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I Don’t Like Automatic Gratuities
By JLP | May 12, 2008
The definition of gratuity according to Merriam-Webster:
“something given voluntarily or beyond obligation usually for some service”
The other night my daughter had her first dance recital (my daughter calls it a “dance cital”). After the recital my wife and I took her family to Olive Garden to celebrate the evening. It was after 9:00 pm by the time we arrived at the restaurant so our wait was minimal. After we were seated the restaurant started clearing out, which meant that our server had fewer tables to serve. I’m sure with the closing time approaching, our server did have other things to do besides serve our table.
Although her service wasn’t “bad” it wasn’t “good” either. It was sort of in the middle. What bugged me was when the check came and I noticed that the tip had been automatically added to the check because we were a party of more than eight people. It wouldn’t have bothered me so much if it had been the standard 15% tip. Instead it was 18% and then there was a line for an additional tip.
When did the standard tip percentage increase from 15% to 18%?
Now before you start thinking that I’m a mean guy, let me be clear that I am a fair tipper. I don’t undertip and when the service warrants it, I leave a nice tip. But, in accordance with the definition of gratuity, the tip should be VOLUNTARY! I did notice at the bottom of the check, there was a note that stated that an 18% voluntary gratuity would be added to parties of 8 or more. When they automatically add it in, it doesn’t feel voluntary. It puts me in the position of looking like a mean ol’ customer if I don’t think the service warranted an 18% tip. If 15% is the bottom line, then why not make that the voluntary gratuity?
I understand that restaurants started adding in tips because of cheap customers. But, how is waiting tables in a restaurant any different than spending several hours or days working on a presentation in order to make a sale and still losing out on the business? Should the company that refused to do business with you be required to compensate you for the time involved in putting your presentation together?
I have never been a server in a restaurant so this post was written solely from the customer’s point of view. I’m sure current or former servers will have a different point of view from mine. That’s okay. I will say that as far as I’m concerned, the automatic tip will almost ALWAYS be less than I would have given on my own.
Topics: Budgeting, Rant | 56 Comments »
May 12th, 2008 at 9:30 am
I normally tip 20% because I feel the server is under paid. But I agree I do not like to have the restaurant determine the amount I want to tip. And what is it about a party of eight that determines the voluntary tip?
May 12th, 2008 at 9:30 am
When did the standard tip percentage increase from 10% to 15%?
May 12th, 2008 at 9:34 am
Mo,
I think the “large party” rule is to insure that servers don’t spend a lot of time servicing a large party and then get jipped on the tip.
Jeremy Bettis,
As long as I can remember the base tip has been 15%.
May 12th, 2008 at 9:39 am
The problem with the sales pitch analogy is that waiters (in many restaurants) are actually paid below minimum wage, on the assumption that their tips will put them over the threshold. Even if a waiter does a bad job, they are still entitled to minimum wage.
Thus, my argument has always been that waiters should get at least minimum wage, and the expected tip should be 0% instead of 15%. If a customer is particularly pleased with their service, then they can give a tip if they’d like.
This is becoming more and more relevant, since many immigrants from countries where tips are not expected (or where the standard is less than 15%) either don’t know that a 15% tip is expected, or don’t care.
May 12th, 2008 at 9:46 am
I feel strongly about tips as well, I get a ton of slack when I leave a small tip when it warrants it. When I get an attitude from a server I am still expected to tip well? Furthermore, people expect 20% these days. Crazy…
May 12th, 2008 at 9:59 am
Sam,
“The problem with the sales pitch analogy is that waiters (in many restaurants) are actually paid below minimum wage, on the assumption that their tips will put them over the threshold.”
Many salespeople are paid commission only, so they can make much less than minimum wage, and actually make 0 dollars for doing a lot of work. Is it fair to spend 40 or 50 hours of your week putting together a presentation, traveling, and end up not making a single cent?
The waiter should feel pretty good that they can do a piss poor job for a few hours and still put a couple bucks in their pocket, even if it is below minimum wage.
May 12th, 2008 at 10:30 am
We have a restaurant here where you go and order and they bring you water or tea and bread and rice. For that if you have a party of >5 (yes, over five!), they add a grat of 15%. I tip and usually tip well but I don’t think bringing me water and rice is worth 15%. Most of the time when a restaurant automatically adds the tip, I think they are doing a disservice because I’m likely to tip more than that but when they do it automatically, I don’t do more than the automatic.
May 12th, 2008 at 10:33 am
I’ve been a server more than once in my life. In most places, servers start at 50% of minimum wage, and tips are expected to make up the other 50%. Having been a server, and knowing that the job sucks, my base tip is 20% more if you do a great job, less if you suck (having done the job, I also know enough to tell the difference between a server screw up and a kitchen screwup). Treating the bussers badly will cost you a huge chunk of your tip as well. However, if a “gratuity” is added to my bill, that’s all they get. Period. And I tell the server (and, when possible the manager) that the policy of deciding my tip for me, cost them money.
