The new way of calculating a restaurant tip

[audreyh1]

My 87 year old mom eats out 5 nights a week.

To the dismay of her eventual heirs (my brother and me), she tips anywhere from 20%-50% depending on the personality of the server--how friendly they are.

I told her about this thread and she said: "Tell your friends that if they have to think about how much to tip, they should stay home!" (harumpf!!)

Just passing it on. Don't kill the messenger.

Good for her!

I also notice my Dad tipping huge on his daily cheap eats out.

 

[devans0]

My experience at a local brewery is just the opposite. There was no recommended tip, and the bill just showed the steeply discounted happy hour prices for beers and appetizers. After leaving a generous tip based on my recollection of the "list prices", I talked to our waitress and suggested they should at least show the full price, then the discount. I think (hope?) most people would tip on the non-discounted price.

After thanking me for the tip, and the comment, she went on to say that the staff refers to happy hour pricing as "half price apps, half price tips".

DW collects the half off chits for haircuts, then pays the regular amount, so that half goes for the tip. She is popular as a customer.

 

[CRLLS]

All these 8 pages has been fun to read (sorta). I have one question to ask the servers and proprietors here. How do you know the difference if I tip simply by adding a dollar amount on the CC slip or stuff some $$ under the plate as I leave. You can only guess if the tip is 18% on the taxed total or 20% on the pretax bill, right? And what do you figure I'm tipping on if I decide to leave a few more bucks.

There seems to be quite a division here amongst the posters here regarding tipping on pre or post tax no matter how we calculate the end result. Does anyone at the restaurant even know? And in the end, does it really matter how we calculate any tip?

On a side note, I sometimes feel that the cashiers/proprietors may see me as cheap when I pay by CC and then leave cash at the table. They only see the CC transaction.

And don't get me started on the places where you can order by kiosk at the table and pay via the same kiosk. Limited service = limited tip IMO. If you want to be a fast food restaurant, then open a McDonalds!

 

[kcowan]

I also notice my Dad tipping huge on his daily cheap eats out.

We always tip well in restaurants that serve breakfast. They deliver water, juice, coffee several times, mains and deserve a good tip, better than 15% probably.

 

[Music Lover]

Of course wait staff bring stuff to the table a few times during your meal...that's their job. But, they don't do a single thing to earn an hourly wage above what other minimum wage jobs pay.

 

[calmloki]

Known to be thrifty. at best. Still, learned that members of the female persuasion, especially those who have waited table in the past, note with approbation or disapproval tip amounts that are left. 20% seems not to be met with disapproving sniffs and digging into her purse here. I try and tip cash, round up, and don't consider state tax. Sometimes being cheap costs too much and I know where my bread is buttered.

Marco's Mom seems like the archetype.

 

[FI by 2024]

All these 8 pages has been fun to read (sorta). I have one question to ask the servers and proprietors here. How do you know the difference if I tip simply by adding a dollar amount on the CC slip or stuff some $$ under the plate as I leave. You can only guess if the tip is 18% on the taxed total or 20% on the pretax bill, right? And what do you figure I'm tipping on if I decide to leave a few more bucks.

There seems to be quite a division here amongst the posters here regarding tipping on pre or post tax no matter how we calculate the end result. Does anyone at the restaurant even know? And in the end, does it really matter how we calculate any tip?

On a side note, I sometimes feel that the cashiers/proprietors may see me as cheap when I pay by CC and then leave cash at the table. They only see the CC transaction.

And don't get me started on the places where you can order by kiosk at the table and pay via the same kiosk. Limited service = limited tip IMO. If you want to be a fast food restaurant, then open a McDonalds!

The server doesn't know whether you are tipping 18% of the taxed total or 20% of the pretax total, unless you show your math. What the prior servers are trying to get across is that to us, the difference between leaving $2.75 or $3 is not enough for us, the customer, to care about, but to the server if every person they served left an extra quarter their nightly total might be an additional $20. That's $80-$120 extra per week, which I'd consider significant. To the server, it can make a difference in paying bills that month. So we are willing to throw in a little extra because we know what it feels like to be making a sub-minimum hourly wage and then have someone leave a tiny tip...especially since the reality is that most people are either 20% tippers or 5% tippers. No server is going to complain that they got a $9.23 tip instead of a $10 tip on a $50 bill, but a $4 tip on a $50 bill is not uncommon. BTW, most hated of all are the 1 penny tippers who left a penny in protest of the tipping system.

