What Can I Get You Folks? - The 20 Percent Tipping Point

9-11-2009 @3:33PM Kelly said... The bottom line of eating out is that if you can't afford to leave a tip, then you can't afford to eat at a restaurant. When the meal is expensive, yes you still need to leave 18-20%, even if that tip is a large amount. What some people do not realize is that much of the tip you leave a server goes to tipping out other people such as bussers, bartenders, hostesses, etc. In that case, if you leave a bad tip, you could be leaving the servers to pay for YOU to eat dinner.

As far as the tip cards go; I live in Orlando where a large percentage of people are tourists. It is not customary for some of these people to tip in their respective countries, so the tip cards are left to let them know what is expected in the US. This isn't meant to be tacky, this is just meant to be a guideline for people who do not know what is expected.

What some people need to realize, is that servers and bartenders have a job to do, just as everyone else does. They also usually get paid less than $3 an hour, so they are not being adequately paid for their services. Relying on the respectfulness and kindness of customers is what pays their bills, so before you go out to eat, think about that. And if you are the person who doesn't like to leave an adequate tip, there's a value meal waiting for you at the McDonalds down the street.
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9-14-2009 @5:44AM tina said... I had a table of 5 come in. Two adults and 3 small children. I approached the table with a cheery "Hi. How are you today?" The man just stares at me and then points to his wife who is looking down at her menu. No 'hello' or nothing. I then said, "Can I bring you some coffee, tea, or a soda?" The man mumbled that he didn't want anything to drink. The lady said 'just water." I asked about the kids and the lady said, "no, nothing for them." When I came back with the lady's water, I asked if they were ready to order. She was the only one that ordered anything.

I brought her another glass of water cause her glass was half full and told her that her order would be ready soon. She asked for another glass of water cause her husband was drinking her. I brought her another glass of water. When I served her food, I asked if she needed anything else, and brought her what she needed. Then she asked for something else. When I came back with that, she needed something else. I told her I hoped she enjoys her food. A few minutes later, I asked if everything was ok with her food. She said yes, but said her salsa was cold. I told her it's supposed to be cold, but I could heat it for her. When I came back with the heated salsa, she asked for something else. Brought it to her. A little later when I was refilling their waters, she asked for a box and some more heated salsa, and said she was ready for the check. I brought back what she asked for and she said she was ready for the check. When I came back with the check, I told her that they pay here at the table whenever they are ready (we do server banking), and I took her empty plates away and took them to the dish room. I'm washing my hands, and another server tells me that my table is up front waiting to pay. The wife and kids are still at the table, but the husband is up front waiting to pay. I told him that I would be right back with his change, that we don't have a cashier, I would meet him at the table. I brought his change back and thanked them and wished them a great day. They left about 5 minutes later.

My question is...do people NOT listen to the servers? I told them they pay here at the table. I was gone not even a minute, and yet he went up front.

The main reason I am writing this is to show you the steps I took. I was very pleasant, I was at that table at least 9 times. I was prompt with everything she asked for.

For only one person eating at that table, it looked like a tornado hit it. Whatever she added to her water to turn it blue, had been spilled on the table. Little pieces of paper all over it. Napkins, jelly, syrup everywhere. They let their kids draw all over the table and the walls next to the table. There was paper and food all over the seats and the floor....and the big topper....they didn't leave a dime.

I am sorry, but this is unacceptable. Why should these people DESERVE good service? Now mind you, although they weren't very friendly, they were not mean or rude verbally. This is just a small example of what we have to put up with.

Why should we have to waste our time giving good service to people who aern't going to tip. I think it would be great if we could approach a table and ask them 'What kind of service would you like today...10%, 15%, 20%, or no tip service? At least that way, we would all get what we deserve.
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9-12-2009 @3:43AM Marcella said... Shame.... b/c formerly in in a situation where service was above and beyond a guest/or diner with true class would leave an adequate or above average tip and leave a single penny on the table signifying exceptional service.... but apparently the times have changed.........
signed, a true believer in the idea of gratuity and the appreciation of the service industry
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9-12-2009 @8:11AM anotherview said... Several people including Dave have tried to say that % tipping is not fair to the server or the patron. All you pro-tippers, are you not listening. Not one of you has responded to argue for or against his and their point.

$1/person is a good tip for groups that stay 30 minutes. If they hang around for an hour or more it should go up to $3 per person. That is much fairer than % tipping. They have already made the good arguments for this. Go back and read them, then make your arguments for or against. If you see this posted again, then it is because you still are not responding to this point.

