Tipping is out of control!

[dish rag]

I put a piece of paper in the tip jar that says "Go to college or get educated in another profession"

Tip jars for no real service, restaurant industry for a LOOOONG time so tip very well there. Getting me a cup of coffee, sorry, no tip

What if they are currently in University or high school? What if they don't have the ability to or parents that were unable to guide them? That's very rude if you really did do that.

 

[SaintsManiac]

I put a piece of paper in the tip jar that says "Go to college or get educated in another profession"

Tip jars for no real service, restaurant industry for a LOOOONG time so tip very well there. Getting me a cup of coffee, sorry, no tip

WOW

I worked as a barista while I was IN COLLEGE. Those tips helped so much. Most of the drinks are more than just a "cup of coffee."

 

[barkley]

You know how you eliminate expected tipping? Pay a real wage, at least minimum. Then tipping does become an incentive instead of an expectation.

it's still the expectation here despite servers earning the same minimum of $11.50 per hour ($15.64 in at least one city) that every other minimum wage worker earns. i've gotten to the point where i will no longer pay a restaurant bill with cash b/c too often the server just decides on their own not to bring my change back so i'm left asking about it and 9 out 10 times i get a sigh and an 'oh, you WANTED that back-i thought it was my tip', um-no, i'll tip what if/what i want to (it's one thing for them to purposely bring me back change in way more lower denomination bills to facilitate tipping but to assume that on a $38 bill that they deserve a $12 tip-nope that doesn't sit right with me).

 

[Skellingtonj]

I put a piece of paper in the tip jar that says "Go to college or get educated in another profession"

Tip jars for no real service, restaurant industry for a LOOOONG time so tip very well there. Getting me a cup of coffee, sorry, no tip

Get your own coffee, then. Get a grip you aren’t more educated then someone who works at starbucks, just because they work at Starbucks.

 

[piccolopat]

My biggest objection to tipping in a restaurant is that the norm is a percentage of the bill and not based on the actual service provided. If I order a burger and a coke, the server's effort to take my order and deliver it to me is the same as if I ordered a T-bone and an expensive wine. Why should the tip be different solely because of the cost of what I eat or drink? I do tip 20% or more because it is the societal norm, but the whole concept always bothers me. I would rather see no tipping and a fair wage paid but I don't see that working in the U.S. because tipping is so ingrained in some services.

 

[piccolopat]

Get your own coffee, then. Get a grip you aren’t more educated then someone who works at starbucks, just because they work at Starbucks.

Do you tip the bank teller who cashes your check or the insurance agent who gives you a temporary auto ID so you can register you car? What makes some service people deserving of a tip but not others?

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

it's still the expectation here despite servers earning the same minimum of $11.50 per hour ($15.64 in at least one city) that every other minimum wage worker earns. i've gotten to the point where i will no longer pay a restaurant bill with cash b/c too often the server just decides on their own not to bring my change back so i'm left asking about it and 9 out 10 times i get a sigh and an 'oh, you WANTED that back-i thought it was my tip', um-no, i'll tip what if/what i want to (it's one thing for them to purposely bring me back change in way more lower denomination bills to facilitate tipping but to assume that on a $38 bill that they deserve a $12 tip-nope that doesn't sit right with me).

Yikes, that's no good. I feel like the norm when you don't want change back (so the leftover becomes the tip) is to say "keep the change". Otherwise they should be bringing back the change.

My mom, who still pays enough times in cash at places, gets annoyed because there are enough times thesedays that they bring back too large of bills so then she has to ask them to bring ones (or fives for some cases) so she can tip. That one I know it would be easy enough for my mom to ask for ones back but still.

 

[RedAngie]

What if they are currently in University or high school? What if they don't have the ability to or parents that were unable to guide them? That's very rude if you really did do that.

Yep. Don't tip in those situations if you don't want to, but don't leave a nasty message in the tip jar either.

 

[tvguy]

I doubt that will ever happen.
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/a...of-american-restaurants-no-tipping-experiment

We did a series of reports on "Better Jobs" and more than one person working in a restaurant service job told us they were shocked......after they took on student loan debt and got their Bachelors degree. ......that their new chosen career path paid less full time than what they made working part time waiting tables and getting tips. So not just customers want to keep tipping, the people getting the tips want to get them rather than a higher wage.

My daughter lived in England for a year and was surprised at the low minimum wage there....currently 7.83 pounds which works out to about $9.89 U.S. and the fact that few complained about that being low. But few had cars, and things like cell phones and data were much cheaper. My daughter's entire cell phone bill, including the cost of the $30 smartphone was under $100 for a year. Of course they have National Healthcare, so they also don't have that expense.

 

[LSUmiss]

Do you tip the bank teller who cashes your check or the insurance agent who gives you a temporary auto ID so you can register you car? What makes some service people deserving of a tip but not others?

B/c like you said in your PP, it’s the societal norm. If you don’t want to conform then don’t. If you feel the need to change the norm, perhaps start a social media campaign. For now it is what it is. Do it or don’t.

 

[mjkacmom]

My biggest objection to tipping in a restaurant is that the norm is a percentage of the bill and not based on the actual service provided. If I order a burger and a coke, the server's effort to take my order and deliver it to me is the same as if I ordered a T-bone and an expensive wine. Why should the tip be different solely because of the cost of what I eat or drink? I do tip 20% or more because it is the societal norm, but the whole concept always bothers me. I would rather see no tipping and a fair wage paid but I don't see that working in the U.S. because tipping is so ingrained in some services.

