If you work in food service....(Offensive)

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  • cherie2304
    cherie2304 Posts: 632 Member
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    I base my tips on the service provided...if its mediocre or better they get minimum 20%, if its so poor I am actually mad about it they won't get much. I have tipped a waitress 2 cents due to the poor service but that is to make a statement. I have only done that once.
  • sniffles
    sniffles Posts: 295
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    I don't foresee the system changing anytime soon. I also don't see anything wrong with it except for the fact that some people don't tip. But if you're a good server you're bound to make what you need to live on and if you're a bad server not getting enough tips then you should find a new job.

    I don't know. Tipping is NOT how people receive wages here and eating out isn't all that expensive... so I'm not so sure removing the system would TRULY make things sooo much more expensive.

    I mean, how cheap IS it to eat in American restaurants? Really? I've never been so I have no idea. ):
  • CasperO
    CasperO Posts: 2,913 Member
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    Depends on the restaurant of course. My favorite place is a little family owned diner-supper-truckstop food kind'a place, the food is good and it's served on a real china plate with real metal silverware by a waitress who remembers you the next time you come in - but it's still quite affordable. Dinners are in the $7 to $10 bracket, $5 to $7 for a sandwich or burger. Add $1 for a drink. We usually tip 20%ish, so dinner for 2 will be about $25.

    US funds of course, so to put it into international terms,,, if the dishwasher makes the minimum wage and has the usual tax burden it'll take her about 3-1/2 to 4 hours to earn enough to buy she and her hubs some dinner.

    Fast food crap is cheaper of course, and no tipping. Many many places run twice this price and that's not unreasonable. Fine dining starts around $50 per. Our record for one dinner for 2 was $185 w/tip, but that was for filet mignon and lobster while revolving in the top of the Space Needle in Seattle. ((Worth every penny too, a real deathbed memory)).
  • Vallandingham
    Vallandingham Posts: 2,177
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    Mr. Pink put it very succintly.
  • toots99
    toots99 Posts: 3,794 Member
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    I'll repost something I posted a few pages ago, just so people who didn't read all the way through can understand what would happen if places were to suddenly pay us a 'fair hourly wage':

    I was speaking to my restaurant's general manager tonight to get a better idea on how things would change if suddenly we were to get paid a 'fair hourly wage'. He said first off most a lot of restaurants, especially mom and pop places, would probably close down. This would be because their labor cost (what they pay employees) would go through the roof, in turn they'd have to really raise prices of menu items which would then mean less customers because people wouldn't want to pay higher prices. For example, at my job tonight there were 9 servers, and we worked say 6 hours each. Times $2.13 an hour, that's $115.02 total cost for one shift. If we were to get regular minimum wage of $7.25, not even a "fair hourly wage", that'd cost the restaurant 391.50, just over triple what it is now.. That's quite a difference, every single day. Now if you were saying something like $12.50 is a 'fair hourly wage', that cost goes up to $675. That's a lot of money. So you're $12 pizza is going to be like $20 now, just to pay me. Wouldn't you rather have tipped me a few bucks instead of paying $8 extra?
  • Vallandingham
    Vallandingham Posts: 2,177
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    Nice Guy Eddie: C'mon, throw in a buck!
    Mr. Pink: Uh-uh, I don't tip.
    Nice Guy Eddie: You don't tip?
    Mr. Pink: I don't believe in it.
    Nice Guy Eddie: You don't believe in tipping?
    Mr. Blue: You know what these chicks make? They make *kitten*.
  • jennylynn84
    jennylynn84 Posts: 659
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    I tip 15-20% if I've been decently attended to. I take off of that though if I get poor service. And I don't mean if I don't get "Fabulous, I'm telling all me friends about how great this was" service. I mean if you start ignoring me.... If I don't ever get anymore water... if I wait longer than it takes for my food to arrive and me to eat it before you see if I might want another glass of wine.... If I've been sitting there done with my food for 45 minutes, trying to get your attention, and never ever get a bill. I don't even include how long the food takes in my judgment because I know servers have no control over that.

    I've had MANY friends in food service and I know they make next to nothing and they work for tips. But even my friends who waited said something very true - they know they make nothing too. And they know that their tips often depend on quality of service. They'd even approached someone after a bad tip to ask what the person was dissatisfied with because they wanted to be sure to improve.

    I have only ONE time ever tipped absolutely nothing. And it was completely warranted. I was at a wine bar with friends for my birthday and at first there was only 4 of us. We all got our first glass of wine from our waitress, she took our credit cards up and started a tab. Within in hour our party had almost tripled. In that time, I think she came by once and did not acknowledge any of the newcomers, ask if they wanted anything, etc. We spent the whole night getting up and going to the bar to order, close our tab, etc. at a restaurant/bar that does NOT, as a rule, function that way. So she definitely got nothing. I really believe there are some times that it is warranted.

