another tipping thread

[Kozman]

I would never dream of tipping the garbage men! My standard restaurant tip is 15% with 20% reserved for exceptional service. If the bill is low I tend to tip even more than 20%. If the food is overpriced, I tend to tip on the lower end of the percentage scale. If I have a favorite waiter/waitress who is pleasant, efficient, I'll tip on the higher end. I never feel compelled to encourage poor service by tipping for it.

 

[rapmarks]

our club restaurant has a mandatory 18% tip, but we are expected to always add a dollar cash, even for a lunch. the servers get paid $10 an hour and get health insurance too. Last April we had a shower for the waitress that was marrying the waiter. There was really pressure to attend, a 15$ charge for the appetizers, plus the gift. This was because we have to keep good servers. Then the restaurant manager got into it with them, and they are both gone. I feel we are held hostage by this idea of tipping.

 

[sfwilshire]

I know someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is that in the restaurant industry, if tips + hourly pay for the week fall short of what they would make hourly @ min wage, the restaurant is to make them "whole" on that, so, every server is making at least minimum wage.

Could this be one of those state law things??

My son elected to take a job at a restaurant he knew was on the verge of going out of business. His base pay is something like $2.01 and he does not get any upgrade to that when his measly tips don't add up to minimum wage.

When my daughter worked at a country club, she also received a reasonable wage above the minimum and got decent tips most of the time. It was a good job for a student.

Sheila

 

[Wonka]

I would never dream of tipping the garbage men! My standard restaurant tip is 15% with 20% reserved for exceptional service. If the bill is low I tend to tip even more than 20%. If the food is overpriced, I tend to tip on the lower end of the percentage scale. If I have a favorite waiter/waitress who is pleasant, efficient, I'll tip on the higher end. I never feel compelled to encourage poor service by tipping for it.

They are the only ones I tip that actually provide a little extra service during the year to those that tip (few in our neighborhood), and they are also some of the hardest workers for little pay.

 

[beanie]

Here's an msn story on holiday tipping . the only ones that apply to me now are , mailman, g-man , and newspaper deliverer whom we tip and we used to tip the teachers when the kids were in school .

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/Advice/TheFineArtOfHolidayTipping.aspx

 

[beachsands]

I know someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is that in the restaurant industry, if tips + hourly pay for the week fall short of what they would make hourly @ min wage, the restaurant is to make them "whole" on that, so, every server is making at least minimum wage.

Could this be one of those state law things??

Its true here in Ohio, our waitresses use to turn in ridiculously low tip amounts, and they wouldn't come up to the minimum wage standard. My wife who runs the books now makes them automatically meet the minimum standard.

It may be a state by state thing but we now keep close tabs on the tips issue.

Joel

 

[rapmarks]

Here's an msn story on holiday tipping . the only ones that apply to me now are , mailman, g-man , and newspaper deliverer whom we tip and we used to tip the teachers when the kids were in school .

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/Advice/TheFineArtOfHolidayTipping.aspx

tipping teachers? unheard of.
between my husband and I we have 65 years of teaching and never got a tip!

 

[pranas]

You reall you should not tip the mailman. Illegal to tip goverment workers but in this case most look the other way.

 

[ricoba]

tipping teachers? unheard of.
between my husband and I we have 65 years of teaching and never got a tip!

But I am assuming you got gifts? Which I guess is like a tip, in a way.

When I was teaching, I never got cash tips, but I did get gifts at Christmas and the end of the year. Considering some of the gifts, I would have preferred cash!

 

[beanie]

But I am assuming you got gifts? Which I guess is like a tip, in a way.

When I was teaching, I never got cash tips, but I did get gifts at Christmas and the end of the year. Considering some of the gifts, I would have preferred cash!

yes we did not tip teachers cash but we did buy gifts every christmas for them .

 

[AwayWeGo]

I'm Never Exactly Clear . . .

. . . on how much to tip the Toll Booth Attendants.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[wackymother]

You reall you should not tip the mailman. Illegal to tip goverment workers but in this case most look the other way.

That's what I always thought...but it seems everybody does tip them. I give mine cookies or candy. We don't have a regular mailman, so it ends up being whichever guy comes the day I've got the gift ready.

 

[Big Matt]

Most mailmen these days are independent contractors and not full time government employees. I'm not sure if they can accept tips or not.

You reall you should not tip the mailman. Illegal to tip goverment workers but in this case most look the other way.

 

[DeniseM]

I look at it this way: whether you enjoy tipping or not, or think it's "fair," in the U.S. it is an integral part of the service industry. The individuals working in that industry do not have the power to change a long standing tradition. Service people usually only make minimum wage, which would put them below the poverty line, if that's all they made. In theory, they can find another job, but what about the college student who is putting themselves through school, or the emigrant with only entry level skills, not to mention the current level of unemployment! Not everyone has a college degree and someone has fill the positions in the service industry!

I have been that college student struggling to pay my way through school, and now I thoroughly enjoy being able to leave a generous tip for good service. I tip on tours, I tip $1 per bag when ever someone carries it, I tip if I win a big jackpot in Tahoe (it's good luck you know! ) I tip wait staff, and I tip cab drivers. However, I do not tip for bad service.

In my area, I don't think it's customary to tip the mail carrier, paper carrier, or garbage man.

 

[rapmarks]

re tipping teachers.

high school teachers very seldom got gifts. It is very rare in our area. If i wuold have received a dollar tip from each student at christmas, I would have had close to $200. My son taught middle school and came home with lots of small gifts.

but get this - he got a Wii game either from his middle school students or his tutorees at the end of the year last year. He gave his dad his old Playstation 2.

 

[ladycody]

I know someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is that in the restaurant industry, if tips + hourly pay for the week fall short of what they would make hourly @ min wage, the restaurant is to make them "whole" on that, so, every server is making at least minimum wage.

Could this be one of those state law things??

It's true in MA. If you are an owner or manager with half a brain...then you have good idea of your clientele and how the tips average out. By law, you are required to ensure that your staff is averaging minimum wage over the course of the week for their hours. Having said that...if an employee is consistently being tipped poorly and not meeting that requirement, I'd say it's time to look for a different job and the mgt would likely insist on it. I know I would....because it's really hard not to meet that requirement...even in little cafes.

As for tipping in general...it's intent is to ensure good service...so if I havent gotten good service, I'm not being held hostage by the custom of tipping....and I've been in jobs where my income relied on my tips...so I'm not stingy.

I was speaking with a group from Australia who were impressed with what they considered consistently better service in the US than they received in Australia (excluding tourist areas). They said the waitstaff in AU earns over $14 per hour on average and that, in their opinions, good service was not easy to find. They thought our tipped employees were much more accomodating overall and thought the difference might have been the fact that, here, a large percentage of their pay isnt received until they've 'done the job' ...and how much their income is will depend significantly on performance. This does encourage service employees to strive to perform to a higher standard, I think....at least for those who can see the relationship between performance and tip amount. I've run across a few who seem to think that a tip is their 'right'...regardless of how poor their service and attitude is...and I've got news for them. :annoyed: I dont think people should tip just because it's expected...and if fact screws up the entire concept of tipping.