erislover, while this may seem like a good idea, there are some cases where it will actually be a pretty horrible situation for the waitperson.
Allow me to elaborate. Assume the following example: A middle to large party (say a 6 to 8 top) takes 2 hours to eat a 3-course meal at a middle of the road restaurant. (say salads, deserts and main course). The result, a bill for around $200 or so (assume a bottle of wine or 2, perhaps some cocktails) and a $14 tip.
The problem here is that many restaurants have the wait staff “tip out” the host/kitchen/busboy/dish-washers (at the restaurant where I work, host gets 2%, Kitchen 2% and the busboy& dishwashers 1% of the tab) in this example the wait person would “owe” $12 and would effectively have received $2 for waiting on what (in my experience) was probably a pretty high maintenance table.
Granted, this is a somewhat esoteric scenario, but it happens. All of this is to say nothing of the poor waiter that gets stiffed on a tip, meaning that they have effectively paid for the privilege of waiting on you.
I know you threw in a provision to adjust for quality of service, but still. This is all well & good assuming we’re comfortable with the following equation:
Time = Money
But in reality this is rarely the case. A better equation would be:
(Time + Effort²) n+1 = Money.
Where n is the number of guests at the table.
The preceeding post is a good example. 6-8 people involves a great deal of effort that a $14 tip is just not going to properly reward.
Some great points - from now on, I start out at $7/hr, adjust for the number of people, and go from there. Well, $7 seems kinda arbitrary - how did you come up with that figure?
Either way - I like this method of tipping compared to a percentage of the bill…
I am not the only one tipping. Why would I be?
I didn’t actually think much on why I chose $7 an hour. It had never occured to me to justify this figure in any way, now that I think about it.
whoa, I kinda like the $7/hour idea or something along those lines.
Of course, i’ve lived in countries for the past 15 years that either don’t have a tipping culture or add a 15% service charge. I really dislike the required tipping culture. also when I was a dishwasher for 2 years I never got any tips 
I do tip for good service and some mercenary tipping.
erislover: What about tips for delivery drivers?
Personally, I tip drivers $2-$5 depending mostly on how rich I’m feeling, and whether I want to make a nice round number for my checkbook. The price of the order isn’t a factor–delivering a $12 pizza with 5 toppings is no harder than delivering a $7 pizza with one topping–but the number of items is.
I tip mainly because I work for tips…so I’m kind of a sucker for those coffee-shop/ice-cream parlor tip jars. Even though I do think they’re kind of silly. sigh I cannot physically leave a bad tip; it just makes me feel horrible. Like that line from The Untouchables where Ness says, “I have become what I beheld.” Can’t do it. Bad karma.
It’s the same reason I always put money in the Salvation Army bucket, and actually “buy” those stories from the guy on the street who tells you he ran out of gas up the road and he doesn’t live here and he just needs a couple dollars’ worth of gas to get him back to his mother-in-law’s house…:rolleyes:
I know he’s lying but if I don’t give him money, and I’m ever in that hypothetical situation for real, I’d like for someone to give me money, too, even if they think I’m lying.
That way, when I’m having a horrible day at work and someone still tips me, I know that it’s that karma coming back to me.
Laugh all you like. I have to sleep at night. 
I like to think that tipping rewards merit. A good waiter can make more than a bad waiter. If I recieve good service, I tip very generously. If not, they will get very little.
It doesn’t take much to keep me happy. Get my order right, keep my coffee and water filled, make eye contact every now and then in case I need something. That’s about it.
I don’t like the $7 an hour (or any amount) rule.
To me, the reason for tipping as a percentage of the bill is because you usually get better service at more expensive places.
I recently had dinner at the “top of the hub” in the Prudential building in Boston. erislover, being from taxachussetts you are probably familiar with it. This is a very nice restaraunt with great service. The waiter knew about wines, was very attentive and proffessional, and managed to secretly bring out a desert with a candle in it for my SO’s birthday. I gave him a $30 tip on a $130 bill.
I can’t imagine that anyone would argue that this person deserved the same $7 an hour as a waitress at a truck stop. He is more skilled. He deserves more compensation for the same amount of time and work.
Overall I agree that tipping is a pain in the arse. But, it is worth it because it gives me (the consumer) power! I can reward and punish good and bad behavior.
One reason why I like tipping over a wage that is paid by the restaurant is that if service sucks I can leave a tip that sucks. I don’t have to pay for something that I didn’t get. The IRS taxes waiters and waitresses at a rate equal to 8% of their sales. If you tip less than this you are actually costing that server money.
I was recently on a short vacation in London. We ate out at about dozen places. Restaurants and pubs seemed to have come in two types: no tips and mandatory tips. At the no-tip places, you paid the listed price, tax and everything included. At mandatory tip places, you paid the listed price plus an additional 10-12.5% tip. There was no option to pay or not.
My experience: the service varied between bad and terrible. Waitstaff was slow to bring food, slow to refill drinks, slow to bring the bill. A simple request like a few more napkins took 10 minutes at one restaurant. We waited 30 minutes at another restaurant from when we asked for the bill until we got it. We were considering getting up and leaving to force them to stop us at the door in order to get the bill. Having a mandatory tip makes it even, then you have no control over what you give.
Not having tips does simplify estimating your costs, but I’d much rather pay a tip and have a chance for better service.
Not quite true. See this site. which states
So you don’t have to pay if the service is truly awful.
As a slight hijack, note that serving meals at significantly different times is considered appalling service in England. How does TGI Fridays survive over there?
I was never a big fan of tipping until I travelled to countries where tipping is not the norm. Many times, waitresses at restaurants and bars acted as if it was a HUGE inconvenience to have to do anything for you. On the other hand, if you spend time in Japan, you NEVER tip there and the service is almost too good. Gotta be a cutlural thing as well as a monitary one.
I delivered pizza for a couple years and i support tipping- i think its great to have a job where you can make an extra incentive by going the extra mile. Now im a butcher and i work with a few sluff- offs who do half the work as me and get even more pay than i do because im low- seniority. I think any and all occupations could benefit from giving a bonus/ tip/ incentive for doing more and doing it well.
Back to the tipping though, i dont think anyone should feel obligated to tip. I have delivered a few cold pizzas and had people still tip me, needless to say i felt guilty. I didnt really want the tip but i didnt want to refuse it and make a scene. Of coarse more often i was on the other end providing great service and having people sit there while i count out thier EXACT change (lol- that really burns me!!!). I just urge people to tip well for good service and if the service sucks- dont tip…