Poll: Poll: Waiter's Rant-Tipping

[Maze1125]

A waiter does not work for the customer, they work for the restaurant, it's the restaurant's job to pay them, not mine.

Now, if a waiter goes above and beyond their job description, then I probably will tip them, because they've gone beyond simply working for the restaurant, but that still doesn't mean I have to.

If you choose to take a job that pays $2 an hour and hope for tips to make it up, that's your choice to take that risk, but you can hardly complain when it doesn't work out.

And the idea of tipping as a percentage of the bill is utterly absurd, one table might order the most expensive bottle of wine and another could order the cheapest thing for everyone with free-refills. The latter table's waiter would do far more work but could end up getting a lower tip if both tables tipped the same percentage.

 

[Agema]

Where I live, it's a 10% tip for good service, so I tip about that much. In the USA, I tip around 15-20%. In some places I've been the waiters are sufficiently well paid that no tipping culture exists, in which case I don't tip at all.

I also don't tip in some restaurants because they pull a nasty scam where they take the all the tips and put it towards the basic wages of the staff. This means the waiters never get the tips, just their basic wage, and it's my way of punishing the restaurant for screwing their staff. (Although preferably, I never visit their establishment at all.) In my view, the restaurant has a responsibility to pay a full wage up-front and all tips are due to the waiters for their quality of service.

 

[Nickolai77]

$2 per hour does seem very low, i don't know what they exchange rates are but in the UK the minimum wage for anyone 18 or over is around £4-5 per hour.

Usually i don't tip, for a number of reasons.
1) Tipping culture not as major in Britain as it seems to be in the US
2) I'm a student, i don't have much money
3)I'm not expected to tip a shop assistant, a waiter should be no different.

...the problem with this post is your number 3...Waiters SHOULD be no different...Well waiters are different (at least here in America). That's like saying I don't look both ways while crossing an empty street, busy highways should be no different...

I know there is more of a tipping culture in America, in the UK there is as well, but it's not so prevalent.

Anyhow, i'll elaborate on my 3rd point. A shop assistant is employed to perform a number of functions like answering telephone calls, operating till's and assisting customers with their purchases. The customer is not expected to tip the shop assistant to perform these functions. A waiter is employed to wait on people, and that's that. It's a role roughly equivalent to that of a shop assistant. If the waiter goes beyond what they are being employed to do, then fair enough perhaps they deserve a tip. Similarly if a shop assistant goes beyond their usual duties, then they too could deserve a tip.

 

[PhiMed]

My thoughts on tips are this.

You did your job. Why do we give you more than your pay?

Do we tip the person who builds our house?

Do we tip the guy who fixes our appliances?

Probably not.

That said, minimun wage where I live is $8 an hour. Where are you working? That is ridiculously bad pay.

Also isn't it illegal to NOT pay employees minimum wage?

The idea that minimum wage is absolute is a common misconception, most commonly held by people who've either never really had to work for anything in life or who got a manual labor job right out of high school.

It's not illegal to pay employees less than minimum wage if

1) Their primary earnings are from tips (waiters, barbers, strippers, etc.)
2) They are a listed salaried professional (accountant, engineer, lawyer, doctor, nurse for some reason, and others)
3) They are operating as a private contractor paid on a "job performed" basis.

So you see, a waiter's tips ARE his pay. And that's the case at pretty much every restaurant in the United States. The manager of the restaurant pays the waiter to deliver food and nothing else. YOU'RE paying the waiter to serve you. If you don't tip a waiter who does a good job, it's because you're a cheap prick, not because of some principle you're trying to operate by. Don't justify it. Just accept the truth about yourself and move on. Also, you've eaten someone's saliva or other bodily fluid. Have fun with that.

I used to be a server. We got paid 1.25 back then. I'd work 30 hours/week, and make $37.50 in "wages" and about $350 in tips. I worked at a restaurant where people would mess with your food. I only did it once, because a woman literally screamed in my face because her steak was overcooked after she'd eaten all but two bites of it. Visine in your tea, madame?

So, in conclusion, the only people who are guaranteed minimum wage are people who have jobs that will probably be done by robots soon, and tip your waiters because tips are their primary source of income.

 

[Kasawd]

My family is actually in the hospitatility game and it's a shame that people aren't tipping well. Especially for good service. The gravy for a waitress or waiter is often the tip itself.

Note: Poll is for a waiter who provided good service (was polite/helpful, got you your food on time, kept your drinks filled, etc.)

Some people are just cheap and don't understand how much the tips help the server. But, if everyone seems to be tipping badly, perhaps it's the community.

I usually tip well over 15%.

 

[The Rockerfly]

Im a very good tipper, i once tipped a girl 30 dollars for 10 dollars of food. Its hard work, and if i have the money im not going to be cheap. Not to mention they tend to remember who the cheap tippers are, dont ever be that guy to people who handle your food. So in short, im not cheap, i hate cheap/poor people.

