Explain to my brother-in-law the power of tipping!?

Question

My brother-in-law thinks it's okay to not tip when we go out and have dinners at restaurants. My sister and I would tell him that it's not okay. We would tip anywhere from 10-15% (my sis tips more), depending on my mood and/or service. Please educate him (and me also :) Thank you

Answer 1

Wait staff do not even make minimum wage so they rely on tips to make up the difference.  Also, they have to split their tips with people bussing the tables and bartenders as well as other waitstaff on occasion.  On a good shift they can make very good money but not every shift is profitable.  They may go to work for 8 hours and only make $40.00  Tip well if it is deserved.

Answer 2

I would be embrassed how much the staff would bad mouth you after you left without leaving a tip.

How would you feel if you went out of your way to help someone and the person didn't care?

Not to mention isn't it law?

Also, it is ok to not give a tip, when you receive terrible service. If I have to ask for something more than once you might lose your tip. Or if you completely forget something I ordered. And still charge me for it. Happened to me last time I went to Applebees. She didn't get a tip.

Answer 3

if you have ever been a server, you would know how much the job sucks and that the only way to make money is in tips! i always tip at least 15% even if the service wasnt good. if its good than they get more. if i didnt want to be served i wouldnt go to a sit down restaurant. pay them for their service by tiping them. plus, they do remember you! and if they have you again after youve stiffed them once before... check your food. and your drink.. im just sayin'....

Answer 4

As a long-time waitress, I can tell you that we don't make near as much as you'd all assume.

On average, I make just above minimum wage, and thats it. Maybe, 28 pennies above.

My boss does evaluations on us by how much we get in tips. Say, if you came into my restaurant and I was your server, and I did excellent and you gave me a $6 dollar tip, compared to if Sarah was your server and did terrible, and you gave her a $2 dollar tip. At the end of the day, whomever has the most tips has to give a little speech/educational moment of what they did that could have allowed them to get a total accumulation of _____ in tips.

Usually, if someone has less than $20 a day, and they're working full time, my boss gives them a week to fix the problem and then fires them.

Food doesn't get put on my table through my salary, I'll tell you that much.

Your brother in law needs to work as a waiter for a month or two. Then he'll understand. I wasn't a big tipper until I got into the business, and now if I go out, I'll leave a $15 dollar tip no matter how little we bought.

PS> The bad mouthing does occur. Mostly to other customers. I've seen people order the most extravagant meal with every specification imaginable and not leave a tip, and the next customer gets the heat. I mean, its not a purposeful rant, but it happens.

Its not hard to leave a few dollars in tip. Just so we can get to work the next day. I mean, ****, a 15% tip buys one or two gallons of gas out here.

Answer 5

I always try to tip 18-20%. The price of me not doing dishes or cooking or stinking up the house is well worth it.

Answer 6

Dining

Server at a full-service restaurant – 15% to 20% of your total bill. If you’ve used a discount or received any free items, you should tip on the amount that your bill would have come to if you’d paid full price. If your party is large or placing many special requests, you should increase your tip appropriately.

Server at a partial service restaurant – 10% of your total bill. Use discretion based on how much the server is expected to do for you.

Sommelier – 15% to 20% of your total wine expenditures.

Answer 7

Tips are how the wait staff makes thier money. The work very hard to earn it from you too. You don't really think that they love the way you look do you? You don't really believe that they do it for minimum wage do you?

Put it this way- if you don't tip, you're a deadbeat. It's as simple as that.

Answer 8

I never leave a tip unless my wife is with me. I look at it like this> I chose my career and they chose theirs. I dont get a tip to do my job, I just do it the best I can everyday because I want to keep it. If they are not making a welcomed salary then do like any other american and move on to another higher paying job.

Answer 9

He'd better not be a repeat customer. When you don't tip, that's an affront to the waiter, or anyone else. I used to get my hair cut, and I never tipped because I thought the stylists got paid a salary. I blame my mom, but eventually I figured it out. I never did it to be an ******. The stylists, I guess, really didn't like me because of that.

Not tipping generally gives the waiters less of an incentive to give you good service. What's a couple bucks to get a lot out of people? In life, bribing always works...it always pays off 10x , no matter what.

