Perhaps the waitress who wrote this letter should give it to whoever it was that busted their buns to create a restaurant in which she could hold court instructing customers how to conform to her expectations.

How many of us could have worked our way up the ladder of our business, profession, what-have-you with a frame of mind such as this?

Just a side note...
This is from "best of craigslist" it seems:

http://london.craigslist.org/about/b...205060189.html

Re the men staring at your boobs: I worked as a waitress in college and for a few years in Hawaii and I stopped wearing my name badge when too many men asked me, "what's the name of the other one?"

Happytrailstoyou: Have you ever waitressed?

It's a hard job. I'm a tax attorney now and I deal with a lot of different and demanding people, but it's still less stressful than my job waitressing in college was.

ditto, kureiff, ditto.

A question and a few comments. How can the IRS conceivably verify tip totals- what keeps the waitress or waiter from not reporting their true take?

I usually tip at least 25 % for good service. I have six kids for the waitress to keep happy. I like to have a good time and if a waitress helps me in my endeavor, why not give her/him another $5 or $10. And, as for men staring at a waitresses' cleavage, I might warn these waitresses that many men enjoy a shapely rear view as well.

I always leave a 20% tip at a sit down restaurant unless the service is horrible and that is rare. I am starting to get annoyed though at the number of places with tip jars when I am the one placing my order at the counter and taking my food to the table. I have been to two places very recently that have signs on the tip jar that say "Tipping is not in China" - what the heck does that mean? It seems like a demand for a tip.

Debit is your daughter paid below minimum wage like most waiters/waitresses?

She seems to be obsessed with her curves. Maybe she needs breast reduction surgery.

Kudos No-name. Waitressed thru college and grad school and couldn't agree more.

wtm003 - yes, she is paid less than minimum wage...about half.

And the manager takes the tip jar, counts it and distributes it...so they know how much each gets and they take withholding out for it once a month.

Debi

Debi - very interesting. Now I am wondering if this is typical of most counter type/takeout restaurants or if this is a case of the owner taking advantage of your daughter and his other employees.

I tip even if the service is miserable, because I know how little these folks make. However, I'm ashamed to say that I ignore tip jars at fast food places.

I assume a 20% tip and will drop down if service is awful. I tell the server that I tip on the basis of my water glass. Keep water in it = good tip. I am rarely disappointed and we are both happy

Anyone else imagining what kind of customers posters might be? It's interesting to watch the dynamics in a restaurant. One out of seven tables a server is working = nothing goes right. The other six = perfectly okay with the service and experience. Reminds me of the saying "Wherever you go, there you are!"

happytrailstoyou- I'm guessing (as already mentioned) you were never a waitress.

It happens. It doesn't depend on size of anything. 'Your Waitress' was just telling it like it is.

I draw the line at tipping for "counter" service, whether it be at Starbucks or McDonalds. It's unfortunate that the employers of these establishments do not pay sufficient wages, but it is not my responsibility to make up the difference.

Debi - I used to do payroll in an organization that had a lot of hourly employees some of whom were tipped employees.

According to the Dept. of Labor, "If an employee's tips combined with the employer's direct wages of at least $2.13 an hour do not equal the minimum hourly wage -- $5.15 an hour effective 9/1/97 -- the employer must make up the difference," If that's not happening where your daughter works, she might want to look at this:

http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/whd/whdfs15.htm

I'm with Tom42 (and I was a waitress for a year)


Everyone expects a tips now days... I don't get tipped when your child makes straight A's... and my husband doesn't get tipped when he safely lands your plane. Nor do we expect them... but it seems like everyone else does.

I always tip 20% or more, unless the service was absolutely horrible, then I only tip 15% and sometimes even let the server know why.

I'll admit that I don't always tip at counter service places, but I leave change if I have it. If I'm already paying $4 for a specialty coffee, tipping another $1 seems a bit much.

We almost always leave a cash tip when we charge our meals, whether it's a $40 meal or $300 meal. I am assuming the cash doesn't need to be declared for taxing purposes or the employer doesn't need to keep track of it. Is this correct?

I'm glad dsquared posted. I have worked every job in restaurant and hotel, both front line and back office.

Yes, the owner must make up difference if employees on the "tip-credit" system make sub-minimum wage.

Tipped Employees do NOT have to pay taxex on money they never received. Additionally, they can subtract any tips they paid out to other employees such as bartenders, and need not pay tax on that. Don't trust my word; go to IRS and/or state taxation websites.

If an employer is taxing 8% of your receipts as tips earned, and you didn't earn that much, then you need not pay it. MORE IMPORTANTLY if you do not receive tips of more than 8% of yhour receipts you should re-examine your career choices; you should not be a server.

And keeping with that 8% - how much of those 20% and 25% tips are you only declaring 8% of, underpaying your fair share of taxes, which means the rest of us must pay more?

Closing means when you CLOSE, not when the employees leave. Put up a "Last Seating at 9pm" sign if you want everyone gone by 10:30

Restaurant servers do hard work. I don't deny that. However, the kitchen door swings both ways.