Gluten Allergy, My Ass

Look lady -

Do NOT tell me you have a gluten allergy, and then ask me whether or not the mashed potatoes or the ice cream contains gluten.

#1) I am neither a pharmacist nor a certified dietitian. At my current level of education, I earn two dollars an hour, and I am worth every penny of it. Which - if any - of our foods contain gluten was not on any of the tests I had to pass to get this job, okay?

#2) We both know damn good and well that anyone who is allergic to anything knows good and well what they can or cannot eat when out in public.

The truth is, you're NOT allergic to gluten. The truth is, you heard from a friend over cocktails somewhere that eating gluten-free is healthier, so now you're going through a phase of reading cereal boxes, and asking wait staff lame questions which they don't know the answers to, to indulge your current fantasy of becoming a better You.

And I'm okay with that ... good for you. You go girl, and all that ...

But DO NOT LIE TO MY FACE about it, and tell me you're "allergic" - okay???

I agree that if you seriously were allergic to something, it would be worth my time to try and save your life by wondering around trying to find some kitchen person or manager who may or may not actually know the answer to your question. But you're not allergic, and therefore it's not worth my time to find this out for you. Even if you're "gluten-sensitive" then you're going to have to do your own research on the internet, or maybe pay a dietitian to give you a list of approved foods and places to eat, okay?

Wait staff however, are not generally going to be qualified to get this right for you. Wait staff are generally the kind of people who give you "regular" coffee when you ordered "decaf" because nobody's made decaf yet tonight and we're not about to start now. I'm not like that personally, but it does happen. Wait staff (on average) are about a thousand times more likely to have smoked a fattie right before they came to work, than they are to have "boned up" on their food allergies before they came to work. It's because I love you, that I'm telling you that wait staff are just overall not the type of people you should trust with such important things, okay?

What I can tell you for certain is that we have flour and flour-based batters in the building, because we cook bread and we fry things here. Lots of things. Flour therefore floats through the air at times because of the air conditioner and the fans, and could potentially cover every surface and dish in the entire kitchen at times. And when the air conditioning and fans are not performing well, then sweat - (yes, as in perspiration - dripping off of some cook or waiter's flour-tainted forehead) may be the last ingredient that landed in your dinner just before it got walked out to you. Therefore, nothing in the building can be certified as gluten-free - just "gluten friendly" at the absolute best. Therefore - no matter what I or any other tragically under-educated person in this building tells you - if you really are allergic to gluten then you might die if you eat in this restaurant, period.

Now if our menu, states in writing, that something is gluten-free, then - and only then - can you be certain enough about the gluten content (well, the lack thereof) to order it. If it's in writing then I'd say that someone who cared enough and who actually has the credentials to say so, got paid a lot of money to say so, and to attract gluten-allergic and gluten-sensitive eaters to our business. And if the answer to whether or not you can eat this particular item is a resounding "YES" then you should order it, based on what the menu says, but NOT, NOT, NOT based upon what your server says. Because they don't really know.

But if any of that were the case, AND you really were allergic to gluten, then you'd be ordering it with confidence, without asking your $2 an hour waiter about it.

And if whoever wrote the menu somehow got this wrong, then perhaps you could sue the restaurant for what they incorrectly stated in writing.

Sue them posthumously, I mean.

All I'm saying, is do not trust a restaurant server with this question, and definitely do not lie to them about it either.

Because if you do, then you probably deserve whatever happens to you.


Did I just say all that outloud?


Sorry, didn't realize you were standing there.

Will New IRS Ruling Spell "The End" of Automatic Gratuity?

More about Restaurant Tipping & Automatic Gratuity

In the future, more restaurant debit/credit slips will look more like this,
to meet IRS regs ensuring that customers can choose how much to tip,
so that the restaurant does not have to deal with the new
"Service Charge" definition of auto-gratuities.
Image: Flicker & Manny Hernandez

Well just in time to interrupt the publishing of this "tippng series" as a book, I should report to those of you who are still (despite my best efforts ;) 100% opposed to seeing an automatic gratuity added to your bills, that you may indeed get your way after all.

Compliments of your friendly Internal Revenue Service.

There's a new IRS ruling that I'm not happy about at all. Now, I'm not grumbling as if this new rule will somehow mean that I/we owe MORE taxes on our tips and gratuities, as you might suspect. It doesn't mean that at all. It's an intense new cluster of paperwork that I can clearly see will make many restaurants drop the practice of auto-gratting, solely to avoid the hassle.

I can already see where all of this will result in less taxable income to me overall, which is why I don't like it.

The gory details are spelled out in many recent articles, like "Restaurants May Have to Change Tip Reporting Systems," "IRS Says Auto Gratuities Are Treated as Wages, Not Tips,"  and most telling of all "Say Goodbye to Automatic Gratuities."

