I sorta follow the same line as Sunshine. I tend to forgive somewhat bad/neglectful service when it’s obvious that they’re also waiting on the group of 25 with 3 screaming toddlers and the blustering boob who changes his order every time he/she goes by, etc. Or the restaurant is out of the most popular item, or they’re obviously understaffed, or the soda machine is broken and syrup is spurting into the air while the football team in the corner bangs their glasses for refills. In those situations I not only tip well, but I also speak softly and patiently so as not to make the server cry, which I would usually be doing in their position. In situations where the serving staff is especially harried, I’ve been known to give the restrooms a quick once over, lol. (This comes mostly from having worked in a movie theater for 10 years and also because, hey! These people have to touch my food! I want their hands as clean as possible!) I’ve also been known to leave trinkets and movie passes in addition to the cash tip.
The whole not being able to figure 15% is a crock though. If you can’t figure that out, leave 20%. (10% times 2, people.) If you live in a state with 7.5 or higher tax (which I think is pretty near everywhere) just double the amount of the tax. 2 times 7.5% = 15%. 2 x 8% = 16%. Here in CA sales tax is 8.5%, so my servers usually get in the neighborhood of a 17% tip. I’ll yank a buck or two if they sucked, and add a couple bucks if they were great, or if it was a small bill. (I hate when I go out to lunch or something alone and because my bill was only like $7, the tip is like a dollar and a nickel for 15%. It seems so puny, but if you leave $2, that would cover a bill almost twice as much! I try not to think about it too much, just makes my head hurt, lol.
Well it is definitely nice to see a few people who understand the problem. Anyone who actually lives in the U.S. and knows anything about the waiting industry knows the normal serving wage is somewhere under $3 an hour. Don’t get me wrong I’m not complaining. I make a shitload of money. I probably average a $100 a night. Which comes out to like $20 bucks an hour normally. I LOVE my job and I love serving. I am extremely good never have to write anything down and get compliments from my guests most of the time. Oh yeah and believe me we definitely remember those people who don’t tip don’t worry bout that, my policy? If you stiff me on 3 seperate visits and there were no problems your ass gets the disappearing waiter trick for the rest of your time there. No refills cold food the works. I guess I just get upset when I see people who come in to a nice extablishment such as the Applebee’s where I work run your ASS off with refills extra requests etc. and then stiff you or complain about stuff you can’t control etc. etc. etc.
Ready for a whole new bitch??? Let me start off by saying what everyone else says I am not a racist!! I have a lot of friends of all nationalities. But, it has been my experience for the past 4 years of waiting tables that in “general” and I empasize “general” African Americans or Blacks if you will tend to run your ass twice as hard, complain twice as much and tip 1/4 th of normal. I don’t know just like to get it off my chest I guess. Then again some of the nicest best tippers I have are black as well.
Glad to see there is a lot of people out there that see the same I expect quite a few are servers, any other Applebee’s ones out there???
I don’t think anyone who does not work as a server will believe this, but the Federal minimum wage for “tipped employees” (as the Department of Labor refers to them) is a mere $2.13 per hour, whereas the Federal minimum wage for everyone else at the restaurant is $5.15 per hour. IOW, the bus boys and dishwashers might make more than the servers on a bad shift. Look at it here: http://www.dol.gov/dol/esa/public/regs/compliance/posters/flsa.htm Click on one of the links where it says “Minimum Wage Posters” and you’ll get an Adobe Acrobat version of the wall poster every employee is required by law to place in plain sight for the employees to read.
BTW: Many states (California, Alaska, etc.) have a minimum wage higher than the Fed’s, but even there, the minimum wage for “tipped employees” is a measly $2.13 per hour.
