CMK10

How many threads are you going to say this in?

KoKoBuddy

Well because inflation makes everything more expensive so 20% is needed....

So will say people who don't understand how percentages work. I've heard this argument multiple times. Things are more expensive now, so 20% is needed because 15% is not enough to keep up with cost of living. Of course the fact that the price of food has also increased with inflation seems to be lost on these people.

Joshua

The IRS claims the average tip is 8%, so servers are either grossly underpaying their taxes, or there is a sizeable part of the population that doesn't tip at all that's throwing off the average. (I suspect a bit of both comes into play.)

Fredd

Pooling and/or sharing of tips is fairly common, isn't it? That would bring the average down somewhat.

As for those who don't tip, apparently they exist.

djs

What's worse is that in some parts of the US people even tip cows.

LondonElite

I thought we agreed that we don't tip the UA flights attendants.

aktchi

It is. It also negates the argument that tip rewards good service, because your tip goes to a common pool and not necessarily to the person who provided good service.

KoKoBuddy

But your tip is not just for good service on the part of a waiter/ress. The entire meal is a good/bad experience based on the actions of a lot of people like waiter, host, kitchen staff, busboys, etc. This creates peer pressure on everyone to perform well.

Fredd

I know I've been cowed a couple of times by the more senior UA FAs.

Actually, it prompts me to tip a bit more, knowing it's a team effort and wanting to ensure the server gets an appropriate monetary reward.

weaverjf

Really? I wonder if you just mean tourist locations? If a waiter or waitress can keep my glass full I am happy to give them a tip. If I have to go get the drink myself and find the waiter or waitress to get my check, I'm doing their job for them. In the states I've had no issues with service. In the UK and other parts of Europe I pretty much had to do their jobs for them.

It is understandable though. In the UK the lowest paid workers are wait staff and the second lowest paid workers are bartenders. In the states you can make really good money as a waiter or bartender in the right location.

aktchi

Sure; you could start with the illegal immigrant workers who planted and harvested the produce. Who would get what portion of my tip?

Throwing money broadly in the hope that it would reach the deserving or intended target is usually a losing strategy.

Yes, really. The world is bigger than USA and UK, both of which offer mediocre service compared to many places. I am comparing apples to apples: IOW, best I have seen to the best I have seen, worst I have seen to the worst I have seen, small towns to small towns, big touristy places to big touristy places, big cities to big cities, trains to trains, flights to flights, etc.

youreadyfreddie

And

- hit and run posters who ask questions and then disappear from threads

Fredd

My aim is usually good enough to find the waiter or waitress (I still prefer those expressions to "server" - maybe I'll start a thread about that ).

But not before leaving us with such worthy issues for reflection, discussion, and debate that we hardly notice their departure.

chgoeditor

It makes me think that I'm participating in someone else's research project...

iahphx

I guess restaurant service is slightly better in the USA than Europe, where your tip is generally included (some other tip-less societies, like Japan, are too different culturally to compare). So I don't mind how it's done in America. My only complaint is the relatively new tendency to tip a higher percentage in expensive restaurants. I'm not sure if it's really true, but I've heard many folks tell me that 20% in the norm for fine dining.

This makes little sense to me because waiters don't work harder in fancy restaurants and, with even a standard tipping percentage, make considerably more than at coffee shops, chain restaurants, etc. I tend to tip higher in cheaper restaurants where I feel bad leaving only a couple of dollars for a hard working waitress. I tend not to feel overly generous in an expensive restaurant where I'm already leaving 20 bucks for not all that much effort (and where the waiter is simultaneously getting 20 bucks from 4 other tables that hour).