Tipping....do you?

[sulawesigirl4]

Originally posted by Sicy:
By they way I have to say I laughed when I read the thread title.

I thought you were talking about cow tipping for some reason. LOL.

That was the first thing I thot too!

[80sU2isBest]

Originally posted by Sicy:
By they way I have to say I laughed when I read the thread title.
I thought you were talking about cow tipping for some reason. LOL.

cow tipping is a hoax.

[anitram]

Originally posted by gabrielvox:
My understanding was that people in restaurants get at least minimum wage, is that not so? Well, at least in Canada, isn't minimum wage like $7.50 or something?

In Canada, minimum wage is $6.85, provided that you are 18 years old. If you're under that, you can get less.

If you work in a restaurant, you will not get minimum wage. For example, I believe Red Lobster pays in the neighbourhood of $5.25/hour.

[gvox]

Originally posted by Zooropa:
In the US, 15% is the avg tip. Ussually, the tip is double the tax so on a $100 check Gabriel Vox, If you only left me $10, I would have to kick your canadian arse!!! Also, the other thing to remember is that, generally speaking, a resturant is not busy allnight. It may have a good dinner rush where you might wait on 4 tables and bring in $30 in tips, but by 10 or 11, you might not have any tables and there fore no tips, so it avgs out. I'd say, (from my experience at TGI Fridays) that waiters can expect to make about $10-12 an hour with the good ones a few dollars more. It may seem like a lot, but believe me, waitering is bot an easy job, especially in a place like TGIF. AS for my experience in bartending, we make a little bit more (I avg 20-25 an hour) but, that's a whole different story

Well I have to compliment the staff at TGI Friday's...It was our last meal in Florida and we kinda chanced on it as the line up for the Olive Garden was about an hour and a half long.

We thorougly enjoyed our meal, and the wait staff was excellent, service far above the norm and/or what we expected. I think our bill was like $62.00 and I left $70 and had no second thoughts about it.

I guess if the service is good, the sky's the limit!

[gvox]

Originally posted by anitram:
In Canada, minimum wage is $6.85, provided that you are 18 years old. If you're under that, you can get less.

If you work in a restaurant, you will not get minimum wage. For example, I believe Red Lobster pays in the neighbourhood of $5.25/hour.

There are exceptions to the minimum wage law in Canada? If not, how does RL get away with that??

[speedracer]

Originally posted by 404 Not Found:
I think an argument can be made that, in the instance of waiters/waitresses for example, they may give better service if they are trying for a better tip. If they are just being paid a straight salary, where's the incentive to provide exceptional service?

Well, in a world without tipping, you could complain to the manager about a lousy waitperson or simply patronize other establishments.

[Achtung_Bebe]

I work at CC's Coffee we have a tip jar and it's a good thing too, my paycheck is so lousy and I'm pulling like 26 hours/week (which will be easier to do now that I'm finished with high school). Tips come out to be like half of my salary, and I only get like $50 in tips a week. That's not so hot. Anyway the tips are distributed to all employees depending on their hours worked, I think it's definately a good thing--espresso bars aren't always as easy as they may seem especially in the mornings when everyone simply must have their fix As far as waiters/waitresses I always tip, even moreso being in a position where I receive tips.

btw friends don't let friends drink Starbucks

[This message has been edited by Achtung_Bebe (edited 05-14-2002).]

[Zooropa]

Originally posted by gabrielvox:
Well I have to compliment the staff at TGI Friday's...It was our last meal in Florida and we kinda chanced on it as the line up for the Olive Garden was about an hour and a half long.

We thorougly enjoyed our meal, and the wait staff was excellent, service far above the norm and/or what we expected. I think our bill was like $62.00 and I left $70 and had no second thoughts about it.

I guess if the service is good, the sky's the limit!

*Zooropa heads off to canada to beat Gabriel Vox with a breadstick...*

Seriously though, I guess it does matter where you live. It seems in canada that tipped employees make a higher per hour wage than they do in the states. It also matters somewhat where you are in the states. In NY, tipping is expected to be in the 18-20% range but in The midwest, 15% is considered generous. I guess cost of living factors in here somewhere.

------------------
Don't let the bastards grind you down.