 

[Walt34]

BTW, most hated of all are the 1 penny tippers who left a penny in protest of the tipping system.

I thought that practice was for service that was just awful, and it was done to make sure the server knew the tip wasn't forgotten.

Once I actually did leave a 1 cent tip. We sat there for an hour, finally got drinks, and then... nothing. Normally I would have left much earlier but we were with others that did not want to leave. I got up and asked for the bill for the drinks, paid it, and left a penny tip. And of course have never been back.

 

[FI by 2024]

I thought that practice was for service that was just awful, and it was done to make sure the server knew the tip wasn't forgotten.

Once I actually did leave a 1 cent tip. We sat there for an hour, finally got drinks, and then... nothing. Normally I would have left much earlier but we were with others that did not want to leave. I got up and asked for the bill for the drinks, paid it, and left a penny tip. And of course have never been back.

When I was serving it was explained to me that a penny tip was an indication that the person didn't believe in tipping, and the orientation of the penny was your cue into how well you did in the customer's opinion. Heads up meant you did well, tails up meant you did poorly.

As a customer, if I thought the service was horrendous I wouldn't leave a single cent and would leave a note. That's a great way to indicate displeasure. I'd also say something if I saw a manager or host on the way out, but I wouldn't go out of my way to do so.

 

[mickeyd]

Finally, if its a buffet restaurant, where I go and get my own food, I reduce the tip as I deserve part of the tip, since I had to do part of the work.

DW and recently had lunch at a local salad buffet place. Great salad choices, get your own drink, get your own refills. During the meal, a woman working at the place stopped by and said "hi, if there is anything I can get you let me know" and departed. I wondered what her job was since we were able to get it all ourselves.



I looked around for a place to deposit our dirty dishes, but saw no option for this.We did not clear our table when we left; maybe that was her job.


I did not believe that a tip was necessary. Maybe DW slipped her a buck under her plate (she's sneaky like that).

 

[FIREmenow]

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?

Push the high(er)-priced entrees on the menu for the owner. Probably the original reasoning.

 

[mickeyd]

The Wizard
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wizard_(Seinfeld)

 

[Sunset]

....
Once I actually did leave a 1 cent tip. We sat there for an hour, finally got drinks, and then... nothing. Normally I would have left much earlier but we were with others that did not want to leave. I got up and asked for the bill for the drinks, paid it, and left a penny tip. And of course have never been back.

I have done this as well to let that crappy waitress know that the tip was not forgotten, but the service was so horrible I could have died and still be sitting there.
She is lucky I didn't raise a complaint to the owner of the restaurant to have her fired. So I guess in some way she was happy to get a penny tip.

 

[Sunset]

Of course wait staff bring stuff to the table a few times during your meal...that's their job. But, they don't do a single thing to earn an hourly wage above what other minimum wage jobs pay.

But how else can you enjoy the vestige of upper society life ?

 

[RobbieB]

Weird stuff does happen from time to time, but not often. I did walk out of a place once after sitting down and not even getting a glass of water or a menu for 10 minutes. No tip either -

I tip at belly up to the counter places, throw the change into the bucket. I tip 10% on take out orders. I like to support the places I like and always will.

 

[CardsFan]

Weird stuff does happen from time to time, but not often. I did walk out of a place once after sitting down and not even getting a glass of water or a menu for 10 minutes. No tip either -

I tip at belly up to the counter places, throw the change into the bucket. I tip 10% on take out orders. I like to support the places I like and always will.

I am curious how others tip on take-out. I typically tip $1, maybe 2 ( usually a bill of $15+/-). Am I being cheap?

On the other hand, If I am getting a very inexpensive meal at a mom and pop diner, water glass filled several times, coffee cup always full, 30% or more is not uncommon.

 

[Music Lover]

I am curious how others tip on take-out. I typically tip $1, maybe 2 ( usually a bill of $15+/-). Am I being cheap?

I see no reason to tip at carryout.

