Working as a server requires a unique set of skills. A server can make the dining experience exciting, recommend the best dishes on the menu, and meet all of your dining needs.
But a server’s life is not easy — especially if you make it more difficult than it needs to be. Following are 10 secrets waiters and waitresses really want you to know.
Understanding this information can help make your dining experience more enjoyable for both you and your server and help you avoid wasting money on a bad dining experience.
Federal law sets the minimum wage for tipped employees at just $2.13 per hour. The rest of a server’s earnings come from tips. As a result, many servers rely almost entirely on tips to make a living.
The minimum wage for waitstaff varies from state to state, and many places have raised the hourly wage beyond the federal minimum wage. Still, tips should be considered part of the budget when dining out.
The standard is to tip around 20% for a meal you were satisfied with. Many diners go beyond this figure for particularly good service, or if they're dining out during a busy time of year, such as the holiday season.
Some restaurants use something known as “tip pooling” to distribute tips. That means the $20 you left on the table for your server will be split among many workers, such as bartenders and bussers.
Restaurants may also deduct the credit card merchant fee from the tip if you paid it with a card....
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