If you dine out, you should read this...

[anna_66]

There are SO many people out there flooding the restaurants w/o any knowledge of how to tip. Here is a short guide for the general public to follow. Feel free to print out and store in your wallet and/or purse.

1. CHILDREN "THE LITTLE DEVILS":
If you have children, DO NOT let them, open and dump anything on the table (ie; salt, sugar, etc). IF YOU DO, you must leave an extra $5 for the server to clean up YOUR CHILD'S mess & to restock the now unusable wasted items. We are neither their babysitter nor their parent. The least you can do is pay us for the extra work. Also make sure you control your kids and don't let them scream or run around the restraunt. It's very distracting not to mention dangerous if they get ran over by a server with hot food in their hands.

2. "THE CAMPERS":
If you feel the necessity to stay for longer than 15 minutes after you pay, its an extra $3 every 30 minutes. We make our money from the tables. If you are in one and we can't seat it, we don't make money.

3. COMPLIMENTS:
Telling a server they are the best server they've ever had is not a tip. If we are good, let us know by leaving us more money. We cant pay our bills on compliments. Its not that we don't appreciate the praise, its just that if you say that and then leave 10%, its an insult.

4. THE SALVATION PAMPHLETS:
Prayer cards and any other religious pamphlet is NOT a tip. It is insulting that you assume we are w/o religion and must save us. Again, like ..3, we cant pay bills w/prayer cards. We'd go to church on Sundays if it wasn't mandatory to work on Sundays because EVERYONE who goes to church follows it by eating out.

5. TIPPING:
It is not 1960. Cost of living has gone up dramatically since then. 18% is the MINIMUM amount of what you should be tipping your servers. Just look at the tax line and multiply by 2-3, this gives you your minimum tip amount. Remember, our companies pay us minimum wage (minumum wage for servers is $6.75 in CA, $3.38 in FL, $3.09 in IA, ONLY $2.38 IN MARYLAND & $2.13 in Louisiana & TN) And we are taxed on 10 percent of your meal automatically anyway. So if your meal is $100 and you leave $10 and we tip out $4-5 to the busser, bartender, and whoever else then we pay tax on 10 dollars the state assumes we are atleast making and we actually make $5. It seems small but it adds up. How many times do you eat out per week and do this? 18% PEOPLE!!! MINIMUM!

6. THE COMPLAINERS:
If you get a discount because of your food was prepared wrong or something, do not take it out of our tip. We didn't cook it. The cooks get paid hourly regardless if the food sucks. However, we only make what you give us.

7. THE FREE STUFF:
If you happen to get anything for free and you did not have a problem with your dining experience, most of the time it is because the server thinks you will realize that they are giving it to you for free. There should be extra tip thanking the server for the free item. They could get in a lot of trouble giving away free stuff. You should give them hazard pay for it.

8. THE LATE ONES:
If you come into the restraunt 10 mins before closing or any time near closing hurry up and order your food and get out. Closed means closed, not social hour. It is so rude to sit there and take your sweet ass time. We can't leave until you leave because we have to do sidework and clean the table you are sitting at. We don't want to stand there waiting for you for an extra hour just because you don't want to go home. We recommend 24 hour establishments such as Dennys if you wish to sit into the wee hours of the night.

9. THE TABLE HOGGERS:
If you only come in for coffee or a dessert, to do paper work, or to have a meeting, don't sit there taking up our booths for hours. We are not Starbucks or a hotel restraunt. If you want to sit for hours, go there or else you better leave a good tip for us and camping fee included.

10. THE GREET:
When we come up to the table to greet you and we ask how you are doing please let us know. We honestly want to know how you are doing. If you are in a bad mood we want to know that from the beginning. A confused stare or complete silence does not suffice as a reply to "How are you doing?". Also most of us are REQUIRED to say certain things during the greeting, so please don't interrupt our greeting and say "I want coffee", "Can we get some bread?", or "What are the soups?"

11. THOSE DAMN CELL PHONES:
Don't ever talk on your cell phone in a restraunt. This is probably the rudest thing to do. If you must be on your cell, at least keep your voice down in respect for other customers. If you are on your cell phone when we walk up to greet your table we will walk away and not return until you get off your phone. Just show some respect and give us your attention for a couple of minutes.

12. TAKE-AWAY OR TO-GOS:
Always remember to tip the take-out order servers! They work just as hard as a server, and hardly ever get tips for it! WE DESERVE TO BE TIPPED TOO!

13. DO NOT TELL ME YOU ARE BROKE WHEN YOU ARE LEAVING: If you cannot afford to tip properly then do not go out to eat. If I as a server bring you back $8.00 in change lets say from a $70.00 bill and only leave me $2.00 and tell me you are broke you should be castrated for being such an ignorant a**hole!! Do not waste your time or mine it really pisses us off.

