How often do you not tip wait staff?

[The Cosmic Avenger]

They get the the base wage + tips, or the employer has to increase payment to make up for a lack of tips.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tipped_wage

"The tipped wage is base wage paid to an employee that receives a substantial portion of their compensation from tips. According to a common labor law provision referred to as a "tip credit", the employee must earn at least the state’s minimum wage when tips and wages are combined or the employer is required to increase the wage to fulfill that threshold. This ensures that all tipped employees earn at least the minimum wage: significantly more than the tipped minimum wage."

Yes, that was the law when I waited tables back in the early 90s. However, just because it was the law did not mean it was practiced. People who didn't claim enough tips and had to be paid more by the employer suddenly weren't scheduled for any shifts, or worse, were scheduled for the shifts when the restaurant was dead and there were no tips, and they still wouldn't pay you the difference.

 

[CoolRich59]

This is an area where the DW and I disagree.

We have both worked in restaurants (I bussed tables and washed dishes; she waited tables) and know how hard those folks w*rk. But, I still say tipping is discretionary and is for good service; she says you have to tip no matter what.

When we've had bad service, I know she will still insist on leaving something and so we end up negotiating on how much it should be reduced to reflect the poor service (I think the least she's ever tipped is 10% when the service was truly abysmal).

 

[Midpack]

Just to play devil's advocate, why not tip your cashier at the grocery store, clothing store, etc. if the service is satisfactory? Or at a fast food restaurant? They usually make roughly the same wages and put in as much work into your order as someone pouring a coffee or putting a muffin in a bag, in fact, often times more. When did it become common to tip for such a trivial task for people guaranteed to be making minimum wage at a minimum, rather than the server wages, which are often far below minimum wage?

For the record, I generally tip at these types of restaurants/coffee houses if there is a tip jar. However, I do find it silly that the tip jars exist. Truth be told, I do it because I'd feel like a cheapskate if I didn't, not because I think they deserve the tip for the work they've performed.

I post this as something to think about. Why we tip cleaning staff at a hotel, but wouldn't even consider tipping the janitor at work or the guy cleaning the floors at a restaurant we frequent. Why we tip baristas, but not cashiers. And the list goes on. I'm not advocating against tipping these people, just food for thought.

We can’t tip everyone. But not all jobs are structured to rely on tips like restaurants, travel and personal care - those traditions are generations old. And we tip all sorts of people that others may not, but I don’t see any reason to brag about the details. We do it to show appreciation to the recipients, not for ourselves or what others think about it.

 

[CoolRich59]

Actually, I did leave a tip, a penny, in the mustard. I wanted to make sure she knew I didn't just forget to leave one.

I did something similar (pre DW).

My waitress was both slow and surly. They did not have bus boys and so I knew she'd be clearing the table.

I had an ice cream sundae for dessert. I put a dime on the table and put the ice cream dish upside down on top of the dime. That way she'd find the dime when she was cleaning up the mess. It was a petty thing to do, but she'd earned it.

 

[catii]

I used to own a restaurant with my family, so I certainly understand how important tips are. So, my policy is simple: if the service is so bad that I'm not going to leave a tip, I get another wait person to call the manager, so he/she KNOWS what the problem is. Learned that from being in the business, & I can't recall a single time where the manager was angry for being informed.

 

[Souschef]

I used to own a restaurant with my family, so I certainly understand how important tips are. So, my policy is simple: if the service is so bad that I'm not going to leave a tip, I get another wait person to call the manager, so he/she KNOWS what the problem is. Learned that from being in the business, & I can't recall a single time where the manager was angry for being informed.

That reminded me of an incident years ago. We went into a restaurant, placed our order and ordered a bottle of wine. It took the waitstaff 3 tries to get the right one. We got our salads from the salad bar, and waited for our main course. And waited... Finally the waitress comes over and asked how our dinner was. I said, "I do not know, we never got it. Please send the manager over".
I told the manager what happened, and he wanted to comp the bill. I told him we drank the wine, so we will pay for it.
As a side note, tipping is a "hot button" issue on cruise boards. In the days before cruise lines added the service charge to your account, dinner the last night on board was a ghost town because of all the people stiffing the waitstaff.

 

[fh2000]

In US, I tip 15%. But looks like the norm is 18% or 20% now? Some restaurants print the bill with a suggested tip table for 18%/20%/22%. There is not even a 15% choice.

In Asia, there is no tipping. But some restaurants have learned to add a service charge (anywhere between 10% to 18%) automatically in the bill.

 

[swakyaby]

In Asia, there is no tipping. But some restaurants have learned to add a service charge (anywhere between 10% to 18%) automatically in the bill.

I returned from Peru 3 months ago. I noticed the hotel restaurant added a 10% service charge to the bill automatically. So my girlfriend and I simply paid the bill. I noticed the waiter who picked up the check and payment glanced at it and appeared a little sad.

