Tipping...

[jks9199]

I was looking for something else, and tripped across a piece on tipping here.
A couple of highlights:

Hotel staff

There are a number of staff members at the hotel that can make your stay very pleasant or a living nightmare depending on how you tip them. Here’s who you should tip and how much to give them:

• Chambermaid - $5 per night you stay. That is, if you want clean sheets, towels and plenty of toilet roll.
• Room service waiter - Again this is the standard 15%.
• Bellhop - If you let the bellhop carry your bags up to your room and show you around said room without giving them a tip then you’re going to hell. Tip them around $10-15 for their efforts.

The restaurant waiter/waitress

This is the one that causes most debate because there is no hard and fast rule. It is also made even more difficult by waiting staff who have lost sight of the fact that a tip is a gratuity and is not actually required. As a guideline though, I’d say you can safely use the following without a disgruntled waiter spitting in your salad:

• Self-serve/Buffet restaurant - 10-12%. If the service was fantastic, you could up this to 15%.
• Local restaurant - 15%. Again, you could up this by a few percent if the server worked particularly hard or went out of their way to help you.
• A 4-star restaurant - You’ll want to tip the maitre d’ as you’re being seated, particularly if you’re a regular and he/she goes out of their way to reserve you a table or get a table when the restaurant is busy. The standard tip here is anywhere from $20-100. For the service of the meal itself I’d recommend a tip of around 20-22%. Don’t forget to tip the wine steward (a few dollars per bottle of wine) and/or the coat check attendant ($1 for a couple of coats).

There are some occasions where you feel unjustified to give out a tip, but let me tell you why you should.

• The food was terrible. If the food was terrible, then complain to the manager (you might get a discount on the bill) but don’t take away the tip from the waiting staff because you’re punishing them for someone else’s mistake. Chances are they worked very hard for you and to not reward them would be unfavourable.
• The service was below par. If the service was below par then you should tip at a lower rate than normal. Usually, I’d speak to the waiter I’m tipping and politely explain the reasons for the lower tip. Just make sure you’ve eaten all your food before you tell them!
• You are a stingy and grumpy old man. So you don’t want to tip. Why not? You’re rewarding someone for doing good work. How would you feel if your boss decided to not give you the pay raise you’ve been asking for or taking your bonus away from you just because he felt like it? As the old saying goes, “Treat other people the way you expect to be treated yourself.”

Now, I've worked as a waiter, janitor, and "night houseman" in a hotel. I've got some appreciation for the jobs involved... and the pay often involved.

But I'm sick of the proliferation of tip jars and people who expect to be tipped. A waiter, bartender, or other job where tipping is routine gets a token wage, and is supposed to earn their actual income through the money given in exchange for quality service. (I think this is kind of dumb, too... but that's actually another discussion, just commission sales.) So I tip them, according to the service received, and I don't penalize a waiter for kitchen mistakes; I know the difference between poor service and a kitchen screw up. And, in fact, I probably tend to tip pretty generously -- since I've been there myself!

But why the hell should I tip the idiot who pours my coffee at Starbucks or wherever? Especially since I take my coffee black, no shots, no steamed milk, just coffee! Since when was a hotel housekeeper a tipped position, unless they're doing something beyond the norm? I mean, if I'm in a hotel, and we make a huge mess or something -- yeah, I can see a tip there. But to just make up the bed, put out a new towel, etc? Why should I be tipping the guy at Subway for making my sandwich? They're getting the wages they agreed on, and I'll bet dollars to donut holes that they ain't reporting that tip income, like a waiter has to do.

Then there's the whole "added gratuity for large parties" issue. I understand why, especially with kids. And I even recall one group that was clearly an office party that worked me pretty hard, and barely tipped 10% after they haggled over who had what... But it's pretty insulting for a group of cops to get an automatic gratuity because there are 9 of us in the group... at a buffet! (Yeah, that server got the percentage added, and nothing more. Probably would have gotten more had they not done that...)

I'm just sick of all these tip jars showing up everywhere I go. Or maybe I need to add a tip jar to my cruiser?

 

[terryl965]

I totally agree, a new Mc Donalds just open and what the helltheu have a tip jar for all employee's. This is a freaking MCD not a regular seat down diner. Society has got this all backwards as always.

