Tipping - how much?

[CC97]

I'm pretty sure you can be paid under min. wage if you get tips

[Notch Novelty]

3.15 in the states if you get tips but I make 7.50 plus tips. 3.15 is the mininum.

Never tip at buffet

Always drop a dollar at the least to anyone bringing you a service.

[winters in buffalo]

I like lazy math, so I round the bill to the nearest $10 and tip 20% of that. Works out just fine.

Can't say that I ever get bad enough service to warrant a lesser tip.

[clyon81]

$3 is usually the set standard. I have no respect for anybody who can go spend over $15 on a meal, and then have the danging nerve to act like they can barder the tip. Its amazing what hoops people go through to get out of a tip. Personally, Id like to drag them out back, and put a bullet in there ass, not head, ass, so they think twice everytime they sit down. I never served, but my wife had a job as a waitress. the wisconsin state minimum for waitress jobs is 2.44 an hour, they have something like 3.14 for a caddy. If your going to be a nit picky bastard about leaving a tip, go to a buffet, or your mothers house, and then slap that bitch for not teaching you courtesy and respect. Excuse my language, but im danging amazed at the stories I hear about peoples conduct in public. Im not for permits, but if they can require you to have permits for doing plop on your own property, then they sure as hell could find a use for a "resturant customer license" Like a divers licence, most people never need it, but some people should be off the danging roads, and making their own dinners.

So anyway, I start at 3, and add a dollar for every person over 2 people, eating. hence 4 people is 5, 7 would be 8, etc.

2 and change is ok for a pizza guy, if thats the remaining change owed, otherwise 3 is probably best. Unless you get more then 3 pizzas, then it should start at $5

*I wanted to add that returants are entitled to pay 2 something an hour, but if the waiter/ess doesnt make an average of minimum, the resutrant has to pay the employee the difference. In most cases, the resturant just says that the employee made exactly mimimum for taxes, and if the resutrant is successful, nobody complains, because then you dont really have to claim tips as income, though your probably supposed to, but if the business sucks, and your actually making less, you cant complain too much, because then you have to claim when you have a good night.

Im not farmilliar with tip sharing, but I wouldnt put up with it. Its not your job to make up for the owner not paying the bus boys because they are probably illegals anyway.  That little idea is the kind of thing SOME people in this country would like to see. If you bust your ass, and sally is sitting in the corner booth smoking cigs, you shouldnt have to share your earnings with her. Just tell your boss that youll report the illegals, or some other violation, be it the kitchen, etc. Its not your responsiblity to pay the bus boys. There job is important, but thats the responsiblity of the owner. Youll have to get your fellow servers to get together and refuse. If all the bus boys and waiters/esses threatened to go "union" that plop would straighten out pretty quick.

[Stampman]

Okay--fair enough--but I do not believe a waitress who walks right by your table--ignoring you as you WAVE, and speak-and then sits down with her friends for a smoke & a coffee deserevs a tip--this was not her break--she spent almost the whole time we were in the restaurant at that table--more than she spent working--I don't think she even deserves her wages for doing that--If I was in charge--she would have been fired on the spot.

[clyon81]

Who cares what shes doing when shes not serving you. If she never checks in on you, fine. Some people want to see the waitress running around like her ass is on fire. You still need to leave something, even if she just takes your order, and brings her food out. My dad used to give me and my brother plop to do before he left to go anywhere, just because he didnt like us not doing a chore. Dont get upset with her because shes having enjoyment at her job, and you dont. I also know what your talking about though. I still leave a tip, but maybe only $2. Unless they spill hot coffee or curse at you, you should never leave nothing.

And especially if your a needy person who likes to cough, whistle, waive, or snap their fingers. Your paying for the food, and tipping the person for bringing it to you, your not buying there "undivided attention" while your there.

Some people will walk into a bar, and think they run the place because they put a quarter in the jukebox. The phraze "the customer is always right" only goes so far.

[Stampman]

I didn't want her undivided attention--I wanted service--which, as you pointed out--she was there to provide--she deserved squat--

"Who cares what shes doing when shes not serving you"

That was the problem she wasn't serving us.

AND  I should mention I have worked in restaurants.

On the other hand if a server goes above & beyond they deserve extra.

[clyon81]

On the other hand if a server goes above & beyond they deserve extra.

