posted
My mother worked as a waitress from before I was born until well after I left home. She was a single mother, and I was literally raised on tips. Her paycheck every week was in the neighborhood of $60-$100, but she brought in $40-$50 every shift, usually in change. She would come home and dump out her apron pockets and my brother and I would stack up and roll them for her. She didn't have a bank account, so we would use the rolled coins to pay bills (we could pay our utility and phone bills at the hardware store near our home) and to buy groceries or eat at McDonalds or Taco Bell. I found it very humiliating at the time, but have fond-ish memories of it now.
I tip pretty generously at restaurants, but even more so for personal services such as haircuts and pedicures. I'm not sure why that is? Perhaps because I would (and do) willingly prepare and serve food for others, but wouldn't be as likely to rub and pamper someone's feet? It's been a few years since I had a professional pedicure, mostly for financial reasons, so it hasn't been an issue, but I just had my hair cut last night and I tipped the stylist >20%.
Posts: 2069 | Registered: May 2001
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quote:Recently however, I've noticed that often the tip is not charged (I never took notice if this had been the case before - I've only begun tracking my money with a fine tooth comb in the year since we had our daughter). This has bothered me. Are those waiters being stiffed the tip I tried to leave?
Are you sure it isn't charged? I've noticed that the "pending" charge is sans tip, but when it finally goes through, it includes the tip.
Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
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quote:Originally posted by Seatarsprayan: The tipping system sorta has a good point about being able to punish/reward service without having to ask to see the manager and get all confrontational.
Actually, if you got such poor service, getting a manager is a good thing. It can correct whatever was being done wrong, either through the faulty person being fired, or the person becoming a better server by way of discipline. Now, there are some points of bad service that don't require asking for a manager, and there are instances where the customer might have unreasonably high standards, but if it takes half an hour for you to get your drinks, that's a bad server.
Posts: 368 | Registered: Aug 2007
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I hope not. I'd feel bad. I tend to be more generous with my tip when I leave it on the card. I hope they're getting it. I realize that cash is easier to slip below the tax radar. I'm not trying to enforce honesty--merely taking advantage of a convenience.
Edit: Oh yes, I forgot my haircutter. I tip her.
Posts: 5957 | Registered: Oct 2001
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Kat's right. The meal is charged right before you leave, and that's an instant charge, but a server has to add in the tip separately, and the tip only goes through the system once the server is cleared out of the system for the day. The server also has to hand in the slip with your signature on it before you're ever charged for it, so if your tip has never shown up, the server lost your slip.
Posts: 368 | Registered: Aug 2007
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posted
I have a hard time thinking it isn't going through - I would think a system where no one got tip when customer pays with a credit card could not possibly be sustainable.
Any servers want to shed some light? ETA: Thanks, Emp. I think we were writing at the same time.
Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
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quote:Originally posted by katharina: Are you sure it isn't charged? I've noticed that the "pending" charge is sans tip, but when it finally goes through, it includes the tip.
I'm sure. Twice in the last three times we've eaten out the tip was never charged. I'd have to go back through my statements, but I'm fairly sure it's happened before that as well.
Posts: 382 | Registered: Jan 2008
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quote:Originally posted by EmpSquared: The server also has to hand in the slip with your signature on it before you're ever charged for it, so if your tip has never shown up, the server lost your slip.
I suppose this could be possible. We live in Vegas where many of the restaurants can get extremely busy... I guess the slips could have been lost.
Maybe I should carry cash for tips if I know we'll be eating out, because while I've never worked in a restaurant, I have a few friends who have and I've heard my share of lousy/no tip stories.
Posts: 382 | Registered: Jan 2008
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quote:Originally posted by Noemon: When I was in early college I worked at a place that would be considered fast food, but at which servers brought food out to the customer, refilled drinks, bus tables, and whathaveyou. I did a little bit of everything there, including this halfway-waiting thing. Mostly we didn't get tips (and we were paid more than minimum wage; there was no expectation of tips) but occasionally someone would leave one, which was a nice surprise. Once I got a slip of paper that said "Don't eat yellow snow".
