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Yes, I'm in Europe and there is no tipping necessary. I think we should have a NO atIPPING movement to counteract the $15 minimum wage. Best yet, don't eat out.
Thank god I'm not a waiter or bartender with people around like many of those posting! But I have worked in a tipping dominated field as well and the norm around here is that the ONLY pay is tips. Pay for 15 plus hours on a boat, sometimes getting ones ass handed to them, is ONLY in the form of tips. I have seen captains literally run down the clients at the end of the trip if they have stiffed the mate and shamed them into paying. But, at least, the majority of clients understand the process. Some operations pay a small "salery" or daily rate per trip but that pay is for the work that gets done during the "off" days. The tips are for the trip.
And being in that business one becomes associated and friends with many bartenders and waiters in upscale bars and restaurants and I can assure you that these people are well deserving of more then minimum wage. And just like other professions that one does not recieve the same daily pay day in and day out, many only "remember" or mention the good nights. So yes, those bar tenders may be making a killing on a friday or Saturday night on a pretty weekend, but let the weather go to crap the following week or come back during a Tuesday or Wednesday lunch shift and those same servers are taking home barely anything.
Personally, I prefer the tipping method, especially for what I did. Hell if I'd do any of that for an actual minimum wage in which hours are actually counted. Not worth it. It's hard work with a lot done "behind the scenes". Another thing is I like having cash at the end of the day instead of wailting 1,2 perhaps 4 weeks to get it. Gives me a lot more freedom of what to do and doesn't make me feel like my life is all a bunch of schedules. And before those chime in about how people like me are cheating taxes I can assure you that I'm not. In fact, it is a very dumb thing to do as you'll need to show proof of income by way way of IRS tax forms if you want to get a mortgage. Possibly the same thing as well for a loan for a car, boat or anything else! So it's best to report it.
Why? What does the cost of the meal have to do with it?
Exactly, unless it is a multi-course tasting menu which requires the waiter to work harder than just bring menus to the table, ask about and maybe bring a glass of wine, etc. and then to bring one plate of food out to the table, I don't think tipping makes any sense.
I don't expect to tip the waiter who simply stands aside and points to a table, either. If you want a fat traditional tip, then pull out my chair and seat me properly, if the host/hostess has not done so already.
I can assure you that there are plenty of servers who walk away from their shift with less than minimum wage. Good days can be way above minimum but a bad shift with few tables and/or bad tippers can yield way less than minimum.
We can all agree that the American system of server pay and tipping isn't fair but until it changes, don't be a jerk and please tip your servers.
If they want to be criminals and want their employers to get away with being criminals, that's on them. They should walk away with at least standard minimum wage after tips.
Bad tippers can only yield way less than minimum if the employee and employer fail to follow minimum wage laws.
Some people don't realize that tipped jobs are often exempted from minimum wage or are allowed to have a far lower minimum wage like $3/hr. People that work at St#rbucks are more than likely making $7 or more an hour across the board. But someone working at Zed's Neighborhood Grillz is probably getting a base pay of $3/hr.
Per the law, they are required to make standard minimum wage after tips. A lot of people are ignorant of this fact and thing that employees can legally get paid less than standard minimum wage.
Believe me I know a lot of bartenders and waitresses who make $200+ a shift and make everyone think they are poor, hurted and destitute and have even convinced themselves of life being so hard and bringing food to people's tables for $22/hr (with tips) being such difficult work akin to Indonesian $1/year child labor. I have worked along side of them and even they would try to lie to me as if I were dumb as a rock but yet, I could see the register rings. $1,240 a week for a six hour shift inclusive of base pay of $6+/hr. and their rent might only be $500 a month.
Well, California is minimum wage plus tips. There's no base. At $15/hour, yeah, probably I'd tip a bit less maybe 10% instead of 15% as a base. What's interesting is CA is also where 20% is the new 15%. I mean, I'm fine tipping 20%. I do so regularly for good service, even exceeding it. But I tip based on the service versus my expectation. If I get bad service, I don't tip and don't feel bad about it. I like the idea of tipping for servers, bartenders, etc. If I get a bartender who just pulls a beer with half of it being head, I'm sure as hell not tipping for it. Probably my last beer as well but they already got me for the beer.
Yes, I'm in Europe and there is no tipping necessary. I think we should have a NO atIPPING movement to counteract the $15 minimum wage. Best yet, don't eat out.
Different levels of service. If you come to America and start waiving at your waitress and failing that shouting across the room, you'll look like a hillbilly. If you have to do that in America, don't tip. You're getting **** service. That's what tipping is for. If they're obviously understaffed, maybe, otherwise you're just getting **** service. Tipping changing the dynamic. You get faster service here as there's an incentive to push people through. Europe is more relaxed as there's no incentive to do so. If you don't make the noisy wheel, you can sit for a long time with an empty cup of coffee or glass of wine in (most) of Europe. Exception, Prague... as soon as they see a beer half empty they bring another one. Too bad if you don't want it or don't want it getting warm. It comes when it's convenient to the waiter not when it's convenient for you.
On the other hand, sometimes you'll get attitude from waiters here. They want you in and out because they don't have a lot of tables so if you're taking as much time as two average customers you're hurting their bottom line. That comes at the risk of the tip though. If I'm somewhere where the wait staff just decides to stop working because we're taking longer than 15 minutes to eat and get out, no tip. On the other hand if they keep topping up coffee and checking for over an hour, I'll tip more. Not uncommon. A lot of crap restaurants almost seem to have policies where they come by once after 15 minutes to see if you need anything and then ignore you. I never tip at those places and don't tend to go there often (Apple Barf's).
no they are still legally required to make the federal minimum wage, if they aren't tipped enough, the owners have to fill the gap
All those tip workers who quote $3/hr is doing so to mislead the public or they don't understand their own pay stubs.
if you don't want to tip, the owners will still pay them $7.25/8.25 or whatever it is set to where they operate. that's why the tipping culture is pushed, if the owners get someone else to pay their workers, they don't have to. If people stopped tipping, they would have to pay the normal minimum wage.
so don't feel bad about not leaving a tip, they still get the minimum wage like all the other minimum wage workers. If you happen to like the service, tip, but realize that when you do, the bosses just count that as part of their paycheck
Yeah, I've met more than one person who said they NEVER tip. They cite if you need me to pay a certain price, then charge me that price. Otherwise, a tip isn't required, and not illegal.
Folks counter "what if they spit in your food?". If they do and I catch them, I'm suing them. You can't argue in a court of law that you spit in somebody's food, causing a health violation and breaking the law, all because you weren't tipped... something that was always optional.
Every time the word "tip" appears the cheapskates come out of the woodwork to justify their miserliness.
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