question about proper tipping

[plain jane doe]

Originally Posted by sillykitty

I think it's wrong to blame the "greedy boss". The restaurant industry works on very thin margins. Most restaurants don't survive. If an owner decides to pay more than the going/minimum rate then that is going to directly threaten that restaurants survival.

No one who says the greedy boss should pay her employees properly is suggesting that she then eat 15%-25% losses but rather that the cost should be reflected up-front in the menu price. I would be happy to pay what I already pay anyway without going through all the multiplying, dividing, rounding, and suspicious looks.

[karmenzsofia]

I understand what you mean. This is such an interesting topic to me...I mean, it can go in so many directions because of all the variables involved. It reminds me of an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm that aired two weeks ago in which Larry is pissed at Jason Alexander kuz he (Jason) won't tell Larry how much he's tipping on a bill they're splitting in half. The next day, Larry is back at the restaurant asking the waiter how much Jason left him, and the waiter wouldn't tell him. So Larry started doing the "touch your tie if he gave you more than $12" (which is what he left), "raise the coffee pot over your heard if he gave you more than $30"... routine. It was hilarious!

[plain jane doe]

^^ I might have to dig that one up!

It's easy to get all up in arms about tipping (see, my posts), especially when splitting the bill. I have seen a few people get upset about a tip they considered too large when they weren't even paying!

[canada's]

correct me if i'm wrong, but i believe it's only in the U.S. that waitstaff make under minimum wage. in other countries, being a waiter is a profession and their salary reflects that (they aren't millionaires, obv, but make livable wages).

i think it's disgusting waitstaff is paid what they are in the states. let's say they bumped them up to minimum wage (still deplorable in the U.S.), which is what? $6/hour now? i really doubt it would threaten the restaurant's bottom line, especially for large companies.

[Jahpson]

$2/hr is just highway robbery. Especially if its a busy night and that waitress has many people to deal with, idk if each and every customer tips

I remeber striking up a conversation with a waitress that was working my table one night and she showed me her paycheck for what I think was two weeks work (or was it one week?) $14!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[karmenzsofia]

^ It's so ridiculous...

[Vegas Long Legs]

Do you know what many of those chef's clear per restaurant that you watch on the food network? We know of a couple that were CLEARING about $5 million per restaurant. We know this cause we've owned property that was leased out for restaurants. We've looked at lots of P&L's & were AMAZED at what they made.

Yes, not everyone is this successful. BUt many could at least pay minimal wage. (Actually if the restaurant pays $2.13 per hour to their employees & they can't balance it out to where the waiter gets at least minimal wage with tips. Maybe they need to shut down. Eveyone else in the business world is required to see their employees make minimal wage.) The industry is broken. Raise the prices on the food & then it'll be a real career for people. Like it is in France. I don't care if the prices are raised, I tip! So if they cover the tips by price increases its the same to me. That way everyone would be 'tipping.'

[jayjay77]

Originally Posted by karmenzsofia

I tip a bit higher or lower based on the quality of the service I receive and don't take age, gender or race into consideration. I think it's unfair to do that and a form of discrimination--good service is good service regardless of who's providing it. When I was a waitress, it used to bug the crap out of me that the men and older waiters/waitresses got higher tips because of the perception that they were waiting tables to support a household and/or needed the money more than a younger, female waitresses, whom often were thought of as already being supported by someone else and working for "extra" cash. Ironically, more than half of the younger female waitresses were single parents, fully responsible for their household and paying for school to try to get ahead. Soooo unfair.

Interesting point. I have had the same experience. I worked as a bartender in college and the wait staff, also college students, had to share their tips with me. Suprisingly the male waiters in general made much more in tips than the female waitresses. Our clientel was mainly men. I would have thought that pretty young women would get the tips, but apparently the guys were seen as "needing" the money more.

I second "Nickled and Dimed" as an excellent book about how difficult it is to live on minimum wage.

On the other hand I know waiters in NYC who make $100K at the top restaurants. I certainly hope the waiters at top resturants in Vegas make that much too.

[MACsarah]

Originally Posted by gutu28

. If you can't afford to tip your waitress at least 18-20%, the skip that extra beer or appetizer. I shouldn't have to suffer because you're trying to cut back on your spending. Another thing that gets me..those of y'all who have teenage children that can go out to eat by themselves, PLEASE teach them how to tip! Nothing irritates me more than when I get 5-6 who take up my table for 2 hours to drink water, eat a basket of fries, and not leave a tip.

You shouldn't expect tips..

My friends and I go out frequently, and all of the people I go out with are generous with their tipping. I've had friends who've had over tipped a waitress, that even looked down on us because of our age!

