USA - Tipping for takeout food?

On June 22 2012 04:33 iamperfection wrote:
Delivery yes. Pick up no.

On June 22 2012 04:54 KawaiiRice wrote:
why would you tip when they dont do anything. mind kaboom

On June 22 2012 05:57 Noyect wrote:
Tipping is generally a bad idea as it helps keeping the wages down.
Someone mentioned in an earlier post that you should tip because the wages are so low, but they are actually able to keep them that low because "you're supposed to make up for it in tips".

I would feel mean not to tip if someone provided me with excellent service. But not for just serving me my food, which is what I went there and paid for in the first place.

On June 22 2012 06:43 castled wrote:
So I think everyone agrees you don't tip for takeout. However, when they hand you the thing to sign, do you write "0" on the tip line, and then the total? For some reason I feel bad about writing 0, but you need to at least write the total otherwise you're giving them the signed receipt to write any value they want... Usually these days I just write the total and either a dash or nothing on the tip line for takeout.

On June 22 2012 08:21 Skilledblob wrote:
give waiting staff decent wages so you dont have to tip anymore, this leaves room to give tips for good service and not out of pity.

I think it was the japanese who dont tip at all.

On June 22 2012 08:25 dAPhREAk wrote:

japanese dont tip, and its always fun to explain to them why we tip in america even though the service is horrible compared to japan. and, no, they dont get paid more in japan.

as for wages, minimum wage is guaranteed for all professions where you tip.

On June 22 2012 08:32 hkf wrote:

So 'living off tips' is a fallacy or straight up lie? Good to know.

On June 22 2012 08:35 dAPhREAk wrote:

i have no idea what you are trying to say.

On June 22 2012 09:04 hkf wrote:

It's a common assumption (which now, assuming what you are saying is correct, is either a fallacy or a complete outright lie) that most waitstaff rely on tips to supplement their below minimum wage pay.

What is the minimum wage for workers who receive tips?

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires payment of at least the federal minimum wage to covered, nonexempt employees. An employer of a tipped employee is only required to pay $2.13 an hour in direct wages if that amount plus the tips received equals at least the federal minimum wage, the employee retains all tips and the employee customarily and regularly receives more than $30 a month in tips. If an employee's tips combined with the employer's direct wages of at least $2.13 an hour do not equal the federal minimum hourly wage, the employer must make up the difference.

Some states have minimum wage laws specific to tipped employees. When an employee is subject to both the federal and state wage laws, the employee is entitled to the provisions which provides the greater benefits.

On June 22 2012 09:19 farvacola wrote:

From wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_(gratuity)
"Laws in the states of Alaska, California, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington require all employees to be paid at least minimum wage. However, it is still customary to give standard tips in those places. Elsewhere, wage laws allow employers to credit an amount of earned tips against the minimum wage, allowing them to pay tipped employees less than minimum wage. As of September 2009, this reduction can be as low as $1.45 per hour in West Virginia, or as high as 100% in Virginia, reducing potential wages to $5.80 or $0 per hour, respectively. Which employees may have their wages reduced varies as well. The Fair Labor Standards Act defines a tipped employee as anyone receiving more than $30 per month in tips, although several states set a lower $20 per month threshold.[16]"
So no, in the majority of states here in the US a lack of tipping on a given day will certainly result is less than minimum wage.

On June 22 2012 09:26 farvacola wrote:

Check the citation on the page, it cites the same Fair Labor Standards Act and makes a wildly different interpretation. Perhaps you ought to speak to a wikipedia moderator and get that changed to your version of reality. Is this where I say I was going to call you an idiot? I forget how this dance goes.

Go to any restaurant in any of the non-listed states and ask a waitress "If you don't get tipped for a week, do you make less then minimum wage then?" The answer will be yes.

^ "Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees". Department of Labor. Retrieved 2009-09-01.[dead link]

On June 22 2012 09:22 dAPhREAk wrote:

at first i just wanted to call you an idiot, but let me try a different tact.

the employee ALWAYS makes minimum wage. in some states the employer doesnt pay the entire minimum wage because it is allowed to supplement its own payment with tips the employee received. regardless, the employee ALWAYS makes minimum wage.

oh, and dont cite wikipedia to me when i cite the United States Department of Labor website to you.

