Tipping....is it optional?

[fords8]

It's not an entitlement...if it was it would be included in the bill.

This is a leftover from really cheap restaurant owners. Tell me.............what would it take for you to not leave a 15% tip?

No matter what I order from my pizza guy I give him $5. Sometimes it's a $10 pizza special so he gets 50%. I'm fine with that because I'm too lazy to drive there. :9:

IMO if you don't wanna pay food industry people, stay home.

 

[kaeg1]

Tipping has nothing to do with "afford" IMO.

Sure it does. If you are being SERVED you need to be able to afford the meal and the tip. I have read a discussion like this before and people will pay for the food they ate and leave a crappy tip because they do not want to waste 'their' money. They can't afford to be served, they can't afford to eat out. And, if service is that bad at a restaurant, talk to a manager and get it fixed.

 

[tracynvk]

Nothing to do with your quote...

I love your avatar and quotes in your siggy! I gave up swearing for lent! It's brutal. As soon as lent is over, ill be dropping the f - bomb like students drop pencils in my class! I NEED to swear!!!

You gave up swearing!! WOW! Sure wish I was still across the hall from you---these weeks of lent would be very entertaining for me! LOL!

 

[fords8]

You gave up swearing!! WOW! Sure wish I was still across the hall from you---these weeks of lent would be very entertaining for me! LOL!

Isa this code for Man, you got nothing on a sailorr/truck driver? :giggles:

 

[KG]

It's not an entitlement...if it was it would be included in the bill.

it is included in the amount reported to the IRS.

servers do a lot of stuff you don't see; it's not just taking your order and pouring drinks. Every shift they clean, bend, lift, carry trays of glasses/flatware, fill ice bins, fill salt and pepper shakers, fill sugar/splenda packets, clean some more, and prep food. And there are multiple people who receive your tip, not just your server. If there isn't a busboy, then your server is doing more after you leave.

And yes, servers talk about who the crappy tippers are. Ever wonder why your service is slow as a repeat customer? If you've eaten in that place before, your reputation may precede you and they might be arguing over who has to wait on you :snicker:

 

[Jane_says]

Former waitress. I never understood going out to eat and not tipping.

Ditto MrsMom I can't recall ever not leaving a tip. And usually 20% - the service is part of the "sale." I don't expect a personal relationship w/ server or entertainment, just an attempt to get me my food asap. And sometimes that means late, b/c that is what happens when you live in the real world.
I don't yell at the bus driver for the traffic jam....

 

[slpeters19]

Actually now that I think about it I did once not tip. I once had a server call me "****got," under his breath but loud enough that the entire table heard him. And actually the next table--I was so shocked that after the server left I actually turned to the next table and said "did he just say what I thought he said?"

In that instance I actually sought out the manager, cancelled our order and left--without tipping of course. So I suppose I can't say that I NEVER fail to tip:lol:.

 

[fords8]

Everything KG said. There is sidework... whether its filling napkin holders, salt/pepper shakers, ketchup bottles, mustard bottles, work stations filled with extra straws, napkins, a-1 sauce, vinegar, crackers... Then you go in the kitchen and make sure extra potato salads were made in proper containers, coleslaws, tartar sauce, bbq sauce, 1000 island sauces, dill dip ect. Is the kitchen clean? Get to cleaning. Is your section clean, get to wiping. The walls are supported without you leaning on the counters, get busy. So while you may not see them being busy... they are. Usually, every waitress will have 20+minutes a shift in cleaning/filling work known as sidework. You can not leave your section in sad shape and think who ever follows you will not nark you off. Add o this a busy day and it can get hectic. If the cook is hungover and sending food out sporadically as in 1/2 of 1 tables food is done and 1/2 of anothers and expects you to run it... there goes your tip. Either you argue with the hungover cook and it gets worse as you spend the next 4-8 hours with him being a ****, or you get a ****ty tip.

 

[Anneburn]

Actually now that I think about it I did once not tip. I once had a server call me "****got," under his breath but loud enough that the entire table heard him. And actually the next table--I was so shocked that after the server left I actually turned to the next table and said "did he just say what I thought he said?"

In that instance I actually sought out the manager, cancelled our order and left--without tipping of course. So I suppose I can't say that I NEVER fail to tip:lol:.

See...there are instances when it justified not to tip! I can't think of a time when I didn't, but it is an option.

 

[slpeters19]

See...there are instances when it justified not to tip! I can't think of a time when I didn't, but it is an option.

Yes I suppose that I feel that in instances where the service is so bad that you literally refuse to consume or pay for the food, you may be allowed not to tip.:lol: This has only ever happened to me the once, but I suppose some people are more picky than I am.:lol:

 

[mrsred1]

I don't think tipping is optional, but I do certainly tip based on quality of service.

And I always speak my mind - if our service sucked terribly, I'll seek out a manager and have it remedied. If our service was exceptional, I'll seek out a manager and tell them how great of a dinner we had.

