What % do you tip when you eat out??

[Cetawin]

Depends on the service...but usually 20% an excelelnt server will get 25%+ and I have left a note on a napkin advising the server to get into a different line of work...so

service dictates.

 

[Cindiloohoo]

I tip MINIMUM of 15% even for poor service. Servers are underappreiated IMO and that is generally why there is bad service to start with. No server sets out to suck at their job intentionally not getting tips. Usually it is because they are either new or had a bad day with little to no tips and are rightfully getting an attitude about it so they no longer care to bust their tail for nothing. SO, I tip even if the service is not great because it may make their day to FINALLY get a nice tip from someone, and the next person may get better service as a result. I am also the type person who has tipped more than the bill around the Christmas holiday season. I know one waitress at the local cafe that is a single mother and works her tail off to give her kids things they need. She always smiles, always chit chats a bit, very friendly and I have seen folks leave a dollar...makes me SO MAD! Anyway, it is counted a blessing to tip this lady as much as I can. We tipped her a twenty dollar bill on a $15 call in order once close to Christmas, and she almost cried. She tried to give it back, and I told her HECK NO, she has earned a bonus!! She is a doll! The food is good there at that little place, but that particular server, makes it that much more of a treat to dine there.

i never undervalue those who work to serve my family. They are always appreciated. People remember how you make them feel. I hope we have never made a server feel unappreciated.

 

[Chicken_Hubster]

Quote:
i was under the impression that restaurants, may pay a base like 2.50 or other but if tips do not make it up to minimal wage the restaurant has to make up the difference or be in violation of federal wage and hour laws???????????????? tips should be paid for the quality of service.....

Restaurants generally don't do that. They do fancy-schmancy calculations to show that you really did make min wage - even if you didn't.

I'll let you in on the secret, this is how it works:

On a slow day you may only have 2 tables and end up being there for 3 hours. Lets say you make $10 in tips plus 2.83/hour. Thats about $15 which is $5/hour.

Now on a busy day you could make tips plus hourly rate and make about $20/hour.

Therefore at the end of the week if you take all your money and divide it by your total hours you always make fed min wage. Employer never has to make it up.

 

[TyrannosaurusChix]

possibly find a busier restaurant to work at, or one that pools tips. most of the places around here tend to pool their tips. I think that that makes for more of a team effort from the kitchen down, but there is always one rotten egg, if you know what i mean.

i try to tip well, dh is not a good tipper unless he is wowed. but he eats at a lot of truck stops and is burnt out by the chain smoking, blue eyeshadowed warty humps that work there and cancer cough on everything and think that calling you "hun" makes everything blow over ok. I cant say that i can afford $20 percent most of the time, but i do try to tip more like 15 and i always round up to the nearest dollar or $5 on top of that to make doing my checkbook easier.


And i will add that the highest END places i eat are chilis, applebees and ruby tuesdays.. nothing fancy. Its more like chinese buffet, ponderosa or small village diners-- where home cooked and tasting meals are on the more appreciated side!

 

[booker81]

Quote:
Not quite sure what this was meant for....right at the beginning it states tip based jobs are paid below min.

Besides, when I restaurant waitressed, I sure as heck didn't make minimum wage, I usually average $15-30 an hour - the majority of that cash. My paycheck might be about $40, but my "take home" pay was great. When I bar waitressed (country bar, not THAT kind!), I had nights I made over $100 an hour. Again, take home. I could make $400-800 cash in two nights, tax free, and get my paycheck of $10 for those 8-10 hours of work. That paycheck was the only thing I paid taxes on. Pretty sweet gig, if you ask me. Bar waitressing rocked, just have to be a co-conspirator and confidant for the folks, never hit on a girl's man, and be sweet on the single guys...and watch the money pour in. Never did understand why a guy would tip me $20 to deliver a drink to a girl, but I'll do it! LOL!

 

[gallinamama]

I always tip 20% or more. If it is really bad service 15%... I truely appreciate the people in the service industry. It is very hard work and they do not get paid very good wages.. their money comes from the customers THEY serve. I didn't make the meal, I didn't set or clean the table, I didn't even have to serve it... it was served to me... so I have to give back.

 

[EweSheep]

I do recall seeing those tip plastic cheat cards which you can look up the amount of bill and how much you would pay the waiter in 10 to 50 percent tip list....is there one online I can make a copy of and put it in my wallet???

Just had gone out eating to a nice family restraunt and this waitress, she went over backwards, knowingly I was hard of hearing and she went out of her way to make sure it is the order that I want or have questions how I would want the meat to be cooked, or dressing on the side or top of salad. Little things like that are rare and we tipped her a ten dollar. That is the most we ever gave and she had the look of surprise on her face and thanked us. Our bill for the food for two of us was only 12 dollars so it was very generous but those little things that she does, it makes a world of difference!

I can recall only two times we did not tip the waitresses at all, came to get our order and drop our food off and gave us the bill. No refills, no checking up how we are or need anything, etc.

 

[arabianequine]

Quote:
Not quite sure what this was meant for....right at the beginning it states tip based jobs are paid below min.

Besides, when I restaurant waitressed, I sure as heck didn't make minimum wage, I usually average $15-30 an hour - the majority of that cash. My paycheck might be about $40, but my "take home" pay was great. When I bar waitressed (country bar, not THAT kind!), I had nights I made over $100 an hour. Again, take home. I could make $400-800 cash in two nights, tax free, and get my paycheck of $10 for those 8-10 hours of work. That paycheck was the only thing I paid taxes on. Pretty sweet gig, if you ask me. Bar waitressing rocked, just have to be a co-conspirator and confidant for the folks, never hit on a girl's man, and be sweet on the single guys...and watch the money pour in. Never did understand why a guy would tip me $20 to deliver a drink to a girl, but I'll do it! LOL!

This site shows you your federal and state min. wage for anyone who was wondering. I think she is saying she does not think her pay is always what she feels it should be.....it has to be at least her states federal wage. So in all reality we know it is more than $2.83 a hour like she stated originally. Because her federal state wage is more then that. She said it did average the federal wage weekly so her employer never had to make up the min wage.

ETA: It also shows you what states pay better or worse.

 

[DuckLady]

Quote:
+1

I figure if someone wants a good tip they will treat me like they want it. Not treat me like it is my obligation to tip them. Because it isn't.

I worked for tips at an air force commissary. Some tipped good, and some didn't, but they all got treated the same and it didn't take long until I was the most requested bagger and the best tipped.

The ones that get the career advice from me (like Cetawin says above) are the ones who complain in my hearing or worse, to me about other lousy tipping patrons.

 

[arabianequine]

Quote:
+1

I figure if someone wants a good tip they will treat me like they want it. Not treat me like it is my obligation to tip them. Because it isn't.

I worked for tips at an air force commissary. Some tipped good, and some didn't, but they all got treated the same and it didn't take long until I was the most requested bagger and the best tipped.

The ones that get the career advice from me (like Cetawin says above) are the ones who complain in my hearing or worse, to me about other lousy tipping patrons.

I figure if someone wants a good tip they will treat me like they want it. Not treat me like it is my obligation to tip them. Because it isn't.


Thats why you get at least a min. federal or state wage....although there are about 5 states that don't have a federal min. I would like to hear from one of those states as to what the worse paying min job is in that state and what the min is they pay.