The new way of calculating a restaurant tip

[braumeister]

That's why I limit myself to just one glass of beer a day.

Of course I can fill it as often as I like, but just the one glass.

 

[Big_Hitter]

I go 3 dollars a drink. The drinks are fifteen dollars each.

drinks at my club are $4.25 plus TT&L

my buddies golf club they are $9.25


when I was in CDA last week, I decided to like sangria again - I may do a thread for sangria recipes

 

[FI by 2024]

I always suspect when you pay a tip on the CC, that the restaurant keeps some of it for the Manger or profit, as how would a server know what you tipped on the CC ?
I think it's harder to track than cash in the pocket at the end of the night.

When I was a server (early 2000s) I kept 100% of my tips. The restaurant didn't get to keep any whether it was on a credit card or cash. It's exceedingly easy for the server to know how much you tip on the CC since you write it down on the slip of paper. When you (the server) swipe the credit card you put in the bill without tip, then total paid, and it tracks the difference for you. At the end of the night if I had $800 in CC receipts, $300 in cash, and $1000 in food costs, I'd hand over $200 in cash to balance my book and walk home with the leftover $100 cash. It always worked out to what I'd been tracking all night, CCs didn't change anything other than taxes owed. If I didn't have enough cash that night because there were a lot of CC customers I'd have to wait until I got my paycheck to receive my tips, but I always got them.

I worked in a state that paid $2.13/hr for tipped positions and we were required to annotate that we earned enough in tips to reach minimum wage (which was maybe $5.75?). On really slow days where I only worked a few hours, sometimes I didn't meet the minimum and had to lie saying I'd earned tips that I actually hadn't received. That SUCKED. That's why I'm part of the group that leaves proportionally large tips for small bills - I want to make sure the server gets minimum wage while I'm there.

The only difficulty with credit card tips was when someone would make an accounting "error" and the bill + tip worked out to a different amount than the amount on the "total" line. So for instance if the bill was $20, they wrote in $4 for the tip, and on the total line they wrote $25. If I was able to stop them before leaving I was allowed to ask which line was correct (tip line or total line) but otherwise I had to use the lower amount, whichever that was. So for my example, I'd enter $24 into the CC machine. I put error in quotes because I'm pretty sure some people did it intentionally to stiff us on the tips.

 

[RobbieB]

A Sapphire martini at the nice place in town is $10, the same drink in Monterey is $15.

I've got 2 pre-mixed chilling in the freezer for tonight and they (both) cost me ten bucks.

Yeah, you pay a big premium to sit down and be served.

 

[Philliefan33]

I've done a few guided trips and in this case I think the tipping model is broken. I've done some water trips where the guide could be responsible for your well being and can make or break your trip.

Why can't the outfitters simply charge an extra 5 or 10 bucks per person and pay the guides properly.We had a young kid on one trip that did guiding during the summer in Moab and spend the winters working in the ski areas,he was a happy camper. It's the guides that get caught in the middle and guests trying to figure out a correct tip price for a service that is essential to the trip and should be figured into the cost upfront.

I'm on a different kind of whitewater trip. Nothing harder than Class 3 whitewater, so it's not the water that's the danger...it's the 20 rafts full of 120 (usually) inexperienced paddlers. Yes, you read that correctly. Our average trip is 20 boats / 100-120 guests / four guides. The job is part water safety, part logistics, part cat herding, and all customer service. Throw in some language barriers (we get a lot of Asians on day trips from NYC) and a wide range of expectations and you've got an average day on the river.

Heck, if the outfitter charged even $1 more per customer and passed that on to the guides, we would get a 70-80% pay raise! But the owners are smart. If we were guaranteed that extra money, we wouldn't work so hard to be funny, friendly, and helpful.

 

[ivinsfan]

Exactly my point, that is not a minimum wage job, but it draws young people that can't believe they are getting paid to have fun, come on, step up you outfitters and pay the kids.

 

[Montecfo]

Restaurants don't pay a "normal wage" because the employees are tipped, not the other way around. When I waited tables I certainly thought the setup was fantastic. I enjoyed earning tips more than punching a clock somewhere else.

