A caution for my friends, or just my rant.

[GotSmart]

Like any other job, there are exceptions to the rule.  

Companies that hide the "gratuity" are doing nobody any favors.  Restaurant serving staff that try to double dip tips are soon serving drinks.  

 

[DannyB1954]

A lot of occupations have no tipping. If someone doesn't do their job, they get canned. That is pretty good incentive for the rest of the crew.
I also think that it a bit unfair that at a steak house servers get better pay, (15% of $100 is larger than 15% of $20).

Everyone should make living wages if they are working. One group should not be able to hide their income, (as in not claiming all their tips), while the other group pays on every dime earned. I believe Australia has no tipping at restaurants, so I don't see why it couldn't work here.

 

[Ticklebellly]

 I believe Australia has no tipping at restaurants, so I don't see why it couldn't work here.

Wait staff in Oz get paid a reasonable wage and sometimes get tips.   For no tips to work, staff need to get at least the basic wage (Australian term).   I had no problems giving tips when in USA because I understood that most wait staff only made a living wage if they got tips.   I saw a lot of unevenness in the system in USA.   Cooking staff, for example, don't get tips.   I also saw lots of bullying of wait staff where customers would make ridiculous demands under a threat of "no tip".   Also uneven when women who will show lots of flesh get larger tips (I know that is a sexist example, but I am trying to make a point).   Some restaurants in Oz now ask the no tips are to be given as the restaurant pays a decent wage to the staff on the expectation that they always give good service to all customers.

 

[ccbreder]

Cooking staff, Bartenders, and such. They are paid much more than Servers, at least here in USA. The servers generally share some small part of their tips with the others, especially the bartenders. I guess better drinks earn better tips. When I was in the trade, As a dishwasher I was paid min-wage, about 3.25 hour. As a server I received 2.00 hour, min-wage for tipped employees.

 

[ArtW]

Yep, I made minimum, or a bit more, as a dishwasher, double that as a cook
Only the waitstaff were paid below minimum, as they are able to receive tips
The kitchen staff were not supposed to accept tips, but i know some of them did
Steakhouse servers have a higher standard of service to live up to than hash house servers
Getting hired at, say, Ruth's Chris Steakhouse requires a much better record as a waitperson than getting hired at Denny's
Saying the two jobs should pay the same shows a basic lack of understanding of rewarding exceptionalism

 

[ccbreder]

I hope some one ends this thread, it is getting in the area of FU. I don't think Ruth Chris servers are any better than Denny's. There are good and bad at both places, but if you are serving me a $100 meal, everything better be perfect, and the tip will reflect that.

 

[GotSmart]

But I think we all agree that restaurants should not just hide a "mandatory" tip inside the bill.  

Lust look at the fine print.

 

[slynne]

I have such mixed feelings about tipping. I love feeling generous. I know that in my town there are different tipping rates depending on the restaurant. 30-40% for Denny's type places and then more like 20-25% for a more mid-level steak house like Ruth Chris. The wait staff at the high end restaurants also serve fewer tables. The service is almost always perfect regardless of restaurant. Tipping allows for a profession such as waiting tables to pay well. The good pay attracts dedicated employees who really care about providing good customer service. That makes eating out a really nice experience almost all of the time. There is also the advantage of being a regular who the waitstaff know will tip them. It really does mean good service. I would be wary of not tipping for even bad service in a restaurant where I planned to return though as I imagine that would have a different effect.

Still, restaurants could do this without tipping. They get good kitchen staff by paying them well. They could pay their waitstaff better too and roll the extra labor costs into the menu price. I swear, this is the system in Europe and I've received service just as good there.

Also, those service charges are not the same as tips. Often they do not go to the server. Sometimes you can ask the manager to remove it so you can pay the server the same amount directly in the form of a cash tip.

 

[BildrRick]

I have such mixed feelings about tipping. I love feeling generous. I

Unfortunately in this country waiters and waitresses get paid two to five dollars per hour usually on the lower than the higher

IMHO no matter what the bill is you should leave at least a five dollar tip for the waiter waitress and it should be in cash not on your credit card think ahead if you're going to the restaurant to enjoy a meal that you don't have to prepare you don't have to bring to the table you just sit there and eat
Be generous

No I am not a waiter or waitress
Though I have dated a waitress
You know who she talked about and she said hi to when they walked in the door
Her five dollar tipper
He never waited she knew what he wanted and brought it to him as soon as he came in and sat down

So if you want hot food good service plenty or coffee or whatever you're drinking think about the person that's giving it to you
And for Pete sake stop being a cheapskate to people that are serving you !!!




