How much do you tip?

[Rednog]

One restaurant in Quebec did that, it was high end, very old. I cant remember the name, however they only require a 15% tip if you have a party of 7 or higher. Which to be honest I dont see much wrong with, do you?

I don't see it as a huge problem, but a lot of places just have it automatically on their bill and you have to pay it. I remember reading an article where a guy refused to pay the tip on the bill because he thought the service was crap and the place actually called the cops on him for not paying the full bill.
And like I said, the thing that makes me especially mad is that people will actually come up to you or expect another tip with this one already on the bill. I remember my family went to a restaurant and the bill was like $200 for the food and the tip on the bill was like 25% or something like that. The waiter had ignored us most of the night but my dad was like oh well I sympathize with waiters since I earn my living from tips too so not like I can complain about this fairly large tacked on tip. The waiter actually had the balls to come up to us as we were getting up to leave and pretty much exclaim, "Sir do you not understand that in high class dining one is expected to leave a tip?" My dad being extremely sheepish dropped a $20 on the table and the guy pulled him aside by the sleeve and told him that the customary tip for waiters was %20. My dad socked the guy right on the spot.

 

[Random Argument Man]

It varies with three questions.

1.How cute is the waitress?
2.How much service she gave me?
3.Do I feel generous?

 

[Danny Ocean]

Snip

Aha! I knew there was more going on here!

Apparently [http://www.dol.gov/whd/flsa/index.htm] the federal minimum wage is $7.25. That doesn't sound like much to me, though. Only Four Pounds Sixty-Eight. But then stuff is cheaper in America, right?

Nice profession in your profile by the way *Throws Rubber Chicken*.

Minimum wage isn't meant to be a luxurious level of income by any means. It does, however, provide enough to survive and there are plenty of social service programs in the United States that can make living at that income level (or lower [to $0.00]) quite comfortable ("Escalade in the driveway, welfare check in the mailbox" is not as much of a farce as many would hope); and many more to provide means to improve your income level.

We are talking un-skilled labor here; no cost to qualify for the position.

I was always under the impression that America was very harsh to its poor. Is that assumption in any way justifiable? I mean I've been to America twice now (Once to Florida, when I was very small, so I'll discount that) and once to Washington, D.C. (On a school politics trip.), and I can definitely see there's more beggars about than in the UK.

Ha! All civil servants are issued anti-rubber chicken devices standard! You'll have to do better than that!

Spoiler: *Throws Rubber Duck*

=P

 

[Asturiel]

One restaurant in Quebec did that, it was high end, very old. I cant remember the name, however they only require a 15% tip if you have a party of 7 or higher. Which to be honest I dont see much wrong with, do you?

I don't see it as a huge problem, but a lot of places just have it automatically on their bill and you have to pay it. I remember reading an article where a guy refused to pay the tip on the bill because he thought the service was crap and the place actually called the cops on him for not paying the full bill.
And like I said, the thing that makes me especially mad is that people will actually come up to you or expect another tip with this one already on the bill. I remember my family went to a restaurant and the bill was like $200 for the food and the tip on the bill was like 25% or something like that. The waiter had ignored us most of the night but my dad was like oh well I sympathize with waiters since I earn my living from tips too so not like I can complain about this fairly large tacked on tip. The waiter actually had the balls to come up to us as we were getting up to leave and pretty much exclaim, "Sir do you not understand that in high class dining one is expected to leave a tip?" My dad being extremely sheepish dropped a $20 on the table and the guy pulled him aside by the sleeve and told him that the customary tip for waiters was %20. My dad socked the guy right on the spot.

One guy in our party took his couple people and went to a different table since he didn't believe in it at all. If its multiple people being served to the point of 7 I think they just want to ensure the waiter is compensated. However the restaurant you went to was down right prissy fancy pants food where they would put a sitting tax if enough people would fall for it. Your place was just trying to pull as much money out of your father as possible. Please tell me he went back and picked up the 20!

 

[one of them]

The exact amount I'm supposed to.

 

[soapyshooter]

i just have to say I WORKED AS A WAITER AND PLEASE TIP THEM!!! we dont get paid a regular wage when you are making tips. In the US minimum wage is $7.50 an hour (in my state) and as a waiter you got paid $3.35 an hour. The rest had to come from tips. You are not paying me extra, waiters need tips!

 

[Subeer]

If it's good service and good food then 10% otherwise nothing.

 

[x0ny]

Just out of interest, how much to the front counter staff at McDonalds get in America? Do they rely on tips like waiters/waitresses? In the UK they get 5.75GBP per hour before tax, and very few customer, if any, gave us tips.

 

[Chechosaurus]

I would like to be able to tip more but being a horribly poor student, it's just not possible. However, if I get some exceptionally good service, I will make sure to leave a decent tip. This was possibly one of my favourite things about my few weeks in Iceland; you aren't supposed to leave a tip as it is already included in the price - That way, I get to tip everyone and not really notice it in the same way.

 

[Jindrak]

20% is the start, improved or lowered based on service. I worked as a server and know the ropes. For those who don't know, in America, the minimum wage for a tip-based salary is:

...wait for it...

$2.25/Hour

Yeah, those of you who stiff servers, I hate you. On top of that we have to tip out a portion of sales to the busboys/hosts/bartenders, so if you stiff us, WE have to PAY OTHERS FOR THE PLEASURE OF WAITING ON YOU.
/ARGH

Anyway, in a less-psychotic tone, I would LOVE for the servers to unionize (which, by the way, won't happen in the near future, but that is a whole other discussion as it requires a lot of boring economics) or something and go to a straight hourly wage, a tip-based wage in a moderately sized mid-western town tends to round out to $10-$15 an hour and is generally pretty taxing, physically and mentally. Dealing with the morons on a steady stream without a break for eight hours on my feet drives me insane. The good tables are great, a pleasure to wait on, tip well, and generally return. The bad tables are more frequent, order complex items that don't actually exist, require you to bend the laws of physics and/or of your country and are generally the cause of the high turnover rate/drug use rate among servers.