 

[Sukerkin]

I so thoroughly agree. Does the Queen tip me because I make sure the lights of Buckingham Palace stay on? Or how about the PM in Number 10?

People should be paid a wage commensurate with what they do in the country within which they are resident.

The whole 'tipping' malarkey is a device via which the prices on the menu are kept down and the guilt laid on us as consumers is the device via which staff wages are kept down.

How on earth did "here's a little something for yourself because you'e been great" become this "Thou shalt tip or there will be body fluids where you do not want them!"?

 

[newGuy12]

But why the hell should I tip the idiot who pours my coffee at Starbucks or wherever?

In my opinion there is a huge difference between Starbucks and ANYWHERE else. I, for one, don't drink Starbucks coffee, period. If Madonna called me on the phone and said, "Hey, you come meet me at Starbucks", I would say, "how about somewhere else?" If she said, "No, Starbucks.", I would say, "I can't make it, sorry."

Especially since I take my coffee black, no shots, no steamed milk, just coffee!

If someone just stops in somewhere for coffee once in a while, that's one thing, but, if someone stops in the same, righteous coffee house time and again, as a matter of course, then, maybe they want to "grease the wheels", "show the love", you know, help the kids out. I do, because I fancy these nice coffee houses. It it convenient to meet people there for any type of get-together or discuss anything.

I one time bought a cheap pizza, it was $5.00 give or take. I took it up to the coffee house and told the young people working there, "Are you guys hungry, here, you eat this." Hahaha! They thought I hung the moon. I could have dropped a $50.00 bill in the till and not gotten the respect I got then!

They would see me and always greet me, say "Hi", here, we got your coffee, for sure!

But if anyone just stops in any joint to get coffee, just because they are in the neighborhood and are not a regular, then, right -- just pour the coffee, tipping is not so expected, I would not think.

 

[MBuzzy]

Personally, (and call me a jerk if you please) I feel that tipping is WAY overrated. Now, I do tip at restaurants, but I tip solely based on service. I encounter many people who will say that 15% is REQUIRED. basically you're wrong if you don't tip 15% regardless of service and incidentally most of the people who say that either make excuses for the waitstaff (oh, they must have had a hard day, this is a hard job, etc) or say that since they have worked in the industry, they tip more.

My first point is that when you get a job in a restaurant, I'm sorry....but you should KNOW that people are going to be jerks to you, that you will be on your feet all day, that you will work hard with not too many breaks, and that people may not tip. I don't see that as a reason to be a jerk to the customer or to give bad service. If you work in a restaurant, I say be nice and smile....its your job to be nice and smile. If someone expects a tip from me, they will be nice and smile - and serve me in a reasonable amount of time.

Next, I understand having worked in restaurants and therefore feeling for the staff, but by tipping regardless of service, I feel that we are perpetuating bad service! Waitstaff will never see that if they don't serve well, they don't get tips.

Last, I refuse to be "bullied" into tipping. You are often told - tip or they will spit in your food, tip or they won't change your sheets, tip or they will screw up your bill, etc etc etc. Well, it is a service industry....I should not have to tip to prevent my food from being defiled. Luckily, I'll eat anything!

So I am one of those jerks that will give no tip or only a few cents if the service did not warrant a tip. In most cases, I look at it from the Military awards perspective. You don't get an award for doing your job. You get a reward for going above and beyond your job.


...........and that's how I feel about tipping..............

 

[MBuzzy]

Also - tipping is not a worldwide thing. In Korea, there IS NOT tipping....in fact, most places WILL NOT TAKE IT. They just think you gave them the wrong amount. In Kuwait, it is the same. I am sure there are many other countries where tipping is not required OR expected.

 

[Archangel M]

How about when an establishment automatically includes the gratuity on your bill? THAT always pisses me off.

 

[Kacey]

About 25 years ago, I went to a restaurant with a couple of my friends (we were all 16 or 17 years old), and were the only the customers in the restaurant - back when "food bars" (extended salad bars) were very popular - so all the server had to do was bring drinks, which she did; we asked for ketchup, which we never got, as the server was busy talking to the hostess and ignoring us, so we never got drink refills, either. We each carefully left a penny, so she would know we knew enough to tip, and filled out comment cards about why we'd never come back.