Knowing you she was either ridiculously pretty or really hot

On topic: I tip about 10% for poor service and 25% for really good service

 

[PhiMed]

A waiter does not work for the customer, they work for the restaurant, it's the restaurant's job to pay them, not mine.

Now, if a waiter goes above and beyond their job description, then I probably will tip them, because they've gone beyond simply working for the restaurant, but that still doesn't mean I have to.

If you choose to take a job that pays $2 an hour and hope for tips to make it up, that's your choice to take that risk, but you can hardly complain when it doesn't work out.

And the idea of tipping as a percentage of the bill is utterly absurd, one table might order the most expensive bottle of wine and another could order the cheapest thing for everyone with free-refills. The latter table's waiter would do far more work but could end up getting a lower tip if both tables tipped the same percentage.

There are different conventions in different countries (for example, I know Italians leave little if any tip). If you live inside the United States, however, the behavior your are describing is that of an incredibly cheap person. You can attempt to justify your behavior however you like, but it simply comes down to that. Every sit-down restaurant in the U.S. pays people this way, so telling someone they're taking a risk by taking a job where they get paid $2 and hope to make it up in tips is saying "Your fault for being a waiter". A food service job is the only job many people can get that will accomodate their hours.

If that's your opinion about waiters in general, I wouldn't depend on them to bring you your food very often, because it will most likely be tampered with at some point. So just don't eat out, ever. And if you do, don't go to the same place twice.

 

[Haunted Serenity]

I work in Louisiana (Southern America if you don't know where that is). We only get 2.18 an hour, if by some chance we don't make at least minimum wage when tips are all accounted for the resteraunt will make up the difference. So if I work 10 hours and only make 50 dollars the resteraunt will give me an additional 20 dollars on my next check. But that is a common misconception, we DO NOT already get paid for our services (at least not enough) and we rely on our tips to make money (this is not true in some places, New York, Los Angeles, etc I believe they make minimum wage on top of their tips, but I don't know of how this is everywhere).

Move to Canada.
Min wage: Alberta 9.50(or close most places offer)
Tip: Resterusnts descion example worked at one server gets tip. All tips on debit cards go to hostess/host.

i seriously feel bad for you because you make next to nothingl.

Related. I tipped a guy 25 bucks once because when i asked for mountain dew he said they were out then went to the drink fountain and proceded over the course of my meal try different combos of Sprite, lemonade and juices to find the closest thing to mountain dew. He found it.

 

[Jameshizzle]

Ever since I saw Reservoir Dogs, I always tip waiters, and people working fast food places.

 

[The Rockerfly]

Isnt that the same thing? Regardless, yes she was rather cute, but! She had done an excellent job, and she had been having a rough day. So i figured id make it a little better by leaving her a big tip. I dont ever tip anything less than 7 dollars, be it guy or girl they are getting at least a 10 from me.

A person could be a pretty face and not be hot and vice versa. The Escapist knows what you're thinking

 

[Maze1125]

If you live inside the United States,

Well, I don't.
But it wouldn't matter if I did, because the US "way" of tipping is absurd, and I'd still not tip unless the service was beyond the call of being a waiter.

Every sit-down restaurant in the U.S. pays people this way, so telling someone they're taking a risk by taking a job where they get paid $2 and hope to make it up in tips is saying "Your fault for being a waiter".

Yep, exactly, if you choose to be a waiter in America, you're choosing that risk.

 

[PhiMed]

If you live inside the United States,

Well, I don't.
But it wouldn't matter if I did, because the US "way" of tipping is absurd, and I'd still not tip unless the service was beyond the call of being a waiter.

The price they charge for the food is lower than it would be if they paid the servers because of the expectation that they will be paid in tips. It's pay for performance rather than for time. It encourages good service and encourages people who are bad at it to quit more quickly than they would otherwise. Profit motive can be a huge incentive, and this is a perfect example of that.

That being said, I don't think it's a perfect system, but it's the one that exists. Not tipping at all under this system is not only rude, but immoral. You're essentially stealing the service you just received, and the person you're denying money is the person who is literally waiting on you hand and foot. You're not sticking it to the system. You're probably just preventing someone from being able to pay their rent. The fact that you think it's stupid doesn't change the status quo.

There are a lot of customs that could easily be labeled absurd and stupid in the world that will get you locked up if you don't observe them. Most people don't need imprisonment as a motive to say "When in Rome..." Apparently you do. Some would say that makes you antisocial.

In addition, the act of knowing this custom and still refusing to tip is a huge contributor to negative stereotypes in the U.S. towards "foreigners". I know I died a little inside when I was a server every time one of my customers had a non-US accent, because I knew I was about to get stiffed. I'd like to think my negative perceptions of those outside the US that I developed while serving didn't transfer to my life in general, but who knows? I'd say at least 1 out of 4 people in the US worked as a server at some point in their life, and most don't go on to become as educated as I did. You do the math.

