Restaurant tipping

[Psyclone]

Tipping has gotten out of hand. I completely get tipping a bartender, or tipping your server at a full service restaurant. Maybe a few other scenarios. But places where it’s basically the same set up as McDonald’s and they just take your order and hand you your food at the counter, I’d never thought of tipping there before it started coming up on the card reader.

Forty years ago I went to a McDonald's restaurant in the Atlanta metro where you ordered from your table and a server delivered your meal. The tables had tablecloths, menus and candles on the table. It felt weird leaving a tip at a McDonalds, especially considering this was the mid-1980's, but that's exactly what I did.

It's a bit funny because I was on a three week long business trip and my travel partner and I just got tired of eating at full service restaurants and just wanted something quick and simple. We walked into this place where we were waited on and seated. The food was the same though and the service quick. So it just became a story to tell.

 

[3TrueFans]

That would suck, but you actually perform a "service" by bringing a person food, and should get a tip for it. But why should I tip someone that is just handling me food at a fast food shop. They did not prepare it, and really did nothing but ring up the order. I do not mind rounding up, the grocery store in Bloomfield was very good about supporting local causes, After prom, the local little league or Girl Scouts, I had no problem rounding up for things like that. But now places want a donation, instead of going from $14.35 to $15.00. It's gotten out of hand, and needs to stop.

I don’t necessarily disagree, I wouldn’t tip at a fast food chain, but how exactly do you think the food at a fast food place gets from uncooked/frozen to cooked and to the customer?

 

[Psyclone]

I dislike the handheld card readers where they linger over you. I like to always have my totals be to a dollar amount. awkward to do that math while they are standing there.

I occasionally try to hit a dollar amount also. But then there are the cases where they add the credit card charge on top of it and it foils that plan. I guess you can back up before you sign or submit on those electronic readers, but it's not that important. The bigger question is why does it matter to me to hit a round dollar amount and the answer is that I guess it really doesn't.

 

[Psyclone]

I don’t necessarily disagree, I wouldn’t tip at a fast food chain, but how exactly do you think the food at a fast food place gets from uncooked/frozen to cooked and to the customer?

My local Chipotle doesn't offer a place for tips at the register, but I heard once that they paid their employees more than many other fast food places. And generally you can tell the workers are better and they don't have the turnover that other chains face.

The industry must have metrics about the length of time an employee stays at various fast food places. It would be an interesting thing to see how the different places stack up.

 

[KidSilverhair]

Actually the push back is far more from the owners not the servers or staff.

Oh, I’ve seen it both ways. Restaurants that tried raising their menu prices and increasing servers’ pay while ending tipping often see their business drop, as customers look at the higher menu prices and stay away (even though the total cost would be the same as another restaurant after tipping); but servers also have pushed back against the “no tipping/higher wages“ policy because they know they generally come out ahead with tips.

 

[KidSilverhair]

This really wouldn't have any impact on how I would choose where to go. I usually will tip 15-20% for the worst service, and more for good service.

Why are you tipping 15-20% for the “worst” service? I mean, you do you, you can spend your money however you want to, but that seems to defeat the whole purpose.

”You can treat me like dirt, not check on my meal, refuse to refill my drink, and make me wait 25 minutes before you finally bring me my check, but here’s a little something extra for you.”

(I guess if it’s places that pool tips you’re making sure the cooks and back of house people get something, so maybe I’m answering my own question here.)

 

[KidSilverhair]

That would suck, but you actually perform a "service" by bringing a person food, and should get a tip for it. But why should I tip someone that is just handling me food at a fast food shop. They did not prepare it, and really did nothing but ring up the order. I do not mind rounding up, the grocery store in Bloomfield was very good about supporting local causes, After prom, the local little league or Girl Scouts, I had no problem rounding up for things like that. But now places want a donation, instead of going from $14.35 to $15.00. It's gotten out of hand, and needs to stop.

There’s an ice cream and popcorn shop near me that I frequent (the popcorn is the best). I pull the bags I want off the shelves and go up to the cashier to ring them up. The cashier puts them in a plastic bag for me. The payment screen includes a tip option.

Now, I understand the point-of-sale systems that many shops use just has that tip option screen built in, so it’s kinda automatic. And if that counterperson had scooped me some ice cream, yeah, maybe throwing them a buck or two is okay. But having that screen ask if I want to tip 20 or 25% on four bags of popcorn that I brought to the counter myself just feels wrong. (I don’t feel wrong clicking the “No Tip” option, though.)

 

[chuckd4735]

Why are you tipping 15-20% for the “worst” service? I mean, you do you, you can spend your money however you want to, but that seems to defeat the whole purpose.

”You can treat me like dirt, not check on my meal, refuse to refill my drink, and make me wait 25 minutes before you finally bring me my check, but here’s a little something extra for you.”

(I guess if it’s places that pool tips you’re making sure the cooks and back of house people get something, so maybe I’m answering my own question here.)

