Cheap Tippers

[Bruzilla]

My wife is a BINGO fan, and we go to a local restaurant every Tuesday night because they play six games of BINGO there from 8:00 to 10:00. There are several groups of regulars there, and last night I heard one of them whining about the service, which I had always thought was very good. When they left, I took a peak at the little folder their check was in, and saw they had bought $29 worth of food/drinks, and left a measely $3 tip. I asked our server about that table, and she said they never leave more than 10%, which is why nobody wants their table when they come in.

To break that 10% tip down, the Feds require the restaurant charge the server 8% of your check's value, so that 10% tip those guys left is actually a 2% tip, which the server must then split the 2% with the hostess. So in the end, these people occupied that table for two hours, and that table generated about 40 cents for the server. I can see why servers would want to avoid the 10% folks.

I usually tip 20-25% for good service as a matter of course, but when I'm taking up a table for over two hours, I go higher and leave 50%, or about $20, so the Feds get $3, the hostess gets a couple of bucks, and the server gets about $14 for taking care of my wife and I for about 2.5 hours. I figure if I'm taking up a table, which is a revenue generator for some young lady, for a time when three different diners could be sat there, then I should pay more.

So, is it any wonder why when my wife and I come through the door, we are quickly greated, sat, and taken excellent care of while we are there, while the low-ball tippers get poor service? You get what you pay for.

 

[kb67mopar]

I'd say I am a middle of the road tipper. I will give a good tip for good service something around 15%+.

If I get completely terrible service and terrible food I will leave 0-5% as I would have rather asked for a refund. (this takes a hostile waitress that never comes back and screws up my order)

I am not a regular at any particular restaurant so my service isn't based on my tip since there is no history for them to go off of. That being said my tip is based on their service as a new customer and they get what I get.

 

[ChgrSteve67]

I leave at least 15% unless I get really crappy service.
Usually around issues like.. I never got what I ordered even after asking for it several times.

If I get over and above service like I got last night...
When I ordered we mentioned that we were going to share the plate and the server split the meal for us (without us asking her to do it) so my wife and I didn't have to eat off the same plate.
She got a 35% tip.

Also when I go to a casino and I get free drinks I always give the lady a 5$ tip regardless if I'm winning or not.

 

[YY1]

I usually figure 20% and round down to the nearest dollar.

If I'm at a bar, and paying by the drink, I usually give a dollar every third drink.

If I'm not mistaken, 15% is the reccomended standard for "good" service.

I have beem known to leave much more, for exemplary service.

...but IMO, 25% for mediocre service is not helping either party.

 

[Meep-Meep]

The feds get 8% of the check??!! I see that as another tax. So if this happens in CA then the sales tax of roughly 8.5% plus 8% of the bill is pretty steep. Once again the government wins. Not trying to make this into a political post but rather breaking down the cost.

I'm a middle of the road tipper, but we have a few lunch places where we are regulars and we take care of them well. Like you said, you get what you pay for and we have made some good friends with the servers and owners. In one place our drinks are prepared as soon as they see us walking in the door.

The cost of the meal is paying salaries, permits and fees and rent on the building, which includes occupying the table for the table for 2 hrs. Tips are a separate issue. If the service is good, tip high. If bad, tip low. If consistently bad food or service find another place. And don't ever, ever, ever send anything back to the kitchen.

 

[5.7 hemi]

A tip is like a bounus, if ya get one, great, if not, you haven't lost anything cause your still being paid your regular salary. I think 10% is a good number, but there are exceptions, and in that case I'll leave more if service was outstanding.

 

[Budnicks]

