Tipping

[Annie]

Having been a waitress myself for several years, I understand how the job works. (My parents actually owned and operated a restaurant during my childhood and teen/college years.) Some may not know that the minimum wage for waitresses and waiters is, by law, lower than the general minimum wage, because it is expected that they will earn enough money through tips to compensate for the reduction in payment. As a waitress in the '80s and '90s, my hourly wage ranged from (if I remember right) $1.80 to $2.01...and this was at "nice" restaurants. (As I remember, the minimum wage back then was maybe $3.00 or $4.00--or maybe more.) If I didn't get any tips, I'd take home a grand total of $7.20 for a four-hour shift. That might have been a good amount a few decades earlier, but in the '90's, it wasn't that much for someone trying to pay college expenses. Fortunately, I was able to make substantially more, as a result of the tips I earned. I'll tell you this: no one in their right mind would work a waitstaff job if it weren't for the tips; it just wouldn't be worth it. (And, Jerry, you are right about waitpersons having to report a certain amount of tips per hour as income, even if they didn't earn as much as that amount. So, it's really a double whammy if tips are not given.)

I'm not sure what other jobs pay less than minimum wage, because tips are expected to make up the difference. But I sure am sensitive about this topic, knowing what I do about the law.

Proper etiquette is to tip a waitress/waiter 15%-20% of the bill's total, if the person's service was good. I'll add one more thought here: I hope that my own kids will have the opportunity to wait tables sometime. That job really does teach you a whole lot about dealing with difficult people, maintaining poise and composure under pressure, how to be efficient, how to overcome shyness, and many other social skills and character traits.

[JerryNumbers]

I know of a local waitress, her tips on Friday and Saturday night at a Western Sizzler runs well over $100 each night. If there happens to be a party she will make much more than that.

The average person in our area does not make that in a normal 8 hour per day job in our town of under 5,000 people.

Did I mentioner her waitressing job on Friday and Saturday, along with her SSI check, supports her rather good.

[Annie]

I know of a local waitress, her tips on Friday and Saturday night at a Western Sizzler runs well over $100 each night. If there happens to be a party she will make much more than that.

The average person in our area does not make that in a normal 8 hour per day job in our town of under 5,000 people.

Did I mentioner her waitressing job on Friday and Saturday, along with her SSI check, supports her rather good.

Right...but how well would she be doing without the tips--if nobody left a tip, or if everyone left substantially less? That's what we're talking about here. I also made a lot of money waitressing. If I hadn't, I would have looked for another job. My point is that the only thing that makes waitressing a worthwhile job is that customers are expected to tip. Without the tips--just earning the lower than minimum hourly wage--waitressing wouldn't be worth it.

[JerryNumbers]

Tipping is not an obligation, never has been, I have always done so when the service was good, if not, them there is nothing that states that I or anyone has to leave a tip.

The waitress or waiter that reaps good tips because they given good service, them that's great!

And yes, I know how waitress and waiters use to do, claiming few if any tips when they filed their taxes, which caused the IRS to change the rules.

In fact I remember one year around here when several waitress got caught, it cost them, they were nearly crying real tears.

[HappyChristian]

We have a favorite restaurant that we frequent. There was a waitress who gave us indifferent service, at best. We didn't care for her, but we wanted to be a good testimony, so we left a good tip along with the tract we always leave. The next time there, she gave us better service. And it continued to improve. Now, when we walk in, the busboy sees us and brings us iced tea right away. And if she is our waitress (depending on the day we go, it's either her or the owner), we get primo service. That may not work for everyone, but it worked for her.

The last time we went, we found out that the busboy doesn't get any part of the tip. Where our son worked, the busser got %10 of tips since he cleaned tables. Well, this fellow does more than clean tables - he actually partially waits on us. So, we gave him a tip as well. Why? Because we are Christians and want to be a good testimony. We would like to be able to talk with them about the Lord; we would like to have them read the tracts we leave.

I don't like the idea of forced tips - but I do think it's great if a server can make $100 in a night...because that won't happen every night of the week! I remember a couple of times our son made close to $100. Those were nice nights, and it sure helped with his college bill!

[JerryNumbers]

As I pointed out, the one I spoke of on SSI, she only works Friday and Saturday night ONLY, she lets others have the nights when the tips are not good, there is no way that she would work on those nights. The last few years this woman has worked a few different jobs, but only if her boss will not report her income for she does not want her SSI cut off. My wife works with her daughter, her daughter is not bashful and tells it just like it is. I often wonder how this restaurant owner covers it up.

And yes, we have to be careful and not blame a waitress for bad service when its not her fault. There are factors within a eating joint whether its a small mom & pop or a very large restaurant that can keep a very good waitress from being the good waitress they really are. I've seen that happen, usually such places as that I don't return to.

The place we mostly eat at is a small mom and pop place in a small town that's population is under a 1,000 people, the service and the food is very good. I might add one Friday night it was not, it seems that night the help only wanted to spend their time outside the back door smoking and socializing. Which we informed the boss about that and its never happened again. Even a very good place can be bad once in a while.

[Alimantado]

I used to be a silver service waiter and because it would take two or three members of staff to serve a table of four or five, the tips were put into a pot and shared between all waiting staff on a shift. If we had instead kept the tips we were individually given, the person who took the most bills would get the most tips, even though taking a bill is the easiest job of all. We were a close-knit team and anyone who didn't pull their weight was told off by the manager, who in turn was pulling his weight. Lazy staff comes with lazy management.

I don't tip much these days--or rather I do but I tip at 5% and rather grudgingly. This is because almost no restaurants train their waiting staff anymore and even the basics have been forgotten. Clearing a table before everyone on the table has finished is a disgrace, but it happens everywhere I go. I always stop any waiter who tries, saying, "excuse me but not all of us have finished eating."

[hisprincess]

When my boyfriend and I go out to dinner he tips roughly 10% and he always leaves a tract for the server. Once when we were out for dinner I found a black hair in my pasta, pointed it out and the manager comped my meal + gave me a loaf of banana bread. I do tip my hairdresser