Hill topics
Gratuity Not Included
Some students who wait tables say customers don't leave their fair share.
Story by Mike Kennedy - - Special to the Kansan
Photo Illustration by Tyler Wirken
Photo Illustration by Tyler Wirken / KANSAN
Matt Shatzman, St. Louis Senior, tips the bartender at the Yacht Club, 530 Wisconsin St. Many KU students who work in bars and restaurants
Ten customers dressed in National Hot Rod Association T-shirts sit around a table at Old Chicago restaurant. One of them asks the waiter for a drink refill, and the waiter responds politely with a question of his own.
"Can I get anyone else anything?" asks Chris Morales, Aurora, Ill., junior and the waiter at Old Chicago, 2329 Iowa St. They all decline.
When Morales returns with the soft drink, another man at the table asks for a refill.
"Can I get anyone else anything?" he asks once again, but again all shake their heads no.
The process repeats itself all night.
Morales receives about a 2 percent tip for the constant service.
Morales, like many other KU students, waits tables in Lawrence to pay for his housing, utility and tuition bills. If customers do not tip adequately, restaurant employees cannot always pay their own bills, even if they work all the time. Morales said.
"Just last week, I had to have my roommate shot me," he said.
Cindy Leikam, a waitress at Carlos O'Kelly's, 707 W. 23rd St., said that she usually could pay her bills because she worked so much, but many times a bad tipper meant she had to do without some necessities.
agree that Lawrence patrons are not always good tippers. That can creat problems for those who rely on tip money to pay for necessities like rent.
"Right now, my car needs work, but I can't afford to fix it," Leikam said. "It's still drivable, but the clutch is about to go out. The brakes need work, and I'm missing a headlight."
John Drysdale, program facilitator of hospitality management at Johnson County Community College, said that most restaurants paid servers the minimum wage for tipped employees, which is just $2.13 per hour. The remainder of a server's income must come from gratuities, he said.
waited on.
Greg Andrews, Independence, Mo., senior, who works at Barbwire's Steak House, 2412 Iowa St., said that he expected a 15 percent tip from everyone he
Other servers in Lawrence agreed that a 15 percent tip should be given for adequate service and 20 percent should be given to servers who go beyond the customers' exactations.
In larger cities, restaurant staffs expect larger tips. Morales said that if servers in Chicago did not receive 20 percent of the bill, it meant they did a poor job.
Many customers do not realize that servers make pittance without tips and only keep a portion of their tips.
Lawrence servers pay as much as 3 percent of their total sales to bartenders and buskers, no matter how generous of a tip the customer leaves. Tips are viewed as another form of income in the United States, so the Internal Revenue Service takes its share
as well.
Todd Izzo, service manager at Applebee's Neighborhood Grill and Bar, 2520 Iowa St., said that servers must be honest in their claims.
"Legally, tipped employees are required to declare 100 percent of their tips," he said. "Because it would be impossible to check everyone, the IRS expects servers to make 8 to 10 percent of their sales."
Izzo also said that most restaurants checked servers' records at the end of each week to determine if employees were correctly declaring their tips. Managers sometimes change the declared tips to the expected amount if it seems inaccurate, he said.
In some places, tipping is not a widely accented custom.
Bill Pitt, Thirraul, Australia.
sophomore, said that service was much different in his country.
Australian servers are paid a higher hourly wage and usually stop at a customer's table only four times: to get drink orders, to bring the drinks and take food orders, to deliver the food and to present the check. Pitt said.
"I think in Australia, there's a sense of interruption and being fussed over if the waiters do any more than that," Pitt said. "Here, I think that's expected, and to leave a tip is culturally expected. If you don't leave one here, it's considered extremely rude, whereas in Australia, a tip is given for exceptional service."
But Pitt said that the down side to Australian traditions was that servers rarely visit the tables. He often got up to locate his server if he needed something.
Drysdale said that good servers wanted more than the prospect of getting a large tip.
"For a conscientious wait person, it would improve the service," he said. "If the person has the right attitude, though, they just want to do a good job and make the guest comfortable. If they do that, they usually get good tips anyway."
