Tipping: The "nuts & bolts" /psychology / Society

[Villages PL]

What does tipping really accomplish? Anything other than making the tipper feel better about himself or herself?

Take grass cutting at my house as an example:

I pay a company that sends out 2 or sometimes 3 workers to cut my grass. From the beginning, the work was okay sometimes and sometimes not so good. They typically rush through the job and, to make things worse, there is, from time to time, a turn-over of workers. And this is not unusual for grass cutting companies. (I know because I've been here for almost 14 years.)

Last year I decided, for the first time, to give a tip, thinking it might improve the quality of work. 2 guys showed up on the week before Christmas and I gave them $20,00 each. They seemed surprised and very appreciative. So I thought, "they will be sure to remember me and do a better job in the coming year."

Nope, the quality of work was basically unchanged. (I even had to call their employer a couple of times with a concern I had about how the job was being done.) Why didn't the tip do any good? They might have assumed that I was tipping them because I was satisfied, so they just continued to deliver the same quality of (rushed) work.

Two guys just showed up this morning and I tipped them again - $20.00 each. It has nothing to do with quality anymore. I tipped them because I realize how hard they have to work during the hot summer months and perhaps they have families to support.

Let's look at the psychology of this: Did my tip inspire them to do better? No. My tip didn't "teach" anything. If anything, it taught them that they must be doing okay. On the other hand, you might ask: What have I been taught? To some extent, I have been taught (by suggestions on this board) to be a "bleeding heart" for those who work hard and might have a family to support.

I think this has wider implications for the whole of our society. Look at the psychology of this situation: Are we teaching workers to do better, or are they teaching us to feel sorry for them? Might we, in some cases, be encouraging them to not move on to something better, by rewarding them with tips? Are we sending them a message that they should be able to support a family on whatever unskilled labor job they happen to get?

[JB in TV]

Interesting discussion. I will have to think on this a bit.

[Villages PL]

Interesting discussion. I will have to think on this a bit.

Good answer!! I wish more posters would do that. :thumbup:

[BobnBev]

"support a family on whatever unskilled labor job they happen to get?"

And if they weren't around to cut your grass or do other menial, unskilled labor chores,
would you do it?

I tip because I don't mind sharing my good fortune with those less fortunate
than me.

That, and just because I can.

[ilovetv]

Tipping should be for the workers who do not get full Minimum Wage, but get Tipped Minimum Wage.....which is $4.77 in Florida.

I doubt that lawn mowing people get $4.77 per hour from their employer.

Tipping servers is an incentive for them to do more than just the minimum to get a plate of food onto the table and leave it at that. It's an incentive to stop in at the table a variable number of times, to clear away used dishes, refill water and coffee, take added drink orders, find out if food and drink is satisfactory, take added orders for desserts, and keep the table clean and tidy, etc. It's an incentive for productivity and service that does not disrupt the customers' dining time so they don't have to get up and find a person to resolve problems or order more.

http://www.floridajobs.org/minimumwage/announcement_2013.pdf

[graciegirl]

I don't know. We don't tip the lawn service.


Never thought to tip the lawn service. We don't tip the trash removal folks either but we appreciate all of them.

[Villages PL]

"support a family on whatever unskilled labor job they happen to get?"

And if they weren't around to cut your grass or do other menial, unskilled labor chores,
would you do it?

Yes, when I was young I did everything from sanding cars in a body shop to digging ditches for a sewer contractor. I cut grass for my neighbor when I was a kid and never got a tip. I didn't even know there was such a thing as a tip. These jobs are training for later life. They are not meant to be permanent jobs

I tip because I don't mind sharing my good fortune with those less fortunate
than me.

That, and just because I can.

That's exactly why I tipped my grass cutting guys this morning.

[Villages PL]

Tipping should be for the workers who do not get full Minimum Wage, but get Tipped Minimum Wage.....which is $4.77 in Florida.

I doubt that lawn mowing people get $4.77 per hour from their employer.

Tipping servers is an incentive for them to do more than just the minimum to get a plate of food onto the table and leave it at that. It's an incentive to stop in at the table a variable number of times, to clear away used dishes, refill water and coffee, take added drink orders, find out if food and drink is satisfactory, take added orders for desserts, and keep the table clean and tidy, etc. It's an incentive for productivity and service that does not disrupt the customers' dining time so they don't have to get up and find a person to resolve problems or order more.

http://www.floridajobs.org/minimumwage/announcement_2013.pdf

:agree:

[Villages PL]

I don't know. We don't tip the lawn service.


Never thought to tip the lawn service. We don't tip the trash removal folks either but we appreciate all of them.

I know where you're coming from. I never really thought about it until I moved to the Villages. When I lived in the "historic section" the grass guy, a retired Villager, gave me a calendar every year. What did I know about tipping? Not much. He charged 25 dollars a month. So before Christmas I would add $5 dollars to his monthly check, as a tip. Well, he was working for himself so I figured if he wanted more money all he would have to do is raise his price.

I don't tip trash removal either.