The next night, 4 of us went out to a restaurant in Lima. I had since learned from the tour guide that although the 10% service charge used to go to the wait staff, now it is taken by the management and distributed in some way, but with very little actually going to the wait staff. The tour guide asked that we leave 10% extra so that the wait staff receive a tip. So I mentioned it to my 4 dinner companions that evening after we ordered. Later, after our waiter picked up our 4 separate checks and payments, he suddenly returned bursting with happiness. He was soooo happy! Gushing. Handing out business cards. Asking us all to leave a positive review on social media. All over a 10% tip from each of us.

My girlfriend and I returned to our hotel and thought about our hotel waiter the evening before and how disappointed he appeared. My friend looked up the receipt and noted the waiter’s name on it. We returned to the hotel restaurant and standing at the bar requested the waiter by name. He came out, recognized us, and appeared puzzled. Both my friend and I handed him a 10% tip and said we just wanted to thank him. He look momentarily astonished, then nodded quietly said thank you. Other employees came over to him asking what happened as we quickly left. It felt good to right a wrong.

I can’t recall ever stiffing a waitstaff for slow service. I would not tip for rude service.

 

[Sunset]

I used to own a restaurant with my family, so I certainly understand how important tips are. So, my policy is simple: if the service is so bad that I'm not going to leave a tip, I get another wait person to call the manager, so he/she KNOWS what the problem is. Learned that from being in the business, & I can't recall a single time where the manager was angry for being informed.

The recent time a few years ago I left the famous 1 cent tip, I also told the manager when he asked me how was dinner. He surprised me by comping 1 of the 2 meals.
We still never went back.

Sadly even knowing which staff person was bad at the job didn't save the restaurant, and it closed down, a year later the lot was bulldozed and is now for sale as land.

 

[Sunset]

I did something similar (pre DW).

My waitress was both slow and surly. They did not have bus boys and so I knew she'd be clearing the table.

I had an ice cream sundae for dessert. I put a dime on the table and put the ice cream dish upside down on top of the dime. That way she'd find the dime when she was cleaning up the mess. It was a petty thing to do, but she'd earned it.

There is also the coin under the upside down glass of water trick if you ever wanted to be cruel.

 

[OldShooter]

Yes, that was the law when I waited tables back in the early 90s. However, just because it was the law did not mean it was practiced. People who didn't claim enough tips and had to be paid more by the employer suddenly weren't scheduled for any shifts, or worse, were scheduled for the shifts when the restaurant was dead and there were no tips, and they still wouldn't pay you the difference.

Completely hypothetical:

If I were this employer I would be paying per the law of course. But if a server was consistently well below average on tips earnings compared to other servers on similar shifts, I probably would schedule him/her for non-busy times. Low tips on good shifts probably mean poor service. Working a less-busy time might produce better service just because the server has more time per table.

But the other reason for the change may be that I want the server to quit. Firing someone even for cause just gets me an unemployment claim. If I contest it I probably lose because that's what happens to employers. So then my unemployment insurance goes up. This is much less likely to occur if the server quits voluntarily.

IOW, the tips are a measurement of service quality and this server is flunking the test. It really has nothing to do with my having to make up a few bucks on his/her paycheck to comply with the law.

 

[jollystomper]

Just to play devil's advocate, why not tip your cashier at the grocery store, clothing store, etc. if the service is satisfactory?

Humorous observation - DW and I were in Las Vegas recently. At at couple of souvenir stores we stopped in, they had a tip jar at the checkout line for the cashiers. Maybe because it was in Vegas.

Back to the subject... the few times (maybe 3-4) I have not tipped, I also made it a point to talk to the manager on duty or owner on why I was not going to leave a tip. I figure I owe it to them to at least have a discussion on why I am taking this action.

 

[Midpack]

Back to the subject... the few times (maybe 3-4) I have not tipped, I also made it a point to talk to the manager on duty or owner on why I was not going to leave a tip. I figure I owe it to them to at least to have a discussion on why I am taking this action.

+1. They can't improve if they don't know, whatever the problem may be (not always servers).

 

[SpinDoctorTX]

I do leave at least a pity tip for less than stellar service- never less than 15%. Anyone can have an off day, and servers make nothing- it's ridiculous.

 

[Corporateburnout]

Only once 25 years ago when the service was abysmal. The manager offered to pick up the tab but we refused.

Normally we tip 25% and sometimes 30% at restaurants we frequent the most.

 

[prudent_one]

Never a zero tip but twice left very small tips hoping to send a message that could not be interpreted as "Oh, I guess they forgot to leave a tip." Once in a diner where the server was playing grab-ass (as my father would call it - it means flirting instead of working) with another server leading to terrible service. The other time was at a nice downtown restaurant where I think the server felt we were underdressed and undercultured and therefore not worthy of occupying a table. He had a snide tone to everything he said, was patronizing when my wife asked what was in a particular dish, and clearly tried to rush us through our meal - and we are not leisurely eaters, so when I say we were rushed, it was beyond obvious.

