So. Waiter Rant. Kind of like customers_suck, except it's only one person posting ("Waiter"), and it's usually wank-free. Usually.

The waiter that writes the blog recently started working in a new restaurant, and has become . . . slightly bitter. As a result, he posted first "50 Signs You're Working in a Bad Restaurant," then "50 Signs You're an Asshole Customer." The first doesn't garner much attention, but the second . . .

Four hundred comments later, people are still wanking over:

-Whether it's acceptable to bring your own tea (look for Desert Princess, misspelled as Dessert Princess).
-Whether it's acceptable to leave a tip on a credit card that ends in a weird amount ($2.51 on a tab for $10.49).
-If you should tip on takeout.
-If asking about the music is okay.
-Why saying that you're allergic to an ingredient in order to get it taken out of your food is evil.
-How bitter "Waiter" has become.
-What is a 'normal' tip—fifteen or twenty percent.

Namecalling and accusations of elitism abound, and perhaps 1/4 of replies become non-wanky.

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rarirurero
2007-03-26 07:25 am UTC (link)

I come from a country where servers are paid at least minimum wage or better, and they expect 15% tips (in a large part, I imagine, because American tourists don't know that they're making $10/hour already and tip them like they would back home). So my first reaction to the list was initially 'whatever, suck it up - I've had harder, lower-paying jobs where I wasn't tipped at all'...

...Until I remembered that the waiter is American, and is probably making $2/hour. Yeah, I'd be pretty pissy if I were making that wage too, as no tip would mean that I'd just wasted my time. The customer is essentially paying the server's wage.

Is it just me, or is that system more than a little broken?

(Reply to this)(Thread)

	aristaea 2007-03-26 07:59 am UTC (link)
	More like crashed to the ground in a ball of flames. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	fauxkaren 2007-03-26 08:15 am UTC (link)
	I wonder how universal the servers not being paid minimum wage thing is. Because I live in California and have a friend who is a waitress and she makes minimum wage and then gets tips on top of that. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	antigone 2007-03-26 04:31 pm UTC (link)
	California is a state that pays waiters min wage IIRC. My friend in Michigan, however, makes $3/hr. Waiter is in NYC, and I have no idea how it is there. :-/ (Reply to this)(Parent)

	vomitymcpuke 2007-03-26 12:23 pm UTC (link)
	Same here. I often forget why tipping is so important to Americans. Not that I don't tip, but I think I have more leeway than my neighbours to the south. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	braska 2007-03-26 03:41 pm UTC (link)
	Yeah, these wanks always make me feel like a terrible, terrible person for only tipping 10%, even though I'm in the UK and waitstaff get paid at least minimum wage. :\| (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

lulz, tourists.

antigone
2007-03-26 04:34 pm UTC (link)

When I was 11, my Dad took me to London (we're Americanz) and I vividly remember a waiter bringing my father _back_ his tip and telling him (politely, as an FYI type of thing) that a tip that large is actually an insult in the UK. O.o;

But it appears that might not be the case, just from conversations since then with people from the UK. But I still can't figure out why a waiter would lie about that! 'Course it _was_ 13 years ago...

(Reply to this)(Parent)

	sheep 2007-03-26 05:21 pm UTC (link)
	Yeah, I have the same sort of reaction ^^; I do remember being very put out when service charge was automatically added to my bill for a buffet. 'Thank you for watching me pick up a grubby plate and serve myself, here, have a tip! Er, no.' (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	catslash 2007-03-26 07:29 pm UTC (link)
	That is annoying, but you do still have people who clear away your used plates and (in some places) bring your drinks. I think the etiquette for tipping at a buffet is a dollar per diner. And a service charge is a bit obnoxious. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	sheep 2007-03-26 08:15 pm UTC (link)
	UK /= America Tip is for good service, it's not standard. Also, other stuff happened which really means they should be fired, never mind losing a tip. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	catslash 2007-03-26 08:31 pm UTC (link)
	Ah, my bad. I didn't know you were in the UK. Sounds like a crappy outing. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	dragonfangirl 2007-03-26 05:50 pm UTC (link)
	In Japan, we don't tip at all. It would be an insult to the wait staff. In Japan, they actually pay their workers a decent wage. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	catslash 2007-03-26 07:31 pm UTC (link)
	How interesting. I love learning tidbits like that. Out of curiosity, why would it be insulting? (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	jumping in... antigone 2007-03-26 11:13 pm UTC (link)
	I don't know for sure, but I sure as heck didn't complain. Hotels, hair salons, restaurants... it was lovely not to have to worry about having enough bills or calculating the correct amount to tip. It was all factored in through the prices, of course, but I prefer that. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	lady_red 2007-03-26 11:40 pm UTC (link)
	I think it's something like implying the waiter needs to be specially bribed to do their job. (Reply to this)(Parent)

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