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(BBC) Silly BBC correspondent baffled by American tipping system. It's not news, it's the BBC   (news.bbc.co.uk) divider line 443
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Mentat [TotalFark] 2009-03-08 12:08:11 PM  
It's very simple.

-Horrible service - 0%
-Below average service - 10%
-Average service - 15%
-Excellent service - 20%
-Hot waitress - 25%

 
baka-san [TotalFark] 2009-03-08 12:13:30 PM  
Bite me limey bastard...

You might want to look into the wage laws first.

If you get some of your income from gratuities, you get paid less than minimum wage.

Sorry, waited tables for six months. it scarred me.

Not usually like this.

 
Tr0mBoNe [TotalFark] 2009-03-08 12:15:31 PM  
It's simple:

-Horrible service - 0%
-Below average service - 0%
-Average service - 0%
-Excellent service - 10%
-Hot waitress - OVER 9000%

 
KellyLockhart [TotalFark] 2009-03-08 12:15:40 PM  
More tipping advice:

At a buffet with wait service for drink refills and plate removal - $1 per person
At a bar - $1 per drink

 
Katie98_KT 2009-03-08 12:17:07 PM  
Mentat: It's very simple.

-Horrible service - 0%
-Below average service - 10%
-Average service - 15%
-Excellent service - 20%
-Hot waitress - 25%


and if you fail at math:
Average service: 10-20%, depending on how good you are at adding.

 
FarkinNortherner [recently expired TotalFark] 2009-03-08 12:27:20 PM  
baka-san:
You might want to look into the wage laws first.

If you get some of your income from gratuities, you get paid less than minimum wage.


The problem with in situation is definitely the correspondent's failure to comprehend it...

 
CtrlAltDelete [TotalFark] 2009-03-08 12:32:44 PM  
I'm a tipping psychopath, which is probably why I didn't eat out very often when I had a job. If I can't afford to tip 20%, I don't go out to eat. If I go with a bunch of friends and they only tip 15% or a little under that, I always avoid that restaurant out of fear that they'll remember me as being with "those cheap bastards".

What's worse is if the service is really bad, if the server brings out the wrong order and forgets my drink entirely and takes forever and doesn't give a sh*t.. then I'll tip 20% thinking that they will think "why did they do that? I was a horrible server! Oh yes, they did that because they are AWESOME, that's why."

It isn't rational.

I avoid restaurants.

 
DamnYankees [TotalFark] 2009-03-08 12:37:08 PM  
What I don;t understand is why the size of the tip is in proportion to the cost of the food. It makes no sense. It takes the exact amount of effort to order and deliver a hamburger as it does a sirloin steak.

I think we need to have a system like we do with luggage in airports. 1 buck per item ordered or something like that.

 
baka-san [TotalFark] 2009-03-08 12:40:36 PM  
DamnYankees: What I don;t understand is why the size of the tip is in proportion to the cost of the food. It makes no sense. It takes the exact amount of effort to order and deliver a hamburger as it does a sirloin steak.

Servers pay taxes on the price of the meal.

 
DamnYankees [TotalFark] 2009-03-08 12:41:06 PM  
baka-san: Servers pay taxes on the price of the meal.

Servers do? Or the owners of the business?

 
baka-san [TotalFark] 2009-03-08 12:43:30 PM  
DamnYankees: baka-san: Servers pay taxes on the price of the meal.

Servers do? Or the owners of the business?


Servers do...

 
DamnYankees [TotalFark] 2009-03-08 12:45:21 PM  
baka-san: Servers do...

That doesn't make any sense. A waiters pays a tax to the government based on the value of the meals he randomly gets asked to give to people? I've never heard of this.

 
Katie98_KT 2009-03-08 12:47:31 PM  
CtrlAltDelete: It isn't rational.

I avoid restaurants.


you're psycho.

 
baka-san [TotalFark] 2009-03-08 12:54:13 PM  
DamnYankees: baka-san: Servers do...

