What do you think of restaurant tipping.

As someone who tips well and often with only one instance where I did not tip (and it was terrible) not to mention someone who spent significant time as a waiter, I think tipping is BS and servers should just get paid an hourly rate. I will never forget seeing a waitress chase a European family out of a restaurant to demand a tip(that is trashy imo) because in a lot of European countries tipping is not something people are compelled to do by odd social stigma. I am not knocking anyone for tipping(like I said I do it) but even when I was a server I felt bad getting a 6$ tip on a 10$ ticket because all I did was write down what you wanted, and then pick it up for you.

I loved engaging with customers, and I feel some of the sincerity is lost when I got paid for it. In my instances as a customer I personally live by a rule I either tip good or I do not eat there, I do not have a lot of restaurants left. I hate the entitlement a few servers have that no matter what they deserve a big tips. Not to mention the stand offish nature a lot of people have in food service, to the point where many customers feel like they can not viably complain without getting spit in their food. I am sorry but i will spit on your food if you complain or I think you wont tip well is on par with I will shoot you if you don't pay ransom, I feel like I am being black mailed at a restaurant.

Not to mention I have just had servers that I blatantly felt uncomfortable around, but still felt compelled to tip. In one instance I paid for my meal with a card and was reaching for the 20$ tip in my wallet and the waitress just blurted out in front of my date, "you know your supposed to tip right". I pulled out the 20$ and said this was for you, and then I pulled changed out my back pocket and slid it on the table and never ate there again. I told the manager what happened and he was extremely embarrassed. I know this is an isolated incident(I have had more like it) but that sense of entitlement kills me.

This point has been made to death, but servers should just get a livable wage for the job. If a server does not work as hard because he/she is not getting tipped then the management will handle it, because then it will have a negative effect on the restaurant and the server will still get paid the same.

Shouldn't happen.

Cooks deserve it as well,imo

It's a practice I don't understand...

I only tip if the waiter/waitress was exceptionally nice to me and never out of perceived social rule. I never once have been asked to tip and in some cases I was actually asked NOT to. Also, I won't tip if that tip is divided by all waiters (why should I tip the guy who pretended he didn't see me calling for him because he was too busy chatting with his co-worker?)

That being said, when I do tip I tip properly; last month I had this amazingly sweet Greek guy chatting with me when he realised I was Portuguese and kept coming back whenever he had time to chat some more; he asked how I was dealing with the new country and new language, told me he had a Portuguese roomate and we share stories about Portugal, etc. I grabbed a 20 and asked him if I could tip him and he said no, because that would make him feel like he had given me the impression he had been nice to me for tips, so I reassured him that wasn't the impression he gave at all and gave him a 50, which was as much as my dinner cost as well.

The idea itself is a load of shit because restaurants should be paying a normal hourly wage - being pressured and compelled to tip kind of ruins the whole point of it. I do tip fairly well though.

If you're in Oregon or Rhode Island, USA, tip your gas station attendant. No one needs a buck like the guy who pumps your damn gas.

I approve of tipping everywhere. I don't care how greedy you are, tip your waitress, she's not making a normal wage in most cases.

@TheHighWind: A waitress should at least make minimum wage...

@korvus: As far as my experience go, I only have one waiter when I'm at a place, unless we are 8+ or so.

@horgen: How do you mean? The first person that comes to you serves you for the remainder of the evening?

Why tip just because society says you have to? I was just about to post this scene too. There's always ONE GUY like Steve Buechemi's character. Love this movie.

One of my fav scenes :)

@indzman: That scene is perfect...what movie is it from? (EDIT: Never mind, just saw the title...never watched the movie)

Oh ... My ... God

Please watch it asap, along with PULP FICTION :)

@indzman: Stuff about the mob, gangs, wars normally don't interest me. Haven't even seen the Godfather =P

i'll generally tip in the 15-20% range if the service is good, easy 20% if the following is met.

1) get the order right

2) don't be a chatty cathy with me, i just need you to take my order, not try to have a fun conversation with me

3) keep beverages refilled, preferably without my having to ask

Oh ... My ...

never mind , i just remembered you don't fancy Mob or Military movies :)

@indzman: I might try Reservoir Dogs if it means that much to you =)

No No no need to watch violent movies. You'd get bored which i wouldn't want :)

@indzman: It's not the violence, it's the realistic violence...I don't mind seeing someone ripped apart by dragons and get their heads melted with a fireball XD

@comp_atkins: You guys get free refills over there?

