Don't mind tipping, even tip on the high end myself. It's the sense of entitlement some servers have, that they should not only get a tip but a high one on the strength of just being there, that gets me.

Went to a buffet type of place and the busboy has the gall to ask me if I wanted the change when I paid with a $20 (check came to $15) .. Dude, this isn't the Ritz; you're picking up dishes and refilling drinks. You're lucky you're getting a couple of bucks.

/and fark "tip jars"

I eat at the same Chinese buffet 2-3 times a week. The bill comes to $7.22 including tax. I always leave a $2.00 tip (27.5%) for refilling my drink and taking away the dirty dishes.

Waitresses in North Carolina get paid $2.13 an hour.

In before Mr. Pink

Let's see. Dinner out tonite:

1) Drinks were late.
2) Drinks were wrong.
3) Wine was a cab, not a Merlot.
4) No silverware until 5 minutes after the salads arrived.
5) Order was messed up- wrong entree.
6) entree arrived 2 minutes after silverware arrived.

What kind of tip would YOU leave? I left 7%.

as an American tourist i would like to complain about the shiatty food in Britain.

/damnit cant everyone and everywhere be exactly the same?

Understands.

The Great EZE: Don't mind tipping, even tip on the high end myself. It's the sense of entitlement some servers have, that they should not only get a tip but a high one on the strength of just being there, that gets me.

I second that. Cheapskates exist... but if it takes you 20 minutes to come back to my table after I finish eating (or if my drink is empty that long), you should consider yourself lucky you even get a tip. ESPECIALLY if you have a snotty attitude and don't even bother feigning a smile.

What is especially grand is hearing about the poor old waiter/waitress, who makes twice as much an hour on average (including tips, and even IF that's in a location with reduced wages for those who can gain tips) than the person cooking the food.

In my trip to the UK, I was told I didn't have to --in fact, shouldn't-- tip.
I don't think tipping is really a custom over there...

That and when you see a price in the UK, that's what you actually pay... the tax is included, not added in when you get to the register (a fact I grudgingly came back to terms with when I got home). Kinda sucks to have 5-10% added onto the price if you're not expecting it.

I used to work as a barista. Every cent you throw in our tip jars helps, since baristas for some reason are viewed the same as servers. They get paid horribly and are expected to make it all up in tips. Even if it's just the extra change you got back from your drink, it helps a ton.

I got told off in no uncertain terms for trying to tip at my friends local near London. By the publican. He forgave me when I spoke and he realised I was a yank.

Yep, during my days as a waiter, I hated waiting on Brits, too. Terrible tippers, every single one of 'em that came in.

And if someone's come up with the "Black people are terrible tippers" comment by now, I'd like to state for the record that I don't remember ever getting a bad tip from a black customer. But you wouldn't believe how many servers at your average restaurant scurry to the back and pretend that they just can't take a table at the very moment a couple of black people walk in.

mavrick45: as an American tourist i would like to complain about the shiatty food in Britain.

/damnit cant everyone and everywhere be exactly the same?

British breakfast rocks.

buzzvert: Let's see. Dinner out tonite:

1) Drinks were late.
2) Drinks were wrong.
3) Wine was a cab, not a Merlot.
4) No silverware until 5 minutes after the salads arrived.
5) Order was messed up- wrong entree.
6) entree arrived 2 minutes after silverware arrived.

What kind of tip would YOU leave? I left 7%.

Zero.

Unless they have a reason for being that stupid... if I'm literally dealing with a mentally-challenged employee, I could drop a tip. But I've not exactly been to many restaurants that have mentally challenged waiters/waitresses (not by the official definition of mentally challenged, anyway).

I've worked in a number of cafes and restaurants. Right now I'm working in a little cafe/bakery in Evansburg Alberta, a very tiny town. Every day I make about twenty dollars in tips at least. It's really not difficult. If you are polite, prompt and efficient, and most of all make the customer feel as though they are getting special treatment, they will tip.

