what’s worth it to you?
“Friends are worth more than money” said the note that accompanied $10 in a small orange envelope; 80% of the tip I’d left her earlier in the afternoon.
If friends were worth more than money, why did she give it all back like a slap across the face?
I’m getting really sick and tired of my second job at the restaurant. Not because of any other reason than the people I work with seem to be getting greedier and greedier and less appreciative of the fact that, as servers, we make roughly $30 an hour on any given night. All I hear when I get in is “I never make any money” or “this is bullshit” in regards to the amount of shifts worked or percentage of tips.
Sunday night? I made $11 in four hours. Last night? I got tipped $2.97 on a $93 bill. And the guy even added wrong, so it was actually $1.97. Was I upset? It was a letdown, I’ll tell you that much, but I didn’t cry over it. Wanna know why? Because collectively, last week, I managed to pull off roughly $500 in three shifts – that’s more than half my rent. So I have one day that I get tipped shitty and I’m going to cry about it? No way.
So yesterday afternoon when I suggested eating at the restaurant with some co-workers of mine, I thought nothing of the $12 we left on the $24 bill (original bill totaling $41 before my staffed receipt). Thirty percent, I even calculated it on handy “e-z-tip calculator” on my cell phone. That’s double the regular standard. Imagine my surprise when I show up at work later that day to have the waitress that served me, my friend, nonchalantly say that she was expecting a huge tip from me and was surprised she didn’t get it.
I was offended. First, that she said anything to me at all about it (it’s a non-negotiable at work to discuss your tips with your customers, you get fired on the spot) and second, that the 30% wasn’t enough for her. After she continually told me she wasn’t upset, but just wanted to say that if it were her she would have left $40 on the table and not the $36 I’d left. I explained that if she wasn’t upset, she wouldn’t have brought it to my attention at all and things got a little heated in front of other staff members.
I couldn’t tell if I was pissed off because she thought I was a bad tipper, the fact that she thought 30% wasn’t good enough or that I chose her as my server because I knew she’d get tipped more and it got thrown back in my face. Regardless, about an hour later I was fine. She wasn’t talking to me, but otherwise, I tried to be myself again and I was on my way.
Until I went to go pick up my tip out from Sunday night and there was an additional envelope with my name on it including the note and the money as previously mentioned. I was over it, and then it got blown up right in front of me. How was I supposed to not take that as a hurtful gesture? You’re telling me you want to be friends again by giving me back the tip I gave you?
I’m trying to be the bigger person and just not care, but I feel as though she needs to be told what’s inappropriate and that giving back the money wasn’t the best thing to do in her situation, and just made it worse. But I don’t want to fight about it, because I feel ridiculous even thinking about it. I just don’t think it’s right. What happened, how I was made to feel when this is the business we’re in; living off the tips of others. When we have a bad day, or a bad tip, it sucks.
But if you’re going to think that 30% is a bad tip – then, well, that’s not my problem.