Do you tip?

My country is not a tipping country, so I rarely tip (and not much), only if the service was exceptionally good and waiter/server worked hard (big order, many people, different drinks and meals). I was on my vacation trip in Turkey and there was 20% tip included in my check so I asked a manager to remove it, because all the server did was literally transfer two beers from bar stand to my table. And I was kinda shocked to see Americans leaving $20 tip for, like, a $50 order.

So, I will probably sound cheap but why should I tip someone who already get paid for their job by their employer? No one will ever tip me for the work I do, although 90% of the people will use and enjoy the results of my work in the end.

So is tipping a thing in your country? How much do you usually tip?

P.S. I also finally finished S6 of 'Game of Thrones'. The Light of the Seven (the ep) is such a masterpiece

In the US, the allowable minimum wage for servers and other tipped employees can be considerably lower than for other workers. The amount varies by state.

Only 7 states require servers to be paid like anyone else
16 states use $2.13 per hour as the minimum wage for servers.
The remaining states lie somewhere in between.

https://www.dol.gov/whd/state/tipped.htm


The current US minimum wage for ordinary workers is so low that in no state can such a person, working full time, afford to rent a two bedroom lodging.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-rental-rates-rising-20170608-story.html

So yes, I always tip. But I wish the whole US tipping system was done away with, and that people were paid a living wage.

Snow63 said:

My country is not a tipping country, so I rarely tip (and not much), only if the service was exceptionally good and waiter/server worked hard (big order, many people, different drinks and meals). I was on my vacation trip in Turkey and there was 20% tip included in my check so I asked a manager to remove it, because all the server did was literally transfer two beers from bar stand to my table. And I was kinda shocked to see Americans leaving $20 tip for, like, a $50 order.

So, I will probably sound cheap but why should I tip someone who already get paid for their job by their employer? No one will ever tip me for the work I do, although 90% of the people will use and enjoy the results of my work in the end.

So is tipping a thing in your country? How much do you usually tip?

P.S. I also finally finished S6 of 'Game of Thrones'. The Light of the Seven (the ep) is such a masterpiece

Click to expand...

A man after my own heart. I totally agree with everything you say.

Why should people get tipped just for doing their job?

Admittedly, a lot of employers in eating establishments don't pay their staff a lot, and so the waiters/waitresses rely on tips to be able to bring home a decent amount of money. But, the pressure should be on the employers to pay more, not the customers.

And automatically adding a tip is not right. It's exploiting your customers.

Personally, I wouldn't leave a tip. For people that do, 10% seems to be the norm. But, 20% is excessive. And automatically adding that much is, frankly, outrageous!

For that matter, I don't agree with people getting honours just for doing their job (the Queen's Birthday Honours List came out a couple of days ago).

To me, people should only be rewarded if they have done something exceptional.

CaroLiza_fan

Finally, a topic where I'm not just talking out of my hat

I always tip. Not only do I always tip, I tip in cash.

As @dorispulaski rightfully pointed out, the "tipped minimum wage (MW)" in the US is much lower than the regular MW. Federal law requires that a tipped MW employee be paid only $2.13 an hour. States that require a higher tipped MW are few and far between.

Despite that incredibly low bar, some employers violate the laws for even the tipped MW. They require tips to be "pooled" and share them with non-tipped MW employees (usually kitchen staff). They don't pay *any* MW. And, why I pay in cash, they skim the tips left on credit or debit cards and do not pay the entire tip to the waitstaff.

Do all, or even most, employers do this? I hope not. But unfortunately for 32 years I got to see (and sue) the ones that did. High-end restaurants, small diners, and every establishment in between.

So if only one person leaves tips in cash after reading this, my work is done

i always leave 15-20% as in Canada employees rely on tips (same as USA the minimum wage is lower for waiting staff)... however, I also tip my hairdresser, the cab driver, just about everyone.