That doesn't make any sense. A waiters pays a tax to the government based on the value of the meals he randomly gets asked to give to people? I've never heard of this.


You have never waited tables. The taxes are taken out of your "expected" earning.

 
CtrlAltDelete [TotalFark] 2009-03-08 12:54:18 PM  
Katie98_KT: you're psycho.

That's what I'm trying to tell you!

 
DamnYankees [TotalFark] 2009-03-08 12:55:22 PM  
baka-san: You have never waited tables. The taxes are taken out of your "expected" earning.

You mean withheld, like any other job? Sure. But you can get a refund if you pay too much.

 
eddyatwork [TotalFark] 2009-03-08 01:13:29 PM  
I'll get the conservative crap out of the way right now.

I don't tip because it encourages the waitstaff to get a real job where they actually work.

 
H_is_for_Heretic 2009-03-08 01:22:36 PM  
DamnYankees: What I don;t understand is why the size of the tip is in proportion to the cost of the food. It makes no sense. It takes the exact amount of effort to order and deliver a hamburger as it does a sirloin steak.


If you're getting a 30 dollar or up steak, those waiters had to memorize information on possibly 200 wines, could tell you where the potatos were grown, and usually are required to tip out a number of people. Most spend at least 6 weeks as an assistant before they're even allowed to serve you food and recieve a tip.
Casual places can be equally or more physically demanding, but at least you can turn your brain off and coast.

 
CruiserTwelve [TotalFark] 2009-03-08 01:23:22 PM  
baka-san: Servers pay taxes on the price of the meal.

No, they pay taxes on 15% of the price of the meal. That's what the feds expect their income from tips will be.

 
JoJoTheIdiotMonkeyBoy [TotalFark] 2009-03-08 01:25:12 PM  
eddyatwork: I don't tip because it encourages the waitstaff to get a real job where they actually work.

Some people actually think like this.

 
JoJoTheIdiotMonkeyBoy [TotalFark] 2009-03-08 01:28:15 PM  
H_is_for_Heretic: If you're getting a 30 dollar or up steak, those waiters had to memorize information on possibly 200 wines, could tell you where the potatos were grown, and usually are required to tip out a number of people. Most spend at least 6 weeks as an assistant before they're even allowed to serve you food and recieve a tip.

I know a gal who is a server at a casino, and they have to basically know all of this AND the schedule for shows, shuttles, events, and all kinds of other crap for their less-than-minimum plus tips.

 
Ennuipoet [TotalFark] 2009-03-08 01:50:27 PM  
KellyLockhart: At a bar - $1 per drink

It's a buck a drink for beers or shots, if you are drinking some foo foo drink that takes ten minutes to make (mojitos, specialty martinis ect) then you damn well better tip more. Failure to do leaves you waiting a LONG time at the end of the bar while us beer and shot drinkers are on our third round since you walked up.

 
Kliffoth [TotalFark] 2009-03-08 01:51:01 PM  
Why not tip the ones who, I don't know, actually cook the food?

 
Eddie_Dean_NY [TotalFark] 2009-03-08 01:51:46 PM  
If a server sells 20 $6 burgers and $2 sodas, they have to declare $24 in tips (15% of their total sales of $160).

If a server sells 20 $35 steaks and $12 glasses of wine or scotch, they have to declare $141 in tips (15% of their total sales of $940)

Most servers in states that don't pay them minimum wage plus tips never see a paycheck because of federal and state income taxes being withheld, but they get small refunds every year.

