Advice on tipping etiquette please

[ChrisinHove]

Chris are you and family safe ?

Yes, thank you.

We were about 1/2 mile away by the time of the atrocity. A terrible thing to happen, especially in such a friendly city.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families.

[Mk-211]

Good to hear that you and your family are safe.

[James Y]

Chris are you and family safe ?

Yes, thank you.

We were about 1/2 mile away by the time of the atrocity. A terrible thing to happen, especially in such a friendly city.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families.

Wow. Yes, glad you and your family are safe, and prayers for all of the victims and their families.

Jim

[akapennypincher]

A Tip is a Reward, not part of bill if Servive is Better than good.

I find restaurants in tourist areas most of time service is marginal, because staff thinks you will never return.

Then you have opposite experience from people who work hard on making you visit be it once, or repate business positive.

I do not tip on poor service, poor food, or bad attitude.

I do not put money in TIP JARS.

Like I said a tip is like a valor medal, you get both for doing more than your job .

[Naperville]

A lot of us have volunteer fire and police departments.

Call them up and ask them if you can order pizzas for them one day....might cost you $250+. They will appreciate the thought.

[vivi]

A Tip is a Reward, not part of bill if Servive is Better than good.

I find restaurants in tourist areas most of time service is marginal, because staff thinks you will never return.

Then you have opposite experience from people who work hard on making you visit be it once, or repate business positive.

I do not tip on poor service, poor food, or bad attitude.

I do not put money in TIP JARS.

Like I said a tip is like a valor medal, you get both for doing more than your job .

In the US I would not agree with this attitude.

I manage restaurants. Without tips waitresses make about $2.15/hr. That's less than a third of the lowest minimum wage in the country, and about 10x below a liveable wage in most cities.

When you go into a sit down restaurant or a bar, you should go in with the mentality that you agree to help fund the waitresses / bartenders hourly wage.

Expecting someone to wait on you for $2/hr, and punishing them if the cook messes up your food, isn't a mentality I'd ever walk into a restaurant with.

I agree with you on tip jars, tipping for take-out etc. Every once in a while I do if I can tell the staff had a hard night, but 95% of the time I don't.

But I would never go to a sit down restaurant and not tip unless service was TERRIBLE. I even tip well when the food isn't great as long as I know it was due to the cook and not the waitress communicating the order wrong.

Don't want to tip? Get fast food. Get take-out. Cook at home. Fast for the evening. There's options.

Now in the rare restaurant that pays their wait staff a liveable wage, sure, no tipping. But the majority of restaurants in the US are not run that way.

[Ankerson]

A Tip is a Reward, not part of bill if Servive is Better than good.

I find restaurants in tourist areas most of time service is marginal, because staff thinks you will never return.

Then you have opposite experience from people who work hard on making you visit be it once, or repate business positive.

I do not tip on poor service, poor food, or bad attitude.

I do not put money in TIP JARS.

Like I said a tip is like a valor medal, you get both for doing more than your job .

In the US I would not agree with this attitude.

I manage restaurants. Without tips waitresses make about $2.15/hr. That's less than a third of the lowest minimum wage in the country, and about 10x below a liveable wage in most cities.

When you go into a sit down restaurant or a bar, you should go in with the mentality that you agree to help fund the waitresses / bartenders hourly wage.

Expecting someone to wait on you for $2/hr, and punishing them if the cook messes up your food, isn't a mentality I'd ever walk into a restaurant with.

I agree with you on tip jars, tipping for take-out etc. Every once in a while I do if I can tell the staff had a hard night, but 95% of the time I don't.

But I would never go to a sit down restaurant and not tip unless service was TERRIBLE. I even tip well when the food isn't great as long as I know it was due to the cook and not the waitress communicating the order wrong.

Don't want to tip? Get fast food. Get take-out. Cook at home. Fast for the evening. There's options.

Now in the rare restaurant that pays their wait staff a liveable wage, sure, no tipping. But the majority of restaurants in the US are not run that way.

I agree.

Something really needs to be done about that too.

Pay them a living wage and or put the tips in the bill automatically.

MOST of the time as in 99.9% of the time the service is not the servers fault.

To think like was said is extremely entitled to say the least and completely rude to the workers. Yeah should be held to fast food or takeout only, should never be allowed in a sit down restaurant ever.

I always trry and tip min 15% or more depending.

