Tipping- How much and to whom

[kaytieeldr]

Or tip the way you feel appropriate and have the wait staff complain to get their own wages changed, just like everyone else. Maybe then tipping would actually be used for its intended purpose.

Most people tip a percentage of the total check. Most servers are satisfied with that. Why would they complain or want that changed?

No, it's the people doing, or expected to be doing, the tipping who repeatedly complain. Look at this thread. Only one self-proclaimed "server" - who also admits to cheating the IRS - objects to the current tipping system. All the other objectors are diners.

 

[declansdad]

Most people tip a percentage of the total check. Most servers are satisfied with that. Why would they complain or want that changed?

No, it's the people doing, or expected to be doing, the tipping who repeatedly complain. Look at this thread. Only one self-proclaimed "server" - who also admits to cheating the IRS - objects to the current tipping system. All the other objectors are diners.

And it should be the people who are paying the bill objecting to this system. They are being made to supplement the income of the employees of the restaurant. There is no reason for the wait staff to copmplain if everyone feels that tipping in this fashion is required. If the paying customer stopped going along with this and only tipped when service was better than expected (or at least as expected), you can bet your last dollar they would be complaining to the restaurant owners and their politicians to change there minimum wage.

 

[Judique]

Or tip the way you feel appropriate and have the wait staff complain to get their own wages changed, just like everyone else. Maybe then tipping would actually be used for its intended purpose.

Not likely to happen here. Quite a different situation from Canada.

Canada's wait staff still depends on tipping.

But here, without tips, a waiter can go home with a zero check once deductions have been taken out.

Try being an advocate when you have a family to feed and no money to do it with. There also is no national health care here. And many tipped positions are also part time positions and not offerred benefits such as healthcare and dental.

Tipping is part of the culture here. Just as it is in Canada.

It disturbs me when I see Canadian posters say they will not tip when they come here. Tipping is expected in Canada just as it is in the US.

If you don't like the system do as Katieelder suggests. Contact your state rep, or in the case of other countries, the tourism department of the state you visit.

 

[declansdad]

Not likely to happen here. Quite a different situation from Canada.

Canada's wait staff still depends on tipping.

But here, without tips, a waiter can go home with a zero check once deductions have been taken out.

Try being an advocate when you have a family to feed and no money to do it with. There also is no national health care here. And many tipped positions are also part time positions and not offerred benefits such as healthcare and dental.

Tipping is part of the culture here. Just as it is in Canada.

It disturbs me when I see Canadian posters say they will not tip when they come here. Tipping is expected in Canada just as it is in the US.

If you don't like the system do as Katieelder suggests. Contact your state rep, or in the case of other countries, the tourism department of the state you visit.

Who says they don't tip?

We are just like the rest of you and sheepishly follow along. The difference for us is the better the service, the better the tip. If there is nothing more than expected with the service (that includes more than the waitstaff, although they have the most control over the tip) they will get the 15%. If the service is below par it would be 10%; greater than expected 20%.


As far as being an advocate, they don't need to quit their job to do that. There are many part-time jobs in Canada as well that don't provide emplooyee benefits such as dental, vision,a nd drup plans. That has nothing to do with fighting for a living wage.

 

[kaytieeldr]

And it should be the people who are paying the bill objecting to this system. They are being made to supplement the income of the employees of the restaurant. There is no reason for the wait staff to copmplain if every feels that tipping in this fashion is required. If the paying customer stopped going along with this and only tipped when service was better than expected (or at least as expected), you can bet your last dollar they would be complaining to the restaurant owners and their politicians to change there minimum wage.

No, they wouldn't complain. They'd quit. Unemployment - at least for the ones who reported all their income - would be better than the server minimum wage.

 

[marmalade]

No, they wouldn't complain. They'd quit. Unemployment - at least for the ones who reported all their income - would be better than the server minimum wage.

You can't receive unemployment if you quit a job.

 

[declansdad]

No, they wouldn't complain. They'd quit. Unemployment - at least for the ones who reported all their income - would be better than the server minimum wage.

Why would they quit? Then they would have no income.

