It’s a slow day for me so I was scrolling through yahoo news feed and noticed an article about a woman getting fired for posting a picture of a check. The article itself bored me, but made me wonder why tipping is a responsibility placed in the hands of the consumer. I understand the incentives behind it, but given just that – one would think Drs would be tipped right? Why, in America, is the responsibility to pay service providers in the hands of the consumer instead of the actual business?
She was fired for mocking an African American.
Nice, she gives God 10%. I’m just saying, but God probably doesn’t need money, because, you know, it’s God.
It’s a good to tie tips directly to customer satisfaction. However, I don’t like that tipping has become expected in the US. You should tip for good service. However, here, it’s more like you tip poorly only if the service is bad.
I want to know what 8 people (or perhaps more) ate for $35.
To OP’s original question though, think of waiters as salespeople and tips as their commission.
A) It’s come out that the “pastor” that didn’t leave that tip is basically a tax cheat. She runs her “church” of 15 members out of her store. She can then write off much of the store’s operating costs while also contributing 10% of her own income to her own church tax-free. On top of all that she’s obviously a world class a-hole.
B) {Insert joke about black people not tipping here}
C) Top comment on Reddit (where this story originated): “God gets 10% for doing nothing, you won’t give a server 18% for doing something. Yeah…nice racket god has.” I’d say that about sums it up.
No tipping in Japan. Very relaxing. I will tell you why.
Here in US I always wonder about leaving a 15% tip - I’ve heard that it’s unsatisfying for servers because they can’t tell if their service was good or bad. OTOH the IRS is going to assume they get 15% tips so anything less is just making their life hard. OT third H some servers just suck ass. OT fourth H, my in-laws. not black, lily-white, are cheap and will leave 5-10% tip so I feel compelled to make up the difference. OT fifth H, many Indian and Chinese restaurants around here have outstanding waiters who remember your name and serve portions on your plate instead of plunking down the food and walking away, so anything less than 20% for their effort seems mean. Arrrrrrrrrrgh! Too many variables! Why can’t restaurants pay their servers according to their skills and charge patrons full price and expect no tip? Fucking tipping system is too entrenched. Like the British units. Metric is easy but nooooooooooooo, we have to be the only country to use binary system when the rest of the world uses decimal.
(End rant)
Drives me nuts. How much are you supposed to tip for a Starbucks?
this is the problem I have with the whole tipping issue. why am I still supposed to be tipping service when service was terrible. And even then I would have to get a bad look. Messed up
I usually tip 15% on the pre-tax amount, but that’s merely out of social custom. If I could anonymously not tip and get away with it without anyone noticing, I probably would.
What I hate most is that people in these tip-receiving jobs constantly heckle anyone who complains about tipping. Like it’s my fault that their employer pays them shitty. What it comes down to is that the restaurant owners don’t want to pay their workers when the place isn’t busy and no other method has passed the market test. I don’t know why that gets extended to other industries.
I think we use Imperial system in the US, not binary system.
My baby sister waited tables in college and dealt with a lot of crap. I always tip 20% if the service is at least decent. It’s a tough way to make a living.
I use binary. I typically tip 10100 percent, but it seems they always overcharge me.
You’re supposed to tip at Starbucks? I go by the rule of thumb that if you have to pay before you actually receive your food/drink, you don’t need to tip.
I hate when the tip is already on the check. So maybe CvM is right after all since there’s no need to tip at McDonalds. Starbucks sounds like a nay too. Never go there though.
I feel like we should tip if we get good service at McDonalds. It takes a really great attitude to keep your soul from being crushed and give service with a smile when you are paid in McChickens and work in a grease container every day.
Respect.
My two cents:
I also hate it when they add the tip to the check. The tip should be at the discretion of the buyer–not the seller.
However, I used to make money on tips. (Waiter and pizza delivery.) Once you work for tips, you’ll notice that you give better tips.
I once delivered 4 large pizzas. The bill was $54.99. It was raining and freezing. The person at the door stood inside their nice comfy house, did not invite me into the foyer out of the freezing rain, handed me $55.00, and waited for me (in the freezing rain) to give them their one cent change. True story.
Remember–these waiters/waitresses only make $2-3 per hour. Some people have told me that they don’t leave very big tips because they can’t afford 15% on top of an already large bill. (Most of these people drink a lot of alcohol.) My opinion–if you can’t tip, then don’t eat (or drink) out.