Why Tip?

Off Topic
21

[quote]SWR-1240 wrote:
How do you tip the pizza guy?

When I made deliveries, I usually got $1, occasionally got $2 and every once in a while I would get a real good tip.

I usually tip them at least $2, but I usually only order one or two pizzas at most.

It seems like the 15% or more rule doesn’t apply with pizza delivery. At least not when I delivered.[/quote]

I live one of San Diego countys’ “Pizza Delivery Black Holes” where no pizza joint will deliver to my house because I’m not in their “area.”

Probably a good thing in the long run.

Sorry for the hyjack, please, continue with the clorofil…

B.

22

[quote]nephorm wrote:
If I order my stake rare, and it comes out well-done… guess what, buck-o? That’s your bad. You took the order and knew what I specified. You should be checking the order before it gets to me.
[/quote]

Apparently you’ve never worked in a resturant. I’ve worked almost every job there is in resturants and in most places servers don’t end up bringing out their own orders. There’s usually either food runners who bring it or the servers just go back and grab whatever’s up next according to the expo or chef/cook in charge.

Unfortunately, a lot of the time this causes plates to go to the wrong table. Or orders will sit under a heat lamp for too long (that rare steak of yours will end up medium well in about 2 or 3 minutes under an industrial strength heat lamp).

Regarding Mazilla’s comments about cooks getting tipped. Sorry, but you get paid a lot better than the front of the house staff. Hell, you may even be on salary, or get vacation time. Trust me, no servers do. Yes, you have to endanger your life with all the heat and sharp implements, but you don’t have to deal with customers directly.

If you cut or burn yourself you can scream and swear and kick something. Servers have to stand there and smile through rude customers cussing them out. That’s what the tips are for, the unexpected. Back of the house staff does pretty much the same thing all night, cook. Front of the house staff get all sorts of random shit thrown at them (rudeness, non-english speakers, allergies, screaming children, etc…)

I’ve cooked and served and would much rather be in back where I can dress comfortably, swear like a sailor, and not have to worry about dealing with patrons.

Either way, to the OP, deal with it. Yeah, it sucks, people are douchebags, sometimes for no reason. But if you get a bad tip, sit around the bar with your co-workers after your shift, get drunk, and complain to eachother. You’ll probably find a lot more sympathy among them than you will here.

23

[quote]BradTGIF wrote:
SWR-1240 wrote:
How do you tip the pizza guy?

When I made deliveries, I usually got $1, occasionally got $2 and every once in a while I would get a real good tip.

I usually tip them at least $2, but I usually only order one or two pizzas at most.

It seems like the 15% or more rule doesn’t apply with pizza delivery. At least not when I delivered.[/quote]
No, 15% doesn’t apply. Most pizza delivery guys get an actual wage. A lot of waiters do not make a wage. Of course this all depends on the state you live in.

I delivered pizzas in LA Coounty and we had a few “black holes,” but we would deliver to most until after 7 or 8 pm.

24

[quote]mazilla wrote:
what was the point of this? your whining makes me want to tip less, and i used to be the chef who’s fault it was that everything went wrong, according to your philosophy. the rerason people leave a shitty tip, for the most part is due to shitty service by the wait staff. stop talking to your friends, and refill my drink. then you get a tip. besides, if it was not for the work of the back of the house, you would’nt get shit for tips anyways. i(along with the rest of the back of the house) feel that you should tip the cooks too. why does’nt the cook get tipped? he/she is the one who made the food the people are tipping for, we should be tipping the rest of the crew out and keeping the bulk for ourselves. servers are not the ones slaving in 120 degree heat, over open flame, on a slippery floor, around countless sharp and hot items. after cooking for several years, i realized it is one of the more dangerous jobs around. you have fryers, knives, boiling liquids, open flames, slippery floors, no sitting, and a crowd of customers who do not like to wait. tip us, we will make sure you servers get compinsated for all your “hard work”. i know how hard it is to carry a tray, you guys deserve a medal.[/quote]

This is a stupid post. Why should the kitchen staff get tipped? In your eyes, the people making a fraction of minimum wage (in most states) shouldn’t get a tip, but the cooks making $10-$15 an hour or more should get tipped.

Both positions can be hard work, but unless there is an excellent system in place for the waitstaff, overall I think servers have the harder job.

25

do waiters / waitresses in america not get paid an hourly wage?

i never tip big myself because i’ve worked in kitchens at restaurants and hotels and think waiters have it easy compared to the stresses and amount of work that you have in a busy kitchen.

26

As a relative newcomer to the US, the thought of a waiter not being paid by the restaurant he works for baffles me no end.

The almost-obligatory 15-20% tip is something I despise. I would rather pay more for the food, have the waiters receive a salary, and tip if I bloody well wanted to (when/if the waiter deserved it) than follow the current system. I’m sure the waiters would prefer it too.