May 12th, 2008 at 10:46 am
I can understand for a large group, however the policy should be posted on the menu. When my husband and I ate at The Melting Pot, we had 18% added automatically. We were not a large group at the number of 2. It was New Years, I was feeling generous. In fact we were thinking 20% until I got the bill. Never did I see on the menu this policy.
May 12th, 2008 at 10:54 am
I’m not a server, or a bad tipper, but I think with a large party adding the gratuity to the check is probably the only way a server can get a decent tip. Many customers probably leave the same amount for a tip no matter how much the food cost. I always leave 20% if the service was good. My grandmother, on the other hand, leaves a five no matter what the meal cost, or how much trouble the server went to take care of our table. She’s not cheap, that’s just the way she’s always done it. I imagine a lot of people are that way. Fifteen percent on a party that large adds up to an amount that many customers would balk at leaving voluntarily. Waiters and waitresses have to pay the rent, too! Seems fair to me.
May 12th, 2008 at 11:02 am
We usually tip at 20% (my wife is a former server), however when they automatically add the 18% “voluntary” gratuity that usually is all we leave – unless the server went above and beyond.
May 12th, 2008 at 11:36 am
A restaurant should be able to do whatever they want…AS LONG AS THEY DISCLOSE. If you don’t like it, then don’t dine there.
I grew up in the restaurant biz and average customers are cheap.
May 12th, 2008 at 11:38 am
I like looking out for my servers – they work hard, they’re good people, and they deserve to make a decent wage. I’ve been known to tip 20%, 25%, and on the rare occasion (for phenomenal service on a relatively inexpensive meal) 30% or 40%. But if they decide my tip for me – the establishment, I mean – that’s what I tip, and not a cent more; I also tell the manager (if I can find one) that the policy lost them money.
On the one occasion I had a server *write in* a tip (20%) for me, I crossed it out and complained to the manager, as it was extraordinarily presumptuous for service that was, in point of fact, horrible. I think the server had gotten the idea that most people would be too shocked and uncertain about what to do in that situation and would just leave it as it was. I never saw that server at that restaurant again.
May 12th, 2008 at 11:41 am
Bill,
So you’re saying that if a group of people go into a restaurant, sit down, and then see in the menu that an 18% gratuity will be added to their bill, that it’s okay because it’s been disclosed? Either that, or they can make a scene by leaving the restaurant?
It’s not the automatic gratuity that bugs me as much as it is the arrogant 18%, which is quite a bit more than the standard 15%.
May 12th, 2008 at 11:44 am
I always tip about 15%, rounded up or down to get cool numbers as the total amount.
May 12th, 2008 at 12:12 pm
It seems to me as if the people commenting on this article incorrectly correlate being frugal with the need to be cheap. I have never worked in a restaurant but I frequently leave 20+% because I feel as if I have to make up for you people. You forget that tips are often pooled nowadays and distributed to other employees so while you may be spiting your server or adding a few dollars to your piggybank you’re also spiting other people who are working for a living.
May 12th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
I agree with the argument of adding on a gratuity. The other thing I find odd is if they are annoyed when you ask for a bill to be split up. When it is split each person may leave a much larger percentage because leaving only a dollar seems so small. It seems like sometimes on a split check they could get 30% on it.
May 12th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
This is why I eat out less or I only eat at places where I know service is exceptional and warrants 15-20%. I’ve eaten at plenty of $8-$10 places where I’d leave 25-35% tip because service was so good and the few extra dimes were no big deal. But I’m not likely to leave 25% at a place where the bill is $250 – they’ll get 15% or maybe 18% if we had several people working well together for service.
I really hate it when it is automatic. Especially when they add it on and its exorbitantly high – 20% or more has happened before “by accident”. So make sure when they tack it on its a correct amount not an “accidentally too high” amount.
The waiters being played less holds no water with me. I know they make less than minimum, but if its not enough to earn a living on – find another job – then employers will start paying better.
May 12th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
@Sam,
“This is becoming more and more relevant, since many immigrants from countries where tips are not expected (or where the standard is less than 15%) either don’t know that a 15% tip is expected, or don’t care.”
The foreign born have never composed more than 16% of the U.S. population and they eat out a lot less than US born citizens. They may not understand the concept of gratuity but they compose a tiny drop in the bucket which I don’t think is relevant.
May 12th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
JLP: Actually, I remember when 10% was standard and 15% was for very good service. And I have experienced the 18% large party auto gratuity for more than 5 years.
Bill: Seems to me the “average” restaurant is cheap if they pay their wait staff less than minimum wage.
Also, I can truly say that in those instances where an gratuity was automatically included, it ended up being less than what I would have tipped. I typically start at 15% and work up OR down from their based on performance. I know, call me mean. But you can go down to Target/Walmart and get an job at above min wage with no problem.