On June 22 2012 09:36 huameng wrote:


I have never been a tipped employee, but just because it's the law to pay everyone at least minimum wage doesn't mean everyone gets paid minimum wage. Similarly, there are very stringent requirements for employers to be allowed to not pay their interns, yet stories abound about unpaid internships offering nothing like what is legally required of them. Labor laws don't seem to be particularly well enforced.

On June 22 2012 09:36 huameng wrote:


I have never been a tipped employee, but just because it's the law to pay everyone at least minimum wage doesn't mean everyone gets paid minimum wage. Similarly, there are very stringent requirements for employers to be allowed to not pay their interns, yet stories abound about unpaid internships offering nothing like what is legally required of them. Labor laws don't seem to be particularly well enforced.

On June 22 2012 09:45 hkf wrote:
Sooooo..... don't tip?
Why do people still tip in the USA and staff EXPECT tips for lackluster service?

On June 22 2012 04:28 Matoo- wrote:
Been to Denny's yesterday and ordered some food to go. + Show Spoiler +.

On June 22 2012 06:35 dRaW wrote:
LMAO, better yet; should you tip the chick who gives you drinks @ a club? fuck nahh that's her job

On June 22 2012 12:38 Matoo- wrote:
Thanks everyone for the answers!

On a personal level I don't like the concept of tipping very much either, but as a frenchman in the USA, it'd be quite inappropriate for me to make a fuss about that. When in Rome do as the Romans do, etc. I'll leave the task of changing their country to the americans if some of them feel up to it. But last time I checked tipping was a spreading habit, not a receding one. Even in France I feel like people tip much more often today than they used to 15 years ago.

Anyway in this particular case of takeout food it looks like it was okay not to tip, unless I got some exceptional service, which didn't happen. Well, I wasn't going to Denny's much already, looks like it's going to be even less now.

On June 22 2012 12:50 ParkwayDrive wrote:
why does everyone always give in to culture? if someone, ANYONE, does a job so well that you think requires a tip then by all means go for it. if they dont then dont. the only profession i always tip is a waiter because they make shit (sry daph but youre just wrong, coming from someone who has worked a tipping job before IN the USA) and they handle my food.

but shit just thinking back, ive tipped bellhops, tech guys, tow truck drivers, mailman, parking attendants, and once the maid at a hotel because for whatever reason she just went way above and beyond what im used to. i have no idea if those jobs get tipped on a regular basis or not, i just felt it appropriate.

and to the point, take out food absolutely not, unless i am a regular and they still go above and beyond.

On June 22 2012 12:44 dAPhREAk wrote:

when i went to france, i read in a book that tips are included in the price. then, i had people asking me for a tip on top of that. whats up with that?

On June 22 2012 12:44 dAPhREAk wrote:

when i went to france, i read in a book that tips are included in the price. then, i had people asking me for a tip on top of that. whats up with that?

On June 22 2012 13:12 ranshaked wrote:
Okay. Let me break this down to foreigners (outside of the USA). I've worked in the delivery business for a Chinese restaurant for over 5 years. Tipping a driver and a server evens out the work that is being done. In my state of Florida the minimum wage is $7.67 an hour, but minimum wage is $3.02 for a tipped job and minimum cash (take home) is $4.65. This means, that the minimum amount a tipped service industry employee can take home per hour is $4.65. That is not enough to live off, let alone thrive. Often times the people that deliver your food or serve you are one of the following: 1) College/high school students 2) Dropouts from said schools 3) People without a job that are working to make ends meet until they find a career or well paying job

With that said, please tip your drivers/servers. I often times deliver to foreigners that cannot understand this concept (I live in the disney world area with a lot of tourists). For instance, tonight I made $42 dollars in tips, and I receive $5.00 per hour. I worked 5 hours which means I made $25.00 + $42.00=$67.00. It comes out to a little more than $10.00 an hour, which appears to be great, but in that time I also spent over $10 dollars in gas. Yes, I still make $57.00, but of course as anyone knows, the service industry is not easy.

The reason why I complain is this: When anyone else goes to another country they typically follows the customs of that country, but unfortunately MOST foreigners do not follow tipping procedures. I can't name how many times I've delivered to foreigners hundreds of dollars worth of food and ended up with a no-tip. This hurts me not only financially, but it fucks my mind up because those people do not respect our customs. Please, I beg you, if you're in the USA tip.

EDIT: Some days our servers will bring home less than minimum wage because it was either slow, or the customers did not tip. It's fucked up that people bust their asses for shitty people to not tip.

