Put in an order for a sandwich for lunch over the phone and went to go pick it up. Invariably at the check out there is a tip jar. I never put anything in that thing and sometimes I get the stick eye vibe from the entitled millennial behind the counter. Anyone ever leave a tip when you're just picking up an order? What about at the serve yourself buffets? At the local Chinese place they pick up your used plate between trips to the trough, but it's not like you're getting "served".

Picking up - nope
I don't do buffets - haven't in 10+ years but when I did they were Chinese and I didn't tip there either.

I really struggle with this one! Unless you wait on me you are doing your job IMHO. Your employer pays you to pour my coffee, etc.

I'm sure Slummy will be by soon and tell us that he leaves a tip at the Chinese place when the spin doll tells him "me so horny".

Fast food... no

Buffet here the serving girl refills drinks and cleans plates... I put a couple bucks down for the wife and I.

Kent

No tips in the counter jugs for stuff I pick up.

I may leave a buck or two for the little Chinee gal at the buffet if I feel sorry for her, but I know good and well it is going to those creepy little bastards at the register who are importing all those gals in cargo containers.

Regular restaurants and bars - I tend to tip generously.

Just these 2 instances - not so much.

Not really. You are pay the owner for the coffee. You tip to pay for the server. At modest restaurants even around here pay for servers is far, far below min wage - "plus tips".

I've changed my tipping habits over the years. I once was also of the philosphy that the owner should take care of the employees witht he price of the food. I had a few restaurant people expalin to me how the business works. I am more generous these days.

Yes, I will throw in nominal tip for take out. Somebody has to box everything up and package it for you. That is a service.

YMMV

No, no meal brought to a table, no tip.

If the person I deal with is pleasant and friendly I will leave a buck or two. I believe in rewarding good behavior. Too many people don't go to work at all, those who make the effort to show up and do their job well should know that they are appreciated.

#brokediksandfuddsdon'ttip


mike r

I usually leave a couple bucks for the girl that cleans up our dishes.

That's basically where I am on this.

oops, double tap


mike r

This is where I am.

It's just the the person that brings the food, if you want to go back far enough, even past the agronomist, or the survivors that platted the farm, even to the ship builders that made the ship that brought the farmer's ancestors to the New World.

Tip, or not tip as you please.

Not a wealthy man, and never will be, but I have empathy for fellow working stiffs and do leave a couple bucks in the jar when I pick up a pizza or Chinese. Not going to hurt me financially, and if it brings a smile to someone's face, it's money well spent.

Not when I pick it up...........who knows where it goes from that jar?

Locally owned places only- as the spirit moves me.

I like to leave a generous tip for a good waitress. I’m not tipping if I walk up to the counter to order and to pick up my food.

Not for takeout. Some restaurants that I usually get sit down dinner but are on Covid restriction and still offering take out, I tip, because I know they’re hurting. It’s not their normal business model.

Buffets, I tip. Couple years ago I was out to Chinese buffet on Christmas Day and there was a little slip of a 15 year old girl busting her hump cleaning tables. Doing far more than the servers. I left the servers a tip, but gave her an extra $20 on the way out the door. She deserved it.

At Cici,s bout 3 weeks ago bus boy table clean up guy.
Cleaned off my table while I was up getting more pizza.
Went back to table
WTF,???
Told him you just threw away my dog Blackjacks pizza crust I had wrapped up in napkins.
Blackjack aint gonna be happy with that at all dude.....
Kid was so sorry about it.
LOL!!!
I gotta say I over dramatized it slightly.
Little spankerella manager came over after and asked what hapoened.
Told her he cleaned my table and threw away Blackjack,s pizza crust.
She laughed I was mad about the pizza crust and gave me a free next time ticket.
I normally leave the bus boys a dollar.
Most people dont leave em jak schitt.
Bus boy that day didnt get a buck tip.
Blackjack got his pizza crust also and some cheesy bread.

Golden corral and china king tips are based on filling my lemonade without me having to ask.
# of glasses filled equal 1 buck each.
Normally leave 3 to 5 buck tip.
If I have to ask 1 time
Your getting 1 buck.... thats it.
If I have to go to the drink station and fill up my drink myself then you as a waitress or waiter are all boo boo face I did it....
You aint getting schit, and a word will be said to a manager on the way out.
"So and so could have made a 3 to 5 buck tip by simply filling my glass even though they walked by 9 times and cant see a empty glass"

You work food service job waiting tables.
Your tip is 100% on you and not playing aloof you dont see a empty glass while a customer is at the buffet or while the customer is eating and you walk within 3 feet of em numerous times.

Just fugging ask.
"Do you need a refill sir"
It is part of your job........

Tip jars and homemade our house burned down jars at places.