Zooropa FTP

[Zooropa]

Remeber also, that in many resturants, the money you tip a waiter he/she in turns uses that to tip out busboys, hostesses and service bartenders. To illustrate, If I work a dinner shift and have about $1000 in total food/bev sales, If you take the avg 15% I would net about $150 in tips. The following breakdown then occurs:

Total Tips= $150
Tipout to Hostess= $12.50
Tipout to service bartender= $15.00
Tipout to busboy= $10.00
Tipout to foodrunner= $10.00
Tipout to crewchief (Back of the house, ensures restocking of cups, plates, dressings etc...) $10.00

Net Tips= $92.50

So as you can see, a waiter/waitress generally only recieves about 60-65 % of a tip. So on a hundred dollar check, If you only tip $10, the server will get about $4 dollars of it. Ifyou don't tip at all, the server actually loses about $6. Not to mention the taxes thet pay on it.

Just thought it would make it a bit easier to understand for everybody. It may not be exactly like this everywhere, but I would assume that to some degree it is.

------------------
Don't let the bastards grind you down.

Zooropa FTP

[This message has been edited by Zooropa (edited 05-14-2002).]

[This message has been edited by Zooropa (edited 05-14-2002).]

[Zooropa]

Originally posted by Achtung_Bebe:
I work at CC's Coffee we have a tip jar and it's a good thing too, my paycheck is so lousy and I'm pulling like 26 hours/week (which will be easier to do now that I'm finished with high school). Tips come out to be like half of my salary, and I only get like $50 in tips a week. That's not so hot. Anyway the tips are distributed to all employees depending on their hours worked, I think it's definately a good thing--espresso bars aren't always as easy as they may seem especially in the mornings when everyone simply must have their fix As far as waiters/waitresses I always tip, even moreso being in a position where I receive tips.

btw friends don't let friends drink Starbucks

[This message has been edited by Achtung_Bebe (edited 05-14-2002).]

He he, starbucks... the 93 octane of coffee!!!

------------------
Don't let the bastards grind you down.

Zooropa FTP

[gvox]

Originally posted by Zooropa:
*Zooropa heads off to canada to beat Gabriel Vox with a breadstick...*

I dont get it, was I being cheap?? OMG!!! I just did the math and that's like 12%..do I ever feel like a heel...I meant to leave more than I usually do...grrr...

So to the anonymous waiter at TGIF's: Im truly sorry, I meant to give you more like 15 or 20%...next time, and I WILL be back down there, for sure...

Runs away to hide under his cheap rock...the shame of it, the shame! What's the smilie for 'embarassed'??

[Zooropa]

Originally posted by gabrielvox:
I dont get it, was I being cheap?? OMG!!! I just did the math and that's like 12%..do I ever feel like a heel...I meant to leave more than I usually do...grrr...

So to the anonymous waiter at TGIF's: Im truly sorry, I meant to give you more like 15 or 20%...next time, and I WILL be back down there, for sure...

Runs away to hide under his cheap rock...the shame of it, the shame! What's the smilie for 'embarassed'??

Alright, I turned around, you can unlock your door Gabrielvox, I forgive you.

*Puts breadstick in back pocket and saves it for use on another day*

------------------
Don't let the bastards grind you down.

Zooropa FTP

[Diemen]

I almost always tip. Usually around 20%, and if the service was really great then over 20%. Even if the service isn't all that good, I'll leave a tip, but it will be an obviously small one. If the service is just plain awful, no tip.

[KhanadaRhodes]

i always tip at least 15%, even if i'm at like sonic, where they don't do all the work a regular waitress does. however, in certain bad instances i leave less.

one time at pf chang's my husband and i were there eating dinner, and our waiter was a complete jerk. his entire section consisited of about 20 tables outside, and only two of them were occupied, one of them being us. after bringing us our food, he proceeded to only come check on us to bring the check. he never even stopped by to ask if we needed change - good thing i was paying in cash! and this other guy who took our plates was standing with a bottle of beer in his hand only moments before, so we were not pleased. we left him a fifty cent tip. i regret just not stiffing him and saying i was going to pay by visa, but didn't think it was wise to leave my credit card here.

however, today we went to pf chang's again and got excellent service. we usually always do, that one bad instance is the only time that's ever happened. something weird was in his food and they covered the whole meal, not just his. so we left the waitress a $6 tip, which would come out to about 30% after estimating the food's total.

as for the people at starbucks, etc. who leave out tip jars: it's been my experience that the people who work at starbucks are complete assholes, which is why i never go there, plus their drinks taste gross. they're making $7-8 an hour here and i wish i made that much. i don't even get tips and i do more work than the average frappucino yuppie does anyway. so i only leave my change if i get really good service at yummy coffee places.