Also, please understand something: WE DON'T COOK YOU FOOD. Odds are we won't have any part in preparing your food, if I was able to find time to make it into the back and check on your food, I'd shit myself. I try to take the food to the table myself, but can't always. I tend to run more tables at a time than is safe or reasonable and have literally found myself sprinting through the restaurant trying to tend to my table's every whim. Side note, I've also found myself wearing several cups of coffee and soup, to the extent of multiple second degree burns.

</rant...for now>

 

[Jindrak]

One guy in our party took his couple people and went to a different table since he didn't believe in it at all. If its multiple people being served to the point of 7 I think they just want to ensure the waiter is compensated. However the restaurant you went to was down right prissy fancy pants food where they would put a sitting tax if enough people would fall for it. Your place was just trying to pull as much money out of your father as possible. Please tell me he went back and picked up the 20!

It may have been posted before, but as a waiter I can understand the rule (not agree with, understand). Here's my story!
I work a double-shift on Friday, come in at 10:30 AM, leave around Midnight. The morning shift goes well, I clear $15 an hour which will help with dues but the money maker is the night shift and I'm hoping for a high table turnover rate. My section is sat with a group of 35 people. Two possible avenues: Huge bill, huge tip or Huge bill, sh*t tip. This $500 bill ended with a $5 tip. Tip-out to service personnel is 2% and the tip is 1%. I PAID $5 FOR RUNNING MY ASS OFF FOR OVER AN HOUR. I went batsh*t. Had I not been dating another server who is also a Psych major, I might have killed the guy who paid.

Keep in mind, there are generally two types of servers: People paying their way through college and people supporting their family. Be kind.

 

[brunothepig]

I'm only 16, so I haven't ever even had the opportunity. But why is it that waiters and pizzaboys get tips? They get paid already. That's what they do to earn their pay. I'm with Dr Cox from Scrubs, why don't we start tipping our doctors? If people can get tips for serving coffee, you would think we could cough up a bit of money for the person who just saved your life.

 

[jasoncyrus]

snip

snip

This is what buffets are for...and take out. If you dont like my views, grow some stones like every other crippled industry did and form a union, prime example:

Royal mail workers got sick of being treated badly for shit pay, they formed a union and now they work 4 days a week and get a 25% raise during the christmas period with 40 hours overtime.

Till they form a union and fight back then all these whining waiters and waitresses are just acting like children throwing a tantrum. I have no empathy for those who refuse to try.

I'm only 16, so I haven't ever even had the opportunity. But why is it that waiters and pizzaboys get tips? They get paid already. That's what they do to earn their pay. I'm with Dr Cox from Scrubs, why don't we start tipping our doctors? If people can get tips for serving coffee, you would think we could cough up a bit of money for the person who just saved your life.

Damn right, a friend of mine bought the surgeon who saved his leg a 18 year old bottle of whisky as an extra thanks.

Hell I worked in a supermarket in the shittiest part of town you can imagine getting junkies and alcoholics and underagers in every single day and I got 100 times more abuse than any waitress or waiter. I sure as hell didn't get tips. Honestly why should waiting staff get tips? It's moving plates and pouring coffee. My 9 year old kid can do that by herself.

Tipping a job that takes no skill =/= fair when truely skilled jobs like doctors, firemen or police officers get nothing, and dont give me the story of it takes skill to be nice to people all day, horse hockey, my 80 year old grandmother can do that without even trying.

 

[traceur_]

Never tip. If I could, I'd dine and dash half the time, so I'm not going to pay someone for a job they're already paid to do. I never want to leave Australia again anyway, so I'll never tip.

 

[Plinglebob]

I rarely go out or get delivery take-a-away, but my normal rule is to round the bill up to whatever makes the maths easier.

 

[Benjeezy]

However much my girlfriend tells me to...she's the one who can do math XD

(Truth is she also kinda wears the pants in this relationship, so that's part of it too...lol)

 

[EnzoHonda]

I tip more to women. The cuter the better. Sexist, yes, but I don't care. I won't not-tip a guy, but he won't get more than 10% unless he did amazing, non-annoying magic tricks or something.

The only flat-rate tipping I do is to my hair stylist (I called her a barber once. You don't make that mistake twice.) She gets $5 no matter what she does.

 

[SpAc3man]

Here in New Zealand people don't tip. Its never expected at all and considered a bit old fashioned really. If a tip is given at all it will be to a waiter and would most likely give them quite a surprise

 

[Chipperz]

I worked for 18 months as a checkout monkey in Sainsbury's. I was expected to smile, be happy and make conversation while scanning items, checking ID and calling for a supervisor to sell alcohol because I was only 17 for the first four months. I put up with more abuse in those 18 months than I have in the rest of my 24 years on this Earth, and every day was started and ended with a helpful reminder that if we didn't do our jobs spectacularly at all times, we would be fired.

Before that, I worked for a year in an antiques store with a bunch of old men who really didn't give a shit about what I thought and just talked at me. As the youngest staff member, I was expected to make the drinks, clean everything and do all the heavy lifting while they "supervised" me from the comfy chair behind the counter. If I took longer than they expected me to do something, I would get yelled at. I eventually left when a customer started telling me he how stupid he thought I was, and all the other **** behind the counter did was laugh at me and agree with the guy. I left on a hearty "fuck you both". That was less than minimum wage.

I didn't get tips or bonuses for either of those. Why should I give tips to someone who does a far easier job?