wages

LOL, it's simply because... i am not required to tip.

this is from the wikipedia page on the topic:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip

"Tipping varies among cultures and by service industry. Though by definition a tip is never legally required, and its amount is at the discretion of the person being served, in some circumstances failing to give an adequate tip when one is expected may be considered very miserly, a violation of etiquette, or unethical."

the key word here is "considered". in the opinion of many, people who do not tip are miserly, impolite and even unethical.

but a tip is not a requirement and never has been except when stated by the establishment. so those who choose not to tip, are well within their rights to do as they feel and this does not automatically make them miserly, impolite or unethical. it makes them people who choose not to tip.

Antia, I think part of the drama his lies in the distinction between must tip and should tip. You're absolutely right that no law and few restaurants policies in the US force you to tip anyone. With that said one should tip in US restaurants, at least when one receives average or better service, because it's customary and regardless of the any legal requirement we all know it is a significant part of the wait staffs compensation package.

In much the same way I've heard people on this forum talk about how their parents would whoop them for not saying 'Good Morning', my grandfather would have beat my ass if found out I walked into a full service restaurant knowing full well that I didn't have the money and/or the intention of tipping the server. While it's not strictly speaking required to tip, it is certainly expected to tip based exclusively on the service provided by the server and the amount of the check.

On the compensation mentioned above I think others have covered that in detail other than to throw out there that servers often have to 'tip out' to the support staff of the restaurant based on a percentage of their total sales. If they get 'stiffed' on the tip, they're still paying out to the busser and the host for the check.

Finally, I don't live down there (yet) and have no good goddamn idea who 'certain people' are, but I will say after working in a commission based job most of my adult life, you cannot look at someone and know if they're going to spend a lot of money, tip well, etc. I watched sales people try to do that and I found 99% of the time the salesmen brought it on themselves. It's so painfully obvious when you step back and look at and can be summarized in a few easy steps.

1) Customer walks in the door and employee identifies him as a 'bad' customers based solely on appearance (quality of clothes, age, race, whatever)
2) Employee certain that the customer is going to wast his time, invests as little effort as possible in the interaction with the customer.
3) The customer has a bad shopping/dinning/whatever experience.
4) The customer doesn't buy/tip well/whatever.

It's a self-fulfilling prophesy. The people who tip poorly are people who tip poorly and people who tip well are people that tip well. You'll never know until you give them good service and bring the check.

But you are required to tip. What you mean to say is it is not Illegal to NOT tip. Obviously we have already established that you do tip. I don't know anyone's parents that taught them to curse like a sailor or pick their nose or to not tip, but I'm sure there a few out there. You can curse like a sailor and pick your nose and not tip but no one is going to want to be around you. But society and your upbringing to tell you, you are required to tip.

Secondly never use wikipeda as your main source of information for anything. This is a site where ANYONE can type in what ever they want and its not fact checked by anyone. It is a favorite site of trolls, seriously, not digging at you. So it just hurts your argument.

I refuse to be baited into any "world" discussions. Thats just silly. We all know the "world" has different customs. We talking about Americans. We are all brought up knowing what the deal is with tips. Stateside you have many ways to avoid going to a restaurant where you are required to tip, here you have a few as well. The other option is to be a better cook then some of these restaurants, which isn't too hard sometimes.

beachphilosopher, i appreciate your reasoning.

betty, i am a person who thinks for myself and feels entitled to express my thoughts. and it is my thought (which happens to be true) that no one is required to tip. if one wants to be accepted by polite society, one should tip, as this appears to be one of the transgressions up with which society "will not put"...

at times, i do curse like a sailor and i also pick my nose. *-). i try to do the former in the proper crowd, and i try to do the latter in private. like my car, LOL!

A Davis

I realize that you and others say that you are just being a troll, but you seem to have the west indian, I don't know I'll just call it like it is, "cheapness" that makes alot of my waiter friends cringe when a west indian sits in their section.

I agree with other posters, if you can't afford to tip, (or to cheap) eat at Micky D's. Waiters and waitresses have bills to pay.

There is no Law or Requirement that says you should or can pick your nose in your car, but some feel they have that right and almost always at a traffic light.

oh, uttica... you don't know me at all... read the entire thread. i was outed as an inveterate tipper. *there ought to be a law!* however, i do stand up for those who choose not to tip, because it is their right. i don't have to agree with it.

however, i do not frequent restaurants that require a tip for just one person because i feel that it should be my choice of how much to tip. for large parties, it's in writing, and i think that is reasonable.

lizard, that right there is funny!

