Originally Posted By blueharvest82 So your on vacation and you decide to go to that brand new really cool over the top theme restaurant, whether it be at WDW, DLR, Universal Ect. Its saturday night at about 6:00, the hostess who probably hasn't left the tenth grade told you 35 minutes which turned into 75 minutes for your party of five. Your kids are crying, you spent more money then you bargained for on this trip so far, its loud, your tired and you need a cocktail...Does any of this sound familiar so far? Thought so. Now you get to your table, after a few minutes the server gets to your table, the do their spiel and try to explain everything, but you cut them off because your tired and you've been at a theme park all day and you ust want your five year-old to have their chicken fingers and go to bed so you can get up at 6am and do it all over again...still sound familiar? So this is how dinner goes... -your drinks from the bar take forever -there are kids running around everywhere -your food takes thirty minutes -your salad doesn't match the picture in your head -the drinks are expensive -its so loud you can't think -your two year old knocks over your drink still with me? The server comes and delivers your check and tells you to have a great evening, but all of the above just happened and you are having a horrible evening. For arguments sake the bill is $200. (We are about to do simple math, bare with me) You take a look at the whole bill and decide to yourself, "Well, my kids nuggets were burnt, the restaurant is loud, and park tickets are $80, so I'm going to leave a 10 dollar tip, and I am completely justified because I am guest, and I have kids, and I am on vacation. So here's how it works... THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION APPLIES TO ALL LARGE THEME RESTAURANTS WITH VERY MINOR DIFFERENCES. The server has to tip out on their total sales for the shift, not total tips, total sales. The average tip-out is a minimim of three to five percent of total sales. Depending on the location you are giving a percentage to the hostess, food-runners, bussers, bar tenders, and kitchen expos. So you left ten on $200... 5% tip= $10-YOU LEFT THEM A ZERO TIP. Now if you left them any less then that you have just cost someone you have never met before money out if their own pocket. When deciding on much to tip a server you have to tip them on what they are responsible for, not your total experience, because your total experience at a restaurant is the responsibility of the entire team. THINGS YOUR SERVER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR -how long it takes them to get your table -writing down your drink and food order correctly -getting you your drinks in a timely manner (the server is not making your mixed drinks at the bar) -repeating your order to you -refilling your drinks -making sure your food gets to your table as quickly as the kitchen allows (the server is not cooking your food) -pre-bussing your table -dropping off your check -processing your payment -getting you anything you may need while you are there. THINGS YOUR SERVER IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR -how many kids you have -how much you paid for park tickets -your wife doesn't work -you were at a theme park all day and now you are tired. -how long you waited for your table -whats on the menu -how long it takes to get your drinks from the bar -how long your food takes -what your food tastes like -they don't take coupons or annual pass discounts -the kid from the other table grabbed food from your plate as the server was delivering your food. -How loud the restaurant is -how early you have to get up in the morning to be the first at the park. -How much the food is **When you order a drink from the bar you have the to wait for the bartender to make it, typically, there wil only be one bartender assigned to the service bar, so if 35 tables all order drinks, it will take a few moments, so if you see your server standing at the bar instead of being at your table and getting abused by your six year-old because you tols them that a waiter is "beneath them" and thats ok, thats why, be patient. Now you may be wondering what this has to do with any of you because you don't care how the restaurant business works, you just Tinkerbell to come down and wave her wand and make everything great and if its not you are going to punish the server. These forums seemed to be dedicated to dissecting the reality out of Disney, I am just doing my part on the other end of the spectrum, if you have any questions or feel confused or insulted in any way, please feel free to ask.
Originally Posted By dshyates Got stiffed again, eh? "so if you see your server standing at the bar instead of being at your table and getting abused by your six year-old because you tols them that a waiter is "beneath them"" I suggest you quit and seek alternate employment. You don't seem to be suited to customer service.