May 12th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
Well said Cindy. I am a server myself, and very rarely with a large party will you get a fair tip, because exactly what was said, people are shocked by 15% or 18% of a bill that large. What people do not realize is that when we do not get tipped properly, it can cost us money to even take the table. Regardless of what you tip me, I still have to tip out the hosts, bussers, and bartenders based on my sales, not my tips. So when you leave me $2 on $80, which does happen all the time, I just paid money to serve you. Servers put up with so much and are just trying to make a living or make it through school. Anyone in any service industry understands this, how come others don’t. Many foreign people do not know how to tip in the US, but it is our responsibility to teach others. When a foreign person blows a stop sign, do you think they should be given a warning instead of a ticket because the roads are different in their country? No.
May 12th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
You can always count on a post about tipping to bring on the comments. So here’s my two cents worth:
20 percent is pretty much my standard tip. I usually tip more at places where the food is inexpensive but the service is reliably good, our regular eating places. Likewise, my tip drops down to about 15% or less at expensive place, especially if the bill includes alcoholic beverages. I look more at the amount of work the servers did than the cost of the food. (For instance, little kids that leave a mess.)
I assume most places will put an automatic gratuity on parties larger than 6 or 8, as in my experience most of them do. Generally the automatic gratuity is about what I would have left, and I never add on to the automatic gratuity.
Some places add an automatic gratuity on every bill, and have explained that it is because they get a lot of foreign travelers that don’t tip (Hawaii, for instance). In that case, I don’t leave anything above the automatic gratuity.
We usually receive decent service, so there aren’t many times I have decreased the tip due to crappy service. Recently we have had some really bad experiences at fast food restaurants – slow service, bad food, filthy dining area. You can complain, but since the employees are usually high school kids or people that don’t speak English, about your only recourse is to boycott the place. We have plenty of options in our neighborhood, so there is no reason to go back to places that don’t treat us right.
My preference would be to require servers to get at least minimum wage, and then tips would truly be a reward for excellent service, but the current system is pretty entrenched so I’m not hopeful.
May 12th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
I usually tip 20% for good service (and often round up a little bit beyond that so the total is an even dollar amount).
However, in a place that automatically adds a tip, they get the automatic tip, and not a penny more. If you’re going to take away my ability to lower the tip for bad service, you lose your opportunity to earn a higher tip for good service.
May 12th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
In China most restaurents we dine at add a 10%service charge to every meal with an additional line for us to add our “tip”. I kinda like this approach better than what is done typically in the US
1) waiters/waitresses don’t get screwed
2) sets the bar at a more reasonable level — if the service wasn’t noteworthy I don’t leave any extra.
3) believes it provides a more equal distribution of tipping from customers instead of some giving 20% and others 0%.
May 13th, 2008 at 7:07 am
I’ve had a similar experiece…but I actually put a negative amount in the tip line. The waiter changed the tip amount in the computer because the amount I put on the bottom line was what appeared on my credit card!
Don’t get me wrong, I am a generous tipper (waiting tables in college will do that to you). But if service is below par, then someone has to let the person know!
May 13th, 2008 at 8:11 am
I really wish that we could just have 10% added onto the price on the menu and then the restaurant pay the minimum wage or whatever, and tips would be for exceptional service, and go back to a 5-10% tip being good.
It almost seems like a sleazy credit card hidden fee with that 20% expected to be added on the items price, even if you know it is coming.
May 13th, 2008 at 8:56 am
I imagine it’s a compromise thing. It eliminates the argument between the 15% people and the 20% people on what do give at the end of the meal.
If you buy the argument that servers should work somewhere else if they are not happy with the pay, then you should dine somewhere else if your not happy with their gratiuity policy.
May 13th, 2008 at 10:00 am
tipping posts are actually banned on a poker forum i frequent – I agree with them – most of the arguments, although valid, won’t change anyone’s mind on tipping
May 13th, 2008 at 11:31 am
Register for the NO CALL LIST, so this isn;t a problem.
https://www.donotcall.gov/
May 13th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
I really hate the argument that people have about servers not getting paid enough. When I got out with friends and its a group of 8 or more, the bill is usually over $200 for about 1.5 hours in the restaurant. That’s a $36 tip at 18% or $24 an hour for the server. Considering how infrequently the server is seen I have to assume they are also waiting on other tables. If I make the assumption that the server can successfully wait on 24 diners at one time, that comes out to something like $72 an hour, which is over double what I make. I’m sure the effective wage is higher at some places and lower at others but its nonetheless high enough for a job that requires no education. I think restaurants should figure out gratuities for you based on what it takes to get their servers to a fair unskilled labor wage. For example on the check it should give you an option, to pay the server $10, $15, or $20 an hour and checkbox that lets you choose.
