Happened again..server added an extra tip..

[mistysue]

I once had a server write in a $150 tip on a check that had a food total just over $50! That wasnt hard to argue, but I've never been able to believe somebody would really try that. We had left a cash tip.

 

[tvguy]

This is why I always pay any bill that includes a tip in cash.

This way I don't have to worry about checking my credit card bill, and I know my server is going to get his tip today, not a week, 2 weeks or a month down the road, when they get their next paycheck.

 

[disneychrista]

This way I don't have to worry about checking my credit card bill, and I know my server is going to get his tip today, not a week, 2 weeks or a month down the road, when they get their next paycheck.

Not all places make servers wait. Mine get their tips every day at the end of their shifts.

 

[Tigger1]

I was a server while in nursing school. Servers will report enough of their tips. Just not all their tips.

Some just do not calculate it correctly and it can come back on them. If your going to be dishonest at least do the math correctly or it could come back to bite you in the ...

 

[Tigger1]

At my place of employment we are to claim all tips made, the system will not let you report less then 12 percent of your sales as your tips..So even if lets say you did not make 12 percent of your sales you still have to report you did..This is where people under tipping or no tipping affects a server, no debating just saying..We were told the federal government now makes you claim at least 10 percent but you are to claim everything you made..My job makes you claim at least 12 percent if you are understanding me.. Its a corporate thing, I dont have a problem I claim everything and its always been over 12 percent but sometimes its been close...

That could be hard on waiters at small family dinners. The waiters may get stiffed once in a while.

At fine dining establishments I would think maybe if your not making 12 % perhaps its not the place you should be working whether its something you did or other factors.

 

[ssawka]

This type of problem has never happened to me. I have more problems when there is a gratuity added to the bill for a large party.

Often, the servers will not remind you, and that results in a double tip. I remind my kids about this often as they are starting to go to restaurants on their own with their friends and the gratuity is often added to the bill in the total charge.

My DH made this mistake at Cali Grill when he used TIW for our drinks. The bartender rang it up and the tip was added in there, but DH tipped him again, not realizing.

It is not the server's responsibility to "remind you", it is a nice gesture if they do, but it is your responsibility to read your bill.

That is not an issue in California. All servers are paid at least the $8/hr minimum wage.

I don't know about $8/hr, but IMHO any worker should be paid minimum wage regardless of whether or not they receive tips. A tip is suppose to be a "gift" for good service. It should not be the job of the patrons to pay the server's salary. This is a "loophole" in the minimum wage law that should be closed!

Recently me and my daughter went to a Chinese buffet. When the bill came I was all set to pay and leave a nice tip. Upon looking closer at the bill I noticed the server added a $2 gratuity to the bill. This was well under what I was planing to leave. But I was annoyed at the automatic tip being added in so that's all I left.

The one that gets me is when you hand a server too much money and they assume the change is their tip. This has happened to me in restaurants before.

 

[Tigger1]

I don't know about $8/hr, but IMHO any worker should be paid minimum wage regardless of whether or not they receive tips. A tip is suppose to be a "gift" for good service. It should not be the job of the patrons to pay the server's salary. This is a "loophole" in the minimum wage law that should be closed!

I have heard that many waiters at make a pretty good wage with tips. A lot more than minimum wage. I wonder what they would get per hour if they did not get tips. Would we get as good of service? How much would menu cost go up to pay that wage?

 

[tvguy]

Not all places make servers wait. Mine get their tips every day at the end of their shifts.

Cool.

 

[smidgy]

I have heard that many waiters at make a pretty good wage with tips. A lot more than minimum wage. I wonder what they would get per hour if they did not get tips. Would we get as good of service? How much would menu cost go up to pay that wage?

good question. the cost of the food would rise. the level of service would decrease.. like fast food service.

 

[mistysue]

good question. the cost of the food would rise. the level of service would decrease.. like fast food service.