FU............

As more and more restaurants pool tips - that is they all get divided amongst the staff - it's harder to want to tip. You're subsidizing the entire place instead of helping out an individual that's earned it.

Yeah me too. If I'm sitting down, someone takes my order, checks up on me and clears the table, I pay for that service, and pretty well. If I'm calling in the order and go pick it up myself, aren't I the server? The rest is part of doing business. My parents owned a restaurant when I was a kid, and all those costs of doing business went into the cost of the meals.

We do, don’t forget about the kid slumming it in the kitchen washing dishes or the cook slinging the hash. I think a lot places divy the tips out after closing.

That's one reason why, when I like the server, I don't leave a tip on the bill itself. I tend to hand a cash tip directly to the server and pay the bill with a credit card. Maybe the cash ends up in a pool, maybe it stays in the person's pocket.

I don't really agree with this idea in general. When I was a teenager, that guy was me. We didn't share tips and I got crap for pay. It may sound counter intuitive, but I'm glad it was that way because it motivated me to get a better job, education and skillset. I didn't expect any more either. Thinking otherwise is kind of in the realm of socialist "we're all in this together" mentality imo. And again, I say this as the guy who got schit pay for hard work, but not for long.

We called in a couple pizzas last week for pick up. We had a couple special requests and a lady wrote them down.

When I picked them up I took a peek at both the pies, they were perfect.

I asked to talk to the cook, I am sure he thought something was wrong. I told him he did a good job and gave him $10.

I told the order taker to have a nice night.

I will grease cooks and bartenders, but only when they deserve it.

WS

In a restaurant I tip good especially if I'm a single for breakfast or lunch, 4 or 5 bucks isn't going to kill me instead of 2. I well overtipped right after the restaurants reopened, even for just handing out the door. Wait staff had been off for some time and most have families to feed. They would almost cry when you gave them a measly 10 or 20 bucks.

Buffets that don't have anyone come to your table during the meal for drinks or cleaning, there's no one to tip.

Kent

Leave a tip at the local Chinese takeout when I pick up. They always treat wife and I well when we call in and pick up. Second generation working it. Want them to succeed. Same at local Mexican restaurant.

Other local shops like pizza etc where they barely acknowledge you are in the building, no.

if I am just picking up, or at a place where you wait on yourself, no.
Buffet, if they bring the drinks and keep them filled, a few bucks.
Full service usually 20%+, unless service is bad

My wife and all three kids worked in restaurants. I have two granddaughters doing so now.

Yes, I tip my waitress generously. Usually around 30%. And every one I know splits tips with bussers, and cooks. Usually about 10% to each.

If I am picking up food at the cash register or take out window, there's no waitress involved.

A story about a take out pizza order.

I had ordered about six pizzas plus a couple boxes of breadsticks from Idaho Pizza to take into my crew at work. When I got there to pick up the order it was short one pizza and one breadstick. I asked them to fix the order, and almost was late to work waiting for the additional pizza. They never did get the other breadstick on the order.

The cashier rang up the order at $67.80 and I handed her my debit card. She asked for a tip in a somewhat demanding manner,, and I told "Just make it an even $70.

I did not pay much attention at the time because I was late for work, but the cashier crumpled my receipt and dropped it into her trash basket. I looked up my checking account the next day and saw a debit for $80.

I looked up the company web site and filled out a customer satisfaction survey and reported the overcharge, and figured that was the end of it.

A couple days later, I got a call from a very nice young lady who identified herself as manager of the restaurant in question. She promised me the cashier was already terminated. And coupons for free pizzas would be forthcoming.

Sure enough, a few days later coupons for six pizzas and two breadsticks came in the mail, with a note of apology from the young female manager.

It has been a couple years or more, and I really do not know if I will ever step foot in that establishment again. But my grandkids enjoyed a great pizza party with the coupons.

There is a small mex place on the way fishing that you can walk in and order take out, a regular waitress takes your order and you wait in the lobby and she brings it out, I tip her because she takes time away to serve me.

Also I tip cash even if I use a CC to pay.

Kent

Good post! I now have a Code of Conduct if I get stranded in south hell


mike r

I had a Chinese restaurant buffet waitresses often get obviously entitled. Even though they got a tip in spite of services not rendered. The tables were sticky and waitresses lazy. They mocked the fat folks and would only wait on those with dates or babies.
They don't expect much of a tip when you eat alone. So, when I asked for coffee, I was not served.
The time I got coffee, they would not bring a refill even though I asked for it until I got up and got it myself, only to have the dragon lady manager yell at me.
I brought my own coffee in my insulated mug from then on until the place went out of business.

They had decent Sushi/ rice rolls and a couple other things, so I kept going back once per month. The service was communist hospitality at it's BEST.

