so give bonuses instead of putting the onus on the customers.

cheers.

^

Nothing prevents a customer for tipping a server for great service; it is the expectation of MANDATORY tipping, for every little job performed (i.e. carside service) that has gotten out of hand here.
Should we now tip the dentist who performs a nice root canal, or the doctor who performs an exceptional colonscopy? :p

Why do you say tip income is unreported income? Have you ever worked a tip job? I have and we had to report our tips and withholding was done from the paycheck.

By law minimum wage ($5.15) is minimum wage. If a tip person is only making $2.13 they MUST be getting tips to account for the extra 3.02 per hour. If not, they are supposed to have that adjusted and put in their pay. If people are being paid tip wage and not being paid tips, that is something the IRS needs to investigate.

http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/wages/wagestips.htm

Tip jars are inappropriate. At a coffee shop, the employee who takes my order and pours my coffee is not paid $2.13 an hour, and there's not a lot of skill needed nor is there a high degree of variability from one shop to the next or one visit to the next.

I don't tip at the dry cleaners or the gas station. All these people do is take my money and give me change.

BTW, every business expects its customers to pay for the employees. You do it directly or you do it indirectly. I'd suggest that it's not the business owner that's cheap here. Do you really think that the difference between paying $2.13 and $5.65 an hour is going to come out of the owner's profits?

As far as feeling compelled to tip, I can assure you that not everyone does. My kids even know which customers to avoid (yes, it's profiling). I certainly don't tip for awful service. Anyone who does deserves to get bad service again.

I sometimes drop cash in the tip jar, but it depends on service. I used to drop $1 in the tip jar every day where I used to go for breakfast, and after the first day, the cook (also cashier) knew my order when I'd walk in, but my last day before I moved, I handed him a $20 since he comped my breakfast and had been great the entire time I was going there. It also depends on how unique the tip jar is though. I've dropped an extra $1 or $2 in a tip jar if it's unique, like one I saw at Penn State that said, "Beer Money," or the one I saw elsewhere that said, "401K Retirement Plan."

Oh, this works both ways doesn't it?
In the Kansas City area where I live, there is a popular barbecue restaurant - -Arthur Bryant's - -that posts prominent signs: "Absolutely NO tipping." Why? Because when the cook takes your order and prepares your Pulled Pork sandwich or plate of burnt ends (yum :p ), if the customer tipped the cook in hopes of getting a larger plate of food or bigger sandwich with extra meat, who ulitmately loses out in profits? Ummm, not the cook who prepares my sandwich or the cashier who rings up my purchase.
BTW, always terrific service there, and I surmise that the cooks, cashiers, busboys are all paid better than standard minimum wage.

There doesn't appear to be any shortage of offenders, including Starbucks (see below) and lots of Boston restaurants--this is just what turned up in a quicky google.

COSTA MESA, Calif., March 31 /PRNewswire/ -- On Thursday, March 30, 2006,
Judge Patricia Yim Cowett of the San Diego County Superior Court granted
Plaintiff Joe Chou's motion for class certification against Defendant
Starbucks Corporation. Chou, a former employee of Starbucks has sued the
coffee house in a class action lawsuit asserting that Starbucks illegally
requires its non-exempt employees to share their tips with managers in
violation of California Labor Code Section 351. Judge Cowett indicated that
allowing the matter to proceed as a class action would be efficient because it
would resolve issues on a statewide basis. A. Eric Aguilera of the firm of
Bohm, Matsen, Kegel & Aguilera LLP, counsel for Chou, stated, "We are pleased
with the Court's ruling because thousands of employees' claims will be able to
be resolved in one action."

Published on Friday, March 8, 2002 in the Boston Globe
Waiters Say Management Takes Big Slices of Tips
by Douglas Belkin

Hundreds of waiters from some of Boston's toniest restaurants say the eateries have found a way to make more money: They're taking the waitstaff's tips.

In a lawsuit filed yesterday in Suffolk Superior Court, five former Locke-Ober servers say the restaurant required them to give a large portion of their tips to management. When they complained, the suit alleges, they were fired.

A similar lawsuit against Morton's is expected to be filed this spring by 15 former servers, and suits already have been filed against L'Espalier and The Bay Tower Room's banquet facility.

