tipping
Mar 21, 2001 | 11:32 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: nj,
Posts: 79
tipping
I have allways had a problem with tipping I do not want the tip to be a right, but a reward for good service however I have no problem no tipping for bad service at all, but since bad service is not that usual, average service is the problem when it is just OK what do you do? I have allway felt cheap not tipping, so what I do normally in restaurants, cafe's etc is keep a rolling jacpot in my head if I eat out at a $100 restaurant but get ok service I might leave just $10, but to avoid fealing cheap i make a mental note that I owe $10 for good service later I might by a simple Coffe on the road some where and get good polite service for $2 order, here I would drop the $10 from the last bad service etc, this way I do not feal cheap but I reward the service which is above average.
Am I mad?
Am I mad?
Mar 31, 2001 | 2:33 pm
#3
Join Date: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,290
A very, very interesting read from Wednesday's copy of the Canadian Globe and Mail. Please read this, and never again entertain the thought of leaving nothing behind!
A few tips on leaving tips
Tips make you feel a little bit more appreciated in an industry where many people don't even look up when you greet them or say "thank you" when you bring them their food. JENNIFER BOWERING
Wednesday, March 28, 2001
'I don't tip," the woman at table 19 tells her companion, taking a sip of her fishbowl-size mango-strawberry margarita, "out of principle."
Meanwhile I am in the kitchen, scraping the woman's plate of hardened refried beans into the garbage, trying to remember that table 18 is ready for their bill, that 16 wants water, that 20's food should be ready by now, and that 14 said "hold the olives." It will probably be 2:30 a.m. before I can sit down again.
Like most jobs, serving is a lot harder than it looks. But why should the customer have to tip? After all, the server is already getting paid by the restaurant. If the minimum wage she receives is not enough to pay tuition, buy groceries, pay utilities and pay the rent, surely it is the restaurant's fault, not the customer's.
What our customer (and most other Canadians) does not realize is that restaurants generally operate on the assumption that a server is being tipped about 15 per cent on each table. Because of this assumption, for every table that does not leave a tip the server loses money out of her own pocket. She has just paid $2.50 of her own money for the privilege of serving you.
This is because at the end of the night the server is required to "tip out" her co-workers based on the amount of food and drink that she sold. Most people are surprised to learn this, but it is a simple fact of life in almost every Canadian restaurant. At the Edmonton restaurant where I worked over the summer, I was obligated to tip 1.5 per cent of net sales to the bartender, 1 per cent to the hostess, 1 per cent to the busser, and 2 per cent of food sales to the kitchen.
This practice means that on a table that racked up a bill of $50, I had to pay everybody else about $2.50 on that table alone. My co-workers were hard-working individuals, and I would have tipped them out more than that if I could. But if I did not get a tip on that table, that money came out of my own pocket. By the end of an average Saturday night I usually tipped out around $50. I tipped out the same amount regardless of how much I made in tips that night.
Meanwhile at table 19, our friend's companion for the evening has offered to pick up the tab. He wants to leave a tip, but like many people, he isn't sure what is fair. The standard tip in the industry, if you have received good service, is 15 per cent of the bill. There is an easy way to calculate this -- simply look at the amount of GST on your bill, double it, and round up. His friend, however, still believes that refusing to tip is a way of making a statement. For those of you who fall into that category, there is one more thing to keep in mind:
In many other countries a gratuity is already hidden in the cost of the menu items or is automatically added to the bill. In most restaurants in Canada, we are lucky. As consumers, tipping is our tool to ensure good service. If we have received good service, we can let our servers know by giving them upwards of 15 per cent. If we have received poor service, we can let them know that too.
As a customer, I use my years of experience working in restaurants to help me decide when a server deserves a large tip and when she doesn't. If the restaurant is busy, I keep in mind the fact that the server and restaurant have many customers to get to. If the food is bad, I remember that it is not the server who prepared it. Even if service is slow or if the order comes out wrong, I know there is a good chance it was the kitchen's fault, not the server's, and give him or her the benefit of the doubt. When there is a problem it is always best to let the server know before the bill is settled. Usually the problem can be corrected, by making the order again or taking an item off the bill.
