New job waiting tables -- any suggestions?

[live4themusic]

I just started working as a waiter for a posh but not too upscale restaurant. It's

my first job as a waiter, so I'm trying to determine what might help me garner more generous tips, while learning

the ropes of waiting tables at the same time (obviously I've been perusing resources for waiters as well -- I

definitely don't consider pheromones the panacea for all aspects of life)

I've already resolved not to wear LT

until I'm more acclimated to the job, because my first day wearing it (one spray, along with some other stuff I

can't remember) I worked for two hours, and the person training me spaced out and even dropped a plate (he's had

25 years experience as a waiter).

The second day, I wore about 4 drops of SPMO, a spray of Chikara, and maybe 2

dabs TEsandalwood (actually a light spray but I estimate it at two dabs), and about 1/6 of an SOE gelpack. My mood

at the beginning of my shift wasn't that great, but picked up maybe 3 hours after starting work. The person

training me was coughing a little bit and said he felt out of it and hot, but he attributed it to having been

drinking the night before (told me about how he was a heavy drinker now, maybe TMI brought on by the SOE?)

The

first table we waited that day was a party of 14 people aged 30-60, very dressed up, and in a jovial mood (at least

they seemed pretty animated every time we were at the table). To my dismay, I spilled a few drops of unsweet iced

tea on the back of one lady's white coat, while refilling her drink. She didn't notice, but I saw that several of

the other people at the table did, and there was an awkward moment where I went: "Um, maam, I'm really sorry, I

just got a few drops of tea on your coat." The woman sitting next to her, thinking quickly, took one of the napkins

and dabbed it up, so it wasn't really noticable. The woman said no problem, but I don't think pheromones really

played a role in this at all. The table's bill came up to about $250, and they left a $60-80 tip (don't remember

exactly).

The first table of the day that I did the introductions to (the guy training me was letting me practice

waiting on my own, instead of introducing himself and then me as he had to other tables), may have been a little

ticced off by my service, and left a $3.50 tip on $25 dollar order (it was an elderly couple, if that makes a

difference). The last table I waited on that day was a young couple (21, and 22) who were from out of town and were

enjoying a few drinks. I chatted with them a little bit (this was towards the end of my shift and my state had

improved since the beginning), and they seemed to enjoy the service I gave them (they understood I was new). After

about 2 hours, they left their $35 bill with a $17 tip (nearly 50%). The man training me (who was collecting on all

the tips as I'm in training and only making $5.15 for right now) said "That's a damn good tip!"

It's really

hard to tell if pheromones are playing any role in this as all as I have no prior experience as a waiter, but as

someone who messed up quite a few times today, and definitely didn't come across as an experienced waiter, it

seemed I did alright in tips. Do any of you with experience waiting tables know if this is normal? Also, if anyone

has any suggestions for mixes or products that would be great for increasing gratuities, I'd appreciate the tip

:)!

[jollysnowdevil]

your tips not only depend

on your service or skills as a waiter but mostly on your guests.

it's ups and downs. somedays you may make 15%

others torwards 30%.

figure your income on a weekly average. you'll save your sanity this way rather than

looking at a daily average.

as far as what to use..

SOE all the way. the soe will loosen you up and

your guests. a little extra -none does help as well but carefull not to overdue it. there is nothing worse than

being stuck with a table that is sensitive to -none. however it can be extremely fun if u get those beautiful ladies

in and drinking.

for now id recommend sticking to straight soe especially if you are new to mones. i say this as

you are new to waiting tables. learn the job first then pull out the arsenal and start playing around.

[live4themusic]

Thanks for the input, jsd.

I see you have serving experience, so this is really helpful to me. I agree I should try to learn the job before

messing with pheromones, but I swear it's like an addiction, so I've been using very light applications for the

time being.

I'm trying to get accustomed to the effects of SOE, because I hear it works so well for other

people, but as of right now it still spikes my anxiety levels. I'm guessing it's the -rone, because I haven't

noticed similar effects with SPMO (although I don't like the smell of that one). When I wear SOE, or AE, I've

noticed myself getting a kind of scratchy feeling in the throat (like when I have a throat infection coming on) and

it is very unpleasant. Other people have reacted well to me when wearing SOE. While it may make talking harder for

me, it seems I have to do less of it when wearing it. Obviously this won't do for when I'm at work though, and

have to converse with the patrons as part of my job.