These articles are rather technical, so boiling things down for you, as I see it the new ruling creates at least two distinct sets of problems for restaurants with an auto-grat policy, in order to remain compliant with the new IRS regulations:

1) The ruling means that the IRS is forcing restaurants to create new (as in extra, not merely different) classifications for reporting servers' income. The new and different columns will revolve around instances of whether the gratuity you pay still fits the old definition of a "tip" or the newer one of a "service charge." If you the customer did not solely determine the specific amount of the tip (as is the case with an auto-grat, which again started as the servers' protection mostly against exceptionally huge losses on large parties) then it is deemed to be a service charge, not a tip.

Which does make sense, I realize. It's kind of like the "labor" you pay for when you get your car worked on - it's a fixed amount that the establishment sets. However, being that it's an actual charge, many states are going to collect sales tax on it, meaning the customer loses out because of higher prices. Oh, and since it's now a charge that's paid to the restaurant (not a tip paid to the server) the restaurant can legally KEEP all of it they want to, and pay their employees whatever they deem appropriate, so long as it's above minimum wage. I can't help but see greedy corporations and dishonest business owners skimming portions of the "service charge" right out of the servers' pockets and into their own. Adding insult to injury, many servers will get their share of these "service charges" on our paychecks now, not on the night you dined. So the waiters lose in this new math as well as the customers.

"The State," meanwhile, will now require separate and additional types of accounting to make the restaurant compliant with FICA laws. I'm always taxed on all tips already, and it's not clear whether this would mean even more taxes owed by me or not (not the point), but it will require much more complicated and headache-inspiring diligence by the restaurant's accountant or accounting firm to keep straight. This obviously will cost them time and probably money to sort out.

2) The auto-grat - now called a service charge - creates all sorts of implications for payroll purposes, requiring near-incomprehensible micro-divisions and sub-categories of wage and taxation classification. This ruling creates new and difficult calculations of what our true "hourly pay" actually is - which could now change on any given day or shift! This creates additional complications in regards to computation of our over-time pay (which we rarely are allowed) becoming even more costly for the restaurant.

The worst part is that if a server has one or two auto-gratted tables on a given night, then three or four which are not, he or she would in effect be working at two different pay-scales simultaneously! This would be a nightmare to keep straight, and downright impossible for a restaurant to correctly track and report, thus inviting the IRS to get on their backs and all up in their business in new and creative ways. And who wants that?

Net result of these factors being the probable elimination the auto-grat entirely by many small businesses and large chains alike. They'll just naturally wish to avoid the paperwork headaches, additional accounting and taxation costs, and probable fines for getting it wrong (because it looks really hard to ever get this new system right).

The only other way to avoid the confusion would be for a restaurant to auto-grat EVERY table, regardless of size. It's possible that only this method could guarantee complete consistency and elimination of errors in their payroll. This would be simple, but definitely not popular, as I'm sure you can agree. That's the way things are done in Europe, and Americans customers don't like the service we get from most European waiters any more than American waiters like the way European customers tip.

Am I right, or am I right?

The losers are many in this system, and the only clear winner I can see is big government. The restaurants lose as operating costs increase and good help goes elsewhere, if they don't both keep the auto-grat and comply with confusing and costly procedures. The servers lose personal income at the places that drop the auto-grat just to avoid dealing with the whole mess. The customers especially lose as the additional labor and accounting costs increase and get incorporated into meal prices.

What I don't think the I.R.S. sees coming however, is that they are just creating anew the very problem they've been trying to solve for decades ... Many, many years ago you see, the I.R.S. became aware that many waiters and waitresses weren't reporting all of their cash tips as income at the end of each shift. Since the 1990's (in my experience), I've witnessed restaurant owners and managers increasingly "tighten the nut" on making sure their waitstaff claims their tips by stricter and stricter policies, to avoid being open to I.R.S. audits and intense scrutiny on their business practices.

This problem has all but gone away in fact, with the rise of Debit Cards however - 95% plus of tables I wait on today pay via debit or credit, and how much they tip is recorded in writing and entered into the computer. All that meaning that the numbers of servers who are accurately and honestly reporting their tips is probably higher today than it has ever been. Not to sound all Ron Paul on you, but this occurred because "the market" itself created the solution (debit cards), not big government or legislation and paperwork.

But these new rules on auto-grat and service charges, I think, are going to have unforeseen results. How so?

Simple - I think more and more people are going to return to tipping in cash. As word spreads, and it becomes common knowledge that the restaurants you eat it are possibly keeping a portion of the service charges and credit card tips to line their own coffers, and that your servers aren't even taking home much of what you *thought* you tipped them, but are now having to wait on their paychecks and hope the employer actually gives it all to them ... I simply think that a new generation of former restaurant people and sophisticated diners who know such details are going to respond with sympathy, and with cash tips, to make sure that the person who actually waited on them actually receives the tip they actually left. My personal thanks to you if this is your choice. I'll still claim it like I always do anyways, but under this new way of doing things, the service charge has a lonnnnnng way to travel before it hits my bank account, and tipping in cash really will again become the best way to reward good service.

