Do you tip? Give a gratuity?

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Frodo

Frodo

Walk with God, You will never be lost
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Dec 19, 2017
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Tipping has gotten out of hand, every one wants a tip.
I want to explore what a tip is and who , if anyone should receive it

I was with my preacher the other day and we pulled into sonic. We ordered and I handed the girl my card to pay
On the tip line I drew a zero
Matt was driving so he was the middle man. He noticed the no tip and asked
You don’t tip? I said sure I tip but I do not tip a person who is being paid a wage
Then he said she did bring the food to the window
I almost blew a gasket but stayed calm
My rebuttal was
If they took orders but did not bring the food to you the doors would not be open long. Seems to me delivery is part of the cost of the food

So let’s see about what us and is not part of your meal
When you walk into a restaurant
These things must happen or the business can not stay open
They seat you
They give you a menu and take your order
Deliver your meal
Give you a check
Collect the money
All of those actions are included in the price of your meal
Do not believe me? Subtract one of those tasks and the customer does not get his meal

So what is left that comes under the heading of a gratuity?
Filling your tea glass the 2nd time?
I refuse to pay 20% of my bill for you to pour me a glass of tea
 
If I sit down and they serve my food, refill my drinks, deliver my food, then I will give a nice tip. If I walk in, stand in line, order food or drink, then walk out to either eat or drink, then no tip from me.

In So Cal currently, there is a tip jar everywhere. At a liquor store, at the dry cleaning business, at the Hallmark birthday card shop, and even the lady collecting the money at the car wash, not the actual guy who washes my car.
 
Anytime my family went out to eat when I was growing up, as long as the service and food was, good my parents always tipped the waitress. They explained that tipping was a big part of how they made their money.
Ordering room service , getting a taxi if we were traveling , tipping the entertainment ..is who I recall where that was the norm.
My good friend was a waitress for years and the restaurant wage was her tips.
So that kind of tipping I feel is part of the going out cost and I factor it in. When I go out local, I usually tip more because I know the folks.
That all said, I have noticed the last 10 years or so it seems that more card screens flash a tip query as your paying for like ordering out food or tip the cashier? Like why?? For shopping in this store??
 
We don't go out much so guess I don't run into this much. The only thing is we do occasionally go out to eat. If the service is poor, we tip the min. but if it is good, we will tip very good. I don't have a hair-dresser or paperboy or . . . whoever else one would tip.
 
I appreciate you posting this subject. I have considered posting about it myself. @LadyLocust , I appreciated your video.

I don't go out often, so tipping is not something that is presented to me very often. I pay 20 to 25 percent if the service is good. Even getting coffee to go or similar things is not common for me.

Side track--I cannot stand Starbucks, so I have only been there a couple of times, many years ago. What bothers me more than the tipping expectation is that you are supposed to order in Italian sizes? What the heck? The last time I went there, through the drive through, I ordered the size I wanted, which I no longer remember. The person repeated my order in the Italian size. I told her that I don't speak Italian, I speak English, and I won't be ordering an Italian size. When I got to the window, a manager came to the window and asked me to repeat my order. I told her I would not be repeating my order and I drove away. I know that the manager was trying to shame or embarrass me. Nope, you just lost an order.

I actually get coffee from McDonalds because it is cheaper and they are many places. They are also fairly convenient. Coffee is one of the very few things I get from them.

Back on track--

I struggle with how much to pay for tipping. That is not something I have ever encountered much in my life. When we were in Puerto Rico, parking your car in a secured lot with a person on duty is common in San Juan. Parking on the streets in some areas is not recommended. So when we pulled up and a lot attendant took our car, should we have tipped him? Or when we went out to retrieve the car to drive off, should we tip him? We did, because we felt he would be more interested in protecting our rental car. But how much do you tip in a situation like that? I have no idea!

I have rarely stayed in hotels where someone helped you to your room. It happened in P.R. Now how much do you tip that person? Whenever I am in a situation and someone wants to help me, my independent self always says, "No thanks, I've got it."

Tipping a cab driver? I think I've ridden in a cab half a dozen times at the most in my life, maybe more like one or two times. I had no idea that you tip them.

I also tip the person who cuts my hair at Great Clips, 20%.

I see the tip jars in the few places and times I go out and get food to go. I agree that tipping has gotten way out of hand. I always ask, "Are the tips shared?" because sometimes they are not. In some places, wait staff gets to share the tips, while the cooks and dishwashers do not get any of them.
 
