Has "tipping" gone to far or am I just cheap?

[hottamaly 1]

I used to waitress and bartend so I know how it feels but it chaps my ass to see tip jars at fast food places, and movie theatres. What are they doing "above and beyond" to even think about asking for a tip?

Skydiving gave me a reason to live
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[jjiimmyyt 0]

Must be a cultural differance but the only time I ever tip is if I get service over and above the norm.

But then I live in apart of Europe where we have a livable minimum wage.

Tips should be a bonus, no an expected right.

"This isn't an iron lung, people. You can actually disconnect and not die." -Dave

[hexadecimal 0]

I stopped going to Starbucks specifically because the tip jar on the counter makes me uncomfortable when it's a place I go to every morning and am recognized at. Starbucks employees are well paid and given great benefits considering the minimal skills required for their jobs... there's no reason why they deserve tips. Who does the tip go to, anyway? I personally don't order complex drinks, but even if I did, I'd only want any tip going to the person who made the drink... not the person who took the money for it.

[leapdog 0]

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Another thing that is happening is a bill at a restuarant that the tip is automatically added in if the table size is more then "X" number of heads.

I have been ROYALLY fucked when I decided to not put the auto tip for a party of 20. When you have a party that size, it ends up being your focus. So when you bust your ass for 2 hours and get a 8-10 dollar tip on a 200+ bill (and they were a happy group that seemed to like me as a server), it makes you think twice about not using the auto tip for large parties.

Another reason they started doing that because inevitably a large group spends more than they thought and then they are all scraping together to get enough money to pay the bill itself, let alone the tip.

Until they get rid of the low wage shit, I think the auto tip fpr large parties is usually the better bet.

Thank GOD I am not a server anymore though. What a shit job.

Like I said, they need to just pay the servers to begin with and get rid the whole idea of relying on the paying customer to take up the slack.

Gunnery Sergeant of Marines
"I would like it if I were challenged mentally at my job and not feel like I'm mentally challenged." - Co-worker

[leapdog 0]

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Just ask the restaurant not to use auto-tip. Most will honor the request.

This may be strange, but I feel rude asking to do that.

Gunnery Sergeant of Marines
"I would like it if I were challenged mentally at my job and not feel like I'm mentally challenged." - Co-worker

[Nightingale 0]

I always ask them not to use auto tip. I say "If I get great service, I may want to tip more than 15%"

[skycat 0]

I feel really bad about the auto tip because the group of people I normal do large dinners with, we know we were there a long time and ordered lots and took up the servers time. So what normally happens is we pass the bill around and by the time it comes to the last person they start giving money back to other people because food and tip was already covered without them paying their share. So the server ends up with a much smaller tip then they could have had.

Of course I've gone out with other group and the last person to put in money realized they are still $40 short and no one will help cough up any money which pisses me off because I know I put in more than enough and now I'm the only one willing to help out. Needless to say I've eaten before going out with people like that and ordered my drinks from the bar so I don't end up stuck paying for other peoples food.

Fly it like you stole it!

[leapdog 0]

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I always ask them not to use auto tip. I say "If I get great service, I may want to tip more than 15%"

But can't you still tip more anyway even after the auto tip has been added? I think I have seen that before.

Gunnery Sergeant of Marines
"I would like it if I were challenged mentally at my job and not feel like I'm mentally challenged." - Co-worker

[tigra 0]

When I'm in Mexico, I tip the maid about $2.00 a day, and a little more at the very end of our stay. Of course, they work for next to nothing so those tips make a huge difference and they work hard for them too. Until very recently, I'd never heard if tipping the maids at US hotels, but its not like I travel or spend that much time in hotels.

[Snowwhite 0]

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Do you know how much work those people do on cruises?

Now, if they are wanting a tip at the table too, well, that is not required. Most cruises tell you to tip at the end of your stay.

The tip guide is also usually listed on the brochure for the cruise. That you can look at, BEFORE you go.

And cruises are CHEAP! But boy do those guys work! Yea, We tipped well when we went on our cruise, but I still think our waiters/porters/ wineservers/musicians earned EVERY penny.
I figured it out and our porter GROSSED about 350 a week. He was from the Honduras where that was big money, but man, I could never work 20 hours a day for that.

