Tipping. why?

Question

Tipping is screwed up in my opinion. The standard has always 10-15% in what I have seen and worked. Today's waitress expect ppl to give tips not based on customer service and customer discretion but by the expection waitress dont make alot and were suppossed to. In my book tip's are discretionary based on the customer. just because I want to eat a steak for 25.00 and not a hamburger 12.99 means I should give the waitress more for the same service. I think if the tips should be discretionary more than anything based on the experience that the waitress presented and not the price I pay for my food. Please,I dont want to hear about how waitress make less than minimum wage when in reality they do. Mimimum wage for waitress is 3.85 plus tips which normally equal out to 8-10 dollars hr on avg when mimimum wage is 6.50 a hr. What waitress do is not rocket science or doing a high skill job which requires yrs of school. It is a manual labor intensive service. Does any one else feel this way

Answer 1

As long as you don't mind getting crummy service, than don't tip.  Plus 15% is standard with 20% for good service.  Tips are part of the price I expect to pay when I go out to eat.

Answer 2

I am willing to bet that you would not last as a server for more than a day. Serving is hard work, and most people are not cut out for it.

You tip your server for a number of reasons. First of all, they ensure that all your needs are met. They get your drink order, bring drinks, bread, chips and salsa, etc. They get your food order, answer your questions, perhaps suggest a menu item and a glass of wine to pair with it. They take note of dislikes, allergies, etc. to make sure the chef prepares your dish correctly.

Servers make sure that your order is entered in a timely matter, make sure your appetizer comes out before your meal, and that your dinners don't come out right after that. They bring your special requests like extra napkins, condiments, etc. They make sure your drinks stay full and your table is clean.

Meanwhile, they are doing the exact same process with other tables, making sure that all of their guests' needs are met. You also have to realize that while servers are waiting on you, they are cleaning the restaurant and doing other sidework to make sure that the restaurant is clean and runs efficiently.

Basically, you are paying someone to do a service, and that is to serve you and clean after yourself. If you have not evolved enough to understand that concept, than please eat at fast-food restaurants or at home.

Answer 3

I do not know if I should take this as an insult or not. I am currently employed as a waitress. And I try to make every ones meal as enjoyable as possible. sometimes it is hard to do when you get an ornery customer who is not pleased by anything or has had a bad day and is just set on taking it out on anyone they can. And I may not be rocket scientist, but I do try to keep all my customers happy, while at the same time remembering what they ordered and checking to make sure they do not need anything else. My main income is from my tips. So I work as hard as I can, to ensure I get one.

Answer 4

i am a server and i know for a fact people dining out just plain don't understand how lucky they are that we do work for tips. not only would prices go up, because the restaraunt would have to pay us more, but then we also wouldnt have to kiss peoples asses the way that we do in order to get that good tip. everyone would get there food and i would still do my job, but instead your waitress would treat you a little more like the lady at the bank treats you. shes just there to do her job and nothing more for you. she still gets paid at the end of the day even if you didnt think she was perfect.

so guess what that would mean? i wouldnt give a c**p if you liked your steak or not.

Answer 5

Try serving 3 different tables at once, while remebering todays special, and making sure everything is fine and dandy for every customer and then see if its easy.  I do agree that tips should be payment for good service from a waiter.

Answer 6

I agree with you. In my case its always the stereotype black people don't tip, but if my waiter/waitress walks by my table four or five times without asking me if they can help me or refill my glass, I'll leave that b*tch a dollar. And vice versa if they are super nice, food came out on time, and kept my glass full they may get more than that 10-15%. But it is definitely based on the customer svc

Answer 7

I read the answers that were left here and the only person who seems to understand anything about being a waitress is timmch (sp).  It is one of the hardest jobs I have had. I worked as a waitress through the end of college and during part of grad school to make money. When I stopped and went to work in a real job i realized that you really can make a good living if  you work at a good restaurant, work long hours, give good service with a smile and do as much as you can, and work somewhere that has booze.

Anyway, the paycheck is nothing, if you forget to pick it up, you don't even really lose much, you live totally on your tips.

I would say that most of the people who have answered here have never worked as a waitperson or they would understand the importance of tips.

First of all, these people work very hard to get your dinner to you, to get your water, to clear your plates, and to just give you a dinner that you don't have to cook at home.  Don't they deserve something as you chose to go out to eat instead of eating at home, you have chosen to go out and not eat at home.In making that choice you have realized that you will have to pay for the meal and it will include the tip,it's not a surprise.  I think that in France they have it right, they add the tip to the bill, 15%, and you can add more if you feel the service is fantastic.

Times change, it was a time when with the economy we did pay less for a tip,but now everything has gone up, and so has tipping.  It takes more for a waitperson to live.  I'm sorry, but I can't get over the fact that people don't want to pay for service.  If you chose a more expensive steak place you get a better steak and so you pay for it.  You are paying for the food and the staff.

Also, remember, there are places like my favorite restaurant where you leave a tip and all the tips go into one jar and at the end of the night the owner gives out the tips to all the staff, some have worked harder, so they get a little more, some have had it easy so they get a little less.  So, you are paying a general tip.

But also, I think you should pay for the time spent sitting at a table.  You may sit at a coffee shop, get served only a cup of coffee and a refill, but you don't live a tip based on the cost if you sit there for 3 hours or more, you are using a table, you pay for the use of the table, even more so if the place gets busy.

But, I do feel if I get bad service, wrong food, cold food, nasty service, then the tip goes way down and could end up down at a dollar, as long as it's not the kitchen's fault.