HC

You know what I bet your grandkids would really enjoy?

Gamps grilling them up some cheeseburgers.

And it would probably not take much more time that typing up that 500 word post....

I tip just about everyone. I've even tipped people through the drive through. Even a $5 puts a smile on their face and it doesn't hurt my financial situation in the least.

Same here. I'd rather tip everyone generously, regardless of the dining situation, than to go through life having to use WD-40 to keep me from squeaking when I walk.

Probably 99% of the people who get tips from me need it far worse than I do.

Ain't gonna happen. But Gramma will, and does, grab some ground beef out of the freezer, mix it with a little oatmeal and egg, and fry 'em up some cheeseburgers in her nice nonstick frying pan on top of her nice new glass topped electric range.

All cooked, served, and eaten under the comfort of 73 degree whole house forced air conditioning.

And we all enjoy the hell out of them.

Always tip when picking up carry out. That is the guy who took your order while juggling three other calls. He put it together from the kitchen. He added all the silverware, condiments, and napkins. Then he checked it again to make sure it was right before you picked it up. And what’s more, servers make the bulk of their money on tips and usually they assign someone carry outs for the night, just like they do tables. So that means for that night you have a server making less than minimum wage, making far less in tips because lots of people don’t tip for carry out, and doing what is on many nights, the most demanding job in the place. Maybe you don’t need to tip 20%, but you always need to tip for carry out.

If the guy behind the counter hauls ass and has my schit ready in what Flave deems a timely fashion, then I walk over and add a buck.

But you gotta earn it.

LOL, you missed the infamous FYour BBQ thread.

We go to the Indian buffet all the time and always leave at least a 15 percent tip. These waitresses get paid pathetic, probably not even minimum wage, and they need tips for a decent wage. If you are too cheap to tip at a buffet, you are ill-mannered and you need to stick to McDonalds.

I tip at carryout restaurants. I am so happy that people are working, especially in food service industry, rather than sitting at home collecting welfare. These are hard jobs and typically done by young people who are also try to pay for an education or elderly people who need to supplement their Social Security. My hope is that the tips are shared with all the staff including the dishwashers but that may be wishful thinking since it violates labor laws if someone complains.

A local restaurant for many years had all his employees put all of their tips together and at the end of the week it was divided between all of the employees. His thinking was the dishwasher had the hardest job on the property and the cooks skills were a big part of the success so rewarding all equally was common sense. Well a few past employees, years after they worked there, complain to the Virginia Labor Department and they made this owner go back and find all employees that were wait staff, who Virginia said earned the tips, an he had to pay them out of his own pocket. Lucky loyal patrons started a go-fund-me and raise enough money to get him out of trouble.

Sometime trying to do the ethical thing gets you in trouble with the rule makers.

Tipping has gotten out of hand.

Its created a broken culture from the expectations of staff, to the entitlement of patrons, and the business owners taking advantage of it all.

Everybody got a damn hand out these days.

What do the people at a busy McDonalds get paid?

I tip everywhere except Complete fast food, like Arby's or KFC. My kid works in Las Vegas in the service Industry. I leave a tip for pretty much every place that serves food. a little Karma tip can't hurt. and after covid crap...at least 20%, and if anyone still wants to work and have a good attitude it goes up from there. we went to Longhorns steak place last week, really nice girl, brought everything we asked for, made sure we had a good meal. I left her $25 and the meal was only $35. get off the wallet and help people who are actually working, most of y'all can afford it.

Hey Wabigoon - I'll give ya two bits if you can diagram Rene's sentences.

Either that or they could get a job that pays better, a lesson I learned when I was 14 years old. I pay for service, I don't pay out of some sense that the system is rigged against someone. That's capitalism, not socialism. A lot of these jobs are not meant to be careers. They're meant to be 2nd jobs or starter jobs. People should be uncomfortable in a job that is hard work for crap pay. More motivation to make a change for the better.

I thought that the thing to do was to just wander in to any place that provides food and leave a large amount of money lying on a random surface.

LOL..!! If a 15% tip falls into the "at least" column for high class dining, Mickey Dee employees are probably screwed.

At 15% you also "are ill-mannered and you need to stick to McDonalds."

Good post.

I like to tip and enjoy being able to do so. Most folks aren't working just for the he'll of it. If you need it that bad cook at home.

We sent money to the restaurants during covid shut down.

If take out is $40, I give them $50.

I don't tip at the Walmart checkout.

I tip 20 % typically if they provided good service

It's funny, in Mexico you don't tip a taxi driver but must tip the bag boy at the Super Mercado.

