tipping

[Oryon20]

We always tip.  Average service gets around 15%.  Great service gets 20%.

But, let's also be a little fair here.  Waiters/waitresses may make below minimum wage, but let's not make them out to be making no money.  Let's say they work at a casual dining restaurant.  They make $4.00 an hour and have the responsibility of four tables.  During an hour, all four tables are filled.  Some are filled twice, so he/she has 6 tables.  If each table averaged a $30.00 bill, let's say, and each table only tipped 10%... that's $18.00 in tips.  So, now you're at $22.00/hr.  Even if you have to take some out, say $8.00, to give to the bus boys/girls, I think that's a damn good hourly wage.  People with college degrees sometimes don't make $16.00 an hour.  My sister-in-law was a waitress and my wife's friend currently is one.  They both do extremely well.

Yes, you will get people who won't come in and tip.  But, when you look at the overall picture, waitstaff can make very nice change for what they do.

[debraleesparks]

   I HAVE WORKED AS A WAITRESS, AND i KNOW THAT THEY GET TAXED FOR THEIR TIPS, EVEN IF THEY DON'T GET TIPPED!!!!! Please tip them, because if you don't, they LOOSE money!!!!!

[toritallen]

even if its just change you should leave something

[mc1962]

I went to IHOP with family this morning in fact, the bill was $37.12, i broke a $50.00 bill and that left $12.88......I left it ($12.88) as a tip because she was exceptional and i realize that they rely on the income to live on. 

[Lunar01]

I tip mainly based on the service. Of course I tip anyway even if the waiter/waitress is a rude person who do not bother to listen to my order or just disappear when I need the service. I give extra tip if the service is good.

[trujillo33]

I always tip...the amount I leave depends on the service. Some place the service is not good!

[dreamyxo]

even if its just change you should leave something

'

That's all well and good and if I leave a $1 because that's all I can afford they should not be complaining that it's only a dollar they should be thankful for getting anything and not complain about the amount.  Times are tough and everybody is hurting.

[Cuppycake]

Quite frankly I don't think that people should take jobs that rely on tips. If people started refusing to take poorly paid  like that then restaurants would be forced to pay NORMAL wages. My daughter works at the Hard Rock as a hostess and makes decent money + tips. That is how it SHOULD be. Not to mention in my opinion a tip should be EARNED if I don't feel I got great service you are not getting a tip...

[Fireman10]

i always tip them but what i'm saying what if i'm hungry and only have money to buy my food only, no change for me to tip the waitress- i shouldnt buy at the resturant then? 

[dreamyxo]

Not to mention in my opinion a tip should be EARNED if I don't feel I got great service you are not getting a tip...

Thank you.  I do not understand why these people say they tip even for bad service.  That is rewarding bad behavior just because it's expected. 

[lvstephanie]

It's just the "dumbing down" of society...

It sort of like grades at school... In the past, a C was considered average work, a B was above average, and an A meant exceptional work. You could see a bell curve form around that criteria where most of the students were getting C's, some getting B's, and only a few getting A's. But as more students were wanting to get into colleges ("because you need to go to college to get a good job, and I deserve to get a good job just because I exist, therefore I deserve to go to college"  ) B's and A's became more of the norm. Fewer people are getting C's and it is a true rarity for a person to get an F.

It should be that a tip is given for good service as a bonus, not a standard. However, society has been skewed to the point where 1) waitstaff are getting taxed on their "expected" tips regardless of whether they receive them, 2) the minimum wage for waitstaff is less than it is for other jobs, and 3) it has become expected to tip regardless of how good the service was.

To put another way, a manufacturing company, say ABC Tires, gives bonuses to employees that produce more than their quota. We as a society shouldn't start "dumbing down" expectations just "to be fair" to the tire worker that doesn't produce as many tires. We shouldn't be expected to pay a bonus for someone making just enough tires to meet quota, or even, heaven forbid, if they don't meet quota at all. Moreover, the government shouldn't look at the bonuses that tire manufacturers give to their employees and say "since they're making bonus money, their minimum wage could be lessened to account for added bonuses" and tax a certain level of their "expected" bonuses.

I think once government started making rules about waitstaff, it became normalize in society and all bets were off. It is now expected by the government to tip them... If the government didn't make any special cases in the minimum wages for waitstaff and tax based on expected tips, then I'd feel better about not tipping for average or below average service. True, the food prices would be higher to accommodate the higher wages, but I'd rather have that than the system we've currently got.

