Tipping

[free4now]

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Originally Posted by Sweetlip Ya gotta be jokin'! Where does it stop for you poor Americans Life is too short to have to make those decisions every day! Next you will be telling me that you tip traffic cops. Well, I suppose that you have to sometimes in places like Vietnam but I would call that more of a bribe than a tip!

Hehe, I remember the old commercials for McDonalds gift certificates featuring holiday-crazed folks handing them out to cops, postmen, everyone. Even as a child that seemed excessive.

But this year I think I really did make a faux pas by not giving a Christmas tip to the doorman at my new residence. Live and learn.

[Milton]

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Originally Posted by Average Joe I NEVER got a tip and it NEVER occurred to me that there was anything unfair about that. So why is it that it’s somehow mean-spirited to think that waiters and waitresses really shouldn’t be tipped?

Bizarre, isn't it?

Either tipping is purely voluntary, or it isn't.

• If it is discretionary, there is no excuse for snotty treatment of non-tippers, or the publication of stupid 'tip calculators' and similar forms of societal pressure.
• If it is non-discretionary, the added amount should be included in the prices, so everything is 'on the table'.

[ziggy29]

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Originally Posted by Milton Bizarre, isn't it? Either tipping is purely voluntary, or it isn't. If it is discretionary, there is no excuse for snotty treatment of non-tippers, or the publication of stupid 'tip calculators' and similar forms of societal pressure. If it is non-discretionary, the added amount should be included in the prices, so everything is 'on the table'.

And instead we have some hybridized system where it's technically discretionary (in most cases) but there is a huge amount of social pressure to conform to it.

Personally I hate the tipping game, and I'd rather just see restaurants and bars and the like raise prices by 15% or so, pay their servers a decent wage and end the tipping nonsense. And it seems like more and more people in more and more occupations are expecting to be tipped.

[CuppaJoe]

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Originally Posted by Milton Bizarre, isn't it? ....If it is non-discretionary, the added amount should be included in the prices, so everything is 'on the table'.

How else can I quickly learn a lot about the folks who join me for lunch or dinner? Cheap b*stards say, "you tipped too much," cheaper b*stards, remove some of the tip, even cheaper b*stards leave a pittance and a loud vocal insult. An old family friend did the third routine, after s/he left, I put down a 15% tip, removed a mess of napkins meant as an insult, and said to my niece, "we don't do that." Hope it took. Funny thing was, the family friend merely didn't like some frozen concoction she ordered, it was the sort of thing you could pick up at 7-11. Not the cook's fault.

[ladelfina]

I actually DID tip food delivery guys pretty well. I miss delivery here.

I remember when my sis got married I offered to host a pre=wedding brunch for a cadre of out-of-town guests. I was paying the caterer something like a grand for 40 people. I had NO IDEA I was "supposed to" tip the caterers... It just didn't even enter into my head to do so since we had a fixed estimate/budget.. until it was kind of too late and I realized I was getting dirty looks from the crew as they were packing up.. I didn't have a particular problem with tipping per se, but I just wasn't prepared.. no one told me this was the catering praxis. So I was occupied with all the guests leaving in the midst of disgruntled caterers, leaving me with just a bad overall impression of what should have been a nice event for me.

Someone tell me now what amount one "should" tip caterers (and WHO should get the tips.. the manager?.. the crew chief on-site? the individuals?) just in case this ever happens again.

This is why I hate tipping!

[Milton]

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Originally Posted by ladelfina Someone tell me now what amount one "should" tip caterers (and WHO should get the tips.. the manager?.. the crew chief on-site? the individuals?) just in case this ever happens again.

You're under absolutely no obligation to tip any of them. And if they get surly, you don't give them any more business ... and you tell anyone who subsequently asks for a catering referral to keep well clear.

[Dreamer]

I have never used caterers, so I had no idea that they were supposed to be tipped either. I always tip the pizza delivery person. I have never tipped a plumber or appliance delivery person or any similar person. Again, I did not know that people tipped them. Just out of curiosity, do you tip them at the beginning in order to get them to do extra work. I always give my tips when I am leaving or in this case, when they were getting ready to leave? I agree--I am starting to get confused by tipping also.

[free4now]

This is a good thread. One category of tips that nobody seems to have a clue on is guide tips. Several times I've been on outdoor trips and the guided group has pooled together to give the guide a tip. It seems like the amount ranged from 1% to 20% of the fee. Thinking about it now I suppose the tip is based on what we think the guide themself is making, rather than what we pay to the guiding service.

