As a waiter in a large chain restaurant, I observed quite a few self-mythologizing myths that food servers believed in. For one, every waiter felt that he or she was the most busy and important person in the world; if a waiter needed help with something, he would find it difficult to find another waiter willing to help. This was very frustrating, because there were many instances when two or three waiters were needed to run a large table's food out. At the end of the night come clean-up time, they is no one to be found.
Another myth that was constructed by waiters is the false assumption that acting nice means being nice. Every waiter or waitress acts excessively polite in front of his or her tables, but the harsh reality is, most aren't nearly as nice as they seem. There are some very two-faced waiters that I have worked with, most of which are only in it for the money.
The last waiter-constructed myth that I noticed is the idea that the more tip one received, the more that client liked you. Yes, there is a slightly positive correlation between how much they like you and how much you get tipped, but it is very marginal. Most people come into a restaurant with a calculated way of tipping; you'll get tipped 18% most of the time by locals, but once in a while you get 35% from drunk coworkers and no tip at all from Southern people (sorry if I offend anyone, this is just my experience). The waiter's ability to increase his tip is much less
1 comment:
To go along with your myth, I have a tradition that my friends and I typically do when eating out at restaurants - depending on its reputation...
Before eating, I'll place money on the table, which is for the tip. I'll usually say something along the lines of: This is your tip, however, it could decrease...and we have decreased the pile of money in the past, for lack of quality in the service.
But overall, it seems effective. It puts added pressure on the server -- seeing the reward before receiving it, having to truly earn it.
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