On the beaten path

I realize how much a waitperson makes. I was one. I served many cups of joe where the tips were 25 cents. No lie. Twenty-five cents. Not because my service was bad, but because 25 cents was 15 percent of the cost of the cup of coffee.

To expect a tip is to expect the customer to pay your salary directly, and that’s the job of the employer. If tips are taken off the top, as they usually are, the expectation is the waitstaff makes it up at the table.

If my bread and butter relied on better tips, you’d better believe I’d be buttering up the customer instead of griping about the lousy tips. Maybe they wouldn’t be so lousy if the coffee was there immediately, if the children seated in high chairs were presented with crackers and crayons without being asked, if the customers weren’t left waiting and wondering why their meal is taking so long, if you just stop by more than once with the check to see if the customer wants anything else or if you just stopped calling me “hon,” “honey,” “youse” or “guys.”

Not all these are the responsibility or fault of the waitpeople. A large crowd seated ahead of you can hold up your order.

But what most customers want is a little attention, and they get that from the waiters and waitresses. So there’s a holdup in the kitchen? Let the customers know. There’s a mix-up of the order? Apologize. Offer something to make up for it – an appetizer? A drink? A discount? Consult with the manager. I’ve been to many restaurants where the manager made it right, but that’s usually because the waitress went to the manager and explained the problem. The result? A decent tip, a monetary “thank you” for making my experience worth my own hard-earned money.

OK, OK, so there are still the cheapskates out there, the ones for whom no amount of buttering up or apologizing will make any difference. I’m sorry. I can’t do anything about them. They’re sour grapes and miserable – probably in every aspect of their lives. But everyone deals with people like that in their workplace. Waiters and waitress are just subjected to them in a very public manner. That’s the lot in the life of public service.

But if I’m out and see you getting the business from some malcontent, I’m the one who’s leaving you 20 percent to help take away the sting.

Just don’t say I owe it to you, because you might never see me again, and where will that leave all of us?