When I go to a standard, sit-down-and-a-server-comes-to-your-table restaurant, I normally tip well over 15% (and on the total amount of the bill). I know servers think that 15% tips are pretty bad and chances are upon your return you will receive above average service.
The 15%+ tip represents a cornerstone in the waitstaff industry. Restaurants have a pretty good deal with waitstaff in that, you and me, decide their salaries. Now I know restaurants are super competitive and no one makes any money on them, but the sad part is that if I get really horrible service, I feel guilty about leaving less than 15%.
The real feelings of guilt hit when I get coffee, takeout or something like Eppie’s. These places share the same ordering process where you go up to a register, order your food and you pick it up either down the line or from the same person you order it from. Then, they give you the receipt and there is that inevitable TIP/GRATUITY line on the receipt.
What do you do!? I’m stuck in a restaurant mindset most of the time, but sometimes I think, well, the people here didn’t really do anything and why should I pay them for doing their jobs and not really providing me any service.
It’s confusing, and I call upon you, cVillains to help me solve this dilemma.
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- Tipping is for Filthy Rich People
- The Charlottesville Tip-Padding Conspiracy
- Scam Artist Has Hit Over 7 Restaurants in Last Few Days!
I don’t tip at places without a server – but I do tip my urologist, because I cannot pulverize my own kidney stones.
Considering what a urologist does, what kind of tip do you give him/her?
Ususally a basket of organic beets, or a gift certificate for a free weekend at Schrute Farms.
at places like this, i usually tip 20% about 20% of the time. i guess that means i tip 4%. crap.
For these kinds of establishments, I’m normally paying in cash and will leave $1 in the tip jar along with whatever coins I’m given as change. My back-of-the-napkin calculations indicate that this means I’m really nice to baristas (~33%) and not so nice to more lunch-time-sandiwich-ish-place employees (~10%). Sorry, lunchtime-sandwich-place employees.
I may stiff ‘em on the tip, but do give them the courtesy of a “reacharound”.
So if you get a coffee for $1.09, you will leave the 91 cents?
I think something worth keeping in mind is that the folks who work as servers get, what, about $2.50 an hour? (Or am I way behind the times here, have local or state laws raised the minimum wage for tipped employees?) The tips are expected to make up the difference and create some version of a reasonable wage. (Of course, often times it won’t do that. And there is the question of what the hell a reasonable wage or living wage would actually be. I digress.)
Folks who work at non-server utilizing places are making some higher amount per hour that likely still isn’t enough anyway.
That said…I normally do what something like what Stanley does and stick a buck in the jar along with any coinage. If its an option on the receipt I usually tip somewhere between about 10% and 20% depending on what they actually did for my order (ie, Asian Express where they give me chopsticks and extra duck sauce and wipe off the little soy sauce cup for the sushi so I don’t get it all over me…I tip higher).
And @7 (even though it wasn’t asked of me) – yep.
So if you get a coffee for $1.09, you will leave the 91 cents?
Well, I normally end up getting a more-expensive drink and/or multiple drinks, so my total is normally between $3 and $5, with a tip of $1 into the jar, possibly along with any coins coming back to me. If it were just a regular coffee for $1.09, I’d likely leave them the 91 cents, yes.
If a place has no wait staff they have to pay minimum wage. Bodo’s pays it’s workers over $9 an hour, when I get my bagel I never tip.
i never tip unless i’m trying to offload some change, or i know the cashier person or i think they’re cute.
Eppies is one of the places that makes it tough. I eat there regularly and the fellas behind the register and the… uh.. food.. delivery.. counter… are always nice. That tip line haunts me.
What I’ll usually do is not tip on most days but every now and then (especially on the rare days that I’m paying in cash) I’ll drop a few bucks in the tip jar (somewhat more than i might ordinarily tip on one day, but still probably less than would average out to a “good” tip per day). The Eppies people probably have no idea I’m doing that, but oh well.
I work at such an establishment, and we don’t accept tips. I wholeheartedly agree with this policy. I really think that tipping at counter-service restaurants/coffeeshops developed as a way for people to cast off spare change, as evidenced by people leaving more than just pennies in our “take a penny” trays.