I honestly don't suspect the cost of food would go up as much as their actual wage would go down. Only from being very budget conscious while dating a number of servers, I know that a large issue for many is that they don't realize how much they are taking home. This is especially true with younger servers. They have a pocket full of cash and then stop at the mall for a purse, or go out for a drink... and suddenly at the end of the night they have $20 so in their mind they only made $20 today- nevermind the $100 they just blew on a headscarf. This is only relevant because when it comes time for a paycheck, those who don't monitor their actual income would see a check for $300 and get excited that they got a HUGE raise from their last check for $60. (sure, they had $1,000 in tips they didn't take home, but look at this pile of money!) Yes, there are many servers smarter that this, but often the young ones early in the position aren't tracking enough they just know they are always broke and it's not their fault.

Restaurants, for the most part, are not going to give servers a raise of 20% their food cost. They are going to give them a couple dollars per hour to take them to minimum wage. So now to the customer, your bill may go up $1 or $2 for your entire table, but then you don't have to tip $5-$10.
The side effect would essentially be that if people stop tipping the profession would be completely taken over by the young or otherwise unemployable... people who professionally are servers and are good at what they do would likely flee in search of a better paying position. Take up a minimum wage + tip position, like a coffee barista. Ten years ago my paycheck said I made $8.50/hour, but after tips it was closer to $20.

Now if the wage for servers went up AND people kept tipping, you would likely see more professionals doing the job. It would be a career more of the people consciously chose. Currently it seems many professional servers just sort of got stuck there.

 

[pampam]

The one that gets me is when you hand a server too much money and they assume the change is their tip. This has happened to me in restaurants before.

That happened to us at Tony's Town Square in MK. I was planning on giving her the whole amount, but since it is up to the customer to decide on the tip, it bothered me that she took it upon herself to take it all. We were in no hurry, so we just sat, waited, talked, and after a good while she came back and asked us if we wanted something else. I said no, we were just waiting for our change. By then, she couldn't find our bill since so much time had elapsed. She gave us a little more back, since she wasn't sure how much it was, and we did tip her, just not as much as we had planned to. I'll never go back.

 

[Tigger1]

That happened to us at Tony's Town Square in MK. I was planning on giving her the whole amount, but since it is up to the customer to decide on the tip, it bothered me that she took it upon herself to take it all. We were in no hurry, so we just sat, waited, talked, and after a good while she came back and asked us if we wanted something else. I said no, we were just waiting for our change. By then, she couldn't find our bill since so much time had elapsed. She gave us a little more back, since she wasn't sure how much it was, and we did tip her, just not as much as we had planned to. I'll never go back.

When I was a server nearly 20 years ago, I only kept the change when told to by the customer or the amount they gave me applied to keep the change, such as handing me $24 when the bill is $18. If in doubt it was easier to just hand back the change.

 

[Tigger1]

I honestly don't suspect the cost of food would go up as much as their actual wage would go down. Only from being very budget conscious while dating a number of servers, I know that a large issue for many is that they don't realize how much they are taking home. This is especially true with younger servers. They have a pocket full of cash and then stop at the mall for a purse, or go out for a drink... and suddenly at the end of the night they have $20 so in their mind they only made $20 today- nevermind the $100 they just blew on a headscarf. This is only relevant because when it comes time for a paycheck, those who don't monitor their actual income would see a check for $300 and get excited that they got a HUGE raise from their last check for $60. (sure, they had $1,000 in tips they didn't take home, but look at this pile of money!) Yes, there are many servers smarter that this, but often the young ones early in the position aren't tracking enough they just know they are always broke and it's not their fault.

Restaurants, for the most part, are not going to give servers a raise of 20% their food cost. They are going to give them a couple dollars per hour to take them to minimum wage. So now to the customer, your bill may go up $1 or $2 for your entire table, but then you don't have to tip $5-$10.
The side effect would essentially be that if people stop tipping the profession would be completely taken over by the young or otherwise unemployable... people who professionally are servers and are good at what they do would likely flee in search of a better paying position. Take up a minimum wage + tip position, like a coffee barista. Ten years ago my paycheck said I made $8.50/hour, but after tips it was closer to $20.

Now if the wage for servers went up AND people kept tipping, you would likely see more professionals doing the job. It would be a career more of the people consciously chose. Currently it seems many professional servers just sort of got stuck there.

You are so correct that some servers do not have any idea what they are actually making per hour. Many of my coworkers would go to the bars after work often.

