Classification of Restaurant Customers
“I’ve been here for ten minutes and my server hasn’t taken my order yet!” This is a direct quote from me before I worked at a restaurant. I never looked to see how many tables my server actually had or how much running I made them do. The sad truth is most people do not notice these details either, which may affect the tip their server will receive. By looking at the attitude and maintenance of restaurant customers, you can classify them into three categories according to their tipping patterns: the “hmm…how good were they? tippers,” “the “stick-to-the-fifteen-percent tippers,” and the “I-am-or-once-was-a-server tippers”.
The “hmm…how good were they? tippers” stick out as a sore thumb would. They have the attitude of “They are working for me,” and “The whole world revolves around me.” They also say things such as, “Is my food suppose to look like that?” and “Where is my refill?” They are the customers who always have a disgusted face and are not satisfied with anything. The “hmm…how good were they? Tippers” are not only high maintenance but also the worst tippers. When the bill comes, they feel they can justify giving a small tip because of their “lack of service”. Many can guess the server likes these customers least. These customers not only put the server in an angry mood but also the rest of the employees that must hear from that server.
The average customers in a restaurant fall under the “Stick-to-the-fifteen-percent, tippers.” They have the attitude of “I’m just here for the food.” These average customers can be heard saying, “Looks good, I just need ketchup.” and “When you get a chance, may I please have a refill?” The “Stick-to-the-fifteen- percent tippers” have a more serious, laid-back face and stay quiet. These customers are average maintenance and average tippers. The only time they leave more than a fifteen- percent tip is when they need to round to the nearest dollar. Their server is mellow and polite because he is thankful for the expected tip. A server walks away from the table cool, calm and collected with no need to complain.
The best customers of all three categories are the “I-am-or-once-was-a-server tippers”. These wonderful customers have the attitude of “I know how hard they are working.” and “Wow, our server is busy.” They are the customers who don’t say anything at all except for their order.
The idea of tipping has always been normal to myself, as I was a kid and still now I see my parents leaving tips for the waiter/waitress when we go out to eat. It never occurred to me until I got older that it was hard for these workers to get by as their salary depended upon their tips. Once I read Saru Jayaraman’s article on “Why Tipping is Wrong” I was unsure of what I was getting myself into. However, it brought light and told how we should be getting rid of tips and giving the workers a fair and decent salary.
“Kids eat free on Sunday right?!” “Can I substitute this juice for a Bloody Mary?” “Can I taste that first?” “Oh!? I’m sorry we haven’t even looked at the menu yet. We’ll just be a bit . . . (45 minutes later) . . . ok, were ready.” “Yeah, were ready. Let me have . . . uh . . . oh where was it? Here! Wait no. Where did it go? I can’t find it. You know it has the thing with the thing on it . . .” “Can we get some more of your FREE bread!” These quotes, among a plethora of others, are common occurrences with the serving field. Sometimes even the smallest actions can show one’s personality in a big way. With hundreds of people dining out every single day it becomes easier to allocate them into many different classifications based on their personal tipping fashion; classes such as the ‘Percent Tippers’, the ‘Performance Review Tippers’, the ‘I’m a Server Too Tippers’, the ‘Non-Monetary Tippers’, the ‘Special Occasion Tippers’, and the much desired ‘Whale Tippers’.
These reasons briefly are: tips do not drive hard work, perceived racial bias creates differences in service, and tip credit allows restaurants to under pay workers. All of these reasons are supported by facts, statistics, and examples. The facts and statistics in this article all appear to be from credible sources, which shows that Palmer researched his topic thoroughly before writing this article. An example of one of the well placed statistics in Palmer’s argument is “According to a 2000 study, a customer’s assessment of the server’s work only accounts for between 1 and 5 percent of the variation in tips at a restaurant.” (Paragraph 3). This statistic is not only shocking, but provides an insight for the readers on how little one’s services provided are actually being paid for considering a later fact mentioned about how little some restaurants are allowed to pay their
Tips are generally a small amount of money given to a person as gratitude for a service that has been provided. There are many times throughout our everyday lives in which we are put in a position to leave a gratuity. Whether it be dining at a restaurant, getting your hair cut at the salon, or having a few drinks with friends at a bar. In each case there was a service provided to you, now you have a decision to make, how much of a tip is considered acceptable and should you tip everyone that provides a service to you? There are many guidelines for consumers to follow. With modern technology there are convenient tip calculators available as features on most new cellular phones. When deciding on the tip amount the service is one of the major determining factors along with whether or not you plan on visiting the establishment again , and how the tip will play a role in your further dealings with said business. Michael Lewis explores a few interesting reasons why tipping is getting out of hand in a recent essay. I strongly agree with many points and examples he provides.
