You want to take care of your waiter: DON'T FRICKING CAMP AT YOUR TABLE

[LynneSin]

Here's the best advise I can give to anyone who wants to take care of their waiter - don't camp out at your table all night ESPECIALLY if it's a high volume restaurant.

I've been seeing a ton of stuff here on DU about tipping and that is all fine & dandy. But I waitressed for 3 years at a high volume restaurant (Houlihans) and nothing killed my night more than a table where the customers decide to camp out all night.

I usually averaged around 18% because I was the hardest working waitress you could find and because of that I would make a decent salary from this industry. But most of these high volume restaurants limit the number of tables any one person can have in order to ensure that top service was being provided (Sure I could wait 10 tables at once and I have, but the service starts going down hill along with the tips). At our restaurant you were allowed to have 4 tables at a time and on occasion 5 and on any given night I would need to turn each of those tables over about 3 times in order to take home a decent salary. I could sell about $200-300 worth of Food & Beverage a night per table (not per customer) which would net me about $30-70 in tips. The last thing we need is someone with a $50 bill sitting there for hours and leaving me a fricking $10 tip. That just cost me a ton of money!

Now I appreciate that you're spending a night out with friends/family but once the bill is paid and the 2nd cup of coffee is finished - do the waitperson a favor and get out of the table. If you're having the amazing date of your life - there's a bar area, go there and have some coffee or if you really feel you need to keep that table for FIVE fricking hours (I had that happen a couple of times on a Saturday night :grr: ) tip a little better than the measily 15%.

[In_The_Wind]

1. point well made

time is money

[sniffa]

2. around here, they kick you out

many pLaces do. if you're just sitting there they'LL ask you to Leave.

[LynneSin]

4. At the chain restaurants you're not allowed to do that

And believe me, I've done everything BUT that including pulling everything off the table until it's just 2 people sitting there without ANYTHING including a fricking glass of water, on the table

BTW, this is a different rule when you get to more upscale restaurants. It's expected you'll be sitting there a bit longer but then again you'll be paying and tipping on meals much more expensive than the chain restaurants

[Tyrone Slothrop]

31. Yeah, that's SOP at most places around here too

However, here, even if you're sitting around drinking, finishing your wine, coffee, etc., they'll kick you out of the table.

I have to say, while I sympathize (to a degree) with servers, I really hate getting kicked out of my table when I'm trying to enjoy a nice evening out.

[benburch]

3. We always tip 30%

And rarely camp out more than a half hour after the meal.

We still get dirty looks from some wait staff, though.

[LynneSin]

8. If you're tipping that and you're getting dirty looks

you need to reconsider your tip.

30 minutes after the meal is finish isn't that bad. I'm talking about people who are there so fricking long they pitch tents and camp out for the night.

NOrmally I'd work a 4-10 or 5-11 shift. THat's 360 minutes of service time and if I need 4 tables that 90 minutes per table. Believe me your food will be served around 30 minutes so you'll have plenty of time for that 2nd cup of coffee before you leave. After 90 minutes I may get a little antsy but at 2 hours, come on this is fricking Houlihans!

[Hugin]

5. Being in a profession which doesn't receive tips.

:P

[Hugin]

16. I just blew my tip... Didn't I?

=/

[sui generis]

6. you go girl!

But your floor manager should also be proactive - fifteen minutes after the check has arrived he should be out there asking politely and often if he can get them anything else as there are people waiting on a reservation.

They won't take offense, and if they do you won't see them again anyway.

Sometimes people at a table can get into a time warp of wine and food and coffee and not realize how much time is going by while they glow.

[tyedyeto]

12. My hostesses are trained to do just that

Typically we allow about 90 minutes for a table of 4 to be served, 2 hours for parties of 6-8, even longer for 12 or more. Sometimes, especially on Friday nights during high season, if people are just sitting there chatting, they will be reminded that someone is waiting to be seated and be asked to go into the lounge if they would like to further their conversation.

