Like when you go out to eat, do you tip the waiter/waitress? And if you do, do you tip enough you think? Personally, I always overtip, because most of the places I go I intend to visit often, and the last people I want to piss off are people serving me food LOL. But that's just me. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Ran into this site, it's a site for waiters and waitresses to put in their customer experiences, and bitch about certain people's tips LOL. I truly feel for them after reading some of the stuff on this site (haven't read everything yet). Some stories are really hilarious LOL, so just thought to share:


http://www.bitterwaitress.com/

[img]graemlins/hehe.gif[/img]

Uh, don't you HAVE to tip? Maybe not... I always tip. Probably too much...

Ive forgoten to tip before :( I felt bad.. But usually i do and im with friends so we all put in a couple dollars which adds up.

No you don't necessarily HAVE to tip in some places, there is no law re that far as I know. Of course that is the way of tips, it is an individual decision. *shrug* Best to do so though I say, if you can afford it. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Of course. Partly because it could just as easily be me waiting tables... and partly because my dearest friend and I walk into "our" diner, are seated quickly, and are given a pot of coffee within thirty seconds. We don't even have to ask.

Not many people tip waiters or waitresses in Australia, it seems to be pretty rare here.
But no I don't tip waiters or waitresses, neither does my parents... we figure, the waiter and waitresses are already getting paid for their work, so what is the point of giving them more money?

I do - mostly when I am in a country like the UK or US where it is pretty much expected. At home, where the service charge is basically in the bill already to cover the higher wage parity of the service staff then I usually only do it if I feel the service really deserves something because they went the extra step.

Tips are also popular here. We tip for also one reason: waiters and waitresses here are severely underpaid. They *need* it so to speak... :(

Barring exceptional service, I dont tip at all. AFAIK waiters and waitresses (where I consume at any rate) are not underpaid.

Im tight, so sue me.

I tip if I'm out with older highschool friends and we decide to go to a diner or something. Especially the ones here in town because a lot of the highschoolers I know work at diners or something.

Didn't know that other countries didn't do the "tip" thing Davros, learn something new every day. [img]smile.gif[/img]

I will say though at some places here in the U.S., they pay waiters/waitresses just minimum wage because they expect them to get tips, so just kinda add that to the "expected" extra money, even though tips are touch and go, depends on where you are working really. Obviously more expensive restaurants you will probably get better tips than some cheap diner.

That's all right LadyZ - we are becoming more and more Americanized over here though :D . We are starting to see more and more of the better restaraunts that pay their staff well expecting more and more by way of a tip. Gradually your culture is pervading ours ;) .

"I don't tip." "I just don't believe in it."-Mr Pink (Reservoir Dogs)

:D

I tip well in restaurants where the waitress/waiter have been very helpful and friendly. Hell, I tip in Airport cafe's whent he waitress has been rude and impersonal!

BUT I draw the line at Taxi drivers...specifically rude taxi drivers who say nothing throughout the entire journey except the cost of the trip. They'll get a tip from me when they pry it from my cold dead hands! I did tip a taxi driver once in Spain, one that actually talked to me and helped me with my bags...seemingly a rare breed. A hate it when people can expect to get a tip even when they do a crumby job.. then what's the point of a tip, it just becomes part of their automatic wages!

[ 10-10-2004, 03:43 AM: Message edited by: Sigmar ]

Tips no way!

Davros why do you tip in the UK? ive never noticed a need too! I wonder if things have changed recantly, soon find out I guess.

I know that if and when I visit the USA I will not enjoy having to tip and would only do so if the service was way above what I would expect.

No and never, They already chanrge us very high on the service charge. There is no need for a tip and nobody is expecting it or giving tips either.

I do if I'm in a restaurant or the like, but not in McDonalds or anything, (does anyone tip there?)

Also, always remember the seen in Pretty Woman, where she is in the room, and the room service guy just stares at her.

