Bentley Little

Something Flyguy said in the Tipping thread got me thinking about something that has bothered me.

FG said this: "I never frivolously tip just for the sake of tipping. Everybody and their mother expects a tip nowadays. You'll only get 15% from me if the service was really good. And I mean exceptional. Making me wait, sitting me at the shittiest table in the place when it's half full, will reduce your total tip."

My wife and I go out to eat on average once a week. We go to fairly nice sit down restaurants, like Maggianno's, Fridays, Cheesecake Factory, Olive Garden, etc. Many times, when the place is half full or LESS, we get put at the back corner table next to the fire escape. So basically we get put at the shitty table. I realize many of you at this point will be asking, well they aren't dressed well. Never the case. I always have nice clothes on and look well to go to a place like this. I haven't figured out why we tend to get sent to the "shit" tables. I finally had the courage to ask one waiter why this was the case, and he said it was because he didn't have anyone in his section.

Well, why did we get put at the shitty table in your section and why is the other (half) front section full when the back section isn't?

Can anyone, especially restaurant waiters, seaters, etc. explain this me?

__________________
That is my 2 cents.

Bentley Little

I guess no one knows....***sigh***

Please close this thread...

__________________
That is my 2 cents.

Bamrak

You only gave it 4 hours in a less used forum, Patience Grasshoppa

Flyguy

I shouldn't matter how you're dressed. I mean if you come in loking like a total slob that's one thing, but wearing jeans and a t-shirt at the cheesecake factory shouldn't get you a seat next to the kitchen in a less than half full restaurant.

Mabye I'm by myself on this one.

the_marq

Christ, if it's such a big deal just ask for a different table. I do it all the time.

" Would it be OK if we sat at that table by the window (fish tank, flower bed, hobo..whatever)."

__________________
The Truth:

Johnny Cash could have kicked Bruce Lee's ass if he wanted to.

#3 in a series

Bentley Little

We do ask for another table now, but I am just curious as if some cosmic force is conspiring against us or just coincidence. I tend to lean towards coincidence.

__________________
That is my 2 cents.

Flyguy

I was in Victoria, BC just last week on a trip and I went to a greek restaurant for dinner. The place was only 20% full. The girl asks me where I would like to sit. I point next to a table next to a window with just the right amount of sunlight. Good place to eat I think. So I go over there and proceed to sit and she says that we save that table for the larger groups. I look around the restaurant and I tell her "you asked me where I wanted to sit." She goes, "I know." So I go a smaller table. Point being, why'd she ask in the first place?!?

Just wanted to share that, another adventure in fine dining.

Also, the only reason I can think of why they do that is to fill the restaurant starting from the back and work their way forward??

torgone

You don't have to sit where they lead you. The host (hostess, maitre'd) ideally wants to seat people in a way that spreads the work among the wait staff evenly, but they may also direct the people who look like they might be better tipping to a favorite's area, or whatever. Bottom line is if you don't like the table, you can and should ask for another. Pick the table you want and ask to sit there. They're there to serve you.

I can see the hostess's point in Flyguy's post - if the have one big table, they'll want to reserve that for big groups, so they don't have to dick around pushing a bunch of small tables together. But beyond that, I think you should be able to sit where you want.

__________________
"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read."
Groucho Marx

Cynthetiq

right on.

i guess you also just eat the food the way that they give it to you...

and be patient.. 4 hours is not very long for a not as frequented forum... people get to it, just not always in 4 hours.

__________________
I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not.

maleficent

I drive my parents crazy whenever I go out to dinner with them, becasue I am very fussy about where I sit, I can't stand to have people behind me -- so, if there's another table, I will ask for it.. and usually get it...

My theory, never accept their first offer.

In some restaurants, the hostess doesn't often see taht table as the shitty table. Each wait person has a station, and the hostess tries to divide up the customers amongst the stations. So -- it's nothing personal against you...

__________________

choskins

Since when are Fridays and Olive Garden nice sit-down restaurants? Just Kidding.

I always ask for a specific table.

__________________
"Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar."
- Sigmund Freud

Poloboy

Which restaurant was it, Flyguy?

TM875

Why does it matter so much where you sit? If anything, I'd rather be far, far, far away from everybody else in the restaurant (especially if I'm with a large group of friends). The only consideration I have is that I must sit facing the door.

I'm paranoid.