Also, if a customer had a complaint about their food, we would not only apologize for the situation, but also give them complementary coupons to use on their next orders. Being curious to your customers really matters, because it shows that you care and that their business matters to the company. Even having a suggestion boxes for your customers, so that your business can get feed back and know what areas are needing improvement in will also matter as
And they are showed in the Figure 1. They are the most valuable customer for Cheers. The most responsive customers Definition There is something about people’s psychology that makes them more likely to open your envelope and act on what is inside if they have recently had a satisfactory transaction with you. This will make the recency value-scores to be the most important predictor of who is more likely to respond to a next offer.
Although tips can often lead to servers making well over regular minimum wage per hour, overall, tips are very inconsistent and are completely dependent on restaurant customers. Not only does the customer decide how much to tip based on his/her enjoyment of the dining experience, but also servers need busy restaurants in order to make good money.
What this causes is a different set of wages that a restaurant can pay their worker but, in conclusion it is bad because if you are considered getting tipped, the wages start very low. Furthermore,t the customers are already not required to tip and if they do, there isn’t a required amount either. This results in a big gap for what workers are getting paid and what they should be getting paid. According to Jayaraman, “As soon as training finished, however, the company paid him the Michigan State minimum wage for tipped workers - $2.65 an hour” (90). By saying this, Jayaraman is asserting the foul wages of a restaurant worker.
If the people were nice than the job would be enjoyable. Having people tip me would also be better. I don't think waking up early to be get $3 and hour and no
The people of the world should choose to tip their waiters or waitress. If the people don't, then they won't have much money and then they can't really pay their bills or afford what they need like clothes, food, water. Even if you aren't going to a restaurant, if you have a babysitter, maid, cab drivers, etc., you still should pay them a tip. They help do things for you or cook things for you, and they don't spend that much effort doing a good job and not get a little extra money. Even if they aren't a good person or mess your order or anything up you should still pay them a little tip.
In many business industries such as retail, sales, and manufacturing, customer service is a must. If the mentality of ‘the customer’s always right’ didn’t exist then these industries may not have very good success with customer service. It doesn’t always mean all customers are right all the time but it gives them the ability to work through their differences and make the customer
The United States of America, a country where anyone can become anything he or she wants to be. It is even given the phrase “Land of opportunity.” This is one of the reasons people from different parts of the world choose to immigrate to the United States. Immigrants do not immigrate alone, but bring their cultures with them. One of the representatives of culture is food, and with the vast amount of immigrants, the vast amount of ethnic restaurants are introduced. Beneficial things happened with the rise of ethnic restaurants, they serve as a doorway to introduce different cultures and they improve the country’s economy. Some people disagree and believe that ethnic restaurants are a problem. That they lead to cultural separation because it
As a waitress, I worked there part-time. My basic salary was $10 a day plus tips. Tips were paid daily and basic salary was paid every half a month. I get about $40 for tips everyday for 12 hours working from 1:00pm to 1:00am and I have to stand all day except 15 minutes’ sitting down for dinner. I got less tips than others because I’m new here. Still, that’s not a satisfying salary.
Running a restaurant can be one of the most stressful jobs as well as the most fun and rewarding jobs. If the manager is a good leader with excellent leadership skills and has great followers the restaurant will be rewarded. If not the restaurant will plummet in sales and no one will be pleased. While developing a business. staff is important to running a successful restaurant, it is also essential that management focus on its public relations as well as its sales and marketing strategies.
When entering a restaurant, I usually expect to leave full, satisfied, and wanting to come back again. I believe that many people expect the same thing. The way people react to service can be very different from person to person. Depending on the way the customers are feeling, or the way that the server is feeling can be a big factor for the way service comes across. Service is an important part of everyone’s lives because majority of the jobs that people preform are service related. Poor service is an unfortunate part of life that everyone comes across. The way that I react to the poor service I receive is important and can change in the blink of an eye. Whether I react in an outspoken way, by getting loud and voicing my opinion. Or if I react in a quiet or apologetic way, it can affect my server, and the people around me, and myself.