BEWARE of Chicago Pizza!!!

[copperfiend]

In NYC you don't get any free refills.

Is it a city law?

[Dog Walker]

Anybody that has ever waited tables knows that servers earn every penny of their tips.

Personally I prefer the automatic service charge as it is done in Europe and have generally found service there to be better, more professional, if less "personal", than it is here.

[ChriswUfGator]

In NYC you don't get any free refills.

Probably depends on what restaurant, but personally I've never noticed that.

[Doctor_K]

In NYC you don't get any free refills.

And trans-fats are against the law.

[Jaxson]

Anybody that has ever waited tables knows that servers earn every penny of their tips.

Personally I prefer the automatic service charge as it is done in Europe and have generally found service there to be better, more professional, if less "personal", than it is here.

Personally, I tip my servers well.  I, however, know that there are a few bad apples who ruin it for the rest - like in any job or career field...

[BigGuy219]

In NYC you don't get any free refills.

Sure you do it. It's just, the refill is spit.

[stjr]

There are going to be bad apples everywhere.  The question is: Is penalizing the good ones for the bad ones the best way to go?  "Gratuity" implies that this is intended to be a voluntary payment for good service.  I realize it is essentially the comp for the wait staff and, under normal circumstances, everyone should leave at least the customary 15% of the bill (pretax).  But, what if the service is extraordinarily bad?  How do you reflect this in leaving less?  And, if it is extraordinarily good, how many will make the effort to add above 15%?  Especially, given our math challenged populace today?

How about this:  What if the register printed a receipt with a table of calculated $ amounts for tip levels at 15, 18, 20, and 25% and a suggestion for the customer to select one or another amount for the tip line?  I think many people today really do not know how to calculate the proper tip amount given the state of our math education and they are too embarrassed to ask the wait staff to figure it out for them.  So, they just guess at the amount, and do it low, dare they overpay the tip.  I would bet anything that pre-calculating various suggested tip amounts for the customer would raise compliance and overall tip levels while respecting and dignifying the customer's right to chose.

[Jerry Moran]

Christ, I'm glad I don't have to, and won't, deal with the general public.

For hours of on subject reading:
http://www.tipping.org/discus4/messages/9/9.html?1084642511

Here's a preview:

I'm a new server at an Olive Garden in Tucson Arizona.

I've never served before in my life and it is a strange and fascinating world.

Most of the customers are good people and realize that we work hard for our tips and that our tips are our livelihood (Olive Garden only pays us $2.13/hour).

Our tip money is how we feed and support our families and pay our bills.

Just the occasional assholes and cheap motherf*ckers really make this a sh*ty job.

Just last night, I had a party of six sit in my section. Real low-lifes.

A middle age woman, an old man, a 30-something son and two kids.

I felt sorry for the kids that had to be with these scumbags.

Apparently, one of the kids must have looked at one of these c*cksuckers the wrong way and the 30-something man started beating this child right there at my table.

They didn't tell us how to handle a situation like that in our training class but I should have thrown some hot coffee in his f*king face.

Well, first thing this dirty bitch says is that they have a plane to catch and I fell for it.
I totally put their order in front of my other tables, practically neglecting them to cater to this filthy c*nt.
I bet she uses that live everytime she goes out.

And of course she has to special order everything. "Extra tomatoes on the salad, extra olives, extra dressing on the side...bla bla bla..."
So I have to go back in the kitchen to make a special salad with all these extras, which we're not supposed to do, and make it just how the c*nt wants it. So I get her "special salad" and extra hot breadsticks for her and bring it to the table and then she wants a free bowl of olives for the kids have something to snack on.

So I have to go back in the hell that is the kitchen and get this demanding slut her "free bowl of olives".

She's too cheap to order anything for the kids and just says "just bring me some extra plates for the kids" so that she can feed the kids her leftovers.

