How did tipping get out of hand?

Question

Tipping ... My girlfriend and I eat out all the time and it seems to me that the 10% tipp that I have been giving is not good enough by some standards. My question is this if I can afford to have a nice meal out why is it that the wait staff will be rewarded according to my bill and not just by a set price? Let me put it this way: I spend $100 on a meal the tip will be $15 and the waiter does 3 tables just like mine that is a little more than $45 with base pay. That is more than i make, lets see 4 years of college, 28 years in the workforce. Why is this?

Answer 1

then go out to eat where you get your own food-- 15% has been the standard for as long as I can remember-  you base your tip on that, if the service was exceptional, you may bump it up to around 20%-  if it was terrible or not what you expected, you can decrease it--   don't forget that your server can bend over backwards to make your dining exceptional, but cannot control if your steak is tough or you didnt like the sauce on the pasta--     tipping has not got out of hand, you have to expect that as part of the restauraunt experience

Answer 2

You are definitely right.  It is even worse at nice restaurants since the food is so expensive.  We need to move towards a more European style where everything is included in the bill.  

I have nothing against servers - it is not an easy job.  But they are making way more money than people with similarly low skilled jobs.

Someone made a comment about how waitstaff can't control the quality of the food.  That is exactly right and another reason they shouldn't be paid so much.  The cooks in back deserve to be tipped when the food turns out well.

Answer 3

The economy is bad, so people feel obligated to tip more. Tipping use to be 10%, now it is like 15-20%.  

Answer 4

Not everyone will tip the same $15.00 dollars you tip. Not everyone will spend as much as you do. There's no guarantee that they will even *have* 3 tables as restaurants have busy days and slow days just like most other industries.

I can testify that servers do *not* make a ton of money. My husband was a server when we met and he was barely making ends meet (not even that, really).

If it really bothers you, get take out and don't tip!

Answer 5

I do not tip according to a percentage of the bill.  I tip according to the quality of service.  If my husband and I go out, whether the bill is $15 or $50, or more or less than that, I have no problem leaving a $2 tip or a $10 tip.  It all depends on how good of a job the server did.  What difference does it make how much the food costs????  Since when did they decide to make it a standard to make tips 20% or 10% of the bill?  Shouldn't the wait staff EARN their tips?  If a waitress does a good job, I'll give her a $10 tip, even if my bill was only $25.  If she did a lousy job, I'll give her $1, even if my bill was $50.  Again, what difference does it make how much the food costs???  She needs to work for her tip, if she does a lousy job, she deserves a lousy tip.  Someone else commented on wait staffs splitting their tips.  Not all restuarants do this.  Many restaurants let their waitresses keep every penny.  Yes, they do have to file taxes on them, but at the end of the night, they count their tips, and enter the amounts into the computer, there is no way to keep them from understating tips.  And yes, the restuarants might only pay $2-$3 an hour, this is to cover the taxes on those tips, their actual paychecks from the restuants are only supposed to be pennies, most of the money comes from tips.  I strongly believe that good waitresses deserve good tips, bad waitresses deserve crappy tips.  I have worked as a server before.  Servers do make d**n good money.  I've even seen people in other management positions quit their jobs to work as a server because the money is better.... go figure... But it's not something to do as a lifelong carrer.  It is tiring and stressful.  

Answer 6

unfortunately, wages are set by state laws and business owners can  pay less than minimum wage, so the waitresses have to depend on tips. They are also taxed on an amount set by the state  whether they get the money or not.It is a catch 22 for the workers, and they don't always get the same amount of hours as a factory worker, or other type work.so it becomes a real scramble to earn a living income.I believe we should be able to tip according to the value of the service offered by the waitress/waiter, and I won't eat at a place that adds the tip to the bill, although, if I can afford a $100.00 bill to pay for a meal, I could certainly afford a good tip.  

Answer 7

Because employers are allowed to use tips as an excuse to pay substandard wages, servers have become more and more dependent on tips for their income.  What used to be a 10% bonus on top of a livable (if modest) wage is now barely acceptable.

We need to get back to paying servers a fair wage to start with; and customers leaving tips only if and to the extent they feel appropriate, without guilt.

Answer 8

That's the way it is. 10% is pathetic. 18% should be standard.

Answer 9

standard tip is 15-20%,  I'm betting in your job you do not have to run around for 20 people at one time bringing them things at their beckon call and make sure that 20 meals are correct and arrive in a reasonable amount of time while keeping drinks full and everyone happy...

here's my tip for you...show some respect tip higher, waitresses deserve it....also think about the time from 2 to four when the waitress only has one table and they leave her 3 or 4 dollars....thats $2/hour..... and they get taxed on their tips too, just like the rest of us.  So they're "paycheck" is usually 5-15 dollars after paying taxes....and the gov't taxes on what you should make in tips.  if you don't make the minimum of 8% they still tax you for it....

If you can't afford to tip, you can't afford to eat out.

Answer 10

*** WARNING... YOU WILL NOT BE PLEASED WITH MY ANSWER ***

10% is NOT good enough to tip by ANY standard. That was fine when ice cream cost a nickel and the cost of living was lower.

Since you've never waited tables, you'll never know the pain that servers have to go through.

Let's assume they do make $45 with base pay. 10% ($5) goes to the bar, another 10% ($5) to the busser, 5% ($3) to the food runner & 5% ($3) to the barback. They've made $29. Now let's have Uncle Sam come in & take his cut (23%) $22.33 your server has made. They get less than half of their tips. You claim you can afford to have a nice meal out, then why can't you afford to tip? This isn't a matter of tipping, it's of matter of you being a tightwad.

I highly suggest you spend one summer waiting tables, then you can see what all the anger & rage is about that waiters express. (I wish everyone in the world waited tables for just one day.)