How much to tip?

Charlie - posted on 11/24/2009

Tipping is not really done in Australia from my understanding a lot of people make their money from tips in USA is that right ?
Here a tip is out of thanks for good service , i always tip taxi drivers who dont f@$ you around or try and take you the long way round i especially tip taxi driver who are polite and generally lovely to take a ride with say on a $15 taxi ride i would give them $5 - $10 TIP .

~Jennifer - posted on 11/24/2009

Quoting Louise:

I tip anyone who serves my food, including takeout. But here I'm talking about going to food place, getting a box and filling up your box with food then pay for it and leave, no service whatsoever but still have tip jars.

That's where tipping gets iffy. I'm not sure if we're all on the same page.

Right, but who do you think sets up, refills, and cleans the area where you get your box o' food?

Next time you're 'not sure'......maybe ask the manager what they pay their employees hourly....

lol

Louise - posted on 11/24/2009

I tip anyone who serves my food, including takeout. But here I'm talking about going to food place, getting a box and filling up your box with food then pay for it and leave, no service whatsoever but still have tip jars.

That's where tipping gets iffy. I'm not sure if we're all on the same page.

~Jennifer - posted on 11/24/2009

***edited for disclaimer***

*****This is not a reply to the OP or to any of the members that have posted on this thread - it's just the truth from someone in the business.*******



I always tip. If someone makes me something, brings it to me - I tip. Dunkin' Donuts- tip. Starbucks - tip. Buffets, restaraunts, bars / pubs, yes, I tip. If I get carry out- I STILL tip.



I think the only places that I don't are Mc Donalds (If I ever HAVE to go to one - I usually don't go to fast food chains if I can avoid it)

If it's a restaurant with servers, I tip whether I'm eating in or dining out. If I smoke a cigarette at the bar in a restaurant while my family is back at the table - I tip the bartender for 'use' of her clean ashtray.



I've been a bartender all of my adult life, and I'll tell you something right now.......for everything that a waitress / bartender / server / counter person goes through during the day- I leave a tip.



It's funny...It's almost like some of you have NO idea what they do for their jobs. "Oh, they brought me a plate and a refill". BULLSHIT. They have to clean up your mess, touch your ABC food on your leftover plates, clean up after your kids that you WOULDN"T LET MAKE THAT MESS at home, refill condiments, fold napkins, silverware, reset tables, deal with needy, whiny assholes (like the ones that can't EVER seem to all figure out that their friend needs mustard, but they don't need another pepsi UNTIL you come back with the mustard)

......and then after "assholes at table 2" run them ragged with stupid requests, they have to come over and put all their "eff off table 2" feelings away to be nice to you. Most servers also have to wait for all of their tables to finish before they can get off shift so they can finish their sidework ( clearing dishes, sweeping the mess from under the table, table resets etc) ...BUT... guess what? While you wait for that lingering table to leave - if you go over your shift time - you get clocked out. You STILL have to wait to finish sidework, and NOW you're not even getting the 2.35.

Leave 'em a couple of friggin bucks.

Throw your 37 cents change from your coffee in the damn tip jar.

Would it kill ya? Really?

Servers (here) make $2.35 an hour. (Some states it's up to a whopping 4.06 an hour) They get taxed on that AND their tips. They also have to tip out bartenders, busboys, etc. How much do you think is left of their money after that?

Most servers / bartenders that I know bust their asses for the money they make. If the service sucks - fine, complain - if it doesn't get better and it's your WAITER / WAITRESSES fault, then don't tip. If it's 'too long getting food?- well, servers don't cook. That'd be the cook's fault. Complain to the manager - but don't stiff the person that 's running their ass off for you- and probably 12 - 15 other tables at the same time.



And that's my "eff you and your shitty tip" rant from a '19 years' career bartender / food service / hospitality worker.

Dana - posted on 11/24/2009

No.

JL - posted on 11/24/2009

I tip especially at coffee shops. I worked at Starbucks throughout college and the tips were not only wanted, but were needed and DEEPLY appreciated, so I feel like now that I am on the other end and doing well I give back and tip those who are now in the shoes I used to be in.



Many of the people who work at Starbucks are either college students or single moms in college working multiple jobs using their paychecks and their tips to help pay for thier tution and books.



I know some people will say hey all they are doing is serving coffee or standing at a register. When you work at a coffee shop like Starbucks you do have to get a barista license because you have to learn how to properly take apart, repair, and clean those friggin espresso machines. That was the worst part after a shift cleaning piles of expresso grinds out of those huge machines so they will operate properly and then also the rude customers demanding exactly 6 inches of foam and 3 1/2 shots of expresso.



I just feel like they are not being paid very well and I know what it is like to try and live off of a minimum wage paycheck....pretty impossible so why not throw an extra dollar in a tip charge if you are getting service with a smile even if it is just someone taking your order at a register. If anything it makes me feel better about myself knowing that I may have put a smile on someones face because they probably reallly needed that extra dollar

Marabeth - posted on 11/24/2009

i tip in those registers, even if the people in front of the cups don't touch my food.. usually at those places there's a tip share where at the end of shifts everyone splits what is in there. a tip (in the US) is a minor compensation for a service rendered. so if the service was rendered in an exemplary fashion you should give extra. food service (or lots of other service people, really) employees are often not paid well and it's a nice thing to do for them.. i am by no means rich and often we're scraping by but if i can't afford a dollar tip for coffee then i probably can't afford the coffee in the first place. here in oregon it is illegal to pump your own gas so there's attendants at every station.. ill give them a $20 and have them give me $19 in gas. of course, i've been a cook and chef all my life and have many food service employees as friends... i understand what they're going through.

Louise - posted on 11/24/2009

I tip in buffets because the servers still remove the plates I used, refill your drinks etc. Yeah, I don't understand why they have tip jars on near registers. Makes me feel guilty I don't give tip.

Jodi - posted on 11/24/2009

Short answer, no.

But I live in Australia where it isn't customary anyway, and the staff are paid decent wages to do their job, so I shouldn't need to supplement that. It is actually a true "gratuity" here for those who provide excellent service. I wouldn't even tip for a buffet.