I still think, if they take your order, and bring you your food. thats enough for a tip. If you need ketchup, more water, more drinks, and your somebody that needs people to constantly bring you stuff, then you should pay more for being needy. Call it the "babysitting" charge

[Stampman]

I'm not going on about it after this, I've said a lot on it--if you can't agree-well then I won't convince you.--I was not being needy.  For example--if I want another drink--that is not being needy--that's being served--when I go to a sit down table service restaurant--that is what I am paying for--I am paying good money so I can sit down and be served--if the waiter/waitress fails in this basic function it negatively affects how much I am willing to tip--if the Waitress IGNORES me when she walked right by me (she was not across the room--but right beside me) that shows she is not interetsed in her job.  If she ignores ALL her customers---we were not the only ones---then she is not doing her job.

If I want another drink, more food, whatever--that is not being needy--it is availing myself of service that I am paying for.  If I want to go to a counter for another drink, I will go to a fast food place.

But the issue here is not just another drink-she failed in all areas-it is also the attitude of the waitress, and the simple fact she was not doing her job--she was not deserving of her wage, let alone a tip.  As I said if I was in charge--she would have been fired for how she treated customers--shortly after this that restaurant went out of business.  WHY?  Poor service--nobody wnet there anymore--because of the service--I have heard similar stories from many other who went to the same restaurant-word got around.

It was also part of a chain--I have been to other locations and received excellent service.  Those locations still operate.

Bottom line--if you are in a sevice industry and fail to provide that service (we actually had to go up to the front and ask for our bill.  We had been done eating for almost 20 minutes.)

or provide extremely sub par service--then you are not deserving of a tip.  

She may have taken our order and brought it to the table-but that's all she did, and she even seemed to be doing that grudgingly.

Was she having a bad day?  So what!  We all have bad days.  Do your job.  And it wasn't just that waitress--I had poor service on other occassions too.  This one was the last straw.  We never went back, and so did most other people, and many never went because of what they heard--now all those waitresses were out of a job.

[clyon81]

(1)--when I go to a sit down table service restaurant--that is what I am paying for--I am paying good money so I can sit down and be served--

(2)If I want another drink, more food, whatever--that is not being needy--it is availing myself of service that I am paying for.

(3)She may have taken our order and brought it to the table-but that's all she did, and she even seemed to be doing that grudgingly.

1- you dont pay for the service. You think that because the owner likes to jack up the price, but very little to NONE of your bill goes to service, or at least the serving part. Maybe the cook, and the busboy...

2- again your not paying for it, thats why you leave a tip, if you were, you wouldnt need to leave a tip. Theres nothing wrong with asking for more, I just hate people that walk in a resturant, and expect to be waited on hand and foot, like there some kind of royalty. If your actually sitting ther monitoring the waitress, and starting her tip up from zero based on things that dont happen at your table, you need to be locked up in a special zoo. Im not saying thats what you do, and im not saying that sometimes waitresses can be rude, but if you cant drop $2 for a tip, your a cheap bastard, and you dont deserve better then fast food.

3-so now you want a dance and a smile? apparently youve never served a table of 20 for 5 bucks. being a waitress is probably one of the most thankless jobs there is. If anything, they should make a couple dollars over minimum(but i would challenge the helpfulness of minimum wage at all)

It would keep the cheapskates out of the resturant, and for the money they make, they wouldnt have to deal with people who think they should try and get everything they can by working them to death because they bought the friday special.

[Lee.]

First off, I wasn't aware that some locations offer a lower minimum wage for servers.  That's pretty :censored:ed up, but if it happens it happens.  It's not right, in my eyes, but whatever, I ain't gonna change the world.

Second, based on clyon's criteria, I'm a poor, lazy suck who should only eat at Wendy's if I'm going out for dinner.

Severs need to realize that a tip is just that- a TIP. It isn't a God- or Government-mandated right, it's not a given.  If you want an automatic tip, go to a resturant where it's added into the bill, that way you're guaranteed 15%.  Just because you're a waiter/waitress doesn't mean I have to tip you- and if you choose to work for below minimum wage, then you better learn to do your job in such a way that the tips will come at you hot and heavy, so that you're not busting your ass for 8 hours for a lousy $25.

I've had service jobs, ones that society mandated tipping, and those that didn't.  I learned early on that if I did my job right, treated my customers well, and made sure they were taken care of, then I made good money at the end of the night.  On off nights, if i wasn't well, had woman problems, whatever, I made diddly.  And that's how it should be.

[tajmccall]

Ok, well there is a good amount of secondary information, but im a very opinionated pizza deliverer for Dominoes, and i had a good time reading some different opinions and stances, and im here to  impart some primary knowledge of both a delivery boy, and server.