[Lisa0825]

7. Former waitress here...

For the most part, I agree with you! But occasionally, I meet friends I haven't seen in a long time, and we'll be parting ways after dinner, so we take our time. HOWEVER, in that case, I usually tip a lot extra to make up for the other table the waiter could have had. Depending on the prices at the particular place, I'll estimate an average tab and add the appropriate tip to my own.

Also, if I go out to eat alone and get seated at a 4-top, I tend to tip big (compared to my bill), figuring the waiter could have had a much bigger sale if they didn't get stuck with a single diner.

[LynneSin]

9. Everything you say is absolutely true

Unfortunately most people don't see that their table camping is affecting someone's salary. I do the same thing myself if I find myself dallying after the meal is overwith

[Zenaholic]

10. I hate being rushed

When I get to a resturant I have a little game I play called the tip meter. The tip meter starts at 22%

I want my drinks first thing! If I don't have a drink in front of me or at least have an order for a drink taken withing a couple of minutes of sitting down, the tip meter starts going down.

Then I want to place an order for an appetizer and I want that long before my entre arrives. I HATE getting my entre when my appetizer isn't finished yet. If that happens the tip meter goes down again.

Keep my drink full. If I'm drinking beer, make sure I have a beer at all times. If I'm drinking water or coffee make sure you keep filling that up. The tip meter likes being wet (this is the most importatnt of all).

Finally, don't rush me. If I want to sit and enjoy a coffee, that's my perogative for paying 5 times what the meal was worth.

And BTW: when did 15% become "measily"??? Last I heard it was standard. I figure 18-22% if you do an outstanding job. If you do a mediorcre job 15%. And if you suck, well...I don't beleive in tipping just for the sake of tipping.

Now I understand that one table is worth a lot more money if the guests keep rotating in and out but you have to understand, a lot of people don't get to go out to eat all that often and therefore when they do they like to enjoy their dinner.

But tha's just my opinion and I've been told I can be a hard nose when it comes to this kind of thing (which is why I don't go out much).

[benburch]

15. Since you have obviously never worked for tips...

Try computing how much money your wait staff receives per hour! And factor in that taxes will be taken out, and that a portion of the tips will usually go to the other service staff.

Now, imagine having yourself as a customer, multiplied by 6 tables.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

22. Allocated Tips

In places like Houlihans, wait staff are taxed based on a calculated average tip -- whether they actually receive the tip or not. Hurts even more when you stiff your server. I'm not saying that you should reward bad service, but it needs to be bad -- and for no good reason -- before you decide to under-tip somebody.

[LynneSin]

28. Exactly

all the food is programed into a computer with your server ID so your tips are based on a percentage of what you sold that night (I think they use like 12-13% because they know that most servers tip out other people at the restaurant such as bartenders, food runners and buspeople).

My mentality is if I feel I need to leave less than 15% (which is pretty rare), you better believe I'm in discussions with the manager about the horrible service I've received. I'm usually around an 18% tipper baseline and work from there

[tyedyeto]

29. What do you feel about mandatory tips (tip is always included)

This happens mainly at private clubs where the percentage varies according to the establishment. It also happens with larger parties at public restaurants.

Where I work (private club), the members voted way before I started my employment there, to have a mandatory gratuity at 15%. Some diners do leave extra, but the way our computers are set up, you can't deduct from that 15% ever. I've had customers insist we take the entire gratuity off their bill for lousy service, but that is impossible.

[benburch]

30. Mandatory tips are OK with me.

If I had lousy service I would rather talk with the manager anyway.

[LynneSin]

32. I agree - too many times I end up with crappier service...

..when the tip is include. I respect the fact that for larger parties that it should be included. But for a group of 2/4 let them put their own tips in.

HOwever, it's a private club - they can do what they want

[AngryAmish]

18. ok Mr Pink...

