Why dont black people tip...read on..?

Question

I'm not a waiter or anything like that, however I do work in a restaurant, and I always hear people talking about black people do not tip...Please note I am not racist at all..but if there is any truth to it, why is that?

Answer 1

why is it when a white person asks a question like this they are racist or ignorant. if a black person asked the same question, why don't white people.......the responses would be less aggressive. it would be called "keeping it real "there will always be cultural and social differences between races,even different values.maybe more blacks like bill Cosby should address the issue of "black culture" and someday,we will be able to see only the person and not the color of their skin. i don't consider myself a bigot,but i loathe uncivilized and ignorant people of any race

Answer 2

Several persons answering this question so far have talked about the need for factual evidence of the notion that black people don't tip. Problem is, there is no factual evidence for this or very little. What we do have is anecdotal which leads to a widely held public perception. Anecdotal evidence should be taken with a grain of salt and not relied too heavily. You probably should not have said that black people don't tip, rather you could have said many blacks don't tip. Don't use absolute statements like that or people will nail you. I have never been a waiter but earlier in my life I did work as a pizza delivery guy and I can say, anecdotally, that most of my black customers did not tip. As to why, I can only guess. Probably had to do with income levels, because the income gap between blacks and whites around here is large. I would also say that this is probably not consistent across the nation. There are probably some areas where the idea that blacks don't tip doesn't exist or is not widely held by servers.

Answer 3

Well im very ashamed to hear we cant even get served in a restaurant because we dont tip. Thats scary cuz i dont want no bad tasting food or nothing lesser done to me because of what other people do. I make sure to tip eveywhere i go, but of course not everyone sees it like that. But u shoud not generalize all blacks in that category, maybe they only have the money to pay for their food. I just hope the service will remain the same when i go i a restaurant and i can eat my food without wondering if something is in it cuz the person b4 me didnt tip.

Answer 4

You'd be surprised how much the waiter/waitress has to do with what their tip will be based on their preconceived ideas of a person.

HERE'S THE NASTY CYCLE: Even if the waiter/waitress doesn't think of themselves as racist...if they feel (from stupid gossip like this) that they will get less of a tip because that person is black...they will work less to serve them. Then, the black folks wonder why the service was so crappy...and so they tip less. It's a horrible cycle.

Most people, of any race, tip based on service. Waiters must serve each table with the expectation of getting a wonderful tip. If they do this...their tip base (from ALL races) will increase.

I always tip based on service given (effort, attention, accuracy, etc.). I'm extremely nice to my waiters/waitresses - and I expect the same.

Answer 5

it's the vicious cycle. Some waiters say that blacks don't type, so then don't give them the same degree of service- why should they when they aren't getting a tip. Blacks then have sub par service, and why should they tip? they got a bad waiter. And round and round it goes.

I always tip (because I'm trying to break the stereotype), unless the service is really, really terrible. And i have been in situations where my server was significantly better to her other tables.

anyway, there are essays about it.

Answer 6

Two experiences as a waiter in a restaurant.

Valentine's day, both events.

Table 1 - two couples, dressed to the 9's, came in separate limos and everything. They say down and ordered a round of drinks. Very demanding on all the free bread and stuff like that - very rude. Fine - no problem, that's my job.

After 2 hours of this, they ask for the check. This mean I had a 4 top table that normally would generate a decent tip that had a grand total bill over two hours of around $25.00. I got a tip of $1.00. Sure, they might have been trying to tell me I didn't deserve more of tip because I gave bad service, but you know what? Whatever - I am going to concentrate on table that spend more money - that's how I make my living - on tips.

Yes, both couples were black people.

Hold on now! I'm not finished yet!

Table 2 - similar situation, both couples dressed to the 9's. Sat down, and were very friendly. They did the usual thing, ordered a round of drinks, had dinner, had coffee, chatted, used the words "please" and "thank you" etc.,...

After 2 hours of this (yes its a guess, but on holidays, that's the average turn around time where I worked), they asked for their check. Not huge, but not small - just another average table on Valentine's Day. They gave me a generous tip. I think their bill was around $160.00 or something and they gave me $30.00 or so. Nothing remarkable concidering where I was working at the time - just a decent tip so I can't remember the numbers exactly.

I had screwed up one of their salads but they didn't completely shaft me for it I don't think.

Yes, both couples were black people.

Having said all that, I think your question implies a gross stereo type. Its not about black, white, or whatever the flavor of the day is. Its about people.

I've generally noticed that if you want to find a pattern, the patterns lies with finances. You can tell the wealthy from your average joe. The pattern is that the average joe tips more (generally), the wealthy tip less (generally). I guess that's how they got wealthy in the first place.

Addition:

My ideal table was the young married couple on honeymoon (no other factors, like race, are relevant) - I worked at a romance kind of place. I'd ask if they were interested in some wine with their meal and offer suggestions.

The couple would invariably want to follow all the proper etiquette but didn't know what wine etiquette was. So, assuming a red for the sake of the story, I'd bring the wine and show it to the gentleman (or whichever selected the wine). He didn't know what I was doing, would look at his new bride with confusion and I would lean in a bit and say "Just have some fun - this is where you confirm that I've brought the right wine and that you are still interested before I open the bottle." "Oh, gotcha" (bride giggles) "We're new to this kind of thing." "Not for long" I say and wink.

Then I open the bottle and offer the cork. Again a clueless look. "This is where you can examine the cork, check for mold and make sure its still wet. sniff it - does it smell like wine or does it smell like mildew?" Gentleman takes cork, sniffs it and says "fine, fine, excellent" In a joking way as if he's the expert - he's learning the part quite quickly.

Then I pour a sample and having kind of figured it out, he takes a sip. "you might want to build the body a bit but swirling it in the glass - also, a good inhale is said to be proper." He does so and says "carry on, excellent, excellent" (bride continues to giggle) "you are so clueless!"

Both have a nice meal and give me a great tip (30% or so). I love couples like that - but what makes that a great table is has nothing to do with race - it has to do with age and situation - ie - newlyweds.

Answer 7

I worked in a restaurant where the black people who worked with me didn't want black people either, because they tip but only like 10 percent of the bill, which is crap.
I mean it's pretty bad when your own people say they don't want to wait on black people because they don't tip.
But of course there are black who tip very well, and the same with other races.
Maybe it's more like people don't tip enough. They don't realize that every 100 dollars spent we tip out three dollars. So if they only leave me 10 bucks for a bill that is 100 dollars I am only making 7 dollars..... Serving is tough!

Answer 8

I worked as a waiter for a while. . . black people tip fine, it's old people who never tip. And when they do, it's hardly anything, because they just order coffee and the senior menu, and fifteen percent of that's about 25 cents.

Answer 9

See it like this, maybe black waiters don't get tipped either.

Answer 10

I seen some whites don't tip either,what is up with that.Lot of the times you just don't have the money,i never tip.And another thing the restaurant need to pay people enough so they don't have to rely on tips?

Answer 11

The right question why don't people tip. That is putting people in a category.