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My thoughts on tipping...

Cranefolder

Shared on Mon, 06/19/2006 - 14:35

Fetal wrote a good blog entry on tipping, you should read it.  I was writting a comment to put on it, but the comment got so long that I decided just to do my own blog entry about it.  I agree with his take on giving people decent tips, but I have some complaints about the tipping system in general, hence this entry...

I agree that people should tip well, and I hate people that are cheapasses about it.  I try to do the right thing, and I usually tip between 15 and 20% at restaurants.  BUT, I really wish restaurants, bars, barber shops, and any other tip-dependant businesses would just pay their people a decent wage and get rid of the whole tipping system.   They would have to increase the cost of their food and/or services to do so, but Im fine with that.

I hate that tipping is required, not because the workers do not deserve the money (they deserve every penny), I just hate being put on the spot like that and having to make up for their shitty pay rate and the other asshole customers that do not tip.  If a pizza costs $10 and I pay a $2 delivery charge and then I have to tip a gallon of gas at $3, that runs to $15.  I would rather they just charged the damn $15 for the pizza in the first place and sort out who gets what back at their place of business. 

I hate prices that do not have sales tax in them for the same damn reason, it is just inefficient and stupid.  How much is my dinner going to cost?  Well, the enchilada combo is $6.95, plus 8% sales tax, plus a 2% hospitality tax (Charleston had one of these ... translates as an extra tax on convenience services ... sucktacular), plus 15% for tip = $8.69. And that is if you do not follow the rule of rounding up small tips to $2.  If you do that it runs to $9.64.  Well, if that is the real cost, just put it on the frigging menu already!  I am going to pay that much anyway, so quit this nickel and dime crap and just give me the real price.  When I go out to eat I do not want to do math, I just want to eat, pay, and get the hell out. 

I do not want to memorize a bunch of rules about how much to give at different types of restaurants, how much to tip a cab driver, the bellhop, pizza delivery person, bartender, etc.  What am I supposed to do, carry around a calculator and a little pocket chart that lists all of the different types of tip related services and the appropriate amounts to give for each?!?! 

This is just another case of employers being lazy.  They do not want to take the time to figure out which of their employees are good ones, so they just leave it up to you to judge and tip accordingly.  I guess the twisted logic of it is that if a waiter sucks he will not get tips and he will have to quit because he cannot make a decent living, but this system is obviously being abused and this does not work.  A bad employee will still get a tip from me because of the fear of reprisal.  Now I am being held hostage for my tip.  "Gimme money or I will spit in your food!"  Man, funk that.  I will just make myself a sandwich at home if that is what this is coming to. 

I realize that the tipping system will not go away, and I will continue to tip fairly because I appreciate the fact that people depend on it to pay their bills, but I hate being put in that position by the owners of a business that are supposed to be providing a service for me.  "Ah yes, here is your meal, and please do not forget to tip generously because your waiter needs to buy food and clothes for his kids, and if you do not he might jizz in your sweet tea next time."  Great, dinner, a guilt trip, and a possible communicable disease!  I only came to the restaurant looking for one of these three things, and I can tell you it damn sure was not for the social pressure or the man-juice.

