Tipping in the U.S. (hotels, gated, wage)

[johnrex62]

Originally Posted by greggd

Ok, hotshot.. I should have added in when decent service is provided. Of course if the service is poor or the server spits in your drink, you dont tip or you walk out.

That is okay. I will forgive your oversight since you have cleared it up now.

Originally Posted by greggd

There are quite a few people out there that believe in the "buck per head tip".
or 10% no matter what over a certain amount. Those are the individuals I was addressing.

I can certainly agree with this statement. There should be no such thing as a flat tip. It should always be based on service level and check amount. I have been in a few places where the food bill was so cheap that I seriously overtipped because the service was so good. I am not wealthy or even seriously well off and I am likely never going to be one of those mythical four digit tippers. I have tipped as much as double the check before in a couple of those aforementioned dives, but that is rare and takes more than adequate service to draw it out of me.

I was told by a friend of mine that his father-in-law believes in the $1 tip and when the family goes out he has to be sure the in-law has left the restaurant before the tip is left or the man will go back to the table to check and will retrieve any "extra" tip left behind.

[Hungry For Cheese]

And this is how I tip...

$1 per person plus up to an additional $1 depending on service.

I figure here in Cali they get at least $8/hr if not more. Plus average 4-5 tables per hour.

If everyone gives $2...thats $8-10/hr plus the $8.
Thats $18/hr.....more than I currently make.

So I figure the min. they make at times is $12/hr, up to $50

I know they dont work 40 hours.....but that is there choice. Even with 20-30 hrs they can make the same as a person making $12-14/hr working full time.

It balances itself out.

I cant imagine them getting 15%+ tip always.
Average meal $30...tip is $4.50-6.
4-5 tables...thats $24/hr on average, plus hourly rate of lets say $8

They would be getting $32/hr....working 20 hrs a week
Thats $640/week.
PLUS all the free time they have from not working 40+hrs a week.
If you ask me...they got it pretty damn good.

[Hungry For Cheese]

Originally Posted by johnrex62

I can certainly agree with this statement. There should be no such thing as a flat tip. It should always be based on service level and check amount.

I strongly disagree. If me and my girl go to a restaurant and order a $50 meal for ourselves that requires the labor of a $15 meal, the tip wont vary based on total price. I mean if anything, the cook is doing a lot of the work. Not to mention if I get things to go on top of my meal...Like a plate for someone at home, a pie etc. and the bill exceeds $80 now. I will gladly leave a $5-6 tip if service was good. Thats a 7-8% tip. I average 45 mins in the place. So a $6 tip for 2 people where you had to take order, deliver food and replenish drinks two times is good enough. Its the same as youd do for a turkey sandwich for two and a $18 bill. Of course then you wouldnt get a $6 tip...More like $2 and change.

[Sorcerer68]

Originally Posted by kgee

I strongly disagree. If me and my girl go to a restaurant and order a $50 meal for ourselves that requires the labor of a $15 meal, the tip wont vary based on total price. I mean if anything, the cook is doing a lot of the work. Not to mention if I get things to go on top of my meal...Like a plate for someone at home, a pie etc. and the bill exceeds $80 now. I will gladly leave a $5-6 tip if service was good. Thats a 7-8% tip. I average 45 mins in the place. So a $6 tip for 2 people where you had to take order, deliver food and replenish drinks two times is good enough. Its the same as youd do for a turkey sandwich for two and a $18 bill. Of course then you wouldnt get a $6 tip...More like $2 and change.

You've just covered the tax the server was charged to sell you the food leaving them with about $1.50. They'll be sure to remember you.

[katenik]

Originally Posted by alienred

I admit that I don't know the exact amount of tip (Service Charge) added to bills in the UK because it is part of life to just pay the bill when you get it. People no longer check the details.

Also, I don't go to the UK much now. It used to be every year, but the last time I was in The UK, last November, I didn't check the bill. I just payed it.

It seems that you have to be a Rocket Scientist to calculate the tip in the U.S. which is just to much. Having the tip (Service Charge) automatically added to the bill before you get it at a standard rate is much better for everyone.

As a Brit, I don't tip, at least not in the UK. Those of you who went to the UK and tipped, well it was your choice. And the places you went were in the tourist, or nearby, areas. As a Brit, even if I went to those areas, I wouldn't tip. It is not in Brits nature to tip.

If you tried to actually put the tip into the hand of the Sever they will refuse, mostly. Leaving it with the bill makes it difficult for Brits to hand it back. That would be rude. Try to put it in their hand next time then see what happens.

