I totally don't understand tipping... HELP!

[Ozzie]

I've googled "tipping", and I am even more confused than before I started.

Can someone have a go at explaining it to me?

[RCA]

Pushing a cow over when it is sleeping?

[MellowZ32]

a city in China?

[Ozzie]

I should have been more specific.
The strange custom of handing over more money, after you have finished paying for your stuff.

[MellowZ32]

I should have been more specific.

yes, you should have.

http://people.howstuffworks.com/tipping.htm

[RCA]

Your paying for people to bring you your food or giving you priority.

I pay tip on only what is brought to me. So for most cases in a restaurant you pay for the bill but in a buffet, they usually only bring you drinks. So I tip based on the cost of the drinks, how long I waited for it to be filled and how many times it was filled.

Why is that a strange concept for you?

[themadscientist]

If you live in some states they take the gratuity out automatically. Seem to defeat the purpose.

[TroubleBound]

"You want tip? You buy Honda stock. No go away your breath smell"

[Dattebayo]

In America, food and beverage servers are typically paid far less then minimum wage with the understanding that tips are expected.

I personally never understood how they can do this legally, but it happens and people do the work anyway... Not that I ever have.

[themadscientist]

Let the restaurant pay them a better wage and quit expecting me to pick up the slack.

[RCA]

Let the restaurant pay them a better wage and quit expecting me to pick up the slack.

I like that idea...

[PoorManQ45]

Let the restaurant pay them a better wage and quit expecting me to pick up the slack.

Exactly!

Everyone here talks about how much more expensive food would be if you increased the waiter's pay, but they never factor in the 15~20% that you're already paying on top of your bill!

Tips really suck.

One thing that really pisses me off is Pizza delivery. The company charges you a "delivery fee", and you're expected to tip the driver! You can't have it both ways! I'll pay one or the other. So, to be nice, I don't order delivery... I'll pick it up. Don't want any pissed off delivery people.

And Ozzy, the whole system makes no sense.

[wingFeather]

A tip should ensure baller service, but instead it has become an obligation to receive any service. You pretty much have to leave a tip if you dine at a certain location often (even if their service sucks), as the wait staff will remember you.

Let the restaurant pay them a better wage and quit expecting me to pick up the slack.

I know California does this.

[Bubba1]

I've googled "tipping", and I am even more confused than before I started.

Can someone have a go at explaining it to me?

I'll try:
It's a voluntary additional payment to thank an employee for personal services rendered. It is "customary" and "expected" for certain jobs, like waiters, bartenders, valets, limo drivers, bellhops etc,

There is a guideline that lists who typically gets tips and what is considered an average tip, but the actual amount (higher/lower) would depend on your perception of the level of their service. If they did an above average job for you, you are expected to give them more.

From an employer/employee perspective, it keeps employee costs down (and prices competitive) because part of the employee's compensation is paid directly by the customer. It's also up to the employee how much of the tips gets reported as income).

The employee also has the opportunity to make more than the difference between their wage and what their salary might have been salaried without tips. If the employee puts the effort in, and the customer is not a cheapskate, they should be able to make more with tips than just a flat salary.

As a customer, you are under no legal obligation to tip, but you will be thought of as a cheap turd for not doing it.

Unfortunately there are many cheap turds out there (like Tiger Woods) who feel tips should not be necessary for anything. In this society, it's considered rude. And if you stiff enough people on their tips, it will eventually come back to haunt you.

For example, you never stiff a waiter if you plan to return to that restaurant. Waiters talk to each other and you might face retaliation in ways you won't notice.

I hope that helps.

[Loki]

I hate tipping, but it is sometimes a nice way to get back at a really, really bad waiter/waitress.

