Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor:

   Being a TCC student and finding your paper a usually pleasant part of my day, I am forced to ask this question: Are all the writers on your staff from the same economic background?

   You thought it important enough to give two sides to the argument on the new emissions standards, but no one on your staff bothered to put into consideration the fact that most of us out there driving “old smokey” are not doing so by choice.

   I drive a quite out-dated car, and I keep it running to the best of my financial ability. That means I do without such things as heat and AC, and even a radio for that matter. If owning a new environmentally friendly car was an option for me, believe me, I’d take it!

   But, as all my resources are going toward school right now, I don’t really need someone telling me that my car should be pulled off the road. I did agree with some of the arguments on both sides, and this is a difficult situation with no resolve in sight. I just had a hard time swallowing the fact that none of your writers saw this new law as a hardship on the poorer folks and not an across-the-board issue.

   People with new cars are just upset that they will have to pay more for the inspection, us poor folks will be really upset when they force us to buy new cars.

   Thanks for your time.

Avid reader,

Cody Williams, NW Campus

Dear Editor:

   RE: Melissa Sanchez’s viewpoint (June 19), “Diners Should Give servers their just deserts”—yes, but for good service only, not because they have to tip.

   The word gratuity means free, meaning not obligatory. Therefore, the rest of your argument fails. A diner is not under contract to leave a good tip.

   I used to be a waitress, and I agree that diners should tip, but for good service. Of course, I used to see and hear about immature servers who would yell at their customers for leaving a bad tip, and perhaps even follow them out to the parking lot and throw a too small tip at the customers.

   When I dine out, I don’t penalize my servers for the food being slow coming out of the kitchen unless the server is insulting about getting the order wrong. If the food is awful, I just leave the restaurant after paying my bill and complaining to the management. Yes, that is a problem management should address. It is my problem, not the server’s, if I have simply ordered something I don’t like. I don’t penalize the server for this.

   A server should ask the management for help if he or she is too busy to give good service. Most of the time, a gratuity is already included in a large party’s bill, so don’t ignore the small parties where the tip is not included in the bill. Just because an order is slow coming out of the kitchen, the server does not have to hide in the kitchen for 15 minutes and not check on the rest of his or her tables.

   Every time I have left a too small or no tip, the server has given me bad service and good service to other tables in his or her station. I have not said or done anything rude to the server. This is curious; it must be possible for that server to give good service.

   If my drink is refilled promptly, I will forgive a lot of things, but I will never forgive a rude attitude. The manager should be aware of that problem.

   A server does a good amount of “side work,” such as refilling salt and pepper shakers, lugging ice, bussing tables, cleaning up dried gum, etc., but these tasks should be done when the server is not busy with customers.

   Of course, many people do not know how to figure out 15 or 20 percent of anything. The diner may think 15 percent is less than 10 percent, which of course it isn’t. This is the only thing these people need education on before the next time they dine at a restaurant.

   If you don’t like your job, perhaps you should get another job. I know this is not always easy, but you should check out other alternatives to obtain money for your education and living expenses. Talk to the financial aid office on your campus.

   Try performing your job with a good attitude. You may see an increase in your tips if you do so.

Jean Medley,
SE Campus