I've worked in restaurants for six years, paying my way through college, and recently relocated to the Tulsa area. I'd like to share some observations of Tulsa patrons.

Sundays are the worst days to work. Church crowds (by and large) don't tip accordingly.

Restaurants in America employ servers at about $2.13 an hour. After taxes on credit card tips are taken out, the wages go down to about a penny to 50 cents per hour. I've seen paychecks for $0 for 70 working hours. We are basically volunteering to wait on you, in hopes that your gratitude will be sufficient to pay our bills.

There is a practice known as "tipping out." It is what servers give to the busser, hostesses and bartenders — usually 3 percent of our sales. On a 10 percent tip, the server retains 7 percent; if you don't tip, the money comes out of your server's pocket.

It is uncouth to arrive 15 minutes before a restaurant closes and stay past closing time.

Teenagers, stop texting while dining with your parents. Same goes for those who carry on conversations on their cell phones. Be cordial to your fellow diners.

Sorry to gripe, but sometimes, it must be done.