tipping

[mattg]

Does anyone else out there think the concept of tipping is ridiculous? That's not to say I don't tip - I tip pretty well - but I still think it is stupid. The main argument is that they (ie. waiters, cab drivers, delivery people) get paid minimum wage, therefore it is customary to tip... but why are we expected to pay part of your employees salary in addition to our food, etc.? Just pay them better... another is that they work hard, and they deserve it... but let's be honest, there are plenty of jobs out there with harder workers that don't get tipped... another is that if you don't tip well, you'll get bad service in the future... but if you have employees that don't give good service, and will subsequently lose your business customers, fire them...

 

I know that it is a tradition to tip certain jobs in society, but I think it's a really out-dated tradition - I'm not sure where or why it originated... like I said, I do tip well, BECAUSE they do get paid badly, but I think that that's really dumb and doesn't make much sense... anyone else agree? (I know Mr. Pink and Dwight Schrute do, if anyone gets those references:p )

 

ps. I just thought of this because I only had enough money to tip my cab driver like a dollar and I felt bad lol...

[Tango Charlie]

Restaurants/diners can't afford to pay their employees the amount they'd have to to make their base wage the same as what they'd get through tipping. Letting people indulge their desire to be generous is much more successful than demanding people pay an extra $5 for their food/beverage. Beyond that I think Mr. White made a pretty good account of why tipping is good.

 

I will however say that places like Quiznos, or the kiosks in food courts, make a mockery of tipping. Waiting tables is not an easy job, even though you need no specific training or education to do it. Sitting behind a counter shoveling food onto plates, or making sandwiches, is however easy. You are also insulated from the worst that customer services has to offer, because you never need to interact with people after they've bought their food from you. So those places which have tip jars I will never, ever tip. Basically just waiting staff at restaurants are deserving of tips, as far as I'm concerned.

[future_doc]

Never tip at end of MMI Station

[Jamer]

I'm a generous tipper when I think I've been given service that goes beyond what should be standard. If I'm going to be drinking all night at the bar I'll tip at the beginning and then at the end if I felt they were polite/paid good attention to my group. But no, you don't deserve a tip for opening 1 bottle of beer or making me my sandwich at subway.

[The Law]

Never tiop at end of MMI Station

 

That's when I'd be tipping my best! haha.

[mattg]

Restaurants/diners can't afford to pay their employees the amount they'd have to to make their base wage the same as what they'd get through tipping. Letting people indulge their desire to be generous is much more successful than demanding people pay an extra $5 for their food/beverage. Beyond that I think Mr. White made a pretty good account of why tipping is good.

 

I will however say that places like Quiznos, or the kiosks in food courts, make a mockery of tipping. Waiting tables is not an easy job, even though you need no specific training or education to do it. Sitting behind a counter shoveling food onto plates, or making sandwiches, is however easy. You are also insulated from the worst that customer services has to offer, because you never need to interact with people after they've bought their food from you. So those places which have tip jars I will never, ever tip. Basically just waiting staff at restaurants are deserving of tips, as far as I'm concerned.

 

lol i didn't even know those places took tips... yea i would definitely never even consider tipping there

[T. Funke]

I don't mind tipping servers, but I definitely preferred it in France where servers have better wages and their was no expectation to tip, a tip was really just that a tip. I wish the obligatory tip was built into their wages.

 

Argh, I hate tipping bartenders. Also, do you tip hairdressers? A hair cut/highlights are expensive and extra 10-20% is a lot.

[richuurd]

I would say that mandatory tipping is nonsensical. If I enjoyed the service, I would pay extra tip as a courtesy to whoever provided the service. The service provider will then have incentive to perform to their best of their ability. If I'm thoroughly displeased at the service, I would think that it'd be reasonable not to tip. I say this because there was a case in Philadelphia where a couple was arrested for not tipping. Ridiculous, eh?

[cnb88]

I don't mind tipping servers, but I definitely preferred it in France where servers have better wages and their was no expectation to tip, a tip was really just that a tip. I wish the obligatory tip was built into their wages.

 

Argh, I hate tipping bartenders. Also, do you tip hairdressers? A hair cut/highlights are expensive and extra 10-20% is a lot.

 

It's quite common in France to add 15% automatically to the price of food as a "madatory tip". (High school French did teach me something.. lol). In Germany, however, tipping isn't mandatory at all. If anything a "rounded up" to the next nearest dollar amount is given, and that's considered generous. When we were there the waitresses flat out refused to accept a tip (ha. My Opa won out though... never try arguing with my Opa. lol). They are paid much better over there (waitressing is basically a career). You can definitly see it when the women in the beer halls are carrying 6 glass beer mugs (of 1L each) in each hand... minimum (ha, and I had a hard enough time lifting one to drink!)

 

I personally tip my hairdresser ~20%, but she always does an awesome job and she's been my hairdresser for..... wow... 10 years now. I think 10-15% is a decent amount though, but in my opinion it depends on how good it is. Obviously if it looks like it was cut by a 4 year old I wouldn't tip, but if it looks good (and you like it) I'd tip more. Same with servers in restaurants (not counting Quiznos etc.. that's just silly), start with ~10-15% and then adjust based on quality of service. Some are just horrible and some are just awesome.

