Jump to content
This site uses cookies. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. More Info... ×
  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.




  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):



    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):


  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Tipping The Waitstaff...


Guest laughs8

When at a restaurant, if the server is familiar with celiac/gluten, do you tend to tip more? Also, do you tend to return more often?  

16 members have voted

You do not have permission to vote in this poll, or see the poll results. Please sign in or register to vote in this poll.

Recommended Posts

Guest laughs8

Hi there!

I'm trying to figure out if there's feasible part-time work in restaurant-education. I'm at school in Pittsburgh, where just about no-one knows what celiac means, and was thinking that I could approach various restaurants and offer to train their waitstaff to be sensitive to gluten intolerances for some sort of fee. I'd like to go in armed with statistics saying that the increased business would be worth their money, and this seems like the best place to get said stats.

As a further question--when a waiter/waitress is especially slow at grasping what you can't eat, does that affect your tip/liklihood of return?

Thanks!


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



jknnej Collaborator

Absoluuuutely.

PF Chang's in Scottsdale, AZ has a celiac manager and supposedly her staff is great. I've been there twice; the first time I had a great experience.

This past Tuesday I went again and had a terrible waiter. I think I ingested gluten because I wasn't feeling right. Tonight I had some of the leftovers and felt sick again. I have now lost my confidence in this restaurant and probably won't go back. It really sucks not to have a good place to eat where you can be confident your food isn't contaminated. A waiter that is knowledgeable instills confidence in me.

VegasCeliacBuckeye Collaborator

If you live in Pittsburgh - go to Mitchells Fish Market.

The guy who owns the place is named Cameron Mitchell -- 1/2 the menu is gluten-free (I used to work there).

You can get almost any fish prepared how you like (grilled, steamed, sauteed)

The Mashed Potatoes are awesome -- good spinach/vegetables also. House salad (no crotons) with house dressing is gluten-free.

www.cameronmitchell.com

Enjoy...

Guest Viola

Hello;

You should let them know that if a group of people plan to go out for a meal, and one person out of that group is a Celiac, it's the Celiac who picks the restaurant. If all of that group gets good service and good food, they are quite likely to return with family and friends. When our club (from 10 to 25 members) plan to have a "dining meeting" the executive asks me where it would be safe to go. That can add up to big business for the restaurant.

And yes ... we tip extra for special care for a safe meal.

Guest laughs8

I'm so glad people are responding to this! Thanks so much for the input so far, it's all been very helpful! Also, bronco, thank you for the tip on Mitchell's, I'll be sure to check it out soon! (Apologies for all those exclamation points, I guess I'm just in a good mood :D)

celiac3270 Collaborator

Yes--maybe print this post, too, so they can see that celiacs really do appreciate it. The statistics are very powerful, as well. Finally, they should advertise the fact that they're gluten-free--that's how to really capitalize on celiac business. I don't walk into random restaurants to ask if they have a gluten-free menu or are trained, but if I have heard about a gluten-free menu, I am very likely to visit.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):



  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      131,175
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    Lizzy W
    Newest Member
    Lizzy W
    Joined

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):


  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.4k
    • Total Posts
      1m

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):





  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):