Kent

good post. Not everyone is looking for a handout. I figured out a long time ago I was better off than a lot of folks, and that's how / why I can afford to go somewhere and have someone else cook for me and serve me and clean it up. if you're such a tightwad Bass teurd that you can't throw a few bucks extra for someone to serve your fat arse than you might should stay home and eat freezer dinners.

😄😄😄

You all oughta experience the old hag ex korean bar whore mafia grocery baggers at the FTCKY commisary some GI married back in the day.

You wanta talk about getting shaked down for a tip....

LOL!!!!

I eat at the local breakfast joint quite often. Most of wait staff gets the "standard" tip.
There are a couple young ladies that have it down to a science and they get substantial tips cuz they make my day much better.

The server hourly wage here in Az is 3 bucks. Minimum wage for the other employees is 12.15, so a waitress has to average 9.15 an hour in tips to make up for it. Of course they might do better if the restaurant is popular.

Also taking all the tips and dividing equally with all employees is a bullchit move unless the waitress is making 12.15 plus tips.

Kent

I tip for service, the amount depends on how good I think you did and the circumstances. There's times I've given $0 and times I've doubled the amount of the bill. Often enough all it takes is a good personality. I have tipped for take out but it's not a standard I keep, same for a buffet. You gotta make yourself stand out a little and show you have a little more ambition than just showing up.

Tip pooling is a hot topic in restaurants.
Federal law allows it to be required, some states do not. Most exclude managers or owners from taking any part of it.

Tipped wages are another mess. In WA there is no tipped wage. It's straight minimum ($15?). GA and CO were like most where wait staff gets paid a token wage of $3ish an hour and tips are expected to make up the gap.

I (we) generally call in our lunch and pick it up at work from a couple places. I like those places and the folks there don't phuque with my meals.
Yes, I tip when I pick up.

Don't think I'm cheap because of my tough love. I had a $20 meal over the weekend and gave the girl $30. We were there for a while, she was pleasant, and we didn't ask for anything. I guess my point is, if a get customer service, I pay the server. If I get what I consider a core product, I feel no need to right the wrongs of some sort of sense of injustice.

Tip pooling is socialism and just like socialism, it removes most of the incentive to be exceptional.

I always do. I live in a very small town and I know most of the restaurants staff here personally. I take care of them and they take care of me.

Some real high rollers around here. If you can't compensate good, friendly service these days you should keep your miserable broke dik self home.


mike r

#it'snotthe$it'stheprinciple


mike r

Sometimes yeah. Just depends.

As a kid eating out was only by necessity, money was too
tight to just do it. Back then 10% was a good tip, and the recommended
tip. FOR GOOD SERVICE!

As in, "Dam, this server has kept our drinks full,
without asking, got the orders right, and delivered them to the right people.
Brought ketchup, hot sauce, and steak sauce, without asking or being ask.
We weren't bothered by her, but never wanted for anything. For doing a superb
job, she deserves....10%!"

When did it go to 20%?
Plus?

Hate tipping.
It's not considered a reward for a good+ job.
Somewhere along the line, tipping went from capitalist, to socialist.
No longer something earned, but an entitlement.
The whole concept was that wait staff worked hard to earn a good wage.
And trust me, they can earn a very good wage.

Since my daughter started as a waitress 2 years ago, I fell better about
doing it. Even after learning just how much a 16 year old could make at a
little family restaurant in a poor town. However, I'm still not going to
be "generous".

With the covid crap, our daughter often just took over the takeout business
so that it was organized, instead of the chaos of everyone doing it, but no one
really doing it. She didn't make crap those nights.

So, yeah. If it's a waitress, I'll tip. A bit.

But if it's a takeout joint, ice cream stand, fast food.
No way! They are making well over min wage today, for a min wage job.



Truck driver, factory worker, mechanic, construction, logging...
never got or expected tips.
Auto detailing, never expected it. Some customers did appreciate a good job and would give me a few bucks.

I agree. It's horsechit.

I'd rather work where I was paid a straight sales commission.
You sell $1000 In a shift, you are paid out a pre-agreed %.
Same in a kitchen. You plate up $8000 in food, you get a %.

Good shifts and sections should be competed for.

It seems anywhere you swipe a card these days the next prompt is

15%
20%
25%

Its almost comical.

Wow!

Gave a kid in his entry level job an academy award performance and then stiffed him and are proud about it.

Just wow.

I delivered Pizza for two semesters back in my early 80’s College days. The best tippers were the Sorority Girls, by far.
Of course, I was extremely handsome. 😜,

Every once in a while you hear about some loser pulling a stunt like laying out a short stack of fives on the table when sat and telling the server,

This is your tip. Every time you mess up or I have to ask for something, I'm pulling a bill.

Lol.

You're surprised?

I don't think I've heard a single person on the entire thread say to not compensate someone for good service- just the opposite actually.

