Are you a good tipper?

[seahorses]

Am I a good tipper? Na, my horses never win!

But seriously, we don’t have the same attitude/approach here in the UK., as is in the States towards tipping. Some restaurants state on the bill: service not included, leaving it up to the individual, but it’s not compulsory. I know some will say it’s not compulsory in the States, but having recently booked a cruise with an American company, I’m inclined to think different. We were given the option of paying tips up front, a fixed one off payment, or paying individuals at the end of the trip. However, opting for the latter meant an automatic 15% being slapped on your bar bill!

In my view, these forms of tipping are just hidden charges, or an excuse for companies not to pay staff decent wages. The same with taxies, why not include everything up front so you know where you stand from the start? Who wants to be out having a good time and maybe one or two sherbets too many and then try working out a percentage? Tipping also encourages people to be dishonest by not declaring their true earnings to the Revie! I can’t be too righteous on that though as my wife works part time in a tea-rooms and receives tips. But I think the way they do it is fairer; all tips go into a pot and are divided equally among all staff, including the washer up. Having said all that though, we do tip by choice and the amount reflects our appreciation.

 

[Osiris]

I usually tip between 20% to 35% of the bill. If the service is really good, I'll tip up to 50%. Only one time did I tip 100%, that was my 30th birthday. I'll never do that when I have a group of 15 eating with me ever again.

 

[ramwella]

I'm addressing the tipping issue strictly from an American perspective.

To those of us who are NOT in the restaurant-waiting service, I think that it is only fair to consider the fact that our pay and livelihoods are not left to the discretion of unpredictable customers. (And thank God for that!!)

If good waiting service GUARANTEED good tips, then it would be a fair exchange. But that is not the case. A top-notch waiter providing excellent service may still get a mediocre tip (or no tip at all!), and only because the customer happens to be cheap, poor, or in a bad mood, or just clueless to standard restaurant etiquette. The customers' excuses could be endless, but there's only 1 outcome: bad tipping!

 

[Osiris]

I'm addressing the tipping issue strictly from an American perspective.

To those of us who are NOT in the restaurant-waiting service, I think that it is only fair to consider the fact that our pay and livelihoods are not left to the discretion of unpredictable customers. (And thank God for that!!)

If good waiting service GUARANTEED good tips, then it would be a fair exchange. But that is not the case. A top-notch waiter providing excellent service may still get a mediocre tip (or no tip at all!), and only because the customer happens to be cheap, poor, or in a bad mood, or just clueless to standard restaurant etiquette. The customers' excuses could be endless, but there's only 1 outcome: bad tipping!

Exactly why I tend to overtip. I see wonderful servers being stiffed all the time and thus becoming rude servers from the treatment. This is a classic case of "You get what you pay for".

I have worked in Customer Service for years now and that is why I am sensitive to servers as they make a completely crap hourly wage and are dependant on those tips in a lot of cases.

Put yourself in their shoes. Do you really think you would get the salary you get if it were left up to someone elses capricious nature? No.

Good nature and good tipping go a long way in the restaurant industry. I never get bad service and if I do, I will still tip, but I may give a word of advice. It has not failed me yet.

 

[DC_DEEP]

LOL :smile: Did you make that up?

Yes, for once, I was actually being clever!

Honestly, I have worked in the service industry before. My brother-in-law opened my hometown's first "ice cream parlor and sandwich shop." We served excellent food at great prices, were right downtown, and it was THE place for the business crowd to have donuts & coffee before work, a sandwich or soup for lunch, and a quick ice cream after work.

Since it was a family business, I just did whatever needed to be done - wait on customers, prepare orders, wash dishes, bus tables, whatever. Most of our regulars were good people, and did tip, but food service is really really hard work. If you do it right, it is physically demanding and emotionally exhausting.

After that experience, and understanding how service industry workers are paid, yes, I tip well for good service.

I can't figure out, though, how some people can be stupid enough to treat their server like shit. No intelligent person cops a shitty attitude with his food server or his auto mechanic.

I really hate that service-oriented jobs pay so poorly in the expectation that the workers will make up for it in tips if they do their jobs well... but it is a double-edged sword. There are many who, if they were making at least the full minimum wage, wouldn't really give a shit if they gave sub-par or excellent service. On the other hand, many customers CHEAT/STEAL service they are expected to pay for, by not leaving a tip.

If I receive good service, I generally pay the tab with my credit card, and leave a healthy cash tip. That way, it can't be traced... I have no problem with someone making those kinds of wages claiming the minimum in tips on their income tax, even if they exceed that minimum.

 

[Mem]

Yes, I am a good tipper. I have worked as a Bartender and Waiter before and I know how hard it can be.

 

[hardstang]

20% and if the service was really good then more! After working at a restaurant I feel like I have to.

 

[Mandee]

We don't do tipping at all here in Australia.

Yeah, my uncle says they don't tip in Iceland either.

