How much do you tip?

[Selassie I]

I don't put a tip down to start. That sounds like showing your hand in poker.

Most of our regular places though know how we take care of them and if they don't, they soon will.

I want a fun and friendly atmosphere and will pay for it. But a bitch or dick will not get the benefit of the doubt.

I want them to take the initiative. Kinda like my wife.

I don't tip prior either. I just wanted to point out how it originated.

It's evolved into something completely different now. But I like to think about how it started when I tip.

When I return to the same place... a nice tip given in the past can lead to the original reason for a tip.

Plus... servers work hard.

 

[RhodyRams]

depends on her cup size

 

[dieterbrock]

These restaurants who pay their service workers $2-3 an hour and justify doing so by saying 'they'll make it up in tips' is a crock of shit and only benefits the restaurant.

Pretty incorrect statement here. There's a minimum wage for tipped employees and the business is responsible that they make enough in tips to at least equal the state minimum wage level. While its technically the employees responsibility to claim how much tips they make the employer usually does it for them...

All things considered, I tip probably more than most, but I pretty much grew up in the restaurant business, and its hard. I go to a sit down restaurant, the tip starts at 20% and goes up based on how enjoyable the server is. If the server is terrible, it kills me to do so, but ill still leave 15-20 anyway. Most places have a tip pooling system, so leaving a bad tip also impacts others who take part in your evening. Like the bus boy who has to clean up, the bartender who's mixing the margarita, the hostess who nailed the 25 minute wait.
I also tip when I order take out. I appreciate the effort that goes in to packaging up the meals, and since I order from the same places and know many folks by name, being the guy that throws $5-10 in to the jar when picking up pizza and wings goes a long way.
Dunkin drive up usually gets a buck or two, typically the service is with a smile. And Starbucks (which I despise greatly) I will also leave a small gratuity, the coin change and a couple bucks. Its all a show there with the names on the cups, the fancy pours etc. I hate the company but appreciate the workers doing there best..
Fast food? No tip, they probably wouldnt even know what to do with it if I did.

I have to say, it does annoy me when people speak down about servers and their "responsibility" to tip, not to tip etc. If you want to leave what you're comfortable with, thats on you, own it. But the idea that someone is leaving less money because of what they feel a server deserves or has earned is BS

 

[TXRams86]

Pretty incorrect statement here. There's a minimum wage for tipped employees and the business is responsible that they make enough in tips to at least equal the state minimum wage level. While its technically the employees responsibility to claim how much tips they make the employer usually does it for them...

A minimum wage for tipped employees isn’t necessarily a livable wage. And certain states allow for tip credits which means that the tip paid by the customer gets counted towards the employer’s obligation to pay the worker minimum wage. Sorry but if their pay starts at $3.25 an hour, their employer’s minimum hourly wage to meet is $7.25 but gets credit for any tip left by a customer towards that, it’s a fucked up business model and heavily contributes to the staffing shortages that a lot of service jobs are experiencing. Sure the money is great when waiters are getting tipped well but therein lies the issue - the reliance on tips. What happened to paying the working class a livable wage, regardless of the industry?

And just so we’re clear here. I don’t work in the service industry and only ever did when I was in high school. Pay was shit but I made enough to pay for the “extras” I enjoyed. I’m in a much better financial situation now and do my best to ‘spread the wealth’ so to speak but I despise the tipping model with a passion.

Edited to add: I’m not against tipping in the least, my last sentence there could be misconstrued. What I’m saying is that paying a server a livable wage to begin with should be standard. My tip should add to that server’s (or wait staff in pooled tip scenarios) take home pay for the day, week, month - how ever tips are paid out - not to help the employer out.

 

[rdlkgliders]

Like Tiger Woods LOL JK usually 20%+ unless spectacular one way or the other

 

[RhodyRams]

in all honesty, in this day and age with the hospitality industry being hit hard by covid, work force issues and supply chain issues I tip on the 30-40% range. I live in a small town and in the winter restaraunts are dead and some people work in 2 or 3 different places just to make ends meet. And that is something I appreciate. Like @dieterbrock mentioned, we know alot of them by name, or their spouses or their kids and I know the tip is going to end up back in the local economy somehow.

I dont do fast food or drive up coffee shops, but a pizza place will always get a fiver in the tip jar per pie


and since we are on the subject, if you go to a barber shop, not a chain place like supercuts or whatever, do you tip the person who cuts your hair if they are the owner of the shop?

 

[Selassie I]

Well... going back to what it was invented for. "To Insure Promptness"

It can still do this for you today without throwing down the TIP as soon as you sit down.