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[jheadley 0]

Do you give tips if you do all the work yourself?
I went to an all you can eat pizza place where they have the pizzas out buffet style, and you even got your own drinks, and took your trash to the trashcan by yourself, and when I went to pay, there was a section for tips on the recipt. WTF? They didn't do anything...

[Snowwhite 0]

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Do you give tips if you do all the work yourself?
I went to an all you can eat pizza place where they have the pizzas out buffet style, and you even got your own drinks, and took your trash to the trashcan by yourself, and when I went to pay, there was a section for tips on the recipt. WTF? They didn't do anything...

I am assuming you are asking me. The answer is NO I don't, but if I had any help, I tip. Maybe it's because I have kids who put themselves thru college as wait staff. Very little pay, no tips means no dinner, no rent, no college.

skydiveTaylorville.org
[email protected]

[unformed 0]

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I always ask them not to use auto tip. I say "If I get great service, I may want to tip more than 15%"

But can't you still tip more anyway even after the auto tip has been added? I think I have seen that before.

If they automatically add a tip, they've pissed me off, and aren't getting an extra dime .... that said, i usually tip 20-25%, sometimes more if i'm feeling generous ...

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[sunshine 2]

I'm a good tipper if it's deserved. And i always tip skycaps. However i was totally floored when using a skycap check in once. The guy took my luggage and got me checked in, then said "you won't see me again so you'll need to tip me now." WTF?? I was gonna tip him anyway, but that totally caught me off guard. And yes, i gave in and tipped him....but only cause i wanted my luggage to arrive at my destination.

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[riddler 0]

Pet Peeve. At the point that it's expected, it's gotten out of hand. At the point that you are debating leaving only a 10% tip, instead of the usual 20%, because the service was awful, it's gotten out of hand.

There is no valid argument for mandatory tipping. I've heard "oh, well they don't make minimum wage, so they need tips for income." My response is "if you stop doing it, business owners will stop paying people less than minimum wage (which is against the law, anyway!)"

If it weren't for tipping, we could sit at a restaurant and socialize as long as we want without worrying about the waiter/waitress. As it is, we have to get out quickly, because they make more money for every customer that sits at the table.

Americans have spread the disease to most parts of the globe, and now you can't go to another country without everyone there expecting a tip too. When I travel, I tell people I'm from New Zealand, just so they won't expect a tip.

I think tipping is fine for above average service. I don't think it should be part of a normal day. But of course, I still tip 20% to waiters when I'm in the States. It's the only way to keep them from spitting in your food on the next visit

Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

[BillyVance 34]

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The WORST place for having top tip RIDICULOUS amounts is on a cruise.

They leave you an envelope with 'typical' tip guide for:

The head waiter
The Maitre D'
Your individual table waiter
Your cabin boy
The head cabin boy
The bar tenders
And another one I don't recall...

And it came to BIG bucks...about a hundred dollars if I recall. <--Maybe I'm cheap too, but $100 in expected tips?!? On a three day cruise?! AND they still expect to see tips on the table when you get up and in their tip jar (for bartenders) and on sales slips!!! It REALLY had me fried!

No shit, I found that out on my cruise last November. How much do they really make??? We need to ask N2skydvn (who works for a cruise company). Needless to say, I may not be taking another cruise again.

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[wildcard451 0]

I tip my barber.
I tip my bartender.
Like Sunny, I tip the skycap (esp if my bags are overweight)
Waitstaff starts at 0% and work there way up from there depending on how the service is. If you suck, well, tough shit, we all have problems. Get your act together and I'll tip you.

As far as the issue of food coming out too fast, I don't blame the waiter. Last time this happend to me there was exactly 3 minutes between salad/breadsticks and appetizer, then 3 more minutes until the main course. I simply called the manager over, explained the issue, and the appetizer was promptly removed from my bill. He even tossed in a $20 gift certificate. I tipped them well.

But yes. Most times tipping is asinine. And I will be an ass in my attempt to currb the insanity.

I really want to start using the tip jar at starbucks as a deposit box for my pocket lint.

[Tyrion 0]

And this is why I love living in Australia

[GTAVercetti 0]

I realize you said you tip in the US, but I just want to pint this out:

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There is no valid argument for mandatory tipping. I've heard "oh, well they don't make minimum wage, so they need tips for income." My response is "if you stop doing it, business owners will stop paying people less than minimum wage (which is against the law, anyway!)"

