Regarding tipping, here’s a better poll question: Who do you think will tip over next:
1) Joe Biden;
2) Mitch McConnell;
3) Diane Feinstein;
4) Charles Grassley.
Kevin M
1 year ago
Tipping was originally done to reward good service. It’s now become expected… regardless of the quality of service or if ANY service was provided. With the government mandating hiring minimum wages and businesses paying even higher wages in order to find employees the need for tipping should be reduced not increased. Employers need to pay the wages necessary to find and retain people… and price their products accordingly. Let us then return to tipping those employees who deserve them.
Terri knudson
1 year ago
Tipping began as a way to let your server know how well she/he was doing his/her job. It was never meant to be mandated by the restaurant/hotel or whatever. They get paid a wage. Tipping is a courtesy, not a requirement
David Hess
1 year ago
Does anyone remember To Insure Proper Service as to what TIPS stands for? With that in mind, I tip those who provide me a service. I have a regular server at a local truck who when I sit down, my coffee and creamer comes automatically from here and she stays on top of my meal needs. She gets a minimum 25%. She embodies what service should be. And bonus! She has manners! Now there is something severely lacking from servers and other counter personnel!
Janet Rice
1 year ago
Service workers should be paid a living wage, do away with tipping.
Paul
1 year ago
Sit down restaurants only. Average is 10% for breakfast, 15% for lunch and dinner. If they do good then more, worse then less. During the Wuhu Flu if the servers didn’t wear freedom muzzles then I add a double tip. I write it on the receipt what it was for
David Andrews
1 year ago
As a general rule, I determine if I am being serviced by an “order taker” or an “order manager”.” Most individuals working at a counter are processing your order are “order takers” and should to be treated with respect and courtesy. But, they are not entitled to a tip. Waiters and waitresses are “order managers” responsible for the carrying out your specific instructions and taking care of you throughout your restaurant experience. They also should to be treated with respect and courtesy and are entitled to a tip. My general rule is a minimum of 20% with an increase for extra effort to make your meal an enjoyable experience.
Amacer
1 year ago
Do we tip people in department stores who bring us shoes to try and fit? Do we tip people who help us pick a cellphone and its subscription service? Why are we tipping people who serve us food? A server’s work is one of the easiest and least laborious in the service industry, so why are we tipping them? This has resulted in a culture of self-entitled people who think they should be paid for every step they make to bring you your food. I am a generous person, but I do not agree with tipping in principle. I think it corrupts people, and unnecessarily raises the cost of goods and services. Some countries forbid tipping, and we should follow suit.
Terry K Hurlburt
1 year ago
TIPPING SHOULD BE ELIMINATED WHERE ALL EMPLOYEES ARE GETTING THE MINIMUM WAGE OR BETTER. TIPPING was used as a major source of income for wait staff & cooks. I find it offensive that computerized kiosks are asking for tips. WTF? you are waiting on yourself.
ConcernedTexan
1 year ago
Beware of double indexing. A tip is calculated as a percentage of the bill, so when inflation goes up so does the bill and therefore the tip — it’s self adjusting. Now when I was (much) younger, the rule of thumb I was taught was to tip 10%. But at some point the expectation became 15%. That’s double indexing — not only has inflation increased the tip but the increased tip % has as well. Now the expectation is becoming 20-25%. That sort of math cannot continue forever — eventually the tip expectation will exceed the cost of the service. So, as consumers, we need to put our foot down and draw the line “this far and no further!” I’m all for appreciating good service and recognizing that many service workers are paid sub-minimum wage, but there has be limits!
A-M
1 year ago
I tip well at restaurants where I am served or when food is delivered by the actual restaurant (I don’t use delivery services). I refuse to tip anyone else for merely doing their job. I think it is insulting (toward other restaurant wait staff) for a $10+ hr barista, etc., to have a tip jar out.
The tip jars for normal work did not start with the plandemic. I saw plenty before that. It started with the I-deserve-what-I-didn’t-earn millennials who were raised to expect a trophy for showing up.
Ross Bierma
1 year ago
Who ever thought that jobs at fast food joints were meant to be lifetime careers? C,mon people, get some initiative and aspirations to better yourself.
Kris Lewis
1 year ago
When I tip, I make sure the recipient knows it’s a GIFT and not subject to taxes.
John Kirkpatrick
1 year ago
I live in a small town and know most of our bar and restaurant owners and servers. We know of their daily struggles to make ends meet during our peak season and off season. We are always generous when tipping because we know we are supporting families and college students.
Minimum wage rose over 100% and caused inflation. If you really think about it career incomes did not rise at all so inflated prices hit career educated harder. Also cost of living is based on minimum wage. Did their lives get better? No! Their rent and other needs rose too. The lower wage incomes rose exempting them from their social assistance too. Democrats are not generous to the poor but just more clever.
Robert Canine
1 year ago
I don’t think that waiters need huge tips; They must be making plenty of money. Estimating conservatively, if:
* the average table has only 3 customers
* the average cost of a meal per customer is $12
* the average number of tables served in an hour is 10
* the average tip is 15%
* the average base pay rate is $3/hour
then calculating (((3 * 12 * 10) * .15) + 3) equals … wait for it … $57 per hour! That’s equivalent to a salary of roughly $115,000/year, way more than most of the country makes. At a higher-priced, more-popular restaurant, a good waiter could make much more than this. Perhaps twice as much.