[RustyIron]

Disclaimer: I believe I'm under no obligation to tip anything. While I frequently tip over 20%, I've been known to leave no tip when the dining experience is unacceptable. I NEVER eat fast food, nor will I go to any place where I have to order at a counter. If you think I'm a cheapskate, perhaps you're right.

Now that everyone has been able to label me for better or worse, I want to point out that some of the numbers being thrown about are misleading. I wouldn't have said anything, except I hear this mumbo jumbo time and time again.

In my area, the minimum wage for servers is $16.50 per hour, and the average employee rakes in an extra $100 per day in reported tips. That comes to $29 per hour for an eight hour day.

Of course other states and municipalities have different rules. However, they are all governed by Federal law. The Federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. As mentioned elsewhere, the Federal TIPPED minimum wage is $2.13 per hour. What we're rarely told is that the $2.13 only applies if earned tips MEET OR EXCEED the $7.15 minimum. So rest assured, the waiter and the bus boy aren't earning $2.13 per hour if you refuse to tip for their shoddy service. The bare minimum they can make is $7.25 per hour. And if you're dining in 37 of the 50 states, the people are earning more than that.

Shoot the messenger if you like, but those are the rules.

[vivi]

The Federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. As mentioned elsewhere, the Federal TIPPED minimum wage is $2.13 per hour. What we're rarely told is that the $2.13 only applies if earned tips MEET OR EXCEED the $7.15 minimum. So rest assured, the waiter and the bus boy aren't earning $2.13 per hour if you refuse to tip for their shoddy service. The bare minimum they can make is $7.25 per hour. And if you're dining in 37 of the 50 states, the people are earning more than that.

The employer is responsible for matching minimum wage in the event tips do not meet or exceed it.

But many of them do not.

So, that bus boy, bartender or waitress may actually be making $2/hr if they aren't tipped.

Even if they aren't, $7/hr before taxes hasn't been a liveable wage in decades, let's be real.

Employing illegal aliens and dumping hazardous waste are both illegal in this country too, yet many companies do it. Expecting all of them to fairly pay 15-20 year old kids is putting too much faith in their good will.

I have seen countless front of house employees get f'd over with this setup on slow shifts. More common in mom n pop style joints than corporate chains, but it definitely happens.

I disagree with anyone who goes into a sit down establishment without the intention of tipping for regular, adequate service. Not going to call anyone names, I'm just going to explain why I think it's wrong.

Sure, if someone is making $16/hr waiting tables I'd feel less inclined to tip. But I can count on my right elbow how many people I've worked with that got paid that in guaranteed wages for that job, and I've been working in restaurants since the 90's.

I'm not wild about this setup, but it's the one we have. The unwritten agreement is if you go to a sit down restaurant in many parts of the country, you're helping to pay the wait staffs wages.

If you disagree with the rules, then don't play the game. Not tipping in most areas of the US isn't bucking the system and causing a revolution in the food service industry, it's screwing over peoples income they rely on to provide for their families. Most folks waiting tables don't have a long list of alternatives.

Personally I just about always cook my own food. Healthier, tastier, cheaper, and I avoid the tipping issue completely. But when I'm on the road and dine out, I always tip well if service isn't awful. And sometimes I tip even if service is bad....because I can see my waitress trying to help half the restaurant because some genius FoH manager under staffed for the day.

[Ankerson]

The Federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. As mentioned elsewhere, the Federal TIPPED minimum wage is $2.13 per hour. What we're rarely told is that the $2.13 only applies if earned tips MEET OR EXCEED the $7.15 minimum. So rest assured, the waiter and the bus boy aren't earning $2.13 per hour if you refuse to tip for their shoddy service. The bare minimum they can make is $7.25 per hour. And if you're dining in 37 of the 50 states, the people are earning more than that.

The employer is responsible for matching minimum wage in the event tips do not meet or exceed it.

But many of them do not.

So, that bus boy, bartender or waitress may actually be making $2/hr if they aren't tipped.

Even if they aren't, $7/hr before taxes hasn't been a liveable wage in decades, let's be real.

Employing illegal aliens and dumping hazardous waste are both illegal in this country too, yet many companies do it. Expecting all of them to fairly pay 15-20 year old kids is putting too much faith in their good will.

I have seen countless front of house employees get f'd over with this setup on slow shifts. More common in mom n pop style joints than corporate chains, but it definitely happens.

I disagree with anyone who goes into a sit down establishment without the intention of tipping for regular, adequate service. Not going to call anyone names, I'm just going to explain why I think it's wrong.

