How much do you tip?

[bbirder]

would you mind asking her how many tables is a reasonable number to wait on in a hour for me? i've been wondering that for a couple weeks now

We're having supper with her tonight. I'll try to remember.

thanks id appreciate it :tiphat:

EZ14,
You have to remember many waitstaff don't stay busy with that many tables for 8 hrs. They spend time during mid morning and afternoon setting tables or wrapping silverware for no tip at all.
You do expect a clean table don't you?

 

[farmerjan]

I understand that the customers who are the most demanding and difficult are often the worst tippers.

That's often true. And then there's the ones who have kids that are rude and spill stuff everywhere and the parents just ignore them and leave you a dollar or two. Even at the pancake place, we usually had 4-7 tables, all according to the time of day, and when busy, we would work our butts off. The higher end restaurants usually you would get 4-6 tables at most, the turnover wasn't as fast but the meals were more involved and you had to check on beverages etc. If the food is real good, I will always tell the management and try to leave a little more since the server has made an effort to get it out to me fast and hot. I have been known to go to a restaurant and at the holiday seasons, put extra in an envelope and tell the manager to split it with the kitchen staff in appreciation of the good food I have gotten in the past year. It can be good money, but it is HARD WORK!!!

 

[farmerjan]

I can remember picking her up and having to wait because someone needed some coffee so they could talk. Sidenote-when you do that, drink coffee so you can just talk to your friends and you're keeping her from leaving, don't expect decaf when you ask for it. There's a reason you'll be up all night.

I start to feel bad when I hear stories about how poorly waitresses are paid and how hard they work, etc, and then I hear something like this, and it makes me never want to tip again. Hello, that is often WHY people go out to eat in the first place, to relax and enjoy themselves, and dog forbid sit and talk. I can count on one hand the number of times when I knew that a place was closing and I was keeping them, usually when traveling and we just haven't been able to find somewhere else to eat. Otherwise, how the heck is anyone supposed to know when a waitress' shift ends? Doing some thing like exchanging regular coffee for decafinated is not only pretty low, and nasty, it may be a criminal liability if the customer has a medical condition which doesn't allow them to have cafein.

I usually tip 15%, sometimes 20, and only a few times when I didn't leave anything when it wasn't deserved. There were a few others in which I kicked myself for leaving a tip when it wasn't deserved.

My father was always a good tipper, but as he got older he just started leaving what he thought was a fair amount for the service, without paying attention to the percentage. Once when 4 of us were at lunch at a swanky touristy area he paid, and I didn't even pay attention to what he left as a tip. The bill was about $150 and he left her $20. It was later in the day for lunch, no one else in the place, and we were in and out in less then an hour. She had the nerve to follow us out on to the sidewalk and ask my father if he was not happy with the service, because he left such a small tip. He was mortified from embarassment, as he was one of those who always felt so bad for the hard working waitresses, and wouldn't dream of not treating them well. I was so pizzed off at that effing little wench that he had to pull me back from going in and letting her and her manager have it. He was the last one to ever make a scene. To this day I regret not going back myself later in the day and setting them straight. In get that there are tons of miserable customers when you work in a service industry, but not all working folks are gems either.

I would have been the first to go back in and speak to the manager. NO ONE has the right to embarrass a customer to inquire why they had left "such a small tip".. Yes ask if the service was okay, but NEVER FOLLOW A CUSTOMER OUTSIDE THE ESTABLISHMENT....NEVER....You are there as a server, it is not your "right" to make a percentage... And I do like that the bills often have a suggested 15% or 18% at the bottom since so many people do not know how to do the math anymore, but it is only a suggestion. And that $20 on the $150 bill at lunch was not that terrible, a little less than 15%....A little smaller tip from a table that you did not have to kill yourself for is not the end of the world.

 

[boondocks]

ce)I didn't pick an option because it varies so much. Unless service is bad, I never leave below 18%, and usually shoot for about 20-22%. On a small tab at a lower-end spot, I'll go 30% easy.

I tip the h#ll out of cabbies. When I worked in the city, if I was running late to the train home, and only needed to go a few blocks and the next train was an hour later, I'd grab a cab to the station and throw them a ten or more for a $4 fare. Getting home an hour early to the fam was worth it and more.

