Tipping in the service industry

Vedderlution_Baby

Heineken Helen wrote:

Fair enough but if this is how you work, I'm not sure you should let foreigners away with it. I'm pretty sure most people know about the tipping culture in the States. Sure there's the odd time where you're going to forget, but all in all we know.

I'm not blaming YOU or waiters or bar staff... but I think it's ridiculous that this exists. The minimum wage should be enough to live on, like it is here and at home. You should not have to depend on customers to LITERALLY pay your wages :eek: . And whether here or in the states, if a server is rude to me... they'll be LUCKY that I don't tip and simply walk out ignorance is not something I find acceptable.

It has it perks and it's downfalls. On busy nights you can really bank. On other nights, obviously, not so much. You take the good with the bad.


And as for the foreigner thing...it keeps me sane thinking that they just don't know about the customs or just forgot.

Coopia

Heineken Helen wrote:

How is that in your employers best interest though? You should be glad to have a job the way the economies are going! If you agree to accept a job, I don't think it's up to you which client's you serve quicker than others... it's a ridiculous way of doing things. And if the government had it like it is everywhere else this wouldn't even be a thread.

Again, we aren't talking about what is in the employers best interest here. The system makes it necessary for the employees making $2 an hour to do what is in their best interest. Servers small hourly wage usually doesn't even cover our income taxes, so not only are our paychecks $0, we usually end up owing extra taxes at the end of the year. Therefore, the tips are the only income we see. If I have 5 tables and I know from prior experience that one isn't going to tip me (even if the service is excellent) there is nothing wrong with me giving a larger share of my time and attention to the other 4 tables. Bottom line is, I would like to get paid for my work. I don't give a damn about my employer, beyond doing something stupid that will lose me my job. If they want me to spend more energy on people who are not going to leave a tip, they can pay me a decent wage (which they are not going to do).

The system is how it is, and there is no point arguing it. I'm not saying it creates an atmosphere where tippers and non tippers should receive the same service, in fact it is quite the opposite. If you sell a product in another industry, and customer 1 is willing to pay $100, and customer 2 is willing to pay $1000, customer 2 is going to get more quality or quantity for their money. The same goes in the service industry. It is in the employees best interest to spend their time on tables that are going to allow them to take home the most $.

I don't think this thread was meant to discuss how stupid the system is set up either. You notice that no one is arguing with anyone on that point, yet tip haters bring it up every time they want to make a point.

TransplantedNewf

When i turned legal, my dad taught me a very valuable lesson - tip FIRST.

Whenever i order my first drink at a bar, i hand the bartender a $20 tip.(sometimes $50 if i know i'm out for a long time) That way, i've made sure i've tipped for the rest of the night and the bartender always remembers me when i get to the bar for another. Works every time

Heineken Helen

Coopia wrote:

I don't think this thread was meant to discuss how stupid the system is set up either. You notice that no one is arguing with anyone on that point, yet tip haters bring it up every time they want to make a point.

ah I'm a 'tip hater'???|? I've clarified that I tip and I probably tip even better than most of you :eek: I don't hate tipping... but it should only be a tip... to say the server's done a good job and to give them a bit extra. It should NOT be compulsory. And WHY should we not discuss how stupid the system is? That's where the problem lies so that's exactly what should be discussed.

Heineken Helen

Vedderlution_Baby! wrote:

It has it perks and it's downfalls. On busy nights you can really bank. On other nights, obviously, not so much. You take the good with the bad.


And as for the foreigner thing...it keeps me sane thinking that they just don't know about the customs or just forgot.

ah i know... when I worked in the restaurant. Some nights I'd walk away with up to £50 and other nights I'd only get £2/3 but that's ON TOP of my decent but minimum wage... and I DIDN'T have to pay tax on it.

Coopia

Heineken Helen wrote:

ah I'm a 'tip hater'???|? I've clarified that I tip and I probably tip even better than most of you :eek: I don't hate tipping... but it should only be a tip... to say the server's done a good job and to give them a bit extra. It should NOT be compulsory. And WHY should we not discuss how stupid the system is? That's where the problem lies so that's exactly what should be discussed.

