Tipping

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TheRoadDog
TheRoadDog Posts: 11,793 Member
in Chit-Chat
There have been other posts about tipping, but right now, in Oregon, they are pushing for a $15 an hour minimum wage. I suspect it will happen and I would guess that most States will face the same debates, protests and eventually it will pass in other states as well.

I've decided that I am all for it. But, when it happens, I will cease to tip. The argument has always been that our servers rely on our tips to survive. $15 an hour will certainly nullify that argument. I'm, frankly, tired of seeing a Tip Jar on every counter from Starbucks to the local Tanning Salon. I don't have a Tip Jar on my desk. Many people rely on my performance.

Most of the rest of the world does not tip. Good service should be a job requirement. Not a grounds for a gratuity.
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Replies

  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
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    In restaurants in Italy the tip is already included in the bill. B)
  • TheRoadDog
    TheRoadDog Posts: 11,793 Member
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    snowflake954 wrote: »
    In restaurants in Italy the tip is already included in the bill. B)

    Which is even worse. It means the server has no initiative to go the extra mile for his/her customer. They get their gratuity either way.

  • chivalryder
    chivalryder Posts: 4,391 Member
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    Do waiter, waitresses and bartenders get paid minimum wage? Here, in Ontario, their minimum wage is lower than the standard minimum wage because they are supposed to calculate their tips as income come tax time.

    IMO, if I'm at a counter, making my order, and I receive my order at the same counter, I'm not going to tip. You tip someone for service (and you should tip well, unless the service was crap). It's their job to make you feel good about spending time at the establishment you are visiting. If they did that, they deserve a tip.

    You don't tip someone for rudely asking for your order, then throwing your food at you while you stand and wait.
  • kathdela
    kathdela Posts: 148 Member
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    If the servers get $15 an hour as well, that's GREAT! As it is now, most restaurants can get away with paying servers less than minimum wage. We're talking around $3 an hour, in some places less. Raising the minimum wage doesn't necessarily mean these people will see any more money.
  • mikevandewetering
    mikevandewetering Posts: 155 Member
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    TheRoadDog wrote: »
    snowflake954 wrote: »
    In restaurants in Italy the tip is already included in the bill. B)

    Which is even worse. It means the server has no initiative to go the extra mile for his/her customer. They get their gratuity either way.

    Not the case in Europe, we have an other mentalilty.
  • Archon2
    Archon2 Posts: 462 Member
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    $15/hr you will probably force base prices come up to compensate, so some of this will directly be passed on to the consumers, although some businesses will try to do more with fewer people and/or cutting hours. Those that are already operating on a tight margin will close. Lots of side effects, and not all of them are good?

    As for tipping, I didn't think minimum wage applied to positions like serving tables. So tipping in that case is still appropriate, if that doesn't change.
  • chivalryder
    chivalryder Posts: 4,391 Member
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    I personally don't get this whole "increase the minimum wage to $XXX/hour" deal. The people who are getting paid minimum wage are at the bottom of the barrel, yes, but they are the driving force for inflation. If their wages go up, it will drive prices up everywhere, which will make their dollars worth less, which puts them back at square one.

    Not to mention, if you are very smart with your money, you could easily live off of $10k/year anywhere in the USA. I know of people who live in a nice part of San Francisco who live off of $7k/year, and they are renting!

    Heck, I'm actually a little offended that these people are now going to get paid $15/hour for flipping burgers. I only make a bit more than that and I'm working a job that requires a college education (though I did just start out and my income is increasing every year).
  • TheRoadDog
    TheRoadDog Posts: 11,793 Member
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    kathdela wrote: »
    If the servers get $15 an hour as well, that's GREAT! As it is now, most restaurants can get away with paying servers less than minimum wage. We're talking around $3 an hour, in some places less. Raising the minimum wage doesn't necessarily mean these people will see any more money.

    Supposed to be an across the board increase. The aim is to bring those jobs on line. $15 and hour regardless of job. Waitress, Crop picker, Retail worker. No difference.

  • sullus
    sullus Posts: 2,839 Member
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    If Servers are included in the $15/hr minimum wage, then I will cease to tip them. I will continue to tip my bartender, though - regardless of what he gets paid. That tip is really for me, not him.
  • chivalryder
    chivalryder Posts: 4,391 Member
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    TheRoadDog wrote: »
    kathdela wrote: »
    If the servers get $15 an hour as well, that's GREAT! As it is now, most restaurants can get away with paying servers less than minimum wage. We're talking around $3 an hour, in some places less. Raising the minimum wage doesn't necessarily mean these people will see any more money.

    Supposed to be an across the board increase. The aim is to bring those jobs on line. $15 and hour regardless of job. Waitress, Crop picker, Retail worker. No difference.