So how did these new rules get started anyways? I can only guess, but I'm willing to bet that some IRS agents went out to eat somewhere as a group, their table got auto-gratted, and they were miffed about it.

Perhaps they vowed revenge, and secretly plotted the best way to make sure it would never happen again.

Whatever the case, the IRS may well have succeeded in bringing a near-end to the auto-grat as we know it, as restaurants deal with the practical repercussions of this new legislation, effective January 2013.

So, have my labors of these past few months been in vain? Is this book obsolete before it even sees print?

Nah. For one, many of you readers are becoming better tippers to your servers, or so I'm hearing from you. I do additionally hope that you'll take the time to perhaps be more scrutinizing over your choices of where to eat as well. I hope that you'll reward (with your presence, and discretionary dollars) the places that keep their auto-gratuity, despite the hassles they're going through to be fully IRS compliant.

And just if and when you actually do have a choice of where to eat, it's still my personal opinion that you will generally receive a much higher level of service and professionalism from the waiters and waitresses qualified to obtain, and keep, jobs in restaurants that include auto-gratuity, largely because they want to retain long-term skilled servers.

The old addage says "you get what you pay for..." I believe that the distinction in service levels will become even more apparent to you, both as this new ruling plays out, and as corporations and chains make their choices as to whether or not to include an auto-gratuity in their billing.

What Time Do You Close?

Not MY face - I'm thinking "YES! Party of 10 equals BANK!!"

Some fellow servers and I are just going to have to part ways on this one, as today's post does not reflect the opinions of most restaurant people.

No doubt most waiters and waitresses will tell you that one of the top most annoying things a customer can ever do, is to walk in five minutes before the restaurant closes for the night expecting to be served.

I saw the question posed on an online forum recently, which read "How long before closing is it acceptable to come into a restaurant for dinner?"

Service (and I'm using the term loosely here) Industry people had definitely taken over the conversation, many arguing that "about an hour" before the posted time is the "appropriate cut-off time" to be seated in a full-service establishment.

I chimed in, and basically told them to get over themselves.

At five to fifteen minutes before closing time all across America, things are definitely being cleaned up and put away. The cooks are breaking down the grill and taking their pots and pans to the dishwasher. Servers have taken apart and cleaned the cappuccino machine, the tea machine, and polished their silverware. Bartenders are pouring hot water over the ice bins and wiping everything else down. The manager is waiting for the last table to pay so that their closing paperwork can begin. Everybody's just counting off the final seconds before they can clock out and go home. I know this all too well my fellow restaurant people, and whilst you or I might never walk into a restaurant five minutes before closing ...

The truth is, we're still open.

No doubt, servers absolutely hate it when they think they're about to leave, then two people stroll in asking "What time do you close?" (... as if the sign out front didn't already answer that question. You're not fooling us with that one, you do realize?)

Anyhow, allow me to be the bad guy who tells these servers that "In five minutes..." is not the correct answer.

I know you've worked a double and have been on your feet for twelve hours. I also know what time you have to be here the next morning. And I know you're pretty sure that your chances of getting drunk or laid are diminishing the later you stay here tonight. I know. The customers don't know this though, and - Newsflash! - they don't want to know either. All they know is that they're hungry, this is a restaurant, and your lights are on.

Unless your restaurant's policy clearly states otherwise (via a sign or consistently observed policy) the only correct answer to these nice hungry people's question is "We don't stop seating for another five minutes, so you made it! Right this way..."

Sorry, I know you were thinking how nice it might be to get off "early" for once, but alas, such is not your fate tonight. Your fate is to work a little harder on that degree (or whatever your thing is) so that one day, when you own a business, you get to decide when it's okay to turn people away. Until then, you're in the "Hospitality Business" which requires one thing of you above all else - some hospitality!

If you really need to get off at a specific time each night, you can always take your people skills and go work at Wal-Mart. We both know good and well however, that your significant other knows by now that you don't get off (or home) at the same time every night - "It all depends on how busy we are" right? Well guess what? You just got busier. So hate me if you want, but I'm just telling you that right now you've got people to wait on. You need to suck it up, be appreciative that they're spending their hard-earned money in your section, and get ready to maybe wash that coffeepot out one more time.

You can argue that "one does not simply walk into" an auto mechanic's business or a dentist's office five minutes before closing, and expect them to stay an hour later for you. You'd be quite correct in that argument. But you're not a dentist, you're a waiter.

In some businesses, the posted closing time is indeed when the last person has to leave the building. Not true in American culture, in the restaurant business however. Here, the cultural norm is that people can come in - and be seated - up until the posted closing time. That's just the way things are, so if you can't play by those rules, then quit asking your boss to give you the money-making closing shifts anymore, and go back to getting "cut" when the newbies do, okay?