Anita. I also dislike the tip figured in the bill, mainly because it doesn't allow me to alter the amount of the tip based on service. I'll also second the cursing like a sailor and occasionally mining the ol' schnoz for gold. 🙂

my SO and I, years ago each worked in food service so we are good tippers, usually 20%+. But we don't go out a lot as I love to cook so when we do go out and spend 120 dollars or more the quality of the service is as important as the quality of the food. I don't care for or think it's necessary to do the more than 6 or single dinner automatic tip. The service business is tough.

At risk of starting another war. What do people think about places that won't split checks?

I don't care so much about the server not splitting the check. I don't understand why they won't do separate checks, in the first place. There is only one good reason not to, if asked (that I can think of), and that is so everyone's food comes out at the same time. And there is a way around that. Just mark the tickets for the kitchen. But, I do understand that puts the onus on the kitchen, and they truly are trying to get it out fast (usually). It's not that big a deal to me because usually we go out with people we like well enough that if we wind up buying them a drink, we don't care.

But...years ago we went to Bottom's Up, in the boatyard on STT. We were meeting a friend there. They had, at the time, picnic type tables that would accommodate about 8 people. We were only 3, and it was a busy night. Well, the friend that we were meeting happened to "know" a couple of guys, so they sat at our picnic table. The owner refused to do a separate check. She insisted on one check per table, even after we told her we were NOT together, that we didn't even know those people. We did not stay and never ate there again.

Who knew tipping was such a hot topic?:P

And Anita, you know the old one- you can pick your friends and you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your friend's nose!

Sorry, Islander, for getting off the topic,:$)

I 'v e often wondered why anyone would need split checks, as it doesn't take much mathematical ability to figure out who owes what amount of a combined check..

Splitting the check is good if you wont be staying as long as other people in a party, it helps with leaving.

And Anita, you know the old one- you can pick your friends and you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your friend's nose!

LOL!!!

all this talk of restaurants is making me peckish...

so i waited on a lady earlier this week and she told me the food and the service were great but she did'nt have the money to leave me a tip,lol she used a credit card to pay the bill,so i smiled really pretty and just thought to myself why even bother

lol trw! Do you think she was just daffy, and didn't realize she could add it, or do you think she meant she could not afford to add anything more to the bill? Either way, you're right on, why even bother....at least it sounds as though she was pleasant.

at my night job i get stiffed on a regular basis at least once or twice a shift and by stiffing i mean no tip or the 1 or 2 dollar tips on 60-70 dollar tabs,you get used it,it's just one of the evils that come with the job

I have to say, as a waitress, i hate splitting checks.

It's not that bad if you tell us in the beginning...but when the check comes and you look at us and ask us to take your 20 person check and split up the food and drinks by couples...it makes me want to cry. I understand that when working with a computer system, it's easier to go in and split it up, but on STX there aren't that many places that have this option. Do this at a Friday's in the states, ok?

And if you don't have money to tip, don't bother coming out to dinner. Really. I'm there for a simple purpose: to make money. sure, i love my regulars, i have a great time, and i am told that i'm a great server. Ultimately, i'm there to bring you your food, get through the night, and pay some bills. it's a job, like any other, and if i'm doing my job well, i expect to see that in the result.

Adding on a tip to a large party is COMPLETELY necessary in some cases. It is at the discretion of the waitstaff. there are large parties that i would never even think to add a tip to. and then there are those that i wish i could add more. it shouldn't be offensive to you. it's our managers understanding that large parties can be quite difficult (especially large parties with tons of kids that run you ragged while you're slammed) and that we don't want to be stiffed at the end.

whatever level / percentage you feel like tipping fine - if you don't think tipping for service is a responsible practice -- use the drive up window.

Hahaha Drive up windows! They should be called park....wait....wait some more.....die windows here.

? When the food is a $100....and the drinks are $60 do you tip the full 20% on $160 or tip on the food the 20% and the drinks less?

Tip the entire package.....food & drink 😉

I view 15% as "what I NEED" to tip, and anything above that as "what I WANT" to tip to reward good service and good food.
I also take into account whether or not the place is overcharging for things, such as drinks. There are still some Pirates in the Caribbean.

Other than general quality of service and food, the quickest way to lose a good tip from me is to forget about my table after the food has been served, and make me get up to go find you so I can pay the check.

Was down on the boardwalk at Brew Pub here on StX last night. My wife ordered their steak Filet (second time she's done that) and she threw me a scrap. Truly it was as good a steak as we've had anywhere else, island or stateside -which was a pleasant surprise. The service there is always friendly and good too.