Tipping....is it optional?

[skincarekathy]

So how much is taking a cap off of a beer worth?

It is apparently worth enough for you to not want to do it for yourself at home.

You're already overpaying for the beer. What's another 2 bits for the bartender?

 

[freyguy50]

Blah, Blah, Blah...pay me more money...blah blah, blah

Waiters/Waitresses should be paid more. Why? Because they take your order and maybe refill your drinks.

In today's restaurants:
The waitress DOES NOT seat you.
The waiter/waitress takes your order.
The waiter/waitress brings out your drinks.
The waiter/waitress may, but more than likely DOES NOT bring out the meal. The person that does bring out the meal may not receive a portion of the tip.
The waiter/waitress may or may not refill the drinks. (This has been the case in the past three restaurants I have been at.
The waiter/waitress takes the payment for your bill.
The waiter/waitress more than likely does not clear off the table. The person that does clear the table may not receive a portion of the tip.

So what am I paying for? Not much if you ask me.

 

[fords8]

Frey you don't see the behind the scene stuff. Duties vary, but one place I worked at we had to do a LOT of prep work. The servers had to make all the salads for our customers but before that, we had to prep the whole salad station (chop all the veggies, fruit, etc.). We also had to prep and clean the beverage stations, fill the salts, peppers, ketchups, etc. after every shift and a lot of other crap that I don't remember now. All of this was besides what you see. All I know is that I was dead **** tired after my shift so I musta been doing something. :dunce:

 

[eiramnoaj]

What's the deal with tip jars popping up in every food place? I'm talking Dunkin Donuts, bagel places, deli's etc.

Seriously, I order a bagel & coffee (to go) and I'm supposed to leave a tip? Come on now. :surrender:

 

[got2crazykids]

Here's how I tip (and I was a waitress so I'm biased).

I look at the bill, double it, then move the decimal. Tax, smachx. That's how I've taught the kids to tip, too.

Easy peasy.

thats what we do too easy way to tip 20%

 

[fords8]

Waiters/Waitresses should be paid more. Why? Because they take your order and maybe refill your drinks.

In today's restaurants:
The waitress DOES NOT seat you.
The waiter/waitress takes your order.
The waiter/waitress brings out your drinks.
The waiter/waitress may, but more than likely DOES NOT bring out the meal. The person that does bring out the meal may not receive a portion of the tip.
The waiter/waitress may or may not refill the drinks. (This has been the case in the past three restaurants I have been at.
The waiter/waitress takes the payment for your bill.
The waiter/waitress more than likely does not clear off the table. The person that does clear the table may not receive a portion of the tip.

So what am I paying for? Not much if you ask me.

Please stay home and bottle all this positive outlook for yourself!!

 

[fords8]

What's the deal with tip jars popping up in every food place? I'm talking Dunkin Donuts, bagel places, deli's etc.

Seriously, I order a bagel & coffee (to go) and I'm supposed to leave a tip? Come on now. :surrender:

Yeah that's BS.

 

[jll2375]

For all of you waitresses (and former waitresses), what do you consider as an acceptable tip?

I remember being in a restaurant last year. Two girls were at a nearby table talking about their work. They were waitresses at Olive Garden. The one was complaining to the other that all she got was a $5 tip on a $20 bill. She thought she should have got more since she had to refill their soup, breadsticks, and drinks.

 

[KG]

I would rather see wait staff get paid minimum wage or better than have a tip system. All they do is take my order, bring out my food (and that is not all the time), and refill my drinks. Big deal. How much is that worth? McDonald's does the same thing, do you tip them?

My biggest problem with tipping is that the waitress/waiter does not have to declare all of their tips because there is no way to track the cash. Also, I have seen waiters make more in their job than firefighters, police officers, teachers, and even engineers. Is that even right...no.

