Tipping

BuddyThomas

Well-Known Member
This whole tipping thing has gone way overboard. I'm old enough to remember when 10% was considered the norm. Then it became 15% for a while. Now, it's 20% and I've seen a suggested 25% at places more often.

I'll play the 20% game IF the service was satisfactory. If not, my gratuity is adjusted accordingly. Also, I do not tip sales tax although they figure that in at the bottom of your bill when automatically calculating a suggested tip percentage.
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RoadiJeff

Well-Known Member
I already said that I play the 20% game IF the service is satisfactory. No need to post a meaningless article.

However, since you decided to bring it up, I will expand a bit on my tipping guideline. Servers should not expect to receive a 20% gratuity regardless of the quality of service they provide. Show me a little effort and they will get that 20% from me. I know they do not cook the food, so I do not judge them on that. However, if I notice my server constantly walking past my table but stopping elsewhere several times to refill another group's drinks, etc., they'd better not expect much of a tip from me.

If the kid in that article is unhappy with what he earns as a server he can flip burgers at McDonald's. They start out at over $12/hr, according to a google search I just did. He knew how much he would be earning when he applied for the job.
 

celluloid

Well-Known Member
I already said that I play the 20% game IF the service is satisfactory. No need to post a meaningless article.

However, since you decided to bring it up, I will expand a bit on my tipping guideline. Servers should not expect to receive a 20% gratuity regardless of the quality of service they provide. Show me a little effort and they will get that 20% from me. I know they do not cook the food, so I do not judge them on that. However, if I notice my server constantly walking past my table but stopping elsewhere several times to refill another group's drinks, etc., they'd better not expect much of a tip from me.

If the kid in that article is unhappy with what he earns as a server he can flip burgers at McDonald's. They start out at over $12/hr, according to a google search I just did. He knew how much he would be earning when he applied for the job.

Well said. A tip is based on performance and if you never or hardly ever get a tip you feel you deserve, then it may not be the role for you.

I am a sucker and usually tip a default 15 to 18 percent. But for example, if you talk to my kid instead of asking me what my kid wants, you are automatically going to get more from me.
 
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Figgy1

Premium Member
“Based on performance” is very 1980s.

Partially based on performance, sure. But if it’s less than 15%, they had better have done something very wrong, not just didn’t fill your drink first or kiss your behind enough.

The way some people 🤨 proclaim how right they are in their mistreatment of others does not go unnoticed.
Performance isn't always in the eye of the beholder. Things coming out of the kitchen out of order is often beyond the control of the server and sometimes they make do and just try and work around situation not of their making
 

RoadiJeff

Well-Known Member
“Based on performance” is very 1980s.

Partially based on performance, sure. But if it’s less than 15%, they had better have done something very wrong, not just didn’t fill your drink first or kiss your behind enough.

The way some people 🤨 proclaim how right they are in their mistreatment of others does not go unnoticed.
Some people seem to think they are entitled to a specific reward or gratuity, even if that service is subpar. That's not going to happen with me. I do not reward laziness or rude service. The customers who bend over and say "Thank you, sir. May I have another?" as they shell out 20, 25% or more of their food bill to reward such behavior only encourages such things to continue.

I have refused to leave a tip only twice in my life. I have left half of what I would normally leave several times and I have even left a rather large tip a few times when I felt the server went above and beyond the call of duty. It is not automatic with me. If a server doesn't want a job which partially pays based on how well they do their job they should be doing the McDonald's burger flipping that I previously mentioned.
 

Tony the Tigger

Well-Known Member
Some people seem to think they are entitled to a specific reward or gratuity, even if that service is subpar. That's not going to happen with me. I do not reward laziness or rude service. The customers who bend over and say "Thank you, sir. May I have another?" as they shell out 20, 25% or more of their food bill to reward such behavior only encourages such things to continue.

I have refused to leave a tip only twice in my life. I have left half of what I would normally leave several times and I have even left a rather large tip a few times when I felt the server went above and beyond the call of duty. It is not automatic with me. If a server doesn't want a job which partially pays based on how well they do their job they should be doing the McDonald's burger flipping that I previously mentioned.
They are entitled; hence the automatic tips added in under certain circumstances.

That you think 15-20% is a lot and expect them to dance for it says more about you.

But that’s how these conversations usually go, and I end up leaving thinking less of people.

However, if I notice my server constantly walking past my table but stopping elsewhere several times to refill another group's drinks, etc., they'd better not expect much of a tip from me.
I wouldn’t be proud of that.

Have a lovely day judging every moment of a server’s shift. Fortunately for them, I make up for people like that.
 

