This blog is a little off topic, but working in a restaurant on Sundays is the worst! When I first started serving, I wanted to work Sundays because I always thought people would tip more since it's the day they all go to church and relax. You would think people would be more aware of their actions on the day they listen to a preacher tell them to "do unto others as you would have others do unto you." However, Sundays are the day where people tip the worst and are also the rudest.
I have no reason for this, although I have often contemplated about it. However, in my experience serving I have found that people are the rudest and tip the worst on Sundays. Especially, when they are in a group! And on Sundays, there are often large groups of friends and families who come out to eat in their Sunday church clothes.
For example, this Sunday I left work after 5 hours with only $40. I made $28 of that money on an eleven top table I had in the last hour and a half and I only made that because we can add 18% gratuity to parties of 8 or more. My first table was a family of four. It was a mother, father, son, and a daughter who had down syndrome. I felt I did an excellent job waiting on them - I went above and beyond as their server! I put in their daughter's macaroni and cheese first because she was in a very sad mood and I got her food out within 6 minutes. They even complimented me on how quickly I took care of her. I talked to their children, got them everything they needed, and got them all drinks to go (which is a hassle for servers because it takes so much time). They left me 10% on their check. Which was only $2.50. They had clearly been at church that morning - what do you think inspired them to tip so low?
Another notable table I waited on was two women with their three children. At this table, I also went above and beyond. I am extremely good with kids, which women also comment on because they really care how their kids feel when eating out. I took great care of this table and each of the women left me 10%.
Finally, I waited on the eleven top where I made most of my money for the day. I usually do wait on one large party on Sundays and I dread it every time. Large parties in general are horrible and difficult because people do not pay attention and it's difficult to get everyone's attention. But on Sunday's they are the worst! Two women at the table in particular where horribly rude. One sat down and demanded I get her a menu - even though there was an empty seat next to her with a menu sitting right there. She just had happened to sit down in a seat where the hostesses had put a child's menu. I politely reached for the menu next to her and set it in front of her without commenting, but she still glared at me. The next woman ordered the sirloin and grilled shrimp, which is a very delicious and popular dish at Outback. The sirloin is our "Outback special" and everyone orders it and we get few complaints. This woman looked at me and rudely declared she "didn't like" the steak. I am not sure how to respond to that. I got our manager, which is what we are supposed to do in these situations, and we served her with wings instead. The wings take about 8 minutes to cook - even when rushing them - and we explained that to her. She said that was fine, but proceeded to complain to me about the time it was taking. She had also told my manager she wanted only flat pieces, which I was not told. She was not happy when that was not what she received. In the end, the gratuity was removed from her check (luckily she paid alone and I could keep gratuity on the other checks) and she left me no tip at all. I am not sure what I could have done differently to make her happy since I do not cook the food, but I am sure she doesn't understand that.
This may seem like it was just a bad Sunday, but this is actually quite representative of every Sunday I work. Recently, the minister at Newspring Church in Anderson preached on Sunday about tipping. He mentioned Outback specifically because he said he had one of the best meals he has had recently there, but he talked about tipping in general too. He said that we should treat people the way we would want to be treated, especially people less fortunate than ourselves. He talked about how little servers make and how you should be generous in tipping, especially when you think they did a great job. Because would you not want to be rewarded for doing a good job at work too?
Since then, people from Newsprings have been great tippers, but I wish others would join in the Sunday spirit too! It's not even just about giving amazing tips, 15% is a tip that is greatly appreciated by servers. It's also about just being a kind and understanding person when eating out. It's not rude to send something back, just understand that your server didn't cook the food and every one working there is human and makes mistakes. Kindly explain what you wanted and your server will probably do an even better job satisfying your needs. When you are kind to others people will be kind to you!
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