____twoism

This thread is brilliant.

Anyone got any ideas when you're meant to tip or how much?

I'm with you, BrunchTime. I work in a restaurant too.

Waitstaff only make $5 or $6 an hour. The employer expects you to make the rest up in tips. Some jobs are like that. 18% is standard gratuity and I can't believe no one else here has ever heard of that.
Sales jobs can be like this too. A guy I know works at Macy's and a good portion of his pay is based on commission.

Can't believe that customer though. Sometimes people are just weird and think a compliment can be part of your tip.
Other weird tips: Religious pamphlets, container of bean dip.

I had a lady arguing and threatening me because she left her $9 coupon at home and still wanted to use it. She went on to boast how she is a lawyer and her husband is a doctor and how sad it would be at their holiday party if they would have to tell everyone they know that my restaurant was not more helpful. People are crazy.

this thread

why

what?

no

Brunch Time: you seem to have taken some flak for this post, so I just want to say:

1. It's interesting to hear that a "trophy wife" sort called out BoC at a fancy tapas place. That would probably be something I would share with everyone here just because of the random BoC reference and who came it from/where.

2. Sorry about the tip. People are weird. "Hey, love the BoC, here's a less than standard tip".

As for tipping in general- it's a very slippery slope. I have often argued for both sides of the coin- depending on circumstance (I lived off tips my whole high school and college life). Maybe this should be a Playground topic.

I'm kind of surprised at the reaction in this thread too. I was always taught that 15% is standard, and 20% if you really liked the service. And I learned early on that waiters' salaries suck and they need the tip.

Do waiters get paid more outside the U.S.? Is the tip less? Kind of interesting

did you consider the highly probable possibility that she was just baked and forgot how to math?

Its like if Larry David was a hefty BOC Fan haha.

Rikkiebags wrote:10% a bad tip? Sheesh, crazy world. 10%'s my max, but then again I'm just confuddled by the whole notion.

Yeah and the Europeans who are like "Excuse me how much should I tip?" - I always said "You don't need to tip in this country" and then felt bad when they didn't. Even 50p was a little extra it all adds up

kelp wrote:

BrunchTime wrote:Just sharing. 20% is pretty standard for good service, in case you're going to leave cute notes for your waiter and you don't want to leave him reeling. I sorta doubt she really appreciates BoC on the deep level that we all do. I guarantee she's never listened to a whole track reversed.

She _thinks_ she loves BoC.

Hmm 10% is about right. In fact, this tipping thing is a bit strange, i mean we only tip in restaurants anyway, why does no-one else get a tip? Why do they need a tip, is the salary crap?

Depends where you are. 10% would be about standard in the UK for normal service, definitely wouldn't be considered bad or insulting, in my experience.
Last time I was in the US a few years ago standard was about 15%, maybe more now, as has been pointed out.
One of the things I've noticed about this forum is how 'international' it is compared to others I've been on - it's an easy thing to forget.

BrunchTime wrote:So I'm working tonight (i'm a server at a fancy tapas restaurant) and I'm playing BoC, and I've got a late table sitting around talking about various sweeteners (honey vs agave, etc). When I picked up their bills after they left, one of them left a note that said "thanks for the BoC, i love it." and she tipped 10%. I felt truly betrayed. She was my worst tipper all night. I can't imagine she was being sarcastic, i think she just doesn't know how to tip. They all acted like trophy wives, so maybe that has something to do with it.

Just sharing. 20% is pretty standard for good service, in case you're going to leave cute notes for your waiter and you don't want to leave him reeling. I sorta doubt she really appreciates BoC on the deep level that we all do. I guarantee she's never listened to a whole track reversed.

She _thinks_ she loves BoC.

1] was she a brit? tipping is not customary. i tried to tip in england...and got in SHIT
2] she may have liked the music...but your service sucked.
3] standard tip in the US is 15% [my standard is 20% i agree]

I love the tipping culture in America - hilarious. An obligatory amount that's expected/demanded no matter how shite the food/service/attitude. Mate of mine was literally followed down the street for refusing to tip, despite his food arriving late, cold, wrong and virtually thrown into his lap.

Sorry, I'm with Steve Buscemi on this one.