I didn't usually leave tips at those kinds of places when I was single/newly married. But now that I have kids, I do, because the table we sat at is usually out of commission for 5-10 minutes while they clean up the spots where my kids ate...
Also, from what I understand, here restaurants are required to pay at least minimum wage, before tips. Now, minimum wage is still not a living wage, but at least they're not expecting people to only get to minimum WITH tips.
And I was poor as a teen but I still tipped at least 15%. I was always taught "If you can't afford the bill plus the tip, you can't afford the meal."
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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We usually tip 20% if the service is decent. Since we're usually eating with a child (although she's usually well behaved at restaurants), and children often need special considerations and possibly some extra clean-up, we figure it's only fair.
I also tend to tip 20% when I'm eating alone if the service is competent (checks to see if I need something a few times, refills my drink, brings the bill in a timely but not pushy manner, etc.) I figure servers recognize that a person eating alone isn't going to be as profitable as a larger table, so I appreciate them treating me well as a courtesy and seek to reward it.
The staff at a local breakfast place actually helped free my car when I got stuck in the snow near their restaurant... I think I tipped the entire cost of the meal.
Service has to be pretty atrocious and/or rude for us to tip less than 15%.
I try to leave tip in cash when it's feasible. It's my understanding that in many places restaurant servers are taxed with the expectation of 15% tipping, which doesn't necessarily actually happen... So I leave my 20% in cash and just write "cash" on the credit card receipt in the tip line. Let the bean-counters guess.
Generally, my sentiment is- yes, it would be better for everyone if all restaurant workers were paid a living wage so we could develop a professional class and standard of servers and allow their employers, not their customers, to be the judge of the quality of their work. But if tipping really offends you, stay home and cook. And invite your friends who want to eat out over.
In New Zealand, servers don't expect tips, and if there is a tip, it's usually just rounding off the bill. I got to the point of reminding my wife to take about a third off of restaurant bills to recognize their real cost in American dollars between the conversion rate and the lack of tipping. There was an article I read while I was in NZ that was concerned that NZ wasn't really developing long-term waitstaff, however; their opinion was that most places paid decently, but not the kind of wages someone hopes to be making their entire life.
Conversely, we just came back from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. One of our less pleasant experiences was a bus tour that dropped us off at a restaurant for two hours. The food was decent, when it finally came, but very simple (it shouldn't have taken nearly as long as it did)- it became increasingly clear to us that the expectation was that all the stupid tourists would bolster their profit margins by drinking away the excessive wait time. And then the waiter, who we had barely seen, pressed for a tip. For making a family with a small child sit around for two hours. My Spanish isn't good enough to express my ire.
Posts: 3826 | Registered: May 2005
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posted
My worst experience at a restaurant and the only time I really didn't want to tip, one of my friends asked for water when we sat down, and didn't receive it until after the food, which took more than an hour to arrive, despite his asking again when my sister and I received our Cokes, which were tiny and never refilled. Someone else delivered the food, and I didn't see the waitperson again until she brought the check. When I gave her my card to pay, she returned it to another table. I had heard good things about that restaurant, but overall, all the employees were rather rude. I imagine that if they didn't have terrific food, no one would ever eat there, but I certainly will not go back.
Posts: 1751 | Registered: Jun 1999
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I worked as a waitress for many years and may have to go back to it again soon at this rate. When I was waiting tables, we made $3.85 plus tips and minimum wage was about $5.50. I certainly made enough in tips to more than make up the difference, and I never felt shortchanged in my tips.
However, because I know what it's like to work tables, I make a point of tipping based on service. My worst tip was about 5% because the server was absolutely atrocious. And yes, I absolutely pulled a manager and complained about her failings. Most of my tips are around 18-20%, for average service I usually double the tax and round up so my total charge is an even dollar amount, it makes balancing the checkbook later much easier.
