Why should the people who tip 20-30% make up for (i.e. pay for) the people who tip 0-10%? Why not just add the cost to the bill in the first place and everyone pays the same?!
I hate feeling obligated to “tip” even when the service is lousy (if I don’t tip then I’m a “cheapskate”). I wish tipping was only for when someone went above and beyond.
This has been asked and answered several times: in absence of a law requiring a service charge that goes specifically to servers, restaurants compete in part on price and they want to attract any business they can, even if some of that business stiffs its waitstaff. So for example, if a restaurant charges $50 for 2 people, that’s a $50 sale, even if the customer tips $5 or walks away with the charge slip. Again, in the absence of a law, servers generally fear “service charges” because restaurants can’t be trusted to hand over the money; they’ll either use it to pay other staff or will use it against other costs, like the cost of tablecloths. In that regard, in some countries you may pay both a cover charge and a service charge.
Why have a “service charge” at all? I am not charged a “service charge” from the department store or grocery store when I shop… There are many services out there that don’t require a separate “service charge” or where a tip is expected. The cost of paying their employees is built into the price of the product.
What do people do at hotels with room service, when the bill already includes a “delivery charge,” and a 20% service charge on top of the entire bill (including delivery charge)?
It makes me so mad when the payment slip includes a “tip” line in that circumstance, or when the waiter says, “Please total the bill and sign” when the only thing to “total” would be any added tip.
Sorry, when the bill is already $28 for coffee and yogurt due to various and sundry additional fees, charges and service fees, I’m not going to add a further tip.
But because I’m a wimp, I usually say something like, “Let’s see, it looks like service is already included,” and I’ve had waiters say, “That service charge doesn’t go to me.” Too bad!
Rant over! But I am curious about what others do in that situation.
General hotel rant:
The posher the hotel, the more it nickels & dimes you for things. Free internet for hotel guests (like I get in the humble Red Roof Inn) should be a Constitutional Amendment.
One of the reasons I rarely order room service - plus the fact that the prices are usually higher and quality lower than I can get elsewhere.
In the few times I have, I’ve usually added a tip but less than 15-20% if the delivery charge is already on the bill.
I NEVER order room service because I dislike getting food at the wrong temps–cold items warm and hot items cold or warm. Yuck!
Also, I’m not going to add a tip if a service charge is already added, sorry if you aren’t adequately compensated but that’s really not MY problem.
Yeah…and what’s with the “resort fee”? Usually a fee that you can’t opt out of even if you don’t plan to use the amenities it “covers”. Well, then just make it part of the room rate!
I HATE how they rip the plate out from you when you finish eating at most restaurants, even if the rest of the party is still eating! Its RUDE. I would love it if the tip was built into the price- and this is coming from a former waitress. Tipping is a mandatory obligation because servers are taxed on the 15% even if you don’t leave it. It takes the supposed motivation away. Servers are trained to rush people out of restaurants in order to turn the tables over, so they can make more tips and so the restaurant sells more food. If they were getting paid hourly, perhaps they wouldn’t be in such a hurry and we would have a better experience.
And who said being a server is not a profession? In Europe, in many cases, its exactly that. What’s wrong with that?
A different perspective. I like having the plate removed. I’ve never felt rushed and it’s nice not to see a dirty plate just sitting there.
As much as I hate tipping in restaurants, I really LOATHE it in taxis. Seriously, the GOOD cabbies know the best routes and hit the lights perfectly…thus insuring a lower fare. When it’s a non-busy time of day or you’re going somewhere where it will be hard to pick up a fare, the crooked cabby will take a traffic-jammed route, hit every light, and run up the fare. Tipping a percentage of the fare makes NO sense!!!
My pet peeve, in recent years, as one of my kids has spent her time working in restaurants, is the lack of meals provided to servers.
In my 20s I worked sporadically in restaurants, and we were always provided a meal during our shift, something from the menu, though there were many exclusions. In those days, in my right to work state, I was paid $1.00 per hour. Tips brought it up to minimum wage plus, sometimes plus plus.
Fast forward 30 plus years. Wages for restaurant workers are now $2.13 per hour or so. Not much of an increase. But the employer sponsored meal seems to have gone by the wayside. My D has been offered a 25% discount off menu prices, but never a gratis meal from any of her employers. This seems rather extortionist.
GMTspouse refers to this as a “rundfarht”. Spouse used to live/work in Berlin. The cab drivers would assume American accent = dumb tourist, and take the circuitous route.
God bless BS-free Uber.
I’ve never used Air BnB. Are u supposed to tip the owner after an Air BnB stay?
What about tipping the student who leads the college tour?
What about tipping at these chain restaurants?? Should this be different than tipping at your locally owned restaurant?
I think you should tip the same. I don’t know how it works elsewhere, but around here the chains are more likely to hire part-timers, mostly students and actors, than mid to upscale independent restaurants which tend to have “professional,” i.e., full time waiters. So, the service may be better at the independents, and if so, I think tipping should reflect that. If someone gives you great service at a chain, they should be rewarded too, IMO. (If that’s no clear, I mean service at the chains is often worse. If it is, tip less. If it’s good though, tip just as much.)
This addresses a lot of what we’ve discussed on this thread:
http://www.eater.com/2015/10/19/9570295/no-tipping-restaurants-faq
There’s more worth reading but here’s one point I agree with:
"If we eliminate tips, and there isn’t anything to motivate waiters, won’t service quality plummet?
“Service quality” is a fascinating concept, and one worth unpacking. For better or for worse, many diners think of overall server pay as the sum of two different things: one, a waiter’s paycheck from the restaurant, which she gets for doing the basic tasks of her job (showing up to work, taking your order, delivering your food to you, etc.); and two, a waiter’s tips, a variable amount dependent on how well she performs those basic tasks in the eyes of the people she’s performing them for.
People who are concerned that service quality will decline if servers don’t have tips to motivate them are mistakenly looking at Hospitality Included as a matter of beefing up remuneration only for doing the basic tasks. In fact, what it means is that now it will be part of the server’s job to do her job well. If a restaurant values that its patrons receive attentive service (and smart restaurants who are interested in keeping their patrons happy probably will), they will make attentive service mandatory."
“People who are concerned that service quality will decline if servers don’t have tips to motivate them” don’t have a passport.
I only tip when my service was particularly better. But even when I tip, I don’t follow 15% rule. I tip based on how better it was. I don’t care what their wages are, and I m sorry, but you should find jobs that should pay more. Honestly, even if I were a server, I would NOT expect 15% of total charge for serving food and refilling water.
I think that the servers these days feel entitled to get paid tips regardless their service quality. One time my sister went to this fancy sushi restaurant and the total was 90$. Then they decided to charge her an automatic 20% tip, and my sister argued with the server that she is NOT obligated to pay this automatic 20%, especially when her server came with food REALLY LATE. Of course the server+cashier was grumpy. My sister paid only 1$ out of vengeance. I thought it was funny. Why charge automatic tips over certain charge? Does it cost significantly more physical work if we order expensive food? Not really.
Lots of people I know seem to think tipping is an act of say, noblesse Oblige, but in fact, tipping was a taboo before prohibition era. Servers started to accept tips only after the restaurant owners decided to lower their wages due to the loss of alcohol revenue
I like to tip generously to make up for paul.