We went out to dinner recently at a popular chain restaraunt in a part of town not known for its exceptional service. In fact, it seems everytime we go to this area, whether it be to eat or shop, we run into surly, incompetent people.
Our waitress on this particular occasion was somewhat of an enigma. We couldn't fault her on her service. She was timely, bringing out all courses and refills promptly. She was efficient, clearing dishes each time she approached the table. She responded to our every need well within the time in which each task should take. She, however, had no personality. At least not one she cared to share with us. She wasn't rude. She did not have an attitude. She was polite in everything she said. She simply made her lack of desire to be serving well known. Her tone was bland, her eyes glazed over in boredom and she made not a single interaction that was not necessary to complete her job.
While eating, we contemplated what to make of this. How should we tip her? Could we really fault her for not being engaging? Our food was hot. It was delievered quicker than expected. Our order was correct and she didn't forget a single appetizer or refil. Still, despite being outwardly polite, her tone and inflection made us feel very unwelcome at her table. What if we gave her a simple 'tip test'? Being decent tippers in most instances we can assume our normal tip would be 20%. What if we broke that down? Ten percent of her tip is based on service and efficiency and ten percent on mood. She'd get the full 10% for service, but her mood ranked about a two out of ten. That's a 12% tip. Hmm...She wasn't that bad.
Okay. So being the customer that actually prefers not to have too much interaction with a server, maybe mood shouldn't rank quite as high as serving capabilities. So she'll get the full 15% for being a capable server. But then while I don't like to be pestered at a meal, and she checked on us an appropriate number of times, I do like to feel welcome and not like I'm burdoning you. So mood now becomes a one out of five for making me feel guilty for inconviencing you.
Service 15/15= 15%
Mood 1/5 (20% of the available 5%)= 1%
Tip 16%
Seems more appropriate. We gave her twenty. But I think I may use this for future interactions. Thoughts?
1 comment:
20% is good. Speaking from experience, some days you show up to the restaurant and you hate your life. Some servers become rude or lazy on those days. If she hates her job, but still does it, you can't fault her for that!
Post a Comment