Tips: Where Do You Draw The Line?

[GeorgiiMichael]

I'll just leave this to Hank Green:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsYTLVMQsbE

[morostheos]

My family never gave tips to hotel housekeeping growing up, but I've realized as an adult that it is a standard practice. I try to remember to do it, but often I forget because it is a foreign thing to me.

 

When I was a zip-line tour guide I got tips - I think in general for any personal service it's nice to tip. 

[TheresaThoma]

About your comment about the people who ring up/bag your groceries. I know at least at the chain that I worked at we were explicitly told that we could not accept tips.

I used to be a hostess and let me tell you if you plan on making a restaurant a regular place for you then you had better tip decently. Servers will pick up pretty quickly if you don't tip very well and VERY quickly the whole staff will know. No one is going to give you great service if they know they will get a lousy tip out of you no matter what they do, they would much rather spend their energy on a different table that will tip them better.

Pretty much if it is a personal service (servers, hairdressers etc) I leave a tip. I do keep in mind that if there are a couple of people at my table and we have split the check to see how much they have tipped and adjust mine accordingly. 

[Anastasia13]

I've been a waiter since I could remember (My dad owns a family business). I'm the cashier and server, and it always bewilders me when people actually talk about tipping. I've been doing this since I was four, and I've probably received $20 in total of tips throughout my life. Every tip I've ever gotten has been fifty cents or a dollar. And yet everyone always claims they tip, and they tip reasonably well. It's either my town is full of cheap b*astards, or everyone is a liar.

 

Now that I have that out of the way, I can tell you that I would appreciate my job a lot more if I did get tips. I wake up at five in the morning and get back at seven in the evening, and all day I have to deal with people that are mean, people that complain about prices, and people that get angry when we close, even though it's *their* fault they never get there on time and they are just trying to get there when everyone else has left so they don't have to wait in line. I'm really hard to get angry, but some days I feel like slamming belligerent people's heads into the counter.

 

In short: Tip. It saves lives. You don't have to empty your wallet, but $5 means a lot. If every person that I served gave me $5, I would be able to buy a Ferrari.

 

$5 is like an entire meal out for some of us of not more.

Edited April 17, 2013 by Light and Truth

[Papist]

How do you tip hotel housekeeping when you don't see them?

[Chestertonian]

How do you tip hotel housekeeping when you don't see them?

 

You just leave it in a conspicuous place in the room.

[CrossCuT]

I didnt even know that you were suppose to tip your hair dresser till a couple years ago.

[Chestertonian]

Couple more of my own thoughts on this:

 

In most cases, If you're only going to tip 50 cents or a dollar, it's probably best to not tip at all. Tipping that small of amount comes across as insulting rather than appreciative.

 

Tips should be based on the quality of service rendered and not the bill amount.

 

If the service at a restaurant is mediocre, but the server is "slammed," take that into consideration when tipping.

 

I have a problem with businesses that pay their employees less than they deserve, and expect customers to supplement their income.

 

Tips shouldn't be expected, but rather appreciated

 

 

[GeorgiiMichael]

Couple more of my own thoughts on this:

 

In most cases, If you're only going to tip 50 cents or a dollar, it's probably best to not tip at all. Tipping that small of amount comes across as insulting rather than appreciative.

 

Tips should be based on the quality of service rendered and not the bill amount.

 

If the service at a restaurant is mediocre, but the server is "slammed," take that into consideration when tipping.

 

I have a problem with businesses that pay their employees less than they deserve, and expect customers to supplement their income.

 

Tips shouldn't be expected, but rather appreciated

 

Maybe that is how it "should" be, but that's not how it is.

 

Tipping less than 15% is insulting. Not tipping at least $2 per person at a table is also insulting, so when you go to a diner and everyone only gets water and toast, shell out $2 per person when tipping. It's not insulting to put 50 cents - $1 in a tip jar at a coffee shop or something, but that's also not an expected tip.

 

So stop complaining and start tipping like a decent human being.

[Chestertonian]

So tipping at least 15%, or two dollars a person are the magic numbers, huh? How about the server who expects at least 18% or he/she feels insulted? Are they just being greedy? What if it's dead and the server doesn't stop by your table at all to see how you're doing? Do they deserve these arbitrary minimum tip rates?

[Nihil Obstat]

Tipping less than 15% is insulting. Not tipping at least $2 per person at a table is also insulting, so when you go to a diner and everyone only gets water and toast, shell out $2 per person when tipping. It's not insulting to put 50 cents - $1 in a tip jar at a coffee shop or something, but that's also not an expected tip.
 
So stop complaining and start tipping like a decent human being.

(Canadians tip a bit less than Americans, so the 10-15% range is a slightly low normal, but would not be out of place in any restaurant.)

 

At a bar if I am getting a drink from the bartender as opposed to the serving staff, I will usually tip $1-2 per drink instead of working out percentages.

[Chestertonian]

Feeling insulted is a two-way street. If the service I receive at a restaurant isn't worth a fair gratuity, I feel insulted.

Edited April 17, 2013 by Chestertonian

[Nihil Obstat]

Feeling insulted is a two-way street. If the service I receive at a restaurant isn't worth a fair gratuity, I feel insulted.

Yeah, I am fully prepared to leave a small tip or nothing at all if the service is insultingly bad. I have not had the misfortune yet, thankfully.

[Basilisa Marie]

So tipping at least 15%, or two dollars a person are the magic numbers, huh? How about the server who expects at least 18% or he/she feels insulted? Are they just being greedy? What if it's dead and the server doesn't stop by your table at all to see how you're doing? Do they deserve these arbitrary minimum tip rates?

 

Yes they deserve minimum tip rates. Because even when it's dead, servers have work to do to get ready for the times when it's not dead.  There's a whole lot more going on than what you see.  Plus lots of people prefer to be mostly left alone when they go out to eat - how can you expect a server to know exactly which customers prefer to be left alone and which want someone to stop by and see how they're doing? Have you ever actually met a server that expects 18% all the time? Especially one that doesn't work in a fancy restaurant? 15-20% is standard for dinner.  

[Basilisa Marie]

I've noticed that the people who have actually worked in food service usually tip the best, because they're the ones who actually understand all the factors that go into trying to provide a good "dining experience" for customers, and that servers are the first to get screwed when any of those factors goes wrong. 

 

Is the steak overcooked because the steak guy on the line didn't pay attention? there goes your tip. 

Are you in charge of two sections of tables because your coworker called off? there goes your tip. 

Are you at the tail end of an 8 hour shift without a single break and you aren't feeling quite as perky as when you started? there goes your tip. 

Is there a hostess or busboy who get a mandatory cut of all your tips? there goes your tip. 

 

It's one thing if you see your server just blatantly standing around, chatting with coworkers and not paying attention to your table. But there are so many reasons why being a server is hard, and lots of people who haven't worked in the industry don't understand that.