I was simply stating that most of the tip haters use that as their only argument... not meaning to point any fingers at you.

If this thread was titled "Why won't the restaurants in America just pay minimum wage so I don't have to tip?" then we could/should discuss the system all day. Problem is that:
1. Everyone would quickly be in agreement that it isn't the best way to do it, and the thread wouldn't really go anywhere, and
2. This thread was started to discuss the appropriate amount to tip (in today's system, not in a perfect world)

Heineken Helen

Coopia wrote:

I was simply stating that most of the tip haters use that as their only argument... not meaning to point any fingers at you.

If this thread was titled "Why won't the restaurants in America just pay minimum wage so I don't have to tip?" then we could/should discuss the system all day. Problem is that:
1. Everyone would quickly be in agreement that it isn't the best way to do it, and the thread wouldn't really go anywhere, and
2. This thread was started to discuss the appropriate amount to tip (in today's system, not in a perfect world)

but isn't that where the problem lies... that people simply ignore where the problem IS and focus on those who rightly think the system's disgusting. It's like everything else, if you go along with it, nothing's gonna change :( and we'll be having this same discussion in 20 years.

Binaural

I think tipping should be done. Don't get me wrong, if the bartender is shitty then don't tip, its meant to be a reflection on their standard of service. I work in a bar and there's plenty of things I do that I don't have to but I do them anyway. You are paying for the product, the service is an extra and thats why I tip. All a waiter or waitress has to do is take your order and bring your food over to your table and all a bartender is supposed to do for you is set the drink on the counter and take your money, so when the person does more than that and provides a good level of service then theyve earned a tip.

Coopia

It's a big country, it's been done this way for a long time, and in the larger scope of things, the majority of the people here don't really see a problem with it because it is the only way they have ever known. If we were talking about human rights violations, it might be worth it to give a crap, but it is only the service industry. As it stands, it is not worth an ounce of my effort to try to reform the system, because I really just don't care.

And again, I'm not saying the system shouldn't be discussed. However, it should be discussed in a thread started for that reason... not in a thread about what is a customary tip.

_Crazy_Mary_

Heineken Helen wrote:

ah i know... when I worked in the restaurant. Some nights I'd walk away with up to £50 and other nights I'd only get £2/3 but that's ON TOP of my decent but minimum wage... and I DIDN'T have to pay tax on it.

I make a decent hourly wage - $9/hour. And I pay taxes on my tips. By law, we are required to claim any and all income. People who don't claim their tips are cheating the system.

Hinny

_Crazy_Mary_ wrote:

I make a decent hourly wage - $9/hour. And I pay taxes on my tips. By law, we are required to claim any and all income. People who don't claim their tips are cheating the system.

Sounds like a system that deserves to be cheated on. How is the tax man supposed to know how much you got in tips? What if you just so happened to serve a lot of Steve Buscemis and Dunkmans and Me and foreign argumentative fucks whose idea of tipping is pushing over a cow in a field?

Jearlpam0925

hartamh wrote:

As for me, it really depends on the service its self.. I've had some really bad waitresses, one was falling asleep on our booth

Falling asleep? Were you in a diner like the one in Fear & Loathing and the waitress was a heroin addict? Sheesh.... On top of that I find it funny how complicated some of these arguments have gotten as to how the people should be paid...Really makes me laugh.

It's this simple - the only time not to tip is if you're doing all the work, or your service is downright awful. Be a respectable individual and tip for the love of God, man.

_Crazy_Mary_

Hinny wrote:

Sounds like a system that deserves to be cheated on. How is the tax man supposed to know how much you got in tips? What if you just so happened to serve a lot of Steve Buscemis and Dunkmans and Me and foreign argumentative fucks whose idea of tipping is pushing over a cow in a field?