Tipping here isn't 'required' as waiters and waitresses get's a somewhat decent salary already, but it's nothing unusual, especially not at resturants.

I myself usualy give a small tip at resturants, unless they've been complete a-holes, either by adding a small sum to the total paid or simply rounding up the bill to an even number.

Nor i is reuired here, but I always do. Unless someone really pisses me off(a full centimeter of coffee less :( ). Then I don't. But I normally do. About 10% I'd say.

In the US, waiters/waitresses are exempted from the minimum wage law. They can be paid less, and need tips to get back up to a decent level. Plus, my first job out of high school was in a "chain" steak house -- I saw how hard they worked. I usually overtip, say 20% instead of the usual 15%, unless the service was *really* bad. Even then I'll leave something just so they don't think I forgot.

I usually tip except in fastfood places. The amount varies as to service and the size of the tab.

WEll in Australia we arnt required to tip so I dont think it happens very often, as the laws require a minimum wage, which isnt that bad.

<font color=cccccc>While stateside, if the service is adequate I do the 15% rule. When the service is below average so is my tip. Superior service will then grant a 20-25% gratuity.

While in Europe, I have found either no tip, or just a very minimal one rounded up to the nearest Euro is sufficient. However, if it happens to be a tourist area or one prone to Americans, then a higher gratuity does seem to be expected.</font>

[ 10-10-2004, 12:44 PM: Message edited by: Felix The Assassin ]

I do it all the time and i really need to stop doing that. I mean like in the supermarket, cigarettestore, liquorstore, basically anywhere where i have to pay something. Became kind of a habit i suppose.

AFAIK, it isn't very common to tip in England... I think they get paid a half decent amount anyway. However, I think tipping is good because it encourages the waiter/waitress to give you a better quality of service.

I only tip my hair-dresser. Why? I don't know.

I will buy a drink for barstaff at clubs with my first drink usually. For meals and stuff I will leave a tip, partly cause I expect one when I am working and doing the same thing.

Damn you took the words right out of my mouth :D

I don't tip, I am not paying someone for just doing their job.

Eh, I generally tip, unless I forget. If the service sucked, though, it's very significantly less, though. I had a friend doing the waiter-thing, he got $3.50/hour! :eek: So, yeah, in the US, it is important to tip.

Thank you SO MUCH for mentioning this, VulcanRider. This thread was beginning to seriously piss me off...

I was a senior waiter in a 4-star restaurant in downtown Chicago (I worked there for five years). I made exactly $2.35 an hour.

With tips, on a good night when the rich people liked me or the old women thought I was cute, I pulled in ~$16 - $18 per hour.

I literally lived off tips, and always remember it when dining out.

$2.35 an hour? Heck, teenagers sweeping streets and picking up trash makes more money than that over here.

This would explains why tipping is more important in the US than parts of Europe.

depeds on the service, how much we tip. really good service gets a really good tip, where as bad service will prolly get $.02. mostly cause if you leave nothing they won't know why you left nothing, you may just not be a tipper, but if you leave very little then they know they did not do well.

I agree with aleph_null. When I waitressed, you got paid $2.00/hour, which was below minimum wage then, and far below it now, because you were expected to make it up through tips. So I definitely tip when dining out, unless service is abominable, when I'll leave a small tip (5% or less)and a note explaining why.

The rules on tipping hairdressers seem to vary by area. In this area of Virginia, it's supposedly the thing to do, but you never actually see anyone (except me) do it. In NJ, my haircuts were a great deal more expensive (as was the tip), and I was shocked one time to find out that I was also supposed to tip the girl who shampooed my hair prior to the haircut. After that, I said "no shampoo" and just let the hairdresser wet my hair down with a spray bottle (easy with short hair). More detail than you may want to know about.

I know quite a few people in the US spend teenage and college years in low-paying jobs in the service industry (ie, waiting tables). Anybody want to speak on behalf of the taxi drivers or other oft-tipped people?