Waiters/waitresses choose that occupation because of the upside in income. If the money isn't good enough, choose another occupation.

right, but they don't get paid minimim wage. We're discussing the system in place. And, as discussed above, servers do a lot more than just run food. Did you miss the posts about food prep like slicing lemons, brewing iced tea, carrying heavy trays of clean ramekins and coffee cups from the dishwasher to the prep/serving areas and cleaning? when I was waitstaff I had to help clean and sanitize ALL the surfaces and equipment every night and clean up the french fries the kids throw on the floor in the middle of a dinner rush. Waitstaff can earn money if/when they work hard, and the best money is typically on nights, weekends and holidays. If they don't work hard, they don't last long. It is a possible job for those without much education, but it's not easy to make a lifelong career out of a job that is as physically demanding as serving.

If you disagree that servers should get tipped, then please keep stuffing your hole and clogging your arteries at McDonald's.

 

[skincarekathy]

What's the deal with tip jars popping up in every food place? I'm talking Dunkin Donuts, bagel places, deli's etc.

Seriously, I order a bagel & coffee (to go) and I'm supposed to leave a tip? Come on now. :surrender:

I do not tip at those places.

 

[CharlieQ]

Frey you don't see the behind the scene stuff. Duties vary, but one place I worked at we had to do a LOT of prep work. The servers had to make all the salads for our customers but before that, we had to prep the whole salad station (chop all the veggies, fruit, etc.). We also had to prep and clean the beverage stations, fill the salts, peppers, ketchups, etc. after every shift and a lot of other crap that I don't remember now. All of this was besides what you see. All I know is that I was dead **** tired after my shift so I musta been doing something. :dunce:

Why should this be considered in the tip? That work would still need to be done whether there were cutomers or not.

 

[fords8]

For all of you waitresses (and former waitresses), what do you consider as an acceptable tip?

I remember being in a restaurant last year. Two girls were at a nearby table talking about their work. They were waitresses at Olive Garden. The one was complaining to the other that all she got was a $5 tip on a $20 bill. She thought she should have got more since she had to refill their soup, breadsticks, and drinks.

1. she shouldn't have been complaing within a customer's ear shot so she's an idiot which prolly showed to her customer.

2. $5 is plenty although I do also consider things like refills, how many courses (soup, salad, dessert, etc).

3. I'm really hungry for some Olive Garden. :surrender:

 

[fords8]

Why should this be considered in the tip? That work would still need to be done whether there were cutomers or not.

I'm just saying there's more to the job of waitressing than frey thinks. In other words not only did I take your salad order and bring you your salad, I also made the **** thing!

 

[skincarekathy]

For all of you waitresses (and former waitresses), what do you consider as an acceptable tip?

I remember being in a restaurant last year. Two girls were at a nearby table talking about their work. They were waitresses at Olive Garden. The one was complaining to the other that all she got was a $5 tip on a $20 bill. She thought she should have got more since she had to refill their soup, breadsticks, and drinks.

Back when I started, 10 percent was standard. I was fine with that. I would routinely get 15-20 pct or more.

When DH and I go someplace fancy (Melting Pot, or upscale steakhouse places, etc) we routinely tip 20 pct. I do have a bias because I did that for a living, but we eat out so seldom that I don't mind it at all when we go fancy.

When the waiter brings your steak and trims and cuts it for you tableside (and that is skilled work, I don't care what Frey says), his expertise is worth the coin.

 

[eiramnoaj]

1. she shouldn't have been complaing within a customer's ear shot so she's an idiot which prolly showed to her customer.

2. $5 is plenty although I do also consider things like refills, how many courses (soup, salad, dessert, etc).

3. I'm really hungry for some Olive Garden. :surrender:

From what I took from the post, the two girls were eating at a restaurant and talking about their work as waitresses at Olive Garden.

 

[skincarekathy]

Why should this be considered in the tip? That work would still need to be done whether there were cutomers or not.

Because of the customs of the country, restaurant owners consider this in how much they pay. That's why tipping exists. All of that work goes into your "restaurant experience."

I don't see anyone blabbing "hey, that TGI burger isn't worth $9, so Restaurant Manager I am going to pay $6 because it was only average."

