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Like most others, I judge people by how they treat waitstaff and other service professionals. Someone who does not tip, unless there's cultural confusion (i.e. friends from Europe who don't get it without prompting) does not stay a friend for long. Undertipping (under 20%) is also a big no-no unless there's issues with service. People who take out bad food on the tip also don't stay friends for long.
Luckily, this is not a scenario I've encountered frequently - just on first (and only) dates. :P Most of my friends, and my current boyfriend, way over-tip.
I've had these friends that I have been hanging out for the past year, but last weekend, we all went out of town together for the first time. Our first stop was to a dine in restaurant, and at the end, I paid my bill via credit card and gave the normal 20% tip. As we were about to leave, the waitress came back to my friend, and asked if she was happy with her service. My friend nodded and said it was good. The waitress then said my friend gave her the exact amount on the bill. That's when I caught on that she didn't leave a tip. I asked my friend if she was going to leave a tip, and she outright told the waitress no. That she don't believe in tipping. Serving her was the waitresses job and she should need tips. I told my friend most service workers work at no more that 2.15 and hour, and my friend told the waitress point blank "well, that's not my problem that your are so stupid enough to work for a job that pays minimum wage. So, good-bye"
I was so embarrassed and very upset with how my friend acted. I haven't talked to her too much since then, and wonder, has anyone else had this issue with friends who refused to tip? Or all of a sudden, short on money and need help in paying their bill (which has happened to me too before)
Your friend is a jerk.
We have an acquaintance who has a lucrative business and loves to throw his money around. Every so often he invites all of his friends out to eat at an upscale restaurant and puts the bill on his company card. Eventually he stopped doing it because people stopped going, and I always thought it was because his accountant (a friend of mine) had told him that he does it too often and that he's looking to get audited.
We got invited to his birthday dinner at a new upscale place locally, so we went and there was only one other couple (my friend the accountant and her husband). Everything was fine until we got our meals, and he started complaining about the food. Sent his steak back twice and made his wife send hers back too. He was very loud about it and everyone was uncomfortable. So I looked at my friend, and she whispered that he does this all the time.
When they finally finished their food, he asked for the check, and my friend said he never tips either. So he signed the receipt, and started to hand it to the server, and I asked if I could see it. She brought it over and of course there was no tip. This was a very expensive meal with at least two fancy drinks per person, and it was over $600.
I said to him, "You should be ashamed of yourself," and I added up a 20% tip for the total bill, gave it to her in cash and apologized for his rudeness, then I got up to leave. He said, "What the hell do you think you're doing?" I said, "I cannot stand to be around an arrogant *******, nor a cheap jerk. You are both, and living proof that money can't buy class."
My son works at a couple places. In California they are paid minimum wage ($10 an hour) plus tips. At one place he works they assume that you had the minimum tip of 18% listed on their receipts and it does not matter if you got it or not. So you are taxed on tips that you might not have been paid by some one that you took the time to serve a meal to.
If you are at a place that makes your food but does not deliver it to you then you don't have to tip.
If you are at a place that makes your food but does not wait on you, does not refill your drinks, and does not make sure that you are having a good time, then you don't tip.
If you are at a place that cooks your food, delivers the food to you, makes sure your drink is full, makes sure the food is to your liking, makes sure that you are having a good time, then you tip and tip well. To me it is about the experience not the food. The food better be good and if it is not I expect the wait staff to make it right. That is what the tip is for, so that they will wait on you.
Some people say that they are paid minimum wage so why tip.
Minimum wage pays for their time at that establishment. The tip pays for the experience that the wait staff gave me and my family and or friends.
I read on a post on FB where someone who waited tables said there seemed to be a growing trend of people leaving notes instead of tips in many restaurants. The most common notes are bible quotes. The majority, though, leave notes saying they had kids so they couldn't afford to tip. Often all they say is "Sorry, no tip, I have kids."
Funny, when Jesus was asked if it was lawful for the Jews to pay taxes he said, "Render unto Caesar the things which be Caesar's, and unto God the things which be God's" And I would add that we should also render unto the wait staff what is theirs.
My thoughts on people that don't have the money to leave a tip because they have kids then maybe they shouldn't be eating at places that they can't afford a tip. My wife and I have 6 kids and when we all go to a nice place we probably have 11 or 12 people when you include the older boys girlfriends. I figure anyone that ended up with our bunch is earning that tip and gets 25% easy. Figure at least $200 or $250 with all of us and on top of that another $50 or $60 in tips. Lucky for me none of us drink or that bill would be a lot more.
This could all be resolved by the restaurants paying staff an hourly W-2 reported wage and the tip system discontinued.
Sure, great idea.
Just to make sure, you are fine with a 25% to 30% increase across the board on everything served at every restaurant, correct?
Because that is what it would take to pay for the increased wages, increased taxable withholding, and additional accounting expenses for the restaurant. And the truly excellent waitstaff will still make less money than before and bleed out of the system to find work in other tipped or commissioned sales positions.
While I mostly agree, I have to say that the cost of having staff is already built into the price of the food.
We paid $80 last night for 3 burgers, with fries, 3 side salads, one crab cake with broccoli, all with water. No way did it cost $80 for the actual food made in mass quantity.
Uh, no, you are right, it sure didn't all go toward the cost of food.
Rent, franchise fees (where applicable), utilities, supplies, advertising, promotions, websites, non-tipped employees, food and supply wastage, interest on debt, about a dozen different types of taxes and governmental fees, and both cooking and cleaning equipment are HUGE expenses.
Then after all of that, the owners have to make a certain percentage of profit on their investment or the restaurant will be closed.
I don't tip often because, they can work a higher paying job if they want more money like any other professional
I tip the same $1-2 no matter the cost of the food, because they aren't the ones cooking it. It takes the same skills to pour a premade drink/bring cooked food/clean a table
I may tip more if they do things beyond what is expected of their job description. Being a "good" waitress, means there is a "good" chance she keeps her job. That doesn't mean she gets more in tips.
Why do americans insist on using tips to bribe people into doing their job? I need to tip if I want good service? How about I complain to owner so he hires people willing to work?
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