As of right now my arsenal consists of:
-SOE

Gelpacks
-Chikara
-TE sandalwood
-NPA
-APC
-LT
-SPMO
-AE Gelpacks
-Perception Gelpacks

I also have:
-A

small sample bottle of Davidoff's Cool Water
-A small sample bottle of Guy Laroche's Drakkar Noir
-Access to

bottles of CK's Obsession Night and Burberry Touch
-1 Patchouli EO, and 2 Patchouli FOs, all of which I consider

to be of low to decent-at-best quality
-1 Sandalwood EO which I think is low-quality, but have nothing to compare

it against... it has very low odor impact
-1 Nag Champa FO which I consider very high-quality.
-1 "inspired by

Issey Miyake" Fragrance Oil (which smells pretty good, but I don't know how accurate it is)


In the near future

(next month or two) I should be adding:
-Higher quality EOs, including an Amber EO and a good Sandalwood

EO.
-Copulins products (probably EW, because I hear a little goes a long way)
-Xcite Wipes for Women because they

sound pretty good for girls closer to my age.
-A314 "mutant" (a bottle from a defective batch of A314 that is

missing 1 Pheromone which is not disclosed)
-Instant Shine
-MEO-EST
and several other experimental

'pheromones'

[bronzie]

some very expensive posh

resturants do not allow waiters and staff to wear any scent at all, so i would go for an unscented product if i were

you, you will inevitably come in contact with alot of patrons that are very fussy (the public is a nightmare to work

with, especially people who regard others as servents), some will not like your scent some will, so stay safe and

wear as little fragrance as you can, be polite, and keep an eye out for the girls!

[maxo-texas]

Currently, waiters on the

east and west coast are arguing for a fixed 20% on bill AND tax.

They cited studies showing that almost nothing

the waiter does changes the amount that people tip. The most significant effect on tipping was if the tipper was

trying to impress the other people they were with or not.

I'm not sure what would help.
Doesn't seem like you

would need more than just a little SOE.

[belgareth]

The study says that but some

people tip according to the service they get. I do and would be less likely to go to a resturaunt if there was a

mandatory tip. The people at the places I go regularly know me and know if I get good service I will tip very well,

sometimes more than 50% of the bill when the service is really good.

Give them a good attitude and service and

some people will tip you well. Mones wouldn't matter to me, at least not enough to affect the tip.

[bronzie]

I cant help but tip well, a cute

looking waitress that smiles can make your mood, I have a weakness for these young girls, I find I tip girls alot

better and more frequant than I do guys. In Australia tipping is not expected, since they pay ok to begin with, so I

tip with how good the service was, in Greece, tipping is not expected either, although, if you have tipped well

once, the service is extra good the next time you go to the same place, they do remember you.

I cant

understand the philosophy behind fixed tipping, tipping should be something you give for what you believe is another

persons merit. Tipping is expected in the US, I cant understand this either. So if you dont tip, that means the

service is lousy the next time you go to the same place?

[koolking1]

tipping is expected in the

USA as restaurants here can get away with paying them less than minimum wage, not sure if it's the same anywhere

else in the world. I always tip 20% unless the service is lousy and it's the waiter's fault, often it's more the

management/kitchen's fault though. I would definitely be wearing the mones if you can, it will help for sure.

There used to be places in NYC where waiters actually had to pay to work a shift there, the prices/tips were worth

the investment. Alas, some wealthy people, particularly women, got that wealth due to their stinginess, they'll

smile and shaft you at the same time. Good luck to you and am hoping here this is a job you are doing while going

to school for something better down the road.

[belgareth]

Tipping is supposed to be a

gratuity, meaning a gift to show gratitude for something, in this case it would be good service. I am not going to

give a tip to a surly person who screws up the order. I will give a tip to a pleasant person who honestly tries to

do the job well. I'm older, perhaps my attitude is different but a person's looks or gender rarely affects my

tipping.

[maxo-texas]

Person's age, sex makes no

difference.

Is my drink filled before it's empty without me having to ask?
Is the food delivered to my table

what I ordered?

I find it annoying when they want to be my friend- we even had one SIT DOWN at the table with

us.

Good service should be timely but inobtrusive.

I go to the same restaurants a lot and rarely see the same

waitstaff twice.

Tips are needed here because waiters make something like $2.50 vs minimum wage of $5.50 vs real

minimum pay of $7.00 these days. I.e. a server might get $2.50 while a server at McDonalds gets $7.00 (to start)

(even $10.00 in parts of California and New York).

Apparently, we really don't treat the higher price with the

tip as part of the cost of the meal- or restaurants and cheap customers are knowingly ripping off servers by

colluding to break the server labor cost out of the basic bill.

As far as mones, I don't think you want sexual

hits and you don't want to be perceived as a power figure. So -none would be bad.