Tipping

[Philliefan33]

Midpack, you might want to read your link a little more carefully. The Federal minimum wage for tipped employees is $2.13/hr. So yes, most states have a minimum wage for tipped employees higher than the Federal minimum, that is higher than $2.13/hr.

In the table, I counted 44 states that had a minimum wage for tipped employees less than $7.25/hr (the Federal minimum for most employees). Servers in those states depend on tips to make it worth their time.

My daughter worked as a waitress for a few years while in college. Some nights she did quite well in tips, others not so much. It averaged out to just under $10/hr (hourly + tips).

 

[tmm99]

Not enough posters in this thread ever had to depend on tips to pay their rent... In the US, the hourly rate for wait staff is $2.13 if they are making at least $30 per month in tips. It was $2.01 in 1988.

Most wait staff work a full 8 hour shift, starting at 3 or 4 on the afternoon to set tables, polish silverware, learn the day's menu, etc. Then they stay well after the close of the restaurant, organizing the "behind the scenes" areas, scrubbing out the coffee makers, all kinds of fun stuff.... so basically half of every shift they are working for $2 an hour. And the slow nights they had to work? Same thing. Sure, a nice busy saturday night when you are breaking your back from about 7pm to 9pm turning over tables and pulling in good tips, that's great, but don't judge what they are making based on what you see from your table.

Did you work at a diner that served cheap food with tons of free coffee refills? I know that's not exactly easy living.

I was a waitress myself in AZ when the hourly wage was $2/hr (in the early 80's.. Wait! Come to think of it, it might have been $1/hr. I know most of it was eaten up by taxes and FICA. ) but I worked for a relatively high-end restaurant, and it paid my rent and everything else. The work was from 5PM to 10PM and after we did some cleanup, we were out by 10:30PM-11PM and they even fed us dinner! It was easy money for the amount of time I had to work (I needed time to go to school and study too.) I was probably making $10/hr or more on average, but maybe less than that or more. It was definitely much better than working a minimum wage job which probably was around $2.70-$3/hr . I only had to pay taxes on 8% of the customers bills and I was clearing much more than 8% on average. This was in the early 80's so the rent was something like $330/mo. I worked hard while I was there, but I'm sure people who work at Subway work hard too (with no tip).

By the way, servers in California get paid a regular min wage plus tips. A friend of mine makes a living as a waitress in southern CA working four days a week and she lives on her own. She used to work in retail and she says waitressing is much more lucrative. YMMV.

Anyway, despite my experience as a server, I don't understand tipping. I did take advantage of the system in my younger days, yes. Definitely. But It still makes absolutely no sense to me.

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[Aerides]

Did you work at a diner that served cheap food with tons of free coffee refills? I know that's not exactly easy living.

Nope, this was in the main restaurant of an upscale hotel chain (Westin). Was the 80's. I don't remember what my hourly rate ended up being, I just know it was probably the hardest work I ever did.

But my main point was that we here on this forum can afford to tip properly, and it irks me to quibble over things like tipping on tax when the recipient is almost always making less than $30k per year. (In Florida, that means a difference of what 70cents on a $50 dinner?)

I pretty much always do a quick 20%, since the math is easy, and round it up to the next buck or two, because I like whole numbers. Or on a very small check just go with $5, or $10 or something. There has to have been a real issue with service for me to consider less than 20%.

 

[tmm99]

Did you work at a diner that served cheap food with tons of free coffee refills? I know that's not exactly easy living.



Nope, this was in the main restaurant of an upscale hotel chain (Westin). Was the 80's. I don't remember what my hourly rate ended up being, I just know it was probably the hardest work I ever did.



But my main point was that we here on this forum can afford to tip properly, and it irks me to quibble over things like tipping on tax when the recipient is almost always making less than $30k per year.



I pretty much always do a quick 20%, since the math is easy, and round it up to the next buck or two, because I like whole numbers. Or on a very small check just go with $5, or $10 or something. There has to have been a real issue with service for me to consider less than 20%.

