Review: plowshare

[nzwasp]

Came for Sunday brunch.

There were 12 of us and we thought the reason for our experience might of been a large group. We arrived at 11.30 and we got our food delivered to us about 1pm after ordering at 12pm. To those that ordered pancakes they were burnt. We subsequently asked for new ones. Several of us ordered steak and eggs as medium rare they all came out well done. One guy sent his back and told them he just wasn’t going to eat. The waitress took 15% off each bill for the problems but then charged us all a 18% gratuity.

[Tik-Tok]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

There were 12 of us ... but then charged us all a 18% gratuity.

Pretty standard for a large table of 8 or more. It would have been there regardless of the discount from bad food.

[ExtraSlow]

Am I the only guy who thinks that brunch is the worst meal of the day at every restaurant and also that service is always worse with groups?

Not saying you got acceptable food, service or response, but best case scenario wasn't that great.

[Tik-Tok]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

also that service is always worse with groups?

It totally is. Imagine trying to serve 12 people at the exact same time in your own house without someones food getting cold. Now think about serving 12 people who all want something different. It's a logistical improbability that everyone is going to be happy, hence the mandatory tip on large group tables.

[nzwasp]

In fairness to us 4 of the 12 were kids and they didn't have their own meals.

[01RedDX]

.

[jwslam]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

In fairness to us 4 of the 12 were kids and they didn't have their own meals.

So 1/3 of your group is not there to actually pay for a meal plus generally leaving a mess with food on the floor, while potentially being loud and obtrusive to other customers around them.

My generalized experience from serving at multiple restaurants:
-When parents bring kids and they clean up after themselves, they leave a generous tip.
-When parents bring kids who leave half a plate of food on the floor, expect a shitty tip if at all.

edit: I'm not trying to defend this restaurant's operation in any way, but the societal model is flawed that servers are paid minimum wage when they are the front face over a lot of variables such as understaffed kitchen, incorrectly prepared meals, and cook times. These minimum wage servers are also the ones who get the grunt of dissatisfied customers...

[bjstare]

Hm. Guess I'm in the minority here.

I'd be pissed if I was OP. Taking an hr to get an order out (even if it's for a large table) is too long, especially when its only breakfast dishes. Furthermore, I would be super unhappy if the food was prepared poorly. No freakin way would I be paying the 18% grat on that, or if I did, I'd be looking to get a large discount on the bill from the manager (more than 15% for sure).

IMO, the whole reason I go out to eat at a restaurant is so I can get decent service and good food. Delivering those two things are the sole reason restaurants exist. If they can't do that, why the fuck would they expect to be paid for a service they didn't deliver?

[Xtrema]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

In fairness to us 4 of the 12 were kids and they didn't have their own meals.

Now I wonder if the bad food is intentional.

[killramos]

+1 CJ

If food isn’t what you ordered that is way more than 50% off.

Those with over cooked steaks shouldn’t be paying at all.

Auto grats are also completely stupid, any other business offers discounts to get a large group of paying customers in the door. But at a restaurant you pay more...

That said I’m not one to complain to waitress about food or service. I just leave a shitty tip and never come back.

[Mitsu3000gt]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

Hm. Guess I'm in the minority here.

I'd be pissed if I was OP. Taking an hr to get an order out (even if it's for a large table) is too long, especially when its only breakfast dishes. Furthermore, I would be super unhappy if the food was prepared poorly. No freakin way would I be paying the 18% grat on that, or if I did, I'd be looking to get a large discount on the bill from the manager (more than 15% for sure).

IMO, the whole reason I go out to eat at a restaurant is so I can get decent service and good food. Delivering those two things are the sole reason restaurants exist. If they can't do that, why the fuck would they expect to be paid for a service they didn't deliver?

I agree with this. If you can't serve a table of 8 properly, what are you even doing in the restaurant business? Any decent restaurant has no problems at all with groups even larger than that. Especially with breakfast food which takes no more than 2-3 minutes to cook the typical dishes. If the food is cold or burnt, they should be remaking it - one of the main reasons you go to a restaurant is so you don't have to worry about this sort of thing.

Auto grat is also dumb, because it gives the establishment an insurance policy on the tip that they often no longer care about earning. I know it's a standard policy but I find most places stop caring when it's guaranteed, and a lot of servers don't tell you when there is auto grat hoping that you tip double.

[bjstare]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

+1 CJ

If food isn’t what you ordered that is way more than 50% off.

Those with over cooked steaks shouldn’t be paying at all.

Auto grats are also completely stupid, any other business offers discounts to get a large group of paying customers in the door. But at a restaurant you pay more...

That said I’m not one to complain to waitress about food or service. I just leave a shitty tip and never come back.

I tip quite well for good food and service, and I tip very poorly if I don't get both of those things. I won't hesitate to tell the waitress though, they deserve to know why they got stiffed, so they have a chance to fix it.

[Tik-Tok]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

Auto grat is also dumb, because it gives the establishment an insurance policy on the tip that they often no longer care about earning. I know it's a standard policy but I find most places stop caring when it's guaranteed.

As a former cook, I can tell you that the kitchen staff never give a shit about the tip (since they'll barely see any of it, if at all), so auto-grat makes no difference to the food itself.

