologized twice(so sorry's), and offered something for free(chips and salsa, which was a menu item, not free of charge). So I told him we had enough food, that I'd rather have something off the bill even if it's just a coke. So he got $5 off our check(meaning WE didn't have to talk to a manager at all about it). We gave him 16% BEFORE the $5 discount. Now, if he would have not gotten us a comp and not apologized, we would have left absolutely nothing at all. If he would have just apologized a tiny sorry, not a "so sorry" and no comp, 6%. If he would have said "so sorry", but no comp 10%.
Now in our situation, it was just an appetizer, not our entire meals, but it still delayed things a lot.(at least 15 minutes I would think or so) In our situation, we found out due to my husband asking about where our appetizer order was and that's how we found out before our entrees came out.
It depends *WHY* it happened. In my situation from my previous post right before this one, the waiter me and my husband had HUGGED someone. He PLAYED on the job. So if he wouldn't have apologized or gotten something comped, he wouldn't have had a tip. So what they were honest. That doesn't mean they weren't playing around as to WHY it happened in the first place.
I had a waitress once when another server ran the food, part of my order was missing(a condiment and a side dish). I had seen our waitress when I had gone to the bathroom after I ordered putting on make-up. She was not in the dining area and she could have brought out the condiment out ahead of time rather than PLAYING on the job. So that hurt her tip to see WHY I got my order wrong. Wasn't that my server was doing her job, was it?
Wow, have high standards for a job that doesn't even pay minimum wage? I know servers who were fired by corporate, even though their local franchise owner loved the server, because corporate determined they were comping too many things. Never mind that the comps were fine with management, corporate felt their comp rate was higher than normal. Servers cannot always comp things without management's approval, or may be very reluctant to comp anything.
As far as playing on the job, do you spend every second of every work day working, not applying make-up, not talking to any coworkers about anything other than business? I would rather have a server who is having fun than one who is a sourpuss because they can't have any fun at work.
The server bringing out the condiment before your meal is great, assuming she's supposed to get it. In some restaurants, depending on the condiment, it is the kitchen's responsibility to place the condiment in a container and place it on the plate. The server should ensure it is entered into the computer so the kitchen knows, but a different server wouldn't know it was supposed to be there necessarily.
Originally Posted by
Springs1
The asking about dessert until everyone is finished I 100% AGREE WITH, but the clearing plates I don't quite get if you are finished with them?
For me anyway, I LOVE when they take my dirty dishes to get them out of my way. My husband is a faster eater than I am and it makes us have more room on the table if they take his plate and it's faster when I am finished to be able to pay and leave faster. I don't see the point in making him have an empty dirty plate in front of him simply because I don't eat as quickly as he does?
The asking about dessert while I am still eating(and he's not), takes a deduction in the server's tip. THAT IS RUSHING ME. It's common sense people usually share desserts and eat courses together, so at the time the server takes my husband's plate, the server should only ask "Is there anything I can get you all at the moment?" That's it. NO word about dessert. It's like I want to say to them(but I don't) " HOW THE HELL ARE WE SUPPOSED TO KNOW IF WE WANT A DESSERT OR NOT, HUH?" That one just irks me to no end.
Also, as you said bringing the check without offering anything else(dessert or after dinner drink), is rushing me as well. To those of you who want your check fast, *YOU* ask for it after you order your entrees. I mean really, it's that simple. You don't even have to pay until after you finished eating, but you can still ask for your check to be brought to you before you get your food. The server will abide(most likely) if you tell them that you are in a hurry and need your check before your food arrives. I am never in that situation to want quick service like that. While we hate waiting for our check a long time after we had asked for it, I still don't want anyone making decisions for us that's not theirs to make since they aren't paying for the service. Even if they guess right, points off the tip for being controlling(spending our tip money before we even give it even on what *THEY* want the service to be rather than what *WE* want it to be, as it SHOULD be since it's OUR service, OUR tip money, OUR WAY!
There are times where I know I'm getting a dessert before I finish my meal, or will get a dessert to go. Likewise, sometimes, my husband and I don't split a dessert. We'll each order one, or one of us will get one, the other won't. Please don't assume that everyone shares desserts.
If one asks for the check before one gets their food, then the server will probably figure the patron will eat quickly, not want refills, etc., and not be very attentive.
Originally Posted by
Springs1
So what she was honest? That means NOTHING! What means something is if she was playing on the job or BUSTING ...? If she wasn't busy and she didn't seem to be working too hard, I wouldn't put brownie points towards lazy and uncaring workers. I don't count the honesty, because no matter what they can't give me my time back. I'd rather have my time than them to comp my meal personally. My time is worth more than the money.
As I said in my other post, it would depend on the situation and what had happened. I don't count the honesty thing at all. You can easily catch that on your check(we have had once ordered at Outback, my husband had a side salad and we shared an appetizer as well as 2 entrees, which we ordered around 5:53p.m., check had 6:11p.m.) Same thing happened at Texas Roadhouse wondering why we waited so long. I saw why, the server waited too long to put in our entree orders. You can probably catch a server in a lie anyway and that's why she told the OP. It's very easy to catch when they have the time on the check(assuming they have the time they put it in, not the time they printed the check).
Honesty is important to me, and I would reward honesty. Let me get this correct... You would rather a server, who makes about $3/hour, plus tips, comp your $20 meal, because they made a mistake, so you can leave them a $2 or $3 tip?
The time on most checks is not the time you ordered, but the time the server pulled up your check to print it. I know the time on the Texas Roadhouse receipt is the time they pulled it up to print it. As an FYI, Texas Roadhouse has very specific timing that they try to follow. It's something like appetizer within 5-10 minutes, salads within 5 minutes of the appetizer being delivered, entrees within 15 minutes of salads or appetizer, depending on what was ordered. I would guess Outback and other restaurants have something similar. What may seem like too long to you may be following their corporate timeline.