Top Of The Table

Christopher De Voss

Feb. 15, 2002

I waited on some people recently who at the beginning of the meal joked with me that they were not good tippers. I replied that I wasn't going to wait on them then, ha ha. Well, the meal went flawless, and my service was polite, efficient, and fun. The check only came to $58, which is cheap for my restaurant for a three top. I presented the bill and told them I'll be right back.

When I checked back, the lady looks embarrassed.

Uh oh.

She tells me she has enough money to cover the bill, but not enough to tip me. Her story involves thinking they had enough cash, but did not want to bring too much for safety reasons. I work at a large resort, so the story is quite plausible. Anyway, I'm thinking whatever lady, I'm not getting a tip, I can deal with it.

She pulls out her checkbook and writes me a check for $15. It's my tip. It was actually the best tip I had gotten in a while. I don't mean it was my biggest tip or my best percentage tip; it was the most sincere tip. She enjoyed herself and wanted to make sure I was properly thanked the way people in our industry liked to be thanked…with money.

She also felt the need to reassure me the check was good, gave me her driver's license, room number, etc. I knew the check was good, because she could have just bolted with no explanation at all. Sometimes we get so into a routine, that we forget the whole dinning out experience needs to be special. She felt special and wanted to make sure that I knew she appreciated that fact. I wish every guest were like that, not just because of the good tip, but also because she really had a good experience. A lot of times I wait on people who don't even want to be in the restaurant, but have been dragged there for some reason or another. That makes the job even harder than it has to be, for I have to start at a below zero level and get them to not regret their decision to join us for dinner. So when I get the guest that really wants to be at our restaurant, it makes the job so much better. The little things like writing me a check for my tip instead of just stiffing me, makes me feel glad that I choose this business.

When I'm having a bad night, I can pull these good memories out, and not let the masses get me down.