Tipping

[Krig the Viking]

Is tipping style related to type? I've noticed I'm kind of an emotionally generous tipper. About as low as I go is 20% (15% if they give bad service) and I've never stiffed anyone. That and I tend to give ridiculous tips for good service. The restaurant I just got back from my waittress asked if I wanted a dessert and gave it to me for free so BOOM 50% tip. It's kind of funny, but since I usually find a favorite restaurant to go to, after a while when I show up all the servers seem really happy to see me.

Also, I'm one of those people that draws smiley faces on the receipts.

I'm pretty much like this, except I don't draw smiley faces on the receipts, and I occasionally forget about details like tips. Also, in non-restaurant situations I'm not always sure whether a tip is expected or not.

I don't go out to eat much, though, so I can afford it.

[olduser]

good service is hard to define.

[Lotus]

mm i dunno. my roommate works at a gourmet pizza place where he does all the leg work making the pizza and prepping everything and he gets 8.50 an hour whereas the waitress who deals with the customer, writes shit down on paper, and delivers food SOMETIMES makes about 12 an hour. That's bullshit. I wanna tip the cooks.

so do I then, lol

Yeah, but keep in mind that isn’t always the case. At least cooks get a steady pay, where servers are almost completely dependent on your tips. Like I’ll work a seven hour shift and only walk away with about $30-40 in tips, plus a few dollars below minimum wage an hour. So maybe a combined total of $55 divided by seven hours is about $7.80 per hour, just under what a cook would make there.

And not only is it just as physically laborious when the place gets busy, but it also tends to be emotionally draining to an extent (for me, at least). Tbh, I would consider the emotional effort wayyy more work than whatever I do physically. and what makes it worse is that everything you go through feels too petty to get upset about, even though you know internally that there must be some good reason for why you feel this way. Like even right now I feel totally pathetic complaining cause it’s such an “easy” job and, all in all, it’s just food, not someone’s life at stake, right? But it’s a service job, and in that people will treat you like it’s the end of the world if you can’t manage to refill their iced tea within 5 seconds of an empty glass cause you’re a little busy atm. basically, it just sucks being the “face” of someone’s dining experience. Because even if your server was great and did their best, if your food is terrible, you don’t leave a great tip. When other people slack, it’s always the “face” that takes the hit.

And there are more shitty tippers than generous ones, so even if you feel like you overtip, chances are the extra dollar or two you gave only balanced out what they should’ve received from someone else. Ugh, I hate saying “should’ve” though, because technically it is a “tip” and so one shouldn’t technically feel entitled to it… but heh, in a way we are, since it’s the primary source of profit for all the work we do. Personally, I always tip at least 20%, as do most people who’ve had even a little bit of experience working in a restaurant, I’ve noticed. The most common tip I get is $3, but on average it ranges from $2-$10. Rarely below, unless it's a single person—businessmen who come in for a quick meal & coffee, to-go orders, a hungry student late to class, etc. Almost never above, unless they're A) creepy, B) a large party, C) extremely impressed, or D) know me personally.

not being racist but […]

lol and one more thing: to those of you who think it’s wrong to profile… fuck you, because when I started working I didn’t believe ANY tipping stereotypes had truth to them, but in only a couple months I’ve been proved totally wrong. hah. SO IN CONCLUSION ALL OF THOSE RACIAL/OLDPEOPLE/REGIONAL/FATPEOPLE/etc STEREOTYPES ARE ABSOLUTELY TRUE but I won’t elaborate cause I know I’ll take shit for it ahah

[Blaze]

i used to make serious money in the biz in the 80's. i'd make $100 a night in tips, plus we used to get minimum (bussers and barbacks got minimum) i was a barback....i'd go home with like $600 a week for part time work. it was awesome.

of course we used to drink a lot of it up until 4:00am...oh well at least not every night....

[Creepy-male]

in the biz

you make it sound like you worked in show business or something

[Blaze]

you make it sound like you worked in show business or something

restaurant biz...:-) although it might as well be showbiz since so many aspiring performance art people wait tables....lol

[redbaron]

I hate tipping situations that aren't food-related. At a restaurant I tip between 15-20% no matter what. But for hair and massages and crap like that, I never know exactly what's expected and I kind of panic. I usually tip $30 for my hair cut and highlight which costs about $140. So I think that's okay? I got a massage the other day that cost $80 and I tipped $10. probably on the low side but I was never going back (I used a gift certificate for that one).

