Tipping Culture Where You Live

mcgruff10

Got a bottle of wine yesterday for dinner and there was a tip cup for the cashier.  Like, what?! 

lastexitlondon

I only ask because if tax free and a cash perk I get that. If tax is coming off a tip and the price is set already low because a tip is assumed? Or the price is high enough and the tip makes it higher 

mace1229

lastexitlondon said:

I only ask because if tax free and a cash perk I get that. If tax is coming off a tip and the price is set already low because a tip is assumed? Or the price is high enough and the tip makes it higher 

You are supposed to claim tips. But do you really think that a server or bartender who makes $300 cash a shift is going to accurately claim all of that on their returns? My friends in college who were servers certainly didn't, and they got mostly cash tips back then.

Now, restaurants that have you enter all tips into a pool and split with the kitchen staff, or tips charged on a credit card, I'm not sure how that works. There might be a paper trail (W2) that keeps track of it and makes reporting it unavoidable, I have no idea on that.

mace1229

PJ_Soul said:

HughFreakingDillon said:

F Me In The Brain said:

Also, I know everyone is different but I'm very surprised to see how many people here feel pressured by the option to tip.  As a few have pointed out, just bypass and don't tip or put Other and tip what you like.  Wonder why this makes people uptight, anxious, or in some way to feel badly.
I don't give a fuck one way or the other.  If I want to tip, I do.  If I don't, I don't.  

I don't think this option is going away so I hope that folks can get comfortable with saying no if that is what they want, and not feeling like they need to take out their feelings on folks who depend on tips in more traditional settings due to the new tech options in untraditional tipping settings.

the passive aggressiveness of the "would you like any change?", even when I give two fifties on a $60 bill. lol. um, YEAH

That's the rude way to say it, and servers should know better. I was a server for years all through post-secondary, and the polite way is to just say, "I'll be right back with your change." Then have that opportunity to say, "no, that's okay, no change!" if they want to give it to you as a tip, but they aren't being asked for a tip at all.

The worst is when they don't even ask and don't bring back the change at all. Has only happened a few times, and its when the bill was maybe $30 and I give them $40. Wait around for my change that never comes until I finally have to ask for it. 

Gern Blansten

mace1229 said:

lastexitlondon said:

I only ask because if tax free and a cash perk I get that. If tax is coming off a tip and the price is set already low because a tip is assumed? Or the price is high enough and the tip makes it higher 

You are supposed to claim tips. But do you really think that a server or bartender who makes $300 cash a shift is going to accurately claim all of that on their returns? My friends in college who were servers certainly didn't, and they got mostly cash tips back then.

Now, restaurants that have you enter all tips into a pool and split with the kitchen staff, or tips charged on a credit card, I'm not sure how that works. There might be a paper trail (W2) that keeps track of it and makes reporting it unavoidable, I have no idea on that.

Restaurants are required to police the tips. I'm sure some slip by but it's on the employer to have them reported.

mace1229

Gern Blansten said:

mace1229 said:

lastexitlondon said:

I only ask because if tax free and a cash perk I get that. If tax is coming off a tip and the price is set already low because a tip is assumed? Or the price is high enough and the tip makes it higher 

You are supposed to claim tips. But do you really think that a server or bartender who makes $300 cash a shift is going to accurately claim all of that on their returns? My friends in college who were servers certainly didn't, and they got mostly cash tips back then.

Now, restaurants that have you enter all tips into a pool and split with the kitchen staff, or tips charged on a credit card, I'm not sure how that works. There might be a paper trail (W2) that keeps track of it and makes reporting it unavoidable, I have no idea on that.

Restaurants are required to police the tips. I'm sure some slip by but it's on the employer to have them reported.

I'm sure the cashless age has made it easier to track. 20 years ago when it was mostly cash, was too easy to just pocket it and not claim it. 

Gern Blansten

mace1229 said:

Gern Blansten said:

mace1229 said:

lastexitlondon said:

I only ask because if tax free and a cash perk I get that. If tax is coming off a tip and the price is set already low because a tip is assumed? Or the price is high enough and the tip makes it higher 

You are supposed to claim tips. But do you really think that a server or bartender who makes $300 cash a shift is going to accurately claim all of that on their returns? My friends in college who were servers certainly didn't, and they got mostly cash tips back then.