You are all going to do what you want, but work as a waitperson for a month and then tell me what they should be

paid.

Answer 8

Exactly, however waiters/waitresses live off of tips mostly, and as long as they make a GOOD effort and don't s***w anything up thats out of THEIR control, I have no problem tipping.

Answer 9

The word 'tip' originated in the 1800's when some high-powered businessmen entered the saloons and wanted to be get the best ladies and best treatment.

It was 'To Insure Promptness', therefore T.I.P., which became 'tip'.

As for the amount: Who decided a tip should constitute 10%, 12 %, 15 % or any other amount?

When I go to a restaurant, I go there to enjoy an experience, not just to eat food(I can do that at home, and save lots of money, plus I won't have to tip myself).

So, if I have a bad experience(ie lousy service), even though the food was good, no one will get a tip.

If you are complaining that you don't make enough money, you have two options: 1) Do your job better, and serve the customer the best way you can. Remember, the customer pays your wage: no customers = no job for you.

2)Quit, and find another job.

In short, I will never pay a tip or bribe if I receive bad service.

Answer 10

A tip is a tip regardless of the cost of the food. I object to tipping fundamentally on the following basis - regardless of the quality of the service, I cannot guarrantee that the person serving me will be the recipient, and also the fact that they too will be expected to pay tax upon such a gratuity.

Since I have already given 25% of the cost of the meal to the tax man, any gratuity I give should be tax free, and therefore reduced appropriately.  If a £10 tip attracts £2.50 tax deduction, then it has already been paid by the customer, and the tip should be £7.50 tax free!  This means that a tax-free tip of 7.5% is the same as a normal 10% one, and I have no intention of paying more tax to the government under any circumstances!

Answer 11

There is no law like that, so I don't know where you're getting that from. I get paid $2 per hour and I often never see that paycheck because they use it for taxes.

You're paying for the service you receive. If you don't want to tip correctly, then go somewhere else where you can serve yourself. Buffets or McDonald's should become your new destination of choice, huh?

Oh, and tips are discretionary. You're not required to tip at all. If you're going to be cheap, though, you should tip at least 10% since waitresses have to claim 10% of their sales at minimum. By not tipping, she has to pay to serve you. NOT cool. How would you like to pay to work?

The higher your bill, there more work there may be involved getting it ready for you. You have NO idea how much interaction a waitress may have with your food, depending on what it is, now do you? No, you don't. So don't assume that it's the same effort for cheaper food vs. expensive food.

Just remember: a waitress WILL remember a bad tipper more than an average tipper, so don't expect good service next time...we will tell your new server how bad of a tipper you are if we see you. :)

Answer 12

i tip a bad waitress/waiter 15% ....good ones get 30 to 40%.....

get payed for your quality of service and nothing else!!!

if a wait staff person is guaranteed money no matter what...they tend to slack......especially when splitting tips.............your tips are yours.....the only people you should tip out are your bar backs

and bartendes....period !!!!!!

noone else is intitled to ne thing!!!!!!!!!!

the closest way to calculate 15% is to double the taxes on the bill!!

But,,,,,15% should be the minimum....at least they are making an honest living !!!!!

Answer 13

i tip based on service. we have had phenomenal waiters and waitresses and tipping well for it. we have had deplorable ones- they were tipped or not accordingly.

we had a really crappy waitress the last time we went to ruby tuesdays. she would take 15 min to bring a drink. they weren't busy so there was no excuse for it. we asked for our bill and after waiting 10 min for her we just took it to someone else to ring us up. she came out after being called out by the other person and was all huffy and puffy. she got $4 on a $100+ tab.

Answer 14

Yeah I know what you mean. But here in the US, everyone expects you to give at least 10% tip even if the service sucked. Servers do usually get minimum wage, but they make a lot of tips. I know a server from Olive Garden who averages $80 a night. In Benihana they average $100 a night. And all the servers I know don't really report 100% of their tips. So if you're tippng, better through a card than cash.

Answer 15

if i go to fridays or something  i am not giving them a big

Answer 16

No, I absolutely do not feel this way.  I'm a server/bartender that works part time to make some extra cash.  I'm ALWAYS offended when I am not tipped properly and I ALWAYS remember horrible tippers.  Those crappy tippers are guaranteed crappy service from me next time they come in.  I'm not going to spend my whole night waiting on some cheap a$$ when I could be paying attention to folks who tip better.    Granted, it's not rocket science but it takes a special personality to deal with all the jerk wads out there.  It's a slap in the face to receive a subpar tip when you know you've given stellar service.    

To the person who posted this question:  Why don't you go out and try waiting on tables for a few nights?  I bet you'll change your tune then.  It's a thankless, hard job and that's why there is such a high turnover rate.  So what if tipping is still based on the amount of your bill?  It's a few extra dollars.  If you don't want to tip properly then stay home and eat ramen noodles.

Answer 17

I agree. I get annoyed when the waitress or waiter expect money and lots of it! I mean i tip them but I hate doing it. I just feel like i have to! It's so overrated.

Answer 18

I tip however i please to their services how they serve me!

I don't care about the 10-15% c**p... if I ordered a $40 item food and the waitress' service is crappy, and I mean realllllly crappy., she'll/he'll get only 3 bucks. period. ( I sound ignorant, but I'm not)

heh

Answer 19

s***w the 10-15 % rule. Who says I have to pay this ? Is it a law from God ? No. Then I don't have to follow it. just pay a buck or two to help them make more than just the minimum wage. That's not bad at the end of the day.