Now I am reasonable, and there are limits. The guests need to know this as well. It's okay to politely convey that "Because the kitchen is closing, I do need to get your order in to them in about five minutes." Or two, whatever the case is. That absolutely should be made clear. This is not a case where they're going to be able to enjoy two cocktails and appetizers before ordering. No, not this late. The kitchen staff is already going ballistic in fact, but this should not be conveyed. Nor should it be compounded.

The food will probably come out pretty darn quickly too. They need to eat it, and pay fairly promptly. I don't think the guests in this situation need to feel that it's okay for them to linger, either. I'll gladly take any table that comes in five minutes before closing (or five minutes after, if management is agreeable and the kitchen has not already been broken down) BUT there's a huge difference between closing a place down, and thinking it's alright to still be there when it opens again.

People can come in at the last minute, and I will feed them. They are not permitted to order a third bottle of wine and make out in the booth however, while the waiter, busser, bartender and manager are waiting for them to leave. Nope, that's expecting just a little too much, Romeo and Juliet. I will cordially feed you a great dinner (I will not offer desert), and I'll give you "about an hour" - tops - after the posted closing time before bringing the check.

I will then politely but kinda firmly say "Hey folks, I'm glad we got you in just under the wire, but my manager has to have the books closed out now, before the computer something something something..."

So that's my take on it. When there's still time to be seated, we need to wait on you, and not complain about it. And because we did, when your food is gone and the restaurant really is closed, you need to go.

Fair enough?


Hard to tell just who's side I'm on sometimes, isn't it?

Stereotypes, and Why I Didn't AutoGrat tonight

Image - PBS Documentary "Black Folk Don't : Tip"

Hey, I've got a joke for ya :

"What's the difference between canoes and lesbians?"

"Canoes tip."

If that offends you, sorry, but it was told to me by a male gay server... which makes it okay, right?

All that was just my way of saying "So, let's talk stereotypes!"

You know, like "Black people don't tip..."

Because just when I think I've successfully argued the rationale and my right to autograt every table I can, along comes a group which gives me pause. Much to the chagrin of my co-worker (and financial partner in tip-sharing for the evening) and after much deliberation, I finally chose not to autograt a party for the first time in memory.

Stereotypes played a large role in this decision.

Late on a slow night, I'm alerted by the manager-on-duty of a new 5-top whom she's just seated in my section. Any optimistic hopes I may have had that this will be the table that "makes my night" (financially) dwindle as I walk into the main dining room and notice that it's a table of five black guys.

I'm sure that sounds quite racist, but it's not. It's common knowledge in the restaurant business that black people - on average - don't tip as well as white people do, on average. Am I stereotyping? Yes I am. We all do, but it's a stereotype supported by my years of experience, and the experiences of many other servers.

Today, there are published studies which explore the statistics behind this stereotype, and even a PBS documentary entitled "Black Folk Don't Tip" by Angela Tucker (who is black, btw). Turner interviews several black people in her video, who generally affirm the truth of the stereotype, and cite possible reasons. One posits that black people have less "tipping history" to draw from, because they were denied entry into restaurants for so long in American history. Another, saying it's perhaps "a throwback to slavery" where black people were forced to work for white people for nothing, and so today when we work for them, we get nothing in return. However, Cornell University's study says that black people "tip less than whites even when the server is black" so maybe that's not it.

Ask any black server if you don't believe me. They will affirm that their experience is the same. As Lawrence (whom I worked with years ago at The Prime Cut) liked to say "I love my people. But I don't like waiting on them."

Now many problems come into play when servers respond to this stereotype as if it were an insoluable fact, the largest perhaps being that servers (black and white) don't really want to wait on black parties. It would be correct to say that our optimism of getting a huge tip wanes, and we walk over to the table hoping we'll make maybe 15% anyways, secretly dreading that we might get stiffed. The black server who wasn't seated this group smiles knowingly and says "Good luck with that" as we go to greet the table. However, in certain cases of being seated a black party, a more unprofessional server will withdraw entirely, purposely giving inferior service because they're not expecting to make much money. This of course creates a truly vicious cycle - or a self-fulling prophecy, if you will - of the black people tipping poorly not because they're black, but because they got poor service, and the stereotype continuing.

I learned my lesson years and years ago on this topic. As a newbie waiter at Ruby Tuesday's (in Knoxville Tennessee, where not a lot of black people live) I was seated a black couple on a Friday night. I was still developing into a server who could handle a busy station at that time, but wasn't quite there yet, and was somewhat aware of the mantra "black people don't tip." Because of the volume levels, I came to one or two points in the hour where I had more to do than I could really execute, and made an internal decision to give worse service to the black couple so that I could give better service to my other three tables, who were all white and presumably would tip me better. Yes, I'm admitting this.

