The meal is finished. Mostly it was a good experience. Not perfect, but you will come back, you may not order the steak, but you will try something else. The check is presented to the table and following normal male/female protocol the check is placed closer to the male than the female. The female picks up the check, looks at it and asks, 'could you split this please?'
Rule Five: If you are splitting a check, please let your server know from the beginning of the meal. This goes for using gift certificates or coupons as well. Not that we can't split a check at the end of the meal, but when you are done with a meal, you most likely are ready to go and the delay of then splitting the check will annoy you. When I'm ready to go, I'm ready and don't make me wait. (Of course this could be just my personal opinion as I tend to the impatient side of things.) On the other hand, if you are dining together and you are planning on splitting the check, consider splitting it in half—chances are good it will be fairly equal. (Also, when dining with a group of friends, I recommend that you bring some cash, and then splitting the check is not so bad.) Don't leave anything to chance, refer back to lesson three, ask for what you want.
When the server returns with the split checks the diners praise him for the exceptional service and the fantastic food. He apologizes for the steak not being cooked correctly, and they tell him not to worry about it, that he was getting full anyway. So they pay. They are sated and happy and leave the restaurant. It seems the diners had a reasonably good time. All in all the evening has been a success. After the guests leave, the server picks up the checks from the table and looks inside. They've left him a 10% tip and he sighs, and walks away wishing they had told him about the steak, wondering why they praised everything, in his mind he is memorizing their faces and writing in blazing bright red across their faces BAD TIPPERS. The next time you have that server, he might just spit, or worse, in your food.
Rule Six: Tip according to the servers' ability, not the chefs. Don't take out on the server the kitchens, or your own, mistakes. If you don't allow the kitchen, or server, to fix a problem, you have accepted the problem. The server did what was asked of him. You may be thinking, well why didn't he take the steak off the bill, well, honestly, because you didn't ask him to. You did not allow the restaurant to fix the problem and you continued to eat the meal. This is your fault and now you've created an enemy. I realize that some people consider the whole tipping thing to be a bit ridiculous and in this day and age of the 20% or higher being expected, I can understand. Keep in mind that TIPS is an acronym for 'to insure proper/prompt service.' It does not insure that the chef has the skill to create the perfect steak, but it should insure that you receive what you ordered. I also realize that servers often blame the kitchen for their mistakes, as in 'sorry it's taking so long, but the kitchen is backed up,' when in actuality the server has forgotten to put the order in. So, sometimes, it is difficult to tell. If you are unhappy with your experience, tell them that as well. It is almost impossible to fix a problem that you do not know exists. Again, don't take you're impotence out on your server…he did his job and you accepted the job of paying him for his services when you sat down at the table. I generally tip 20% or better, but I have also spent almost my entire life living off the generosity of diners, and I'm one of those picky diners, so I compensate. I'm not saying that you must tip 20%, but 15% gratuity is a thing of the past, 18% is industry standard and 20% is generally expected for good service.
These are the "Rules of Engagement" as I see them. And admittedly they are from a very personal point of view. For my purposes I have given the diners an exceptional server and placed them in a fine dining restaurant. I believe these rules apply to diners everywhere, but there are always exceptions. In general if you follow these rules, you will have an enjoyable dining experience. So, for now, let's recap the "Rules of Engagement" as I see them.
Rule One: Be Specific. Never ask an ambiguous question such as "What is good?"
Rule Two: Ask for what you want, not what you don't want.
Rule Three: If it's wrong, tell someone. Don't be a martyr.
Rule Four: Free is free. Accept a gift, as a compliment, graciously.
Rule Five: Let your server know from the beginning that you are splitting the check.
Rule Six: Tip according to the servers' ability, not the chefs.
No comments:
Post a Comment