Tipping
 

Thought I'd start a new thread so as not to hijack the Eat it or Send It Back discussion, but I have a question for you with serving experience.

Several posters have mentioned that servers have to "tip out" the bartenders and bussers at the end of the evening. But it was my understanding that those folks didn't make the lower tipping minimum wage, but who make actual minimum wage. Why should servers, who earn less with the assumption that they will make up for it in tips, have to share their tips with those who make actual minimum wage?

Not all servers make less than minimum wage. In New York State servers are required to make regular minimum wage, so after tips, they make considerably more than bartenders, busboys, and hostesses.

Hostesses and bartenders do NOT make minimum wage at many places [I can't say all, but I don't know of any that they do]. Same for busboys. The problem is that the owners prefer to have the servers pay the hostesses, etc than the company pay them. It's stupid.

You tip out because the quality of the work done by the other staff directly impacts how much you can make.

Waiting tables is easiest when you get in a good rhythm, and things are flowing. When I waited tables, if I was getting slammed I would often just give up on tables. I'd look for tables that were spending a lot of money, seemed nice, and felt like they were going to tip well for good service. If you weren't all those things, I'd make the conscious decision to only do the minimum for your table and hope for the best when it came time for the tip. BUT, if I was in rhythm - there was good spacing in the timing of tables, things were progressing smoothly, there were no emergencies, then it was very easy for me to give great service to all my tables. As such, my tips would be higher.

Busboys help you flip your tables - so they stay dirty for shorter periods of time. Then you can get tables re-sat.

Good hostesses can make your job unbelievably easier based on how/when they seat you. If they're paying attention and willing to give you even just a little bit of time between seating two tables, it makes things easier. Or if they're willing to help get drinks started or take to-go containers to tables, again easier.

Bartenders who are fast and accurate in their drink making means I don't have to wait forever to get my drinks to my table, keeping me in sequence.


When the whole team is clicking, a restaurant works amazingly well.

That automatic tip charge bugs me to no end!

I would tip way more than the "auto charge" for good service when the table is that big (seriously one night we tipped $150 for a $400 4-person meal, the service was the *best* I ever had!), but when it is taken out of my control, I do not tip anything more than what is added to my bill.

Sometimes it has to be done though because you'll get that large party and they'll throw a 10 down on a $100 bill. It's hard to judge who's going to give and who isn't.

I'm a person who regularly tips 20% or more. I know that servers don't generally make a lot of money and that they work very hard. With that said, I have come across some pretty terrible servers and usually they'll get 15% (or sometimes less). But what I absolutely loathe is the included 18% gratuity that is automatically put on the bill of a party of 6 or more. If they're a good server, they lose out because now I'll only give them 18% versus the 20% plus that I would've given had gratuity not been included. Also, why should I have to pay 18% is the service is terrible? I had a really bad experience at a restaurant last year on my friend's b-day. The waitress was flat-out nasty. She put a bunch of items on our bill that we had never ordered and told us that we were liars when we said we had not ordered the items nor had they ever been brought to our table. When the kitchen finally told her that she was wrong, she mumbled an apology and had the manager fix our bill while she hid in the back. While those items were removed from our bill (and we got a free piece of cake....to share between 9 people), the 18% gratuity was not. It's like this waitress was being rewarded even though she was a general asshat to us.

I can see some of the points about the auto gratuity, but having been a server in a college town at a restaurant that didn't add gratuity no matter the size of the party I often wished we would've had it. Tips in general were pretty bad there no matter how good a server you were. Even the poor tips weren't as bad as the people who come in and let their kids run all over and don't watch them.

I always tip 20% if not more... I'm very forgiving because even though I'm a good server, I know what it's like to be in the weeds.

Adding gratuity should be up to the server, we call it "a roll of the dice" because if you don't add it you could get really lucky or get screwed.
I usually can read my tables well enough to know that the 20% from autograt is all i'm going to get or if they'll throw down more than that.