I tip the maids at hotels if the room was clean. I HATE tipping people to carry my luggage, especially at the high-end places where they try to route it through 3 different people (one from your car/cab to the front door; one from the door to the front desk; one up to your room). Heck with that! I've been known to schlep a pile of bags myself (even at a fancy place where I'm sure they thought me tacky) to avoid paying each person the supposedly-standard $5/bag. I saw an interview with Oprah years ago when she said she refused to play the luggage hand-off game and would only tip the last person. I figured if that worked for a millionaire, I can do the same.

 

[Son of Butch]

This post caused me to do a bit of background research on tipping in America.

Prior to the civil war tipping was common in Europe, but rare in the USA.
The rise of tipping in America coincided with the end of the civil war and primarily given to poor Negros in a manner
of alms as in the Bible.
In a 1933 book of etiquette a tip was defined as "A gift of money given to an inferior person, ie a servant"
After WWII fueled by good economic times and increased luxury spending, tipping became common in America and
by the 1960's 10% was considered the gold standard in good tipping etiquette.
As America continued to move to become a service economy, tipping has moved from being a gift to an expectation.
and in 2000 14.1% was the average amount tipped for services.

In a recent "real world" study the size of gratuity given actually related more to age, race, sex and breast size than to
the quality of the service received, which the majority of people SAY they base their tipping on.

 

[wbvs58]

I can't believe I am the only one that voted no.1, I don't tip. Tipping does happen in Australia but is only a relatively recent thing and mostly just at restaurants. The amount of the tip is a lot less as well but of course varies a lot. Hospitality staff are relatively well paid at union award rates and there are very good penalty rates especially on public holidays.

Ken

 

[Bestoutwest]

I can remember picking her up and having to wait because someone needed some coffee so they could talk. Sidenote-when you do that, drink coffee so you can just talk to your friends and you're keeping her from leaving, don't expect decaf when you ask for it. There's a reason you'll be up all night.

I start to feel bad when I hear stories about how poorly waitresses are paid and how hard they work, etc, and then I hear something like this, and it makes me never want to tip again. Hello, that is often WHY people go out to eat in the first place, to relax and enjoy themselves, and dog forbid sit and talk. I can count on one hand the number of times when I knew that a place was closing and I was keeping them, usually when traveling and we just haven't been able to find somewhere else to eat. Otherwise, how the heck is anyone supposed to know when a waitress' shift ends? Doing some thing like exchanging regular coffee for decafinated is not only pretty low, and nasty, it may be a criminal liability if the customer has a medical condition which doesn't allow them to have cafein.

When it's 11:30 at the joint, people are putting chairs on the tables they just cleaned while other are vacuuming and they're the last people there, they can't figure out that it's closing time? Or was the hint that the kitchen is closed good enough? I'm sure that you've worked in a store or some other service type job. Would you have been happy to stand around waiting to go home after a long day while someone just shot the breeze for an hour after buying a $1 item? Maybe you don't do it b/c you're polite, but I cannot say the rest for society.

 

[greybeard]

Open/closing hours are almost always on the door. If they want to close at 9:30pm, then put that on the door instead of 10m.

 

[Bestoutwest]

Open/closing hours are almost always on the door. If they want to close at 9:30pm, then put that on the door instead of 10m.

Unfortunately it doesn't work that way in the restaurant business always. Depends on the owners and type. This place was a sit-down and people were allowed to stay until their meal was finished. It was a crappy job, and thankfully she's not doing it anymore.

 

[Dave]

Back in the 70's I had just come out of Alaska where I had made a ton of money. I took a GF and another couple out for the evening. Barmaid brought us drinks which I am sure came to less than $10. I dropped a $50 on her tray and told her to keep the change. The service for the rest of that evening was spectacular.

I generally stay at about 15%. Could go up for great service and can easily go down for poor service or food.

 

[Rafter S]

We're having supper with her tonight. I'll try to remember.

thanks id appreciate it :tiphat:

EZ14,
You have to remember many waitstaff don't stay busy with that many tables for 8 hrs. They spend time during mid morning and afternoon setting tables or wrapping silverware for no tip at all.
You do expect a clean table don't you?

