How much do you tip your waiter?

How much do you tip your waiter?

  • More than 20%

    Votes: 13 2.3%

  • 20%

    Votes: 18 3.2%

  • 15%

    Votes: 67 11.8%

  • 10%

    Votes: 240 42.3%

  • 5%

    Votes: 7 1.2%

  • It depends on the level of service I receive

    Votes: 193 34.0%

  • I don't tip

    Votes: 20 3.5%

  • Other

    Votes: 10 1.8%
  • Total voters
    568
lkpat said:
I assume you meant profits... i.e. the patron's pockets.
If you're not making profits, you're not going to be in business. If you're having to carry higher staff costs, you're going to charge more for your product. The difference is you provide performance incentives with tips.
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Unfortunately there is zero performance in most restaurants, and this is the point I am making, tip is an entitlement. Like Churches feel entitled to 10%, apparently restaurant staff feels entitled to 10%. If we only tipped for performance, only 5% of waiters will get a tip.

So no, your statement is in error, it is not a performance incentive, it is an entitlement.
 
RedViking said:
Unfortunately there is zero performance in most restaurants
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I don't go back to those ones. I must be luckier than you.
RedViking said:
And this is the point I am making, tip is an entitlement. Like Churches feel entitled to 10%, apparently restaurant staff feels entitled to 10%.
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Plenty of patrons don't tip. It's certainly not an entitlement. There's no legal requirement to tip. The idea is simple. Tip if the service is good, don't if it's not. It's an entitlement if they include it in the bill - some places do.
RedViking said:
If we only tipped for performance, only 5% of waiters will get a tip.
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Our experience differs.
RedViking said:
So no, your statement is in error, it is not a performance incentive, it is an entitlement.
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We disagree.
 
lkpat said:
I don't go back to those ones. I must be luckier than you.

Plenty of patrons don't tip. It's certainly not an entitlement. There's no legal requirement to tip. The idea is simple. Tip if the service is good, don't if it's not. It's an entitlement if they include it in the bill - some places do.

Our experience differs.

We disagree.
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I only tip Baristas.

Usually the tip is something like "that's too hot, that's too bitter, steam it a bit less, make it a bit cooler, increase the extraction time" etc. :p


On a serious note, there is only one Barista in town I tip. She deserves it.
 
I struggle with the American concept of tipping. I am a generous tipper but only if I received great service. If forced to tip, I only do a 10% or round off to the nearest 100. If the service is great, I tip well. If the service is horrible, I reserve the right not to tip. Had an issue with a waiter who forgot our orders to the extent that we left with one child having no food and a meltdown. We had ti feed them off our plates. They swap waiters ie another waiter is made to bring the bill and they insist on a tip. I explained how horrible the service was and insisted that I will not tip.
 
kory said:
I struggle with the American concept of tipping. I am a generous tipper but only if I received great service. If forced to tip, I only do a 10% or round off to the nearest 100. If the service is great, I tip well. If the service is horrible, I reserve the right not to tip. Had an issue with a waiter who forgot our orders to the extent that we left with one child having no food and a meltdown. We had ti feed them off our plates. They swap waiters ie another waiter is made to bring the bill and they insist on a tip. I explained how horrible the service was and insisted that I will not tip.
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I prefer the British version

mr-bean-waiter.gif
 
RedViking said:
Unfortunately there is zero performance in most restaurants, and this is the point I am making, tip is an entitlement. Like Churches feel entitled to 10%, apparently restaurant staff feels entitled to 10%. If we only tipped for performance, only 5% of waiters will get a tip.

So no, your statement is in error, it is not a performance incentive, it is an entitlement.
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And performance would improve, until they get a good chunk more. Performance is usually excellent at US restaurants, since a good waiter can do very very well.
 
cguy said:
And performance would improve, until they get a good chunk more. Performance is usually excellent at US restaurants, since a good waiter can do very very well.
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Shall I play devil's advocate and suggest that non-tippers even with good service may be demotivating.
 
NathanDrake said:
Shall I play devil's advocate and suggest that non-tippers even with good service may be demotivating.
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That is a good point. My expectation is that by locale and by restaurant class, this tends to vary. In most of the US, less than 20% is quite offensive. While there certainly may be restaurants in poorer areas, where tips are less forthcoming, most clientele at middle of the road restaurants will tip 20%, and at the high end restaurants, less than 20% only happens when the waiter fcks up badly.

In the US it is refreshing to see older waiters at high end restaurants making a good living at it. It’s actually a career as opposed to something to do while studying or… waiting for something better.

From 2016. One can certainly do even better today:
www.businessinsider.com

Here's what it takes to make $100,000 a year as a waiter in NYC

"If you're a waiter at Scarpetta, American Cut, or American Cut Midtown, you're making that money," John Meadow, founder and president of LDV Hospitality, said.
www.businessinsider.com www.businessinsider.com
 
cguy said:
And performance would improve, until they get a good chunk more. Performance is usually excellent at US restaurants, since a good waiter can do very very well.
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My aunt travelled Europe on a years tips at Guido's. you can do well almost anywhere. Except Krugersdorp.
 
HunterNW said:
Went for a foot scrub / massage the other day. Tip jars at the till. WTF ? I'm paying for a service. There's your money. Fokof with the tip story.
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The tide has to turn at some stage, tipping is out of hand. Next you'll be tipping your lawyer, builder and nurse.

I never let my bags out of my sight at hotels, otherwise some clown grabs them, carries it 20 meters and wants a tip.

I tip waiters, for anyone else the tip is to get a proper job.
 
notayoba said:
The tide has to turn at some stage, tipping is out of hand. Next you'll be tipping your lawyer, builder and nurse.
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I tip my builder. Technically a “bonus”.
notayoba said:
I never let my bags out of my sight at hotels, otherwise some clown grabs them, carries it 20 meters and wants a tip.

I tip waiters, for anyone else the tip is to get a proper job.
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Most of my income is from my bonus (as a software developer), so technically I work for tips too.
 
If everyone stopped tipping, the restaurants will be forced to pay their staff a fair wage. Too bad this will never happen as its ingrained in culture now and we are all basically forced to add on an additional 10%+ to every bill. It's emotional extortion. If you don't tip then you're a bad person. So people just give in and pay and keep the never ending cycle going.
 
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