The worst thing in the world is too have a boss that does not have your back. If I were the boss and those people were not regulars I would have told them fine I will take off the gratuity and explain that since you stiffed an employee that you seemed to have no problem with I no longer want your business.

So, you were a normal waitress. That’s your worst job? Wow, I guess everyone who has been a waitress has a story to submit.

They were happy until they realized they had to pay? Did you ask them from what magical land they hail where services and foodstuffs appear at will and are free of charge?

those jobs have to be among the worst. I always make sure to be respectful and kind to waitresses in those places because I know how many idiots they have to deal with. And yes, I tip!!

That’s why I can’t be a server anymore. I’ve done it off & on for a year & a half & I just can’t do it (I mean while I have a choice. If I had to do it I would). Luckily at the main restaurant I worked at the management loved me & backed us up, so if a situation like that occurred they would discount another table that paid with cash to make up the difference.

It was common knowledge in the restaurant where I used to work that the people who went on about how great the service was were the ones who tipped the worst. Apparently a compliment is worth 15%

A h yes-the verbal tip!

Woody Allen, in Deconstructing Harry, speaking with a prostitute:

Woody: “Doesn’t your work get you down?”

Prostitute: “It’s okay. Beats the hell out of waitressing.”

Woody: “It’s funny. Every hooker I meet says it beats the hell out of waitressing. Waitressing’s got to be the WORST job in the world.”

I couldn’t imagine being a waitress. The crap they have to deal with, the rude patrons, the messy patrons, the picky patrons, the list is endless….

I once went to dinner with my bff and her tag-a-long older sister. Her sister ordered something and said “No sour cream”. The dish came with a scoop of s.c. on the side, not touching any other food. She threw a fit and had the whole thing taken back. When the replacement meal came out, she claimed it too had s.c. and had it sent back. At this point the manager came out and told her that her meal had been comped and here is the replacement, sans s.c. and dessert (for her only) is on the house too.

Turns out, she didn’t have the money to go out to eat so figured she would complain to get a free meal and got dessert to boot. My friend and I tipped the waitress the cost of the sister’s meal plus 15%.

I have never been a server, nor do I think I could be.

Soooooooooooo…do I just work somewhere where the people are extra nice (Downtown in a large SoCal city)? Or do I enter an alternate reality when I step through the doors of my restaurant. I have never been snapped, whistled, or drink shaked at. Drunk guys tend to be a little too friendly, but hey, what can I do, I’m in customer service.

Maybe your restaurant (and it’s ~stellar~ management) simply encourages a certain kind of clientele. I would try and get a serving job at a different place.

Sika, you live in an alternate reality. Not everyone is bad, but for every nice table there are 3 bad ones. Whenever anyone snapped, whistled, shook their drink, or called, “Waiter!” instead of my name, I always held up my finger & did something else (whether I needed to or not, just to show them they weren’t my priority). If they treated me like an equal (use my name, reciprocate my small talk, ask me about college & my life plans) I gave some awesome-ass service. But treat me like shit right from the get-go? Yeah, I may be screwing my tip (but sometimes not) but I’m also screwing your meal, so we’re even.

Whoa Andrew, it seems you may have misunderstood what being a waiter is all about. Ask you about college and your life plans? Not gonna happen. You are there to give service, that’s your job. I say “please” and “thank you” and I expect you to do the same. I am there to have a nice meal, I am not there to get to know you. I don’t really care if/what you are studying or what your future goals are, and I don’t expect you to ask me about anything more personal than if the food is good, if I’d like to order something more etc.

And yes, I have worked as a waitress too. ^^

Holy Christ, a waiter that wants to make small talk with the table. Yeah, I bet that’s real popular with all the other what’s-their-name waiters & waitresses, who have to pick up your slack.

Um, I think you guys might have misunderstood me or I didn’t make myself clear. I don’t force myself on every table. I only talk about that stuff when it’s appropriate & we are shooting the shit anyway. I did this in a small college town so it wasn’t unheard of to have multiple tables in a shift ask if I was a student there & what I was studying. And it’s not like I did it for so long that things fell behind. Geez Louise.

Or I just woke up, you guys were being sarcastic & I am misunderstanding.

I am freaking glad I live in Australia where tipping is actually reserved for outstanding service and not just for doing your job – which admittedly we can do because waiters get paid a minimum (crappy, but minimum) wage. Incidentally, the consistently worst service I have ever had was in NYC, where tipping is akin to godliness – if I had had waiters that bad at home they wouldn’t have got a cent. And yeah yeah blah blah, I’ve worked in the service industry.

I live in the UK, and I never tip. Don’t waiters get paid?

I understand not tipping in countries outside the U.S. where servers get actual paychecks but if you ever find yourself in America you should tip 20% of the total cost of the bill for good service. I’ve waited on many Europeans, most of them very nice, but they almost always leave you a handful of change for a tip which is really frustrating when all of your income comes from your tips.

Holy crap, this is a infuriating story. SHE’S A WAITRESS: SHE’S GETTING PAID $2.18 AN HOUR!!!

Charles H. – Waitresses in the US live off their tips. They don’t get paid minimum wage (which here is $7.25/hr) they get paid less, they only make about $2/hr so their tips are pretty much their income. It is expected to tip. If you didn’t tip here it would be considered VERY rude.

Anyway, I can’t believe they refused to pay the gratuity!! Do they not know large parties HAVE to pay it, it’s not about whether or not they want to. That’s in EVERY restaurant/diner. Ugh, that just makes me so mad that they refused AND that the owner didn’t back you up and just let them go.

Ugh! I totally hear you. I’m a server too. Incredibly, I work at a restaurant where parties of 6+ do NOT have tacked on gratuity. Yeah, that sucks. Especially when I get parties of kids who think 2 dollars is a GREAT tip on a 40 dollar check.

I am a waitress in Washington and I get paid minimum wage which is $8.55 and it is still expected to tip 15-20%. We still live off our tips though, because most of our paychecks goes to the IRS. We have to claim our tips, so we usually get less than half of our true paycheck. So yes, in Washington, we get paid minimum, and we still expect a tip.