Waitstaff Career Guide and Counseling

Question: How much should I tip the waitstaff for a catered event in my home? I am hosting my daughter's college graduation party at my home. We hired a caterer with a waitstaff of 4, plus a bartender. The caterer does not add in gratuity. Do I tip 15-20% of the total bill or only the food? Should I designate an amount per staff member? If so how much? The waitstaff will pass appetizers around, and mind the buffet table. And how about the bartender? We provided all the liquor/beverages to stock the bar and instructed the bartender not to accept tips from our guests.

Answer: With my wedding, the gratuity was included, and was 20% of the full cost of the event, so I think 20% devided evenly among the wait staff would work. People frequently tip the bartender when they get their drinks. If they are doing that, then he will have a tip. College age kids don't often think of that though, so if you notice that they are not tiping him, then include him as part of the wait staff when dividing the 20%.

Question: Do Waitstaff members report their tips and base rate pay? Are they left over with enough to afford college? Can the cost of community college and then University be covered by working as waitstaff in a restaurant?

Answer: Read about tips -- record keeping and reporting: http://taxipay.blogspot.com/2008/09/us-income-tax-topics-2.html

Question: What is the procedure if you spill food or the whole order on a customer in a restaurant? Waitstaff? If you are waitstaff and your afraid of spilling the food, tripping on your face in front of the whole restaurant, or even spilling food all over a customer, what is the procedure if this happens? The correct way to handle it, does a manager demote or counsel or write you up for this?

Answer: I did that once, I got sacked.

Question: Has a waitstaff member ever spilled food on you when you ordered in a restaurant? How is this handled, and for people working there, what is the procedure if you spill food or the whole order on a customer in a restaurant? If you are waitstaff and your afraid of spilling the food, tripping on your face in front of the whole restaurant, or even spilling food all over a customer, what is the procedure if this happens? The correct way to handle it, can a manager demote or counsel or write you up for this?

Answer: I was once carrying a tray of drinks. It's very important that the drinks are placed evenly on the tray so that you can balance them. I got to the table, and a kid grabbed his drink of the tray, causing it to spill sodas all over one lady's shirt. We ended up giving her a souvenir shirt for free and paying for her dry-cleaning bill (which was unnecessary because it was Sprite, but I wasn't about to argue it). About a month ago, a server spilled red wine on my friend's shirt, and they paid for the dry cleaning as well. I think that restaraunt managers understand that mistakes happen, and the server will only get in trouble if it's an on-going problem.

Question: Why do waitstaff employees usually quit their job? Reasons why waiters (waitstaff, waitreses etc) usually quit their job and look for a new one ?

Answer: Bcuz waitressing doesnt pay well and they move on to find something that does

Question: Other than tipping waitstaff for food/drink in a cabana for 2, is there anyone else I should tip and how much? This is the first time we've reserved a cabana and want to be sure we're tipping correctly. Obviously we'll be tipping waitstaff for food and drinks. I'm not sure what else to expect. Is there anyone else I should plan on tipping while we're using the cabana and how much?

Answer: Tipping is out of control. Everybody has their hand out with a fake grin. The waitstaff is all you should tip.

Question: How are restaurants able to get away with paying the waitstaff less than min wage? I hear that they are paid as little as $2.00 an hour---talk about cheap labor!! Are the waitstaff on a type of contract basis or they bonified employees? I realize the waitresses and waiters are able to keep most of the tips and do very, very well but I can't see how an employer can get away with paying so little while there is a minimum wage in effect.

Answer: I might be wrong but I think this started back in the Reagan administration. Whatever. $2.13/ hr is standard server pay. Since so many people out there do not understand the common courtesy of tipping AT LEAST 15%, this wage can really suck. I have never seen an employer who actually made up the difference if someone didn't make the equivolent of min. wage with his/ her tips. I do make a nice amount with my serving and bartending. Sometimes over a $100 /hour. Not often. Sometimes. I feel that the wage should be raised. I also feel that corporate operations should not limit you to forty hours. Overtime is not going to add up to that much anyway when you pay people $2.13. Teach people to tip reasonably every time and you just might have it made.

Question: In Turkey, what are salaries for waitstaff, cooks and door greeters? I just visited Turkey, and half of the restaurants have more waitstaff than guests. I'm curious about what wages are like over there.

Answer: They probably don't make much.

Question: What is your opinion on the waitstaff/quality of service at Outback Steakhouse? I'm not asking about the food, but about the service. In your personal experience, was the waitstaff quality, did your receive good service, were they friendly, did you tip well because of it, etc.

