Tip $ crazy...

[DOOM1001]

So what?
Coming from Europe I took time to search the Internet and LEARNED about tipping.
If you are in Rome .......
We know the tipping rules in the US and have no problem with them. Waiters,housekeeping, valet parking,bell hop they all get there tip. This year we spend almost $$ 2000 on tipping. We love it when we return at a restaurant like Narcoossees, the waiters remembers you and brings you the drinks you like without asking.
I'm always surprised that foreigners are called cheap as.. but in real life Americans are the ones that stiff the waiters. I saw people putting a dollar on the table after a dinner with an EXCELLENT waiter. We witnessed people yelling and screaming to the manager when they had a fixed tip on the bill, it was horrifying.

I would have to disagree with you as far as your assumption that foreigners are leaving better tips than Americans.I work part time as a server and as a general rule for every five bad tips you get, four are from people from other countries or who may have moved here recently and for them leaving 15% might seem excessive or they basically just don't understand the basics of tipping culture in the US.Probably the biggest offenders are also known to frequent Disney in "tour groups",if you go to Disney in the summer you might know who they are.I recently had one of these parties at my table and with a $143 check the tip they left was $11,$10 short of 15%.I'm not saying all foreigners are bad,you get many that leave appropriate tips and some very good tips but overall many of them for some reason feel 10% is enough and others don't even leave that much.

 

[starann]

As a former waitress (now I'm a nurse, and SOME people still think I am a waitress!) I tip well for good service. In fact the other night we tried a Greek Restuarant in the area (it was sooo good). The service was great, they were good to my kids and the food was perfect. We had a $10 off coupon, I took the kids out to the car while DH paid. When he came out I asked how much he left for a tip...he had tipped on the after coupon rate, so he took a few singles form my purse and ran it inside to the waiter.


Tonight I went to Rita's to get dessert for the family after dinner. I did NOT place a tip in their 'jar'......they are getting paid to get my order, just like at Mc Donalds or BK....I will not tip you for doing a job you are already getting paid for.

 

[Disneyadore]

I would have to disagree with you as far as your assumption that foreigners are leaving better tips than Americans.I work part time as a server and as a general rule for every five bad tips you get, four are from people from other countries or who may have moved here recently and for them leaving 15% might seem excessive or they basically just don't understand the basics of tipping culture in the US.Probably the biggest offenders are also known to frequent Disney in "tour groups".I recently had one of these parties at my table and with a $143 check the tip they left was $11,$10 short of 15%.I'm not saying all foreigners are bad,you get many that leave appropriate tips and some very good tips but overall many of them for some reason feel 10% is enough and others don't even leave that much.

Than I'm glad we do understand it.
Maybe the problem lies in the simple fact that Europe has a non tipping history.
As far as I know we have normal wages and people earn equal wages as others. Minimum wage is minimum wage.

The funny thing is when we visited the Disney Hotel in Paris I made envelopes for housekeeping twice a day. Day housekeepers and the turn over ladies. At the end of our stay the manager came to our room with all the envelopes and asked if they were rally mend to be for the staff. I was really surprised to hear that lots of guests just use them as "bait" to see if the staff is not stealing. There are some pretty strange people under the sun.

Maybe I should have said people instead of Americans but I hardly believe that in the month we are touring the US every year I only see foreigners eating.

 

[klacey1]

I do think tipping has gone out of hand-- my bagel place (bagels are decent, really only go there b/c I find Dunkin Donuts bagels disgusting and it's on my way to work) charges $1.98 for a toasted bagel w/ butter and still has a tip jar by the register. Why I would tip someone in this situation is beyond me.
I waitressed two summers in college, so I will always tip at least 20% in restaurants. They only get less if they are incredibly rude/unhappy. DBF and I usually tip above 20%, though.
I picked up Japanese food last night-- just a side of rice. It was $3.50-- I handed her a five and she put it in the register and then closed the drawer. I was like "Uh, I need my change." Why would she think I would tip close to 50% when I drove 15 minutes to pick up food (not to mention that I had to wait 15 minutes after I got there, meaning it took them 30 minutes to cook rice...) ???
My mom always worked in hotels, so I knew tipping was the norm. However, we always left $1 a night maximum. I never knew people left any more. Housekeepers (and mousekeepers) DEFINITELY make minimum wage.

