Why do people eat at retuarants if they don't believe in tipping?(In the U.S.)?

Question

Waiting on people is a service not included in the bill, that most servers are dependent upon for their wages. It's like expecting a mechanic to fix your car with no service fee. We all expect to pay for his services aside from the parts. I get so frustrated with this issue and I'm curious to hear from others...good or bad...I need a good rationalization.

Answer 1

Many people do not tip because they do not understand what their tip actually represents. The tip is commonly understood as a reward for good service. What is not understood, is that the quality of the service can vary due to many things not under the servers control. If an employer doesn't schedule enough servers, the number of people being seated at one time, an overly demanding customer, a large amount of people in a single party can all alter the service of each customer.

The national minimum wage for a server who receives tips is $2.13, so a tip is actually part of the servers wage. According to most sources typically in America a tip is 15 to 25% of the bill. Since the tip is part of the wage one should be prepared to at least tip a minimum amount.

I was taught that the only thing to consider was service. I had to educate myself to realize that there was more to the issue than that.

Answer 2

The word TIP stands for To Insure Promptness...and when tipping first started it was given before the service was provided.

In the United States, tipping as become an expected norm and not a reward for many people in the service industry. It is something that should be earned and not just outright expected.

If restaurants paid their wait staff at least the minimum wage then they wouldn't have to expect high tips to make up the difference. It seems that now days there are tip jars everywhere, I'm thinking about putting one at my desk where I answer a phone all day - like a mechanic or waitress, I perform a service by answering questions all day.

I leave what I consider a good tip (15-20%) just because I waitressed one summer and hated it. If the service I received was beyond my expectations, the tip is a little higher - if not, then it's only about 10%.

Answer 3

I get frustrated too. I'm a waitress, bartender, hostess at a very nice restaurant. Before that, I was a customer service rep, & a secretary for 20 years.
It still irritates the "****" out of me when people don't tip.
But, you can never "judge a book by it's cover" - Ever hear that one?
Get to work early, maybe 10-15 min & feel how the day/night is going with everyone else. See what you have to do, see what anyone else needs, set it right, then just do it. If you get a feel for what that shift is going to bring, then make it right on your part, and go in with a bang. If you can't smile-walk away. If it gets too bad, let someone else take over, it isn't worth it.
Not everyone tips the same. I've had people hit me on the hand when I went to take a plate away - both were done (nothing on the plates! at all!) He slapped my hand & said "NO" - oooohh - uh, I didn't go back to that table - about 1/2 hour - I asked another waitress to go over & give them the bill. That's the line with me. She did, and it was **** tip, but I didn't care.
I guess you just have to take it as it comes.
Good luck....life...

Answer 4

Well, attitude sure makes a huge diff... and when I read hostile posts from experienced waiters/waitresses who assume and accuse people about why they don't tip better, I can't help but wonder if that's the same attitude that their customers are seeing or sensing, even if in some subtle way. :(

There are many reasons that may apply to the person(s) that doesn't tip:

1. For some customers, such as the elderly, going out is a luxury in itself, and they might not be able to afford a decent tip in addition to the bill. Nobody should be denied the chance to go out once in a while just because they can't afford to tip too. Kudos to the waiter/waitress who finds it in their hearts to allow someone on a limited income to enjoy the occasion without worrying about adding a lousy extra buck to their own pocket.
2. Some customers know that tipping is NOT supposed to be obligatory. It is traditionally supposed to be an EXTRA incentive to encourage exemplary service, and they won't tip for less.
3. The person may not know what is socially expected in tipping or realize how limited the waiter's/waitress's wage is... but that shouldn't be their obligation either.
4. The waiter's/waitress's demeanor may have seemed rude which ruined the mood of the people who came to enjoy themselves.
5. Perhaps the customer felt that their visit was disrupted and not enjoyable somehow, or that the service was lacking - either slow, or the order was wrong, or the cooking sucked - and yes, like it or not, the customer's only known recourse is to choose to not tip. Too bad for both sides that in such situations customers can't simply not pay for the portion of the visit that was lacking. That could be a better system.

The fact is that waitering/waitressing has never been a job for someone that wants to make "good money," so if someone is going to be pissy about a lack of tips or the customers that don't tip, they're in the wrong job. The customers aren't suddenly going to get together and change their attitudes about tipping, so some waitstaff should either quit that kind of job, or learn to ENJOY the pleasant customers and be content with the HONORABLE job of serving others. Believe it or not, with the right attitude, ANY job can be fulfilling and bring you happiness.... but anybody who's going to "piss and moan" about their "stingy customers" or pitiful wages isn't likely going to find the right focus to appreciate or enjoy their job.