On June 22 2012 13:12 ranshaked wrote:
Okay. Let me break this down to foreigners (outside of the USA). I've worked in the delivery business for a Chinese restaurant for over 5 years. Tipping a driver and a server evens out the work that is being done. In my state of Florida the minimum wage is $7.67 an hour, but minimum wage is $3.02 for a tipped job and minimum cash (take home) is $4.65. This means, that the minimum amount a tipped service industry employee can take home per hour is $4.65. That is not enough to live off, let alone thrive. Often times the people that deliver your food or serve you are one of the following: 1) College/high school students 2) Dropouts from said schools 3) People without a job that are working to make ends meet until they find a career or well paying job

With that said, please tip your drivers/servers. I often times deliver to foreigners that cannot understand this concept (I live in the disney world area with a lot of tourists). For instance, tonight I made $42 dollars in tips, and I receive $5.00 per hour. I worked 5 hours which means I made $25.00 + $42.00=$67.00. It comes out to a little more than $10.00 an hour, which appears to be great, but in that time I also spent over $10 dollars in gas. Yes, I still make $57.00, but of course as anyone knows, the service industry is not easy.

The reason why I complain is this: When anyone else goes to another country they typically follows the customs of that country, but unfortunately MOST foreigners do not follow tipping procedures. I can't name how many times I've delivered to foreigners hundreds of dollars worth of food and ended up with a no-tip. This hurts me not only financially, but it fucks my mind up because those people do not respect our customs. Please, I beg you, if you're in the USA tip.

EDIT: Some days our servers will bring home less than minimum wage because it was either slow, or the customers did not tip. It's fucked up that people bust their asses for shitty people to not tip.

On June 22 2012 13:13 Boblion wrote:

That's because you are a foreigner (Was in Paris i guess ?). They would never ask for a tip if you were French lol.

On June 22 2012 13:18 hkf wrote:


Get a better job or deal with it

Yes, it sounds harsh, but that's life.

It's not the tourist's fault that your country's legistlation does not sufficiently protect the service industry.

On June 22 2012 13:34 ranshaked wrote:
So tell me where can I find this better job? You're in a country with rules, I suggest following them

On June 22 2012 13:23 dAPhREAk wrote:

are they not giving you a mileage reimbursement?

On June 22 2012 13:34 ranshaked wrote:
Sigh that's like me saying "don't come to our country if you don't want to follow the customs".

Where else can I find a job that pays as well as this? Most nights I will make over $20 per hour. So please, tell me where I can fid a job that will pay bills, rent and schooling? There's a reason why I have to work as a delivery driver. It's because I'm not qualified to do anything else, and in this economy I can't exactly find anything.

So tell me where can I find this better job? You're in a country with rules, I suggest following them

It's because I'm not qualified to do anything else

On June 22 2012 14:31 hkf wrote:


If I choose to visit a country, I will follow their laws. But not their customs.

For example, I will be visiting Dubai this December. I will (most likely) not have a hookup there because getting caught = getting lashes. However I won't not eat pork because pork is delicious and is also not punishible in the sense of the law.

Also I want to highlight



And supposedly that's someone else's problem ... how?

On June 22 2012 14:55 ranshaked wrote:
As a full time college student that pays for his college and bills because of my tipped job and otherwise could not, please tell me who's fault that is? I'm not qualified to do anything else because I don't have a college degree yet. What other type of job can a college student do that would allow him/her to pay for college, rent, bills, car payment etc? It costs me on average $1500 a months to live. If I worked at a non tipped job I would make below $10 an hour, which would not cut it with school. By not qualified, I mean I don't have the qualifications. How does one obtain those? By going to school. Where else do you expect a college student to work and make it work? You're provided a service. I have to ask, would you rather pay $15 for A meal instead of ten if you didn't have to tip? We both know that restaurants would need to increase their pay to workers which would dramatically increase food prices. Would you rather that money go directly to the hard workers or to the business? If it goes to a business, it will never be passed down to the employer.

On June 22 2012 14:56 hkf wrote:


I self taught web design, networked for summer jobs, played poker.

It's possible.

On June 22 2012 15:01 ranshaked wrote:
good luck finding a job as an it major without the education. So basically, all people should learn web design and flood the market to make ends meet? Or should I illegally play poker? Yes, it is illegal.

