www.solbjorg.com

Most of the talk this week around coffee at the Sister Bay Cafe has been about Oprah's comment that a 10% tip is OK in these hard economic times. Whoa. What a firestorm that opened up. Even the majority of our customers are shocked that she would come out with that statement. Unfortunately, Oprah has an incredible influence on her viewing audience, which normally is a good thing. Supporting schools in Africa and the U.S., charitable giving, encouraging reading with her book club - all positive efforts for which she has been and continues to be commended. However, to ask a service provider to cut their income by 30 to 50% so others who are eating out can continue to do so is a bit out of whack, don't you think?
And then there are those who point to Europe and say waitstaff should be paid through their salaries, not through tips. Waitstaff in Europe ARE paid in tips which are automatically added to your bill no matter what the service is like. Incentive is not a consideration. And if our waitstaff were paid strictly through their salaries, the cost of eating out would skyrocket, much higher than a meal plus tips cost.
Tipping is the American way. It is part of the cost of eating out. Bad service? Find out why. If it is your waitstaff, and not a backup in the kitchen which is out of the servers control , you have the freedom not to tip. But let them or the manager know so they can try to make it right.
We all have high expectations when we dine out at a full service restaurant. We at the Sister Bay Cafe hope to continue meeting those expectations - good food, good service, good prices.
We start on our weekend schedule by closing at 2 PM on Monday November 2. We will be open weekends in November on Saturdays and Sundays from 8 AM to 8 PM closed between 3 and 5 PM and on Mondays from 8 AM to 2 PM. If you are in Door County, we hope to see you there.