 

[FI by 2024]

I am curious how others tip on take-out. I typically tip $1, maybe 2 ( usually a bill of $15+/-). Am I being cheap?



On the other hand, If I am getting a very inexpensive meal at a mom and pop diner, water glass filled several times, coffee cup always full, 30% or more is not uncommon.

This describes what I do pretty well, for both takeout and the inexpensive meal.

 

[marko]

I love your mom. I bet she is a happy person.

Even more happy after her second martini.

She is a hoot. Very, very social and sharp as a tack.

She goes to moderately higher end places but insists on sitting at the bar instead of a table; "the bar is where all the nice people sit" and spends most of the night talking to whoever sits next to her.

The bartenders become her friends and seem to enjoy her as much as she does them.

 

[Big_Hitter]

I just realized I tip jimmy johns delivery guys 20%

 

[bclover]

I see no reason to tip at carryout.

Lol, that's me but I've already been called cheap

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Early Retirement Forum mobile app

 

[Montecfo]

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.

I think you misunderstand how this works in the US. Restaurant wait staff are subject to a minimum wage-it is just lower, acknowledging the fact that these are tipped employees.

And trust me, wait people in the US are not living on $5 an hour. But on the other hand, if they dislike their wages they should seek higher compensation in other industries.

Having said that, as a former waiter, i felt well-paid and my pay was linked to performance: a clear benefit for me, my customers and my employer.

Cheers!

 

[ivinsfan]

The server doesn't know whether you are tipping 18% of the taxed total or 20% of the pretax total, unless you show your math. What the prior servers are trying to get across is that to us, the difference between leaving $2.75 or $3 is not enough for us, the customer, to care about, but to the server if every person they served left an extra quarter their nightly total might be an additional $20. That's $80-$120 extra per week, which I'd consider significant. To the server, it can make a difference in paying bills that month. So we are willing to throw in a little extra because we know what it feels like to be making a sub-minimum hourly wage and then have someone leave a tiny tip...especially since the reality is that most people are either 20% tippers or 5% tippers. No server is going to complain that they got a $9.23 tip instead of a $10 tip on a $50 bill, but a $4 tip on a $50 bill is not uncommon. BTW, most hated of all are the 1 penny tippers who left a penny in protest of the tipping system.

I'm going to question that 5% they would be few and far between, but really if I leave a 20% tax pre tax, why should I worry about making up for the poor tippers? That's not my problem.

 

[Montecfo]

The server doesn't know whether you are tipping 18% of the taxed total or 20% of the pretax total, unless you show your math. What the prior servers are trying to get across is that to us, the difference between leaving $2.75 or $3 is not enough for us, the customer, to care about, but to the server if every person they served left an extra quarter their nightly total might be an additional $20. That's $80-$120 extra per week, which I'd consider significant. To the server, it can make a difference in paying bills that month. So we are willing to throw in a little extra because we know what it feels like to be making a sub-minimum hourly wage and then have someone leave a tiny tip...especially since the reality is that most people are either 20% tippers or 5% tippers. No server is going to complain that they got a $9.23 tip instead of a $10 tip on a $50 bill, but a $4 tip on a $50 bill is not uncommon. BTW, most hated of all are the 1 penny tippers who left a penny in protest of the tipping system.

No people have no way to know unless you make it obvious. So tipping just on the food does not make someone "cheap". The amount could be the same, more, or less than someone else who tips on the total, rounds up, rounds down, or whatever.

Having said that, tipping is not traditionally motivated by a desire to help people pay their bills. If it were, then you would probably be tipping fast food, clerks, and other lesser paid workers on that same theory, would you not?

When someone tips a penny, they usually have a grievance of some sort, which may have nothing to do with the waitperson, the service, or anything else within the control of the waitperson. I certainly tried not to let someone with a problem ruin my day as a waitperson. I also noted that people from different cultures may have different understandings of the tradition in the US. Disappointing, but again not fixable by the wait person.

Good Living!

 

[marko]

And trust me, wait people in the US are not living on $5 an hour. But on the other hand, if they dislike their wages they should seek higher compensation in other industries.

I think if you gave servers the choice between getting $2.85 an hour plus tips OR a straight $15 an hour and no tips, they'd take the tip route.

Servers I know claim close to $20 an hour and more.