How to Tip In Every Situation

[Midpack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Music Lover I know a server in a $5 breakfast special restaurant that worked 3 days a week and made $10,000 in earnings plus $30,000 in tips. $1,000 was declared as income and the remaining $29,000 was tax free...

There are several conclusions I can draw from that, not sure which one you're getting at. But if you implement service charges to replace tips, many servers will take home less (and/or pay more in taxes). I was a server in college and I know the angles...and they haven't changed entirely.

[Music Lover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midpack There are several conclusions I can draw from that, not sure which one you're getting at. But if you implement service charges to replace tips, many servers will take home less (and/or pay more in taxes). I was a server in college and I know the angles...and they haven't changed entirely.

Why would there have to be a service charge to replace tips? Pay the employees a fair wage instead and then they can be taxed on all of their income just like all the people that don't earn tips.

[Teacher Terry]

My DIL is a cocktail waitress in a casino. Here they get minimum wage plus tips. The bartenders get a share of the tips. She made 48k last year but works super hard. She works fast, is always nice, etc. People will follow her from bar to bar since she does not work the same bar all the time. Some don't make that much because they are not very friendly and do not work fast. She works days which has the lowest tips. In the winter she will work 3-4 days due to it being slower an din the summer 5 days/week. We also found in our 4 trips to Europe that the service was not as good as here in restaurants. I don't tip repair people that come to our house. If our food bill is small then we leave a much bigger tip.

[Blue Collar Guy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Music Lover I know a server in a $5 breakfast special restaurant that worked 3 days a week and made $10,000 in earnings plus $30,000 in tips. $1,000 was declared as income and the remaining $29,000 was tax free...

Yeah, I remember when waiters in my favorite restaurant got in trouble with the IRS, They wound up admitting they all made over 100K, and that was years ago. All cash too.

[Midpack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Music Lover Why would there have to be a service charge to replace tips? Pay the employees a fair wage instead and then they can be taxed on all of their income just like all the people that don't earn tips.

So you think restaurants are going to substantially increase servers hourly wages and eat the difference (as would have to be the case where tipping is the established norm)? The 'service charge' is usually buried in higher menu prices.

If you do a search, you'll find the US major market restaurants who have implemented or are experimenting with no tipping have all upped their menu pricing to pass the cost on to customers to increase server wages. One example: Why tipping is bad for everyone | New York Post

Quote:

At lunch, “management will pay the floor crew out of revenue from a menu priced higher than it would be under the tipping system,” Colicchio said.

[Music Lover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midpack So you think restaurants are going to substantially increase servers hourly wages and eat the difference (as would have to be the case where tipping is the established norm)? The 'service charge' is usually buried in higher menu prices. If you do a search, you'll find the US major market restaurants who have implemented or are experimenting with no tipping have all upped their menu pricing to pass the cost on to customers to increase server wages. One example: Why tipping is bad for everyone | New York Post

Sure, prices have to go up if there is no tipping, but I see very little difference between a $20 meal and a $5 tip or a $25 meal with no tip. Every other business where employees don't get tips somehow manage to make do.

Restaurants won't take it upon themselves to end tipping...it's a win/win for them. They get to pay the employees less and make more profit and their servers get mad at the customer if the tip is too small and not at the owner for paying them a crappy wage.

[Midpack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Music Lover Sure, prices have to go up if there is no tipping, but I see very little difference between a $20 meal and a $5 tip or a $25 meal with no tip. Every other business where employees don't get tips somehow manage to make do. Restaurants won't take it upon themselves to end tipping...it's a win/win for them. They get to pay the employees less and make more profit and their servers get mad at the customer if the tip is too small and not at the owner for paying them a crappy wage.

It's not that one sided or simple, but not worth another circular exchange...

[travelover]

Perhaps a list of people NOT to tip would be easier.

[MuirWannabe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by travelover Perhaps a list of people NOT to tip would be easier.

+1

I can assure you the IT guy would be on that list [emoji4]

[Sunset]

When I'm in a restaurant and I get bad service, then I leave zero tip. I'm not going to reward someone for bad service.
Sure some might say they will think you forgot, but if I tipped low, they would just think I'm cheap and still get some $$.
I do recall one time I left a penny on the table as the tip because the service was bad and I really wanted them to know I thought about the tip. !!