Tip jars are just a way to capitalize on this tendency and are also now a vehicle for businesses to be lazy about monitoring and rewarding employee performance appropriately,
@13.. well said.
I can’t speak for other quick service/counter service joints, but here’s what’s going on at Eppie’s. We started out without a tip line on the cc receipt. We added it after we’d been open several months b/c a lot of folks were asking how they could leave tips on their credit cards. However, by no means should YOU feel obliged to tip just b/c there’s a line on the receipt. It’s not on there to pressure folks into tipping. Nor does the staff take umbrage if you scratch through the tip line or put a zero in there. Does the staff enjoy getting the tips? Of course. It’s a nice bonus at the end of a busy shift. But we certainly don’t expect everyone to tip. Lastly, tips are split evenly here b/w cashier, food prep, and dishwasher. So if you do tip, it’s going to everyone, not just the person taking your order.
You should not be expected to tip in places where you’re not being waited on, but doing so is a lovely gesture.
i have the same problem when i pick up carry out (pizza or Chinese or something like that). i usually will tip a standard 2.00 on a pizza or Chinese for two, just because i feel bad leaving the line blank.
carry out (pizza or Chinese or something like that
In my pizza-shop experience, that tip line is there only because the pick-up cashiers use the same credit card machine as the delivery drivers. No tip is expected when picking up, though of course, no one’s going to turn up his nose at some free loot.
didn’t i read somewhere here that christian’s doesn’t give the money in the tip jar to the employee’s?
and i’m pretty sure most restaurants in town with wait staff use the state- approved wage for workers who recieve tips, which is 2.13/hr.
whatever tips you leave will likely then get passed along i.e. 10%bartender 5-10% to other support staff(busers, host, etc).
tipping at the counter- sometimes i do, sometimes i don’t. but i definitely don’t if the folks don’t even seem to acknowledge me other than a “input/fulfill request/output”.
once you pop your blank-tip-line cherry, you’ll be fine. i used to throw a buck on the tip line at pickup places out of obligation. now i just don’t care. i’ve never gotten a sideways glance from anyone for it either. of course, i also dress like the unabomber when i pick up my chinese food now and as soon as i get that bag in my hand i run out as fast as i can yelling “so long, sucker!”
i knew some kids in college that tipped delivery drivers in bong hits.
if the right dudes were working that shift, they got their food FAST, man!
but the rest of the people ordering that night probably did NOT>
didn’t i read somewhere here that christian’s doesn’t give the money in the tip jar to the employee’s?
dunno, but that hellspawn sasquatch of a cashier and her forty six pound attitude should never get another penny, from the tip jar or otherwise. she’s just one of the many reasons that if christians gets another cent from me, it will be under extreme duress and or protest
i tip the takeout guys at my favorite pizza place because they always give me free stuff. otherwise, no.
@15, thanks for ’splainin.
The night the guys from Eppies shared a cookie with me and my friend, I felt guilty that I hadn’t left a tip, so I threw in a buck the next time which hopefully got shared by more or less the same folks that were there the night I got my cookie. I’m glad to hear that it is shared amongst the staff.
this brings up a question about tipping in general. let’s say you and a friend go out to dinner, and you decide to leave early. figuring out what you owe, you include tip in the amount you tell the server to charge on your card. you leave, and when your friend goes to pay, he naturally is charged the remaining amount. he then tips on that amount he paid.
see the trouble here?
@25 yes, your friend’s a jerk.
i’d have a similar problem all the time in miami, except no one left early, people there just incredibly stupid. like 5 people’s meals are $100 total, 4 of them put in $20 each, the 5th charges $20, then tips $3.
No. Did I miss something?
stupidity and jerks, yeah… but my vote goes for ignorance. people don’t realize that “here, take out the cash and pay the rest with the card” does the same thing. but how does a server prevent this from happening? write it on the ticket? tell the table? “Hi, I know I ran your card for $40, but can you tip me on $100?”
I overheard a bartender trying to explain it to one of her customers last night, and the woman got her panties in a twist. thought the poor bartender was trying to coerce the tip.
in that case, that’s a stupid jerk.
I hate word problems. I was told there’d be no math.