RoadiJeff

Well-Known Member
They are entitled; hence the automatic tips added in under certain circumstances.

That you think 15-20% is a lot and expect them to dance for it says more about you.

But that’s how these conversations usually go, and I end up leaving thinking less of people.


I wouldn’t be proud of that.

Have a lovely day judging every moment of a server’s shift. Fortunately for them, I make up for people like that.
Well, you obviously enjoy being abused by incompetent servers since you so willingly encourage such behavior if you continue to reward them with a bonus whether they provide good service or not. I do not and I will not encourage such things.

And no, they are NOT entitled to an automatic 15%, 20% or whatever amount is common at the time. The Merrian-Webster dictionary defines a tip as this: a gift or a sum of money tendered for a service performed or anticipated.

If they do not adequately perform a service I will be giving them a lesser amount than I would someone who puts forth the effort that is expected of their job. Is that too difficult to understand for you?
 

Chi84

Premium Member
Well, you obviously enjoy being abused by incompetent servers since you so willingly encourage such behavior if you continue to reward them with a bonus whether they provide good service or not. I do not and I will not encourage such things.

And no, they are NOT entitled to an automatic 15%, 20% or whatever amount is common at the time. The Merrian-Webster dictionary defines a tip as this: a gift or a sum of money tendered for a service performed or anticipated.

If they do not adequately perform a service I will be giving them a lesser amount than I would someone who puts forth the effort that is expected of their job. Is that too difficult to understand for you?
No, I think everyone understands that you would give more to a server who puts forth more effort. I think the problem (and I'm fully aware that it's a problem because of our system of tipping) is disagreement on what actually constitutes "more." In most nicer places 20% is the norm for adequate service.

In the odd case where a server is intentionally rude or abusive, I would never accept or willingly encourage such behavior. But I would explain to the manager or whoever is in charge what happened before leaving a tip under 20%. I understand that choices need to be made when choosing a job, but people are only human and no one goes "over and above" every single moment of their workday.

I'm not a fan of a system that underpays employees and then expects guests to "gift" them enough to keep them coming to work each day but it is what it is. If someone can't afford the current standard tip or gets upset about not having servers immediately respond to their every need, the answer is not to visit those restaurants.
 

Tony the Tigger

Well-Known Member
Well, you obviously enjoy being abused by incompetent servers since you so willingly encourage such behavior if you continue to reward them with a bonus whether they provide good service or not.
"Obviously?" Really? Presumptuous much? No, actually that has never happened. I don't treat servers like "the help" and they typically range from adequate to excellent. I also don't drink soda so the whole "refill" thing like an animal at a trough is kind of gross and gluttonous to me. A glass of water and/or a cocktail is usually sufficient to get me through a meal.
The Merrian-Webster dictionary defines a tip as this: a gift or a sum of money tendered for a service performed or anticipated.
Did you read what you typed? Did you just pick the parts you like? A gift *or* a sum of money. Service performed or anticipated - if they took your order, brought you your meal, and made sure everything was OK, then the service was performed. It doesn't say "service performed to your subjective expectations." The service is performed, the service is paid for.
If they do not adequately perform a service I will be giving them a lesser amount than I would someone who puts forth the effort that is expected of their job.
And by doing this, do you think you are teaching them a lesson? I guarantee you 100% they have no idea why you did that, and just think the person low-balling them is a jerk. They tell the other staff, their manager, and complain about you to a bunch of people. You also screw over the support staff - the bus staff, the bartender (who often, but not always, pours non-alcoholic drinks as well) and they weren't even involved. If you are a regular, the whole staff learns not to bother with you as much as possible, and you've created a self-fulfilling prophecy of said "bad service."

Most of the time when you have a bad experience with a server, they're not evil or incompetent, they just had a bad moment, had to cover too many tables at once, made a simple mistake, or what have you. That's life.

Don't bother trying to defend, just repeating the same screed. It falls on deaf ears. There is no defense for such an attitude in my eyes.
 

BuddyThomas

Well-Known Member
I already said that I play the 20% game IF the service is satisfactory. No need to post a meaningless article.

However, since you decided to bring it up, I will expand a bit on my tipping guideline. Servers should not expect to receive a 20% gratuity regardless of the quality of service they provide. Show me a little effort and they will get that 20% from me. I know they do not cook the food, so I do not judge them on that. However, if I notice my server constantly walking past my table but stopping elsewhere several times to refill another group's drinks, etc., they'd better not expect much of a tip from me.