May 13th, 2008 at 3:02 pm
I don’t mind the involuntary-voluntary gratuity, but increasing the tip from 15% to 18% is bogus. I also think there should be a tickbox that lets you change the amount of the tip if the service was terrible.
May 13th, 2008 at 6:35 pm
Check this out. No pun intended.
http://www.clevescene.com/2008-05-07/news/when-it-comes-to-tipping-lebron-goes-scrooge-mcduck/
May 14th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
I usually try to be sensitive to the service given a tip accordingly. Good service on a large group gets over 20%, however, if they tack on their 18% automatically, the tip ends there.
May 16th, 2008 at 10:13 am
I agree with Jon – I don’t see how the number of people at a table (or the total bill) should determine the amount of the tip. It should be based on their hourly rate. So if a waitress makes $3.00 as her base rate, and spends 1 hour waiting on my table and 3 other tables, the tip for each table only needs to be $1 to get her up to $7/hr. Now, a server at a 5 star restaraunt may deserve a higher hourly rate than the waitress at the local diner, so it makes sense to a certain extent for it to be based on the cost of the food, but it takes only slightly more time to serve a table of 8 as it does a table of 2.
May 16th, 2008 at 11:34 pm
I have been a server in multiple restaurants. More importantly, I often go out to dinner with a group of people. With my regular group of friends, this isn’t a problem, but I’ve been out to dinner with acquaintances and so many times, people don’t put in enough towards the bill. So who gets stiffed? The server. I think the restaurants add the tip so that it’s part of the bill so that the servers don’t get the short end of the cheap stick.
Plus, larger parties are more difficult to tend to. More people, more confusion, more requests… they’re definitely more work.
May 25th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
Regarding minimum wage v. tipping, European standards are different. Waiters receive a living wage, and they usually do all of the work (i.e., no bus boys). And that system is reflected in the service, which is fine but hardly great. Service here on average is excellent by comparison. In Spain, I’ve had waiters get annoyed at me for asking for basic things. We just laughed and shrugged it off, but his attitude would have been much different if his livelihood was depending on a tip from us.
I’ve dined out in large groups often, and I can tell you from the POV of a customer, they’re a pain. It’s a challenge for the kitchen to organize the timing of the meal and it’s a challenge for the staff to keep everyone happy (e.g., this one wants water no ice, that one’s allergic to something). Then at the end, everyone puts in money, but it feels like I always put more in than the stated per person cost. That is, someone usually shorts the pot, and most people would sooner walk away than put more money in than they feel they should have. In groups like that, I’m sure the staff don’t get 18%, but something close to it, and the rest is the staff’s loss. In your case, if one person paid…well, you just got the short end of the stick. If you paid the bill in cash, I’m sure you could have paid what you considered a more appropriate amount.
Anyway, eating out is a luxury and should be treat as such.
June 1st, 2008 at 11:15 pm
My head is truly spinning from the amount of opinions in here. Since when did the service profession become subjugated to such abysmal respect? We should only seek to achieve the equivalent of the minimum wage? I have had the privilege to work as a server putting myself through graduate school, and now I am in the finance industry. BY FAR, the most challenging job that I have encountered is serving people. The organisational skills, as well as the language, and negotiation skills that are required leads to beg why servers are not treated with more dignity? The government taxes them to death, they are forced to give up at least a third of their earnings to support staff, and are held hostage by international guests, and clients who are itching for a reason not to tip. Very few servers make $75 per hour as one person stated, another person mentioned that the more the check, the less they tip-what? You are a truly miserly person. Imagine if servers were paid a salary, your food cost would soar by at least $500 % to meet the labor costs. The restaurants would all close. 18% is the base tip for average service in urban cities (at least in the North East) and has been since 1998. The straw man argument posed by someone else about commissioned workers is recalcitrant-the server has to put up with a lot of evil stuff, including very miserable management/owners, and very mean customers, and people leaving pennies for admirable service. If we drew that logic out and applied it to all paid labor, then we should ask our President to reduce his own salary, based on performance. Service workers have a right to earn a living, if they provide you with the basic service, greeting you, delivering drinks, taking orders,delivering food, providing the bill, and executing payment, then they have performed their basic responsibility. Anything else is additional and should be reflected in the TIP (To Insure Prompt Service), including smiles. It is not part of the job to smile or be in the mood that you all expect. They are only there to do those basic things. If you do not like that, then please, please, stay home or go to McDonald’s where you will not have to tip, or receive a smile.
