Sunday, October 2, 2011

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

A lot of times, restaurant servers judge tables, especially if they're foreign.

"Oh, these people don't know how to tip, I'm gonna get fucked over!"

Well, it doesn't pay to generalize like this. In fact, it's downright disgusting. Don't ever accept that a table is going to act a certain way or be predisposed to tipping (or not tipping at all) because of their ethnicity.

Actually, did you ever stop to think that maybe you got a shitty tip because you gave them shitty service because you automatically gave up on them before they even stood a chance? This is what I like to call the self-fulfilling prophecy. Servers automatically assume the table's going to suck so they automatically shut down their hospitality capabilities, thereby receiving the tip they predicted they were going to get.

Give every table the same amount of service regardless of their look.

Today, I had a party of French people. A very pleasant, married couple. When I first started the party, surrounding servers said, "Oh good luck with the French. They're assholes!"

I ignored the myopic, misanthropic commentary and continued to do what I do best. I waited on them hand in foot, shared pleasant conversation (at times, even, speaking broken French to them), and, generally, just took good care of them.

When it was time to pay up, the couple left $38 dollars on the $190 bill. You do the math.

2 comments:

  1. I completely hear this as a server as well. At my restaurant recently, a table asked one of my co-workers if his tip was enough (the couple were Canadian, and apparently servers there make around $10 an hour). My co-worker honestly said it wasn't ($10 on $100), and that the norm was around 18%-20%. The customer demanded to see a manager, and my co-worker was sent home early for the night.

    I guess few people know that in MA the state waiter wage is $2.63 an hour.

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  2. Interesting story...in France, waiters/waitresses are relatively well paid, and tipping generally isn't done. This French couple of note did their homework.

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