why are you expected to tip in America ?

Question

just a question not a put down,why do you guy's have to tip,here in Australia its not expected and you generally only do it if you have received some excellent service but not just for the hell of it,i mean don't waiters get paid a wage or is it that bosses don't pay enough? or other.

also do you like the system you have in place in regards to tipping?

Answer 1

In America, waiters, waitresses, bus help and some bar tenders and hostesses are paid less than minimum wage and tipping is supposed to make up for it. I guess the idea is that the better service they give, the better they get paid because of larger tips. But I suspect the restaurateurs like it simply because it saves them money.

It's not just a U.S. thing though. Get on a cruise ship sometime. The servers there make almost nothing unless you leave them a decent tip...

Answer 2

It is customary in America, since no company or firm actually pays very much. Contrary to the international rumor, businesses in America pay as little as they can LEGALLY get away with today.

Waiters and waitresses get a meager salary ($2-3) then are dependant upon tips to climb up to the minimum wage. For this salary they must clean, serve, fill condiments, salt &pepper shakers, napkin folding, silverware, sugar, etc while in between customers. The owner usually stands at the cash register so that nobody steals it from the place.

Cab drivers work for a slight portion of the fare, then depend on tips to make up the difference between starving and almost making a living.

It is nice to hear that Australia pays enough so that people don't have to steal from the boss, steal from customers or work 3 jobs to pay the rent. But here, it is a nation of greed and the boss man don' give a damn!

Answer 3

Waiters get paid a very poor wage here, some under minimum wage because it is expected that they receive tips. I'm not sure why the practice started, but it is now custom and I don't know if it will change.

The system has pros and cons. I doubt there is much difference than other cultures in terms of payment to the waiter though.

Answer 4

I don't really care for the system at all. There is some long involved thing in how it started.

However, as far as restaurants go, the owners say that if they had to pay the wait staff higher because of no tipping, then the price of meals out would go up. So I guess we are paying the same.

I will tell you how bad tipping has gotten here. My brother just died and he had no religious affiliation. So there was no church service ; there was a Celebration of Life at a lodge. The family paid for the food and for an open bar (in the U.S. an open bar means it is paid for; no one has to pay for drinks, soft drinks, etc.). The bartender put a tip BUCKET on top of the bar. I thought that was totally ridiculous. If I had been in charge, instead of my brother's wife and her family) I would have had him remove it. We would have given him a generous tip at the end when paying the bar bill.

So no, I don't care for the system; it has gotten out of hand.

Answer 5

I loved the system when I was a waitress.
(and my wage was $2.15 an hour - well below minimum. We NEED those tips. Because the tips are essentially how we get paid.)
It meant that I was largely in charge of how much I made. (Granted it was all in a customer's hands) If I offered fantastic cheerful service it was conceivable I'd go home with $200 (or more) in my pocket for a friday night. If I was an unpleasant pill then I would go home with much less. Since I was always a good server I could make up to $600 a week which was twice as much as I made substitute teaching.

Answer 6

If you think of it, there is a direct positive correlation between a server knowing that the service she or he provides is going to result in more money in her or his pocket, and that server providing good service. I don't think I'd want the kind of service I'd likely get if everyone who served me knew that they'd get the same money whether I'm happy or not. That's my perspective on it. That said, because of the nature of the business and how hard it is for a restaurant owner to turn a profit, nobody is ever going to pay servers 15-20 per hour or more. Some people rely on supporting families on this job. Tips, in a good location, give the server the chance to go home with that much money on a good shift, so yes, I guess I'm all for it.

Answer 7

Because servers here only get paid $2.15(at least that was the wage when I waited tables) per hour and the tips are to make up the rest. It's quite the scam that the owners of the restaurants and bars make full use of. It's basically the equivalent of making 1 GBP per hour.

Answer 8

15 to 20% is the norm. Waiters only get paid a very minimal amount, less than $3.00/hr. Tips are how most wait staff make their money.

You can tip more or less depending on service of course but since they make a fraction of what normal hourly wage earners make, they rely heavily on tips.

Answer 9

we tip for a service provided to us when we have someone do something for us that we can do ourselves but won't such as fixing our meals,parking our cars, doing our nails etc. the tip is usually 20% of the bill. more or less depending on the service. the employers only pay minimum wages for those types of jobs so they depend on the tips for wages and will do a good job to earn them. if they don't...no tip.

Answer 10

I tip based on service. If all the person did was bring food/drinks, whatever, it's a standard dollar or two. (Depending on the cost of the meal.) If the person is run ragged by a busy place, and the service is still good, I tip more. If I have to wait forever for a refill or my bill, I don't tip much. I guess it's just the way it is over here.