June 8th, 2008 at 2:01 am
The standard gratuity for a server at a restaurant is 20%. The idea that it is ok to tip a server 10% or even 15% is outdated and archaic. I always say that everyone should have to serve tables at least once in their life to understand the difficulty of it. Servers are generally only paid 2.13 per hour sometimes a few cents more. The 2.13 does not even cover taxes. SO, the next time you think it is ok to tip someone 15% or less (unless the service by the server was genuinely awful) think about how you would survive on 2.13 per hour and only making 10%. If you can not afford to take care of the people that take care of you then do not go out, or like Zaru says, go to McDonalds where you do not have to tip or receive a smile. Here is my tip for you all, Historically the tip was given at the beginning of the meal To Insure Prompt Service (TIP) The amount you tipped reflected how much and how good of service you expected to receive. I think we should go back to that. That way we would not have to waste our time and smiles on lousy cheapskates!
July 7th, 2008 at 1:30 am
“That’s okay. I will say that as far as I’m concerned, the automatic tip will almost ALWAYS be less than I would have given on my own.”
Right. I understand psychology. You’re trying to make us servers who tack on the gratuity feel guilty. It’s been my experience, and today was no different, those who were the most vocal, do so because they don’t want to pay out that gratuity. Meaning, it’s on them; they’re cheap, and didn’t want to fork out the money despite excellent service.
August 15th, 2008 at 7:57 am
What a bunch of spolied little whiners most of you are! I can’t imagine what all you complainers must do at Christmas time. Your generosity and compassion levels are truly in the crapper. Your families must LOVE to see you showing up with presents as they know it will likely be a pair of socks from Dollar General. Let’s do just a little math – the standard bill for two people to have lunch is around $30 at an average restaurant. 15% of $30 = $4.50. 18% of $30 = $5.40. IS NINETY FREAKING CENTS GOING TO BANKRUPT ANY OF YOU? You probably make $70K – $80K per year and you’re bitching about ninety cents? You jerks.
For large parties, the check adds up. Duh. If you all sat at different tables, the server would probably make more than the automatic gratuity. And believe me, the server would RATHER have you sitting at different tables. Servers get an assigned section of usually four or five tables. They make money by turning those tables during rush hour. When a big party sits down, it takes up the tables or, unless they are short-staffed, the restaurant gives the server’s remaining tables to other servers – thereby decreasing the server’s ability to turn tables and make money. Large parties usually stay longer. So, with decreased tables and decreased flow, it’s likely the only revenue that server makes that day is off your party. Let’s say you have 8 people and the bill comes to $200 (about average without alchohol). 18% of $200 = $36. Since the server just wasted the most profitable time of the day serving you (including setting up the tables, cleaning prior to your arrival, cleaning after your departure, replenishing condiments that you used, rolling more silverware that you used, etc), and the shift is usually 5 hours, that server just made $7.20 per hour (a 15% gratuity would bring that average down to $6 per hour). HOW in the hell is that so God-awful extravagant? And you cheap people are trying to say that $20 on $200 is adequate? That brings the hourly rate down to $4 per hour. Hey, that’s real generous of you. Personally, I think $7.20 per hour is extremely affordable for you to have your own personal servant to coordinate your order with the kitchen, bring you basket after basket of bread, make your salads for you, serve your food, correct any errors or complaints with the food, fill your glass of tea for the umpteenth time, carry away your dirty plates, and clean up all the crumbled biscuits your two year old scattered across the floor. Hell, you should be content to pay double. Want a REAL eye-opener? Call a caterer and find out how much all that would cost you to host the same exact party in your house.
The fact of the matter is servers make the bulk of their money in about an hour and a half and when their pay is balanced out over their shift, they are lucky to make $10-$15 per hour. Then they have to pay the support staff (bussers, bartenders, hostess) out of that. All to take care of you.
If you can’t afford to tip 18% for a large party then the solution is quite simple – don’t take large parties out to eat. Stop trying to look like the big dog by spending more money than you can afford. And if you are going to decide to spend money on other people then understand that the tip is part of that expense. If you have a really horrible experience, everyone at the restaurant level knows it. Just call the manager over to QUIETLY AND MATURELY discuss the matter. I’m pretty sure that legally speaking, they can’t FORCE you to pay an 18% gratuity. If you simply must be a jerk, then line out the 18%, write in your 15% or 10% and go home. When the charge posts with the 18% attached, simply call the bank and contest the charge, using your receipt as proof.
You probably think I’m a server. I’m not. I’m a professional pilot and an elected official. If you feel compelled to complain about having to tip someone for the work they do FOR YOU, then I would encourage you to go work in their position for a couple of months (even just one shift on the weekends). I promise you will never whine about tipping again. My minimum tip for horrible service is 15%. For average service, it’s 20%. I go higher from there for better service. I’ve been known to tip 100% for excellent service. If I can’t afford the tip plus the meal, then I’m not spoiled silly enough to know that I can’t afford it and end up at a fast food joint instead.
August 31st, 2008 at 3:34 am
Those of you who are not servers need to understand that when a server has a large party, he or she is devoting that entire period of time to taking care of YOU. When a couple of people leave a crappy tip, it’s not such a big deal because someone else might be particularly giving, but when that server has to rely on one source for the tip and gets screwed, it ruins the “average.”
