well the wage per hour for the average waiter/waitress can start at what is it around $2.75 per hour? (they are exempt from minimum wage laws)
They make all their money off tips.
With that said, I won’t tip someone who is a jerk. There’s a difference between being new and just not caring. Those who don’t care, I don’t tip. But I tip very generously to those who actually act like a server.
i can’t stand the restaurants that automatically add the tip in for you -
I dont think that is true at all restaurants an should not be true at all. If that was the case should make them commission based. A friend of mine works at a place called fridays. She makes minimum wage plus tips. So it goes back to my statement about finding a better job or going on strike.
I usually tip about 15%. I wish restaurants would just increase the price of the food, so they can pay all of the employees more and not force waiters/others to rely on tips to supplement their low wages. That would be a simple solution in my view 
a buddy of mine goes to hooters fairly often (about once a month) - never leaves a tip. so one time he walks in and the manager calls him out on it saying, “i think you forgot to leave a tip last time”. i’m embarrassed when i go out to eat with him and he doesn’t leave a tip, so i usually force him to lay down a couple bucks or i compensate.
i tip at least 15%, but if they’re good and the bill’s not to big i might go 25ish. all i really care about with service is that my glass stays full.
problem with raising prices on food is that 1) can’t hide from taxes (for both employer and employee), 2) benefits all waiters/waitresses equally, good or bad service.
If the restaurants/waiters want a 15% tip and get mad if you don’t tip that, then why don’t they just add it to the bill and pay the waiter a reasonable salary. That’s what we do in civilised countries 
where tipping is voluntary and only given when someone deserves something extra…
Plus… if I’ve had a great dinner with some good wine, then I can’t calculate 15% of anything…
Plus… if I’ve had a great dinner with some good wine, then I can’t calculate 15% of anything…
NT, just highlighting…
because then the employee has to pay social security taxes on that extra income and the employer will have to pay social security and unemployment taxes. so for the most part, both the employer and employee are better off keeping tips off the books.
If service is poor, I don’t tip.
If the server has to give up 5% of there tips to the rest of the staff, then maybe they should have thought about that before delivering the crumby service.
As in any job/career, money is earned.
TD
Where I live, 5 to 10 % is common.
I know that the height of tip is a cultural thing.
Here in Austria we’d consider it to be ridiculous
if somebody was upset because je got 10 %.
With 10 % you’re well served.
I just don’t know what waters earn here, so there might
be quite a difference to other regions or countries.
I pay 15 on average… but they get upset if your under 15…
So… how would you guys that live in the States like to pay $30 for a Ribeye compared to $18 - what it is now (where I live)…
that’s the purpose of tipping… you don’t pay a lot of money for your food because you are paying SOLEY for your food… not the waiter’s pay.
Agreed w/ Ethan. Tips are how I make my money. I get paid $3.30/hr from my company. That’s less than Wal-Mart pays their immigrants! Tips are my income, my only income, considering my paycheck is about $15.00 at the end of the week (and thats for 45 hours of work!). If you can’t afford to leave 15% then don’t go out to eat. Go to Arby’s or McDonalds where you don’t have to tip. Its part of the meal cost and everyone in the US knows this! Its not a surprise!
How would you feel if you worked all week and then on payday, your check was $50 less than what you thought it was going to be? You’d have a fit! But what do we servers do? Nothing! We have to grin and bear it and rough it out through the next round of retards that need to be waited on and need to have their well-done burger rushed because they are in a hurry! And you know what? The chance that they are going to leave a good tip is slim to none.
I actually live in an area where the average tip is 12%. Thats pathetic! 15 is supposed to be the minimum… MINIMUM people! MINIMUM! I work my arse off for these people and they leave me what? NOTHING! I realize that hour that you sat at MY table and used MY energy to consume the food I brought to your table didn’t mean much to you, but to me that was an hour that I could have spent doing something other than running back and forth to the kitchen to get you more BBQ SAUCE YOU FAT LAZY CHEAP MORON! I deserve a decent tip! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!?!!?
The people that leave no tip are lucky that I have some self restraint left in my body because otherwise I would follow them out to their car and use their TEETH to slash their tires and their FACES to smash their windows.
I understand that some servers do suck. Actually a lot of them do, most of them work at the same TGI Friday’s that I work at. But I do not suck. I do admit that sometimes I make mistakes and that should be reflected in my tip, but people make mistakes, and sh!t happens. So try to not be some sub-human social mutant and remember that. Will ya? Please?
Not sure if this was answered or not but here goes. The tipping thing is there because its the only way a resturant can make any money and still server food at a reasonable wage. Do the math:
Say it costs a resturant $3.00 to make an entree. They turn around and sell it to you for $7.00. They pay the server to take care of you $3.00 per hour. So they are making $1.00 on that entree.