I usually tip like 2 eu or something, because waiters actually get paid a salary here.

@korvus: soft drinks typically you'll get free refills. obviously not on alcohol. of course, you're paying $2.75 for it. so you better drink your fill.

If restaurants did pay a normal minimum wage instead of relying on tips to supplement the income, they would have to up their prices, so either way the customer is still paying. From what I understand many restaurants struggle financially and cannot afford to pay a normal wage.

I think it's needed but shouldn't be expected.

If I get exceptional service at a restaraunt, meaning the waitress or waiter was very attentive, timely and polite. Then hell yes I'll tip them.

If they are none of the above, and still expect me to toss them a few bones, well they're shit out of luck.

I don't think people who don't tip should be frowned upon. Theoretically speaking, waiters/waitresses are paid a normal salary by the restaurant so it's not my duty to add to that. I sometimes do encourage my company towards a small tip if I'm particularly satisfied with the service but that's it.

@comp_atkins: Ah cool, it's one thing that annoys me here; you ask for a coke, that's 2 euro and you get a tiny glass of it that you drink in one sip. Want a refill? Sure thing; it's another 2 euro.

In a perfect society, I say waitresses would be paid a fair living wage, that would be able to support them independent of tips. Tipping would then actually be a bonus for doing the job well, but not the difference between eating or not.

Can you pm me your adress so I can start working at a restaurant near you? I promise that I'll be really sweet. :>

That is not how it works. A waiter being paid an hourly wage doesn't somehow increase the cost it takes to create a meal. In actuality the restaurant would make up the costs by hiring less people and giving the ones employed there a larger workload.

@Acillatem1993: I might if you promise to stop by.

I like to tip. I tip my barber too.

@korvus: I'll do anything for that tip. =D Jokes aside, I just remembered that I'll make holidays in netherlands this year. =D

@Acillatem1993: Seriously?

Yes.

I sorta consider that to be their job...

@horgen: Ah ok, here you just motion to whoever is closer to you without a tray in their hands.

@korvus: Yeah, I completely forgot.

@Acillatem1993: Nice, maybe we can meet.

I have a very low bar for tipping. If the waiter is adequate they get 20%, but there are time when they are terrible and they basically get whatever I feel like at that point.

For the record I think tipping should be abolished, the price of the food should increase, and waiters should be paid a fair wage. It really shouldn't be up to the customer to decide what the tip should be, and if the employee isn't cutting it management should find a way to handle it.

@korvus: Well you can do that here as well. I have never found it necessary though. Except once... To be fair, no one normally finish their first beverage within 10 seconds of getting it.

@horgen: Yeah, but you normally have several courses right? Someone needs to come back to take the rest of your order or bring the food =P

Yeah free refills are the best. When I have gone over to Europe in the past (which is lovely and I suggest people try to afford at some point in their life) it honestly feels like the restaurants are trying to make me die of thirst throughout the course of my meal.
Ice as well, restaurants in Europe need to figure out ice in drinks.

Tipping needs to go.

No they aren't. They are paid under minimum because the tips are supposed to make up the difference. And if you want to go to a tipless system then be prepared to pay more when you do eat out.

@korvus: I wouldnt mind, we'll see how things go. =P

I live in Oregon and I don't tip the gas station attendant.

Last time I checked they are at least making minimum wage.

Nice.

@Serraph105: "Yeah free refills are the best. When I have gone over to Europe in the past (which is lovely and I suggest people try to afford at some point in their life)"

How much will it cost to go to Europe?

@comp_atkins:

1) get the order right

2) don't be a chatty cathy with me, i just need you to take my order, not try to have a fun conversation with me

3) keep beverages refilled, preferably without my having to ask

Do all 3 have to be met?

Just because someone is getting paid minimum wage, does NOT mean they can afford to live.

I used to live on minimum wage for years and believe me, you couldn't do it alone, TIPS HELP.

It takes two minimum wage workers, living together, to make it in some areas of the U.S.

I only tip well if the service is good. If it isn't, I tip poorly.

There's no such problem where I live...

He's from Europe. Not everyone here is American lol.