The Restaurant Doctor - Electronic House Call

ELECTRONIC HOUSE CALL - October 13, 2000

LETTERS, WE GET LETTERS . . .
For those of you too young to remember Perry Como that reference will fall flat, but I did receive some interesting comments on Steven Lycett's tale about the waiter who demanded a tip in exchange for table space. You can refresh your memory at http://www.restaurantdoctor.com/ehc/ehc140.html.

Chuck Hunt of the NY State Restaurant Association capsulized it like this: "The only tip that waiter deserves is to keep his apron when you escort him out the door. I've done it."

Van Glaman of Lombardi's Pizzeria took a longer approach, edited here for brevity:

In our restaurant, although a five-dollar tip for an eight-dollar check is not that infrequent, it's still considered decent and a group that lingers for several hours that tips a total of $15-20 is about par. And servers who turn-off customers don't get many opportunities to repeat the offense, they're working up the street for someone else.

Speaking as a manager and owner, if one of my servers was doing what you mention, I'd sure want to hear about it; and if it happened again after I talked to the server I can guarantee that they wouldn't get a third chance, regardless of how short-staffed we may be.

Ask for the owner sometime. Explain all the positives first. You're a regular customer, you enjoy the food and atmosphere, etc. Then, explain your problem, as you've already explained it to Bill. Don't bring up the legal mumbo-jumbo; that will only put him/her on the defensive, for no fruitful reason.

They should care enough about your business (after all you do pay their salaries) to at least talk to the offending server. They should really care, because you are an important part of their continued success. But, if they don't then your best recourse is to find a different watering hole. Speaking for the folks across the street, we'd love to have your patronage.

And finally, this from the other side of the situation:

If you print this reply, please don't use my name, because I don't care to get on Stephen's legal agenda. I own a 24-hour diner and run in to the same thing all the time -- people hanging out when we are busy and taking up needed space. I would love to believe all that Stephen says is true, but I feel that these regular "coffee drinkers" are a detriment my business. I am not saying that this absolutely the case here. We certainly run into our share of people who think they should own a share of the business simply by buying a cup of coffee, drinking three, and sitting around for three hours.

Yes, the owner of the diner has relinquished control of the midnight shift to a stressed out waiter, when he should of solved the problem himself. At our diner we have kind of changed our attitude over the last five years or so, in that we now say no, the customer is not always right. A "kinder, gentler nation" never happened, people are stressed out and some will feel better when the take it out on the "poor soul" working the midnight shift. I will not let customers abuse our employees. If the customer is wrong, then I support our employee.

OK Bill, you can let me have it now. I'm sure any of your thoughts will help me think a little clearer on this issue. Really, our customers feel part of our family, but when this issue raises its head in our operation, it becomes a real problem.

A note from the Doc:
When approaching situations like this, it helps to keep the issues separate. There are two here: one regarding the behavior of the waiter and one regarding the behavior of the guests. I think we are all agreed that the manager has abdicated control and that the waiter is a loose cannon whose future should be freed up for other pursuits. As to the issue of "campers," why not just limit the number of free coffee refills to one? This would mean that if people continue to stay, they continue to pay. I would be interested in hearing how others have addressed the issue of turning tables without risking the ire of guests.

SURVEY UPDATE
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