how much do you tip? Who do you tip?
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Not meaning to offend anyone here but the amount of tipping that goes on during the course of an outing in the US makes absolutely no sense at all to me. 
As I read through all the posts about how much you tip for various services I can see where it can really add up to a substantial amount over the course of 12 months or so however the crux of my question(s) are thus...
Can someone please explain to me why customer's feel it is their responsibility to top up the wages of underpaid workers? Surely this is the employers duty and the workers, if adequately represented by their unions, would already be receiving a decent minimum wage (one that negated the need for tips).
Can anybody estimate how much they would spend in tips per year? And could somebody please tell me why you should pay your barber a tip if he's the owner of the business? Isn't that just overpaying an already well-paid person for a service?
Every way I look at it the resonsibility (morally, ethically, legally) lays with the employer and/or the union which represents the employee, not the customer.
Instead of capitulating wouldn't some energy be better spent in lobbying government for decent wages for those who are currently underpaid and/or exploited by their employers?
If I went to a restaurant where the owner was driving a flash car and obviously raking in the money while his staff struggled to survive then I would not frequent that establishment again.
Again... I mean no offense by my questions and I'm not taking a shot at your social mores but rather struggling to understand them.
As I read through all the posts about how much you tip for various services I can see where it can really add up to a substantial amount over the course of 12 months or so however the crux of my question(s) are thus...
Can someone please explain to me why customer's feel it is their responsibility to top up the wages of underpaid workers? Surely this is the employers duty and the workers, if adequately represented by their unions, would already be receiving a decent minimum wage (one that negated the need for tips).
Can anybody estimate how much they would spend in tips per year? And could somebody please tell me why you should pay your barber a tip if he's the owner of the business? Isn't that just overpaying an already well-paid person for a service?
Every way I look at it the resonsibility (morally, ethically, legally) lays with the employer and/or the union which represents the employee, not the customer.
Instead of capitulating wouldn't some energy be better spent in lobbying government for decent wages for those who are currently underpaid and/or exploited by their employers?
If I went to a restaurant where the owner was driving a flash car and obviously raking in the money while his staff struggled to survive then I would not frequent that establishment again.
Again... I mean no offense by my questions and I'm not taking a shot at your social mores but rather struggling to understand them.
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Joined: Jun 2003
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From: New York
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Muz
Not meaning to offend anyone here but the amount of tipping that goes on during the course of an outing in the US makes absolutely no sense at all to me.
As I read through all the posts about how much you tip for various services I can see where it can really add up to a substantial amount over the course of 12 months or so however the crux of my question(s) are thus...
Can someone please explain to me why customer's feel it is their responsibility to top up the wages of underpaid workers? Surely this is the employers duty and the workers, if adequately represented by their unions, would already be receiving a decent minimum wage (one that negated the need for tips).
Not meaning to offend anyone here but the amount of tipping that goes on during the course of an outing in the US makes absolutely no sense at all to me.
As I read through all the posts about how much you tip for various services I can see where it can really add up to a substantial amount over the course of 12 months or so however the crux of my question(s) are thus...
Can someone please explain to me why customer's feel it is their responsibility to top up the wages of underpaid workers? Surely this is the employers duty and the workers, if adequately represented by their unions, would already be receiving a decent minimum wage (one that negated the need for tips).
Registered User
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 11,644
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From: panhandle state
[QUOTE][size=1][b]
Has anyone done this before:
Put down a stack of ones and tell the server that this is your tip and each time your drink isn't filled, you take away their tip and so forth?
Has anyone done this before:
Put down a stack of ones and tell the server that this is your tip and each time your drink isn't filled, you take away their tip and so forth?
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 1,118
Likes: 2
From: Bergen County, NJ
I consider myself a very good tipper. However, I hate being looked at as a walking vault. Hotels and golf courses are the worst offenders.
Hotels...pull up to valet $$$, doorman pulls luggage $$$, bellhop brings to room$$$. Why do I have to tip twice to get my bag to my room. Room service adds 18% to bill, then you give the person $$$ because you know he is not getting any of the 18%. Pool person, sets up lounge chair$$$, brings water $$$, brings drinks $$$.
Golf Course...pull up at bag drop $$$, load bag on carts $$$, grease starter $$$, unload bag and clean clubs $$$, throw bag in car at bag drop $$$.
Sure you can do much of that yourself but I always feel cheap, especially at a golf course, if I don't tip.
Hotels...pull up to valet $$$, doorman pulls luggage $$$, bellhop brings to room$$$. Why do I have to tip twice to get my bag to my room. Room service adds 18% to bill, then you give the person $$$ because you know he is not getting any of the 18%. Pool person, sets up lounge chair$$$, brings water $$$, brings drinks $$$.
Golf Course...pull up at bag drop $$$, load bag on carts $$$, grease starter $$$, unload bag and clean clubs $$$, throw bag in car at bag drop $$$.
Sure you can do much of that yourself but I always feel cheap, especially at a golf course, if I don't tip.
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Feb 12, 2004 08:12 PM