If the kid in that article is unhappy with what he earns as a server he can flip burgers at McDonald's. They start out at over $12/hr, according to a google search I just did. He knew how much he would be earning when he applied for the job.
You seem nice. 🙄
 

BuddyThomas

Well-Known Member
Well, you obviously enjoy being abused by incompetent servers since you so willingly encourage such behavior if you continue to reward them with a bonus whether they provide good service or not. I do not and I will not encourage such things.

And no, they are NOT entitled to an automatic 15%, 20% or whatever amount is common at the time. The Merrian-Webster dictionary defines a tip as this: a gift or a sum of money tendered for a service performed or anticipated.

If they do not adequately perform a service I will be giving them a lesser amount than I would someone who puts forth the effort that is expected of their job. Is that too difficult to understand for you?
Bragging about not tipping appropriately on a public message board. Priceless. I wonder if you would be posting the same stuff if you were posting with your real name and photo like I am.
 

BuddyThomas

Well-Known Member

Yes, obviously. You already said that you willingly reward servers a large sum, regardless of whether that service was good or bad. PT Barnum had people like you in mind when he uttered his famous quote about there being one born every minute. And I am not an alcoholic, so I do not partake in your type of drinking.

The service is NOT performed if the server does not perform all of their service. Why is this such a difficult concept for you to understand? I can see when someone is overloaded but trying to do their job vs simply not caring about anything. I've even given a higher than 20% tip when there was only one server in a restaurant and she was working her tail off trying to keep up.

And I bet you that a lazy, rude or otherwise substandard server knows why they do not make the same amount in tips that one of their hard-working co-workers does. There is only once when I reported a server to the manager and I only did that when I went up to the register to pay my bill and the person (not my server) asked if everything was okay. I briefly mention my experience and she summoned the manager.

Don't try to impress with your attitude of giving the same no matter if they're screwing you over or not. That is just nonsense. If a server wants a decent wage they need to earn it by doing their job. Restaurants should do away withe the tipping thing here in the US and pay people a decent wage where this tipping thing is figured into the bill, the way it is in Europe.
He’s an alcoholic because he typed the word “cocktail”? 🙄
 

John park hopper

Well-Known Member
There have been times I have left no tip when the service has been terrible, Guess I am old enough to remember a tip used to be for good to exceptional service. When did a tip become an automatic supplement to a servers salary.
 

Club Cooloholic

Well-Known Member
There have been times I have left no tip when the service has been terrible, Guess I am old enough to remember a tip used to be for good to exceptional service. When did a tip become an automatic supplement to a servers salary.
It's always been that, in America. Anyway @RoadiJeff , you might want to consider why so many servers are ignoring you at restaurants and helping other people... just ya know, reflect.
 

BuddyThomas

Well-Known Member
and sometimes they have to make up for extra taxes due at the end of the year because they are taxed based on a percentage of checks not just their salary
Absolutely correct. I will never forget the time I was waiting tables on a lunch shift at the Planet Hollywood in Times Square, where foreign tourists were notorious for not tipping. Regardless of how much the waiters made in tips, they were told by computer print out at the end of the shift how much they had to tip out to the bartender, food runner, and bus boy. On this particular shift, I was stiffed by so many tourists that after I tipped out the support staff, not only did I not make a single dime for that shift, I also had to pay out of my own pocket to tip out the support staff. Therefore, I literally PAID to go to work that day.
 

Chi84

Premium Member
There have been times I have left no tip when the service has been terrible, Guess I am old enough to remember a tip used to be for good to exceptional service. When did a tip become an automatic supplement to a servers salary.
Restaurants are exempt from paying servers the minimum wage all other employers must meet. So it’s understood that their income will come primarily from tips.

U.S. restaurants are de facto separating food and service costs and counting on customers to tip servers enough to keep them in the job. In most cases, the tip amount is merely suggested up until a certain party size (usually 6) and then added to the check as an automatic gratuity. If tips were intended to be a gift for extraordinary service, this wouldn’t be done.

Rick Bayless, who owns several Chicago restaurants (and Frontera Cocina in DS) now adds a 20% “service charge” to all checks at his Chicago restaurants regardless of party size. It’s stated on the bill which also says “feel free to leave more if you enjoyed the service.”

Like it or not, tips are expected in our system and not treated by the restaurants, minimum wage laws or IRS regulations as gifts. It’s fine with me if people don’t like this and think the system should be different as long as they go along with the current one until changes occur.

The upside to tipping is that it does in fact encourage servers to go the extra mile in hopes of receiving a generous gratuity. I’ve heard many people say the service here is better than in countries where servers don’t rely on trips.

Whatever your thoughts on it, tips in the current system aren’t voluntary gifts to supplement a server’s income. They are the income.
 

dmw

Well-Known Member
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