Dirty_Vinylpusher

I'm not trying to give you anything, just telling you where I've come from and what I do and why I look at things the way I do.
I know a lot of cooks/chefs and am well aware of the hours you guys work and the conditions in which you spend your working hours.
We're not talking about cooks anyway, we're talking about the waiting staff.




I have no idea what "The Food Network" is by the way but I assume it's a TV show/channel?

GRANT ED

One thing about tips that has not been mentioned is the difference in tipping for different countries. I see Dirty V is copping a lot for saying he does not tip. Well I don't tip either. We are from Australia and tipping is not the norm here. I have friends that work in restaurants here and they claim to get tips from less than 20% of customers. However their pay rate is a lot better than those from the USA.
Here the pay rates for waiters are in line with any other form of customer service. I don't tip the guy that sells me a TV so why should I for a waiter. I'm sure that lots will not agree but thats the norm here.

Dirty_Vinylpusher

Yeah I'm originally from Europe but live here in Oz now.
Unfortunately it's commonplace for people from the USA to think that the rest of the world is the same as over there.
More so than any other nation.

And before you say anything
I'm not having a stab at anyone here in particular based on where you're from, but I have noticed that a lot over the years.
And yes I am well travelled, probably older than the majority here and have met a lot of people from all over the world.
By "met" I don't mean just met on the street, but have lived, worked and spent a lot of time with.


I do tip but not in your every day cafe.

Exactly.

airega1

My Feedback: (204)

Hey Dirty, that's pretty ignorant of you, wait staff salary is like 20.00 a week, they rely solely on tips

Foxy

Things are different in different parts of the world ya know. Australia are not as tip-happy as Americans (and their waiters and waitresses are paid more). As I said earlier in the thread, you are considered generous in Greece, if you leave 5 euros (about 6.5 bucks) for a $300 meal.

dc2 man

i dont care if people call me mean but i think its ridiclous to leave tips,you go and pay top notch for a meal then you got to pay somebodys wages also......i dont think so!!!

the boss should be paying the employees wages period.

although i think there are exceptions in poor countries where these waitors would be paid little or nothing......so a tip in that casewould be ok of a few cent lol im just joking.i would give them a few pound anyway if meal was nice.

caseyddr

My Feedback: (13)

This is exactly what I'm talking about, the meal has NOTHING to do with the service of the waiter.

DV, your inability to accept how something is here is what makes foreigners look bad to some in this country. Also, we (Americans here) aren't the only ones 'assuming'. You are acting as if where you live is the definitive way to live. Unfortunately for you, your way will get you shunned in many many parts around the world if you didn't tip.

J.D.T

most places around here only add it to bills for groups of 8 or more, several times I have had to tell them the service wasn't worth that 15% today, if we got 14 people going out for lunch at work and they pull this 15% but only provide one waitress we all end up waiting on drink refills as well as half the time the steak sauce you asked for when you food was delivered is finally brought out when you ask a second time. If the service is good I have no problem leaving a good tip. The most I will tip is $40, as I figure $40 an hour is pretty darn good money, that is unless its a big party or there are multiple servers involved, I have left a $100 tip before but that was a 3 year olds birthday party for about fifty people and was split by two girls, trust me the kids screwed that place up, cake mess, pizza mess, normal little kid type messes, that $50 each was well earned.

Foxy

lol

Firstly, what gives you the idea he cannot 'accept' what happens in the US? I'm sure he accepts it fine, he's just giving his opinion as AN AUSTRALIAN, since that's what he is. I don't know if you really meant it, but your post is phrased as if you want to say that everyone should be like America. You know the rest of the world has a lot more people, yeh?

As for 'other parts of the world'... I have a pretty broad experience of many countries (including many areas of the US), and NOWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD do you need to leave such an OUTRAGEOUSLY large tip, as you do in the US. I just don't get what you're trying to say with this post.

J.D.T

in australia ain't a slap on the rump and "good job girlie" a right and proper tip lol

Foxy

Damn right! And she should be grateful! Only, I must correct you on one thing... 'Good job Sheila (all women are called 'sheilas' in Oz ), bonzer tucker mate, see ya in 20, I'm off the the thunderbox <parrrrrrp>'. lol

What do you think DVP?

JPHen

My Feedback: (33)

Not passing judgement, but I hope you folks who don't tip aren't going back to the same restaurant. You understand these people are handling your food.... I've heard enough stories of waiters exacting vengeance for being stiffed on tips.

Foxy

That doesn't happen as often as you think thank god. (I've worked in a couple of kitchens when I was younger)...

1) They don't remember you. They'd have to be some kind of machine to remember all the bad tippers. It would be different if you were a regular AND a poor tipper, that would be just stupid, nay asking for it.
2) As I say, I worked in a couple of kitchens, and the only people who get stuff done to their food, are the ones that you can't ever please. You know, veal fillet was not well done enough, sent it back, now it's too well done (which of course cannot be undone, then they complain that the meal took too long). No surprise these people get something extra added to their food. Bad tippers not so much.
3) It is a criminal offense in most countries to spit on or otherwise unduly interfere with someone's food. Not only can you be fined heavily, but the restaurant suffers repercussions, and of course, the staff concerned are fired immediately. If you were a low paid waitress, would you risk your job for the sake of a poor tipper? Kinda like cutting your nose off to spite your face.