27

man i have a buddy who’s tipping mantra is “I’ll never tip someone more than I tip god.” i’ve seen him tip a waitress, in nickels and dimes on a 15$ bill.

28

Does poor service include when a server takes food out of my hand to clean up? That is the ONLY time I have given a lousy tip to anyone I took my father out to eat and I was just about to eat the corn on the cob, I’m bizarre and eat my food in stages. Well this clown comes over just as I take the cob and takes it from hand. Not only that but I never got any refills (that’s just bitching on my part so whatever).

TIPS mean To Insure Proper Service so yes if a meal is incorrect or my foods cold you get nothing, take your complaint up with the cook or quit your job, you’re a server you serve

29

For the most part, I understand what the original poster is saying. I’ve worked for tips a large portion of my life and understand how frustrating it can be when people don’t tip. Understand that there a lot of people out there that just flat out don’t tip or undertip, regardless of service quality.

Like another poster said, people that have worked for tips in the past are usually more generous with their tips. I usually tip well and will tip even better if I am a regular somewhere and am well taken care of.

As far as the food being right, yes it is the servers responsibility. However, in the case of steaks, I will give some leeway. I don’t expect them to cut the steak open and check it for me. Also, a good server can make me forget the kitchen errors.

A good server can make a lot of money for a low skill job. I worked as a server for a couple years in California and made decent money. I almost considered doing it long term. I moved to Milwaukee and tried it again for a short while. It was a huge drop of in money.

Know that your tips will reflect the area you work in. If you work in a relatively low, or lower-income are, your tips will be “low-income.” You wanna make more tips – get a job in LA or some other expensive city.

Finally, I like the idea of writing down and explaining why you are leaving a small tip. By writing it down you don’t have to actually confront the server and you still get to explain yourself. I think most servers would appreciate this. Perhaps they didn’t even know they were doing anything wrong.

30

[quote]dead lead wrote:
do waiters / waitresses in america not get paid an hourly wage?
[/quote]

No, in many states the waitstaff makes a fraction of minimum wage. In Wisconsin, for many years it was $2.33 an hour. I think it has recently gone up to about $3.

31

In my opinion, the base tip amount should be on the food and beverage amount only. I play a lot of pool, and hang out at pool halls, and I will only tip the waitress on my food and beverage purchases only. If I have two beers for $10, a chicken breast for $5 and the pool tab is $15 the server only gets tipped on the food and beverage.

The exception to this rule is, at the bar that I play in the pool league, I always get the same server. I went to high school with this girl. She always gets a tip from 50 - 100%

32

There was only one time I didnt tip. It took 40 minutes for our burgers to arrive at orur table. There werent many people in the restaurant. We were on our lunch hour mind you. They couldnt find our waitress. They eventually got a hold of her. She had left and didnt tell anybody to give us our check or anything. So 1:45 into the lunch (we just ordered 3 burgers and fries) they finally brought us the check.

33

When i used to go to Bars, i tipped well,and was rewarded with my fair share of free drinks.the same at restaurants i frequented,got great service and some ocassional freebies.No not Sex or BJs.But with todays prices I dont dine out often.

34

[quote]m0dd3r wrote:
Apparently you’ve never worked in a resturant. I’ve worked almost every job there is in resturants and in most places servers don’t end up bringing out their own orders. There’s usually either food runners who bring it or the servers just go back and grab whatever’s up next according to the expo or chef/cook in charge.[/quote]

Obviously my statement only applies when the server him or herself actually brings the order. If there are “food runners” involved, I expect the server to be by my table within a reasonable period to check that the proper food arrived and that it was prepared properly.

35

[quote]ron33 wrote:
When i used to go to Bars, i tipped well,and was rewarded with my fair share of free drinks.the same at restaurants i frequented,got great service and some ocassional freebies.No not Sex or BJs.But with todays prices I dont dine out often.[/quote]

I have a problem with the way some bartenders treat their customers. In a lot of situations, if you are new, you get poor service. One night, we waited for 30 minutes to get a drink and 45 to get the check. They got no tip and the bar got an email.

36

[quote]
Regarding Mazilla’s comments about cooks getting tipped. Sorry, but you get paid a lot better than the front of the house staff. Hell, you may even be on salary, or get vacation time. [/quote]

How much do you think cooks get paid?
The average is probably 7-8 bucks an hour. They pay tax on all of that. A waiter/waitress probably averages 12-15 bucks an hour and pays tax on 6 of that. Not many cooks get vacation time. Both jobs are generally not long term careers for the people in those positions.

37

I should have made this more clear: the post was only directed at people who tip poor no matter what, not those who have some decency about tipping. I know when I deserve a bad tip (I’ve been doing this since I was 16) and I know when I get screwed. This was directed at the people who screw me.