When you are at a bar and just buying drinks without a tab. Give the bartender a fat tip after your 1st drink order. The next time they see you come back up to the busy bar... guess who that bartender is going to help 1st. Plus... you can expect to get a better drink poured like that too. I did this a few weeks ago at a Toby Keith concert I went to. I was in a VIP area that had a private bar with free drinks. The line was long throughout the whole night. The 1st time I went up to the bar I TIPed $40 for the 4 free drinks I ordered. I never had to stand in that line again the rest of the night. I'd walk up to the side of the bar... and that bartender would slide over to me immediately.

In a small town setting like Rhody talked about, the same kinda thing happens. When you tip fat like that, every time you return to the restaurant or bar you'll get helped fastest and you'll probably even get better servings. This works for me at my favorite restaurants down here that are always busy.

Tipping the hostess can get you seated better and faster too.

So it's original reason for being invented can still apply today... you just don't put the cash down before you receive service anymore.

 

[dieterbrock]

A minimum wage for tipped employees isn’t necessarily a livable wage. And certain states allow for tip credits which means that the tip paid by the customer gets counted towards the employer’s obligation to pay the worker minimum wage. Sorry but if their pay starts at $3.25 an hour, their employer’s minimum hourly wage to meet is $7.25 but gets credit for any tip left by a customer towards that, it’s a fucked up business model and heavily contributes to the staffing shortages that a lot of service jobs are experiencing. Sure the money is great when waiters are getting tipped well but therein lies the issue - the reliance on tips. What happened to paying the working class a livable wage, regardless of the industry?

What makes you assume that any tipped employee isnt making a livable wage? The $2-3 min wage for tipped employees is benefit to the employee. Why? Because they only need to claim enough tips to meet the minimum wage. What does that mean? Well, it means that all the cash earned above that is tax free. The idea that servers, bartenders etc arent making some $7-15 per hour in cash, above and beyond their "claimed" amount is just not true.
Sounds more like to me that you dont want to tip, you just want somebody else to pay for it

 

[dieterbrock]

and since we are on the subject, if you go to a barber shop, not a chain place like supercuts or whatever, do you tip the person who cuts your hair if they are the owner of the shop?

Yes, 100%. Why? Because the barber shops I have frequented over my lifetime, (and it hasnt been many since you find one that fits and you stick with it), the owner shared whatever tips he got with the other guys on shift when he worked.
Or the shop where the owner was the only barber, absolutely tip

 

[dieterbrock]

When you are at a bar and just buying drinks without a tab. Give the bartender a fat tip after your 1st drink order. The next time they see you come back up to the busy bar... guess who that bartender is going to help 1st.

No doubt. And if at a wedding or any event where the drinks are paid for, it really earns good favor. Heck I'll drop a finster on my first drink, I dont even drink alcohol.

 

[Psycho_X]

and since we are on the subject, if you go to a barber shop, not a chain place like supercuts or whatever, do you tip the person who cuts your hair if they are the owner of the shop?

Yes I tip barber every time. Also tip our dog groomer. That's a good point in general, just small local businesses or sole proprietorships who provide a service I will generally tip.

When you are at a bar and just buying drinks without a tab. Give the bartender a fat tip after your 1st drink order.

Good point too, I don't really do bars or things like that anymore but in the past would usually drop a fiver with my first drink and at least a buck per drink. Waitress usually took care of me well. Course last time I went to a bar regularly in BFE Illinois beers were $1-$2 per so not quite the cost it takes in urban areas or big ticket venues.

 

[Angry Ram]

and since we are on the subject, if you go to a barber shop, not a chain place like supercuts or whatever, do you tip the person who cuts your hair if they are the owner of the shop?

I only go to chains, great clips or sports clips. I only tip if they spend extra time. I can tell with the way they go back and forth, making sure everything is even and no strays. If they just take a buzzer and kinda guesstimate I don't.

 

[TXRams86]

What makes you assume that any tipped employee isnt making a livable wage? The $2-3 min wage for tipped employees is benefit to the employee. Why? Because they only need to claim enough tips to meet the minimum wage. What does that mean? Well, it means that all the cash earned above that is tax free. The idea that servers, bartenders etc arent making some $7-15 per hour in cash, above and beyond their "claimed" amount is just not true.
Sounds more like to me that you dont want to tip, you just want somebody else to pay for it

Are you oblivious to the staffing shortage that the service industry is facing nationwide? And the biggest reason for that? People not getting paid enough! What makes me assume they aren't making a livable wage? I live in the US with plenty of acquaintances that work in the service industry and hear the gripes that led to them seeking employment elsewhere. I frequent restaurants who don't hae enough staff to take a simple drink order. I can't even be sure that the restaurant I plan on visiting is going to be open or not because the last time I tried they were closed due to staffing shortages. I'm not sure how that's so difficult to understand.