 

[AlyJoy716]

We were at Orange Leaf fro-yo yesterday. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this establishment, they have fro-yo machines lined up on the wall and you self-serve yourself, then add the toppings you want. When I went to pay, I noticed a tip cup by the register. I kept thinking "you want me to tip you for ringing up my purchase that I got myself. I put the fro-yo in the cup. I put the toppings on myself. All you did was ring up my purchase". It was absolutely ridiculous. I'm actually thinking about calling the manager because it ticked me off that much!

 

[Toole Time in Disney]

I agree tipping has gotten out of hand. I'm all for tipping for the 'right' job waitress, skyhops etc. I know they are working hard for that extra money and as long as they have a good attitude and do their job right I tip well. Something that really bothers me is when I'm at a restuarant and I give them cash and rather then them saying 'I'll be right back with your change' they say 'Do you need change' I just think that is bold to say. Yes I am expected to tip but to me its way to bold to just assume I'm going to give you a $10 tip(When that would be way over the norm) just cause I had nothing smaller.

 

[Jey12]

I agree tipping has gotten out of hand. I'm all for tipping for the 'right' job waitress, skyhops etc. I know they are working hard for that extra money and as long as they have a good attitude and do their job right I tip well. Something that really bothers me is when I'm at a restuarant and I give them cash and rather then them saying 'I'll be right back with your change' they say 'Do you need change' I just think that is bold to say. Yes I am expected to tip but to me its way to bold to just assume I'm going to give you a $10 tip(When that would be way over the norm) just cause I had nothing smaller.

I agree, and I understand they are just trying to make a living. Don't beg for a tip though, I will tip you and if it was a job done well it will be a nice tip. Along these same lines it bothers me when they do bring the change back and bring only big bills. Such as I have around $10 in change and you bring me two $5 bills. I have had this happen numerous times where I was planning on leaving a tip around $6 to $8 and now I'm stuck with no singles. If they linger long enough I'll ask for change for one of the $5's. Sadly it is not often the case that the server lingers and I don't want to want to wait for more change.

As a side note for any servers reading this, please do not take forever to bring me my check. Nothing will reduce the tip amount quicker in my opinion if I have great service, than to end up waiting 30 plus minutes for my check. I do not understand this. Don't you want me to leave so you can have another party that is going to sit down, eat and hopefully leave you a tip as well?

 

[gr8mommy]

Nothing will reduce the tip amount quicker in my opinion if I have great service, than to end up waiting 30 plus minutes for my check. I do not understand this. Don't you want me to leave so you can have another party that is going to sit down, eat and hopefully leave you a tip as well?

I'm willing to bet there are an equal number of people who feel the check comes to quickly and they are "rushed" out before they are ready.

 

[Alesia]

Nothing will reduce the tip amount quicker in my opinion if I have great service, than to end up waiting 30 plus minutes for my check.

I once waited 2 hours for my check at a Denny's. I left a dime, just so he knew that I didn't forget to tip.

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

I'm willing to bet there are an equal number of people who feel the check comes to quickly and they are "rushed" out before they are ready.

Of course.

We always have the tip added to our family's bill. Many times it means that the server would receive less rather than more from us, believing that 20% is appropriate.. If the service is exceptional we leave the extra, however.

Just because you (in general) haven't heard of tipping different services doesn't mean it isn't standard. I remember my dad tipping housekeeping when I was a kid.

 

[klacey1]

I once waited 2 hours for my check at a Denny's. I left a dime, just so he knew that I didn't forget to tip.

I would have stood up, gone to the register and demanded my check after 25 minutes. That's beyond ridiculous. I would have left zero tip and demanded to speak to a manager.

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

I would have stood up, gone to the register and demanded my check after 25 minutes. That's beyond ridiculous. I would have left zero tip and demanded to speak to a manager.

No kidding. Why would anyone wait that long. If you are in a place like Denny's and you don't have your check you go up to the register, tell them, and they get the check!Didn't you see him/her? Obviously the server forgot. Everyone forgets something sometime. That doesn't negate the work he/she did.