My approach is when the check arrives, I stop the server and say "Before I sign off on the check, I wanted to ask you if you felt you provided us good service." Boy does that raise eyebrows and cause stuttering. I could tell from the reaction in both cases they knew it was crap. The diner server simply said "I'm sorry." I appreciated the honesty and left 5%. The other guy dodged the question and said "I'll be glad to bring the manager over if you would like" which I accepted, then explained what our experience was. Have to say the manager didn't seem shocked at what I said and comped half our check. I tipped $1.

I've had plenty of sub-par servers but only those two made me drop below 15%. I know it can be a tough job.

 

[aaronc879]

I have never given nothing for a tip. I have never had service that was THAT bad. I give $1 for bad service and $2-3 for normal/good service per person. I don't tip based on a %. Wait staff at more expensive restaurants do not generally do more work than those at lower end places so why pay them more?

 

[steelyman]

I don’t recall ever not tipping wait staff although it probably happened (or didn’t, if you mean the tip).

There are increasing appearances of tip jars (as mentioned earlier) at places where no wait service is given. Places like sandwich shops. Also a “round up” request from the cashier on check out (round up the charge to the next whole dollar). For that, I now say, “not this time, thanks”.

 

[coveredbridge]

The only time I don't tip wait staff is when I've already paid a gratuity that was included in the bill. For DD's wedding reception I paid in advance an 18% gratuity on the entire bill-food, drinks and bar. I was NOT happy when I saw a tip jar on the bar. I invited guests to this event and now they are being asked for a tip that I already paid! I made sure to tell everyone that they need not tip the bartender since I had already been billed for and paid it.

 

[MarieIG]

Well, I can't remember not tipping wait staff, although I suppose it's possible that I have forgotten some incident or another. (I would be very uncomfortable, as they do not make minimum wage.) Typically our tip is 20% rounded up.

By wait staff I mean someone that brings food/drink to the table and does not make minimum wage; not someone behind a counter where I take something I picked off a shelf to purchase. In other words, I'm not tipping someone whose role is limited to taking my money and making change.

 

[Sunset]

It has been my understanding that the law requires wait staff to make at a minimum: minimum wage.

This is done by:

(1) The tiny restaurant wage plus tips being equal or greater than minimum wage.
or else
(2) The restaurant has to chip in more pay until the person gets minimum wage.

Wait staff get at a minimum: minimum wage anything less is illegal, just like any employer not paying the full wage to the checkout clerk, or the hotel cleaner, or the garbage collector.

https://www.dol.gov/whd/state/tipped.htm#foot1

So while it's customary to tip, I don't see that they deserve it more than the guy sweeping the sidewalk, or other minimum wage jobs.

 

[Senator]

Here is an email I sent to tonight's restaurant. I still tipped $4 on a $30.14 tab. I doubt I even get a response.

I have to say, I rarely complain about meals but I have to after tonight.

I ordered a medium rare burger, my date ordered grilled shrimp with drawn butter. Server Virginia. Table 43/1. 8:27 PM 2/20070.

I asked for the WiFi password, it was never given to me although I finally did go to the hostess stand and got it myself.

The burger was well done, maybe even more than that. I told the waitress to tell the chef to go back to cooking school and learn what a medium rare burger was. The server was unsympathetic.

Drinks went empty. The drawn butter was not delivered with the meal. I asked for either a "Veterans or well done burger discount", and the server said she talked to the manager and there was nothing she could do.

I used to own a restaurant and worked in the restaurant and hotel industry for 20+ years. I understand that not everything is perfect, although generally when the restaurant makes a mistake it should be corrected. I tipped the server extra light, as I thought the server could have been more responsive and done a better job.

 

[Sunset]

Here is an email I sent to tonight's restaurant. I still tipped $4 on a $30.14 tab. I doubt I even get a response.

I feel you were too generous in the tip. A $1 tip would show you are peeved at the server who failed on numerous issues during the meal, and would be so low, the server would remember it.

Good that you wrote about it to the manager.

 

[Taxman59]

Years ago, a friend and I would have dinner every other Friday at an upscale restaurant. We let the server know that we would be there for several hours and were not overly demanding. We didn't care if we got the table by the kitchen. We would get drinks, dinner desert and coffee (sometimes after dinner drinks). The tip was generally 30-40% as we occupied a table for an overlong time. The servers knew us, and if someone had the water pitcher or coffee pot when they went by our table, they would top off our glasses.
One night, we got a new server who was lousy. We stayed the normal time, but the wait for the food and drink refills (not seated by the kitchen that night) was awful. It took over 30 minutes to get her attention to get the bill, and then another 30 minutes to pay. We decided to leave a $0 tip. As we got to the front of the restaurant, the manager came over to us and asked what happened to get the server to cry. we explained the problems we encountered. The next time we came (right on schedule), we got the same waitress who apologized for her poor service the last time we were there. The tip that night was almost 100%. She gave excellent service, and learned from the lack of a tip the prior time.

 

[rk911]

i can’t recall the last time i didn’t leave a tip.