By "worse service" I mean that they didn't get re-filled on their drinks as often or as timely as my other tables. They sat there with empty, dirty plates a bit longer as well, until I was "caught up" enough to take them away. I didn't chit-chat with them as much as I did with my other tables either.

So when all was said and done and I'm picking up my books from the empty tables, guess what? The black couple left me $5. That's five 1980's dollars. Five 1980's dollars at a Ruby Tuesday no less. That equates to about twenty-five modern dollars at the more expensive type of restaurants I work at now, and it was well over 20% of their tab. In fact, going by percentage, they tipped me better than any of the other three tables of white rednecks whom I'd given the preferential treatment to.

I felt shame. I realized that I was a lousy human being, and definitely not a professional server either. Like I said, I learned my lesson that day, and then and there resolved to give the best service I can to everybody, because you really don't know - plus it's my job so I need to just do it as best I can. That day, I experienced what others in Turner's video point out, that some black people actually over-tip in order to make up for the stereotype. They are in effect purposely "buying" a better reputation for their entire race, and sacrificing personally to make things better for other black people and their own children, perhaps. Over the years I have received some truly awful tips from black people (and of course white as well), yet I've also been blatantly over-tipped several times as well, from certain black guests.

(Up until now, I've really not wanted to tackle the "black people don't tip" idea in this blog because I know it's controversial. As evidence of my intent and attitude however, I remind you of "Miss Virginia" from my "Worst Day Ever" entry, where I quite purposefully mentioned that she tipped me 30% that day, as my subtle yet intentional effort of not perpetuating the more common attitude. Did ya even notice I did that?)

So anyways, five black guys, right?

Our restaurant's website encourages guests to dress in "business casual" attire, but apparently these guys didn't get that memo. Not a problem, as not everybody that comes in here dresses up, but all I'm saying is that their outfits weren't chosen to help me feel like they were big tippers. There were many bright colors, some loose jeans which were showcasing some really stylish underwear, and not all of their jeans were blue for that matter. Whether these guys were looking "gangster," "ghetto," "styling and profiling" for going to a nice club later or for shooting a hip new music video was not immediately apparent to me. At this point in my life, I'm just too uncool to tell the difference anymore. So maybe I'm generalizing, but the idea that these guys are the "over-tipping type" of black folk doesn't exactly enter my head.

Now, judging solely by their voices and speech patterns, something else becomes apparent as I'm greeting the guys and getting their drink orders. These guys are gay. Well call me sheltered, but the thought occurs to me that "Hey... I don't think I've ever been in the company of five gay black men before..."

Then another thought immediately creeps into my head. "Hey, gay men are usually fantastic tippers. This could turn out well!" It's just another stereo-type I know, but also one that proves to be true when averaged out in the long term.

So while I'm waiting on the guys (and giving them my normal friendly, efficient service I might add) I can't help but wondering how these stereo-types will work together. Will they cancel each other out, or will one trump the other?

"If racial stereotype equals matter, and orientation stereotype equals anti-matter......?" I'm pondering.

Wait, the plot thickens. Another friend joins them, and then another, making seven gay black men that I'm waiting on now. Gay, black, or not, that's seven people Bucco, and our menu states that 20% gratuity will be added to parties of 7 or more.

My tip-pool partner and I raise our eyebrows optimistically and with a hint of relief, knowing that all elements of chance and universe-shattering paradoxes have disappeared, because now we can auto-grat. And if there's any question, even James (a fellow waiter, who is black) says "Do it."

Not that there's any question whatsoever, if you know me.

But then A SNAG comes up. One of the "joiners" isn't eating. Or drinking anything. He's really just there to meet up with his friends before they all move on to somewhere more exciting than this place. I did bring him water, but he didn't ask me to.

So how does that figure in to the auto-grat equation? The number is right, but one's not eating. In fact, two others aren't eating either, they're just having drinks while their friends eat, before all going out together.

I know what you're thinking .. "Well of course you can't auto-grat if one of them didn't even order anything!" I'm sure you're thinking this, right?

But that's just you, and this is probably the first time you've ever pondered the situation. Plus, if your income has never depended upon how you answer such questions, then you might even call me biased (or other, more choice words) but this ain't my first rodeo. I've made this call a dozen times easily, and even had to answer for it a couple of times.

Once, I had some customers (white folk) "call me" on auto-gratting them when one of their party was an infant who didn't order an entree, but that little baby made the table reach the magic number. The menu doesn't say how many entrees result in an auto-grat, it says people. Your little tyke is a person whether he orders from our menu or not, and that counts. Even though little tykes usually graciously tip by leaving 20% of their Cheerios behind for me, I can't spend Cheerios, and the fact that you brought him or her out took up space that I had to clean up afterwards, and they count as a person. Every time.

Black, White, Hispanic, Foreigners, Christians (I love my people, but I don't like waiting on them) - doesn't matter, I will auto-grat when the restaurant's policy says so, and you know this about me, right? And you still love me...