Don't get me wrong, I know what you're saying, and there are indeed a lot of stories, but it happens less than you think, thank god.

Much worse is the fact that the personal hygiene level of the staff may not be right up there, and that's tipper independent, you might have just left a $20 tip for someone who hasn't washed their hands all day. I had a friend in England, who while he was a great guy, his personal hygiene left something to be desired (lets just say that when he came to play PS2, I made him bring his own PS2 pad. No joke). He was a chef at TGIs. Go figure.

Dirty_Vinylpusher

This is the last time I'm going to reply to you as you're either unable to understand anything I say or simply choose to ignore certain parts of my statements.

I will tip if it's warranted.
I have no problem with that.


Yeah same, but what do we know?
Us well travelled people have nothing to add to this discussion it seems.


I'm done with this thread.

larryf333

My Feedback: (2)

All I can say is, I don't tip much, because I can't afford to. I go to a restaurant, get a $5 appetizer, $20 meal and $3 drink. If it's just myself, they get $2 if they did a good job, if it's my whole family, they get $5 if they did a good job. That's it, no more, no less. Whenever I go to a restaurant and they add an automatic 15% gratuity, I have the manager come out and tell him to remove the amount from my bill. It's a gratuity, which means you give what you feel the server deserves, not what they think the servers deserve. Then if the manager refuses, I tell him everything that was wrong with my meal and the restaurant, but praise the server and tell him to remove it from my bill. Then I give cash to the server so that he/she can pocket the tip without having to report it to the restaurant and share it with the cooks and other staff, if they so please.

Look at it this way, if nobody tipped in the U.S. Then the restaurants would be required to pay the servers at least $7.25 an hour, not necessarily a bad thing if you are working the slow shift at a restaurant. But because they get tipped, and I don't agree with this policy, they get $2.00 an hour from the restaurant and the rest is tips. That's ridiculous, you just charged me at least $28 for my meal which took me about 30 minutes to consume after a 60 minute wait, but only give your server $2.00 an hour. They need to set up restaurants where the food is good and cheap, i.e. $28 meal for $14, and make it known that the servers work solely as independent contractors that only get paid with tips. Then people would be more inclined to give more and service would be excellent for sure.

lee172

i love the sob stories going on here... if you dont tip they only get paid .5$ per hour, blah blah...

the bottom line is: if you are not happy with the wages, work somewhere else.

HJJFFFAA

This.

RogerParrett

I'll sometimes strike up a conversation with the waitress / waiter and try to determine her/his political bend. If she/he's a flaming liberal, I'll sometimes leave nothing except a note stating that - even though they've earned the tip - I've decided to give it to someone who needs it more. Given their political point of view, I assume they would not have a problem with this.

Best... Roger

HJJFFFAA

That's stupid. Also, you can't discuss politics on RCU.

ArcticCatRider

My Feedback: (6)

Tips are earned and not entitlements.

If you do a good job, regardless of demeanor, You'll get 20%. If you do an OK job, you'll get 15%.....a piss poor job will be 0-10%.

I'm usually generous with people who are deserving...and most of them are.

calvino

Generally when we go to a restaurant we leave the typical 15% tip... if service is good then we round it up a few bucks. Hey, they make a good amount of $$$$ off the tips why not be nice and leave a little behind. I do agree that having the tip in the bill is a little rude, why not just pay the person up front and let them have the $$$$ instead of someone else going through and dividing it up. You do a good job, you get a good tip, do a lousy job, you get a lower tip [&:]. Geez Foxy, $6.5 us bucks to a $100 meal, wow, thats real low

hairy46

My Feedback: (1)

The waitress or waiter does not make a good hourly wage, So they base their income on the the tips! But if I get a person that treats me poorly I do not tip them nor would I. It has only happen a few times but if the service is bad no way am I going to tip! I am known for being a big tipper but if it is exspected of me I would rather eat at home. Some of these workers go all out on you and should be tiped good for the great service! But if they all get fifteen percent even if the are being hateful its not fare to the good ones, and is awarding bad behavier! Bob

Diesel Power

It depends on service. What is good service? I'll tell you:

Hi I'm < server > hows everybody doing this <time of day>? Here are the specials. We have blah blah blah Can I start you off with something to drink?

After drinks are served Are you all ready to order? Takes Orders I'll right I'll get that right in.

Serves food. Can I get anybody anything else? Enjoy!


Swings by 5 mins later with a fresh Dr. Pepper like they read my mind, Hows everything so far?

Can I interest you in desert?

If no desert gives bill and says I'll take that when your ready.

Comes back and says you all have a great < time of day>


If I just get that, I give 20%

Access

I know in the US we have a 'minimum wage' and one of the common payment schemes done by restaurant managers is to pay their waiters less than minimum wage and let the tips make up the difference. If at the end of the pay period (typically 2 weeks), a waiter's pay and tips are under the minimum wage for the hours worked, the restaurant still has to make up the difference so that the worker is paid at least minimum wage. Other businesses that can be run this way include hotels, "gentleman clubs", etc., basically any organization where tipping is predominant and widely expected. In this way, tips paid by the customers help the management meet it's minimum-wage obligations, and rarely ever actually go to a net increase in the worker's actual pay (unless they get an unusually large number of tips).

Dan M

My Feedback: (1)

Yea .... you well traveled people , what a joke .. you just said you mow lawns for a living .... is that in great demand all over the world ?