Why must we tip ? we usually go out knowing what we can spend but in the States have to add 20 % !?

Question

Surely the waiter or bar attendant are paid a wage right ! and don't tell me they all earn $2.80 an hour, no-way ! Other countries their paid a true wage, in hospitality usually $17.00 - $27.00 an hour depending upon the establishment and their experience. Sydney, Australia for example, also pay penalty rates (atleast used to!) and shift allowance on top to compensate the staff for their inconvienience at working peak times. The staff know what their earning, the Patrons know what they'll spend & no needless tipping! So is it 20% per beer at a bar say, or 20% of the final tab, than must you also tip the doorman, entertainment & the bloody "candlestick maker" I need help here, is it so wrong to budget for what your wanting or planning to spend?

Answer 1

Actually, tipping has a tangible benefit in that it incentivises good service. In that way it's a good idea to tip for good service, but not for non-service. Doormen, barista, etc, deserve no tip.

Waitress are paid basically for showing up. In that way the restaurant can keep their prices down, since they are only charging you for the food, electricity, the square footage, etc. If you don't like the salmon because it's old, you take it back and you make the restaurant owner get you a new one. The waitress is out of the picture. On the other hand, if her service sucks you don't return a perfectly good dish, you simply leave without tipping. The waitress is like an independent contractor - she earns based on her level of service. Tipping ensures that the waitress has a vested interest in giving you excellent service. That incentive is gone if she makes an excellent wage from restaurant from the start.

Where the system breaks down is if no one tips or if people tip regardless of service. Bad service demands no tip. Adequate service demands less tipping than excellent service. Excellent service demands a good tip. An normally excellent server can always have a bad day, but she should not be surprised if the tips are way down that day.

How much you wish to consider a "good" tip is arbitrary. Most say 15% for normal service, 20% for excellent service, 10% for adequate and 0 for bad. If a waitress serves 10 tables and hour and the average meal is $30, that's more than a great salary. If I'm at a bar and ordering beer I only tip a buck a round, or one tip of a few bucks at the end. If the bartender is making mixed drinks, that's trickier - gotta tip for good drinks. But opening a bottle of beer? - f*ck that. Especially at $6 a beer.

BTW, any restaurant that discriminates against you, or allows servers to discriminate against you (such as spitting in your food or anything else), the restaurant owner is subject to lawsuits with massive fines/jail time. It's illegal for anyone to exact retribution against you for not tipping, regardless of what Mr Country Club says, and if anyone decides to pursue it he's up sh*t creek.

Answer 2

Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't quite get what the problem is here. You seem happy when you do get tipped and you seem philosophical about when you don't. I don't think you're asking to have your state law changed so people HAVE to tip you, are you? The only problem would be if your pizza company has a NO TIPS policy or if you were obliged to hand in any tips you did get so they could be shared out. Does your friend keep his tips, or does he refuse them? EIther way, it's up to him, same as it's up to you. Personally I round up the payment so sometimes the pizza guy only gets a small amount, but sometimes he gets quite a lot. But he always smiles anyway, and if he's still around at Christmas I give him a few extra dollars.

Answer 3

I own a country club with a restaurant and bar. Wait staff pay is $2.38 per hour....seriously. If I had to pay them a regular wage, the cost of your meal would increase $5.00 to $10.00 per plate.

If our system were to change, instead of the waitstaff earning the bulk of their money from tips, which are based on the amount of business we have, I would have to pay them a full wage even when the restaurant is slow....and there is a lot of down time in the restaurant business.

This translates into substantial increases in costs for the restaurant owner which would translate into higher priced meals for all. The profit margin in the restaurant business is very small and I would have no way to absorb those additional costs.

So with the tips system we have in the US, you have the option of paying for a percentage of the meal based on the quality of service you have received rather than paying extra up front without a choice and hoping for the best.

Typically at our establishment, people tip between 15-20%. I hate to say it, but if you don't give a tip without a good reason, you may not want to go back to that establishment for a while. The waitstaff remembers such things and although I do not condone it you may not get the best of service. Your table will probably be pawned off on the trainee.

Answer 4

In the US, servers at restaurants are paid a small wage (usually between $2.50 and $4.00 an hour for a casual dining restaurant) and rely on tips. Because they get tips for their service, laws don't require that they be paid even minimum wage, in most places.

However, I can't imagine that the voluntary tip dependent on service could cause you such great trouble with budgeting. In order to pay servers a much higher wage, the price of a meal would also have to be much more, as the costs of running the restaurant are obviously going to be passed along to the patron, in the end.

So, if you figure in an average tip and plan for the costs of a meal accordingly, there should be no issue with budgeting. It will be simply that part of your "budget" is put toward tipping, and the costs of food should be lower.

Answer 5

In some respects a service person earning a smaller wage hoping for a Tip for good service I feel is a good think. If i have a server that forgets about me or doesn't bring me what I ask its one way of showing that person what we feel there worth. That doesn't mean if the food is awful that I don't or won't tip the server as I've had wonderful service and lousy food yet gave an good tip.

Go into a fast food place like McDonald's and those people have no incentive to give any better service than necessary.

What I don't agree with is a Tip being added to or suggested on the meal ticket. So what If I have a crowd of 8 or more people. If the service is lousy the server doesn't deserve to be paid as one that goes that extra mile.

Answer 6

You don't have to tip. I've gone round and round with my friends on this one. Tip means gratuity, meaning it's optional.

And I sure don't leave a tip if I receive bad service. If I do leave a tip, I leave 10 or 15 percent, not 20.

What about people at Target or Walmart or McDonalds? Do these people get tips? I don't think so, so why should be any different for another profession that requires hard work?

Answer 7

Nope, sorry wait staff and bartenders are usually only paid 2.10 to 2.80 an hour. That's why they depend on tips to supplement their income. And usually a tip is 10% of the bill, unless the service was excellent, which would then be 15% or more.

Answer 8

Tipping is a BEAUTIFUL thing.
Think about it. The people that we traditionally tip have a great deal of influence on our experience of something. The difference often boils down to their personality. Tipping is ultimate employee review.
Besides it gives the working guy like me the opportunity to be treated with preference every now and again. I have found that if you tip a $20 on your first drink, no matter how packed the place gets, that bar tender will see to it that you get your drink.

Answer 9

Tipping is expected in the US. you are free not to tip, but don't complain then if they don't welcome you back - depending on the place, the waiters are REALLY paid low wages.

As for the actuall percent, at a bar I tip 1 or 2$ per drink - depending on the number I order, on my planned time to stay, and if I plan to be back in the same place.

On a restaurant bill, on a sat. nite in Manhattan or downtown LA, Frisco, Boston, you tip 20%... tipping less is stingy. On a low key night (say a wednesday), and in less fancy place you can tip less - 15% is good, 10% is acceptable if you don't plan to be back.

You just need to factor that in your spending ... :) sorry pal.

Answer 10

It stands for "To Insure Promptness" and it ensures that you'll be treated well the next time you're there. Haven't you heard horror stories about spitting in the food of bad tippers???

And --servers in the USA are paid very poorly.