Probably half my ex-girlfriends have been food service employees, I think I may have a problem with liking women that serve me...LOL.., Remember they do make a wage for being there, albeit "usually a minimum wage"/plus tips, but not always, at the country club I use to be a member at {& many upscale rest.,bars etc.} they were AFL-CIO Rest, Workers union employees & made a pretty good wage based on tenure, laborers wages, some were making $20+ p/hr + benefits, plus tips, some from all the pooling also, whether they were good servers or not & worked banquets &/or tournaments & got extra compensation for being there also... I believe "not all rest./bars etc.", require tip pooling, some states actually don't allow it, "I think anyway"... I personally look at tipping like this, if they work hard & give you great service, you reward them for it, if they are rude or don't give great service {after all, they are in the service business}, the tip will reflect the bad service... When I go out with my old Pops, he flirts with the servers all the time, it's kind of embarrassing, so I will give them a bigger tip for putting up with his flirtations, drunken-ness & stupid sexual remarks, groping, needing constant attention, a 15%-20% gratuity is an industry norm, "set by the industry", near double that of what they are taxed {until about 12-15 years ago, they didn't have to claim or didn't claim the 8% of tags as income}, if service is really good, I give a much better tip... This is what I like to do, if the service is really good, flirtatious or has a great personality or give great service or has to put up with a bunch of rude people in my group, i will put a tip on the tag/credit card receipt & then give them "a little extra tip" in cash, tell them to pocket it, that it is for them & them alone, not the bus boy, the cook, hostess, waiter, bar tender, cashier or any other employee, that didn't greet & serve us/me, they get their cut out of the tag not the cash tip... I use to hear all of the complaints from servers, dating many different women & their friends/co-workers, you really don't want to piss off someone, who is serving you your food, do you ??...

 

[Bruzilla]

The feds get 8% of the check??!! I see that as another tax. So if this happens in CA then the sales tax of roughly 8.5% plus 8% of the bill is pretty steep. Once again the government wins. Not trying to make this into a political post but rather breaking down the cost.

I'm a middle of the road tipper, but we have a few lunch places where we are regulars and we take care of them well. Like you said, you get what you pay for and we have made some good friends with the servers and owners. In one place our drinks are prepared as soon as they see us walking in the door.

The cost of the meal is paying salaries, permits and fees and rent on the building, which includes occupying the table for the table for 2 hrs. Tips are a separate issue. If the service is good, tip high. If bad, tip low. If consistently bad food or service find another place. And don't ever, ever, ever send anything back to the kitchen.

It is a tax, but it is just basic Federal income tax on undeclared income. The IRS knows that people who get tips don't always declare them as income, so they assume a standard tip of 20% (which is about the norm these days - 10-15% was the standard years ago), and require the business owner to collect 8% of every meal check so they know they're getting at least 8% of the money being paid in tips.

 

[Bruzilla]

A tip is like a bounus, if ya get one, great, if not, you haven't lost anything cause your still being paid your regular salary. I think 10% is a good number, but there are exceptions, and in that case I'll leave more if service was outstanding.

People who get tips don't receive a regular salary under most state laws, and usually get paid well less than the minimum wage with the expectation that tips will make up the difference. This is a good thing as it encourages better job performance, but then there's a lot of people who'll only tip 10% or 15% regardless of the level of service.

 

[marlabuck]

My husband is more generous tip wise than me...he ALWAYS gives 30%...me...10-15%...Marla

 

[pabster]

Yeah, I just double the tax on average service... comes out to about 16%. I'll tip 20-25% if the service is great, and now that I have kids I tend to tip higher because they have to clean up a few more messes. People who tip below 15% for good service have never worked in the industry. Most restaurants I've known pay minimum wage or a bit more per hour, tips are really what servers rely on as a wage. I have tipped a dime once or twice for atrocious service, had a server come out after me and yell at me about it. I went straight to the manager, told them how bad the service was, and that they accosted me outside, and the guy was fired on the spot. Don't mess with the bull, waitstaff- you'll get the horns. :headbang:

 

[bigmanjbmopar]

People who get tips don't receive a regular salary under most state laws, and usually get paid well less than the minimum wage with the expectation that tips will make up the difference. This is a good thing as it encourages better job performance, but then there's a lot of people who'll only tip 10% or 15% regardless of the level of service.

This happens in your state of Florida? wtf? who runs that place bunch of liberals? lol j/k pab don't have a hear attack ;)

Why would you take a job for less than the minimum wage? that does not compute will robinson.

If this is true than these people need to join a union. :naka:


I give no less than 18% for standard service and 50% for great service, being a labor oriented person those who serve need to get paid well. Just for putting up with the likes of people like us here lmao

 

[68sportsatelliteragtop]

Back when my wife was a waitress she recieved less then the minimum wage for hourly employees. There is a separate minimum wage for employees that collect tips. She made about $3 per hour while regular minimum wage was about $5 per hour. Worst part was she was expected to be in 2 hours before opening to fill salt/pepper and roll silverware, no tips and $3 per hour for that work also.

