So it’s 22% tips now

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not gonna indulge this BS and nonsense. I'm paying less tips than before. Someone has gotta be the first to do it.

Oh, you’re such a hero!

[Anonymous]

My theory is that a lot of people don't want to tip appropriately because they think they aren't getting good service for no apparent reason. The actual reason is that servers can tell what a douche bag you are even if you don't think they can. Even after only waiting on you for five minutes! It's written all over your douche bag face. No point in expecting a decent tip from this DB, minimum service time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My theory is that a lot of people don't want to tip appropriately because they think they aren't getting good service for no apparent reason. The actual reason is that servers can tell what a douche bag you are even if you don't think they can. Even after only waiting on you for five minutes! It's written all over your douche bag face. No point in expecting a decent tip from this DB, minimum service time.

What’s the “decent tip” (percentage of the whole bill) you’re expecting here? To clarify: a server sees a person and thinks, I can already tell I won’t get more than __% of the bill with this “DB,” so I’ll just give minimum service.

[Anonymous]

Tips are designed to reward a server for accurate,
prompt and friendly services and for those making the “tipped employee” minimum wage. That federal rate currently is $2.13/hr. My assumption is five guys, Starbucks and those that aren’t servers but simply placing your order are getting the untipped minimum wage (federal is triple that amount, and close to $15/hr in the DMV).

During COVID, many people started increasing takeout orders, to support the servers that were being the tipped rate but weren’t able make those tips due to COVID closures. Now that restaurants have time to reopen, servers can resume earning those tips. Take out and the other places… forgetaboutit.

Think your pay is worth more than minimum wage? Either talk to your employer or find a new job.

[Anonymous]

In the USA , 0% is for bad service waiter is terrible, 10% is for major issues with service but the waiter was trying, 15% is meet expectations service and food 20% is exceeds expectations, 25%+ is greatly exceeds expectations on service and dining

[Anonymous]

ok if no tip = no free water?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My theory is that a lot of people don't want to tip appropriately because they think they aren't getting good service for no apparent reason. The actual reason is that servers can tell what a douche bag you are even if you don't think they can. Even after only waiting on you for five minutes! It's written all over your douche bag face. No point in expecting a decent tip from this DB, minimum service time.

Sounds like a cart/horse issue then. Because of a server is assuming someone is a bad tipper and therefore offering bad service, then that customer is entitled to “under tip” because they are getting insufficient service. So if servers do this, they are engaging in self-fulfilling prophecy— maybe that person would have tipped 20% for standard service or more for exceptional service, but they the server was rude and inadequate, so they leave a “bad” tip of 10-15%.

If you work in customer service and want good tips, you should seek to provide exceptional service, which WILL result in better tips, but also assume you will sometimes get a dud ho underripe no matter what you do. That’s the biz.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My theory is that a lot of people don't want to tip appropriately because they think they aren't getting good service for no apparent reason. The actual reason is that servers can tell what a douche bag you are even if you don't think they can. Even after only waiting on you for five minutes! It's written all over your douche bag face. No point in expecting a decent tip from this DB, minimum service time.

Sounds like a cart/horse issue then. Because of a server is assuming someone is a bad tipper and therefore offering bad service, then that customer is entitled to “under tip” because they are getting insufficient service. So if servers do this, they are engaging in self-fulfilling prophecy— maybe that person would have tipped 20% for standard service or more for exceptional service, but they the server was rude and inadequate, so they leave a “bad” tip of 10-15%.

If you work in customer service and want good tips, you should seek to provide exceptional service, which WILL result in better tips, but also assume you will sometimes get a dud ho underripe no matter what you do. That’s the biz.

The size of the tip depends on how expensive the meal is
So there is that too
Perhaps waiters pay less attention when the customers order the cheapest item on the menu and drink water

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In the USA , 0% is for bad service waiter is terrible, 10% is for major issues with service but the waiter was trying, 15% is meet expectations service and food 20% is exceeds expectations, 25%+ is greatly exceeds expectations on service and dining

This is how it should be. The problem is that many people in the service industry don’t view “service” as a skill that can be refined and perfected. They view tips as an arbitrary decision made entirely by the customer, and thus low tips are the result of cheap, rude customers and high tips the result of kind, generous customers.

Now, a segment of the industry understands that not only tips, but entire businesses, are premised on the idea of service as a skill. For instance, in DC, STARR restaurant group (the people behind Le Diplomat and St. Anselm) understand service is a skill and design their restaurants with this in mind. Their staff are trained to provide a high level of service and there are systems in place to address subpar service. This is a mutually beneficial arrangement. Not only do servers at these restaurants consistently make excellent tips, but the high standard of service allows the restaurants to charge more for food and drinks, which results in still higher tips for servers. People who understand that a restaurant is not a meal service but a hospitality experience make more money in the industry.

But the restaurant industry is full of people who don’t understand this. They think their job is to simply perform the mechanics of serving food and drink, and in exchange the customer will dutifully pay them 20% or higher out of obligation. The people who complain about cheap customers and who want to argue that a “standard” tip is now 22-25% belong in this group. They think service is literally just serving someone, and they will never be satisfied because they don’t take their own jobs seriously.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just ask if the establishment if they use the tipped minimum wage if you want to. Those waiters make far less hourly money, so tipping 15% isn't amazing at full-service restaurant.
If you are eating at a fast-casual spot, they get above the regular minimum wage, so you shouldn't look at the tipping situations in the same way. $1-3 is just a nice addition. Remember if you're paying via credit card that they are ultimately taking a cut too so your tip may not be quite as generous as you first think.