But this... tonight... this table launches me into some truly new territory. This one I have to really think about, and I now appreciate them coming in for that reason alone. They've turned my otherwise mundane night into one of exciting mental gymnastics and ethical and moral dilemmas and stuff, that require me to actually THINK about what I'm doing, for the first time in Oh so long!

All they had was appetizers and a few drinks. My partner expects me to auto-grat them, and it's his income on the line as well as mine if I don't, if the group doesn't tip. The restaurant's policy is to auto-grat. So why am I hesitating?

Well, because they're black. That, and I have a soul. There's a chance they'll challenge the auto-grat based on the fact that one of them didn't eat. I've politely stood my ground on that one before but in this case, I feel like they'll think I'm pushing the policy beyond what is reasonable simply because they're black, not because of my personal policy on people and numbers. Maybe they'd make a scene (no more or less of one than pissed-off white people would, I mean) but whether they would or not, in my heart I just know... they'll be offended.

I'm not in the business of offending people, but I do expect to be paid for what I do. My partner for the evening makes it known that he expects me to grat them, and the manager (white girl, who dates a black guy) has already told me that she will authorize doing so, based on the number of people at the table.

I'd be "in the right" but only in a very debatable way.

Oh, decisions, decisions...

"Black people don't tip."

"Gay men are great tippers."

The moment of truth arrives, and I go to James (the black waiter, and our "senior server" that night) for one last opinion. I have every confidence that what James will say will match what he'd do if it were his money - and his personal integrity - at stake. He asks me "How much is the tab up to?" I show it to him - just $74. His words echo what I've already decided, but man it's good to get a second opinion from a server more professional than my snot-nosed young partner for the evening.

"Don't grat that shit," he says, and I don't. I can't. Acting within my rights somehow doesn't feel right this time. $14 ($7 to me) just isn't worth offending people over.

So for the first time in over a decade, I don't grat a table that I could have, and decide to earn my money (or not) the old-fashioned way this time - by leaving it up to the customer.

I split the checks up as they've directed me, and spin the wheel to see what happens.


Curious? Admit it. You are...


Well, if it were a poker hand, I just hit a straight - of stereotypes.

One guy stiffed me on his beer. The two that ate left me $3 on $42, for about a 7% tip. One left me $2 on a $10 cocktail. And the one that had an appetizer and a coke left a ten-dollar tip on his $16 check.

Every so-called "black stereotype" possible, all at one table.. the stiff, the crap tip, the industry standard one, and the over-tipper who evens out the bad ones.

The auto-grat would have been about $14.80. Without it, we made $15, kept the peace, and I slept well. If not for the over-tipper though, Id've owed my partner a few bucks - and would have gladly paid it because part of being a grown-up means that every now and then you just have to take one for the team.

The human team, that is.



If you're like me, one question remains however :

If they were seven heterosexual black men, would I have taken the same risk, or would I have gratted them?

Well, I can't honestly say off the top of my head. Every situation's different, and you never know what you're going to do sometimes. All I can say for sure, is that if having a bisexual roommate in college who dragged me along to Academy Award winning movies by Spike Lee taught me anything, it would have to be

"Always do the right thing."

Attack of the Coupon People and Gift Certificate Users : Waiters Tremble

"It's the most, wonderful time, of the yeeeeeeear!" I'm lying again.

So it's mid-February as I write this.

I, and millions of other servers, are breathing a long collective sigh of relief, as we've FINALLY gotten past what can be our most trying time of the year.

I'm speaking of the dreaded January - which for us lasts from New Years' Eve through Valentine's Day.

For servers, the "month" of January is bracketed by the two "Amateur Nights" listed - noteworthy for the large number of cheap unsophisticated diners and poor tippers who only get out on such holidays whom we've just churned through. These rough nights are connected together by weeks in-between that are filled with possibly the slowest and least income-producing weeks of our lives (because people are broke from holiday spending and not eating out as much). Making matters worse, January is painfully dotted with people redeeming the gift certificates they received over the holidays.

All that, and our landlords knocking loudly, and our bills coming to us mailed in increasingly fluorescent colors, and using increasingly stern language.

As I was saying...

"Possibly the biggest sign of cheapness, unsophistication, and us receiving a poor tip from a guest would be the use of a coupon (or these days, a Groupon)..."

Add to that list, gift cards.

"The restaurants take a loss when promoting these deals in the hopes of bringing in new customers who otherwise might not ever come in, to try out our restaurant so that we can "wow you" into becoming a regular. A regular who will pay the regular price on future visits, that is. It works to a point and there's nothing wrong with taking advantage of a deal, but we've noticed that these promotions tend to bring in the pickiest, cheapest, stingiest, most demanding people as well, who won't ever be back unless they get another deal, or a gift card..."

