As college students, we are educated on numerous subjects, some resulting from our choosing, but most from the University curriculum's choosing.
The latter can be viewed as a pain.
For example, I wasn't fond of taking Calculus I while my major focused on journalistic writing. Alas, that's the way the world works from what they tell me, so what can you do? However, while working as a bartender/server in order to pay for that unnecessary Cal I class, the thought occurred to me that a portion of society might not be educated on or made aware of simple customary matters such as tipping etiquette.
Servers are paid $2.13 an hour, resulting in a check every two weeks. The check is simply a formality in order to cover taxes on tip-earned wages. Occasionally, a server might receive a dollar or two, but these checks are usually void. Thus, a server relies on tips for his or her daily salary.
Customarily, a 15-20 percent tip is pretty standard these days. After eight years of serving, I bank a lot on that 15-20 percent. As a first-generation college student who is solely on his own, I don't have the luxuries of depending on family financial support. So, when I give a table my all, it is disheartening to receive a tip that is 10 percent or less. Sometimes I will come across a zero scribbled in that coveted blank on the receipt.
I understand times are tough.
I work for every cent I can possibly earn. No one understand the value of a dollar more than a guy who struggles every month to pay his bills and find the necessary funds to fit Auburn's inflated tuition, as well as mysterious fees that I honestly have no idea the necessity behind them. (The recent tuition rate increase, cough, cough.) But from my side of the table, if you feel I have given you less than quality service, then by all means tip what you feel is justified for the efforts I have given.
Now, if you receive terrible service in general, be considerate of a few factors when choosing how to spend your dollars. If your server negatively affects your dining experience, it is appropriate to tip lower. But, if the food is not cooked to your satisfaction, or perhaps is too spicy, etc., these scenarios are beyond your server's fault. Remember you can always request to speak to a manager about the quality of your food, or even send the server to replace it.
Don't project the quality of the food on the server and how well he or she has served you. Servers are not mind readers; neither can they anticipate every single customer's need. A people-pleasing job is a vicious circle; I am merely taking a shot in the dark here by suggesting this, but not everyone can be pleased. Sometimes, I have that random hothead who refuses to be happy from the moment he plops down to the last second when I hand him the check. Or, there are the lovely people who bark orders and view me as a personal maid. I understand when guests go out for dinner, they want to be taken care of; however, I am working for the money to pay my rent, not for free. We are well past cotton-picking days on the plantation, people.
Being a bartender/server, a tip below 15 percent suggests to me I have either made a mistake or the customer is lapse when restaurant etiquette comes into play. I have to add that in local places with many regulars, bad tippers are remembered by both name and face.
Again, I realize bad service warrants not-so-stellar tips. Just remember a couple things: you should be sweet to the people who serve your food. You never know what could happen to it from the moment it leaves the window in the kitchen to the moment it touches your table.
Bon appetit...
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