Two points....if the waitstaff was paid and not tipped, you wouldnt get any service. The server already has the money, why be nice to you?

Moreover, the constant arguements regarding raising the wage, blah blah blah..is like saying lets drop a v8 in an s2000, etc etc....its just gum flapping. It will never happen.

 

I can't believe this thread is still going.

If it makes you feel better to post on a Honda internet message board and vent about how unfair you feel that US tipping customs are, that's fine. But when you go out to eat next time, don't use your distain for US tipping customs to justify you shortchanging your waiter who is working their way through college, trying to support a child on their own, saving up money to fix their car's busted transmission, or otherwise just trying to make a living for themself.

You go out to eat. You KNOW before hand that US tipping custom dictates that you should leave 15%-20% on top of the check. It's not a surprise. And you're not going to change that century-old custom by posting on a Honda message board.

Next time you go out to eat and you see your meal check at the end, maybe you will think of this thread. And maybe you'll start rehashing all the rationalizations that you came up with and posted here about how unfair it is to you to be expected to leave a tip for the service staff. When you do starting think that way, stop. And then think about it this way instead: "What if this time I left a tip a little bit LARGER than custom? Wouldn't that make my server's day? I don't need this extra $2, $4, $10, whatever. It's not going to break my bank. But this extra $4 might just make a world of difference to my server."

So next time you go out to enjoy dinner out, try this - Leave your server 20%, 25%, maybe even 30%+ on the check. It will make you feel a lot better to walk away from the table thinking that you might have made that server's miserable shift slightly more barable. And looking at it from that perspective that will certianly make you feel a lot better than you walking away from your table stewing about how unfair it is that they only get paid $2.65/hr from their employer and how mad you are about being expected to tip.

Andrew

 

NFR,

what service?

bringing the food from kitchen to table?

is that the the "service" i'm tipping for?

if you're out with a party of six and the bill is 300 bucks, you're saying the 60 tip is for bringing the food out to them?

if so, you can be damn sure the 6 people will gladly walk to the kitchen themselves and pick-up their food....everyone would.

btw, i tip at the upper end of the scale, commensurate with the service ....i just get annoyed at people (anyone, in any circumstance) that EXPECT things and don't want to EARN them.

since i don't let my kids get away with that mentality, i'm sure as hell not gonna let some stranger get away with it.

 

btw, why do waiter's get paid 2-3 bucks in the states?

why isn't minimum wage paid to wait staff (whatever that minumum wage may be)?

isn't that contrary to labour law? or the employment standards act or something?

 

The exception to minimum wage exists because it is understood that the vast majority of the income of food service workers comes from tips.

Andrew

 

The govt would love for them to get a min. wage and no tips as most of the tips end up being tax free income. Is any of your income tax free? So why should their's be?

Given the choice I would also go to the kitchen to pick up and order my food most of the time.

Then, if given the choice, and I chose not to I would gladly pay a waiter to bring my food.

If I am not given the choice then I can only presume that the price I am paying for my food includes having it delivered to the table.

The thing is that the waiters on the list seem to expect that the customer will pay them for doing their job. THAT'S WRONG! A tip is for service above and beyond. I'm sorry that you are paid that way, but it was your choice to work that way not mine. It is just like a commissioned sales job, if you don't make a sale you don't get paid no matter how much work you do.

There goes the argument for the starving waiter.

Actually I knew that since I have been associated or in the service industry all my life. That is what makes me think standardized or mandatory tipping is wrong! I have seen it from the inside out and it makes for LOUSY service.

 

LOL

i make that much....people in my local forum will attest to it...but so what?

if i knew someone that made that much tax free, i'd also report them to the feds. i've done so in the past....one individual, of the many that i've reported, was assessed with a $54K tax bill covering 3 tax years.

i'm a hardliner when it comes to taxes....if i gotta pay, so does everyone else.....don't ride my coattails.....cuz i'm not riding yours.

do you see how differently we see things? you're passive.....i'm proactive.

re: education - there's more to being educated than the money you (could) make....the education process provides a lot life skills, as does the professional career you then go into.

if you can't fathom that, i can't help you.

it's like a garbage man trying to have a conversation with a doctor....what in the name of the baby ganesh are they going to talk about? art? real estate? travel? exotic cars? the opera? history? politics?

 

There is your answer right there. You simply dont know about US tipping customs as well as service industry labor law. Tips are considered wages, thus the minimum wage is a lot less. If people dont tip, they go hungry...simple enough?

BTW, what do YOU consider "Good" service which warrants your generous tipping?

 

generous sized drinks, frequent visits, exact food preperation (i'm asking for something a certain way, communicate it to the kitchen p-r-o-p-e-r-l-y - it's not rocket science), comps on a big bill, etc.

you go to places often enough, they remember.....they know i have the potential to tip well, but they'll have to earn it with the service i described above.

btw, i live in canada...not mars....our tipping customs are no different than the US.....other than the minimum wage thing....i think ours is 8 bucks or something.

 

Yes money loses value over the years. At one point tipping was not mandatory. It was a gratitude that you appreciate, but it came to a point where waiters/waitresses and bartenders start demanding more $$$ even after you leave a decent tip.

Yes some restaurants/bars gets away with violations, but some have been fine heavily and closed down because they don't realize that a customer have file a complaint. Health inspectors can give a surprise visit ANYTIME during the week or weekend. All it takes is for one customer to dial 311. Health inspectors not only examines the food, but also examines other aspects of the restaurants for potential danger. Its usually other violations that leads to heavy fine. If the food is perfect, but if the restaurant tries to extort you for more $$$ then you can contact the Better Business Bureau.

Go contaminate the food in front of the managers or owners of the restaurants. They will fire any waitstaff without hesistation. Waitstaff will not bankrupt any business at anytime because they come and go in a short amount of time, whether they quit on their own or they get fire. They only work from 1-2 yrs max and in some cases a lot less. The managers of the restaurants knows that waitstaff are easily replaceable because anyone can do it. If a group of waitstaff quit or get fired, they already have a new group of waitstaff ready to work. Hundreds of highschool and college students are always looking for a job and managers always low ball them to $2-3/hr wage because they know students will work for less. Its funny how some waitstaff thinks the restaurants is on their side when reality they should confront the manager for a higher wage instead of taking it out on the customer. Just like all jobs if you think you deserve a higher pay, ask the manager, if they don't give it to you, tough. What happens if one day you get a group of customers from another country and they never heard of tipping in their life?


Yes this is a dead end topic. There are people that will tip big no matter how bad the service was. I'm sure even if the waiters/waitresses/ and bartenders demand more $$$ they'll probably give it to them.