How do you treat your service professionals?

It's a real and valid question.

You come in contact with service professionals nearly every single day. They are the people who help you get things done, the people who are the face of your experience. They are barbers and hairstylists. They are tattoo artists. They are musicians. They are mechanics. They are cab and bus drivers. They are food servers and bartenders. They are flight attendants. They are secretaries. They are sales clerks. They are medical personnel, such as dental hygienists and orderlies. The keep your hotel rooms clean and bag your groceries. They are the people you come in contact with whose jobs depend on presenting the best possible representation of their company or industry. More than that, they depend on you to give them the tools to give you the best possible experience.

Some of these professionals are paid based on the completion of said service, but most of these people rely on you personally to pay their electric bills and purchase gas for their cars to come to work and continue serving you.

How do you tell the difference? It's simple: ask if tips are accepted and/or customary. No one will look at you funny and most people are happy to help you learn how to tip appropriately for a job well done.

In case you're wondering, yes, there is a reason I'm explaining all of this.

I work part-time as a waitress and bartender at the Bayview Restaurant & Pub. It's listed as the #1 rated restaurant in Sitka by Google Maps. We do insane amounts of business and it's a great place to work. I've worked there on and off for 3 years and I look forward to my shifts every single day. I have awesome bosses, my coworkers are amazing, and it's always fun.

Today I had a party of 5 people sit at one of my tables. They were the very first customers of the day, stepping over the threshold seconds after the doors were opened. I brought them waters and menus. I took their drink orders. I asked if they wanted to order lunch, but they seemed reluctant to decide on a meal. I let them enjoy their drinks and conversation for a while so they could think about how hungry they were.

Meanwhile, I had a mini-crisis in the kitchen. The US played against Portugal in the World Cup, so the kitchen crew were planning a nachos special for lunch. However, they were low on certain ingredients and were waiting for the kitchen manager to bring in supplies. Being that we had just opened the doors, they were still in the process of setting up and prepping for their day. On top of this, it has been a record-breaking season for The Pub and we were out of several menu items altogether, due to the inability to plan for the large volumes of people we've been seeing. Also, Sitka is on an island. It's not as though we can just order a rush delivery and get it any time we want. Our shipments all come through Seattle, which is about 800 miles away.

Back at my table, I explained that we were out of certain things and low on others. I was polite and courteous and offered them all the help I was capable of. They decided they wanted to order the nacho special, despite the fact that I told them we were waiting for ingredients, but they said they were fine with waiting and they were in no hurry.

Eventually, the ingredients arrived, but as the cooks were prepping the nachos for plating, it was discovered that the steam tray that is used for things like seasoned ground beef and refried beans wasn't functioning. This meant more delays on the special.

I went back to the table and explained the problems, refilled their drinks, and asked if they'd like to order something else. They replied 'no,' that they'd just wait for the nachos to be made available. All this time, they gave me no indication they were upset about the situation and assured me that they were ok with waiting.

Five more minutes went by and I checked with the kitchen again. They still had not been able to get everything up and running and they were scurrying around cooking other orders, while simultaneously trying to fix the malfunction. They were doing their best, but nothing was working in their favor.

I made another trip to my table, explained that it was nobody's fault, but that I just wasn't comfortable with them waiting any longer for their food and that it would be taken off of their check. I apologised for the inconvenience and again offered to put in an order for anything else they wanted. They smiled and said it was ok. They said they'd finish their beers and eat later. They gave me no reason to presume I had faltered in any way in serving them, so I printed their check and presented it to them with a comment card, just as I would for any other table. I bussed their empty cups and dirty napkins and they gave me cash for their meal, for which I brought back change.

When I returned a few minutes later, I saw that the comment card had been filled completely, front and back. I also saw that the cash tip they were leaving was conspicuously hidden under the card, which is always a bad sign. I decided not to draw attention to any of this and instead explained what had happened to my manager.

He approached their table and asked if everything had been alright. They launched into a tale of how frustrating the entire ordeal had been and that they didn't understand why their experience had been so poor. They added that I had performed perfectly, kept them informed, never left them feeling abandoned, gave them options, etc. They also indicated as much on the comment card. So the manager thanked them, apologised, shook their hands, and brought the comment card up from their table as they filed out of the building.

This is what was left for me:

Their total ticket sale was $89.22, for which they tipped me $2.50.

Here's the problem with this...

• I pay income taxes based on my total ticket sales. I have to pay taxes on a minimum of 10% of my total ticket values (in addition to my hourly wages), REGARDLESS if I actually make that much. If I don't, I can pretty much count on getting audited.
• The service I provided was great (their words), but they penalized me for conditions beyond my control.

So to recap:

1. Order was taken, conditions were explained.
2. Service was provided.
3. Customers issued no complaint until after their bill was paid and I felt a manager should check on them.
4. I get to pay income tax on a tip they didn't leave, due to conditions that they both knew in advance and insisted were fine.

When you tip your food service staff, you're not tipping the restaurant or the cooks, you're tipping me based on my performance. It's my job to tip out the kitchen at the end of the day and even then, it's at my discretion to alter that amount based on how well they did their jobs. If there's a problem with your service, tell us. We want to know what you're thinking so we can make your experience better and fix any problems. It works out for everyone when you give us that ability.

So here's the question again: How do you treat your service professionals?