On Sun, 2 Oct 2005 19:11:14 -0500, "Jesse Robinson"
> wrote:

>I couldn't agree with you more, Nellie. Diners are dining for convenience,
>not management, that is what management is there for. It is our job to shape
>and teach the staff of servers on proper service. The hardest thing to teach
>is the fact, better service equals better tips; especially when that is not
>all the time true. Taking it out of the guests hands would make our job as
>managers easier. How do you explain a two dollar tip on a fifty dollar bill
>when the service person is, in fact, one of your best servers.
>
>I was just looking over my server's tip percentage report today which also
>happens to have their sales percentages as well, it is a corporate mandate
>to say that more sales equals higher tips, when the reality of it is in
>black and white on this report. Some of my worse sellers are making higher
>percentages of tips, which tells me, they are making just as much as the
>ones who are doing their job.
>
>By offering the auto-gratuity, you can ensure the guests that they will get
>the proper service for their dollar, and you ensure the servers that they
>will make money in regards to their efforts. It is a win win situation,
>hands down, no argument against it.
>
>Let guests be guests and managers be managers, period.

Bravo Jesse, for being a wise and attentive manager. I've said it
before that research shows little correlation between good service and
high tips, and your analysis of sales/tip percentages supports this.

In fact, I hate pushy service, especially the canned kind in the chain
restaurants where you know that the server is being forced to
constantly upsell from a script -- because some corporate hack
somewhere has determined that this will increase overall sales.

Regards, Nellie Paris