The highest tip I gave was roughly 30%. We were in a restaurant known for its lively decor and wacky staff. He noticed that my preteen was having problems with the volume of the music on the PA system and immediately got it turned down for us. He very clearly adjusted his shtick to compensate for her anxiety, and by the end of the meal she had completely come back out of her cocoon and was playing back with him. I sent a letter of commendation to management, and I received a reply indicating that the server was named Employee of the Month based on my letter and that the letter was in his permanent file. Months later he still remembers us when we come in.
Posts: 4515 | Registered: Jul 2004
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The only time I've never left a tip was when it took us over thirty minutes to get the bill, despite asking the waitstaff about seven times. I figured the amount they were going to get tipped was about equal to what I get paid during the time they wasted.
Posts: 2409 | Registered: Sep 2003
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Like EmpSquared said, that's a reason, but a poor excuse. If some teens go to a store and steal a TV but leave 80% of what it cost on the table before they leave, can they just say "oh no it's okay, we're poor" and have that be an excuse? If they can't afford to go out and pay for the WHOLE meal, including the tip, which is part of the visit to the restaurant, then they shouldn't go out at all.
And katharina nailed it: Detroit. Lots of big groups of Chaldeans, and I work with a half dozen or so Chaldeans too.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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quote:Originally posted by katharina: I have a hard time thinking it isn't going through - I would think a system where no one got tip when customer pays with a credit card could not possibly be sustainable.
Any servers want to shed some light? ETA: Thanks, Emp. I think we were writing at the same time.
They do get the tips, which are added on later. However, I have had a very high end place hold charge tips for a week or longer. They only paid them out once a week, and if you couldn't make it there (for the 2 hours you could pick them up) you were out of luck.....you had to wait ANOTHER week.
I am pretty sure that was illegal though. He only got away with it because it was a high-end place so the tips were really good most of the time.
Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
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quote:Originally posted by andi330: When I waited tables I hated working for tips, and I've never been to a table service restaurant here (in the States) where it wasn't expected. It stinks that restaurants think they can get away with paying extremely low wages (I made $2.16 an hour) and that employees can make up the rest in tips and expect to live. This is especially true at restaurants like Cracker Barrel (where I worked) which has relatively low prices. At the time I worked there, the most expensive thing on the menu was $12 and some change. So if I had a four top and they all ordered that item it would be around $48 with a tip expectation of about $4. While I'm sure a lot of people here on hatrack are better tippers, I found in my time as a waitress that the average tip is still (at least at the time) around 10-15%.
That was assuming that people left tips. Here in the south, you are just as likely to be left a religious tract as your tip, and no money. I found that to be extremely offensive. Most people who give out those tracts only do it places where tips are expected (like restaurants) in my experience. This implies that because I work at a restaurant, I am not a Christian and need to be converted. I also used to hate being told what a shame it was that I had to work on Sundays. I never actually said this to a customer, but I always wanted to respond, "Well you're eating here." People who really think that its a shame someone has to work on Sundays shouldn't eat out on Sunday or go shopping or what have you. By doing so, they are contributing to the need for someone to be at work on Sunday. If no one went out to eat on Sunday the restaurants would not be open.
andi, I worked at a CB for 5 years, and I averaged FAR more than 10%. On average it was 15% - 18%, and quite often I was over 20% for teh day.
Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
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quote:If they can't afford to go out and pay for the WHOLE meal, including the tip, which is part of the visit to the restaurant, then they shouldn't go out at all.
If that's how much they're required to pay to eat that meal, that's how much they should be charged for the meal.
Hidden or implied charges are obnoxious and rude.
Posts: 16551 | Registered: Feb 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Jhai: The only time I've never left a tip was when it took us over thirty minutes to get the bill, despite asking the waitstaff about seven times. I figured the amount they were going to get tipped was about equal to what I get paid during the time they wasted.
For me the only time I didn't leave a tip was when the waitress chased after my party to tell us that we didn't leave enough tip. She'd been a pretty terrible waitress already, but chasing after us to complain outraged us enough that we all went back to the table and took the cash back.
