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I don't know what the average person earns, or what they'll spend on a meal.
But if someone earns above minimum wage and they're going out to dinner and spending money on a meal for a group of people - they could spend 1/4 of their take home "weekly" salary on a meal.
I can imagine that someone who spends a higher than average of money on a good meal (i'm not talking diner-type cuisine but a white tablecloth restaurant where a tab that comes to 200 bucks) they may not want to come out of their pocket for a 15 to 20 percent tip.
Some restaurants just add the gratuity automatically, or sometimes the reciept gives two options for tipping with the amount, and you just check it on the receipt and they add it in.
Frankly, I prefer to add the tip myself. Tips shouldn't be obligatory, and servers shouldn't automatically expect a tip. It's just etiquette while dining out and receiving that service that you leave a tip. Some people tip based on the quality of service they receive, some choose not to tip at all.
If you can't afford to eat out and leave a decent tip for service, then you probably shouldn't eat out at all.
I agree with that. But as to your statement that servers shouldn't automatically expect a tip--then why would they bother working at all? Of course they expect a tip. That's how they get paid. They aren't taking food to your table out of the goodness of their hearts. Now if they don't do a good job, they shouldn't expect to be compensated as well as if they did. You pay to be fawned over and waited on.
I went out last night and only left 15% instead of the usual 20%. The restaurant was not busy, but when the waitress brought over bread and butter, I realized I had no bread plate, but my friend did, and neither of us had knives. The waitress stood in the doorway to the kitchen chatting with somebody with her back to us and the patrons at a table closer to her saw that I was trying to get her attention so THEY called out to her and pointed over to us and she came over and then disappeared to go get knives. After the bread, she took away our knives and we had to ask for knives again when our food came (Maybe someone called ahead and said we weren't allowed to have sharp objects?)
When the bill came there was a charge on it that said, "To Go - $1.50." My friend had asked for a container to take home the rest of her food. I said, "You're charging us $1.50 for a container to take our food home in?" She looked at it, and said, "Oh no, I didn't mean to write that. That $1.50 was for your coffee. That table (pointing) got something to go and I got mixed up and wrote it on your bill." She just seemed scattered and haphazard and more interested in yammering with whoever in the kitchen. And not a cheap place--a seafood restaurant, BYOB, and we each had an appetizer and an entree--$66. You'd think they could afford to have knives on the table.
Last edited by Mightyqueen801; 08-30-2014 at 02:25 PM..
I agree with that. But as to your statement that servers shouldn't automatically expect a tip--then why would they bother working at all? Of course they expect a tip. That's how they get paid. They aren't taking food to your table out of the goodness of their hearts. Now if they don't do a good job, they shouldn't expect to be compensated as well as if they did. You pay to be fawned over and waited on.
Well...
My opinion is that servers should be paid a decent wage over minimum and depending on tips to supplement your income and share among the crew wouldn't be necessary. I think that restaurants should charge patrons more on the menu in order to buffer lousy tips and they shouldn't charge their employees for lousy tippers.
As I said in a previous post, in Austria tips are not meant to supplement the servers salary, they're not 15-20% of the bill, and not even 10% of the bill because they're actually salaried workers. Putting 2 euros on a 30 euro bill is about a 3 dollar tip on a 40 dollar dinner check, anything more than that is considered too much over there.
My opinion is that servers should be paid a decent wage over minimum and depending on tips to supplement your income and share among the crew wouldn't be necessary. I think that restaurants should charge patrons more on the menu in order to buffer lousy tips and they shouldn't charge their employees for lousy tippers.
As I said in a previous post, in Austria tips are not meant to supplement the servers salary, they're not 15-20% of the bill, and not even 10% of the bill because they're actually salaried workers. Putting 2 euros on a 30 euro bill is about a 5 dollar tip on a 40 dollar dinner check, anything more than that is considered too much over there.
OK, I agree that if tipping is removed, the restaurants have to pay the servers a decent wage. However, this is the custom in this country currently--how on earth would that get changed at this point? And the food prices would necessarily have to go up.
The thing is, especially in the nicer restaurants, the servers have an incentive to work hard for you so that they get a better tip. That incentive would be gone, and the quality of wait staff would probably go with it. If all they can make is minimum wage--and that's what I believe would happen, you're going to get people at the bottom of the rung who don't care one way or another handling your food, and that's a little creepy.
Again, my take on all this is why would you want to screw over the people who have YOUR FOOD in their hands??? Unless, of course, you never intend to visit a restaurant again after you've flipped them the bird by not tipping properly.
I guess another reason that I tip is that I'm GRATEFUL to have someone else prepare my food and place it in front of me, lol. And I don't have to do the dishes or clean up afterward.
I don't know what the average person earns, or what they'll spend on a meal.
But if someone earns above minimum wage and they're going out to dinner and spending money on a meal for a group of people - they could spend 1/4 of their take home "weekly" salary on a meal.
I can imagine that someone who spends a higher than average of money on a good meal (i'm not talking diner-type cuisine but a white tablecloth restaurant where a tab that comes to 200 bucks) they may not want to come out of their pocket for a 15 to 20 percent tip.
Some restaurants just add the gratuity automatically, or sometimes the reciept gives two options for tipping with the amount, and you just check it on the receipt and they add it in.