Drysdale added that the number of great servers would probably decrease if tips were ever eliminated.
"It's like department stores where they're on a straight salary and not on commission," Drydale said. "Sometimes you get the service you want, and other times you're a bother to them and an interruption of their phone conversation. I think there would be a mixed bag of good and bad
wait people if tips were abolished."
Steph Turner, server at Quinton's Bar and Deli, 615 Massachusetts St., said that many Lawrence customers do not tip well.
"Some customer gave me a 10 cent tip today, and I just gave it right back to them," Turner said.
Turner admitted that there are some good tippers in Lawrence.
"You remember people who tip you well, and you give them good service the next time they come in," she said.
"There are people that drop you a great tip, and you'll remember them, and you'll see them on the street and say, 'Hi,' because you remember and appreciate that tin." she said.
Tony Philips, Lawrence graduate student and server at Teller's, said that it was a misconception that students were terrible tippers.
"They're just as good as any other customers," he said. "I mean, I don't groan when I see them come in."
In fact, John Gerner, Shawnee senior and server at Free State Brewery, 636 Massachusetts St., said that students were sometimes better tippers.
"One night, I had a table of about 10 sorority girls, who ended up giving me a $100 tip," he said. "They were a fun table, too. While I was waiting on them, they even sung me songs."
But Gerner has had a few bad tips as well.
"These three people sat in my section for six hours," he said. "Then they left without paying their bill."
Some servers at area businesses must cover any bill left unpaid.
Because of the customs in the United States, many servers, such as Oliver, are hoping to receive a tip large enough to pay a few bills.
"Don't go out to eat if you don't have enough to tip 15 percent," she said." Take your money to Dillons and get some Ramen noodles."
Hill Topics: By, for and about KU
Not much has changed on campus since finals — Budig Hall is still under
construction, the weather in the Midwest is still lousy, and Kansas basketball is still No.1.
But each semester, the staff at The University Daily Kansan changes, and I now find myself in a position of power as the new features editor. This may scare those of you who know me, but for those who ... never mind.
FEATURES EDITOR
Now that I'm tired of tickling my Elmo, I have to get to work. I plan to institute a few subtle
Dave Breitenstein
Well, I'm not sure how it will turn out, but you'll see the answer in the next few months. The features page, titled Hill Topics, is on the back page of every Monday, Wednesday and Friday issue of the Kansan. Many of the stories will be of a lighthearted nature. Examples from last semester include the history of Pez dispensers and tongue-piercing, but stories of a serious nature, such as health and administration issues, also graced the page.
changes of my own this semester,
which I hope will improve the features page.
The first question you may ask is:
"What is a features page?"
Most of the stories will be written by staff writers and myself, but I also would love it if KU students and faculty submitted story ideas. The Kansan always is looking for journalism students to submit class work, and I'd like
- Music reviews - My goal is to publish a wider variety of music reviews, and I'll be able to do that if students help me. If you bought a new CD that we haven't reviewed, contact me and I'll try to publish your review in a small portion devoted to guest submissions.
to publish some of it in Hill Topics.
I have outlined several items that I would like to improve upon this semester.
- Nightlife — If you know of a significant event or band coming to Lawrence, tell the Kansan about it because we want to let students know what's happening. You can send information to us at 111 Stauffer-Flint Hall, through e-mail or by phone at 864-4810.
- News of the Weird—The Kansan receives this information from a national service every few weeks, but
we all know that a lot of weird stuff happens in Lawrence. If you know a true story about someone or something that would make readers wail, call the Kansan. I'll try to start a local weird news section. I don't want to ignore the freak happenings of Lawrence.
- Communication—On the top of every Kansan, it says "The student newspaper of the University of Kansas," so we tend to focus most on students. The features page can be only as creative and interesting as students want it, and I plan to use the full extent of my power to give students what they want on the features page — except nude photographs and coupons for free alcohol. (Note: K-State bashing might be acceptable.)
E-mail Dave Breitenstein at: dbreiten@kansan.com