Here is why : i have done such jobs briefly and one does struggle financially doing them. While you are having your beers and your ribs, some of these kids are barely managing to be in school, paying rent and tuition, and eating garbage.... so if I can afford a 40 dollar meal, why not leave a good tip and help out someone who really needs it? And on top of that, it encourages them to work for their money... instead of begging on the streets. (yeah... i live very downtown)

Finally, in my profession, I do not get tips often.. yet sometimes I do... but I do get lots of presents, wine is the most common one and even if sometimes it's something that I do not fancy (let's say cheap chocolate LOL) it's always nice to feel that someone is rewarding you with a token of appreciation.

Tips go a long way.

CaroLiza_fan said:

A man after my own heart. I totally agree with everything you say.

Why should people get tipped just for doing their job?

Admittedly, a lot of employers in eating establishments don't pay their staff a lot, and so the waiters/waitresses rely on tips to be able to bring home a decent amount of money. But, the pressure should be on the employers to pay more, not the customers.

And automatically adding a tip is not right. It's exploiting your customers.

Personally, I wouldn't leave a tip. For people that do, 10% seems to be the norm. But, 20% is excessive. And automatically adding that much is, frankly, outrageous!

For that matter, I don't agree with people getting honours just for doing their job (the Queen's Birthday Honours List came out a couple of days ago).

To me, people should only be rewarded if they have done something exceptional.

CaroLiza_fan

Click to expand...

I was in Europe twice (Spain and Greece), and I feel like it's optional there. Like, I left a Euro or two here and there, but never did it because it felt mandatory. Once a maid did really good job cleaning my room and left me an extra stuff, or that girl at the cafe was really nice and all, and in Greece the tavern's owner gifted us a giant traditional desert for free. It was all good. But I will never understand why I should tip a worker who does their job without going above.

For the US, my friends told me that normal tip is 15%, because the waiting stuff got paid like $2/hour. People leave tips because waiters get paid very low, and employers pay low because people leave tips. That's a really strange situation.

On the other hand when I traveled Asia (and I would like someone from there to confirm) my transfer guide said to me that tips in this place (Singapore, for example) are not only unwelcomed, but it is also offensive and insulting. It's just into their culture. So I don't get why people get all noble and wise over this, all the cultures are different, and all the countries are different. Some countries just make employers pay their workers decently, that's all.

dorispulaski said:

In the US, the allowable minimum wage for servers and other tipped employees can be considerably lower than for other workers. The amount varies by state.

Only 7 states require servers to be paid like anyone else
16 states use $2.13 per hour as the minimum wage for servers.
The remaining states lie somewhere in between.

https://www.dol.gov/whd/state/tipped.htm


The current US minimum wage for ordinary workers is so low that in no state can such a person, working full time, afford to rent a two bedroom lodging.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-rental-rates-rising-20170608-story.html

So yes, I always tip. But I wish the whole US tipping system was done away with, and that people were paid a living wage.

Click to expand...

That's very interesting and informative. I get the US situation now. And it's terrible. It's like other people pay salary to the waiters because employers don't have to do that. Now I see why Americans tip this big, they probably don't know that waiters here get paid around $15-20/hour.

The US is a welfare state for employers, sad to say.

It is not just tipped employees.

Walmart workers, for example, are so poorly paid that they cost taxpayers $6.2 billion per year in various kinds of public assistance.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/clareo...-2-billion-in-public-assistance/#4f42bb58720b

"It found that a single Walmart Supercenter cost taxpayers between $904,542 and $1.75 million per year, or between $3,015 and $5,815 on average for each of 300 workers."

Click to expand...

In case you did not do the arithmetic, if no one tips, a server makes $4,430.40 per year for a full time 40 hour a week job.

The federal poverty level is $12,060 for a household with one person.

dorispulaski said:

The federal poverty level is $12,060 for a household with one person.

Click to expand...

That's not bad at all! The living minimum in Russia is $3,000 per year and the average income is about $8,000 per year.

