Tipping Etiquette

aNewYear123 · April 2014

If I sit down at a restaurant and someone serves me I tip. If they disappear forever they get about 15%, if they actually come around and refill drinks etc then I leave 20%. I don't tip for take-away and I ignore tip jars. I fell like I don't tip the people at bookstores or shoe stores who had to run around and see if they had what I was interested in, and I am not going to start tipping the people who make my ice-cream cone at DQ.

I do think the law should be changed so that people working in restaurants get standard minimum wage, so that we can move away from the you must tip mentality. Tipping was meant to be extra, and it shouldn't be necessary to tip to make up someone's wage.

I bussed tables while in school and we were tipped out by the waiters, so we received a portion of the tips left for the waiter we were working with (although there wasn't any way to know if they tipped us out honestly either since we didn't now what they made in tips for the night and some of them were jerks) Since we received a portion of the tips we were also paid less than minimum wage, although more per hour than the servers were. Our restaurant was fairly busy so the servers generally ended the night with much more than they would have made had they been making minimum wage, especially the ones who worked in the bar area. This is one reason that the servers I was working with preferred relying on tips than making minimum wage - even when they complained if someone left a lousy tip.

paperpudding · April 2014

Yes it is true that you don't have to tip at all in some countries.

Australia is one of them.

Believe it or not, the whole world does not do the same as USA

When we first went to live in the US from Australia tipping caused us so much stress. How much, when, add to bill or leave on table. It was almost a relief to get home to grumpy wait staff who dont expect a tip and treat you accordingly.

I haven't been to USA - but that hasn't been my experience of waitpersons in Australia - most are friendly and attentive.
and its nice to know people are friendly because they are friendly, not because they are just after extra money.

I found waitpersons in UK friendly and attentive too - and tipping, whilst not non-existent there, is nowhere near as entrenched as in USA.

Of course, waitpersons in Australia are paid much more reasonable wages to start with.
Much better system IMO.

What are their wages? I ask because when I was waiting tables, I averaged about 37K annually. That was in a small ski town in upstate NY, in a cozy adirondack bar & grill, and then my own family-run restaurant in the same town. If one is good at what they do in this business, there's a lot of money to be made in tips. The downside is, everything else- health insurance, retirement, etc… is your responsibility alone.

OP- I generally tip a few bucks on take-out. Definitely at least 10% on delivery, and anywhere from 15-30% when dining in. Stellar service or a friend will garner 30%, but generally I find we leave about 20%, unless the service just plain sucks. I dislike leaving nothing- I have only done it once and it was well deserved.

I don't know exactly what waitpersons wages are - but they would be on a par with retail type jobs.

Would be a minimum wage type of pay - but minimum wage in Australia is not minimum like in USA where the waitperson is expected to have that wage subsidised by tips.

Some people do tip by rounding up as a PP said or putting loose change in the tip jar - but these amounts are optional, definitely not expected, and are small change type amounts, everyone knows the waitpeople are paid roughly the same as other jobs like cleaners, junior receptionists, lower end clerical positions etc - all of whom are not tipped.

Waitpeople are not paid way lower than other comparably qualified jobs with the expectation that tips make up the difference.

kjarvo · April 2014

To me, giving someone a tip means that they did above and beyond what their job is. You're tipping somebody because they made your life easier. That being said, I'll tip between 10-20% depending on the service. I (usually) do not tip people who simply bag up my food and hand it to me.

What? They are providing a service!!! Let me guess, you probably don't even tip the guy that bags your groceries at the supermarket or the electric company either do ya?

Is this sarcasm? Yes, they're providing a service that I ALREADY paid for.

It is sarcasm, directed at the people who get all up in arms about a server providing you a service, therefore warranting a tip. People provide services all day every day in other professions with no tip. I worked the front desk at a hotel in college and have done everything from jumping people's car, letting someone borrow my car, taking them towels, pillows, etc, NONE of which I was required to do and I think I got tipped about 5 times in 4-5 years. It just doesn't make sense to me that, like Mr. Pink says, we should tip these people here, but not these people, etc.

I'm glad you were being sarcastic, I couldn't tell either and I'm British lol. They are providing a service, but no more than anyone else, and that's what they are paid to do. People are acting like they are providing a service out of the good of their hearts, or the restaurants are. They aren't. They are providing it to make money. And like TheRoadDog said, the issue is that servers do not get the minimum wage and shouldn't have to be subsidised by tips. Secondly, tipping shouldn't be expected, it should be for going over and above what is expected, and it shouldn't be cheap or not to tip.

kjarvo · April 2014

Oh! Also adding in to derail this completely. Its pretty common practise to tip your postman at Christmas in the UK.

It's not in London, maybe in more rural areas..?

