Hooray, my chance is here! I’ve been waiting for another tip thread just so I can ask. What is a good tip, percentage-wise, in Canada? 15%? That’s usually what I give, somewhere in that ballpark. I’ll give 10% if the waiter or waitress sucks, but I could never bring myself to stiff someone completely.
I can’t be too bad at tipping since the only restaurant my friends and I go to regularly has a waitress who loves us. She’s practically the reason we go there. As my friend said: “The food’s not that great, the prices aren’t that great, but the waitress is awesome.” She even saved us from a drunk guy who was trying to flirt with us, but that’s another story.
I wish they would just pay waiters an acceptable salary and do away with tips altogether, adjusting the price of the menu as needed. Then, if they do a really good job, you can tip them anyway, but it wouldn’t be expected.
The whole tipping process just makes going out to eat more of a hassle. There’s the calculation of the tip, and if you agree to split the bill, there’s the calculation of the tip for each person (yes, some people I go out to eat feel compelled to do those calculations). There’s the fact that some people don’t take tip into account when budgeting for meals, which can leave them short sometimes (and yay we get to cover for them… not that I mind, but again, it’s just one more thing). There’s the whole debate about what the proper tip should be, in general (I’ve seen figures from 10 to 20% among people I’ve dined with), and for this particular case. Also, when conflict arises regarding what the tip should be, the one who advocates the lower amount tends to end up disgruntled when he either gives up and pays more than he thinks is just or because he ends up looking like a scrooge.
In any case, I think I ate out too much in college
I usually tip about 30-40% of the bill. And if the service is really good, 50%. I know some are saying that is in excess…but there are reasons I do this. And if I can’t afford to do that, I don’t go to a full service resturant (or even to a buffet resturant) (And I think I am spelling resturant wrong, sorry I am tired)
I do it because I am a college student. I have friends who waitress and they have horror stories. The job is hard. You have to put up with mean people, people who are extremely demanding, and because the waitress is usually the person customers have contact with. all the complaints.
I have also sat there and watched a table of 10 people leave $2 (this was at a full service resturant by the way). So I guess I am also trying to make up for the dummies who have the “I don’t feel I should have to tip”. If they even just bring a drink to your table, leave something. In that case, it doesn’t have to be much but in situations where they just refill drinks (such as at a buffet), it is appreciated because most people don’t tip!
The only time I will not leave anything is when the service is absolutly horrific. But those situations usually warrent talking to the manager too.
I was a server for a year and a half, and let me tell you, unless you work at a restaurant with alcohol, it’s not worth it. I worked at Bob Evans, and there everyone felt as though whatever happened- the wait in the lobby, the wait on the food (even on Sundays when we were packed) or being out of carbonation for the soda, was my fault. Oh yeah, and the buses! Goodness, I could tell you stories. I’m not asking for pity, afterall it was my choice to be a server and I enjoyed doing it. I liked getting tipped, liked feeling like I made someone’s meal a little better. What I hated was knowing that I did a really good job and tried to make the customer happy and then got either stiffed or a measely $2 because “they were in a bad mood” or something that was beyond my control.
Now, I’m out of the food business. When I go to a restaurant I expect the server to give me the same amount of attention and respect that I gave my customers. If not, they don’t get as nice of a tip. I think that’s fair, because that’s what I expected when I served. For those who say that servers should get paid a certain wage, think about those crappy servers that you’ve had in the past who didn’t even visit you to refill your drinks or get you that ketchup that you really wanted. Do you want those people to get just as much as the server that comes to your table with a smile, brings you a new drink just as your finishing off your last one, and makes sure everything is a-okay? I certainly don’t.
Just remember guys, not everyone is as lucky as you and gets the same wage for crap or perfection. Be nice to your servers if they’re nice to you, be just and think about how you would feel if you went home with less than a $100 dollar check every week and you got stiffed by people just because they were “in a bad mood”.
A restaurant wants one thing, and one thing only: profit. By making servers reliant on their tips, the restaurant benefits in two ways:
They have to pay the servers less. Obvious - the less they spend on hourly wages, the more profit in the end.
Servers have more of an incentive to “suggestive sell” desserts, side dishes, appetizers, XL/L portions, and other extras. The more you, the customer, spends on the bill, the higher the server’s tip should be. An extra dollar or two per table adds up over the course of the night, but the profit on those extra items really add up for the restaurant.
In high school, I was server at Denny’s, and I think it would be great if servers were paid minimum wage. However, the restaurant would stand to lose money on two fronts, paying more for servers who would be selling less.
Same here. And if I don’t like the service, then I complain and/or don’t go back to that restaurant.
jmizzou, lots of businesses want profit. Why don’t I have to tip the guy at Best Buy who helps me select a stereo, then tries to sell me a service agreement for dessert?
I’ve put in more than my two cents on other threads like this, but I do just want to throw this factoid out there:
When I started waitressing in 1981, minimum wage for food servers was 2.01/hour. When I “retired” in 1996, minimum wage was 2.36/hour. That’s right - 35 cents increase over 15 years.
Count me in as one of those who hates the convention of tipping. Servers should get paid a decent hourly wage - and then tipping should be truly optional. I do tip, I just find it a riduculous way to pay someone. The server has no control over who comes in - you can spend all night in an empty section and never get a chance to make tips. We call it “Libertarianism in Action” because in my experience, if you wait tables at Perkins, two out of four tables stiff you, the other two leave token tips, and once in a blue moon someone overtips enough to make your night.
Now, why is tipping so important - Libertarianism in action - when some people stiff you and you make $2 and change an hour, its really, really important for someone else to leave you $6 on their $40 bill - or you won’t have paid for gas for the evening. Yeah, you had six tables that should turn over once an hour and were busy as hell, so you should be making $30 an hour in tips - but you’ll be darn lucky to get to $5 an hour at Perkins.
She’s practically the reason we go there. As my friend said: “The food’s not that great, the prices aren’t that great, but the waitress is awesome.” She even saved us from a drunk guy who was trying to flirt with us, but that’s another story.