$Gift Certificate Etiquette$

Gift Certificate Etiquette

We all appreciate receiving gift certificates from friends and family as a thank you, or as gift and we all can't wait to go out and use this free money at our favorite restaurant. However, there are some etiquette rules to dining out and using these gift cards.

Please note that these gift cards are not coupons and they are not to be considered a discount card off of the total bill amount. It is important for those who do not know, that gift cards have a dollar value on them and act like "cash". What I mean by this is that the gift card is actually to be considered paper cash in your hand when it comes time to pay for the bill.

As many people have used these cards before, your server must swipe these cards at the time of payment to ensure that they are activated or have any balance value on them. I have experienced on occasion, people who think that because they have a gift card they can place it on the table and walk out without checking with their server. This resulting in a dine-and-dash and in many cases I have witnessed the customer being short on their bill, which results in leaving their server to cover the rest of the bill, and paying out of pocket for the tip-out.

Therefore, here are a few steps in gift card etiquette to keep in mind when dining out:

First, understand that when you are heading to the restaurant to have a back up plan just in case you spend more than planned or there is an error with your card. So either keep some back up cash or bring another source of payment like debit or credit. 

Second, let your server know that you have a gift card. This will save time at the end when it comes to paying, because your server will know how to address the method of payment efficiently at the end of your visit. 

Third, be sure to look at the total amount presented on the bill. This will help you understand how much to leave in gratuity for all of your server's efforts.One factor that really offends a server is that they put a full effort to ensure you receive a good experience and the number of items on the bill will show this, and the customer/guest does not acknowledge those efforts when it comes to taking care of their server. Remember just because you have a gift card, it does not mean that a customer can rip off their server. The card does not state "freebee" on it. The card represents another form of "cash" payment.

Lastly, if you pay for the balance of the bill with a gift card and there is a remaining balance still owing, please do not tip on that remaining balance. For example, the bill is $230 and your gift card is for $100, remember not leave a percentage tip on the $130 owing. The entire bill and server efforts were for a $230 bill and that server should receive the reward they earned for that amount.

I have witness this happen too many times, from those who just do not understand this process. If that server gets a small 10% tip on the $130 balance remaining, they still give away a full percentage amount of that bill to their tip-out.

Cheers!

Tips %

Tips

After reading my last blog post about the "in's and out's" about what actually goes on during the dinner wait at restaurants, I received a comment about tip-out or what some call, tip-pool. 

Here are some key points that one should consider when tipping there server at the end of a meal.

When the bill is printed there is usually a before tax total and an after tax total. For those who do not know, ignore the before tax total when deciding how you would like to tip your server. This decision should be based on: 1) overall service experience, 2) the quality of service and food delivered and 3) the total cost $ of that bill.

ü  If the service was great and you received everything you needed and your server listened to your needs, then give your server a check.

ü  If your server showed that they were engaged and cared that you came in to eat and they acted pleased to be there, then give them a check.

ü  Lastly, look at the bill total after tax. This total in many cases is the amount the servers tip-out toward other staff. Other staff such as, the supervisors, kitchen staff/cooks, food prep, dishwashers, bussers, bartenders, bar-backs and hostesses.

Servers must tip-out a percentage of that bill you're paying for. In many cases, as experienced they tip-out after tax. Therefore, if your server does their job right and there is something that happened out of their control; remember they pay their bills with their tips. Tips are their main source of income.

This tip-out I am talking about can range from 3% to 5% of the servers sales. So, to get a clearer idea, if tip out is 5%, every $100.00 your server does in sales, they are giving away $5.00 out of their pocket in tips to all of the other staff members mentioned above.

Servers do not get paid minimum wage, they are paid below minimum wage at $8.90/hour. So they really rely on these tips to survive.

I believe that a large portion of society that does not have insight on this can't relate and really do not know  the impact they have when they choose to purposely be cruel or cheap when it comes to tipping. I have seen many times on a bill for $50.00 after tax, customers tip 10% before the tax and leaving something like $4.00. If your server tips out 3% of that $50.00 they basically worked and served that table for 1.5 hour + for $2.50. It sounds harsh however; you can't even buy a jug of milk with that change.

Also keep in mind the economy has changed; prices do increase and have increased such as, the cost of living. Tips should also go along with this increase. 10% used to be a fare percentage tip I would say 10 years ago. However, 15% plus in many cases 20% is the standard tip to give in the service industry, especially given the fact that servers do not pocket all of their tips.

I would like you to put yourself in your server's shoes. If you go out to eat and you stay at your table for 2 hours or more, then leave your server 10% on a $100 bill. Now break that down to $5/hour on cleaning, clearing, waiting and refill trips on your free soda. Does it seem fare? Many citizens today wouldn't dream to get out of bed for less than $15/hour to $20/hour.