Tipping ... bad service / and lousy food?

Question

Whats happened to work ethics in this country???Japan is always quoted when people speak of excellemnt service and no tipping but whats up with all the bad service here in america is our standard that low ?? I hear people crying about low wages but no one puts their money where their mouth is ....Instead they blame the customer instaed of their boss...Why is it the customers job to evaluate the wait staff and pay them accordingly ....Please don't tell me thats how they get paid !! Or say food pricees would go up...I'm tired of that silly excuse of an argument...
I don't even understand the managers attitudes about lousy food...When I took the time to mention it ....I heard...
1.NO our food is great everyone likes it =>denial
2.Why didn't you tell me before while you were eating it ??Why tell me after??? (like it's my fault they served me trash)
3.The most common....the blank stare..!!
I really wonder why more people don't speak out

I just want to say again like the server said in her post 50% of the food served out in resteraunts stinks and no one complains ..all the menus are the same and for 12 bucks you get garbage...I complain afterwards because I'm sad and take my lumps with no intention of ever returning ...How many times does it take to get something right ?? I want to eat and not worry about service ....If service is good it feels seamless and easy ...why doesn't it feel that way ..Instead I feel put out and abused at times is that my fault??

Answer 1

If you don't like the food or service then fair enough, as someone said you don't have to tip if you don't want.

Answer 2

As a server I work hard to give 100% service. You are there to serve the customer and make their dining experience great or at the very least satisfactory. I must admit that as a frequent diner, I too have received amazingly bad service half the times I go out. Maybe because I am a server I expect too much, but I don't want to believe this. I have had customers wait to tell me till the end of their meal that they did not like it. I do not understand this, because I always go back to the table about two minutes after I served it, and ask how everything is. I check back after that as well. It does suck to be told everything is okay all during the meal, and then be told the opposite at the end of the meal. This is frustrating, because I can fix the problem if I am told when I ask. Don't be afraid to speak out if there is a problem. Restaurants are there to serve you a good meal, and you should have a good time. I am tired myself of receiving attitudes/dirty looks when I complain. Even my fiancee says it's a 50/50 chance we will leave a restaurant unhappy these days.

Answer 3

I agree with how management handles bad service, poor food. You get the impression that they no longer care. Well it is time for these people to look for a new job. I had a horrible experience at a Wendy's recently. Told the manager in the store and got the fake I'm sorry and a blank stare. I then called the customer service number, again got the scripted I'm sorry and for a $15 order worth of food only received a coupon for a single hamburger. I was so offended with this I sent it back with a letter explaining why. I spent in my eyes a lot of money at Wendy's for two people and for all of the poor service, lack of care I got a free $2 burger in return. There were several things wrong with the entire experience that I have not returned to a Wendy's at all. As for tipping, I will only tip if the service is good. This also includes ice cream shops and coffee shops. When I receive my meal when served, if it not to my liking, I will send it back. The one think though is to be nice about it. When you become nasty this makes it harder on the server to deal with you and you the customer become harder to please. I have worked in the service industry for a long time, I know good service and poor service. I treat each type of service individually. I have overtipped when I have seen an excellent server take care of a large group, take up a lot of seats, a lot of time and then leave nothing. That is why a lot of restuarants have started charging gratuity for large groups. Because too many servers that could have been helping smaller parties and give them more attention than having there attention taken away for the larger group are left empty handed...... I hope that this helps.....

Answer 4

As for employee wages, the servers d0 get paid a very low hourly because they make tips. Do you believe it would be better to pay them minimum wage or higher then the tips? That would be one hell of a payment plan....Servers and bartenders do get paid by the quality of service that they give. Just like you tip the cab driver or bellhop on a vacation the idea behind it is no different.
As for requesting a guest to inform the manager of their disliking of a menu item before they eat they food - a manager can not fix the food (or the problem, once you have cleaned the plate.) If something does not taste good - stop eating it. Obviously you wouldn't know it tasted bad before you tried - but don't way until your done with it to point it out. To a manger, that looks like you are trying to get a meal for free.
Finally, if the service and food where you go is all crap, perhaps you should look into the places you are going and possibly stop going there. Also, you may want to look into the attitude that you take with you when you go out to eat. It is not wise to treat servers (or whoever is handling your food) like crap.
I recommend you watch the movie "WAITING". It is a bit on the extreme side, but I think you need to catch the main point of the flick. Best of luck to you in your dining experience - sounds like you'll need it.

Answer 5

I work as a server in a very popular steakhouse near Orlando, Florida. It is a very popular and very fast paced I just have to ask why would you eat the food then tell the manager or server it was horrible. Myself I would have been more than happy to bring you something different to eat or altogether take it off your check if you don't want anything else. Don't eat it and complain because I can't do anything for you then. A lot of managers too are sick of people scamming them into free meals. People know if they complain to the manager whether it is a legit complaint or not they are going to get something taken off there bill or a free drink or dessert. I know I get sick of it because usually what there complaining about is over exaggerated by them just trying to get something free.

Answer 6

Not leaving a tip or leaving a lousy one for the waitress if it is good service is not right, although clearly state the food was terrible, and I'd ask her not to split the tip with the cook if she usually does.

Answer 7

No it is not your responsibility to pay servers, however they do only make 2.13 an hour. Just remember that. You like going out to eat right? Well you can't very well go out to eat without waiters, so telling them to find another job is ignorant on your part, unless you want to serve yourself.

As for as the food being crappy, when the server comes back to the table and asks "How is everything", that is when YOU tell them that your food sucks or the steak is cooked wrong, not after you have eaten it all. Whenever I go up to a table and ask how the food came out they give me the BLANK STARE! Then they tell me that it wasn't cooked to their liking AFTER they have eaten it all. How dumb do you have to be?!!!

Answer 8

If you go to a restaurant and the food is bad, don't take it out on the waiter! They have nothing to do with the preparation of the food. If their attitude is bad, or they're just really lousy, yeah, don't tip. If you start eating something and really don't like it, stop immediatly and call your waiter back over to send the food back, or have them bring you something else. Most managers or waiters won't believe you if you said the food was bad when you've eaten it all.

Answer 9

I live in Australia. I REFUSE to tip unless I've had exceptional service and enjoyed the experience. I rarely tip - they get paid well enough - they get paid what our low office workers get paid...

If they feel like they're not getting paid enough then they should get a different job.

If I ever went to America I'd be freaked out with the whole tipping service!!

Answer 10

if you want to get their attention leave a 1 cent coin face up on the table for a waiter or waitress that tells them all that they need to know,as for the bad food i agree you should call management and let them know before you finish the meal in most cases they will be more apologetic and understanding