  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Jane878
      By the time I was 5 I had my first auto0immune disorder, Migraine headaches, with auras to blind me, and vomiting, sensitivity to light and sound. I was 5 years old, and my stepfather would have pizza night, milling his own flour, making thick cheesy gluten pizza, that I would eat and the next day, I would have serious migraines, and my mother & stepfather did nothing about my medical problems. When I was 17 in my first year at college, I was diagnosed with my 2nd known auto-immune disorder, Meniere's disease. I was a elite athlete, a swimmer, and soccer player. And once again my parents didn't think anything of understanding why I had a disorder only older people get. Now after my mother passed from Alzheimer's disease she also suffered with living with gluten. She had a rash for 30 years that nobody could diagnose. She was itchy for 45 years total. My brother had a encapsulated virus explodes in his spleen and when this happened his entire intestines were covered with adhesions, scar tissue and he almost lost his life. He has 5 daughters, and when I finally was diagnosed after being pregnant and my body went into a cytokine storm, I lost my chance to have children, I ended up having Hashimoto's disease, Degenerative Disc disease, and my body started to shut down during my first trimester. I am 6ft tall and got down to 119lbs. My husband and I went to a special immunologist in Terrace, California. They took 17 vials of blood as we flew there for a day and returned home that evening. In 3 weeks, we had the answer, I have Celiac disease. Once this was known, only my father and husband made efforts to change their way of feeding me. At the family cabin, my stepfather & mother were more worried that I would ruin Thanksgiving Dinner. It wasn't until one of my cousins was diagnosed with Celiac disease. They finally looked into getting Gluten Free flour and taking measures to limit "gluten" in meals. He did nothing but ask for me to pay for my own food and wi-fi when I came to the cabin to stay after our house burned down. When he informed my mother, they proceeding to get into a physical fight and she ended up with a black eye. The is just more trauma for me. Sam had no interest in telling the truth about what he wanted. He lied to my mother that he had asked my husband if I could pay for "food" when he asked Geoffrey if I had money to pay for my wi-fi. My mother hates when he spends so much time on the computer so he lied and said I could pay for my own food. I will remind you I weighed 119lbs at this time. (At 6ft) that is a very sick looking person. Neither parent was worried about my weight, they just fought about how cheap my stepfather was. As my mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2014. He had her sign over the will to a trust and added his children. He had no testimonial capacity at the time, so she signed without proper papers. Making this Trust null and void. When I gave my brother my childhood home, my mother stated I would be getting an equal part of inheritance to the house on Race. It currently worth 2.0 million $. I got nothing, and my stepfather has since disowned me b/c of my claim and he knows that my mother would never have left it uneven between my biological brother and myself. She sat me and my husband down, as we lived at the Race Street house and treated and took care of it as our own. My brother took over b/c he was going through a horrific divorce and needed a home so he could get a better custody deal with his soon to be ex-wife who was a Assist DA for Denver. She used the girls against him, and he & I were the primary caregivers. We, Judd and I spent the most time with them pre the divorce. Once Judd moved into the house, he threw all of my mother, grandmother and my family heirlooms out to the Goodwill. Nobody told my mother about this as she was going through cancer treatment and had Alzheimer's disease in her mother and her sister. My stepfather and biological brother took advantage of this matter, as I called a "family council" that my brother just never could make it to at the last moment. All of the furnishing, kitchen ware, everything was in the house my brother just moved into. He had had 2 weddings, I chose to elope b/c my stepfather ruined my brother's first wedding by talking about his relationship with my brother in front of my dad and his entire family, insulting him and having my grandfather leave the ceremony. It was a disaster. My stepfather just plays dumb and blames my father for the slight. I was the only child not to have a wedding. So, my mother and stepfather never had to pay for a thing. My mother had had an agreement with my father he'd pay for college and all medical issues with their kids, myself and Judd. So truly my mother never had to pay for anything big for me in her entire life. I am looking for anyone that has had a similar story, where they grew up in a household that had a baker that regularly milled flour and ate gluten. What happened to you? DId you suffer from different auto-immune diseases b/c of living with a baker using "gluten" Please let me know. I have been looking into legal ways to get my stepfather to give me what my mother had promised, and he erased. Thank you for listening to my story. Jane Donnelly  
    • trents
      Possibly gluten withdrawal. Lot's of info on the internet about it. Somewhat controversial but apparently gluten plugs into the same neuro sensors as opiates do and some people get a similar type withdrawal as they do when quitting opiates. Another issue is that gluten-free facsimile flours are not fortified with vitamins and minerals as is wheat flour (in the U.S. at least) so when the switch is made to gluten-free facsimile foods, especially if a lot of processed gluten-free foods are being used as substitutes, vitamin and mineral deficiencies can result. There is also the possibility that she has picked up a virus or some but that is totally unrelated to going gluten-free.
    • Sheila mellors
      I asked about the new fruit and nut one and the Dietician said yes I could eat it safely. Hooe this helps
    • Heatherisle
      Daughter has started gluten free diet this week as per gastroenterologists suggestion. However says she feels more tired and like she’s been hit by a train. I suggested it could be the change to gluten free or just stress from the endoscopy last week catching up with her. Just wondering if feeling more tired is a normal reaction at this stage. I suppose it’s possible some gluten might have been present without realising. Have tried to reassure her it’s not going to resolve symptoms overnight
    • DAR girl
      Looking for help sourcing gluten-free products that do not contain potato or corn derived ingredients. I have other autoimmune conditions (Psoriatic Arthritis and Sjogrens) so I’m looking for prepared foods as I have fatigue and cannot devote a lot of time to baking my own treats. 
×
×
  • Create New...