So I’m not buying into the claim that waiters are oh, so woefully underpaid and therefore need huge tips. It would appear that many waiters make more than I do as a software engineer with decades of experience.
Also, it has never made sense to me that tips should be a percentage of the cost of the meal. Why should a waiter who works in a restaurant where the prices are twice as high get paid twice as much for doing the very same thing?
L Hill
1 year ago
It’s way out of control. I was buying something online the other day and there was a section to add a tip.
Blondie
1 year ago
Tips are not guaranteed, good service gets a good tip. And putting a pizza in a box that I go pickup is your job. You get paid minimum wage to do that. Want more? Work at a work at getting a career while you make minimum wage. Many people work in minimum wage jobs don’t get tips, like a grocery store. I don’t tip everywhere that has tip jar.
McConMan
1 year ago
This is a question that I no longer know how to approach. For years I tipped 20% for good service but that was due to the fact that most servers were getting less than minimal wages. When I was in high school over 50 years ago the minimum wage was $1.86 per hour but the waitresses at the restaurant I worked at only got $.50 per hour because their tips made up the majority of their pay.
Now I’m hearing that almost all workers are getting in the $11.00 to $15.00 per hour pay so why should I tip when I’m living on a fixed income (less than what they’re making) and only can afford to go out to eat for special occasions? (Two or three times per year)
I worked in the I/T world for 22 years and even at the end of my tenure was only making about $30.00 per hour (that is if I only worked a 40 hour work week because I was salaried and worked many 50 to 60 hour work weeks but got the same pay as a 40 hour week).
It would be good to know if the wait staff at a certain facility was paid higher wages or if they still paid under the minimum wage but I have no way to know how to find that out.
numbersrunner
1 year ago
While I am on the soapbox, let me express my view of what I find a detestable practice. Some restaurants have adopted the practice of using their casth register programs to compute tips for tippers who cannot do elementary school problems. Many of theses programs start the tip rate at 18%, ignoring history with the idea that times are tough. Inflation caused by excessive government spending and Federal Reserve meddling has already caused prices to increase; the suggested tips are already higher without increasing the rate. Secon is the practice of some programs of including tax in the total upon which the tip is computed. What did my server do to earn a larger tip because she happened to work in a jurisdiction with a higher tax rate? Why should a server be penalized by working in a location with a lower tax rate?
Ezzie
1 year ago
I usually tip 20% at restaurants, can’t recall when I’ve had bad service. I’ll also toss at least a $1 in the tip jar at my favorite bakery or favorite fast food restaurant cuz I appreciate them. When I’m out of town and my cat sitter charges per visit, I’ll tip her the equivalent of one extra visit. Heck, even when the AC/fireplace/furnace/plumber/etc. workman has completed a task, I’ll give them $10 and tell them to go buy an ice cream cone. I like to see their faces light up a little bit and they’ll remember me next time I might need to call them out for service.
Roy Livingston
1 year ago
Tipping has gotten way out of control. Not only servers are expecting tips but the employers are expecting customers to help pay their employees. TIPS are for service. Exceptional service gets an above average tip. Average service get an average tip. Poor service gets a couple of pennies. Don’t like the pennies, provide better service.
Mike L
1 year ago
I seen something disturbing at a restaurant, the people at a table next to us left a tip for their waitress. Two juvenile delinquents picked up the tip walking by the table and ran out the side door. Since seeing that I started to ask the waitress (or waiter) for a refresher on my coffee (or drink) and handed the tip directly to the person. Just want to make sure they get the tip.
As for the juvenile delinquents, they were caught two days later doing the same thing at a different restaurant, Others (and me) informed the local police department of the theft, and with a photo from the security camera were able to catch them. Benefits of a small town.
Irene
1 year ago
I work as a massage therapist, and I do keep my fees as affordable as possible- cause many of my patients are OLD people on fixed income. I treat each and every one of them with care, and do my best to help. Tips are appreciated but not expected. And remember, massage supplies prices went up, I pay more for electricity usage (laundry and dryer), rent is up. My Old people tip. They understand what I have to deal with and they know what hard work is. Younger (50 and below) tend to be more snotty and entitled and disrespectful and NOT tipping. Again, I treat everybody the same- no difference in quality. Please remember- your hairdresser, nail technician, massage therapist- they all went to school, they all do their best to make you feel and look your best- tips are appreciated.
J Jawker
1 year ago
For some unknown reason, Point-of-Sale software developers started hard-coded tipping into each transaction. It can’t be turned off or disabled. I know because I use POS and I’ve complained about it repeatedly.
Bill
1 year ago
We usually tip according to the service we receive. 20 % sit down meals, poor service maybe 15%. Certain take out with friendly servers 5/15 %
RP
1 year ago
When I tip I tip for good service. NOT just to tip.
Even most fast food places not make 15 dollars or better, more then I do.
The tip was originally for the waitresses, server, or bartenders that made $2.50 an hour. So they worked for tips.
I work in sales, I’m on the sales floor 10 hrs. A day. I make $5.80 an hour, plus commission (thats my tip) is I sell i make money.
