Tipping for customer service

One thing that really bugs me about resturants is the "Sorry, we're a very busy today" line that gets trotted out as an excuse for poor service, as if that's supposed to make everything better. I got this sorry excuse last weekend after we'd waited over an hour between the appetiser and main course (which was inedible once it finally arrived) ... sorry, we're busy is never an excuse ... it's bad management. If you've 50 seats then damn well make sure you can cater for 50 people and have enough waiting staff to service them.

Dean wrote: If you've 50 seats then damn well make sure you can cater for 50 people and have enough waiting staff to service them.

Edited by Dayvenkirq - November 03 2012 at 18:21

Dayvenkirq wrote: Dean wrote: If you've 50 seats then damn well make sure you can cater for 50 people and have enough waiting staff to service them. I guess that depends on the expectancy of the number of customers at a particular time and day. They can't just have extra people talking to each other and rolling their dough away for the wasted time.

Sunday lunchtime in a popular reservations-only resturant... not only can they can expect to be fully booked, they damn well knew they were fully booked.

^ I'm definitely the former.  I ruin my day ... not exactly by ruining somebody else's, but by just being difficult. Negative emotions are like a visible scratch on a car. I might call for a manager and still stay cool.

Edited by Dayvenkirq - November 03 2012 at 18:35

For me it all goes by how I'm treated....I'll forgive anything if the server is being genuine and friendly.....what ticks me is when the server is both bad and unpleasant

 Well, you are certainly in a good mood today, David

Edited by Dayvenkirq - November 03 2012 at 18:33

I gets tips at work, so hell, I'm all for them. 

One time my daughter's softball team and all the parents decided to go to this Mexican joint after a game, and the staff were totally unprepared for a party that large to arrive during their busiest hour. The service was abyssmal, and our waiter was in way over his head. If we'd called ahead, it might have gone better. My wife and I never even got our food until after everyone was done, and the place was so apologetic they didn't charge us. We still tipped him on the amount we would have been charged, because he clearly wasn't at fault, and he's just trying to earn a living. He fully expected to get chewed out, but we were really cool to him (albeit hungry). I figured, what did I have gain for shafting the guy? A few bucks? Not worth it.

Dayvenkirq wrote:  Well, you are certainly in a good mood today, David

I decided to join a gym. Maybe that's why - I now know that in a months time I'll be teaming with muscles....
Nah, I have just listened to music that keeps me smiling.
Have a listen to Lucio Battisti's Anima Latina and maybe it'll rub off!

Finnforest wrote: Guldbamsen wrote: At one point in my life, I want to eat a big fat greasy burger in one of those American mid west diners with old beat down waitresses that smile like the sun itself, and then, providing the cleavage is present, I'll tip her like there was no tomorrow. Maybe give her a big sloppy kiss. I see those gals up north.  They can be so much fun, they've seen it all, and they enjoy someone who wants to have a good time.

That's exactly what I want. Maybe I've just read too much Kerouac, but there is a strong urge in me to experience the heartland of America in a way that leads me from smiling personas to towering mountainsides. I am very romantic and naive like that.