Mandatory 25% tip

[Teren_Kanan]

I tip anywhere from 30%-0%... sometimes. I'm not hard to please, but I will stiff someone completely for bad service or for getting my order wrong. If that happens, they don't deserve a tip and let it be a lessoned learned.

Just out of random curiosity. What steps do you take to come to the conclusion that your incorrect order was the servers fault, and not the cooks? or do you mean something like ordering a steak and getting catfish?

I'd stay better than 90% of the time, if your steak comes out cooked incorrectly, if you have wrong side items, or if some sort of toppings or sauces are done incorrectly, it's the kitchens fault. At least in the places that I've worked.

 

[Concord]

Who are some of you guys...Mr Pink?

 

[baj1dallas]

If you receive good/great service - go above and beyond. Whats the big deal. Is an extra $5 or $10 or $20 going to kill ya?

Yes an extra $10 or $20 a week would probably mean life or death to as many as a million people. But I should give it to some bad attitude lousy waiter so he can blow it on drugs and booze, probably before his shift even ends?

 

[Robbieac]

10% is good enough for GOD.

It should also be good enough for Uncle Sam and waiters.

 

[rkell87]

10% is good enough for GOD.

It should also be good enough for Uncle Sam and waiters.

 

[Robbieac]

 

[daschoo]

it still amazes me that restaurant/bar owners over there get away with over charging their customers for their food and drink, underpay their staff and then have the customers pay extra to subsidise the staffs income.

 

[AbeBeta]

People complain about the lack of service in the service industry, well taking the tipping out of a meal will bring a whole new level of dissatisfaction to the public that they've never seen before.

Bon Appetit.

Yet in every country I've been where tipping was not expected, I've experienced very good service ... superior even. There even seemed to be pride taken in the work.

 

[SaltwaterServr]

it still amazes me that restaurant/bar owners over there get away with over charging their customers for their food and drink, underpay their staff and then have the customers pay extra to subsidise the staffs income.

It, in turn, subsidizes the cost of the meal. $2.13 an hour labor does a lot of work that decreases operations costs substantially.

Only hole I found in your story. The incentive should be to have a job in the first place. (this is on the manager's head) If they are doing an inadequate job, they should be let go.

That's the point exactly, they're doing just a good enough job. Nothing more, nothing less.

Yet in every country I've been where tipping was not expected, I've experienced very good service ... superior even. There even seemed to be pride taken in the work.

It doesn't mean a thing if we don't know the compensation range of the servers or the cost per meal from the business side of the restaurant's ledger.

10% is good enough for GOD.

It should also be good enough for Uncle Sam and waiters.

And you couldn't be more wrong. Uncle Sam taxes servers at 12% of their sales, so that's a minimum expectation. It went all the way to the Supreme Court years ago, brought by the servers of a restaurant in, of all places, San Francisco.

 

[daschoo]

It, in turn, subsidizes the cost of the meal. $2.13 an hour labor does a lot of work that decreases operations costs substantially.



That's the point exactly, they're doing just a good enough job. Nothing more, nothing less.

yet over here where restaurant staff are paid a decent wage people can still afford to eat in restaurants.

also i don't know what you're looking for when you eat out but a good enough job is exactly what i want from the staff. i'm looking for them to bring me my food and be observant enough to notice when i try to get their attention. i'd rather the waiting staff were forgotten within an hour or so of my meal.
tipping is a custom we have over here but on a smaller scale due to the fact that the staff are actually being paid properly by their employer so its just a few quid straight into the pockets of the staff. (although technically they are supposed to be declared and taxed)

 

[Tusan_Homichi]

I basically tip 20% unless someone is just rude. I have eyes and I can see when the server is being bombarded. I have no problem waiting a bit longer when it's busy or hell, I don't even mind it that bad when something is messed up with the order.

I'm pretty easy to please. Rudeness though? Like standing in plain view of me and just talking with coworkers when there are empty drinks all over the table? Eh. That kinda bothers me.

 

[YosemiteSam]

I basically tip 20% unless someone is just rude. I have eyes and I can see when the server is being bombarded. I have no problem waiting a bit longer when it's busy or hell, I don't even mind it that bad when something is messed up with the order.

I'm pretty easy to please. Rudeness though? Like standing in plain view of me and just talking with coworkers when there are empty drinks all over the table? Eh. That kinda bothers me.

