what is your opinion on tipping?

[sly409]

I know in the US its customary to tip(leave gratuity) when you eat at a sit down restaurant that provides you with a waiter but most countries outside the US dont. I believe in tipping for good service but obviously not for bad service. Got into an argument with an aquantaince who doesnt believe in tipping regardless of good or bad service. His reasoning is because other customer service type jobs dont get tips. I argued that its not the same. This is a hospitality job where they work for tips. Waiters and bartenders check up on their customers several times each visit. In retail you buy your stuff and leave. Most restaurants who have regulars have customers who they know on a first name basis and vice versa. He continued to argue that he did oil changes and that was customer service too and he never got tips . I argued that most people never meet the person doing their oil change. They only see their car after its all done its not the same.

He stood by this argument after the fact and I pretty much told him he was a cheapass and people like him are the reason I have to double tip whenever we go out because he never tips his portion .

Anyways I wanted to see what everyones view on tipping was. I work as a waiter making minimum wage plus tips so I know how grueling this job can be.

 

[drewpy]

I waited at my Father in laws restaurant and hardly got any tips. Outside London its not really what we do here although regulars do tip.

you tend to find that "gratuities" are added to the final bill in more up market establishments.
we do have a min wage here for all jobs in the UK and not just catering. so maybe that's why!

 

[Renegade]

You're lucky Sly. I was a waiter for about a year and was paid 3.15 an hour, plus tips.

Anytime I go out to eat, and have a waiter, I tip. And yes that includes at buffets.

I have always been a heavy tipper too. I generally tip 20% and round it to the closest bill I have (within reason). If it is an interactive service, not just a straight purchase (ex waiters, haircuts); they get a tip. If soemone goes out of their way to do something for you; they get a tip. Its just the way I am

 

[Lou Ranger]

If you work as a waiter and get THE minimum wage, you are fortunate to work in a jurisdiction that only has one. Here in Ontario, the minimum wage for liquor-service wait-staff in hospitality industries is lower than the minimum wage for other jobs ($8.90 -vs- $10.25/hr). The rationale is that wait-staff earn tips on top of wages, so the minimum doesn't need to be as high for them. This differential is even wider in some other jurisdictions like NewYork, I understand.
You should still be tipped though because good interpersonal skills and timely and polite response are worth more to a customer than rote-work like changing oil.

Older types who grew up during the war (WWII) have trouble going as high as 12%, whereas as we boomers who never experienced a hard day in all our lives ( ) have trouble going anything less than 15% - except for really, really lousy/rude service. In response to that, we consider that we are delivering a strong message expressing great displeasure if we leave 10%. The older crowd leaves a pile of pennies to convey that message (we could learn from each other).

Your friend is a douche as well as a cheapass. I have enough of the older mentality in me that I would NOT ever go out to eat with a friend like him (unless it was separate checks), as he would be costing me money each time. Not only would he embarrass himself, but I would have to double-tip to avoid being lumped in with him.

 

[JPaganel]

you tend to find that "gratuities" are added to the final bill in more up market establishments.

The whole concept of this bugs me. A tip is something I leave if I liked the service. Including it on the bill obligates me to pay it removing my choice. I avoid establishments that do this.


Also:

 

[Lou Ranger]

... I avoid establishments that do this ...

Thank you JP. I meant to add that too!

 

[xschris]

I always tip well but if I get crappy service then the tip will reflect that. One time me and my wife went out for dinner and it took an hour just to get appetizers The meal was cold and the servers sucked so the bastard I am left one cent on the table for the tip

 

[Renegade]

I have done that before. Though I generally go with the customary 2 pennies...putting my two cents in as the saying goes.

 

[N8Bishop]

I am torn on this. I Hate tipping for less than great service, but min wage here is under $4/hr. Have to tip for anyone to make a living wage, but would prefer that businesses paid their staff well and expected good service for their customers... i figure, if i receive poor service, no tip. If i receive even mediocre service 10%. Above that 15-20%... build it in and it better be perfect.