 

[DaveyR]

It depends what Country I am in. 10% was about the usual in the UK and I always understood that 20% was about the norm in the US.

Here in Tenerife the locals tend to tip poorly. They usually round up to the nearest euro . The tourists tend to tip according to where they come from. I tend to tip around 10-15% here which is quite generous however if the service is bad I have no hesitation in leaving zilch.

 

[dong20]

Yeah, my uncle says they don't tip in Iceland either.

Nor in Japan.

 

[DaveyR]

Nor in Japan.

Nor in Fiji. When you leave an hotel though you are invited to make a donation to the staff Xmas fund :wink:

 

[Mandee]

Nor in Fiji. When you leave an hotel though you are invited to make a donation to the staff Xmas fund :wink:

Oh that's cool!!!

 

[DaveyR]

Oh that's cool!!!

It sure is. The service is better and friendlier than I have ever encoutered anywhere else. You'd have to be damned hard hearted not to want to leave a decent donation. :wink:

 

[Mandee]

Cool. Maybe I should go to Fiji!

 

[b.c.]

There seems to have been two issues discussed here. One is "commissioned salary."

Generally, here in the U.S. people who work "for commission" usually get something called a "draw" against the commission, based upon minimum wages prescribed by wage laws. That "draw" is deducted from your commission when you earn it. Because of minimum wage laws, you're supposed to be guaranteed at least the draw, but if your earnings in a commission paying job doesn't exceed that after several checks, you won't be employed there for long.

About tipping, I read where the standard is 15% to 20% so I always leave something between those two numbers (higher for better, lower for so-so). I've been averaging closer to 20% simply because it's easier to figure out. (Hey, did you know there's a tip calculator on your cell phone?)

Some of the froufrou restaurants include it in the tab (best to be aware of that when you get it). And yes, here in the U.S., waitresses get paid less than the minimum wage because their employer has already calculated the average tip into their salaries. (Yeah...sucks big time...)


If service is absolutely lousy I won't even complain (too many chances of getting some "extra ingredient" in your food on a good day). I'll get up and walk out.

 

[viking1]

Yeah, my uncle says they don't tip in Iceland either.

Iceland is the place to be!

 

[Mem]

. she even said that the u.s. government had started taxing what they believe they are making in tips - is that true??
?

When I worked as a waiter you made about $2.25 an hour as pay from the employer. You don't get that because it is taken out for taxes.

The government taxes you on 8% of your sales. If you sell $1000 worth of food and drinks for the night and get tipped an average of 15% that is $150. You have to claim that you made $80 that night.

Where I worked you tipped the busboy, food runner, and bartender. Not at your discretion, you have to hand over 5% of your sales or $50.

If you do not tip you are stealing from the waiter. If you get rude service it is understandable. But if not, 5% of what you should have tipped may have to be paid by the server to busboys, etc. The stiffed waiter will have to claim that you left him 8%.

The easiest way to be fired as a waiter is to tell the customer that the tip was bad.

the point is: If you can not afford to leave at least 15% for decent service, stay home or eat at McDonalds.

 

[losangelestim]

i try to be but really, deep inside, i'm cheap.

 

[ruperty]

from my point of view, businesses are getting away with murder, and the government seem more than happy to let them do it - they should bump up the minimum wage.

the businesses aren't paying much at all for employees (at least not front of house) so the only overheads are for premises and utilities. i realise americans must be accustomed to paying tips, but don't you feel that you're paying over the odds for meals, taxis and other services, just because the businesses don't want to pay a half decent wage?

tipping is optional, but they shouldn't make the consumer feel pressured into paying it (as everyone seems to be). the "don't eat if you can't afford to tip" attitude seems silly.

 

[Mem]

from my point of view, businesses are getting away with murder, and the government seem more than happy to let them do it - they should bump up the minimum wage.

the businesses aren't paying much at all for employees (at least not front of house) so the only overheads are for premises and utilities. i realise americans must be accustomed to paying tips, but don't you feel that you're paying over the odds for meals, taxis and other services, just because the businesses don't want to pay a half decent wage?

tipping is optional, but they shouldn't make the consumer feel pressured into paying it (as everyone seems to be). the "don't eat if you can't afford to tip" attitude seems silly.

America was built on cheap labor. We wanted free labor and introduced slavery here. We want cheap products and sent all of our work to China. Bosses want to make you think you are paying a cheap price, that is why they do not include the tip because it makes the price higher.

Places where there is sales tax do not list it in the price of an item. Places have the price listed at $9.99 instead of $10.

Gasoline is sold as $2.99 and 9/10. That way you say you paid $2.99 a gallon instead of $3.

America cares more about corporations than people. That is why failing bosses are asked to resign they are given a $25 million severance package for fucking up.

Most bosses do not care if employees make a living wage. If a car service charges $100 for a ride, they don't want to put off the customer by telling him that it is $115 with the tip.