Tips

Last week, I went out with some friends to a restaurant/bar for Trivia night. We always order food and drinks - a pitcher right away. Normally, we get the same waitress every week. She knows us, we know her, she does a good job, and in turn we tip her very well.

It was a different story last week. Our waitress was NOT GOOD. Since I used to wait tables, I had some sympathy for her, but she never redeemed herself. Let's count the ways she messed up:

1. She didn't ask us if we wanted anything to drink when she sat us.

2. When she came back, after 10 minutes, we ordered a pitcher then asked for menus.

3. Ten minutes later (see a trend?) she came back with the pitcher but NO menus.

4. Ten minutes later she came back with the menus.

5. When she came back, we already finished our pitcher, and had gotten a new one from the bar...that's how long she was gone. We ordered.

6. One of us ordered wings and when he asked if he could have sauce on the side, she said "Bleu cheese or ranch?" He corrected her and described "sauce" like mild, bbq, or hot. Then she said, "We have salsa." I had to cover my face, because I was laughing so hard.

7. She came back with our food, and the sauce guy didn't get anything with his wings...no sauce, no bleu cheese, nothing. Just wings. He asked where his sauce was. She forgot.

8. Later, she asked if any of us needed a box. One of us did.

9. She brought us our bill.

10. She collected our bill, we asked for our box since she forgot it.

When she brought us our bill, mine came to $7.90, and since she did a wonderfully awful job, I decided to tip her $.10 and make it an even 8 bucks. What I didn't expect was that she would take our bill before she brought us our "forgotten" box. When she returned with the box, she obviously saw that I only left her a dime, she didn't even look at us. She was peeved.

Honestly, she did a really bad job. I don't feel bad for only leaving her a tiny tip. Her total tip was probably $8.00 total, so she really had nothing to complain about.

I must say that when we left the restaurant we had to pass her and she did not look happy. This was a tough lesson for her. Maybe she will do a better job next time. Hopefully, we won't get her tonight. One word - awkward.