[redwitch]

I don't tip for bad service -- whether lawn, server or paper carrier. If service is okay, I tip a nominal amount; good service at least 20%. I don't consider money given at Christmas as tips. I consider it a gift and, therefore, give regardless of the service (if I'm not satisfied, they would have been fired long ago). I will tip or leave some sort of remuneration if someone goes beyond normal service (trash guy picking up a large piece of furniture; mail person delivering to my house because she knows I don't have a car) throughout the year. But the gifts at Christmas are just that -- gifts because I want to share the Christmas spirit.

[S.Dobrzynski]

What's always bothered me is tipping a percentage based on the final bill of the meal. Wait people that serve at typical breakfast restaurants work just as hard, and sometimes harder, than wait staff at typical dinner restaurants, yet receive a pittance since the bottom line of the bill comes to a lot less for breakfast than dinner.

It's something that's bothered me for years. Say a typical breakfast for two comes to $12.00. A 20% tip is $2.40. Compare that to a typical dinner for two comes to $40. A 20% tip is $8. Both the breakfast and dinner wait person did a good job, thus the 20% tip, yet the dinner wait staff got $5.60 more in tips.

You add that up over the course of a 4-6 hour shift and there's a big money difference in what they take home at the end of the shift. I feel it is inherently unfair as the job is the same (i.e, taking your order, bringing your drinks, bringing your meal, refilling your drinks, bringing a to go box, bringing your check). The only thing different is the cost of the meal, and the time of day you're eating it.

Has this ever bothered anyone else? We try to equalize it by giving our breakfast wait person on average what we would typically tip our dinner wait person during a normal dinner out.

[pauld315]

What's always bothered me is tipping a percentage based on the final bill of the meal. Wait people that serve at typical breakfast restaurants work just as hard, and sometimes harder, than wait staff at typical dinner restaurants, yet receive a pittance since the bottom line of the bill comes to a lot less for breakfast than dinner.

It's something that's bothered me for years. Say a typical breakfast for two comes to $12.00. A 20% tip is $2.40. Compare that to a typical dinner for two comes to $40. A 20% tip is $8. Both the breakfast and dinner wait person did a good job, thus the 20% tip, yet the dinner wait staff got $5.60 more in tips.

You add that up over the course of a 4-6 hour shift and there's a big money difference in what they take home at the end of the shift. I feel it is inherently unfair as the job is the same (i.e, taking your order, bringing your drinks, bringing your meal, refilling your drinks, bringing a to go box, bringing your check). The only thing different is the cost of the meal, and the time of day you're eating it.

Has this ever bothered anyone else? We try to equalize it by giving our breakfast wait person on average what we would typically tip our dinner wait person during a normal dinner out.

I think the difference is on how many times you can turn the table during a breakfast vs a dinner. I think the table turns many more times during breakfast than at a nice dinner restaurant providing more opportunity for tips.

If the breakfast server thinks they could do better by serving dinner, they should go for it !

Personally, I tip .50 a drink (no matter the cost of the drink) and 15 to 20% for the food based on the service received. Taxes do not get tipped.

[Tweety Bird]

I DO NOT tip my lawn service guys. Why? Because I continue to pay them during the dormant months when they do NOTHING.

[Leo G.]

I DO NOT tip my lawn service guys. Why? Because I continue to pay them during the dormant months when they do NOTHING.

Tip or don't tip but please don't let that be your excuse. Your not paying the lawn guy the full amount in the Summer months when it's 95+ degrees outside.

[redwitch]

The guys cutting your grass make between $7.50-$10.00 an hour. The owner makes around $60K a year. Tip the cutters, don't tip the owner and remember that the cutters don't get paid unless they work, so they get a lot less during the dormant seasons. At least that is the case for most companies (not sure about the ones who have several crews like Stellar).

[2BNTV]

You can count me in, as the bleedding heart person, who feels for the server, and realizes they need to make a living. In general most place don't pay them very well, and they rely on tips, to make a decent living.

My son works in hotel management and doesn't get tipped, but he sees what servers go through, and some people are very rough on the service industry.

I don't expect better service when I tip someone but I don't expect to be treated worse. It varies from server to server. Some servers do their job well. They remember you and your order and make an effort to give you better service. My mother, never wanted to tip anyone, as she owned a lunchonette at a time when people did not have the funds to even leave a tip. I generally give 20% of the bill, without the taxes being included. If we are at a restaurant partying and get exceptional service, the tip will be much greater but that's me. :smiley:

Some server feel they deserve a tip, even if the service rendered was lousy.

Almost like my saying, People don't care about you, until they know, you care about them", (paraphrased).

More than likely, if you show your server you are friendly, they will usually respond in kind. A very general statement, as they are exceptions to every rule. Its the bad one's, who drag down the good one's. IMHO

[bonrich]

We met a couple from Australia awhile back, who sat down with us during lunch. They talked about us Americans tipping, not really understanding it. They said in Australia there is no tipping because the waitstaff is paid a good wage, something like $10 to $11 per hour. They said they would probably give your tip money back to you. Could not understand why the owners do not pay their employees a good wage so the customer wouldn't have to tip to bolster their income. As I explained the tip money was to reward them for good service, which of course they said, Aren't they supposed to give you good service?"
Could go on forever..........