This morning at Denny’s, I ate breakfast. After I got over the shock at the prices (The least expensive omelette was $6.49!!!)(it was the first time I’d been in Denny’s in a long time), I ordered the $2.99 Original Grand Slam (2 Pancakes, 2 bacon, 2 sausages, 2 eggs) plus coffee, small tomato juice and a side of fresh fruit. It was as good as anything I’ve ever eaten at a Denny’s. Anyway, with tax, it came to $8.42. My waitress was nice and attentive. Came back three times to see if I needed more coffee.
I left $1.50, which is more than 15%, but less than 20%.
At 3:30am last night I went to a restaurant with my two guy friends. I got a cappuchino that I didn’t even drink (I ordered it on a whim), Ray got tea and a bagel and Chris got a bagel. All three of us ordered water. It came to under $3. Since it was so late at night Ray wasn’t thinking and opened his tea bag into his cup, so the waitress was nice and gave him new tea, only for him to put in creamer and lemon causing it to curdle. She would have given him more tea but by then we felt like leaving. We thought how nice it is that people work for crazy people like us in the middle of the night with their boring shifts. We left her a $5 tip.
Moral: Work the night shifts so crazy people will leave you large tips. :^)
I posted this in the other thread but think it applies here too. I also added some things as well.
When at a restaurant or bar and you never actually visit the bar, there’s no need to tip the bartender. The server tips out the bartender own their own after his/her shift. Almost always, bartenders/servers will tip out the support staff, i.e., barbacks etc…
If your getting anything besides beer, always go to the bar personally. You’ll get a better drink. In the number of places I’ve tended bar at, the servers usually get a weaker drink than the customer who goes directly to the bar. Mostly this is done to keep the liquor percent down to the establishment. Basically this means we over-pour the ‘wood’ customers and make up for it by shorting the servers (Sorry, this has happened in more than one bar I’ve worked where the liqour is not metered.)
More insight: When you get your drink at the bar, your first order should be be accompanied by the largest tip your willing to spend. Make sure he/she acknowledges your gracious tip. It’s usually a knocking on the bar, thanks etc… You can tip less after the first and be getting some pretty fast and strong drinks for the rest of the night.
Final insight (For now): Always go to the same bartender or server that you have had before. I can’t tell you what having a good reputation with one or more servers can mean at a bar/restaurant. Fast service, the best drinks, and usually some perks the medium tippers rarely see.
My sister waits tables at a brewery. She used to bust my ass if I used the n-word when talking about rappers, but after waiting a while she definitely has choice words for certain nationalities. I think people just get really sensitive when it’s their livelyhood being discussed. She insists I always tip at least 20%, whereas I was always raised that anything only 10 was for above average service. As is, I tend to base mine on how much I spent, from 50% for a cheap meal down to 15% for an expensive one. +/- a few percent for quality of service/cuteness of waitstaff. I’d like to tip well all the time, but with the cost of a burger and fries approaching $10 at some local restaurants, I am less and less inclined to feel charitable towards my hosts. I know it isn’t the servers fault, beyond the fact that they are willing to work there.
I always overtip, but it really has it’s payoffs. The times I usually eat out, are the times when I’m just too exhausted to come home and cook for my 7 year old. Not only do I show up sweaty and still in uniform, but my daughter spills something about half the time. Dinner for both of us (love those kid menus) rarely comes to over ten bucks, but I won’t leave less than five for a tip. I usually go to the same restaurant and have been there enough times that I get great service from everyone, no matter who my waitress is. If my kid spills something, three people will rush over with napkins. Makes me feel like royalty, and my daughter is treated so well she prefers it to McDonald’s playlands. They even let her make substitutions on the kid’s menu. If that’s not worth an extra five bucks, I don’t know what is.
That you should NEVER tip more then 20%. And come to think of it, why do they whine about their tips? If it isn’t enough, go get a job like the rest of us that doesn’t afford us the luxury of tipping. I am very good tipper when I receive EXCELLENT service. A poor or non-tipper for average or sub par service and a complainer if the food sucks or the waitperson really screwed up. Basically you either get a 20% tip or nothing from me. If you want a tip then you should know that with some of us you will have to earn it!