Posts: 959 | Registered: Jan 2002
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posted
Kwea, I'm sure part of that depends on where you're located. We were off of a business loop, not the major highway, so we didn't see a lot of the travelling traffic that other CBs see, and I don't know where you lived at the time, but where I worked in Spartanburg, SC isn't an area that is rolling in cash. Until I got a second job and started working days, I considered it a good night if I worked from 4-8 and went home with $20 in my pocket. Some nights I only got one table before being cut from the floor due to a lack of traffic. We also had a manager that was stealing tips from the servers by refusing to let them cash out their register tips on days when we were busy (like weekends), telling them that they would be in the safe the next day and then pocketing the money. He finally got fired, but only after he refused to open the restaurant on time one day when the cook called in sick for his shift and he didn't feel like running the grill until the 8 a.m. cook was due in.
And yes, to whomever pointed out that restaurants have to make up the difference if you don't earn minimum wage with your tips, you are correct. However, you can't really live on minimum wage. Not and have money to do anything except pay bills, and sometimes not even pay all the bills. Not to mention the fact that this is based on the pay period earnings, and not the daily wage. So I could work a shift and get only one or two tables in four hours and leave with $5 in my pocket, but because I made $120 or so on Saturdays and Sundays they didn't have to pay me the difference for my Tuesday night with no customers.
Posts: 1214 | Registered: Aug 2005
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quote:If they can't afford to go out and pay for the WHOLE meal, including the tip, which is part of the visit to the restaurant, then they shouldn't go out at all.
If that's how much they're required to pay to eat that meal, that's how much they should be charged for the meal.
Hidden or implied charges are obnoxious and rude.
In American dollars, how much do you think a server for a casual dining restaurant should make?
Posts: 368 | Registered: Aug 2007
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quote:If they can't afford to go out and pay for the WHOLE meal, including the tip, which is part of the visit to the restaurant, then they shouldn't go out at all.
If that's how much they're required to pay to eat that meal, that's how much they should be charged for the meal.
Hidden or implied charges are obnoxious and rude.
Maybe, but that isn't the server's fault. You know when you go out that you have to tip your server, so not doing it and thinking you're sticking it to the restaurant isn't right, you're just screwing over some innocent person who just made less than minimum wage to wait on you. In fact, when you include their tip out to the bar and the busboys, they actually PAID OUT OF THEIR OWN POCKET to wait on you.
That's even more obnoxious and rude.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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posted
I have a superstition that if I'm always a good tipper, I won't ever have to work as a waiter, which seems like a really demanding tough job that doesn't pay a whole lot.
Seriously, I tip well because I consider it a great privilege to be served or waited upon by another human being, and I think that service deserves appreciation in the form that's most useful to the server. I do the same for hotel housekeeping, as I think they're even more under-appreciated.
My mom grew up in a culture where there were servants to do most everything hard or unpleasant. She taught me to appreciate it any time someone else serves me, to realize what hard work it is and be grateful. She said that your peers and your bosses never know what sort of person you truly are, but your servants are the ones who know your real character. I guess that stuck with me.
Posts: 6246 | Registered: Aug 2004
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At a couple of places, it was set up so that credit card tips were added to the paychecks (either biweekly or semi-monthly).
Another place had the servers take the credit card tips out of their cash so their total cash and credit cards submitted equalled the total restaurant bills.
The idea of paying out credit card tips in cash once a week with a two hour window sounds just appalling to me, both from the inconvenience point of view as well as from the cash balancing/security/cash float point of view.
Tipping in Sri Lanka depends on the kind of restaurant. Upper class restaurants, it's more common, but tips are low and not necessarily expected. Think perhaps up to 5%. One restaurant we ate at recently had a mandatory service charge of 10% added - this is entirely new here and we're not impressed.
It's also now the done thing to tip the grocery boy who wheels the cart out to your car or trishaw (Rs.10 or 20), but also not expected and most people don't.
Tipping the postal guy and garbage men is mandatory (around New Years and a few other holidays) if you want decent service the next year. If you don't tip, don't expect to receive mail or get your garbage picked up/have some of it land in front of your gate.