[Scuba]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midpack From what I understand, it's a tradeoff between good service and having to do rudimentary math OR variable service and not doing any math (math is a lame excuse IMO). I don't know about Australia or Japan, but I can tell you first hand the restaurant service in much of Europe can often be indifferent at best. Surly servers are not at all uncommon. Though folks in bargain restaurants or counter service often work hard and make little, that's not the case for most servers. The minimum wage angle is mostly a red herring. I was a waiter in a mid-high end restaurant years ago, did my very best to make every diners experience as nice as possible, and made money hand over fist - easily as much as a degreed entry level engineer (from personal experience). Servers in middle and higher end restaurants make far more than minimum wage despite their hourly pay. They wouldn't do those jobs if the pay wasn't worth it. But it's a debate with no end, or right answer. However, even if restaurants choose to build in tips as some major US markets have begun to implement, bad service will still have the same effect on the restaurant (complaints to management, or just never going back) - but the servers won't feel the pinch as quickly or directly. Since most people are afraid to complain, it could be harder for restaurant owners to catch on to bad servers.

+1
DH & I have spent a lot of time in the U.K. & Europe, and on average, we find service in the US to be much more accommodating and friendly. I would much rather tip and control the amount, hopefully motivating the server, than have service built into the price.

[Music Lover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midpack It's not that one sided or simple, but not worth another circular exchange...

Actually, it really is that simple. Millions of businesses operate every single day without a tip system. It's not like someone has to reinvent the wheel. No one tips at McDonald's or Burger King and they somehow manage to keep the doors open. I can't think of any reason why a steak restaurant can't do what McDonald's does...

[gerntz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blue Collar Guy Show me the gas station that the attendant gets 1 or 2 bucks just for pumping gas. Ill apply right now. Every one i know goes to the station thats 2 cents less per gallon.

The last time I saw a gas pumper was the last time I was in NJ - which was before I retired 6 years ago.

[Meadbh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gerntz The last time I saw a gas pumper was the last time I was in NJ - which was before I retired 6 years ago.

Don't they have laws in Oregon and New Jersey that you can't pump your own gas?

http://blog.oregonlive.com/commuting...ump_their.html

[gerntz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fedup My husband often told me people in the UK take pride in their service. Tipping is considered demeaning to them. People take pride in their work unlike the USA.

When I worked in England for six months close to 20 years ago now, tipping was 10% at restaurants and for taxis, but that was about it. In rest of Europe, my experience is no tipping but round up a bill to nearest euro or 5 euro depending on bill's size; i.e., they don't like making change & appreciate the thought. I do see service charge lines on restaurant bills at times.

[gerntz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by redshift +1. My favorite countries to visit are Australia and Japan, neither of which expect tipping in normal commerce. I hope I live long enough to see the US go that way, but I'm not holding my breath...

No J experience, but agree on A. But they are real sticklers for details. Wanted ketchup with my burger & they charged 5 cents per little packet. Funny.

Visited A once & happy we did, but no need to go back. Not very unique or awe inspiring & too new to have any history of matter to me.

[gerntz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meadbh Don't they have laws in Oregon and New Jersey that you can't pump your own gas? Why can't Oregonians pump their own gas? Let us count the reasons | OregonLive.com

NJ did then. Hence why I saw one.

[Fedup]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gerntz No J experience, but agree on A. But they are real sticklers for details. Wanted ketchup with my burger & they charged 5 cents per little packet. Funny. Visited A once & happy we did, but no need to go back. Not very unique or awe inspiring & too new to have any history of matter to me.

My brother lived in Japan for 5 years and he's like my husband when it comes to tipping. What's that? So when he was dating girls in USA they had to tell him to tip.

[Scrapr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meadbh Don't they have laws in Oregon and New Jersey that you can't pump your own gas? Why can't Oregonians pump their own gas? Let us count the reasons | OregonLive.com

yep

still gas jockeys in Oregon. Although there may be a very slight crack recently. The voters have saidvery clearly no Sales tax (without dropping another tax) and no self serve gas

The last election I believe the voters allowed self serve in very remote areas. Where there might not be a station for hours in either direction.

This may be the camel's nose under the tent. The gas dealers have been on this for a long time. 40 years I'd guess

[Midpack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Music Lover Actually, it really is that simple. Millions of businesses operate every single day without a tip system. It's not like someone has to reinvent the wheel. No one tips at McDonald's or Burger King and they somehow manage to keep the doors open. I can't think of any reason why a steak restaurant can't do what McDonald's does...

Implementing the change is just one aspect that's not simple. If it's so easy, why haven't a significant number of tip established restaurants eliminated tipping already? The few who have are high end restaurants with well established reputations where customers are clearly less price sensitive. The example I linked was a celebrity chef who eliminated tipping at lunch only, not dinner. Doesn't sound easy...