As far as tipping goes, I tip based on the quality of the service, even if the meal is not up to par. Lets face it, the wait staff didn't prepare the food. If it is served as ordered and hot, then they did their job. If I get a bad meal, I'll just not come back. I will leave 20% or so for dinner for the 2 of us and not less then $10.

 

[68sportsatelliteragtop]

I usually figure 20% and round down to the nearest dollar.

If I'm at a bar, and paying by the drink, I usually give a dollar every third drink.

If I'm not mistaken, 15% is the reccomended standard for "good" service.

I have beem known to leave much more, for exemplary service.

...but IMO, 25% for mediocre service is not helping either party.

Dude a dollar for every third drink? Around here you would be at the bar getting your own drink! I give the waitress or bartender $1 for each drink ordered, not every round, but each drink. But then I'm not in the bar room daily, anymore! BTW, I am not wealthy, but don't mind paying others for their service.

 

[Budnicks]

Tips

Remember on large tabs, over I think it's $100 the 20% gratuity is already in the bill {many times}, remember these people choose this profession, they can always if they don't like the money they earn at that profession, get another profession or work somewhere that they can make better tips, but some/many don't know or have any other skills or education sometimes, it's a double edge sword... I am a big over tipper myself, but know many food & beverage servers, that make way more money than me at the moment, I bust my *** in a service industry {not food service thank god} & I rarely get any tips {except maybe, by low sell high, ha ha}& don't expect to either, doing that type job, so it's kind of hard to feel sorry for them... Also I know bartenders & waitresses etc. that make $100k+ a year easily & about 10%-20% isn't claimed in income either, so the street goes both ways, the Denny's or Waffle House type employees won't make the tips of the high end or country club type of places, that's for sure... I have personally noticed Ex or current waitresses/bartenders etc. are by far the worst tippers, that I've been around anyway, they are way more critical of the servers than I am or any non-food & beverage service workers tend to be.... It's just an observation... Have a nice day, tip your server well....

 

[dfarmercse]

I will give 20% most of the time and more for good service

 

[djais1801]

I have been a nightclub bartender for 20+ years. I have worked in major clubs in NYC and NJ, and this is the circle of friends I have grown to be with. Thus, I have always over-tipped, and am always conscious/supportive of service industry employees. My stepmother is...let's say "difficult".
I have slipped the waiter/waitress numerous times $20 before we even sit down and tell them quietly "I am sorry for what you're about to go through".

 

[YY1]

If your drining dozens of drinks, a buck every three comes out pretty good

That was my "regular" place, the kind where they yelled "Norm!", when I walked in the door, and they said I was a great tipper. Using that same formula almost always guarantees me that I'll be serviced quickly whn my glass is empty. Hasn't failed yet, although if it's busier, I may do every other drink.

I also calculated what my "favorite" servers were doing in tips on a couple of occasions, and without factoring in the sub- minimum wage for food service employees, I came out to about 12 grand more than I was making as a software support tech at the time , which I later verified with one of the servers, because I was such a regular and almost lived at the place.

 

[dgraver]

At least 20%, never less than $5 even if you only have a $10 tab. Just because you sit there and only have a cup of soup, bread, and a drink, the waiter/waitress still has to wait on you. I have never left less than a $5 tip while being waited on at a table, not talking about getting a single beer at a bar, that's a $1 a drink. In PA people make like $3/hr, tips are what the people count on.

 

[djais1801]

At least 20%, never less than $5 even if you only have a $10 tab. Just because you sit there and only have a cup of soup, bread, and a drink, the waiter/waitress still has to wait on you. I have never left less than a $5 tip while being waited on at a table, not talking about getting a single beer at a bar, that's a $1 a drink. In PA people make like $3/hr, tips are what the people count on.

i don't even get paid hourly..just tips. BUT i work at an extremely busy bar on a beach at the Jersey Shore (no relation to the gawdy show)..and we are only for 4 months. It is quite profitable...full-time income for part-time hours.
BUT i definitely show quick service to good tippers..When we are in full swing, my bar is packed and it goes 4 deep (liken to the floor of the stock exchange) has to be seen to be believed.
I have also, been quick to publicly point out cheapskates..