As for tipping, I lived in the US for a while and I detest how tipping is done there. Everybody in service expects it. For example in the hotel a guy who brings your luggage to the reception, another guy who brings it from reception to the room and then starts annoying service of "explaining" how things are arranged in the room, a housemaid, a guy who brings your car, another guy who opens a door of the car, etc. And it is sort of my responsibility to have cash for all of them. The only other place where tipping is similar is Africa, some of the countries there. Another thing which made me angry is that when I lived in California in the 90s the standard tip was 15%. When I came there around 2001-2003 and left 15% the waiter was quite agressive saying that it was not enough. That's how I "discovered" 18% rule. They went even further: After 2005 I received the bill where you could select from 18, 20 or 21% tip - that was hillarious.

In Moscow the usual rule is 10% tip on services unless you are unhappy. If something goes wrong I don't leave tips. 10% is so common that many restaurants issue frequent visitor cards with 10% discount. Then you know that the price you will have to actually pay is the price you see on the menu list. I have many such cards. I cannot manage them all and sometimes restaurant decisions are spontaneous so that I don't have their discount card. Then the usual trick is to say that you either give me 10% off or I don't leave a tip. It works 90% of times.

The strangest tipping rules I encountered was on Maldives.

I'm a very generous tipper. I often find emails from my bank or credit card company checking to make sure I intended to leave a tip greater than 20%. My family ran a restaurant and I've served before and delivered pizzas. I still remember some of the people who tipped me well and that I saw regularly. Some of the best tippers are those who can't necessary afford to do so.

I don't look down on bad tippers though and don't think a server should ever expect a tip but instead just hope to earn one on their own merit and if the customer also enjoys giving tips. To each their own.

Snow63 said:

That's very interesting and informative. I get the US situation now. And it's terrible. It's like other people pay salary to the waiters because employers don't have to do that. Now I see why Americans tip this big, they probably don't know that waiters here get paid around $15-20/hour.

Click to expand...

I live in Las Vegas, where a huge percentage of the population survives on tips for most of their income. Yes, I understand that the tipping system is difficult for foreigners to grasp. Why don't employers just pay their workers a livable wage? First, with a tipping system, you get better service. If you know you'll get paid the same whether you do a great job or a just OK job, most workers, unfortunately, will do the bare minimum. The only place in the U.S. where tipping is added automatically to the bill (in most places) is Miami, which is notorious for its mediocre restaurant service. Second, you have to understand how our tax system works. Let's say that in order to make a livable wage, a worker needs to take home (that is, after all taxes are deducted) $15/hour, or about $30,000/year. In round numbers, the worker needs to make $20/hour to take home $15/hour. On top of that, the employer needs to pay a payroll tax on that $20/hour, to the tune of about $5/hour. So for a worker to take home $15/hour, it costs an employer $25/hour. On the other hand, in a tipping system, an employee makes very little salary (as low as $2.13 in many states, $7.25 here in Nevada) but ends up making a livable wage through tips. The good news for employers is that they are paying a payroll tax on the much lower wage of $7.25 (or $2.13 or whatever a state's minimum wage for tipped employees), which lowers their operating costs significantly. And since the restaurant business has very low profit margins to begin with, most restaurants wouldn't survive without the reduced payroll tax.

- - - Updated - - -

[email protected] said:

That's not bad at all! The living minimum in Russia is $3,000 per year and the average income is about $8,000 per year.

As for tipping, I lived in the US for a while and I detest how tipping is done there. Everybody in service expects it. For example in the hotel a guy who brings your luggage to the reception, another guy who brings it from reception to the room and then starts annoying service of "explaining" how things are arranged in the room, a housemaid, a guy who brings your car, another guy who opens a door of the car, etc. And it is sort of my responsibility to have cash for all of them. The only other place where tipping is similar is Africa, some of the countries there. Another thing which made me angry is that when I lived in California in the 90s the standard tip was 15%. When I came there around 2001-2003 and left 15% the waiter was quite agressive saying that it was not enough. That's how I "discovered" 18% rule. They went even further: After 2005 I received the bill where you could select from 18, 20 or 21% tip - that was hillarious.