Answer: I have always had service. People are human so as long as someone didn't go out of their way to make my dinner miserable then I go with the flow and I tip well

Question: Do restaurant waitstaff usually SHARE or KEEP their own tips? I'm curious what the policy is in the majority of American restaurants these days. Is it more common for waiters & waitresses to "pool" all their tips so that all the staff can share in the amount equally? Or is it more common for the waitstaff to be allowed to personally keep whatever tips they earn? I think the most fair & equitable method is allowing everyone to keep the tips they earn. There are no hard feelings that way, and everyone gets to earn the tips they DESERVE -- iif you give great service with a great attitude, you get more tips! If not, you don't. Simple as that! :) I've even heard that there's a higher turnover rate in restaurants where waitstaff are forced to share their tips with each other, because too many hard feelings & conflicts happen, due to the slackers in the staff "sponging" off the hard workers and sharing in undeserved tip money. That would definitely suck. :( I'd love to hear from anyone who works (or has worked) in the restaurant industry. Thanks!!

Answer: It can work either way, but I'd agree that people should be able to keep their own tips rather than pooling them. As a customer, if I tip high because someone has given me extra-good service, I want THAT person to benefit. It's pretty common though for tipped employees to "tip out" the non-tipped employees in the restaurant.

Question: Top worst things that happen or could happen as a waitstaff member? What is the worst thing you can expect to have happen as a waitress? or waitstaff member ?

Answer: Among other things, I've spilled a strawberry daiquiri all down a guy's pants, au jus on someone's lap, tripped on a rug in front of a party of 20 and fell on the floor, and there was this weird guy in his 50's who came in with his wife and would always try to feel my leg while I was taking their order or dropping it off. In front of his WIFE!

Question: When you start a job as waitstaff, How heavy are the plates tray etc, do you gradually learn to balance? How many plates do you usually bring at once? Is there a set procedure you will be taught to carry what looks like a massive amount of stuff to balance to a table like a jugglers act or a circus feat? And will you have a special tray that helps?

Answer: Its not hard, you get used to it. The worst is when you leave the last drink on the edge of the tray and it goes flying in the customers face. don't expect 18% on that bill. If you work in a nice restaurant, you will only be carrying two plates at a time, one in each hand. Any more than that is seen as tacky in the gourmet world. If you're working at a cheap restaurant like Chili's or a Diner then you will be walking around with 4 plates on each arm looking like a circus clown. There's no special training or beginner trays, you are going to break plates, drop entrees, piss off cooks, piss off customers, spill drinks in peoples laps, and topple trays. Everyone's been there, its all part of the learning process.

Question: What do waitstaff and hostesses get paid? is it the normal pay of that of a cashier or is it different? I am looking to become a hostess/server and need to know the pay scale. A friend of mine told me that it was different because of tips. How does this work?

Answer: I have served in Illinois for years. I currently make $4.65 an hour, but I pay taxes on my tips from that. A lot of servers I work with don't even get a paycheck, they get a stub of $0. I currently work at a privately owned steakhouse, averaging 4 hours a day & average $86 a day. Hostesseseseseses make about $8.50 an hour. Serving is hard work- people can be idiots, mean & cheap. Hostessing- a blind monkey could do THAT job.

Question: For a waitstaff job, generally how involved will the restaurant be after you turn in a job application? What is the norm? a.) They throw it away and never contact the person b.) They call the person to schedule and interview and then ignore the person after the interview Or how interactive are they usually unless you give a really bad impression on the application / resume / cover letter / interview?

Answer: Depends on how many other applications they have. The good ole days of filing out a couple aps and then getting a job are long gone. Either make yourself the best applicant, or the most persistent to get the job. Good luck

Question: What do you need to do to be a server / waitstaff? How do you do it? What is the procedure? Things that all the training courses will say? Too curious about it to wait until the class at my new job. Things that you wish a good waiter would do? How can you avoid being a bad waiter?

Answer: I can't really answer all your questions. I think you need to wait for the training that will be supplied for you. I just wanted so say great it is to see how excited you are about your new job! It's refreshing and encouraging. With your attitude, I know already that you're going to be a great waiter! Good luck!

Question: What kind of people applying for jobs as waitstaff infuriates the manager and makes them? What would the person have to look like, act like for you as a hirer to feel threatened by them, extremely uncommunicative, etc.., or to simply not like the person? want out as quick as possible when they come in for an interview? And makes them want to lie about a position being open or not, and be vague about who does the hiring and throw them off on how to contact them, and embarrass and humiliate in front of everyone else in the restaurant?

Answer: Your type, apparently.