Tipping; It's not in China...

[U2dork]

I often purchase lunch in the cafe located in the building where I work. The man behind the counter pulls a (not so cheap) sandwich out of a refrigerator and the transaction takes all of 1 minute. When I sign my receipt, there is a space for a tip. When I don't put anything on the space, I get funny looks and a muffled thanks. There's also a tip jar located next to the register. I am familar with the vendor and I know for a fact that this man did not make my sandwich and he earns a good wage (more than me). Should he really expect to be tipped? Has the tipping thing gone a tad too far, or am I just cheap?

 

[u2valleygirl]

I used to work in F & B at various times in my life and I don't think that you are required to tip in that type of quick carry out fast food situation. If you want to throw some change in the cup once in a while that's one thing. But if you are taking the food out, and the employee is not cleaning up after you or getting taxed for tip money, you are not required to tip.

 

[AvsGirl41]

"I don't tip." --Mr. Pink

I actually gave that speech at Bennigans tonight and my fellow diners didn't appreciate it.

 

[Danospano]

You tip for better service. What's this guy going to do--ignore you when you approach his counter and ask for a sandwich? I doubt it. He probably values your business. Also, the tip line on the credit card receipt may be part of the print-out program.

Tip him a few bucks every now and then, but don't feel it's neccesary considering the effort he puts forth.

I'm a bartender and love getting tips, but don't expect them when I do something that takes two seconds to perform. Now, if I have to deliver a drink to a table or wait on someone for more than 15 minutes, I expect something; not a lot, but something.

What I've learned: most people don't tip well. Those who consistently tip between 15% or higher are remembered in the future and probably get prompter service. If you don't tip, and you're not pleasant to talk to, or just nice in general, you'll get minimal preferences and deservedly so.

 

[U2dork]

I give the guy some change when I have it. I guess I just don't understand the snarky attitude when I don't...

 

[Elvis]

I've got VERY strong feelings about tipping....

Fast food, carry out = no.

Eat-in/Bar service/Bell hop/valet = if service SUCKS, why reward sucky service? Tipping is form of appreciation for good service. However if service is generally OK... I'll leave 15%, pre-tax. If service is EXCELLENT and above the call of duty - which seems to be rare these days as everyone EXPECTS big tips - I have been known to leave as much as 40-50%.

 

[Justified]

I admit my tipping for service sucks. I never know if I am tipping enough, too much, too little or if I should or should not be tipping at all.

 

[Diemen]

I usually tip 15-20% and more if the service is above-and-beyond. I still feel uncomfortable about not tipping bad service, so if its a fairly decent meal and the service sucked, I leave a buck.

 

[U2girl]

Tip 10% if you were happy with the meal and service. That's what I always heard.

 

[Laura M]

We don't tip here although some customers leave gifts to workers in restuarants/ shops. (We get boxes of chocolates from our customers sometimes). Some folk tip bar staff but it's not very common.

 

[U2_Muse]

I almost always leave a tip, except when service is really bad. I don't feel bad about not leaving a tip when I haven't received even the minimum of service.

 

[AvsGirl41]

I've been guilt-tripped into tipping my new hairdresser these days.

I don't want to tip, but I'm going to look stingy if I stop now.

 

[nbcrusader]

I hate tip jars.

I tend to tip larger percentages (20%-50%) in lower-cost eating establishments. As I see it, the same amount of work is required as a fancy restaurant.

And it is rare that I eat in fancy restaurants.

 

[neutral]

I usually tip well, and if the service was so bad that I don't want to leave a tip, it was probably also so bad that I won't be returning to that restaurant/bar again.


The tip jars being everywhere now are really annoying though, especially when there's no way I can think of that the service could be any better/worse. For example there's a "tip cup" at the gas station by my house sometimes. What are they going to do, not ring me up for my gas if I don't tip?

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

i look at it this way: i tip if the service i receive is given to me before i pay. for the most part, this includes the stuff you'd tip for: hair, food from sit-down places, etc. do you pay for mcdonalds before or after you've eaten? before, right? so i don't tip there. there may be an exception or two, but i more or less stick to this. i'm a good tipper imo, 20% down the line. the hubby is a waiter so i can totally relate to what it's like having to grovel to pay your bills.

