Leave that tip please!

G'day Everyone!

I've been busy and I confess, I'm a facebook guy. I enjoy being on that webpage and chatting with people there. Lots of fun! If you are on facebook, look for me! We can chat on there!

Anyhow, time for me to catch up and I've been traveling lately and it's been fun. Time to get back to the blog world again.

Recently, I was made aware of a *FAKE* news article that was written by Deaf Anthology. I got linked to his site and when I went to view it, Deaf Anthology had removed it. But thanks to Deaf Anthology for a bit in his scheme of things. He's given me a topic to write today for all of us.

I've done a lot of traveling in my life and have meet up with my share of hearing wait staff in a restaurant. Some times, these wait staff appreciate that I'm hearing impaired and can talk well. But often when I don't know their voice well, we sometimes resort to pen/paper communication. Works well.

I've sat down with managers and owners and some ask me: "Why doesn't the deaf community leave a tip for my wait staff when we serve them some of our best food?". Here I am, put on the spot and defending a local deaf community in front of the manager and his wait staff. How can a few *bad apples* make a bad reflection upon the deaf community about the tips?

Let's talk about tips. When you go to a restaurant, the server is doing her best to treat you to fine service and presentation of food as she would to a hearing customer. That is from the moment you sit down to the moment you are handed the check. The tip is more like a "Thank You money" that you leave on the table for the server. The larger the tip means you gave them a hefty praise. The smaller tip means you were satisfied. But leaving NO TIP? uh oh, that means you have just declared to the server : "You gave me bad service. therefore, no tip!".

It's important to leave a tip for the server. Why? Most restaurants (with the exception of fast food places) don't pay their employees a full pay rate. Employees depend on the tips from their customers since they're not paid enough. So, if you happen to be in restaurant, and you don't see a "Please do not tip" sign up, please be respectful of the wait staff. Tip your server of at least 15% of your bill. That's leaving a THANK YOU tip on the table. (what I mean is, you still have to pay your check in full, but you are leaving money for the server). If you happen to be a real fancy restaurant, leave a 20% tip. It's a custom. It's the right thing to do.

Now, back to sitting down with managers and owners. When I get asked why some deaf people don't bother to leave a tip at a restaurant table, I hate being put on the spot. I explain that there are some deaf people in the community that don't know the art of tipping in the restaurant that well.

I try to tell managers clearly, especially when I'm on a trip, that I don't know the type of the local deaf community they have, but I explain that they should not treat all deaf people in the same position as being non-tippers. We like to be treated with respect. But those bad apples, who don't tip at all, make the rest of us look bad!

I've gone to several restaurants in DC and in my home area where I am known enough by the wait staff that I will tip and I tip very well! When you get known that you tip well, you know that the wait staff will provide you with excellent service. I've even come to know some wait staff as hearing friends of mine as well.

So, when you go to a restaurant for a nice dinner, please remember to tip. If your friends don't put their own tip down (especially when you split a check), put it down for them because their actions make a bad impression on everyone else. You can tell them later that they can either pay you back for their share of the tip or you can tell them " no tip means no going to a restaurant with me again!".

I hope you will treat the server with respect. They work hard every day for the tips. They're always grateful for a little extra money.

So to all those in the food service industry out there, I salute you!
Keep making those wonderful foods!

SEMPER FI!