Dining Out - Tipping Well May Serve You

[ersa3]

Some of the stories on this site can make one think twice about dining out... or can make one become a very good tipper.

http://www.stainedapron.com/
Dedicated to the venting of food servers' frustrations
and a harsh education of the dining public...

 

[BROWNi]

The problem with tipping is that WE pay a huge part of the servers wages on top of the high priced food while he employer benefits and gets away with paying them less.
I don't tip the kids at McDonalds. Why should I tip the person service me in a restaurant. They are hired to serve food. If a server has a problem with their wages, they should take it up with their employer. Clients at my work don't tip me. Plus, I make a decent living but I garantee you many servers at high end restaurants and bartenders make alot more income than me. BTW, I do tip but it is the bare minimum. I think tipping is BS. It should be for getting service above and beyond what is expected. How many times has that happened to you? Especially at a regular eat-in joint.

 

[Cobster]

Like Brownii, I tip bare minimum, unless the server was genuinely pleasant and entertained me a bit, why not.
Otherwise, bare minimum.

 

[james t kirk]

Fuck that.

A server has no idea how much I am going to tip till I leave.

For good service, I will leave 15%.

For exceptional service (rarely ever had it), I leave more.

For bad service, (seldomly, but it does happen) for some fucked up reason I feel inclined to leave at least something.

Rule of thumb though, if I go to the the sunset grill for breakfest, I tip a lot more than 15%. That waitress did everything a waitress at another high end restaurant did. To leave 1.50 seems wrong on a 10 dollar bill. Usually, I will leave $3.00.

 

[Questor]

The problem with tipping is that WE pay a huge part of the servers wages on top of the high priced food while he employer benefits and gets away with paying them less.

I agree that restaurants mark up the cost of food to their customers. If the cost of the restaurant is too high for your budget, you need to find a cheaper restaurant, or eat at home. Or better yet, since the grocery stores also sell "high priced food" with the owner getting the profits and paying wages to the employees, you might want to look into growing your own food.

I don't tip the kids at McDonalds. Why should I tip the person <sic> service me in a restaurant. They are hired to serve food. If a server has a problem with their wages, they should take it up with their employer.

Are you being silly on purpose? If so, please report to arclighter in the "Politics & International Affairs Forum". He is the captain of the Team Silly. You will blend in rather well there. If the employee complains to the employer, he/she will get ignored, or more likely, his relationship with his boss will deteriorate and he will suffer as a result. It is an accepted convention in this country for the customer to tip. If you don't tip or tip poorly, that is not between the server and the employer, it is between the server and you. You are responsible for screwing the server out of his/her rightful compensation if the service was acceptable.

Clients at my work don't tip me. Plus, I make a decent living but I garantee <sic> you many servers at high end restaurants and bartenders make alot <sic> more income than me. BTW, I do tip but it is the bare minimum. I think tipping is BS. It should be for getting service above and beyond what is expected. How many times has that happened to you? Especially at a regular eat-in joint.

You seem to have a real attitude about restaurant servers being less deserving of a living wage than you. If clients at your work don't tip you, then it must be because it is not conventional in our society to tip in your place of business. Why do you feel the need to flout convention at the expense of a restaurant waiter? Why not just flout convention by not going to restaurants? Then everyone will be happy.

If you must go to restaurants and continue to screw the hired help, you should at least print and laminate your original post in this thread and hand it to your server at the beginning of the meal, just so there are no misunderstandings. Then you can sit back and enjoy your meal without worrying about the tip. LOL

By the way, your spelling and grammar suck. No tip for you.

 

[Cobster]

A plate at Jack Astor's on average costs the restaurant, $just under $2.00 a plate.
Some of the plates for the customer costs well over $10, even $19 on some.
Enjoy your food

 

[great bear]

The last time I tipped I was in a canoe!

 

[Cobster]

A plate at Jack Astor's on average costs the restaurant, just under $2.00 a plate.
Some of the plates for the customer costs well over $10, even $19 on some.
Enjoy your food

 

[antlerman]

The meaning of TIPS

To Insure Prompt Service

I find it better when going to the norm or better eating astablishments to place some in the servers hand at the start and then depending on the service add more at the end.

If they do not get the hint with the tip at the start then nothing at the end.

But in the bars and other places I tend to tip the minimum...unless I am going to come back and the service is good.

 

[TheNiteHwk]

I always tip (unless really bad service) 10-15% depending on the place and how much cash have on me that day etc.

I wonder how you all feel though about tipping owners. Often enough you are being served by the owner themselves. Do you tip then? Same % or more or less?

Personally, I never tip owners. I figure they are making enough already.

 

[great bear]

I always tip (unless really bad service) 10-15% depending on the place and how much cash have on me that day etc.

I wonder how you all feel though about tipping owners. Often enough you are being served by the owner themselves. Do you tip then? Same % or more or less?

Personally, I never tip owners. I figure they are making enough already.

NH. You should tip. You probably swipe $20.00 worth of nappies.