For sitdown food service I kind of expect to tip, IF I get decent service. The rest of the time unless someone does something really special no. I think that in 40 plus years of doing grueling work IE Mechanic, Welder, Heavy Haul trucking I might have got tipped 5 times.
People even get snotty when I tell them I want paid before I hook my Winch cable on, 1 1/8" wire rope is heavy
 
I tip. I have a cousin that has worked in several places over the years and so I have learned about how good a server can be or a bad one just by going places with him when he's the customer. But, when I have enough funds and the wait person is friendly, and good I like to give a tip that may be good enough to be mentioned in the back, or cheer up their day.

OP, I think you'd like England as I read they pay the wait staff more and tips are not really known of there.
 
Now here's a tip, not related to service or money. When we create posts, making the title something that we can easily find again, related to the topic, is recommended. I don't know that in a day, week, month or two I would remember what the title of this thread is. "Your thoughts on Tipping," would help me. ;)

I hope this is not offensive, Frodo. It is not directed at you, but for all of us to think about as we post.
 
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I tip for sit down meals unless the service is poor.
I will not tip if they spin the keypad around so I can select a tip amount.
I will not be pressured or shamed into giving someone my money.
Servers in Washington state get the state minimum wage of $16.28 per hour and more in some cities like SeaTac at $19.06.
Tipping has gone from a reward for good service to extorsion regardless of the service.
What the current tipping trend has done to me is make it less likely for me to tip at all.
One restaurant I go to occasionally had 2 lines for leaving a tip.
One for the server and one for the cooks.
I never left the cooks a tip and I told the manager what I thought about that.
A few months later the cooks tip line was eliminated.
Guess I wasn't the only one to complain.
 
I remember a long time ago , I had to go to this training to Riverside not far from LA California.
I had to fly in ..
Just background, this was when I was still living out in the forest in far far away land often in a tent with a crew working on trails or some crazy project. I'd been to LA area briefly to Disneyland 20 years prior as a kid.
Anyways..I'm way way out of my element here..oh..I remember I was always running into new technologies like self flushing toilets, knobless sinks n papertowel dispensers in major airport bathrooms when I traveled too. I had to ask a lady how to turn the water on to wash my hands.
I was not a city girl so trips to trainings were always a hoot.
Anyways , I get outside the airport n throw on my daypack. I never brought luggage..I could fit a few changes of clothes in my daypack n whatever i needed in it for a few days.
I figured I could get a cab easy enough but it was a mad house. Flagging a cab there wasnt easy n it appears that this area I was stumbling around in you had to use a English speaking middle eastern guy to secure a cab to a guy that barely spoke any english.
They were working together to get more tips i guess and it was all like this around me.
I was totally out of my element and not sure what or who to trust at this point so I stepped back into the airport to watch n figure out how to get a cab. I stepped out n tried again to get a cab myself but the same guy saw me said in his broken english, "No, I get the cab for you, we do this" .
So I gave in n he got me one. As he was telling the driver where I was going, he lingered a bit longer than I realized he was waiting for his tip. I only had a tip for the driver so I just stared back at him and said, "Sorry, I'm not from around here n toilets flush by themselves now."
Lol..
He bid me a good day , the driver didnt kidnap me n got me to my hotel n I gave him a 20.
Other times when I had to go to a training in a city made sure my hotel had airport pickup.
 
Out to sit down, served meal i tip. Order for delivery, like the local pizza place, I tip. Usually the pizza delivery is young kids so I figure if they are showing initiatives to work then they deserve the encouragement.Hairdresser gets tipped.

Waitstaff is never paid a good wage unless you $2 to $3 is good. For the sit down service I usually tip 15-20%. If the service is due to kitchen issues I don’t consider that in the tip. Around here, getting waitstaff isn’t a problem but getting kitchen help is.
 
A sit down place, good wait staff, fast service, we don't die of thirst waiting for refills, there is a nice tip, generally 20%. The place we eat at most often has a "cooks" tip jar, if it was cooked well to order and hot they get something in the jar too.

Suck Ass food and service, they get a quarter, then they KNOW I didn't forget the tip.

You did your job and delivered food to the window or counter, ZERO.

I DO NOT PAY for food deilvery, if I'm too REDACTED lazy to get, I don't eat.
 
Weedygarden said:
Now here's a tip, not related to service or money. When we create posts, making the title something that we can easily find again, related to the topic, is recommended. I don't know that in a day, week, month or two I would remember what the title of this thread is. "Your thoughts on Tipping," would help me. ;)

I hope this is not offensive, Frodo. It is not directed at you, but for all of us to think about as we post.
Click to expand...
Yeah, not what I expected either, but we roll with the punches :)
 
TIP, To Insure Promptness. A sit down dinner generates a tip. Impressive service gets a better tip. Twice the service was so bad the tip was $0.02. My dog's beautician gets a tip on 'spa day'. She provides more than just a haircut. She has a lot more knowledge than I about dogs. She shares that knowledge and gets rewarded.
 