Perhaps the unhappy waitstaff around the U.S. should lobby for a better, more fair wage system in the service industry, such as salaried jobs like other countries, or a system that allows a customer to not pay the cook's share of the tab for lousy cooking! :) ...and yes, I have been in food service, and I am one of the many people that can't often afford to tip, yet I am well liked by several servers at a local restaurant where a gf and I used to often sit up all night chatting over nothing but frequently-filled glasses of iced tea, served by people who enjoyed their jobs and knew how much we appreciated them by our smiles and friendly attitudes. :)

Answer 5

I agree with you. If no one tipped there would be no service. It is low class not to tip. I always tip between 15-20%. If the service is inferior I will tip 10%, but I still tip. This is part of the price of being served by someone else. A good waitress or waiter can really enhance the experience of dining out. They deserve to be tipped and tipped well. TIP is an acronym for " to ensure promptness." This works for the customer. If you tip well you will be served well. A girl I used to date worked as a waitress, and she said that women were the worst tippers. In any advent, tipping should be expected since servers are taxed on what they are estimated to make.

Answer 6

I tip all the time the size of the tip depends on the servers attitude and service..If they are in a bad mood and bring it to work and show it while they are serving that is not good...but it they are nice and helpful that is what gets the big tips I have tipped as much as 20.00.. for a 50.00 meal..

Some studies show that tips are raised by as much as 18% if the server puts a smiley face on the bill

Answer 7

A lot of people look down on servers and feel that they are "serving them". A lot of people dont understand the concept that waitresses tips are in fact the majority of their salary. I am a waitress and I depend on my tips. How many of us actually depend and wait fro our paychecks?? It ridiculous how little we get paid and many people dont realize this. A lot of people think we get paid the national minimum wage of $5 something and not the $2 something that most of us make.

I get espically fustrated when I get low tips or no tips at all. I have waitressed for atleast 6 years and I consider myself a good server. When people dont leave tips I think its rude.

Whenever I go out to eat I always leave 25% and I never leave a mess. I like leaving good tips beacue I know how it feels when you get a big tip on a little bill, it feels good and makes my day so I love doing it for others.

People need to realize that waitresses are being paid tips for their service to the customer, we dont get paid extra in our paychecks nor do we get bonuses. or paid vacations. waitressing is an easy way to make quick money.

Bottom line: If you get good service tip better than you would if you got average service. Even if the service isnt all that great dont not leave a tip or a bad one, its really degrading and makes the waitstaff feel bad.

And remember: most waitresses remember when they get tipped bad, espically by elders or teens that come to eat everyday, so be nice to the people who feed you!!!

Answer 8

Well, I don't fall into this category because my family only eats out when we have some extra money and can afford a tip. We wouldn't ever NOT tip unless the waitstaff was rude or not nice to us in messing up our order and getting mad at us about it. I think families with alot of kids can get really stressed out and need a break so bad but not feel like they could really afford it. I mean I feel like that everytime we eat out - it's totally a sacrifice to give extra for a tip. There are also people in this world who are so unbelieveably cheap about things that they take advantage of the fact that they are not forced to give a tip. I think restuarants should do what hotels do for banquets. They include the basic tip in the check - anything beyond the generally accepted 14% or whatever - is bonus to the waiter or waitress. It would also ensure that waitstaff actually paid on at least a part of the taxes they should be reporting since it would show up on their pay stubs. When I was a waitress I didn't know anyone but myself who actually tried to report all of their tips to pay taxes on - which isn't fair but it's not a totally regulated or enforced industry. I don't know that there is a good rationalization for not giving a tip out side of being cheap, selfish, or because the waitress did something totally rude, made mistakes, wasn't nice to you or inconvenienced you in a serious way. I think too that there are people who take advantage of everything possible because they are too poor to get along well in life. Some people like this are really hardworking and just struggling to survive in life - but even in that case - I personally still give a tip - mostly because I know what it's like to be a waitperson. Anyone who hasn't been a wait person - may not understand how important it is and how it feels to be stiffed for no apparent reason. I think some women are bad with this because they have an inferiority complex - it makes a woman feel better about herself in stiffing the cute sweet waitress - complaining about things unecessarily and beinga downright mean customer - treating the waitress like a low life uneducated scum compared to miss high and mighty corporate professional or whatever. Women can be really catty. That's a shame. Men are generally like so happy to have a sweet girl wait on them and show a smile and a bit of kindness - that they are just being really nice in giving great tips. They were always the best to service when I was a waitress and made the job worth it.

Answer 9

Well first of i believe and i don't! If i have a server that rocks and is on top of teh job and handles they task in a professional way and makes me feel great and makes me want to return than more than likely to recieve a great tip.

If a server has a snoby attitude that they wont recieve anything. I aslo feel that if people dont tip that can assume that its there job to serve them and why should they recieve a tip when you are doing what you are supposed to do. I kind of have a feeling that people can be cheap but if you dont want to tip THEN DON'T!

Answer 10

I don't know about where you come from, but many of the establishments here DO include a 15% gratuity on your check.

Now, if a server does her job well, and I am happy, I will often leave another 15% or more, depending.