There are a bunch of posts on my blog that invite a lot of controversy. A lot of them have to do with debating right wing stuff. Surprisingly however, the most commented on post has nothing to do with India. It talks about my dislike for tipping as demanded in the United States. A few days back, that post crossed 1000 comments. The first to do so.
It’s a simple premise really. Waiters say they don’t get paid enough and so we should tip. I say it’s not my problem, that I’m not their boss, that they’re hired by the restaurant and my interaction is with the restaurant alone. I couldn’t care less about their woes. This doesn’t mean that I view serving as a menial job or that waiters are somehow “lesser” than any other profession. On the contrary, by treating them the same way I treat everyone else I’m showing my respect and regard for them.
This particular post of mine has been reproduced on waiter sites and pro tipping sites like ifyoucantaffordtotip.com and I’ve got legions of visitors from those sources lambasting me for cheating waiters etc. Some of them tried to “shame” me into removing the post. My picture and Facebook account etc are all freely available. As I wrote earlier, I don’t mind being abused and so use my real name while blogging. “Shaming me” is not going to work.
I wonder if any other post of mine is ever going to get the same amount of attention that this one got :)
-With understanding that some servers are a little too forward with their attempts to be friendly, most are just trying to be polite. Their employers demand it and quite frankly, so do you. If your server was moping and frowning at your table you’d have a 6th reason to put on your list.
-JUST so you are aware, sir. People in the service industry have a different minimum wage than others. For example, in my state the wage for servers and bartenders is $2.13. This is a STATE wage not an employer wage.
-A server is not going to spit in your food, with the amazing amount of people they serve each day chances are they aren’t going to remember who you are the next time you decide to eat in that establishment. Oh, and just an FYI try to remember that all the food you’re eating in a buffet is sitting under a heating lamp all day. At the end of that day they take whatever is left and put it into a cooler just to bring it out the next day and put it back under said heating lamp. At least the quality of food is better at a restaurant and usually comes with a smile.
-Bringing your food and drink to the table is not the only part of their job. They wipe the booth you park it on, clean the floors you drag mud across, scrub the walls you look at and much more. If all a server is to you is a conveyor belt than why don’t you just stay home and order pizza off line?
-WE GET IT!! You work hard for your money, so do they. The job descriptions are different, that’s all. Who are you to discriminate?
You’re naive to the industry, this is fine. However, for you to be so bold as to run around throwing your uneducated opinions and accusations in the worlds face just simply because you feel like it is not at all necessary. There are a ton of people out there who have no idea what being in this line of work takes. Just as I’m not sure of all the hard work you have to do to put your hard earned money into your pocket takes. I’d like to know what you do for a living and where your work so I could have the pleasure of going there to tell YOU all of the reasons why you don’t deserve the money you make or why your position in my eyes may be irrelevant.
With that being said, wouldn’t it be easier just to understand that this is the way the world works. People give and take, they don’t do each other favors… They’re not watching your dog for while you’re on vacation, they’re hoping to give you an enjoyable experience. Which is why most people like to have at restaurants, a friendly and fun experience while enjoying food in a nice establishment. Doesn’t that sound great? Try it some time.
I’m not here to argue with you or anyone else about your preference on tipping. The beautiful thing about America is you are free to express any ideas or opinions as you see fit. I have a great idea that might make you some extra cash. You should become a waiter for 12-24 months and blog about your experience. Or maybe, just maybe, if you’re clever enough, write a book. You could start off working at an inexpensive local or chain restaurant. And then you could get a servers job at a medium-upscale restaurant, one that would be classified as fine dining with an extensive food and wine selections. I have done both and surprisingly the differences are astronomical. You can learn just how restaurants operate but more importantly understand what it’s like to walk a mile in a servers shoes. Blog everything. From your job interviews to your last shift.
I can tell you right now it is not an easy job. People will be demanding. You will experience new lows that will make you feel like a worthless human being, but you will also experience great new highs! You will form bonds and relationships that will stay with you for a long time. Just let the idea simmer. If you are up for the challenge I think it would be a life changing experience for you.
In reply to Kurtis
He won’t do that because he thinks servers are losers, remember?
In reply to Kurtis
I would love to read that from his point of view! This is a great idea!
In reply to Kurtis
I love this idea but I seriously doubt he would do it. He wouldn’t be able to handle it, and then he would realize how wrong he is; which is obviously not something he is comfortable with. I really wish he would though…
Make a post about how you never get laid! I bet it will get some comments! Ones like “hahaha smelly” and “maybe you would if you werent such a douche” and “wiping your ass with your bare left hand is sophisticated!”
In reply to Robert Sweet
Remember, people who truly have a progressive attitude do not forget about their roots. We all used to wipe our asses with our hands not too long ago – or worse, not wipe at all!
Just because you came upon a better way to “wipe your ass” doesn’t mean you can criticize an entire culture for it. True, if we wipe our asses and shake your hands without cleaning ourselves, you have a right to be angry. But we don’t. We’re very cleanly, else we would have succumbed to any number of diseases!