[Mitsu3000gt]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

As a former cook, I can tell you that the kitchen staff never give a shit about the tip (since they'll barely see any of it, if at all), so auto-grat makes no difference to the food itself.

Depends on the restaurant, doesn't it? My understanding was it was up to the restaurant how the tips get spread around, rather than some sort of firm industry standard. But that does make sense, if the cooks didn't see any of the tips, I can see how they would be even less motivated.

[max_boost]

I only like dining in large groups when CCR is involved. Fun to see someone sweat it out lol

[jwslam]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

Auto grat is also dumb, because it gives the establishment an insurance policy on the tip that they often no longer care about earning

Agree, but in large groups there's good odds that one asshole says he paid his part when he actually didn't on the basis that everyone else paid enough. At the end, the bill comes out to barely over the original bill if there is any tip at all. This screws over the server who is making minimum wage to take the grunt of your group's dissatisfaction.

In addition, many restaurants operate on a tip-out basis where the server is responsible for paying out a percentage of sales to the kitchen. For example, at some higher end restaurant the tip out is 5%. So your group who had a bill of $400, the server is paying out $20 in tipout. Your group ends up with a total payment of $425 because of the guy I pointed out above and no auto-grat. This server now dedicated their time to serve your group for $5.

[Brent.ff]

brunt...bear the brunt..

[Tik-Tok]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

Depends on the restaurant, doesn't it? My understanding was it was up to the restaurant how the tips get spread around, rather than some sort of firm industry standard. But that does make sense, if the cooks didn't see any of the tips, I can see how they would be even less motivated.

This was over 15 years ago, and I only worked in 3 restaurants, but all 3 of them had a 5% tipout. So 8 breakfasts at $20 per person is about $1.50 tipout, split between however many backroom staff there are.

[Mitsu3000gt]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

Agree, but in large groups there's good odds that one asshole says he paid his part when he actually didn't on the basis that everyone else paid enough. At the end, the bill comes out to barely over the original bill if there is any tip at all. This screws over the server who is making minimum wage to take the grunt of your group's dissatisfaction.

In addition, many restaurants operate on a tip-out basis where the server is responsible for paying out a percentage of sales to the kitchen. For example, at some higher end restaurant the tip out is 5%. So your group who had a bill of $400, the server is paying out $20 in tipout. Your group ends up with a total payment of $425 because of the guy I pointed out above and no auto-grat. This server now dedicated their time to serve your group for $5.

Interesting, I have never been in a group where that has happened but I have no doubt there are some assholes out there. I can't imagine that is too common.

Isn't that just part of the job though? Win on most, lose on a few? Overall, I am sure that most people tip (and in Calgary, that is probably 15-20%), so dealing with the ones that don't are just part of being a server. Same as a car salesman who helps someone for 2hr who doesn't buy a car, or a salaried employee who has to work the odd weekend or overtime without extra pay. And if the service or food was crap, regardless of whose fault it is, the customer should not be obligated to leave a tip - if that is losing the server money, they should find a better restaurant to work at. By October, everyone will be making at least $15/hr as well which I would think is more than enough to cover the odd bad tipper (I think it is $13.XX right now which is still pretty good for unskilled labor). Waiting tables is one of the only jobs I can think of that has such a high expectation for tips on top of a reasonable base wage.

- - - Updated - - -

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

This was over 15 years ago, and I only worked in 3 restaurants, but all 3 of them had a 5% tipout. So 8 breakfasts at $20 per person is about $1.50 tipout, split between however many backroom staff there are.

So, basically zero? Haha yeah I can see how that would not be great. I guess you would know that going in though.

[nzwasp]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

So 1/3 of your group is not there to actually pay for a meal plus generally leaving a mess with food on the floor, while potentially being loud and obtrusive to other customers around them.

My generalized experience from serving at multiple restaurants:
-When parents bring kids and they clean up after themselves, they leave a generous tip.
-When parents bring kids who leave half a plate of food on the floor, expect a shitty tip if at all.

edit: I'm not trying to defend this restaurant's operation in any way, but the societal model is flawed that servers are paid minimum wage when they are the front face over a lot of variables such as understaffed kitchen, incorrectly prepared meals, and cook times. These minimum wage servers are also the ones who get the grunt of dissatisfied customers...

Pretty big generalization you are making! All of our kids are very well behaved and they just sit there quietly drawing on paper, If any food is spilt onto the ground or whatever we make it a point to clean that shit up, I hate the whole things with kids being loud and obnoxious or worse running around in the restaurant (its not a fucking playground), if one of my kids is crying and making a scene or whatever I always take her outside to calm down.

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

Hm. Guess I'm in the minority here.

I'd be pissed if I was OP. Taking an hr to get an order out (even if it's for a large table) is too long, especially when its only breakfast dishes. Furthermore, I would be super unhappy if the food was prepared poorly. No freakin way would I be paying the 18% grat on that, or if I did, I'd be looking to get a large discount on the bill from the manager (more than 15% for sure).

IMO, the whole reason I go out to eat at a restaurant is so I can get decent service and good food. Delivering those two things are the sole reason restaurants exist. If they can't do that, why the fuck would they expect to be paid for a service they didn't deliver?

About a month ago the same group of us with the same number of kids went to 'Calcutta Cricket Club' for brunch and they had no issue serving our entire table with nice hot perfectly cooked food quickly. I guess I expected more places to be like this.