So let's threadjack for a second, shall we? What makes a table "good" and more desirable than the others?

__________________
"I've made only one mistake in my life. But I made it over and over and over. That was saying 'yes' when I meant 'no'. Forgive me."

redarrow

a. Its clean. No dirty plates
b. Next to a window.
c. Not next to any noisy kids

maleficent

A view of the whole room --
Quiet corner - not near kitchen or restroom
Out of a traffic pattern.

__________________

slimshaydee

Damn it seems alot of people take this whole restaurant thing very seriously. I dont care where I sit, unless of course its freezing cold outside and the seat is right next to the door (but then again no one wants to sit there). I just go in, sit wherever they say to, eat, pay, don't have to worry about tipping (because we don't do it here because the staff are paid enough by their employers, and if they did do shitty service they would probably get fired), then leave. Something as small as where you sit shouldn't make a difference. You're there to eat. As long as the food is nice don't worry about it.

Flyguy

A place called Theo's. Right off main street. (I forget the actual street name but it's the "main street" in downtown Sidney.)

Flyguy

Sounds like you have it easy there, slimshaydee. Here in the states of course it's everybody under the moon wanting something extra for most of the time, nothing. Wish it was that way here too.

iamnormal

Some states where jobs people receive gratuities in, thier minimum wage is lower for that job. Its like that here.

Polyphobic

I am usually just happy to have a seat. Mainly since we go out to eat during the busiest part of the day and week. Also, the family with the screaming kid, that's me

__________________
<--The great infidel-->

Bentley Little

Let's see. To respond to some of the comments.

Cynthetiq, sorry, I was impatient for other reasons and it came out in the forum.

Malicifent, I kinda figured that they spread out the people to have an equal distribution being servers, but if the front half is full, the back half is empty, and you put us in the back half, they shouldn't cram us in the corner like sweeping dirt under a rug, why not put us at a table in the back, but in the middle? I don't really think anyone can answer this, I just need to vent!

TM785, I guess a shitty table could be construed in the same way a hotel room could be. If your view is of a brick wall rather than an ocean... but as far as tables go, it seems to be the one right next to the waiter traffic area, cramped into a corner, with a view of a fire extinguisher pushing on my shoulder. And what Malicifent said...

And on a side note, we never get bad service, just happen to end up at a "bad" table.

Wife and I are going out tonight at Cheesecake Factory, so I am going to again be aware of this whole theory of mine, but that place is always so crowded, they don't really have a choice of where to sit people. So maybe I will try some other less filled restaurant.

Will post back.

__________________
That is my 2 cents.

slimshaydee

I don't understand why someone should give someone money because they bring food to them. I'm not employing them, the resteraunt it. I pay the resteraunt they pay their staff. They don't do a good job they lose their job.

The Phenomenon

I agree with you. I only feel that you deserve the tip if the service is exceptional.

You are already paging their wage with the food, their cost is worked into the price.

__________________
Do not confuse altruism with kindness, good will or respect for the rights of others. These are not primaries, but consequences, which, in fact, altruism makes impossible. The irreducible primary of altruism, the basic absolute, is self-sacrifice - which means: self-immolation, self-abnegation, self-denial, self-destruction - which means: the self as a standard of evil, the selfless as a standard of the good.

Redlemon

I agree with you that this is the way it should work; however, servers make below minimum wage, and the tips are supposed to make up the difference. It would be nice if restaurants included all of their operating costs in the food price up front, but that's not the way it works.

__________________
I can't read your signature. Sorry.

The Phenomenon

I still feel its their responsibility to make sure that they deserve to be tipped. If they do, I pay.

__________________
Do not confuse altruism with kindness, good will or respect for the rights of others. These are not primaries, but consequences, which, in fact, altruism makes impossible. The irreducible primary of altruism, the basic absolute, is self-sacrifice - which means: self-immolation, self-abnegation, self-denial, self-destruction - which means: the self as a standard of evil, the selfless as a standard of the good.

kutulu

lol, that's what I was thinking.

I've almost never cared about where I sit. However, if I don't like it and they aren't busy I will ask for a different table.

We have several tipping threads already in this forum. Let's not turn it into another one.

Bentley Little

Ok, so I should have said, "not McDonalds or Wendy's", but I think most of the people got my point. Obviously there are restaurants that are A LOT nicer, and cost $100 a plate, but for the sake of my argument, how many times a week do any of us go eat at those places?

