Tipping

[Alien826]

Here's a tip from a dumb Aussie. Stop tipping! Staff will start leaving the industry and employers will have to start paying a living wage. Simple.

Yes. Trouble is getting enough people to do it.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

I typically calculate 22% the round up,

 

[Revoltingest]

I typically calculate 22% the round up,

Here, tripling the sales tax & rounding up works.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

I don't support tipping culture and agree that all jobs should pay their workers a living wage, although I'm not cruel so I do tip. I don't tend to like anything in workplaces where they make the workers compete against each other, instead of working as a team and supporting each other. My awful job does this to us - pitting us against each other and we're almost constantly stressed and pissed off. We also sometimes get tips from customers carside, although it's not a tipping job. I'll take the tips, though. I got $25 today. My job certainly does not pay a living wage, so I'll take everything I can get.

 

[Subduction Zone]

Here, tripling the sales tax & rounding up works.

Ooh! Mr. Generous. That is a 30% tip. Here at least.

 

[Revoltingest]

Ooh! Mr. Generous. That is a 30% tip. Here at least.

Our sales tax is 6%.

 

[Subduction Zone]

Our sales tax is 6%.

Ours is just a tad higher. I am betting that you have a state income tax. We don't have that tax. Just sales tax and property tax.

 

[Revoltingest]

Ours is just a tad higher. I am betting that you have a state income tax. We don't have that tax. Just sales tax and property tax.

We have every kind of tax in MI.

 

[Hermit Philosopher]

3. Why is the amount of the tip determined by the cost of the food? Surely it takes a similar effort to serve a hamburger as to serve a steak? Or to pour a $20 wine as $100 wine?

I may have some sort of an answer:

Tipping is done in percentage because it work like sales commissions do.

A waiter is a sales person. A waiter who gets you to buy more (or more expensive), makes more money for the restaurant than one who doesn’t.

As to why the waiter’s “commission” comes directly from the guest instead of from their employer, I could not tell you.


Humbly
Hermit

 

[Alien826]

I may have some sort of an answer:

Tipping is done in percentage because it work like sales commissions do.

A waiter is a sales person. A waiter who gets you to buy more (or more expensive), makes more money for the restaurant than one who doesn’t.

As to why the waiter’s “commission” comes directly from the guest instead of from their employer, I could not tell you.


Humbly
Hermit

An interesting idea. Two problems with it that I see.

In my experience, waiters don't typically try to get you to buy more. Oh, they'll ask if you want dessert, but I've never heard them suggest a different meal once you tell them what you want. Usually it's just a cliched "good choice". Of course if you ask them what they recommend they'll offer choices, but not, in my experience, always the most expensive. As an aside I have the feeling that they are sometimes asked to "push" a certain dish if people aren't ordering enough to use up the amount of ingredients they have. Any ex or current wait staff able to comment?

Unlike other sales people, they don't have guaranteed "commission", based on some fixed formula and paid by their employer. It's all over the place and determined by the whims of the customer.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

In Europe your waiters are not making the equivalent of five dollars an hour. In the US in some states wait staff can be paid less than that state's already obscenely low minimum wage.

EDIT: It is worse than I thought. Waiters can be paid as little as $2.13 an hour by restaurants:

Is a waiter or waitress exempt from minimum wage and overtime?

Something that's occurred to me: if we've decided that tips should be considered part of the pay owed by the restaurant owner to the staff, then shouldn't this make the restaurant owner responsible for ensuring that tips (or maybe total compensation) is equitable and doesn't break any normal rules?

I mean, in any other setting, if an employee's pay varied depending on whether they flirted with customers, the business would be sued. Should this also be the case for tipped staff whose pay varies depending on whether they flirt with customers?

 

[Alien826]

Here, tripling the sales tax & rounding up works.

For 20%, I round the cost of food, remove the right hand digit and double the remaining number. Easy. For 15%, the same but add half instead of doubling. 18%? Estimate roughly.

Now they are printing pre-calculated amounts on the bill, which helps. I still check to see what they have based the calculation on (food, food plus tax, etc).

Something I don't like is where they have a hand held "thing" that they offer to me to enter the tip, usually with pre-determined amounts to select from. My problem is it forces me to enter the tip with the waiter standing over me. I prefer to have a few minutes to think about it. Worst of all is when I am standing at a counter ordering the food and I'm asked to state verbally what tip I want to give. This is rare, but it has happened.