What if they had to pay that server a LIVING wage? In my area a living wage would be about $9.50 per hour. That $7.00 sandwich would now cost you over $13.00 because the resturant still has to pay the server for that hour of work, and thats just to break even. And whats 15% of $7.00? $1.05. Thats it. $1.05 So you pay $1.05 on top of that $7.00, bringing your total to $8.05 and everyone is happy. The resturant makes a profit, the server gets his 15% and you don’t have to pay $13.00 for a sandwich.
Also, wouldn’t you want someone to server you who’s income was dependent on how well they serve you and how nice they are to you? What if I was making an hourly wage and didn’t care about a tip? The service would suck! Food would be slow, I wouldn’t have to be very friendly because I was making hourly and my service to you is not reflected in my paycheck.
Kit: I just wanted to mention that I am actually offended by this comment. You don’t get 10% because thats not how your industry is set up. However the world of resturants is. Hopefully my above statements will shed some light on it for you. Even though my hourly pay is only $3.30 per hour I still make more money per year than most of my friends that have “real” jobs. So why do I do this? Because the money is good, the hours are flexible, and because I’m good at it. Will I be doing it my whole life, hell no! I hate it, but for now its a good way to fill the time. I can walk in on a Saturday with an empty wallet and leave later that afternoon with $300 in cash. Can you do that at your job?
More info: How Tipping Works | HowStuffWorks
I really hope some of you people read my previous posts because it answers most of your questions.
This is why I just stay home and order pizza. Of coarse Im expected to tip for that too.
If you are a regular customer and don’t tip, believe me… they remember you. And if you aren’t a tipper, your delivery will get skipped by as many drivers as possible until management forces someone to take it.
And you guys not tipping is giving them cottonmouth every night. They just don’t have enough spit to keep up.
the 15% waiter-tax automatically added on the bill works pretty well too… Sure, the food is more expansive that way, but it’s less hypocrit than implying you have to add 15% yourself.
Anyways, being a waiter sucks anywho…
quick story about tipping for ya
frank sinatra was at one of his favourite hotels (in vegas I think) and on his way in he tipped the doorman $200. The doorman said “Thanks Mr Sinatra, thats the biggest tip I’ve had yet”.
Frank says "Really…what was the biggest tip you had before now?"
The doorman replies “$100 from you Mr Sinatra, when you stayed here 5 years ago”
not a funny story but a nice one nonetheless
The are not making $1.00 on that entree…
a. there maybe 10 people on your table you, the waiter are serving, so re-do the math…
3x10 = 30 7x10 = 70 40 dollar profit on entree
less waiter $3 to serve the entree = $37 dollar profit for restaurant!! 
and thats not even if you are serving more than one table!!
so ure argument is flawed my friend, i wont feel sorry for the restaurant…
did you not read earlier about how the restaurant makes up to the minimum wage if you do not receive that salary with tips?? so you are telling porkies when you make out you could be down on your paycheck if people dont tip…
lastly, your comment about if you were just on a salary, not tipping, wud mean a lower quality of service for customers shows you have a dodgy attitude towards work. you are saying that if an employer paid you a wage to do a job, you wouldnt do it properly!!
you have it very sweet if you take home a few hundred bucks for a days work…which may be long hours but does not carry anything like the amount of stress a ‘real’ job does. you just make a killing on making the customer feel guilty about how much they tip!!
if you are so hard done by, then justify the hundreds of dollars you got that saturday???
jubba - ever tipped an air hostess (assuming you’ve flown)? If you haven’t flown, ever heard of anyone tipping a hostie?
Thought not.
But following your line of argument they deserve it and should get it - as they have to work ****ed hard serving tea, coffee, meals and be on call (literally) via the call button and trust me, their take home pay is pitiful! Do bear in mind that they could also save your life…
I don’t believe that you are doing your argument any favours by being openly critical of the people who provide you with your extra $
running back and forth to the kitchen to get you more BBQ SAUCE YOU FAT LAZY CHEAP MORON! I deserve a decent tip! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!?!!?
So try to not be some sub-human social mutant and remember that. Will ya? Please?
For the record, Kit’s view that you find so offensive accurately reflects the majority view to tipping (in the UK anyway). I support her view and now armed with the knowledge which you have empowered me with in your posts above, makes me more determined to only pay a tip when the service merits it.
I have written the above as an ex-breakfast waiter (my very first job - a long time ago!) where I had to silver-service fried eggs (think about it… not easy!) at 05:00am and also as one who is fully aware what happens to an ‘unacceptable’ steak if a diner has the audacity to ask for it to be returned to the chef…
You want a tip, you earn it. It is not a right. It is a bonus and should be treated as such and I think that some gratitude towards your benefactors (customers) should be more evident in your views as opposed to the contrary and ungrateful tone you appear to adopt.
hear hear…
frankly it amazes me that this ‘its my right’ attitude exists in american restaurants. isnt your whole culture based on ‘hard work, land of opportunity, etc…’
seems to me it doesnt apply to the waiters. sloppy job and 15%? yeh right
it reminds me of the attitude towards work of a lot of british builders…less work more money.
jubba try a real job and then you will see why waiters shouldtn be paid as much
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