You have to work pand give good service to get a TIP.
disappearingtruth
1 year ago
My pet peeve is today’s restaurants with the option to tip before gettnng food while prepaying . EVERY time I’ve done my usua l20% I get zero service, so that bit of “advance generosity” is over. My tips will be on the table from now on. Even that, however, can fail in a dem city like my own. Left a tip for a really nice young server and the restaurant manager picked it up. I would have asked for it back until my wife stopped me. All to say tips are appropriate due to food service low wages, but they should be earned. My wife and I now go to a restaurant where servers always get generous tips since the service is always prompt, pleasant and well-done. Sadly, such places are a dying species in today’s rude world.
Keith Shrum
1 year ago
If I see a tip jar set out for tips, I evaluate what if any service the worker is doing for me. If there’s no personal service, there’s no tip. But if they are actively working for me personally, I will tip between 20-25 % based on their work accuracy, friendliness and personality.
Ski
1 year ago
Here’s a Tip: Don’t smoke in bed!
Jerry Crosby
1 year ago
Most of my life finances were tight and I tipped the standard amounts at sit down restaurants only. At my present point in life finances are not a concern and I tip generously for two reasons: first , the folks doing these jobs can use the extra and second, since so much unearned money is out there getting people to work is hard. I want to reward and encourage those who came to work. Still, I only tip my barber and at sit down restaurants and lesser amounts for take out only at restaurants where I frequently also do sit down.
JANE
5 months ago
I tip 20% for very good service (always for my hair stylist) and less for bad service. However, I do not feel the need to tip at a food venue unless there is table service. I was a waitress for several years and worked very hard. Sometimes customers were total cheapskates and I went home with less money than I needed, especially if a large party stiffed me. I do believe that a large party should have the tip added into the check automatically.
Ronnie
11 months ago
I tip in Cash Only—Directly to the waiter. = not taxable????
J. Vargas
11 months ago
The one that got me over the top is when i got asked for tip on an online purchase.
that’s was a joke.
William
11 months ago
TIPS is an acronym; “To Insure Prompt Service.” In a service economy, workers – caught by inflation just like all of us – depend on tips to make a living. Tip at restaurant? Of course. Tip your barber or hairdresser? Of course. Tip the person who cleans your room in a hotel? Please! Tip the valet who parks & returns your car? Of course! And so on…
Would you work for minimum wage? Without TIPS? Then why would you expect them too?
Linda Fleming
11 months ago
I don’t like the tipping requirements. Require all restaurants to follow minimum age rules. Go back to tips are gifts out of the kindness of someone’s heart that should not be recorded nor taxed.
Darin Strauser
1 year ago
After posting a comment of my opinion, I then began to read our comments here on AMAC. I should share what both a “living wage” and what “minimum wages” are in truth. A Minimum wage is only the first step toward the ‘socializing’ our services industries or, everyday laborers who provide a wonderful service for the rest of us all. I hear the opinions of what it means to “TIP” and what it means to not as well, both are of the discretion and Freedom of the customer, to which our service providers are responsible as Citizens to also Freely provide such services. Tipping is a “customary” practice to ensure exceptional or good and timely service is rewarded. This is easy to understand and also to enjoy as a fully experienced person in our American service culture. It is both FREE and LIBERATING as an individual to give as well as receive this gratuity, gratuity being the highest necessary praise given to our fellow community members for a job well done. Now, a living wage is only comparable to a government job or a management position where money in a set amount, or salary is provided for a position of employment, and there is ZERO incentive to to be an upstanding person when dealing with others let alone “customer” ~ there is no reason or personal motivation for being a gracious servant for others or to learn or grow or gain independence as an individual when acting on behalf of a business. And minimum wage levels are a SCAM invented by Democrats to not only fool our Citizens, especially wage earning Americans into believing that they are somehow being helped by politicians for making businesses pay to laborers what they all think they’re entitled to receive from employers. “Minimum wages” is not so much an increase in wages as it is a MANDATED legislated INCREASE IN TAXES ON EVERY SINGLE WAGE EARNING AMERICAN!!! Do not be fooled by Democrats that they want YOU to gain in money, THEY want your money to increase so that they can increase YOUR TAXABLE INCOME that is already being stolen from you before you ever even see a dime of it?!!! Then Democrats and RINO Republicans work to quietly cheat YOU the Citizens by altering tax codes and “income brackets” to give them all of your additional income! THEY ARE LIARS and we need to rid our government of the IRS and especially abolish “Income Taxes” ~ Tell me how important a “Living Wage” or “Minimum Wages” will be when you are not taxed on ANYTHING until YOU DECIDE to purchase something or anything you need or want and pay a “Fair Tax” on all goods AND SERVICES! We have allowed our government Electors to govern us into poverty and working check-to-check while THEY ENRICH all of their interest groups into the $Billions of OUR Dollars, why are We the People not receiving the tens of $Billions and now $Trillions of Dollars that are not even being accounted for by our Legislators in Congress??? Why are We all still suffering and struggling while our federal government is taking in record tax profits year after year in taxes?! All of their interest groups, other nations getting our $Billions and now $Trillions in “Aid” while We are NOT?!?!?!!!