1) in the USA, waiters and waitresses are paid BELOW minimum wage by a lot (minimum is around $8, hourly wage for them is around $3), LEGALLY, under the premise that tipping "makes up for" the difference in wages. They are technically supposed to report tips for tax purposes. Since this is the norm in corporate america, tipping is absolutely a part of culture. The rule is generally 10% no matter what (unless the service is garbage obv), 15% for decent service, 20% for great service. If you can't afford to tip, don't go out to eat.

2) attributing tip amounts to band fandom is the most fucking ridiculous thing i've ever heard in my life

LOL at the I learned early in life how much waiters should be tipped type comment earlier. It was late in life for me when I first experienced being waited on.

It was kind of embarrassing for me afterwards, when it was explained to me that it was customary for me to pay more money on top of what was on the menu, and I actually couldn't afford it. It wasn't actually that great though, and the waiters were pretty much going through the motions. Didn't even get a lapdance

Maybe she liked the music more than the service and would only have left you a 5% tip otherwise.

I rarely tip anything past 2-3 dollars regardless of how much the bill is, unless the waiter/waitress was really nice. Sometimes if the person has an attitude I don't tip at all.

People give me shit for this and I don't understand it, including the waiters/waitresses themselves. Just do your job. All you did was take my order, bring out my food and take away plates/cups afterwards. You do not deserve x percentage of my overall bill. I swear, restaurants are the only job this shit happens at. They complain they get paid slightly below minimum wage (and I live in Arizona, so that "3 bucks an hour" shit doesn't fly here, they get 5 bucks per hour - minimum wage here is 7) and that it isn't enough so they are dependent on tips, which is why I give them 2-3 bucks to compensate - but NO, I'm an asshole because they believe they deserve tips that pay them higher than minimum wage. Well the kid at McDonalds working his ass off (and for the record I felt this way before ever seeing Reservoir Dogs) over a greasy fryer, in a dirty atmosphere, sweating and feeling like shit gets paid minimum wage and does anyone tip him? No. Nobody tips him. Even though he makes two bucks more per hour, he makes much less ultimately doing a much shittier job because he doesn't get off work with x amount of money in tips. So why am I obliged to tip a waiter/waitress x percentage of the meal, especially since I'm 20 and don't have too much money to spare myself? And people say to me things like "well don't eat at restaurants then, asshole".

i.e. -

iec wrote:If you can't afford to tip, don't go out to eat.

Uhh, no. I'll eat at Applebees if I want. It's not beyond my budget to get a meal there but it is beyond my budget to pay the employee the amount they should be receiving as proper pay from the company itself to begin with and not the people eating there. Those folk should be happy they even get tips at all and not give me an attitude when I give them 2 bucks instead of 4.17.


And that girl seems ridiculous. Probably was sarcasm.

Mexicola wrote:I love the tipping culture in America - hilarious. An obligatory amount that's expected/demanded no matter how shite the food/service/attitude. Mate of mine was literally followed down the street for refusing to tip, despite his food arriving late, cold, wrong and virtually thrown into his lap.

Sorry, I'm with Steve Buscemi on this one.

THANK YOU, and yes, it's fucking ridiculous. Most of the time the service is nothing special, just the usual "what do you want" then eating of the food, paying and leaving.

We're so made to feel guilty if we don't tip enough or tip at all, but that's absolute bullshit. I didn't set up the system that made it so waiters/waitresses were underpaid and I refuse to play into it. I do tip a modest amount because I have some compassion but I don't follow any percentage bullshit. I'm not really empathetic about their job position because I know they make way more than they actually deserve because of this social obligation and that's the reason they don't all fucking strike to have this shit changed.

And before anyone gives me a bunch of shit about all this I HAVE WAITED TABLES before and worked in the food industry. I never gave a shit when I wasn't tipped too well and I quit because there's a flaw in the system itself, not the people buying food. Unless you are a cook then it's a menial job that honestly deserves minimum or 10% above minimum wage and that's about it.


/rant


And sorry if this comes off as being a bit too on edge, but it just pisses me off when I see someone complaining about a 10% tip - totally, completely fair amount.

Rodheh wrote:i.e. -

iec wrote:If you can't afford to tip, don't go out to eat.

Uhh, no. I'll eat at Applebees if I want. It's not beyond my budget to get a meal there but it is beyond my budget to pay the employee that should be receiving proper pay from the company itself to begin with and not the people eating there. Those folk should be happy they even get tips at all and not give me an attitude when I give them 2 bucks instead of 4.17.