 

[Anneburn]

Yes I suppose that I feel that in instances where the service is so bad that you literally refuse to consume or pay for the food, you may be allowed not to tip.:lol: This has only ever happened to me the once, but I suppose some people are more picky than I am.:lol:

I missed the part where you said you didn't eat. So, let's say you did eat, would you tip or not tip? Hmmmm

 

[fords8]

Also, here is how the wages broke down in the place I worked at. If I had 500.00 total worth of food sales, the busboy was to get a (2 %)10.00 tip that would be split between all the bussers. Then, the total alcohol sales were say 200.00 the bartenders were tipped (1%) $2.00 to be split between the bartenders. Now with a 700 total food and alcohol sales, I should walk out with no less than 15% tips, $105.00 But I also have to claim minimum 8% to the irs. Sometimes I made my money, some times not. Oh and if I had a walkout, I paid for their lunch/dinner too. That day, before I left.

 

[slpeters19]

I missed the part where you said you didn't eat. So, let's say you did eat, would you tip or not tip? Hmmmm

In that instance, I kinda can't imagine staying and eating, but had I stayed I would have tipped, not well, but I would have tipped.

 

[Anneburn]

In that instance, I kinda can't imagine staying and eating, but had I stayed I would have tipped, not well, but I would have tipped.

I was thinking more like it happened after you had eaten but either way you are way more tolerant than I would have been. I hope that **** got fired after that!

 

[KG]

OMG! "Side work" and it can take a couple hours after shift....AND is still at $2 something an hour.

Also, here is how the wages broke down in the place I worked at. If I had 500.00 total worth of food sales, the busboy was to get a (2 %)10.00 tip that would be split between all the bussers. Then, the total alcohol sales were say 200.00 the bartenders were tipped (1%) $2.00 to be split between the bartenders. Now with a 700 total food and alcohol sales, I should walk out with no less than 15% tips, $105.00 But I also have to claim minimum 8% to the irs. Sometimes I made my money, some times not. Oh and if I had a walkout, I paid for their lunch/dinner too. That day, before I left.

exactly! aside from being service-oriented, it is also physically demanding work. I think people who whine the loudest about tipping are the ones least likely to understand all that goes into it.

 

[skincarekathy]

I will say only that I believe tipping is a KARMIC activity. Spreading good "vibes" and doing what you are supposed to do will get you good "vibes" back from the universe. Or think of it this way- due to their compensation scale, the server is their own "boss." Due to their (very) sub-minimum hourly wage, it is entirely possible they might clear nothing at all after they declare (and they don't declare 15 pct, they have to declare at least up to minimum wage). Kind of like a business owner who can't take a check after overhead is paid because the business didn't make enough money that month.

Tipping habits and attitudes tell a LOT about a person. And yes, I was a waitress for many years.

 

[Anneburn]

This is one of the comments on pinterest. Interesting way to look at it I guess,



argues this all the time with people. So if I order a beer, that costs $5 and give a 20% tip that is a dollar for the waitress to go to the bar, have the bartender pour me a drink, and bring it to me. On the other hand, if I order a Louis XIII cognac, for that costs $200, I should pay her $40 to go to the bar, have the bartender pour me a drink, and bring it to me?

 

[Peacock76]

That's how my dad thinks, Anne. And he's not totally wrong...but he's not totally right. If I order a salad for dinner or a filet, the amount of work the waitress does is the same. BUT, if I order a salad at a pricey restaurant, I overcompensate for my low price meal by tipping more. I'm a minimum 20 percent person. If I order lunch out & it's $7, I'd leave $3.

But a $40 tip on a drink? That's excessive, it's a drink.

That being said, I NEVER used to tip my barista. Recently I read in Reader's Digest about tipping your barista & have since started tipping when I get a "fancy coffee drink." I figure I pay a bartender $1 to take the cap off of a beer & hand me the bottle. That takes all of 7 seconds. The barista spend 3 minutes making my "white chocolate vanilla latte" or whatever & I give her nothing? Now I give her $1.

Does everyone tip on the tax portion? DH takes the tax off of his tip calculation. It drives me :gah:.

 

[slpeters19]

This is one of the comments on pinterest. Interesting way to look at it I guess,


argues this all the time with people. So if I order a beer, that costs $5 and give a 20% tip that is a dollar for the waitress to go to the bar, have the bartender pour me a drink, and bring it to me. On the other hand, if I order a Louis XIII cognac, for that costs $200, I should pay her $40 to go to the bar, have the bartender pour me a drink, and bring it to me?

It's totally true and because of that I tend to adjust up a bit in cheaper restaurants. I might do 25 or 30 percent, but it is true that the same quality of service in a more expensive restaurant might generate a 20 percent tip that was still 3 or 4 times as much money as what the server in the cheaper restaurant got. I do find that in general you tend to get better service in pricier restaurants but certainly not 3 to 4 times as good of service... It's a puzzlement:lol: