How To Be Served: Part IV - Common Stereotypes Servers Hold About Customers
This is Part IV in a four-part series designed to inform the public on how to be better customers. You can read Part I here, Part II here or Part III here.
I warned you last week that this is the part of the series that gets a little dicey. Some might even go so far as to say that I’m being offensive or racist, but I genuinely don’t care. All I care about is bringing you the truth and I’m not going to veil it in false compassion or tolerance. If you are offended by what I say next then I suggest you look within yourself to ask why you’re offended. Is it because you’re an upstanding citizen that shudders at the thought of judgment, or is it because you truly do exhibit the stereotypes I’m about to describe.
The only thing I ask is that you read this in its entirety before jumping to any judgments or conclusions of your own. Here goes.
White People:
This is the general demographic I wait on the most and boy are you guys uppity. White people, on the whole, have generally been in restaurants more than blacks, hispanics, asians, etc… and as a result have much more knowledge about possible drinks, appetizers, meals you can order.
That’s both good and bad.
Good because for some that means you know what you want and you’re quick to order. No fuss, no nothing. You want this meal with this drink and this appetizer and it’s relatively quick and painless.
Bad because since you’ve had more restaurant experience than any other demographic, you’re more likely to argue with me because our restaurant doesn’t make it a certain way. “I’ve had it done this way at a hundred restaurants,” you’ll exclaim. “Why can’t you do it here?”
Your experience in more restaurants than anyone else gives you an air of expectation that is unmatched by any other race. You believe you deserve better because you believe you are better.
That just doesn’t fly with me.
We, as a restaurant, try to serve the same food to everyone regardless of experience in other restaurants. And by you trying to coerce us into bending the rules tells me, as a server, that you think you’re above 99% of the other customers in this place that compromise their tastes to the restaurant setting they’re given.
And from what I can ascertain, white people are also the thirstiest. I get an average of four refills on sweet teas, sodas and alcoholic-drinks per customer. Sweet Jesus, it’s like our front doors are the gates to the Sahara or something.
Sparknotes version: White people are know-it-alls that believe they deserve preferential treatment and infinite refills because they’ve been to oh-so-many restaurants.
Black People:
This is the second-largest demographic I come in contact with as a server. Bring on the hate for what I’m about to say:
Black people, on the whole, don’t tip worth anything.
Take that above statement any way you’d like. Take it as black people trying to get back at “The Man”. Take it as black people not knowing societal tipping rules. Take it as black people not having the resources to shell out a 20% tip every time. Take it as ignorance, arrogance or downright revenge, but please, for the love of God, take it.
I cannot begin to tell you how many black couples I’ve had come in to my restaurant, get fairly good service and leave 4 dollars on a $100 bill. One man even asked me to break a hundred for “the sake of the tip”.
He then proceeded to leave me 2 dollars and change.
Black people are also the most likely to come into the restaurant with outside food from McDonalds and Chick-Fil-A and order minimally from our menu for whatever reason.
On a more positive note, black people will rarely, if ever, ask for a refill. They have their drink and they ration that bad boy out to the end of the meal.
Sparknotes version: Black people don’t tip but they’re not as thirsty as white people. They don’t require the amount of service most other demographics do and tip proportionate to the amount of service they ask for.
P.S. I will delete any and all comments pertaining to SPECIFIC examples of black people tipping wonderfully. One detailed anecdote’s not going to change my, or the people who read my site’s, mind. Give me a more general view of how black people tip in your area.
Women:
You are the thirstiest of every single demographic and you let us in on it from the get-go by ordering three drinks at once.
“Yes, I’d like an unsweet tea, a margarita and a water with two limes, not lemons.”
If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear you paid more attention to the drink menu than the food menu.
Women are also the loudest. Louder than teenagers, louder than rednecks, louder than elephants. If they’ve had half a beer, you can bet the scream you heard across the restaurant is a middle-aged woman agreeing in the merits of the show “America’s Next Top Model”.
On the plus side, women usually know what they want from a menu and are the quickest to be in and out of their seats as they take a lot of their food home with them in to-go boxes. Quick turn around equals more customers, so more power to you, ladies.
Sparknotes version: Women are damn thirsty and their volume raises in relation to 1) how much alcohol they’ve consumed and 2) how many friends are with them.