Pre-pandemic, 15% was the norm and waiters were perfectly happy. Post pandemic, waiters who are 'taken advantage of' with the tipping minimum wage system have way too many other options. Why don't they just quit and work at a Starbucks or a fast-food place and get paid a higher wage? They didn't pre-pandemic, and they won't now because they make way more than they would otherwise.

Sweetheart, 20% has been the standard for YEARS before the pandemic. Several years. Are you 80?

This. I remember scolding my parents back in the 90s when they left 15%, because everyone my age tipped 20%, and they hadn’t kept up. They demurred, but later said that I was right.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to 5guys today and didn't tip. The cashier was standing there giving me passive aggressive pressure but did not give in. I was so proud of myself.

That is really, really pathetic that you were “so proud of yourself.” Truly.

Note that she hasn’t come back to explain how the cashier was “passive aggressive.” My guess is the cashier was innocently standing there, and PP felt guilty, but her innate cheapness overrode her guilt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In the USA , 0% is for bad service waiter is terrible, 10% is for major issues with service but the waiter was trying, 15% is meet expectations service and food 20% is exceeds expectations, 25%+ is greatly exceeds expectations on service and dining

No, in the US the standard is 20% unless the waiter dumps your food on you and/or sits in your spouse’s lap. Just tip 20%. No more, no less.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My theory is that a lot of people don't want to tip appropriately because they think they aren't getting good service for no apparent reason. The actual reason is that servers can tell what a douche bag you are even if you don't think they can. Even after only waiting on you for five minutes! It's written all over your douche bag face. No point in expecting a decent tip from this DB, minimum service time.

Sounds like a cart/horse issue then. Because of a server is assuming someone is a bad tipper and therefore offering bad service, then that customer is entitled to “under tip” because they are getting insufficient service. So if servers do this, they are engaging in self-fulfilling prophecy— maybe that person would have tipped 20% for standard service or more for exceptional service, but they the server was rude and inadequate, so they leave a “bad” tip of 10-15%.

If you work in customer service and want good tips, you should seek to provide exceptional service, which WILL result in better tips, but also assume you will sometimes get a dud ho underripe no matter what you do. That’s the biz.

The size of the tip depends on how expensive the meal is
So there is that too
Perhaps waiters pay less attention when the customers order the cheapest item on the menu and drink water

A waiter with that attitude is bad at their job, then, and deserves lower tips.

A customer is not obligated to order more expensive items in order to boost the waiter's tip. That customer might come back another time and order more (perhaps they were just not that hungry that day), but this is less likely if they get bad service. If waiters at a restaurant do this consistently, the place will get a reputation for having bad service, and that will result in worse tips overall because the restaurant will get fewer customers.

Also, having waited tables before, sometimes tables that order a lot will stiff you on the tip. I think it's psychological -- they have an idea of how much a tip should be and they don't adjust up for everything they ordered, so you wind up with a 15% tip on a $300 bill because in their head, $45 is a good tip. Whereas I've had lots of customers who will come in and order just a salad and a non-alcoholic drink, but leave a 30% tip because a 20% tip on their meal feels too small for them. Sure, many people just follow percentage guidelines, but some don't. Sometimes it's really nice to serve a table for one with very few demands (they just need so much less than other tables) and then you get surprised by an above average tip.

If you work in service and want to maximize your tips, you offer great service, full stop. Trying to justify bad service with "well they seemed like a bad tipper" or "they didn't order enough to make it worth it for me" means you're in the wrong industry. There are other jobs. Go get one of those.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In the USA , 0% is for bad service waiter is terrible, 10% is for major issues with service but the waiter was trying, 15% is meet expectations service and food 20% is exceeds expectations, 25%+ is greatly exceeds expectations on service and dining

This is how it should be. The problem is that many people in the service industry don’t view “service” as a skill that can be refined and perfected. They view tips as an arbitrary decision made entirely by the customer, and thus low tips are the result of cheap, rude customers and high tips the result of kind, generous customers.

Now, a segment of the industry understands that not only tips, but entire businesses, are premised on the idea of service as a skill. For instance, in DC, STARR restaurant group (the people behind Le Diplomat and St. Anselm) understand service is a skill and design their restaurants with this in mind. Their staff are trained to provide a high level of service and there are systems in place to address subpar service. This is a mutually beneficial arrangement. Not only do servers at these restaurants consistently make excellent tips, but the high standard of service allows the restaurants to charge more for food and drinks, which results in still higher tips for servers. People who understand that a restaurant is not a meal service but a hospitality experience make more money in the industry.

But the restaurant industry is full of people who don’t understand this. They think their job is to simply perform the mechanics of serving food and drink, and in exchange the customer will dutifully pay them 20% or higher out of obligation. The people who complain about cheap customers and who want to argue that a “standard” tip is now 22-25% belong in this group. They think service is literally just serving someone, and they will never be satisfied because they don’t take their own jobs seriously.

This is a great post.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:just do 15 and be done with it. 0 for carry outs. i refuse to buy into this crazy tip-sh*t culture we are in

This. I concur