But since we are living with these goofy rules, I tend to tip 10% for the bare minimum amount of service, usually 15% if they've come by after serving the food to check on how the meal was, and more if the service was truly exceptional. I have also not tipped if the waiter was rude, goofed up my order, etc. Some cases I've tipped a manager if, say the meat was cooked properly and they give me the meal for free (or discounted something else). I also tipped a busboy once because I saw how after clearing the table, when putting down new settings he'd make napkin origami (but the other sections didn't have anything special like that).

[moonangel]

nonononono The waitress should get a better paying job.  I only tip if i am given the oppurtunity for a second glass of pop.  You would not believe how many times this has not happened all it takes is a simple sentence..  I dont tip if the waitress has removed my plate and then offers a second drink.  Its to late then.  I was a waitress for many years and there are simple curtesys that you offer customers that are getting lost as the years go by.  no one values their job any more but thats another discussion

[sweatytree]

I still can not believe some people have the nerve to go out and eat and not tip !!!   did u know most waitresses dont make min wages?  Did u know that when u dont leave a tip most places still TAX them on what u SHOULD of tipped !!!

Willow - I work in accounting at a large restaurant and we DONT tax the employees on what your should be tipped on, but rather the actual tip from each pay period.  You should contact your payroll department and ask them to show you the law as to why they are taxing you on what you should be tipped.  This is against the law (at least in my state)...

[dreamyxo]

It's just the "dumbing down" of society...

It sort of like grades at school... In the past, a C was considered average work, a B was above average, and an A meant exceptional work. You could see a bell curve form around that criteria where most of the students were getting C's, some getting B's, and only a few getting A's. But as more students were wanting to get into colleges ("because you need to go to college to get a good job, and I deserve to get a good job just because I exist, therefore I deserve to go to college"   ) B's and A's became more of the norm. Fewer people are getting C's and it is a true rarity for a person to get an F.

It should be that a tip is given for good service as a bonus, not a standard. However, society has been skewed to the point where 1) waitstaff are getting taxed on their "expected" tips regardless of whether they receive them, 2) the minimum wage for waitstaff is less than it is for other jobs, and 3) it has become expected to tip regardless of how good the service was.

To put another way, a manufacturing company, say ABC Tires, gives bonuses to employees that produce more than their quota. We as a society shouldn't start "dumbing down" expectations just "to be fair" to the tire worker that doesn't produce as many tires. We shouldn't be expected to pay a bonus for someone making just enough tires to meet quota, or even, heaven forbid, if they don't meet quota at all. Moreover, the government shouldn't look at the bonuses that tire manufacturers give to their employees and say "since they're making bonus money, their minimum wage could be lessened to account for added bonuses" and tax a certain level of their "expected" bonuses.

I think once government started making rules about waitstaff, it became normalize in society and all bets were off. It is now expected by the government to tip them... If the government didn't make any special cases in the minimum wages for waitstaff and tax based on expected tips, then I'd feel better about not tipping for average or below average service. True, the food prices would be higher to accommodate the higher wages, but I'd rather have that than the system we've currently got.

But since we are living with these goofy rules, I tend to tip 10% for the bare minimum amount of service, usually 15% if they've come by after serving the food to check on how the meal was, and more if the service was truly exceptional. I have also not tipped if the waiter was rude, goofed up my order, etc. Some cases I've tipped a manager if, say the meat was cooked properly and they give me the meal for free (or discounted something else). I also tipped a busboy once because I saw how after clearing the table, when putting down new settings he'd make napkin origami (but the other sections didn't have anything special like that).

 They should have a clapping smiley.  

People have such an unbelievable entitlement mentality these days it's unreal.  Not only is it dumbing down of society but pure greed has been the downfall of this country.  

[dreamyxo]

I still can not believe some people have the nerve to go out and eat and not tip !!!   did u know most waitresses dont make min wages?  Did u know that when u dont leave a tip most places still TAX them on what u SHOULD of tipped !!!

Willow - I work in accounting at a large restaurant and we DONT tax the employees on what your should be tipped on, but rather the actual tip from each pay period.  You should contact your payroll department and ask them to show you the law as to why they are taxing you on what you should be tipped.  This is against the law (at least in my state)...

If this is the case then people really do need to be educated because I have witnessed a few online discussions where they think this is the case.