Talk:Waiting staff

message: Adopted orphan redirects for searching: Waitress 
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I've rewritten this completely, because I think that this is because of some confusion, ie. waiters' mathematics, from linking from Infinite Improbability Drive. Dysprosia 09:05, 2 Sep 2003 (UTC)
replies: text: It was poorly constructed, and it's appropriately gone, but it's entirely accurate. I can attest to  as one example. VermillionBird 22:08, 8 November 2005 (UTC)

text: For the same reason American's think the French are rude just because they don't SMILE NON-STOP FOR NO REAL REASON :-D. Different cultures have different viewpoints. Bihal 04:53, 21 August 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Untitled

message: I don't know where the author got their impression that it is not customary to tip in Australia.
As someone working as a waiter I can vouch for the fact that the majority of customers tip. 
It is more a case of tipping being the norm and not tipping being an accepted rebuke from a customer
who may think that the service was not up to scratch. Not recieving a tip is an insult to a waiter's 
standards of service in Australia - but it would be very rare for an Austalian waiter to demand to 
know a customer's reasons for not tipping.
Tipping, whilst appreciated, is not usually expected by taxi drivers or bartenders in Australia,
although at high-end bars you sometimes recieve your change on a plate.
Not every eatery expects tips, you don't tip at McDonalds for instance. Although a good rule of thumb 
is that if a restaurant is formal enough to issue your bill to you at your table instead of you having 
to go to a counter to pay directly, then a tip of around 10% is customary for solid, if unremarkable, 
service. (If the majority of people pay at their tables, anticipating the bill and paying at the 
counter does not mitigate the expectancy of a tip).
Lofnazareth 19:28, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: A 2005 Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) article on tipping said that in Australia and New Zealand, "Tips are not expected but are appreciated, especially in the 10 per cent range." That sounds a bit different than your view, but not outright contradictory.  The Wikipedia article on tipping, which cites no sources in this regard and I presume is wrong/obsolete, says tipping is "very rare" in Australia, and "frowned upon" in New Zealand. I think this article should mention that tipping customs vary greatly, maybe provide some typical range and the more extreme ends (e.g. illegal in parts of China, expected before service in Russia, according to SMH), but defer the country-by-country details to the tip article. -Agyle 20:06, 17 September 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Australian tipping 

message: The current 2008-01-06T17:18:37 version uses terms inconsistently as shown below:
:- Waiting staff can also be employed in (mainly large) private households, but there such specialisation is rarer with the general domestic staff performing the function of waiting staff.
:- Many waiters and waitresses are required by their employers to wear a uniform.
:- In the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, most other Western countries and the Middle East, it is customary for customers to pay tip to a server after a meal.
:- Also called a gratuity, a "service charge" will be automatically applied, e.g. for large tables, parties of 4 or more, or other situations where the restaurant management imposes this to ensure that the waitstaff working in such situations earn their usual tip income.
Could you unify them?  I prefer server because it's gender-neutral and not collective like waiting staff or waitstaff, but I don't know whether the term is used outside of the U.S. - TAKASUGI Shinji (talk) 03:17, 11 January 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: I have unified them using server, although the current article name is waiting staff.  The latter doesn't fit well in the sentence "it is customary for customers to pay tip to a server after a meal."  Please use another term if you don't like it.  - TAKASUGI Shinji (talk) 04:28, 18 January 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Unification of the term 

message: "Some people prefer to use newspeak, using waiter indiscriminately for males and females..."
If it really is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newspeak that is intended, please make it a link.
In the (far more probable) case the term is merely used instead of "Some people prefer to be politically correct, using waiter..." then rewrite the section to avoid using an unintended word.
85.227.226.235 (talk) 14:56, 26 January 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: I have reverted it to gender-neutral language. - TAKASUGI Shinji (talk) 16:18, 27 January 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: Excellent!85.227.226.235 (talk) 17:11, 28 January 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  newspeak 