...well, somebody has to feed the homeless...

dunkman

Milestone wrote:

1) When you call in a to-go order to a restaruant and go there to pick it up.......are you required to tip the person who rings you up and hands you the box of food?

easy. I'd tip no-one.

Milestone wrote:

2) If I order a Budweiser from a bartender, they crack the top open for me and hand me my bottle....why should I tip them? Bartenders make more than the $2.13 per hour a waitress makes.

again... i'd not tip any of the above.

dunkman

Binaural wrote:

You are paying for the product, the service is an extra and thats why I tip.

if paying for the product i want to pay supermarket product prices. so one pint of Guinness will be about half the price.. I'm already paying for the service as a pint is at least double the price in a pub as it is in a shop. that's the service bit and I've already paid it, i see no reason to give someone who is being paid to do his job an extra payment just for getting a glass of beer and walking to the cashpoint?

Jearlpam0925

dunkman wrote:

if paying for the product i want to pay supermarket product prices. so one pint of Guinness will be about half the price.. I'm already paying for the service as a pint is at least double the price in a pub as it is in a shop. that's the service bit and I've already paid it, i see no reason to give someone who is being paid to do his job an extra payment just for getting a glass of beer and walking to the cashpoint?

No, it's not. That's so the bar owner can charge twice the amount of the product so he can make an ass load of money as usually draft beer alone pays for the bar's bills, expenses, etc. The employees see none of that. Again, you're on the other side of the pond so things I guess can get lost in perception. But for all the cheap assholes here in the states - start tipping, ya chincy bastards!!

dunkman

Jearlpam0925 wrote:

No, it's not. That's so the bar owner can charge twice the amount of the product so he can make an ass load of money as usually draft beer alone pays for the bar's bills, expenses, etc. The employees see none of that. Again, you're on the other side of the pond so things I guess can get lost in perception. But for all the cheap assholes here in the states - start tipping, ya chincy bastards!!

the employees get paid to do their job.. the owner makes money... you've just described the perfect business plan right there.

Jearlpam0925

dunkman wrote:

the employees get paid to do their job.. the owner makes money... you've just described the perfect business plan right there.

This has got to be the most ridiculous ongoing thread. And now I let it be because there's no reasoning with people - not directed at you, but to the Yanks who just don't get it. To them I say good luck getting prompt and quick service. And don't say I never told ya that if you chum up with a certain establishment that you can get more benefits from it than you may think. End rant.

decides2dream

Coopia wrote:

It's a big country, it's been done this way for a long time, and in the larger scope of things, the majority of the people here don't really see a problem with it because it is the only way they have ever known. If we were talking about human rights violations, it might be worth it to give a crap, but it is only the service industry. As it stands, it is not worth an ounce of my effort to try to reform the system, because I really just don't care.

And again, I'm not saying the system shouldn't be discussed. However, it should be discussed in a thread started for that reason... not in a thread about what is a customary tip.

excellent post.


it is what it is....and there are FAR more important areas in this country that require reform that our tipping customs really don't register as 'important.'


as a general rule, i tip 20%. if i receive subpar service, then i adjust...or do away with in rare situations...the tip according to such. if i am part of a large party or have received unbelivably exemplary service, may tip more.


as to the whole 'argument'...obviously, it is optional. don't want to tip...don't. i follow the customs of wherever i am at and try to respect that. if someone does not want to do the same, their choice. i couldn't care less although i feel bad for the servers they encounter, but c'est la vie. i am sure it balances out in time.

Hinny

dunkman wrote:

if paying for the product i want to pay supermarket product prices. so one pint of Guinness will be about half the price.. I'm already paying for the service as a pint is at least double the price in a pub as it is in a shop. that's the service bit and I've already paid it, i see no reason to give someone who is being paid to do his job an extra payment just for getting a glass of beer and walking to the cashpoint?

On top of that, chances are the idiot behind the counter has no fucking idea how to pour a Guinness properly, and therefore doesn't deserve a tip