My major requires either a college degree or an immense amount of certificates. Without those I will be unable to find a job. You're just being silly by saying that just because you managed to make ends
Meet by web design that everyone else can. You're severely misguided in the way the US handles situations. It's a broken system, but it isn't going to change. I might as well start dealing drugs by your logic.

On June 22 2012 15:07 ranshaked wrote:
Sigh. I can't argue this anymore. The point is, there are very few jobs in the us that will pay more than minimum wage. Those few jobs are labor intensive and full time that rarely allow a person to go to school. Without tips, i would have to drop out of school and never progress with my life. Good night

On June 22 2012 15:08 dAPhREAk wrote:

overreact much? there are plenty of jobs that pay more than minimum wage that you can get as a college student during summers, and most campuses have jobs on campus during the school year. little off-point though. i always tip delivery people, but listening to you makes me not want to anymore.

On June 22 2012 15:08 dAPhREAk wrote:

overreact much? there are plenty of jobs that pay more than minimum wage that you can get as a college student during summers, and most campuses have jobs on campus during the school year. little off-point though. i always tip delivery people, but listening to you makes me not want to anymore.

On June 22 2012 15:15 ranshaked wrote:

Say a job pays $10 an hour and you work 40 hours a week for 8 weeks during the summer. You will make $1600 a month per month, with nearly $1500 in bills etc you would save $200 that summer. Most campus jobs pay less than $10 an hour. You're way off on this math. If you live alone and pay for bills rent and college it's nearly impossible without a tipped job.




Not to mention, in this economy good luck even finding anything more than minimum wage.

On June 22 2012 16:23 -_-Quails wrote:

I get paid more than $25 an hour for my campus job, and so do all the other people I know - undergrad students working largely in tutoring first years, helping to facilitate events, working in residential colleges and marketing the university. The trick is to work directly for the university rather than for one of the shops that rents space in the union.

The other main alternative is part-time work in the local beaurocracy. That pays decently and can lead into a career.

If you would consider playing poker online were it not illegal, have you thought about playing poker at casinos where it is perfectly legal during the summer break?

On June 22 2012 17:20 huameng wrote:


Almost no one in the US is getting paid $25/hr to work on campus. Most of the work-study, tutoring, office positions at my school pay minimum wage. (which is $7.67/hr) And you can't even get many of them unless you are on financial aid, which is not so bad I guess since they need the cash most... but there definitely aren't enough to go around. If there was a $25/hr office job available for students, people would be lining up to have sex with whoever offered it.

For the record, if you got paid $25/hr in the US working 40 hr/week all year, you'd be right at the median household income.

That being said, it's really annoying how some servers and the like complain about their jobs for being hypothetically minimum wage while raking in >$20/hr. The job might be hard, but it's pretty much the best paying job available for most college students, so I do feel like they complain too much. Probably just another case of remembering all the people who tip you with a religious pamphlet while forgetting about all the other tables tipping 20%.

On June 22 2012 05:57 Noyect wrote:
Tipping is generally a bad idea as it helps keeping the wages down.
Someone mentioned in an earlier post that you should tip because the wages are so low, but they are actually able to keep them that low because "you're supposed to make up for it in tips".

I would feel mean not to tip if someone provided me with excellent service. But not for just serving me my food, which is what I went there and paid for in the first place.

On June 22 2012 13:12 ranshaked wrote:
Okay. Let me break this down to foreigners (outside of the USA). I've worked in the delivery business for a Chinese restaurant for over 5 years. Tipping a driver and a server evens out the work that is being done. In my state of Florida the minimum wage is $7.67 an hour, but minimum wage is $3.02 for a tipped job and minimum cash (take home) is $4.65. This means, that the minimum amount a tipped service industry employee can take home per hour is $4.65. That is not enough to live off, let alone thrive. Often times the people that deliver your food or serve you are one of the following: 1) College/high school students 2) Dropouts from said schools 3) People without a job that are working to make ends meet until they find a career or well paying job

With that said, please tip your drivers/servers. I often times deliver to foreigners that cannot understand this concept (I live in the disney world area with a lot of tourists). For instance, tonight I made $42 dollars in tips, and I receive $5.00 per hour. I worked 5 hours which means I made $25.00 + $42.00=$67.00. It comes out to a little more than $10.00 an hour, which appears to be great, but in that time I also spent over $10 dollars in gas. Yes, I still make $57.00, but of course as anyone knows, the service industry is not easy.

