How did you get your job as a restaurant manager?

Conflict with how restaurant manager approaches customers about tipping.?

• To give a little bit of a background, I work for a higher-end sushi restaurant on a college campus (I say higher-end because it is one of the more "expensive" restaurants on campus). I work as a server there and one very negative reputation of the restaurant is how mean the manager is because she will question customers as to why they do not leave tips. It's pretty simple: she asks the servers to inform her if a table did not tip and then she goes to the customers as they are leaving to ask them why. Now some people may see this as extremely rude, and myself in a customer's point of view: I feel it would be an awkward situation. But let me explain exactly why she does this: One way she judges whether her servers are doing a good job or not is by their tip percentage. Using the program to put in food orders, everyone has their own special code and she make daily checks of orders sold versus your tip percentage. She expects a 20-25% for all of her servers or else there will be a very likely chance they will be fired (sad but true). The second reason why she questioned customers is because, traditionally when you give a good service at a restaurant, you are tipped. If the service is not to your standards or was just plain bad, not leaving a tip is a acknowledgement that you didn't enjoy your time at that restaurant. She just wants input from customers to find out what the problem is to prevent it for future customers. Now I know in some cultures, it's actually customary not to tip, regardless of service. And I also know the fact that this "high-end" restaurant on a college campus, full of broke college students, so it's understandable that they won't be huge tippers, but the question I have is: What is another way the owner would be able to get input from customers without approaching them directly after their meal? Is there anyone else here who may be in a similar situation? Or maybe other cooks/servers/managers of restaurant that have systems that may work for me to inform my manager?

• Answer:

  Have an anonymous survey online or leave cards at the table. i agree that it would be awkward to be asked that directly by the manager and poor business practice. to get more people to participate you could have a drawing of the cards like once a month for a gift certificate.