A lot of people work in the bar/restaurant business. I’ve never been a server or bartender, but I know it has to be a tough job. Remembering all the orders, smiling to mean customers, being on your feet for 8 hours… I probably wouldn’t be able to do it.
With that being said, you shouldn’t expect to be tipped for your work bartending/serving. Even if you’re the best, fastest, most pleasant server in all of Canada, you just can’t have the “I’m getting a tip” mindset. And I know that anyone (especially a server) reading this is going to have a bunch of reasons for why somebody should tip…
“It’s a hard job. I did it well. I only make minimum wage. My employers pay me this wage because they expect I’ll get tips.” Valid points, but it doesn’t entitle you to tips. The guy at your favourite clothing store was helpful in finding the perfect style and fit of pants. The guy at the supermarket checkout scanned your food items and packed your bag faster than you ever could. The girl working the front desk of your apartment building chats you up and smiles even though she’s on an 8-hour night shift. These people all do their tough jobs well, and do it with a smile (granted, not everybody is pleasant). They get minimum wage, and they would be shocked if they ever received a tip. In some workplaces, you get fired for taking any type of gift or reward from a client.
Getting a tip is like finding the special million-dollar can of beer; you knew you’d be getting beer, but the cash is an added bonus, just like tips are an added bonus on top of your agreed-upon wages.
Let’s look at a few different reasons why people may not tip, or under-tip.
-The simplest reason is that you’re not the great server you think you are.
-Sometimes the customer can’t afford to tip. “If you can’t afford to tip or tip well, you can’t afford to eat out,” you’ll say. But hey, every now and then somebody needs a treat. I’m sure you splurge on an unnecessary movie once in a while.
-The food was bad. “Don’t stiff me because your food was sub-par. I still did MY job well.” Customers know that their tip gets shared with, among others, chefs. If the chef did a bad job, maybe he/she shouldn’t get a set portion of a big tip. You, unfortunately, get under-tipped for your good work, but that’s part of the game. It goes both ways. If the chef does a good job and you don’t, he gets under-tipped because of your shoddy service. Maybe there should be an option to tip only the waiting staff, or only the cooking staff.
-People don’t always want to tip 15% or any percentage for that matter. They tip according to what they thought you merited for the work you did. Why should the guy serving at a diner get a smaller tip than the girl working at a fancy restaurant? They both did the same job. Is it somehow harder to carry filet mignon than to carry a burger and fries? The girl at the restaurant probably has better conditions and wages than the guy in the diner. Doesn’t seem fair to me.
-Some customers come from cultures where a 15% tip is automatically included in the cheque. These people don’t think to add anything on top of that.
-Lastly, your customer may have picked up on your “I’m only being nice to get a tip” attitude. Genuine niceness is the only way to go.
So if you have the idea that you’re entitled to a tip, you should just tell me before you take my order. I’ll ask for another server.
P.S. If the food and service is good, I generally match the tax on a tip. So don’t think I’m against tipping.
This article appears in Jun 12-18, 2008.
Explain to me why there’s a distinction between minimum wage and a food and beverage server’s minimum wage… it’s LESS than minimum wage BECAUSE of the tipping. If you think those people run their asses off at $7 something an hour for the wage, give your head a shake. Food and beverage servers are NOT in it for the wage. Besides, nobody can live independently on such a pittance. Tip well, my friend, even when the service is bad and you’ll save us all supplementary welfare dollars.Oh, and while you’re at it, look the WORLD over and you’ll find tipping for a meal and tipping for exceptional service is a standard and not a privilege.
Tipping is not at all the standard around the world. In Britain, it’s customary to buy the bartender a drink, but they never leave a cash tip. The Japanese consider tipping an insult. In fact tipping is shunned in most of Asia. New Zealanders frown upon tipping. Many European countries include a service charge in the bill, but there is no cash left on the table.Tipping is mostly a North American phenomenon.
kay, though I agree with some of your other responses, this not I do not. Tipping is a standard…. fuck that. RE-read the bitch, the OP has valid reasons for writing this. Some servers are just fucking useless as servers and expect a tip for shitty work. If I’m going to an establishment to have a nice meal, I expect some level of service, and if it not there then this person needs to learn that the experience was shit and the best way to do it is to take from the tip.Here’s an example, I had a meal at a supposedly nice restaurant, the bill was steep but I had planned for it, it was a treat. The server stood to make a nice tip (15), but she sucked ass more than a pornstar (not in a good way either)! 30 minutes went by before my drink came (did I mention that there was no one there then?). The food came after, and was ok timewise, then desert took another 35 minutes at the time I asked for the bill, 25 minutes later there was no bill in front of me. That was it. I went up to her, asked for the bill now, got it and went to the table where I wrote her meager tip and why it is so small just so she can’t say that I stiffed her. She fucked up, and that’s that.
It’s unfortunate that you have such a vendetta about who deserves a tip, and who does not. But the fact is that as you clearly stated that you have never worked as a server, or a bartender; and I am going to assume that being said you have not worked in the customer service industry. So what room do you have to judge what is worthy of compinsation?