That said, understand that you will receive a 20% tip from me if you provide me with excellent service. But there is no reason any waitperson should receive more then 20%. A person that overtips shows their lack of culture as much as a non-tipper that received good service.
AND… I’ve never had anything but top quality service when dining at a Chinese restaurant. Of course I’ve always had an asian server, and racist as it may be/sound, those people know how to give good service because they want your tip and business. They may very well laugh and make fun of all the fat white people gorging themselves on their buffet. But when they are in your face they are all smiles and service.
Also… why is it not racist/discriminatory, that Oriental restaurants only hire Asians as servers & chefs and only mexicans as busboys (and other menial tasks)? I for one expect to be waited on by an oriental when I dine in a Chinese restaurant.
btw- why is the term oriental offensive when I see the term used in many Asian restaurant names?
Main Entry:gra·tu·ity
Pronunciation:gr&-'tü-&-tE, -'tyü-
Function:noun
InflectedForm(s): plural -ities
Date:1540
: something given voluntarily or beyond obligation usually for some service;especially : TIP
Main Entry:tip
Function:noun
Date:1755
: a giftor a sum of money tendered for a service performed or anticipated : GRATUITY
I tip based on 3 factors, service level, preceived value, and last and least price
If I think I get a great deal at a rest., I will tip based on what I think the meal was worth, not what I paid. I use the price as a guidline only. service being acceptable. This sometimes mean me leaving anywhere from 8% to 30% tip for normal service. I see no reason for rewarding people for working at expensive places and no reason for jipping people who work at less expensive ones.
That’s why it’s bizarre to me. Lots of other countries (including, I assume, here in Australia - though I dunno, I’ve never been to a restaurant here) pay their wait staff good wages, taken from the Restaurant’s income, which means meals are charged accordingly.
From what I can tell, meals in the US are approximately the same price as here, so why can’t they afford to pay their staff? Why do Americans have to pay 20% more just because they are expected to supplement a waiter’s pay?
Well, the 2 Chinese restaurants that I visit most often are family-owned and operated (i.e. most, if not all, of the employees are related to the owner, who coincidentally, is Asian–probably Chinese). That could have something to do with it.
reciept in your sandwich??? damn, thats a great story…
nothing crazy has happened like that, but once we left something like a 60-70 dollar tip , which was probably around 40%, i was shocked that there was that much!!
I do not buy the argument that if the food is bad it is not the waiter’s fault. I buy the whole package. I am a client of the restaurant and not of Sally who is my waitress tonight. If the food stinks I don’t care how good the service was.
The law says: “If an employee’s tips combined with the employer’s cash wage of at least $2.13 per hour do not equal the minimum hourly wage, the employer must make up the difference.”
So, even if no one leaves a tip the waitamerican is guaranteed minimum wage.
Since everybody in this thread is in favor of generous tipping let me play de devil’s advocate.
All sorts of businesses often sell goods or services at a loss. What counts is not what they charge the individual but what they collect on the whole. Thus, an airline will sell seats at below their cost of operations for the simple reason that it is better to get something for it than nothing. As long as the total fares collected make the flight profitable, they prefer to sell some seats at below cost rather than have them empty.
Many other businesses do this. Grocery stores sell some products at a loss in order to attract customers, etc. Nobody would feel guilty by buying a cheap airfare or by buying a box of detergent in which the store is losing money. As long as I pay what they are asking, I am not obligated to more.
So, why are waiters any different? They are guaranteed minimum wage and if they don’t like the job they can go find another one.
Suppose I am a person on a very tight budget. Should I never go out to eat? I would think if I go to a restaurant during their very slow hours they would rather have me than be sitting around. Would a waitress prefer a small tip from me if I eat there or none at all if I don’t?
Summary: IMHO a tip is totally, absolutely, 100% discretionary. Just use good discretion.