Ask The Salty Waitress: How much should I tip on hotel room service?
Dear Salty, I travel a lot for business and recently got assigned to a client in a podunk town with hardly any…
The Salty Waitress
Salty Waitress is The Takeout’s advice column from a real-life waitress that will teach you how not to behave like a garbage person while dining out—and maybe in real life.
Ask The Salty Waitress: I need an exemption from this restaurant’s cell-phone ban
Dear Salty, I’ve heard of more restaurants banning cell phones at their tables and in fact, a restaurant my wife and I…
Ask The Salty Waitress: When should I take my restaurant grievances to Yelp?
Dear Salty, I am not usually the type to post reviews on the internet, but I’m not sure I have any other choice in this…
Ask The Salty Waitress: Does the klutz who spilled red wine on my clothes owe me?
Hi Salty, please tell me what I should have done in this situation. I’ve been thinking about it since the incident…
Ask The Salty Waitress: I was wrongly accused at my town's best pizzeria
Hey Salty: Recently I took my children to a pizza parlor, one that I usually go to with coworkers on Fridays. Like many…
Ask The Salty Waitress: Should I tip differently in states where servers make minimum wage?
Hey Salty, I live in Oregon, where restaurant servers, by law, are paid minimum wage. In Oregon, minimum wage is $10.25…
Ask The Salty Waitress: Can I ask my customer whether her spouse died?
Dear Salty, I’m in a potentially sad situation. I’m a server at a restaurant where an elderly couple comes in for lunch…
The best of the worst questions from Ask The Salty Waitress (so far)
It warms my doughnut-clogged heart that you people like reading my column. Dishing up advice has been much cheaper than…
Ask The Salty Waitress: Why can't my dog sit just outside the restaurant patio?
Dear Salty: There’s a restaurant in my town that I’ve visited before and enjoy quite a bit. It’s in the downtown area,…
Ask the Salty Waitress: Do I really need to tip the full amount on an overpriced bottle of wine?
Dear Salty: Quick question. I’m generally a good tipper—almost always 18-20 percent automatic and can go up if good…
Ask The Salty Waitress: Should a server ever friend a customer on Facebook?
Dear Salty, I’m a waitress at a sports bar/grill in the Midwest. A few days ago, I was waiting on this guy, and we…
Ask The Salty Waitress: My manager wants me to upsell customers, but I feel gross doing it
Dear Salty Waitress: I’m a server at a mid-price, upscale casual restaurant, and I love my job. Recently, management…
Ask The Salty Waitress: My super annoying server is ruining a restaurant I like
Dear Salty: There’s a relatively new brewpub in our neighborhood, and my wife and I have gone several times. It’s a…
Ask The Salty Waitress: What can I do about these jerks at the table next to me?
Dear Salty: A real jerk ruined my birthday dinner last week, and now I’m wondering what I could have done to stop it.
Ask The Salty Waitress: How do I fix an awkward situation between grandma and the server?
Dear Salty: My wife and I recently visited my grandmother and decided to take her out to a local diner nearby. My…
Ask The Salty Waitress: What to do if the live band ruined dinner?
Dear Salty: This past weekend I was out with friends at a new-ish Japanese restaurant in town. I hadn’t read anything…
Ask The Salty Waitress: Is it wrong to fill my free water cup with soda water?
Dear Salty Waitress: For the past two years, I have been on a sparking water kick, mostly because it is just like…
Ask The Salty Waitress: How should I respond when people throw measly change in my tip jar?
Dear Salty: I work at a neighborhood grill (hot dogs, burgers) where customers walk up and order at the counter. A lot…
Ask The Salty Waitress: How do I keep my food from getting tossed while I’m in the bathroom?
Dear Salty Waitress: I enjoy eating by myself at restaurants with a book. Depending on portion sizes, often I’ll eat…
Ask The Salty Waitress: How can I get rid of lingering customers who hang out for hours?
Dear Salty Waitress: I have noticed two alarming trends in the restaurant in which I work. The first is people having…