If you're not getting tips, then you're doing you're job wrong.

Waiters typically make way way more than minimum wage. Easily greater than $10 or $15 an hour, especially during busy hours. And they don't pay taxes on much of that. This waiter is mad because he's used to getting more. But regardless, he's doing quite well for unskilled labor.

I tip the good ones very well, the bad ones %15 and the
entitled lazy ones... zip...

buzzvert: Let's see. Dinner out tonite:

1) Drinks were late.
2) Drinks were wrong.
3) Wine was a cab, not a Merlot.
4) No silverware until 5 minutes after the salads arrived.
5) Order was messed up- wrong entree.
6) entree arrived 2 minutes after silverware arrived.

What kind of tip would YOU leave? I left 7%.

I'm usually pretty good at cutting servers some slack (probably more than I should) but when all of that stuff adds up, you have to wonder what went wrong. If the wine was late and wrong, it's possible that a bartender screwed up - unless you ordered a bottle, you know, something that the server could look at and say, "Okay, that's not right." Who knows what happened w/the silverware. No excuse for the wrong entrees, especially if the server brought them out himself/herself.

I don't know what you're getting at with the entree coming out after the silverware did - unless you'd just started to eat your salads. If I were the server I would've come by and asked if you wanted me to bring the entrees out right away or give it a few minutes until you were done with your salads.

On my first trip to London I remember seeing the sheer joy on the London taxi driver's face when I left him a tip that would be pretty good by US standards. Only later, when I mentioned it to some colleagues, was I was told about the different custom. Felt a little embarrassed; but hey, if it made the guy that happy, then it's worth it.

Black people don't tip well.

/Discuss

Tipping in restaurants in the US and the UK is different. In the US, 15-20% is expected and is the major component of the waiter's income. In the UK 8-10% is the norm and is genuinely a gratuity.

In the US, it's expected for people to tip a wide range of service staff (bartenders, baristas, etc.) whereas in the UK it's generally limited to waiters and bellhops.

It's simply a cultural difference, and the obvious happens - Brits in the Us unwittingly under-tip, and Americans in the UK try to tip people who aren't expecting it.

etymxris: Waiters typically make way way more than minimum wage. Easily greater than $10 or $15 an hour, especially during busy hours.

Really now? I had no idea! Time to live it the fark up!

/hookers and blow
//Not in that order

etymxris: Waiters typically make way way more than minimum wage. Easily greater than $10 or $15 an hour, especially during busy hours. And they don't pay taxes on much of that. This waiter is mad because he's used to getting more. But regardless, he's doing quite well for unskilled labor.

Where in the hell do you work? My cousin made $2.50 an hour in Texas working as a waitress at a family restaurant, and the parents for some reason thought they could always tip her 5% because she didn't freakin' babysit their kids while they ate.

buzzvert: Let's see. Dinner out tonite:

1) Drinks were late.
2) Drinks were wrong.
3) Wine was a cab, not a Merlot.
4) No silverware until 5 minutes after the salads arrived.
5) Order was messed up- wrong entree.
6) entree arrived 2 minutes after silverware arrived.

What kind of tip would YOU leave? I left 7%.

WTF? Drinks & wine at the table. Did you order the wine or just get some plonk from a jug.
Why did you not tell him there was nothing to eat the salad with when he brought the salad.

Walt_Jizzney: Black people don't tip well.

/Discuss

White people are too scared of black people to watch what they actually do closely.

It is not legal to be paid anything less than the federal minimum wage.
If you don't make up the difference between that wage and the lowered wage in tips, your employer must pay you the federal (or state) minimum wage.

Frankly, I have a problem that the law is that way. I'd rather we just have a normal culture, where tips go to those who deserve them (excellent service), and aren't considered "the norm" for any restaurant experience. Current laws allow employers to take too much advantage of the system, allowing them to pay slave wages to keep an operation going.
(and they'll typically fire the people who don't make decent money in tips, so that they make more money and pay less in salary)

buzzvert: Let's see. Dinner out tonite:

1) Drinks were late.
2) Drinks were wrong.
3) Wine was a cab, not a Merlot.
4) No silverware until 5 minutes after the salads arrived.
5) Order was messed up- wrong entree.
6) entree arrived 2 minutes after silverware arrived.