Darin Strauser
1 year ago
Having worked in our American “Service culture” all of my life from first working (volunteering) as a third/fourth grader ages 8/9 in my local area of residence by collecting glass bottles and aluminum cans to turn in for money, then delivering papers at ages 10 to 12 for two years locally, then working labor and grass mowing & other services (per family assignments) simultaneously for Church members or neighbors who needed help and didn’t have pay at times for my help, to then farm work at age 14 to 18 during my high school days to enjoy my childhood without allowances, to then restaurant/delivery/landscaping/painting/anything along with working for 30+ years in shipping services at a major shipping company; I understand labor and what it takes and costs those of us who serve our fellow Americans! Tipping being only partial in my work history, I always choose to give back to APPRECIATE those of our newest generations who love to work person-to-person in life to serve me, and (if you can) GENEROSITY is the best way to make a difference for our fellow servants in our American society!
mahatma jeeves
1 year ago
after 26 people were killed at a school a woman cqalled a local radio station to say that one side wanted to ban guns and the other to arm teachers. neither side will change. so , why not do things to make love go viral ? one idea was to pay for the car behind u on a toll bridge. later a toll taker said someone paid for one behind and it went viral, for 100 cars in a row.another idea was, instead of waiting till a law increased the minimum wage, give a 100% tip. i tried it. the waitress didn’t notice, but i remember feeling like a rich person, even though not rich. it works every time.try it sometime.
Stan
1 year ago
I recently incorrectly calculated a tip and left 10% instead of my customary 20%. The waiter came over to see if his service was satisfactory. I said yes, absolutey. A few minutes later, when returning from the restroom, I overheard the wait staff talking about a customer who only tipped 10%. That was the moment I realized my mistake, but I was a bit agitated by the audacity of the waiter talking about me to the wait staff. There is no obligation to tip at all! Ingratitude seems to be rampant these days. Once I calmed down, I recalculated and found my error. I gave the rest of the tip to his manager. But I’m thinking I should have just let it stand.
Increases in minimum wage applied to restaurant service staff, causes the menu prices to increase, and in turn causing the final bill to increase, making the tip amount too great for regular evenings out.
Patricia Purdy
1 year ago
I tip but never include the tax part. That seems ridiculous to me.
Jennifer Trull
1 year ago
I always tip generous at a sit down restaurant. Depending on the service I will give extra for excellent service. I do not tip at all in a fast food setting. I am just handed an item. I Stan in line, fix my own drink, etc..
Stuntman
1 year ago
a tip should be accordingly for a job well done, albeit restaurants pay their people expecting a generous tip. It REALLY should be based on quality of service.
Penny
1 year ago
Tipping has always been something that I do and I try to be generous. ( I had several years of serving the public in food and bar service) So I know the workers can use the “EXTRA” money. If a server has been exceptional, my tip reflects that. If a worker has been lacking, I might not tip even 10% !! If they are average– they get 20%. I hvae been known to leave 50% and higher. Several counter people who are exceptional also get tipped.
Dave R.
1 year ago
The world has changed.
However, I’ve always used tipping to express my level of satisfaction with the individual service I receive. I don’t generally tip in an assembly line scenario such as fast food restaurants, but most other customer service venues will see my level of satisfaction based upon whether my tip is < 5% or > 20%.
The change that has taken place has allowed employers to pay less for qualified roles that typically receive tips. I believe it is unfortunate that the employer is allowed to receive an extra benefit from individual workers’ level of excellence while lumping every associate in a generic, “qualified” pool of servers.
ROBERT L. GEARY
1 year ago
Tipping has always been a dilemna for me. When I was younger, and not well off, I couldn’t see the need for it. I might add that I was quite selfish back then. I’m not so selfish nowadays, but still not well off, and I’ve had a few jobs where tipping was expected, so now I realize the need for it. I think I’m a decent tipper, but I still have concerns when the food/product is superb but the server is horrible, and vice versa, when the server is an absolute delight but the food/product is terrible.
Edward Allen
1 year ago
It isn’t often that I will say this but, the Europeans have the right idea.
NO tipping and NO sales taxes added at the register.
ALL prices are what you will pay once you get to the register. In other words, the price includes all gratuities and all taxes. Just pay the staff what they deserve and be done with it. It will make life much easier for all persons.
Imagine you read a menu. It says the:
hamburger is $6.25,
fries are $1.39
soda is $1.66
your total is $9.40.
Instead of trying to figure out you taxes that have to be added, especially when your taxes may change from city to city.
Here, it the bill was $7.65 I would pay either 4% or 6% depending on if I eat 2 miles from my house or 3 miles from my house. When I lived in California, it was 8.75% in one city, but 10 miles away it was 9.25% and in Las Angeles it was right at 10% Now figure out what you will pay and if you have enough coin in your pocket.
Then add 10 (good tips in 1980), 12 (good tips in 1985), 15 (good tips in the 1990s), 20 (if you don’t tip this much your an a-hole in the 2000s), 25 (you owe it to us in the 2010s) or even 30% tips? That is just plain ridiculous.
albert
1 year ago
I don’t mind giving at tip if it deserved !! But i always wonder if its going to the people or person who should get it. like if the tip is added to the bill ????