Now, restaurants that have you enter all tips into a pool and split with the kitchen staff, or tips charged on a credit card, I'm not sure how that works. There might be a paper trail (W2) that keeps track of it and makes reporting it unavoidable, I have no idea on that.

Restaurants are required to police the tips. I'm sure some slip by but it's on the employer to have them reported.

I'm sure the cashless age has made it easier to track. 20 years ago when it was mostly cash, was too easy to just pocket it and not claim it. 

I tipped some moving guys about 15 years ago when we last moved. The main guy wanted me to drive to an ATM and get cash to tip them rather than charge it because he said they wouldn't get the tip until the next paycheck.

When I told him I wasn't going to do that he flipped out and stomped off. 

But yeah...definitely easier to track now and I'm guessing most cash tips don't make it on the report. 

Bentleyspop

mace1229 said:

lastexitlondon said:

Are tips exempt from tax?. Is this why it's a big thing?

No, they aren’t exempt. But I guarantee most people don’t claim them when you tip in cash. I don’t know how the paper trail works when you tip using your card, but if it’s not on any official record they aren’t being claimed either.

It differs from state to state but credit card tips usually taxout at about 40%.
Obviously cash tips no tax as almost one declares them.
However if you are a tipped worker and you want to buy a house, car, etc you have to make daily deposits in a bank to create an earnings trail which is then usually taxable.

mace1229

Bentleyspop said:

mace1229 said:

lastexitlondon said:

Are tips exempt from tax?. Is this why it's a big thing?

No, they aren’t exempt. But I guarantee most people don’t claim them when you tip in cash. I don’t know how the paper trail works when you tip using your card, but if it’s not on any official record they aren’t being claimed either.

It differs from state to state but credit card tips usually taxout at about 40%.
Obviously cash tips no tax as almost one declares them.
However if you are a tipped worker and you want to buy a house, car, etc you have to make daily deposits in a bank to create an earnings trail which is then usually taxable.

Even in states where your hourly pay is $2 because tips is considered your income, its still taxed at 40%?
I could see if that wasn't your primary salary, like hair stylist, the tip is a bonus and taxed s such. But if the tips are the majority of your wages, and you don't even make minimum wage without them, I'm surprised it's that high and not taxed as normal income. 

Gern Blansten

mace1229 said:

Bentleyspop said:

mace1229 said:

lastexitlondon said:

Are tips exempt from tax?. Is this why it's a big thing?

No, they aren’t exempt. But I guarantee most people don’t claim them when you tip in cash. I don’t know how the paper trail works when you tip using your card, but if it’s not on any official record they aren’t being claimed either.

It differs from state to state but credit card tips usually taxout at about 40%.
Obviously cash tips no tax as almost one declares them.
However if you are a tipped worker and you want to buy a house, car, etc you have to make daily deposits in a bank to create an earnings trail which is then usually taxable.

Even in states where your hourly pay is $2 because tips is considered your income, its still taxed at 40%?
I could see if that wasn't your primary salary, like hair stylist, the tip is a bonus and taxed s such. But if the tips are the majority of your wages, and you don't even make minimum wage without them, I'm surprised it's that high and not taxed as normal income. 

It's not taxed at 40%....it shows up on your W-2 as wages so it's whatever tax bracket you are in.

You do have to pay SS/Medicare on it though

cutz

BLACK35 said:

I got some gas this past weekend at a local station and when I paid with debit card, the machine asked if I wanted to leave a tip. That was an easy NO.
but tipping for getting fuel, that’s a little ridiculous!

WOW !!

Is it getting so out of hand that people will stop Tipping, or rarely tip? 

PJ_Soul

mace1229 said:

lastexitlondon said:

Are tips exempt from tax?. Is this why it's a big thing?

No, they aren’t exempt. But I guarantee most people don’t claim them when you tip in cash. I don’t know how the paper trail works when you tip using your card, but if it’s not on any official record they aren’t being claimed either.