Your last sentence for the most part, but I also account for being human as well. People don't always have the best days and you never know what they are going through. They do a job that I would never want to do, and their salaries are dependent on that level of tipping. If they provide good to great service, I'm willing to tip more.

 

[KennyPratt42]

My wife worked with a guy at a restaurant that would find a way to tell most of his tables that it was his birthday. He averaged getting about 5% to 10% more than the other servers. It was a big enough place that the odds of repeat customers in a short time frame was pretty low.

 

[Sparkplug]

Ask a waiter/waitress if they would prefer $20/hr or $5/hr + tips. You might be surprised

Bartenders would probably prefer tips

 

[cyputz]

What!??? It isn't 10 percent? Even the church only requires a 10 percent tithe.

10% of your annual worth - If we gave 10% of our annual worth each year, hell - I would become a server.

 

[Althetuna]

What do you do at Culver’s!?

I haven't been inside a Culver's in a long time but IIRC I didn't tip.

 

[alarson]

Your last sentence for the most part, but I also account for being human as well. People don't always have the best days and you never know what they are going through. They do a job that I would never want to do, and their salaries are dependent on that level of tipping. If they provide good to great service, I'm willing to tip more.

I mean, i remember when younger the standard tip for acceptable service was 15%, and somehow that's crept up to 20% and now you hear some entitled servers think it should be more than that.

Doesn't seem like that should have changed as while prices are higher that also means that 15% of the total is more. I almost always end up tipping 20% anyway (as 20% is easy to math out in my head) but 15% should really still be the norm for acceptable service. More for good service, and less for poor service. Probably still wouldn't give zero unless the service was outright atrocious though.

 

[CyDude16]

Does it? The IRS includes card charges in their definition of cash tips.

Tip recordkeeping and reporting | Internal Revenue Service

Provides information and resources dealing with reporting tip income for all industries that deal with tipping of employees.

www.irs.gov

Tips include:

• Cash tips received directly from customers.
• Tips from customers who leave a tip through electronic settlement or payment. This includes a credit card, debit card, gift card or any other electronic payment method.

They differentiated in the bill. They are not considered the same under the writing of the bill.

 

[CyDude16]

Oh, I’ve seen it both ways. Restaurants that tried raising their menu prices and increasing servers’ pay while ending tipping often see their business drop, as customers look at the higher menu prices and stay away (even though the total cost would be the same as another restaurant after tipping); but servers also have pushed back against the “no tipping/higher wages“ policy because they know they generally come out ahead with tips.

I’m one of those too. I average roughly 28% tip on shifts. So it’d be a pay decrease.

 

[Cyforce]

So if there are no longer taxes on tips does that include FICA, how is unemployment and social security going to work?

 

[MTCyclone43]

I begin every meal that I eat out with a 20% tip in mind. The server then determines whether that number goes up or down depending on the level of service.

 

[Clonehomer]

I mean, i remember when younger the standard tip for acceptable service was 15%, and somehow that's crept up to 20% and now you hear some entitled servers think it should be more than that.

Doesn't seem like that should have changed as while prices are higher that also means that 15% of the total is more. I almost always end up tipping 20% anyway (as 20% is easy to math out in my head) but 15% should really still be the norm for acceptable service. More for good service, and less for poor service. Probably still wouldn't give zero unless the service was outright atrocious though.

Agreed. A dinner for a family of 5 is around $100 now. So if the dinner lasts around an hour, that’s $20/hr per table. How many tables do you serve at a time? I understand there are busy and slow times in a restaurant, but you could be easily making $100/hr on busy nights.

 

[Big Daddy Kang]

Would you be more likely to go to a restaurant that added a little over 20% to all of their item prices when compared to comparable restaurants and then did not give you an option to tip?

You could leave additional cash or could request to leave an additional tip on a credit card receipt, but the default would be that there is no option for leaving a tip and no expectation to do so.

So as a couple of examples:
A normally $9.99 menu item would be changed to $12.25
A normally $26 menu item would be changed to $32
A total of $120 in items ordered would change to around $146.50

I don't buy the "no expectation to do so". Whose expectation? I've been to no-tipping places where all tips go to "our good cause of the week". And there is always a line item for tipping on the bill. How am I to know it's a no-tipping place anyway? Researching crap like that just makes me want to stay home. Same with delivery anymore.

 

[KennyPratt42]

I don't buy the "no expectation to do so". Whose expectation? I've been to no-tipping places where all tips go to "our good cause of the week". And there is always a line item for tipping on the bill. How am I to know it's a no-tipping place anyway? Researching crap like that just makes me want to stay home. Same with delivery anymore.

They use a point of sale system like all shops in the world that give you a receipt to sign without a line for tip and total. Even most restaurants geared point of sale systems probably have that option.

You know because it’s printed on the menu and again on the receipt. It’s not something you need to know prior to going. It’s information the customer should have while looking at the menu/ordering. If I was running the restaurant I’d also probably put it on my website, but that information isn’t really needed prior to getting the menu (unless you’re a person that never looks at a menu & prices prior to going to a place and also leaves small or no tips).