 

[IWasBored]

"I don't tip." --Mr. Pink

I actually gave that speech at Bennigans tonight and my fellow diners didn't appreciate it.

i watched 'reservoir dogs' last night (never seen it before) and suddenly i understand what you're talking about. funny how that happens, the first time i read this thread i seriously had no idea what you were talking about


i feel bad for the delivery people who have to come out in the rain to the same building 85 times a night just because 90% of the idiot college kids here won't walk half a block up the road to the dining hall.

 

[AvsGirl41]

i watched 'reservoir dogs' last night (never seen it before) and suddenly i understand what you're talking about. funny how that happens, the first time i read this thread i seriously had no idea what you were talking about

I just saw "Resevoir Dogs" myself...so no reject box for you!

That was a great speech.

"Hey, this girl was nice."
"She was all right..."

 

[atikicat]

Many people reading this thread probably don't realize that the minimum wage for servers in the U.S. is only $2.13/hr. In other countries it's much more. In Canada, at least Ontario, it's $6.20/hr and in Austraila it's something like $11.35/hr. They also don't realize that servers must tip-out the rest of the staff...bartender, busser, runner, etc. They also don't realize that the server's employer may make them pay the credit card transaction fees of the customers they wait on when they pay their bill with plastic. They also don't realize that 9 times out of 10, what they perceive as being poor service has actually nothing to do with the server or server error. The server didn't create the menu, set the prices, cook my food or make my drink. They can't control how busy or understaffed the restaurant is when I'm there, nor control how long it will take for my food or drink to be made. Knowing all this, I would never stiff a server in this country. Always leave at least a standard tip, and then express your gripes to the owner/manager in a polite, rational way. If your dining experience was really that bad, then don't go back.

 

[U2dork]

The only time I didn't leave a 15-20% tip for a server is when I had to ask for silverware twice (10 minutes apart) and the second time I received a "I TOLD you I'd get it in a minute!" --really happened.

My original intent of this thread was to ask about the tip jar situation like Neutral pointed out and tipping at a more upscale, fast food type situation. In this case, the man giving the snarky attitude is a co-owner, whom I'm sure makes a great deal more than min. wage.
Since we all agree about the 15-20% or more rule for service, here's another question:
What if you order take out and you go and pick it up?

 

[ShellBeThere]

OOh, I like this topic.
Don't be running out of change when it's time to tip your waitress boys...

But this guy behind the counter didn't really give you anything you wanted much did he? It wasn't even cooked anywhere near the joint, right?

Maybe just a really big smile will knock the piss out of him! Like day after day! Then he'd either think you were nuts and let you off without so much snark, or he'd smile back.
I'd stop putting the change into the tipjar, maybe give him your newspaper if he looks bored someday.



and oddly I just flashed this morning on how gorgeous waiting tables is; I wish I had done that sometime. I've served ice cream professionally, and met my hubby working together in the cafeteria at school, but only hubby ever waited tables.

cheers all!

 

[ShellBeThere]

It feels really awful when you sign that creditcard bill at even the pizzashop , to me anyway, and a real person hands you that form and you're faced with that line, I agree!
And if it was cooked right there, by his mates if not him, then it seems a reasonable 'thank-you' for cooking for me.
I stare at the line...make a slash thru it? ...I wince, I see my hubby do it with alarming apparent relish sometimes.
I think that's why we find something to fight about if he signs the check in front of me...yeah, that's a good thing to realize!
haven't been out for birthday dinners for ages...