There is a very, very easy fix for tip-fear. Order it take-away or stay home

 

[fords8]

From what I took from the post, the two girls were eating at a restaurant and talking about their work as waitresses at Olive Garden.

Oh.

 

[bennaloe]

Waiters/Waitresses should be paid more. Why? Because they take your order and maybe refill your drinks.

In today's restaurants:
The waitress DOES NOT seat you.
The waiter/waitress takes your order.
The waiter/waitress brings out your drinks.
The waiter/waitress may, but more than likely DOES NOT bring out the meal. The person that does bring out the meal may not receive a portion of the tip.
The waiter/waitress may or may not refill the drinks. (This has been the case in the past three restaurants I have been at.
The waiter/waitress takes the payment for your bill.
The waiter/waitress more than likely does not clear off the table. The person that does clear the table may not receive a portion of the tip.

So what am I paying for? Not much if you ask me.

Dude! I waitress and I do all that you listed and more! Plus, plus....I help with dishes if needed and I have time, and help the cooks with prep work! When you got me as a waitress....I deserve the freaking tip thank you very much! I also write out my own checks and add those up too....Oh...and I do all this with a smile too

 

[lucyrevenge]

Waiters/Waitresses should be paid more. Why? Because they take your order and maybe refill your drinks.

In today's restaurants:
The waitress DOES NOT seat you. Unless the hostess is missing they shouldn't.
The waiter/waitress takes your order. Check.
The waiter/waitress brings out your drinks. Check.
The waiter/waitress may, but more than likely DOES NOT bring out the meal. The person that does bring out the meal may not receive a portion of the tip. I usually serve the food myself, but in some of the restaurants I've worked in there is a server assistant/food runner who is responsible for this specific job. Whether or not I delivered the food I had to tip out to this person. Additionally any good server is going to run food whether or not it belongs to their table because who in the hell wants to eat cold food when you're paying for it. So it's a trade off, someone got to my order before me but I may return the favor later.
The waiter/waitress may or may not refill the drinks. (This has been the case in the past three restaurants I have been at. Same situation here.... Just because I'm working another section, doesn't mean I'm going to act like I'm blind when I pass through another server's. If I see you could use a refill, I'm on it.
The waiter/waitress takes the payment for your bill. Duh! They want their $$!
The waiter/waitress more than likely does not clear off the table. The person that does clear the table may not receive a portion of the tip. Same premise as the foodrunner here. The busboys are paid a hourly wage to do this so why wouldn't I let them? In addition, I had to tip out to them as well. Now during your dinner, if I'm giving you good service I'm more than likely going to clear some of the plates myself.
So what am I paying for? Not much if you ask me. When you tip your server, you are paying for the whole experience. If you rather be a cheap **** and shortchange everyone than stay home & do everything yourself. You won't be missed.

For all of you waitresses (and former waitresses), what do you consider as an acceptable tip?

I remember being in a restaurant last year. Two girls were at a nearby table talking about their work. They were waitresses at Olive Garden. The one was complaining to the other that all she got was a $5 tip on a $20 bill. She thought she should have got more since she had to refill their soup, breadsticks, and drinks.

10% for bad service
15% for ok
20% for standard
25% for stellar

 

[chgobob33]

And the whole "because it costs more why should I tip more am I getting 3x better service?" can solve all your problems like this:

1) No reason to pay for $200 Cognac if $2 Cognac will do. Does it really taste 3x better? Is your palate that good?
2) As another example, no reason to pay $60 to get your hair cut at Tricoci when $12 at Great Clips will do. Is it a 3x better haircut? Those people all paid the same for their educations. Why pay more?
3) No reason to gate check your bags ($2 a bag, TIP) when you can drag them into the terminal yourself. The ultimate tip-save!

I agree
1) Duh of course not get the $2 Cognac or even better the dollar draft :lol:
2) Who in their right mind would pay $60 for a haircut? Mine usually is $14 + tip
3) Of course I take my bags inside myself, and I thought it was $1 a bag anyway, but I still take them in myself preferably carry on.

Hmm or did you mean it the other way? :flowers: