Do you tip?

Holy cow, I guess you have never been a waitress. When I was a waitress our salary was about $2.25/hour and we made our money off of tips. This is typically how it is in most restaurants.

Also, I recently heard a report on sky caps that are working for some airline that is starting to charge people for curbside check in. Since people are having to pay more for this service now, they aren't tipping their sky caps anymore. These people were making about $40,000 with tips. What the heck are they making without tips? They have to support their family and are just trying to make a decent living because they don't get paid well enough.

Like Shelly said, I hope you don't eat in the same place twice. My restaurant coworkers would do nasty things to people's food that didn't tip.

Karin
 
When our family goes out to eat, we tip 20% for outstanding service and less, accordingly. And mostly we get really good service.

Only once have we left no tip at all and that was for really appallingly awful service and we will never go back to that restaurant again. It was sooo bad that we made haikus about it for the rest of our vacation. Gotta have a sense of humor about these things, right?

Anyway, I feel strongly that good and even average service should be tipped. I bussed tables for ONE night. Customers were so rude and demanding, that I quit the next day--but I left with a huge appreciation for what wait staff puts up with.

I also tip my hair dresser.

I do not tip the mail man and since I never travel, I don't tip luggage carriers either.

Maggie:)
 
I usually stay out of these kinds of hot topic issues, but I just wanted to say that my brother was waiter/bartender for many years and hearing him talk about some of the crazy things that have happened to him has only made me tip MORE than I used to:) And he worked in an extremely upscale restaurant. The service industry is one of the hardest and most undervalued in our culture (but then I kind of think teachers ought to get tips as well!)

Having said that, why hasn't waterlily been back to defend her original position? I think everyone has been fair and polite, no giant flame wars, just firmly held opinions.

Run a quick search by author in the advanced search form for other posts by waterlily and you get quite a few hot button kinds of topics, or at least topics that are sure to elicit a strong response (men caught on a camera phone exposing themselves while driving---should they be turned over to the police, women should dress sexier at work, mature women putting themselves down, people undermine working out at home, How you picture Catheites, Celebrities you love to hate, etc.) Some posts even come with disclaimers that these are not meant to offend and please don't flame. It just seems like enough is enough to me:)

Thanks,
Mattea
 
>>
>Having said that, why hasn't waterlily been back to defend her
>original position? I think everyone has been fair and polite,
>no giant flame wars, just firmly held opinions.
>
>Run a quick search by author in the advanced search form for
>other posts by waterlily and you get quite a few hot button
>kinds of topics, or at least topics that are sure to elicit a
>strong response (men caught on a camera phone exposing
>themselves while driving---should they be turned over to the
>police, women should dress sexier at work, mature women
>putting themselves down, people undermine working out at home,
>How you picture Catheites, Celebrities you love to hate, etc.)
>Some posts even come with disclaimers that these are not meant
>to offend and please don't flame. It just seems like enough is
>enough to me:)
>
>Thanks,
>Mattea

I was kind of suspicious of this post to begin with. It really seemed like someone would be asking for it making such an obnoxious, blanket statement. Thanks for shedding some light on this....:)
 
Jennifer,
I hate to see loving Catheites wasting their precious endorphins on stuff like this;-)

Mattea
 
Whether or not the original poster was for real, there is a little something to what she says. Someone mentioned the beauty salon. My hairdresser is the owner's wife, and the owner is probably a gazillionaire. She's good at what she does, but her prices are SO high, I just don't feel that good about tipping her. Of course, I do it anyway. After all, she's not the owner, right? It still bugs me though.

Otherwise, I'm happy to tip. At a high-end restaurant I give an average waiter 16%-18% and a really good waiter 20%, and sometimes even give more if I feel it's deserved. At a diner or someplace where the food is cheap, I often tip as much as 100%, just because it makes no difference to me and I know how hard those people work. Taxi cab drivers love me.