I think we both sometimes make the slash with takeout, and sometimes leave it blank. that hole looks quite lovely as you sign your name compared to a slash. don't think i've ever filled it though, so I'm going to try that next trip to the local take-out and see how that feels!

cheers...

edit: I'm having a lot of fun lately going to the DQ before they shut the shack for the winter. I get cones for the kids and break my bill and give the coin-change to the tipjar. These kids are working in a shack and being so sweet about it, so true about it. They really want to know whether you or your babe wants rainbow sprinkles or chocolate sprinkles. I prefer it when they don't see me put the change in though, because if they do they sometimes say 'thank you' and then I feel guilty that I didn't put more in, if I see lots o' bills.
So, I think tipjars should never ever be 'baited' with fake tips. And so in coffeeshops where the snarkmeisters plant little poems about how you should tip or why they earned it, it's so pukey I won't do it.
There;s a new icecream store chain called Cold Stone Creamery..I think it's national now and I find it horrific. The schpiel is that they get the kids to break out into little canned songs every once in a while, and they're often related to how they should be tipped. If there is really someone at corporate headquarters enforcing that little deal...oh my gods...the middle managers who have to train the kids...talk about working for the clampdown!

The tipjar at the DQ says "tipjar" just so you don't think it's a place to put your dirty napkins...

cheers again!

 

[atikicat]

I got ice cream at a Cold Stone once. Best ice cream I've ever had, but very expensive. Anyway, I think they break into "song" if and when they actually get a tip.

As for tipping on take out...I do at the local Chinese place that I like and frequent often, even though I know the people who work at such places are usually the owners. Why? Because the food is good, fast and cheap and I know they work very long, hard hours...7 days a week, 365 days a year. In this case it's a small, unexpected token of appreciation, empathy and respect.

If you don't have these feelings about the sandwich guy in your building, then certainly don't tip him, especially if he's acting like he expects it and he's a co-owner. I once had the owner of a Chinese place actually refuse to accept a tip for take out, which impressed me enough to make her keep the money and give it to an employee.

 

[neutral]

Since we all agree about the 15-20% or more rule for service, here's another question:
What if you order take out and you go and pick it up?

Well I generally don't tip at any place where I just get counter service, although there are certainly exceptions. I don't think any of those places pay the $2.13/hr wage, (deli, Boston Market, etc) do you know atikicat?

I get take-out pretty often from this awesome vegan Chinese place and the family that runs it also seems to work non-stop. I tip there even for take-out. Same for a coffee ship/internet cafe that I go to all the time, and frequently stay for hours when I only spend a couple of bucks. I do throw in a few bills in the jar every few days or so.

 

[atikicat]

Well I generally don't tip at any place where I just get counter service, although there are certainly exceptions. I don't think any of those places pay the $2.13/hr wage, (deli, Boston Market, etc) do you know atikicat?

If the restaurant doesn't provide table service, then no. Tips are not expected or counted on by the employee or employer in this situation. The only reason employers can get a way with paying servers so little is because tips are expected/counted on, and the government allows the employer to use their employees tips as a supplementary wage...i.e. they can came a Federal tip credit to "adjust" the wage of their employee to the $5.15/hr minimum (the difference between the $5.15 minimum and whatever the employer is actually paying their servers).

Also, for any of you who are working as servers in the U.S. right now... servers are entitled to overtime and overtime for servers, who make less than the $5.15/hr wage, is not time and a half on your regular hourly wage. It's time and a half on the $5.15 minimum wage, minus your Federal tip credit. So if your wage is $2.19/hr, for example, your overtime wage is $4.77/hr (not $3.29/hr). I know this is off topic here, but it's important info about which I think most waitstaff are not aware.

 

[WildHoneyAlways]

Mimimum wage for servers went up again...It was 3.09 when I was I server, a little over a year ago, and I think it's up to 3.29 now.....
Anyway, I loved my waitress job. It had its bad points but the people I worked with made it worth while. I teach high school now and I have to say there are days when I'd rather be a waitress then deal with a-hole kids.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

minimum wage here is still like $2.35

 

[atikicat]

Mimimum wage for servers went up again...It was 3.09 when I was I server, a little over a year ago, and I think it's up to 3.29 now.....

Many states use the $2.13/hr minimum wage for servers, but some states have much higher minimum wages. In the state of Washington it's over $7/hr, and servers still make the same tips as someone making as little as $2.13, $2.35, $3.29... Note to self...move to Seattle.