And this idea that I don't want to tip is laughable. How does my wanting an employer to pay their employee a livable wage and my tip going 100% into that person's pocket somehow get construed as me not wanting to tip? You're missing the point entirely.

 

[dieterbrock]

Are you oblivious to the staffing shortage that the service industry is facing nationwide? And the biggest reason for that? People not getting paid enough! What makes me assume they aren't making a livable wage? I live in the US with plenty of acquaintances that work in the service industry and hear the gripes that led to them seeking employment elsewhere. I frequent restaurants who don't hae enough staff to take a simple drink order. I can't even be sure that the restaurant I plan on visiting is going to be open or not because the last time I tried they were closed due to staffing shortages. I'm not sure how that's so difficult to understand.

And this idea that I don't want to tip is laughable. How does my wanting an employer to pay their employee a livable wage and my tip going 100% into that person's pocket somehow get construed as me not wanting to tip? You're missing the point entirely.

Are you seriously turning this in to a discussion about covid effects on employment just so you can justify your reasoning for not wanting to tip? Good grief.
Got it, you want somebody else to pay the service staff so you dont have to.
Loud and clear

 

[TXRams86]

Are you seriously turning this in to a discussion about covid effects on employment just so you can justify your reasoning for not wanting to tip? Good grief.
Got it, you want somebody else to pay the service staff so you dont have to.
Loud and clear

It's pretty apparent that you've got an impression that I've tried my best to convince you is incorrect to no avail. I have no interest in arguing with you on that basis alone. All I ask is that you try and put your opinion aside for a second and read what I've actually said. Maybe then you'll find that you're coming to a conclusion that doesn't exist and you're using fallacies to justify your thinking. Good day!

 

[Selassie I]

and since we are on the subject, if you go to a barber shop, not a chain place like supercuts or whatever, do you tip the person who cuts your hair if they are the owner of the shop?

This is an excellent thing to talk about.

My wife owns her salon and she is the only person who works in it. She's very well known with the ladies here in Central Florida and most of her clients have been going to her for many years. She will take a new client now and then... but it isn't easy to get an appointment with her because she's booked out months in advance usually.

When she was a rookie in the business she dealt with new clients all the time. Now... she doesn't need new clients. The ones she has keep her busier than she wants to be.

This tip thing is real with people like her though and she's explained it to me. Her clients all tip her and many tip her fat. The better tippers are always given the best evening appt times and they are always clients that she will manage to squeeze in when she would not do that for normal clients. Again, she's very established... but the tipping thing works wonders for her clients. The ones that don't tip as well just expect to wait for their appts and take whatever time of day my wife tells them. They always schedule way into the future as well.

Her clients that don't tip (which are nonexistent) will find it almost impossible to get an appt with her. Any client that is a pain in the ass... she will refer them to someone else and tell them she does not have any openings.

She's the business owner. She has many friends in the business who are the owners of their shops too. They all talk about it when they are together. I've heard them. They don't say anything to the clients about it, but believe me, those that don't tip will find it very difficult to get an appt with talented person in that business. The people in that business would never say ANYTHING about it though... that would be beyond tacky... but it is absolutely something that they expect.


Oh... and we tip our dog groomer fat too. She's the owner of her place as well. There aren't very many dog groomers who really know what they're doing with poodle hair. Our dog is a golden doodle... but his hair is mostly poodle. He goes every two weeks. Our groomer was hard to get into at first... we hear her turning away clients all the time.

 

[dieterbrock]

It's pretty apparent that you've got an impression that I've tried my best to convince you is incorrect to no avail. I have no interest in arguing with you on that basis alone. All I ask is that you try and put your opinion aside for a second and read what I've actually said. Maybe then you'll find that you're coming to a conclusion that doesn't exist and you're using fallacies to justify your thinking. Good day!

I suggest you take your own advice, and read the topic of the thread you started.
It was about thoughts on tipping.
And while we are at it, here's a tip for you. If you want to go on a social justice rant on how servers get paid, good luck with that. But I suggest you do some research first because you are a bit clueless as to how the industry works.