Not sure how unemployement works in the States but here if you quit, it is awfully difficult to qualify for employment insurance benefits. Also your benefits here are approximately 60% of the wage you were making over the last year.

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

Why would they quit? Then they would have no income.

Not sure how unemployement works in the States but here if you quit, it is awfully difficult to qualify for employment insurance benefits. Also your benefits here are approximately 60% of the wage you were making over the last year.

I believe in most states if you quit, you don't get unemployment and it goes based on what you made in the last 4 quarters that you worked/were reported.

 

[smidgy]

And it should be the people who are paying the bill objecting to this system. They are being made to supplement the income of the employees of the restaurant. There is no reason for the wait staff to copmplain if everyone feels that tipping in this fashion is required. If the paying customer stopped going along with this and only tipped when service was better than expected (or at least as expected), you can bet your last dollar they would be complaining to the restaurant owners and their politicians to change there minimum wage.

see, this is a misnomer. servers are not "poor, indentured servants" working for the rich, mean old M.r Scrooge.

the system is set up so you pay less for your actual meal, and have some say in how much the server makes. this "insures proper service".

we all know it works this way, and accept that went we go to a restaurant. It is expectedthat patrons will tip (the ususal percentage is now around 15-20%, although I have had customers who rave about my service and leave 10%) and servers expect that a customer will leave a tip.

if the system were to change, and the restaurant owner has to pay the servers, bus boys, bartenders, etc. more, you better believe the prices of everything will rise. dramatically.
and now you are going to get servers making $8 something an hour. so I will not be a server anymore, nor will most other good servers. ( you'll get the gumchomping, eye rolling servers.) expensive food, lousy service. still want to change the system??

 

[kaytieeldr]

I believe in most states if you quit, you don't get unemployment and it goes based on what you made in the last 4 quarters that you worked/were reported.

I believe it's more than four quarters, aka the last year - and if your working situation changed to such a drastic degree that you were only earning $2.01 or even $3.51 an hour and no tips and you quit, there are exceptions to the "if you quit" rule.

 

[marmalade]

I believe it's more than four quarters, aka the last year - and if your working situation changed to such a drastic degree that you were only earning $2.01 or even $3.51 an hour and no tips and you quit, there are exceptions to the "if you quit" rule.

I may be wrong about this, I am sure someone will correct me if I am. But isn't it the law that a server has to make at least minimum wage including tips and hourly? So if a server doesn't receive enough tips to bring their hourly up to minimum wage the restaurant has to pay the difference?

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

I believe it's more than four quarters, aka the last year - and if your working situation changed to such a drastic degree that you were only earning $2.01 or even $3.51 an hour and no tips and you quit, there are exceptions to the "if you quit" rule.

In AL and GA, it's the last 4 quarters that you had earnings, whether consecutive or not. They are also "at will states", and in most cases, if you quit, you get no unemployment. In some cases, if you were fired, you won't get unemployment either.

 

[declansdad]

see, this is a misnomer. servers are not "poor, indentured servants" working for the rich, mean old M.r Scrooge.

the system is set up so you pay less for your actual meal, and have some say in how much the server makes. this "insures proper service".

we all know it works this way, and accept that went we go to a restaurant. It is expectedthat patrons will tip (the ususal percentage is now around 15-20%, although I have had customers who rave about my service and leave 10%) and servers expect that a customer will leave a tip.

if the system were to change, and the restaurant owner has to pay the servers, bus boys, bartenders, etc. more, you better believe the prices of everything will rise. dramatically.
and now you are going to get servers making $8 something an hour. so I will not be a server anymore, nor will most other good servers. ( you'll get the gumchomping, eye rolling servers.) expensive food, lousy service. still want to change the system??

My argument is still the same, it isn't a tip it is a charge you are expected to pay. Although in many situations it still isn't required. Servers here currently make a minimum wage of $10 hour. This would mean that the price of the meal includes the labour cost. Guess what, people still eat out and they still tip.

 

[disneychrista]

But isn't it the law that a server has to make at least minimum wage including tips and hourly? So if a server doesn't receive enough tips to bring their hourly up to minimum wage the restaurant has to pay the difference?

