HERE'S A TIP! --> Stop tipping waiters and keep the money for yourself!

[Wheezer]

If anyone ever watched 3rd Rock, I loved the way Dick worked it when he actually found out what tipping was. After he was seated he laid out like $10 in ones and he explained to the waitress that this is your tip, everytime I am dissatisfied with your service I take a dollar away from the tip. I kinda like that.

It has come to a point anymore that they "expect" you to tip even for crappy service. It's not my fault you chose a profession where over half your income depends on the generosity of others. If you want to make $9-$10 and hour or more then get another freaking job. Don't expect me to give you money just because you bring me my food. A good waitress or waiter will tend to the needs of the customer without being too overbearing.

 

[Epsil0n00]

<< << If they spit on your food, than that's their problem. >> >>




<< I agree with you on moral grounds, but that's really my problem, as I'll be the one eating it. Just give them a few dollars yo... >>


Are you suggesting that we give waiters a tip out of fear for spit in our food? Don't mind if I say it first, but that is one f-cked up reason to give a tip.

In fact, I find the whole theory of "You should give a bad waiter a big tip to encourage them to perform better" to be absurd! Howabout we just wait to tip them generously once they treat us generously, not the other way around. Who is serving who here. Are we going into a business to get served and then offering a 'gift' for good service, or are we just there to supply the other 1/2 of that waiter's income no matter how terrible the experience is?

Also, I find it interesting that people (and this claim is supported by the comments from users above) tip higer percentages in more expensive resturants. Why should you tip 30-50% in a "nice" place and only 10-15% in a ghetto place? I would think that, being the obviously generous (sarcasm) people you are that you'd tip the low-paid workers more than the waiters at the most expensive place in town... This is why percentages don't work. My 3-point system is uniform and no one gets cheated. If you feel that $3 is too little, then assign $2 or $3 to each point, but you have to pick a system for yourself and follow it, that way no one gets shafted (unless of course they suck as a waiter).

 

[dionx]

<<

<< a 3 step process?!?!?!?!

i might as well just carry a calculator with me all the time now >>



If you want to think of it that way, tying your shoes is a 9-step process, but once you do it a couple of times you get the hang of it.

Do you keep a cheat sheet that tells you how to tie your shoes? >>



i use velcro. 1 step.

 

[Jerboy]

<< Coming from someone who has worked as a waiter at one point in my 21 years of existance... i'm starting to see more and more than tipping is getting to be a pain in the ass.

I've always tipped very well wherever I go, 20-30%, if it's an inexpensive meal i've even gone up to half the price of the meal between myself and my g/f. >>




Attitude, attitude attidue and competance. Don't expect much more than few percent from me when you talk to me in monotone wearing a frown on your face or I catch you making customers wait as you spend the time on the phone with your friends when you're supposed to be working. I might write $0.00 in bold and "you're rude and your level of service is unaccpetable, buffet style would've been better" when you're rude while I was having my moments.



<<
Now... like I said, i'm 21 but for some reason look like i'm freaking 16 or 17... well.. because of that i've noticed i'm always getting crappy service compared to others around me. Not getting drinks refilled, not being checked on... it's ridiculous sometimes... >>



Happens to me from time to time. If I don't plan on using that restaurant much, they'd be given 0% tip. My local Denny's treat me real well. I've always tipped their wait(-ers/resses) solid 15% and seeing that I go there about twice a week they take good care of me.



<<
Just this past weekend we went to this nice place where i wound up spending $ 93 on our meal... for 2 people at this steakhouse downtown. My waiter sucked ass. I got better service from someone else's waiter who was nice enough to being me a to-go box, my bill, and get everything wrapped up for me. I was generous enough to leave a 5% tip though.
Needless to say, i've left several receipts with messages stating how I felt about the waiters service... nothing too mean, just saying their service was less than satisfactory. >>



I would have written 0%, $0.00 on tip line.


Edit: I don't necessarily believe tipping on basis of xx% the value of your order.

What difference is there to waiter's effort or workload when they serve Halibut vs 12oz Filet Mignon steak assuming there is no monetary reward involved?

It shouldn't quite work like tax or physics(15% of 1liter=.15liter . Correspondingly 15% of 5m^3=750L). The amount of genuinity or effort doesn't correspond to order price. The only excpetion might be that waiter will probably treat you better on expensive orders assuming that tip is a proportional function of order price.

 

[Layzee]

Man.. my worst experience was back in high school and going out to eat for prom... we ate at this Japanese place with a bunch of our friends but everyone kind of came separately so we all had different tables and different waitresses. Well there was a total of four of us at our table and we got ok service... definitely not as great as our friends at the other tables.