Those servers in more expensive restaurants probably have more experience than those serving burgers, and should be paid more. Plus, higher end restaurants give servers fewer tables to give better service, plus diners tend to sit longer, so tables turn over less.

 

[sam_gordon]

B/c like you said in your PP, it’s the societal norm. If you don’t want to conform then don’t. If you feel the need to change the norm, perhaps start a social media campaign. For now it is what it is. Do it or don’t.

So we're not allowed to talk about what we don't like unless we're going to try to change it? The "get your own coffee" is a rude response IMO. One could easily say "get a job you don't have to rely on tips".

And yes, going back to your previous post, ANY "bonus" should not be expected. Would I be upset if my bonus gets taken away? Sure. That doesn't mean I don't understand it's a "bonus" and is discretionary on the part of the company.

 

[piccolopat]

Those servers in more expensive restaurants probably have more experience than those serving burgers, and should be paid more. Plus, higher end restaurants give servers fewer tables to give better service, plus diners tend to sit longer, so tables turn over less.

Sorry but I should have been clearer - my examples are for service in the same restaurant not for a burger joint versus something like Ruth's Chris Steakhouse.

 

[tvguy]

Those servers in more expensive restaurants probably have more experience than those serving burgers, and should be paid more. Plus, higher end restaurants give servers fewer tables to give better service, plus diners tend to sit longer, so tables turn over less.

Last high end restaurant I ate at was Le Cellier Steakhouse in Epcot and that tab came to $250 plus a tip of $50. 90 minute meal
Last inexpensive restaurant I ate at the tab came to $27 plus a $6 tip. 45 minute meal
I don't know how many tables each server had, but more than one.
I don't know if tip sharing was in effect for both servers.
But I guess the server was bringing in at least $100 an hour in gross tips at the high end restaurant, and the low end restaurant server probably is bringing in about $30 an hour in gross tips.
So if you are good, and at the right restaurant, a server can out earn a professional easily.

 

[luvsJack]

I put a piece of paper in the tip jar that says "Go to college or get educated in another profession"

Tip jars for no real service, restaurant industry for a LOOOONG time so tip very well there. Getting me a cup of coffee, sorry, no tip

If you don't want to tip, don't; but no reason to be a jerk about it.

Some places actually give darn good service, at the counter. Handing you a cup of coffee or setting your cupon the table is what they are paid to do. Doing it with a smile, and doing anything extra to provide you service is what they are tipped for.

Almost 100% of the employees at our Starbucks are college students. They ARE in college for another profession. Some are in college for restaurant management and are getting some credit for working there. Don't judge by what you think you see.

 

[LSUmiss]

Last high end restaurant I ate at was Le Cellier Steakhouse in Epcot and that tab came to $250 plus a tip of $50. 90 minute meal
Last inexpensive restaurant I ate at the tab came to $27 plus a $6 tip. 45 minute meal
I don't know how many tables each server had, but more than one.
I don't know if tip sharing was in effect for both servers.
But I guess the server was bringing in at least $100 an hour in gross tips at the high end restaurant, and the low end restaurant server probably is bringing in about $30 an hour in gross tips.
So if you are good, and at the right restaurant, a server can out earn a professional easily.

In high end restaurants here in NOLA, being a server is a career.

 

[kaytieeldr]

So we're not allowed to talk about what we don't like unless we're going to try to change it? The "get your own coffee" is a rude response IMO. One could easily say "get a job you don't have to rely on tips".

This is exactly what the poster who "tips" with (critical) notes IS saying.

 

[barkley]

So if you are good, and at the right restaurant, a server can out earn a professional easily.

absolutely. many years ago i worked as a bookkeeper for a couple of napa valley restaurant (not uber high end but nice) and both the management/owners as well as the waitstaff knew the exact formula as far as specific shifts worked relating to earnings. depending on if someone worked nights (with higher priced entrees) vs. days, weekends (more tourists filling tables) vs weeknites their earnings could be spectacular. the area where it got really interesting was when it came to the decreased value of working at the higher end restaurant vs. the trendy lower cost-you would think that the servers at the higher end would net more b/c bigger tab equals bigger tips BUT the reality was despite the law calling for the servers to report all their tips to us for payroll taxes they were easily able to under/non report cash tips so the only thing we could track for taxing was that done on credit cards. the result was you could have 2 servers who made the identical amount hourly wage/tips but the ones who worked at the higher end and whose tips came in the form of credit card transactions always netted less (not saying all servers under reported cash tips but it was a common occurrence).

we had plenty of college grads working serving jobs, depending on their degree they could make more working part-time the best nites of the week than they could earn f/t commuting into the bay area for their field of study.

 

[sam_gordon]

This is exactly what the poster who "tips" with (critical) notes IS saying.

Right. And I would not say that as my tip, solely in response to someone who says "get your own coffee". As mentioned earlier, you don't tip the bank teller, the auto mechanic, the plumber, etc. They're all doing services for you.

Using the example of a tip jar (or tip line) at Panera... you collect your food, make your own drink, bus your own table. What exactly are you tipping FOR?

 

[barkley]

Using the example of a tip jar (or tip line) at Panera... you collect your food, make your own drink, bus your own table. What exactly are you tipping FOR?

at ours they serve and bus all the tables-the only way you get your own food (other than drinks) is if you are getting to-go.

as far as to-go food and tipping, for me there is one place that i ALWAYS tip for to-go: old spaghetti factory. one reason and one reason alone-they have a waitperson bring the order and then go through it and identify each individual item i've ordered (and indicating any special requests). they are the ONLY place i have consistently never gotten an incorrect to-go order from.