SES
1 year ago
What does “request failed due to status code 500” mean on this site?
numbersrunner
1 year ago
This is the first AMAC survey where none of the choices comes even close to my views. For most of my 8+ decades the norm in the U.S. at 15%, has also been the highest on the continent (the norm in Canada and Mexico are 10%). 15% has been my starting point for gratuities. This is for good service. Extra efforts should be rewarded while indifferent service should not. If I request and get something extra, then I tip bigger; if I cannot get a coffee refill, the tip goes down. I paid a good way through college with jobs that usually include tips, as did my wife and 2 of my offspring. I believe the current wage-earner problems are the result of political meddling and should not result in my changing my tip habits. I also believe that tips should be in cash and to the server. Putting tips on the credit card encourages employers to share tips where it no longer bears any relation to service. The practiceof employers collecting and distributing tips was also fostered and even forced upon businesses by the IRS beginning in the 1990’s in their zeal to tax more tips.
Regarding tipping, here’s a better poll question: Who do you think will tip over next:
1) Joe Biden;
2) Mitch McConnell;
3) Diane Feinstein;
4) Charles Grassley.
Tipping was originally done to reward good service. It’s now become expected… regardless of the quality of service or if ANY service was provided. With the government mandating hiring minimum wages and businesses paying even higher wages in order to find employees the need for tipping should be reduced not increased. Employers need to pay the wages necessary to find and retain people… and price their products accordingly. Let us then return to tipping those employees who deserve them.
Tipping began as a way to let your server know how well she/he was doing his/her job. It was never meant to be mandated by the restaurant/hotel or whatever. They get paid a wage. Tipping is a courtesy, not a requirement
Does anyone remember To Insure Proper Service as to what TIPS stands for? With that in mind, I tip those who provide me a service. I have a regular server at a local truck who when I sit down, my coffee and creamer comes automatically from here and she stays on top of my meal needs. She gets a minimum 25%. She embodies what service should be. And bonus! She has manners! Now there is something severely lacking from servers and other counter personnel!
Service workers should be paid a living wage, do away with tipping.
Sit down restaurants only. Average is 10% for breakfast, 15% for lunch and dinner. If they do good then more, worse then less. During the Wuhu Flu if the servers didn’t wear freedom muzzles then I add a double tip. I write it on the receipt what it was for
As a general rule, I determine if I am being serviced by an “order taker” or an “order manager”.” Most individuals working at a counter are processing your order are “order takers” and should to be treated with respect and courtesy. But, they are not entitled to a tip. Waiters and waitresses are “order managers” responsible for the carrying out your specific instructions and taking care of you throughout your restaurant experience. They also should to be treated with respect and courtesy and are entitled to a tip. My general rule is a minimum of 20% with an increase for extra effort to make your meal an enjoyable experience.
Do we tip people in department stores who bring us shoes to try and fit? Do we tip people who help us pick a cellphone and its subscription service? Why are we tipping people who serve us food? A server’s work is one of the easiest and least laborious in the service industry, so why are we tipping them? This has resulted in a culture of self-entitled people who think they should be paid for every step they make to bring you your food. I am a generous person, but I do not agree with tipping in principle. I think it corrupts people, and unnecessarily raises the cost of goods and services. Some countries forbid tipping, and we should follow suit.
TIPPING SHOULD BE ELIMINATED WHERE ALL EMPLOYEES ARE GETTING THE MINIMUM WAGE OR BETTER. TIPPING was used as a major source of income for wait staff & cooks. I find it offensive that computerized kiosks are asking for tips. WTF? you are waiting on yourself.
Beware of double indexing. A tip is calculated as a percentage of the bill, so when inflation goes up so does the bill and therefore the tip — it’s self adjusting. Now when I was (much) younger, the rule of thumb I was taught was to tip 10%. But at some point the expectation became 15%. That’s double indexing — not only has inflation increased the tip but the increased tip % has as well. Now the expectation is becoming 20-25%. That sort of math cannot continue forever — eventually the tip expectation will exceed the cost of the service. So, as consumers, we need to put our foot down and draw the line “this far and no further!” I’m all for appreciating good service and recognizing that many service workers are paid sub-minimum wage, but there has be limits!
I tip well at restaurants where I am served or when food is delivered by the actual restaurant (I don’t use delivery services). I refuse to tip anyone else for merely doing their job. I think it is insulting (toward other restaurant wait staff) for a $10+ hr barista, etc., to have a tip jar out.
The tip jars for normal work did not start with the plandemic. I saw plenty before that. It started with the I-deserve-what-I-didn’t-earn millennials who were raised to expect a trophy for showing up.
Who ever thought that jobs at fast food joints were meant to be lifetime careers? C,mon people, get some initiative and aspirations to better yourself.
When I tip, I make sure the recipient knows it’s a GIFT and not subject to taxes.
I live in a small town and know most of our bar and restaurant owners and servers. We know of their daily struggles to make ends meet during our peak season and off season. We are always generous when tipping because we know we are supporting families and college students.
Minimum wage rose over 100% and caused inflation. If you really think about it career incomes did not rise at all so inflated prices hit career educated harder. Also cost of living is based on minimum wage. Did their lives get better? No! Their rent and other needs rose too. The lower wage incomes rose exempting them from their social assistance too. Democrats are not generous to the poor but just more clever.