When I got out of college and was no longer a server, I made less per hour than many servers. If I could have worked 40 hours a week guaranteed I think I would have went back to being a server.
I really should have moved to Disneyworld and worked there as a server.

 

[ssawka]

I have heard that many waiters at make a pretty good wage with tips. A lot more than minimum wage. I wonder what they would get per hour if they did not get tips. Would we get as good of service? How much would menu cost go up to pay that wage?

good question. the cost of the food would rise. the level of service would decrease.. like fast food service.

Yes, they do make good wages when you factor in tips, however that is besides the point. Servers are paid about $2/hr by their employers. Are other "tipped" positions paid under minimum wage because they make tips? How about housekeepers, bellhops, hair dressers, massage therapist, etc.? Should they all be paid under minimum wage because they are getting tipped?

What has happened is that servers have essentially become independent contractors. This is why we now have mandatory gratuities and some restaurants. IMHO if a gratuity is mandatory, it is no longer a gratuity. It is a service charge.

I also disagree that the prices would necessarily increase. There is already a large markup on restaurant items. In a free market, the restaurants have to worry about what their competition is charging and adjust their prices accordingly.

As for service, the server's would still be working for tips, it is just that the restaurant owners would have to pay them a minimum salary instead of having the virtually free labor they have now.

 

[mom2my3kids]

That could be hard on waiters at small family dinners. The waiters may get stiffed once in a while.

At fine dining establishments I would think maybe if your not making 12 % perhaps its not the place you should be working whether its something you did or other factors.

We are far from fine dining, but we are a chain of breakfast restaurants..I am not going to say which one, but the every day joe to fancy nellie would eat here.. Glad the OP got it take care of, just like every other job you have a bad apple in the bag..Make sure you print clearly and sign your ticket..We cant get your tip if you dont sign at least at my place of employment..Sucks you cant imagine how many people dont sign or take both papers..I can still finalize the ticket but and our restaurant gets paid but the server loses her tip..

 

[DOREEN1779]

This past Friday, this topic was talked about on a NJ radio station. It was prompted by proposed legislation to give minimum wage to servers. Most people seemed to be in favor of it but added that your food bill would increase. Most people who called in also gave a smaller tip when the server asked " Would you like change?" instead of " I will be back with your change."

 

[disneychrista]

Most people who called in also gave a smaller tip when the server asked " Would you like change?" instead of " I will be back with your change."

I do not know when it become okay for servers to ask this. If the patron does not say "keep the change" then YES they want the change.

 

[mom2my3kids]

This past Friday, this topic was talked about on a NJ radio station. It was prompted by proposed legislation to give minimum wage to servers. Most people seemed to be in favor of it but added that your food bill would increase. Most people who called in also gave a smaller tip when the server asked " Would you like change?" instead of " I will be back with your change."

I never ASSUME...you know the old saying I always say I will be right back with your change..That gives your customer time to say no keep change and if they dont you know they want change back..But I did go to collect the money from a table once...I grabbed it and said I will be right back, he said ..Were good..I assumed he meant no change..He said I WOULD LIKE MY CHANGE BACK..I said I am so sorry I thought you didnt want change back..I have never made that mistake again, I always take back change even if you are pretty sure they do not want any..Like if the bill is 17.38 and they leave 22.00 on the bill, your pretty sure they want you to keep change..I have had people offended I brought back change, I guess you cant win for losing..

 

[Tigger1]

If servers did get the minimum wage which is Just over $7, would you tip as much as you currently are tipping?

How much do you think a Disney waiter makes on average per hour?

I have heard that some make over $60,000 per year. I doubt that is the average though as some may not be full time or do not work in the same restaurants.

 

[mom2my3kids]

If servers did get the minimum wage which is Just over $7, would you tip as much as you currently are tipping?

How much do you think a Disney waiter makes on average per hour?

I have heard that some make over $60,000 per year. I doubt that is the average though as some may not be full time or do not work in the same restaurants.

Yeah alot are part-time, its a very physical job I mean most days I come home I am just beat..My body aches I really dont know how much longer I can do it, I am getting old