 

[Juldet]

Overtipping has benefits too

I generally start at 15% and go up or down. As a regular at at a Yonge and Eglinton bar/restaurant I would get free drinks/free food, guaranteed entry and reservations, no line-ups. The waitresses would show me extra cleavage, one even showed me her panties and stay-up stockings. Just for overtipping. If you don't tip they will spit in your drinks, dip their cock in your drink or roll your food on the floor. I have seen it at even the finest restaurants and private clubs when I worked as bus boy/wine steward or bartender in my teens and early 20's during the 80's. Do not think much has changed.

At the chains,where you cannot tip but if you are rude they will step on your Mr. Sub meat with their dirty feet (or wear the meat in their shoes until you come or spit in the gravy at KFC.

Does not pay to be rude or not tip. Best to keep your mouth shut and never visit again.

 

[TheNiteHwk]

... NH. You should tip. You probably swipe $20.00 worth of nappies

Never take extras from Mom & Pop type places.

Only the big corp or franchise places.

 

[BuffNaked]

I start at 10% and that's what you get. Now if you go above and beyond the call of duty, then I'll tip handsomely. If you fuck up, or the kitchen staff fucks up, I'll leave nothing. I don't feel bad about it either. The staff still gets paid just minus a few pennies for an absent tip.

For those of you that say food service staff don't get paid much, I say, there is a whole world of options open to them where they can get paid better. I wish I got tipped for every computer I fixed. I don't. But I'm well compensated by my employer any ways.

One thing I hate is when restaraunts add gratuity to the bill. I'll tell them to take it off and if they don't I'll file a dispute with VISA.

 

[TheNiteHwk]

One thing I hate is when restaraunts add gratuity to the bill. I'll tell them to take it off and if they don't I'll file a dispute with VISA.

Yes one thing I don't like for sure is when they assume the tip. Even places where you pay cash. Sometimes they assume the tip and don't give or bring back any change. That kind of attitude is not acceptable to me. Has happened to me before. When that does happen then I just never go to that place again or if I do I do, I make sure to get another server.

 

[TheNiteHwk]

... Ive found most places will find a way to screw you out of the holiday pay as well.

A lot of places where they have high staff turnover to cut costs they pay you your holiday pay on every cheque. So when you get your weekly cheque the gross amount is your wage or hourly rate plus 4%. Sometimes they get around this by telling you you are getting $7.25 per hour. But in reality they are paying you (on their accounting books) they are paying you $6.90 plus vacation pay. So when you leave you think you are entitled to your 4% vacation pay... but in reality (their reality) they have already given it to you.

 

[Questor]

I have to say something about this tipping conversation. When was the last time you got paid $6.50 an hour to work a part time job... its almost always part time. A decent pay check from waitressing a week bring home is usually under $200 after taxes, EI, broken dishes and meal charges. Ok so i didnt grow up with rich enough parents to send me to college or University. I don't have many options available to me at this point. Mainly manual labour and im a girl so dont think ill make more than $13/hr .Or there is waitressing, phone centers.. also minimum wage. Or Terb. If you work in a breakfast restaurant for 6-12 hours.. ( you dont just get to leave at said time, you leave when caught up) on my best 12 hour day ever.. running my ass off i made about $110 in tips. I think it was mothers day. On a normal shift average day, i may bring home $40-$60. Not to mention that waitressing involves every weekend and holiday. Ive found most places will find a way to screw you out of the holiday pay as well. Its true and not worth losing your job over to fight it.
So next time the tired waitress girl, does a decent job.(not a bad one) Remeber. How much that $2.00 tip means to her. Yes they should be paid more... but they arent. How much does that $2.00 or 20% mean to you?

Well said Jersey. I don't understand why people have such difficulty in allowing others who may not have gotten quite as far in life as them the opportunity to live a decent life with decent work for decent money. Are people really that greedy? Unfortunately our society seems to encourage us to get as much as we can at the expense of others.

 

[humbucker]

For those of you that say food service staff don't get paid much, I say, there is a whole world of options open to them where they can get paid better.

I agree 100%. There are many other options for food service staff to work. But YOU also have many other options than going in to a restraunt where you are expected to tip. If you don't like to tip than you shouldn't be going to restraunts.

And talking to your employer about pay raises is almost moot. They're going to may the minimum wage no matter what - the minimum wage for servers btw is less than normal minimum wage because it is EXPECTED that they will be tipped.

Hey I have an idea. Why don't you come to my place, fix my computer, but I won't pay you what you charge because you expect that of me.

P.S. This isn't a personal attack... rather it is a commentary on the attitude which you, and many others, have about this topic.

 

[goodtime]

For those that thinks servers make too much, there was the movie a while ago. The new show Godiva on Citytv premiere Tues night gives funny look behind the scene look.

Jersey is right. Just because working at a fancy place, can still mean l making min. wage, as tip is 'expected' to supplement income. Good reason why servers are pissed over you short them of $5 or $10 when good service rendered. Especially those with big biz accounts, should tip accordingly.

TNH, often places will let go a person before EI or holiday minimum to save few bucks.

This is service industry, you get what you paid for.

 

[stalemate6]

Some of the stories on this site can make one think twice about dining out... or can make one become a very good tipper.

http://www.stainedapron.com/
Dedicated to the venting of food servers' frustrations
and a harsh education of the dining public...

YES, it's true.