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.
Terri knudson
1 month 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
Kevin M
1 month 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.
David Hess
1 month 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 month ago
Service workers should be paid a living wage, do away with tipping.
David Andrews
1 month 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.
Paul
1 month 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
John Kirkpatrick
1 month 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.
Kris Lewis
1 month ago
When I tip, I make sure the recipient knows it’s a GIFT and not subject to taxes.
Ross Bierma
1 month 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.
A-M
1 month 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.
ConcernedTexan
1 month 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!
Terry K Hurlburt
1 month 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.
Amacer
1 month 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.
Dave
1 month ago
A sixth selection should have been: “We haven’t gone out since the China Experiment that was to let government know who’s sheep and who’s going to give us trouble”
Tipping…it’s for outhouses…
Blondie
1 month 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.
L Hill
1 month ago
It’s way out of control. I was buying something online the other day and there was a section to add a tip.
Robert Canine
1 month 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?
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.
Jerry Crosby
1 month 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.
Ski
1 month ago
Here’s a Tip: Don’t smoke in bed!
Keith Shrum
1 month 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.
disappearingtruth
1 month 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.
RP
1 month 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.
Bill
1 month 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 %
J Jawker
1 month 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.
Irene
1 month 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.
Mike L
1 month 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.
Roy Livingston
1 month 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.
Ezzie
1 month 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.
numbersrunner
1 month 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?
McConMan
1 month 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.
Ramon Caraballo
1 month ago
What’s code 500?
Robert Lassiter
1 month ago
Why should a worker’s wage be dependent upon a customer’s generosity? Let the employer pay a fair wage and entergrate it in the price of the product as any other business expense. A tip used to be for exceptional service, gong above expected. Gratuitous = free. It puts too much pressure on the customer. Is he a generous person or a cheapscate? I just ant to buy the product, not be judged. The services where tipping is expected is expanding.
Rick Harris
1 month ago
I do not eat out if I am unable to tip with exceeding generosity!
David Shepherd
1 month ago
This is actually a complex question. Most restaurants are small businesses with one or two locations. I know several owners and the margins are very small. If everyone were willing to pay, say, 40% more for all menu items, then a decent wage could be paid and still actually make a profit. The “handout generation” complicates things even further, not equating the ability to work with actually working. I’m not sure how the unemployment rate is so low because I see “HIRING” signs hundreds of times (no exaggeration) a day.
Les R.
1 month ago
I don’t tip above my tax bracket rate.
Melinda
1 month ago
Tipping started going up well before the plandemic. Since the minimum wage went up to $15+ in WA state, I don’t feel a 20% tip is necessary. And food prices have gone up as well since covid, so it’s expensive to eat out. I do it only once a month, generally tip 15%. But I do resent the tip jars in so many places where there is no real “service”. I seldom use them.
Uncle Pat
1 month ago
I tip well unless the service is absolutely horrible. I travelled quite a bit overseas when working for an international company. I found it amazing. that when you tip in countries where no tip is required how much better service you receive when you return to that establishment. Try it you will enjoy the outcome.
Jons_On
1 month ago
AMAC what have you done? The font size to write this post is tiny. Most of us on this site don’t see so well!!!
robert mahoney
1 month ago
Tipping should not be based on how much the meal costs!!! Tipping should be given for good service no matter how much the meal costs.
If the waiter or waitress serves a few diners. the tip should be according to what he or she has to do to earn a good tip!!!
If one gets bad service. 2 cents is a good tip…for sure.
Pat Willems
1 month ago
Since we don’t eat out very much, this isn’t really an issue for us. We never go to coffee shops or ice cream stores either. When we do eat out, we are very generous with our tips.
Colleen Sanders
1 month ago
I used to look forward to the weekly poll and enjoyed commenting on the various questions. However, AMAC has updated the site to a level of incompetence unseen at any other site on the internet. Font too small, entering repeat personal data for any reply, no ability to check for “likes,” and the format forces you to the bottom of the site page for commenting. Hey, AMAC, please talk with your IT department and ask them to reverse the blasted upgrades. Thank you.
BILL OESTE
1 month ago
Historically, TIP meant To Insure Promptness. TIPS are To Insure Prompt Service.
Carl Wheeler
1 month ago
F..k COVID and the politicians it rode in on
Broccoli Free Zone
1 month ago
I tip above average, and when one is requested, I say, “Plant your corn early next year.”