Well in the end the total bill for our table was about $80 or so me and my guy friend split the bill and intend to leave a $20 tip on the table (does it really matter when or where you leave the tip?). Well the lady takes our $80 for the food and before we get up to leave, she comes back and barks with an attitude, "Excuse me, did you know gratuity is 15%?".

What the hell? Your tip is on the table chunkyass and come on now, we're on our prom... did you really have to say that? I mean it was a fairly nice restaurant so I'm sure they pay their waitresses at least a decent amount of money... but man.. when you come out and expect the money, I think that is wrong. Needless to say her tip went from $20 -> $10.

I feel that I should be doing my job right/well everytime.. not because I am expecting a tip in the end. If people tip then cool.. I appreciate it and I know that I'm doing my job fairly well. Doing your job well should come before expecting the tip, and if you do your job well, the tips should come anyway...

 

[Epsil0n00]

EpsiIon-->

<< This guy is not ME! Don't mix us up! heh >>


[sarcasm]Oh GOD NO! I sure hope no one thinks that I am a low-tipping, cheap bastard!

Relax, EpsiI0n, you can continue to pay your 20% food tax and no one will think you are cheap. That is the price you pay for social acceptance I suppose...

 

[Pundit]

Let us suppose that society decides to eliminate tipping altogether. The wait staffs' wages are now low. Consequently, the quality of service begins to decline. Business suffers. So now, the boss must increase wages to entice better quality employees. Finally, menu prices must be increased to compensate. So in the end, a meal/drink will cost the customer pretty much what it would have with tipping. Agreed?

 

[Epsil0n00]

<< Let us suppose that society decides to eliminate tipping altogether. The wait staffs' wages are now low. Consequently, the quality of service begins to decline. Business suffers. So now, the boss must increase wages to entice better quality employees. Finally, menu prices must be increased to compensate. So in the end, a meal/drink will cost the customer pretty much what it would have with tipping. Agreed? >>


At least then we know we are paying for the food, and not giving money to some lazy-ass waiter who doesn't deserve it.

 

[Ns1]

<< Man.. my worst experience was back in high school and going out to eat for prom... we ate at this Japanese place with a bunch of our friends but everyone kind of came separately so we all had different tables and different waitresses. Well there was a total of four of us at our table and we got ok service... definitely not as great as our friends at the other tables.

Well in the end the total bill for our table was about $80 or so me and my guy friend split the bill and intend to leave a $20 tip on the table (does it really matter when or where you leave the tip?). Well the lady takes our $80 for the food and before we get up to leave, she comes back and barks with an attitude, "Excuse me, did you know gratuity is 15%?".

What the hell? Your tip is on the table chunkyass and come on now, we're on our prom... did you really have to say that? I mean it was a fairly nice restaurant so I'm sure they pay their waitresses at least a decent amount of money... but man.. when you come out and expect the money, I think that is wrong. Needless to say her tip went from $20 -> $10.

I feel that I should be doing my job right/well everytime.. not because I am expecting a tip in the end. If people tip then cool.. I appreciate it and I know that I'm doing my job fairly well. Doing your job well should come before expecting the tip, and if you do your job well, the tips should come anyway... >>




dude f- that; i work for tips, and i would've been like "okay screw you, i take it all back"

 

[MikeO]

Epsil0n00, I agree with you 100%. But then again I live in Finland where tipping is not required. I've left tip five times in my life, four times at restaurant because I thought the service was extremely good and once to a pizzaboy... who was already giving back my change and then got confused when I told him to keep it

 

[Yossarian]

Epsil0n00 wrote:



<< Plus, have you ever wondered why it is that you aren't expected to tip for take-out orders? I have. The business is still doing you a service, so why don't you give them the standard 15-20%? I'll tell you why--> our social customs don't mandate tipping on take-out orders, so you all go along with what ever the masses do... >>



The reason is that there is very little service involved. They cook stuff, put it in a container, and drop it in a bag. No one is coming by your house every 10 minutes to refill your drink or offer you dessert.

 

[BuckleDownBen]

I don't mind tipping. I am not an ostentatious man so I don't leave extravagant tips. I leave between 15 and 20 percent, more at my favorite restaraunts. If I didn't tip, I couldn't go back to that place, and there aren't enough places to eat for that. It also doesn't really matter to me what kind of service I get. The tips is part of the waitress's salary, and I don't think they should be punished for having a bad day. God knows I've had plenty of bad days at work where I've messed stuff up and I didn't feel like my pay should be docked. Think of it as the waitress is working on commision. You don't grumble about paying the guy that sold you your suit 10 percent or whatever. It is your right to not leave a tip, and in no way is a waitress ever entitled to spit in your food.

 

[Pundit]

<< At least then we know we are paying for the food, and not giving money to some lazy-ass waiter who doesn't deserve it. >>


Yep. If you ever decide to change the system, I'm one step behind you.