BTW, of course waiters need to be paid more than $2 an hour even for bad service, but that problem exists with the management. Back to my argument above, the pro tippers mix up their arguments when they complain about the base pay in $ per hour, but then talk about % tipping. If you are working two tables with 4 people at each with average stays of 1/2 hour, then $1/person is $16/hour. That is good money. Now imagine working a table of 20 that stays for 2 hours and tips $3/person. oh...you do the math.
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9-16-2009 @3:02PM lily911 said... I have had that SAME table!!! LOL These people have no class and should be asked to never return. Restaurant owners don't seem to understand that these people run off decent people, whom want to have a nice experience. Owners seem to think they should just put up with it because its "money" for their restaurant and can't afford to lose their business...Well, in my opinion, they can't afford not to lose these losers...It ruins morale over a period of time if left to go on and on, and WILL run off decent, MONEY SPENDERS...Lose the losers!! Bon apetit, at Arby's, next time...
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9-18-2009 @12:59PM kb9zja said... Customers should not be held to a certain percentage for tipping. The server should be tipped what they are worth. If they provide poor service, than they get a small tip or nothing, if good service, than they get a good tip. Slackers should not be rewarded. However, on the other hand, folks doing good work should be told and shown that they are.
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9-18-2009 @11:31AM Steve said... Should you find yourself doubting whether 15% is a fair baseline for a tip at any given restaurant... Imagine a server waiting an average of 10 seats per hour. Multiply the average cost of meal+drink at the restuarant by those ten seats. Take 15% percent of that. Subtract 2.5% to 5% of that to be distributed to bussers and hosts (only where applicable). Finally, add the minimum hourly wage for waitstaff in that state. Taking a couple minutes to do the math, you'll find that -- from to Denny's to Applebee's to the finest steakhouses -- 15% gratuities yields more than fair hourly compensation for average performance in a vocation that doesn't involve technical skill or lengthy education.


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9-18-2009 @11:58AM Steve said... JW @653 demanded, "If you dont want to tip go to McDonalds!!!!"

Okay... and if enough dissatisfied customers go to McDonald's that your manager has to cut waitstaff, where will you end up working?

See ya there,
Steve

PS. That goes for all those irrational "if you don't tip 20%+, stay out at home" outbursts, too.
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9-18-2009 @1:27PM Jeff said... I don't eat out often because of tipping. I can't stand being made to pay extra for already (in my opinion) high food prices. I tip because I feel guilty for not, but I never go above 15% unless the waiter/waitress does something way above and beyond. I don't have food delivered to my home for the same reason. I don't make much money as it is and don't think I should be penalized for wanting to have a nice meal every so often. And to the people paying 25% or more, you're just making it worse for the "average" tippers out there, raising expectations of the wait staff. And if I ever happen to have a $100 meal somewhere, there's no way I'm leaving a $20 tip for essentially the same amount of work done for a $15 meal.
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9-19-2009 @5:25PM Mars said... I am a server at a wine bar in a suburb of Houston, Tx. I am a pretty damn good server at what I do and while I am not a som., my wine iq is high as I do drink wine a lot and I study it as much as I possibly can. Now, that being said, everyone needs to realize that this system of 15% is ridiculous. Reason being is the amount of actual strife that a waiter has to go through to give you the excellent service that you receive. If you have not been a server before then you have no idea what we go through back of the house dealing with food, wine, beer, bartenders, regulations and so on and plus what we have to deal with front of the house with guests. If I give you 5 tastes of different wine to find you a wine you like, you better realize that that took me a good ten minutes of dealing with your picky palate. Start then at 25%. If I make a perfect suggestion start at 25%. 20% is good service, anything else is more...

Long story short, I tip about 35-45% when I go to the places I frequent and then about 25-35% when I don't as long as the service is good... Make a servers night and go above and beyond... And trust me, the extra 2 dollars are not going to hurt... And if they do, you shouldn't be going out in the first place... Stay at home...
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9-21-2009 @4:54PM Mars said... Yes you are... Learn to cook at home and don't ever go out again... Deal with it...
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9-21-2009 @4:53PM Mars said... Because, your damn tip goes to all those people.... Haven't you ever heard of tipout... It goes as high as 5% in some places... That means that the server is only getting 10% if you leave 15%... You have no idea what you are talking about... Ask your favorite server at a place and he/she will tell you about his job... In fact, buy them a drink after they get off and you will hear about the entire industry... Deal with it or stay at home period...
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9-21-2009 @4:53PM Mars said... It because of the service aspect of it... You have someone personally attending to your every need and whim... You tip to guarantee that your service will be good the next time... And trust me, we all talk!
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9-21-2009 @1:07AM Jorge said... Like so many other things, the 'gratuity' concept has degraded down from its original intention -to express gratitude- and now the word remains merely as little more than an euphemism for an implicitly mandatory extra charge.
In other posts, the author also rants about some more aspects of her guests' traits, like lingering at the table after done eating, the way they interact with her, and other things she dislikes about what comes with the job.