Rednecks:
I’m going to start this by saying that I don’t believe all Southern people to be “rednecks”. “Rednecks” implies some sort of sub-standard intelligence. Most Southerners I’ve encountered are smart and quick-witted and well-versed in the art of cooking, music, agriculture and conversation.
Rednecks also don’t tip anything. I swear, Richard Petty could be serving you and you’d STILL only give him two quarters on a forty-dollar tab.
Rednecks are also most likely to be the ones with inappropriate Southern-slogans on the back of their shirt or a portrait of Dale Earnhardt with his hair blowing in the wind with the words “I Wanna Be With Dale Someday” under it on the back of their stained, white t-shirt.
But rednecks are generally nice, hospitable people that, while loud, will call you (no matter your age) “ma’am” and “sir”. That’s a nice change of pace.
But I’d trade that southern “hospitality” for a few more dollars any day of the week. Treat me like garbage and give me five more bucks. I’m begging you. I’ll even pretend to like NASCAR!
Me: “I like Jeff Gordon. He’s handsome.”
You: “Here’s five more dollars, my boy!”
And what is with the sweet tea? The more syrupy, the better. I will never understand you all’s fascination with that brown sugar water you guys call “sweet tuh”.
Sparknotes version: Rednecks are genuinely polite and tip as well as they brush their teeth.
Teenagers (regardless of race or economic class):
Your sense of entitlement goes through the roof. You frickin’ asshats believe that just because you scored on prom night that means anything to me. You scored the winning touchdown last night? Great. But that doesn’t mean you’re getting your drink any faster.
And what is up with thinking you can trick me into an alcoholic drink? When you walk through that door, the only thing a server sees is a low potential for a good tip and a high potential for getting mad at us for not giving you a drink from the bar.
What I’m about to say is morally and ethically inappropriate, but I don’t frickin’ care:
We’ll give you a drink if you show us an ID. No ID, no drink. ANY ID AT ALL, YES DRINK. I’m not going to study the thing like a textbook, and I’m going to spare myself the potential embarrassment of saying “That’s not you” only for it to actually be you.
So as long as you cover our ass, we’ll cover yours.
And another stereotype we servers hold over teenagers: dirt poor. We know you don’t have money. I sure as hell didn’t. But don’t blame us if we hold it against yourselves for ordering 4 bucks worth of food in a semi-classy joint at 7:00 on Friday night.
One last thing. It is NOT okay to order an appetizer for dinner. Go sit at the bar if all you want is our soft-shell crab and a water.
Sparknotes version: They’re poor, but whatever money they have will be spent on appetizers and alcohol.
Senior Citizens: The older they get, the slower they read their Reader’s Digest at my table and the less they tip.
As opposed to women, you will sit at a table, all by yourself as if it’s a requirement to the AARP or something. Why do you think it’s okay for you to bring a newspaper to a table in my section and sit there, munching on your appetizer-for-dinner and drinking your hot tea as if it’s your last meal.
Do you get served raw fish at a library? No. Do you read books for hours at a sushi restaurant? Yes. See the problem?
And you guys tip like there’s a second Great Depression right around the corner. It’s not 1929, people! Get it out of your heads that two dimes and a penny will buy you anything other than a swift kick in the pants.
Sparknotes version: I pay into Social Security. They spend their checks as if it’ll be their last. (And, hey, it might. But that doesn’t mean you have to act like it!)
I hope you all are not too disgusted with me after this.
This is Part IV in a four-part series designed to inform the public on how to be better customers. You can read Part I here, Part II here or Part III here.
March 19th, 2007 at 12:04
[…] This is Part III in a four-part series designed to inform the public on how to be better customers. You can read Part I here, Part II here or Part IV here. […]
March 19th, 2007 at 12:06
[…] This is Part II in a four-part series designed to inform the public on how to be better customers. You can read Part I here, Part III here or Part IV here. […]
March 19th, 2007 at 12:08
[…] This is Part I in a four-part series designed to inform the public on how to be better customers. You can read Part II here, Part III here or Part IV here. […]
March 19th, 2007 at 6:47
Who cares if people are disgusted? I say forgo the disclaimer next time.
March 19th, 2007 at 7:36
I found the words BLACK People and bad BOY in the same paragraph offensive. Please change that part.
March 19th, 2007 at 7:38
I wonder how black servers feel about serving rednecks. Anyone?