 

[SgtZulu]

I like it when waiters think you're a good tipper because you pulled up in a expensive car.They try extra hard only to find out that they were stiffed.

 

[Epsil0n00]

Pundit said:


<< Yep. If you ever decide to change the system, I'm one step behind you. >>


Um, I did change. Are you still one step behind me? Anyone else want to take up this cause?

Maybe it would be helpful to make little cards to leave with your tip (or by itself if necessary) that explain the system you are using and why they got the tip that they did. That way people wouldn't think you were a cheap bastard--there would be a clear explanation of why you tipped the way you did. Maybe then when they see you coming next time they will feel the incentive to perform better, thus gaining a tip from you. This is the way it should work, not in reverse. I think that this note is a good idea because otherwise (unfortunately) the waiter will attribute their low tip to your (assumed) cheapness and not to their performance/service. Maybe one day it will be different, but for now people need it explained to them.

Also, there was a mention of "not wanting to dock a waiter's pay because they had an off day." I think that this clearly exposes part of the problem: a TIP from a customer is EXTRA and should NOT be considered part of their pay!

Who's with me!

 

[Thegonagle]

<< I like it when waiters think you're a good tipper because you pulled up in a expensive car.They try extra hard only to find out that they were stiffed. >>

Then they're newbies. I deliver some of the best pizza in the area. In our restaurant?s south Minneapolis delivery area, the housing ranges from millions of dollars to ghetto fabulous. At the rich houses, a great tip is practically unheard of. The low-mid working class areas are where I consistently receive the best tips.

 

[Epsil0n00]

<< They try extra hard only to find out that they were stiffed. >>


I am NOT promotting "stiffing" anyone. If I give them a large tip, then I know and they know that they deserved it. If I give them a low tip/no tip then I know and they know (becasue of aforementioned note idea) that they didn't deserve it. There is no stiffing taking place, only tipping based on actuall merit and ABOVE-average service.

Don't forget... normal service deserves no tip! They have to give normal service to keep their job. Only reward EXTRAordinary service with a gift of cash.

 

[Jerboy]

What do you do when the waiter/pizzaboy you got happened to be someone from your class that you totally dislike? Had that happened to me at a restaurant once, but I was with my parents. He treated us so nice and kind like if I didn't know him. He didn't hint about the way he acts at school. He's rude, does stuff that pisses me off and plain inconsiderate to me at school. Two people face like that are hard to deal with.

When we got the check, I told my parents how he's suck a jerk at school and we should stiff him completely, but we did carve it down to 5%

 

[LukFilm]

<<

<< They try extra hard only to find out that they were stiffed. >>


I am NOT promotting "stiffing" anyone. If I give them a large tip, then I know and they know that they deserved it. If I give them a low tip/no tip then I know and they know (becasue of aforementioned note idea) that they didn't deserve it. There is no stiffing taking place, only tipping based on actuall merit and ABOVE-average service.

Don't forget... normal service deserves no tip! They have to give normal service to keep their job. Only reward EXTRAordinary service with a gift of cash. >>


You are my HERO. Just the way I like to think, but it might have something to do with being from Europe where tipping is almost non-existent. The way we "tip" is that we round up the price of the beer, let's say, from 23 crowns to 25 crowns, or meal from 97 crowns to 100 crowns etc. There is no percentage, just simple rounding up for simpler money exchange.

 

[Epsil0n00]

Jerboy, I know that it would be tempting to stiff him on general principle... however, we have to keep in mind that this is the guy's job. You should tip based only on the service they give during your interaction with them at the restaurant, not the service he gives you in your class...

This said, I prolly would have stiffed him too. HA!

 

[Layzee]

<< At the rich houses, a great tip is practically unheard of. The low-mid working class areas are where I consistently receive the best tips. >>



There is a reason why those rich people are where they are at... "richness" is inversely proportional with "tip size"...less tipping equals being closer to becoming rich.. j/k

 

[Spike]

I don't tip if the server is really bad, but otherwise I give them some money as they deserve it

 

[tops2]

usually, i tip a little over 10% for "average" service. when the service is really good, then i tip 15%. when the waiter ignores me for like half an hour and i have to go up to him to ask for stuff..i don't tip at all. its not like i'm cheap, but i just don't believe they deserve a tip when they don't serve u at all

 

[Jerboy]

<< Jerboy, I know that it would be tempting to stiff him on general principle... however, we have to keep in mind that this is the guy's job. You should tip based only on the service they give during your interaction with them at the restaurant, not the service he gives you in your class... >>



I'm nice to him, yet he makes me feel miserable at school. He was a good server, but I'll stiff him anyway and he feels miserable. That sounds workable to me

 

[Freejack2]

General rule of thumb for me for restaurants is 15% if they do good I go up to 20% or more. They do bad and it goes down.
Simple enough. *shrug*