 

[06CCDMAX]

I almost always tip. I tip the Trash and Postal workers around the holidays also. As a Highway employee, I've had tips tossed in the truck window this past week as we clean up after Sandy. (We try to remove stuff from the front of peoples yards (not the whole thing, but anything CLOSE to the road that won't take us much time but may save the homeowner many hours)
As for bartenders, usually a buck or two a drink. And for Waiters or Waitresses, 15% is average though 20-25% for great service. I'll leave a buck, or change with whatever pocket lint I may find if the service really sucks, but I make a point to politely express my dissatisfaction when doing so so that the server may realize they need to improve, and not just think I'm a cheapass....

 

[xs400neophite]

kinda long but a good scene
regards

 

[JPaganel]

kinda long but a good scene
regards

Psst! Check out post #5

 

[Travis]

Here's my take... Servers basically work for tips... If we didn't tip at all, restaurants who wanted good servers would have to pay them more (equal to what good servers get now with base pay and tips), and would then have to charge more for the food and drinks to pay for those good employees. It would put the burden on them to make sure they have good servers. The tipping systems allows the customers to decide who is good and keep them employed. If a person is a horrible server and constantly gets horrible tips, they probably won't be a server for too long. Not that a restaurant should hire bad servers, but I like the tipping system because I think it gives us better service.

Last time I was on vacation, every single restaurant in the area added 18% gratuity on every check. It didn't matter if it was a big party or just two people. The service was horrible! Everywhere! They basically eliminated the incentive for servers to provide good service. I like that we tip and I generally tip well. I'm with Lou Ranger on the idea that a 10% tip should send the message that the service was bad. I generally tip closer to 20%, but sometimes more.

 

[sly409]

thats so funny I too referenced reservoir dogs during my argument with the guy

 

[sly409]

Miami was one of those places for me Travis. I think it was between 15-18% tip tacked on to the bills on pretty much all the restaurants and the service at every single one of them was horrible.

I had this one server bring out the wrong dish to our table and when I pointed it out he argued with me about it. It was suppose to be a chicken parmiagiana dish and instead be brought out a bbq chicken dish. I even told him I work at a restaurant and I serve chicken parmiagiana all day I know what it looks like and his argument was that it was their "style" of chicken parmiagiana. He left our table and walked to his little drink station and I can see him talking to another server whilst pointing to our table obviously talking trash about us. I ended up calling the management over and pointed at the dish and asked the management "what dish is this?" he responds with "that is bbq chicken sir." I respond back with "I know it is, your server over there(as I point directly at him and make eye contact with him so that he clearly sees me complaining to his supervisor) doesnt know your menu very well, he claims its chicken parmiagiana." Immediately he rushes over to try to say something and his sup turns to him and says something along the lines of "this is the 3rd time this week." I laugh just loud enough to make the server snap his head at me quickly and the sup notices that and immediately sends him to the back of the restaurant never to be seen again. So then the sup turns to me and says "what would you like for us to do?" I tell him I dont want to pay for something that I obviously didnt order and that I dont feel that his server is fit to work here and I dont believe I should be forced to give him any tip for his horrible service. The sup tells me he will take the the food off the bill but the tip is mandatory and cant be removed from the bill. I was just shocked by that and figured that was probably some kind of rule they had in the city because every single restaurant we went to forces you to pay tip no matter what.

After that experience I've avoided all restaurants that tack on tip automatically unless they do it for big groups only. Just my way of boycotting the required tip because it gives the servers zero incentive to even try to do their job correctly.

I'm all for tipping and I usually tip between 15-20% or more for really good servers that are obviously busting their ass. But I will not hesitate to tip low or leave no tip at all for really bad service. Although the no tippers will always have a complaint filed directly to their management as a favor for the restaurant. I know restaurants could lose tons of business just from one lousy server.

Good service goes a long way. As a server today it shows when my customers leave me 10 dollar tips on a $20 dollar bill. Just wish more servers realized that.

 

[sly409]

I dont know if you guys caught this news earlier in the week. This was the article that I brought up to that friend that started the whole conversation.

http://shine.yahoo.com/work-money/single-mom-sorry-ever-ok-leave-excuse-instead-165700123.html

My take on it is if you were really struggling, you wouldnt be spending $140 on a meal and instead use the $140 to buy groceries for you and your children.