What? Man, you Americans have crazy features on your mobiles.
I have one of the most basic cell phones available. It has a ton of crap on it that I will never use. I discovered the tip calculator when my phone was bumped in my purse. If someone is over 12 years old, they should know how to do basic percentages. If someone has trouble with percents, then just double the tax in most States. If someone cannot do math because of a brain injury or learning disability, then they should get phones with tip calculators. Tip calculators should not be a basic tool included on most cell phones.
Actually, this can be a bad practice in most states. My sister pointed this out to me, as she used to be a front-end manager for years in the restaurant business. The expected gratuity is based on the cost of the meal after tax, not before. It's usually not a huge difference, but in places where they tip out to other parts of the restaurant, the servers notice it.
I find it much easier to leave a 20% tip. Move the decimal point one place left and double the number. Simple.
I find it much easier to leave a 20% tip. Move the decimal point one place left and double the number. Simple.
I agree, it is simpler. If you read my post the entire point was that the math is incredibly basic. I only offered the suggestion since it seems that some people cannot do simple math and find paying a bill at a restaurant somehow difficult.
You know what would've made this episode of Geeknights interesting? If it was about the nonsense called tipping. Really, all previous comments mention tipping, how about just none?
You know what would've made this episode of Geeknights interesting? If it was about the nonsense called tipping. Really, all previous comments mention tipping, how about just none?
Because the system does not allow it. If you personally stopped tipping, you would be hurting the waitstaff. To remove tipping you would have to pay the staff a decent wage...
"Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip--Confessions of a Cynical Waiter" really opened my eyes about the whole tipping thing. I used to be really stingy with tips, but I had no idea the industry could be that bad. Now I try to give more unless I get bad service.
Because the system does not allow it. If you personally stopped tipping, you would be hurting the waitstaff. To remove tipping you would have to pay the staff a decent wage...
Exactly. I will pay the price advertised, that on the bill. Tipping is bullshit. Those who take the job of waiting and accepted a crappy wage have no right to complain if you ask me. I'm at a restaurant to eat, not to supplement some person's wage because he was too stupid to negotiate a decent wage or find a better paying job.
Exactly. I will pay the price advertised, that on the bill. Tipping is bullshit. Those who take the job of waiting and accepted a crappy wage have no right to complain if you ask me. I'm at a restaurant to eat, not to supplement some person's wage because he was too stupid to negotiate a decent wage or find a better paying job.
Don't take the value of tipping lightly. Waiters do remember people, especially those who tip well or tip shittily. Not tipping, especially for your reason, is like saying "okay, you waited on me hand and foot and now I will ignore your services because you are stupid". You pay for the food, but say it's bullshit to pay for the service.
actly. I will pay the price advertised, that on the bill. Tipping is bullshit. Those who take the job of waiting and accepted a crappy wage have no right to complain if you ask me. I'm at a restaurant to eat, not to supplement some person's wage because he was too stupid to negotiate a decent wage or find a better paying job.
This is because you're not American. In the US, tipping is simply something you do, and if you don't, you're an asshole. Servers at restaurants are exempt from minimum wage because tipping is expected. The tip is part of the cost of the meal.
The main problem is the appetizers. Like Mrs. MacRoss said, we often share appetizers. They have to put the appetizer on someone's check, and then people still have to pony up their share. So really, separate checks doesn't help when shared food is the problem.
Me and my friends usually just bite the bullett and someone will just offer to pay for the whole appetizer, regardless of who shares. Or whoever gets the order just eats it all themself.
Also, a lot of restaurants will not give out separate checks.
Where are you going to eat? I've been to cheap shitty restaurants, I've been to stuff on the walls places, I've been to expensive and fancy restaurants, I've been to middle of the road places, and I've never had a problem getting separate checks.
If you are so intimidated by the simple act of dividing the cost of a dish by the number of people that ate it, adding that to the running total for your personal consumption, and figuring out what 15% or 20% of that totaled amount would be; then use your cell phone.
I'm not intimidated by it, and I can do the math in my head. I'm just "intimidated" by people being assholes and trying to fuck other people over (there is one guy in my group who, while is one of my good friends, knows I have a lot of money to my name and will ALWAYS, without fail, try to fuck me over to get me to pay more unless we do separate checks). Also, separate checks makes it far, far easier to deal with change if everyone is paying in cash but are only carrying big bills (which happens every now and then).