[Zuni]

11. if you are in the weeds though

having a table that isn't going to be seated when you are running left and right for the other ones can make your life temporarily simpler.

I waited tables, and sometimes I would be grateful to the folks who just sat there and didn't get anything when I was busy as hell

[trigz]

13. The culture of tipping

I symphatise with your argument, since I understand wages themselves for waiters in the US is offensively low. In most European countries you won't have the same amount of tension if you overstay your visit, but then again wages are higher and you're not expected to tip quite that much.

But what's the average hourly wage for someone in your line of work? I imagine a waiter in Oslo would make around the equivalent of $20/hour. I tip quite highly either way, usually about 10%. Strange to think that, had I done that in your country, it would probably have caused the waiter to piss in my beer if I ever came back to the same establishment.

[JimmyJazz]

14. That problem probably has been relieved somewhat by the

smoking ban in Delaware.

[tyedyeto]

17. Having worked in both smoking and non-smoking establishments

It doesn't really make any difference. Lingerers will camp out in either type of eatery. It's just how they are.

[LynneSin]

27. I've never waited tables anywhere but Pennsylvania

To be honest, I hated the smoking section - no one wanted to sit there and the smokers who did tend to tip less even though their bill would usually be more (smokers usually had higher bar bills) so in a nutshell it was a wash.

But the worst section was this one section right next to the smoking section that was non-smoking. Smoker couldn't sit there and non-smokers hated it because they were usually right next to smokers.

Here's living proof that second-hand smoke does affect us non-smokers. I spent 3 years waiting tables all in establishments that had smoking sections. We were not allowed an option of whether or not we preferred working in non-smoking sections. After a year there I was able to pick up the bar section. It was the only 6-table sections and I would get regular happy hours in there that would run up massive bills and tip 30%+ on their bill. But I had to deal with the smoking. After a year at that place my mother swore I smoked simply from the horrible hacking cough I had all the time.

10 years later (7 since I've last worked in a restaurant), I'm rarely exposed to cigerette smoke. My state is total non-smoking in all public places so even dining out it's rare I'm around smoke. That hacking cough no longer exists

[Strawman]

19. good point

[JVS]

20. Amen! Amen! Amen!

[JVS]

21. A question

Is it possible to tell the manager that you plan on camping out and to give the waiter/ess another table?

[tyedyeto]

25. I work at a private club where my staff knows their customers...

needs better than at many other restaurants. For instance, there is a group of 4 that dines almost every Friday evening. I know their habit is to order cocktails immediately. When they order their 2nd one, they will order dinner. After dinner, they always have coffee and some will have dessert.

Typically we plan on a table of 4 to be seated for about 90 minutes, but this group is always there for 2 hours. They are good steady customers, so I always plan on them being there for that extra amount of time.

[Orsino]

23. Fascinating.

Thanks for the peek behind the scenes.

My wife and I always tip thirty percent or more, and we don't camp out.

[Shell Beau]

24. If I sit around and drink at a table and just have

appetizers, I make up for it in my tip. I always tip more than is expected (unless the waiter/waitress does a shitty job), and if I am taking up a table all night, I make sure the waiter gets a very generous tip!

[Hugin]

26. Well, if I continue to order and base my tip on the total price...

it's a wash.

Typically what I do.

Especially, if I order more drinks and a dessert. The most
expensive things on the menus around here.

[onager]

33. Evil camper here!

:hi:

One of my great pleasures is going out to dinner by myself with a gaggle of new magazines or a book.

My favorite restaurants are used to me. They KNOW I will order a pre-dinner drink (or two), that I don't like to be rushed, and that I will linger over several expensive cognacs/coffees after dinner.

Did I mention that I tip very generously? Does that make up for my camping out?

One night not long ago, I apologized to my waitress for taking up so much time on a busy Friday night.

She said something like: "Right now, I'm also dealing with a table of eight people and four of them are little kids. As far as I'm concerned, you can sit there all night. You're quiet and not giving me any trouble."