Tipping

[Diddy_King]

There's something that's always baffled me: Tipping.

See, living in England I've never really seen it in action, the only time was when it came to watching the telly and it'd be some American sitcom and they'd tip the pizza delivery guy or a waitress at a restaurant and I always found it odd.

So let me just ask a few question and maybe you can help me get my head around it.

1. Do you tip?
2. If yes, why and how much?
3. Do you see the point in tipping?

EDIT

I've heard that a few services now expect tips (aside from waitressing or delivering food). What do you think about other services getting tips?

1. Yes (even if the service isn't amazing)
2/3. I tip because I am a waiter. Considering many places that use tipping as a form of payment for their servers will only have a max wage of a couple bucks. The place I work pays me 2.13 an hour, so many waiters rely on their tips to actually make money. Also paying servers less allows a restaraunt to charge less for the food. Increase Min. Wage for servers and you invariably have to increase the price of the food as well. I tip at least 15% if the service is all right, I've gone as high as 50% tips for outstanding service.

 

[Mechsoap]

don't know why but its very unormal to tip here

 

[ultimateownage]

If they have shit pay then that's their fucking problem, not mine. Let them go on strike or something for more pay. Don't make me pay full price for an overpriced meal, then taxes, then delivery, and THEN expect me to tip your poor arse.

 

[Moromillas]

A "douche"? "tightfisted bastard"? "extremely rude"? "stingy"?

This is probably one of the major reasons why I would never visit America. Seriously, I try and treat everyone with as much dignity and respect as I can, yet I'd be considered a bastard for not tipping or not knowing how to, that's not right. This business of getting paid something like $2 an hour, and having to depend on handouts doesn't exactly fit well my ear. If that is the case, why aren't the minimum wages being increased to something reasonable, why aren't there mountains of scornful letters to ministers and politicians about these unlivable wages.

 

[Teeth Kicker]

This thread can be resolved by the intro to "Reservoir Dogs." I agree with Mr. Pink.

 

[delanofilms]

Yes, I tip.

If it's at a restaurant, 15% (20% if the service is really good) before taxes.

If it's the pizza guy then $5.

In America, you tip because waiters basically live off of tips. They get paid below minimum wage (which is legal for their profession), so they depend on the tips as their primary source of income.

Ninja'd for # 3
OT: I'm 17, so not very often am I in a situation where tipping is applicable, but usually 10-15 % depending on the quality of the service. Excellent waiter/waitress= 20% shitty=Fuck off

Pizza=2-3 dollars since they don't get paid below minimum wage.

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

No, people are actually paid reasonable amounts in Australia so we don't have to bother.

 

[delanofilms]

A "douche"? "tightfisted bastard"? "extremely rude"? "stingy"?

This is probably one of the major reasons why I would never visit America. Seriously, I try and treat everyone with as much dignity and respect as I can, yet I'd be considered a bastard for not tipping or not knowing how to, that's not right. This business of getting paid something like $2 an hour, and having to depend on handouts doesn't exactly fit well my ear. If that is the case, why aren't the minimum wages being increased to something reasonable, why aren't there mountains of scornful letters to ministers and politicians about these unlivable wages.

Because all the angry letters in the world don't do shit in our government. It makes it so that the people owning the restaurant make more money, and the consumer has to pay more, so that's the way the bastards are going to keep it. If the majority people of this country want something that would have a negative impact on the wallets of the upper-upper class then the government, being a good little ***** to the rich, do as they're told by their true owners.
That, and unfortunately most Americans are too lazy to bother. Just a few of the many reasons I can't wait to get the hell out of this country.

 

[fullbleed]

1. No
2. No
3. No

They're just doing their job, unless they go out of way to do something then I see no reason to tip them. You wouldn't tip the bus driver, you don't tip them at McDonalds. In the UK waiting staff get paid minimum wage so we don't have to tip them like in america, but if they're only surviving based on customer tips then they'd should surely take strike action or something and demand better pay.

 

[Rareech]

1. Occasionally.
2. If the service was higher than my expectations, and usually a part of the change I'm given back.
3. Yes and no.

In Denmark, the tips are actually included in all waiter's salary by law. The problem is just that most restaurants keeps these 5% or how much it is, to themselves instead of handing them to the deserved waiters, so you almost feel compelled to tip them anyway.

 

[qeinar]

hmm where i live its not really to common to tip, but it happens.. : p all resturants have got a tip jar, i don't really know what happens to the cash in the tip jar, but i'm guessing the waiters divide it, unless the resturant is a family business.. I find that people tend to tip more often at chineese resturants, generally because the service there is good.. (chineese resturants here are usually owned by a family, not necessarily chinese, just asian..) Also it's pretty common if your close to a round number when paying with notes to let em have the change. (lets say your meal cost you 182 kr, and you pay with a 200 kr note you just let the waiter get the 18 kr. still since 5.5 kr is about a dollar that isn't a generous tip.. still waiters earn ok cash here and don't relly on tip so it's pretty uncommon to tip 15% even though the service was good..)

 

[WolfThomas]

I live in Australia where it's not a real big custom. Only time is when I round something up to the nearest five dollars, say a cab or a resteraunt. Though I've once had a $40.25 cab ride and the Cabbie said "call it $40", so that's like the reverse of tipping...

 

[newuseforvintage]

Here in Aus tipping is unusual. Unusual to the point where I left a tip for a waiter on a table and the maitre'd called me to tell me "it appears you left some of your money behind".
Because of it not being the norm a tip is seen as a way to reward exceptionally good service (the waiter I tipped in the above restuarant had gone WAY above and beyond the call).
I normally find myself tipping taxi drivers but that's because the vast majority of our taxi drivers are AWFUL so to get a good one is well worth rewarding.

It's worth pointing out that in Australia our waiters/busboys etc. get paid quite a decent wage ,depending on where they work of course, so it's not like they aren't getting paid to match what they do.

 

[banksy122]

Not sure if this has been mentioned but most people were just saying because the workers get paid nothing. It is for a different reason, a very very good one;
In Australia the waitstaff etc are shit, absolutely horrible, 80% of the time you have to go out of your way to get them to take your order. I went to USA and the waitstaff there was absolutely fucking amazing. 500 times better then the best service in Australia, they come to you, make sure you are fine, keep making sure you are fine, are polite and actually do their job bloody well, no matter how busy it is. I went to probably 20+ restaurants in different cities and it was always amazing. Mexican, Chinese, Middle Eastern, BBQs, and German, all amazing service.

TL;DR - Tipping causes people to work better and give a better services.
It may be something else, but the waitstaff are amazing because if they aren't they get no money, there is actual incentive to be good. In Australia, they get paid the same no matter what, so they do as little as possible. Just another reason why I love America and hate Australia.

 

[Angerwing]

Wow guys, no need to be hostile about us non-tippers. It's purely regional. We pay our waitstaff reasonably, like any other job of that caliber, or higher even. Don't call us cheap bastards, it's purely cultural.

 

[Azure-Supernova]

TL;DR - Tipping causes people to work better and give a better services.
It may be something else, but the waitstaff are amazing because if they aren't they get no money, there is actual incentive to be good. In Australia, they get paid the same no matter what, so they do as little as possible. Just another reason why I love America and hate Australia.

That's a pretty good point. I never thought about tipping as an incentive to work better before. Guess it makes sense.

 

[Squirrel1328]

Sometimes, but it's usually a keep the change thing

And its kind weird, i sometimes tip but then at work i get a bit annoyed at people if they don't tip me

 

[Queen Michael]

I can rarely afford to eat out, and when I do, the fact that I live in Sweden means that i don't need to tip.