I have zero-tipped when the service was atrocious. I have left 50% tips for truly exceptional service. I tend to tip around 25%.

I hate the tipping system. I don't care if it's a difficult job -- then pay a higher hourly wage and raise the menu prices accordingly.

I can't stand being nickel and dimed, and that's exactly what a sit-down restaurant experience involves. That's one reason I like In-n-out Burger and Carl's Jr so much ... excellent burgers, fries, and shakes; good customer service (especially at In-n-out); and no tipping expected! So it can be done!

I think Chick Fil A is an example of excellent customer service where no tipping is present. I get better service from that fast food place than many restaurants. There should be a federal law mandating that waiters cant be exempt from minimum wage laws because of expected tips. The restaurants then all will be forced to tell consumers standard tips are not needed and tips are really strictly optional(say 5% for really good service or more if you want to impress a chick).

If I owned a restaurant, I would have an easy 1-10 service rating marker(no survey questions) and have them drop it off on the way out if they feel strong enough about a server or they could mark it off on the bill itself if they choose to be open about it. A server who provokes enough customers to care about giving him or her a bad rating gets the boot.


Here is why I hate tipping. I dont mind paying higher menu prices. I mind as I travel from place to place what the tipping norms are in each place or situation. How much do I tip in Canada? Do I tip for carryout? What about buffet ? WHy do I have to keep wondering? All I care about is if I tip in any situation, it is out of pure gratitude and is an unexpected gesture.

Strictly, they are not exempt from minimum wage laws because of expected tips. A waitress working in a diner where one snowy day not a single person comes in (so no tips at all) still has to be made up to minimum wage by her boss.

Now every time I encounter "mandatory gratuity," I think of this thread. Last night at "Volstead" in NYC Midtown East at a friend's so-called birthday party. I opted to pay for 3 drinks for 3 people, $36, with my credit card and got handed a receipt that said $42.61 with the line "Mandatory Tip 20%." Their computers are dumb if they programmed 20% of $36 to have a decimal in the answer. And there was that line "Additional tip" for inebriated customers to fill out. Regardless, I paid for the next round of drinks in cash and left no tip. I really hate surprise mandatory tips. The menu says mandatory tips will be added in for parties of 6 or more, but we were a party of 3 at the bar. I didn't feel like fighting it - the bar tenders usually only know how to push the register buttons and maybe mix some drinks and have no power to do anything else.

I also hate how prices in some countries don't include the sales tax. This is just ridiculous, the price displayed should be the price you pay.

Some places in Singapore, notably hotels (all of them) and restaurants/bars (most of them) write "++" next to the price. This means that you need to add a 10% service charge to the final price and then 7% GST on top of that.

Obviously, you have never waited tables before... trust me... it is not as easy as it looks and takes a certain aptitude. It's not rocket science, but it is a good job and if you are really good at it, you can make upwards of 100K a year... not bad for a "simple job".

AND I agree, Restaurant owners would be heralded if they paid their staff instead of passing it off to the customer... indeed!

I think that tipping is simply a custom in many restaurants, and if you can't bear to tip, then don't frequent the establishment.
There are certainly times when tipping is outrageous. The example above regarding a party of 3 and the mandatory tip is excessive.

I remember seeing some sort of documentary about the restaurant/bar business years ago. A cocktail waitress at a very high end bar in NYC was bragging how she delivered a bottle of Cistal to a table of business men and got a $1,000 tip.
She was bragging "I make a grand for walking a bottle 20 feet! Tell me another profession that pays that well! This is a GREAT job!" Yea. No kidding. I'd do that all day. ;) Many stories were not quite so good. Hard hours, being stiffed by tables of 10 or more and getting a $5.00 tip for a $500 bill, etc.

My girlfriend, now a very successful professional in business started as a waitress. She tips very well because she remembers how hard it was for her to do that job. So I think it's a personal moray that governs your belief on this.

Food costs would rise to compensate for the tipping.. I want to keep the choice of tipping and how much instead of having the food cost rise. Keeps the servers accountable.

During your upcoming trip to "Europe" you'll see how things work in non-tipping cultures. Not only are the servers accountable, but they don't find the need to become your best friends and hover over you for the entire meal, something that drives me nuts in North America where that behaviour makes me feel harrassed. Hopefully you'll enjoy the new experience in a culture where waiters are considered to be professionals and act accordingly.

The American disease of tipping doesn't keep the servers accountable: it makes them irritating. I never again want to hear that your name is Todd and you'll be my server for the evening :rolleyes:

Tipping is a double edged sword... there are a ton of issues against it, but also a ton in favor..... for me, it all comes down to a case by case analysis. When I feel service is great, Im the best tipper in the World.... if you are a sloppy server and have an attitude, Im the stingiest mf you will ever meet....

I really see very little in its favour. It's a necessary evil in the US, but where I live and tend to travel to it's considered to be the "American Disease". I'll follow the custom wherever I travel, but find that it has zero effect on service - paying a bribe after the fact seems to be a really stupid thing to do. Tip big in a lot of places and you're not seen as generous or smart, you're seen as a stupid foreigner.

Bribe..???????

:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Some would say that caling a tip a bribe is a lame excuse for being cheap...

Like I said, when I travel I follow the local customs, and if anything when I'm in the US I overtip so that I don't cause embarrassment.

"Cheap" is not part of my makeup. I enjoy the service that I'm given in places where servers are regarded as professionals, and I enjoy the fact that I don't have to bribe them in return for decent service.

^ And I defintely don't want you crouching on the floor next to me while you tell me your name is Todd. Nor do I want you to write your name on my table with a crayon, Todd. And yes, being a server is considered a profession, not necessarily a stepping stone to someone 'better' which is an attitude I cannot abide.

And food cost would rise to offset tipping? Food cost won't rise. Food cost is the cost of the ingredients, not the operating expenses of the establishment. The price of a potato doesn't increase because of being in a non-tipping country.