Back in the day, like the '90s, nobody claimed any of their tips (it was truly awesome as someone in the industry during university, lol). But since then they have completely cracked down on it in Canada. Any business with a system that makes it easy to get away with not claiming tips is really putting itself and its employees at risk.

Malroth

Every discussion on tipping needs this scene included.  Literally changed my young 18 yr old mind long ago.

https://youtu.be/M4sTSIYzDIk

cutz

Tipped out? Tapped out? Businesses have ways to make you leave more.

November 23, 2023 

When Darryl Tom ate at a

ewery in suburban Chicago lately he purchased a few of costly bottles of barrel aged beer a sandwich to go along with a beer while he waited The bill came to eighty and also probably the lowest suggested tip shown on the restaurants iPad was twenty or maybe sixteen

The request felt egregious on several levels stated Tom a lawyer that has learned his tipping etiquette Not only was there little to no service though the sum was estimated on the after tax total

Conventional etiquette doesnt need a tip for takeout Though in case the purchase is actually huge complex or maybe

ought to you curbside by staff then a ten gratuity is okay experts declare And tipping is incessantly calculated over the pretax amount generally fifteen to twenty for sit down meals

Tipping requests have erupted in the past few years Everywhere you go a jar a receipt or maybe a checkout screen displays a suggested amount pressuring you to tip Businesses usually immediately ask for suggestions even in case it s not justified and include a very helpful guide with different proportions to help make the math simpler

Though buyer beware those prompts can result in overtipping experts say

DoorDash warns buyers since whether they dont consist of an initial idea for their distribution motorists they can anticipate longer delays for the orders of theirs That change caused a ruckus on social networking with several clients asking why they must tip before knowing in case they ll obtain service that is good or maybe in case they need to be the ones bearing the brunt of compensating wages for DoorDash

Historically tips have been created for services properly performed said Rob Burnette chief executive and investment adviser at financial planning firm Outlook Financial Center in Troy Ohio However it s morphed into an expectation by servers not simply to tip but tip generously or perhaps they ll call you out

Other means companies are tugging in larger tips

Calculating hints on the after tax length rather than the pretax whole Tipping should be pretax because tax rates differ from city to community and have absolutely nothing to do with service Burnette said

Calculating tips with charges as a charge card processing fee included

Calculating tips on after tax amount AND with fees included

Including a suggested tip manual according to the after tax amount after fee and after an automatic gratuity is included

Asking for suggestions when there s little to no program like at a coffee store counter or even when customers acquire a takeout order

After over 2 years of increased inflation companies feel squashed and also searching for ways to pass on costs by charging credit card processing fees and also requiring far more ideas for staff experts say

In case workers earn larger tips then companies might not need to pay higher wages

Servers for instance are usually given substantially less than minimum wage due to the hope that the tips of theirs will drive them to or perhaps above minimum wage In case they dont generate more than enough to reach minimum wage the law demands the company to recover the difference More ideas ka10ka would imply smaller and zero difference that the organization has to treat

Places like California Minnesota Washington and Washington D C need companies to do exactly that & ka10ka the city of Chicago recently passed a measure to boost the minimum wage for tipped workers

Tipped employees in states which removed the subminimum wage enjoy larger earnings deal with less harassment on the project and are not as likely to live in poverty based on Human Rights Watch citing research from The Economic Policy Institute the One Fair Wage plan and others

Others have argued that wages might have risen for those employees but tips fell Paying tipped employees higher wages reduces the tip percentages those workers get Michael Lynn professor at the Cornell Faculty School of Hotel Administration published in a 2020 study

Consumers however might anticipate higher prices 80 % of the 315 Chicago restaurant owners surveyed by the Illinois Restaurant Association in August stated they d raise menu prices and eighty nine said they may add automatic service charges and charges to consumer checks

Where would be the major tippers Tipping point Best and worst states for tips

Check your bills do your personal mathematics rather than being dependent on the suggested tips and know tipping etiquette

It s an individual phone call in case you wish to tip a good deal Burnett said If you have great service take proper care of your server

Tom the Brewery consumer in a tip was left by Chicago But he provided a custom tip of six rather than the suggested sixteen dollars.