I worked as a cashier once and a guy tried to give me a crazy end-times bible pamphlet as a tip. It was way funnier and also way shittier than no tip at all. I still have the pamphlets because of the unintentionally hilarious bible cartoons.
Tip or not to tip:
Cable guy
Tow truck driver (if you called him-not if you got towed)
Flower delivery person
Hotel maid
Masseuse
Shen: whether or not you play “just the tip” with the cable guy is really none of our business.
@31 no, no, no, yes, yes
Cable guy: No
Tow truck no: No
Flower delivery: Never had flowers delivered to me.
Hotel maid: Yes
Masseuse: Never had a massage.
I think I need a masseuse to send me flowers.
@31 That’s what she said.
I mean @33.
See to me, anyone who is really nice and helps me deserves a tip. I tipped the cable guy the other day after he ran all over my house hooking things up and making everything work. I tip the tow driver if he really helped me out of a bind. They’re not used to tips so they appreciate the gesture.
i wouldn’t tip the cable guy regardless of why he’s there, unless of course he’s hooking up the free Shiite. the others?
Tow Truck driver? i don’t pay them, i pay AAA to pay them. the last driver i called broke a light on my car when he backed into it. no tip for you.
Flower Delivery Person? probably not. sorry, just not thinking of it.
Hotel Maid? only if i’m staying for several days (usually at least three) and the room is friggin’ spotless, new linens and towels, etc.
Masseuse? yes, every time. ditto the tattoo artist (every time), concierge (if they do their job and get you reservations, etc), doorman (if they get you a taxi), and every bartender, cocktail server and waitron ever. minimum tip for food service is 15% for mediocre-to-bad service (imo). having been there, i know how hard it is to live on $2.13/hr plus whatever you’re lucky enough to get from the idiots you wait on (especially in a college town).
I agree that anyone who goes above and beyond the call of duty deserves a tip.
So smiley, if that’s the case, do you:
Tip the lady who is sweet that just gave an MRI?
Do you tip your Doctor?
How bout tipping the guy that sells you a coke at the JPJ or Scott?
Do you tip a Mormon that tries to sell you some religion?
If I had a doctor or someone that practically saved my life, I’d “tip” him/her with a thank you note or cookies or something. It seems weird giving money to certain professions.
this brings up a question about tipping in general
No way am I gonna tip. I figure even if the pimp gets half, she still made $5 for just laying around…
I wanted to give the veterinarian a tip today…. it was ‘GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME AS FAST AS YOUR FUCKING LEGS WILL CARRY YOU BEFORE I HURT YOU”. What a rip off profession. Bastards.
Tips don’t have to be a few bucks at the immediate time of service. An example: a wonderful electrician came to help me and my wife hang a chandelier in our dining room, he was working on the house next door anyway and it looked like it would take about 10 minutes to hang the light. It ended up, of course, taking about an hour. He refused any sort of payment or tip. My wife said “can we offer you a beer? (He said he wished he could but, happily, given the circumstance, he declined saying he had to drive to two more jobs that afternoon). So we sent a gift certificate to Beer Run to his office.
Post-person, UPS driver, doctor’s office crew – homemade fudge at the holidays and maybe $50 or a bottle of wine or scotch if I have learned they like such things.
Tow truck, yeah. Hotel maid, if the room is clean, yes. Masseuse, also yep. Flower delivery, if the flowers are in good shape. Cable guy, no unless they actually have to do something. (In my experience they drop off the equipment and call the main office to say to turn whatever needs to be turned or flipped or switched or pressed.) If he/she actually installed something and did a good/clean job of it, then I might tip.
@43 00h, you might consider switching vets – i’m very happy with both of mine.
To the question about tipping at non-table service places, it depends. If I’m picking up at a counter and throwing away my trash afterwards, then, no, no tip expected or given. If it’s one of those places that’s self-serve, like a buffet place, I do leave a small tip, but def not as much as a full service rest. And I am a ridiculously generous tipper when I do receive really good service. Base, even with poor service is 15-20%. Everybody has bad days.