She obviously knew the "Olive Garden system" and knew how to exploit it, ordering all this free stuff, "extra this, extra that", just running my ass ragged refilling their drinks, soups, salads, breadsticks, extra boats of free sauces, ordering from the lunch menu even though it was dinner time (about 6pm), etc.

I was extremely polite to her and catered to her and her family's every whim and did all kinds of extra "above and beyond" stuff we're not supposed to do. I will never do that again.

At the expense of my other tables, I got everything this cowc*unt wanted, she even wanted extra breadsticks to take home, a large "to-go" container to take home extra ice tea, salad, soups, multiple to-go boxes and bags, extra after dinner chocolate mints, on and on....

After doing all that extra stuff for her, the f*king bitch repays my kindness and hard work by tipping me $5.00 on a $60 check!

Then this filthy c*nt has the nerve to ask for a free bag of ice to chill all the free food I gave her!

I went back to the kitchen and asked the more experienced staff if we can do that and they said "Tell that cheap bitch to drive to the gas station and buy a bag of ice for 99 cents."

I will never forget you, you f*king bitch and if you step foot in my restaurant again, I'll make your life a living hell.
Now go back to sucking Satan's c*ck. Don't forget to swallow.

Live and learn

Rancid Romeo

[Jaxson]

I apologize, but I think that there is a lot of blame to go around in Rancid Romeo's story:
1. The customer is wrong on many levels.  If she wants it her way and does not want to tip, she can always go to Burger King.  If she wants extra food, she should try eating at Golden Corral.
2. Rancid Romeo sounds suspect because, as any new food service worker will tell you, trainees sit through a training video that explains how things are done.  I do not recall ever being trained to bend over backwards to any custmer like he did.  He sounds naive.  Thank God that the difficult customer didn't ask for a backrub or for free money from the cash register.
3. Rancid Romeo's co-workers were obviously asleep at the switch, too.  Isn't there an experienced server who guides new staff?  I have been to restaurants where the server has a trainee tag along to see how things are done.  Besides, with all of the red flags, I am surprised that nobody in the kitchen immediately said, "Look, trainee, that is not how we go things here."  What would have happened if the crazy customer had asked for seconds?
Overall, Rancid Romeo talks great smack, but did not seem so tough when he was being treated like a doormat by an obviously classless family...

[Steve]

In NYC you don't get any free refills.

Probably depends on what restaurant, but personally I've never noticed that.

I have. Both my wife and I have a lot of family in the city, between the Bronx and Long Island City, and they complain about it too.

[Jaxson]

Amen, stephendare!  If Rancid Romeo was so put upon, he should have sought help from a more experienced server.  Rancid Romeo could have even asked for a manager.  Romeo neglected other customers for what?!  Rancid Romeo bent over backwards for what?!  He should have known better!!!  Rancid Romeo needs to find another line of work...

[02roadking]

Many stories are imbellished to make for good reading, or  maybe, a book deal.

http://waiterrant.net/

http://waitress-stories.blogspot.com/

[ChriswUfGator]

In NYC you don't get any free refills.

Probably depends on what restaurant, but personally I've never noticed that.

I have. Both my wife and I have a lot of family in the city, between the Bronx and Long Island City, and they complain about it too.

What a coincidence, the last time I ate in NYC was at Uno in Long Island City.

Free refills.

Again, it depends on what restaurant.

[tufsu1]

Many stories are imbellished to make for good reading, or  maybe, a book deal.

the same can be said for some stories/posts on this website

[tufsu1]

well there was an article in the Business Journal last week....it mentioned that during the recession, about 200,000 square feet of office space in downtown has been given up....also mentioned the expected move by Adecco leaving its 130,000 square feet in the Modis Building.

So, doing some math....Addeco has 375 people in 130,000 sf = about 350 sf per person
downtown lost 200,000 sf of occupied space X 350/person = 570 people

This would imply that it is hardly realtistic to think that urban core employment has dropped by 10,000+ employees (as has been insinuyated) over the last 4 years.