Yes this is the law.

 

[smidgy]

My argument is still the same, it isn't a tip it is a charge you are expected to pay. Although in many situations it still isn't required. Servers here currently make a minimum wage of $10 hour. This would mean that the price of the meal includes the labour cost. Guess what, people still eat out and they still tip.

expected is not the same as required.

servers expect you are going to tip. if you do not, or tip poorly, it WILL be remembered. I would do nothing to your food. but you better believe the tippiers, esp the good onew, will be getting everything they need first, before you.

It doesn't matter to me what things are like where you live. in the US, this is the way it is, so it you dine in the US, you should tip accordingly. if you think you don't need to, you can tell yourself anyexcuse you want, but now you know it is expected and the way things are done. if you choose not to , you know you are cheating the server, and choosing to do so. the server and all the other servers (should you return) know you choose to stiff the server. just the facts.

 

[declansdad]

expected is not the same as required.

servers expect you are going to tip. if you do not, or tip poorly, it WILL be remembered. I would do nothing to your food. but you better believe the tippiers, esp the good onew, will be getting everything they need first, before you.

It doesn't matter to me what things are like where you live. in the US, this is the way it is, so it you dine in the US, you should tip accordingly. if you think you don't need to, you can tell yourself anyexcuse you want, but now you know it is expected and the way things are done. if you choose not to , you know you are cheating the server, and choosing to do so. the server and all the other servers (should you return) know you choose to stiff the server. just the facts.

I never once said we didn't tip, here or in the US. What it did say is that it isn't a tip. There is usually a reason why a server would get a poor tip, poor service.

 

[Teresa Pitman]

see, this is a misnomer. servers are not "poor, indentured servants" working for the rich, mean old M.r Scrooge.

the system is set up so you pay less for your actual meal, and have some say in how much the server makes. this "insures proper service".

we all know it works this way, and accept that went we go to a restaurant. It is expectedthat patrons will tip (the ususal percentage is now around 15-20%, although I have had customers who rave about my service and leave 10%) and servers expect that a customer will leave a tip.

if the system were to change, and the restaurant owner has to pay the servers, bus boys, bartenders, etc. more, you better believe the prices of everything will rise. dramatically.
and now you are going to get servers making $8 something an hour. so I will not be a server anymore, nor will most other good servers. ( you'll get the gumchomping, eye rolling servers.) expensive food, lousy service. still want to change the system??

I disagree. The REAL price of any item on the menu is actually already 15 to 20 percent more than it says anyway, because most people pay the expected tip. Paying servers a higher wage and eliminating the tip will probably just cause the price written on the menu to increase by 15 to 20 percent. It will come out even. (Except, I suppose, for the small percentage of people who don't tip.)

I feel quite uncomfortable with tipping. I hate that it puts me in the position of evaluating the service I've been given when I can't possibly know all the factors. If the food was late coming out to me and cold, was it the server's fault? I don't know. Maybe two people were off sick and my server is trying to cover way too many tables. Maybe the chef in the back is having a bad day and goofed up. Who knows? Not me, that's for sure.

I also think that it's a mistake to assume that without tipping you'd get lousy service. I've traveled in New Zealand, where tipping is not done, and had some of the best service I've ever had anywhere! You don't even tip the bellman at hotels - I didn't realize that, and offered money, and he was quite insulted. The people are paid reasonably well, take pride in their work, and I LOVED not having to worry about calculating tips.

If tipping is so essential to getting good service, should we be offering tips to our doctors? veterinarians? dentists?

Teresa

 

[Planogirl]

I don't care for the current system either but it is what it is. We can't fairly expect the service people to shoulder the heat for this either. I will always tip unless the service is just dreadful.

 

[kaytieeldr]

If tipping is so essential to getting good service, should we be offering tips to our doctors? veterinarians? dentists?

Because they all earn (well) above minimum wage?

 

[disneychrista]

Because they all earn (well) above minimum wage?

So tipping is only because of the sub-minimum wage of servers? What about states that pay at least full minimum wage? Is it okay to not tip or tip less in these states?