 
Suede head 2009-03-08 02:18:09 PM  
Do you not get paid in America or something?

 
nomdeplume713 2009-03-08 02:18:59 PM  
A tip = "To Insure Performance."
why give a tip after the food has been delivered? Waiters are annoying. They interrupt us when we are having a conversation and try and recommend the most expensive thing on the menu.

 
r1niceboy 2009-03-08 02:23:48 PM  
When I tip - 20% (have worked in service industries)
When my wife tips - 10% (Hasn't worked in service industries)

When my wife's not there and I have a hot waitress - 30%

 
swahnhennessy 2009-03-08 02:23:55 PM  
When did they start taxing tips? And in which state?

 
pentex 2009-03-08 02:23:57 PM  
nomdeplume713: A tip = "To Insure Performance."


WRONG

 
H_is_for_Heretic 2009-03-08 02:24:17 PM  
Suede head: Do you not get paid in America or something?

For waiters:
2.13 an hour
About a pound, before taxes.

 
ilikeracecars 2009-03-08 02:24:53 PM  
I've always viewed the tip as a breathalyzer. If I can't figure out what 20 percent is, I'm not sober enough to drive home.

Tips are always an investment. Tip best at places you frequent, do what you please at places you'll never see again.

 
tortilla burger 2009-03-08 02:25:56 PM  
The only thing I tip are cows.

/not really

 
studebaker hoch 2009-03-08 02:27:10 PM  
15% for food, buck a drink at the bar.

 
Kliffoth [TotalFark] 2009-03-08 02:27:32 PM  
H_is_for_Heretic: Suede head: Do you not get paid in America or something?

For waiters:
2.13 an hour
About a pound, before taxes.


In Washington State it's $8.55 an hour plus tips.

 
An tSaoi 2009-03-08 02:27:45 PM  
i232.photobucket.com

PROUD


/Nothing is obscure on Fark.

 
Xai 2009-03-08 02:28:01 PM  
Suede head

"Do you not get paid in America or something?"


My thoughts entirely, i mean why the heck don't they just get paid a decent wage in the first place?

 
AppleOptionEsc 2009-03-08 02:28:27 PM  
Kliffoth: Why not tip the ones who, I don't know, actually cook the food?

Some restaurants do, others don't. The difference between a cook and a waitress, is a waitress can make $100 more than the cook a night. the downside is, managers are cheap, and never hire waitstaff full time, and often screw with the schedule, because high turnover on waitstaff means no raise.
nomdeplume713: A tip = "To Insure Performance."
why give a tip after the food has been delivered? Waiters are annoying. They interrupt us when we are having a conversation and try and recommend the most expensive thing on the menu.


I think tips were around before computers and our current income recording system. waitresses worked shiatty jobs back in the 17 and 18 hundreds, and they still do. Now the only difference is, people are too dumb to remember the difference between minimum wage, and waitress minimum wage. like you. Go fark yourself. Get your damn food yourself.

 
xav 2009-03-08 02:28:28 PM  
The tipping culture is unfair to many:

1. It's unfair to the budget. Tip money goes untaxed. In addition, you cannot measure the tipping economy, just estimate it.

2. It's unfair to people being tipped. They have to whore themselves to a stranger they might not see again to make ends meet, as opposed of just doing their job. The corollary to this is it breeds a society where insecure people think they can get treated better when throwing money at other people's faces.

3. It's unfair to people receiving the service. The dish is supposed to be 20 bucks, not 22. If I'm supposed to pay for service, write it down on the friggin' menu.

 
studebaker hoch 2009-03-08 02:28:40 PM  
I never understood the "we include the gratuity for large parties" thing.

It's not a gratuity if it's included.

 
Lance Uppercut 2009-03-08 02:28:47 PM  
You tip at restaurants because the owners have taken into account the reduced cost of paying their staff when they set their prices. They expect you to control the last 10-20% of the cost based on the server's performance as an incentive to the server. It's a social contract that everyone else has agreed to accept the cheapskates who watched Reservoir Dogs and think that quoting Mr. Pink constitutes wit.

I always argue to the people who refuse to tip that they should declare their intentions before they sit down. Then, in the fantasyland in my head, they can be given a menu that includes prices 20% higher to account for the restaurant paying the waiter the proper wage he or she normally gets with tips included.