For the record, I think the US system of relying on tips for a living wage is stupid. Pay the servers a living wage, increase the bill accordingly, and let people tip only if/when they feel like it/the service is that stellar.
In Canada, there's one minimum wage only (for each province), not one for everyone and another for waiters/waitresses. And tipping percentages are not as high - 10% for decent service, 15% or higher for stellar when I was last there.
Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
I think servers should be paid a living wage as well and tipping no longer the expected thing. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like the system is going to change any time soon. That's why I agree with an earlier statement. Currently, in the United States, tipping is expected at sit down restaurants. If you cannot afford to pay the restaurant tab and add on a tip, you should not eat at that restaurant. By doing so, you are making a conscious decision to deprive the server of part of their pay, which is unfair, since the expectations are known before you ever set foot in the restaurant. (I am however, not opposed to not tipping if service is bad, although since my time as a server, you have to be really awful not to get anything from me.) Especially if you choose to be a regular at a restaurant where you don't tip ever, expect your service to be poor from any server in the place, because everyone there knows you don't tip. If I know you're not going to leave me anything no matter how hard I work for you, why should I care?
We had one family that ate at the restaurant several times a week. They likely didn't have much money, because they never ordered anything too expensive. If the husband was there, you weren't getting a tip period, unless wife could manage to pretend she was going to the bathroom and slip you a dollar while she was up from the table. Other times the tip was only a dollar. I knew that the wife was at least trying to make sure you got something, but the table was always horribly messy after they left, so the dollar didn't seem to make up for the extra work they caused.
Posts: 1214 | Registered: Aug 2005
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quote:In American dollars, how much do you think a server for a casual dining restaurant should make?
That negotiation should be between them and their employers. I don't want any part of that decision.
quote:You know when you go out that you have to tip your server...
No, I go in knowing that I don't have to tip the server, but that in some situations, which I can neither understand nor keep straight, I'm expected to.
quote:Seriously, I tip well because I consider it a great privilege to be served or waited upon by another human being, and I think that service deserves appreciation in the form that's most useful to the server.
I, on the other hand, do not appreciate being served or waited upon. I actually dislike it, and generally prefer situations where it doesn't happen. I'd rather get up and re-fill my own drink than wait for a server to notice and do it themselves.
posted
Then you should patronize those types of eateries, because a 15% tip IS expected, and usually warranted, and by not tipping you are probably expressing things you don't intend.
Andi...I was up north, but that doesn't always equal good tips. It was in Western Mass in an old paper plant city that was one of the lowest income cities in the county.
But it was just off a major highway, and it was the only CB in miles, and one of 4 in New England at the time. I usually made between $120 and $200 on Sat. and Sun. but I had to work about 13-14 hours to make that too.
Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
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posted
I was raised by a cafe-marm on the gracious tips of others. From my experiences, I've devised a set of rules.
Tipping Rule #1: The server at the nice steakhouse shall receive no higher tip than the server at the schlocky cafe.
Tipping a percentage is idiotic. Why, by divine providence of working at a "nicer" restaurant, should the "beautiful people" be paid more? Tips shouldn't be a percentage based on the bill, they should be based on overall service.
Rule #2: Tipping is NOT a right.
Terrible service shouldn't be rewarded. Period. Otherwise it would be a mandatory gratuity.
Rule #3: Tip based on time serviced.
The more work you are (refills, mess, etc), the bigger your tip should be.
Results: I have a family of four with two small children who don't make a terribly large mess. Regardless of meal cost, I start with a standard $5 tip. Depending on the mess we make, the amount of time we take ordering, number of refills, and the overall timeliness and friendliness of the service; I may tip from $0 to $15.
Again, why should a server at a nicer restaurant make more than one at a cafe. The cafe server generally works harder and the nice restaurant generally hires more attractive people. The cafe server doesn't generally have better options.
Posts: 688 | Registered: Nov 2008
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If you're talking about the difference between ordering the T-bone and the grilled cheese sandwich where things like staff/patron ratio and length of dinner stay are otherwise comparable, you're right. No reason the same amount of work over the same amount of time should merit a higher tip just because of the cost of the food on the plate.
