Do you tip?

Normally, I'd never get involved in these topics on GAF because they get so irrational and hostile (people not tipping out of spite because they feel the person should have a real job?wtf...), but I'll make an exception. I tip. I usually do 20% flat.

If some places include tip by default, it's better for me, since they do 15%.

Yeah I tip. Don't have a set amount. The reasoning is because I know how it feels in the service industry. I believe you pay for a good thing. When you on the other end...

In general, no. I don't live in a crazy country.

If i get something truly exceptional though? sure.

Yeah I tip, to the point people say I tip to much.... But I learned its always good to tip because it usually equals better service next time. I get "perks" and "free stuff" all the time from tipping. Shit I've got laid by a bartender and 2 waitresses who only took notice of me because I tipped them well.

Tipping has been good to me

Yes, 15% unless they suck, but I think people in the service industry are whiny entitled bitches about it. There's this expectation of lucre for acting in the most basic way that every profession uses as a yardstick for not firing you. You moved a plate across a room without swearing at me. Congrats, here's $8.

I know all these people who work as waiters and they're like "you should start at 25% and then they did this and this so blah blah they get 5% and another 5% extra" and I'm like, what fucking reality do you live in? Why is this of value to me? Do you tip your mailman? He moved your shit across a whole town!

The worst part is we've been brainwashed into this so deeply by the restaurant industry who want us to subsidize their payroll that people assume you're a cheapass for speaking common sense. There is no logical basis to this. None. There are any number of low paying jobs or people who go over and above to provide good service who are not tipped and we don't think twice about it. Half the world doesn't follow this practice and yet still, somehow, their service industries do not collapse.

No we don't pay our service staff like slaves here.

I had an interesting observation I brought up once, so humor me:

1) Person A works at a nice restaurant. Dinner for two is $50.

2) Person B works at a nicer restaurant. Dinner for two is $100.

A and B both did the exact same work. The same food was prepared and ordered. The only difference is that one cost $50, and the other $100.

At a 20%, does person B really deserve a $20 tip? Meanwhile people in less expensive restaurants would have gotten $10...

That's sort of what bothers me the most about tipping. It's all relative to the check value, and not the actual labor performed.

I had an interesting observation I brought up once, so humor me:

1) Person A works at a nice restaurant. Dinner for two is $50.

2) Person B works at a nicer restaurant. Dinner for two is $100.

A and B both did the exact same work. The same food was prepared and ordered. The only difference is that one cost $50, and the other $100.

At a 20%, does person B really deserve a $20 tip? Meanwhile people in less expensive restaurants would have gotten $10…

That's sort of what bothers me the most about tipping. It's all relative to the check value, and not the actual labor performed.

I'd rather go ahead and tip the cook instead..

I had an interesting observation I brought up once, so humor me:

1) Person A works at a nice restaurant. Dinner for two is $50.

2) Person B works at a nicer restaurant. Dinner for two is $100.

A and B both did the exact same work. The same food was prepared and ordered. The only difference is that one cost $50, and the other $100.

At a 20%, does person B really deserve a $20 tip? Meanwhile people in less expensive restaurants would have gotten $10…

That's sort of what bothers me the most about tipping. It's all relative to the check value, and not the actual labor performed.

Supposedly, the more expensive (michelin starred) places only hire experienced wait staff, that have had years in the game. So the theory goes. So your "tip" salary reflects your experience.

In theory.

This indian dude gave his opinion on tipping just this monday and has a good amount of comments on his blog already:
http://tiporgohome.com/4/post/2014/03/5-reasons-why-i-wont-tip-you-if-youre-a-waiter.html

Just reading a few comments saying people of color don't tip and say that to your waiter before you order..

I wish restaurants paid people a proper wage rather than expect the customers to decide to do it on their own.

But until that day comes, I tip. Only twice in my life have I not tipped and those two servers deserved it. It's ridiculous that people free ride on the back of others in this situation.

I wish restaurants paid people a proper wage rather than expect the customers to decide to do it on their own.

But until that day comes, I tip. Only twice in my life have I not tipped and those two servers deserved it. It's ridiculous that people free ride on the back of others in this situation.

Actually, the biggest scam of all is the restaurants keeping the tips people pay for electronically. Lots of servers never see those tips you write in at the bottom of a receipt, and then pay for with your CC. The restaurant just never puts them back in the wait staff's hands. Dodgy.

I had an interesting observation I brought up once, so humor me:

1) Person A works at a nice restaurant. Dinner for two is $50.

2) Person B works at a nicer restaurant. Dinner for two is $100.

A and B both did the exact same work. The same food was prepared and ordered. The only difference is that one cost $50, and the other $100.

At a 20%, does person B really deserve a $20 tip? Meanwhile people in less expensive restaurants would have gotten $10…

That's sort of what bothers me the most about tipping. It's all relative to the check value, and not the actual labor performed.

I'd rather go ahead and tip the cook instead..

Well the chefs usually make a boat load of money. Being a chef even at a scruby Applebees or Fridays and you'll earn like $50K. :|

If you step it up to a private and well paced restaurant in a sizable city, you're looking at $65K minimum. Then you've got your NYC, LA, Chicago, San Fran and Miami chefs who earn six-figures.

Point being, they don't need to be tipped. :p

I wish restaurants paid people a proper wage rather than expect the customers to decide to do it on their own.

But until that day comes, I tip. Only twice in my life have I not tipped and those two servers deserved it. It's ridiculous that people free ride on the back of others in this situation.

Actually, the biggest scam of all is the restaurants keeping the tips people pay for electronically. Lots of servers never see those tips you write in at the bottom of a receipt, and then pay for with your CC. The restaurant just never puts them back in the wait staff's hands. Dodgy.