It’s unfortunate that you feel this way about giving gratuities.But the fact is that as you clearly stated that you have never worked as a server, or a bartender; and I am going to assume that being said you have not worked in the customer service industry. What room do you have to judge what is worthy of that spicific type of renumeration? All buisnesses have different types of rules regarding accepting tips, some more customary then others.If you are so upset about giving a person a tip, then refrain from doing so. After all it is completely your choice. But there’s no need to try to justify why tipping is a bad custom. Just because your a cheap skate doesn’t mean it’s not a great way to show someone they have done a good job. After all, they make shit-money for hard fucking work.
It’s unfortunate that you feel this way about giving gratuities.But the fact is that as you clearly stated that you have never worked as a server, or a bartender; and I am going to assume that being said you have not worked in the customer service industry. What room do you have to judge what is worthy of that spicific type of renumeration? All buisnesses have different types of rules regarding accepting tips, some more customary then others.If you are so upset about giving a person a tip, then refrain from doing so. After all it is completely your choice. But there’s no need to try to justify why tipping is a bad custom. Just because your a cheap skate doesn’t mean it’s not a great way to show someone they have done a good job. After all, they make shit-money for hard fucking work.
Tips are ostensibly an incentive for the server to provide excellent service. A server who feels that a tip is his or her “right” rather than an earned privilege, and who is therefore complacent and makes little effort to provide excellent service, presumably does not deserve a tip.On the other hand, some customers are just generous, and some are just cheap, so this argument will never end. 😉
Well Sarah, as the one who is being served, and ultimately giving the tip, I would think that MY opinion of the service I received should be the only factor that determines what is “worthy of compensation”. I understand that tips are part of a servers income, and they, and the kitchen staff count on it, but until it is included automatically on my bill (which I am fine with if the restaurant is up front about it) then I, and I alone, decide what is fair to give, and it is the server’s job to meet my expectations or be OK with not being tipped. I also don’t mean that to be as harsh as it comes across…I don’t like arrogant customers who expect to be catered to either. But ultimately, it is the customer’s choice whether they want to tip and how much to tip….so a server should not bitch them out for it when they don’t like the result.
It’s NOT that fuckin hard to serve a plate of food with a fuckin drink,or I guess it is when they have to caustiously beaware if their ass-cheeks are showing!LOL
As a former worker in the hospitality industry, I can tell you it’s one of the hardest jobs I’ve had. And the worst part is the customers who treat you like an idiot because you work in a bar/restaurant or who expect you to be their slaves and fulfill ridiculous requests.I tip at least 15 per cent because I know that some of the circumstances aren’t the fault of the server. And because it’s a deserved reward for putting up with people’s nonsense. And dealing with drunk people is something entirely different. People don’t get paid enough to deal with that. I don’t drink anymore because I never want to be a rude asshole like the people I’ve served.Alison, go make a drink and serve a plate of food and see how hard it can be, even when your ass cheeks are tucked nicely inside your shorts.
I have done waitressing and it wasn’t that hard. It sure is different today than it was 20 years ago.We didn’t have to wear short/short skirts or show cleavage to make a nice tip either.Try being a dishwasher,now that’s a hard job,because your doing two jobs in one!Cleaning dishes for the cook and the waitresses was hard work.I was damn happy when I was promoted up to a cook’s helper/salad maker after I saved the restaurants ass from the Health Inspector. I then got another promotion for the same reason and was moved up to Kitchen Assistant Manager,with the offering of buying shares!Wiatressing isn’t that hard,showing skin and putting on that unwanted happy face for that big tip,is!!!Why do “today’s”waitresses feel the need to minipulate male customers with skin in order to make that big tip,because I would never lower myself to that limit for the almighty dollar!!!
ok, no, waiting tables, and for that matter, most of those minimum wage customer service type jobs, are actually much harder than most people seem to realize. Not only are you ‘carrying burgers and fries’, you’re standing up for 8 hours a day, running your tail off, keeping a grin on your face while catering to others, all for a mere pittance. It’s hard, and part of what makes it that way is the disrespect you have to put up with constantly.as far as tipping goes, I agree it should be a reward for a job well done- same token though, I’d like it if restaurants posted whether or not their servers make minimum wage, or servers minimum wage and make up the difference in tips. it changes how much I will tip, because I for one don’t want to make people lose wages because their bosses are too cheap to pay the full wage themselves. I work a badly paid job myself however though, and often can’t afford to tip extragavently- I’ve found that putting down what I can, even if it’s just a dollar or two, and smiling and explaining ‘I’d like to tip more but I just can’t’ usually works well 🙂 also, the general rule of thumb should be not how much the meal was=how much the tip is, but how much of a pain in the ass you make of yourself=bigger tips; make the server run all over the place changing things and bringing you things, they’ve earned a bigger tip than if you order something with no changes and quietly eat your meal.