Also keep in mind that servers are required to share their tips with other workers such as buss-boys, bar tenders, and others. After tiping those people your server only actually sees maybe 12% of your 15% tip.
Now… if ther server sucked, then don’t leave a good tip. We know when we give bad service. But if your server did an excelent job, then he or she deserves AT LEAST a 20% tip.
A little insider information: Servers usually tip each other 30%-40%, and we’re usually the ones who can’t afford it… it’s the whole “do unto others as you would have done unto you.” It’s kinda a server code.
Here’s a little advice… if you have to calculate it on your cell phone, then you’ve already tiped poorly.
September 14th, 2008 at 8:46 am
All I wanted to add is the people who are saying when was the percentage changed to 18% for tips need to watch the news and get with the times because even the news will say good service warrants at least 18% in 2008. Everything is the US has gone up. I was a server 7 years ago and 18% was the norm in my restaraunt but we gave good service and we never added gratuity unless someone in the party asked us to, to make it easier on the party. Either way if you get bad sevice BY ALL MEANS DONT TIP TO YUOR DISCRESSION!! but if you know the server did a good job 18% is the minimum.
September 14th, 2008 at 9:07 am
O and EVERYONE THAT HAS STUCK UP FOR SERVERS THANK YOU!!!! The ignorance and cheapness of people makes me sick!!! I make around 23K a yr right now in the hospitality industry which isnt much but I’m young AND I STILL STIP AT LEAST 18-20% MINIMUM and 15% if the service was bad. I never made 72 dollars an hour as a server what an IDIOT who said that, yeah maybe at a 5 star place on a friday night. Servers serve YOU stay your cheap butt away from a place if you can not get with the freaken times and tip right. GO TO MCDONALDS AND ANNOY THEM Cheap tippers are usually the anoying ones who think they are a hero for spending $25.00 on their family just to have their kids make a mess and the dad be a drunk jerk while the mother is complaining that lil Jr Son of a B*tch needs his dessert just to tip 8% and come to the same place over and over and wonder why the same server never wants to take them twice in a row. UGH!!!! Tip right or stay home!!!!!!
September 19th, 2008 at 8:12 am
I don’t have a problem with this practice, as long as: (1) it is communicated to the person making the reservation (2) it is communicated verbally to the person paying the bill (3) the automatic gratuity is CLEARLY INDICATED on the bill (and not hidden amongst the sub-totals and taxes where it can be overlooked) and (4) if paying by credit card, the payer is not given a receipt to sign that includes a separate line for “Tip”. I was burned by this once when 6 of us had dinner at a restaurant that automatically added a 15% gratuity. Although the bill has the line ‘Gratuity’ with the amount, I didn’t see it and wasn’t told about it. I was given my credit card receipt to sign and it had a separate line for “Tip” in which I added 20%. So I ended up tipping a total of 35% on this bill. Yes, it’s my fault for not seeing the Gratuity line, but it wasn’t obvious and I wasn’t aware of the policy. This is a mistake I will only make once.
September 19th, 2008 at 3:53 pm
I just went to a restaurant today. We hat 10 people and asked for individual checks, each of which had a 20% gratutity added. I tried to pay what I would have paid anyway, an even $20, or 18%, and the server came back to demand the extra $0.37. Last time I go to that restaurant. 20% is for exemplary service, which I did not receive.
October 27th, 2008 at 9:55 pm
Standard gratuity has been 18% for at least ten years in most parts of the country. I live in South Dakota, and as slow to these changes as we can often be, it has been standard her for at least 7 or 8 years. 15% is for minimal service, 18% is common for decent service and 21% or more is for commendable service. Really, the word “gratuity” should not be used, because it is an expected part of the dining exchange 1. as a way to ensure good service and 2. to keep food prices down due to reasonable labor costs. Even an automatic gratuity is voluntary since the customer who objects to the added tip will be honored. A new approach to the automatic gratuity is a guest check with the suggested gratuity calculated for each of the three standard tip brackets of 15, 18 and 21 percent. As forward and foolproof as this seems, many people still rudely tip 10 percent or less after praising their dining experience. Even after decades of being in the restaurant business, I am still astounded by this rudeness.
October 27th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
Sh*t. 18 percent was the going tip rate when I lived in Colorado in 1992. 15 percent tip is for bad waiters and cheap customers. I have never waited tables, but I was a food service sales person all over the country for twenty four years and it has been 18 percent for years now. my daughter was a waitress at a very upscale supper club and she was limited to 4 tables in a section at a time for the total shift of 5 hours. she was the head waitress and made good money, but that was $20 an hour for a total of 25 hours a week. that’s still only 500 dollars a week. i’m sure its hard to keep the really good ones at that kind of income.
