Thread: Tip or no?

Let me first say I always tip usually 15-20% unless service was horrible.

But here is my gripe. I walk into Dunkin Donuts and there at the register is a tip cup. Sorry not from me. Turning around and putting a donut in a bag doesn't justify a tip. This is just an excuse by the store owners to pay their employees less, after all you do get tips. In one store I went into there was a tip cup next to he cashier - so let me see you took my money very quickly so let me give you a tip... I think not..

I remember 20 years ago we went to Scotland and at the bar I left a tip for the bartender after he gave me my drink and he said I forgot my money I told him it was a tip and he told me that there you didn't tip at the bar.. I was shocked.

Same philosophy as Rich. I know they don't get paid so I usually leave 15-20% unless the person serving was a real jackass and the service was horrible. If it was extraordinary, I might even bump it up more, but that is a rarity. The counter service - forget it...

Agreed, Why should I give Starcosttomuch a tip for turning around and telling some one what I want. I have seen wait staff at Bar B Q places that kept your tea glass full and made sure that you had everything that you wanted, and about twelve other tables. They get about 35%.

Then you have wait staff at other places that are more interested in other things, and you may see them thrice. When you order, When you get your food, and when you get the bill. They can be seen hanging out other places in the restaurant, talking, thats a two cent tip.

Phil

Not exactly the same but I've recently revised my tipping strategy. I usually tip a waitress or waiter 20%+ if I like them and they do a good job. In that I mean I want them to bring my food, make me feel ok in the store and not share their life story.

Most waitresses can't meet the requirement and get less. I usually don't go below 10% unless I don't like the service and then usually do not leave any tip at all. That usually requires being rude, I'm a little push over for blue collar stiffs.

My point is that they only bring me one meal and have many customers. Even if we all only tip 5% he/she is making pretty good extra money.

One the other hand, my barber is highly trained, has only one customer at a time, and the effect of her work lives with me for atleast 2 weeks. Even a bad meal is passed in a day or two.

I've recently started tipping based on those two criteria. How trained is the individual and how long does the "service" actually last.

I tip my barber 150%. She always looks at me like I've lost my mind, but I always get a damn good haircut.

I tip for good service and appropriately for poor service.

However, I wanted to point out that carhops at Sonic make about $2.35 and are therefore in need of some small tip for good service. I know it's amazing that they are expected to make up for their salary in tips as a QSR carhop but it's true in my neighborhood.

Originally Posted by AFDavis11

My point is that they only bring me one meal and have many customers. Even if we all only tip 5% he/she is making pretty good extra money.

My point though, is that this isn't "extra" money for wait staff and similar workers. The law allows them to be paid less then minimum wage. So, if you're making $2.50 an hour - you're living on your tips. Lets say you serve 15 tables in a shift and they each ring $50 (a mid priced place lets say). 5% is $37.50 for a days work. Out of this, the wait staff has to tip the busboys and the bartender. Then, you have to declare some of that income for tax purposes. In addition, most restaurants make the wait staff do additional work - like prepping, cleaning, etc. A good waiter works very hard. 5%, even 10% tips is not a decent wage.

I'd rather tip a good waiter than have the restaurants raise prices and pay the staff a true working wage. Then service would really go down the tubes.


Jordan

Originally Posted by jnich67

Lets say you serve 15 tables in a shift

I don't see how any waiter/waitress could survive on only 15 tables a shift unless they were in a very exclusive (ie, high priced) establishment.

When my nieces were teenagers back in the mid-80's they both had waitress jobs and made pretty good money at it. Both were go-getters and worked hard so they usually were waiting on 6-8 tables at a time and the tables usually turned over in less than an hour. While they worked an 8-10 hour shift, it had peaks and valleys for lunch, dinner, etc. These were family restaurants, sorta like a Dennys but locally owned. It was pretty common for them to come home with $100-150 a day in tips. Back then they made $1.25/hr in salary... and they usually worked 5 or 6-days a week. Their take-home + tips was frequently over $500 a week. Not too shabby for a kid just out of high school. But the work was exhausting and they didn't have time for a social life, so they soon gave it up.

Originally Posted by azjoe

I don't see how any waiter/waitress could survive on only 15 tables a shift unless they were in a very exclusive (ie, high priced) establishment.

When my nieces were teenagers back in the mid-80's they both had waitress jobs and made pretty good money at it. Both were go-getters and worked hard so they usually were waiting on 6-8 tables at a time and the tables usually turned over in less than an hour. While they worked an 8-10 hour shift, it had peaks and valleys for lunch, dinner, etc. These were family restaurants, sorta like a Dennys but locally owned. It was pretty common for them to come home with $100-150 a day in tips. Back then they made $1.25/hr in salary... and they usually worked 5 or 6-days a week. Their take-home + tips was frequently over $500 a week. Not too shabby for a kid just out of high school. But the work was exhausting and they didn't have time for a social life, so they soon gave it up.

Obviously, it depends on the place. I was thinking five tables that turn over 3 times for lunch or dinner. In my experience, working a double (lunch and dinner) - assuming the place is open til 10, means a 12-13 (11am-12am usually) hour shift. I would hope someone working that long would make over $100.

My point is that your nieces probably averaged 15% or more to make what they did.

I just don't think we should view tips for wait staff as "gravy" because its really their whole compensation. The counter tips certainly do not fall into this category though.

Jordan

Originally Posted by jnich67

Obviously, it depends on the place. I was thinking five tables that turn over 3 times for lunch or dinner. In my experience, working a double (lunch and dinner) - assuming the place is open til 10, means a 12-13 (11am-12am usually) hour shift. I would hope someone working that long would make over $100.

My point is that your nieces probably averaged 15% or more to make what they did.

I just don't think we should view tips for wait staff as "gravy" because its really their whole compensation. The counter tips certainly do not fall into this category though.

Jordan

No arguments from me on anything you've said. My nieces were raised in rural America... mostly farmers and trades people... the restaurants they worked in opened at 4:30-5am and closed around 8pm. They generally worked the 11am to close shift with time off in the afternoon if they needed to run an errand, got to the dentist, etc.

Drifting off topic (a little more), I find that most parts of the country (excluding the huge major metropolitan areas) have damn few restaurants open after 8 or 9pm. I lived in the NY metro area (NJ) for 20+ years and kinda got into the habit of eating after a show, etc... say 10pm or as late as midnight. Then I moved to Phoenix... the 5th largest city in the US. Phoenix has lots of restaurants, but damn few good restaurants are open past 8:30pm (unless they have major bar business associated with them... like an Applebees or Chilies, not that I consider them a "good" restaurant by any means ). I've lived here for 15-years and still can't quite get used to it.

I have a different view on tipping than my fellow bartenders here. If the service is ...no tip for you.

I'm with shaving samurai on pricing and tips. example:

I work at a college bar. I make my money on pure volume and cheap beer (drafts go for $1 - $2...yes, cheap)

There is another club called the W. They charge $8 a beer.

so I serve say 10 beers and get a dollar, when the W serves 2 and gets $1.60?

If the service is the same, why the difference?
Tips should be based on service not price. I've tipped more that 50% for great service and tipped nothing on service that was horrible with a large bill (saw the waiter twice)