As has been said, too many people think that tipping is mandatory - and it's not. Yes, waitstaff have a lower minimum wage on the assumption that they will get tips - but if they perform poorly, they will get paid a commensurate rate. They can then either improve their service, or find a different type of job; it sounds harsh, but that's the nature of the business.

As far as other service personnel who put out tip jars - they're welcome to do so, but they have to do something truly exceptional before I will give them tips.

 

[jks9199]

In my opinion there is a huge difference between Starbucks and ANYWHERE else. I, for one, don't drink Starbucks coffee, period. If Madonna called me on the phone and said, "Hey, you come meet me at Starbucks", I would say, "how about somewhere else?" If she said, "No, Starbucks.", I would say, "I can't make it, sorry."



If someone just stops in somewhere for coffee once in a while, that's one thing, but, if someone stops in the same, righteous coffee house time and again, as a matter of course, then, maybe they want to "grease the wheels", "show the love", you know, help the kids out. I do, because I fancy these nice coffee houses. It it convenient to meet people there for any type of get-together or discuss anything.

I one time bought a cheap pizza, it was $5.00 give or take. I took it up to the coffee house and told the young people working there, "Are you guys hungry, here, you eat this." Hahaha! They thought I hung the moon. I could have dropped a $50.00 bill in the till and not gotten the respect I got then!

They would see me and always greet me, say "Hi", here, we got your coffee, for sure!

But if anyone just stops in any joint to get coffee, just because they are in the neighborhood and are not a regular, then, right -- just pour the coffee, tipping is not so expected, I would not think.

So, because you've basically given into extortion, you get better service than I do? Or is it because you've simply kissed up to these kids more than I have?

Sorry, they're pouring coffee. I ain't tipping them. (One exception; I do generally drop the cost of a cup into the tip jar if they don't charge me when I'm in uniform.)

I tip waiters, bartenders, my barber (Hey, the man plays with sharp stuff around my head where I can't see him. I want him happy!) and a few others. I've tipped people for doing something that wasn't their job -- or at least tried. I asked a handyman doing some work at a neighbor's house if I could borrow his ladder to clear my gutter, and rather than me using his ladder -- he did it. He even refused the $20 I tried to give him for the 10 minutes or so it took...

I'm really getting tempted to call on managers or owners of some these places (like MC-FRIGGING-DONALDS) that are growing tip jars. And I do go out of my way to patronize a couple of short order type places that have posted "NO TIPPING."

 

[jks9199]

Next, I understand having worked in restaurants and therefore feeling for the staff, but by tipping regardless of service, I feel that we are perpetuating bad service! Waitstaff will never see that if they don't serve well, they don't get tips.

I don't disagree; I just know that I'm more likely to be more tolerant or generous about what I tip for decent service. I'm also less tolerant of poor service...

Last, I refuse to be "bullied" into tipping. You are often told - tip or they will spit in your food, tip or they won't change your sheets, tip or they will screw up your bill, etc etc etc. Well, it is a service industry....I should not have to tip to prevent my food from being defiled. Luckily, I'll eat anything!

See, I have a simple approach to that.

I'll file criminal charges. In fact, if I can show they knew I was cop -- the charges can get nastier!

And I'll sick the Alcohol & Beverage Control agents, health department, and others on the business, too.

(There is a Dominos I won't order or eat from... We ended up in possession of some photos of employees doing some things that I won't describe on the counters after hours... Not quite John Waters/Pink Flamingos level -- but stuff you don't really want to know!)

 

[Bob Hubbard]

Sounds like a Burger King I worked at a decade ago....one of the gals was known as the Whopper Queen...was full service on the whopper area if ya follow....place was also an OSHA nightmare, a drug center, etc. but that's another story.

I tip at restraunts, when the service is good. When it isn't I don't. I'm usually rather vocal about why too. I don't frequent high end places so don't have to worry about tipping the matre-d, and I ain't tipping the hostess at the local Greek place (though I did offer her a glamour shoot 'time-for-prints')

One buffet I used to frequent got a new crew of dish collectors. When theysarted following me out the door asking where their tips were, I stopped going. Management said they were "manditory". I beg to differ.