 

Did you know that tipping actually started in ~1600s in coffee houses (To Insure Prompt Service)?... *ahem*... pardon me while I push my nerd glasses further up my nose.....

[future_doc]

Did you know that tipping actually started in ~1600s in coffee houses (To Insure Prompt Service)?... *ahem*...

 

Most interesting, thank you for the education.

 

I have encountered restaurant where they add a service charge to the bill and they declare it in small print at the bottom of the menu. Most people are not even aware, and, as a result, the service providers are often double tipped with the client doing so unknowingly.

[Starling]

It's quite common in France to add 15% automatically to the price of food as a "madatory tip". (High school French did teach me something.. lol).

 

I dunno, when I was in France it was usual to just round up. Hopefully I wasn't doing it wrong -- that's what the travel book told me.

 

Did you know that tipping actually started in ~1600s in coffee houses (To Insure Prompt Service)?... *ahem*... pardon me while I push my nerd glasses further up my nose.....

 

http://www.snopes.com/language/acronyms/tip.asp

[cnb88]

Never tip at end of MMI Station

 

I dunno, when I was in France it was usual to just round up. Hopefully I wasn't doing it wrong -- that's what the travel book told me.

 

 

 

http://www.snopes.com/language/acronyms/tip.asp

 

That's common too for France

 

Hmm... apparently my Botany class lied to me.... either that or snopes lied... I don't know which is worse! lol

[Starling]

That's common too for France

 

Oh sorry, I misread your post about the automatic 15%; that's right.

[mermaid]

After working as a waitress, I can't bring myself to tip really poorly even if I've had bad service. There are so many reasons your service can be poor, and only one of them is lazy/incompetent wait staff...

[supafield]

Same here.... waiter for 3 years....

 

Very stressful, busy atmosphere in the restaurant industry. Restaurants are designed to have the least amount of servers manageable.

 

Bad servers do exist and are usually apparent via attitude, but it's most often a circumstance out of your server's control that causes problems like slow service or bad food....

 

It takes very certain issues for me to tip poorly.....

[NewfieMike]

- I do not tip places like booster juice

 

- I do not tip bartenders for opening beer bottles

 

- I will tip at a restaurant if they deserve it. I worked retail for 2.5 years, and worked my ass off (WITHOUT commission-- just a "sell this and this and this or you're fired" policy) and never received a single tip. I don't believe that someone should get a tip JUST BECAUSE they think it's socially acceptable in their job title.

[trymeover]

I think medical students should tip pre-meds on how to get into medical school.

[future_doc]

I agree with that.

[tooty]

I think medical students should tip pre-meds on how to get into medical school.

 

we do, ifaik.

[seann]

One time I asked the waitress if the tip is included in the bill and she said it was but her boss takes most of it :| I wasn't sure if she's trying to rip me off or herself is getting ripped off.

[rmorelan]

I remember when I tipped 15% in Britain - they were stunned and just went gaga (brought us free drinks afterwards). Guess they don't tip there

[future_doc]

I've had that experiece too asnd believed the waitress. Once I gave t he tip to the busboy who was excellent but the waiter gave no service whatsoever. In some Caribbean countries, the owners grab from the waitresses 100% of the tips, claiming they are only entitled to their wages.

[supafield]

As for management taking tips, I worked at a fairly prominent banquet hall in London that did lots of weddings.... smaller weddings but the bills still ranged around 10-15K.... 15% of which is a gratuity included in the bill.... $1350-2000.

 

At serving staff we saw $2.00 an hour added to our wages to reflect the gratuity paid on the total bill. Roughly 7-8 servers. Even at 10 servers which was more than we ever had..... 10 servers working an average of 6-7 hours each = roughly $130 in tips paid out to servers. That's an absolute maximum too.

 

There was a bartender and kitchen staff that got tipped as well... but, it was obvious the banquet hall was pocketing most of it.

[orange123]

I remember when I tipped 15% in Britain - they were stunned and just went gaga (brought us free drinks afterwards). Guess they don't tip there

 

hahahah. that's actually pretty funny.

 

BTW, i had no idea i had to tip the cab drivers until 2 years ago.

[T. Funke]

As for management taking tips, I worked at a fairly prominent banquet hall in London that did lots of weddings.... smaller weddings but the bills still ranged around 10-15K.... 15% of which is a gratuity included in the bill.... $1350-2000.

 

At serving staff we saw $2.00 an hour added to our wages to reflect the gratuity paid on the total bill. Roughly 7-8 servers. Even at 10 servers which was more than we ever had..... 10 servers working an average of 6-7 hours each = roughly $130 in tips paid out to servers. That's an absolute maximum too.

 

There was a bartender and kitchen staff that got tipped as well... but, it was obvious the banquet hall was pocketing most of it.

 

Wow, I hate to think I got married at your banquet hall and that is what happened to the tips. It is a possibility though, I never followed up on what happened to the 15% gratuity I paid, when I planned my wedding.