Same here. My default tip is 20%. If the waiter/waitress vanishes for long long periods of time, that is the quickest way to make your tip shrink. (besides being rude) I do take into account how busy a restaurant is though.

If I'm getting top notch service and the waiter / waitress is very personable, I will go above beyond 20%.

 

[AbeBeta]

It doesn't mean a thing if we don't know the compensation range of the servers or the cost per meal from the business side of the restaurant's ledger.

It is adorable that you keep pushing the whole business side piece without any sort of recognition that increasing wages wouldn't be a simple "these people now get paid more" issue -- instead we'd be talking about a completely different business model

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

Yes an extra $10 or $20 a week would probably mean life or death to as many as a million people. But I should give it to some bad attitude lousy waiter so he can blow it on drugs and booze, probably before his shift even ends?

Clearly, your response doesnt fit what I wrote.


Originally Posted by REDVOLUTION
If you receive good/great service - go above and beyond. Whats the big deal. Is an extra $5 or $10 or $20 going to kill ya?




If $10 or $20 a week is going to mean "life or death" then those people should not be going out.

 

[Kevinicus]

What is good/great service anyway? The most I've ever really received is adequate service. It's all I really expect though. Take order, bring food, refill drinks, bill (and some of this is handled by others). I don't want them hovering, don't want a conversation, don't need an explanation of half the menu. Just the basics, and to be honest, I'd rather not have them at all and be able to do most of it myself.

 

[Muhast]

What is good/great service anyway? The most I've ever really received is adequate service. It's all I really expect though. Take order, bring food, refill drinks, bill (and some of this is handled by others). I don't want them hovering, don't want a conversation, don't need an explanation of half the menu. Just the basics, and to be honest, I'd rather not have them at all and be able to do most of it myself.

I've always been a great tipper (30% or so), but I agree. What exactly is great service? I mean being a server really isn't a hard job at all. You don't cook the meals yourself, you simply ring in the order, and then bring it to the table, and get refills as needed. There simply isn't all that much to it. Your job is to be polite and friendly(which is a standard in basically ANY business) and to carry out the food, and enter it into the computer. It isn't that tough.

Imagine going into a store to buy a $20 t-shirt, and then being expected to tip the guy who helped you find your size, and rang you up an extra 5 bucks(25%). That would never happen.

Eitherway, I always tip pretty well b/c I do understand that the employer's don't pay, so the customer has to. I've been a server and bar-tender for a few years when I was fresh out of high school and it was the easiest job I've ever had. I don't know why servers complain as much as they do when they get a poor tip, b/c the large majority of people tip a decent amount for pretty little work. I mean several places even have food runners, so you don't even have to bring out the food yourself when it's busy.

I'd guess an average table, you probably goto that table 6 times. You greet them(1), take the drink order/apps(2) food order(3) bring refills/food (4) bring refills and to go boxes (5) check.

Those 6 visits take about 10 minutes of total time/work. So getting a $5-8 tip for that amount of work is pretty fair to me.

 

[Teren_Kanan]

I've always been a great tipper (30% or so), but I agree. What exactly is great service? I mean being a server really isn't a hard job at all. You don't cook the meals yourself, you simply ring in the order, and then bring it to the table, and get refills as needed. There simply isn't all that much to it. Your job is to be polite and friendly(which is a standard in basically ANY business) and to carry out the food, and enter it into the computer. It isn't that tough.

Imagine going into a store to buy a $20 t-shirt, and then being expected to tip the guy who helped you find your size, and rang you up an extra 5 bucks(25%). That would never happen.

Eitherway, I always tip pretty well b/c I do understand that the employer's don't pay, so the customer has to. I've been a server and bar-tender for a few years when I was fresh out of high school and it was the easiest job I've ever had. I don't know why servers complain as much as they do when they get a poor tip, b/c the large majority of people tip a decent amount for pretty little work. I mean several places even have food runners, so you don't even have to bring out the food yourself when it's busy.

I'd guess an average table, you probably goto that table 6 times. You greet them(1), take the drink order/apps(2) food order(3) bring refills/food (4) bring refills and to go boxes (5) check.

Those 6 visits take about 10 minutes of total time/work. So getting a $5-8 tip for that amount of work is pretty fair to me.