My neighbour in Liverpool tipped the postie and bin men at Christmas a few years ago. Also my friend's dad used to be a postman and she said he got £2000 in tips one Christmas too.

ewoolfz84 · April 2014

Nope! Where Im from, tipping when PICKING UP is unheard of.

jlyndach · April 2014

This is not entirely true. If at the end of the waiter/waitresses week they have not earned minimum wage then the company must pay the difference. For example: they are generally paid about $2.00 per hour. So if at the end of a 20 hour week, their combined wage and tips must equal to the state minimum wage (in Michigan it is $7.40) times the number of hours. For a 20 hr work week that would be $148. If their $2/hr combined with the tips comes up short of the $148 the company must pay the difference. So say that their combined income was only $100, then the company would have to add the $48 difference.
The problem here is that if a company has to do this more than twice, the company may write the worker up or even fire them because they are assuming that they are not doing a good enough job that they cannot get the proper tips.
My brother manages a restaurant and I am a payroll accountant (not for his restaurant).
He told me that the best way to let waitstaff know they did a poor job is to leave a tiny tip like $.10 If you leave nothing then they just assume you forgot.

Madame_Goldbricker · April 2014

Oh! Also adding in to derail this completely. Its pretty common practise to tip your postman at Christmas in the UK.

It's not in London, maybe in more rural areas..?

My neighbour in Liverpool tipped the postie and bin men at Christmas a few years ago. Also my friend's dad used to be a postman and she said he got £2000 in tips one Christmas too.

I originally made the statement. Yep it seems to be pretty common place where I am out in the sticks in the North East. However, the post office have issued bans on postal staff taking tips of over £30 from any one individual.

TheRoadDog · April 2014

Not tipping is low class....Period.

Can't help but think you might be a little less cranky if it weren't for the PERIOD.:laugh:

jeannevdl · April 2014

Here in South Africa waiters are paid about $1 for an hour (R11)

I have been a waiter for a while and over here people will tip anything from 10%-100%

When I tip, it's 20%+

Although in SA we don't tip fast food places, because you wait inside at the till till it's given to you or at the drive through you wait at a window.

Josalinn · April 2014

My BF and I have both worked in restaurants, server for him hostess for me. That said we both start our evenings expecting to tip 20%. The service we get can make it go up or down. We once got service so bad that we left 1 cent, under a glass. The waitress was very rude and didn't check on us enough i.e. my wine came out with the bill. We have only done this once.

Horror story from him: He gave great service to a group of little old ladies who then left their phone number and a note saying "Call for your tip." :noway:

ETA: we have had some good servers who get 25% or 30% but they go above and beyond!

page8040 · April 2014

Always tip. I aint' gotta make it myself or do the dishes, I'm HAPPY to tip!

This, very much this! I did not shop for it, clean it, put it away, bring it back out, prepare it, wash up after preparing it, clear the table and put everything back away. I am happy to pay someone to do that for me.

I eat at the same establishments most of the time. I know what happens to peoples food that do not tip. Trust me when I say, it is best to not eat at the same place over and over again if you are not going to tip. There may be some extra ingredients in your food. We go to restaurants under the impression we pay the establishment for our food and the server for our service.

Do you tip the people at McDonald's? What about the guy that changes your oil? He has to get the oil out, clean up any spillage, dispose of your old oil and filter, and clear the bay for the next person.

Your argument is obsolete. The whole point of the argument is that waiters make $2.13 and hour and the server system is set up to make their living on tips. When you take your car to get worked on, you know that little (or rather BIG) section of the bill that says LABOR? Yes, that is paid for the physical work beyond the parts. So he is getting paid according to the job. McDonalds workers make an hourly wage. Their company is not set up to get tips, and honestly it is probably prohibited even if someone did want to tip them. Stop making asinine "arguments" that you know are false just to try to make a stir.

moosegt35 · April 2014

Always tip. I aint' gotta make it myself or do the dishes, I'm HAPPY to tip!

This, very much this! I did not shop for it, clean it, put it away, bring it back out, prepare it, wash up after preparing it, clear the table and put everything back away. I am happy to pay someone to do that for me.

I eat at the same establishments most of the time. I know what happens to peoples food that do not tip. Trust me when I say, it is best to not eat at the same place over and over again if you are not going to tip. There may be some extra ingredients in your food. We go to restaurants under the impression we pay the establishment for our food and the server for our service.

Do you tip the people at McDonald's? What about the guy that changes your oil? He has to get the oil out, clean up any spillage, dispose of your old oil and filter, and clear the bay for the next person.

Your argument is obsolete. The whole point of the argument is that waiters make $2.13 and hour and the server system is set up to make their living on tips. When you take your car to get worked on, you know that little (or rather BIG) section of the bill that says LABOR? Yes, that is paid for the physical work beyond the parts. So he is getting paid according to the job. McDonalds workers make an hourly wage. Their company is not set up to get tips, and honestly it is probably prohibited even if someone did want to tip them. Stop making asinine "arguments" that you know are false just to try to make a stir.

I didn't set the system up that way and I didn't choose the career for the wait staff, they did. If they only make $2 an hour waiting tables it sounds like they should go to McDonalds or start working on cars so that they can make a living wage.

Tipping Etiquette

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