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Should You Always Tip 20% At (U.S.) Restaurants/Bars?

Dogemon

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Hey guys! So I was reading some articles that were saying how you should ALWAYS tip atleast 20% of your bill to your servers, regardless of how good they are. What are your thoughts on this? Personally, I know the serving industry is hard, but I refuse to tip 20% if a waiter or waitress is going out of their way to talk down to me or ignores me when the place is not busy and I am openly trying to get their attention.

If they are bad, I usually tip 10%, if they are going out of their way to be a jerk to me, I still usually tip that much, but I have not tipped at all once to a server who thought it was funny to insult my friend with me who had an eyepatch due to a car wreck.

On the flip side, I easily pay more than 20% every time I have remotely good service, sometimes paying up to 45% if they are going out of their way to make my experience the best they can.

I totally understand that many servers have tip included in their wage, but I don't quite get how they are entitled to a good tip if they are being crappy to non-crappy customers.
 
I forgot that you had to tip people in America!

I honestly think that the person who hired their staff should be the one giving them wages not me.

If a server is being rude or something I probably wouldn't tip them at all, even if it was compulsory.

I would tip a server the required amount if they provide a good service because that's what you should except from a server.

Luckily I don't have to but I would if they provided a good service, it goes a long way! :)
 
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I forgot that you had to tip people in America!

I honestly think that the person who hired their staff should be the one giving them wages not me.

That's always been my thinking too. I hate the taboo of having to tip in America. I like to do it to make someone happy (at least for that few moments) not because it's expected. What happened to the company paying their staff? Ridiculous if you ask me.
 
At a sit down restaurant I always tip, usually 15% depending on the service, I'll go under that if it was bad service, but you never know what's going on in someone's life that is making them act grumpy or whatever. If I have good service I tip better of course. I've worked in food service and I know how miserable it can be, and how important tips are for them, usually your tips are feeding them and putting gas in their cars so I mean, it's worth it and you can tell when they appreciate it.
 
That's always been my thinking too. I hate the taboo of having to tip in America. I like to do it to make someone happy (at least for that few moments) not because it's expected. What happened to the company paying their staff? Ridiculous if you ask me.

It could be that companies are becoming greedy (already were) and don't want to pay their staff fairly because they want to make better profits. Take tips out of the their wages and their broke basically.

If this is the case it's very selfish and staff shouldn't rely on customers to help pay their bills. The customers already paid for their meal or drink and it shouldn't be anything more than that.
 
10% is my general max period

20% is way too much out of my expenditure range, sorry

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It could be that companies are becoming greedy (already were) and don't want to pay their staff fairly because they want to make better profits. Take tips out of the their wages and their broke basically.

If this is the case it's very selfish and staff shouldn't rely on customers to help pay their bills. The customers already paid for their meal or drink and it shouldn't be anything more than that.

this is quite honestly eerily accurate
 
It could be that companies are becoming greedy (already were) and don't want to pay their staff fairly because they want to make better profits. Take tips out of the their wages and their broke basically.

If this is the case it's very selfish and staff shouldn't rely on customers to help pay their bills. The customers already paid for their meal or drink and it shouldn't be anything more than that.

Yup, like much of the business world, everything comes down to greed and pushing people harder for less.
 
I say pay what you feel is deserved or pay what you can. I do think restaurants should pay their staff but it is what it is. Before going through this house stuff I usually paid 25% plus because I worked in the service industry and get that people sometimes have a bad day so I don't take it personally if my service isn't top notch and I like to pay a little extra when I can. Right now I'm tipping 10-15% because money is tight.
 
If they are awesome and do their job, they get a full tip. If they were okay, they get 10%. If they were totally crap, then they get none.

Sorry but if you fail at your job, you don't get paid, that's how it should be. I refuse to reward bad behaviour.
 
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I think it's important to tip 20% or 15% if you are able.

As a waitress I only get MAYBE $2 an hour from my employer since they assume I will make it all up in tips. So my income pretty much depends entirely on what I get from my tables on a night-to-night basis. Any other job that focuses on customer service a person would get paid hourly despite how they treat others, and it isn't fair to deny servers a fair wage just because they weren't smiling or engaged in conversation for long. If the person is just straight-up mean I'd understand but I have never thought about not tipping because that's how they survive!!!!

I think it's kind of upsetting that so many people decide that someone should not get paid for poor service when customer service can be really hard! I've had co-workers yelled at by customers looking to get a free meal by saying she was being rude and even attacked our bus girl to try and make it seem like the whole restaurant was at fault. After someone like that making you cry, it can be hard to bounce back 100% happy and cheerful for the next table.

There are also problems that occur in the kitchens and sometimes orders don't get out as fast as they should, and it's not our faults at all! People don't like to tip if they think they're waiting too long for food and it has nothing to do with the servers but the kitchen and having too many orders in at once.

To not tip your server is pretty harsh; you're basically saying that although they helped you for an hour or more they weren't doing good enough to deserve any income at all. Everyone deserves at least a small tip and it isn't right to completely refuse to give one because they're only "doing their job" and shouldn't be tipped for that when!!!! Yes!!! We do need to be tipped!!! I can't afford my rent if I don't get any!!! I can't even afford food! $2 an hour working 10 hours only gets me $20 for that entire day!!!