F Me In The Brain

Topical article, but a difficult read. What site published something so disjointed and poorly written?

mickeyrat

F Me In The Brain said:

Topical article, but a difficult read. What site published something so disjointed and poorly written?

https://www.gethealthydeals.com/blog/2023/11/23/tipped-out-tapped-out-businesses-have-ways-to-make-you-leave-more/

F Me In The Brain

mickeyrat said:

F Me In The Brain said:

Topical article, but a difficult read. What site published something so disjointed and poorly written?

https://www.gethealthydeals.com/blog/2023/11/23/tipped-out-tapped-out-businesses-have-ways-to-make-you-leave-more/

Thanks -- looks/reads like trash on their site as well.  Oh well....

Gern Blansten

It does seem like the tip % should cap out somewhere. If I eat a $200 dinner at Ruth's Chris the waiter didn't do any more work than a $60 dinner at Texas Roadhouse. Yet the tip would be $40 vs $12....doesn't make sense.

F Me In The Brain

Wait staff at high end places are typically much better than at bargain chains.  Exceptions to that of course, but my experience has been that is the case.

Zod

Gern Blansten said:

It does seem like the tip % should cap out somewhere. If I eat a $200 dinner at Ruth's Chris the waiter didn't do any more work than a $60 dinner at Texas Roadhouse. Yet the tip would be $40 vs $12....doesn't make sense.

It's the same when you tip the food delivery guy.   If you ordered a meal for one, meal for two, or meal for four, it's about the same effort, drive to the restaurant, grab it, drop it off at the house, but the tip multiplies.

To be fair I don't think tipping makes sense anymore at all.  It used to be for tipping amazing service at restaurants.  It's rapidly expanded to all sorts of sectors.   In restaurants it's no longer tipping the server, they have to tip out and share with the other staff.  It's subsidizing the whole operation.

Tips kind of went from being tips to being an add on fee for too many things :(

mace1229

Gern Blansten said:

It does seem like the tip % should cap out somewhere. If I eat a $200 dinner at Ruth's Chris the waiter didn't do any more work than a $60 dinner at Texas Roadhouse. Yet the tip would be $40 vs $12....doesn't make sense.

I’ve thought of this before. When I was in Italy about 12 years ago, they had a small cover charge at some of the restaurants, and then no tip.
This makes sense because like your example, but even picture the same restaurant. I can order a basic sandwich and water and my tip my might only be $2, where someone else can order a nicer entree and a couple beers and their tip is $8 for essentially the same service.

Gern Blansten

Zod said:

Gern Blansten said:

It does seem like the tip % should cap out somewhere. If I eat a $200 dinner at Ruth's Chris the waiter didn't do any more work than a $60 dinner at Texas Roadhouse. Yet the tip would be $40 vs $12....doesn't make sense.

It's the same when you tip the food delivery guy.   If you ordered a meal for one, meal for two, or meal for four, it's about the same effort, drive to the restaurant, grab it, drop it off at the house, but the tip multiplies.

To be fair I don't think tipping makes sense anymore at all.  It used to be for tipping amazing service at restaurants.  It's rapidly expanded to all sorts of sectors.   In restaurants it's no longer tipping the server, they have to tip out and share with the other staff.  It's subsidizing the whole operation.

Tips kind of went from being tips to being an add on fee for too many things :(

Shared tips don't bother me...busboys/host/hostess/kitchen should share in tips as they help keep service moving as well.

And typically only 10% of a waitress' tip is shared based on what I see

Gern Blansten

F Me In The Brain said:

Wait staff at high end places are typically much better than at bargain chains.  Exceptions to that of course, but my experience has been that is the case.

I get that but they are still just punching your order into a computer and carrying plates.

F Me In The Brain

Gern Blansten said:

F Me In The Brain said:

Wait staff at high end places are typically much better than at bargain chains.  Exceptions to that of course, but my experience has been that is the case.

I get that but they are still just punching your order into a computer and carrying plates.

Perhaps for many.  Mrs FMe has many dietary restrictions and a good server who cares vs an average server makes all of the difference in my experience,  and of course my wife's. 