It is not against the law in the US to pay less than minimum wage for a serving job. The minimum there is 2.13 an hour if they make more than $30 a MONTH in tips.

http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/wages/wagestips.htm

While I think this is ridiculous, not tipping will not force the owners hand (short of getting EVERYONE everywhere to stop -- which will never happen). The only person you end up hurting is the server.

Until the law is changed, I will continue to tip. I have been in the serving position. Without tips it sucks. You can say, "well they can get another job." And they can, but some HAS to do it or we don't get to go restaurants. So please don't make your political statement by not tipping (unless the service is poor). Make it by trying to get the laws changed.

Why yes, my license number is a palindrome. Thank you for noticing.

[ladyskydiver 0]

I've been a server - actually my last night as a server is tonight. I expect to be tipped for service and when I go out, I tip for service. Good service = 15%, excellent service = 20%+, poor service but obviously attempting to do good = 10%, poor service and obviously don't give a damn = 0%.

A lot of people fail to realize that servers make crap for a regular wage. $2.33/hour is what servers make here in WI. The rest they are expected to make up for in tips, and let's just say that people tip for crap - even when service is good.

Life is short! Break the rules! Forgive quickly! Kiss slowly! Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably. And never regret anything that made you smile.

[masterrig 1]

Awhile back, my wife and I went out for dinner. On the credit card slip, it had a place (of course) for the tip. I wrote in, an amount equal to 15%. A couple days later, I got a call from my credit card company asking if I really wanted to tip an amount over $150.00! I about crapped! Seems as though, the waitress had 'adjusted' the tip on the bill. I of course, said no and verified how much I intended to tip. I also called the restaurant!!! My wife and I went back to that restaurant that week-end and asked for that waitress. The reply was; "She no longer works here!" Hee, hee!


Chuck

[masterrig 1]

I firmly believe in tipping... especially wait-staff. Too many of them are single parents or college students and they live off their tips. At the time, it may be the only job they can get until something better comes along. Most of the wait-staff I've seen, work their butts-off. Sure, you're going to run across that 'one' who gives poor service. I deal with them differently. Yes, they are there to 'serve you' but, they are also trying to live.


Chuck

[aftermid 0]

If you don't want to tip, stay home. It is part of eating out.

If the service is terrible, and by terrible I mean something completely unacceptable not run of the mill BS, I can see withholding a little bit. But don't be an anally cheap asshole.

Typically the difference between a good tip and being a cheapskate is a matter of $2 or $3, again if you can't afford an extra $2 or $3 then stay home and eat carryout. Most servers also have to tip out other people bussboys, bartenders, ect..

Tipping maids, vallet's, and such is also mandatory.

It's amazing how cheap people can be over a dollar or two.

People that don't tip are the social equivilent of pedophiles. They should have to register in the same manner.

[aftermid 0]

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I stopped going to Starbucks specifically because the tip jar on the counter makes me uncomfortable when it's a place I go to every morning and am recognized at. Starbucks employees are well paid and given great benefits considering the minimal skills required for their jobs... there's no reason why they deserve tips. Who does the tip go to, anyway? I personally don't order complex drinks, but even if I did, I'd only want any tip going to the person who made the drink... not the person who took the money for it.

At starbucks the tips get pulled together and divided based on hours worked every other week. So one week the employee gets paid their wage, the next week they get a share of the tips.

I like to tip coffee people once in a while. I used to go to the same place every morning before and I'd try to tip a few dollars a week. I don't think it should be mandatory, but if a few extra dollars a week on my side can actually make a difference in someone elses life why not let it.

Anytime I've been broke in it wasn't the last $1 dollars that did it.

[hexadecimal 0]

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If the service is terrible, and by terrible I mean something completely unacceptable not run of the mill BS, I can see withholding a little bit. But don't be an anally cheap asshole.

If the service is terrible, they get nothing. I'm not buying the sad story about how they still have to tip the other employees out of what you give them. They should have thought of that before they gave me shitty service.

A tip is a reward for doing a GOOD job, not something that is owed regardless of the quality of service received. Any waiter/waitress/etc who thinks they still deserve a tip after treating me like shit is a moron, period. If someone wants to make a decent living, they can work for it just like everyone else.

Giving a tip to a shitty employee in the service industry is the same thing as giving a bonus to a shitty employee in an office job or any other field. It's fucking stupid, and anyone who is a decent employee in a field where tips are customary would agree.