Sure, if someone is making $16/hr waiting tables I'd feel less inclined to tip. But I can count on my right elbow how many people I've worked with that got paid that in guaranteed wages for that job, and I've been working in restaurants since the 90's.

I'm not wild about this setup, but it's the one we have. The unwritten agreement is if you go to a sit down restaurant in many parts of the country, you're helping to pay the wait staffs wages.

If you disagree with the rules, then don't play the game. Not tipping in most areas of the US isn't bucking the system and causing a revolution in the food service industry, it's screwing over peoples income they rely on to provide for their families. Most folks waiting tables don't have a long list of alternatives.

Personally I just about always cook my own food. Healthier, tastier, cheaper, and I avoid the tipping issue completely. But when I'm on the road and dine out, I always tip well if service isn't awful. And sometimes I tip even if service is bad....because I can see my waitress trying to help half the restaurant because some genius FoH manager under staffed for the day.

I think the whole tipped wage thing just needs to go away in the US period.

Pay a living wage to servers.

[vivi]

The Federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. As mentioned elsewhere, the Federal TIPPED minimum wage is $2.13 per hour. What we're rarely told is that the $2.13 only applies if earned tips MEET OR EXCEED the $7.15 minimum. So rest assured, the waiter and the bus boy aren't earning $2.13 per hour if you refuse to tip for their shoddy service. The bare minimum they can make is $7.25 per hour. And if you're dining in 37 of the 50 states, the people are earning more than that.

The employer is responsible for matching minimum wage in the event tips do not meet or exceed it.

But many of them do not.

So, that bus boy, bartender or waitress may actually be making $2/hr if they aren't tipped.

Even if they aren't, $7/hr before taxes hasn't been a liveable wage in decades, let's be real.

Employing illegal aliens and dumping hazardous waste are both illegal in this country too, yet many companies do it. Expecting all of them to fairly pay 15-20 year old kids is putting too much faith in their good will.

I have seen countless front of house employees get f'd over with this setup on slow shifts. More common in mom n pop style joints than corporate chains, but it definitely happens.

I disagree with anyone who goes into a sit down establishment without the intention of tipping for regular, adequate service. Not going to call anyone names, I'm just going to explain why I think it's wrong.

Sure, if someone is making $16/hr waiting tables I'd feel less inclined to tip. But I can count on my right elbow how many people I've worked with that got paid that in guaranteed wages for that job, and I've been working in restaurants since the 90's.

I'm not wild about this setup, but it's the one we have. The unwritten agreement is if you go to a sit down restaurant in many parts of the country, you're helping to pay the wait staffs wages.

If you disagree with the rules, then don't play the game. Not tipping in most areas of the US isn't bucking the system and causing a revolution in the food service industry, it's screwing over peoples income they rely on to provide for their families. Most folks waiting tables don't have a long list of alternatives.

Personally I just about always cook my own food. Healthier, tastier, cheaper, and I avoid the tipping issue completely. But when I'm on the road and dine out, I always tip well if service isn't awful. And sometimes I tip even if service is bad....because I can see my waitress trying to help half the restaurant because some genius FoH manager under staffed for the day.

I think the whole tipped wage thing just needs to go away in the US period.

Pay a living wage to servers.

Agreed. It would solve 50% of front of house disagreements overnight.

But that extra $100/hr or so of labor costs will be passed on to the customer.

Restaurants try to cut corners however they can. The margins are thin.

Ask your local diner if they still use real cheese for their salads. A lot of them have switched to oil based imitation cheese for house salads, among other corners being cut....

[Ankerson]

The Federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. As mentioned elsewhere, the Federal TIPPED minimum wage is $2.13 per hour. What we're rarely told is that the $2.13 only applies if earned tips MEET OR EXCEED the $7.15 minimum. So rest assured, the waiter and the bus boy aren't earning $2.13 per hour if you refuse to tip for their shoddy service. The bare minimum they can make is $7.25 per hour. And if you're dining in 37 of the 50 states, the people are earning more than that.

The employer is responsible for matching minimum wage in the event tips do not meet or exceed it.

But many of them do not.

So, that bus boy, bartender or waitress may actually be making $2/hr if they aren't tipped.

Even if they aren't, $7/hr before taxes hasn't been a liveable wage in decades, let's be real.

Employing illegal aliens and dumping hazardous waste are both illegal in this country too, yet many companies do it. Expecting all of them to fairly pay 15-20 year old kids is putting too much faith in their good will.