For Pizza, remember this is a job many men depend on for college money, or whatever, much like women to for waitresses.  There is nothing saying you must tip, but there is also nothing saying you should hold the door for old ladies either,  its just common courtesy.

I get 70 cents per run, or delivery i make.  That covers MY gas, or is supposed to, but doesnt.  If i have a slow day, i actually lose money.  I get minimum wage here, which is 5.15, so i dont lose it when that happens.

But that being said, you can imagine my dissapointment when i get stiffed.  Oddly, it seems to happen in flows, where ill get stiffed 5 times on the same day in similar areas, but then ill get super tips the next week from their neighbors.  Its weird.

Ive never heard or seen anyone spitting, or doing anything disparaging to the food, but ive seed pizza cutters dropped on the ground, and used only moments later, with the resolve by that particular employee being "the 3 second rule."

At my dominoes, we can see when people ordered when you called, and deliverers remember where they were stiffed.  THe most popular scheme is they have their kids answer the door and give me the exact amount.  It makes me laugh, because they obviously have guilt for being stingy.  I wonder why they do it if they feel so guilty, but maybe things are tight, i  try not to judge anymore.

I tip $5, because i empathize, and if im too lazy to get off my glorious ass, i figure i owe someone money for my luxury.

Heres what I am pleased with

$10-20-  2 bucks

20-30- 3-5

30+ 5-10

I dont expect more than 10 dollars for any one run, im only able to take about 8 pies at once, so thats that.

For Servers;

Understand that like it or not, every server is affected by bad patrons, and some of you are those patrons that we dred.  (JQK, mr. pinks diatribe is proving a point, remember mr. pink is an the entire movie, and dies fittingly in the end.  You align yourself with a plope charachter, my friend.)  That said, if your server is off at you, remember they are people, and they are working. Surely all of you have had bad days, and your not exactly Johnny Personality.  Who cares if they arent glowing when they meet you. Do you really think they care if you are there? No, they just want your tip, just as you just want your food.  Its a business transaction, keep it as such.

The "then dont work in service" arguement is coming from the least tolerant of you i suspect, and i have a rebuttal for it.  

Everyone has a plope day.  They arent your slave, they are your host.  Just because someone has a bad attitude one day, doesnt mean they do forever.  Someone not checking how your extreme nachos are isnt bad service, its leaving you alone.  If you want something, ask.

Wow, its kinda like life, that way.

Anymore questions, ask.

[slapshot]

Like OSilverbacks said, a tip is just that -  a TIP. It's not required for any service provided. I have never stiffed anyone, but I have left 7 cents to prove a point. One place I went screwed up my order twice, never refilled my drink, and took a half hour to get my bill. But even if service is average, I put in 20%. I don't calculate to the nearest penny...I try to round to a whole dollar. I took my girlfriend to dinner or her birthday. The bill was $72. I gave $100, didn't think twice...service was excellent, food was great.

But there are other service jobs that don't get tipped. You don't tip the bagger or cashier at the Supermarket. The chefs who cook the food doesn't get tipped. The waitstaff get tipped. They get tipped for doing their job. It's too bad that they have to depend on tips because their wages are so small, but isn't it weird to tip people for doing their job?

I tip the girl who cuts my hair...my cut is $13, I give her $2. Why do I do it? It takes less than 10 minutes to cut my hair (it's almost shaved)...it's like the stylist is getting almost $80/hour, and she still gets tipped. Is she providing a service, or just doing her job? I know, she doesn't get all $13...I'm not sure what % she gets per cut, but it still must work out pretty good.

[Stampman]

I have worked in restaurants. I don't expect to be treated like royalty, but I don't expect to be treated as if I don't exist either. I don't start at 0 and work up or at a certain % and work up or down--I tip based on service--usually I tip close to 20%--I have tipped more--I have tipped zero.

[tajmccall]

I hope i didnt give the impression that your waiter gets a fee just for showing up.  You SHOULD leave a tiny tip, like 7 cents if they suck, to send a message.  

My statements were said with the implied message that they are doing their job.

[Nate15]

As someone who is on the outside of this little discussion looking in, I suggest everyone read Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich.  It's a book detailing the experiences of a woman from the upper economic class conducting an experiment of sorts, trying to get by living almost as someone from the lower economic class.

The whole book does not apply to this, however the first chapter is all about her experiences as a waitress in numerous restaurants.  It makes you think.  You'll find yourself at least sitting back and re-evaluating your position on many of these issues.