Is tipping mandatory in US?

[MillionaireNextDoor]

Friend of mine was saying that tipping is required (i.e. MANDATORY) by law. Turns out he was acosted at a SF restaurant because he thought the service was pretty lousy (it was) and didn't tip. As he was leaving, the waiter starting calling him names and a manager was called in. However, the manager told him that tipping was mandatory in the city of SF and LA. My friend is a big tipper when it comes to good service but doesn't tip if service is bad.

Is it unlawful to not tip in the US?

 

[Spoooon]

Nein.

 

[Eli]

Under what basis would such a law exist?

I don't think so.

 

[Chaotic42]

If there exists a place that tipping would be *mandantory*, I'm quite certain it would be in California.

 

[Buttzilla]

i odnt' think its required. but gratuity is placed on parties 7 or more, sometimes w/o the customers even knowing it.

 

[jinduy]

i remember i went to eat some chinese restaurant and i had the worst service in the world...i refused to tip and walked out after paying the bill...then this chinese girl chased me down as i was out of the restaurant already and said i had to pay a 15% tip... wtf??? and it was a buffet (hotpot) too! btw it was just me and my friend

 

[MillionaireNextDoor]

btw, my friend ended up not paying the tip.

the waiter should be fired.. no customer service skills

 

[brxndxn]

You do NOT have to pay a tip unless it states it visibly as restaurant policy. I cannot speak for the law in backasswards CA, though.

I usually leave a 20% tip if the service is good.. 15% for medocre.. and 0% for crap service. I don't care if a waiter/waitress had a bad day or whatever. If I had to wait 20 minutes for a soda refill while my mouth was burning with hot sauce, I would want that waiter/waitress to know for next time.

My friend just got back from Europe. He said that restaurant service is absolutely terrible there. The waiters would never refill drinks and would take their sweet time for everything. He said that they basically expect a tip or it's already figured into the bill.... I would HATE to see that happen here in the US.

So remember, when tipping, a bad tip is just as helpful as a good tip depending on the type of service you get. .... a friendly reminder from one that enjoys good service when he eats out

 

[0roo0roo]

i think they have to pay taxes on assumed tips? i forget. i've never tipped 0% yet. thats reserved for horrific service. i average 15%

 

[MillionaireNextDoor]

here's a tip: eat your vegetables

sorry, had to take it before someone else did

 

[HiTek21]

Only time I've seen it manditory to pay a tip is when you have a large party (8 or more) of people and it says they will add a 15% tip to your bill, but this is only at certain resturants. I don't see why you would have to pay a tip if you got lousy service.

 

[dolph]

absolutely not, unless it's a party of 6 or more and it says on the menu that tipping is automatically added

 

[DivideBYZero]

Originally posted by: brxndxn

My friend just got back from Europe. He said that restaurant service is absolutely terrible there. The waiters would never refill drinks and would take their sweet time for everything. He said that they basically expect a tip or it's already figured into the bill.... I would HATE to see that happen here in the US.

Crapola. Visit Europe and find out for yourself.

 

[Linflas]

Originally posted by: DivideBYZero

Originally posted by: brxndxn

My friend just got back from Europe. He said that restaurant service is absolutely terrible there. The waiters would never refill drinks and would take their sweet time for everything. He said that they basically expect a tip or it's already figured into the bill.... I would HATE to see that happen here in the US.

Crapola. Visit Europe and find out for yourself.

Admittedly I have not been to Europe recentlly but when I did spend time there I did not have that experience. If anything they tended to be much more attentive and formal than they are here in the US. I would advise not drawing any conclusions from second hand stories from 1 friends visit.

 

[tarheelmm]

Originally posted by: Eli
Under what basis would such a law exist?

I don't think so.

To a waiter maybe I am sure the law exists in his mind. I hate aholes that complain to you when you dont tip. I make it a point that if service was bad to leave a nickel.

 

[civad]

I leave a message on the reverse side of the receipt if the waiter was bad/lazy/useless.

This way, atleast she will be able to find out why I never tipped. Better still, if the manager reads it ....

 

[StageLeft]

never heard of it being legal. I have given a zero tip only a couple times at most. In truth though I just don't seem to get atrocious service. Last time I got crap ass service the guy apologized in spades and gave us a free dessert or something so I gave him his 15%. I'll give a low tip if I think the person was semi-lazy.

 

[rbV5]

i think they have to pay taxes on assumed tips?

True that, the feds assume 8% of your gross sales as your tips and you pay income taxes on that amount plus any additional claimed tips. They (servers) are also required to tip-out in many instances (splitting the tips they do get with other employees) The worst example that my wife suffered through was the 10% to the hostess, 10% to the buser and 10% to the bartender (whether or not he made you any drinks) she had to pony up at the end of the night (also based on sales, rather than actual received tips) Food service is thankless, dirty job.

 

[skace]

Originally posted by: rbV5
The worst example that my wife suffered through was the 10% to the hostess, 10% to the buser and 10% to the bartender (whether or not he made you any drinks) she had to pony up at the end of the night (also based on sales, rather than actual received tips) Food service is thankless, dirty job.

Yea but just imagine being the busboy. Holy hell worst job ever. We had to carry the kegs to the bar. We had to keep the fireplace going. We had to clean the bathrooms after people puked in them. Constantly cleaning some 3 year olds nasty mess or someones spilt food off the floor. We had to restock the bar and stock the wood for the fire. All for our glorious 10%.

 

[rbV5]

Yea but just imagine being the busboy. Holy hell worst job ever

Its debateable whether its the actual "worst", but I totally agree, it all fits under the "food service suxors" umbrella. Its especially bad now with the economy in its present shape.

 

[CrazyPerson]

how about tip me for reading this

 

[cliftonite]

Originally posted by: Spoooon
Nein.

 

[Kelemvor]

That's a bunch of BS. Only time it's mandatory is if the restaurant has some psoted policy about automatically adding in a tip for large parties or something like that.

 

[austin316]

kinda funny the millionaire next door is worried about a $5 tip.

 

[yruffostsif]

watch the first 10 mins of Reservoir Dogs