I don’t think that waiters need huge tips; They must be making plenty of money. Estimating conservatively, if:
* the average table has only 3 customers
* the average cost of a meal per customer is $12
* the average number of tables served in an hour is 10
* the average tip is 15%
* the average base pay rate is $3/hour
then calculating (((3 * 12 * 10) * .15) + 3) equals … wait for it … $57 per hour! That’s equivalent to a salary of roughly $115,000/year, way more than most of the country makes. At a higher-priced, more-popular restaurant, a good waiter could make much more than this. Perhaps twice as much.
So I’m not buying into the claim that waiters are oh, so woefully underpaid and therefore need huge tips. It would appear that many waiters make more than I do as a software engineer with decades of experience.
Also, it has never made sense to me that tips should be a percentage of the cost of the meal. Why should a waiter who works in a restaurant where the prices are twice as high get paid twice as much for doing the very same thing?
It’s way out of control. I was buying something online the other day and there was a section to add a tip.
Tips are not guaranteed, good service gets a good tip. And putting a pizza in a box that I go pickup is your job. You get paid minimum wage to do that. Want more? Work at a work at getting a career while you make minimum wage. Many people work in minimum wage jobs don’t get tips, like a grocery store. I don’t tip everywhere that has tip jar.
This is a question that I no longer know how to approach. For years I tipped 20% for good service but that was due to the fact that most servers were getting less than minimal wages. When I was in high school over 50 years ago the minimum wage was $1.86 per hour but the waitresses at the restaurant I worked at only got $.50 per hour because their tips made up the majority of their pay.
Now I’m hearing that almost all workers are getting in the $11.00 to $15.00 per hour pay so why should I tip when I’m living on a fixed income (less than what they’re making) and only can afford to go out to eat for special occasions? (Two or three times per year)
I worked in the I/T world for 22 years and even at the end of my tenure was only making about $30.00 per hour (that is if I only worked a 40 hour work week because I was salaried and worked many 50 to 60 hour work weeks but got the same pay as a 40 hour week).
It would be good to know if the wait staff at a certain facility was paid higher wages or if they still paid under the minimum wage but I have no way to know how to find that out.
While I am on the soapbox, let me express my view of what I find a detestable practice. Some restaurants have adopted the practice of using their casth register programs to compute tips for tippers who cannot do elementary school problems. Many of theses programs start the tip rate at 18%, ignoring history with the idea that times are tough. Inflation caused by excessive government spending and Federal Reserve meddling has already caused prices to increase; the suggested tips are already higher without increasing the rate. Secon is the practice of some programs of including tax in the total upon which the tip is computed. What did my server do to earn a larger tip because she happened to work in a jurisdiction with a higher tax rate? Why should a server be penalized by working in a location with a lower tax rate?
I usually tip 20% at restaurants, can’t recall when I’ve had bad service. I’ll also toss at least a $1 in the tip jar at my favorite bakery or favorite fast food restaurant cuz I appreciate them. When I’m out of town and my cat sitter charges per visit, I’ll tip her the equivalent of one extra visit. Heck, even when the AC/fireplace/furnace/plumber/etc. workman has completed a task, I’ll give them $10 and tell them to go buy an ice cream cone. I like to see their faces light up a little bit and they’ll remember me next time I might need to call them out for service.
Tipping has gotten way out of control. Not only servers are expecting tips but the employers are expecting customers to help pay their employees. TIPS are for service. Exceptional service gets an above average tip. Average service get an average tip. Poor service gets a couple of pennies. Don’t like the pennies, provide better service.
I seen something disturbing at a restaurant, the people at a table next to us left a tip for their waitress. Two juvenile delinquents picked up the tip walking by the table and ran out the side door. Since seeing that I started to ask the waitress (or waiter) for a refresher on my coffee (or drink) and handed the tip directly to the person. Just want to make sure they get the tip.
As for the juvenile delinquents, they were caught two days later doing the same thing at a different restaurant, Others (and me) informed the local police department of the theft, and with a photo from the security camera were able to catch them. Benefits of a small town.
I work as a massage therapist, and I do keep my fees as affordable as possible- cause many of my patients are OLD people on fixed income. I treat each and every one of them with care, and do my best to help. Tips are appreciated but not expected. And remember, massage supplies prices went up, I pay more for electricity usage (laundry and dryer), rent is up. My Old people tip. They understand what I have to deal with and they know what hard work is. Younger (50 and below) tend to be more snotty and entitled and disrespectful and NOT tipping. Again, I treat everybody the same- no difference in quality. Please remember- your hairdresser, nail technician, massage therapist- they all went to school, they all do their best to make you feel and look your best- tips are appreciated.
For some unknown reason, Point-of-Sale software developers started hard-coded tipping into each transaction. It can’t be turned off or disabled. I know because I use POS and I’ve complained about it repeatedly.
We usually tip according to the service we receive. 20 % sit down meals, poor service maybe 15%. Certain take out with friendly servers 5/15 %
When I tip I tip for good service. NOT just to tip.
Even most fast food places not make 15 dollars or better, more then I do.
The tip was originally for the waitresses, server, or bartenders that made $2.50 an hour. So they worked for tips.
I work in sales, I’m on the sales floor 10 hrs. A day. I make $5.80 an hour, plus commission (thats my tip) is I sell i make money.
You have to work pand give good service to get a TIP.