Comments

BCKinetic's picture
Submitted by BCKinetic on Tue, 06/20/2006 - 01:07
If you are going to leave a shitty tip (less than 15%) let management know why you are leaving it. If it is something that restaraunt can improve on, then they need to know. Unfortunately, restaraunts dont pay any higher than minimum is because it is expensive to run. Labor typically runs around 15-20%. Food cost can be as high as 40%. That doesnt leave much for wage increases. Not to mention that most servers dont get any sort of medical insurance from the restaraunt. I went for 2 1/2 years with out medical insurance (what a dumbass). The job has its perks, but it mostly sucks. Everyone really needs to watch the movie: WAITING. It was too on and way too funny. :D
SweetMeef's picture
Submitted by SweetMeef on Tue, 06/20/2006 - 10:06
"Waiting" was a funny movie, and eerily accurate. I agree w/ G00mper about the socialistic nature of the "tip included in the check" idea - the server is getting his/her 15% whether they are lousy or outstanding, so the only motivation for going "above and beyond" is the hope that you will do the same and tip in addition to the mandatory gratuity fee. Also, servers definitely remember customers, especially if you go often. If I go somewhere often enough to be remembered, I always try to tip well, and I will sometimes ask for a particular server if they are consistently good. If the service is average, I usually just double the tax which equates to a 16% or 18% tip depending on the county. If the service is poor, it will be reflected in the tip, and I wont eat there for a while - not because I dont like the restaurant, but I dont want bodily fluids as an extra ingredient in my food or beverage. Good servers who are consistently good can make great money waiting tables, which is why I prefer to leave tipping in the customers hands. The people that "got stiffed again" probably had it coming and will eventually move on.
BATMANKM's picture
Submitted by BATMANKM on Wed, 07/12/2006 - 12:16
""Ah yes, here is your meal, and please do not forget to tip generously because your waiter needs to buy food and clothes for his kids, and if you do not he might jizz in your sweet tea next time." Great, dinner, a guilt trip, and a possible communicable disease! I only came to the restaurant looking for one of these three things, and I can tell you it damn sure was not for the social pressure or the man-juice." Great close to this entry i LMFAO!!! Tipping is tough for all the reasons you laid out so well. I im with Monkee, i do 15%-20% all the time, less if the service sucks and then i complain. Pay-scales are a messed up thing. I mean its "F"ed up that the people that cart away our trash often make more then those that teach our children! Or that we pay doctors that fix us so much but mechanics that fix our cars so little. If the mechanic does a shitty job that could be as fatal for you as the Dr doing a crappy job. Socialism is no answer obviously but equality in scale is an issue that should be more discussed. -BAT
NorthernPlato's picture
Submitted by NorthernPlato on Mon, 06/19/2006 - 14:57
I must be twisted. and cheap. If service sucks, I refuse to tip. I look at it like this: theyre providing a service, and my tip (or lack thereof) is an indication of my level of satisfaction with their service. If theres a reprisal, and I notice it, well Ill complain to management. If service is constantly slow (yes, Im looking at you Montanas) then I stop going altogether. Mrs.Plato and I frequent the same restaurant so often, when we stop going for a while its noticed by the core staff. We tip most staff there rather well, because the service is good. Bad servers get poor or no tip. Meh. Theyll learn. If not, Im sure my continuous complaints will get them fired. :P
MTK005's picture
Submitted by MTK005 on Mon, 06/19/2006 - 14:58
For a quick story on innapropriate requests for tipping, check out what happened to my buddy at a recent baseball game here in DC: http://www.nationalspride.com/columnists/ian/?p=46
codemonkey's picture
Submitted by codemonkey on Mon, 06/19/2006 - 15:05
Yeah, I tip 20% almost always, and a bit more during the Holiday season. If service is horrid, Ill leave 5% to 10% and bring over the manager to express my concern. That usually means I end up with at least a $20.00 gift card for my troubles, and I can try the service again at a later date. -CM
LadyisRed's picture
Submitted by LadyisRed on Mon, 06/19/2006 - 21:09
see, thats why we just eat at mcdonalds lol. ;)
DrEsquire's picture
Submitted by DrEsquire on Mon, 06/19/2006 - 21:53
I tip 20% unless the waiter/ress DISSERVES less. I think it is wrong that restraunts/bars can pay less than minimum wage. that is why it is called a inimum wage... and did you know that wait-staff is payroll-taxed on 15% of debit receipts as if they got the tips even if they dont?!?
G00mper's picture
Submitted by G00mper on Mon, 06/19/2006 - 21:56
I used to wait tables in college. Before tips I think I made about $2.25 and hour(minimum wage for servers), so tips were basically my whole salary. I worked in a small place, so I dont know what it would be like in a place like TGI Fridays or Olive Garden. The wait-staff remembers the customers, especially the good tippers and the bad tippers. I remembered crappy tips from customer I had not seen for a year. Trust me, a bad tip only teaches the servers to hate you and youre service will not improve. Good tippers are remembered and the wait-staff will go out of their way to make sure you have a nice night. Restaurants cant afford to pay servers a high salary year round, if their are no customers theirs no money to pay them, regardless of how much they charge for food. The only option would be to attach service charge to your check; then the tip would be set in stone with no incentive for your server to do a good job. If you like the food, but the service was bad, leave a decent tip(15%) and make a friendly complaint. If it sucks next time, the place sucks and you should go somewhere else next time.

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