    We all work for our money. If you wait tables and you do a crap job then you should expect to get tipped next to nothing. Feel lucky. People outside of food service would get fired. Plain and simple. Do a good job and you (SHOULD) get tipped well. I realize some jerks don't feel that way, but the world's full of them.

    Point is - tipping isn't obligatory. If you half-*kitten* it for a customer they're not "required" to give you anything.
  • sniffles
    sniffles Posts: 295
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    Depends on the restaurant of course. My favorite place is a little family owned diner-supper-truckstop food kind'a place, the food is good and it's served on a real china plate with real metal silverware by a waitress who remembers you the next time you come in - but it's still quite affordable. Dinners are in the $7 to $10 bracket, $5 to $7 for a sandwich or burger. Add $1 for a drink. We usually tip 20%ish, so dinner for 2 will be about $25.

    US funds of course, so to put it into international terms,,, if the dishwasher makes the minimum wage and has the usual tax burden it'll take her about 3-1/2 to 4 hours to earn enough to buy she and her hubs some dinner.

    Fast food crap is cheaper of course, and no tipping. Many many places run twice this price and that's not unreasonable. Fine dining starts around $50 per. Our record for one dinner for 2 was $185 w/tip, but that was for filet mignon and lobster while revolving in the top of the Space Needle in Seattle. ((Worth every penny too, a real deathbed memory)).

    Without the tip your meals sound about the same price (taking into consideration the dollar conversion of course). Actually I think we might be a wee bit cheaper. This weekend I was at a restaurant and paid $10 (canadian) for my meal and drink. I DID happen to leave a tip but just because I had requests above and beyond the call of duty (I have allergies so the server had to do a great deal of extra service before I could eat).

    ): America is expensive. Haha. Or at least your state is. ;)

    Edited to Add: Actually I can't speak for all of Canada, just my little corner. :) And I kind of live in one of the richest provinces... actually the richest so I shouldn't comment at all. Haha.
  • Vallandingham
    Vallandingham Posts: 2,177
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    I tip my servers well. Probably because I have had two daughters that worked as waitresses. I don't have any issues with tipping my servers in restaurants.

    What I do have a problem with is that everywhere I go now, there is a tip jar sitting on the counter. I am already paying $4 for a cup of coffee. They want a tip too?

    Why does the server at Olive Garden deserve a tip and the server at Burger King does not? Why not tip the Gas Station attendant?

    I think I'll put a tip jar on my desk.
  • paddlemom
    paddlemom Posts: 682 Member
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    I'll repost something I posted a few pages ago, just so people who didn't read all the way through can understand what would happen if places were to suddenly pay us a 'fair hourly wage':

    I was speaking to my restaurant's general manager tonight to get a better idea on how things would change if suddenly we were to get paid a 'fair hourly wage'. He said first off most a lot of restaurants, especially mom and pop places, would probably close down. This would be because their labor cost (what they pay employees) would go through the roof, in turn they'd have to really raise prices of menu items which would then mean less customers because people wouldn't want to pay higher prices. For example, at my job tonight there were 9 servers, and we worked say 6 hours each. Times $2.13 an hour, that's $115.02 total cost for one shift. If we were to get regular minimum wage of $7.25, not even a "fair hourly wage", that'd cost the restaurant 391.50, just over triple what it is now.. That's quite a difference, every single day. Now if you were saying something like $12.50 is a 'fair hourly wage', that cost goes up to $675. That's a lot of money. So you're $12 pizza is going to be like $20 now, just to pay me. Wouldn't you rather have tipped me a few bucks instead of paying $8 extra?

    Actually, this is great information for perspective....

    Apparently in the US there is an old joke - what is the difference between a Canadian and a canoe????
    A canoe tips....:grumble:

    Now that I see your wage breakdown....let me give you some Canadian perpective. Every province in Canada has a minimum wage, and though in some provinces the minimum wage for a liquor server is below that of other jobs (because they make tips), in no province is minimum wage below $8.00/hr.

    This is why I have always supported the idea that tips are a reward for better service! Because in Canada the server who runs her feet off bringing me coffee refills gets paid the same amount, pretty much, as the store clerk who runs her feet of bringing me several outfits to try on. Neither job has much glory, so why would I think one deserves a tip more than the other. Granted there are some extra challenges with being a server, and I know that the folks who choose that job do depend on the tips for bonus income, so I do tip. I just don't feel compelled to add 20% to my bill cause the server will starve unless I do.

    I had no idea that in the US there are places where your minimum wage for servers is so low that tips are EXPECTED as a supplement to make a decent earning!!! I doubt that many Canadians are aware of that fact, which is why we would seem to be stingy tippers in the US! It also explains why the restaurant bill is so much lower in the US for family style restaurants.

    Now that I am aware of that, I will tip better when I go to the States!

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