Why do you tip a waiter instead of the restaurant paying thier wages?

Question

So based on these answers...You are tipping for the service. But is that not thier job..to give good service? If you go to Wal-mart you don't tip the cashier b/c she rang up your items quicker or smiled when she handed you your change...do you? I guess the incentive should be to keep your job or to get a raise? Right or wrong?

Answer 1

Restaurants pay partial wages, but it's way below minimum wage. When waiters combine both their wages and tips, however, it usually exceeds minimum wages. Restaurants can offer waiters the choice of being paid minimum wage and not receiving tips instead, meaning that the waiter would have to turn the tips into the restaurant. But in most cases, the waiter would actually end up making less to go for minimum wage payments alone.

There is a historical reason for this, however. Once upon a time, when inns and restaurants were privately owned, the owner or a family member of the owner would wait on tables himself, so he didn't expect a separate payment for waiting on customers. In larger establishments, waiters were often relatively poor people who just worked for the free food and perhaps a place to sleep. They didn't receive wages per se. It's as if they were simply a contract laborer who took on a small part of the responsibilities of the owner in exchange for the right to collect a little additional money from the customers. Therefore, customers who wanted good service would tip the waiter (or promise a large tip later) in order to get him to work harder. The tip was perceived as a small token of thanks which the waiter could use to buy himself a drink at the end of the day.

Interestingly enough, the French word for "tip" is "pourboire," which means "for drinking," hinting at the historical practice of giving tokens of thanks to the waiter so he can buy himself a drink.

The tradition endures partly because restaurants don't want to spend the additional money, partly because society rationalizes it because waiting doesn't require any type of degree, partly because customers like being in control of using the promise of tips to motivate their waiters and figuring the amount of the tip to reward or punish their waiters. Some countries are straying away from this, however, and these days in many establishments the tip is included in the price, or as the French say, "le service est compris." Americans would be quick to argue, however, that the services in establishments where the tip is included is never as good. Then again, there's no reason to assume that an additional bribe in the right circumstances wouldn't make your waiter a little more attentive!

Answer 2

The tip provides a benefit for the waiter to give great service. If the waiter got a steady wage then there would be no incentive to giving the best service possible.

Answer 3

Because not all waiters / waitress are created equal. It is to the best interest for the restaurant for there to be direct incentive to give great service. Therefore the "tip" itself reflects the monetary barometer of the service that the patron received. It is also an instant way of reward and punishment for service.

Answer 4

Tipping is a good way to reward good performance and punish bad. A good waitperson can earn LOTS of money through good service; a bad one will not last long.
In the infrequent times that I patronize restaurants, I am willing to pay well for good, personable service through a good tip. I am not afraid to leave nothing for bad service.
Why should anyone have to pay a good wage for bad service?

Answer 5

It's an easy way for restaraunts to NOT have to pay full wages, you've answered your question yourself. That way they can cut costs and make more money...

As someone who worked as a waiter for 4 years putting myself through college, and I tell you what, some days no tip in the world is worth what you go through.

Answer 6

The restaurant DOES pay; the tip is kinda like thanking the person for a good job.

Answer 7

hey i totally agree with you..other countries do not tip either! I am getting really tired myself of tipping everywhere i go. even the girls at the local coffee shop have a tip jar. the funny thing is that they just hand the cups over the counter, the customer pours and fixes their own coffee. so i am basically tipping for a styrofoam cup, whats up with that. don't get me wrong, i am not against people making money and supporting themselves but by time i tip my hairdresser, wait staff, coffee shop people, ice cream people (yes they have a tip jar too), the darn mailman, and any other people i come along in my day, i do wonder when enoughs enough!

Answer 8

if the restaurants paid full wages, then you would just pay higher prices. By giving tips, you get to choose how much more you pay by the service you receive.

Answer 9

Because the restaurant doesn't pay them that much. The waiters then have a reason to work harder, because they get to keep the tip.

Answer 10

Because the waiter is the one serving you when you eat. They usually make relatively little money just based on their hourly rate. They rely on their tips to subsidize their income. Whereas the restaurant is making tons of money anyway.