I hate to say this, but women almost always just leave the bare basic amount, especially in groups, I had lots of them this holiday season.... Plus they are usually a huge pain in the @ss... :p

I noticed this, too, when I was a server. I usually got the general 15% (or less, sometimes) if I was waiting on women dining together. If I had a male-female couple, I usually got between 15-20%. If I had a table of all gentlemen, I'd get a really good tip. 20-25% and above sometimes. Once I waited on the Anheuser-Busch reps who came to our restaurant and they gave me $60 on a $100 bill. I know they probably got to write it off, or were dining on the company card, but still. I wonder, though, if gender does make a difference in how a server is tipped. Will a woman-patron tip more for a male server? My hunch is probably yes.

If you really want to tip more, leave it on the table. I'm sure they're not going to chase after you and give it back. The problem is, like many people said, groups can either be feast or famine so they have to protect themselves. By the time 15 people figure out who got what, sometimes people undertip through no fault of their own...I've seen it happen often.

I've worked at two restaurants that had a policy where gratuity had to be added to checks for large parties. I always hated it, because I tend to average pretty high tips, and most people would just leave it at whatever the added gratuity was. But, I didn't have a choice.

Also, as for tipping out, the rules have been different at all 9 restaurants/bars I have worked at. Some have you tip out on sales, some have you tip out on tips, some restaurants pay them so you don't have to - there's really no rhyme or reason to it.

Or, someone sees the person next to them throw down $2-3 and figures that's good for them too, and the person on the other side of them does the same thing...

Although I must say, some of my best tips came from large groups of Greeks. Of course, I would throw my PanHel affiliation out there, for good measure.;)

Unless I have really bad service, I generally tip between 18-22%. I usually also tip above that when the service is excellent.

I don't have a problem with the auto-tip being added to large parties at all! Sometimes when you dine with that many, people will be cheap or not add up their portion properly and the server often times is the one who gets screwed. Also, I think young people tend to be bad tippers...I remember when I was in high school and 10-15 of us would get together and go out to eat late at night; there was always someone who walked out or didn't put down enough money and I felt bad for our servers. And, sometimes, people will just round the cost of their meal up and assume that covers the tax and tip (think again!).

As I mentioned in the "do you eat it or send it back" thread, I have no problem tipping when someone does a personal service for me, but it bothers me that nearly every shop now has a tip cup on their counter.

i have grat-ed a table once at my restaurant,and it turned out to be so confusing (our system is really old/confusing/sh*tty) that i swore i would never do it again..and i havent. it usually works out.

As for bartenders/bussers/hosts..the majority that i have known get paid the same as servers (the $2-$3 and change range), get tip-out from servers. not only that, but food-runners on busy nights will cost servers a few extra bucks. the most annoying thing to me that i havent really seen on this thread or the other one it branched from, is when tables are just flat out rude, run you around everytime u go to the table, then tip you 15% or LESS. I am always polite and personable to tables, and that just kills me!

The bartenders at my place cringe when they get to-go orders b/c 90% of the time they get no tip. i bartended for a little when at my last place, and i didnt really care b/c i knew i would make a good amount from my bar guests and server tip out. but still, to-go servers and bartenders do deserve it b/c they are neglecting their other duties/bar guests to serve you by getting you order together. besides, it still goes into their sales, just like a normal server, so they should get tipped.

Since I eat out a lot for work (and we are often in large parties), most of the places I've seen that auto-tip for bigger parties still include the extra tip line if you want to add more. I realize not every place does this, but the restaurants should :)

I have absolutely no problem with the automatic gratuity. Most of the time, groups that large inevitably have one person who wasn't raised right and will undertip. This way, the server doesn't get screwed.

In my experience (beach towns in Florida 10 years ago), the servers got below minimum, while the hostesses and busboys started at minimum.

I was thinking that it makes sense for bartenders to handle the to-go orders since they get a tip-out from the floor servers even when the servers didn't sell alcohol.... Then when the pick-up customers don't tip, it's made up when they get money from the floor without making drinks. But I've never served, so I don't know if it works out evenly or not and only came to that conclusion from reading these two threads!

I have always been a higher than 15% tipper - usually 25% minimum (which drives my husband insane). But I absolutely ABHOR getting auto-gratuitized. Yes, I understand completely that it is a gamble to the server who should probably err on the side of safety. I guess it just makes me feel like the server ASSUMES I am cheap and will stiff them. Oh well - guess there's nothing I can do about it.