Did you give them extra sausage with their pie?

Yep. Unreal.

I don’t think somebody hustling tables for tips deserves to be the target of some psych head games from insecure patrons with self esteme issues.

Obviously, they never had kids working a summer job in food service.

Never felt it right to be expected to pay the wages of someone not hired by me.


As someone ask, "you tip the cashier at Wal-Mart?".

I don't. Also don't tip the stocker or the guy who hands me a box of ammo.

Again, a reward for good service. Not a rainmaker paycheck.
Just that tip that makes the,
low wage + reward for good service = decent pay,
equation work.

Tips are for EXTRA or exemplary service, not for ringing up a cash register receipt.

"Please pay my employees a livable wage, because (insert corporate entity) can't be bothered".

I don't tip when I go to town by myself. Always go somewhere like Southern Classic Chicken or Whataburger so I can take my drink and food to the table, get my own napkins, refill my own drinks, and then put my trash in the bin as I leave. When I eat where there is a waitress my wife is always with me and she handles paying and tipping and I'm certain she is generous. I can't imagine tipping for take out. Take out should be sold at discount.

Plus P Wow!!!
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

👍👍👍👍👍👍🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Do as you please.

Order a take n bake pizza online and don't tip, we got a very sparse pizza, give em a tip and it's excellent.

I tipped 15% when I was young.
When my father went blind, I took him out to lunch for 3 hours on Saturdays, with his credit card.
He spilled food all over the floor for 3 hours.
He used up all the toilet paper in the men's can.
Then we went to the women's can and used up all their toilet paper.
I tipped 30% with his money.
Everywhere we went they were happy to see us come back.

That sold me on big tips.

When I go to pick up my order I usually put something in the tip jar. They've had a rough year and a half.

Instead of bringing it to your table they have to box it up and bring to your car in the parking lot. You should tip accordingly.

Our daughter owns a restaurant that’s really killing it and she’ll argue anyone into the ground about this subject.

Normally get take out from the local Mexican place nearby, during COVID they were hurting and they’re DAMN good hardworking folks. Added $10 every order.
After going through the ‘08 recession I know how it feels to be a business owner being choked out.
I waited tables at Plantation key for 9 months when I was 18/19yo
Guy owned a liquor store in Marathon would come in and ask for me once a week. Just he and his wife. They’d run up a $150 bill, he always wanted a water glass full of Dewars white label with a couple cubes of ice, Stone crab claws appetizer, prime rib for entree.
As soon as I walked up he’d hand me a $100 bill and say “this is for the service you’re going to give us tonight”

First time it happened, with my other tables all in ear shot, he added “so if anyone’s has to wait tonight is it gonna be us or these people” as he pointed to my other tables. With all of them looking at me by this point, I quickly said “Them!”

i'd start stabbing mafuggers if i waited tables these days. knife in both hands.

Anybody paid an “equity fee” yet?

https://fee.org/articles/restaurant...to-customers-checks-to-fight-oppression/

Especially considering this:

https://nationalpost.com/news/the-1...some-hard-truths-about-tipping-in-canada

LOL.

I'll throw a buck in if she has big titties. Maybe two.

Hard to beat El Charro....good people for sure!

Take out I'll leave a few dollars.

Restaurant owner donates entire days sales and tips to staff.

https://theweek.com/us/1002533/to-s...er-gave-a-full-day-of-sales-to-employees

Of course she would. She probably doesn't want to pay the servers 4 or 5 times the current tipped rate.

I doubt her customers want to pay the increased prices if she had to pay them a full wage either.

Nobody ever wants to wait on the black table. Not even the black or brown servers.
Some were great tippers. At least 7 out of 10 were HORRIBLE.

Not very damn often.

Easiest way to get a black guy to tip is put him in a canoe.

Yup

I tip for service. Not picking up a takeout order.

If it were lockdown bullchidt and they restaurant couldn't open but was making a go of it by doing takeout I'd have tipped. So long as the chick at the counter was pleasant.

I hear from waiters that blacks would be ashamed to give whitey a tip in front of their friends.


But Chinese get status from giving tips.

Entitled old fuggs!

I know a few servers at high end restaurants. They all say boomers are cheap asses and hate dealing with them.They all say they would rather wait on a black than and old fugg and his blue hair

LOL

4B's is not "high end" dumbass.

Would would your poor, alcoholic. fat ass know about high end?

LOL

Lol

calldumb is channeling dork911.

Hopefully we get some dessert coffees at the super fancy coffee shop they like.

Whats it called again? Baskin-Robbins I think.


I guess its real high end.

Gotta love the first link.
It enforces the argument against low wage + tips.

