Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Drinks? Appetizers? Dessert? (and $2 is twice as much as $1 )
My dinner:
2 drinks - $20
appetizer - $7
entree - $13.88 (for the sake of argument)
dessert - $9
Total - $49.88
15% = 7.48
20% (my standard tip) = $9.98
Add $1 to entree = $1
I don't think we were talking about entrees only, obviously the price would have to increase on all or most items by 15% - think we were just using that as an example.
Joe's Crab Shack has been experimenting with eliminating tips, and it's been disastrous:
Quote:
“The system has to change at some point, but our customers and staff spoke very loudly,” said Bob Merritt, CEO of Joe’s Crab Shack parent company Ignite Restaurant Group, during an analyst call last week. “And a lot of them voted with their feet.”
According to Merritt, the company’s research revealed that nearly 60 percent of customers expressed displeasure at the no-tipping policy, which led to an “8 percent to 10 percent” drop in customer counts. “We tried it for quite a while, tried communicating it different ways,” Merritt added.
I wonder how many of the people that stopped going are people that already don't tip or tip very very low amounts. To them the price simply went up since they weren't tipping in the first place.
Why would they not? I mean, if you walk into any retail store in this country, from clothing to high-end goods, if people aren't on commission and are paid hourly, why do they not treat us all like crap?
Maybe they take pride in their work?
Interesting how some of the best service in the world is in Japan, where there are no tips, and as RedZin suggested, it is due to, arguably, to taking pride in their work.
I knew there would be a thread in this forum on tipping if I looked, there is one on most forums anywhere. Most of those threads are pages long as there are a lot of differing opinions, strong feelings, and little consensus on this subject.
As someone returning to the country, having lived in 2 countries where there is no or limited tipping, I know I have to re-adjust, just like I do walking and driving on the right side of the sidewalk and road. I hate to and won't be cheap, at the same time I hate to over-tip or to made to feel I need to tip for things that I don't believe warrant tipping*.
The percentages and occasions for tipping vary widely, the problem is baffling to those visiting the US, and by virtue of that fact that there are differing opinions in this particular thread, it is endemic and ain't gonna be fixed anytime soon. As a result, as long as we all tip in different ways to different people then expectations on all sides will be at odds.
On the flip side, some people from Aus or England or Europe, where tipping is less of an art or science, bemoan how poor the service is in their home countries, though in my experiences there I usually have have had pretty good service. And when some people from the same countries had negative comments about American service, I always challenged, as some of the best service I've had was in the States, in any state, especially in restaurants.
In my first trips there, I've had taxi and tuk-tku drivers in Thailand attempt to accost me for higher tips than the norm as they know how to play tourists. Then you get the tourists who vastly over-tip which creates its own problems with setting expectations with the locals. We well-intentioned Americans are usually on the chump side of this equation.
Service Charges are one way to address it, though not yet popular in the US.
For example, if we take the American 15%/20% paradigm to a place like say, Singapore where there is a 10% Service Charge tacked on to the bill as is the standard practice (could be the US in the near future), does one now add 5%/10% to that for a tip? I did at first.
And where does the tip go? Into a pool for all waitstaff, or a pool for all waitstaff, cooks, greeter, dishwasher, or, to the one server you want to recognize for their good service? Or do they even get the tip at all and instead it goes to management?
*Will never forget being aggressively chided at Newark Airport by "Sky Captains" or whatever they are called, to have 2 thug-like guys trying to extort tips to move my bags from the taxi to the cart, and how antagonistic and intimidating they were when I politely refused. It was a business trip and I would have been reimbursed but refused this 'service' on principle. Hope that attitude serves you well in life, I'll carry my own damn bags.
I only tip if the person is making under min wage for the most part. Or if I get a super discount due to my employer on something, I'll spread the savings around some.
I can't stand those new square terminals, the ones that have "20%, 15%, 10%, NO TIP" on them. I always push "NO TIP". The people working there make >min wage, hence no reason to tip. All they do is place food in a bag. In fact, the actual person making the food isn't even the one who gets the tip which I find is BS.
This drives me bonkers and I'm starting to avoid places that use these.
A tip is for service personnel who do not make minimum wage. Those people must report their tips and their employer provides a way for them to (at least partially) report on their paycheck.
These places that are collecting tips in this manner are in for a huge IRS headache.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
)