However, workers at some more expensive restaurants might actually merit higher tips. Not for being more attractive.
Mainly, some restaurants tend to cater to more leisurely diners who will be taking up a table for two or three hours. Some of these restaurants also maintain a higher staff/patron ratio to ensure a high level of service. Between the two factors the person might get a lot fewer tips, so it makes sense for the tips to be bigger.
There are also some skills that might factor in, such as such as knowledge of wine, and the arcane art of being at hand whenever needed without being obtrusive. You tend to find these at nicer places more than at cheap cafes.
Posts: 4287 | Registered: Mar 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Herblay: Again, why should a server at a nicer restaurant make more than one at a cafe. The cafe server generally works harder and the nice restaurant generally hires more attractive people. The cafe server doesn't generally have better options.
Because the waiters at the nicer restaurants are theoretically supposed to be doing a superior job and providing superior service. I have never heard the idea that they are prettier people, although they usually wear nicer uniforms and so may just clean up better. At the nicest restaurant, a server or team of servers should anticipate your wishes before you even know about them. They should be able to do this without hovering. Your drink should be kept full but with minimal intrusion. There are places that pride themselves on service and when they do, you know it.
And it's not just the service. The experience of the nicer restaurants is supposed to be superior. The food, the menu, the atmosphere. They will have fewer tables and spend much more time with each customer. They know the menu, the chef, and might even make recommendations that are not on the menu.
When I walk into a Staek 'n Shake, say, and order a meal for under $20 that feeds the whole family, I go in expecting cheap food and mediocre service. In fact, I only go to that particular restaurant when I'm on the road to my parents' house. I want a quick stop that doesn't cost me much. When the server does his job, I tip $2-$3 because that, too, is fast and cheap. They may spend 5-10 minutes on me the entire time I'm there. They get a lot of people in and out. Most people don't spend more than 30 minutes in there.
On the other hand, I went to the melting pot for my anniversary. The bill for my husband and I was $100 and we spent 2.5 hours in there. Our server, who did the sort of job I would have expected for such a nice place, only had half a dozen tables and must have spent at least half an hour on us. When I couldn't find exactly what I wanted on the menu, he suggested a substitution. He elaborated on the menu items, telling us which were his favorite and why. As busy as he was, he never looked it and he never made us feel rushed. When we arrived, they had an anniversary card waiting for us! (We told them it was our anniversary when we made the reservation.) We left him $25.
Of course most restaurants are in between. I typically go to a medium to lower-medium quality restaurant where the cost of a dish is about $10-$15. Most of the time I would agree that these services don't deserve much if any more than the Steak 'n Shake wait staff. Over time, I've stopped going to the restaurants that have service like that. Our favorite local spots usually have service worthy of real tipping and so we do.
Posts: 2392 | Registered: Sep 2005
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posted
I have absolutely heard the idea that the nicer restaurants hire the more attractive people.
It reminds me of that Flight of the Concords song: "You're so beautiful/you could be a part-time model/but you'd have to keep your regular job/you're so beautiful/you could be a waitress."
It's also why aspiring actors are waiters and aspiring directors work in video stores. The restaurants don't want people who don't have actor-worthy looks.
I agree that the "percentage of bill" thing is annoying.
Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
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posted
Hubby and I were talking about this Saturday night; we went to a restaurant where kids eat free (up to 2 kids with each adult). We have four kids, so the cost of our meal was the same as it would have been if it had been just the two of us. It took us longer; the waiter had to bring out three times as much food and keep three times as many drinks filled; and we made way more than three times as much mess. Yet because the bill was the same, the tip would be (theoretically) the same. ???
Of course, we always leave a bigger tip when we bring the kids because cleanup is more work. But still. The percentage thing really doesn't make sense.
