I am curious if some people tip less in order to save money. If you do this consistently, I'm sure you could save a few bucks. Having worked as a waitress all throughout college, I relied on tips to live.
Nope, never skimped on the tip in order to save money. Like you said, some of the waiters really need that money. Although it is rather nasty that some of the owners refuse to subsidize the tip money, which by law they are supposed to do. Honestly the whole tip business is rather dodgy if you ask me, but if the service has been worth it, I will of course leave a tip.
If I tip, it IS enough. While tipping is a normal thing to do when dining out, it has become the expectation that you will tip others as well. Tipping to get a black coffee to go? Nonsense. Tipping for poor service in a restaurant? I tip, but not as much as for good service. I don't mind leaving a tip but when it becomes an expectation, it is just an additional cost on an item. Expected 10%-20% tips have made the quality of service decline - why put in an effort if you know you are getting tipped?
Interestingly, there was an article recently on Huffington Post that goes into quite a bit of detail about tipping etiquette and when/where you should tip and how much: Log In Having worked in the restaurant industry for a while a number of years ago, in general the chart is accurate, but the rest of the article is hit or miss. It's obvious the "data" was gathered rather casually and anectdotally. I got a laugh when I saw that "gay men" were among the best tippers towards the top of the chart. But I was a little confused by "all make dining parties". Are these all gay male dining parties or all hetero male dining parties? lol. Honestly though, I know people that defy these classifications big time. A couple of gay male friends of mine are insufferable tightwads who not only don't leave tips, you're lucky if they pay the check at all without "dining and dashing", and to top it all off, they will probably even have the nerve to grab a few tips off of other tables on their way out the door too. Similarly, I've waited on rather large groups of "all men" where one person picked up the whole check and left a rather crappy tip relative to the total check. Also, some of the advice in the article is way off. Don't squat down when taking people's orders, it looks ridiculous and it comes off condescending like you're treating them like children or the elderly. And for the love of god, do not get all touchy feely with your guests. I know the article says to not be "creepy", but there is no way to do this and *not* be creepy - plus it's blatantly obvious you are trying to kiss up to them for a bigger tip. One piece of advice in particular was way off. It says to not put "0" in the tip box if you don't plan to leave a tip. Actually, yes you should, including when you prefer to leave the tip as cash instead. Otherwise the disgruntled server could fill in any old tip themselves and assume you will never notice it after the fact. Even if you wrote the total in at the bottom, the could come up with a tip amount that totals up to something that would be easy to forge in the total at the bottom by changing one of the numbers around, like changing a "1" to a "7" for example, if they wrote in a "6" tip. They mention you can get better service from flight attendants by tipping them, but I was always told that flight attendants weren't allowed to accept tips from passengers. I tried to tip once or twice on flights, while ordering drinks, and they politely declined and told me they were not allowed to take tips.
I never skimp on tips when tipping just to save money. My reasoning? That's like going into a store and only paying part of the price tag. I figure tipping into my overall cost because I'm being provided with a service. I may give a lower tip based on service, but I still tip because I know those people are trying to make a living, too. I would feel like I was stealing if I didn't tip people correctly.
I rarely tip and I have never seen tipping as a standard or normal thing to do. I will only tip if I have received exemplary service that has made my experience much better than it would have been without that person. Generally speaking, this is not very often at all. These people are still paid a wage, so it's not like they're living from the tips.
I live in Europe now, where tipping is not nearly as common/extravagant as in the US. When I lived in the US I always tipped at least 10% (I was a poor college student when I started going out to restaurants and bars), but I really hated it. I always tip because I know the servers rely on the money, but I think a system that allows servers to get paid under minimum wage because the culture is to tip them is ridiculous. They should be paid a fair wage and I'll tip them if they provided outstanding service. Why am I tipping someone just for taking my order and not being mean about it? If you're a waiter/ess, your job is to be friendly and helpful. No one deserves a tip simply for doing their job....But if they're getting paid grossly under minimum wage, of course I will tip them.
Thanks for sharing this article! I agree with what you're saying. And honestly, I often found that it was the people who you judged ahead of time (assuming they wouldn't tip well or that they would tip well) who ended up proving you wrong lol. I would never change a tip from 0 to something else, but yeah I see what you mean. Wow. lol Are you from the US? Did you know that in the US they are often only paid a couple of dollars an hour? So they DO rely on the tips? I made $2.83 an hour when I waitressed. That is still the current rate in the state of Pennsylvania. You may want to re-look at your practices
You're not understanding how "tipping" works in the US. Just forget about the word "tip" all together, because what you are really doing is paying the employee to wait on you. You are paying their wages. The restaurant industry has successfully lobbied to get exemptions from the minimum wage requirements, with the understanding that the employees will make up for that difference with "tips" to bring them to at least minimum wage for being there and working. That is how they can get away with only paying them $2.13 an hour. They are *supposed* to fill in the difference if the employees don't actually make minimum age once tips are factored in, but they never do that. Instead they try to scare their servers into claiming they made at least 8% of their total sales for the day in "tips" and won't let them claim anything less, so they don't have to pay them the difference if they didn't make any money. You're not entitled to free service when you go out to eat. That is beyond inconsiderate to have a person wait on you then pay them nothing for their time.
