Tipping During a Recession Debate Continues

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I was also angered by the comments made in "Quality of service = Amount of tip." People in the service industry DO NOT usually get paid by their employers - they rely completely on tips. And, actually, I do think that you should only go out to places you can afford (I practice this motto). In my mind, tipping is part of the entire deal, so if you can't afford the tip then you probably shouldn't be there in the first place. Go to a restaurant that is less expensive or a bar that doesn't charge quite as much for its drinks...whatever the choices may be, tipping is part of the service industry in the U.S. and should be counted as a part of the entire experience.
I find myself continually frustrated with people who come into restaurants, demand attention and perfect service, then feel it is ok to walk out of a restaurant leaving a 15% tip. Have a small amount of empathy towards the person who is waiting on your table/section of the bar. You may never know when you are in that position (anyone lost a job?!). Bottom line, if you can't tip right, stay HOME.

M of MA 12:44PM July 22, 2009

Keep your ghetto, unclassy self home. I'm sure we could spot your cheap a** a mile away. You should be embarrassed to be so openly trashy.

Miriam of FL 11:35AM July 16, 2009

I am a full time server and full time student and reading all this makes me sick to my stomach. Although some people may think that the business is responsible for paying servers hourly, the fact is, THEY DON'T! Most service businesses don't. I do not expect 20% tips on every single table, I understand that that is a generous tip, and 15% is acceptable. But your comment of 'stop tipping alltogether in protest' is ridiculous, and my response to this is, if you don't have the class or money to tip when you go out to eat, stop going. I respect and value my customers, I am not 'entitled'. Despite your personal feelings, servers run around, bite their tongue, smile, and try to make impossible guests happy in hopes of a generous tip. If you don't like it, stay the hell home.

Miriam Mahmoud of FL 11:32AM July 16, 2009

I used to be a generous tipper (based on merit, of course) but am increasingly annoyed at this custom and am fed up with entitled waiters and waitresses. To suggest that unless you can afford to tip, you should not go out to bars, restaurants, or order food is absurd. People in the service industry should be paid by their employers, not their customers, it’s that simple. And until that happens, if you don’t want to get paid $2 per hour and rely on guilt and social extortion for the rest, don’t work in the service industry! I’ve got more than half a mind to stop tipping altogether in protest of this socially backward custom.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/storyComments.php?storyId=98339220

Andrew Christensen (Mclearson) of FL 3:41AM June 27, 2009

If people who did not tip did not use the services of the people who are tipped then the businesses for which the people who are depending upon the tips would go out of business and the people who needing the tips (and the job) would be unemployed.
People who are tipped rarely share their tips with the rest of the staff voluntarily.
I tip 0%, 10%, 25%. I always explain to the mangement why I tipped 0%.

Sally Gutensaunder (SallyG) of NY 3:40AM June 27, 2009

I used to be a generous tipper (based on merit, of course) but am increasingly annoyed at this custom and am fed up with entitled waiters and waitresses. To suggest that unless you can afford to tip, you should not go out to bars, restaurants, or order food is absurd. People in the service industry should be paid by their employers, not their customers, it’s that simple. And until that happens, if you don’t want to get paid $2 per hour and rely on guilt and social extortion for the rest, don’t work in the service industry! I’ve got more than half a mind to stop tipping altogether in protest of this socially backward custom.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/storyComments.php?storyId=98339220

Andrew Christensen (Mclearson) of FL 3:38AM June 27, 2009

i had a table of 4 who ate and was leaving interrupt me while i was serving food for an 8 top to hand me a 5 dollar freaking tip on an 85 dollar check. they should have left that shitty tip on the table or took it home with them.

mindy of NJ 7:46AM April 16, 2009

It is always easy to day screw the waiters and waitresses when you have never done the work. But honestly do you realize that waiters work for $2.13 an hour? Im sorry but even before I started serving tables, I would be embarrassed to leave a 5% or 10% tip. Now I am a college student so money is not flowing freely, I am on a budget and even then I tip at least 20% even if they spill a drink or our food takes forever, because you know what, a lot of the time it is not their fault, we just become the scapegoat. However, If you are going to go out to eat and spend all this money on your drinks and food, what is another 5 dollars. Personally, if I do a bad job on a table, okay I messed up, but not bad enough for less than 15%. Waiters are indeed human too, and are not perfect, we make mistakes, and I feel I can speak for all of them and apologize for not making your experience perfect. But for God's sake, is it that hard to give a 20% tip? Many of you have no idea how irritating it is when you have a great table, nothing went wrong, and they leave you 5 dollars on a $110.00 bill. It kind of ruins your night. For those of you saying that tip is not mandatory, technically you are right, but the government feels differently and that is the reason we work for much less than minimum wage.

Tom Nixon of DE 10:19AM March 23, 2009

Okay, I really must say that this mentality of telling other people how much they should tip is completely arbitrary b.s.
If you feel good tipping 5% or 10% go for it.
In my experience, I start at 15% and count down for every thoughtless or careless mistake. I think it's fun. It's also fun to invent creative ways to give feedback. Writing on back of receipts is one nice subtle way without embarrassing them. I use a smiley-to-frowney face barometer at the bottom. For the real wait-holes, airing it publicly after dessert is good for their character. Again, you shouldn't be waiting if you don't have a thick skin.
Of course, wait staff are human. If they smile and are friendly, I give them 2 freebie mistakes without penalizing them as long as I think they care and are trying.
ANY waiter with attitude automatically gets knocked down 5%. Screw them. They should be out on the street and the nice waiter on the street should be hired.
To the wait staff or their relatives and apologists who will predictably bitch back at me with a whole bunch of angry self-serving sob stories, you are the same type that spit in people's food, just shut up right now. You don't HAVE to be waiting tables. Also, being friendly and efficient will make you plenty of money to compensate for cheapos. If you work for mean bosses, don't work there anymore, don't blame the consumers, blame Bush. You don't deserve to have attitude any more than any other day job worker. You knew what you were getting into.
Finally, I'm not advocating something for nothing, you should have good reasons when you do this, but I regularly utilize the managers to give me discounts on future meals if the waiter makes 3-4 or more mistakes. Money saved is money earned. Managers are correctly only to quick to reward me, after all they gained valuable "duh" consulting helping save their business behind.
If you disagree and you think you should give a 40% tip to every waiter, you are a fool onto yourself. You should give 5% tips and 35% to charity. If everyone did, the world would be a better place.

Consumer007 of CO 5:08AM December 29, 2008