Question about tipping at restaurants.....

[Booster4324]

Not here. The night life here is among the top in North America.

 

Well in the US most bartenders (even the ones I have met from LA and NY don't come close to that 600 to 800 range. Hell, only the high class strippers average that (Memphis used to have a nation wide renowned strip club and I knew quite a few of the dancers). Not all the strippers, just the high class one. My point being you are grossly distorting what the average person makes, when the discussion is about what an average tip should be.

[The Dean]

Another question--do you guys tip hairdresses/barbers? If so, why? They're providing a service for which you're already paying. (My wife and I argue about this from time to time).

 

Unless the hairdresser owns the shop, they are paid very little per cut. They rely on tips simply to survive, in many cases.

 

 

I am a "computer guy" and I get tips all the time from customers as well as fruit baskets, gift certs etc at Christmas. Never really understood that, becuase the are already paying for the service, but I'm not complaining.

 

Me, too. In fact I'd say 20-25% of my customers give me more money than I ask for. They don't call it a "tip", they just say the service was worth more than I charge. Many of my customers give me homemade cookies, cakes, pasta, etc. Everybody loves to feed a fat guy.

 

same argument goes for bartenders then, right? I read somewhere that gratuity is a very large part of the income for a barber or stylist. I tip mine $5.00.

 

Bartenders and waitresses are regularly paid under minimum wage in the USA. The tips compensate for that. In many (most?) local joints the bartenders are given a small flat wager (I know some get as little as $30 a night for pay).

 

What if its the owner of the Bar/Barber shop/resturant/pizza place/food delivery to your home/ serving you? Tip?

 

Then it is up to you, really. I tip, but I lived on tips for years. But if you go to a salon and the owner charges $40 for a cut, I don't think you need to tip him/her. Tipping will usually get you better treatment on return visits, though.

 

 

Feel free to continue to shell out your money, while they make jokes about you in the kitchen...

 

Travel to Germany. Read the term..."price inclusive". One of the prevailing, persistent myths is that serving tables is poor-paying occupation. Not only can you pocket a bundle of cash money that you may or may not report, you get to plead poverty and get saps to pet you about your poor lot in life.

 

Like you have to train, go and pay for higher education to get into the biz...please...

 

First of all, I have NEVER heard cooks/waiters/bartenders/etc make fun of a good tipper for being a good tipper. NEVER. And I have worked in a lot of places. Now, if you are throwing money around trying to impress the bartender or pick up the waitress there may be jokes, but not for the normal customer.

 

In Germany the prices are "inclusive" because they actually pay their help a living wage. We don't do that in the USA. Maybe we should pay servers a decent wage. Then the price of everything you consume at a bar or restaurant would cost far more than it does now.

 

And as I now know you are a skin-flint, you have lost your chair at my bar!

 

As to what a bartender makes, it varies widely. At a high end joint with class customers (not Cincy), you can do quite well. At a dive bar you can starve, especially in a bad economy. When I bartended at the Seneca Niagara Casino, I started on the day shift. There were weekdays in the winter when you could make $10 in tips for the whole day (and I was usually among the higher tipped bartenders). Remember we were paid under minimum wage so they actually had to tax us on far more tips than that. To be fair, on a good night shift you could go home with a few hundred on occasion and I'm guessing not many declared all of that. Of course, when you leave with a pocketful of money on the night shift, and you work with 20-something cocktail waitresses, you often find yourself broke (but happy) in the morning. Such is the life of a bartender.

[Just Jack]

My tips...

 

Dining in - 20% unless my bill is under $10, then $2

 

Curbside pickup - 10%

 

Delivery - $5 if it a small order (1 pizza or chinese), larger orders get more

 

Bar - $1 drink unless I also order food, then 20%

 

Haircut - $3

[Jim in Anchorage]

My tips...

 

Dining in - 20% unless my bill is under $10, then $2

 

Curbside pickup - 10%

 

Delivery - $5 if it a small order (1 pizza or chinese), larger orders get more

 

Bar - $1 drink unless I also order food, then 20%

 

Haircut - $3

You tip the garbage man?

[Just Jack]

You tip the garbage man?

