Royal Purple

Issue date: 4/2/08 Section: Opinion

Zinsli [Click to enlarge]

I have worked in the hospitality business for quite a few years now. I've seen every kind of customer there is. I've waited on the nicest and the meanest people you'll ever meet. With all the customers I've seen, none are more surprisingly cheap than college students.

I know that doesn't sound right coming from a college student's mouth, but it's true. I can expect a small tip from the elderly, but I shouldn't have to expect one from someone my own age. College kids come in trying to show off in front of friends, ordering appetizers, steak dinners and, of course, dessert. When it comes time to pay the bill and leave a tip, they all of a sudden revert back to being poor college kids.

Just to let everyone know, 15 percent of your bill is considered the standard tip. If you have a good server, think about leaving 18 percent or 20 percent. It tends to only be a difference of a dollar. What is one dollar to anyone at the end of the day? It means the world to a server.

Now, I'm not saying all college students tip improperly, but the majority do. If I get a really good tip from a college student, I celebrate privately to myself. I think everyone should work in the hospitality industry sometime in their life, so they know how hard it is.

I don't mean it's physically or mentally hard but the kind of "kicked in your teeth and still smile" hard. It should be a law that if someone wants to go to a restaurant they would have had to work in one for at least a year.

The next time a group of college students go out wanting to have a good time, they should remember that their server is a person too. For some reason some people want to forget the server has a life of their own and problems they deal with everyday.

I had a male customer always come into the store and demand a booth even if none were available. I know that doesn't seem like a big deal, but it's usually just the beginning. The man then ordered a soda he knew we didn't carry and then made a big deal out of it.

"The food wasn't cooked right, the service was awful and the restaurant was dirty;" nothing was up to this guys standards. Even the management couldn't be nice enough but, time after time, the man comes back. He just can't get abused enough, I supposed.

Now imagine that guy coming into the store everyday and multiply him by 10 and you'll be close to what a server has to go through every day. There is always someone in the restaurant like that guy, unless the restaurant is empty.

Serving isn't all bad though; it's actually a really good way to make some extra cash. A server can make more than a $100 in tips in less than five hours. That comes out to about $20 per hour. I can't complain about that.

The next time you go out to eat, remember that the server only makes a flat wage of $2.33 an hour, and your tips are how they pay the bills. Lets try to make college kids look good in restaurants, or at least better than the elderly.

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