 

[Psycho_X]

Oh... and we tip our dog groomer fat too. She's the owner of her place as well. There aren't very many dog groomers who really know what they're doing with poodle hair. Our dog is a golden doodle... but his hair is mostly poodle. He goes every two weeks. Our groomer was hard to get into at first... we hear her turning away clients all the time.

Dog grooming is definitely a hard thing to come by these days it seems like... well an actual groomer and not someone who's just going to shave your dog at least. We've got a couple of Shih Tzus so they require a groomer AT LEAST every two months but preferably every 4-6 weeks if we can find the time. We've used the same place from our hometown which is a 40 minute drive because we can't find anyone who'll fit us in close by and we trust or people simply don't call us back which is frustrating. Like mentioned in my previous post we definitely tip the groomer and if we ever find one close by we'll for damn sure be tipping them to stay on the schedule so that I don't have to find time every month to trim my dogs butt hairs.

 

[Selassie I]

Dog grooming is definitely a hard thing to come by these days it seems like... well an actual groomer and not someone who's just going to shave your dog at least. We've got a couple of Shih Tzus so they require a groomer AT LEAST every two months but preferably every 4-6 weeks if we can find the time. We've used the same place from our hometown which is a 40 minute drive because we can't find anyone who'll fit us in close by and we trust or people simply don't call us back which is frustrating. Like mentioned in my previous post we definitely tip the groomer and if we ever find one close by we'll for damn sure be tipping them to stay on the schedule so that I don't have to find time every month to trim my dogs butt hairs.

A REAL groomer is a must for certain breeds. Our groomer is classified as a Master Groomer. I only know about this because she fucking gave me the whole history lesson on this whether I wanted to hear it or not. LOL. Not gonna bore you too with the rundown... I'll just tell you that she is a real badass in her profession. Poodle people hire her to do the grooming for their dogs at the Westminster Dog show. Poodles are hard to groom and require constant upkeep. Like I said... we take our boy in every 2 weeks.

We used to have a schnauzer. They require grooming about once a month and we used the same groomer for him his whole life. When we took our golden doodle to that same groomer, it was obvious that they couldn't handle his needs. We tried a number of different groomers and paid them well for shit work before we finally found Jane our "Master Groomer". She almost wasn't going to take us in as a client and I was very suspicious of any groomer at that point in my search. We both had to interview each other hard in person before we agreed to do business. I'm serious. She even threatened to fire us in the beginning at one point. Now she not only loves us... she loves our dog. And that is a rare thing for Jane. What a challenge it is finding a REAL groomer though... WOW, we never realized the difference.

We tip her 20% every 2 weeks and we're happy to do it. Like I said, I hear her turning down new clients on the phone and in person almost every time I go in there.

 

[RamFan503]

Are you oblivious to the staffing shortage that the service industry is facing nationwide? And the biggest reason for that? People not getting paid enough! What makes me assume they aren't making a livable wage? I live in the US with plenty of acquaintances that work in the service industry and hear the gripes that led to them seeking employment elsewhere. I frequent restaurants who don't hae enough staff to take a simple drink order. I can't even be sure that the restaurant I plan on visiting is going to be open or not because the last time I tried they were closed due to staffing shortages. I'm not sure how that's so difficult to understand.

And this idea that I don't want to tip is laughable. How does my wanting an employer to pay their employee a livable wage and my tip going 100% into that person's pocket somehow get construed as me not wanting to tip? You're missing the point entirely.

Well it's pretty clear you don't know the service industry. The industry is very labor intensive and also has a VERY small profit margin to maintain. Owners can't simply pay their employees this "living wage" - whatever that really means. It's like a goalpost that keeps moving. Our industry carries the highest failure rate of any industry.

Tips help owners weed out the bad servers. If a server is good, they generally make pretty good money - far more than a livable wage without forcing yet another inflationary effect. And most customers don't mind paying for good service. They despise paying a set rate for shitty service.

I know bartenders making $150k per year. You think they are going to stay in the industry for $15-20 bucks an hour? Seriously? So in essence your idea would get rid of the best of our employees. Yeah... THAT would help the industry.

The real reason people are leaving the service industry is that EVERYONE is looking for employees and many industries actually can pay more these days. Talk about oblivious. Have you really not noticed that virtually EVERY business has a now hiring or help wanted sign on their business and banner on their websites?

Most of the people I know leaving are working in construction or found gov't jobs. We can't compete with them. And we have ZERO problem finding wait staff or bartenders. We can't find cooks and other positions that we pay FAR more than the minimum wage. I can't remember the last time we had a bartender or wait staff quit for financial reasons.