View Full Version : How do you feel about tipping? Should it be done away with and living wages be paid?
gimmethesimplelife
9-19-21, 11:50am
As someone who has been tipped labor for many years, I find this topic fascinating. While I was new to the biz, it was exciting to realize I could survive insane working conditions and leave with money in my pocket. This can become addictive - the constant adrenaline and the leaving work with money in your pocket. Now that I am out of the business and in something more stable, I am amazed that I survived the concept of being tipped and having little clue how much money I would make on a given shift - seriously, having this uncertainty lifted by a decent hourly wage in a more stable business has greatly improved the quality of my life.
Now the few times I do go out I overtip - I do this because I believe in karma and because I understand that not everyone is going to have the same good fortune in getting out of the business that I have had. I can't begin to see myself working waiting tables again - it would have to be that or live on the streets, I am that over the industry. But I still tip very well - usually 1/3 or in some cases 1/2. Like i said, I don't go out to eat very often. But I will still tip and tip well, even though I don't care for the business model. What's your take on tipping and why? Rob
PS Came back to add that SO has found work after a long search - doing guess what? Yep. Waiting tables - I hear horror stories of the business on a regular basis. SO is trying to break out of the business also but has not had the good fortune i have had. Not yet, anyway. Rob
iris lilies
9-19-21, 12:04pm
Now is an excellent time to be job hunting, so good luck to your SO.
I always tip but don’t overdo it. We tip 20% because that’s so easy to do math on. On the other hand it’s been forever since we’ve been out to a sit down restaurant where you actually tip. I do think DH goes out to eat often in Hermann because the kitchen facilities are still very limited there.
Teacher Terry
9-19-21, 12:53pm
I always tip 20%. If my bill is low then I tip more as the same amount of effort is put in and I am occupying a table. My dil is doing so well since the casinos opened up and she went back to work in March. She used to get tipped between 1-5 for a drink. Now it’s 5-10 and she’s had people that are winning on the tables giving her 100 per drink.
It's a dumb system, but I do tip--20% or more at restaurants, and usually twice what is expected for Uber and food delivery.
ApatheticNoMore
9-19-21, 1:22pm
The thing is I suspect most people make far more on tips than they would on say minimum wage. Oh you said a living wage, that's at least $20 an hour here IMO. Yea that would make sense really, and I'd really prefer it to tips even if costs were passed on to the consumer. But I don't know how that works with current restaurant economics (which are all screwy anyway it seems to me but ...). Truth is there are probably far too many restaurants, many barely hanging on, some of course wiped out by the pandemic.
I find tips annoying, it's been so long since I've paid any, that I was flustered and didn't even know how to calculate one when I ate at a restaurant last week. My bf pays for restaurants, I cook, that's the deal, and that's why I don't pay tips, oh and covid. But I wasn't with bf but was treating sibling to a meal (that is rare :) I seldom treat their lazy self that won't work but hey ... :)) but couldn't figure out a tip. I think I gave a poor tip, and they probably hate me at the restaurant. MATH IS HARD!!! :laff:
GeorgeParker
9-19-21, 2:25pm
I tip 15%-20% if I'm eating at a restaurant, depending on the level of service and how much effort the server has to put into it. If I'm getting take out instead of dine-in, I tip 10% because it's usually a shared tip jar and I think tip-dependent workers should get a tip on every order unless they totally screw up. Taxis I tip $5 regardless of trip length, $10 if I have luggage and the driver doesn't charge a separate luggage fee. I rarely run into any other tipping situations, but when I do I just go with whatever feels correct.
OLD JOKE: A man sits down at a table and orders a bottomless cup of coffee for a dollar. He spends half an hour drinking 4 cups of coffee while reading his newspaper. He leaves a 15-cent tip on the table, and the waiter says to himself "It's correct but it ain't right."
Divide the total by five, pay one fifth, makes it pretty easy.
iris lilies
9-19-21, 2:36pm
Divide the total by five, pay one fifth, makes it pretty easy.
Divided by five are you kidding? Like in my head you mean!!??
No here’s how you do it:
Figure 10% and double it. A bill of $34.62 becomes a tip of 3.40 x 2. Rounding is permissible.
—iris, math challenged
Many roads, same destination. :D
I have been in countries where restaurant workers were paid reasonably and tipping was unexpected, or even considered insulting.
The USA is weird though. In an ideal world the workers would be paid properly, but the USA isn’t part of that world.
happystuff
9-19-21, 2:56pm
Divided by five are you kidding? Like in my head you mean!!??