''It's the industry's dirty little secret,'' said Samantha Smith, who is among the plaintiffs in the suit against Locke-Ober, which is near Downtown Crossing. ''People think they are leaving money for their server and we're not seeing half of it.''
continued at:
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/0308-04.htm

I also have also observed what seems to be tip grabbing at, e.g., Ocean Seafood in L.A. Chinatown.

Thanks Peter.... that's what we do! And I always like it when the friendly lady opens up the pizza box and asks us "how does it look?"

We say "like a pizza!" ;)

Keep up the great food. ^

Based on some readings in the past, my impression is that at least some states are relatively kind by not treating tips as part of the amount subject to sales tax. (Often, when you buy a product that includes labor, the charges for both are subject to sales tax.) My speculation has been that that exemption was put in place, in part, as some sort of social justice, to help those making relatively low wages. Depending on how the relevant laws and regulations were written, I could see some state taxing authorities' going after additional sales taxes from businesses in which management "requires" servers to turn in some or all of their tips.

Also, if I were a server and were required to turn in some of my tips, I likely would make sure that I wasn't paying income or payroll taxes on the amounts I didn't get to keep (though I might wait until I had left that job to file claims or amended returns).

oh my....
 

the problem with this type of thinking is that the to-go person has more than one job, which can be much more tricky than a server with 3 tables during a busy time of day. they take your order and suggest items that may go along with what you've ordered, they place your order, they talk to the kitchen about when you want it ready by, they make sure it is ready at that time, with all of your many substitutions and pack it all up in time to run out to greet you and take care of the rest of the sometimes 10 other orders going on at the same time. all the while talking on the phone, with their coworkers about getting orders ready, cashing out credit cards and making sure they didnt forget that you wanted your rice noodles on the side instead of in your salad. they do a lot of and should be tipped accordingly. they do everything a regular server would do, except all at once and pack it all up for you at your convenience. just because you didnt get served in doesnt mean you didnt get great service- tipping on carside to go should be almost compulsory, you should want to tip this person who did all of this for you and had it ready when you got there. it's rude to think they did less work, you should be ashamed that you are so ignorant about service and tipping. they do everything on your list and more in the 15 minutes or so it takes you to get your butt to the restaurant to pick up your food, and that's how you repay them? next time, dine in- where i'm sure you'll feel more at home with your methods of tipping, although i am not so sure even then that you will tip accurately. :mad:

I worked in the restaurant industry from 14- 27 years old.. That said there is always a lower minimum wage for these jobs ( Why are restaurants allowed to pay less and let the consumer pay more. Taxes on servers ranges from hourly on tipss to make up to minimum wage to 10% of their sales ( could be more now. This was over 20 yrs ago for me. Yes, I usually made more than minimum wage and in fact many of us recieved 0 zilch checks, after taxes taken out for tips.
The question I have is, Tipping back when I was young was 10% and 15% for excellent service. Now prices have increased, and 15-18% is standard and about 25% for good service. Double whammy. If we need to increase price of the product, it should be done. Not keep increasing tip. We are shifting tax burden from Businesses to employees, and we all should be able to claim them as dependents)

I asked my niece about this (she works at applebees as a server) and she said that usually the carhop is the equivalent of a hostess (7-8/hr) and the corporate policy is no tipping necessary but it is expected by the employees

In my area tipping is still in the 10% to 12% range for restaurant meals eaten at a table. In most local restaurants tips are pooled. I've asked.

I've worked for tips. I know how it goes. I got 5 cents for a tip once. A whole 5 cents! I got over it.

There's a lot of misinformation floating around here because it differs from state to state.

In California the minimum wage is $7.50 per hour. It will be $8.00 per hour next January.

Waitstaff must be paid at least $7.50 per hour and their tips are on top of that and cannot be witheld.

So next time that guy who sneers and yells "Venti" holds out his hand, AND YOU ARE IN CALIFORNIA, adjust your tip accordingly.

There are many workers in California who receive $7.50 and hour and have absolutely no possibility of receiving tips.

It's incredible some states allow employers to pay $2.31 per hour and expect them to subsist on tips.

"In California an employer cannot use an employee’s tips as a credit towards its obligation to pay the minimum wage. California law requires that employees receive the minimum wage plus any tips left for them by patrons of the employer’s business."