Here's a question to the servers on here: How do you feel about people leaving you a tip of 4.37 on a 20.63 tab to make their total charge an even number? Do you really have to count out the pennies? Is it a pain in the butt? I've always figured it best for the server to leave an even dollar amount for a tip to take out of the register, but if everything is totaled up at the end of the day, maybe the 37 cents isn't that big of a crime???

The restaurant I worked at, the hostess got $5/hr (under the table), tips from waitresses not mandatory, and the busser got $2/hr(under the table) + 10% of waitresses tips. Although there was a few times when my friend was bussing that she would show me how much she got, and I KNEW the waitresses stiffed her, because I watched them count their tips. There was one waitress who would actually keep a seperate pocket, and tables she cleaned herself went into that pocket, and tables the busser cleaned went into another pocket. That's just plain rude. When one busser is working 6 waitresses who each have 7-10 tables, the busser is NOT going to get to every one of your tables. She does what she can. We only had a busser on the weekends, anyway, so it's not like the waitresses didn't know how to clean tables. I actually tipped the busser MORE than 10%, and guess what? My tables magically stayed clean, and those who were consistantly stingy with their tips had more dirty tables. Yes, I realize that creates a cycle, but if they would have tipped her fair to begin with, it wouldn't have happened like that.

To all of you who are complaining about the automatic tip: if people didn't stiff us, it wouldn't be needed. Sure it sucks sometimes, but we have to do what we have to do.

There are also definitely certain "tipping stereotypes" about different groups of people. I've always hated church groups - Christians are AWFUL tippers as a group. Plus, they always do this thing where they reserve a room or a table for 40, have 15 show up and 10 of them order water and don't tip. Then the two servers who were assigned to the supposed 40 top are screwed. Happens frequently. There are other groups too, but we won't get into that.

I know I could add more if I wanted to tip more. It is a PERSONAL DISCRETION issue for me. The auto-tip takes the control away from me in regard to determining if the service was acceptable or not. I want that control to reward based on the quality of service.

That makes sense. I didn't read your original post that way, I just read what you originally wrote (about adding more if the service was great).

I'd like to hear what servers say about people making the tip so that the total bill is an even dollar amount... i've done that a bit in the past :o

[QUOTE=Here's a question to the servers on here: How do you feel about people leaving you a tip of 4.37 on a 20.63 tab to make their total charge an even number? Do you really have to count out the pennies? Is it a pain in the butt? I've always figured it best for the server to leave an even dollar amount for a tip to take out of the register, but if everything is totaled up at the end of the day, maybe the 37 cents isn't that big of a crime???[/QUOTE]

i dont care either way

very true. i hate when i get put on a party with 2-3 other servers of 40+people and about half show up. I can handle a 35 top myself!

i work every sunday morning and i always get 15% or less from the Christian tables no matter what (not trying to offend anyone, I am a Christian myself). I joke with my very religious father that maybe Christians should follow what the Bible says and "do unto others as you would have them do unto you". He replies that maybe Christians tip so low b/c they give 10% of their income to the offering, so they figure a 10% tip is fine lol.

Could it be God finds a 10% tip acceptable? OTHERWISE, those Christians must really think they got "crappy" service from him..what with all those wars, and liberals running around..........

If you left $4.45 instead of $4 and the guy next to you left $3.73 instead of $3 or $3.50, and you wait on 50 tables, it's going to add up. That could be an extra $25, easy. So, yeah, leave the extra change, rather than rounding down. Of course, if you'd rather round up, that's fine too.;)

in NC at least the auto tip can't be enforced by law...my ex is a cop and has been called to resturants because someone/group refused to pay the auto-tip, he said they are only required to pay the cost of food and tax...also when I was still in the military a large group of us were in New Orleans and got HORRIBLE service at a resturant...one of our officers is an attorney and he argued with the manger about the auto tip...I can't remember if we end paying it or not there...

I live in NY and have waitressed in Missouri as well. We always got WAY under minimum wage, usually 2-3 dollars an hour. Now usually we get a "shift" pay of around 35 dollars and at my last restaurant, we got 45-50 because we were the head servers.


