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I've been hearing more and more complaints from restaurant waiters and waitresses across the U.S. about certain groups of people - and African Americans in particular - leaving very small tips or even stiffing sometimes. I thought pretty much everyone who dines out knows that the standard tip for restaurant service is 15% to 20% in the U.S.
Do some people believe they're owed free service? Is tipping small a political statement perhaps?
Do servers/wait staff believe they're owed compensation for crappy/poor service and non-existent work ethic? Tipping is never a political statement, despite quite possibly the servers/wait staff's own political axe to grind. And if you/they get a small tip I would look inward first.
If I don't tip you, then you/they didn't deserve it. It's not called stiffing either, it's called "market representative compensation". There is NO SUCH THING as a standard tip anymore. If you have a problem w/ your compensation, demand higher base wages, or perform more exceptionally in your job duties. If I don't think you done a good job, you don't get a tip. If I think you've done a great job, you'll get a great tip.
Yes, this is a simple issue, but it is not trivial. Tips are how servers in restaurants usually make most of their money. If a large percentage of people start paying very low tips, then the service in restaurants suffer. Eventually, they go out of business. It can bring down the quality in whole neighborhoods and even towns.
That's why everybody should tip at least 15% to 20% when they dine out (including all meals of course). Don't expect service for free. If people don't know this, then educate them by passing the word.
I have waited tables in restaurants in an upper middle class locale and a lower middle class locale.
People who proclaim "everyone tips the same" are just burying their heads in the sand. On average, white people tip better than black people, controlled for differences in class, level of engagement with the server, etc. However, a portion of black people tip well above the norm for whatever reason, and this should be mentioned as well. Perhaps they're aware of the stereotype.
Political reasons? I doubt that very much. It's a cultural difference. Anyways, because of the % of blacks that tipped me very well, I never started off assuming the worst (that can be a self-fulfilling prophecy). Usually, I could tell by their responses to my greeting, introduction, etc how they were going to treat me (though this holds true for all races). If you go up to a table and introduce yourself, and they don't even look up from the menu, you can expect to get stiffed! Especially when the "man" seems too cool to communicate with the server and has his date do all the talking.
NEVER ASSUME.
all those assumption can be wrong, there are times that I don't want to engage the wait staff.... I may be figuring a job or working out a problem and don't want to break that train of thought. I often have my wife do the ordering.
That said, we never stiff anyone, even a bad server. We will talk to the manager if they screw up bad, but we figure the cost of a tip into the meal before we walk though the door.
Gotta say this thread, the very idea behind it, is nothing but race baiting. Why, OP, do you see everything in your small, small world based on race and politics? FYI, your problem is in your head, not in the world around you. Give up that hate.
Didn't we just have a similar thread about cheap black people not tipping?
I tip 15% on so-so/bad service and 20% on great service. I will tip no higher unless it's by force (added to the bill). While I agree that you should tip when you dine out, I think it makes more sense for restaurants to incorporate the tip into their pricing (or make the gratuity a mandatory part of the deal).
I have been out with other black people who don't seem to understand the "need" to tip waiters. Believe it or not, many don't realize that the waiters make $2-3/hour. They assume that the tip is "extra" and so they don't see it as necessary. I have educated them and when we dine it, it's no longer an issue.
I will say that I used to not tip on certain things like hotel maids and taxis. I just never knew I was supposed to! It wasn't until I started working in a professional environment that I learned a tip was expected. I rarely am in a taxi, but when I am I do tip. Honestly, I resent doing it. Isn't your job to pick me up and take me to my destination? What exactly are you doing extra that deserves a tip? Same with maid service.
We should just do away with all tipping and adjust prices accordingly. If folks balk, then you know that you've eliminated the clientele that weren't going to tip anyway. But I've find that if it's included in the bill/price, folks will pay it. If it's not, some will see it as optional.
Could it be that blacks generally don't tip well because we generally get crappier service from people who assume we won't tip well?
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