I'm at a restaurant to eat, not to supplement some person's wage because he was too stupid to negotiate a decent wage or find a better paying job.
Agreed. Talking to any of my friends who have a restaurant job, they make far more money than I do working a $7.25/hour job with no tips while working roughly the same amount of hours each week. Hell, some of them even make more money in one night than I do in a week. I have absolutely no sympathy for waiters/waitresses/busboys/whoever else gets the tips.
"okay, you waited on me hand and foot and now I will ignore your services because you are stupid".
It's in their job description to bring food and drinks to customers. I shouldn't have to pay them just for doing their job even though their employer is paying them (though I do realize minimum wage for tipped jobs is cut in half, which is bullshit, but that's just another flaw in the system). I bag peoples' groceries, bring in their carts, and occasionally take carts out to a person's car and unload them. People pay for the groceries, not my services to them. People sometimes tip me for bringing shit out to their car, and I gladly accept...but they are really not necessary because there is no need for them to pay me for simply doing my job when my employer is already doing that for me.
As far as what I actually do when it comes to tipping...I usually just give them a few bucks plus all my coins I get back as change. If the service is shit, I leave none or just a few coins. I really don't give a rats ass when it comes to tipping because I rarely go to the same places often enough for people to recognize me.
Having previously worked as a "customarily tipped employee", I can tell when people I'm around have done the same at some point in their life: they usually tip halfway decent. I'm going to be blunt here: people that are able to tip and don't tip just flat out strike me as cheap assholes. Tipping is just considered good form. I can understand tipping on a sliding scale depending on the level of service. My scale starts at the standard 15% and then goes up or down from there. Yeah, it sucks to have a job where your wage is cut in half because the employer can get away with it because of some state loophole. Yeah, they shouldn't plan on staying in that job very long (and most people who work as waitstaff can tell you there's a high turnover for positions like that). But to say that you shouldn't have to tip because it's "in their job description to bring food and drink" is just an excuse to be a dick. If you don't want to have to tip your waitstaff, then stay home and make your own damn pizza/pasta/steak/whatever the hell you ordered and then sent back because it wasn't cooked to your liking.
Because the law is the way it is I tip. However, I think it would be better if wait staff were paid a decent wage, and tipping was only for exemplary service.
people that are able to tip and don't tip just flat out strike me as cheap assholes.
Even if the service is sub par? Also, what about Steak n Shake? (I dunno if it's a national chain, so I dunno how many of you guys know of it)To me it's just an upscale McDonalds, yet all my friends insist on leaving good tips. I usually just leave a dollar or so. Also, the Steak n Shake near us has actually been giving my group (and we usually go weekly after we make our weekly trip to the arcade)
But to say that you shouldn't have to tip because it's "in their job description to bring food and drink" is just an excuse to be a dick.
It's really not. Mostly it's a problem that the employers are legally allowed to get away with essentially forcing customers to match the employees wages. Seriously, restaurant jobs are one of very few service jobs that actually get tips.
That's why I use a sliding scale. 15% of the pre-tax bill is the accepted norm for a tip. Above-average service brings that number up. Below-average service brings it down. If the service is so bad that I don't feel the waitstaff deserve a tip, I'm usually asking to speak to the manager at that point.
Also, what about Steak n Shake?
They're all over the place. We've one here in town. I don't frequent it because of personal reasons, but the staff there is treated as customarily tipped employees as well. It's a sit-down-and-eat type of place, not a grab-it-and-go type of place. They come to your table, take your order, and bring you the food. They provide service above the typical "shove a plastic tray with your paper-wrapped burger on it across the counter" fast food joint. Ergo, a tip to the staff for good service is not out of the ordinary.
Mostly it's a problem that the employers are legally allowed to get away with essentially forcing customers to match the employees wages.
So now it's not your fault that the wait staff doesn't get tipped, it's the government and the employer's fault? Nice redirection of responsibility for social etiquette there.
Seriously, restaurant jobs are one of very few service jobs that actually get tips.
Not quite true. Granted, these are guidelines (that have sadly fallen out of disuse these days), but one's appreciation for professional services rendered, no matter how menial, should not go unshown, and really should go a bit beyond a simple "thanks."