@45 buffet place like the indian restaurants? cause counts as a full-service restaurant. (except of course there’s no point to tipping at milan…)
@41 — I once had a doctor sew up my knee and then gave me a ride back to where my car was because all my friends at the party were still too drunk to get in the car and pick me up from the hospital (long story.) I had his card and so wrote him a thank you note and made a (admittedly small) contribution to a medical charity as a thank you. It wasn’t a tip, but more an acknowledgment that he had gone way above what was expected.
@43 — I agree with #45. Yes, animal medical treatment can cost a lot of money, but a good vet won’t make you feel like you’re being ripped off.
My general practice vet is the bee’s knees, and I have had two different pets go through serious illnesses under his care (one of whom didn’t make it). The practice itself, I believe, is generally considered pricier than others, but for me it’s been worth every penny.
That said, I would not tip him. I would guess that he considers above and beyond just to be his practice style.
Thank you for your divine responses to my vitriolic post @43… I unfortunately harbor a grudge against this particular profession as my sister is one of their own and thus I have a unique insight into their unique ability to perform fiscal rape and making it look like caring… she made the honorable decision to not continue small animal practice, but left me with the knowledge of what it involves.
/How can people on limited incomes cope with such fucking ridiculous animal heathcare costs?
Your vet treat cougars?
Your vet treat cougars…on the siiiiiiiiide, laydeez?
I fixed it for you spudder nut.
Can’t cougars just go to the doctor like e’rbody else?
@49. The vet where I work does a lot for people who are on limited incomes. Sometimes those people are really stupid about what’s reasonable to do for their pets ( 15 year old cat with renal failure and a sinus cavity filled with open weeping tumors and they want a dental cleaning-not gonna happen) and whats reasonable to do for free for their pets (no, you do not get every single service for free, free boarding, grooming, or surgeries-though we do offer a senior discount). All the staff will go out of their way to work with people who are having a hard time either by offering info on carecredit, or doing held checks or even a payment plan. And let me tell you how often we lose our asses on people who need that assistance. But we still offer. Heres a tip: plan ahead and if you think you may not make rent, dont go to the SPCA and get a fucking puppy too.
I think its amazing that people think at a vets office you “just play with animals all day” and that because “you get to do something you LOVE” it should be free. I know I LOVE having owners disregard our medical advice and say charming things like “she’s dead because of you!” or “I dont understand how she got pregnant again” or “well I did research on the internet and it said…” and my favorite “my healthcare doesn’t cost this much”. I also love spending time picking maggots and shit form an animal because the owner is such a piece of shit or having my face nearly clawed of because the owner cant take the time to train or socialize their new pet. That makes it exciting. I love having kids terrorize a dog while I try to listen to its heartrate. Its great when Owners show up 75 minutes late for their consult and cant be reached and then THROW their car keys at you when they finally arrive in the middle of appointments because “the doctor isn’t ready!” I also find the demands for drugs intriguing. Sure let me just grab that controlled drug script for you. I mean thats not illegal or anything. It must be true love when Owners refuse to get their pets examined and just “want some drugs” for it. Never mind about correct dosing or, I dont know, a little thing called DIAGNOSIS.
Owning a pet isn’t a right. Its a luxury. Make plans to expend time and money. I don’t expect everyone to have the ability to perform ultrasounds and xrays at a moments notice nor do I think that should be the standard. BUT don’t begrudge the vets office earning money because you think it should be free. Its a skill that requires education and commitment and time and equipment. You do get the chance to meet awesome people and animals and do some good at helping animals. But more often than not, people are totally uneducated and unreasonable.
Floozy I know that you are (probably) not unreasonable or uneducated and this rant wasnt at you. It really stings though when you are accused of being unreasonably priced because it isnt really medicine or whatever. I take it basically as an accusation that I dont deserve a paycheck.
May I ask what services you were getting and what the fees were? (you dont have to name the clinic. im just curious.) And what was the outcome?
Vets seem expensive but they are usually doing what’s best for your animal. Yeah, you don’t have to do the dental cleaning or extra stuff if you can’t afford it, but you DO need basic vaccines for your animal, it’s your responsibility. Pets are like kids, they cost money. Put some money aside and get your pet checked out and basic vax once a year and it won’t be that bad. If you go to the vet and don’t want to spend a lot, tell them ahead of time. Tell them you just want rabies, distemper. It’s still gonna cost you $30, $30, = the visit $40 = ~100 though. If you think the prices are too high for what you’re getting look around at other vets and check their prices. Keep an eye out for rabies clinics where shots are only $15.
