Posted on 08/26/2005 9:02:02 AM PDT by EveningStar
He probably doesn't know each of his customers does. Just the teachers.
See post 100.
You will note that only prix fixe five course meals are offered. Soup or appetizer; fish; main course; salad; dessert. The price, for either lunch or dinner, whether you go the carnivore or vegetarian route, is 175 clams. (Scroll back to some menus from last year, and you'll see prices as low as $125. But that was then; this is now.) So $175 each it is, assuming you forgo the temptation of ordering an appetizer including foie gras, for which there is a $25 surcharge.
All righty, then. Let's start with a couple of martinis. I'm going to take a stab at $70 for two, including tax and tip. And let's go the bargain basement route with the wine. Say a bottle from the bottom of the California Cabernet list, for $100. Pay no attention to the sommelier's sneer at you for ordering domestic wine.
You've already paid tax and tip on the martinis. Tax on the $350 food bill and $100 wine bill, at 8.625%, is about $39. Service charge, at 20% (presumably pre-tax), is $90.
Let's skip the post-dinner Cognac, shall we? We're still boycotting France, anyway. We didn't tip the captain, so we got a table by the kitchen door, no Central Park view. Ah, well. It was worth it, don't you think? Throw in $5 for the coat check girl (you're rewarded with another sneer for your tightwadedness), and you're out for a mere $659.
Oh, wait. You parked in the garage next door? Ah-hahahaha!
God, I love New York.
Because of their assets.
Watch, tie? This was in California, we rarely saw those. ;)
Just kidding, yes you are right, you can size someone up fairly quickly by those observations. The Maitre d' was most astute at that.
Heck, that's not bad for two, is it? Wait till I take six heavy-drinking business clients with expensive tastes in wine out for dinner.
First dates--best tips of all. I agree with you on husbands tipping better than wives, with the caveat: IF they're dining with their children and you go out of your way to keep the kids happy nad relatively quiet, the mom will go out of her way to tip you big. Worked that way for me, at least.
There are exceptions to every rule. I never used the word "all"
If you've ever waited tables, you don't stiff the waitress.
That is one of the exceptions. Best tippers are often people who depend on tips for a living.
People who go to that type of restaurant don't blink at a $750 bill. Their wives probably spend as much (if not more) each month getting their hair done.
And if you take a bunch of clients out, your law firm or investment bank is paying the tab, anyway.
See also my post #77.
As a waiter at a 'moderate high end' restaurant I could earn a month's rent in two nights (Sat. and Sunday). That was when I was in college and I was living two blocks off the beach in a 900 sq. ft. apartment.
We had several guys who were 'professional' waiters, they did OK, but usually spent money fast and furious... gambling, drinking, fast women and slow horses.
"teachers delight in letting you know they are teachers"
I have some friends who are teachers. They are experts on everything, they have a degree to prove it.
Restaurants are not just any business. There's a specific culture in place.
they did OK, but usually spent money fast and furious... gambling, drinking, fast women and slow horses.
Imagine how fast the bartenders lived!
It should be very revealing to have the IRS look at the claimed income from each staff member of this restaurant, to both see if the fee is passed on to the help, and to see who is cheating on his/her taxes.
So you're suggesting that restaurant employees have some standard of professionalism far above any other establishment? That's preposterous - human nature applies to everyone.
As an aside, the best culture is developed by proper performance management, which necessitates that compensation is aligned with performance. Strong culture is the result of good performance management - it's not the other way around as you suggest.
The level of the tip is dependent upon the culture. In NYC, particularly Manhattan, 15-20% is fairly standard. In other locales, I've seen 10% as acceptable. It really depends upon where you live (or dine). And, of course, in many European countries the assumption is that the tip is built into the check. They're not all cheap folks, necessarily, they're just not used to tipping. I went to school in the early sixties in Southern Ohio. No one tipped. It wasn't expected. The waiters, bartenders, etc. all worked on salary.
The standard tip is what i give them. They have every right to whine all they want afterwards, im far out the door by then. BTW, im one of the anal retentive types who calculate exactly 15% in about 2.5 nanoseconds and round up to the quarter.
I was actually suggesting just the opposite. The majority of personnel in restaurants (exceptions are the chefs etc.), even high end ones, tend to be fungible. A waiter insults the wrong patron or member of the kitchen staff or gains too much weight, they're outta there. Instantly. And the manager has a stack of phone numbers in a file in the office that he can start calling the next day. The waiter, of course, has spent the last five years partying with the managers and staff of other joints, so he can get another job in a couple of weeks. It's a big game of musical jobs in most cities.
For most restaurant staffs, you're talking about a workforce that is under 40 and living very fast, borderline lives.
And, i might add, my 15% is way overly generous to some college girl at Applebees while some dude puts in all the work making the meal and gets about a quarter of the pay. Plus, im sure that college girl is all about equality but once she goes out with the dude in the kitchen it suddenly becomes the 1950s again, and that dude is now expected to tip away his hard earned pay to some other college broad that she wont pay when shes on a date. {sigh}
...the other thing is the fact that wait staff perform their jobs in full view of the boss. A good restaurant manager sees and hears everything, all the time.
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