Nah, my garbage man is a city employee.

 

example of Curbside pickup

[Jim in Anchorage]

Nah, my garbage man is a city employee.

 

example of Curbside pickup

Is outback any good? Those prices looked pretty fair, and that was for the Anchorage location. Never been there.

[Doc]

Unless the hairdresser owns the shop, they are paid very little per cut. They rely on tips simply to survive, in many cases.

My hairdresser used to own her own shop. I'd pay $15 for the cut and $5 for the tip. She used to make a decent amount on tanning, but then competitors came in and she couldn't pay rent. So she ended-up renting a space in another salon. The funny/sad thing is that the building where her shop was has been vacant now for 1-1/2 years. Had the owner negotiated a lower rent with her, he could have had something instead of nothing. Oh well. She says she's doing better than she has in awhile where she is now, and has a lot fewer headaches.

[The Dean]

My hairdresser used to own her own shop. I'd pay $15 for the cut and $5 for the tip. She used to make a decent amount on tanning, but then competitors came in and she couldn't pay rent. So she ended-up renting a space in another salon. The funny/sad thing is that the building where her shop was has been vacant now for 1-1/2 years. Had the owner negotiated a lower rent with her, he could have had something instead of nothing. Oh well. She says she's doing better than she has in awhile where she is now, and has a lot fewer headaches.

 

I get my hair cut from the owner, too and I also give a $5 tip.

[meazza]

I get my hair cut from the owner, too and I also give a $5 tip.

 

I'm stopping all forms of tipping ... starting now....

 

Unless she has huge cans...

[Dr. Fong]

I am Canadian and I tip pretty well.

 

 

So you're the one.

[WVUFootball29]

When it comes to tipping, I usually give 20-30% of the total with tax depending on service and the type of restaurant. Really poor service will see about 15%, but it has to be exceptionally poor. I rarely tip when picking up food unless I know the people and they hook me up with a deal every now and then. Miley's (local bar) I typically drop the bartender a few bucks for my takeout order because they'll normally knock off a good chunk of the food total for me.

 

When I tip at a bar, I typically tip pretty big my first round at a busy bar to ensure good service for the rest of the night then after that its typically a buck or two a round depending on what I order.

[Kiwi Bills fan]

No tipping down here in New Zealand.

 

Just about two weeks ago, we had pizza delivered.

When the kid showed up he handed me the food and I gave him a couple bucks back. He looked at it and said, "No thanks".

I said, "oh go ahead and keep it" and he still refused!

 

When I asked him why, he said that we've tipped him in the past, and that we didn't need to do it every time!

 

 

I love NZ

[MartyBall4Buffalo]

Working as a waiter in food service industry the acceptable tip is generally 20% when out to eat. However I fully understand that not everyone can afford that, and as long as people leave 10% I'm cool with that. I'm sorry but if you're out eating and can't afford to leave 10% than do us a favor and stay home. It's a complete waste of our time at work. The average server at a resturant unless we're working an upscale place is under 3 an hour on the clock +tips. The only thing worse is paying your bill, Than sitting there the rest of the night taking up one of my tables costing me money in the process. Realize most of us are generally college aged kids, relying fully on your tips to survive day to day, pay for rent, pay back loans,bills etc etc.

 

If I go out I'm tipping 20% of my food bill. If I'm just out drinking than I tip a dollar per beer, or 15-20 % of the final bill.

 

Delivery depending on the order only 5-10 dollars

 

Pickup unless it's curbside pickup I don't tip. Other than the kitchen no one really doing any work other than ringing in your order.

[Just Jack]

Is outback any good? Those prices looked pretty fair, and that was for the Anchorage location. Never been there.

It's kinda a crap shoot. Some stuff I like on their menu like the ribs and the Alice Springs chicken. Other stuff like the prime rib is just "eh".

[BUFFALOTONE]

You sound like a beggar who wants to demand money out of other people's hide for the performance of the simplest of tasks, trying to embarrass them and shake down their wallet. And insult them if they don't go along with the extortion attempt.

Pump the brakes buddy. I have worked 1 job in the food service industry in college and that was at Subway and we never had a tip jar.