March 19th, 2007 at 7:40
So much for people reading the disclaimer (T-bone).
It clearly states, “If you are offended by what I say next then I suggest you look within yourself to ask why you’re offended. Is it because you’re an upstanding citizen that shudders at the thought of judgment, or is it because you truly do exhibit the stereotypes I’m about to describe.”
Ryan isn’t changing jack nor should he with that and a lot more of a disclaimer put above the entire article.
March 19th, 2007 at 8:03
Uh…Bill….I was Uh…being sarcastic.
March 19th, 2007 at 11:47
the bit about your front doors being the gates to the sahara - genius. amazing even.
March 20th, 2007 at 8:07
I think you forgot hispanics (or purposely left them out). From my experience they overall make up the nicest customers I serve, except overall, they tip poorly, if at all. The wierd part is that I do not mind since they are usually so easy to serve and nice at the same time. As for the black people section, I agree: most likely to bring in fast food.
March 20th, 2007 at 10:51
You forget foreigners…they are usually the nicest, but almost never leave a tip, or a very small one, because in their countries it is not a custom. Ive had a lot of europeans i talked to in their language (italy, spain) and they rarely leave anything even if they obviously love me. Maybe its cause you dont have as many at UGA (im assuming thats where you are), but in Atlanta theres always a lot.
March 20th, 2007 at 1:24
Mulato Midget Transgendered Tranvestites are a tough crowd as well. They never tip. Ever!
March 20th, 2007 at 2:12
Uh…T-Bone…It’s hard to tell in a text message what anyone is trying to get across without directly telling us so.
March 20th, 2007 at 4:14
Bill, I,…. Uh,…erm… agree. Maybe uh sarcasm emoticon is needed.
March 20th, 2007 at 4:57
I agree about Hispanics. (no sarcasm here) They generally tip like shit BUT they are so polite that I don’t really mind. They teach their children respect and how to behave in public. Now ….if only they’d tip about 5- 10% more they’d be the perfect guests. I figure once they’re accustomed to tipping they will be.
March 20th, 2007 at 6:10
Oh come on, T-Bone was either being sarcastic or an idiot. It’s not that hard to tell when someone is being sarcastic unless you want a reason to jump on them.
March 20th, 2007 at 6:17
Wait, Patrick, were you being sarcastic or an…..? I feel so insecure…….
March 20th, 2007 at 8:58
Fantastic series of articles, Ryan. I’ve been reading your blogs for a while now, and have just now decided to leave a comment.
Fantastic work!
- Kent.
March 21st, 2007 at 1:13
Ryan, why are you writing these things?
March 21st, 2007 at 10:54
i didnt take the time to read all the comments, so i dont know if anyone has said it yet, but ladies do NOT give you quick turnover time- they stay the longest of all customers. even if they have to get to-go boxes, they LOVE to stay and “chat”- SOOOOO typical!!!! i wonder why they get the to-go boxes when obviously the meat goes bad by the time they get home! (i believe its a 2 hr limit to keep your to-go food un-refridgerated) Men will very rarely stay much longer after they pay. It might be different in japanese restaurants because from what i understand you either have the grill tables or a section with regular tables for sushi customers (not very private, therefore no good for gossiping!), and a bar, no booths. most people probably do not want to stay very long. and in the mexican restaurant where i work, we have mostly booths with a few tables, and also the bar. during every shift im almost guaranteed to have some lady campers stay in one of my booths for an extended period of time. the worst is when you are already cut, you put the checks out in front of them after they finish, and they just sit there and talk without paying! im like, didnt you see me roll silverware at the table over there? or do you think we roll because we arent busy? and dont you see you are one of maybe 3 tables left? dont you see that i have no more tables and I keep walking by STARING at your empty pay-trays? JUST PAY ME AND YOU CAN STAY AS LONG AS YOU WOULD LIKE! at times i have stayed an hour past my shift, during which i was able to eat my OWN lunch, all for like, a dollar-fifty tip from each lady. I SWEAR, WOMEN KILL ME!
anyway, i loved the post despite my one objection, and the entire series was AWESOME.
March 21st, 2007 at 11:38
Mary,
To weed out who should and shouldn’t be here.
March 21st, 2007 at 2:21
Mary? are you still there?
