How Much do You Tip? (Gratuities) (Phoenix: home, wage, restaurant)

[ReadyFreddy]

The pizza delivery charge doesn't go to the driver. I won't do delivery anymore, either. By the time you put on the delivery charge and the tip, my $10 pizza is $17. I can drive the half mile to get it.

[magnum0417]

Originally Posted by LBTRS

Are any of these Phoenix suburbs walkable? It's a mile just to get out of my suburb and then another half mile to a pizza place. I'm not carrying a pizza for a mile and a half on my head.

I understand most people don't live within a few blocks of "take out" here. I'm just saying that accepting the $5 delivery charges qualifies you as.

A) Money to burn
B) Don't like Driving

There is really no reason to order delivery these days. I'm sorry.

Back to regular restaurant gratuities. I stand by what I said. If you are someone who does "double the tax" or less, you are a certified cheapskate. I knew people who brought a "Tip Meter" card which is exactly 15% of whatever the bill is. While 15% is acceptable, the fact that they are to the nearest decimal point in their gratuity of 15% makes these people stuffy tightwads. Generally, they are above average income baby boomer Caucasians who never got their hands dirty in their lives.

[jimj]

Originally Posted by LBTRS

Your point of view can go both ways...if you can't afford to live off the salary they pay you then do what others do and go to school and learn to do something that pays better and where you don't rely on tips.

I have three pizza places that deliver to my house and when I place my order I'm told it will be 30-45 minutes for my food. I also pay a "delivery charge" to each of these places. My pizza never arrives on time and is normally over an hour before it gets here. I still tip the driver but ask myself each time why I am tipping him as he really didn't do anything for me that I haven't already paid for in the delivery fee. I got a cold and soggy pizza and had to wait an hour for it yet he gets tipped each time.

Tips should be earned in my opinion and I am strongly against the mentality that just because you work in the service industry I owe you a tip.

Exactly, even if you do nothing for it other than take the money at a register. What's happened is the public has been roped (guilted) into subsidizing workers pay so the business can keep prices lower.
Think about it this way, that $5 mocha you just got actually cost $7-$8 after the tip that you were guilted into giving all so the business can make more profit by NOT paying the worker.
Not to swerve off topic but how about those restaurants that place a "mandatory" tip on the bill?

[LBTRS]

Originally Posted by magnum0417

There is really no reason to order delivery these days. I'm sorry.

There is one reason...we only have pizza delivered when we are out in the pool and having cocktails and it gets late and we don't feel like cooking so we will order a pizza. We've been drinking so can't drive to get it. Otherwise we get our pizza at Pappa Murphys and cook it ourselves on the BBQ.

[JoeC]

Originally Posted by jimj

Exactly, even if you do nothing for it other than take the money at a register. What's happened is the public has been roped (guilted) into subsidizing workers pay so the business can keep prices lower.
Think about it this way, that $5 mocha you just got actually cost $7-$8 after the tip that you were guilted into giving all so the business can make more profit by NOT paying the worker.
Not to swerve off topic but how about those restaurants that place a "mandatory" tip on the bill?

This is nothing new. Servers, bartenders, bell staff et al have been tipped positions pretty much forever, with their employers enjoying the benefits of having minimal payroll. Heck - in the not too distant past, you had to BUY your bell staff job at some LV hotels. Flip side of that: A bell staff position can be EXTREMELY lucrative - especially in LV.

Interesting side note: At least up here (not sure if it applies to other areas of the country), the employer has to cover any wage shortfall up to the local minimum wage - if the server's wages + tips for the week don't average out to minimum wage/hr, it comes out of the employers pocket.
It's got to be a pretty lousy joint for the servers to not pull down at least minimum wage, but I'm sure it happens occasionally.

The country club I managed at had an automatic 17% tip included - but the members knew of this when they signed up. Many members tipped an additional few bucks if service was good.
As a bartender, I liked that. As a manager, I was on the fence - it COULD have negatively affected my sales figures slightly. On the other side of the coin, I had a relatively happy staff, and never worried about having to fork over additional payroll to cover shortfalls.

[ReadyFreddy]

Originally Posted by jimj

Exactly, even if you do nothing for it other than take the money at a register. What's happened is the public has been roped (guilted) into subsidizing workers pay so the business can keep prices lower.
Think about it this way, that $5 mocha you just got actually cost $7-$8 after the tip that you were guilted into giving all so the business can make more profit by NOT paying the worker.
Not to swerve off topic but how about those restaurants that place a "mandatory" tip on the bill?

The consumer pays the employees' wages regardless if it's through tips or higher wages. If the barrista didn't make tips, the shop owner has to pay her a little more and you have to pay a little more for your coffee. The only difference is that last buck isn't voluntary, now everyone pays it, even the cheapskates. And the barrista has less incentive to give personalized, extra service to each customer because her pay doesn't depend on it. She can slop your coffee to you like a cafeteria lunch lady.

