We don’t live in a really high cost of living area, we’re outside of Austin in the burds almost far enough out to be in the country. There’s a really good pizza place with kind of pricey food. It’s the type place where you stand in line to place an order, they give you a number to put on your table so that they can bring you your food. They give you a paper cup to get your own soda and paper plates and plastic forks.
They use Square for payment and the default tip choices are 10%, 15%, 20%, and 25%. Seamed reasonable until I read their help wanted sign. The are offering starting salaries of $19-$26 an hour with health benefits! I thought we tipped because servers are paid below minimum wage?
I really don’t see why I should tip at all for this level of service when I’m paying top prices for food. We usually do take out so they don’t even have to bring food to the table, if the servers are being paid such a high salary, why should I tip? Am I missing something?
If I’m doing everything, I do NOT tip and just enter other and put $0. I see no reason to tip when I’m not getting any service. If I’m getting minimal service, I may tip 10%.
The cost of the food doesn’t determine this. One tips at the priciest of restaurants but typically, one is also served.
If those wages are for servers, rather than cooks, management, or the person behind the counter, it would seem that tipping isn’t necessary. But everyone in a restaurant is not paid the same, so I would want to get my facts right.
At most restaurants that have the kind of service you describe (help makes one trip to your table to deliver food), tipping is not necessary. If I wanted to leave a tip, it’d be on the small side and it would be for exceptional service - cleaning up a mess, bringing something extra, noticing and addressing a special need, etc. Those gratuity options seem customary for Square, not necessarily chosen by the restaurant.
@Consolation they are open for lunch and dinner and have an attached an business that is open for breakfast/coffee. I know they need to have staff for prep and clean up so I’ guessing that they are full time employees especially since they are offering full health coverage.
It’s a family owned business and I have seen the same employees work the lunch and dinner shift in the same day, I don’t get up early enough to check out their coffee/breakfast but imagine there is some overlap their as well.
I just went to a restaurant like the one you describe, @3scoutsmom. We waited in line, ordered, paid, filled our own drinks, and picked up our own silverware. They delivered the meals to the table. I added a 10% tip to my charge slip. When I eat in a restaurant where I receive full service, I tip 20% or more.
So even if they are making $20+ an hour with health benefits you should leave 10% or more tips for minimal service?The other local sit down places pay way less, should tips be adjusted on pay scale?
“The cost of the food doesn’t determine this. One tips at the priciest of restaurants but typically, one is also served.”
Well, in a way it can. If it is a pizza place and is expensive for a pizza place because they are paying staff so much with health benefits, that leads to the higher prices. That’s how the “no tipping” concept restaurants work so it’s odd to see the tipping preset buttons.
On the other hand, I commend the restaurant for paying a living wage and providing healthcare.
Is it possible that the sign said something like “you can earn up to $19-$26 per hour”… maybe the sign includes tips in the total compensation?
At a restaurant with that kind of service (order at counter, we bring it out), I will usually tip around 10% if they also bring utensils, bus the tables, etc. I don’t tip if the only service is bringing the meal to the table.
I go to a restaurant (2-3 times a week) that is not expensive and the wait staff is 100% awesome…based on % they should get less than a 2nd rate server at an expensive restaurant. they work harder but the % system fails them. so I always over tip but it is not a crazy amount like the NBA star trying to show off and get attention or be flashy.
you need not worry whether they get 2.00 an hour or 20.00 always tip. (IMO) and be “nice”
I had the same thought as @Mommertons in post #9, only because it’s so unusual for waitstaff to be paid anything resembling a decent hourly wage by the restaurant. I’ve noticed that our local pizza place advertises for help with the line “earn up to …” and I know from talking to the help that the amount includes tips.
I believe in tipping decently for decent service and tipping very well for good service. That’s our model in the US, and until there’s an industry-wide change in how waitstaff is paid, that’s how I’ll continue to tip. It’s a tough, tough job.