 

[Alesia]

I would have stood up, gone to the register and demanded my check after 25 minutes. That's beyond ridiculous. I would have left zero tip and demanded to speak to a manager.

No kidding. Why would anyone wait that long. If you are in a place like Denny's and you don't have your check you go up to the register, tell them, and they get the check!Didn't you see him/her? Obviously the server forgot. Everyone forgets something sometime. That doesn't negate the work he/she did.

They were gone - both the cook and the server. As in not in the building. At all. We didn't really notice for the first hour, we were young and having a good time.

 

[Grog]

No kidding. Why would anyone wait that long. If you are in a place like Denny's and you don't have your check you go up to the register, tell them, and they get the check!Didn't you see him/her? Obviously the server forgot. Everyone forgets something sometime. That doesn't negate the work he/she did.

It's easier than you might think. A few years ago myself and a friend were driving from Houston to a town just south of the Dallas area and decided to stop at an IHOP before we left.

We had a lot on our minds as we were on the planning committee for a Veteran's Day ceremony to take place the next morning. We got so engrossed in our conversation about what needed to be done, who we needed to liaison with, etc, that we didn't notice that over ninety minutes had gone by since we placed our order.

When we came up for air I flagged down our waitress who appeared shocked to see us. She actually brought us our food, which after sitting under heat lamps that whole time was less than lukewarm. I told her we weren't paying for it and to bring us our ticket so I could pay for our drinks and leave. She attempted to comp our drinks but I insisted on paying (Not sure if it's true, but a friend told me that if you refuse to pay for a meal, by comping your drinks they can destroy the ticket and management won't see know what happened). I payed for our drinks and she did not get a tip.

 

[CareBear05]

I agree that, in some ways, tipping has become out of hand...starbucks, ice cream shops, take out orders, etc. However, from working in the hospitality industry for quite a few years I am all for tipping for mousekeeping, bellmen, drivers, etc.

I started in hotels when I was 19 cleaning rooms. I am a healthy person and in good shape. For the first few weeks of my job I could barely move by the end of the day. This was at a corporate hotel which is a lot easier to clean rooms at than a family oriented one! While Mousekeeping does make over minimum wage I feel that it can indeed be a thankless job in addition to extremely physical and at some times, utterly disgusting. I provided the same (great, I'd like to think) service whether I received a tip or not and never expected one, but when I did get one it always brought a smile to my face and reminded me that my job and the work that I was doing was appreciated even by some random faceless guest that I never got to meet.

I'm now a manager at a different hotel chain and mainly deal with the front desk which brings me to my next point - drivers and bellmen do run off of minimum wage in addition servers. We do make up their pay to minimum wage if they don't get enough tips, but if someone's dragging my seriously (usually overpacked) heavy luggage around for me and saves me from doing it myself, I tip them.

I recently was visiting a friend in a different city, she works at a hotel as well and was speaking to one of her bellmen while I waited for her in the lobby. He was telling me he'd been a bellman at that hotel for 19 years and he loved every minute of it. I can't imagine living on minimum wage for 19 years. This was the most pleasant and agreeable person I'd met my entire trip and I wasn't even a guest at that hotel. I wanted to tip him just for the enjoyable conversation he provided so I'm sure he was ok getting tips, but it's something to remember.

Tipping is everyone's choice, not requirement but I thought I'd give some perspective from someone who's been in their shoes.

 

[GingerJay]

I agree, there are many things that I wish did not require tipping; however it has become something which is expected.
The thing is, many of the jobs which you are supposed to tip, do not have a minimum wage payment system. They are making less money then one in another job would make. Many waiters/waitresses only get $4-$5 dollars an hour and the rest of their pay is supposed to be made up from tips. If none of their customers tipped they would be hardly making anything a week. I'm not sure how much mousekeeping makes, but I'm sure it's under $7.25. However I could be wrong and am just going out on a limb for this one.

I waited tables many years. For only $2.13/hour. That's crazy right?! But, thankfully, the tips made up for it.

But, I do understand. Everywhere you go, there's a tip jar on the desk- for coffee (even one at the drive thru?!?!), donuts, gas station..where will it end?

