Poll: Poll: Waiter's Rant-Tipping

[Godavari]

Well usually I tip a minimum of 10%, 15% if it's pretty good service and 20% if it blew my mind. However horrible service doesn't deserve a tip at all in my oppinion. If you're just doing the job for the money, and not putting any effort into it, you picked the wrong damn job, buddy.

OP seems nice. I'd tip 20%. Especially if I knew he was a fellow Escapist. I love having interesting conversations with people whom I "employ" (for lack of a better term).

 

[quiet_samurai]

So minimum wage in Louisiana is only $2.18 an hour?!?!?!? Fucking hell! It's like $8.00 an hour here in WA state!

And a business cannot legally pay you less then minimum wage, that is a federal and state law. You should really look into this, I have never heard of a minimum wage that low since the 1960's. It doesn't matter your job, minimum wage is called "minimum wage" for a reason, you can't go any lower.

And I always tip, depending on the service and where I am eating/drinking wil determine the amount or percentage. I know alot of people in the service industry and how important tips are to them.

 

[Godavari]

So minimum wage in Louisiana is only $2.18 an hour?!?!?!? Fucking hell! It's like $8.00 an hour here in WA state!

And a business cannot legally pay you less then minimum wage, that is a federal and state law. You should really look into this, I have never heard of a minimum wage that low since the 1960's. It doesn't matter your job, minimum wage is called "minimum wage" for a reason, you can't go any lower.

And I always tip, depending on the service and where I am eating/drinking wil determine the amount or percentage. I know alot of people in the service industry and how important tips are to them.

As was said, minimum wage doesn't apply to jobs that make a majority of their money from tips. Strippers were a non-foodservice example.

 

[Uncompetative]

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

Now for the rant: I am a waiter at a family steakhouse, so everything that follows is from the source.
Tips have been abysmal recently. It may be the economy, though where I live the economy really isn't that bad. Here is the breakdown: In many places across the country waiters are only paid a very small amount hourly (as low as 2.15 an hour in some places, 2.18 where I live). Because of this we waiters make most of our money off of our tips. Therefore when a customer stiffs us or gives us a very small tip, it's basically a big F*** YOU, especially after if we have done a good job. Not only this but in many places we waiters have to relegate some of our tips to hostesses, bussers, bartenders, etc. At my resteraunt this is 3% of our total sales. So if I get stiffed on a hundred dollar ticket I'm in the red for $3. This really adds up after a while.

I do not know if this is because people are uneducated, I have had customers ask me how much we get paid hourly and I have told them truthfully, though we can't say anything about our pay or tips unless we are asked. Now don't get me wrong, I have some customers who go beyond what is considered average in a tip. But it's severely outweighed by the bad tips on any given night. I guess it's not surprising that serving is listed as the number one job that is not considered satisfying work.

Now I will also state this: We as waiters control your food. I will always give good service no matter what, whether I believe you will tip me or not (especially since I like to be rightfully angry when I get stiffed, and I can't do that if I gave poor service). If you have seen the movie Waiting you have seen what some waiters do to unruly/rude customers. I will never do that, nor will anyone I know of who I work with (the resteraunt would frown upon someone spitting in a customers food, etc.) But whereas my resteraunt doesn't do that, I can't speak for every resteraunt. 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.

Here's the thing...

I don't get paid a bonus for my work. So, I resent having to tip in Restaurants, although I do as it is part of our freaky culture.

When I have a choice I eat in a Pub. This is much better as you pay upfront for your food (no running out on the bill) and service is included. Everyone that works in the Pub is friendly and will actually refuse tips. There are no prissy tablecloths, no hovering waiters coming back to ask you if you need anything, or reaching across the table from your blindside when you think they have finally left you in peace to refill your drink as if they hope you to get drunk and making you fall silent in your private conversation yet again. I would be prepared to go to the kitchen to get my own food, but OH NO we must invent a whole category of employment to stop diners milling around like they are in the January Sales. I kind of understand the logistics of waiters/waitresses and why we have them, but do we need them?