 

[Alien826]

I don't support tipping culture and agree that all jobs should pay their workers a living wage, although I'm not cruel so I do tip. I don't tend to like anything in workplaces where they make the workers compete against each other, instead of working as a team and supporting each other. My awful job does this to us - pitting us against each other and we're almost constantly stressed and pissed off. We also sometimes get tips from customers carside, although it's not a tipping job. I'll take the tips, though. I got $25 today. My job certainly does not pay a living wage, so I'll take everything I can get.

I fully agree. Though it may not be directly related to your job, you've reminded me to start a thread on another "hate" of mine. Surveys!

 

[Revoltingest]

For 20%, I round the cost of food, remove the right hand digit and double the remaining number. Easy. For 15%, the same but add half instead of doubling. 18%? Estimate roughly.

Now they are printing pre-calculated amounts on the bill, which helps. I still check to see what they have based the calculation on (food, food plus tax, etc).

Something I don't like is where they have a hand held "thing" that they offer to me to enter the tip, usually with pre-determined amounts to select from. My problem is it forces me to enter the tip with the waiter standing over me. I prefer to have a few minutes to think about it. Worst of all is when I am standing at a counter ordering the food and I'm asked to state verbally what tip I want to give. This is rare, but it has happened.

My experience is is simpler.
I just leave what I want on the table.
Or pay one lump sum in an even amount.
Always all in cash.
I like cash.

 

[Alien826]

Something that's occurred to me: if we've decided that tips should be considered part of the pay owed by the restaurant owner to the staff, then shouldn't this make the restaurant owner responsible for ensuring that tips (or maybe total compensation) is equitable and doesn't break any normal rules?

They sort of are, in that the law (yes Fed and State varies as always too confuse the issue) says they have to make the pay up to the minimum wage if the tips don't do so. This is obviously not enough though, and I agree, they should be guaranteed whatever pay they are due.

I mean, in any other setting, if an employee's pay varied depending on whether they flirted with customers, the business would be sued. Should this also be the case for tipped staff whose pay varies depending on whether they flirt with customers?

What about strippers? Their tips are totally dependent on "flirting" (or so people tell me ).

 

[Alien826]

My experience is is simpler.
I just leave what I want on the table.
Or pay one lump sum in an even amount.
Always all in cash.
I like cash.

So do the waiters. It ensures that the restaurant can't steal the tips in some way.

I don't carry cash at all these days. Symptom of a modern age I guess.

 

[Revoltingest]

So do the waiters. It ensures that the restaurant can't steal the tips in some way.

I don't carry cash at all these days. Symptom of a modern age I guess.

The restaurants aren't the ones stealing tips
in my (limited) experience. It's government
that takes the biggest bite.

 

[Hermit Philosopher]

In my experience, waiters don't typically try to get you to buy more.

A good waiter, just like a good salesman, will make you want what they want you to want, whiles all along making you feel like you are the one calling all the shots.

Perhaps you’ve just had highly skilled waiters who master the art of persuasion to a t…?

Either that

• Or, your waiter is not the sharpest of souls and hasn’t understood that - as it is customary for us to tip in percentage - the higher the guest’s bill, the greater his tip will be.
• Or, your waiter’s hourly pay is good enough for them not to care how little they take home in tips and therefore they have no interest in what your bill amounts to.

Humbly,
Hermit

 

[pearl]

The choice seems to be tipping, no tipping raising salaries, and raising prices.
Wait staff depend on their tips. I think that for tax purposes it automatically assumed to have made a certain amount in tips whether or not they did.

 

[Subduction Zone]

Something that's occurred to me: if we've decided that tips should be considered part of the pay owed by the restaurant owner to the staff, then shouldn't this make the restaurant owner responsible for ensuring that tips (or maybe total compensation) is equitable and doesn't break any normal rules?

I mean, in any other setting, if an employee's pay varied depending on whether they flirted with customers, the business would be sued. Should this also be the case for tipped staff whose pay varies depending on whether they flirt with customers?

What are you implying? Are you trying to say those Hooters girls are not really into my 65 years old body? I may have to report your post