But doesn't it seem odd to you that we tip waitresses at all while ignoring many other professionals? Obviously we deal with a lot of people every day, and some of them make less money than we do, but we don't go around giving them extra cash for their services, do we? Why do waitresses/waiters get charitable donations? I know a lot of folks here make official charitable donations to the less fortunate. Why do we have to single out waitress/waiters and some other professionals and give this arbitrary 20% or whatever just because they make less money?




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[Music Lover]

But my main point was that we here on this forum can afford to tip properly, and it irks me to quibble over things like tipping on tax when the recipient is almost always making less than $30k per year. (In Florida, that means a difference of what 70cents on a $50 dinner?)

Just because many of us here can afford to tip heavily, that doesn't mean we have to, or even that we should.

I think that the tipping system is broken and needs to be done away with completely. I know it won't, so I do tip but I'm not throwing down so much money that the server makes a $30 or $40 an hour wage. In Canada the rules are different...no one can earn less than minimum ($11 in my province), so a server gets the same hourly wage as the poor sucker pumping gas at -30.

 

[Aerides]

But doesn't it seem odd to you that we tip waitresses at all while ignoring many other professionals? Obviously we deal with a lot of people every day, and some of them make less money than we do, but we don't go around giving them extra cash for their services, do we? Why do waitresses/waiters get charitable donations?
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Because the pay structure of U.S. wait staff is designed as such. It's not charity lol. Would it be great if they had better wages and tipping was a non issue? Sure! But it's not. Those that are doing that work make basically nothing without tips. Other service professionals are not making $2 per hour + tips. They are making $10-$20-$30 or whatever.

And yes I do often tip service pros, just more conservatively, and more to reward a very good experience. Guy came and hung a 70 lb mirror for me this week, left with a $10 bill for being on time, fast, and courteous, even as I kept going "naw an inch left..ok, right... hmm is that level again?"

 

[gayl]

There is a no-tip zone in SF and staff is paid $15 hr, other places just $14 hr ..... enough to encourage any college kid to study harder. We don't have anyone pump gas and other service (non-restaurant) people are paid more than minimum wage.

I typically tip 2× tax but that's only 19%. I round up if service is good, won't round down. I've often wondered if that tip makes it all the way to the dishwasher & souchef .... my hunch is "no"

 

[Midpack]

Midpack, you might want to read your link a little more carefully. The Federal minimum wage for tipped employees is $2.13/hr. So yes, most states have a minimum wage for tipped employees higher than the Federal minimum, that is higher than $2.13/hr.

In the table, I counted 44 states that had a minimum wage for tipped employees less than $7.25/hr (the Federal minimum for most employees). Servers in those states depend on tips to make it worth their time.

My daughter worked as a waitress for a few years while in college. Some nights she did quite well in tips, others not so much. It averaged out to just under $10/hr (hourly + tips).

You’ll have to explain where my post conflicted with my quote or the link. The Fed minimum is pretty much irrelevant in most states, the post I was referring to didn’t mention that.

 

[Clone]

Not enough posters in this thread ever had to depend on tips to pay their rent.

While I worked in the kitchen during 4 years of college, the waitresses pulled in decent tips, and there was no such thing as tip share. The only 'sharing' involved kicking in some money towards a Christmas party, and a number of the waitresses really complained about that. Everybody else pulled minimum wage.

We tip for service. The places where you only see the staff when they seat you (plus take the drink order), then bring drinks and take your order, then drop off the food- those are the 15% places. We have stopped going to some of the places where it felt like you were getting the bum's rush just to turnover the tables faster.

Places where they bring drink refills and check in at reasonable times, they usually get 20% or just over. We don't go to many 'fancy' places. Mostly because we don't see where the quality of the food or the quality of the service justifies the higher meal cost.

 

[Gevans17]

Funny how people will happily pay someone an extra $1 or $2 for carrying a drink 40 feet from the bar to their table in a warm room, but few of them will tip the poor sucker who has to stand outside filling their gas tank when it's -30.

Where does full service still exist??