Every sit-down restaurant in the U.S. pays people this way, so telling someone they're taking a risk by taking a job where they get paid $2 and hope to make it up in tips is saying "Your fault for being a waiter".

Yep, exactly, if you choose to be a waiter in America, you're choosing that risk.

I suppose you're right. You just run the risk that you'll occassionally serve a cheap turd, whoever that may be. Fortunately for everyone, most people aren't like you.

 

[Maze1125]

You're essentially stealing the service you just received,

No I'm not. I never agreed to pay the waiter, I never got to interview several different waiters to see which one I wanted to hire. I was provided a waiter by the restaurant, I didn't hire one myself. I pay the restaurant for providing a waiter service and the restaurant pays the waiter. No-one has stolen anything.

And here's the interesting thing. I almost always tip. Why? Because over here waiters almost always go above and beyond their job description and so deserve a tip. Because it's not guaranteed, they feel the need to work for it.
But, in America, all I hear about is waiters spoiling people's food for not tipping, never them working hard for a tip.

You claim that assumed tips create an incentive, the evidence suggests the exact opposite, that they create a black-mail situation. Tip, or else.

Also, you say you never got tips from people with a foreign accent, of course that had to be down to foreign stinginess, it certainly couldn't be down to you giving a lower quality service than they were used to back home. Could it?

 

[Maze1125]

And here's another thought, you attack me for taking my culture over to another country, rather than following "When in Rome..." but if you went over to a European country, would you tip automatically still?

 

[Nmil-ek]

I always tip 10% thats the golden rule in my family, if the service is good I may go higher plus I used to work as a delivery driver I know how shit the hours, wage can tend to be.

 

[Frankydee]

I generally tip what I can but as a rule of thumb I go with 15% or more regardless of the service. I've gotten some pretty shitty service before and still gave the waiter a decent tip.

 

[MikeOfThunder]

I swear you could count this as a form of terrorism... Lol.

If they give good service i will tip - otherwise i dont.

 

[Xyphon]

I work in Louisiana (Southern America if you don't know where that is). We only get 2.18 an hour, if by some chance we don't make at least minimum wage when tips are all accounted for the resteraunt will make up the difference. So if I work 10 hours and only make 50 dollars the resteraunt will give me an additional 20 dollars on my next check. But that is a common misconception, we DO NOT already get paid for our services (at least not enough) and we rely on our tips to make money (this is not true in some places, New York, Los Angeles, etc I believe they make minimum wage on top of their tips, but I don't know of how this is everywhere).

Ahhhhh Louisiana..... the fucking asscrack of America. I know how you feel when it comes to low pay and dumb customers in this damn state.

 

[PhiMed]

I pay the restaurant for providing a waiter service and the restaurant pays the waiter. No-one has stolen anything.

I thought we were just discussing the fact that the restaurants don't pay them. Please do try to pay attention.

And here's the interesting thing. I almost always tip. Why? Because over here waiters almost always go above and beyond their job description and so deserve a tip. Because it's not guaranteed, they feel the need to work for it.
But, in America, all I hear about is waiters spoiling people's food for not tipping, never them working hard for a tip.

The statement "they almost always go above and beyond" is an self-contradictory. Above and beyond implies going beyond expectations. If people almost always exceed your expectations, your expectations shift, and that becomes the new norm, so you're just being wherever-the-heck-you're-from-centric now.

I also don't believe that you almost always tip, but that's beside the point.

What would make you work harder, tips that make up a tiny portion of your income and are simply a bonus, or tips that comprise almost your entire income? The reason you only hear about servers messing with food here is because virtually the entire English-speaking entertainment industry is located here, and it's funny to see the little guy get back at the boorish jerk. Thus, it's the topic of comedy movies. It's not the norm, and if you're suggesting that it's an epidemic exclusive to America, I assure you it is not.

Also, you say you never got tips from people with a foreign accent, of course that had to be down to foreign stinginess, it certainly couldn't be down to you giving a lower quality service than they were used to back home. Could it?

I said nothing of the sort. I said I was generally less likely to get a good tip from people with a foreign accent. I still got decent tips from time to time. I don't attribute it to "stinginess". I attribute it to the fact that they didn't know the local custom. I'm sure a 5% tip is generous where they're from.

And as for your other post. I tip according to local custom. If it's not customary to tip, I don't unless I feel it's warranted. In Mexico they expect large tips from visiting Americans. In Jamaica they expect the same. In Italy, almost no one tips. I behave accordingly, because I try to be aware of my surroundings rather than just stumbling around behaving like a self-centered boor.

 

[khaimera]

And whereas I will always give good service to you, even if you have stiffed me 4 times, I can't speak for every waiter. Waiters tend to have long memories, especially when it comes to being stiffed. And there are more ways than messing with your food to make your dining experience a bad one. Hope you learned something from this.

As an ex-server of ten years it saddens me that you will give good service to someone who has stiffed you four times. Have some self-respect.