[Creepy-male]

I hate tipping situations that aren't food-related. At a restaurant I tip between 15-20% no matter what. But for hair and massages and crap like that, I never know exactly what's expected and I kind of panic. I usually tip $30 for my hair cut and highlight which costs about $140. So I think that's okay? I got a massage the other day that cost $80 and I tipped $10. probably on the low side but I was never going back (I used a gift certificate for that one).

Lol the 15% thing only works for restraunt service... at least thats the way I look at it. For haircuts I work in the range of 1-5 dollars. 5 is a fucking spectacular haircut, but I usually drop 1/2 dollars for ok or good service.... when I worked to-go at a restraunt this is usually how tipping worked... it was in a 1-5 dollar range. Thats good money if you get 10 cars that tip you 5 bucks you walk away with 50 dollars, you can field in 10 cars easily in 30 minutes so the potentials there.

Either way what I'd love to do with haircuts is tip 100% and when the person is all like "awww thanks", I'll be like "No you don't understand, you cut my hair all wrong, I paid you a 100% tip so you can get yourself a haircut and learn how a pro does it, so next time you get it right".

[Krig the Viking]

I usually tip $30 for my hair cut and highlight which costs about $140.

my hair usually runs around $100 so i tip $20.

0.o

Wow... And here I was, griping about having to pay 17 bucks for a haircut!

[Creepy-male]

restaurant biz...:-) although it might as well be showbiz since so many aspiring performance art people wait tables....lol

Nah I said that because there is some sort of connection... not nessicarily showbiz, but working in a restaruant in the US is a totally different world from other jobs.

[Blaze]

Nah I said that because there is some sort of connection... not nessicarily showbiz, but working in a restaruant in the US is a totally different world from other jobs.

i know!! it so is a different world. in a lot of ways, my favorite job ever.

[Krig the Viking]

Actually, the reason I never tip under 20% is due to reading the earlier posts on this blog a few years ago: Waiter Rant

I've never waited tables, but I think I have a fairly good idea of what it's like, now.

[olduser]

Yeah, but keep in mind that isn’t always the case. At least cooks get a steady pay, where servers are almost completely dependent on your tips. Like I’ll work a seven hour shift and only walk away with about $30-40 in tips, plus a few dollars below minimum wage an hour. So maybe a combined total of $55 divided by seven hours is about $7.80 per hour, just under what a cook would make there.

And not only is it just as physically laborious when the place gets busy, but it also tends to be emotionally draining to an extent (for me, at least). Tbh, I would consider the emotional effort wayyy more work than whatever I do physically. and what makes it worse is that everything you go through feels too petty to get upset about, even though you know internally that there must be some good reason for why you feel this way. Like even right now I feel totally pathetic complaining cause it’s such an “easy” job and, all in all, it’s just food, not someone’s life at stake, right? But it’s a service job, and in that people will treat you like it’s the end of the world if you can’t manage to refill their iced tea within 5 seconds of an empty glass cause you’re a little busy atm. basically, it just sucks being the “face” of someone’s dining experience. Because even if your server was great and did their best, if your food is terrible, you don’t leave a great tip. When other people slack, it’s always the “face” that takes the hit.

And there are more shitty tippers than generous ones, so even if you feel like you overtip, chances are the extra dollar or two you gave only balanced out what they should’ve received from someone else. Ugh, I hate saying “should’ve” though, because technically it is a “tip” and so one shouldn’t technically feel entitled to it… but heh, in a way we are, since it’s the primary source of profit for all the work we do. Personally, I always tip at least 20%, as do most people who’ve had even a little bit of experience working in a restaurant, I’ve noticed. The most common tip I get is $3, but on average it ranges from $2-$10. Rarely below, unless it's a single person—businessmen who come in for a quick meal & coffee, to-go orders, a hungry student late to class, etc. Almost never above, unless they're A) creepy, B) a large party, C) extremely impressed, or D) know me personally.


lol and one more thing: to those of you who think it’s wrong to profile… fuck you, because when I started working I didn’t believe ANY tipping stereotypes had truth to them, but in only a couple months I’ve been proved totally wrong. hah. SO IN CONCLUSION ALL OF THOSE RACIAL/OLDPEOPLE/REGIONAL/FATPEOPLE/etc STEREOTYPES ARE ABSOLUTELY TRUE but I won’t elaborate cause I know I’ll take shit for it ahah

yeah, but my roommate makes awesome pizza. it's all too onfusing really.