My pet peeve is today’s restaurants with the option to tip before gettnng food while prepaying . EVERY time I’ve done my usua l20% I get zero service, so that bit of “advance generosity” is over. My tips will be on the table from now on. Even that, however, can fail in a dem city like my own. Left a tip for a really nice young server and the restaurant manager picked it up. I would have asked for it back until my wife stopped me. All to say tips are appropriate due to food service low wages, but they should be earned. My wife and I now go to a restaurant where servers always get generous tips since the service is always prompt, pleasant and well-done. Sadly, such places are a dying species in today’s rude world.
If I see a tip jar set out for tips, I evaluate what if any service the worker is doing for me. If there’s no personal service, there’s no tip. But if they are actively working for me personally, I will tip between 20-25 % based on their work accuracy, friendliness and personality.
Here’s a Tip: Don’t smoke in bed!
Most of my life finances were tight and I tipped the standard amounts at sit down restaurants only. At my present point in life finances are not a concern and I tip generously for two reasons: first , the folks doing these jobs can use the extra and second, since so much unearned money is out there getting people to work is hard. I want to reward and encourage those who came to work. Still, I only tip my barber and at sit down restaurants and lesser amounts for take out only at restaurants where I frequently also do sit down.
I tip 20% for very good service (always for my hair stylist) and less for bad service. However, I do not feel the need to tip at a food venue unless there is table service. I was a waitress for several years and worked very hard. Sometimes customers were total cheapskates and I went home with less money than I needed, especially if a large party stiffed me. I do believe that a large party should have the tip added into the check automatically.
I tip in Cash Only—Directly to the waiter. = not taxable????
The one that got me over the top is when i got asked for tip on an online purchase.
that’s was a joke.
TIPS is an acronym; “To Insure Prompt Service.” In a service economy, workers – caught by inflation just like all of us – depend on tips to make a living. Tip at restaurant? Of course. Tip your barber or hairdresser? Of course. Tip the person who cleans your room in a hotel? Please! Tip the valet who parks & returns your car? Of course! And so on…
Would you work for minimum wage? Without TIPS? Then why would you expect them too?
I don’t like the tipping requirements. Require all restaurants to follow minimum age rules. Go back to tips are gifts out of the kindness of someone’s heart that should not be recorded nor taxed.
After posting a comment of my opinion, I then began to read our comments here on AMAC. I should share what both a “living wage” and what “minimum wages” are in truth. A Minimum wage is only the first step toward the ‘socializing’ our services industries or, everyday laborers who provide a wonderful service for the rest of us all. I hear the opinions of what it means to “TIP” and what it means to not as well, both are of the discretion and Freedom of the customer, to which our service providers are responsible as Citizens to also Freely provide such services. Tipping is a “customary” practice to ensure exceptional or good and timely service is rewarded. This is easy to understand and also to enjoy as a fully experienced person in our American service culture. It is both FREE and LIBERATING as an individual to give as well as receive this gratuity, gratuity being the highest necessary praise given to our fellow community members for a job well done. Now, a living wage is only comparable to a government job or a management position where money in a set amount, or salary is provided for a position of employment, and there is ZERO incentive to to be an upstanding person when dealing with others let alone “customer” ~ there is no reason or personal motivation for being a gracious servant for others or to learn or grow or gain independence as an individual when acting on behalf of a business. And minimum wage levels are a SCAM invented by Democrats to not only fool our Citizens, especially wage earning Americans into believing that they are somehow being helped by politicians for making businesses pay to laborers what they all think they’re entitled to receive from employers. “Minimum wages” is not so much an increase in wages as it is a MANDATED legislated INCREASE IN TAXES ON EVERY SINGLE WAGE EARNING AMERICAN!!! Do not be fooled by Democrats that they want YOU to gain in money, THEY want your money to increase so that they can increase YOUR TAXABLE INCOME that is already being stolen from you before you ever even see a dime of it?!!! Then Democrats and RINO Republicans work to quietly cheat YOU the Citizens by altering tax codes and “income brackets” to give them all of your additional income! THEY ARE LIARS and we need to rid our government of the IRS and especially abolish “Income Taxes” ~ Tell me how important a “Living Wage” or “Minimum Wages” will be when you are not taxed on ANYTHING until YOU DECIDE to purchase something or anything you need or want and pay a “Fair Tax” on all goods AND SERVICES! We have allowed our government Electors to govern us into poverty and working check-to-check while THEY ENRICH all of their interest groups into the $Billions of OUR Dollars, why are We the People not receiving the tens of $Billions and now $Trillions of Dollars that are not even being accounted for by our Legislators in Congress??? Why are We all still suffering and struggling while our federal government is taking in record tax profits year after year in taxes?! All of their interest groups, other nations getting our $Billions and now $Trillions in “Aid” while We are NOT?!?!?!!!