I have seen countless front of house employees get f'd over with this setup on slow shifts. More common in mom n pop style joints than corporate chains, but it definitely happens.

I disagree with anyone who goes into a sit down establishment without the intention of tipping for regular, adequate service. Not going to call anyone names, I'm just going to explain why I think it's wrong.

Sure, if someone is making $16/hr waiting tables I'd feel less inclined to tip. But I can count on my right elbow how many people I've worked with that got paid that in guaranteed wages for that job, and I've been working in restaurants since the 90's.

I'm not wild about this setup, but it's the one we have. The unwritten agreement is if you go to a sit down restaurant in many parts of the country, you're helping to pay the wait staffs wages.

If you disagree with the rules, then don't play the game. Not tipping in most areas of the US isn't bucking the system and causing a revolution in the food service industry, it's screwing over peoples income they rely on to provide for their families. Most folks waiting tables don't have a long list of alternatives.

Personally I just about always cook my own food. Healthier, tastier, cheaper, and I avoid the tipping issue completely. But when I'm on the road and dine out, I always tip well if service isn't awful. And sometimes I tip even if service is bad....because I can see my waitress trying to help half the restaurant because some genius FoH manager under staffed for the day.

I think the whole tipped wage thing just needs to go away in the US period.

Pay a living wage to servers.

Agreed. It would solve 50% of front of house disagreements overnight.

But that extra $100/hr or so of labor costs will be passed on to the customer.

Restaurants try to cut corners however they can. The margins are thin.

Ask your local diner if they still use real cheese for their salads. A lot of them have switched to oil based imitation cheese for house salads, among other corners being cut....

They pay it anyway in tips.

This way at least the servers would have a good wage.

[Mk-211]

It would also help if the .gov kept their dirty fingers, off of their tips.

[Ankerson]

It would also help if the .gov kept their dirty fingers, off of their tips.

That will NEVER HAPPEN.

That is income, it's taxable.

[Mk-211]

Yes, it's income.

The .gov started it back in 1965, didn't really get serious until 1982. Some states held out longer in requiring it being taxed.

If someone is being paid minimum wage, for being a waiter or waitress, their tips shouldn't be taxed.

[Ankerson]

Yes, it's income.

The .gov started it back in 1965, didn't really get serious until 1982. Some states held out longer in requiring it being taxed.

If someone is being paid minimum wage, for being a waiter or waitress, their tips shouldn't be taxed.

It's income.

Congress writes the tax laws.

Want to make a difference run for office, other than that your opinion is irrelevant.

[ChrisinHove]

Thanks again for all the advice. It was all quite straightforward once I knew the “rules”.

As it was the holiday period and the service was generally exceptional I went 20% pretty much across the board, except for one server (a high end restaurant, too) who was particularly sloppy regarding an allergy and could literally kill someone.

[Ankerson]

Thanks again for all the advice. It was all quite straightforward once I knew the “rules”.

As it was the holiday period and the service was generally exceptional I went 20% pretty much across the board, except for one server (a high end restaurant, too) who was particularly sloppy regarding an allergy and could literally kill someone.

Glad you got it all worked out.

Hope your stay was enjoyable.

[dsvirsky]

Do you believe when famous billionaires like Warren Buffet and Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk and Donald Trump and Xi Ping and Kumar Birla and Vladimir Putin dine out they give at least a 100 dollar tip regardless of their meal type or location?

Maybe yes, maybe no. In my years as a bartender, I (knowingly) served one billionaire. Texas oil man. This was back in the 80s, when billionaires were a rare breed. A*****e stiffed me.

[RustyIron]

The employer is responsible for matching minimum wage in the event tips do not meet or exceed it.

But many of them do not.

The more we discuss issues, the more our perspectives seem to be aligned. It infuriates me when people in positions of power abuse and manipulate those in lower positions. The employers you describe are doing exactly that. They're crooks, stealing bread off the tables of poor people. They're no better than pimps, embezzlers, and drug pushers.

Customers who knowingly patronize establishments who steal from employees are complicit in the abuse. Usually there's no way for customers to know what's going on, so it's not entirely fair to label them as awful people.

At the end of the day, the employee needs to respect their own worth and stand up for their rights. The steps to do so should be posted at every place of employment. I just asked ChatGPT about the labor law posters, and got the response attached below. I suspect that skeevy employers who steal employees' wages aren't proactive in putting up posters that would alert the employees of their rights.

Fixing the problem of crooked employers is just as difficult as fixing the problem of pimps, embezzlers, and drug pushers.