What kind of tip would YOU leave? I left 7%.

The only viable excuse a waiter or waitress has in this situation is if it is extraordinarily busy. When there is not enough staff and a very sudden surge of people then yes, service will be slow and there will be mistakes. As long as you continue to check back with the tables and apologize for their waiting, offer them some water, refill their coffees and assure them that they are not forgotten and their food is coming, they tend to understand.

Otherwise? They aren't doing their job right.

merc16: I used to work as a barista. Every cent you throw in our tip jars helps, since baristas for some reason are viewed the same as servers. They get paid horribly and are expected to make it all up in tips. Even if it's just the extra change you got back from your drink, it helps a ton.

I nver put tips in tip jars. You aren't doing a service you are making coffee that you had to me over a counter. If your coffee shop stiffs you on your pay that is really your problem.

Not to be mean, but the drive through guy at MickeyD's does the same thing you do but gets me a sammich too. I don't tip him.

Didn't starbucks get sued over its tip jars recently

So, I usually tip pretty generously for good service, and I get that the British don't have that same tradition. However, in this case, I wonder what his problem is.

They tipped $7.00, plus his $4.60 that he makes per hour. Assume they took about an hour to eat. Even if he waited on one other couple that hour, and they were ok tippers (say, $10), that's $21.60 an hour, and that's only two tables. $20 an hour isn't that bad, even in NY, considering many have to get by on a lot less.

Walt_Jizzney: Black people don't tip well.

/Discuss

Check out the big brain on Walt...

puffy999: It is not legal to be paid anything less than the federal minimum wage.
If you don't make up the difference between that wage and the lowered wage in tips, your employer must pay you the federal (or state) minimum wage.

Frankly, I have a problem that the law is that way. I'd rather we just have a normal culture, where tips go to those who deserve them (excellent service), and aren't considered "the norm" for any restaurant experience. Current laws allow employers to take too much advantage of the system, allowing them to pay slave wages to keep an operation going.
(and they'll typically fire the people who don't make decent money in tips, so that they make more money and pay less in salary)

Yeah, and you have to jump through farkin' hoops to get your employer to get you that. That happened to me a couple of times during an absolutely dead period (plus they put way too many servers on the floor) and by the time I got my money, it wasn't even worth it.

I wish they'd up the minimum wage for servers, too - counterargument then is that a lot of restaurants would lose money. No excuse for slave labor, though.

buzzvert: Let's see. Dinner out tonite:

1) Drinks were late.
2) Drinks were wrong.
3) Wine was a cab, not a Merlot.
4) No silverware until 5 minutes after the salads arrived.
5) Order was messed up- wrong entree.
6) entree arrived 2 minutes after silverware arrived.

What kind of tip would YOU leave? I left 7%.

Zero. Those of you "tip 20% no matter what" people are only perpetuating bad service. Buzzvert received poor service at best. No service equals no tip in my book. If your financial well-being depends on tips, DO YOUR JOB LIKE IT YOUR FINANCIAL WELL-BEING DEPENDS ON IT!


/owner-operator of two restaurants
//getting replies out of these kicks

feckingmorons: Didn't starbucks get sued over its tip jars recently

Yeah, but that had to do with employers illegally forcing their baristas to share their tips with them.

As a former waiter/bartender/manager at a restaurant...I've experienced good tippers and bad tippers, I've had my share of "bad days" where I've punched in the wrong thing and the wrong drink or appetizer came out.

Here's the deal...if it's wrong, ask the server/bartender to fix it. Simple as that. Because these people work on tips, they're more than happy to fix it because they know it affects the tip in the end.

If you've just had a miserable experience, simply ask to speak to the manager. They don't work on tips and their job performance is based solely on customer experience. They will do their best to ensure you leave happy.