If they want equity and a high guaranteed wage,
raise the phuggin wage. Nobody is stopping them from paying
the staff a good wage.

But no. The scheme is to have customers pay directly.

So instead of paying their staff, and charging accordingly,
They slip a big surcharge in. Then tell you it's not a tip.
Insinuating you still need to tip.

Wouldn't bother me though.
I'd go to Mickey D's before I played their game.

Don't tip here as it is generally viewed as slightly bemusing or downright rude...if there is a jar or a tin it will be for a cancer research charity (Canteen) or for the Children's hospital.

I occasionally received tips from foreigners and always put them in the charity tins...so did most of the other staff I met.

“High end” to this clown is Jakers in Great Falls.

LOL

Calldum get her period three times a month.

LOL

I sill can not believe so many people eat anywhere other than home. The food in my kitchen is far superior to anything coming from Sysco trucks.

It is nice to take the wife out for dinner and a movie on occasion. Or to grab a lunch with friends or family.

Interesting.

Haha.

Last time i went to Golden Corral....

I like their salad bar.

It was busy so i sat near a table of coloreds.

4 or 5 LARGE women. 8 or 10 kids.

Kids were running getting more plates. Take a bite or two, get another plate.

Women were gorging on food.

Food and trash were being stomped into the carpet.

Another lady came up to them and asked “ is this kid of one yah’s? , he was out in the parking lot.... “

Yup. In the mist of putting on the feed bag, lost a kid.

Felt bad for the waiter.

Pics or it didn’t happen Bobby Flay

Or go to a restaurant that advertises “Home Cooking” when that is what you are getting away from.

Holy Crap! You don’t deserve a tip, you earn it! Where does anyone in a kitchen or restaurant deserve a tip any more than a grocery clerk stocking a shelf or a guy sweeping a floor. Why don’t you tip the Walmart greeter?

Yep, it got out of hand pre Covid here.

Tip jars everywhere, even at a self serve frozen yogurt joint. I don't put money in a jar for just being there. A tip jar means you ain't doing anything special enough to get a friggin tip.

Local owned restaurant's servers get good tips for good service. Even some take out's if I'm feeling generous.

Been interesting so far, as places opened up for sit down service it got around in a hurry where the food and service was best. Locally owned popular joints got rave reviews, chains not much.

I hate the whole process of tipping. Restaurants, hotels, guides etc. Use to be extra for exemplary service, now it is expected and relied upon to cover wages.

Just wish they would post a price and pay their staff appropriately.

Every place you go seems to have a tip jar. Reminds of the people standing on the corners.

Whenever I go to Lowes, I’ll ask one of the persons in Lumber/Bldg Mat if they can assist me in pulling some boards or plywood.

If they do from start to finish and get me loaded outside; I’ll usually give someone 5-10$ each. I am never getting more than a few sheets or a couple dozen boards. I appreciate them, and they seem really surprised to get anything.


I also like to give the ready mix concrete drivers $20 and a cold drink cause they’re always so patient with me. I am often or was pouring and floating 4-8 yards by myself. Have not done any slabs in about 4 yrs though.
I once gave a driver $50 cause he walked right out with me and helped me dragged a screed board across several times and helped me rake. He had Mucks on already so he didnt get too nasty giving me a hand.

Another classic 'fire thread. Folks having an opinion how folks choose to spend their money. WGAF?

Mandatory fees added Ed?

Pay the server the rate of $15.00 per hour based on the minutes of service you actually get.

Without a bunch of Wabigoon pointless topics and no interest in guns, that is all that is left on the Campfire.

I hate the card swiping machines that ASK if you would like to add a tip before the transaction will go through. The clerk almost always watches to see what you choose. It's like bitch, all you did is hand me a can of Copenhagen.

NO, you're not getting a tip.

Well, look at it this way. They can continue to rely on tips and you can continue to reward good service as you see fit or punish bad service if you see fit by not leaving a tip. Or, they can do away with tips, pay their employees the going rate and you can get really a schitty service from servers who have no incentive to do better and pay 40$ for a hamburger.

Well put, hourly people ain’t gonna jump and run to get your food to you.

Double bingo

I tip:
15% of the pre-tax total for a waitress that gives me full service. I may go 20% if the service was really good.
15% for a bartender, if I'm at the bar
10% for folks delivering my order to the house-- usually about $2 per trip
10% for the buffet staff
Drive thru? Nope. Carry out? Nope.

The very few times I put money in a tip jar was because I was handled back coin change and I just didn’t want it jingling in my pocket. At a buffet I will leave a couple of bucks if the wait staff come by often offering a drink refill and are quick to pick up the old plates and bring more napkins.

Tip the carry out people. They work harder than anyone else, especially these days. They are ones who make sure you actually get home with what you ordered.