My advice to you (if you like attentive service, that is) is that unless the deal specifically states "render coupon when ordering" that you DON'T disclose this to your server until it's time to pay. (Just make sure that it's not expired when you do so.) We've had way too many bad experiences with "coupon people" and gift-card redeemers that you don't want us to put you in that mental box from the very beginning, if you can at all avoid it.

So here's how to get around being treated as "coupon people" by a jaded server ...

First, let's identify the actual problem, so that you'll know where we're coming from and why there even is a problem to examine. The problem for us is that way too many people tip on the after-discount price of their meal, instead of on what they actually ordered. This really makes us want to break things.

I know that you may not know this (and so I'm all too glad to tell you) but we still get taxed and pay tip-out to our support staff on the WHOLE amount of your check, BEFORE your discount gets figured in. Appalling, I know. This often has the practical effect of eating up whatever tip you leave, if you tip based only on the discounted total we present to you. Much to your surprise I'm guessing, your "method of payment" - cash, credit card, gift certificate, or coupon deal - does not change how much food and beverage we rang up for you (nor the amount of work we did, for that matter). THIS dollar amount is still reflected in our "total sales" at the end of the shift, and again, is the dollar amount we tip out and are taxed on.

Using the formula I did earlier when getting stiffed, it goes like this : A $100 tab that's half food and half alcohol could result in about $5.50 in tip-out for me. Let's say that you redeem a $50 gift card or coupon, getting a bill of only $50, and then you tip 20%, or $10. At least you think you tipped me $10, but really I only received $4 after tip-out and what Uncle Sam keeps. If you tipped only 15% ($7.50) on the $50 check you received, guess what? I'm still paying the same in tip out and taxes, and you just tipped me $2 on $100 worth of food and beverage service.

And them's fightin' words, pahdner.

I think people more instinctively "get it" in cases where their bill comes to $105 and they are presenting a $100 gift card, for example. I'd like to believe that not one in a hundred people are calloused or stupid enough to honestly think that tipping 20% (or $1) on their $5 balance is appropriate. However, what I'd like to believe and what I've observed as reality over the years (and past several weeks) are miles apart. Some people really are like that, and in "January" it seems like we wait on them all several times each week.

I know full-well that you've probably never looked at things this way, and I'm not complaining. Much. I'm merely filling you in on how coupons and gift cards work from our perspective. Knowing this now, do you want to be waited on by a server who thinks from the very beginning that he or she could possibly lose money because you came in tonight and sat in their section? Perhaps now you see why our eyes roll back into our heads a bit, or our bodies tense up a bit, when you break out that $100 gift card, or your coupon deal. It is the extremely rare server indeed who sees these and thinks "Oh Boy! Here's my chance to impress first-time guests so much that they'll come back and spend real money with me one day in the distant future! I can't wait to tell my kids and my landlord about this!"

No, that guy's non-existent in fact. When we see these, what we're really thinking about are the ninety people before you who used these and tipped on the discounted total and left us $2 or less, practically speaking. And the nine people who were gone when we came back to collect, who'd put their coupon and some cash in the book and dashed out, only to realize that their deal had expired or was somehow invalid. And the one we had a confrontation with in the parking lot over this, because the restaurant illegally makes us pay for walk-outs and payment shortages.

THAT'S who you are to us when we see these.

You're the couple who thought they'd left me a "very generous" 40% tip this week. After their $100 gift certificate, their tab was $30. Up until the moment they broke out the gift certificate, I'm thinking (like we all do) that I'll maybe receive $26 or more on $130 worth of food, wine, and service with a smile. Thankfully, they were generous (from their perspective?) and left me $12. In my reality though, their 40% was less than 10% - minus taxes and tip-out. I did of course tell them my name again, and to please ask for me when they return.

After all, it's not like they redeemed $200 worth of gift certificates all at once and tipped $7.50 on the balance of $50 (15% to them, 3% to me, minus tip-out). No, that would be the "Joneses" who told me that this was the first time they'd been here in almost 20 years. Maybe I'll get lucky, and it'll be another 20 years before they return... Yup, that's jaded server talk for you! I did not repeat my name to these Joneses, nor invite them to ask for me ever again. Sorry if it disappoints you to know that about me

So finally, I'm just curious if maybe you're the guy who doesn't understand what "No Cash Value" means on a gift card? If that's you, it means you can't render a $100 gift card on your $82 meal and tell us to keep the change. All it means is that the restaurant profited an additional $18 from the transaction, and your server got stiffed if you left this card in the server book and ran out the door.

"No Cash Value" means that you're going to have to plan ahead on spending $15 or $20 in real cash if you mean to leave a tip, and then come see me again to redeem the remaining $18 in food and beverage. It's not rocket science.

I'd go on, but that could get whiney. Whining's not the point. The point is telling you how not to be seen as "that guy" from the outset by your server, and to help you get better service.