Answer 10

Some waiters and waitresses make as little as $2.13 an hour because the expectation is that people tip so they'll make more than minimum wage once tips are added in. If people don't tip, than they are making virtually no money!

I look at it this way: most of the time, we buy a good or a service. Let's say I have a maid and pay her $15 an hour. So she cleans from 3 - 6 and then I ask her to stick around until 7 to serve dinner for me and my friends. Well I'm going to pay her $60. She has provided a service. The last $15 is not for the food she served us, it's for the service she provided which included cleaning and serving.

Similarly, when we dine at a restaurant, the restaurant provides us with both a good and a service. They charge us for the good (the food) because this is consistent. If I order a burger and fries, it's the same burger and fries as other people get so they can change me a consistent price (let's say $10.)

Now the waiter or waitress who brings it to me provides me with a service. and this is variable. We'd be angry if the restaurant assumed the service was the same and charged us a mandatory tip. So let's say my waitress is great. She's quick, brings me extra ketchup, etc. So I might leave her $2-3 for her service, in addition to the $10 for the goods I purchased. If I have bad service, I might leave only $1. I always leave something because I've received a service and I've never had such bad service that I won't tip.

So basically, you're paying for the service. If you don't want to tip, then try just getting the food yourself!

Answer 11

I was a waitress for 10 years.  Let your brother-in-law know that he is alone in not tipping.  Most people do tip.  Fifteen percent is what is asked.  Most people tip above that. If he wants to be remembered on this earth as a heartless @#$%*, it is his prerogative. Because he represents such a small percentage of people, he will be remembered.  I would advise him not to go into the same restaurant twice.

I have been known to ask people if there was anything wrong with the service...humiliating, I know...but I worked very hard for each table.

BTW, any easy way to figure 15% is this....say your bill is $20.00...10%  of that is $2.00...divide that by 2...comes to $1.00....add the sums...$2.00 plus $1.00=$3.00, which is 15%

Answer 12

I figure the tip is part of the cost of eating.  If he goes to the same place and stiffs enough waiters/waitresses, they will get even with him.  That's how they make their living, they aren't working for free and they aren't included in the price of the meal.  If you don't want to tip, then go to a buffet and wait on yourself.

Answer 13

let your brother in law know that servers only make $2.-$3.00 per hour. he is paying for a serving being provided. the better the service the better the tip. 20% is standard , put yourself in the servers place, generally they are talking care of several people at once- most of them demanding. have you ever  had a dinner party and had to entertain at least 6-8 people, if you have ypou know timing is important and also very hard with may people to please at once. if  your brother in law doesnt want to tip- tell him to stay home and serve himself- and you and your sister should learn to appreciate service more!

Answer 14

More like 15-20% - if you're too cheap to tip, then you shouldn't go out - servers have very hard jobs as do bartenders and everyone else in the restaurant - it's people like your brother n law, that make servers hate their jobs.

Answer 15

Think of it this way.  TIP stands for:  To Insure Promptitude.  If you get bad service and don't tip, fine.  But if you you get good service, you should tip  it's like the honor system for paying for you service.  I understand that it is their job.  But that job is designed around the idea that people WILL tip.  No, you don't have to tip, but you really should.  You don't have to say hello to people on the street either, but it is polite and the social norm for this country.

Answer 16

Excuse me Mr. Kim C,

If you read the paragraph it specifically said her sister tip you need some glasses. I know the brother-in law specifically the real reason why he was like that in the beginning was because he used to be a waiter himself and had a very bad experience the whole time he work at a fast food place years and years ago and never got tip however I'm working on him and slowly he is starting to get better because I'm the better influence and we have re- establish our reputation because I was doing most of the tipping but now he is tipping too!

I'm the sister who is engaged to JB Holiday and I'm the sister of Ms. V.

Answer 17

waitresses are one of the lowest paying jobs out there they rely on the tips as an income. that is why most of them are as freindly as they can be.so if the sevice is good then it is worth giving them a hefty tip.

Answer 18

If nothing else...what goes around comes around.

If your brother is so self centered he should stay home.

Oh yeah...chicks dig big tippers....