I think I'll make my own dinner at home, thank you very much. No tension, invasion of privacy, or guilt of having an unequal social relationship with a de facto servant. Ick. The food I cook myself, for myself and bring to my table, myself tastes a whole lot better anyway.

Just putting the other perspective

 

[Maze1125]

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.

I'm not paying attention?
You're the one who seems to have completely forgotten how we agreed earlier that if someone takes a low paying job hoping for tips, that's their choice. The restaurant pays what was agreed on. No stealing involved.

But, hey, let's assume the restaurant doesn't pay their waiters which they interviewed and hired, surely it's then the restaurant that's stealing? Not the customer who pays exactly what it says on the bill.

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.

Yes, that would be the case if I had simply said "above and beyond" without qualification. But I didn't, I said "waiters almost always go above and beyond their job description" thereby clarifying the meaning and eliminating any implication that was talking about above and beyond expectations.

At least, that is, to people who can manage to read to the end of a sentence.

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?

That depends on how the tips are likely to be handed out. If I know that most people have a specific percentage that they tip at, I would care less about working hard and more about subtlety encouraging them to buy the more expensive things on the menu.

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.

Yeah, it's nice to have the assurances of someone who doesn't even believe you when you talk about things that happen in your own life...

Come to think of it, how do we know you were ever a waiter? How do we know you're not just some 13 year old blathering on about something he knows nothing about and lying to make yourself sound more knowledgeable?

Yeah, it's fun when people don't trust each other...

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.

Didn't really address the point there did we?
If foreigners tended not to tip, it was likely because they came from countries where tipping was based on quality, not presumption, which in turn suggests the quality of your service was not so good.

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.

So you don't tip based on their culture, and you don't tip based on your own culture, you tip based upon what people expect of you? Rather patronising isn't it? Acting as though people can't cope with other people acting outside of their expectations? You must be a lovely person to know...

 

[Daniel Cygnus]

All you have to do to get a 20% tip from me is not be a dick. That's all I'm asking for.

 

[Arsen]

I skipped over every post so pardon me if this has already been stated:

I believe restaurants shouldn't do that thing where they pay you under minimum wage because they think you'll make it up in tips. That is dishonest and it should be nontaxable money based on individual's ability to please the customer with hospitality, service, and courtesy.

And it shouldn't go into a damn commie welfare bucket at the end of the night. If you don't have a good personality it's your loss.

 

[brutus3933]

I was taught to tip 5% for crappy service, 10 for decent, and up to 25 or more for great.

 

[Berethond]

15-25%, I know how much it sucks being a waiter. They deserve it for putting up with people all day.

 

[Maze1125]

I skipped over every post so pardon me if this has already been stated:

I believe restaurants shouldn't do that thing where they pay you under minimum wage because they think you'll make it up in tips. That is dishonest and it should be nontaxable money based on individual's ability to please the customer with hospitality, service, and courtesy.

And it shouldn't go into a damn commie welfare bucket at the end of the night. If you don't have a good personality it's your loss.

Which is exactly my point.
America has this absurd culture where waiters get annoyed with customers when it's the restaurant that employs them that's actually ripping them off.

 

[thiosk]

snips

Waiters don't need money, they just eat restraunt food...
for free!




just kidding. 18-20%, always.


I have a question though. What about those grey area restraunts bridging the gap between fast food and real restraunts-- think steak and shake. We have a place called Damon and Pythias here-- you order at the front, theres a tip jar, and you sit down and eat.

But its really good food. No one is servicing your drinks, but its brought out to you.

What do you do there? You have no idea how stressful tipping can be to the non-service members of society.

 

[Wolvaroo]

I tip normally, but I never get tips myself. Being a cook sucks even more when the tips arent split between you and the wait-staff. I do most of the work and get nothing, and the waitresses get basically the same wage.

And all we do is hear about Wait staff complaining about how much they hate all thier tables!
I work in Canada and at my old pub (very small pub only open evenings, but fairly busy) one of the waitresses Bought a Condo. They make less than minimum wage, but only by a dollar or two.