message: "The Tax Free Tips Act of 2007 would exempt tips from federal income and payroll taxes."
I think this sentence refers to America, but the sentence is unclear. Does anyone have a citation for this, and what it applies to? Lord of Light (talk) 15:40, 18 February 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: When that text was added it had a bit more context , but was cut down to the current form due to the the language used.  Given that it seems to refer to an unpassed bill (that may never get passed) and is not really relevant to the surrounding content, I've removed the text. --James (talk) 12:14, 1 August 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Sentence is unclear 

message: I live in the United Kingdom, I do not tip regularly, nor does anyone I know
I do not believe tipping is customary
94.2.150.254 (talk) 19:16, 8 November 2012 (UTC)
replies: text: Perhaps it is a campaign by British waiting staff to encourage unwitting Wikipedia readers to start leaving them money? Phytism (talk) 02:12, 18 February 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  Tipping in the UK? 

message: One of Wikipedia's basic policies is not to use words that are unfamilar like "server" instead of the most common terms like "waiter" or "waitress". Changing the caption of a waitress at Wolfies in Miami Beach in 1973 to call her a "server" is carrying gender-neutrality efforts too far. She was never known as a "server". If we don't want rare older photos, nor language that makes sense with them, we should remove the images, not make the captions look ridiculous. We cannot change history. --SergeWoodzing (talk) 10:33, 13 May 2019 (UTC)
replies: text: I agree that "server" is inappropriate for a waitress in 1973. However, "server" is very common in 2020 in the US and to a lesser extent in the UK. --Macrakis (talk) 19:10, 28 September 2020 (UTC)
thread_title: Going overboard gender-neutral term "server"

message: https://smallbusiness.chron.com/upselling-techniques-restaurants-20154.html
Also Wikipedia has a definition of upselling.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upselling
Upselling is a technique but it is also a duty required by employers to sell their products.  Just as polishing silverware and mixing cocktails are techniques applied as duties or requirements to work as a part of a waitstaff.
(“  servers have a good knowledge of the wine list and can recommend food–wine pairings.”
This is a technique to pair wines and it is also a duty.)
Selling is also a duty required by owners to sell their business and that duty goes to (guess who) the wait staff. 
Other sources perhaps not accepted but nonetheless relevant
https://www.thebalancesmb.com/the-basics-of-up-selling-menu-items-2888423
https://yourbusiness.azcentral.com/suggestive-selling-techniques-restaurants-7157.html Winchester Butterbean (talk) 03:57, 3 April 2021 (UTC)
thread_title:  Hello, One of the clear duties of a waitstaff is upselling the employers products.  I attempted to prove this with 2 articles plus Wikipedia’s own inclusion of information about upselling and what it entails.  I found a source but it was not accepted... 

message: I don’t understand why upselling cannot be added as a duty when it is clear that this is what an employer requires of her waitstaff...
To sell the product and have returned. Customers.. selling and upselling are duties Winchester Butterbean (talk) 04:01, 3 April 2021 (UTC)
replies: text: Can you provide reliable sources that show that this is considered a general duty of waitstaff, as opposed to just a sales technique that some restaurants use? Sure, some waitstaff may be expected to do this, but why should this be in the article? In my misspent youth I once had a meal in a somewhat sleazy establishment where the servers took turns getting up on stage and stripping. It was part of the waitstaffs' job there, but I certainly wouldn't add it to the article as a description of servers' duties. Or, for a less extreme but current example, how about establishments such as Hooters where servers are expected to wear tight, revealing clothing to titillate the customers? Again, part of the expected duties there, but not a general duty. Meters (talk) 05:53, 3 April 2021 (UTC)
thread_title:  Upselling 

message: I've worked off and on in hotels & restaurants since 1966, for long periods in Florida, Los Angeles & NYC. Never heard that word, not once. Is it really mainstream enough for it's prominent & bolded positioning at the top of this article? SergeWoodzing (talk) 20:02, 3 July 2023 (UTC)
thread_title:  "Waitstaff?"