I was at a restaurant yesterday and I was thinking I have no incentive to give the waiters any incentive. When we arrived it was a while before our order was taken. Drinks arrived late at the table (we were the only ones there). The food took forever to come. My plate was not empty, I was still eating, but the waiter thought it was time to take away my plate. The table was not wiped clean after we finished eating, I had to ask for napkins and wiped it off myself, at which point he brought a sponge to wipe the table, a bit too late in my opinion. And to top it off I never got exact change back, it was rounded up to the nearest dinar in the favor of the restaurant. Now why in the world would I want to leave a tip?
Nothing in the quality of service left me thinking ok I need to give this young gentleman a bit of incentive. Even his attitude was one of nonchalance and disinterest. A smile would have been welcome, but even that was not forthcoming. The thing is this is not just something that happens at this restaurant, it happens just about everywhere I go. It is rare that I find someone in the service industry who is doing his or her job with a smile. When I do it is refreshing and adds to the whole experience.
It is called the hospitality and service industry for a reason. If the staff hired are not capable of providing the quality of service willingly and with a smile then why are they there? There are other positions that do not require them to wear a smile and serve people. It has become so normal to have your waiter, server, bartender look bored or angry that when you do smile at a customer they ask you why are you smiling? (true story).
Wait staff in the service industry have to know that the attitude you put into what you do comes right back at you. The more enthusiasm and energy I get from a waiter or bartender the more willingly and generously I give, and vice versa. I am under no obligation to leave a tip, it is a reward for a job well done and if it isn’t well done then I wont be leaving one!
February 19, 2008 at 9:36 am
Exactly! you said it all! We dont have any comprehension of what hopsitality means in restaurants, altough Arabs are known for hospitality!!!!
February 19, 2008 at 9:38 am
Rule number 1: If there’s a service tax, don’t leave a tip… I guess all fancy restaurants in Amman charge for service tax, so there.
February 19, 2008 at 9:57 am
Thanks Observer, we are hospitable we feed you and house you but we wont do it when we are outside our homes!
Ola, just a clarification the 10% service charge doesnt always go to teh waiters and staff. It also covers breakage and other services is what I understood from the peopel in the idustry.
February 19, 2008 at 11:21 am
Well ladies, I do beg to differ, people don’t usually take into consideration the hassle behind the pretty doors of the kitchen. Waiters only take your orders, they don’t actually prepare any of them, not even the drinks. On the other hand it is their job to clean ur tables and remove dirty plates and glasses.
How on earth can I speak so freely ? Simply because I am one of those horrible being called waiters..heh
Sometimes Sally I would walk by a table 3-4 times and the person would have both fork and knife, sometimes even a napkin in the plate, yet when i come to remove it Iam glared at. Some other times the person would have one bite of their whatever and motion me to remove the plate and complain they sat there with plates infront of them, when they were clearly done.
philosophers have debated, and have assessed human behavior, but still we can’t be certain what people are thinking at the same moment they think it. And i believe if people were less judgemental and more compassionate, the idiots in iraq would’ve left in christmas, Easter won’t have choc. bunnies and writers of hollywood wouldnt be on strike.
but that’s my take. :->
February 19, 2008 at 2:17 pm
working as a waiter and a bartender for about 4-5 years in Jordan, I can say that, owners/rest. managers treat their staff like shit (in general), plus, staff are not being trained at all at most cases, in addition, to having this perception (from staff) that our clients are way too demanding, in which i disagree with.
One thing i really hate is not getting the exact change back, I will surly make a a big fuzz out of it, bottom line, if I want to leave a tip then I am the one deciding that!
By the way, I have sent some emails to Vinaigrette owners about that and their responded by their willingness to investigate the matter, in which was really good.
As for the Service charge, well sadly, owners take most of it and staff do get a very small percentage
February 19, 2008 at 10:35 pm
Not giving the patron the EXACT change would be enough to make me NOT leave a tip. I find it very hard to believe that this would be an oversight.
February 20, 2008 at 1:07 am
I’ve worked as a waitress for two years while I was in college. Let me tell you if we acted like that we would be fired before you guys left the table. The only reason we would have treated a customer like that is if they came in twenty minutes after we had closed.
February 20, 2008 at 1:36 am
To tip or not to tip, I usually do not care to tip if I receive extremely horrible service, which are rarely. I do tip because a lot of service people make lousy living and put up a lot at work. I always will have some appreciation for service people that are nice and curious to its customers.
February 20, 2008 at 4:27 pm
One reason I love going to France, they don’t tip there! It is incorporated into the final bill, however, one can argue that it is precisely because of lack of tips that the waitpeople there can tend to be a little rude.
February 20, 2008 at 9:47 pm
thanks everyone for your feedback. to those that have worked in the service industry I would like to say when I recieve good service it gets rewarded. It is the waiters responsibility bana to tell teh customers its going to be a while if that is the case. But when I can see the waiter and the bartender loafing around and taking their sweet time with no other clients in the house then that is just laziness. And it was not closing time.
I enjoy going out, I eat out everyday… there are few places in Amman where service is good and thats where I leave a tip.
February 20, 2008 at 10:28 pm
I tend to get really self conscious about not tipping. On the other hand I have a friend that requires the waitstaff practically tap dance before she’ll leave a tip. My question though…do you tip at buffets if the servers bring you drinks and clear your plates?