I do. I tip at restaurants and my hairdresser and cab drivers when I need to take a cab.

I did my time in a 'below minimum wage' job before I went to the university and I know it makes a big difference. Now, if they don't do a very good job,it may be minimal or no tip, but if the service is adequate or really good it's a modest to very good tip.

By the way, thanks LadyZekke for "tipping" us to that forum. After years in the food service industry, I can definitely relate to the stories in there. And it's interesting to look at the cheap tippers database and see how various famous and, well, "not" folks tip. Especially presidential candidates. Both are cheap.

In the US, friends have told me Horror stories from the food industry: Less than $2.00 wage AND the SOB owner steals half the tips for the 'house cut'.

I Always tip 20%. The math is easy, the kids need to live, and I either Hand it to them or leave it on the table. I will never put penny one, however, in a tip jar for the owner to steal.

Wait staff in the US are definitely underpaid... and they're also taxed on what their tips *should* be. IOW, if they did $100 in business, they should have received $15 in tips (or whatever the magic multiplier is) and are taxed on that.

I generally tip from average to well (average being around 15%). Sometimes, it doesn't make sense to figure it out mathematically (15% of 4.35? Heck, it's a buck or a round-up).

One of my important rules: if I'm going to come back, a good tip is a wise investment in my future :D

Kohlberg's first two stages of moral development: Societal Level #1 -- Preconventional Level. To act out of fear of punishment or hope for reward. :D

Whatever, the waiter's not gonna care if you tip well out of laziness or self-interest; money is money.

Well again I think everyone in the US should tip. I mean, if the service is horrible, by some freak, OK, nevermind then. But that usually rarely happens. And if it ever did to me, I'd just not leave a tip, wouldn't do the penny thing on the table, just because I feel it would only make things worse, obviously the waiter/waitress is in some distress in the first place, why make it worse?

I say this cause there is this one restaurant I go to, regularly. Well I actually stopped going every single weekend because my omelette was just not what I wanted, I mean you get four things to put on it, and I just chose cheese, but lots of it, cause the omelette is HUGE, but they got to skimping on the cheese so much it was ridiculous. But I never left a bad tip, just started going somewhere else for a few months. Well, when we went back finally after all those months, we got the "stink eye" from this one waitress LOL. She was always usually nice, although kind of a butch waitress so only so nice, hard to see a smile on this woman's face anytime LOL, but she was always a rockin waitress. And she did not give us bad service when we returned, just that stink eye LOL. It kinda makes me laugh now when we go there and she's our waitress LOL. But again, I always tip her very well no matter the stink eye. I dunno, maybe it's just me, but I feel for most any workers, no matter where they are or where they are working, they are like me, working someplace dealing with people every day one way or the other, working a job that is not interesting or fun at all, just making a living. I know what that's like, and I feel for us all that have to do it. Tip? Hell yeah. If I don't have the money to tip I won't even go in the restaurant, I just can't do that to someone.

Kohlberg's first two stages of moral development: Societal Level #1 -- Preconventional Level. To act out of fear of punishment or hope for reward. :D

Whatever, the waiter's not gonna care if you tip well out of laziness or self-interest; money is money. </font>[/QUOTE]Hmmm... good point, but not exactly in line with what I meant to bring up. Let me try again... differently.

I tip in the first place because I know that wait staff get paid poorly here.

I tip nicely because if and when I ever come back here, I want the person waiting on me to be doing it because they want to, not because they have to. It's a fine distinction, but it's an important one for me.

I don't necessarily fear punishment or hope for reward... although perhaps I'm hedging against a future reward option. If I gain no benefit from this action in the future, that's fine by me. I'm content with laying the groundwork for the future, not necessarily achieving it.

Hmmm... maybe it *is* the same thing. Darn it! I hate when someone figures me out... on any level [img]smile.gif[/img]