Houseman said:
Do you feel you always deserve a tip, or only when you feel you have done a good job?
Hmm, this is a touch question. Yes and no. Am I always entitled to a tip? Yes. I have to contribute 5% or more of my total sales to the house so that support staff, kitchen staff and bartenders (although to be fair, this is often me) can receive what their due for their contribution the guest's experience. By not tipping you, you're effectively making me pay for the privilege of serving you. You can argue as much as you want that this is a problem inherent to a system you don't want to support, but it doesn't change to consequence that I'm getting screwed because you didn't want to pay (not
you obviously, this is in no way an attack on you, Houseman. Just "you" as in people in general).However, am I always entitled to a good tip? Hell no. I will openly admit that unfortunately, there are times I've totally dropped the proverbial ball and given terribly bad service. Never with a bad attitude, and never without apology, but bad service nevertheless. On those occasions, I got a bad tip and I knew fully well that I got exactly what I deserved.
Houseman said:
Do you take a lower tip as a "performance review", or just evidence of a "cheapskate"?
Again, the answer is both. This one is hugely dependant on circumstance. The thing is, you generally know when you've done a good job and hope your tip will reflect that. When you don't get a good tip, you go through and try to figure out why. An experienced server has a mental checklist for good service, so many will just go down the list. Did I get everything right? Yes. Was my service prompt? Yes. Did I give you good advice about drinks and food that led to you having a better experience? Yes. Did I keep your glasses full? Yes. Did you genuinely enjoy my company? Yes. If my checklist is coming up all green and you still tip me poorly, it's because you're cheap. But when I see that something on my checklist is red, I recognize that I've done
something wrong which, though it doesn't seem like a big deal to me, must have been a big deal to the guest. So bad tips are less a performance review per say, and more an opportunity to reflect on the service you've given. Interpreting all bad tips as a poor service review will quickly make you disillusioned as you constantly chase a rainbow that will never arrive (i.e. everyone giving a good tip) but using bad tips as an opportunity for reflection will help make you better at your job.
Houseman said:
How do you view the tip itself? As a mandatory payment for services rendered, or a gift?
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Well, I've sort of already talked about this. I see tips as payment, in a very pure sense of the word. My low wage and the low wages of literally everyone in the restaurant subsidize your cheap meal with huge portions. I work at a restaurant with extremely generous portion sizes and, though the food has a significant dollar amount pricetag you get a lot of bang for your buck. All that is possible because my wage, and the wages of the rest of the staff are kept low. This is also possible because food is only one half of the equation. When you eat out at a full service restaurant you pay for both the service and the product. The food obviously is the product, and the price for the food pays for of course the product, the kitchen wages, rent, utilities, management and all the other sort of normal business type things you tend to think of. So the price for the product is fixed to accommodate all of these expenses that restaurants need to consider. Service however is a different story. Service is the other half of the equation, and in this case the customer has total control over what they pay based on how much they think the service provider deserves. It's a very pure expression of capitalism, one where the middle men are left, payment is kept entirely between the customer and the service provider and the customer has total freedom to pay exactly as much as they think the service provider deserves. And this isn't just my philosophy, this is the reality of how running a restaurant works (take it from someone who's done it). So because of that, I see tipping as a mandatory (but discretionary) payment for service, not as a kindness done as a reward.
Houseman said:
How do you view the concept of tipping? Do you think it's fair to everyone involved, or would you rather see it abolished and replaced with systems in other industries?
This is tricky too =P I like the system personally. I make decent money and I enjoy the purity of the server-customer interaction as it works in theory. Too often I think people demonize the system of tipping as being a way for restaurant owners to screw their employees when in fact the system is designed with the intention of empowering consumers to pay what they feel is deserved and expanding earning opportunities for servers. However, I fully admit that this is easy for me to say in a rich city with a booming economy, and for people in a struggling economy the employee will often be screwed by customers and management alike.
I like the system. And I would likely vote to preserve it, if pressed. But I understand and empathize with the complaints leveled against it, especially by customers who find it to be disingenuous and underhanded.
Houseman said:
And what of pre-paying and thus pre-tipping when you order delivery online before you even experience the service?
Honestly I can't say. I don't have really any experience with this kind of system. I order pizza from time to time, but when I do I don't think tips are ever included in the ordering process, and is instead left to the discretion of the customer upon arrival. From what you say, I don't like the sounds of it. But I would need more information before I could give an answer.