 

[Sunset]

....We have stopped going to some of the places where it felt like you were getting the bum's rush just to turnover the tables faster.

.....

What really bugs me is the make you stand and wait for a table, and when they take to a table you see 8 empty tables all around. So why do they have 12 people standing around waiting for a table ?

I think it is to increase the bar sales, as some of the waiting folks get a drink while they wait.

 

[Midpack]

Where does full service still exist??

New Jersey, Oregon and parts of Canada...

 

[Midpack]

What really bugs me is the make you stand and wait for a table, and when they take to a table you see 8 empty tables all around. So why do they have 12 people standing around waiting for a table ?

I think it is to increase the bar sales, as some of the waiting folks get a drink while they wait.

That’s undoubtedly the reason in some cases. Restaurants are businesses like any other.

However, sometimes they do it to space out the timing of tables, so all diners aren’t at the same stage at once at every table. That way the server isn’t trying to take orders from 12 tables at once, the bartender isn’t making drinks for 12 tables at once and the kitchen isn’t trying to put out entrees for 12 tables all at once, etc. If tables in each section are seated 5-10 minutes apart, it’s easier for servers, kitchen and others to provide good service. They could just seat 12 tables at once, and many restaurants do, but you’ll be waiting at your table anyway - that can irritate diners too.

And sometimes, it’s because the restaurant is short handed with servers, kitchen or otherwise and needs to slow the pace down.

 

[Philliefan33]

You’ll have to explain where my post conflicted with my quote or the link. The Fed minimum is pretty much irrelevant in most states, the post I was referring to didn’t mention that.

You stated that there are very few states that adhere to the minimum wage for tipped employees, and the Fed minimum is irrelevant in those states. Technically true, but did you read the table and see what the minimum hourly wage for servers is for most states? Many under $3/hr,most under the $7.25 Federal minimum for other workers.

I read the tone of your post to be that servers in most states are making more than the $2.13/hr minimum, so don’t really need to be tipped. If I misread, I’m sorry. I just wanted to point out that in the vast majority of states, waitstaff is not paid an hourly wage of at least $7.25.

 

[Milton]

Here in America we, as taxpayers are forced to 'donate' money to causes and practices we may not necessarily agree with.

Not sure that this is relevant. Taxes, much of which are spent on various things many taxpayers don't necessarily agree with, are a fact of life in virtually all countries: including those in which tipping is not a common practice.

Too hard to calculate is a lame excuse IMO especially today with a smartphone calculator, if you can’t figure it out I am sure the server would be happy to add whatever % you request...

Well yes. I generally tip 10%: that 'calculation' is simply a matter of moving a decimal place. Those who prefer to tip 20% can do the same thing, then double it. No need for a smartphone.

While I don't believe anyone needs to excuse their decision not to tip (it's supposed to be an optional "gratuity"), working out an approximate percentage should not be difficult for anyone with an elementary education.

 

[kcowan]

As for tipping in the US/Canada, I only tip about 15% unless the bills are small.

Yes for breakfast, we don't tip a percentage. We tip based on how often they came to the table to serve our needs.

 

[BeachOrCity]

The places where I get torn on tip amount are those once a year extravagance type outings where we go all out and the bill works out to 500 dollars a couple. Generally it was an extensive tasting menu and some pricey wine.

The service is excellent and the tip works out to 100 dollars for what I would say is two+ hours of services where the waiter would handle only about 4 customers maybe six (that’s customers not tables).

Clearly we can afford it but that shouldn’t be the measure as we can ‘afford’ an overpriced plumber. It just seems the dollars per hour of time are so excessive in this case.

What does one do here? Sometimes in the once a year we do a place like this I will lower it to 17-18 percent as the wine is a big part of the bill.

Thoughts?

 

[kcowan]

I have to remind visitors that the waitperson won’t bring the check without being asked.

Yes it is appreciated except when we want to cash out and the wait staff totally ignore us.

 

[gayl]

Yes for breakfast, we don't tip a percentage. We tip based on how often they came to the table to serve our needs.