14. High School Kids: Learn how to tip!! Just because you do not have a job and mommy and daddy pays for everything you have including the meal that you are eating do not think that it is ok to not tip. Leave a tip people b/c I remember every face that does not tip.
!!!SERVERS READING THIS!!!
Please repost this so the word can get out, since so many people are uneducated about tips and our lives depend on this - atleast for now...

SIGNED, YOUR FELLOW RESTAURANT WORKERS

[lbaker]

As someone who worked in restaurants for years, supporting two young children, I agree totally. No time to properly respond at this moment but will have some to add later this evening. One thing that used to drive me MAD CRAZY would be when people would look down at the menu and mumble or talk to the menu... exCUSE me... the menu can't hear and I would appreciate it if you would look at ME when asking a question or placing an order

[jackie]

OK, I am one to disagree.

Last year when I went to Canada, I sat in one place for more then 10 minutes before even being approached by a server. She then acted bored to have to serve us (hello, it is your job, put a smile on your face or get a new job), the food took ages, and we had to flag her down at least four times to get the bill. The most emotion on her face was when we didn't leave a tip.

I do tip, but not for nothing. If the service is reasonable, I will tip, if it is excellent, I will over tip, if it is horrible, I wont leave a penny.

[Catlady711]

I do tip, but not for nothing. If the service is reasonable, I will tip, if it is excellent, I will over tip, if it is horrible, I wont leave a penny.

Pretty much same here, except if the service is awful I leave 2 pennies as my two cents worth for a comment.

Although, my pardons to servers, I always thought a tip was supposed to be a VOULUNTARY expression of grattitude for service well done, not a mandatory way to supplement someone's else's income.

[Catty1]

Although, my pardons to servers, I always thought a tip was supposed to be a VOULUNTARY expression of grattitude for service well done, not a mandatory way to supplement someone's else's income.

It was supposed to be. But today's reality is, restaurants don't pay worth **** because they figure the staff will live off their tips - so they have no reason to increase the unliveable base wage.

When managers raise the wages - maybe then. But they won't, and are letting tippers pick up the slack.

JME

[critter crazy]

My question is, there are tons of jobs, that only pay minumum wage, and they dont get tips. And they manage to survive?? So why must we be pretty much be ordered to pay a tip, when others dont get one??

I also will not tip if the service is bad! Just a few weeks ago, when my parents stopped over, after my dads testing for his cancer, we went out to dinner. The service was horrible!! We sat at the table for 20 mins, before even being asked what we wanted to drink, then the food took over 45 mins to get to us, and half of our food was ice cold. Then it took well over 30 mins, trying to catch the guy for our check! I was furious, my poor dad got a drink spilled on him, and they took forever to bring us something to wipe it up with, then he almost fell cause they didnt clean up the floor! Needless to say they didnt get a tip, nor will we ever to to that place agian, family restaurant my butt!!

I am a very good tipper, but bad service=bad/no tip!

[Karen]

Minimum wage for food servers is often far lower than what the rest of the community gets paid as minimum wage. Sad, but true.

Anna, I often get take-out, and don't tip them, and no one has ever suggested that I do. That is not the same as serving a table - they
A. take the order,
B. type it into the cash register, and then
C. put the food in a bag for me when it's done and hand it to me.

How does that remotely compare to
A. Greeting and seating me,
B. Giving me a menu and reciting the daily specials
C. Answering question about the menu
D. Getting me drinks
E. Taking my food order
F. Checking and refilling my drinks, inquiring about the food,
G. Inquiring about dessert,
H. Bringing me my check,
I. Asking whether I want to take anything home, boxing it up if I do,
then after I leave,
J. Bussing and cleaning the table for the next person

Just curious ... places where I regularly get take-out are always friendly and glad to see me, so they don't seem angry that I haven;t been tipping them ...

[clara4457]

I waitressed and bartended for about 13 years off and on, and I so agree with you. Some things that people might not realize.

Servers do not usually get fringe benefits. Most have to pay any insurance or retirement plan out of pocket, so if you think they make too much money, realize that they have their own payroll expenses.

The minimum wage for servers is $2 to $4 less that the national minimum wage. The argument that other workers get minimum wage without tips and do fine doesn't stack up. Also, servers do not get raises, so there are no merit raises, cost of living raises, etc.

The serving jobs where they make over $400 are few and far between. Most servers make between $250 and $400 in the majority of establishments (before taxes) - add into the costs for their own health insurance and retirement and that figure decreases dramatically. Try to make a living making that kind of money. Many servers are single parents with children at home and that is their only income. These women will probably always have to work and have little or no prospect of retirement. I feel bad for these women.

