Now I�ve Seen Everything

A long time ago, when I was young, someone told me if I lived long enough I would see everything.  Apparently I have reached that point in my life.

The September 18, 2006 article (from the Chicago Tribune) posted on Hotel Online entitled: �Food Servers Employing the Internet to Divulge Names of Customers Who Tip Less than 17%� really caught my attention.  If you have not read it, I urge you to do so.

I am fully aware that many hotel/restaurant operators, guests/customers, and food service professionals will strongly disagree with my reaction and the following comments.  I also believe that there are many who will agree with me. Whether you agree or disagree, I welcome your feedback.

First, the facts; 

(1) there are many thousands of dedicated servers,  the majority in fact, who consistently render genuinely cordial and professional service to all guests without knowing in advance how much gratuity they will receive.

(2) There are guests who leave only a small tip or none at all, either because they do not understand our system, they do not approve of the system, or they are just too cheap.  I truly believe the last category represents only a small fraction of diners. Whatever their reason, this group will always be with us. 

(3) There are some incompetent, uncaring, and rude servers out there; they, like the cheap guests will always be with us. No guest really wants to reward lousy service, and should not be expected to.  The problem is that very, very few guests will actually explain why they are not leaving a tip; the ultimate result is that the server assumes the guest is just cheap.  The guest may have wished to send a message, but unfortunately, it was not received

I know from many years of dining out professionally that poor service or rude and incompetent wait staff is rare; the majority of servers I have personally encountered were very cordial, competent, and did a great job.  After all these years, I am not totally convinced that the expectation of a tip is the prime motivator behind great service.  I am reminded that we have a couple of hotel  clients that rigidly adhere to a no tipping policy: yet guest service is consistently excellent.

In my professional and personal opinion, we need to educate the inexperienced and uninformed diners that our system of tipping, whether we approve or not, will be around for a long time.  The Hotel Online article points out the inherent problems in changing our system to a more European-style approach or raising menu prices.  So we are forced to come up with a viable education vehicle that may in time eliminate the problem, or at least reduce it. I think articles by industry leaders, consultants, or anyone with an idea might be a positive start.  Certainly servers could post articles that explain, even attempt to justify the system of tipping.  Just do not include guests� names; that is over the line.

Instead, take a positive stand and try to suggest some solutions without  embarrassing or angering a guest. All you will get with that  will be an ex-guest.

We really do not need employees posting  guest  names on the Internet.   What is next?  Should guests post the names of establishments and employees where the service  was not to their liking?  I hope not; to me that is as offensive as is this situation.  The guest has a right, even a duty, to tell the establishment owner/manager about a bad experience, but I do not advocate  posting the details on the Internet.  There has to be a better way to handle this.

We also need to educate food servers that getting stiffed is a part of the job; hopefully it won�t happen often, but it will happen.  Anyone entering the profession for the first time should be made aware of this.  If the risk of getting stiffed is unacceptable, it may be wise to consider another line of work..  Harry Truman put it very well when he said �If you can�t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen� (no pun intended.)