[quote]nephorm wrote:
If I order my stake rare, and it comes out well-done… guess what, buck-o? That’s your bad. You took the order and knew what I specified. You should be checking the order before it gets to me.[/quote]

What do you want us to do? Cut into your steak and make sure? If you order it rare, I ring it in rare, and the kitchen tells me it’s rare, as far as I’m concerned they did their job. If it gets to the table and isn’t right, then it is my responsibility to make it right as fast as possible.

If, however, I brought you something you didn’t order, or you ordered your chicken blackened and I gave it to you fried, it is obviously my fault. I’ll still fix it as quickly as possible, as will most servers.

Then nothing I said pertains to you.

[quote]mazilla wrote:

besides, if it was not for the work of the back of the house, you would’nt get shit for tips anyways. i(along with the rest of the back of the house) feel that you should tip the cooks too. why does’nt the cook get tipped?[/quote]

I agree with you. The cooks at my restaurant get paid very well, but I know a lot of cooks barely break minimum wage and I think those cooks should be tipped out because they bust their asses. The ones making $15/hr, however, don’t need tips.

No need to be a dick. You know full well that there’s a little more to it than that.

[quote]morepain wrote:

I agree as well, i eat out alot and always tip very well in response to exceptional service. But if you can’t even bother to keep my water glass full and when i ask its like i am bothering you then too bad, i will leave a penny so you know that i did not forget its just that you suck that bad.[/quote]

I do the same. This post wasn’t directed at people like you, but at the cheap asses who think 10% is for “good service” or that anything that could possibly go wrong comes out of the server’s tip, no matter if it’s a host’s fault or what.

[quote]dead lead wrote:

do waiters / waitresses in america not get paid an hourly wage?[/quote]

I get $2.13/hr, but I get the hell taxed out of me because of tips. My last paycheck was $2.78 for two weeks of full time.

[quote]malonetd wrote:

Understand that there a lot of people out there that just flat out don’t tip or undertip, regardless of service quality.[/quote]

Those are the ones I’m bitching about. The majority of people tip fairly well, and I’ve gone through times that I averaged more than 20% after tip outs, but it’s the people that are lousy tippers no matter what that can really screw you up.

[quote]human743 wrote:

A waiter/waitress probably averages 12-15 bucks an hour and pays tax on 6 of that.[/quote]

Incorrect. I pay tax on every dollar I make, whether it’s wages or tips. Sure, some servers illegally don’t claim all of their tips, but if you do (as required by federal law), you pay tax on all of it.

Again, I’m not directing this at people who tip well for good service and poorly for bad service. I’m talking about the cheap asses that tip poorly no matter what.

38

[quote]human743 wrote:

Regarding Mazilla’s comments about cooks getting tipped. Sorry, but you get paid a lot better than the front of the house staff. Hell, you may even be on salary, or get vacation time.

How much do you think cooks get paid?
The average is probably 7-8 bucks an hour. They pay tax on all of that. A waiter/waitress probably averages 12-15 bucks an hour and pays tax on 6 of that. Not many cooks get vacation time. Both jobs are generally not long term careers for the people in those positions.[/quote]

The waiters and waitresses I know pay taxes on their tips too (or so they say). At the end of the night they have to mark down how much they made in tips for tax purposes.

They might not tell about all of it, but they still have to pay taxes, and they get paid between $3-$4/hour.

When I worked at Friendly’s (ice cream and sandwich place), the cook made over $9/hour, and that was years ago. That wasn’t considered a “nice” restaurant either, and the town I live in has a very low cost of living, so it’s not like a big city.

I’d imagine other restaurants pay their cooks even better than that.

39

[quote]SWR-1240 wrote:
How do you tip the pizza guy?

When I made deliveries, I usually got $1, occasionally got $2 and every once in a while I would get a real good tip.

I usually tip them at least $2, but I usually only order one or two pizzas at most.

It seems like the 15% or more rule doesn’t apply with pizza delivery. At least not when I delivered.[/quote]

I worked as a pizza delivery guy, and here’s how it generally worked out:

anything less than $10: $2 tip.
10-15: $3 tip
15-20: $3-4 tip
20+: $4-5 tip

There aren’t really hard set rules here, because on the one hand it’s not any harder to deliver 1 pizza than it is to deliver 4, on the other hand if everyone tipped $2 the pay wouldn’t be very good (and no one should have to tip 4 bucks for an 8 dollar delivery). I was paid six dollars an hour, but I had to supply my own car and pay for gas. Pay was generally 12-13 bucks an hour; sometimes higher sometimes lower depending on how busy it was/how well people tipped.

Finally if you’re really hard to deliver to, leave a good tip. For instance, to deliver to these people in the mall, I had to a) drive there b) find a parking space and c) walk into the mall and walk to the shop (it’s a large mall). Then he tips $1.50. I don’t know why we even deliver there.

40

You’d have to be a cook in an absolute shithole to get paid 7-8 bucks an hour. The cooks at the pizza place I worked at made more than that.