Weedygarden said:
Now here's a tip, not related to service or money. When we create posts, making the title something that we can easily find again, related to the topic, is recommended. I don't know that in a day, week, month or two I would remember what the title of this thread is. "Your thoughts on Tipping," would help me. ;)

I hope this is not offensive, Frodo. It is not directed at you, but for all of us to think about as we post.
Click to expand...
Frodo, thank you.
 
Hey weedygarden, you just figure out what you wanna call this thread and I’ll put it up there not a problem. My views on tipping is I will tip a waitress about 10%. I’m not going to 20 about 10%. If it’s a decent service It is not my problem their boss doesn’t pay them enough money For them to live that’s between them and the boss. is not my responsibility to make his payroll for him. The reason that tipping is so popular in United States is twofold. One is saves the owner of the business money that he doesn’t have to pay in salary to the waitress . Who in turn does not want the Salary because the taxes have to come out of it and the tip they don’t pay taxes or if they do they’re claiming the very bare minimum they need to claim just the file. It is all a money game that’s the reason that they want to keep tips
 
What about tripping over cows???
the title of this thread was something about not cow tipping when I made this reply, I am only reasonably bonkers, not completely over the edge
 
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I tip 20 percent if I sat down and they waited on me. I don't tip drive thru or pick up takeout. For takeout at our amish restaurant, I have to go in and get it. If you run a card, it'll ask you the tip amount right off. Granted, people that sat and ate pay at the same register. But I don't think I need to tip if it's takeout.
 
My standard tip is; "if you don't like working in a restaurant, learn a skill and get a real job". If I ever do leave cash, my standard is; $1.00 for breakfast and lunch and $2-$3 for dinner. Restaurant food is too expensive, and I worked too hard for my money, to just give it away willy-nilly.
 
Frodo said:
Hey weedygarden, you just figure out what you wanna call this thread and I’ll put it up there not a problem.
Click to expand...
It was fixed, and if any of us look for it, it will be easier to figure out which thread it is. There are threads that I look for and the title makes it more difficult. Not a big deal, just an idea for all of us, including me.
 
I tip almost always, and usually a lot more than I should. I always tip when I am in a restaurant or a bar, and I even tip when I have a take-out order that I have called in. I worked in that industry for many years, and I know what those people go through.

Let's face it. It is not one of your glamour jobs. It can be physically demanding and very stressful. The server isn't making the policy. It isn't their fault the owner doesn't pay them a living wage. They have no control over the products they are serving other than to bring them to the customer promptly. If the food isn't to the customer's liking who is blamed? Who is the one who takes all of the grief? Not the cook. Not the owner who bought inferior quality goods. The person who served it catches all the flack. They don't have any input into prcing of anything.

The only thing they can do is try to make your experience more pleasant. Some are better than others, and those people should be rewarded. If you have a good experience you will go back and give them your business. If you don't like it and don't want to tip then don't go there.
 
Frodo said:
Let me say this.
Prices have gone up for food making it pricey to step out. On top of that IMO the quality of the food has not risen along with the cost
$15.09 for a Big Mac and fry. Gtfoh!!!
That garbage is not worth $5.00
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we stopped at a local burger place.
Best burgers around.
Wife and I split a burger, got a small fry and 2 med. Sodas.
$30.89
I did not leave a tip. I phoned in the order and picked it up at the counter.
 
I tip the people who have traditionally been tipped. In my small world, these are sit down restaurant servers, food delivery drivers, barbers, taxi drivers (I've only been in two taxis in my entire life), hotel bellhops (who I try to sneak around and avoid like the plague), and similar service people. All the NEW people who are expecting tips these days ... don't get them from me. During the pandemic, I tipped at restaurants where I went to pick up food. Because I felt sorry for the workers. Now, they have raised prices astronomically and I do not tip for pick up orders anymore.

A new trend around here is not giving you all of your change when you pay for a restaurant meal. If your total bill is $18.01 and you give them a $20, they give you one dollar back and try to keep the 99 cents change. This does not affect me because I pay with a credit card. But it chafes one of my friends to no end, since he always pays in cash. He always calls the server on this practice. He tells the them, "If you want to keep the change, ask. If you don't and just keep it as if you're entitled to it, I will take it out of your tip three-fold or more." If the server is snooty about it, and amazingly enough some of them are, when they finally bring back the change - a few nickles and a few dimes usually - he will put that back onto the tray the bill came on as their tip. I'm sure they're mega pissed about this, but I can't say that I blame my friend.
 
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