My totally sage advice is that at the very second you present your deal, in order to prevent us from wincing and checking out mentally on you, you must say to your server "Hey (name), can you print me out a copy of our bill before the discount gets applied, so that we know how much we're actually tipping on?"

Just like I advised the foreigners earlier, you do that, and you'll see a server who will bend over backwards and maybe do cartwheels through the dining room, ignoring all the other coupon people in their section to make sure you get the most preferential treatment they're capable of.

Like the "Smiths!" They too redeemed $200 in gift cards last week. I pick up the little black server book after they're gone, and - braced for the worst after so many weeks of this - I see that they've tipped me $20 on $220 total. I walk through the dining room keeping my composure and not breaking anything valuable because I'm a professional, only to discover once again what happens when I don't wear my glasses.

At the computer now, first I'm squinting, then my eyes open wide. Wait, that two is actually a seven. Awwwwww! The Smiths KNOW how to use a gift card properly! At least they use it like a server would.

The Smiths left me $70, sharing the gift they'd received with the server who waited on them. THAT my friends, is how to properly redeem a gift card or coupon!

Don't say I never gave you a happy ending.

More Tips for Getting Good Service

You can be assigned "a good waiter" but if he or she senses that you're "a bad diner" then your service may still be somewhat lacking. But even a bad waiter can step up and deliver incredible service from time-to-time, if you just know which of our buttons to push, and which not to push. Part 1 of my Tips for Getting Good Service had more to do with helping you understand a few key things from our side of the table, and you should totally read it before reading this page, which is actually Part 2.

Aside from cues of sophistication (as I explained last time, and the time before that) which can help you get better service when dining in a restaurant, we're just as likely to pick up on cues of unsophistication from you of course, and one of the biggest red flags for us would be obvious indicators of "cheapness" on your part...

Like I said, we're judging you from the very beginning.

Things that convey "tightwad" to us sometimes include ordering "Water with Lemon" or the sharing of entree plates. I'm personally probably a lot more understanding and less judgmental about these decisions than many, many servers are. Just because you choose not to blow a ton of money routinely on frivolous charges does not automatically mean to me that you're going to tip poorly mind you.

However, it does tell me (and other servers) that your total check is going to be less than a table who orders alcohol, $3 soft drinks, big appetizers and full entrees. Ordering frugally, even when tipping 20%, obviously results in a smaller net tip for us overall. Seeing this coming admittedly does prove a little de-motivating for us in general, plus at this point we've no idea of how well you do or don't tip; we just know that our odds of us retiring after you leave have dwindled based on the size of your total check.

I'm certainly not saying never to do these things (you're entirely within your rights to do so and it's my job to bring them to you) but the simple fact is that we earn our living off of other people's excess, and so early signs of frugality can be a little discouraging to us. Unfortunately for you, some servers really will "check out" on you over things like this and perhaps become less attentive, and I'm sorry, and I agree that such is wrong.

However, you can earn a lot of positive points no matter what you're ordering with this ONE little trick : use our names. Most likely, I told you my name, and if you use it, it's a sure sign that you were paying attention to me and actually DO view me as a human being after all. It also suggests that you're experienced enough at dining out to be comfortable and casual in the experience, and more likely a sophisticated diner. I'd recommend using your server's name once early on, then maybe once again. (Three, four, five times gets a little creepy however.) A simple "Thank you Guy" when I deliver your drink or "Hey Guy, we have a question...." goes a long way.

Here's another secret. If we didn't tell you our name, or even if we did, you should ask it, or verify it early on. Why? Acknowledging our humanity aside, many restaurants (corporations especially) use "mystery shoppers" - people who eat for free or perhaps even get paid just for filling out a very detailed report on their experience at the restaurant. The server's personality, proficiency, timeliness and all sort of things are being graded and reported back to the corporation in these instances, and can affect our standing with our bosses very much sometimes. If for some reason we think you're a "shopper" then we're likely to be extra attentive and on the ball. Try it sometime, just don't try it and then tip poorly okay? Servers everywhere will hate me if I give you this information, and then you "fake us out" without tipping 20%, so don't get me in trouble or I will find you.


Possibly the biggest sign of cheapness, unsophistication, and us receiving a poor tip from a guest would be the use of a coupon (or these days, a Groupon)...

The restaurants take a loss when promoting these deals in the hopes of bringing in new customers who otherwise might not ever come in, to try out our restaurant so that we can "wow you" into becoming a regular. A regular who will pay the regular price on future visits, that is. It works to a point and there's nothing wrong with taking advantage of a deal, but we've noticed that these promotions tend to bring in the pickiest, cheapest, stingiest, most demanding people as well, who won't ever be back unless they get another deal, or a gift card...


So sorry it's taken me over two months to crank this little entry out. I've had it drafted for ages but didn't know how to wrap it up. Now I do, so stay tuned for "Coupon People." Meanwhile, maybe you should Google "waiters hate Groupon" just for fun.