Yeah....thats why they do it.....continued excellence.

Sheesh.

Well, go ahead and start paying 40$ for a hamburger and see if that makes you feel better.

You are already paying for it!

That’s the way it is in most of the world. In the U.S. tipping has become a status symbol, a way to show you’re a high roller. Witness the number of guys on here bragging about how much they tip. The restaurants and servers play it up because they they want the money. The rest of the world thinks we’re a bunch of obnoxious braggarts trying to flaunt wealth.

I tend to tip well because I don’t want to be “that guy”, but tipping is out of control and stupid in the U.S., everybody’s got their hand out.

Saved your dog a vet vist... they were helping u.....

Well...unless you cover the restaurant owners employment costs.....the industry will collapse!


The reason most restaurants fail in the first two years is because cheep bastards like you who wont cover those operating costs.

Its systemic.

Since the pandemic started I tip fast food just because I think the people that actually show up to work should be rewarded.

When life settles down again, I'll probably go back to tipping table service / delivery only

Always tip for good service.
Tipped 15% for takeouts during the pandemic. Always leave a couple $’s at buffets where I eat, nice not to have to ask for drink refills, napkins or lemon.

It may have started out that way but today “servers” can be paid a much lower wage than the standard minimum wage due to their tips-earning potential. When I was in college I worked as a waiter & bartender and was paid $2.52/hr by the restaurant at a time when fed min wage was $5-ish (IIRC), relying heavily upon my tips.

Remembering what that was like, I tip generously if well served. Having been in the industry and having high standards, I am less generous if the job isn’t done well. Even so, I’m paying them for a service as many have pointed out so I don’t stiff people.

Cultural differences evolving as they do, a custom developed for a particular reason can morph into something altogether different over time. I don’t know about your historic assertions made above, but as far as today’s world goes I’ve laid forth the reasons as they exist now

Gawd...what an industry.


Telling your employees that the customers will pay the bulk of their wages....and if they dont...tuff schit.

Shoulda stayed in school sucka!

ALL businesses’ customers pay ALL the wages. Just a question of how directly

The government has allowed this situation; they’re the ones who said it could be accounted this way.

The industry could just build the service costs directly into pricing, but then the motive for outstanding service would be diminished.

I was in the fine dining industry in a medium sized Midwestern city and did VERY well for a student, but I’d not want to have to raise a family on those wages.

The motivation for outstanding service angle is BS.


The motivation for a lake house is not.

What I don't like it a forced tip. Built into the bill.

If nearly non-existent wages and the tipping system works so well....why are you more likely to receive poor service than great service?


Is it the added benefit of 39 hour work weeks?

If you say so I can’t speak for others I just know it sure wasn’t for me.

And in case our wires have gotten crossed (and I’m sure they have I can’t understand where you’re coming from half the time) here I’m not defending the system as it stands just explaining what I understand of what it is.

If you Wanta talk about the possibilities of a perfect world, no one would pay for food nor have to serve it.

Sure...some people go above and beyond.


Most just do enough to bet by.....mainly because tipping is now seen as compulsory.


If a restaurant owner paid good wages....we wouldn't have to suffer with schitty service.

Notice how there is virtually no competition for most restaurant jobs?

Its no different than welfare dependency.



If people ONLY tipped for excellent service and quality food....your argument would be valid.

Yes, I'm aware of all that. As I said I tend to tip well when I'm in the U.S. because the system has been set up to require it for the waitstaff to make their income. What I'm saying is it's a effed up system that's only prevalent in the U.S. We allow employers to skate the minimum wage laws under the basis of "tips will make up for it" and restaurants have figured out how to shift the burden of paying their employees onto customers instead of themselves where the burden should rightly be. Yes, I realize the customer ultimately ends up paying for everything, the system now is a slimy way of doing it. There is no other business sector where someone expects to be paid extra for merely putting their product in your hand.

It's become a monster which fosters some blowhard tossing a $100 bill on the table so a kid will ignore the rest of his paying customers in order to kiss the butt of his benefactor.

I disagree, if what you’re saying by “good wages” is “similar to what others in the restaurant are paid”. I’ve gotten BBS d service at fast food restaurants more consistently than I have at sit-downs where tips are in play.

Now if you’re talking “good wages” in the sense of “living wage” I’d say that there was a reason I had those jobs as a student and don’t now. If one wants a living wage serving food isn’t and never will be the place to get it. The margins are super narrow.



My argument is valid (note I used the word “diminished” in my original post) to a certain extent regardless because meritocratic systems work on those motivated enough to take advantage of them.

I agree with the bottom line you’re pushing… that restauranteurs should pay servers the same as everyone else with tips being optional for excellent service.