I've waited tables in expensive country clubs where the gratuity was added on. You'd think you'd like it as a server, but I didn't. The servers were just robotic. They didn't care as much or try as hard as when their pay was performance based.

[JoeC]

Originally Posted by ReadyFreddy

...I've waited tables in expensive country clubs where the gratuity was added on. You'd think you'd like it as a server, but I didn't. The servers were just robotic. They didn't care as much or try as hard as when their pay was performance based.

In my situation, I found quite the opposite. The members were, as a rule, quite demanding (if you're paying as much as they did for membership, you really do have a leg to stand on), and the staff knew they had to be on their toes. If not, they were scheduled for less hours and slower shifts, until they got their acts together. There was also some pretty intense competition for the "good" tippers (easy to figure out with a limited clientele) - so much so that servers would try to steal the best tippers from other servers (assigned sections/tables didn't matter - I had one server who would "snipe" from one side of the dining room to the other). I had to institute tip-pooling to put a stop to that.

If a member had a problem with service, they'd complain to me - and then the chief club ops officer. You can imagine the meetings & phone calls that resulted...

I think it depends, to a certain extent, on the staff's collective attitude, and the tone management sets.

[S. Chris Webb]

"There is really no reason to order delivery these days. I'm sorry."


"There is one reason...we only have pizza delivered when we are out in the pool and having cocktails and it gets late and we don't feel like cooking so we will order a pizza. We've been drinking so can't drive to get it."

I was going to say the same thing. Having pizza delivered poolside after a few beers sure beats driving to get it! Haven't done that for years though, not since living in central Peoria. I don't know if any pizza places actually deliver to the location I'm in now. Now I usually make it myself from scratch. Much tastier!

I have a question for pizza delivery drivers (as well as car wash attendants, etc) - are you obligated to "spread the love" the same way servers tip the bartender, bussers, etc.? Do pizza delivery drivers or car wash personnel also share the reduced Arizona minimum wage as other service people?

[JoeC]

Looks like the tip rates in AZ have gone up just a little since I was living there...

Dinner menu, The Peacock Room at The Hassayampa Inn, Prescott.

Scroll to the last page.
20% base is way up there. I wonder if the servers are getting the whole amount, or if the house is taking a cut.

[miamiman]

Originally Posted by S. Chris Webb

Waiters/waitresses/bartenders;

Nothing to a nickel for terrible service, 5-15 percent for mediocre service, 20 percent for standard service, 25-35 percent for outstanding service. I cannot believe how many people think a 10-15 percent for standard service is adequate. I have a niece who got paid just over $2/hour as a waitress. She remarked that waitstaff generally view 20 percent as the low point on the tip scale for standard service.

Originally Posted by S. Chris Webb

Your table at a buffet whether you are served drinks or not;

3-5 dollars if my drink is filled and my plates are cleared while I'm in line. If not, 50 cents to 1 dollar.

Originally Posted by S. Chris Webb

Car wash personnel;

I go through the drive-thru washes. Nothing. I have had bad experiences with car wash personnel assuming that letting my car air dry is sufficient, not keeping in mind all of the water marks.

Originally Posted by S. Chris Webb

Hairdressers/barbers/nail techs;

20 dollars. I get very expensive haircuts, so I tip well.

Originally Posted by S. Chris Webb

Therapeutic massage/spa services;

30-40 dollars. I get expensive massages.

Originally Posted by S. Chris Webb

Valets;

Depends on how quickly my car is returned. Generally 5-20 dollars depending on the business that I am frequenting.

Originally Posted by S. Chris Webb

Cab Drivers;

Don't use cabs in Arizona. In New York, nothing. I didn't even know that cab drivers expected tips.

Originally Posted by S. Chris Webb

Hotel Maids;

5-10 dollars daily

Originally Posted by S. Chris Webb

Skycaps/Bellcaps

20 dollars

Originally Posted by S. Chris Webb

Other____________.

I tip the postman with a bottle of scotch every Christmas, I tip takeout staff several dollars,

Originally Posted by S. Chris Webb

Do you still tip if the service is terrible, or tip extra well if the server is fabulous? Do you tip the same in other areas where you know the servers are paid well already?

If you work in a service industry, what do you think is fair?

Again, if the service is terrible, people will get nothing. I am not rewarding you if you aren't doing your job. I understand that working in the service industry may not be the most ideal job. However people in the industry need to understand that no one is forcing them to do the job. It is completely their choice.

Conversely, if I get outstanding service, meaning even someone who is just very pleasant, I will tip over. I have been known to tip the price of my bill before.