January 26th, 2009 at 7:38 pm
Wow, much thanks to Mike comment #40 and “waiter” comment #41. I have worked at the same small local restaurant for 8 years and love my job. We have primarily female customers and probably 50% or more of them are “regulars”. We clock in 5 hours but only serve 3 of those 5 hours. Our hourly pay is $2.13. We also add 18% to parties of 6 or more and it it clearly stated on the computer receipt. It is also clearly on the menu although most people don’t pay attention to anything on the menu other than the food selection. It is amazing what people will tip even if you know for a fact you have given them your all, gone above and beyond, spoiled them each and every time they come in. Someone commented on getting out the cell phone to calculate a tip. Ya they do it all the time! Even when it’s only 2 people and they both had the identical food! Gees. If you have a “foreigner”, forget it. If you get a table of “old ladies” forget it. I’m sorry, but it is absolutely true. My favorite is summer or Holidays when school is out and you get a group of high school kids….forget it! You better not forget to add gratuity to these people because PLAN on getting screwed. It amazes me too that so many people don’t tip based on bill amount, they think oh ya $2.00 is plenty for “me”. I believe in treating everyone as if THEY were our best customer regardless of their tipping habits (or lack of). It’s very difficult to do but if you don’t, it DOES come back to haunt you. TO THOSE WHO COMMENTED THAT THEY WILL NOT ADD “A PENNY MORE” TO A BILL THAT HAS AUTO-GRATUITY. GIVE ME A BREAK, MOST OF YOU KNOW DARN WELL YOU DIDN’T INTEND TO TIP EVEN THE 18% OR 20%. WHY DO YOU FEEL OFFENDED AND WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE KIDDING? CHANCES ARE YOU WERE GOING TO TIP 15% OR LESS. I’ve waited on the same people multiple times and opted to NOT add gratuity to see what they will tip…guess what happens?
February 27th, 2009 at 4:11 pm
I was relieved to hear that you have never worked as a server, because if you had, you would know that you are not very smart. Lets get this straight.
#1 Because closing time was drawing nigh the server was probably in the “ok lets wrap things up stage of the night.” so when you and your ” group of friends” waltzed in, 10 minutes before closing, your appearance had already been tainted in the servers eyes. KNOW WHEN THE RESTAURANT CLOSES. Remember, the server only gets paid $2.15/hour (that’s two dollars and fifteen cents an hour from the boss), so chances are that the server had already had a slow day with little tips from folks like yourself who think they tip well.
#2 While you laugh and talk while ignoring the sever, and the time, your continually decreasing the respect the server is going to give you.
# 3 The server unfortunately summed you up to be just like the rest of the overwhelming majority of people who eat out. It’s true, you may sit on your behind all day and feel bored at your job but you are making minimum wage at least, as compared to servers that may have not made minimum wage all day and are basically working for free.
MAYBE YOU SHOULD THINK OF THINGS OBJECTIVELY SOMETIMES,WHAT HAS THE WAITERS DAY BEEN LIKE? YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO COMPLAIN THAT THE WAITER CHARGED YOU A FEE FOR SERVING YOU, AND YOUR DISRESPECTFUL FAMILY. I HAVE NO SYMPATHY FOR THE FOLKS LIKE YOU. I HOPE THAT YOU QUIT EATING OUT FOREVER.
Have a nice day, CHEAPO.
February 27th, 2009 at 8:49 pm
I think it’s funny that we as humans find things to bicker about.
August 3rd, 2009 at 5:25 pm
DID YOU KNOW THAT IN SOME PLACES THE HOURLY WAGE FOR A SERVER IS 2.50?????? BECAUSE They depend on their tips…Yeah 15 percent was acceptable maybe 10 years ago. Let’s face it the economy has changed and if you can afford to tip the appropriate 18-20 percent you should not go out to eat. AND DO NOT assume that because you are the only table in the place and that the server is only waiting on you therefore they deserve less tip because they aren’t busy. Also, a server has to pay taxes every year just like you do, because their hourly wage isn’t enough to cover their taxes!!! I am assuming that because of you IGNORANT, RUDE OBLIVION to what it’s like putting up with people like you, you have NEVER waited tables in your life. This makes me sad that assumptions that you have about servers. They probably work way harder then you for a fraction of what you make and give up their nights and social lives doing it…
August 20th, 2009 at 12:26 am
You wrote: “But, how is waiting tables in a restaurant any different than spending several hours or days working on a presentation in order to make a sale and still losing out on the business? Should the company that refused to do business with you be required to compensate you for the time involved in putting your presentation together?”
The similarity escapes me, as does the point of those sentences. Are you trying to point out that the server did not earn the money? Or is it that they do some things and the customer is entitled to simply not pay?