 
The Angry Hand of God 2009-03-08 02:29:08 PM  
Why da fark I gotta tip? (new window)

Watch and discuss!

 
Phil Herup 2009-03-08 02:29:20 PM  
When drinking expensive wine, the bill can get real big real quick.

You just can't tip 20% sometimes, it gets ridiculous.


So adjustments have to be made.

 
Carth 2009-03-08 02:29:27 PM  
KellyLockhart: More tipping advice:

At a buffet with wait service for drink refills and plate removal - $1 per person
At a bar - $1 per drink


So you expect the guys drinking $1 drafts at happy hour to tip 100% the cost of a drink?

 
entropic_existence [TotalFark] 2009-03-08 02:29:28 PM  
Eddie_Dean_NY: If a server sells 20 $6 burgers and $2 sodas, they have to declare $24 in tips (15% of their total sales of $160).

If a server sells 20 $35 steaks and $12 glasses of wine or scotch, they have to declare $141 in tips (15% of their total sales of $940)

Most servers in states that don't pay them minimum wage plus tips never see a paycheck because of federal and state income taxes being withheld, but they get small refunds every year.


Unless the restaurant (employer) actually keeps track of what they actually make in tips and reports it it is up to the server to do so. If you think that servers keep meticulous records for income tax declarations you're deluded (or the server is anal). I know here in Canada wait staff just estimate some reasonable amount and declare it, which is typically alot lower then what they actually made in tips.

 
Tainted1 2009-03-08 02:30:26 PM  
tortilla burger: The only thing I tip are cows.

/not really


I've tried that, but it doesn't really seem to improve the service.

 
John Buck 41 2009-03-08 02:30:32 PM  
DamnYankees: What I don;t understand is why the size of the tip is in proportion to the cost of the food. It makes no sense. It takes the exact amount of effort to order and deliver a hamburger as it does a sirloin steak.

I think we need to have a system like we do with luggage in airports. 1 buck per item ordered or something like that.


And THIS ^ is why I adjust accordingly depending on the price of the meal.

 
AppleOptionEsc 2009-03-08 02:30:35 PM  
xav: 1. It's unfair to the budget. Tip money goes untaxed. In addition, you cannot measure the tipping economy, just estimate it.

FAILFAILFAILFAIL. You are so wrong, it hurts. If they can jail Al Capone for tax dodging, since he wasn't reporting his income on his illicit sales, what makes you think tip money goes untaxed? it's money from the job, not a gift.

 
Can'tLetYouDoThatStarFox 2009-03-08 02:30:57 PM  
Tipping is a load of bullshiat, especially now that it's essentially mandatory in the United States and only vaguely corresponds to the actual quality of service received.

The two reasons why it still exists in this country are:

1) Many people are so stupid that they think there is extra money entering or leaving the system somehow, and that the waiter or waitress earns more in a tip-based system than they would if they earned a flat wage (patently false, the only difference is how the same amount changes hands)

2) Many people enjoy any and every chance in their otherwise powerless lives to play petty tyrants and crave the chance to control another human being's compensation for kissing their ass, even if it's only for a meal.

So which one are you?

 
Rohasman 2009-03-08 02:31:07 PM  
r1niceboy: When I tip - 20% (have worked in service industries)
When my wife tips - 10% (Hasn't worked in service industries)

When my wife's not there and I have a hot waitress - 30%


You're clearly just trying to make up for your wifes absence. How nice of you to be thinking always of her.

 
mrwombat 2009-03-08 02:31:25 PM  
Kliffoth: Why not tip the ones who, I don't know, actually cook the food?

You do. This is why servers get pissed off if you leave 5%. They pay the bussers, the bartenders, the hosts, the dishwasher and the cooks out of their tips, regardless of whether you left them anything.

nomdeplume713: A tip = "To Insure Performance."

The word you want is ensure. That's why it's spelled tep.

 
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