The reason why I complain is this: When anyone else goes to another country they typically follows the customs of that country, but unfortunately MOST foreigners do not follow tipping procedures. I can't name how many times I've delivered to foreigners hundreds of dollars worth of food and ended up with a no-tip. This hurts me not only financially, but it fucks my mind up because those people do not respect our customs. Please, I beg you, if you're in the USA tip.

EDIT: Some days our servers will bring home less than minimum wage because it was either slow, or the customers did not tip. It's fucked up that people bust their asses for shitty people to not tip.

On June 22 2012 04:33 iamperfection wrote:
Delivery yes. Pick up no.

On June 22 2012 23:51 Hawk wrote:
Never tip for take out, and any waiter who'd expect that is a fuck stick.

How the hell did this thread turn into another debate about tipping in general? You go out to eat in the US at a restaurant, you tip, you cheap fucks. God, people are such miserable, frugal bastards.

On June 22 2012 18:45 Jonoman92 wrote:
Someone still has to get your order together along with any sides it comes with. I think a small tip should be given. Anywhere from $1 to $5 depending on the complexity/size of the takeout order.

When I worked at a restaurant on busy nights like Fri/Sat we'd have a dedicated "to-go" person. They'd work pretty hard and only got maybe $8/hour or so since small tips were expected.

On June 22 2012 05:08 Torenhire wrote:
Denny's isn't Fast Food, for those mentioning it.

I don't usually tip for stuff like that...going there and ordering something to go doesn't really warrant a tip...I will tip, however, to some places I am a regular at. Not every time, but if I'm going there once a week (or sometimes more) and the person mentions that, I'll sometimes tip a buck or two. :D

On June 23 2012 02:44 Probe1 wrote:
You tip if you sit. If you're at home waiting on delivery or waiting at a table for your meal you tip. If you stand and wait for take out you don't.

On June 23 2012 02:28 dAPhREAk wrote:

i worked fast food in a drive-thru window for two years. worked my ass off and got 50% shit from customers. got $1 tip during that entire time period. please explain to me why the restaurant's to-go person is entitled to a tip, but i am not?

the thing i don't like about tipping is that it is so arbitrary who gets it and how much. people who are struggling like everyone is talking about get shit tips because they work at shit restaurants that are cheap. people who arent struggling because they work at high class restaurants get fucking huge ass tips (the food is expensive). the latter provide us better service because its expected at a five-star restaurant and they get compensated better.

its all arbitrary and it pisses me off. i still tip though, but only because its custom, not because i agree with it.

(2) its mandatory in a lot of restaurants that you tip (i.e., they add it to your bill);

On June 23 2012 07:41 Probe1 wrote:
If it's added to the bill it is not a tip. It's a service surcharge. Even then I would leave additional money on the grounds that I want to directly benefit the person who served me, not see $3 split between the 5 servers.

Not tipping a delivery driver though should be punishable by death. Not only is it a shitty job but they're putting wear and damage on their vehicles at personal cost. So maybe they get $4 an hour plus tip, maybe they get $7. Still, they have to pay for their own oil, gas, replacement parts, insurance, and so on.

Even if its a guy on a bicycle then you should tip him. blahb lah tip delivery drivers.

(I used to work in a local pizza shop and I always pitied the delivery guys. We would sit next to warm pizza ovens drinking and smoking and laughing as college girls lifted their shirts at us. They would have to deal with the drunk college guys running red lights and making prank orders. So I've got a lot of institutional pity for delivery when it comes to tipping)

On June 23 2012 08:19 ranshaked wrote:
No they don't. They don't buy you new tires or pay for part repair and you usually break even on gas because of the delivery fee. That additional 2$ is for repairs and gas. Unfortunately, car parts and tires are not cheap. My restaurant only puts the 18% gratuity in if it's a party of over 6 or the bill is over $200 or if the customers are a nuisance. It's not fair for a waiter to deal with ten people for two hours for a no tip.

So how do we solve this issue: we can pay our tipped positions a livable wage $15 or more an hour, which will increase food prices by 20%. Or we can keep the current system.

What Expenses Does Mileage Reimbursement Cover?

The mileage reimbursement rate is intended to cover the costs of operating a car for business purposes. The costs that are contemplated by the standard mileage rate are standard maintenance, repairs, taxes, gas, insurance, and registration fees. Essentially the standard mileage rate is intended to cover the expenses that one would report if he used the actual car expenses deduction, but the standard mileage reimbursement rate is simply an estimate and may end up being more or even less than your actual expenses.

