Waitstaff who work at high end restuarants should make more than minimum wage. I'd think the rich owners of these establishments should be able to pay them a fair wage. If they are bringing in >$1,000 meal would they reallly want their employees wage's being based on a customer's whim? No, I'd ensure they make a good wage that keeps them motivated, and fire any slackers.

That being said, I still tip ~20% even at high end restaurants, despite the fact I think it is ridiculous. Does someone really deserve a $200 tip on a $1,000 bill for barely anymore work than someone receiving $2 on a $10 bill? Yes, I understand they might walk back and forth to the table a few more times, might bring a few more dishes out, but, really, $198/hour worth?

Or even take this to the extreme. Poor waitress has twice as many tables, and they only take half the time. That is still a $49.50/hour advantage for rich waitress.

And they evade taxes so it is even more in reality.

I don't want to read through all this so sorry if it's been mentioned but do you guys tip for takeout? What about ordering takeout along with eating in?

I was using 18 because the majority of the people in this thread are basing it on American values, but yes, I'm well aware age of consent here is 16. Using sex with minors was a bad example, as that is an implicit legal contract, not an implicit social contract.

I picked a better one of having sex with your buddy's girlfriend. When you are friends with someone, and that someone has a girlfriend, the two of you have an implicit social contract that you will not try to hook up with her. Nobody is forcing you not to, and nobody is forcing you to be friends with this person either. You are of course, free to do so as you please. However, you will be viewed as a giant douchebag if you do, and you will lose a friend. And hey, some people are just giant douchebags who will hook up with friends' girlfriends, and that's just par for the course.

having sex with a friend's GF vs. tipping 10%.

tipping 10%. is way worse

http://www.stainedapron.com/

Reading this site makes me never want to tip again

i had a discussion with a friend last night, she told me she stopped being a waiter because she had to share all the tips with all the other waiters and she makes five times the money like all the guys because of her loooks (thats what she says Oo)

so is it really comon to tip good looking servers more?
i mean its prolly nice but my tips are regarding to the total amount i have to pay, and not because of the beauty of the waiter...
opinions pls

"Customer looked at me wrong so I spit in his food".
"Guy snapped his fingers at me so I added $60 through fake charges and stole the cash."
"I routinely lie to customers for no reason other than having a boring, dead-end job".

Yeah judging by that site most servers need to go kill themselves.

I guess that's why you don't get a masters degree in Art History.

If you have a girlfriend who hooks up with your friend, you are also a douchebag.

Getting a cleaning service on Monday. It's a "deep" cleaning that's going to cost me $100. I've read a few opinions on how tipping works in the cleaning industry. It seems majority go with not tipping each time if they come once/twice a month, but tip 20%-30% during holiday season.

There's no guarantee that I'm going to use the cleaners again, so would a 10% tip be appropriate? Thoughts?

I'm sure they'd be happy with that

I dig. 15% should be adequate

I was thinking about my tipping policy over the weekend. I tip based on the quality of the service foremost, followed by the number of plates. I find that many of my friends nickel and dime the tip which is okay I suppose given that they are busto college students but I've always thought that the food service industry is an awful to work in and a good job deserves a good tip. I've seen people who do a great job get treated like garbage by ******* customers and so whenever someone delivers excellent service I acknowledge it and tip accordingly. I might be a little kooky tipping $10 for a $30 meal but I feel a few dollars extra is a small price to pay to encourage quality service.

You shouldn't have unattractive servers. If you do the place is either a ****hole no one wants to work at or the manager should be fired.

That being said the more attractive of the attractive do get tipped better. I don't tip based on appearance but a lot of people do.

This depends on the type of place. Normally I would expect servers to be average to attractive, but at a steakhouse I might expect a gruff old man, or at a place that serves gigantic breakfasts for $4, I'd expect a middle aged fat woman who calls people "hon"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwisejuNOro

must be in this thread

Tipping... lol. Rivals the "custom" of spending 2-3 months wages on a ring as the biggest bs.

It is a low-skilled job that pays at least minimum wage, despite anyone might tell you. If the server doesn't get past minimum wage from hourly + tips, the business is legally obligated to bump it up to minimum.

It's simply a service job that the restaurant provides for it's guests. The same way any other business hires workers to provide a service to its customers.

I worked as a bagger at Kroger's in high school. Obviously, not seen as a job that would warrant tips. I provided the service of bagging groceries for the customer just as a waiter would take orders/bring food to the customer. Did I feel entitled to tips or feel bitter if I wasn't tipped? No. I was hired to bag groceries and I accepted it as my job. I wasn't going to moan and provide crappy service because people didn't tip me.