 

You sound like a old curmudgeon who is doing the server a favor by letting him/her wait on you. God forbid you reward someone properly for doing a good job or getting "annoyed" when they introduce themselves at the table.

[BUFFALOTONE]

big clubs in big cities. shoot, i used to make a couple hundred a night just waiting tables at a nice restaurant.

 

the big, packed bars with $7 bottles of beer and $10 drinks... the bartenders can make a killing. $500 on a Thursday night, who knows what over the weekend.

 

My friend dated a bartender who worked at Club Mansion in South Beach, he said she would come home on a WEEKDAY with about 1000 in tips and the weekends around 2k. But she worked from 9-6 am. That relationship didn't last that long....

[BUFFALOTONE]

I'm stopping all forms of tipping ... starting now....

 

Unless she has huge cans...

 

Isn't that funny how it works, who cares how long she takes or if the orders wrong.

[meazza]

Isn't that funny how it works, who cares how long she takes or if the orders wrong.

 

Well the girl has to pay for the implants somehow

[stuckincincy]

First of all, I have NEVER heard cooks/waiters/bartenders/etc make fun of a good tipper for being a good tipper. NEVER. And I have worked in a lot of places. Now, if you are throwing money around trying to impress the bartender or pick up the waitress there may be jokes, but not for the normal customer.

 

In Germany the prices are "inclusive" because they actually pay their help a living wage. We don't do that in the USA. Maybe we should pay servers a decent wage. Then the price of everything you consume at a bar or restaurant would cost far more than it does now.

 

And as I now know you are a skin-flint, you have lost your chair at my bar!

 

As to what a bartender makes, it varies widely. At a high end joint with class customers (not Cincy), you can do quite well. At a dive bar you can starve, especially in a bad economy. When I bartended at the Seneca Niagara Casino, I started on the day shift. There were weekdays in the winter when you could make $10 in tips for the whole day (and I was usually among the higher tipped bartenders). Remember we were paid under minimum wage so they actually had to tax us on far more tips than that. To be fair, on a good night shift you could go home with a few hundred on occasion and I'm guessing not many declared all of that. Of course, when you leave with a pocketful of money on the night shift, and you work with 20-something cocktail waitresses, you often find yourself broke (but happy) in the morning. Such is the life of a bartender.

 

If you can't make a living wage as a bartender or a waiter, aspire to improve yourself. This is like the pap that says that minimum wage jobs should be sufficient to live on. I had plenty of 'em when I was younger, and never thought for a moment not to work towards something better.

 

Your turn to buy...I have a hankering for a rock 'n rye, please.

[Virgil]

This has to be one of my more favorite threads. I'm glad to see other people debating the same things I do.

 

For restaurants, I usually try for the 15-20%. I've never shafted anyone. Even the worst service, I've given 10%. I know they live off it and, regardless of how busy it may be, the busy times equal out the slow times. If the person is awesome, I've give almost 30%.

 

For carry-out, I don't feel like you should tip because the person didn't do anything. But at the same time, a lot of restaurants have carry-out stations now and the person working there only does carry out. Is that person getting a normal hourly wage or do they rely on tips? If I knew that, it would help. I kinda feel bad so I usually leave a buck or two, unless they leave me waiting and I can see my food.

 

Delivery Drivers. Does anyone know if they get the "Delivery Fee" money the company charges. I know that most of the pizza places charge around $2 now. If the driver gets that, then I would incorporate that into the tip. But again, I don't know.

 

Haircut joints, definitely tip. I know that's where they make their money.

 

The place I have problems with are obligations. I don't like the guys with cleaning stuff in the bathrooms or bellhops. These are things that I like to do myself and, just because you put yourself there, doesn't mean I should have to use your services. Make sense?

 

For installers. I've personally done tv/pc home work. And usually, I got tipped and tipped well. I think that is more of because people are so happy for finally getting their stuff working. Imagine your computer being down for a week and someone shows up and magically fixes it. I think that's why the wallet opens up. It happened so much, that I was surprised when I didn't atleast get a 50 spot. But, usually those guys get paid well, so it's really not necessary.