Frankly, I prefer to add the tip myself. Tips shouldn't be obligatory, and servers shouldn't automatically expect a tip. It's just etiquette while dining out and receiving that service that you leave a tip. Some people tip based on the quality of service they receive, some choose not to tip at all.
If you can't afford to eat out and leave a decent tip for service, then you probably shouldn't eat out at all.
OK, I agree that if tipping is removed, the restaurants have to pay the servers a decent wage. However, this is the custom in this country currently--how on earth would that get changed at this point? And the food prices would necessarily have to go up.
The thing is, especially in the nicer restaurants, the servers have an incentive to work hard for you so that they get a better tip. That incentive would be gone, and the quality of wait staff would probably go with it. If all they can make is minimum wage--and that's what I believe would happen, you're going to get people at the bottom of the rung who don't care one way or another handling your food, and that's a little creepy.
Again, my take on all this is why would you want to screw over the people who have YOUR FOOD in their hands??? Unless, of course, you never intend to visit a restaurant again after you've flipped them the bird by not tipping properly.
I guess another reason that I tip is that I'm GRATEFUL to have someone else prepare my food and place it in front of me, lol. And I don't have to do the dishes or clean up afterward.
That's another point.
Good service in a restaurant should be the standard. I don't want someone chasing around like a puppy then expect me to tip over standard because they're doing their job. Just do your job well and don't expect a reward. Is it a contest? That's what the restaurant owner should do, reward employees who go the extra mile, especially the chain restaurants. Small establishments may be tougher to pay salary, but the chains like Olive Garden etc... should all be salaried employees, including the kitchen staff. I bet the chefs earn a decent salary, why not the servers on the floor?
Good service in a restaurant should be the standard. I don't want someone chasing around like a puppy then expect me to tip over standard because they're doing their job. Just do your job well and don't expect a reward. Is it a contest? That's what the restaurant owner should do, reward employees who go the extra mile, especially the chain restaurants. Small establishments may be tougher to pay salary, but the chains like Olive Garden etc... should all be salaried employees, including the kitchen staff. I bet the chefs earn a decent salary, why not the servers on the floor?
Good points.
The chef at one of the restaurants where my daughter works learned to cook in prison. He was a bank robber and did ten years. I don't know what kind of salary he gets, but I hope they pay him well enough that he doesn't go back to his life of crime!
OK, I agree that if tipping is removed, the restaurants have to pay the servers a decent wage. However, this is the custom in this country currently--how on earth would that get changed at this point? And the food prices would necessarily have to go up.
The thing is, especially in the nicer restaurants, the servers have an incentive to work hard for you so that they get a better tip. That incentive would be gone, and the quality of wait staff would probably go with it. If all they can make is minimum wage--and that's what I believe would happen, you're going to get people at the bottom of the rung who don't care one way or another handling your food, and that's a little creepy.
Again, my take on all this is why would you want to screw over the people who have YOUR FOOD in their hands??? Unless, of course, you never intend to visit a restaurant again after you've flipped them the bird by not tipping properly.
I guess another reason that I tip is that I'm GRATEFUL to have someone else prepare my food and place it in front of me, lol. And I don't have to do the dishes or clean up afterward.
I'm sorry but you're using very trite and outdated reasons used to support the tipping system that have long been refuted. There is truly no justifiable reason for it. It simply became a trend and now unfortunately it's an accepted standard of our society.
-it does not produce better service, as the best customer service I usually get comes from lowly paid retail employees who don't get tips at all, and I've been to Europe and have had great waiters there
-it does not "support" waiters who would be getting paid 2.13 otherwise, it simply enables greedy restaurant owners to not have to pay their employees.
-it is not an expression of great fullness, because I bet you are more grateful when a rescue worker saves you from drowning, or when a teachers hard work and special attention with your kid helped him succeed, yet they don't get tipped, and they make less than the average american salary.
I'm sorry but you're using very trite and outdated reasons used to support the tipping system that have long been refuted. There is truly no justifiable reason for it. It simply became a trend and now unfortunately it's an accepted standard of our society.
-it does not produce better service, as the best customer service I usually get comes from lowly paid retail employees who don't get tips at all, and I've been to Europe and have had great waiters there
-it does not "support" waiters who would be getting paid 2.13 otherwise, it simply enables greedy restaurant owners to not have to pay their employees.
-it is not an expression of great fullness, because I bet you are more grateful when a rescue worker saves you from drowning, or when a teachers hard work and special attention with your kid helped him succeed, yet they don't get tipped, and they make less than the average american salary.
Well, the teachers get well paid, and they do make far more than most waitstaff
I'm sorry, but this is true. I'm a Black American women who has dated mostly black men and they all have left embarrassingly low tips. I usually have to add to it when we get up from the table.
I know when I used to work at the Ritz Carlton, the valet workers (mostly black) said the same things. There was once a Black guy who drove a Bentley and tipped the Valet a dollar.
I'm sorry, but this is true. I'm a Black American women who has dated mostly black men and they all have left embarrassingly low tips. I usually have to add to it when we get up from the table.
I know when I used to work at the Ritz Carlton, the valet workers (mostly black) said the same things. There was once a Black guy who drove a Bentley and tipped the Valet a dollar.
Whether or not it is true, well, I have to say this. Subjects like this are not brought up for nothing. Very often, subjects like this are brought up as a way to vent anger towards Blacks. Whether or not it is true is the question for me. The question is: Is it really necessary to bring this up, or is this being brought up out of anger towards Blacks?
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