Servers: Underappreciated Labourers

Most waitressing jobs are labour-intensive. In an eight hour shift, a server may take up to 15,000 steps and lift up to 40 pounds of weight. Servers are constantly on their feet, and continually practice poor posture. And the list of work-related injuries servers endure on a daily basis include (but are not limited to):

• Burns, from touching hot plates and pouring boiling soup;
• Cuts, from handling sharp knives and cleaning broken glass;
• Bruises, from bumping into table corners;
• Sciatica, from the uneven weight distribution of carrying trays;
• Carpal tunnel, from carrying multiple plates with one hand;
• Achy neck muscles, from looking down to seated customers; and
• Emotional distress, from interacting with a wide variety of tempers and personalities.

For these reasons, waiters and waitresses fall into the category of labourers. However, the very things that classify servers as labourers are also the things that render servers underappreciated.

It seems as if the only people who can appreciate the strength and skill involved in waiting tables are fellow servers and restaurant staff. People who have never worked in a restaurant just don’t seem to understand the physical and emotional demands placed on servers – and we do it all for a mere 15 per cent.

So, the next time you go out for dinner, keep the following things in mind:

• When you ask your server to bring out a piping hot plate, she might burn herself;
• When your table of ten orders one drink at a time, your server has to run around taking unnecessary extra steps; and
• When you verbally undermine your server’s intelligence, you may have just cost her an extra $80 in therapy bills.

The Auto-Grat

Most restaurants have a policy in place whereby if a specified number of guests [or more] are seated at the same table, a certain percentage for gratuity is automatically added to their bill. Not only does this practice eliminate - for the customer - any uncertainty regarding standard tipping procedures, it also ensures that the server will receive a proper tip for her hard work, based on what is assumed to be a higher-than-average bill. In the world of waitressing, this is more commonly known as the Auto-Grat.

Auto-Grat policies differ from restaurant to restaurant, but the standard practice is to add a 15 per cent gratuity to the bill for parties of eight or more. In fact, this practice is so common in the restaurant industry that experienced large-party diners should automatically expect to pay the Auto-Grat when settling their bills.

Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. Some customers feel insulted when they’re forced to pay an automatic gratuity because it takes away their freedom of choice. After all, everyone has the right to choose how much money they want to spend on good service. For this reason, most restaurants now include their Auto-Grat policies in the front cover of their menus – in plain sight – so as not to insult the customer’s intelligence.

Of course, there are times when the Auto-Grat isn’t expected to be paid; for instance, when a party of ten receives sub-par service, or no one at the table receives the correct dinner. In these cases, the gratuity is understandably left in the hands of the customer.

But when a party of ten receives exceptional service and has no problems with their food, they shouldn’t complain about having to tip their server accordingly. Customers who complain about the Auto-Grat [simply because it’s on their bill] are, more often than not, ignorant about the service industry as a whole. Standard tipping procedures are usually unknown to these types of diners because they just don’t bother to do their homework before going out for dinner.

So, the next time you and seven friends walk into a restaurant, please know that you will be charged that extra 15 per cent for service. And if that bothers you, split your party in half.