So the kids working at Steak n Shake or people selling ice cream on the beach pushing a cart (they all have tip jars) are professionals?
Also, regarding Steak n Shake, lately I can tell that they've been taking advantage of my group. We come there very often, and we usually tip well...but the service actually gets worse each time we go. Maybe it's because we're loud...but also possibly because they know we will always come back. Although, it's gotten so bad that we once waited over a fucking hour for our burgers (and it was at midnight so the place was practically dead), and we got them, ate them, I complained about the long wait, they didn't do anything about it, so we walked out without paying. I had no shame in doing that. And subsequently, I will never eat at that particular Steak n Shake ever again. But that story is unrelated to tipping, but fully related to eating at restaurants.
This whole conversations sounds exactly like the beginning of Reservoir Dogs.
I agree with everything the non-tipper said in that video.
I come from a non-tipping culture - But we pay our hospitality workers a decent enough wage that it's not really needed. I'll tip for exceptional service, real above and beyond the call sort of business, but I won't tip for anything less.
Though, I was working as a waiter at the convention center in Brisbane for an Amway Conference, and a very drunk Marketing executive from Amway who may or may not have been in "The Secret" tipped me about 250 American dollars, which was quite a hefty sum for an 18 year old, considering the exchange rate between Australian and American dollars at the time.
This goes back to one of my goals in life, never wait a table or work food service... So far it's working out pretty well :-p
Hey, I chose to work in hospitality, I don't do it because I have to. And considering that my previous hospitality position was flying all over the world, being paid ridiculous sums for usually pretty easy work.
But then again, considering the state of the American hospitality industry, I can utterly understand this ambition - having a wage so low that tipping is expected, so that you can actually survive? That is some serious bullshit right there.
So the kids working at Steak n Shake or people selling ice cream on the beach pushing a cart (they all have tip jars) are professionals?
Professional: one engaged in a profession or engaging in as a profession or means of livelihood Profession: an occupation requiring special education
Now granted, it doesn't take a lot of training to learn how to make a milkshake or take someone's order for a burger, but it's still education above what the normal guy off the street has in regards to the services being provided. Hell, one's "profession" could be folding up origami cranes and selling them from a cart on the beach if they wanted.
My earlier comment still stands in regards to what is culturally accepted in America: people that are able to tip and don't tip just flat out strike me as cheap assholes. If you don't want to have to tip, then either go eat at the fast-food place or stay the hell home and cook your own food.
Don't take the value of tipping lightly. Waiters do remember people, especially those who tip well or tip shittily. Not tipping, especially for your reason, is like saying "okay, you waited on me hand and foot and now I will ignore your services because you are stupid". You pay for the food, but say it's bullshit to pay for the service.
You overlook the most important thing, yet bend what I say to your liking. I pay for the food, that includes its preparation and serving. If a restaurant values the cost of waiting it should reflect in the prices that are on the menu. A tip should be a bonus, not a default. You don't get 6 fireworks in Mario Bros without doing something for them.
This is because you're not American. In the US, tipping is simply something you do, and if you don't, you're an asshole. Servers at restaurants are exempt from minimum wage because tipping is expected. The tip is part of the cost of the meal.
People tip here too, it's just as much bullshit (though without the shitty laws).
I agree with everything the non-tipper said in that video.
Same here.
Indulge me in this hypothesis I have. How much do your parents make?
A question to all tippers, do you tip your car mechanic when he goes out of his way to check some extra things on your car as it's at the garage and perhaps even replaces a cheap light at no cost? That is exemplary service, those things happen, but I never heard anyone tip said mechanic for that. What about the painter that comes back half a week later to check and perhaps even touch up his work as just service?
Not quite true.Granted, these are guidelines (that have sadly fallen out of disuse these days), but one's appreciation for professional services rendered, no matter how menial, should not go unshown, and really should go a bit beyond a simple "thanks."
My opinion is: tip your waiter / waitress. But this is not to say that it should be ever considered 'required'. Recently, most wait staff have lost sight of the fact that a tip is a gratuity and NOT a must.
Freaking tippers and moronic lawmakers screwing shit up for the rest of us.