No here’s how you do it:
Figure 10% and double it. A bill of $34.62 becomes a tip of 3.40 x 2. Rounding is permissible.
—iris, math challenged
Ate out last night and, looking at my copy of the receipt, the tip percentages were broken out at the bottom of the check - 18%, 20%, 22%. Easy peasy. lol
GeorgeParker
9-19-21, 2:57pm
No here’s how you do it: Figure 10% and double it. A bill of $34.62 becomes a tip of 3.40 x 2.You're doing it the hard way by thinking 10%. Just move the decimal one place to the left, round up to the next non-penny amount, and double it. $32.24 becomes $3.224, which is really $3.22, so round it up to $3.25 and that times two is $6.50. By moving the decimal instead of thinking in terms of percentages, you can easily "see" what the number you need to double is by just looking at the total on the bill. And rounding up to an amount that ends in 5 or 0 makes doubling the tip easy.
In my couple of years waiting tables I never had a problem with the system and made what at the time was I thought was a decent wage, though it differed in some respects to my pay for performance evaluations later in life. I don't eat out much these days, but have typically been a generous tipper. I won't tip the usual percent for poor service.
happystuff
9-19-21, 3:16pm
Oh, on a side note. A sibling who was a server for quite a while said it was always a good practice to pay cash for the tip, especially when using a credit/debit card to pay the bill. Make sure to write the word "cash" on the tip line! This made it easier for the server to actually get their tip and harder for anyone who was not honest to change the charge ticket by writing in or adjusting the tip amount that was written. (example: they were witness to a server saying "This tip is way too small" and proceeded to change a $9.00 to $19.00 tip). Definitely NOT saying all servers are dishonest!!!!! Just saying that "things happen".
You're doing it the hard way by thinking 10%. Just move the decimal one place to the left, round up to the next non-penny amount, and double it. .
I can see it in my head without moving anything, it's not hard at all. I like to tip in even numbers so when we do a family night out and get a bill of say $93.50 my thought process is 9-18-20, that is 10% of 90 equals 9, 9x2=18, round up to 20. It takes about a second.
Divide the total by five, pay one fifth, makes it pretty easy.
I do it by multiplying the tab by 2 and rounding up and putting the decimal in the right place. So, $40 tab, x 2=8.00 tip.
I rarely give huge tips, but I give at least 20%.
I'll have to ask my server son, but I think the argument could be made for both. I kind of like the meritocracy of tips--great service gets a great tip. But OTOH, if the restaurant is empty, there's no tips. I suppose servers could get paid a decent wage and there's no law against a patron giving a tip for great service anyway.
GeorgeParker
9-19-21, 3:32pm
I can see it in my head without moving anything, it's not hard at all.But the odds are you're seeing it in your head via a process similar to the one I described, not as a mathematical equation, unless you're a math wiz. Most real people who are good at everyday math use a lot of mental shortcuts they're barely aware of, or not aware of at all.
But the odds are you're seeing it in your head via a process similar to the one I described, not as a mathematical equation, unless you're a math wiz. Most real people who are good at everyday math use a lot of mental shortcuts they're barely aware of, or not aware of at all.
I think most everyone can do it when beginning with a base of 10 without having to move a decimal, in my mind that would double the amount of processing power required and make it "the hard way". But, whatever works for you.
happystuff
9-19-21, 3:44pm
I think most everyone can do it when beginning with a base of 10 without having to move a decimal, in my mind that would double the amount of processing power required and make it "the hard way". But, whatever works for you.
I'm sure the servers don't care HOW people figure the tip, as long as they get a good one. LOL. :)
I'm ambivalent about tipping, but I do it anyways. Giving 20% for a meal where the staff take your order, deliver it, check back with you, take away dirty dishes, sure. 20% for a beer tab where the server is handing you a canned or bottled beer? Seems excessive.
I'd suggest the people I see using their cell phone for texting and talking during a restaurant meal explore the calculator feature. Problem solved.
I'd suggest the people I see using their cell phone for texting and talking during a restaurant meal explore the calculator feature. Problem solved.
I think there's a tipping app, too.
I find multiplying the bill by (2pi * e * sqrt(3/2)) and then moving the decimal point appropriately does the job, and is reasonably simple.
happystuff
9-19-21, 5:25pm
I find multiplying the bill by (2pi * e * sqrt(3/2)) and then moving the decimal point appropriately does the job, and is reasonably simple.
