How Much do You Tip? (Gratuities) (Phoenix, Peoria: salary, living in, restaurants)

[LBTRS]

Originally Posted by pbenjamin

I don't go to buffets often but why would I leave a tip?

Some of them take your plates (so they are not stacked to the celing and you look like a pig for eating so much) , bring you drinks and refills, etc.

I agree, not all buffets are appropriate to tip but I would say some are.

[stasi_crystals]

I don't really go by this whole percentage bull junkie but rather by how well their service was. Of course if my bill is over $100 im not going to be a cheapskate and only give $5 if the service was excellent. Usually when I go out to eat it's just one other person and I so our bill isnt as much but i give a decent amount. However if the server is having a pissy attitude and ignores our table then no tip for them!

[CheyDee]

Waiters/waitresses/bartenders; Waitstaff 15% + an additional amount for superior service, less for poor service. Bartenders: N/A
Your table at a buffet whether you are served drinks or not; 0 if we're not served anything, $2 if drinks are served, $3 of someone comes back to refill our drinks or cleans off plates when we get up.
Car wash personnel; $2 to $5, depending upon how good a job they do
Hairdressers/barbers/nail techs; For a $100 haircut, $20. $3 for person washing my hair. For a $5.99 coupon haircut, $5.
Therapeutic massage/spa services; N/A
Valets; $2 to park car, $5 to bring car back
Cab Drivers; N/A
Hotel Maids; $3-$10 paid at end of stay, depending upon length of time and how well the room was cleaned and stocked.
Skycaps/Bellcaps $1/bag for multiple bags, $2 minimum.
Other: Fast food delivery. $5.
Mobile Dog Groomer: $20 for 2 small dogs (who aren't matted or very long haired)

[madmmac]

Sounds like a lot of people don't know how or how not to tip.

If you get bad service you need to leave some change on the table. If you leave nothing they can think that you just forgot to leave a tip or it was written on the card slip.

2 cents on the table and they get the message loud and clear.

[ReadyFreddy]

Originally Posted by madmmac

Sounds like a lot of people don't know how or how not to tip.

If you get bad service you need to leave some change on the table. If you leave nothing they can think that you just forgot to leave a tip or it was written on the card slip.

2 cents on the table and they get the message loud and clear.

Ugh. I'm getting flashbacks. Trust me, they know what a 10% tip means. Leaving a little change or worse, pennies, is just juvenile and crude.

In this society we agree to certain mores and norms. We pay taxes on our income. We act civil in public. We tip professionals for whom it's customary to tip. The norm in this country is 15-20% for servers. If you can't swing it, eat at home or a buffet. Don't act like you're being robbed or swindled or are a restaurant critic saying something profound with your tip.

Servers pay taxes on their income AS IF they earn a certain % of their sales as tips. If their charge tips average 15%, they better claim 15% on their cash sales as well or it's a red flag to the IRS. When you stiff them, you're not giving them income they're paying taxes on, to some extent.

For each hour a server has a full station of spending tables, they have 2-3 hours of dead time spent folding napkins and filling ketchup bottles and cleaning reach-in coolers. They're making a fraction of minimum wage during that time.

[madmmac]

10% can just mean an older person who thinks that is perfectly the correct tip for good service.

My 75 year old inlaws for example. We take them out for dinner as our treat quite often, but they always insist on paying the tip. I agree, but always write more tip on the slip unbeknownst to them to bring it up to a normal level or better. Everybody's happy.

[magnum0417]

If it's a "Buffet" for like $20 at a casino or chinese place, I leave 2-3 dollars usually.

As for a sit down restaurant, never less than 20% unless the service is god awful. Even then, I find it in myself to give 15%. Back in college, I delivered pizza on weekends to help out with my expenses. Nothing ticked me off worse than non tippers. I believe anyone who has worked for tips in their life understand that these people do not survive on their paltry base pay. If you can't afford atleast an additional 15% on top of your bill, cook at home !

[LBTRS]

Originally Posted by magnum0417

Nothing ticked me off worse than non tippers. I believe anyone who has worked for tips in their life understand that these people do not survive on their paltry base pay. If you can't afford atleast an additional 15% on top of your bill, cook at home !

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.

[magnum0417]

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.

If you are 18-22 and in college, service jobs with gratuities is a common way to help out with expenses as I explained. I have a photographic memory with nontippers. When I had a run of 5 orders, I remembered who the cheapasses were. Even if they lived closer than my other runs, they still got served last. If someone is going to be a malcontent, don't expect the servers or delivery drivers to forget the person's face.

As for pizza delivery. Haven't ordered for delivery in many years. Not with the $5 delivery fee. I pick it up myself. I feel bad drivers no longer benefit from my generosity. However, $5 to deliver 3 blocks or whatever is absurd. What is equally absurd is not walking a few blocks to pick it up yourself if it is within walking distance.I'm not saying you do this LBTRS. I just remember when I did it over 20 years ago in college, I sometimes just walked the order to the customer if it was a couple blocks.Sometimes they were offended I didn't drive. They must of felt guilty for not walking to pick it up themselves.

[LBTRS]

Originally Posted by magnum0417

is absurd. What is equally absurd is not walking a few blocks to pick it up yourself if it is within walking distance.I'm not saying you do this LBTRS. I just remember when I did it over 20 years ago in college, I sometimes just walked the order to the customer if it was a couple blocks.Sometimes they were offended I didn't drive. They must of felt guilty for not walking to pick it up themselves.

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.