Here is my rant. In Japan, people give you good service BECAUSE IT IS WHAT YOU DO, rather than expecting a reward. There is no tipping, waiters get paid regular wage. In fact, people look down on the idea of tipping because it is like you have to pay extra for good service. Tipping is stupid, I think. However, because of the culture and the law in America, I will always tip well for good service and I give especially good tips to waiters I know because I go to the restaurant a lot. (Like at the diner, there are a couple of really nice waiters, like this girl who is always super good-natured.) So: I tip in countries with tipping custom, but I prefer the Japanese way.
I would probably tip (if the service was good) in countries where it is essentially part of the serving staff's wages, but otherwise I disagree with the custom.
I tip the standard %15, depending on service. I think the problem here lies in the fact that you don't realize that if waiters were paid normally, food would be more expensive, so you'd pay the tip anyway, but you wouldn't have a choice. Customer services like waiting and carry-outs are so different than normal goods and services we're used to, we think it's crazy to have to pay more, but in reality, we finally have the power to decide what our waiter earned.
tl;dr - Don't think of it as an extra payment, think of it as the normal payment, but you aren't obligated to pay it all.
The standard in Britain is 10%. So when you Americans come over here and tip 20%, that's why you guys are really popular with the staff. Although you are still abit backward with your swiping of the cards and not having a clue what chip and pin is.
Comments
I find it much easier to leave a 20% tip. Move the decimal point one place left and double the number. Simple.
As far as what I actually do when it comes to tipping...I usually just give them a few bucks plus all my coins I get back as change. If the service is shit, I leave none or just a few coins. I really don't give a rats ass when it comes to tipping because I rarely go to the same places often enough for people to recognize me.
Also, what about Steak n Shake? (I dunno if it's a national chain, so I dunno how many of you guys know of it)To me it's just an upscale McDonalds, yet all my friends insist on leaving good tips. I usually just leave a dollar or so. Also, the Steak n Shake near us has actually been giving my group (and we usually go weekly after we make our weekly trip to the arcade) It's really not. Mostly it's a problem that the employers are legally allowed to get away with essentially forcing customers to match the employees wages. Seriously, restaurant jobs are one of very few service jobs that actually get tips.
Also, regarding Steak n Shake, lately I can tell that they've been taking advantage of my group. We come there very often, and we usually tip well...but the service actually gets worse each time we go. Maybe it's because we're loud...but also possibly because they know we will always come back. Although, it's gotten so bad that we once waited over a fucking hour for our burgers (and it was at midnight so the place was practically dead), and we got them, ate them, I complained about the long wait, they didn't do anything about it, so we walked out without paying. I had no shame in doing that. And subsequently, I will never eat at that particular Steak n Shake ever again.
But that story is unrelated to tipping, but fully related to eating at restaurants. I agree with everything the non-tipper said in that video.
Though, I was working as a waiter at the convention center in Brisbane for an Amway Conference, and a very drunk Marketing executive from Amway who may or may not have been in "The Secret" tipped me about 250 American dollars, which was quite a hefty sum for an 18 year old, considering the exchange rate between Australian and American dollars at the time.
But then again, considering the state of the American hospitality industry, I can utterly understand this ambition - having a wage so low that tipping is expected, so that you can actually survive? That is some serious bullshit right there.
Profession: an occupation requiring special education
Now granted, it doesn't take a lot of training to learn how to make a milkshake or take someone's order for a burger, but it's still education above what the normal guy off the street has in regards to the services being provided. Hell, one's "profession" could be folding up origami cranes and selling them from a cart on the beach if they wanted.
My earlier comment still stands in regards to what is culturally accepted in America: people that are able to tip and don't tip just flat out strike me as cheap assholes. If you don't want to have to tip, then either go eat at the fast-food place or stay the hell home and cook your own food.
A question to all tippers, do you tip your car mechanic when he goes out of his way to check some extra things on your car as it's at the garage and perhaps even replaces a cheap light at no cost? That is exemplary service, those things happen, but I never heard anyone tip said mechanic for that. What about the painter that comes back half a week later to check and perhaps even touch up his work as just service? Freaking tippers and moronic lawmakers screwing shit up for the rest of us.
tl;dr - Don't think of it as an extra payment, think of it as the normal payment, but you aren't obligated to pay it all.