Paying a dollar for a barman to serve you a drink at the bar is ridiculous. Are you crazy? Serving you at your table is understandable. But then it's not the barman, it's a server.

In the UK the premise is that the person is being paid to do a job. So why do I have to give them more money to do the job they are being paid to do?

I might as well do it myself.

then you'll probably think i'm really nuts: tipping with a pound coin "felt" like tipping a quarter, so when tipping in cash, i always gave at least two pounds, no matter how minor the service performed (pouring a drink, calling a cab, etc.).

[johnrex62]

Originally Posted by kgee

I strongly disagree. If me and my girl go to a restaurant and order a $50 meal for ourselves that requires the labor of a $15 meal, the tip wont vary based on total price. I mean if anything, the cook is doing a lot of the work. Not to mention if I get things to go on top of my meal...Like a plate for someone at home, a pie etc. and the bill exceeds $80 now. I will gladly leave a $5-6 tip if service was good. Thats a 7-8% tip. I average 45 mins in the place. So a $6 tip for 2 people where you had to take order, deliver food and replenish drinks two times is good enough. Its the same as youd do for a turkey sandwich for two and a $18 bill. Of course then you wouldnt get a $6 tip...More like $2 and change.

Generally speaking the $50 category restaurant is a different class than the $15 restaurant. You made the choice to obtain your food at the $50 shop rather than the $15 shop and should consider the tip part of that experience. That said, the servers should be providing service at a different level than what would be expected at the $15 location. You should expect more from them and tip accordingly. What would be exceptional service at the $15 shop would only be meeting expectations at a higher class shop.

I conceed that ordering takeout is not to be tipped for and I would also reduce my tips relative to the total bill percentage if a significant portion of the bill was due to takeout. If only a small portion of the bill was takeout I would not bother to adjust the tip for that.

[decafdave]

Kgee,

Please take the time to educate yourself because you sound like a moron.
Waiters/waitresses work hard and not everyone can afford the education needed to make that 500k a yr that you mentioned. I am a college student so I'm in the process of education (majoring in International Business) but I still need a summer job to pay for tuition. If your comments were'nt so ignorant they would be enraging.

YOu make several wrong assumptions. Firstly, you assume we make "$8 an hr". That is WRONG!! most of us make 2.13 an hour without tips. Your right, on a busy hour we might make 20-something an hour but out of a given night only one or two hours are busy like that-not to mention all the side work that is done. If you can afford to dish out 50$ for a meal than you can easily afford the 15% tip.

Also, about the cooks doing more of the work (I can tell you first hand its about equal)-they are paid a flat rate of over minimum wage. They don't rely on tips. But then again you seem to have alot of knowledge about the restaurant business so why am I saying it? lmao.

So basically, you sound like a cold-hearted and small cheapskate. Unbelievable. Do you always make judgements about industries that you know nothing about? Tell me what your job is and let me make unfair assumptions about your pay and workload.

I'm sure you'll ignore my post and keep on believing that junk but please take the time to learn before your you spread your s@@@ on the internet.

P.S.- you know what the sad/funny thing is? I guarentee that if you've visited a restaurant with your miserly compensation, your food has been messed with!!

[decafdave]

Originally Posted by Terrapin2212

Some restaurants automatically add a tip if you have a certain number of people or if the bill exceeds a certain but you can still add in addition to that if the service was very good....or if your waitress was pretty

You know some servers are guys right?

[greggd]

Kghee, you should frequent hometown buffet.

I spoke to a server this evening and he said that he believes the tax is 8% on total receipts, which is witheld from his paycheck. So I guess kghee is one of those customers that costs the server money to wait on.

[BeenAroundTheBlock]

OMG I'm finding it hard to believe people tip a flat rate or per head. It sounds like an old rule for senior citizens or something... or cheapskates. I also agree, many these people are unfamiliar with the restaurant business! If you can't afford the whole dining experience just stay home. You'd be better off going to a pickup/counter type of restaurant.

People need to realize that the servers in better restaurants also have to "tipshare" with their bussers, bartenders, food runners, etc. They don't walk away with everything they receive. They also have to buy their own uniforms. It's a very tough job as someone above posted, being slammed with a bunch of tables at a time, being organized, getting blamed for the cooks mess ups, and putting up with some very rude and obnoxious people. If diners realized that their behavior also can set the tone of their dining experience with being friendly they'd get much better service.

Someone mentioned too that why don't these restaurant workers get a better job, get a degree or something. Just to let you know, half of these young people who work in the restaurant business ARE working on their degrees. If anything, they are working hard to contribute to their educations and misc. needs. They aren't sitting around with silver spoons in their mouths while mom and pops pay for their whole education.