1. if you're eating at applebee's, that's one thing... food's frozen, re-heated and carted out. sure, I wouldn't tip much there. like, at all. $2pp makes sense. but if you can afford to pay dining-out prices for that sort of food, why not kick some bucks at the waitstaff making $5/hr? 4.80, technically, in AZ. min non-tipped is 7.80 there.

2. if you think that's enough to get by basically anywhere, and you also have the money to go out and get a meal delivered to you in a restaurant anywhere with a full-time waitstaff, and you're not tipping people... i mean, i don't necessarily think that *you* are entirely an asshole, but I think that it's a decently rude practice.

I also see the point of like, knowing that waiters make more money than min wage from other people, and not feeling that you're really 'stiffing' anyone who makes more money than you think they should make. It's true that waiters end up making more than minimum wage (when there are people to serve.) But going out into a society where it's the norm and not tipping on principle and being 'that guy' is something I would give one of my friends shit for. I wouldn't want to go out to eat with that person.

tipping culture sucks and should be smashed! places that incorporate it automatically or don't take tips are pretty cool. but I don't think the idea of tipping as it goes right now is totally farfetched - going to a restaurant is largely about service and getting a ton of things done for you that you totally could have done yourself. people at McD's don't get tipped because they don't dote on you and 'take care' of you by getting drinks and so on.

I think the *point* is that is that serving tables is a menial job, and sucks, and someone able to turn that into 'good service' and is also regularly paid under the legal limit with an expectation of getting tips to make that up... yeah I'm going to kick in a little extra for them. the percentage rule isn't a hard line, but is a good guideline. places serving more expensive food are gonna have better / attentive / knowledgeable people paying attention to you. if not, then stiff them, but don't stiff them by default.

i'm not some crusader for tipper's rights, just being nice to people. I worked in a restaurant, too. Didn't wait tables, was a host and basically a gopher for management. Bussed tables, worked prep line, cash register etc. Paid bare minimum wage the whole time. Kitchens suck. Especially in large boring chains (perkins, anyone?)

but at the same time, feeling very personally attacked by your post. i'm not mad at you, dude. i still stand by the line you've quoted me on, but don't take it personally

edit::: i also just remembered that i recently got into a weird spat with a friend who i felt was tipping way too much and being weird/flashy in a bar. (i do one dollar every one or two beers, he was about to put a five on the bar for no reason. in n. ireland it was one pound at the end of the night if you had the same bartender and he was nice to you. much better system.) maybe i just think too much about societal expectations in public places and trying to justify them.

Dude, I understand and again - that's why I do tip a modest amount.

And I didn't mean to attack you, so please don't feel that way. I just hate the idea that one should be unable to eat at a place because they can't participate as much in this arbitrary obligatory social tipping thing when they've already had to pay for their food to begin with.

But I'm not playing into it fully. I understand the idea that it's about service (even though I personally think that's really stupid and the only reason I've gone to a restaurant was for food that was actually of quality and I'd gladly walk up to a counter, order what I wanted and pick it up myself), I get that. I just don't think that service is worth more than about 2-3 bucks. It's not like they're giving me a massage as well.

And I don't care whether people are waiting on you or not. The people working at Mickey Fuckin' D's are doing a harder job than the people who wait tables at most places - I know because I've worked both. I personally believe that if the waiter should be tipped, the kid at McDonald's should be as well, regardless of whether or not they "take care" of me or not...and in reality they are taking care of me, they are preparing my food. They're just not bringing it to me.

So look, here's what I do - they make 5 bucks an hour (4.80, whatever, just rounding it up) and typically if they aren't an asshole I give them 2-3 dollars. I basically just made up for the rest of a minimum wage salary for that particular hour, the salary that the restaurant should be paying to begin with. I, personally, do not consider that to be rude.

My big issue is when I'm expected to give a HIGHER tip and given shit for it by either the staff or people around me, because like I said, I feel it is a minimum wage-tier job, having worked it myself. It isn't something that deserves huge tips IMO. It's nice that people do tip extra if they have the money, but my whole point is if all I have to give is 2-3 bucks, I really shouldn't get chewed out over that. Is that not fair enough?

fair enough, but I still wouldn't go out to eat with you remind me to cook you dinner. i don't expect a tip.

(in before "just the tip" joke)