[Creepy-male]

lol and one more thing: to those of you who think it’s wrong to profile… fuck you, because when I started working I didn’t believe ANY tipping stereotypes had truth to them, but in only a couple months I’ve been proved totally wrong. hah. SO IN CONCLUSION ALL OF THOSE RACIAL/OLDPEOPLE/REGIONAL/FATPEOPLE/etc STEREOTYPES ARE ABSOLUTELY TRUE but I won’t elaborate cause I know I’ll take shit for it ahah

Lol I really wasn't being racist... to be completely strict about it, I was formulating a hypothesis over the influence culture has on the habits of workers in the service industry (you can quote that to impress people :wink.

I know it sounds like lawyer bullshit, but I look at stereotypes as only hurtful when you automatically assume a person of a specific race magically inherits the traits from a stereotype, especially if those traits are negative. Stereotypes on there own I think shouldn't be shunned because without them people wouldn't have a sense of distinct cultural identity.

[FDG]

Ah wow, from your descriptions the whole way restaurants work is really different in the US compared to here. For example, here we don't tip, but waiters have a pretty good pay - around 70-80 euros a day if you've got some experience and the place is at least decent. Plus, waiters are never expected to be really fast, just not to be excessively slow - if you have to wait 5-10 minutes to get your stuff and/or to get something refilled it's considered as totally normal, complaints start past 20 minutes usually.

[07490]

Ah wow, from your descriptions the whole way restaurants work is really different in the US compared to here. For example, here we don't tip, but waiters have a pretty good pay - around 70-80 euros a day if you've got some experience and the place is at least decent. Plus, waiters are never expected to be really fast, just not to be excessively slow - if you have to wait 5-10 minutes to get your stuff and/or to get something refilled it's considered as totally normal, complaints start past 20 minutes usually.

When I left HK to the U.S, I thought it was ridiculous to have to tip everything that is service related, dining out, hair salon, at the bar and so on. I always try to tip about 15% and maybe a little bit more by rounding it and giving them exact change. But man, I never understand people that tip 40 maybe even 50% for a hair cut.

[Krig the Viking]

When I left HK to the U.S, I thought it was ridiculous to have to tip everything that is service related, dining out, hair salon, at the bar and so on. I always try to tip about 15% and maybe a little bit more by rounding it and giving them exact change. But man, I never understand people that tip 40 maybe even 50% for a hair cut.

We're supposed to tip for haircuts now? Since when? Hopefully things are different in Canada and I haven't been unintentionally rude to my barber all these years...

[Wintermute]

I tip completely on the quality of service I receive. But it's usually a pretty good amount. If you're rude, I'm going to snub you.

I do think tipping could be fairly type related. On some profiles, I have seen that certain types are more frugal with money. I don't remember which ones and I'm too tired to look it up, so I guess you know where I'm going with this.

[Park]

I usually get my haircut for free.

[Joy]

I usually tip 18% to 25%. If the service is bad, I'll still tip the customary 15%, but I may inform the restaurant that their employee isn't treating their customers well. (I'd want the same if it were my business.)

[Joy]

My haircuts are about $30 and I tip about $5. I also tip $5 for a massage.

[marooned]

I think the waiter thing bothers me. I really don't need someone to make me happy by serving my food. I would be perfectly willing to just go down a buffet line and just pick whatever and bus my own table. (Well, actually a lot of restaurants where I live do ask you to bus your own tables, which I really prefer the non-interference in general... I don't like being interrupted in the middle of a conversation to ask if I want more water... it's like, I don't care... I'm interested in the conversation.) So I often feel really stressed out at restaurants that have wait staff because there's the constant interruptions and the constant questions that I don't know the answer to and then there's the tip element... it is just way too complicated. Thankfully, I rarely go to such places. I think this is my severely antisocial side talking. I think I find the idea that someone feels they have to treat you a certain way in order for you to give them enough tip to get enough pay for the day disgusting. I guess that I mean it feels unequal (and I've worked in service jobs before so I know first hand how it feels - or rather how I felt). I think that American culture is getting way too service-oriented for the most part.