I am a waitress. I have been for the past 6 years. I have worked in a somewhat upscale place for the past 4, and an inexpensive seafood place for 2. This is about 20 minutes outside Los Angeles. I am as liberal as they come, a big ole lefty. But after having literally thousands of interactions with a huge cross-section of people, unfortunately I can confirm all the stereotypes are true.
BASED ON MY OWN OBSERVATIONS, black people are very difficult to wait on. They are demanding. They like a lot of ranch dressing. They order $40 steaks well done and complain about the cooking time. They drink very sweet drinks, including wine. Every black woman I've waited on in my current restaurant who ordered wine, ordered a riesling.
At the seafood place, you would not believe the treatment I got from black folks. It was humiliating, and detailing it here would never be believed and would offend (even more) outrageously. Just think of every awful thing that could be done or said to those who serve and it happened to me by black folks. They fight each other. We had to call the cops every weekend for fights. Not only among the men! They walk out on checks. I had three black people give me REALLY BAD counterfeit money. The black people who patronized that place were on a lower economic scale than the place I'm at now. ("Um, $28 on this card, $16 on this card, and $23 on this card...will that cover it?")
No, this does not happen with patrons of other races. I've never had to call the cops for a fight amongst white folks, Asian folks.
Last night I had a single black lady in my section. I did more work for her than I did for any other ten people that night. Came in 10 minutes to close, wanted dinner AND dessert (even though kitchen closed at 11pm Sunday night) -- not just any dessert....a chocolate souffle. Kitchen staff had to stay late to make it, because she didn't want it arriving too early. When her food arrived, she sent me on literally ten trips to fetch things -- water, no, I need no ice. I need a lemon. I need chili pepper flakes. I would like the wine list. No, I will have a Bailey's coffee. At 10 minutes before the kitchen closed, I had 6 other tables who were getting neglected because this one lady couldn't give me her demands either 1.) prior to receiving her food, or 2.) all at once.
The tipping rates for these folks HAS gotten better. At the cheap seafood place, it was $5, no matter if the bill was $100 or $50. A lot of times, zero.
I consciously try to not give inferior service to black people when they come to my section. But if you had been bitten by dogs for 6 years, you would be afraid of dogs. Waiter behavior is based on customer behavior.
I actually think, though, that this is a cultural thing, not really a race thing. Urban black folks tip differently in their own culture.
There are two really great black ladies who come in my current restaurant maybe once every two weeks. They drink excellent wine, dress beautifully, and are the sweetest ladies on the planet. They tip great. They live in a predominantly white area...draw your own conclusions. My point is though, that if they were treated badly on their initial trip to my restaurant, they wouldn't have returned again and again. So even though black folks have "bitten" me in the past, we try to get over it and treat the next folks nicely even though the odds are greater that I will get the same treatment I've gotten from the vast majority of blacks in the past. MY past. THIS IS ALL MY OWN PERSONAL EXPERIENCE.
BASED ON MY OWN OBSERVATIONS, black people are very difficult to wait on. They are demanding. They like a lot of ranch dressing. They order $40 steaks well done and complain about the cooking time. They drink very sweet drinks, including wine. Every black woman I've waited on in my current restaurant who ordered wine, ordered a riesling.
At the seafood place, you would not believe the treatment I got from black folks. It was humiliating, and detailing it here would never be believed and would offend (even more) outrageously. Just think of every awful thing that could be done or said to those who serve and it happened to me by black folks. They fight each other. We had to call the cops every weekend for fights. Not only among the men! They walk out on checks. I had three black people give me REALLY BAD counterfeit money. The black people who patronized that place were on a lower economic scale than the place I'm at now. ("Um, $28 on this card, $16 on this card, and $23 on this card...will that cover it?")
No, this does not happen with patrons of other races. I've never had to call the cops for a fight amongst white folks, Asian folks.
Last night I had a single black lady in my section. I did more work for her than I did for any other ten people that night. Came in 10 minutes to close, wanted dinner AND dessert (even though kitchen closed at 11pm Sunday night) -- not just any dessert....a chocolate souffle. Kitchen staff had to stay late to make it, because she didn't want it arriving too early. When her food arrived, she sent me on literally ten trips to fetch things -- water, no, I need no ice. I need a lemon. I need chili pepper flakes. I would like the wine list. No, I will have a Bailey's coffee. At 10 minutes before the kitchen closed, I had 6 other tables who were getting neglected because this one lady couldn't give me her demands either 1.) prior to receiving her food, or 2.) all at once.
The tipping rates for these folks HAS gotten better. At the cheap seafood place, it was $5, no matter if the bill was $100 or $50. A lot of times, zero.
I consciously try to not give inferior service to black people when they come to my section. But if you had been bitten by dogs for 6 years, you would be afraid of dogs. Waiter behavior is based on customer behavior.
I actually think, though, that this is a cultural thing, not really a race thing. Urban black folks tip differently in their own culture.
There are two really great black ladies who come in my current restaurant maybe once every two weeks. They drink excellent wine, dress beautifully, and are the sweetest ladies on the planet. They tip great. They live in a predominantly white area...draw your own conclusions. My point is though, that if they were treated badly on their initial trip to my restaurant, they wouldn't have returned again and again. So even though black folks have "bitten" me in the past, we try to get over it and treat the next folks nicely even though the odds are greater that I will get the same treatment I've gotten from the vast majority of blacks in the past. MY past. THIS IS ALL MY OWN PERSONAL EXPERIENCE.