 

[doneat54]

I've noticed that a lot of restaurant checks that sometimes include the gratuity (like for a large table) figure it at 18 percent on the whole check, including the tax. I wonder if that's meant to come to about 20 percent not including tax.

I've seen this more and more, and now I look for it (at expensive places anyway) before I sit down, and I will not eat at a place that does this. It is highly presumptive, it assumes that you will get good, if not very good service (my def of 18% tip) before you even sit down. I have gotten up from a table and left after being handed a menu and reading that at the bottom.

And this past March spent a few days in Miami and was surprised to find almost every place we went did this, for any size party.

 

[ziggy29]

I don't usually mess with the small details. For adequate service it's easy to figure 20%. A little less service, I'll double the tax (about 16%).

If someone really doesn't want to tip based on the tax, that's fine but in reality it's a small thing. If sales tax is 8%, a 20% tip on an amount that includes tax would be 1.6% of the total. So do 18% if that makes you feel like you are sticking it to the taxman, but to me that's extra mental math that isn't worth the effort.

We have a cafe in town which has very cheap food for which a 15-20% tip seems insulting, since the servers here work as hard as someone working at a place where the menu items cost twice as much. I always figure a $2 per person minimum, if that is greater than what 20% would be. So if DW and I go out, we assume at least a $4 minimum tip right off the bat.

 

[doneat54]

I usually tip the server $2 per person at the table at breakfast or lunch, and $3-$5 per person for Dinner. I sometimes adjust a little for great or crappy effort.

The server does the about same work and effort regardless of the meal/ drink tab IMO, as always, my opinion is worth every cent paid .

( this used to drive my late auant crazy , she thought I tipped way too much , even when her little darling grandson was abusive to a server, as often happened )

Hot topic, and even cause of some tension in our marriage! Lakewood in the quote above sees it like I do (although I will weight the per person amount based on the scale of the place somewhat). You are paying/tipping for service and the cost of the entree on the plate that the server is carrying has NOTHING to do with it. And system is not influencing the right behaviors. Think about it, if I were a wait person, what would me objective be to maximize my income? Provide the very best tableside service? Or work at the place with the highest prices on the menu? I could provide mediocre service at a high end restaurant and still do better than great service at a lesser place.

I typically tip 15-18% an "nominal" places. But if I am going to get handed a bill for $200-$250 for dinner for two, make no mistake about it, my expectations for service are WAY up. You are starting at 15% and you have to pretty much nail everything to get 15%. Forget a lime in a drink, stop by and check to see if everything is ok, make us wait to get acknowledged when we are seated..............and that tip is dropping REAL fast.

Likewise, I have tipped 40% and more a few times. When our kids were little and we went to a diner for breakfast and they gave me a $21 bill for 4 after our kids TRASHED the place.

I think people need to focus on what you are paying/tipping for and what you are getting. If you struggling at a minimum wage job, then maybe you should re-evaluate your career choice.....

 

[Music Lover]

Restaurants don't pay a "normal wage" because the employees are tipped, not the other way around. When I waited tables I certainly thought the setup was fantastic. I enjoyed earning tips more than punching a clock somewhere else.

Poor wages for wait staff has been accepted as the norm and customers are now the bad guy for not paying the unpaid wages. Here in Canada no one is allowed to pay less than minimum wage in any industry, restaurants included. Perhaps that's why we sometimes get the reputation as poor tippers...our wait staff don't have to live on $5 an hour and many people may be unaware of how poorly wait staff are paid in some areas of the US.

 

[ziggy29]

Poor wages for wait staff has been accepted as the norm and customers are now the bad guy for not paying the unpaid wages. Here in Canada no one is allowed to pay less than minimum wage in any industry, restaurants included. Perhaps that's why we sometimes get the reputation as poor tippers...our wait staff don't have to live on $5 an hour and many people may be unaware of how poorly wait staff are paid in some areas of the US.

Even here in the US we're starting to slowly, but surely, see more and more "no tipping" establishments -- usually in the big cities -- where the proprietors say the staff are all earning decent wages and benefits and the cost of their service is already factored into the prices on the menu. Results vary, but most of the business owners and customers say they are very happy with the results.