[retiringby50]

San Francisco has its own living wage that is higher than the federal and state minimum wage, and servers must be paid at least that minimum wage. Yet tipping is still expected. Why? Well, I know why, but does that mean I can tip less? Of course not, from the entitled servers' minds, right? I'm not saying that I would anyway, but it's one of those things where "they" can't tell us that we have to tip 15% and above because they get a low wage and then still expect that we tip 15% and above when they get the minimum wage. It's illogical!

[Sue J]

I've never done waitressing, but I drove a taxicab in Cleveland in 1974 and received tips. I know I didn't claim any of the tip money as income, but I only made about $1200 that year and was still a dependent. My tips were mostly a few dollars above the fare, but sometimes I was also given garden vegetables!

I'm curious about how tipping works in a restaurant. If I add a tip to the bill that is paid with a credit card, does the waitress receive the full tip? Or do they deduct something for the credit card fee paid by the restaurant? If I leave cash on the table and the table is cleared by a busboy, do they share the tip?

Does each waitress or waiter keep all their own tips? Or do they have to be pooled together with other staff and redistributed to non-tip workers like busboys or hostesses?

How does it work for wages and income tax withholding? I know waitresses and waiters are paid less than minimum wage due to tipping. Do they normally claim just enough in tips to meet minimum wage, or do they have to claim all the tips?

I normally tip around 20% and then round up to the next dollar.

[Khan]

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Originally Posted by Sue J I've never done waitressing, but I drove a taxicab in Cleveland in 1974 and received tips. I know I didn't claim any of the tip money as income, but I only made about $1200 that year and was still a dependent. My tips were mostly a few dollars above the fare, but sometimes I was also given garden vegetables! I'm curious about how tipping works in a restaurant. If I add a tip to the bill that is paid with a credit card, does the waitress receive the full tip?

That was my experience.

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Or do they deduct something for the credit card fee paid by the restaurant?

No.

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If I leave cash on the table and the table is cleared by a busboy, do they share the tip?

It varies.

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Does each waitress or waiter keep all their own tips? Or do they have to be pooled together with other staff and redistributed to non-tip workers like busboys or hostesses?

Varies by location.

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How does it work for wages and income tax withholding? I know waitresses and waiters are paid less than minimum wage due to tipping. Do they normally claim just enough in tips to meet minimum wage, or do they have to claim all the tips?

IRS assumes a certain percent; most folks probably don't report anything above that.

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I normally tip around 20% and then round up to the next dollar.

As a former waitron, I thank you.

[Yossarian]

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Originally Posted by free4now Tipping seems very American to me. It: When I was travelling overseas I would often notice that waitstaff is much slower in places where tipping is not the custom. .

I was just in Japan where tipping isn't the custom. Granted, I was mostly frequenting top rate establishments, but I thought the service was very good everywhere I went.

[Moemg]

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Originally Posted by ladelfina Someone tell me now what amount one "should" tip caterers (and WHO should get the tips.. the manager?.. the crew chief on-site? the individuals?) just in case this ever happens again. This is why I hate tipping!

Me too , I hate not knowing I was supposed to tip . I never tipped workmen . I had no idea it was expected . I do tip delivery guys but I think it's bull s--- . They get paid for their jobs . We just returned from a weekend trip and we stayed in a condo . In the condo their was an envelope with the maids names on it . These condos are owned and rented out by the owners . Why should I pay for their cleaning ladies ?

[mickeyd]

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A $40 cash tip got all my minor plumbing problems in the house fixed.

At what point does a tip become a bribe?

[free4now]

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Originally Posted by Yossarian I was just in Japan where tipping isn't the custom. Granted, I was mostly frequenting top rate establishments, but I thought the service was very good everywhere I went.

I don't frequent top rated places but certainly you have to have good service to be top rated. I find the service is especially bad in lower cost establishments that don't have tips and are geared towards tourists.

I suppose this is one good reason why tourist-oriented places often have tipping customs even in coutries where tipping is not the norm for locals. Especially for places that get visitors from tourists being referred by local service industry workers. These places don't have to establish a reputation among locals or repeat visitors. But if the local tourism bureau establishes a tipping custom there, then the businesses know they have to provide decent service. Customers get service, businesses get tips, and the area gets more visitors.