[KhanadaRhodes]

OH!!!!! btw...as for tipping maids, i never have but it's just the person's decision i guess. at the hotel i used to work at, maids started at $8.25/hour (as opposed to $7 for those of us at the front desk). also, the maids usually do change from day to day. there, every day the maids would make the bed for all the nightly guests, clean the rooms for those who checked out, and either cleaned the room or replenished the towels in the weekly guests' rooms, depending on which day it was. oh, and the weekly guests, they usually had to clean about 2-3 of those rooms and replenish towels for the same amount. there were plenty more weeklies, but everyone has a different day so the maid isn't cleaning every room in the hotel every day, since only one or two of them work during the day.

so like i said, it's mainly your call, if you think they deserve it or not. i'm kinda bitter so i'm like, they make more than me, so why should i tip?

[U2Bama]

I usually give 20% in full service restaurants. Yes, the wages for servers here in the U.S. usually start well below minimum wage.

And if I go to a Mexican restaurant on 2-for-1 combo night or $1.50 beer night, I tip the equivalent of 20% of what the "full" price would be, as they are serving me that value of food/beer.

Also, if I eat lunch at a barbecue restaurant or Mexican restaurant and my meal costs about $4, I will leave $1 because I don't feel right throwing a bunch of coins and lint and other debris on the table.

As for Sonic, I have gotten into the habit of tipping them as well since they do deliver it to your car (sometimes on roller skates). And if you punch the button and tell them you need some ketchup for your tater tots, they will bring it to you.

I always tip my bartenders, but since my wife and I only drink beer which they simply twist the top off of, it is not always 20%.

I have heard that the rule on tipping hotel service is if you are staying more than 1 night, it is appropriate to tip, and especially at luxury hotels (where they turn your sheets down and leave chocolate on your pillow). I do not know the appropriate rate for such.

The first time I ever ordered a beer on an airplane, the attendant gave it back and said "thanks, but we don't take tips" so I never tip them, even if they give me extra peanuts.

~U2Alabama

[meriphew]

If the service is acceptable, I tip 20%. If it is great, I will tip 30-50%. If it is sub par, then I tip maybe 10%.

_____________________
Post indie electronic
Meriphew
www.meriphew.com

[Zooropa]

In the US, 15% is the avg tip. Ussually, the tip is double the tax so on a $100 check Gabriel Vox, If you only left me $10, I would have to kick your canadian arse!!! Also, the other thing to remember is that, generally speaking, a resturant is not busy allnight. It may have a good dinner rush where you might wait on 4 tables and bring in $30 in tips, but by 10 or 11, you might not have any tables and there fore no tips, so it avgs out. I'd say, (from my experience at TGI Fridays) that waiters can expect to make about $10-12 an hour with the good ones a few dollars more. It may seem like a lot, but believe me, waitering is bot an easy job, especially in a place like TGIF. AS for my experience in bartending, we make a little bit more (I avg 20-25 an hour) but, that's a whole different story

------------------
Don't let the bastards grind you down.

Zooropa FTP

[Klodomir]

Originally posted by sulawesigirl4:
However, when travelling in Europe or Asia I generally don’t tip because service is included (says so on the menu).

In many European countries, they are required by law to put that on the menu, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it's reflected in the staff's pay, so we still tip. I'd recommend doing so, unless your waiter/waitress really doesn't deserve it for some reason. The customary percentage varies, but you can usual find an indication in travel books about the country you're going to.

[MissZooropa]

I'm mean, I hardly ever tip. Maybe I round up on the bill and it will be like a few percent.

As someone said, they are doing their job. I have a job giving service to customers too but since I'm behind a computer at a callcenter I can't get tip, doesn't matter how nice I am.

My big question is why restaurants can't pay at least minimum wages instead? What's the problem? I can't see why I should give someone something extra for simply taking my order, deliver the food and then deliver the bill. Ok, if it's something extraordinary with the order or they easily take a change or do something extra. But simply do their job, nothing more, nothing less, I don't feel like paying them for, that's the employers responsible to give the waiter/waitress what they think they are worth.

The same with maids. And just leaving the tip in the room might not end up in the right hands. I've tipped the maid once (me thinks) and it was when I was staying at a hotel in a small city in Urugauy. I was the gossip for the whole hotel personal since I was an alone girl, all the way from Sweden staying there and they cleaned my room and gave me new towels and soap everytime I had been in the room and so. When I once happened to "catch" them they looked at me and giggled and whispered and quickly left the room and thought I was very exotic. LOL That was very sweet and something extra.

But, as mentioned I'm from Sweden and tip is normally included in the price so noone looks strangely or angry at you if you don't tip. I try to tip more when I'm over in the US since I know how it works there but to tip as much as 20% will probably never happen.