The Rest of the Story

I read it in a magazine, saw it on a television talk show, and now saw an article about it on the net. Waitresses complaining because they feel their customers are not tipping them enough. In each and every instance, the waitresses has cried that they have to live off their tips, and that they are taxed on 15% of the customers bill whether or not they make that fifteen percent. They say they are trying to put themselves through school or raise a family, and need those tips to make ends meet.

All of those things are true. However, as Paul Harvey would have said; “Here is the rest of the story.”

In most cases the waitresses who are doing all of the complaining make poor tips because they give poor service. They actually feel that the customer owes them a tip regardless of the kind of service they give. They simply do not seem to comprehend, that from a customers point of view a tip is a reward for superior service, not part of the cost of eating dinner out.

These same waitresses who complain about how little they make, fail to mention that in most cases where there are line cooks instead of chefs that the waitresses tips amount to about twice as much as the cooks make. Their tips also are usually four to five times more than what dishwashers in the same establishment are paid. Both the cooks and dishwashers have families to support too, and are doing it on a lot less income.

These same waitresses fail to acknowledge that when they do get large tips, it is not simply because they gave excellent service. It is because the cook has worked hard to prepare a tasty and nicely presented meal and the dishwasher has made sure that the dishes they were served on are sparkling clean. The waitress receives the reward for what is a joint effort. Rarely have I heard a waitress tell compliment a cook on how nice a dish she is serving looks, and never have I heard one compliment a dishwasher. They rely on these peoples efforts to make them look good and to increase their income, and yet, they fail time and time again to acknowledge their contribution to their increased income.

Perhaps, if waitresses were less self centered, they would show the cooks, the dishwashers, and the customers on whom their income depends the courtesy they deserve. Doing that just might improve their own financial rewards.