    You will never get a full meal at a full-serve restaurant for $20 again. $50 will become the minimum. Also, McDonald's will now charge $5 for a Big Mac. $20 for a combo.
  • kathdela
    kathdela Posts: 148 Member
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    "one estimate suggests that raising the minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 an hour could increase the cost of a Big Mac by 68 cents." If paying $.68 more so some kid putting themselves through college can actually take a night off once a week to study is so unpalatable to you, don't eat there. Make your own burgers. It's a job you deem easy enough for them to get paid not a living wage for, do it yourself.
  • wizzybeth
    wizzybeth Posts: 3,573 Member
    edited April 2015
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    I do think $15 is a bit high. $9 is more reasonable imho.

    I think the OP is talking about non-waitress/waiter type situations like at Dunkin or Starbucks on the ice cream stand where there are tip jars.
  • sullus
    sullus Posts: 2,839 Member
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    wizzybeth wrote: »
    I do think $15 is a bit high. $9 is more reasonable imho.

    I think the OP is talking about non-waitress/waiter type situations like at Dunkin or Starbucks on the ice cream stand where there are tip jars.

    Those kind of tip jars get the coins from my change. Not because I'm a great guy who cares about the financial situation of a dunkin's cashier, but because I cant stand having coins in my pocket, and the tip jar seems like a better option than throwing it away.
  • yopeeps025
    yopeeps025 Posts: 8,680 Member
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    sullus wrote: »
    If Servers are included in the $15/hr minimum wage, then I will cease to tip them. I will continue to tip my bartender, though - regardless of what he gets paid. That tip is really for me, not him.


    Ahh someone who knows the bar scene. Yeah if servers get paid $15 an hour I'm not tipping them anymore either.

  • chivalryder
    chivalryder Posts: 4,391 Member
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    kathdela wrote: »
    "one estimate suggests that raising the minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 an hour could increase the cost of a Big Mac by 68 cents." If paying $.68 more so some kid putting themselves through college can actually take a night off once a week to study is so unpalatable to you, don't eat there. Make your own burgers. It's a job you deem easy enough for them to get paid not a living wage for, do it yourself.

    Where I'm from, 90% of the people flipping burgers are people who are high school dropouts and couldn't be bothered to get themselves an education to work a higher paying job.

    Then they complain that they don't get paid enough.

    Besides, as I mentioned, you can live a good life (almost) anywhere in the USA on $10k/year. That would be $5/hour after taxes if you worked full-time.
  • TheRoadDog
    TheRoadDog Posts: 11,793 Member
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    When I started working Minimum wage was about $1.35 an hour. Busboy. Worked harder than the waitresses, but was not deemed tipworthy. Yet I was the one scrambling to get your water, keep your coffee and drinks refilled. Clean up your mess. Occasionally, a waitress might pass along a tip, but it was rare.

    Yet, I did not expect to be paid the same wage as a person with a Trade or a Degree. It just motivated me to improve my job and my life. People think they are entitled now.

    Entry level positions are meant to give a person experience and help guide them to a better lot in life. The person getting my coffee at Starbucks doesn't work as hard as the person putting the roof on my house. Why are they entitled to a gratuity?
  • kathdela
    kathdela Posts: 148 Member
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    chivalryder wrote: »
    kathdela wrote: »
    "one estimate suggests that raising the minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 an hour could increase the cost of a Big Mac by 68 cents." If paying $.68 more so some kid putting themselves through college can actually take a night off once a week to study is so unpalatable to you, don't eat there. Make your own burgers. It's a job you deem easy enough for them to get paid not a living wage for, do it yourself.

    Where I'm from, 90% of the people flipping burgers are people who are high school dropouts and couldn't be bothered to get themselves an education to work a higher paying job.

    Then they complain that they don't get paid enough.

    Besides, as I mentioned, you can live a good life (almost) anywhere in the USA on $10k/year. That would be $5/hour after taxes if you worked full-time.

    Please break that down for me. Break down rent, food, any medical bills, car insurance, phone bills (even just a land line if we're believing poor people don't deserve cell phones, clothes, and any costs relating to children if they have any.

    And I don't care if they dropped out or not. I really don't. If I'm gonna eat at mcdonalds, I really don't mind paying less than a dollar extra if it means that some person gets to feed their kids, or pay their bills, or whatever. Dropping out of school doesn't mean their less worthy of a living wage. Sorry.
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,752 Member
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    Tipping isn't expected in Australia, although if we dine out and receive excellent service we do add a tip.

    We holidayed in the US over Christmas and must admit that the service we received was by far superior than the service we receive at home - the waitstaff really went above and beyond to provide good service whereas at home it's hit and miss (more miss...). I don't believe that people should have to rely on tips, but I could only imagine that service would drop slightly if the need for tips was taken away.

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