I stopped going to Pizza Hut after 2 experiences there. 1 where I was ignored in an empty dining area and never got any service, another where it took acts of diety to get drink refills.....the latter got her tip, 25 cents, floating on a pizza crust in the pitcher. You don't piss off that bible club, lol!

 

[Drac]

Dined at a very nice Italiian resturnat in Fla once..I left a nice tip and was heading to the bar when the Manager stopped me...He asked if the meal and service were good and I said they were...He then pointed to the bottom of the menu where it said that tips MUST be 15%..I apologized and took the bills out of his hand that I left on the table and exited the building...

 

[MJS]

I always give a good tip when my wife and I go out to a restaurant. Of course, it always depends on the service but usually its great. If I have something delivered, ie: a pizza, I give the person a few bucks, usually no more than $5. I usually don't put anything in tip jars. There is a local pizza place in the city where I work. They're usually pretty good about giving discounts to city employees, so I've known some people who have thrown some cash in. I however, don't really feel its necessary. I'm not asking them to give me a break, and there have been many times when they didn't give one. I'm going to pick up the food, so why should I tip? I don't tip the person at the grocery store that bags for me, nor do I tip the cashier.

 

[JadecloudAlchemist]

I never tipped at a buffet before after all I am serving myself so I guess I get the tip.

I don't know why you have to tip as the article says. Even if he had bad service he still tips which I disagree if a server provides bad service no tip.

The tip jars I don't mind so much. If the kid does a good job and service I will give a tip who knows it may rub off on the bad service ones.

 

[Drac]

One of the few times I tipped excessively was when I first moved to Fla and joined a Yacht Club that offered memberships for the purposes of drinking in the Members Only section..I tipped the parking valet upon arriving and leaving..As a result my cherry triple black 1977 Olds Regency 98 Brougham was parked up front along with the Rolls, Vettes and other exotics...Yes BIG EGO back in them days

 

[jkembry]

I agree with MBuzzy...tipping is not a worldwide thing. Having visited well over 40 countries while in the Navy, I have been to countries where tipping is not expected and I have been in some countries where the gratuity is already on the check and that is the only pay the wait staff gets (however if you want to tip on top of that you may...but again it is not expected.

I, too, can't stand tip jars that assume you want to tip. I don't mind tipping, but my tips are certainly based on the service that I get at a particular place. I have gone as high as 20 - 25% tip for the 1st mate on a fishing charter and have gone as low as 0% for dreadful service at a restaurant.

Another gripe I have is when the wait staff ask if you want change back. That one usually knocks 5% off the tip.

- Jeff -

 

[Kacey]

Another gripe I have is when the wait staff ask if you want change back. That one usually knocks 5% off the tip.

At least they asked - I was in one restaurant where the server assumed I didn't want coins back; I gave her $20 for a $10.50 bill (didn't have any change) and she brought back $9 instead of $9.50... sadly for her, had she brought back all of my change, she'd have gotten a larger tip (her service had been good, and I would have left her $1.50 to $2) - but she chose to assume that the coins were hers, so I wrote her a note telling her that she had chosen to accept a lower tip by assuming the coins were hers, and left nothing else.

Now, she was a trainee - so my guess was that whoever was training her had had a regular customer who had given the server training her standing directions to keep coins, and the trainer had not differentiated between regulars who gave such directions and other customers - so I called the manager and explained what I had done, and why, and that it wasn't that I was displeased with her service up to that point - she'd done well until she decided to not give me all of my change. He thanked me for the feedback, promised to talk to her, and gave me a free meal for calling.

 

[Sukerkin]

A most pleasing insight into the workings of the 'system', Kacey. Good that the manager was responsive too.

 

[Drac]

When traveling I always tip the maid and never want for extra coffee packs and towels.

 

[mrhnau]

At least they asked - I was in one restaurant where the server assumed I didn't want coins back; I gave her $20 for a $10.50 bill (didn't have any change) and she brought back $9 instead of $9.50...

I've had the opposite happen too. Instead of getting back $9.50, I got back $10. Their tip was appropriately increased