Of course, the whole "tip is expected" thing doesn't make sense anyway. I've said it before; I wish the restaurant would just pay them fairly and the cost on the menu was the real cost of the meal. Then if someone was phenomenal, I could leave a tip to say thank you, but for ordinary service doing just what's expected, they should get an ordinary (fair) paycheck and not leave me feeling like I HAVE to give them extra "thank-you" money or I'm putting them in poverty.
Posts: 1522 | Registered: Nov 2005
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posted
Gods, this just makes me miss being in Hong Kong/Beijing. No tips, no sales tax. You pay for stuff in natural numbers, no damn floating point calculations and potentially carrying very few coins.
quote:Originally posted by mr_porteiro_head:
quote:In American dollars, how much do you think a server for a casual dining restaurant should make?
That negotiation should be between them and their employers. I don't want any part of that decision.
Thats an interesting way of putting it really.
If you look at the system of tipping at a high level, you could consider it a revenue/risk sharing scheme between the restaurant and the waiter. A waiter accepts the possibility of very low pay (the base wage) when sales are down in return for a share of sales when things are looking good. In other words, rather than the restaurant carrying the risk of having to pay waiters at a loss when there is less traffic, the waiters choose to take the risk upon themselves.
However, the reality that this compensation is now determined by the diner rather than by the restaurant (say, as a fixed percentage of the bill) explains why the diner is now co-opted into the discussion as to what is fair pay, whether its fair to pay for table time vs. food cost, and so forth. The result is that the restaurant has effectively abdicated its role to determine fair pay and has shifted it toward the customer to the extent that we have, well, this thread where some servers are essentially negotiating wages with potential customers as they normally would an employer.
(Not saying that this shift a good thing, probably far from it, but its kind of amusing in an explanatory way nonetheless)
Posts: 7593 | Registered: Sep 2006
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posted
I am fine with the way we tip in America. I typically leave 20%, more if it is a low cost restaurant. I rarely have bad service. When I do, I will usually tip 10%. If it is terrible, I will leave nothing and speak to the manager.
My tips are always in whole dollars and paid with a debit/credit card.
One thing I don't like is having service pushed on me when I can do it myself. I don't want someone taking my bags up to my room for me. I don't use valet parking (I hate it when that is the only viable option). I don't like it when people try to wheel my bag to the taxi (mainly happens in Jakarta and China).
Posts: 571 | Registered: Mar 2001
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quote:Then you should patronize those types of eateries...
I try to.
quote:...because a 15% tip IS expected, and usually warranted, and by not tipping you are probably expressing things you don't intend.
You are mistaken in your assumption that I don't tip.
Actually, I didn't mean to imply that at all...it was a typo. I MEANT to say that by not tipping at THAT level. No offense to you intended at all.
Providing you don't already that is. I know I do a lot of things I don't particularly care for these days, because someone else decided it was necessary. I go to class when I already know the material, and have to go though a training program designed for people with no medical background, for instance....
Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
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posted
No need to get snippy... I think you said that you DON'T tip (leaving that duty to your wife). So the assumption that you don't tip is in fact a fact...
Posts: 571 | Registered: Mar 2001
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posted
As to me being snippy: My post was not meant to be snippy. I'm sorry if it came across that way. I probably should have put an emoticon in there.
As to me really not tipping because it's my wife that does it: Posts: 16551 | Registered: Feb 2003
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I had a friend who worked at a Country Kitchen (I believe, the place isn't there any more), and the manager forced the waitresses to turn in their tips immediately upon collecting the bill. They would then all go into a jar, allegedly to be split equally at the end of the night.
First, that meant waitresses who gave crappy service, still got their 15% tip, even when customers were dissatisfied.
Second, if a customer stiffed you an a tip, it didn't matter, you still coughed up 15% for the tip jar. If you got more than 15%, you still put it all in the tip jar.
Then, just before the end of the night, the manager would open the tip jar and pillage about 30% of the tip money, only to later split the balance with the waitresses.
This is not the kind of manager you want.
My friend even got the waitresses to keep track of their tips to see if it added up at the end of the night with what was in the tip jar. Of course, it didn't. Further, the worst waitress in the place, who was making out great in this deal, went to the manager and told him what my friend was doing. My friend was soon fired.