Serving is HARD WORK. It is physically and emotionally draining. Try being happy and cheerful for a 10 hour shift with no breaks, verbal abuse, cleaning other people's messes, dealing with rudeness throughout your shift. You are on your feet running for the entire time. I used to come home with my legs throbbing so bad that I couldn't sleep. Cleaning up after the shift can take over an hour - at the same $4.00 an hour.

Back of house issues are not the server's fault - yet directly impacts the money she/he makes. Cold food, slow food, under or over cooked food have nothing to do with the server's performance. If you have these issues, talk to a manager, don't stiff the server.

I'll add one more to Anna's list:

You aren't the only table I have - try to get all requests for your table so the server only has to make one trip. If every time I go back to your table I have to get something else for a member of your party, it is taking away from the time I can spend at my other tables - which will affect my tip from them. I don't know how many times I have gotten a drink for a table and every time I deliver it - someone else at the table asks for a drink themselves. ONE TRIP PLEASE!

I'm not saying you have to tip for bad service, just be considerate of the person that is trying their best to make a living.

JMHO

[CathyBogart]

My sister has another one to add:

The fact that there are a few empty tables in the restaurant does NOT mean you get to be seated immediately. Those tables are empty because our servers are already stretched too thin and nobody is serving them. Whining at the hostess is not going to make the management staff more servers, nor is it going to make anyone happy. Just RELAX for 15 minutes so that you can have a server who is a)not completely frazzled and b) has the time to get to you between all of their other tables.

[Suki Wingy]

Thank you for posting this. I've never been a server but my mom was for years. I work where I have to cater to people's every need too, and honestly I HATE it. The least they could do is be nice. I don't eat out on my own except for fast food but my family always leaves a big tip. My mom usually gives 20% for good service.

[Animalhouse26]

Well as far as Tipping goes for me. I tip if your good. If you do as your job entiles, I am not Cheap. I actually have a friend of mine that will put out in Singles the amount Avg for the group on the table layed out. And if the waitress/waitor messes up, a bill will be pulled up, and if they do really well, then another will be layed down. So, the Server will see there tip at all times. No Boundries. If it is a 20 doller Meal ticket.. and the server earns up to 15dollers in tip, so be it.. if it is a 50 doller meal.. and the server Sucks.. and gets down to say 3 dollers.. then so be it. I have no problem paying 20+% .. But, Greet me with a smile, check on me.. And for heavens sake.. FILL UP MY DRINK When it is empty.. Not let it sit there empty from the meal till the bill.. That is just rude! And don't come over to me being a pain cause your having a bad day. If I am trying to joke around and have a good time.. Humor me! Even if my joke is Stupid!

[Ginger's Mom]

What I would object to is the 18% minimum tip. For two reasons, first I object to being told what the minimum tip/contribution/voluntary payment of anything is. Second, the reasoning is faulty. This says that because the cost of living has gone up since 1960 the percentage of the tip should go up. But the cost of the meal has also gone up since 1960, so the actual monetary amount being left as a tip has kept stride with the cost of living. The percentage does not have to be increased. For example, I would have paid $4.00 for a meal in 1960 and left a .60 tip. In 2007 I will have to pay $12.00 for the same meal and will leave a tip of $1.80 (probably will round it up to $2.00), an increase of 230%, and that is without raising the "minimum" tip.

[cassiesmom]

Okay, dearies, since it has been brought up, I'm going to hit you with all my questions...

Sunday brunch buffet (or any buffet). I've heard it said that it's okay to tip less at a buffet than a sit-down meal. Is that correct? The last 2 brunches I have been to, we had a gratuity added on to the check because of a party of six or more.

At a place like the Old Country Buffet, where there is not a server per se except someone who clears your plate, should a tip be left?

What do you do with your tips at the end of your shift? Do you give them to the restaurant manager in exchange for bigger bills? How do you prefer to receive a tip? Do you hate receiving change in a tip for that reason? Is it even correct to use coins for a gratuity anymore? What happens when I write the gratuity onto my credit card receipt - do you get it?

If I need to split a $20 bill, do I tip the bartender who takes care of that for me? If I'm waiting with a friend for a table in a restaurant (say, T.G.I. Friday or Applebee's), and we get soft drinks from the bar while we wait, do I tip on those?

What about Starbucks or Caribou Coffee? That jar on the end of the counter - I am never quite sure what to do.

[jazzcat]

Does this bother anyone else? I hate when I pay for a meal and the server asks if I would like change back. I think they should always bring the change back unless the told to keep it by the customer first. Sometimes they will say "I'll be back with the change" and I'll say just keep it and that is fine but to flat out ask if I want change back is a little too presumptuous.

[moosmom]

I try to be as close to 15% as possible. If the service sucks, I don't leave one.