I've seen far too many people get the wrong item, not say anything, then proceed to biatch about it for the rest of the night. Some of these people use this as an excuse not to tip well, they'd prefer to be upset and leave a crappy tip than be satisfied and leave a healthy tip.

GoRedSoxGo: Yeah, and you have to jump through farkin' hoops to get your employer to get you that.

Actually, you don't. You just need to know exactly who to talk to (and you need to be a decent enough accountant wrt your tip money)... if your employer doesn't pay you the federal minimum wage, you can make his life hell.

You may lose your job there, but if your employer is that steadfast against paying minimum wage, it's probably a good idea to find another job anyway.

Also, it's best not leave your tip in the tip jar. The jar is exploited in so many freaking ways. Many times it isn't even a tip jar. It's an unlabeled 'spare change jar' which just goes back to the owners at the end of the night.

Leave your tips on the table if you want it to go back to the person who served you. Or hand it to them personally. Tip jars, in my experience, are just a whole world of trouble.

puffy999It is not legal to be paid anything less than the federal minimum wage.
If you don't make up the difference between that wage and the lowered wage in tips, your employer must pay you the federal (or state) minimum wage.

Perhaps in some states that is true. Texas is a "Right to Work" state. If an employer wants to pay you $1 an hour then he can. You have the right to work or not.

NanashiKnight: Really now? I had no idea! Time to live it the fark up!

merc16: Where in the hell do you work? My cousin made $2.50 an hour in Texas working as a waitress at a family restaurant, and the parents for some reason thought they could always tip her 5% because she didn't freakin' babysit their kids while they ate.

I meant "after tips" of course. If someone is making 2.50/hr after tips, the restaurant must make up the difference.

The math is simple to do. An hour a meal seems about right. Waiting 3 tables at once is hardly unusual or difficult. And an average dinner has got to be at least $40. Even if the tip is just 10%, that's $12/hr on top of whatever base pay they get. If the tip is 20%, then it's $24/hr plus base pay.

For comparison, repair techs at the local mom & pop shop get $8/hr. And while putting together PCs and cleaning viruses hardly requires a degree, it requires more specialized knowledge than waiting tables at least. And they have to pay taxes on every penny they earn.

pseroogy: I've seen far too many people get the wrong item, not say anything, then proceed to biatch about it for the rest of the night.

To be fair, not everybody wants to wait another half hour for dinner, while the rest of their party eats.

On $73.23 my nice, polite couple left me $7. Less than 10%. I knew it.

$7 for what? Do you deserve more because they bought something more expensive on the menu? It required the same amount of work from you than if they had ordered $50 worth of food.

Don't like it? Get a different job. Let me hear you say "welcome to Wal-mart".

I just came in to point out that I have yet to visit a bar or restaurant in Europe with good service.

I don't go to bars looking to save money, either. I generally go looking to sink my own battleship.

It's okay to give me another scotch. It's okay to ask me if I'd like another in your local tongue. I came to your country prepared to drink. You can even give me another scotch without asking. I'll pay for it. I will let you know when I am done drinking, and if you sneak another one on the bar before I let you know that I'm done, good on you, son. Good on you.

But seriously, if I come in and have a drink, don't just pick up the empty glass and walk away.

Where's the article complaining about Japanese customers for leaving no tips at all?

/I wish I lived in Japan so I didn't have to tip.

AverageJoe77: If your financial well-being depends on tips, DO YOUR JOB LIKE IT YOUR FINANCIAL WELL-BEING DEPENDS ON IT!

I agree with this to an extent - the only problem is that tipping is so subjective. I can bust my ass for a table and still get screwed. Even for big parties - the restaurant I used to work at would only allow me to tack on auto-grat if there was a party of 6 or more that split the check. So if I had a 30-top with one check, they didn't have to tip me squat - and that happened to me once before. Busted my ass for a 30-top with a $600 check, and the guy paying apparently thought there was already a gratuity in there, so I ended up with a five dollar tip.

