Comments/questions on tipping

[mom2my3kids]

Keep in mind that most good servers make more (not much more, but still more) using this system than they would make if they received a regular wage without tipping.

Yes the good servers can make decent money, but they work hard for it and put up with some real dandy people.. Ohhh the story's I could tell you.. I guess it depends on where you live at and the city from which I live is a cheap one. But the good tippers are the ones that take the slack for the cheaper tippers or the stiffers..

 

[Amyrlin]

It is a very different cultre, as many pople have already said, in the UK, servers have minimum wages and although tips are taxable, there is no automatice tax deduction. The menu prices cover the wages and gratuities are extra.

I know a few Americans who worked thier way through collages as waitresses, the wages were so low that by the time tax was deducted they were lucky if that had anything left, due to the way they were taxed in the assumed tips. They litterally lived on the tips.

I always tip between about 15% for buffets and 20% for table service, adjusting it up or down for good or bad service,

 

[MareQ]

My standard tip is 20% - I will lower that for bad service but NEVER lower than 15%. Exceptional service will be tipped over 20%.

VERY RARELY have I tipped less than 20% .....

 

[queenarmadillo]

Not trying to make political points etc, just a query...
Why do they not just add the extra 8% or whatever onto the bill in the resteraunt if it is being taxed on it anyway, and then not expect people to tip regardless of service?
It seems unfair to tax based on assumed earnings when they could just require waitstaff to earn the same minimum wage as those in other professions.
In the UK I will only tip for exceptional service, and I understand why I do that. I find it hard to understand why I am expected to tip for standard or substandard service--if standard service deserves that rate then why are they not just paid it in the first place?

 

[Dreamfinder2]

For extra credit on your final grade for the semester, here's a handy little site:

http://www.tipping.org/TopPage.shtml

Perhaps a bit OT, but I have an uncle (and you'd have to know this guy) who tips waitstaff in advance of placing his order. He usually makes a comment like, "I really appreciate you taking care of us tonight."

He says he's never had anything less than superb service.

Whaddya think? Is that poor form or a good idea?

 

[Booknut]

Keep in mind that most good servers make more (not much more, but still more) using this system than they would make if they received a regular wage without tipping.

Yes, but for instance, if a server in the UK only makes £4.50 (about$7.50 an hour) an hour, I imagine he will still get tips. I tip in the UK between 10-15% even though they earn much more it seems than their American counterparts.

This thread has been very enlightening for me, thanks for all your responses. I will not let my future American servers down

 

[Amyrlin]

Not trying to make political points etc, just a query...
Why do they not just add the extra 8% or whatever onto the bill in the resteraunt if it is being taxed on it anyway, and then not expect people to tip regardless of service?
It seems unfair to tax based on assumed earnings when they could just require waitstaff to earn the same minimum wage as those in other professions.
In the UK I will only tip for exceptional service, and I understand why I do that. I find it hard to understand why I am expected to tip for standard or substandard service--if standard service deserves that rate then why are they not just paid it in the first place?

Then the prices of the food etc would all increase and you would end up paying the same or probably more because of the way it would be put in place.

The proces in resturants over in the US is much less than we are paying in the UK, even with decent tipping, if we go to anoter country we whould be happy to adapt to that cultre

I do understand what you are saying, but the pay sysytem is a reflection of a cultre that is very different, and as such considerthe bill as a whole, food and tip, rahter than just the tip in the same way it is seen as over here.

 

[RC Fan]

Perhaps a bit OT, but I have an uncle (and you'd have to know this guy) who tips waitstaff in advance of placing his order. He usually makes a comment like, "I really appreciate you taking care of us tonight."

He says he's never had anything less than superb service.

Whaddya think? Is that poor form or a good idea?

I think it could work to your benefit. I guess I feel tipping at full service restaurants is an accepted practice in North America. I say North America because that is the way it is done here in Canada as well. You should be prepared and willing to leave a 15 to 20% tip. If you are on a trip budget, this should be included in your budget. If you are not interested in leaving a tip, perhaps you would be happier with some sort of fast food joint?

 

[Terry S]

I almost always tip 20%, if the service is better than average I will tip more than that. One other thing I do want to mention/remind. Tips should always be on the original amount of the bill before any discounts or coupons have been deducted.

 

[bicker]

Why do they not just add the extra 8% or whatever onto the bill in the resteraunt if it is being taxed on it anyway, and then not expect people to tip regardless of service?

It is important to understand the context of that 8%. That is simply a number, arrived at by bureaucratic process, reflecting the lowest amount reasonable people believe any decent server can expect to be tipped on average, taking into consideration those who tip appropriately as well as those who stiff the server. That threshold was established to prevent the widespread incidence of tax-evasion that was practiced at the time the threshold was established.

Again, that 8% is just in place to reduce tax-evasion.

It seems unfair to tax based on assumed earnings when they could just require waitstaff to earn the same minimum wage as those in other professions.

Minimum wage isn't the point: Most restaurant servers make far more than the minimum wage. The point of the threshold was simply to try to reduce the amount of money dishonest servers could get away with failing to report. That threshold has no relevance and no effect, positive or negative, on honest servers.

I find it hard to understand why I am expected to tip for standard or substandard service--if standard service deserves that rate then why are they not just paid it in the first place?

It is perfectly understandable that folks from other countries have a hard time understanding why; I hope we're helping them understand why. Again, in the United States, menu prices are lowered, reflecting a shared responsibility for paying the cost of service -- for paying the servers -- split between the restaurant and the patrons. Why? Because it gives patrons more direct control over how well compensated a server gets for their service. The patron is in the BEST position to evaluate the quality of service delivered and therefore is in the best position to evaluate whether a server should get 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25% or more for the service they provided.

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

Not trying to make political points etc, just a query...
Why do they not just add the extra 8% or whatever onto the bill in the resteraunt if it is being taxed on it anyway, and then not expect people to tip regardless of service?
It seems unfair to tax based on assumed earnings when they could just require waitstaff to earn the same minimum wage as those in other professions.
In the UK I will only tip for exceptional service, and I understand why I do that. I find it hard to understand why I am expected to tip for standard or substandard service--if standard service deserves that rate then why are they not just paid it in the first place?

There are many Americans who agree with you that this is an unfair practice, while others like it because they feel that it allows them to reward good service, and gives servers the possibility of trying to earn more. Myself, I have mixed feelings. On one hand, I agree that the process can be very unfair and stress provoking to servers, it also passes on a significant part of the financial burden of the uncertainty of the restaurant business to the most vulnerable workers. On the other hand if legislation were in place to guarantee servers minimum wage, I can see restaurants using that as an excuse to jack up prices 20% and not to pass that money on to the people who work there. Unfortunately, minimum wage is not a "living wage" in this country. A system like that in Britain with servers getting a minimum wage and then smaller tips on top of that might be a good compromise.

However one feels, though, I think it's important to recognize that the waitstaff aren't the ones who make the rules. If one wants to advocate for changes in the system I think that's great. However, in the meantime it's important to continue to tip people at an appropriate rate, since they are dependent on those tips and since they didn't make the system as it is today. (Not meant to imply that you intend to do that, but I have seen other people write that they don't tip because they think the system is "unfair".)