[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by mtdjed

I am not advocating elimination of tips but let's cut the Myth of poverty.

First, people chose that occupation, not for $13/Hour, but for the opportunity for the tip income. As one poster indicated from firsthand sources, that tip income can average $250 to $300 per day. At the lower number that equals $65,000. Add to that the Tipped Minimum wage ($8.98/Hour) $18,000/year for a total of $83,000.

You're assuming they work 5 days a week and that Monday/Tuesday nights are just as busy as Friday/Saturday...

[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by ChicagoNative

A little tangent: How did we get to the point of thinking that everyone deserves a “living wage” for any job they have? Many restaurant jobs, particularly of the fast food variety, have traditionally been part-time and stepping stones into the world of work for young people, or retirees looking for something to do or add some spending money to their pockets.

Some who’ve decided to make hospitality their career will work their way up into higher end establishments where, as mentioned, the total compensation is pretty good. Even if one stays with a fast food company, they can work into a store manager or possibly a franchise owner. The key words are “work their way up”.

If anyone isnt satisfied with their station in life, they need to educate themselves, either through traditional schooling or even better, through an apprenticeship program to learn a trade. But that’s hard work! It’s much easier to whine about someone else’s privilege, protest, and demand $15-20 an hour to make a cup of coffee or flip a burger.

It all reminds me of the lyrics sung by the great Mavis Staples:

🎼“If you're walking 'round thinking that the world owes you something ‘cause you're here
You goin' out the world backwards like you did when you first come here, yeah.”🎼

[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

Some posters on this website have admitted that they tip 20 percent even if they get bad service. That is one reason that there are a lot of mediocre restaurants.

I haven't seen many admitting this...

[mtdjed]

Originally Posted by Regorp

Wait staff rely on tips as income and soon they will be tax free. Be generous to these hard working and underpaid service workers.

Nobody said working is easy. Go into the back room and watch the cook, dishwasher , busboy. They likely work just as hard as waitstaff. They likely work at minimum wage. Are you going to be generous to them and tip them also?

Also, I sense that waitstaff job is becoming easier. Yes, they take the order, but often the food is delivered by a runner who has no idea how you wanted delivery, extra butter, plate, drink refreshment, etc. Many take the order on electronic devices, so they have no interaction with the kitchen staff
Bills are electronic based upon their input. Taxes automatically added as are tips which may or may not be on the bill including taxes. Often you are asked to
do your own payment on table machines. This allows waitstaff to take on more customers.

[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by fdpaq0580

I disagree with some of this. First off, prices are already 20% higher if you figure in the tip. Plus, the customer, has to deal with the emotional side of the oftipping. Oh, the poor single mom with 4 kids that all need braces. Oh, the guilt of not funding their futures.
As for the servers, the don't need try to be your new BFF. Just be polite and professional. No tip expected because you get it without fawning over every table. Easier for everyone at tax time, too.[[/LIST]

I can't remember ever knowing the personal life situation of any my servers... There's ZERO emotion involved in calculating the tip I leave, unless the server makes me angry by doing a crappy job...

[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by wanttoknow

noticed most responses indicate that tips should be based on total of bill. so if one person orders and the bill is $100.00 they should tip 20%. but if two people order and their bill totals $100.00 - they should tip 20% also? seems like the wait staff did more for the party of two than the party of one. so why is the tipping suggested based on the total bill rather than the service given?

Or, base the tip on $50 for each patron... Same difference...

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by fdpaq0580

I disagree with some of this. First off, prices are already 20% higher if you figure in the tip. Plus, the customer, has to deal with the emotional side of the oftipping. Oh, the poor single mom with 4 kids that all need braces. Oh, the guilt of not funding their futures.
As for the servers, the don't need try to be your new BFF. Just be polite and professional. No tip expected because you get it without fawning over every table. Easier for everyone at tax time, too.[[/LIST]

But most customers won't figure in the tip, they'll just look at the price on the menu. A $16 burger looks high but reasonable and a $3 tip at the end is typical. A $19 burger looks expensive even though no tip will be added. Prices are already 20% higher if you figure in the tip but customers don't figure in the tip.

My guess is that good servers choose busy nights and take on as many tables as possible to get as many tips as possible. Without tipping there would be no incentive to do either of those: whether a server has ten tables or two, $17/hour for 6 hours works out the same. Good servers won't want to lose out on the possibility for good nights.

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by Plinker

Consider two evenings out for a couple.
Evening #1 is at Texas Roadhouse with a total bill of $80. The service was very good and the tip is $16.
Evening #2 is at Stirrups in Ocala with a total bill of $250. The service was very good and the tip is $50.
I chose these two restaurants as we have eaten at both.
As the amount of work at each location to serve us was the same, why would the tips be so different? Also, do you tip $8 on a $40 bottle of wine and $16 on a $80 bottle of wine?
It makes no sense. Why not come up with a standard tip amount without considering the amount spent? Instead, consider the amount of work involved. If you experience truly superb service, then leave more.
Please don’t answer by saying if you can afford to eat at an expensive restaurant you can afford the larger tip.

The commission on a Jaguar will be much higher than the commission on a Toyota even though the Toyota salesperson will have to work harder to make the sale. Maybe life ain't fair but it's understandable.