I tip 50c (on the app) at Starbucks & Panera as I order at the counter, usually pick it up & clear myself. They're college students trying out to minimize student loans

 

[sengsational]

How about a "Name Your Own Tip" button? Like the "Easy" button from the office supply store. Every time the server brings you something, they hit the button, then the tip is calculated from that count, lol!

 

[Milton]

The places where I get torn on tip amount are those once a year extravagance type outings where we go all out and the bill works out to 500 dollars a couple. Generally it was an extensive tasting menu and some pricey wine.

The service is excellent and the tip works out to 100 dollars for what I would say is two+ hours of services where the waiter would handle only about 4 customers maybe six (that’s customers not tables).

Clearly we can afford it but that shouldn’t be the measure as we can ‘afford’ an overpriced plumber. It just seems the dollars per hour of time are so excessive in this case.

What does one do here? Sometimes in the once a year we do a place like this I will lower it to 17-18 percent as the wine is a big part of the bill.

Thoughts?

I mentioned above (in post 27) that "if the meal includes expensive extras (e.g., over-priced wine) that have nothing to do with service, I will tip a flat $10." So that's one option.

There is no correct or incorrect answer to any tipping question. Like charitable giving, everyone should do whatever they are most comfortable with. E.g.:

• If you think the whole tipping custom is a scam, just don't tip.
• If it makes you feel good to tip 30%, by all means do so.

Everything goes! Just do what feels appropriate to you, and resist anyone's attempt to shame you into their way of thinking.

 

[Taxman59]

35+ years ago, I would meet a friend for dinner (we were roommates, but both traveled and rarely saw each other) every other Friday. We would arrive about 7pm, and leave about 11pm. We told the servers that we were easy, just check in on us occasionally, and keep our coffee cups from running dry. Our tabs would run between $50 and $100 (average dinner for a typical table was about $30). since we would keep the table for 4 hours, about 3 turns, we figured a good tip was in order. We started out with a 50% tip and then would increase it to reflect the additional service if warranted. At times, the tip would exceed 100%. We didn't ask for speed, but if you have the coffee pot in your hand, top off our cups.
One night, we got a new server (to us). She had heard that we were easy customers and great tippers. We never got a single refill on the coffee, always an attitude, etc. We left a $0.00 tip. We were stopped by the manager, and we explained the problem to him. The other servers came by and apologized and promised it wouldn't happen again. The next time we came, we got the same server, and the service was impeccable. Our tip that night was over 100%. She understood that we weren't being mean, and we were very easy to get along with, just don't ignore us and when you show up, have a good attitude. I learned that she became one of the better (ie higher earning) servers.

 

[kgtest]

Funny how people will happily pay someone an extra $1 or $2 for carrying a drink 40 feet from the bar to their table in a warm room, but few of them will tip the poor sucker who has to stand outside filling their gas tank when it's -30.

No need to tip, full service gas stations charge more per gallon. But if you feel bad for the poor cold sucker, it might be a nice jesture.

I tip 20% IF my vehicle is actually washed properly
I tip 20% IF my service level was speedy, courteous and food was tasty
I tip 20% IF my haircut looks good.
I gift to my delivery drivers, as those poor saps are outside all day and it snows a lot where I live.
I drink water and I don't tip for someone bringing me a glass, I look at that as a kind gesture. If you mix me a drink, sure.

My father hardly ever tips. I notice sometimes he struggles with his service level, or quality of food.

 

[Music Lover]

No need to tip, full service gas stations charge more per gallon.

Not around here.

Also, minimum wage here applies to everyone, including servers. So, the person pumping your gas really does make the same as the person who carried a plate of food to your table.

 

[kgtest]

Not around here.

Also, minimum wage here applies to everyone, including servers. So, the person pumping your gas really does make the same as the person who carried a plate of food to your table.

Interesting. I've never used full service. I think i actually did once by accident.

Around here there is only one station thst provides it and the price per gallon is 20c higher. Mom and pop. I always wondered if i tip the table...or the bill fold, do they just pocket it all or give some to the cooks and hostess or just kipe it all ?