Don't know why anyone would ever call serving "hard". It certainly is one of the easiest jobs there is in terms of actual work you do. Dealing with people is quite another matter and how hard or easy that is changes from table to table.

Everyone has a different opinion on what good service is. Some want you there all the time, some don't. Some expect you converse with them, some want you to leave them the hell alone. Some expect to be checked on frequently, some don't want to be checked on at all 'cause they'll let you know when you're wanted. Some people want their server to be funny, some want a server who's serious and professional.

The difference between a Good server and an average server is the ability to read people well enough to know what kind of server they want, and adapt accordingly. This is not a simple skill to pick up for most people, yet comes completely natural to others.

 

[SaltwaterServr]

It is adorable that you keep pushing the whole business side piece without any sort of recognition that increasing wages wouldn't be a simple "these people now get paid more" issue -- instead we'd be talking about a completely different business model

Wow. You ate out in another country and got acceptable service. Now tell me, what part of the bill was the tip? Yes, a lot of places include the cost of the tip in the actual price on the menu. It's not necessarily a different business model in any regard, just a different approach to how the tip is generated.

Besides, Americans abroad are known as generous tippers because we have a habit of carrying over our customary tips when we travel. You'll get damn good service because the servers, if they see enough Americans, expect that their compensation is going to be beyond what they normally get.

How do I know this? My staff over the last few years has included people from Italy, Bolivia, Columbia, Mexico, Canada, Israel, Moldova (briefly), Peru, Argentina, and Iran without thinking too much into it. We also service a level of clientele that travels all over the world. Part of my job is to chat with all of our regulars and here their stories from abroad.

Let's pick Italy. Tips in some cities in say Italy are fully included in the bill. Some more touristy spots include a portion and expect another portion to be paid by the patron voluntarily. It depends, to a degree, what part of the country you're in.

Now what part of that was adorable again, in the face of your gross ignorance of what you were paying for when you paid the cost of the food bill?

Don't know why anyone would ever call serving "hard". It certainly is one of the easiest jobs there is in terms of actual work you do. Dealing with people is quite another matter and how hard or easy that is changes from table to table.

Everyone has a different opinion on what good service is. Some want you there all the time, some don't. Some expect you converse with them, some want you to leave them the hell alone. Some expect to be checked on frequently, some don't want to be checked on at all 'cause they'll let you know when you're wanted. Some people want their server to be funny, some want a server who's serious and professional.

The difference between a Good server and an average server is the ability to read people well enough to know what kind of server they want, and adapt accordingly. This is not a simple skill to pick up for most people, yet comes completely natural to others.

And figure it out in under 10 seconds. That's all it should ever take from an experienced server. 10 seconds and you've established, generally, what kind of attention people will be expecting. Of course you've got to read their mood after a few minutes of them getting comfortable, but it's a fast and quick diagnosis that I expect from my staff.

 

[Teren_Kanan]

And figure it out in under 10 seconds. That's all it should ever take from an experienced server. 10 seconds and you've established, generally, what kind of attention people will be expecting. Of course you've got to read their mood after a few minutes of them getting comfortable, but it's a fast and quick diagnosis that I expect from my staff.

Indeed.

Most good servers can generally ascertain two things by the time the drink order is done. What type of guest they are dealing with (as far as what type of service they expect), and what type of tip they are going to leave.

I am VERY RARELY surprised by a tip I am given. It hardly ever happens and I would wager that I could guess the tip I am going to receive within a dollar or two with 80% accuracy the moment I know how much their bill is.

I generally don't even have to speak to a table to know whether or not it's going to be a good or bad tip. I can generally get a good idea by simply observing them enter the restaurant, and being sat.

The most common "Surprise Tip" I receive is from super nice people who think Bible pamphlets = tips. Everything will go awesome with these tables, they are nice, no complaints, they thank me and tell me I did a good job, only to leave 2 dollars and a "***** loves you" booklet on the table for their 50$ bill.

 

[Tusan_Homichi]

The most common "Surprise Tip" I receive is from super nice people who think Bible pamphlets = tips. Everything will go awesome with these tables, they are nice, no complaints, they thank me and tell me I did a good job, only to leave 2 dollars and a "***** loves you" booklet on the table for their 50$ bill.

People actually do that? That's crazy!