Steve
1 month ago
I am “old school” and tip where the person getting it earned it. Restaurant wait staff being the first to come to mind. If I don’t have to stand at the entry when there are numerous tables vacant, and they are friendly in our interactions of drink order and appetizer to begin, and they check back in a timely manner for the order, the occasional check that everything is alright, and bring the check not too long after I am done, then I usually tip 30% or so. Each item neglected lowers the tip, and I have been known on a couple occasions to leave a single face down penny. As for counter sales, such as fast food, or a single drink at a bar, I do not tip. The concept of tipping is to show appreciation for doing a job better than average. A baggage handler will get a better tip if I have heavy bags than light, and less if they use a cart for bags I could have carried myself in one trip. If I know a place has people who “work for tips” I take that as these are people who choose not to panhandle or go for welfare, but can not find a steady job, yet want to earn their money. I tip them well also.
Newday
1 month ago
Another commentary page where there is no where for me to make a comment except to reply to someone else. This is frustrating, why even bother reading the pages anymore.
Stephen Russell
1 month ago
Tip for Good service, sit down dining & for delievery services
Ron C.
1 month ago
If you rely on tips to make a living get a better job God knows there are plenty out there.
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 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
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
When I tip, I make sure the recipient knows it’s a GIFT and not subject to taxes.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
A sixth selection should have been: “We haven’t gone out since the China Experiment that was to let government know who’s sheep and who’s going to give us trouble”
Tipping…it’s for outhouses…
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.
It’s way out of control. I was buying something online the other day and there was a section to add a tip.
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?
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.
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.
Here’s a Tip: Don’t smoke in bed!
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.
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.
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.
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 %
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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?
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.
What’s code 500?
Why should a worker’s wage be dependent upon a customer’s generosity? Let the employer pay a fair wage and entergrate it in the price of the product as any other business expense. A tip used to be for exceptional service, gong above expected. Gratuitous = free. It puts too much pressure on the customer. Is he a generous person or a cheapscate? I just ant to buy the product, not be judged. The services where tipping is expected is expanding.
I do not eat out if I am unable to tip with exceeding generosity!
This is actually a complex question. Most restaurants are small businesses with one or two locations. I know several owners and the margins are very small. If everyone were willing to pay, say, 40% more for all menu items, then a decent wage could be paid and still actually make a profit. The “handout generation” complicates things even further, not equating the ability to work with actually working. I’m not sure how the unemployment rate is so low because I see “HIRING” signs hundreds of times (no exaggeration) a day.
I don’t tip above my tax bracket rate.
Tipping started going up well before the plandemic. Since the minimum wage went up to $15+ in WA state, I don’t feel a 20% tip is necessary. And food prices have gone up as well since covid, so it’s expensive to eat out. I do it only once a month, generally tip 15%. But I do resent the tip jars in so many places where there is no real “service”. I seldom use them.
I tip well unless the service is absolutely horrible. I travelled quite a bit overseas when working for an international company. I found it amazing. that when you tip in countries where no tip is required how much better service you receive when you return to that establishment. Try it you will enjoy the outcome.
AMAC what have you done? The font size to write this post is tiny. Most of us on this site don’t see so well!!!
Tipping should not be based on how much the meal costs!!! Tipping should be given for good service no matter how much the meal costs.
If the waiter or waitress serves a few diners. the tip should be according to what he or she has to do to earn a good tip!!!
If one gets bad service. 2 cents is a good tip…for sure.
Since we don’t eat out very much, this isn’t really an issue for us. We never go to coffee shops or ice cream stores either. When we do eat out, we are very generous with our tips.
I used to look forward to the weekly poll and enjoyed commenting on the various questions. However, AMAC has updated the site to a level of incompetence unseen at any other site on the internet. Font too small, entering repeat personal data for any reply, no ability to check for “likes,” and the format forces you to the bottom of the site page for commenting. Hey, AMAC, please talk with your IT department and ask them to reverse the blasted upgrades. Thank you.
Historically, TIP meant To Insure Promptness. TIPS are To Insure Prompt Service.
F..k COVID and the politicians it rode in on
I tip above average, and when one is requested, I say, “Plant your corn early next year.”
I am “old school” and tip where the person getting it earned it. Restaurant wait staff being the first to come to mind. If I don’t have to stand at the entry when there are numerous tables vacant, and they are friendly in our interactions of drink order and appetizer to begin, and they check back in a timely manner for the order, the occasional check that everything is alright, and bring the check not too long after I am done, then I usually tip 30% or so. Each item neglected lowers the tip, and I have been known on a couple occasions to leave a single face down penny. As for counter sales, such as fast food, or a single drink at a bar, I do not tip. The concept of tipping is to show appreciation for doing a job better than average. A baggage handler will get a better tip if I have heavy bags than light, and less if they use a cart for bags I could have carried myself in one trip. If I know a place has people who “work for tips” I take that as these are people who choose not to panhandle or go for welfare, but can not find a steady job, yet want to earn their money. I tip them well also.
Another commentary page where there is no where for me to make a comment except to reply to someone else. This is frustrating, why even bother reading the pages anymore.
Tip for Good service, sit down dining & for delievery services
If you rely on tips to make a living get a better job God knows there are plenty out there.