The grace with which a server handles complaints is, to me, one of the most important indicators of the quality of service. If my server is friendly, helpful and reasonably efficient, I give them at least 15 per cent. If they have gone out of their way to make special adjustments to an order or to help me get my food quickly when I am in a hurry, I will usually leave them more. If, on the other hand, they are rude, if they do not check in to make sure that I do not need anything, or if they do not address any concerns that I may have, then I will leave 10 per cent. In extreme cases I will leave only enough to cover their tip out.
A couple of bucks may not seem like enough to make much difference. But a nice tip can mean more than just another toonie or two in your pocket. It makes you feel a little bit more appreciated in an industry where many people don't even look up when you greet them, or say "thank you" when you bring them their food. It's not just about dollar and cents, it's about courtesy.
I once knew a server who saved a customer's life by administering the Heimlich manoeuver when the man began to choke on a chunk of hamburger.
The customer, in the end, still did not leave a tip.
But I am reminded that this is not a matter of money.
This is a matter of principle.
Jennifer Bowering lives in Edmonton.
A few tips on leaving tips
Tips make you feel a little bit more appreciated in an industry where many people don't even look up when you greet them or say "thank you" when you bring them their food. JENNIFER BOWERING
Wednesday, March 28, 2001
'I don't tip," the woman at table 19 tells her companion, taking a sip of her fishbowl-size mango-strawberry margarita, "out of principle."
Meanwhile I am in the kitchen, scraping the woman's plate of hardened refried beans into the garbage, trying to remember that table 18 is ready for their bill, that 16 wants water, that 20's food should be ready by now, and that 14 said "hold the olives." It will probably be 2:30 a.m. before I can sit down again.
Like most jobs, serving is a lot harder than it looks. But why should the customer have to tip? After all, the server is already getting paid by the restaurant. If the minimum wage she receives is not enough to pay tuition, buy groceries, pay utilities and pay the rent, surely it is the restaurant's fault, not the customer's.
What our customer (and most other Canadians) does not realize is that restaurants generally operate on the assumption that a server is being tipped about 15 per cent on each table. Because of this assumption, for every table that does not leave a tip the server loses money out of her own pocket. She has just paid $2.50 of her own money for the privilege of serving you.
This is because at the end of the night the server is required to "tip out" her co-workers based on the amount of food and drink that she sold. Most people are surprised to learn this, but it is a simple fact of life in almost every Canadian restaurant. At the Edmonton restaurant where I worked over the summer, I was obligated to tip 1.5 per cent of net sales to the bartender, 1 per cent to the hostess, 1 per cent to the busser, and 2 per cent of food sales to the kitchen.
This practice means that on a table that racked up a bill of $50, I had to pay everybody else about $2.50 on that table alone. My co-workers were hard-working individuals, and I would have tipped them out more than that if I could. But if I did not get a tip on that table, that money came out of my own pocket. By the end of an average Saturday night I usually tipped out around $50. I tipped out the same amount regardless of how much I made in tips that night.
Meanwhile at table 19, our friend's companion for the evening has offered to pick up the tab. He wants to leave a tip, but like many people, he isn't sure what is fair. The standard tip in the industry, if you have received good service, is 15 per cent of the bill. There is an easy way to calculate this -- simply look at the amount of GST on your bill, double it, and round up. His friend, however, still believes that refusing to tip is a way of making a statement. For those of you who fall into that category, there is one more thing to keep in mind:
In many other countries a gratuity is already hidden in the cost of the menu items or is automatically added to the bill. In most restaurants in Canada, we are lucky. As consumers, tipping is our tool to ensure good service. If we have received good service, we can let our servers know by giving them upwards of 15 per cent. If we have received poor service, we can let them know that too.
As a customer, I use my years of experience working in restaurants to help me decide when a server deserves a large tip and when she doesn't. If the restaurant is busy, I keep in mind the fact that the server and restaurant have many customers to get to. If the food is bad, I remember that it is not the server who prepared it. Even if service is slow or if the order comes out wrong, I know there is a good chance it was the kitchen's fault, not the server's, and give him or her the benefit of the doubt. When there is a problem it is always best to let the server know before the bill is settled. Usually the problem can be corrected, by making the order again or taking an item off the bill.