In Moscow the usual rule is 10% tip on services unless you are unhappy. If something goes wrong I don't leave tips. 10% is so common that many restaurants issue frequent visitor cards with 10% discount. Then you know that the price you will have to actually pay is the price you see on the menu list. I have many such cards. I cannot manage them all and sometimes restaurant decisions are spontaneous so that I don't have their discount card. Then the usual trick is to say that you either give me 10% off or I don't leave a tip. It works 90% of times.

The strangest tipping rules I encountered was on Maldives.

Click to expand...

True, tipping practices in the U.S. are very different from most other countries. As a foreign visitor, you may not like it, but that's the way it is. Hate it all you want, it's not going to change just for you. Meanwhile, if you stiff (no tip) or undertip (5-10%) a waiter, bartender, cab driver, you are denying a worker what is in essence his/her salary. If you're a foreign visitor to the U.S. and don't know how much to tip, that's what Google is for, so you can't use ignorance as an excuse. If you hate tipping that much, then don't come here. I promise you not one single waiter, bartender, taxi driver, parking valet, bellman, or hotel maid will miss you.

dorispulaski said:

16 states use $2.13 per hour as the minimum wage for servers.
.

Click to expand...

What? That's - that's - that's practically slave labour. And the US claims to be a first world country! It's a disgrace.

I generally tip the standard rate in most cases, barring exceptional service.

... except for bartenders and hairdressers... they always get at least 30% if not more. I also have a tendency to over-tip cab drivers, mostly because I'm in a hurry to get out of the car.

DelRetiro said:

... On the other hand, in a tipping system, an employee makes very little salary (as low as $2.13 in many states, $7.25 here in Nevada) but ends up making a livable wage through tips. The good news for employers is that they are paying a payroll tax on the much lower wage of $7.25 (or $2.13 or whatever a state's minimum wage for tipped employees), which lowers their operating costs significantly. And since the restaurant business has very low profit margins to begin with, most restaurants wouldn't survive without the reduced payroll tax.

Click to expand...

Which means that the server is supposed to report their tipped wages, for which no payroll tax is paid by the employer.

BTW, the payroll tax funds the employee's Social Security and Medicare accounts. The less paid in, the less the employee makes in retirement.

https://www.irs.gov/businesses/smal...oyed/reporting-tip-income-restaurant-tax-tips

http://www.crfb.org/blogs/tax-break-down-fica-tip-credit

There is also a monstrosity called The FICA Tip Credit, which

allows restaurants and bars to receive an income tax credit for employer-paid payroll taxes on employee tips. By eliminating the amount of payroll tax that employers pay, the credit theoretically eliminates an employer’s incentive to hide or underreport tip income. As a result, more revenue is likely to be collected from the employee’s portion of the payroll tax and larger wages are counted for the purpose of calculating Social Security benefits.

Click to expand...

Other tipped services do not get this tax break.

I agree that $2.13 an hour is ridiculous. In fact, so is $7.00, or whatever the actual MW is now. I have only lived long-term in the US of A, so far all I know this may be a princely sum in other countries. It isn't here, and it isn't enough to live on.

Of course tipped MW employees expect tips, it's the only way they can make anywhere near a living wage. I do wish it were more widely known outside the US to our friends who visit here, those employees are not being greedy, they're not being annoying, it's how they get paid. Not tipping any one employee, or two, or eight, will do diddly boop to change the system. It will hurt those employees.

I do have to disagree that The only way for restaurants to make money is to preserve the tipped MW. Enforcing the FLSA, if I had a nickel for every employer who said I can't afford to pay my employees, well, I'd have a lot of nickels. I also had the "privilege" of reviewing a lot of restaurants' financials. Labor was never ever their major expense.

Lousy system, but it's the one we have. I'll say it again. Unless your server punches you in the face, tip him. In cash. I do.

ETA: Tip, not punch people in the face. Although if one more person disses Jason....

