My brother in law right off the bat tells the waiter/waitress your tip is $20 as of now. How much of that $20 you want is up to you. And he's not kidding. If the service is up to his standards he'll drop a $20 tip no matter if the meal was $10. If he's paying for a group of people and the $20 amount he normally uses is below the 15% "standard" then he'll use another highly inflated number.
:biggrin2:
Interesting. I was wondering if delivery would enter into the discussion. That is what I do now, and agree about your thought process. We have to use our own cars, and put the gas in them at our expense. We do get conpensation for each run, but with gas prices where they are, its not enough. Delivery people, depending on the restraunt, may make below minimum wage as well. I know Papa John's in our area only pays 4an hour to their drivers. I work for Domino's and we get whats called "Tip Credit" . When on the road, our wage is reduced to 6/hour and we are 7.25 while in the store. Our tips are supposed to put us above minimum wage, the thinking goes.
I don't quite understand this, as the person you are tipping at the cleaners is not the one who got the stain out, at least not in any cleaners I have used. Tipping for services rendered is appropriate to the one who renders it, I would think.
^ This is exactly right. ^
The problem is with the system, not the server. Those people you mentioned above are compensated for the job they do. Most servers are not.
You're partially right, but why is it on the customer to supplement the employees pay?
Exactly. One thing that came to mind for me is that in Germany, waitining tables is seen as a more of a career type job, or at least used to be. Waitstaff are trained more than in the USA. Most places there incorportate the pay of the waitstaff into the prices they charge. The only thing customers are expected to leave is called "Trinkgeld" or drink money, not a tip in the way the American system expects. Its called that because at the end of the shift, the waiter is supposed to have enough money to get a beer.
And I totally agree. It is a performanced based incentive. But as I mentioned earlier in the thread (or I think I did) the standard or expectation differ from patron to patron and on top of that the % that is to be tipped is also subjective. For tips to weigh as such a heavy factor there are very loose mechanics of this arrangement. But I think we ought not lose sight that for the most part people do tip even the ones being called "cheap" within this thread. I think the expectations and "how much" is what most of us are disagreeing about. Not whether to leave a tip or NOT leave a tip. I've said (three times now) that it is RARE that I don't leave a tip. I'm just not like my brother in law who for whatever reason drops an above and beyond on just about every meal, nor do I base my tip on the amount of the total ticket. I base my tip on the value that I think the waiter's service was to my dining experience and what they had direct control over.
Its always on the customer to pay an employees pay. its just already built in to the price of the product or service you are buying. Where do you think the money comes from? To me, tipping is the greatest system in business. Its the only sytem that actually allows you to fairly compensate someone for the service they have just performed. Someone gives you poor service, reduce their tip. Someone gives you great service, increase their tip. If we take tipping away from restaurants, then obviously the price of the food we order wil have to go up. But, keep in mind that that will also take away the incentive that the wait staff has to go above and beyond to make sure youre happy.
You bring up a good point. For most of my life I understood a "tip" to be above and beyond. An act of generosity not an act of obligation. I think over the years the attitude or mindset of a "tip" has changed and evolved. From my upbringing it's gone from being an act of generosity and appreciation (rather than an obligation), to an obligation, to critiquing if what you are giving is "enough" or "acceptable".
My main problem comes from large tips at upscale restaurants. As I've said a few times, I do leave the 15% tip (or better) at a normal restaurant. My problem comes from leaving anything more than $10 at a nice restaurant. You say "Think of it as the price of your food has been reduced so that you can choose the amount of compensation that the waiter deserves." but that's not the case at a nice restaurant. If anything, the price of my food has been inflated beyond belief. But I pay for the quality, taste & atmosphere. It should be up to the restaurant to pay those employees a fair wage. I'm already paying a bloated amount as it is. $30 for Lobster Bisque? $50 for a Buffalo Strip Loin? $70 for a center cut filet w/ a side? Those places are more than capable of paying their waite staff. They just choose not to.
Youre paying more for the food because supposedly you are getting better ingredients and more creative choices prepared by more highly skilled chefs. Waiters at the higher end places generally service less tables, and are held to an even higher standard of service.
You're proving my point for me. This is why those restaurants should pay their employees more. They're more valuable to those restaurants.
