Are you tipping enough?
 

I live here full time. When I eat out (several times a week), I tip at least 20%. More if I feel the waitress/waiter provided good service. They don't even make minimum wage before tips. After taxes, most make about 50 bucks a week on their paychecks.

I hear it is common during 'season' for a few of the folks that stay here only a month or 2 during the winter, to sit down with 5, 6 or more people for a dinner, and tip 5 or 10% (or less even), like they do in Canada (where they make a LOT more by the hour) , or in Europe.

A 'comped' tip on your bill would be 18%. I know it isn't because you don't have the money, that you aren't tipping a fair rate. I am going to figure it is because you didn't know, and now that you read this ... you know. In my opinion, tipping a waitress/waiter anything less than 18% is stealing from them.

Most folks do tip properly, and some maybe didn't know what should be tipped in this part of the world. Some of you knew, don't, and never will. I feel sorry for you almost as much as I do for the people who wait on you.

Nice post

Always tip 20% minimum and sometimes more if service is excellent. That's 20% of the bill excluding the tax portion.

My son works in hotel management and servers have families to support and do the things everyone else does.

Do not penalized the server if the cook made a bad meal of what you ordered.

Any complaints should be handled by management in an appropriate fashion.

Management doesn't always do the right thing but they should, if they want repeat business.

Where do you get your information on Canadian tipping? Yes on a per hour rate they are paid more but depending on the service ne ver heard in 60 years any one tipping less than 15 - 20 percent and remember while in the u.s.a. Add the current 25 percent dollar difference! Why do Americans not pay their employees more to live on ?

When did 20% become the standard? For as long as I can remember it was always a minimum of 15% for good service and more for excellent service. I usually tip 20% as long as the service is decent, but will tip 10% or less if I feel that the server is not doing his or her job.

I was at World of Beer last year having a few exotic beers and the server spent the entire time I was there talking to her friends. She came over once when my glass was still 90% full and asked if I wanted another. When I finished my beer, it was ten minutes before she could tear herself away to ask if I wanted anything else. I ordered a different beer and it took her five minutes to bring it. It's not that she was busy. she had plenty of time to talk with other people at the bar. My bill came to $9 and change. I left a ten and walked away. She was probably cursing me out as some old cheapskate, but the service was truly terrible.

What I heard, was that the waitresses and waiters in Canada made a bit more than $5 an hour, not needing as high a percentage for tips.

"Americans not paying employees enough to live on" is a fairly broad statement. Pretty sure there is a broad spectrum of pay scales for 'American employees' .... some are actually making enough to live on.

18% is the standard. 20% is easier to figure up in my head so....

That's pretty much my position.

Yea, me too. Easy to figure 20% so that is what it is.

Broad statement? So is "I heard".

And please don't forget to tip what the bill would actually be, not what you got discounted because of coupons or a two-for-one special. Ditto if part of your meal was comped.

and remember that the server not only makes well below minimum wage, but must help pay the salaries of co-workers such as the hostess, barback, busboy, etc. and that is figured at 18% of the tab regardless of the actual tip. Plus the IRS figures the income at 18% percent of the total tab.

I remember one evening when my daughter came home in tears. Most of her shift was spent on a large group that stayed for more than three hours. Ultimately, they left her a ten percent tip after commenting to the manager what a great server she was. That table cost her almost ten dollars out of her own pocket in tipping out co-workers and that's not counting the tables she could have served had these folks stayed a reasonable time and tipped fairly. She actually worked for free that evening since she paid out more than what she made for her shift.

It wasn't too long ago that 15% was the standard. I've noticed it going up over the years. I've seen some things that recommend 25%. I worked as a bartender and I understand that servers live off their tips. But I also understand that the minimum amount gets reported for taxes and that a lot of servers make a lot of money.

Nope, "what I heard" would be hearsay. A broad statement, is different.

That's what I do too.

Once you've been a server, you realize that the servers take all the flak out on the front lines, when the problem is often the cooks and/or spineless shift managers.

And sometimes, I over-tip simply because they need the money. I'll get along fine without those extra $2 or $3 in addition to the 15-20%.

I like encouraging people--especially young parents--to work and earn for their families, and work their way up to better positions or other job opportunities. Serving is a great place to meet clientele who are also employers that might want to hire them, and that customer-employer now knows first-hand the server's work ethic and customer focus.

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I remember one evening when my daughter came home in tears. Most of her shift was spent on a large group that stayed for more than three hours. Ultimately, they left her a ten percent tip after commenting to the manager what a great server she was. That table cost her almost ten dollars out of her own pocket in tipping out co-workers and that's not counting the tables she could have served had these folks stayed a reasonable time and tipped fairly. She actually worked for free that evening since she paid out more than what she made for her shift.[/QUOTE]


It really hurts, to hear this. Not only did they stiff her but kept the table tied up so she couldn't make up the difference on someone more generous. I agree with another post that says you are a thief if you cheat a server.