The grace with which a server handles complaints is, to me, one of the most important indicators of the quality of service. If my server is friendly, helpful and reasonably efficient, I give them at least 15 per cent. If they have gone out of their way to make special adjustments to an order or to help me get my food quickly when I am in a hurry, I will usually leave them more. If, on the other hand, they are rude, if they do not check in to make sure that I do not need anything, or if they do not address any concerns that I may have, then I will leave 10 per cent. In extreme cases I will leave only enough to cover their tip out.
A couple of bucks may not seem like enough to make much difference. But a nice tip can mean more than just another toonie or two in your pocket. It makes you feel a little bit more appreciated in an industry where many people don't even look up when you greet them, or say "thank you" when you bring them their food. It's not just about dollar and cents, it's about courtesy.
I once knew a server who saved a customer's life by administering the Heimlich manoeuver when the man began to choke on a chunk of hamburger.
The customer, in the end, still did not leave a tip.
But I am reminded that this is not a matter of money.
This is a matter of principle.
Jennifer Bowering lives in Edmonton.
Mar 31, 2001 | 4:43 pm
#4
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: San Diego, CA
Posts: 1,688
listener, your whimsicality strikes me as "random acts of unkindness". If you want to overtip for coffee, please do. But the server who only gets $10 on a $100 meal is likely going to be splitting that tip with the maitre d', the bartender, and the bussers - which won't leave a lot left over for the server, will it? Not to mention wondering what they did wrong.
If you don't like the system, you're not alone - but 15% really is the expected minimum for any kind of reasonable service in US restaurants. We are certainly capable of not leaving any tip in the rare circumstance of really bad service, when we also explain to the management just why we're not tipping, but good service gets at least 20%. And you know, we usually get very good service, especially after our 2nd or 3rd visit to a place.
If you don't like the system, you're not alone - but 15% really is the expected minimum for any kind of reasonable service in US restaurants. We are certainly capable of not leaving any tip in the rare circumstance of really bad service, when we also explain to the management just why we're not tipping, but good service gets at least 20%. And you know, we usually get very good service, especially after our 2nd or 3rd visit to a place.
Mar 31, 2001 | 4:49 pm
#5
Suspended
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: GSP (Greenville, SC)
Programs: DL Gold Medallion; UA Premier Executive; WN sub-CP; AA sub-Gold
Posts: 13,393
Interesting article. The guy who choked might have forgotten to tip. Life-threatening events can do odd things to your brain temporarily.
Anyway, what I don't get is this: what is the point of the server tipping the other employees a constant percentage? Couldn't the restaurant do exactly the same thing?
The point of tips, rather than no tips with an increased salary, is to give the server a financial incentive to serve well. This tip-out thing has no incentive for the other employees, as their "tip" is fixed.
If the server should pay a portion of the other employees' salaries, the server should also reap the same portion of the restaurant's profits!
Anyway, what I don't get is this: what is the point of the server tipping the other employees a constant percentage? Couldn't the restaurant do exactly the same thing?
The point of tips, rather than no tips with an increased salary, is to give the server a financial incentive to serve well. This tip-out thing has no incentive for the other employees, as their "tip" is fixed.
If the server should pay a portion of the other employees' salaries, the server should also reap the same portion of the restaurant's profits!
Mar 31, 2001 | 5:26 pm
#6
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: BKK when I'm not in Princeton
Programs: UA MP:1P for life, TG:Gold, CO:Gold
Posts: 2,017
listener asks
to which I say, only slightly. I have a friend who, with his wife, travels extensively with another couple. They noted that when being served in restaurants, over the duration of a multcourse meal, the waiter would invariably make a mistake in bringing the correct dish, or serving it to the correct party. So, they decided that when a mistake occured, the waiter would still get a nominal tip, but a 'bonus' would be placed in a pool. The pool would go to the first waiter who was able to provide correct service throughout the meal. Apparently, several years went by (clearly my friend and his traveling companions have high standards) and the pool kept building. Finally, last year in Russia, in a nondescript establishment, perfection was attained, and an unsuspecting Russian waiter was rewarded with a several thousand dollar bonus (in addition to their standard tip). From what I was told, he was frightened by the enormity of the cash on the table, and required quite a bit of calming down and explanation before he pocketed the cash.
Now I ask, are my friends mad?
Am I mad?
Now I ask, are my friends mad?