But if you must argue, we also don’t take a book/newspaper and read it on the toilet floor and then bring the same book/newspaper to bed later for more reading. Now, that is unhygienic on unimaginable levels. I can talk about much more but I’ll stop here. Remember, doing just what looks good to the eye is not enough! We have brains; we should use it. Don’t criticize – none of us are perfect.
Don’t burn your bridges!
p.s. btw, I’m from India and we have always used TP. AFAIK, only lower middle-class and poor people in India still use their hands when doing their business. But, I still don’t criticize them. I think there are much more important things that deserve my attention.
In reply to Narayanan
It’s a well know fact that Indians defecate in the streets. India as a country has a huge problem with what is called “open defecation”. If you don’t believe me, please google “open defecation”. Several articles will come up regarding India and the problem they have with people openly crapping in the streets. They have to literally beg these troglodytes to not crap where other sub humans could step in it, or drink from streams where it flows into. One BBC article I read (yes BBC) said almost 70% of Indians openly defecate, even AFTER the government pays to build them community toilets. I feel bad that this guy won’t tip, but I feel it’s the least of our worries. Right now, people like him and Narayanan above don’t want to tip, or use TP. Tomorrow, they will be demanding to excercise their God given right to openly defecate in our streets like a dog. And who will be left to clean it up? Real Americans like us, that’s who.
In reply to Mayflower American
This started about tipping and it’s turning into a racial debate. FYI, I’m American. But it doesn’t give me any right to discriminate. We have public urination here too. As far as I’m concerned it’s not my business how someone cleans themselves unless it directly affects me. It makes no difference where a person is born. We just grow up in different cultures.
I work in a tourist town in Wisconsin. Tonight I waited on four seperate tables of Indians. My coworkers also had several tables of Indians. None of us was tipped the customary 15% to 20%, though one large party did leave 13%. Some tables left nothing, or one dollar.
The establishment I wait tables in is primarily a bar. My tips are directly related to my ability to ‘turn’ tables quickly, sell alcohol and provide competent service. It’s a tiring job, stressful and not particularly fulfilling. It’s how I make my living and it’s fine.
My Indian customers all drank water. So that’s always a bummer. Some wanted it with no ice. So, a little special care and consideration right off the bat. Not a big deal, but anything non standard requires a check out of auto pilot, which is how things get done so quickly in a restaurant, you just do, with out thinking, so you can multitask. Then, several customers were vegetarian, so I led them briefly through our menu. You’re welcome; my next table waited a couple of minutes longer while I insured you didn’t have to choke down any sacred cows. At a tourist town dive that specializes in burgers. (Why did you even come into this tequila and blood soaked establishment?).
I was professional. I refilled your water, I took care of you in the same fashion that I took care of my other, less demanding tables. Despite having been ‘stiffed’ by Indians before, I just did my regular decent job.
ables. Despite having been ‘stiffed’ by Indians before, I just did my regular decent job. I listened to my coworkers as table after table of indian customers demanded preferred service, sat forever and didn’t respect the well established custom of American tipping for service.
This isn’t Europe, Saigon or Singapore. This is the US. You are aware of the custom, but refuse to follow it. Servers are mostly helpless to do anything about it. Of this you are also aware. Your refusal to follow the custom harms yourself and certainly on occasion others who may be identified as part of your ethnic group. Your rationales seem flimsy, cheap and stubborn. Your arrogance is unbecoming.
I will continue to provide the same level of service to all of my customers because I cannot tell who the cheapskates are from the very generous until our transaction is at an end. But still, I’m probably not going to make my tables of Indians a priority over my other customers and side work tomorrow night. Fool me once shame on you, foll me twice…
This is the most ignorant post i have seen. Waiters dont work for the salary, its hardly worth anything. They work for the tips. When you take your food togo, the price isnt less because you are paying only for your food wether you dine in or take your food. So the tips you are giving is to the service the waiter is giving you. Why dont you just refill your own water, bring your food from the kitchen yourselves, take your plates in the kitchen, get yoir own soda and tell whatever you want to yourself, because all those things are paid to us by tips. And if the tiping policy was out then we would be paid by increasing the price of eating in a resturant. Its no different except in tipping you get to choose how well you wanna tip according to the service you recieved.
You’ve peaked thanks to a poorly written piece that reveals what a useless person you are. It’s never going to get any better than this. Kill yourself.
In America, people go out to eat not just to eat, but to have a enjoyable time. Waiting tables is a very demanding job. Waiters ARE a part of the restaurant. I would Much rather have someone with an additional incentive serve me, than someone who does not, let alone a computerized conveyor belt. Sometimes we even learn things through friendly conversation, or even make new friends, which is always nice. You tip your server because they could just do the very basic minimum, like a computerized conveyor belt, but I gaurantee your visit would not be as enjoyable.
Wow. You suck at being a human. Keep trying, you’ll figure it out