Hi all,

I haven't really been following the thread too closely, but I noticed 
that few of you (of those messages which I read, and of those who 
actually chose to talk about it) have ever actually worked in the food 
service biz.

Well, I worked as a waiter for 10 years during and after college. The 
restaurants don't matter, although they were here in the cities. I want 
to bring up one really interesting point: lousy tippers are remembered 
by waiters and waitresses. Not only that, but they warn each other if 
one person knows something that the others haven't heard about yet. Not 
only that, but groups are remembered even more than individuals.

The situation of a group that tips poorly (regardless of some 
individuals being generous and others being cheap) will rapidly 
degenerate, because a server thinks, "Why should I bother giving them 
good service if they're just going to stiff me anyway?" Meanwhile, the 
cheapskates are pointing at the sub-par service to justify their already 
low or non-existent tipping (even though it is likely that their 
cheapness is what inspired the poor service in the first place). Those 
sitting on the fence, as it were, may very well be swayed by the 
cheapskates' argument, and lower their tip as well, further adding to 
the degeneration of service. And those who tip 15% minimum, more for 
better service, and less for poor service, end up getting poor service 
even though they are perfectly willing to tip well for good service.

Now let's throw another variable into this mess. What if you get a 
not-so-ethical server who already knows about a group or individual? 
That person has no problem spitting in your drinks or food, or dropping 
food on the floor and then just picking it up and serving it to you. 
I've seen it done, and it happens a lot more to the cheapskates than the 
generous folk. So from a purely selfish and pragmatic point of view, it 
makes sense to tip well, in order to motivate your server to give you 
not only good service, but clean food and drink.

If I ever actually went to a beer meeting, I would do like I've done at 
other group meetings: I personally hand the server my cash tip, so he or 
she knows that *I* am generous, even if the rest of the group isn't. 
And, in order to really make a distinction between myself and the rest 
of the group, I usually give a 25-30% tip -- that covers at least a 
little bit of what is lost from those who don't tip or tip poorly, and 
further cements the memory of my generosity in the waiter's mind. The 
server will remember me in the future, and tell his associates to give 
me good service even if they ignore the rest of the group.

Just my three cents. I'll not saying anything more on this topic.
-- 
Dave Sherman - MCSE, MCSA, CCNA

Meddle not in the affairs of dragons,
   for you are crunchy, and good with ketchup.


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