Tipping is not a city in China!!

I'm a restaurant guy.

When I was growing up my mother was a waitress and somehow was able to provide for our family on the generosity of customers and their tips. I do not think I understood the full impact of tipping and server salary until I entered into management. That was probably when I realized that the highest wage my Mother had been paid was at an all time high of $2.13.

As my wife is now a Server (20 yrs later) and makes that same hourly rate, I will tell you that serving in a Restaurant is still a way of making money and a good job. I am by no means promoting that minimum be raised as in my opinion the customer will then pay twice for service as is evident in California where all prices of menu items are about 50% higher than in my state that does not require we pay servers $7.25. And they still want a tip, too. This type of government action only weakens an already struggling full service restaurant industry.

We are a Cash Industry. If you have ever had a job that paid cash in the form of tips then you can understand how addictive that is to people. Feeling cash everyday in your hand and getting instant feedback in the form of money on how well you do your job can be very gratifying. The people who are servers and salespeople enjoy this type of interaction. Cash is King.

It's like gambling in Vegas. Getting a big tip is like winning the lottery, it is awesome. Getting stiffed on a large tab feels like you let it all ride on black and red hit. It sucks.

Money is typically perverted in a servers mind because more is coming the next day or shift. Servers come to me everyday and talk to me about a high bill that did not tip well. They usually feeling that it is unfair and are really feeling dejected by the customer. They feel the customer should tip them more or that I should do something about it as an operator. I usually tell them to come to me next time someone leaves them a $20.00 tip on a $50.00 tab and tell me about how unfair it is. They usually don't come to me with that.

For Servers, Tipping is a game of averages. You have to take the highs with the lows. I recommend keeping a journal of how much money you make daily and reminding yourself of your jobs actual worth on occasion. There will always be a better section or better place to make money, but I will tell you the customers pay your bills and treat them right, let them rely on you and they will never fail you.

The thinking that a section with more tables will make more money is not the long term answer. It is impossible to provide WOW! service in a full service restaurant on more than 4 tables when busy. You will miss something if not several somethings. We have to think about future of the restaurant so we can make money next year too. We cannot run them off with mediocre service today.

For Operators, set yourself a goal of making all of your servers at least $450-$600 a week. When you schedule do not be swayed by the mumblings and grumblings of those unsatisfactory servers who are struggling; but provide ALL with opportunity to supply for their families. Trust me, there are servers who are great at budgeting their money and those who aren't. We cannot schedule for those who aren't.

The main issue with being a cash industry, is that most cash greedy people do not understand managing money. They struggle daily and especially in times of crisis. Do not block someone from picking up shifts to cover their rent but provide for them a solid structure and schedule to avoid problem in future.

For Customers, Please tip your server!! The restaurant industry will not raise their wage unless made to. This is not because we are cruel, just it would strain labor budgets and we would have to raise prices. Some of these servers tip out bussers or hosts as well and that is based on percentages of their sales. So if your bill is high, think about that when tipping.

So as you can see There is a lot that goes into and out of that tip left on the table. We need to respect it from all angles. Restaurants are a numbers game. The more customers you have the more successful you are. If we are engaged in retaining our customers and growing new ones, Tips and Profits take care of themselves.