 

[marko]

And this past March spent a few days in Miami and was surprised to find almost every place we went did this, for any size party.

Miami has a lot of European tourists who often 'forget' to tip.

 

[doneat54]

Miami has a lot of European tourists who often 'forget' to tip.

Yeah I get that, but no excuse to charge customers for something that they may or may not get.......

 

[Big_Hitter]

Hot topic, and even cause of some tension in our marriage! Lakewood in the quote above sees it like I do (although I will weight the per person amount based on the scale of the place somewhat). You are paying/tipping for service and the cost of the entree on the plate that the server is carrying has NOTHING to do with it. And system is not influencing the right behaviors. Think about it, if I were a wait person, what would me objective be to maximize my income? Provide the very best tableside service? Or work at the place with the highest prices on the menu? I could provide mediocre service at a high end restaurant and still do better than great service at a lesser place.

I typically tip 15-18% an "nominal" places. But if I am going to get handed a bill for $200-$250 for dinner for two, make no mistake about it, my expectations for service are WAY up. You are starting at 15% and you have to pretty much nail everything to get 15%. Forget a lime in a drink, stop by and check to see if everything is ok, make us wait to get acknowledged when we are seated..............and that tip is dropping REAL fast.

Likewise, I have tipped 40% and more a few times. When our kids were little and we went to a diner for breakfast and they gave me a $21 bill for 4 after our kids TRASHED the place.

I think people need to focus on what you are paying/tipping for and what you are getting. If you struggling at a minimum wage job, then maybe you should re-evaluate your career choice.....

DW and I are pretty heavy tippers - I usually get the "eye" when I don't tip enough - and she's super frugal

 

[marko]

Yeah I get that, but no excuse to charge customers for something that they may or may not get.......

But if the country went to a full no tipping format, we'll be paying for service we may or may not get anyway.

Let's face it, we're going to pay one way or the other.

Niece is a summer waitress paying for college. She loves the tipping policy. She makes more money and averages about $25 an hour between tips and a $2.85 hourly pay. I doubt the establishment would pay her that amount even if they hiked the prices to accommodate no tipping.

 

[Music Lover]

Miami has a lot of European tourists who often 'forget' to tip.

The US has a lot of restaurants that "forget" to pay servers living wage like most other countries do...one can't expect the entire world to be aware of this.

 

[Big_Hitter]

The US has a lot of restaurants that "forget" to pay servers living wage like most other countries do...one can't expect the entire world to be aware of this.

it's not an omission - foreigners need to get with the program when they visit

 

[travelover]

.........
Niece is a summer waitress paying for college. She loves the tipping policy. She makes more money and averages about $25 an hour between tips and a $2.85 hourly pay. I doubt the establishment would pay her that amount even if they hiked the prices to accommodate no tipping.

I was surprised at the support for tipping from servers on a recent call in show. They seemed to think a straight wage would be an automatic pay cut.

 

[travelover]

it's not an omission - foreigners need to get with the program when they visit

I used to travel with German suppliers within the US and one day we were late and did curbside check in. Guess whose bags didn't make it.

 

[Big_Hitter]

I used to travel with German suppliers within the US and one day we were late and did curbside check in. Guess whose bags didn't make it.

I usually give those guys $5 a bag, minimum - cheap travel insurance, especially when one of the bags contains golf clubs

 

[marko]

The US has a lot of restaurants that "forget" to pay servers living wage like most other countries do...one can't expect the entire world to be aware of this.

My comment was in reply to the poster who observed that in Miami a tip was added to the bill regardless of size. Sorry I didn't make that clear.

Having lived in Europe for many years, I'm quite sure that most Europeans are not only aware of the tipping situation but know a whole lot more about our country in general than many of us.

"Forgetting" the policy is another matter!

 

[marko]

I usually give those guys $5 a bag, minimum - cheap travel insurance, especially when one of the bags contains golf clubs

Always keep the people who handle your bags and prepare your food happy.

 

[kcowan]

In Europe, we would ask the server to include our tip before entering the amount in the tableside machine. They would always thanks us.

 

[marko]

In Europe, we would ask the server to include our tip before entering the amount in the tableside machine. They would always thanks us.

I'm sure they thanked you profusely!