Kitchen staff gets paid minimum and maybe a buck more unless you're very high-end. And In my opinion Cooking and maintaining a kitchen is FAR greater work than carrying plates back and forth and pouring water. I absolutely HATE the tipping system but I grudgingly leave a loonie or toonie or round up to the nearest bill I have. Percentage tipping is exponentialy absurd for reasons that should be obvious.

...Don't get me started on auto-grat!

let's not also forget that those tips are supposed to be claimed and taxed, but I've met only one server who claimed all thier tips.

 

[Slayer_2]

First off, doesn't your country have a minimum wage? Two bucks an hour is terrible. I tip 15-20% depending on the service. When the waiter acts snooty, like I'm a lesser human being because I'm under 20 or not wearing a 3-piece suit, then I will likely tip less.

However, I think tipping is a stupid practice. A flat rate is better and an OPTIONAL tip with no obligations should be allowed. A lower tip percentage too. I have no problem with 20%, but this just encourages money-grabbing corporations to milk the cash cow. Also, some places have a "tip" added to the bill, which isn't even tipping anymore. Just another sign of how the tipping system needs to be thought out better.

 

[Samurai Goomba]

I've always gone by the conventional 15%, 20% or more if the service is good.

If you don't have money for a tip, you probably shouldn't be eating there in the first place. On the other hand, Mr. Pink would debate that point.

Oh, and I'm not paying a cent on the tip if I never once see my waiter after I get my food until my check arrives.

 

[DoomyMcDoom]

At a place where I worked, I got like maybe $6/week(canadian), but the girls workin raked in the money like nothing else... if you're a guy it's a really bad profession to get into... I suggest getting a different job.


and the reason people don't tip construction workers is they usualy get payed ALOT more than other people and don't hafta put up with irritating strangers and smile all the goddamn time and be pleasant when they feel like shit. they just gotta work and get payed.

anyone who refuses to tip has either never worked serving customers before or is a jerk period.

I always tip generously, 20% or more if i can afford it.

 

[Gaderael]

Usually I'll leave three bucks or something, as going to a place where we are waited on is pretty cash strapping as it is (but hey, you have to get out of the house sometimes, and the missus likes it). There have been times I've given more, like ten or twenty bucks, when I can afford to do so.

But if a waiter is shit, and the food sucks, I don't leave a tip. I get really sick of people who are wait staff talk about how it's expected no matter the service. It's not, you get tipped based on how well you do your job. If you make me happy, which is pretty easy, I'll leave you a tip.

There was one time I went to a place with the missus, and the fish I had ordered was still completely raw in the middle, and cold. She was pretty upset when I called her over and told, she got the manager and they comped my meal, so I left the cost of the meal as a tip for her, as she was so very nice and helpful.

 

[CNKFan]

I have always been taught to leave 15% at least.

 

[Emilie Diabolica]

I'm a waitress and get paid pretty well. Like 15 bucks(aus) an hour, plus extra on sundays, after midnight, and public holidays. that said, i usually only make about 5 bucks in tips a shift..

 

[Doctor_Insano]

i tip if the service was acceptable, i tip well if the service was good or better, if u r busy and i can see that, i tip with consideration, buy if you screw me over, my tip is a penny, or nothing at all, ive only ever done that once, but the service was awful, i was going to tip a penny, but even paying was a pain and took too long, so i just left, her total tip was probably .35 cents, no one at the table tipped. but that's what she deserved. i tip higher than the rest of my family and freinds, but like it has been said: we arent all made of money, so i tip when i can afford it, remember: if a man driving a benz tips you a little bit" it might as well be saying "fuck you" but if someone who looks homeless tips you a few dollars, chances are thats all they had... remember that

 

[MiserableOldGit]

In the UK tippings an optional, not really expected sort of thing. Then again, we insist on people being payed at least enough by their employer to survive, rather than having a system where you pay some prick in charge for a service, then pay their staff for them on top of that. For a country that proclaims to be so rabidly capitalist, America looks a lot like an 18th century oligarchy at lot of the time.