If I like the server, I will leave a $0.01 tip in there and then leave a cash tip. It also helps them avoid some taxes.

I just write "cash" in that space, and leave cash. Never put anything else, because some sneaky fuck can add a 1 in front the 0, and change your total payment if it's an easy number to draw over.

I've seen it happen in Queens and Manhattan. NYC is shady like that.

I had an interesting observation I brought up once, so humor me:

1) Person A works at a nice restaurant. Dinner for two is $50.

2) Person B works at a nicer restaurant. Dinner for two is $100.

A and B both did the exact same work. The same food was prepared and ordered. The only difference is that one cost $50, and the other $100.

At a 20%, does person B really deserve a $20 tip? Meanwhile people in less expensive restaurants would have gotten $10…

That's sort of what bothers me the most about tipping. It's all relative to the check value, and not the actual labor performed.

I'd rather go ahead and tip the cook instead..

Well the chefs usually make a boat load of money. Being a chef even at a scruby Applebees or Fridays and you'll earn like $50K. :|

If you step it up to a private and well paced restaurant in a sizable city, you're looking at $65K minimum. Then you've got your NYC, LA, Chicago, San Fran and Miami chefs who earn six-figures.

Point being, they don't need to be tipped. :p

Point taken. Admittedly I don't eat out much, but still tip when I do.. I'm from the belief that if I am going to tip, it's as a show of gratitude to the person who provided his/her service, not to subsidize your wage.

I just write "cash" in that space, and leave cash. Never put anything else, because some sneaky fuck can add a 1 in front the 0, and change your total payment if it's an easy number to draw over.

I've seen it happen in Queens and Manhattan. NYC is shady like that.

I write in a 0 with a line across it on the tip section of the bill and leave cash for the reasons you just said.

service industry is fucked here, so yes

I wish restaurants paid people a proper wage rather than expect the customers to decide to do it on their own.

But until that day comes, I tip. Only twice in my life have I not tipped and those two servers deserved it. It's ridiculous that people free ride on the back of others in this situation.

Actually, the biggest scam of all is the restaurants keeping the tips people pay for electronically. Lots of servers never see those tips you write in at the bottom of a receipt, and then pay for with your CC. The restaurant just never puts them back in the wait staff's hands. Dodgy.

It's also common in a lot of Asian restaurants for the owner to just "put the money from tips back into the restaurant" - ie. the owner's pocket because hey, " it's not part of the culture " and they know the staff of immigrants / exchange students won't speak up.

Or the common practice at a lot of reputable restaurants for the tips to be split evenly between everyone, which benefits the kitchen staff but further divorces it from any notion of reward calculated for services rendered.

It's also common in a lot of Asian restaurants for the owner to just "put the money from tips back into the restaurant" - ie. the owner's pocket because hey, " it's not part of the culture " and they know the staff of immigrants / exchange students won't speak up.

Or the common practice at a lot of reputable restaurants for the tips to be split evenly between everyone, which benefits the kitchen staff but further divorces it from any notion of reward calculated for services rendered.

I actually disagree that the tip is only for the Wait staff. It's really not. If your foods late, you'll tip the wait staff less, but is it really their fault? Maybe. Maybe not. It's really a full thing. If the meal gets their in good time, versus late, is it really because the wait staff ran the plate of food to you versus left it sitting for 20 minutes?

You're tipping the service of everyone in the restaurant. Not just the wait staff.

tipping is bullshit, but I still do it

15% all the time unless the the waiter or waitress was absolute shit.

I just write "cash" in that space, and leave cash. Never put anything else, because some sneaky fuck can add a 1 in front the 0, and change your total payment if it's an easy number to draw over.

I've seen it happen in Queens and Manhattan. NYC is shady like that.

I write in a 0 with a line across it on the tip section of the bill and leave cash for the reasons you just said.

Yep.

One day I caught a restaurant pulling a shady stunt on my wife's credit card (we left a 20% tip...they tried to bump it up to 50%). We called up AMEX and did a chargeback for all the money.

It's also common in a lot of Asian restaurants for the owner to just "put the money from tips back into the restaurant" - ie. the owner's pocket because hey, " it's not part of the culture " and they know the staff of immigrants / exchange students won't speak up.

Or the common practice at a lot of reputable restaurants for the tips to be split evenly between everyone, which benefits the kitchen staff but further divorces it from any notion of reward calculated for services rendered.

I actually disagree that the tip is only for the Wait staff. It's really not. If your foods late, you'll tip the wait staff less, but is it really their fault? Maybe. Maybe not. It's really a full thing. If the meal gets their in good time, versus late, is it really because the wait staff ran the plate of food to you versus left it sitting for 20 minutes?

You're tipping the service of everyone in the restaurant. Not just the wait staff.

My issue wasn't with the kitchen staff sharing the tips, that makes perfect sense, but rather that it's pooled and split up among everyone at the end of the day - including other wait staff. So your tip doesn't necessarily go to the people involved in your meal.

I do it because it's the norm (i.e. societal pressure). I tip anywhere between 10-25% depending on the restaurant and quality of service. I'd tip 0% if it didn't come with repercussions.

In my 32 years, I can count on one hand the number of times a waiter actually improved my dining experience. Most waiters act friendly, bring your food, and occasionally check up on you/refill your water. Further, the best service I have ever received in my life has been in countries where tips are outright refused, and I guarantee they aren't getting paid well in comparison to their North American counterparts; in fact, they're probably paid worse. Tipping doesn't incentivize better service.

hi takuan, glad you found us breh.

Thank goodness for buffets. You serve yourself so there's no need to tip...

I feel like in LA its almost expected these days that you tip AT LEAST 18%. I don't know when this happened but tipping less is practically asking for trouble.