If you are hired as a waiter and provide crappy service because of someone's opinion of your service or their beliefs, then you are just reneging on your job.
I would imagine that a lot of waiters get into the business because they feel they can make a high hourly with sub-optimal work. No one is particularly "skilled" at carrying dishes or taking orders. Sure, it helps if you aren't socially inept and can walk straight/deal with people. A trained monkey could do your job.

Since they feel entitled to this money that is not guaranteed by anyone (employer, customers, etc.), they have a big fit when they don't receive it. The stories waiters tell about spitting, teabagging, putting hair/objects in food just shows the type of people most waiters are. They are just trying to exploit the culture's norms for personal gain. And when/if that doesn't happen, they become selfish and revengeful. If any waiter tried to mess with my food, I hope they have a lot of tip money saved up or some good dental insurance.

Oh, but it's soooo hard because I have lots of customers and under pressure (oh no!). I worked landscaping doing personal homes for a summer and I would attest that it would be much more grueling than sitting in AC, talking with customers "being rushed". It was a service industry with no tips and lackluster pay. However, I needed a job and felt that I could do the tasks required.

Also, I find it laughable that their entitlement doesn't just go as far as any amount of $. They tend to have a certain % in mind because of what they think the "average" or normal amount is. If the tip doesn't reach that, then they are offended. Well news flash, tipping is not required and is a gift. If I bought a $10 dinner or a $500 dinner, the way you hold it in your hand and set it down in front of me is no different and you don't "deserve" anything, much less a % of what I pay to eat it. The person might give you what they feel you deserve. And by food tampering or ripping off your employer by providing crappy service might help you feel better, you'll be punished in the end.

Just to clarify that I do tip and I'm a student. Normally a few $$ unless the service is poor. I don't even have to bother with the % thing since my max meal is like $13.

There's so much wrong here that I'll just say you're an idiot who doesn't know what he's talking about, and leave it at that.

am i supposed to tip the guys who deliver my new bed today?

Shoot.

You have my attention.

I wish I could start a business and let all my customers pay for my employees wages instead of paying for them myself.

ez_game

Restaurant ownership = easy money apparently

I don't know why I'm bothering and I'll say from the outset that I'm not going to argue any of these points further and am embarrassed to even be posting in a tipping thread. However...

1) If restaurants paid their employees a living wage and the obligation to tip was lifted, the price of items on the menu would go up by something like 30%. People (you) don't realize how close to cost food is priced at.

2) Yes, many service jobs don't get tipped. How that's an argument for restaurant tipping being stupid, I'm not sure. Comparing bagging groceries to waiting tables is ******ed. One requires no skillset or inherent proficency whatsoever, the other does. Leading me to...

3) Obviously all waiting jobs are not the same. Maybe most people could wait at a Waffle House, maybe not. Most people could not wait tables at a nice or even decent restaurant, though. Leaving aside the required interpersonal skills (repeatedly going up to tables full of neutral/wary strangers and being charming), do you know how to properly open a bottle of wine? Do you know which wine goes with what type of entree? Can you carry a forty pound tray of hot food one-handed over your head through a crowd of people? I mean, it's just idiotic to say think that it's a job anyone could put on an apron and do--it's a learned trade like any other, with a particular skill set.

4) As I said in a different thread, I've waited tables fifteen years and never seen anyone spit in food. People are ridiculously paranoid about this. If you aren't a douche, you'll never have to worry about this happening.

5) I've worked landscaping, too, and waiting tables at a good, busy restaurant is several orders of magnitude harder. Landscaping is physically grueling, but that's about it. Waiting tables is fairly physically demanding, as well as being a constant, stressful mental challenge for several hours straight. You just really don't know what you're talking about here.

6) Not sure what the beef with there being an established percentage comes from. It is a societal norm, like many others. Like it or not, when you enter a restaurant (assuming the service is decent), you are implicitly agreeing to abide by the normative behavior of tipping a certain amount, which helps pay the server's wage and accounts for the good service you are receiving. If you don't like it, don't eat out, or move to France where you can enjoy waiting fifteen minutes for your 4 dollar coke to be rudely delivered.

Looks like he might take offense that he can blow off his job if someone doesn't give him a voluntary gift. Oh yah, I'm hired to bartend, but some of the time I don't work because I'm not getting $$ handed to me hand over fist. I'm sure he can provide lots of personal insight here.