How much tip to leave...

[jann1033]

dvc: thanks for explaining that bout the irs,I remember they had changed things but did not know how, just know I got screamed at by the other servers when I reported all my tips.

I do not routinely get a bottle of wine but from the quote I thought the 20% was on a bottle costing up to $20 so that would be 4 dollars..seems fair to me for delivering a bottle...I don't usually tip 4 dollars extra if they deliver a bottle of pepsi ( just kidding)

I have to say this topic has gotten me thinking about tipping in general...do not feel sorry for WDW wait staff buffet or sit down but sure do for the lowly "shoney's" girl! I will sure tip them at least 20% unless they reek. also around here the going rate must be 15% since that is all they charge for large parties which if anything are more work.( we usually tip more than that but I kind of get a kick out of seeing that everytime it's on a bill)

 

[dvcgirl]

Heather....

I did say "deduct the wine, tip 20% on the rest of the bill and then throw in a few more dollars".....okay I should have said "throw in four more dollars".....which would accurately have reflected tipping 20% on the first 20 dollars of the bottle. You got me....I was a dollar short. But throwing in "just a few more dollars" would be 15% on that first 20 dollars which would be just fine by industry standards. I did indicate that I tip on a portion of the wine however.

You asked if the server benefits by the exorbitant price of wine? Um, of course they do if you tip a straight 20% on the bottle. The server *would* benefit greatly if I tipped 20% on a $100 bottle of wine. If my bill is $200, they are working very hard to bring all that food for the first $100 of the bill (and that 20 dollar tip), but by simply opening a bottle of wine they deserve another 20 dollars? One trip to the bar to retrieve the wine, 3 seconds to open it, one small pour to taste...and that's worth 20 dollars......I think not. I'm being penalized for drinking expensive wine.

Servers work much more to bring more expensive glasses of wine to the table. If a couple has 2 good glasses of wine each, let's say it runs them $40. The server makes a minimum of 2 trips to the table for that.....assuming that the diners are drinking at the same pace.......if not it could be 3 or 4 trips. And for that they should tip $8...right? More work, less money. But the diner ordering the $100 should tip 20 for the one trip? I'll keep ordering them, just won't tip on the whole bottle.

I've never in all my years short-changed a server. I generally tip *over* industry standards which are 15% of the food bill and 15% on the first 20 dollars of a bottle of wine. We almost always tip 20%, especially at WDW where the servers are generally good.

Servers who are MADE to be honest by the IRS means only one thing....they were audited and found to have under-reported their tip income. So? How does this affect me? They should be honest. I report all income that I make to the IRS. Shouldn't they?

And as for buffet prices....they are definitely high at Disney, but I don't tip more than 10% at buffets anway. So my percentage of the tip is still 10%...just ten percent of an overpriced breakfast. Again, this is the standard for the industry.

 

[beatnik]

Very interesting to read the posts on this thread. People have so many different "takes" on this issue which I had never really given much thought...

I suppose, however, that my personal policy (standard 20% tip) on this issue remains unchanged. When I go to a restaurant it usually strikes me that my server works pretty hard for their money-- it seems to be physically hard work (lots of hurrying around), mentally hard work (lots of details to keep straight), and at times I'm sure the job is emotionally taxing when inconsiderate or discourteous folks must be dealt with. Additionally, its likely the type of work where the server has little control over much of how things run in their place of employ and although it may not be very intellectually demanding nor is it likely intellectually fulfilling. All in all, what I would consider a difficult and stressful job. I am a college professor and make a shamefully paltry salary but am still far better off than many people in this world. I am very grateful for the job that I have and am glad that I don't have to work in the sort of job that I go home from exhausted and drained. So I do try to cut waitstaff a break and to be as generous as I can when we dine out. To me it seems only fair to tip on the whole amount of the bill whether we order something extravagant and overpriced or not. Sure it is true that it is no harder for the server to deliver you a $50 entree than a $30 entree (nor is it any easier to deliver a $5 kid's entree than a $15 adult entree), but the convention in our society is to tip on the total of the bill. We don't tip on the number of trips the server makes to our table or the total time we spend in the restaurant or the complexity of the demands we place on our server. So whenever I look at the price of an item on a menu to see if I can afford it, I am always mentally calculating the price as the listed price multiplied by 1.2. My husband and I would probably never order a $100 bottle of wine... I would say because we could not afford to, but this is not entirely true... We just have limited funds and thats not where we'd choose to spend our money. But if we did choose to do so on a regular enough basis to have a tipping policy on it, we'd be expecting it to cost us $120... We'd feel so prosperous, I suppose, that we'd want to share the wealth!

To each his (or her) own, I suppose, but I'd encourgage folks to be as generous as possible for good (or even acceptable) service. Although you may not see the direct results of your generosity, I am sure it will be much appreciated. The place to pinch pennies is not out of your waitstaff's pockets.

Beatnik