March 22nd, 2007 at 2:05
T-bone, Mary’s on backorder right now so we’ll be substituting with an equal-or-greater portion of cj.
This was a great series, Ryan! I went through and read your articles chronologically. I am totally with you on the subject matter. And I *hate* it when people double- and triple- drink me! Two drinks each for a five-top table is ten drinks often served in heavy pint glasses. Now, I know how to balance a tray, but throw in just one kid prancing around underfoot and one barfly laying tracks to the bathroom (not watching where he’s going) and the problems start.
March 23rd, 2007 at 5:59
T-bone, I was defending you.
March 23rd, 2007 at 6:28
Thanks, Patrick. !
March 24th, 2007 at 6:02
Hispanics, teaching their kids to behave in public? HAHAHAHHAHA! I work at a bookstore in California and 70% of the people who come in are Hispanic. They then proceed to ignore their twelve kids as they completely trash my section and at least twice per day [on a SLOW day], I have to stop a group of them from running up the wrong side of the escalator, playing tag in the store, destroying merchandise, AND [not or, AND] rolling around on those fucking heelies. And if I have the audacity to tell the kids to stop, I get accused of being racist.
This, by the way, only applies to the times when the parents are present, at least bodily if not mentally. Around three times per week we get the hoard of kids whose parents dropped them off at the door for five hours.
March 24th, 2007 at 3:38
I’ve never experienced that in a restaurant. I guess I’m glad I don’t work in a bookstore.
April 13th, 2007 at 7:57
Let me know where you work, so I can tip you a penny in an over-turned glass of water.
April 14th, 2007 at 10:44
Are you the guy that wrote that little diatribe about me being racist? If so, thanks for sending hundreds of new visitors to my website. I haven’t gotten one email complaining about my material. In fact, I’ve gotten dozens of emails saying I’m spot on with my observations and, contrary to what you might think, how black people don’t even like serving black people.
So thanks again for the string of visitors a few months ago. My traffic jumped considerably for a week or so.
Love,
Ryan
P.S. How’s the weather in Chicago these days Goliano? Get that promotion at Ameritech yet? Hmmm?
April 15th, 2007 at 10:44
Don’t start something you’ll be forced to delete, kid.
April 15th, 2007 at 6:04
And don’t start something you don’t want your bosses finding in their inbox.
April 16th, 2007 at 1:02
lolzz…its hillarious!!!!
April 24th, 2007 at 11:05
I’m a pretty optimistic, give-everyone-the-benefit-of-the-doubt kind of guy. Every time I get seated a table of African American folks, I think “These are the ones, these people will prove the stereotype wrong!”, and I make sure to put the same effort into serving them that I do everyone else. Don’t want to overdo it and hover, sure don’t want to ignore them, just treat them like every other table. To date, I have been disappointed every time. Every Single Time. A curious side note: 1000 on the salad about 90% of the time.
Also I agree with stacy regarding hispanics: very polite, usually dreesed up, always order the best things on the menu, don’t tip for shit. On the plus side: almost always pay cash. So if there happens to be a coupon offer…….
May 3rd, 2007 at 1:00
I do agree the stereotypes are all true, but I disagree about black people being less thirsty. I find that I refill their iced tea and lemonades a minimum of twice a visit. They usually suck a whole glass down before they even get any food in front of them. (Free bread more often than appetizers). BUT moving from the midwest to L.A. I have found they tip a little bit more in L.A. if they do not have children with them and I usually get at least a few dollars even from families, while in the midwest I never even expected change from them. Even worse here are Armenians. They will run your ass and never leave over 10%. After serving for 8 years, I’ve just come to accept the stereotypes. People don’t change.