HughFreakingDillon

Zod said:

Gern Blansten said:

It does seem like the tip % should cap out somewhere. If I eat a $200 dinner at Ruth's Chris the waiter didn't do any more work than a $60 dinner at Texas Roadhouse. Yet the tip would be $40 vs $12....doesn't make sense.

It's the same when you tip the food delivery guy.   If you ordered a meal for one, meal for two, or meal for four, it's about the same effort, drive to the restaurant, grab it, drop it off at the house, but the tip multiplies.

To be fair I don't think tipping makes sense anymore at all.  It used to be for tipping amazing service at restaurants.  It's rapidly expanded to all sorts of sectors.   In restaurants it's no longer tipping the server, they have to tip out and share with the other staff.  It's subsidizing the whole operation.

Tips kind of went from being tips to being an add on fee for too many things :(

if anything, this is how it should be. as a short order cook for many years, it busted my balls that every single tip that a waitress got, given how they'd always freak out with joy when they found out I was working, the 5% they claimed they tipped out should have been 50. easily. half the time they sucked at their job. they were just pretty and talkative and they got tips regardless, but the bigger tips came with the better meals. they ALWAYS got better tips when I worked. they all told me this all the time. and the fucking dishpig got the same 5% share as me. th waitresses had an extra $200 a night to go to the bar with, and if I went, I'd end up buying THEM drinks half the time. fucking backwards. 

tipping it typically the whole package. if the meal is shit, but the server was tops, do you tip as much, or at all? but if the meal was great and the server sucked, do I tip? I would if I knew the kitchen got it. 

F Me In The Brain

In Canada perhaps.  As discussed previously, in most states in the US, servers don't get paid living wages.  

PJ_Soul

Gern Blansten said:

It does seem like the tip % should cap out somewhere. If I eat a $200 dinner at Ruth's Chris the waiter didn't do any more work than a $60 dinner at Texas Roadhouse. Yet the tip would be $40 vs $12....doesn't make sense.

I have to disagree in a general sense. The people who serve at super high-end restaurants have more expertise overall, and really do work harder. They are usually more on top of everything, know the little fine details that raise the experience, they know WAY more about the menus and the wines and stuff like that, and they normally have put much more time and effort into the industry. The majority of them are career servers vs those who are in the industry on their way to other careers.  same goes with the chefs in the kitchen and the bartenders, who all get a piece of the pie.

Zod

HughFreakingDillon said:

Zod said:

Gern Blansten said:

It does seem like the tip % should cap out somewhere. If I eat a $200 dinner at Ruth's Chris the waiter didn't do any more work than a $60 dinner at Texas Roadhouse. Yet the tip would be $40 vs $12....doesn't make sense.

It's the same when you tip the food delivery guy.   If you ordered a meal for one, meal for two, or meal for four, it's about the same effort, drive to the restaurant, grab it, drop it off at the house, but the tip multiplies.

To be fair I don't think tipping makes sense anymore at all.  It used to be for tipping amazing service at restaurants.  It's rapidly expanded to all sorts of sectors.   In restaurants it's no longer tipping the server, they have to tip out and share with the other staff.  It's subsidizing the whole operation.

Tips kind of went from being tips to being an add on fee for too many things :(

if anything, this is how it should be. as a short order cook for many years, it busted my balls that every single tip that a waitress got, given how they'd always freak out with joy when they found out I was working, the 5% they claimed they tipped out should have been 50. easily. half the time they sucked at their job. they were just pretty and talkative and they got tips regardless, but the bigger tips came with the better meals. they ALWAYS got better tips when I worked. they all told me this all the time. and the fucking dishpig got the same 5% share as me. th waitresses had an extra $200 a night to go to the bar with, and if I went, I'd end up buying THEM drinks half the time. fucking backwards. 

tipping it typically the whole package. if the meal is shit, but the server was tops, do you tip as much, or at all? but if the meal was great and the server sucked, do I tip? I would if I knew the kitchen got it. 

To me, how it should be is they price the goods at a price point they can pay the staff fairly, and the price of the good is the price you see advertised.   It feels like tipping went for tipping service, to subsidizing underpaid staff, to now spiraling out of control.    It's just expected, and it's now an expected tack on fee to many things.   I loathe tack on fees.  Just charge and advertise the cost of the thing.