__________________
That is my 2 cents.

Carno

I don't understand why table location matters......

__________________
http://how-to-spell-ridiculous.com/

Rlyss

It matters because like some people have said, sitting near the doorway when it's cold outside is bad when people come and go, or sitting too close to an air conditioner or a heater is unconfortable, as is next to a table full of loud kids. Or maybe it's a beautiful sunny day and you'd like to sit under or near a window, or have your back to a wall so you don't feel so exposed, sitting in the middle of a restaurant.

Bentley Little

thanks dorito2

__________________
That is my 2 cents.

kutulu

As long as the place isn't too busy it's totally fine to ask for a different table. Try to be nice and ask your server if there is another available in their section first. You were sat there because your server was next in the rotation. Don't take the table location out on the server though. They usually have no control over it.

Unga

Usually if my friends and I want a specific table, we'll ask for it, and they usually let us sit there or tell us how long it'll be before we can get it. I was hanging out with friends a little white ago at a lounge in school, and i overheard a waitress telling the people that they could pick any table down one of the rows that she pointed out. Maybe the waiters/waitresses gotta keep the people at their assigned tables? Just a thought

Sargeman

Many times the host/hostess will ask you if you prefer a booth or table and then when they take you there they ask you if this table/booth is fine. I generally get the big table in the middle. That's the advantage of having a big family, there's five of us. I'm also an attention whore. I love to be the center of attention when I enter a place.

__________________
...because there are no facts, there is no truth, just data to be manipulated. I can get you any results you like, what's it worth to you.....

Not A Tame Lion

Waiters in the States get paid 2.13 and hour. Tipping is so that you can control the level of service that you receive. How many times have you gone into Wal-Mart and not been able to find someone to help you? Or you get shitty service at a store in the Mall? Ideally an employeer should fire people for a poor job, but that is not always the case. Sometimes managers don't know about it, or see it. Sometimes they don't care about it. So the tip is what you hold over the waiters head so that you get good service.

Personally I don't want to go into a nice restaurant drop a hundred bucks and get service like I would get at Wal-Mart. Thanks but no thanks, I will continue to tip.

__________________
Not all that glitters is gold, Not all those who wander are lost.

EK69

usually they look at how many there are

usually when i go out for a friends bday or just in general even, theres usually quite a bit of people, so obviously they take us to the bigger tables (which usually happen to be in the "nicer" spots). But somtiems if its too full, they'll group together a bunch of smaller tables; make do with what they have.

i think its mostly for load balancing. I sometimes overhear "check table XX" (where XX is any number) so maybe they have certain table ranges provided to certain waitresses, and it just wouldnt be efficient service if they seated for example 7/10 tables which is assigned to waitress 1, and only 2/10 tables which is assigned to waitress 2.

G5_Todd

i never bitch anywhere that im eating...not until i have my food atleast

EK69

^ lol yeah thats anohter thing...wouldnt want any "special ingredients" lol

Temporary_User

im bumping this thread, because today I went to a nice bar/restaurant, and we wanted to be on the patio. when we got out there they asked us what table we would like in this section. (section was totally empty and good section where you could see the street was 1/2 full)
the next people who came in (2 ppl as well) were put up top, and then the next in our section.
I wasnt exactly dressed up, (jeans and sweatshirt, showered) but the others that were in our section led me to believe that we were put in the reject section. after a while the whole place got filled up and it no longer seemed to be a reject section.
the service was kind of bad because the whole place was busy and i think a few waitresses were new, and i know that they were training a host (followed our host around)
am i paranoid because i didnt dress up and am having a low self esteem day?

cellophanedeity

I've noticed that the people who are most commonly seated beside windows, or in the front row on the patios are the people who are the "ideal customers" for the chain. At some places they want lawyers in suits, other times they want teenagers having fun, and other times they want families.

I'm not saying this is always the case of course, and I'm sure that seating isn't necissarily based upon looks or who you present yourself as, but marketing is marketing. Don't take it personally, it's just how things work I guess.

Oh, and the tipping thing reminds me of Resevoir Dogs. Good old Quintin!

__________________
who am I to refuse the universe?
-Leonard Cohen, Beautiful Losers

Carno

How about just pointing out where you want to sit and asking to be sat there?