Mileage reimbursement covers:

Gasoline
The cost of maintenance (oil, lube, routine maintenance)
Insurance (liability, damage, comprehensive and collision coverage)
Licensing and registration
Depreciation and all other costs associated with operation of the vehicle

On June 23 2012 09:34 ranshaked wrote:

http://waiterpay.com/class-certification-for-delivery-drivers-at-papa-johns-restaurants/

It doesn't happen. I'm telling you

Not tipping a delivery driver though should be punishable by death. Not only is it a shitty job .

On June 22 2012 15:07 ranshaked wrote:
Sigh. I can't argue this anymore. The point is, there are very few jobs in the us that will pay more than minimum wage. Those few jobs are labor intensive and full time that rarely allow a person to go to school. Without tips, i would have to drop out of school and never progress with my life. Good night

On June 22 2012 15:53 Inori wrote:

Seriously? First you whine about 4-5$ - ok, that is bad, I was even about to change my views on tipping.
But then when offered to get a better job you already want over 20$? Fuck this, a lot of people with higher education don't even get that.
You want to get payed as much if not more for an easy job, that requires no previous studies or experience, can be handled by anyone from 16 to 76, compared to people that actually spent their time in investing into studies and/or work experience?
gtfo.

On June 26 2012 10:14 BloodyC0bbler wrote:For those who don't want to tip because they don't feel they should be responsible to pay a server's "wages" then be prepared to be charged more per menu item for wage increases across the board. Servers tip out hosts, bartenders, and kitchen staff usually at the end of a night, thus everyone in a restaurant would be getting a raise and near every menu item would jump a large % in price.

Tipping is so ingrained in the north american culture that unless massive wage changes happen its going to stay so rather than complaining about it, either accept that eating out requires tipping, or stop eating out.

Don't eat out at a restaurant if you don't like the custom, eat fast food.

On June 26 2012 10:47 sevencck wrote:


Interesting then that many resturants around the world in cultures where tipping isn't the standard can make it work just fine. And you know what? It's not tipping that's necessarily a problem, it's an overblown sense of entitlement and expectation. When waitresses come back to the kitchen to bitch and swear about some elderly couple who "only" left them 10%, I think there's something wrong.



I hope only to live to see the day when people en masse actually decide to listen to restaurants giving this advice, just so I can measure how quickly those restaurants change their tune.

On June 26 2012 10:47 sevencck wrote:


Interesting then that many resturants around the world in cultures where tipping isn't the standard can make it work just fine. And you know what? It's not tipping that's necessarily a problem, it's an overblown sense of entitlement and expectation. When waitresses come back to the kitchen to bitch and swear about some elderly couple who "only" left them 10%, I think there's something wrong.



I hope only to live to see the day when people en masse actually decide to listen to restaurants giving this advice, just so I can measure how quickly those restaurants change their tune.

On June 26 2012 11:03 Elegance wrote:

Having lived in 2 countries where tipping doesn't exist, and then coming to Canada, it is the most ridiculous thing ever. Why the heck should I pay someone extra for refilling my drinks or whatever (when it is their goddam job), in fact why not just leave a jug of water at my table so i can talk to my friends without being interrupted? If there is any "tipping" to be done, I'd tip the chef for making me some good food which is reasonable. Tipping on delivery is so much worse. Why should i pay extra for delivery, when I ALREADY PAY THE DELIVERY FEE TO PAY THE GUY, what else does the delivery guy do?

E: I obviously realize that they get paid less, but really why should I have to give a fuck? I'm paying a shit load of money to eat out in the first place (especially Canada), its the goddam restaurants faults for giving them shit wage.

On June 26 2012 11:12 BloodyC0bbler wrote:


Please don't be so obviously disrespectful to servers. The fault for wages is not purely restaurants, it is also a large part in the hands of patrons. Before you call bullshit. How much are you willing to pay when you say go to a chain restaurant (as they are the most prominent in canada).

As you are here, say one of montana's, east side marios, or like boston pizza as they are all big names. How much would you be willing to pay for your entree? If you say anything lower than 20-25ish (on just your entree mind you) then don't complain about tipping.

The fact that I can go out and eat an appetizer, entree, and have 1-2 pints of beer for under 30 bucks is the reason servers are paid so low. I would be fully ok with paying $50 on a meal(appetizer, entree and 1-2 points) for just myself if tipping was removed completely. However how many other people would be willing to pay that much?