May 29th, 2007 at 10:37
[…] At least they were honest. I can’t imagine coming to a mid- to high-priced restaurant with your family of five if you’re “cheap” though. You can order 100 dollars worth of food (complete with appetizers and drinks from the bar) yet stiff the server. Doesn’t make much sense to me. […]
June 8th, 2007 at 1:30
Posted it in the wrong spot first but…..As a 19yr old black female… according to what you’ve written I’d fit quite a few of these…however, they are stereotypes which mean they aren’t necessarily true…and I don’t fit into a single one of them. I can say with first hand experience why often times you will find that black customers do not tip as high as some of the other races. In most cases poor tips are left as a result of the lack of knowledge regarding them ( i mean it still sucks but don’t always take it personal) Whenever I go out to eat I leave ridiculously large tips…sometimes even 40%, however, I went out to eat with my mom who is over 50 yrs old and she left a crap tip and I was like mom how much did you leave and why? Then she proceeded to tell me that gratuity is 10%…and I had to correct her and tell her that the standard is 15% -18% for large parties or nicer restaurants and if the service is exceptional then it should increase. So don’t always think oh they must be racist and are trying to get back at society and that is why they left me a crappy tip…maybe they simply do not know. Now I won’t say that there aren’t racist people out there because sadly there are…but don’t categorize everyone that way based off of a bad experience(s) with some individuals
June 8th, 2007 at 1:38
i served tables in the south for a lil while and i can honestly say that some of my best tables were white people but they have also been some of my worst….but the same for blacks they have been some of my best as well as my worst……stereotypes in restaurants are horrible and so out of control….sometimes i’d have co-workers see their next table walking in the door only to find that they were black or looked poor or were young so they would ask me if i wanted the table knowing if they looked a different way and were in business suits there would be no way that they would give that table up….so i just say ignore their race, gender and age….treat them the way you were hired to treat all of your guests and when the tip comes suck it up and get over it….when i own my restaurant…if i overhear my servers making any stereotypical comments regarding any ethnicity or gender they will be fired on the spot
June 8th, 2007 at 6:00
Just wanted to say, on behalf of the teens and black people, I apologize for those bad tippers. And on behalf of the vegans, I apologize as well. I’m sure you may have come across one of us from time to time, and it must get annoying when we ask you ten million times the ingredients in ten million different dishes. Thanks for putting up with us, and this black teen vegan, for one, always tips very well for the extra hassle. I’ll do my bet to pass along the message!
June 20th, 2007 at 11:12
okay, so you’re saying that even if somebody is under 21 and they show you their id, you’ll still serve them alcoholic beverages?
September 5th, 2007 at 1:06
While I do not technically work in a restaurant, I do however work in the food service industry, so I hope that I can be welcomed into the club. I sold frozen lemonade in a tourist area for three summers. Pretty much all of the observations that Ryan has posted here are very similar to my experiences. Since the interaction time that I have with my customers is far shorter than the time of a server, I would say I am more impressionable to stereotypes. The older the person, the less they would tip. I would dread serving an elderly person, because I knew the minute they walked into the store, I wouldn’t get a tip. The worst though, and my biggest gripe, is when you give the customer back his/her change, usually $0.75 and they would give you back a quarter, as if to say that they still have more money than you.
PS. Love the site Ryan.
September 26th, 2007 at 9:07
mabey “blacks” tip you bad because you see them as blacks there for give them “black” service. I work in hospitality and “blacks” tip me very well.
October 16th, 2007 at 10:51
you’re all suckas.please continue to spread the word on blacks being terrible tippers. Now I never have to tip 20 % ever again.
November 7th, 2007 at 12:46
forgot asians, the tip is unpredictable but they always share everything and they don’t let you bus their table. They could have one chicken wing that has been sitting there for an hour and they still won’t let you take it away. Also, if they are in a large group, they will stay until you have to kick them out
December 12th, 2007 at 1:31
yeah black ppl are fucking cheap. they always come up with some crazy request and then if it comes out bad (or well, or perfectly, doesn’t matter), they use that as an excuse not to tip. or they do some crazy shit like plant their own hair in their food to get it comped. really? that african american textured hair came from my asian head of straight as pins hair??? you weren’t too disgusted to eat 75% of the dish? really?!
December 26th, 2007 at 2:57
I am a server as well… I notice that it’s not that black people don’t tip, it’s that ghetto people don’t tip. And “ghetto” can mean someone of any race. Depending on where you live, it may be that the majority of “ghetto” people are black, but in another area the same could be said about whites, Asians, Hispanics, etc. When I serve a table of African-American people in their 30’s or 40’s or older, they’re not obnoxious, and they’re always polite, they always tip me just as well as my average table of white people.
And right on with everything else you said… I recognize each one of those stereotypes.
And to whomever it was above that said that he/she wasn’t going to tip 20% anymore because you were speading the lie that black people don’t tip, I say this: Stereotypes are not created out of thin air. If the majority of people in one group does something, one is perfectly justified in making a generalization, with the knowledge that of course 100% of the people in that group are not like that. While I have gotten a few really great tips from people I least expected it from, I find, on a daily basis, that these generalizations are, more often than not, true.
