Learn How to Tip!!

[ringo]

Those are some interesting questions. I would say with most systems out there, they rely on the honor system more. And as for most laws, they are interpreted differently.. just like how customers don't understand signs and get upset when you explain they way they are thinking is wrong.

[varmintjane]

Interesting, ringo; but how is that determined? The employer would need a way to track his staff's tips, otherwise he'd have to take their word for it (and, yes, people lie. Even waiters).

Or is that one of those laws that's nice in theory, but never really applied?

I think I can explain this, but servers feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. To figure out if the employer has to cover the minimum wage/tip gap, they calculate it based on their sales. For cash transactions, they assume that the server was tipped at least 10% for each sale and for credit/debit card transactions they take the exact amount that was tipped and add that up then divide it by the number of hours worked to determine if the server is making the legal minimum wage.

Most servers, I believe, claim all of their tips, even the cash ones because it will look suspicious (here comes the IRS) if you constantly claim exactly 10% of your sales.

[rdp78]

Welll, I usually tipped about...

... 20 percent for good service and about 15 percent for decent service which rarely happens. Now last year I did forget to tip one time and well, I didn't even realize this until I was out of the restuarant for about half an hour. I felt really bad doing that and I just didn't want to go back because I would feel embarrassed if I did. I make sure I tip now and I even figure it out on my PDA thing.

[Racket_Man]

one thing that has not been mentioned up till not (I believe) is that here in the US the Internal Reveue Service REQUIRES you to get a certain percentage of your sales as tips 15 - 18% I believe. several restaurants have tried to fight this and lost in civil and tax court. if you do not make that percentage the IRS can come alone a penelize the server and the business

for example bill = $43.25
IRS Standard tip percentage 18% of bill before local/state sales/food/etc. tax = $6.49 (rounded up)
Customer tip = $5
difference $1.49

if this were the only order not too much of a problem, servers do many orders in a shift and it all adds up if the customers are not tipping well for whatever reason. hey sometimes you have a bad night or a bad week for no good reason been there myself.

but if you have a "bad" quarter and when the wage/tip reports go into the IRS they want their "pound of flesh" no matter what.

In the US the culture has "embraced" tipping as a way of life and it (to the detriment of the little guy) helps the business (not that I agree) keep wages/expenses in some areas low.

[Palsgraf]

Now, that's hardly conclusive proof that it was as suggested. Not everybody has enough capacity for self-criticism to actually say, "Okay, I didn't deserve a tip this time, my work was shoddy".

In the story leading this thread, everything went smoothly and the customers all told me how great it was and what a wonderful time they'd had. It was also a large group, taking up two of my four tables for much of the night (preventing me from making more from the several other tables I could have waited-on.

I did post another story: "Service was an 'F' - Will not return" about a month ago in the Sucky Customers section. In it, the one table I didn't screw-up was the one that left me this nasty note (without further explanation) and "zero" written on the tip line of their charge receipt. Meanwhile, the table that received the worst service (granted, having the computers crash and lose their order before it reached the kitchen didn't help at all) gave me a more-than-generous tip. I even felt guilty about it later. Had the second table left me nothing, I would have completely understood - it wouldn't make for an interesting story here. But because the table where I still can't think of what went wrong is the one that stiffed me ... well, that's worth posting about.

Regarding tip-wage:

Yes, when a server's declared tips plus the tip-wage don't add up to at least the U.S. minimum wage, the employer is required to kick-in the difference. However ... at a restaurant I worked at in Kansas City, management once altered my tip declarations, increasing them so they wouldn't have to pay. Not making enough to cover federal minimum is a rare thing - in this case it was my first week and I spent more time setting-up and, later, cleaning than I did waiting on my two tables.

In the U.S., tipped employees are required to declare all their tips (i.e. everything they take home, after tipping-out their bartender, busboys, etc.). Employers have to rely on what the server claims as tips, but they can also check to see if the servers are claiming at least 10% of their sales. I don't believe many servers actually declare all their tips. (I declare all of mine, for four personal reasons). I usually take home more than 10% of my sales, but on the weekends when I have additional support staff to tip-out (food runners, stockers, etc.), I sometimes take home less than 10%.