Edit: Plus, a lot of us work more than one job or go to school so it's hard. I'm in nursing school and work at the same time; I go straight from my class to work almost an hour away and I still have to do homework or projects or community service on top of going to class and working as much as I can so I can afford my rent, books, school, etc.
 
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Tips should be in addition to at least minimum wage, it's ridiculous to expect anyone to live with $2/hr. It's important to tip though, even if your server is particularly bad, because at some restaurants those tips also have to be shelled out to other people on the staff or even into a tip pool where tips are divided equally to other servers; they don't get to keep whatever you tip them.
 
i dont live in the us so idk exactly what youre supposed to do But if the workers rely on tips to survive i think that's , like, rly important. i dont understand why it isnt included in the price if it is that important but hhh
 
I usually like to tip around 20% or sometimes even more if they're good. But 15% if they were poor.
I think it's a bit much to expect 20% to be mandatory.
Minimum wage in the us needs to be higher. Period. Servers shouldn't have to depend on the fickleness of guests to make a living.
 
Minimum wage in the us needs to be higher. Period. Servers shouldn't have to depend on the fickleness of guests to make a living.

Servers don't make minimum wage. Minimum wage in the state I'm in right now is $8.25, but since servers can make so much in tips they are allowed to decrease the wage to $2 since it is expected to be made up in tips (which varies from place to place in regards to how many tables you get, the amount of business, food prices, etc).

Some employers will pay servers more if they don't get enough in tips, but we really do rely on our customers and sadly it has nothing to do with minimum wage :c It sucks, but employers don't want to pay us $10 an hour then us get another couple hundred extra in tips when they can just keep the extra $8 an hour per server for food and supplies and have the servers only get the hundred or so dollars every night so we are technically getting normal wages. (rather than getting $100 for one 10hr shift at $10/hr plus 200 in tips they can just keep the $80 and expect that we will get that or more) It saves the company money by decreasing the amount spent on employing servers since they can have the potential to make it all up on their own.

But it all depends on people tipping which is where the problem lies since most people don't understand why it's important or just don't want to because they feel like if they don't get the best service in the world the server doesn't deserve it. If people don't tip 15-20% or don't tip at all it makes it hard to reach the level of regular pay especially since a lot of places split the tips to a percent with other servers, hostesses, and bussers

That being said, Minimum wage DOES need to be increased but it wouldn't have much of an effect on our hourly pay at all. If minimum goes up $4 to $12 or something we would still be way under that number.
 
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If it was downright rude service where they are throwing insults or anything of the sort that seems intentional, then I would tip nothing. If it was just bad service - as in they aren't attentive or messed up a lot, I would tip 15%. I would tip 20%+ if it was exceptional service. Everyone just needs to remember that servers do get paid significantly less in the USA :( So if you tip absolutely nothing, they are actually paying to serve you, since a percentage of the bill total (not the tip total) is paid to the bussers, hosts, kitchen etc. So if they were slow or just bad, you honestly don't know if they are a trainee or their mom just died, or they are feeling sick but had to work anyway. They shouldn't have to lose money just to wait on you. It sucks that the system is this way really, but until it is corrected, tip shouldn't be withheld except for awful rude servers who do it on purpose and still expect a tip. If this makes sense..
 
Servers don't make minimum wage. Minimum wage in the state I'm in right now is $8.25, but since servers can make so much in tips they are allowed to decrease the wage to $2 since it is expected to be made up in tips (which varies from place to place in regards to how many tables you get, the amount of business, food prices, etc).

Some employers will pay servers more if they don't get enough in tips, but we really do rely on our customers and sadly it has nothing to do with minimum wage :c It sucks, but employers don't want to pay us $10 an hour then us get another couple hundred extra in tips when they can just keep the extra $8 an hour per server for food and supplies and have the servers only get the hundred or so dollars every night so we are technically getting normal wages. (rather than getting $100 for one 10hr shift at $10/hr plus 200 in tips they can just keep the $80 and expect that we will get that or more) It saves the company money by decreasing the amount spent on employing servers since they can have the potential to make it all up on their own.

But it all depends on people tipping which is where the problem lies since most people don't understand why it's important or just don't want to because they feel like if they don't get the best service in the world the server doesn't deserve it. If people don't tip 15-20% or don't tip at all it makes it hard to reach the level of regular pay especially since a lot of places split the tips to a percent with other servers, hostesses, and bussers

That being said, Minimum wage DOES need to be increased but it wouldn't have much of an effect on our hourly pay at all. If minimum goes up $4 to $12 or something we would still be way under that number.

Ah. My mistake! But still, my original point stands. I feel it's unfair that servers are forced to rely on the generosity of restaurant patrons to make their living, as people can be very fickle and mean.
I almost wish that tips weren't a thing and servers could be paid a normal wage like other positions in food service. (With a minimum wage that's reasonable of course) :)
 
If you can't afford to tip 20% maybe don't dine at restaurants lol

I always tip good, and I've yet to have a really bad waiter/waitress
 
I try to tip when I can, and I usually do, but I'm a broke student, and I don't have a job so I can't really afford it all the time.
 
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