Unless the service is absolutely atrocious I always tip at least 15% of the meal cost. 20-25% if the service is great, and in the very least around 10% if the service was barely passable. I’ve never worked in a restaurant myself, but I have family and friends that have and it’s a not an easy profession and a lot of these people don’t see tips as a form of extra income but more as something they rely on to make ends meet. No one should be “punishing” wait staff for how much the restaurant owners pay them because the only people that end up suffering are the ones that need the money most.
D-bags don't tip. 15% is the norm unless the service was absolute shit. And if you frequent a place and never tip - your food has been places you don't want it to go.
Also, whining to the manager makes your food travel even farther into "unhappy land" from then on. Be smart - if you're a regular, tip. In this case, get a new hangout. You've ruined the current one. Snotburgers galore for you.
I go in with the intention of tipping a certain amount and that amount will increase or decrease depending upon the service provided. I've left nothing at higher-end establishments where the employees were absolute assholes and I tipped a Denny's waitress $10 because she was the best server I've ever had.
I hate tipping. And not because I am cheap. I hate it because I have worked with the public my entire life. But never in a job where it was deemed a tip able job. I bagged groceries and took them out to customers cars. I got yelled at on a regular basis because someone didn't want to pay their 4 dollar late fee at Blockbuster. I have worked at customer service desks getting yelled at for products I didn't make failing. So while yes in many of these jobs where people get tips they have to deal with the public. There are a great deal of jobs that also deal with these same people and get no extra. I tend to agree with Mr. Pink on this issue. If someone really goes above and beyond I am happy to give them a little extra. But giving 15% for doing your job!? That's what your wage is for. Don't make enough money? Then get a better job. Go back to school get more training. All that said I tip. Every time.
This. My dad's a pizza driver and they've(Pizza Hut) docked everyone's pay so much, that tips are what pays the bills. Not only that, they're using the waiter system now. The more tips he claims, the less he's paid. Please, PLEASE tip. You don't just hurt your servicer by stiffing them. You hurt their families, too. Most people in the waiting/driving buisiness are now living below the poverty line, and drivers don't get reimbursed when their cars eventually break down from all the use. The repair costs come out of their own pockets, they sometimes miss work, then they get behind on the bills and-...well, you get the point.
I've worked as a bagger/cashier, in a call center, and as pizza delivery driver. I never once felt that I needed tips as a bagger/cashier/call center rep, but at my pizza place job I needed them to pay rent, bills, etc. I did eventually get a better job, but I needed that job for a couple of years before I was able to move into a more permanent position at another job.Telling people to get a get a better job is much easier than actually getting one, especially in the U.S. with our current economy. People are going to take jobs that depend on tips because it is what's available.
That's insane, you have my sympathy. That's a terrible system. The more tips you get the less he is paid? It doesn't even make sense for both the worker and the customer. Its just cashing in for the employer.
I worked as a caddy for a couple years, at one of the most wealthy golf courses in the province. I got a tip once, and only once, from someone who wasn't even a course member. Some service jobs don't get tips, some should but don't, and some are expected to. Whether or not you think you're tipping someone for just doing their job instead of going above the call of duty, you are still paying that person for a service they provided to you. In the case of restaurants, due to a weird progression of income practices, you are essentially able to dictate a certain degree of what that person's income will be. Don't be a dick about it, pay a fair tip.
I always tip if the service is good, at least 10% to 15% at lunch and roughly 20% at night. Easiest thing to do is just double the tax (Friends reference). Waiters only earn like $2.35 an hour. No one can live on that, and whether you like it or not (sounds like not), it's how they earn their money. Even when service is bad, you need to look around the restaurant and see how many servers there are, as odds are they are short handed and the waiters simply can't server everyone. That's not their fault. At the end of the day, if I have the ability to make a persons day good or bad, I'm going to try to make it good. A few bucks for a tip doesn't hurt and helps make the waiters day a good one. Living a big tip will usually put a huge smile on the waiters face as well, even if you don't see it (have several family members who have waited and they would gush over a big tip at the end of the day).
Thanks, I'll be in Houston tomorrow! But, only for two hours while making my connection to Asheville. Maybe you can line up a few cows for me at the airport?
And you say that like it's a-ok. I don't tip my doctor, so it's fine and dandy if that new liver is out of a dog right?
I'll always tip but how much depends on the service. If it was shitty, I'll leave $2-$3, good service will get you about $5 and above an beyond gets 20% or at least $10. That's if I go out to eat. That may happen once a year if that.
Always tip. It doesn't have to be lucrative, but these people are working some of the lowest paying jobs in our country. Help them out. You'd want the same treatment if you were in their shoes.
I generally tip something, but often, very nominal. However, I think the entire system is broken. The entire system has devolved to the customer paying a significant portion of the waiter's wages, not the employer. That's unacceptable the only other employment arena that's even remotely tolerated in is entertainment (both sports and Hollywood). I feel for those in that industry. I did my time, and so has a chunk of my family, but the bottom line, is that the customer is having to pick up the slack because the restaurant owners/managers refuse to pay solid wages. PERIOD. Comments like snotburgers and "unhappy land", while being often times true and accurate, just go to show how America as a country has ended up here. Don't get what you want or think you're worth? Throw someone else under a bus. Hold their food hostage until they pay you BEFORE you show you're worth it. It's a ridiculous mindset. We're a sad, sad, little people. EDIT: The entire wage system in the industry needs overhauled.
I understand that it has become a "necessity" to tip in America (I don't agree with it, but I adhere to it). But instead of pleading about how poorly the waiters and waitresses are paid, shouldn't we be pointing the fingers at the employer or the this trend's setter? I mean, this system of them getting paid lower than minimal wage due to tips... its certainly not the worker's fault, and I don't think its the customer's fault. The fingers, for me, are pointed towards the employer and whoever defined this being logical. The waiters and waitresses work for an employer, and that employer should be compensating for their shitty or amazing service accordingly. The responsibility, imo, does not fall solely on the customers. In fact I feel that the encouragement of such a system allows the employers to "get away with more". Its like they get to make money while paying their employees China-level salary (ok, its not that bad) and their employees will still be ok.