January 9th, 2008 at 3:39
Well … I’ve read the article and everyone’s opinions. We’re all entitled to our own opinions, so I’m no knocking anyone for what was said especially Ryan. I’ve worked as a hostess at a snobby Italian grill and I’ve also worked at a deli as a cashier. Having worked in food service, I know what it feels like to be dooped outof a tip, especially when you’ve given exceptional service to your customers. This is what I have to say about the stereotypes:
White people: White people can be both good and bad customers, depending upon the person. I’ve had some people that were very sweet and left hefty tips and I’ve had some people that were very rude and left a couple of nickles and dimes. Most white people I’ve seated at the grill were very concerned about the calorie and fat content of their food and if it has too many calories or too much fat, they’d have all kinds of requests of what not to include in hopes of consuming a low cal. low fat meal only to wash it down with infinite amounts of diet coke and Perrire with lemon on the side.
Blacks: I can honestly say that the majority black people do tip poorly (and I am black myself). My mom had always raised me to tip a person no matter if the service is crappy or superb. The reasons for why blacks tip poorly or not at all vary. I can only give you reasons as to why some of my friends don’t tip (not enough money, crappy service, or simply because they don’t want to).
Women: Like white people, women can be very neurotic when it comes to calorie content and fat from calorie grams. I don’t understand why some women order a lot of food and ask for a diet coke to drink. Some of them can be super bitchy, especially if they’re dining in with their husbands or boyfriends. If the server or host is female, they tend to take the “bitch” up a notch.
Rednecks: I’ve only had one negative expereince with a redneck. He got irate with me and my co-workers because we wouldn’t ignore the 5 customers that were a head of him (waiting patiently for their coffee and drinks) to make him a Vente mocha. He resorted to being immature enough to call me a bitch and the n-word, only to be escorted out of the establishment by security, drinkless. Besides that, I’ve never really had a problem with rednecks aside from the fact that they slide money on the counter to you rather than hand it to you like normal people.
Teens: Most of the teens I’ve dealt with were rich, pampered snobs that liked to steal stupid stuff just for the thrill of it. I think it’s pretty pathetic how someone can spend $5 on coffee, but resort to stealing a piece of $0.85 candy.
Rich People and CEOs: Some of these people are the most frugle tippers ever! I remember when I was working as a hostess at this Italian girll and the prez of the power company came in for lunch with some partners. All of the servers told me not to seat him at their table because he has a reputation of not wanting to tip even if the service exceeds high standards. This is a person who makes $80,000+ annually, and he can’t even tip 15% (at the least) on a $150 bill! Amazing.
January 10th, 2008 at 11:14
Boy were you right about all the demographics except women. In groups they are finicky, are lousy tippers and sit at a table forever. It is impossible to get them to leave. They often sit for an hour even after paying the check yakking away. And trying to get them to order is another half hour ordeal. I always say women should not be allowed in unless accompanied by a man. Oh and they spend the least, it always seems as if they are in a competition to see who can eat the least. And I’ve noticed that they seem to wait before eating until either the hungriest or fattest among them takes a bite first.
January 20th, 2008 at 8:40
“And don’t start something you don’t want your bosses finding in their inbox.”
How did I miss this? Oh I know, I didn’t give enough of a fuck to come back to this blog before 9 months had passed. Knock yourself out dude, methinks you’ve mistaken my ISP for my place of employment. But if you think a WHOIS.net search is all that’s required for your little Sherlock Holmes experiments, be my guest… idiot.
February 4th, 2008 at 7:30
Goliano,
Was it that you “didn’t give enough of a fuck”, or was it that you actually believed I had tracked you. It’s fairly coincidental that the moment I posted some general information about where you worked from, you disappeared from my site, not returning until three months AFTER I said I was done with it.
February 13th, 2008 at 1:39
jessica lynn- the tips are our wages and a direct comment by you the customer on how we did our jobs and more imptly how you valued how we did our jobs. Any serious server has a huge ego otherwise you would survive the brutal nature of the job-tips our how we get our strokes.
steotypes im in texas so my RL observations differ some
fyi Im part native american and routinely pass for hispanic of several varieties, Italian, and Albanian depending on where i work so I have some experience with being viewed/treated a a memeber of a steotype. Also I am the only nonRedneck in my immediate and most of my extended family.