I'm paying 8 bucks for a cheeseburger and a couple french fries, you're telling em you can't pay the bringer of this food more than $4/hr? BS

[wingFeather]

I'm paying 8 bucks for a cheeseburger and a couple french fries, you're telling em you can't pay the bringer of this food more than $4/hr? BS

Taco Bell servers don't get tips, and they have crappier jobs in general. Why restaurants expect you to pay 5X the price, for less service, AND expect tipping... it's crazy.

[D1SR240]

One person who you want to make sure to tip is the parking valet (unless you're driving a rental car or something). Tipping a valet is expected, and the person parking your car will usually treat the car the same way you treat him/her. I usually give a little tip when I hand over the keys to the valet, and then another little tip after he/she gets my car. If you frequent an establishment often the valets will definitely remember what kind of tipper you are. If it's your first time somewhere it's usually a good idea to do what I mentioned above, tip before and after.

Even if you don't care about how the valet treats your car it still is a good idea to treat them well. There are instances of valets stealing personal belongings from a vehicle (this does not apply to the majority of valets, but it does happen). If something is missing from your car and you don't notice right away (meaning after you leave the establishment) it can be pretty difficult to get any kind of restitution.

[NY94J30]

The idea of tipping is that you - as the diner/customer - are subsidizing the payroll cost of management, who pays a substandard wage to the waitstaff (~ $2 - $4/hr). In turn, the food cost to you is lower. You therefore have an implicit agreement, in accepting the lower cost, to augment the pay of the server through a "tip" - assuming you received proper service or that if you didn't the server was not at fault. Were this agreement not in place, you would expect to pay 15-20% more for food across the board.

The traditional rule has been that you tip a minimum of 15% of the pre-tax value of the meal. I think its safe to say that 20% is more standard today.

[Bubba1]

The bottom line is if you have an problem paying tips, don't eat at a restaurant that has waiter services, park your own car, carry your own luggage, pick up your own pizza, take the subway instead of a taxi/limo. It's pretty simple. Using services that require tips and then stiffing the employee on his/her tip just hurts the employee, which is unfair if they do a good job.

[vikesfankevin1986]

You tip if the service is good. This means better service makes someone more money. This means they work harder. If everyone gets paid the same, why work harder? This is one of the reasons I got off of active duty Air Force. When people saw they got paid the same for doing nothing, as someone busting their a**, they work less. It's not like the AF is going to kick them out. In return I had to work harder and the final product was worse.

I would like to say "here's a tip...get a better job" but if you know a server or have dated one, you would understand what a crappy thing that is to do. If you want poor, slow service because no one cares, fine. If you want good service, tip.
I normally give them 10-15% BUT there are times I give more. When I go to BWW to watch the UFC fight I give a nicer tip. I do this because you are sitting at a table far longer than you normally would but not buying any extra food, meaning they don't make as much money.
I could have gotten a date with this cutie that works at the liquor store because I told her I do that when I go there to watch the UFC fights. She got a big smile on her face and told me she was a server and she had always wondered if people ever thought about that. She said she wished there were more guys like me out there. But I'm married...so if anyone in the southern metro in MN needs a date with a cutie I can tell ya where to go

[PoorManQ45]

Why should I be required to pay someone to do the job that they were hired to do?

*note* I tip generously, so don't assume my viewpoint on the practice means I don't participate in it.

[vikesfankevin1986]

Why should I be required to pay someone to do the job that they were hired to do?

*note* I tip generously, so don't assume my viewpoint on the practice means I don't participate in it.

Because there is a difference between doing a job and doing it well. I can bring you your food in 5 minutes or I can bring it to you in a half hour. If there's nothing in it for me, why should I rush?

[NY94J30]

Why should I be required to pay someone to do the job that they were hired to do?

*note* I tip generously, so don't assume my viewpoint on the practice means I don't participate in it.

Because, that's the price model in the establishment you've chosen to dine in. The waitstaff was hired to do the job at a lower rate with the understanding - of both management and patrons - that the patrons will subsidize their wage (based on a percentage of the patron's food cost). It's a social agreement; you've entered it when you sat down.