Want a new system, maybe $17/hour plus $20/table? Makes sense to me. Let me know when you open your restaurant and I'll give it a try.

[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by mtdjed

Nobody said working is easy. Go into the back room and watch the cook, dishwasher , busboy. They likely work just as hard as waitstaff. They likely work at minimum wage. Are you going to be generous to them and tip them also?

Also, I sense that waitstaff job is becoming easier. Yes, they take the order, but often the food is delivered by a runner who has no idea how you wanted delivery, extra butter, plate, drink refreshment, etc. Many take the order on electronic devices, so they have no interaction with the kitchen staff
Bills are electronic based upon their input. Taxes automatically added as are tips which may or may not be on the bill including taxes. Often you are asked to
do your own payment on table machines. This allows waitstaff to take on more customers.

The back staff typically receive a portion of the wait staff's tips...

[fdpaq0580]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

If the restaurant is adding the "tip", it is not a tip. Tips are optional and the amount is determined by the customer.

Tips are optional? Not in the court of public opinion! Some folks think that if you choose not to tip it's because your a cheapskate or worse.
If the restaurant pays the employee, then you don't have to. Just pay the bill and go. No emotional blackmail, no customer abuse, no dodging their responsibility for the owners, no shell game with how the business or employees report their taxes. Better for everyone imho. Well, maybe not for the business owner.

[fdpaq0580]

Originally Posted by mtdjed

I am not advocating elimination of tips but let's cut the Myth of poverty.

First, people chose that occupation, not for $13/Hour, but for the opportunity for the tip income. As one poster indicated from firsthand sources, that tip income can average $250 to $300 per day. At the lower number that equals $65,000. Add to that the Tipped Minimum wage ($8.98/Hour) $18,000/year for a total of $83,000.

Further these poor people have garnered an upcoming bonus of no tax on tips. That gift was given to these folks at the expense of the rest of us. By that I mean that what they don't have to pay, we have to make up.

Not all tipped wait staff receive that level of tips. Depends on the restaurant, location, level of business. But the best staff tend to get the best jobs. You are likely to find lower paid in rural areas , diners, etc

Not saying that even the example mentioned above is ideal, but I would guess there are many residents of the Villages that don't currently have that type of Income.

While we have typically given Tips in cash, it would seem that we were enabling staff to understate Income. No real reason to do that anymore.

True. No body likes tipping except the ones that receive them and the businesses that use it to scam the customers into helping pay their employees, lowering their costs.

[fdpaq0580]

Originally Posted by asianthree

Just returned from lunch at Mallory. My guess is a few posters also had stopped.The place was packed with skeleton staff. Our waitress had 7 tables of 4-6 patrons. Before our glasses were half empty drinks were refilled, our food was delivered in 18 minutes (kudos to kitchen staff). Next table of 4 golfers ordered the wing special $6 each plus drink $2.99 for soda. Total with tax $10.69. Each left $11 cash. It’s just sad. Our waitress picked up the cash, continued to smile and thank us for stopping.

Sad is right! They each had $.31 in change coming that they could have donated to muscular dystrophy or some other charity.
Just incase you're wondering, I'm only half joking. Waitress has a job and is obviously getting by. Not everyone is as well off.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by JMintzer

I still tip the same way... (and I'd be hard pressed to find that any servers, who tend to be young and healthy DIED due to Covid...

Thinking that over tipping is actually harmful to the employees sounds like a cop out reason NOT to tip...

It might sound like that...
if you ignored my post where I stated I'd BEEN a server and
if you ignored my post where I stated I DO tip, 15% for adequate service, 18% for good service, and 20% for outstanding service, plus I let the manager know it was outstanding. And no tip for BAD service, with a heads up to the manager.

My average tip is 18% because most service around here is good, better than average, but not outstanding. So far in the 6+ years I've lived here, I've only once left no tip and alerted the manager. That makes it a solid half-dozen times in my entire life, when I've not tipped a "tipped employee."

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by jimhoward

I think good servers could make that in the villages if they could get enough hours. But restaurants limit them to far fewer than 40 hours per week to avoid paying benefits. They are also quick to cut them on slow days.

Servers at Darrell's aren't making $250 per day in tips. The waitress at IHOP isn't making $250 per day in tips. The waiter at Ay! Jalisco who only works the lunch shift isn't making $250 per day in tips. In fact, most servers who work the lunch shift don't make $250 per day in tips, and most of them don't work more than 5 hours in a shift, or more than 4 days in a week. Most servers won't work more than 5 or 6 hours in a shift, for more than 4 days a week.

[fdpaq0580]

Originally Posted by Pugchief

You wouldn't. The pre-tax amount is clearly listed on the bill. It's just as easy to calculate 20% of the pre-tax amount as the post-tax amount.


Agree 100%. Either all income should be subject to tax, or no income should be subject to tax. Special carve-outs are ridiculous.

----------------------

As for the fantasy of tip culture in the US ever going away, there are close to 750,000 restaurants in the country. Unless you can get all of the owners to agree to prohibit tips, it's never gonna happen.

Agree with your reply. As for "tip culture", who says the restaurants are incharge or your participation. Screw them. They have been passing their wage responsibilities on to us for ages. We have been scammed. Customers just don't want to push back. How high does the tip percentage have to get before people get fed up and waitstaffers lose their jobs because we've had enough.