I heard on the radio this week that our President has recently sacked many/most of the IRS agents who investigate Estate Tax evasion (applies to those who inherit $5 million or more), and that he'll be increasing the number of auditors who investigate people who claim the Earned Income Tax Credit (i.e. the working poor). So tipped employees had better be careful if they're not claiming 100%!

[RecoveringKinkoid]

"Seems to me that if you don't like getting bad tips, go work in another job."

Seems to me if you don't like tipping, do not eat in American eateries. Sorry, I understand the system is faulty. No argument here. But life isnt' fair, and this isnt' either. It's a custom that isn't going to change anytime soon.

It's expected. The server can reasonably expect that you will tip for good service. The server is TAXED as if you tipped, whether or not you actually did tip.

No, there's no law that says you must. Cops will not throw you in the back of a car if you stiff someone who served you in good faith. But if you do stiff them, don't be suprised or hurt that the rest of us think you are a douchbag.

[Jester]

And don't think that giving compliments will compensate for an inappropriate tip. I go to work to make money, not to collect compliments.

There is phrase for this in the industry: "verbal tip." Basically what a verbal tip is is when a customer goes overboard complimenting the server on what a great job they did, and then leaves them a subpar tip. If the service was that great, why are you leaving a less than standard tip? If the tip reflects service, why are you complimenting me up and down like that? Servers as a general rule really, really, REALLY don't like verbal tippers, as they find them phoney, disengenuous, and full of hot air.

I must admit, as a Brit, I never really understood the concept of expecting a 10% or 15% tip and getting all huffy because you didn't get it.

Phrases like "Tipping badly out of ignorance" freaks me, in fact, it makes me want to go to the next restaurant and not tip at all. Hell, why should I?

Seems to me that if you don't like getting bad tips, go work in another job.

I find this attitude from non-Americans amusing, as these are generally the same people who look down their noses at Americans who come to their countries and run afoul unintentionally of THEIR customs. "That's not how we do that here," they'll say snootily, enjoying the feeling of superiority.

Fine. Well, folks, tipping IS how we do things here. If you don't like it, then don't dine out in the U.S.

Myself, I make a point of trying to know the local customs when I go somewhere else. My ex-fiancee was British, and she was on a one-woman crusade to educate her fellow Brits as to the correct way to tip in America. (She usually tipped more than ME, and I am in the industry!) And trust me when I tell you that when she saw Brits who knew the system but ignored it and tipped poorly when they got good service, she had nothing but contempt, disdain, loathing, and disgust for those people.

Those are some interesting questions. I would say with most systems out there, they rely on the honor system more. And as for most laws, they are interpreted differently.. just like how customers don't understand signs and get upset when you explain they way they are thinking is wrong.

Not quite the honor system. As a server, we have to declare our tips at the end of each shift. If our hourly pay plus our declared tips do not add up to the minimum wage over the length of the pay period (not for individual shifts, mind you), then the employer is obligated to make up the difference so that the employee's pay is, in fact, at the minimum wage.

No, there's no law that says you must. Cops will not throw you in the back of a car if you stiff someone who served you in good faith. But if you do stiff them, don't be suprised or hurt that the rest of us think you are a douchbag.

Classic! And true.

Keep in mind folks that, as servers, we are taxed on our income, same as everyone else, and that means we are taxed on our tips. Also, in most places, the tips we receive are not just ours. Depending on the location, servers oftentimes have to tip out various members of the support staff, as has been stated. This varies from establishment to establishment, of course, but a good rule of thumb is that generally 3% of our sales for the shift gets tipped to said support staff. Notice, it is not a percentage of TIPS, but of SALES. That keeps the servers honest when tipping out, but if they have been jacked by a bunch of (for lack of a better phrase) "douchebags", they STILL have to tip out that much to the support staff.


I am not going to say much more on this subject as, if I do, chances are good that I am going to piss someone off, as this is a topic that is very near and dear to me, after 20 years in the food service industry. But keep in mind this last thing...if you are not American and you feel that you are not being treated well in a dining establishment once they hear your accent, understand that it is almost certainly because of your fellow countrymen/women who feel that they don't have to follow this American custom when visiting our country.