August 26th, 2009 at 4:25 pm
One sad point I have seen in this thread and the thread from the first article is this – regardless of the service, if a gratuity is added automatically, then it is left at that (15% or whatever) even if the person in question would have left more otherwise. This is the business, not the server, adding it in, yet the server gets the shaft, as always.
December 18th, 2009 at 4:00 am
People that say “they would have left more” than the 18% gratuity are lying. To even bring it up or feel offended about having to pay this makes it pretty obvious that you weren’t going to leave more than 10-15%.
People are so funny. Making up stories about how they couldn’t exercise their generosity because someone already required them to leave an already less-than-standard tip (18%) and this offends them. Hate to say it but even 18% is a thing of the past. You leave 15-18% if service is bad, 10% if it is horrible-and NEVER talk to a manager about a server unless they are trying to cheat or steal money or cuss or something. And anyone who doesn’t leave 20% for good service is either cheap or very old in age.
Most of the time this 6-or-more party rule is a restaurant policy in which the server has no choice over adding it or not to the bill. ESPECIALLY for important dates like Valentines Day, Mother’s Day, Thanksgiving or New Years. If you are a 2 person party on a holiday expect to get an auto-gratuity of 18%(i.e standard). If it wasn’t the new standard rate for good service then restaurants wouldn’t practice it. They are using holidays and large parties to try to make the public see what a normal tip should be.
Although I have to say that any server who changes the automatic gratuity from 18 to 20% is a lying, cheating idiot. Do NOT pay that amount and alert the manager! They need to be fired for taking advantage of the golden opportunity they have been given. They can be assured an average tip rather than a cheap tip but have chosen to abuse this blessing. So, point these cheaters out!
So if you truly are one of those “generous” people, then why feel offended at the auto-grat? Why not leave the extra amount in the “additional gratuity” line-which is WHY it’s there. The server did not add the auto-grat on his own free will-so why punish him for it? Just seems like a selfish way to keep your extra pennies in your own piggy bank at the expense of a starving college student.
December 18th, 2009 at 4:13 am
you said-”how is waiting tables in a restaurant any different than spending several hours or days working on a presentation in order to make a sale and still losing out on the business?”
the person doing presentations for commission is CHOOSING to pursue this career path. If he is good at the job then eventually he will captivate a buyer and earn more in one sale than a server could make in one year.
you said-”should the company that refused to do business with you be required to compensate you for the time involved in putting your presentation together?”
hmmm…well the diners have actually NOT refused service. They have bought the sales pitch from the server if they are indeed sitting at a table and eating products in the restaurant. So the mere fact that the public is accepting service means that the more they buy, the more they pay. The higher the price of the item, the more they pay.
If someone is angered about leaving 20% then stay at home. Dinner outtings are a luxury for those who understand the obligations it entails.
November 11th, 2010 at 7:40 am
I came to this site as I was researching “proper” gratuity percentages after a raging fight with my mother yesterday. She despises that I routinely “over tip” in her opinion. She and my father are good and generous people, and they consider themselves good tippers. They routinely tip on an average of 18% for quality service, 15 for average, a little less to make a point for below average service.
I never tip below 15% unless something was grossly wrong on the server’s end -punishing wait staff for a kitchen foul up is plain cruel, and that after a quiet but firm discussion with the manager.
Yes, I worked as both a server, a bartender, and a restaurant manager while working my way through college and some post grad work. It’s very common to be paid less than minimum wage, get taxed on 15% of your sales, pay out to the support staff on 15% of your sales no matter what you actually receive in tips. That’s the reason I’ll almost never tip below 15%…I view it as charging the server.
Today my mother told me I look like a fool when I over tip…bringing to mind the old quote that one looks like an ass when one over tips and a bigger ass when one under tips. She and my father refuse to believe that 15% as standard and 20% for excellence is outdated. She accused me of trying to make myself look more important than others. Not at all the case….I think this is simply an instance of a generational gap, compounded by my first hand experience in the industry.
When I finally broke out in the corporate world, and later in private business, I wasn’t at all certain how much to tip and for which services. I researched travel and business guides, I watched those in business that I wished to emulate, and I made certain I never forgot certain lessons I learned on the other side of the service counter. I follow the Golden Rule.
15% is base wage to a server unless they’ve done something grossly out of line, 20% is appropriate for average to above average service. If a server goes above and beyond and truly enhances my experience, I don’t cringe at going to 25%.
Whether hosting a large group or small, keep that tip in mind when planning which establishment you can afford to patronize, and how many people you can afford to host.
When determining that tip, remember one final tidbit. By and large, people will tolerate mediocre food if they receive excellent personal service. The reverse is not true. The greatest chefs in the world could produce their finest dishes on their best days, if the service is poor, few will return for a second taste.
A good chef, a good owner, a good manager knows that and makes certain their service staff lives it, that staff deserves to be treated as that important part of the dining experience.