Rednecks drink tea and beer depending on their religion like camels at an oasis in texas they can hurt you financially because they tip poorly for most part and here they like steak.
Blacks here drink much like rednecks and sometimes like a cow-cows drink in a texas summer 50 gals a day of water. They have a propensity to suck down flavored teas, flavored lemonades, shirley temples (how a grown man can order a shirly temple with a straight face and demand a staw i will never understand) The cheap ones will ask for bowls of lemons and sweetners and make their own lemonade to date no one has asked me for grenadine to make custom cheery lemonade but it might happen tomorrow. They also seem to think its perfectly acceptable to bring in a nasty oil based frosted cake to a restaurant that serves dessert which I have to bring them plates silverware and a knife to cut it. Thus robbing my rest of dessert sales and me tips for the burden of accommadating it -this also adds 30-60 min to the table turn time.
Woman arent easy to wait on they one take forever to decide and will discuss at length 3 dishes and customization options then get whatever is cheapest on the menu like a caesar salad. Then they can linger for HOURS after they lasted needed anything and some refuse to pay until they leave. The worst in this subcategory are unworkling c trophy wives and retirees.
February 13th, 2008 at 1:48
have to address the ghetto comment which is VERY true-people with little to no class abound in every racial group some do a better job of getting attention for their group than others by their behavior-the you tube video on this site comes to mind
but you also can never truly tell who will behave how RL example
last sunday i had a black couple guy is wearing a 50-100 tie, shirt that was talior fitted and took cufflinks his tab with impeccable service 87 bucks tipoped on a plat Amex card 5 bucks
next day another black couple on 1st visit while i had a trainee doing the show me what you can do training shift -she was doing the work on four concurrent tables with me shadowing service was not quite as good as 1st couple they left 21 bucks cash on 78 buck tab
and trust me i will rem both tables and apply the appropriate level of focus on their dining exp when they do come back
February 20th, 2008 at 3:16
[…] know that in most of my articles (especially the one where I called out every demographic’s frickin’ downfall) I’ve tried to paint a fair picture. I call out old people who can’t tip. I call out […]
February 29th, 2008 at 5:28
Its too bad that the bad teenagers spoil it for the good teenagers. Thisis why I dont enter a cafe at all
April 15th, 2008 at 4:07
Yeah man! You people may piss and whine about the categories that the man here has lumped everyone into, but you damned sure don’t have any consistent, logical arguments to refute his claims. I’ve worked in more than a dozen restaurants over the last ten years and these categorizations are spot on. Quit fighting it. Just learn how to deal with these people when you have to. And hope that they go to another restaurant instead of yours…
May 7th, 2008 at 8:48
I’m a black server, and I cringe when I see black people sit at my table. And I hate that I feel that way. Granted my best percentage tip was from a black couple (gave me a 100 on a 30$ bill and told me to keep the change) But I still FEEL that way. And I have hate rednecks. And dirty fat people….make that dirty, stinky, fat people. In general I try to treat everyone the same, b/c you never know. But generally I do agree.
May 13th, 2008 at 3:11
I’m black and I used to be a server at a bar/restaurant place. I found that my worst tips were from Asians and occasionally regulars on busy nights who couldn’t get a seat at the bar (regulars who like to sit at the bar have a HUGE sense of entitlement because they know all the bar tenders and managers).
I try to tip 20-30 % and can never tip less than 15% when I get crappy service, it just doesn’t feel right to do less than that.
Most of my black friends were aware of the tip standards, but weren’t aware that we were paid $2/hr until I started working there. They were under this impression that we were being paid $8/hr and got tips on top of that. That would be nice. I’m usually the tip police when we go out as a group, making sure I don’t have to cover any cheap ignorant friends. I’ve found that after hearing my trials as a server and learning what it’s really like, my friends have begun tipping like normal Americans.
Sometimes I find that unless I’ve been to a particular restaurant enough for people to know I tip, I get crappy service because the server assumes that my friends and I won’t be tipping well. I just think it’s important to keep stereotypes in the back of your mind when you’re serving, but don’t let them overtake you to the point where you’re creating a bad tip from your actions.