People want restaurants to go out to eat but they don't want to pay more than 20-30 bucks for an entire meal. As such the only way to make a profit in that business is low wages.

On June 26 2012 11:14 Elegance wrote:

Your sense of inexpensive and my sense of inexpensive are not even close. $30 for a friday night dinner package for myself? Yeah right

On June 26 2012 11:03 BloodyC0bbler wrote:


They wont.

People want cheap food quickly (even in restaurants). Part of the major reason in north america food is cheap in non fine dining restaurants is cutting costs in wages (thus tips). This is to meet consumer demands for cheap food as people don't actually have a concept of how much ingredients cost or any of the other expenses a business like a restaurant has.

As for other cultures around the world where tipping isn't a standard. Those cultures are different. Cost of living is different, wages are different, etc...

I can honestly stay from experience with most people outside of north america that the mass majority that are from oversea's are far better informed on the culinary arts. They make food at home, buy groceries, etc.... and have an appreciation for good food.

I honestly believe that if more people were informed when it came to where all the ingredients came from, how much they cost, etc... North America would be far better. People just don't place it high on their list of things to know.

As you are here, say one of montana's, east side marios, or like boston pizza as they are all big names. How much would you be willing to pay for your entree? If you say anything lower than 20-25ish (on just your entree mind you) then don't complain about tipping.

The fact that I can go out and eat an appetizer, entree, and have 1-2 pints of beer for under 30 bucks is the reason servers are paid so low. I would be fully ok with paying $50 on a meal(appetizer, entree and 1-2 points) for just myself if tipping was removed completely. However how many other people would be willing to pay that much?

On June 26 2012 11:47 sevencck wrote:


I was a sous chef at one point involved in ordering. I understand many of the costs associated with running a kitchen, in terms of food, cleaning supplies, and waste (wasn't associated with labor costs or utilities). Most menu items are marked up considerably. A good restaurant on a busy night makes money hand over fist, in fact the bar alone will make money provided a restaurant can fill the dining room. Most restaurants wouldn't all of a sudden struggle if they paid their waiters/waitresses an extra 2 dollars per hour. Besides, cooks only earn a slightly better wage than servers, and a tipping rate of 10% covers this disparity and in fact elevates a server's wage above a cook's. This argument is thus only appropriate in favor of a 10% tipping rate, and is not adequate justificaiton for the 15-20% now expected unless you feel a server deserves more money than a cook.



Yes, we have a culture where business owners want to deregulate the market as much as humanly possible to keep wages low, yet expect consumers to abide by a tipping regulation to keep wages reasonable. Is it worth pointing out that this "cultural" viewpoint is retarded and not worth a damn? This argument doesn't hold water unless you're prepared to argue 1) North American cities have low cost of living and high wages, and 2) it is therefore reasonable to tip 15%+. If you're arguing we live in a culture with higher wages then in response I'd argue that should apply to waitresses and we shouldn't worry about potential increase in restaurant costs, since we're all making so much money. If you're arguing we live in a culture with lower wages, then it isn't reasonable to expect the public to tip 15%+ even if the cost of living is lower.



Source? And not that it sounds wrong, but how is this relevant to tipping?



Far better in what way? People would tip more? Why? Every summer I'd work in a kitchen because I wanted to learn how to cook. I said I'd worked in 5 restaurants, but actually it's 6, and I can tell you 5 things that are always true in a well established successful restaurant.

1) In a successful restaurant the restaurant owner makes somewhere between very good money and an absolute killing.
2) Waitresses and waiters make obscenely good money on a busy night
3) All waitresses rage about a 10% tip, especially if they are showing cleavage
4) There is a mathematical equation relating exposed cleavage to rage over a 10% tip that noone has bothered to derive yet
5) The kitchen staff works twice as hard as the front of the house, works longer hours, and takes much less money home.



How in the name of Plato's ghost does this even begin to make sense? So customers aren't willing to pay more than $25 for an entree, but are perfectly willing to pay $25 for the entree plus $5 for the tip? Do you realize how illogical this argument is? Have you considered it might be because of tipping that customers don't want to pay more than $25 for an entree?



This violates the first law of restaurant thermodynamics. Restaurants wouldn't need to adjust items in such a way that a 30 dollar bill would become a $50 dollar bill (everything almost doubled in price) in order to pay the extra ~2-3 dollars per hour necessary to pay servers the same as cooks.