I absolutely tip and if the service is good, I will leave a big tip. Today is Father's Day and here in Fresno it was 108 F. Our poor server had sweat stains like I have never seen. You could see all the servers toweling off behind the bar. We had to sit on the patio as all the air conditioned seating inside was taken. I'm sure I drank a gallon of water and all we did was sit there, under a shade umbrella. The poor servers got no such protection. Often times these waiters are doing so to get to the next step in their lives. When I was dancing professionally, all the dancers had stories of their days as waiters and waitresses. I started working as a studio vocalist after 10th grade so I never waited tables but, I did have a lot of respect for how hard they work.

el henry said:

I do wish it were more widely known outside the US to our friends who visit here, those employees are not being greedy, they're not being annoying, it's how they get paid. Not tipping any one employee, or two, or eight, will do diddly boop to change the system. It will hurt those employees.

Click to expand...

Trust me, we are well aware that Americans treat servers as slave labour. If we don't tip, or don't leave sufficient tip, 9 times out of 10 the reason is actually because we can't figure it out, don't realise how much we need to leave, etc.

When I went to the US, going to eat in a restaurant gave me a lot of anxiety, because I was well aware that if I tipped poorly some poor kid wasn't going to get to eat that night or someone might not be able to make rent or the server mightn't get to put gas in their car. I'm not good at maths in the first place, and knowing that without my tip the server was going to be paid barely anything didn't help. I was much more comfortable when I got to Boston and hung with American GSers and FSUers and let them figure out tips.

Of course, there's a much easier solution to all of this. It's called actually paying people a decent wage.

(But I suppose, like gun laws and healthcare, it's a bit much to expect Americans to come into the modern age.)

Oh dear lord....slave labor? The dramatics....as I said earlier my family ran a restaurant and the relationship with the employees has become lifelong in so many instances. People who thank me for my family giving them the job and treating them so well. Often times they became like extended family and worked for several years. That's not even to mention several college aged people I know who end up making way more than $15 dollars an hour and work far less hours enabling them to make a decent wage and maintain time to study and attend class. A close friend often makes several hundred dollars a night in tips alone in just a five hour shift. Not slave labor in any sense of the word.

karne said:

Trust me, we are well aware that Americans treat servers as slave labour. If we don't tip, or don't leave sufficient tip, 9 times out of 10 the reason is actually because we can't figure it out, don't realise how much we need to leave, etc.

When I went to the US, going to eat in a restaurant gave me a lot of anxiety, because I was well aware that if I tipped poorly some poor kid wasn't going to get to eat that night or someone might not be able to make rent or the server mightn't get to put gas in their car. I'm not good at maths in the first place, and knowing that without my tip the server was going to be paid barely anything didn't help. I was much more comfortable when I got to Boston and hung with American GSers and FSUers and let them figure out tips.

Of course, there's a much easier solution to all of this. It's called actually paying people a decent wage.

(But I suppose, like gun laws and healthcare, it's a bit much to expect Americans to come into the modern age.)

Click to expand...

I am so sorry you felt so bad about it when you were here, but I'm glad the forum regulars could help! I am no wiz at math, but because 20% involves multiples of ten, I can just about do it.

The problem with talking about restaurant work (and this is not directed at your post, but just jumping off onto another topic) is that almost everyone in the US has done it at some point, or knows someone who has. Particularly as teens living with parents. And so, it gets romanticized (when I was in college, shucking oysters at the Clam Tavern down the shore, some of the best years of my life laughing with my buddies, etc.). And if you happen to work for a high volume restaurant you can make good money in tips and you can hide it from the taxman, if you're so inclined.

Which made my job more difficult, because who's going to dime out their employer for not listing them at all as an employee, when they're clearing all this money and going home to live rent-free with mom and dad?

Unfortunately, since I saw the worst of it (like the cop on the beat) I am no fan of the tipped MW system. It can in fact, be the underpinning for actual, real slave labor (with undocumented workers). No matter how many good times we had with our buddies back in the day at Pat's Pizza Palace.....:disapp:

Depends on the type of service I'm getting as to what I tip, but I generally tip generously - again depending on type of service.