 

[Jey12]

I'm willing to bet there are an equal number of people who feel the check comes to quickly and they are "rushed" out before they are ready.

I fully agree. I am talking about 20 mins or so after your food is gone, so empty plates and glasses litter your table and you're way past ready to leave but can't. My normal experience on getting the check pretty much with the entre is at lunch when I'm working. The server usually explains they figure we're on lunch (we're dressed in scrubs) so they didn't want us to have to wait around for a check later on. I honestly appreciate this and often leave an extra dollar or two for the thoughtfulness.

 

[skhermsmeyer]

In my neighborhood at/around Christmas, we're supposed to tip our :
1. mailman- every Christmas about $20-$30
2. Garbage men- $15-$20 per person (there are 3 garbage men and then 3 recycling guys)
3. Pest-control provider- $25
4. Lawn guys- supposed to pay them whatever they normally make during a one time visit.

I'm a SAHM and I'm here when they drop off the mail in the box. We have 6, yes 6, different mail people who rotate in our neighborhood. I'm not tipping all of them. Half the time our mail ends up down the street and we get someone else's.

I'm already paying $$$ for our trash service. It's a gov. job here so I know they're making decent money.

Pest control. Really? I see you once a year for inspection and that's it. $400 annually for treatment. I think that's enough.

We don't have guys cutting our lawn. I told DH he's still young enough to get out there on the riding mower and do it himself. Once he realized how much money our neighbors were spending on their lawns, he wondered if he should start his own business on the side.

I think tipping has it's place, but it seems like tip jars are EVERYWHERE!

 

[snarlingcoyote]

I thought about this thread yesterday. I ran by our local Sonic just to get a soda. When the car hop skated out, I handed her a $5.00 bill and she just skated off with it, without even a thank you. I waited a few minutes, then pushed the buzzer and asked where my change was. She came back and said, "Sorry, I thought the change was my tip.". If she'd even said thank you I might have tipped her, but I didn't get anything except a "here you go" when she delivered my soda. Her attitude cost her a tip, plus she just took off without even asking if I wanted my change back.

Sorry you had such a bad experience. Just to offset it. . .

My fave mall and my fave thrift store are in an iffy neighborhood (everyone I know shops this area b/c they don't sell out of the cute stuff as quickly , but apparently most people are snootier than we are. . .) on my way home, I like to stop at the Sonic and get a diet cherry limeaide. On my last visit, I paid with a CC and gave my server a $2 in cash because I dunno, I just felt like it.

The smile on her face when I gave her the cash made my day! I got some clothing bargains at the thrift and JC Penney's that day, but my best bargain was that tip.

 

[smidgy]

I think it has gotten *way* out of hand. Am I tipping a taxi driver for not crashing us into a tree? The server for simply gracing me with his presence and not spitting in my food? I understand that some jobs pay below minimum wage... but it's not like that's a secret they don't find out until after they're working there. Why should I subsidize someone else's job choice?If someone goes above and beyond what their job entails, then that is a whole other matter... But as others have said, tipping is expected now, regardless of level of service. I've heard of people being chased down in restaurant parking lots by the waiter/waitress because they didn't receive a "big enough" tip!!

no one chooses to be a waitress knowing the pay is less than minimum wage. they choose to be a waitress knowing that tipping is expected(unless, of course, service is bad. this waitress will eventually quit if she is a bad server, anyway). I am not talking about bad service. I am talking about the fact that waitresses and diniers in sit down restaurants all know that tipping is expected. this is what they base there job choice on, (Not less than
minimum wage.)
by tipping, you are not "subsidizing" anything. you are doing what everyone expects you to do in a sit-down restaurant. everyone figures this into the cost of dining out.
(again, I am not talking about poor service).
if there were no tipping, restaurant owners would have to pay the servers MUCH more, and the prices of the meal would reflect that.. (I don't know any servers who would do that job for even minimum wage. ) we expect tips, diners are expected to tip. this is the norm.
If the price of entrees rose to make up for no tipping, you would still be paying the same amount as if you were tipping... you wuold just have no choice in the matter anymore.