ROFLOL!!! I love it!!! Thanks for the giggle!
I find multiplying the bill by (2pi * e * sqrt(3/2)) and then moving the decimal point appropriately does the job, and is reasonably simple.But that would be approximately 20.9%. As I mentioned earlier, I like to round up and 21% feels oddly pretentious.
I find multiplying the bill by (2pi * e * sqrt(3/2)) and then moving the decimal point appropriately does the job, and is reasonably simple.
Should that apply to the total bill including taxes, or just the total food bill?
We tip 15-20% depending on the level of service given. I totally don't like at "fast food" places when they ask if I want add a tip to my bill when I order. I am thinking, for what? There is a Hawaiian food chain locally that always asks. It is awkward, makes me not even want to go there. I feel if I don't tip they are going to not give me good service. Another local Mexican place when you tip they ding their little bell and all the workers say "gracias" :-) There is a lot of behind the scenes things that servers do that the general public don't see so I think they deserve more. Especially seems I am vegetarian/vegan there is often changes made to the normal menu items to accommodate my diet.
GeorgeParker
9-19-21, 6:58pm
We tip 15-20% depending on the level of service given. I totally don't like at "fast food" places when they ask if I want add a tip to my bill when I order. I am thinking, for what? There is a Hawaiian food chain locally that always asks. It is awkward, makes me not even want to go there. I feel if I don't tip they are going to not give me good service. Another local Mexican place when you tip they ding their little bell and all the workers say "gracias" :-) There is a lot of behind the scenes things that servers do that the general public don't see so I think they deserve more. Especially seems I am vegetarian/vegan there is often changes made to the normal menu items to accommodate my diet.The fast food places I go to don't ask. The thing you put your credit card in to pay your bill has a screen that asks if you want to leave a tip and offers several amounts. If you want to tip, you touch the appropriate amount, if not you touch "No". Quick, simple, and nobody gets embarrassed by having to ask or having to say no.
rosarugosa
9-20-21, 5:51am
I round up to the next highest multiple of 10, calculate 10% (which doesn't take much calculating) and then double it as a minimum. Since Covid, we have been tipping higher amounts.
I usually tip 20% for a sit down meal. I refuse to tip at Subway or other places where I am picking up my own food. This goes back way before covid. Workers in those places are getting a set hourly wage.
ToomuchStuff
9-21-21, 8:30pm
Never worked in an environment where it was low pay and tips. Two brothers I knew, owned a restaurant down the street and one wanted me to go to work for him. That night he had a stroke.
Worked in a restaurant, and learned to live off of hourly, because I was rarely tipped. (not the waiter type of service) Also, I was mistaken for a relative of the owners, frequently.
Now, as a single person, I rarely go to somewhere fancy. I normally go through a drive through, or something like a call in an order to pickup. Not really a tipping situation.
I think tipping should be optional, if...
If there's a mandatory bigger minimum wage. Too many places have the laws set up so that the tipped workers are expected to get the bulk of their income from tips. That makes financial planning difficult, like paying your rent. Have a lousy winter and live on restaurant tips? Well, you may or may not take in enough to pay your rent. If you have a minimum wage you can do more than buy gum with, you might be able to pay your rent...
I heard a discussion about this on the radio not too long ago. If I can find it, I'll post a link here.
For non sit down service I pay with bills and put the coins I get as change in the tip jar.
happystuff
9-23-21, 10:11am
I think tipping should be optional, if...
The whole idea of "tipping" WAS that it was optional! People would "tip" if they felt the food/service/whatever warranted their giving of ADDITIONAL money. Nowadays, it seems to be "help supplement my wage income".
GeorgeParker
9-23-21, 11:08am
The whole idea of "tipping" WAS that it was optional! People would "tip" if they felt the food/service/whatever warranted their giving of ADDITIONAL money. Nowadays, it seems to be "help supplement my wage income".To be technically correct, TIPS originally stood for "To Insure Proper Service". You gave people a tip first, before they did anything for you, so they will treat you like a VIP. You give the maitre d’ a tip when he greets you so he will seat you promptly and give you a good table with a good waiter. You tip the waiter when he greets you so he will give you extra attention. And so on.
Our modern American practice of tipping after a service has been performed gives an advantage to tourists because the server hopes he'll be rewarded for good service, but the tourist knows they don't have to tip some random server that they'll never see again. (Contrarywise, many servers probably give customers they don't recognize mediocre service on the assumption they're probably just passing through and will therefore leave a cheap tip.)
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