The worst part? The hostesses thought I should only get the 30-top and no other tables - so I busted my ass on a Friday night and actually lost money after having to tip out the bar (2% of my total sales) and the busboys (another 1% of my total sales).

pseroogy: Here's the deal...if it's wrong, ask the server/bartender to fix it. Simple as that. Because these people work on tips, they're more than happy to fix it because they know it affects the tip in the end.

This! Oh god, a thousand times this. Contrary to popular belief, waiters do a lot more than just bring your coffee and food. They are taking orders, refilling drinks, bringing food, memorizing tables, doing the dishes, wiping down the tables and working the till. Mistakes can happen. You can punch in a wrong number, bring the wrong kind of bun/jam/dressing or forget a knife.

Just inform your waiter and he/she will most likely apologize profusely and correct the problem just like that. If you sit their quietly brooding about it, we will not know a mistake has been made and you'll be miserable.

Also, in WI, the minimum wage is $2.33 + Tips for servers and I've never seen a place that pays more than that. Bartenders generally make $6.00 + Tips.



Here's the big problem. If a server makes $2.33 an hour on a slow lunch, takes two tables, makes $10 on those tables, works 4 hours, they've made less than minimum wage for the day. The law states that you must be paid minimum wage for all hours worked. I've never come across a restaurant that compensates its workers for slow days like that. I see that as the real problem.

feckingmorons: merc16: I used to work as a barista. Every cent you throw in our tip jars helps, since baristas for some reason are viewed the same as servers. They get paid horribly and are expected to make it all up in tips. Even if it's just the extra change you got back from your drink, it helps a ton.

I nver put tips in tip jars. You aren't doing a service you are making coffee that you had to me over a counter. If your coffee shop stiffs you on your pay that is really your problem.

Not to be mean, but the drive through guy at MickeyD's does the same thing you do but gets me a sammich too. I don't tip him.

Didn't starbucks get sued over its tip jars recently

Ah, you are what we like to call an self-important douchebag. I once had a woman who came in every single day and gave me an impossible coffee order. And she never ever tipped. Since I think spitting in people's food/drink is the nastiest thing ever, I just did the next best thing: heat up her drink to the hottest possible temperature and listen to her scream from the parking lot when she took a sip.

Guess what, baristas need tips too. I'm not saying it has to be much, even 5 cents adds up. But jerks like you are why your coffee always gets screwed up at coffee places, all the employees are usually new because nobody can afford to work so people constantly quit in order to find a job with better money.

puffy999: You may lose your job there, but if your employer is that steadfast against paying minimum wage, it's probably a good idea to find another job anyway.

I'm pretty sure it's illegal to retaliate for having to pay someone minimum wage.

mikaloyd: mavrick45: as an American tourist i would like to complain about the shiatty food in Britain.

/damnit cant everyone and everywhere be exactly the same?

British breakfast rocks.

Irish breakfast rocks, British breakfast is OK, US breakfast is not so great. A good full Irish fry up is a heart attack on a plate but it is a fantastic way to start the day. Nobody in my family makes a full breakfast at home any more, but we do frequently get them out.

puffy999: GoRedSoxGo: Yeah, and you have to jump through farkin' hoops to get your employer to get you that.

Actually, you don't. You just need to know exactly who to talk to (and you need to be a decent enough accountant wrt your tip money)... if your employer doesn't pay you the federal minimum wage, you can make his life hell.

You may lose your job there, but if your employer is that steadfast against paying minimum wage, it's probably a good idea to find another job anyway.

I'm sure you're right, but I was nineteen at the time and the manager most definitely took advantage of the fact that I was young and doing my first serving job.

puffy999:

What is especially grand is hearing about the poor old waiter/waitress, who makes twice as much an hour on average (including tips, and even IF that's in a location with reduced wages for those who can gain tips) than the person cooking the food.

Agreed. Since when does putting on a fake smile and pretending to like me constitute a tip?