[danegrous_21]

well i didnt bother to read all the reply since the begininng story, but me and a couple of my friends try to tip 'over the top' when we go out. think the biggest tip was when we matched a bill in the tip. it was just a $35 bill, so we tip big. just b/c we understand, some people will we cheap to our same waiter/waitress, or give them alot of crap and wont tip either. so we tip big, mostly just to make you feel better about your job, and there are good people that go out to eat. i try to tip 5 bucks at least for myself. and usually i dont go out to eat in large parties so, i know just gettin is good plus whatever the other person does.

[kibbles]

Seems to me if you don't like tipping, do not eat in American eateries.

Sorry but I always understood tipping to be for exceptional service, not just for the fact that someone is doing their job. Tipping should not be something that is automatically expected just for doing what you should be doing anways, but instead it should be for when exceptional service is provided to the customer.

Kibbles

[KuzcoLlama]

Short and sweet.

Threads like this almost always go out of hand. It is currently borderline. Should it go out of hand, the thread will be closed, and infractions issued.

Carry on.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Sorry but I always understood tipping to be for exceptional service, not just for the fact that someone is doing their job. Tipping should not be something that is automatically expected just for doing what you should be doing anways, but instead it should be for when exceptional service is provided to the customer.

Kibbles

Again, I will re-iterate: In America, unless the server gave you poor service, you are obligated to tip...someone help me out here, I dont' remember the minimum (mainly because I tip well over it, every time.)...a certain percentage range of your total food and drink bill. If you don't, your server gets taxed on a percentage (10%, I think) of the total food and drink he served. If I am not making myself perfectly clear here, think about this: If you do not pay your server what you owe him for enjoying his services, then he ends up paying to serve you.

If a person waits on you with the understanding that you will pay him a certain amount, and then you don't pay him, you are stealing from him. You are denying him the pay that is rightfully his, PLUS you are forcing him to pay out of pocket for taxes.

Unless you are telling your server up front you intend to not pay him what you BOTH understand what is due him, then you are stealing from him. If this arrangement is not acceptable, either be upfront with your server from the get-go, or eat somewhere tipping is not expected.

You are not paying just for "exceptional" service. It IS automatically expected. You are basically hiring a server when you sit down and order a meal from him. You are responsible for paying him. The house will pay him 2.13 an hour (that's what they make here, anyway.). Trust me, the guy is dependant on tips. That's why he's there. Unless the guy spits in your soup and calls your mom a nasty name, you are obligated to pay him.

It's not an option. Or, I should say, it's not an option if you ever want to eat in the same place twice.

[KuzcoLlama]

Just to point out something interesting, in California, you make the minimum wage. You get taxed on tips, but you still make minimum wage whether you get great tips or not.

[kibbles]

Sorry but I respectfully disagree, it should not be my responsibility to pay someone's salary and I gotta disagree about saying it's the same as stealing from him. The salaries should be different and no place should be allowed to only pay employees 2 something an hour.

I always tip when I'm out, but (and I know we are never going to agree on this ) but I absolutely don't think it's an obligation and it should never be. I respect your opinion, but I think we are going to have to agree to disagree on this one

Kibbles

[AFpheonix]

You are right that the restaurants SHOULD pay higher than $2ish bucks per hour (and in Oregon, servers also get at least minimum wage).

But the reality is, they don't.

I SHOULD be able to reasonably expect that my horse won't kick me in the ass, but the dent now in my right cheek tells me otherwise.

SHOULD and IS are 2 different things. Until such wage disparity is addressed at a governmental level, it is our responsibility as patrons to make sure that our servers continue to want to provide us good service by making sure that they get compensated correctly for their effort on our behalf.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Well, all I can say to that is that the next time someone veers into your lane on the freeway, I certainly hope you swerve to avoid being hit.

By your logic, you won't because the other guy should have stayed in his lane.

You can't act on the way the way the world "should" work. You have to act on the way it does.