It doesn't bother me much, because the last few places I worked at, they do the tips in a check (which sucks b/c we get taxed... grrr) and not cash, so it's not like you're counting out 43 cents, it usually gets rounded up if it is cash anyway.

I have seen on menus, when they state "A gratuity of 18% will automatically be added for parties of x or more," that this charge can be discussed with the manager.

This leads me to believe that if the service was lousy (usually because the server thought they were guaranteed an 18% tip no matter the level of service - and yes, we all know it has happened), the tip (if any at all) can be adjusted.

On the flip side, I am sure that if a group wants to leave a 20% tip (or more!), then that could be adjusted as well.

The manager wasn't much better. She argued with us for a while even after the kitchen said they never made the food for our table nor were the items on the order form. It was a terrible experience all around and I have never returned back there again.

At home, my husband and I ALWAYS make our bill come out to an even dollar amount. I never cared as a server when people did that; money was money.

I'm just glad that here in Germany, as well as many other European countries, the tip is included in the bill. It's not an auto-add, it's figured into the prices on the menu. Being the "crazy Americans", we always add a tip at the end of the meal. It is well received, and usually gets us really good service on future visits.

We never had anything but top-notch service in Europe. I think that may be because servers didn't seem to be Joe Schmoes off the street, like you find in some American restaurants...they're on par with Admin. Assistants/Receptionists/Paralegals/etc and probably get paid accordingly.

I would have taken the bill, marked out the 18% tip, put in whatever tip (if any) I thought was appropriate, recalculated the total and handed that bill along with my credit card to the manager.

And I would hope he wanted to argue with me about it.

The LAWYER would say that.;)

Wouldn't that be like going into battle with an unarmed person?:p

When we lived in Chile (1995-1998), it was assumed by the restaurant staff that once you sat down at the table, it was yours for as long as you wanted to stay, even if it was the whole evening.

As a patron, we never felt "rushed" by the server in any way so they could turn the table. Actually, the server would not come over to take your order until you motioned for him to do so. Drinks were refilled without asking, and we were pretty much left alone to enjoy our meal - no one asking "How is everything?" as soon as you put food in your mouth (or asking after you've only had one bite - how could anyone possibly give an honest assessment after one bite?).

In the States, servers give you the check without you having to ask; it's their way of telling you that "you've finished eating, pay your bill and get out so I can have someone else sit here." In Chile, you have to ask for the bill. Even after you pay it, you can sit at the table as long as you want and linger over cup(s) of coffee. As one of my Chilean friends said, "The waiters view it as you paying for the table for the night. If you finish early and someone else sits there, that's okay, too, but it is *your* table for as long as you want it to be."

As in Europe, gratuities were figured into the price of the menu selections. We were never expected to tip, but we still left a small something, usually around 10%.

I would also tip the boys who carried out my groceries for me (they only work for tips - you could tell which Liceo they attended by the tie they wore) -- usually 100-300 pesos (back then, 100 pesos = a little more than 25 cents). As gas stations were only full-serve, I would tip 100 pesos for filling up the car (everyone tipped this for filling up the car), and another 100 pesos or so for cleaning the windshield. These guys also had a regular wage, so their tips were extra.

That's because Americans view meals as a chance to stuff our face and leave - while most other countries, meals are more about socialization than the actual eating. There's probably a pretty strong correlation between that and the weight problem in America.

My parents went to Namibia a few years ago and talked about the great service they recieved. At one restaurant they paid and then my Dad left a tip- and the server followed them outside to give him back the money that he left on the table. Apparently tipping isn't customary outside of the modern resorts.

At the place I work, we used to tip out 2.75% of our sales to the hostess and busser (who make $7.50, respectively). A couple of years ago, corporate upped the figure to 3.25%, so they wouldn't have to give the hostesses and bussers raises.

I worked at Cheesecake Factory for 1 summer. At Cheesecake Factory, the servers tip out on their tips, not their sales. I had to tip the busser 15% of my tips, the bartender 7.5% (whether I had any bar drinks or not), and the food runner 5%. So, if I made $100 in tips, I walked would walk out with only $72. I prefer tipping out on sales.