I tip 30% to waitresses and hair dresser, 35% to manicurist and facials, and 20% to pizza delivery. I sometimes wonder why I tip the pizza delivery man. I wait outside my gate so they don't have to walk up the entire way, and its not like they are spending 30+ minutes on me. I heard the pizza chains already pay deliverers!

[Vegas Long Legs]

Originally Posted by jayjay77

On the other hand I know waiters in NYC who make $100K at the top restaurants. I certainly hope the waiters at top resturants in Vegas make that much too.

We've heard some of the celebrity chefs pay $10.00 per hour + the tips. On the strip only. I always joke that these must be good paying, most of the wait staff are men. You see very few women waiters in high end restaurants on the strip.

[glistenpearls]

Originally Posted by gutu28

If you can't afford to tip your waitress at least 18-20%, the skip that extra beer or appetizer. I shouldn't have to suffer because you're trying to cut back on your spending.

I understand where you're coming from, but to expect someone to give you at least 18-20% tips and forget about their extra beer and appetizer are sounds wrong. Even worse when you said you shouldn't suffer because they are cutting back. You know.. if you said this to people, they will turn to you and said, why should they suffer and skip the extra appetizer to make sure you receive what you think it's acceptable? I don't condone either side, but in perspective, we tips depending on the service.

[bnjj]

I am sitting in the Vegas airport right now waiting to fly home from my stay at the Mandalay Bay. I was quite appalled at the housekeeping service this week, which I am surprised at being that it is one of the better hotels.

[blah956]

Originally Posted by glistenpearls

^^ True. I lived in Australia for 15 years before I moved to the US 2.5 years ago, I was shocked! In Australia is not a custom to give tips. Once in a while I did give tips, but that's because I'm a regular customer and I know the manager well. Mmm...I'm not sure about giving tips to Sonic? I only been to their drive through, so I don't see why I need to give tips. But then I never give tips to any fast food restaurants, you normally clean up after yourself at fast food places, even I refill my own drinks, so why tipping? they are not a full service restaurants.

i don't think you should tip if you pay through drive through, but if you order at the parking stations and intend to eat there then i think you should.

[blah956]

if you are a server and want to treat a customer like crap but still get a great tip, get my ex-friend grace. she is a pity customer. she is a waitress too but will still tip greatly if you give her crappy service. i remember once me, her and another girl went out to eat. our server yelled at me cause he gave me the wrong item (an appetizer vs the dinner meal). she wanted to tip him $10 cause "it is hard to be a server" and the other girl and i were like "yeah you tip good when you get great service. you don't tip well for crappy service".

also, i don't know how it is in other states but in texas, if you don't earn what is considered minimum wage by the end of the night, your employer is supposed to make up the hourly pay so that you don't end up with the short end of the stick.

[Gimmethebag]

Originally Posted by glistenpearls

I understand where you're coming from, but to expect someone to give you at least 18-20% tips and forget about their extra beer and appetizer are sounds wrong. Even worse when you said you shouldn't suffer because they are cutting back. You know.. if you said this to people, they will turn to you and said, why should they suffer and skip the extra appetizer to make sure you receive what you think it's acceptable? I don't condone either side, but in perspective, we tips depending on the service.

I don't believe that the poster was implying that she expects 18%+ (which to me is on the low end, IMHO) in tips for crappy service, but is expressing frustration with cheapskates stiffing her on a tip when she delievered good service because they want to "save money." Is it legal to do so? Yes, tips are voluntary.

Is it scummy? In my opinion, yes. This system has been this way for a long time. Everyone knows to tip your waiter. And if you don't want to tip a waiter, don't go to a restaurant and be served by a waiter. That's what McDonald's and Chipolte are for.

I understand that some people need to cut back on spending, but to stiff your waiter is just so, so wrong. The government automatically assumes that waiters make 15% in tips. They are taxed on 15% of their total food sales regardless of what they actually made in tips. They take this out of their pay check, so many servers get paychecks for like $4 for two weeks. They really live on the tips. By not tipping at least 15%, you are essentially having the waiter subsidize your food. If you receive poor service, let the waiter and the management know. But receiving decent service and leaving less than 18% isn't cool.

*I also tip more at cheaper, family restaurants. The food prices are lower, so it is harder for the servers to make decent money. They also deal with kids, which in my experience from waiting tables in college, is HELL. Most kids eat free or off their parents' plates and so all the work and clean up that comes with serving a family is hardly worth 18% on a $20 bill for a family of 4. I tip at least $2-5 per person. I also tip well at Waffle House, since 20% is nothing on a $4 bill. And those waitresses have to put up with a lot, drunks at 3am...