EZ14,

I did ask her, and similar to what bbirder said, they don't cover the maximum amount of tables every hour of a shift, and she agreed that 10 would be exceptional. She said that 6 tables an hour would be about the most she could cover and still give them reasonable service. She said she had covered more occasionally, but wasn't able to give them the level of service she would have liked to.

 

[Alan]

Okay, I want to know who starts their wood stove with $20? Dave was that you? :lol:

 

[Dave]

Okay, I want to know who starts their wood stove with $20? Dave was that you? :lol:

No wasn't me, I never use anything bigger than a $5 to start a fire.

 

[HDRider]

Okay, I want to know who starts their wood stove with $20? Dave was that you? :lol:

No wasn't me, I never use anything bigger than a $5 to start a fire.

:clap: :clap: :clap:

 

[Ky hills]

I typically will tip 15%, as that's what I've always understood was customary. If the service was really good then a bit more is usually left. Sometimes I find myself irritated to leave any tip or very little, because of inattentive service, but will leave at or close to the customary level. What really aggravates me is when a restaurant is not busy and the servers are no more attentive than if the place was full capacity. I usually am what I would think is easy to wait on, not asking much if any extra of the server.

 

[True Grit Farms]

Open/closing hours are almost always on the door. If they want to close at 9:30pm, then put that on the door instead of 10m.

Unfortunately it doesn't work that way in the restaurant business always. Depends on the owners and type. This place was a sit-down and people were allowed to stay until their meal was finished. It was a crappy job, and thankfully she's not doing it anymore.

We've been in the restaurant business for three generations now as a family business. If someone wanted something to eat we served them what we could. I was taught to never turn a customer away, tell them that the fryers and broilers are shut down, but we'll gladly put something in the radar range, or make a chef salad. Repeat business is the only way to make it in the restaurant business.

 

[Dave]

There is one place near here that automatically puts a 18% tip on the bill. I know people don't look close enough and add a tip on top of this (I did it one time). I won't go there anymore because of this policy.

 

[City Guy]

TIP THE WAITRESS, NOT THE CHECK!!

EZ14, Give me some of those super waitresses who can handle 10 tables in an hour!!
As you all know, I owned a high end steak house for 20 years and service was a strong point. We assigned sections of 4-5 tables (15-18 seats) and could not possibly expect a good waitress to work for less than $25.00 an hour in tips and yes, that included the set up and breakdown times. (this was 1977-1998) Waitresses were expected to polish all silverware and glasses and fold at least 100 napkins in addition to regular clean up duties before they could leave. We served cocktails and had an award winning wine list.(waitresses were expected to have a sensible food and/or wine suggestion when asked and anyone who said "everything is good" was subject to my wrath! All meals included both soup AND salad and we served a high percent of appetizers and desserts. Waitresses did table side service when required, retrieved, opened and served the wine, calculated all checks and added tax, took payment and made change. If they came up short at the end of the night they made up the loss. Some waitresses were fired, some went on to other careers or got married but VERY FEW went to other restaurants. We called our bussers "dining room attendants" and waitresses generally tipped them generously.
For planning purposes we figured a table of 4 or fewer people would take 11/2hours; 5-8 people would need 2 hours and more that 8 needed 21/2 hours. Tables of 8 or more were subject to an automatic add-on tip of 18%. We offered separate checked if requested.
Our hours of business were clearly posted on the front door and we explained that those were "seating" hours. Our unofficial closing time was 15 minutes after the last customer left or the posted time, which ever came last.

 

[TexasBred]

I"m wondering what everybody considers "good service". As I said all I want is someone to promptly take my order, bring my food, check on us once then leave us alone to enjoy the food. What do you want?? Just curious.

 

[Alan]

I"m wondering what everybody considers "good service". As I said all I want is someone to promptly take my order, bring my food, check on us once then leave us alone to enjoy the food. What do you want?? Just curious.

Good question TB, I want my ordered taken within about 15 minutes of being seated and not so quick I barely had time to open the menu. Food should be there within 15 to 20 minutes after order assuming it's a easy fix, if it's dinner, salad in five minutes. Don't let my coffee cup or soft drink glass get empty. I won't dock the waitress/waiter for something that's the cooks fault.