My buddies & I tip 20-30% when we drink and the waiters / waitresses heep it happening and we never have to wait. They keep our glasses full whether it's beer or hard liquor. Great tipping can result in free drinks or an occasional free pitcher. So's a good word about the great service to the Manager.
Where I live it's usual for the establishments to charge 10% of your bill as a tip, and then you can add an extra amount if you would like. At the same time you could refuse to pay for the 10% if you want, and they are obligated to remove it from your bill. I will usually pay for the 10% and that's it. If the service is outstanding then I'll add some extra, otherwise 10% is pretty standard around here.
I tip because it is the polite thing to do. However. I am not fond of it. Why should i pay someone extra to do a jib that they are already getting payed for. I think that is ridiculous. I can't think of many jobs that allow people to accept tips. I think it is not fair. I have turned down a god bit of tips because my company does not allow it.
I try not to skimp on the tips...if I don't have enough money to tip properly, I'm probably not going to go out at all. I don't think it's fair to people who are relying on tips for me to just be looking to save a few bucks, you know? It's a big deal for some people who rely on them.
I have to agree with this. I think it is ridiculous too. I work hard for my money, why should i give it away to someone. I do not get tips for working hard at my job. Why should i tip a waiter? They are already getting paid. They are doing a job, not a favor. I refuse to tip unless it is mandatory to eat at the restaurant. I am not cheap. I just believe in fairness. I am paying to eat at the restaurant. the service should be free.
But it's not fair because employees are paid $2.83 an hour LOL. Do you think that is fair and would be enough for them to pay bills?
Here in the UK tipping really isn't expected unless you've had excellent service. Waiters and waitresses don't need the tips to survive because they are paid at least a national minimum wage, just like the rest of us who don't get tipped in our office jobs or working in a shop. However, saying that. I do tend to tip even for mediocre service at a restaurant or cafe. I also tip taxi drivers
I tip well when I feel like I received great service. As someone pointed out here, is there really a reason to tip for someone bringing you a coffee to go? Or for bad service? I'll still leave a little something for a bad waiter, being a former one myself and understanding how important tips are, but it'll be far below 20%. People who don't tip obviously don't understand how a waiter/waitress wages work.
I come from a country where tipping is not a generally practiced among the marginalized population. For this reason, most restaurants charge a 10% service charge. If the service is good, I give extra tips. For salon services, I almost always give tips for normal to great service. I experienced bad service, too, like getting a burned scalp after a hair rebond treatment and wounds from pedicure. Services such as these did not get any tips from me. Doing so will just reward bad service.
Servers only make $2-3 an hour. Some of them even have to tip out the bartenders, hostesses, bus boys, etc. based off of a percentage of their nightly sales, regardless of if they got good tips or not. I do think that restaurants should have to pay their servers a decent enough wage that customers don't have to tip, but that's neither here nor there... That said, I waited tables for 5 years and am always an excellent tipper. If the server is really good, I'll tip as much as 25%. Average service gets 15-20%, rounded up. Poor servers don't get anything from me, though. I am understanding if it takes someone a while because the restaurant is busy or something...I've been there, done that, and I know that sometimes servers can't really help it if they're understaffed or if a huge rush comes in. If I see them cutting up, talking, playing, on the phone or outside smoking cigarettes and I'm not getting the service that I deserve (and I'm really not that picky), I might leave a dollar max, no matter how much my bill is. I don't go out to eat if I don't have enough money to leave a tip, though.
If I am going to a restaurant to sit down and eat, I always make sure I have enough to leave a tip. Also in the casino I always tip the servers that bring the drinks to you at a slot machine. I don't drink alcohol so I don't go to bars but if I did, I would tip the bartender too. I believe that waiters and waitresses should get paid more then they do. I appreciate them bringing out a meal that I ordered and I always base the amount of the tip on how good the service was. I mean if they are friendly and helpful, they will get a much better tip. Mistakes happen so I don't hold a little mistake against anyone (I make plenty mistakes myself), but if they do not handle the mistake well then I will possibly tip them less. Like if they get an attitude about it. Usually I do a little over 20% when the service is friendly and good. Now if they go out of their way to be exceptional or if our table was a bit of a pain for any reason (I mean we were a pain in the butt in our opinion) then it will definitely be more then 20%. It all boils down to the service on how much, but I would never go to a place and tip less just to save money. I would stay home or go to a fast food place if I couldn't afford a tip. Now a cocktail server at a casino usually gets $1-$3 for a drink from me. Depends on the service and admittedly how many singles I have. But I was a cocktail server before and know that $1 a drink from several people can add up. And I would never ask for a free drink from them if I didn't at least have $1.