[RCA]

Because there is a difference between doing a job and doing it well. I can bring you your food in 5 minutes or I can bring it to you in a half hour. If there's nothing in it for me, why should I rush?

So the waiter should suffer if the kitchen is busy or makes a mistake?

[PoorManQ45]

Why should I be required to pay someone to do the job that they were hired to do?

*note* I tip generously, so don't assume my viewpoint on the practice means I don't participate in it.

Because there is a difference between doing a job and doing it well. I can bring you your food in 5 minutes or I can bring it to you in a half hour. If there's nothing in it for me, why should I rush?

Plumbers, electricians, etc... are all in the service industry. They don't get tips. Why should they do a good job?

[themadscientist]

The base commissary has people who take your stuff to the car for you that work purely for tips. I carry my own stuff.

The whole "your food is cheaper" argument doesn't work if you are tipping. If I buy a meal that on the menu costs $60.00 but then tip 20% it costs me $72.00 Now if that server serves 20 parties that night at that rate they have made $240 in tips If they make $4 an hour and work an 8 hour shift that's $32. That's $272 for a nights work, $34 dollars an hour. That is substantially more than I make an hour and I have a s*** more responsibility that a frigging waitress and i can't hide my earnings like someone collecting tips can. It's BS. Pay the waiter, say, half that, $17 an hour. That costs the restaurant $136. Divide that by that same 20 parties for $6.80 per party. My $60 meal is now $66.80. I'm fine with that. If the waiter kicked a**, I'll chip in the extra $5.20.

[PoorManQ45]

The base commissary has people who take your stuff to the car for you that work purely for tips. I carry my own stuff.

The whole "your food is cheaper" argument doesn't work if you are tipping. If I buy a meal that on the menu costs $60.00 but then tip 20% it costs me $72.00 Now if that server serves 20 parties that night at that rate they have made $240 in tips If they make $4 an hour and work an 8 hour shift that's $32. That's $272 for a nights work, $34 dollars an hour. That is substantially more than I make an hour and I have a s*** more responsibility that a frigging waitress and i can't hide my earnings like someone collecting tips can. It's BS. Pay the waiter, say, half that, $17 an hour. That costs the restaurant $136. Divide that by that same 20 parties for $6.80 per party. My $60 meal is now $66.80. I'm fine with that. If the waiter kicked a**, I'll chip in the extra $5.20.

Math pwns Americans though...

I 100% agree with you.

[dre1507]

i give decent tips IF and only IF the waiter was super nice and clowned with us while we caused a ruckus in the area of the restaurant we're seated. MAYBE i'll leave a dollar or two (literally) if the waiter was rude, but i could see that they're just having a bad day (though that's not my fault).

[vikesfankevin1986]

Plumbers, electricians, etc... are all in the service industry. They don't get tips. Why should they do a good job?

That's because plumbers and stuff charge out the a** anyways (I work with one who owns his own business). I had to call a locksmith when I locked my keys in my car WITH THE CAR ON. I waited over 2 hours and called them back a number of times and they kept telling me he was almost there. Finally I had the police come an unlock it. I called the company back and let them know but they charged me anyways because they called it a "cancel." If they were working for tips, do you think they would have got one? They treated me like s*** and still got their money.
But hey, if that's how you feel, fine. In my experience I have always gotten better service from someone that works for tips. They just try harder...

[Jesda]

You guys falsely assume all servers are paid below minimum wage. That isn't the case at all places or in all states. I served at a steakhouse and earned the normal state minimum of $7 plus tips. [I was terrible at that job and deserved nothing.]

I never thought of it this way, but Ozzie sums it up beautifully:

The strange custom of handing over more money, after you have finished paying for your stuff.

Tipping is a leftover custom from America's slavery era. People would quietly give a few pennies to black servants in the south because they were legal property and earned no wages.

Tipping is racist!