So, the best waitress got fired, and the worst waitress continue to receive 15% for crappy service.
posted
Our National Guard unit often contracts with a local casino for some meals, usually Sunday morning breakfast. The cost of the meal is covered by the contract. But, no provision is made for tips. Early one Sunday, I was seated with three other guys, including a young Private. He was placing a two dollar/nine spot bet with the keno runner. I asked him if he had saved some money to tip the watress. He said that the Army was paying the bill. I reminded him that although the Army was paying for the meal, the young lady had to get up early and come in just to serve his breakfast, and that without tips she wasn't going to get paid. He withdrew his bet and left the money on the table. His kino sheet hit nine for nine. With a two dollar bet the payoff would have been above 50K. He was not happy for the rest of the drill. But, you can't argue with the Sgt.
Posts: 1167 | Registered: Oct 2005
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posted
I'm going to start tipping attractive people more, based on their good looks, just to counter the people who seem to want to tip them less for the crime of being attractive and having the audacity to work at a nice place.
Posts: 3950 | Registered: Mar 2006
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posted
I hate to admit it but I often do tip the attractive waiters more. I mean I leave 15% to 20% for any waiter but The nice looking ones get a better round up. That's not right bu I have caught myself doing it.
Posts: 305 | Registered: Jan 2008
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It feels nice to be given personal attention by a pretty person. It's no wonder that pretty people get more tips.
Posts: 16551 | Registered: Feb 2003
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mph, I didn't take it as snippy, although I must have missed the comments about how you tip. It's all good.
Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
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quote:Originally posted by BlueWizard: The Manager and the Tips -
I had a friend who worked at a Country Kitchen (I believe, the place isn't there any more), and the manager forced the waitresses to turn in their tips immediately upon collecting the bill. They would then all go into a jar, allegedly to be split equally at the end of the night.
First, that meant waitresses who gave crappy service, still got their 15% tip, even when customers were dissatisfied.
Second, if a customer stiffed you an a tip, it didn't matter, you still coughed up 15% for the tip jar. If you got more than 15%, you still put it all in the tip jar.
Then, just before the end of the night, the manager would open the tip jar and pillage about 30% of the tip money, only to later split the balance with the waitresses.
This is not the kind of manager you want.
My friend even got the waitresses to keep track of their tips to see if it added up at the end of the night with what was in the tip jar. Of course, it didn't. Further, the worst waitress in the place, who was making out great in this deal, went to the manager and told him what my friend was doing. My friend was soon fired.
So, the best waitress got fired, and the worst waitress continue to receive 15% for crappy service.
All thanks to 'Manager of the Year',...NOT!
Steve/bluewizard
Isn't that illegal in some jurisdictions? I thought I heard something about that.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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My mother was a middle age, dumpy woman, red hair and freckles; though she has a sparkling disposition. She could never get hired in a nice steakhouse. She worked in a cheap, loud, country diner with the pervasive odor of cigarette smoke.
And she was the friendliest, most attentive, well liked waitress in town. Everybody knew her.
So, why should superior service in a cafe equate to less of a tip than inferior service at a fancy steakhouse. By what measure does the cute, young thing working part-time away from her housewife-y duties merit more money than the preternaturally attentive efforts by the person in the cafe.
Equivalent service equates to equivalent tip. It's more difficult to work in the lowlier jobs, so I'd almost argue that the server at Dennies deserves a higher tip than the server at Benihana's --- just for the sheer virtue of the fact that their job IS, in fact, more difficult.
Posts: 688 | Registered: Nov 2008
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quote:Originally posted by Teshi: I thought this thread was going to be about this.
::happy sigh at a dobie averted::
You know, I didn't realize that cow tipping was a myth. I also didn't realize that you could cow tip in Fallout 3.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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I know I do a lot of things I don't particularly care for these days, because someone else decided it was necessary. I go to class when I already know the material, and have to go though a training program designed for people with no medical background, for instance....
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