Having worked in our American “Service culture” all of my life from first working (volunteering) as a third/fourth grader ages 8/9 in my local area of residence by collecting glass bottles and aluminum cans to turn in for money, then delivering papers at ages 10 to 12 for two years locally, then working labor and grass mowing & other services (per family assignments) simultaneously for Church members or neighbors who needed help and didn’t have pay at times for my help, to then farm work at age 14 to 18 during my high school days to enjoy my childhood without allowances, to then restaurant/delivery/landscaping/painting/anything along with working for 30+ years in shipping services at a major shipping company; I understand labor and what it takes and costs those of us who serve our fellow Americans! Tipping being only partial in my work history, I always choose to give back to APPRECIATE those of our newest generations who love to work person-to-person in life to serve me, and (if you can) GENEROSITY is the best way to make a difference for our fellow servants in our American society!
after 26 people were killed at a school a woman cqalled a local radio station to say that one side wanted to ban guns and the other to arm teachers. neither side will change. so , why not do things to make love go viral ? one idea was to pay for the car behind u on a toll bridge. later a toll taker said someone paid for one behind and it went viral, for 100 cars in a row.another idea was, instead of waiting till a law increased the minimum wage, give a 100% tip. i tried it. the waitress didn’t notice, but i remember feeling like a rich person, even though not rich. it works every time.try it sometime.
I recently incorrectly calculated a tip and left 10% instead of my customary 20%. The waiter came over to see if his service was satisfactory. I said yes, absolutey. A few minutes later, when returning from the restroom, I overheard the wait staff talking about a customer who only tipped 10%. That was the moment I realized my mistake, but I was a bit agitated by the audacity of the waiter talking about me to the wait staff. There is no obligation to tip at all! Ingratitude seems to be rampant these days. Once I calmed down, I recalculated and found my error. I gave the rest of the tip to his manager. But I’m thinking I should have just let it stand.
Increases in minimum wage applied to restaurant service staff, causes the menu prices to increase, and in turn causing the final bill to increase, making the tip amount too great for regular evenings out.
I tip but never include the tax part. That seems ridiculous to me.
I always tip generous at a sit down restaurant. Depending on the service I will give extra for excellent service. I do not tip at all in a fast food setting. I am just handed an item. I Stan in line, fix my own drink, etc..
a tip should be accordingly for a job well done, albeit restaurants pay their people expecting a generous tip. It REALLY should be based on quality of service.
Tipping has always been something that I do and I try to be generous. ( I had several years of serving the public in food and bar service) So I know the workers can use the “EXTRA” money. If a server has been exceptional, my tip reflects that. If a worker has been lacking, I might not tip even 10% !! If they are average– they get 20%. I hvae been known to leave 50% and higher. Several counter people who are exceptional also get tipped.
The world has changed.
However, I’ve always used tipping to express my level of satisfaction with the individual service I receive. I don’t generally tip in an assembly line scenario such as fast food restaurants, but most other customer service venues will see my level of satisfaction based upon whether my tip is < 5% or > 20%.
The change that has taken place has allowed employers to pay less for qualified roles that typically receive tips. I believe it is unfortunate that the employer is allowed to receive an extra benefit from individual workers’ level of excellence while lumping every associate in a generic, “qualified” pool of servers.
Tipping has always been a dilemna for me. When I was younger, and not well off, I couldn’t see the need for it. I might add that I was quite selfish back then. I’m not so selfish nowadays, but still not well off, and I’ve had a few jobs where tipping was expected, so now I realize the need for it. I think I’m a decent tipper, but I still have concerns when the food/product is superb but the server is horrible, and vice versa, when the server is an absolute delight but the food/product is terrible.
It isn’t often that I will say this but, the Europeans have the right idea.
NO tipping and NO sales taxes added at the register.
ALL prices are what you will pay once you get to the register. In other words, the price includes all gratuities and all taxes. Just pay the staff what they deserve and be done with it. It will make life much easier for all persons.
Imagine you read a menu. It says the:
hamburger is $6.25,
fries are $1.39
soda is $1.66
your total is $9.40.
Instead of trying to figure out you taxes that have to be added, especially when your taxes may change from city to city.
Here, it the bill was $7.65 I would pay either 4% or 6% depending on if I eat 2 miles from my house or 3 miles from my house. When I lived in California, it was 8.75% in one city, but 10 miles away it was 9.25% and in Las Angeles it was right at 10% Now figure out what you will pay and if you have enough coin in your pocket.
Then add 10 (good tips in 1980), 12 (good tips in 1985), 15 (good tips in the 1990s), 20 (if you don’t tip this much your an a-hole in the 2000s), 25 (you owe it to us in the 2010s) or even 30% tips? That is just plain ridiculous.
I don’t mind giving at tip if it deserved !! But i always wonder if its going to the people or person who should get it. like if the tip is added to the bill ????
What does “request failed due to status code 500” mean on this site?
This is the first AMAC survey where none of the choices comes even close to my views. For most of my 8+ decades the norm in the U.S. at 15%, has also been the highest on the continent (the norm in Canada and Mexico are 10%). 15% has been my starting point for gratuities. This is for good service. Extra efforts should be rewarded while indifferent service should not. If I request and get something extra, then I tip bigger; if I cannot get a coffee refill, the tip goes down. I paid a good way through college with jobs that usually include tips, as did my wife and 2 of my offspring. I believe the current wage-earner problems are the result of political meddling and should not result in my changing my tip habits. I also believe that tips should be in cash and to the server. Putting tips on the credit card encourages employers to share tips where it no longer bears any relation to service. The practiceof employers collecting and distributing tips was also fostered and even forced upon businesses by the IRS beginning in the 1990’s in their zeal to tax more tips.