What about the take out folks at, say, outback? You know the ones who dash it all the way out to your car in a nice outback bag? What kind of service did they provide for 15% of the bill? Let me see, well they put it in a bag, 9 times out of 10 with no plastic ware, or condiments, usually cold. hmmm…
And is that tipping 15% of the total bill, or 15% of the amount without the incredible local taxes which are tacked on?
I was cruising across the country a few weeks ago, and stopped at a local eatery in nowhere OK. I got the bill, which was like $30 and the tax was .23 cents! I thought there was a mistake and pointed it out to the wait person. No mistake. I told them about the $12 or $13 the local eateries tack on. He thought I should move. I told him Thomas J grew up here and Grisham lived here, doesn’t that count for something.?
He thought I should have moved a long time ago.
God I love this snotty town.
Hi!
I leave what the service was worth. Tip is an acyronym for To Insure Prompt service I believe, ( I’m sure some fool will pull apart my grammer and spelling here). I leave ZERO when a fucker demands it from you. I realize some hospitality workers have a GREEDYASS atitude. I tip for team work and service. When putas obviously work for themselves and not the good of the whole….I drop cash to those who do. No probs writing the word ZERO in the T.I.P.S. line. Nothing worse than someone commin’ at you with a palm facing upward.
It’s just cash fuckers, it won’t get you much other than the “stuff” you want. Needs you already got I’ll bet! YOu got a computer and it probably doesn’t feed ya.
TEAMWORK pays everyones bills. Yours, your co-workers and the owners…Maybe a win, win, win?
mostly a lurker with occasional post…
@55: that $12 or $13 in tax added to the bill I’ll pay any day of the week. Wanna know why? Because that means our taxes are offset by all those uva students and their parents and all other touristy types who eat in our town. Why should Cville up my trash sticker price or that vehicle-sticker-price-that-we-still-pay-but-have-no-sticker-on-our-car-for when we can just charge those who don’t live here too? In my mind, it’s the same concept as toll roads. Initially the tolls on the roads were likely for the the initial cost of the road but leave those tolls up and all those poor suckers that drive up the Jersey turnpike get shafted in tolls.
@56, I’m sorry, but I stop listening/reading when I see the word “f******”. Have you no imagination, dear???
Aw well…fuck you have missed out on half my posts. Fuck.
fuck
(now we know how to safely talk about BP behind their back)
@55, 56:
i am pretty certain that the commonwealth of virginia, the city of charlottesville, and the county of (insert whatever county here) determines the food tax, not the restaurant. and in fact- the restaurant pays it to said governancys.
captain- if your food is cold when you pick it up- but you got it when you arrived, i doubt the server had anything to do with that. if after thinking about that you still don’t understand, please ask an adult near you who has basic concepts of complex matters like cooking and time and big stuff like that.
chicorico- lay off the hard stuff, buddy. and maybe you just should eat at home.
@60, how many backs you thinks I gots???
how many backs you thinks I gots???
I heard that motherfucker had, like, thirty goddamn backs.
[NSFW - language]
green backs are in
63: remains my favorite internet thing ever. thanks stanley.
@65: At your service, mc.
That was a pretty snazzy video.
You know what? I leave the best tips when the server takes my order (perfectly) without writing it down, brings refills quickly, clears the table politely as we eat, and makes just enough small talk to lighten the mood. They get 20-25%, if not more when I’m drunk, every time.
Funny enough, it always happens when my friends and I eat at R** L******. Same server always waits on us. I swear, she’s telepathic. I can *think* of another basket of crack-biscuits and suddenly she pops in from another dimension with piping hot ones. And ranch dressing to dip them in. Fuck, it’s good. I only go every couple of months, and I don’t think she remembers us, but she’s damn skippy at her profession.
As for the smarmy jerks who get all cutesy and try to sit down with you or crouch on the floor and get all up in your shit… I leave them about a buck n’ change. Not cool. I came to eat with the person who walked in with me, not the freakin’ obnoxious goof who brings me my food.