why are tips based on percentages?

Question

ok why should tips be a percentage? ex. if i go to a nice fancy restaurant say outback, olive garden and nice steak house ect... pay 50 bucks for two people, why should they get the better tip than if i go to Sonnys' pay 20 bucks for two poeple and get the same if not better sevice than the expensive restaurant? why is at said that 15-20% should be tipped if all restaurants fhave different prices but many with the same great service?

Answer 1

Tips are what motivate a server to give you great service. Tips are also what motivate a restaurant owner to encourage their staff too upsell and increase profits which ultimately results in happy patrons and happy employees. An excellent server will have much knowledge of the menu and will help guide patrons through a menu. A excellent server will suggest specials, appetizers and desserts to accompany your meal. The reward for this type of service is in the form of a tip that is 15-20% of the bill. There are little things in service that set a high-end restaurant apart from a casual restaurant. The menu's in a high-end restaurant usually require more food knowledge and wine knowledge on the server's part, keep that in mind when dining at finer establishments.

Go to a country where you do not have to tip and service is usually not as good. This happened to me recently when I went to Australia in August. My Australian friend lived in the USA years ago. I went to visit her and the first thing she warned me about was that restaurant service was not going to be what I expected. Servers do not receive tips but instead receive higher hourly rates of pay. Doesn't mean that all restaurants were bad. I still received some exceptional service, but service was definently different. Also the higher hourly rate these servers receive was grossly reflected in the cost of the entree.

A few things that people do not know about tipped employess. The federal minimum wage for a tipped employee is only $2.75 an hour. Most servers are only making this amount per hour and rely on tips to make up the difference. In the case of an audit by the IRS, the IRS will look at a server's total sales at the restaurant they work to get an idea of how much they should be declaring in tips.(With computers most of your chain restaurants keep tabs on how much each server sells daily, weekly, monthly and yearly) Even the government expects a server with higher sales(the server working at at the high-end restaurant) versus the server with low sales(at the casual restaurant) to declare more in tips.

Remember driving up sales on a check to make more money is what motivates servers to do the job that they do. The restaurant industry is an example of capitalism hard at work. Like one of the earlier responses said - tips ensure promptness. I can tell you after dining in countries where you do not have to tip that comment is so true.

Answer 2

In theory you are paying for service, one because a pricier meal implies that their should be better service. Not to mention you are also tipping on the server themselves, a crappy ruth chris server doesn;t deserve a percentage, they deserve a percentage off and maybe explain to them why, but by all means don't be a jerk for a jerks sake, and make sure anything you think badly about that affects the tip is not the cooks fault, who doesn't have a damn thing to do with the presentation and service. There is also a lot more generally to a ruth chris meal than a dennys meal, eggs and bacon do not equal a med rare steak with a perfect temp beer or the right wine.

Answer 3

If the Tip is included in your bill you have to pay it because at the end of the night rather or not if you see them using the computer looking machine then they have to pay out of their tips taxes every night,even if they didn't make the tips.So it's always nice to tip good for good service,if you don't have the money for the tip then you should go to the cheaper restaurant.It's also not fair to the waitress if they are understaffed that night and she can't do as well of a job as she or he usually does,so look around and try to see if she or he is running around like a chicken with their heads cut off,then you will know rather or not it's her fault.I personally try to stay away from restaurant's that include the tip right into the bill.If they do this and you got great service i would leave more on the table.At the end of the night they have to add all of their checks and then add tips and then pay taxes on what they should of made,really not fair sometimes.and most get payed below minimum wages because the state figures they make it up in tips..NO JOKE,I hope this helped,sometimes they will get people in there and not leave them anything even though they worked their butt off on that table.........Mia.....Take Care And great question!

Answer 4

I get what you're saying, I think it should be so much per diner. For example, say you and your date order expensive meals and it comes to $60, you don't get drinks and aren't too demanding. Meanwhile another waitress at another table has a family of five whose bill comes to $50, there's little kids who spill stuff, they call the waitress over ten times, she has maybe three times as many plates to carry, and she gets a smaller tip (providing they leave the same percentage you did) Fair? Don't think so.

Answer 5

One site says...

­"There are also several theories about where the word "tip" comes from. One holds that in the 17th century, the word was used as a verb to mean "hand it over" or "to give." This follows suit with the stories of feudal lords throwing gold coins as "tips" to the peasants in the street to ensure their own safe passage [Source:Metroactive].
­Tip is also thought to be an acronym for "to insure promptness," with its origins in 16th-century English coffeehouses. This idea is challenged, however, because some say acronyms weren't widely used until the 1920s. In addition, the more correct version would be "to ensure promptness."

Furthermore, Random House's Word of the Day column disputes the tip-acronym-hypothesis, stating, "Tip was originally thieves' slang -- then called 'cant' -- and meant 'to give; pass along'" [Source: ­Random House]."

Check out http://people.howstuffworks.com/tipping.htm

Answer 6

outback and olive garden are nice fancy restaurants to you??

Answer 7

I never thought about that! You are so right. I'll have to figure how to handle tips better.

Answer 8

cuz ppl wanna make it hard on regila folk