What I want to understand from this series of posts is that while we are all too familiar with a dining experience as the guests, it is also worth considering the view from the servers on the other side, so we can be more aware of the instances WE bring that turn out aggraviating or unpleasant for THEM -unwillingly most of the time, I hope- So yes, I can appreciate feedback on how to make a better dining experience for everyone.

What I don't appreciate:
The evident parciality and intolerance manifested throughout Ms. Raskin's posts. While excusing what she calls "servers' quirks of personality" (read: "less than professional attitude") the same author won't shy out on hinting how innapropriate it is to ask things like your server's height, or straight out tell you how many minutes (literally) you should sit at your table.
Np matter what the specific subject, basically all of the author's posts seem to somehow refer their way towards tipping, while leaving a preachy feeling on how to inconvenience server's as least as possible.

As much as I appreciate the feedback Ms. Raskin, I would like to put it to use if/because I want to, not because I am feeling forced to. Let me remind you that in the end we are paying what we are charged because we came to be served. YOU are the ones to accomodate to US, not the other way around. If you don't like that, good luck staying in business.

Just so you know, I spent the last year working in a hotel, first as a bellman, so I know what it is like to be on a server's end... yet my only concern was to provide the very best service possible, and guess what my reward, MY real reward was? No, not the tips; it was the guest's expression of delight, happiness, surprise, gratitude. The tips were welcomed of course! but I NEVER concerned myself with them... nor did I need to. By jumping up to Front Desk I forfeit my rights to monetary expressions of gratitude, but my coworker summed it all up one time for me: "How come you always get a handshake? I've never gotten one". And yet, YET I was tipped a few times, even with a $100 dollar bill... twice.

So my conclusion is: Instead of worrying about adjusting the gratuity percentage for an income rate that contemplates the fluctuations of the market according to the trends in the next fiscal year yada yada yada... just focus on giving outstanding service and ACTUAL care about the guests, and the tips will more than take care of themselves.

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9-21-2009 @10:46AM MAC said... Although the perception of a 15% tip may sound outdated, only if the meals were at the same price, the price food still continues to rise which makes the tip rise also, GET IT. If the server has 4-6 tables in an hour(my meals take 45min to 1hr 15min) and the price of the meal is $30-$50 per person, the tip for a table of 4 is (@15%)$18-$30. That comes to $72-$108 an hour on the low end and $120-$180 hr on the high end. That is more than most people make who frequent these establishments. Granted that this does not take place all night, but for one hour at this rate is still $22 hr for an 8hr shift ANYWHERE.
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9-21-2009 @11:33AM Chris said... Here's a little known secret. Tip what you want. If the server tries to give you any crap ask to speak to the manager/owner. If you do this in the restaurant, and loudly enough, there is a good chance they will be fired on the spot.

You see, all the owner cares about is the reputation of the restaurant. In addition, they'll usually have a stack of resumes from servers looking for work. No worries, your waiter/waitress is easily replaced.

My family has been in the restaurant business in NYC for 80 years. The tipping percentage has not changed: ~10% for bad service, ~15% for good service, and ~20% for great service. This is a percentage, so the actual dollar amount of the tip tracks inflation as the food/drink prices increase. There is no need to readjust the percentage. (Just as there was no reason to adjust it down when food prices went up due to fuel costs.)
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9-22-2009 @6:48AM kellych18 said... Okee Dokee, having been in the restaurant business over 30 yrs. I have seen alot of changes in tipping. The comment about tipping being a courtesy for good service is correct. The comment about the person who doesn't want to tip 15% + on larger checks at more expensive restaraunts is rediculous.
When you dine in a pricier establishment you expect the staff to be better trained and the restaraunt to have "Higher Standards" for their help. If you find that this is NOT the case be sure to get the attn of the Maitre'd or floor mgr and let them know. These people (wait staff) are like any others they are good, bad or indifferent.
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9-22-2009 @12:41PM david said... I absolutely hate the industry insiders telling me what to tip. Tipping is based on MY perceived value, not what the server thinks he/she should make. I felt 10% was plenty, then they guilted us into 15% now they are trying to establish 20% as the norm. I'm sorry if you make minimum wage or less but hey we all have choices, get a job that pays well and doesn't have tipping. They are the first to give us the 'boo hoo' i work for tips, yet these same servers and bartenders have a higher annual income than i do!!!! Be grateful to received tips, DON'T EXPECT A CERTAIN AMOUNT AND QUIT BEING SO ARROGANT! You're a damn server not the king/queen.
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9-22-2009 @9:15PM richard said... 20% is my base, more for exceptional service. 10% for lousy service. often when my girl and I split a meal, I'll tip 30% or more.
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