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[BildrRick]

I have such mixed feelings about tipping. I love feeling generous. I

Unfortunately in this country waiters and waitresses get paid two to five dollars per hour usually on the lower than the higher

IMHO no matter what the bill is you should leave at least a five dollar tip for the waiter waitress and it should be in cash not on your credit card think ahead if you're going to the restaurant to enjoy a meal that you don't have to prepare you don't have to bring to the table you just sit there and eat
Be generous

No I am not a waiter or waitress
Though I have dated a waitress
You know who she talked about and she said hi to when they walked in the door
Her five dollar tipper
He never waited she knew what he wanted and brought it to him as soon as he came in and sat down

So if you want hot food good service plenty or coffee or whatever you're drinking think about the person that's giving it to you
And for Pete sake stop being a cheapskate to people that are serving you !!!




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

PS if you can't afford five dollars don't go out to eat stay home and make it for yourself from food you bought from the grocery store


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[DrJean]

IMO if you are doubtful then you need to be on wait staff for a week and see how it feels to be stiffed.

There are many, many small mom & pop restaurants across the nation that DO hire illegals and other down-and-outers who have no legal course of action if they aren't paid minimum wage. The wait staff area usually falls through the cracks of the law anyway, and some places do not pay their wait staff at all, as per agreement, and what they make in tips is "it".

I don't pay for bad food, nor do I pay for bad service. Actually, when I was young (and having already worked in a few restaurants and a donut shop), I used to put the tip in cash out on the table. Then I politely said that that was their tip and I would add to it for good service and deduct for poor. (It was always the "going percentage" to begin with 10%, 15% ??) I always got good service!

 

[ArtW]

I've worked in jobs where the tip was your only income, and I still poopoo the idea that you should reward bad service with a tip, and I don't drop $5 for a 'basic tip' when it's just me eating
I ask for very little in terms of service, take my order, bring it to me, maybe refill my glass once, focus on the other customers who want pampering and attention
I will drop $5 for acceptable service if I'm a couple, or higher, if the service is great, if it's me by myself, not unless it was great service
And guess what? all the servers at my local haunts know me by name, know what i want, and like me
They even come say hi to me when they're grocery shopping

the level of service I've recieved from your average 'Dennys' waiter would not keep you employed for long at the Ruth's I've been in (as a worker, never could afford that menu)
you earn the tip through service, you aren't entitled to it
If you get stiffed by a customer you gave good service, that was a crappy customer, and it sucks
if you get crappy tips all day, that was a bad day and it sucked
if you ALWAYS get crappy tips from ALL your customers, it's time to look at the person in the mirror as the likely cause, admit you may not be cut out for the work, and find other employment

 

[Ticklebellly]

As a dishwasher I was paid min-wage, about 3.25 hour. As a server I received 2.00 hour, min-wage for tipped employees.

Oz has an age scale for minimum wage.   Under 18, something like $16 an hour.   Grandson, working as a kitchen hand, was getting over $20 an hour as a 20 year old.   Standard of service in Aust restaurants is quality controlled by the management and not based on fear of not getting a tip.   It is the power differential I object to in situations where people need to get tips to get a living wage.   I often wonder if having to kiss butt to ensure a tip diminishes the dignity of both server and customer.    I notice a couple of recent stories out of NY where restaurants are asking that tips are not given as all wait staff are paid a living wage and there are standards of service to all customers in operation.

 

[VanGrrl57]

I do agree that the server should have been honest enough to bring the itemized receipt. I would have asked for it, too, as did the original poster.

I have also worked as a server, although it was called being a waitress back then. LOL! It's disheartening to do your best and get stiffed but I also got tipped well, too. On the other side of the spectrum, if you give me good service, you will get tipped well. If not, oh well!


VanGrrl57

 

[Queen]

My friend (who I mentioned above) got religious tracts left as her tip... twice this week.  

 

[ccbreder]

I apologize to all the waiters, waitresses, bartenders, dishwashers, cooks, chiefs, choppers, and other restaurant employees. A long time ago I was one of you. I started this thread for a different reason than where it seems to be leaning. Please don't be discouraged by some of these cheap whatevers. I will always leave 20% or 50% up to a $10 tip, if the bill is low. I have left 15% on a "fancy place" with delayed service. I just don't go back.
Just a note to the above, the added service charge on the tab is given to the servers and table side helpers. One national chain was busted recently for dividing the gratuities with the management. A substantial fine was imposed.