Originally Posted by
emma69
Yup bringing a salad and a steak do require the same effort, you are right, the tip should be the same on both.
I pay for the food - the price is on the menu. I am not permitted to go and fetch that food from the kitchen, nor does the kitchen see any of any tip. Thus, logically, if I cannot get it myself, the bringing of the food to the table must be a part of it, and thus is not optional (as a tip is). Ditto drinks.
So if the bringing of the food and drink is not optional, the optional tip cannot be for the bringing of food and drink.
So if we are not rewarding effort for the mandatory part (the food and drinks) surely we must be rewarding 'above and beyond' service. The smile, good attitude, attentive, prompt service, etc. As those things are not tied to the cost of the food or drink why arbitrarily link the two together? I've had better, quicker, more professional service at an IHOP, so why shouldn't I reward that more, in dollar terms, than mediocre service with mediocre food at a high end restaurant. How can you tell me poor service + high prices should = more than great service + low prices?
At a bar I understand your rational even less (and I bartended for several years). I pour a pint of beer, correctly, per the beer brand standard. I put it in front of the customer. In no way shape or form could I do any less work, nor do I need to do more (the customer cannot pour it himself, he doesn't need Parmesan cheese or ketchup, I don't check back to see if it is cooked to his liking etc). In a slow bar, I should be checking back as he gets to the bottom to see if he would like anything else, etc. In a busy bar I should be professional and serve customers in turn, working methodically to ensure no one waits 'too' long. I worked hundred of nights where the bar was 5 deep, we treated customers fairly. We did not serve only the customers who 'bribed' us with tips. The customers respected our system, waited without fuss as we did the best we could pulling multiple pints or opening multiple bottles at once, calculating totals in our heads, etc. to reduce waits. My job was the same, to be fair to all customers and give the best experience possible, which meant smiling, making chit chat, keeping a friendly atmosphere, regardless of tips / bribery, and it worked darn well.
It would seem that either people are tipping for services that should not require it, or the person doing the service is expecting a reward for doing a service that is not really required.
I don't mean this disrespectfully towards wait staff or hotel porters, but the whole tipping idea to me seems like giving a dog a treat for doing something good. If you tell the dog to sit and he does it, you give him a treat. But if he just expects a treat for coming up to you and sitting down, then you don't reward him for that and you just give him a pat on the head and say "good boy".
If you ask a waiter or a porter to get something for you or to go out of their way to help you, that service deserves to be recognised properly, especially if done promptly and efficiently. Just coming up and asking "is everything ok" or some other meaningless gesture is not worthy of a reward, it is only worthy of a thank you. I did not ask you to come over and perform a task for me, so why should you be rewarded for just doing your job?
You can't just tip someone because it is what normally happens. The person has to earn their money, just like everyone else. Bringing my plate of food is implied when I order. No extra effort is required to do that, so it should not be rewarded. Getting me a special sauce or other condiment is a service, as it is extra to the meal itself. That should be rewarded.
And the idea of a percentage of the bill deciding the tip amount is ludicrous. As people have said already, opening a bottle requires no more effort or skill in a fancy restaurant as opposed to an ordinary one. It's the same task.
It should be dependent upon what you as a consumer think the service is worth to you. Having someone say "Oh, you didn't give me enough" when the amount of a tip is my choice, well that just seems like they should carry a list of how much each of their services cost so I know in advance.
If I tip $5, I tip $5. I don't care what they think they deserve because of all the "tasks" they believe they have done. Some of the tasks are perfunctory and some are completely unnecessary for me to have had a good dining experience.
If they want to be a bully and demand a certain amount of what is in fact a gratuity (as in I don't have to give you any if I don't want to), then they need to pull their head in really.