Ps I’ll add “and tips should not be taxed”

Dang I wish I’d have served some of those blowhards $100 buys a lotta shots fer after work. I never had such terrible luck…

There's no shortage of good food servers and bartenders at the higher end well managed restaurants and bars.

As for me, I would rather pay the server directly so that he can stiff the government as much as possible.

Excellent post!

I considered swapping tips with another table once.

I realize you did qualify "most" restaurant jobs, but top serving gigs are actually very coveted and competitive.

I've worked with several folks that would average near or better than $2k a week working 30-35 hours, paying tax on less than 1/2 that.

$100k+ a year for essentially part time work ain't a bad gig. It is fairly rare, obviously.
Many serving jobs can pay a decent "living" wage though.

There are however very few serving jobs that supply any benefits, PTO, insurance, etc....

I wonder if they are well paid of rely on tips and charity?

Tips and charity. Guaranteed.

I happen to live at the epicenter of the "hospitality industry" and have known plenty of people who own, operate or work in it. People compete vigorously for jobs as servers in the fine dining places here and the standards are rigorous. This is a right to work state and there are no token hires in the good joints, you meet the standard or you will get replaced on the spot. A server in a Michelin starred restaurant will make more than $100k/year here and will probably have started as a busboy or kitchen helper. Tip earners here are closely scrutinized by the IRS.

Opening a restaurant in a choice location here is a multi-million dollar gamble and many have failed. I have a client/friend who owns a prestigious restaurant in a premier hotel and know how hard he works and how much he values and protects his employees. Lots of creepy people have big $ and will act abusive if allowed. Gross behavior is not tolerated in these places and the networking in this town among the operators is amazing.

Every competitive high end restaurant/club here has at least one employee fluent in Mandarin and another in Mexican and a guy in a tailored suit that can remove a drunk and obnoxious NBA player w/out causing a fuss. This here ain't your Clarksville or Malta.

Customs vary w/ geography. We have breakfast at least once/week in a privately owned cafe that is only open from 0700-1400 daily and has had the same staff for years. The food and service are exemplary and the regulars appreciate the place and treat the staff w/ respect and reward them for a great experience. Life is good if you work at it.

If you are dining with crableg joggers YMMV.


mike r

Michelin stars....gmafb.

Maltavegas!!!!


😃😎

They pay top dollar for premium beef and lamb. You need to get in the pate and truffle biz.



mike r

Wow
Just Wow


LMFAO

If I understand this right.....
The restaurant is required to keep the receipts for reach server.
And the law requires claiming 8% of sales as tips.

Don't know how many servers think this through, but if they get stiffed,
And even good ones do. They pay taxes on tips they didn't get.
That would add to the incentive to try for good tips by providing
excellent service.

Except, listen to the posts.

People tip 10%+.
No matter the quality of service.

I have NO IDEA what you are trying to convey, but suffice it to say, I ENJOY tipping folks and especially for outstanding service. This past weekend we were in Alpharetta attending a Birthday bash for a well known Campfire member. The night before the party, my wife and I went to the only"stand alone" Ruth Chris for dinner and asked for the waiter recommended to us by said "Birthday Boy." The food was as always perfect, but the waiter even more so, My "fleet average" tip is 20% of the TOTAL tab (I don't f dick around with subtracting the tip bullshit), but this guy was so good I doubled the tip. Here's the bottom line to me: if a waiter/server goes out of their way to make my dining experience memorable, giving him an extra big tip is not going to affect me financially, but it might just help them and i enjoy the "gift of giving."...

Bad service is different: If I get that, I just go to the manager

I usually leave $1 plus the change that I get back from the bill in tip jars for pick up orders and cafeteria style restaurants and $2 per person at the table for buffets if the "waiter" does a good job of keeping used plates clear and drinks full, if they only clear plates $1 per person.

I tip 20% on bill rounded up to the next whole $1.

Since it has never happened for me, I can't imagine a waiter providing service worth 40% of the bill, particularly at an over-priced chain like Ruth's Chris. But Omaha is a meat cutting town, so locally owned steak houses are more the norm. Small town restaurants in cattle country usually have good beef too, otherwise people who know beef wouldn't eat there. Dude's in Sidney, NE, is a case in point, great beef and fresh, not frozen, mountain oysters too.

Hell, I tip the guys at the tire shop that fix my flats or air up my tires.

If I am served, there will always be a tip. If it's bad service I receive, the tip is reduced. Good service gets about 15%. If it's truly outstanding service, I'll add substantially more, like maybe a 10 instead of 5. That's five stinking dollars extra, which doesn't mean a helluva lit to me, but when the person who waited on me sees a 30% tip, just think of how that feels to them. Five bucks very well spent, IMO.

Systemic oppression!