I love tipping my doormen and super and other building staff at holiday time. I tip my housekeeper VERY generously. They are great people, do a great job, and always go way beyond their duties. I am very grateful to have them in my life, and it is a pleasure to tip them. :D

Nancy
 
>Having said that, why hasn't waterlily been back to defend her
>original position? I think everyone has been fair and polite,
>no giant flame wars, just firmly held opinions.
>
>Run a quick search by author in the advanced search form for
>other posts by waterlily and you get quite a few hot button
>kinds of topics, or at least topics that are sure to elicit a
>strong response (men caught on a camera phone exposing
>themselves while driving---should they be turned over to the
>police, women should dress sexier at work, mature women
>putting themselves down, people undermine working out at home,
>How you picture Catheites, Celebrities you love to hate, etc.)
>Some posts even come with disclaimers that these are not meant
>to offend and please don't flame. It just seems like enough is
>enough to me:)
>
>Thanks,
>Mattea

Mattea, I am glad you posted this! I recall this poster starting threads that had the capacity to turn ugly. I am now convinced that she does it on purpose. I'll bet she doesn't even mean what she posted about not tipping. IMO she's just out to start trouble. Nothing wrong with a good debate of honest opinnions but I don't think that's her intent.
 
Mattea,
Good info - now that she's been "outed" I wonder if she'll post again? Like the boy who cried wolf one too many times.

Terri
 
Whatever the intent of the original poster, I just wanted to chime in on this one.

My daughter is a schoolteacher and works as a waitress in the summer when she is out of school. Her tips are her salary. She barely makes enough on her hourly wage to pay the federal, state, and social security taxes. I have always tipped at least 15% but since she started doing this, I start at 18%. She has to "tip-out" 3% to the bus boys and hostesses and she says this is the usual practice for most restaurants, so to ensure that my waiter/waitress gets their fair amount, I never go lower than 18%.
 
I just wanted to respond to Tracey who asked why I work in an industry that depends on the kindness of strangers? I make a lot of money waitressing and bartending. I have made up to $400 a day bartending. It's a very high paying job if you're good at it and in a busy restaurant/bar.

I honestly thought the original poster was asking a real question about why people tip? I honestly thought there were some people who didn't realize servers and bartenders don't earn paychecks but make their money solely from tips. I honestly thought that maybe I was giving out real information to someone who didn't know. I guess I was wrong.

Despite the occasional cheapskate, it's still a lucrative job for me and I do enjoy it 90% of the time. I just thought I was enlightening people because I truly believe some people don't get it. I apparently fell into some kind of set-up by this poster. Oh, well.
 
Coral,
I think it's great to work in a job where your payment is directly based upon your performance. I'll bet you feel great when you do a great job and it's recognized by your customers. I imagine it's very motivating. Of course, in the end, most of us are paid based upon our performance, but yours is very direct and no doubt very gratifying.

It's an interesting topic, whatever the motivation of the original poster. :D
Nancy
 
Coral,

Don't ever feel bad or feel the need to justify your actions when you have posted an honest response to a question that has been asked here. The fact that the original poster's credibility is being questioned has no bearing on the rest of us, our opinnions and how WE handled ourselves in this thread. Heck, I was the first one to post despite my thoughts w/regard to the original poster's intent.

Have a great night!:)
 
Thanks, Nancy. I know it's not rocket science and I'm not saving lives, but it does feel good when my hard work is appreciated. That's why I get so angered at people who don't tip or tip poorly. But fortunately for me, that's not the norm. It still happens, though.

My job is stress-free (for the most part) and fun and it enables me to be flexible and spend time with my family. It works for me.
 
Nancy,

I'm with you.. happy to tip!

I have never considered whether it is or it is not my "responsibility" to tip (or "pay someone's salary"); it's not that complicated... I just appreciate the service and the fact that I didn't have to do the cooking/cleaning myself at home that day or night. I've never been in the service industry because I'm not cut out for it - I'm a very clumsy girl! If the service is bad, then I will tip what I consider to be a minimum amount and move on.
 
My initial reaction to this thread was "Is this for REAL?!?!?" But I'll add my .02. I always tip 20-25%. I operate on the treat others as I would like to be treated philosophy and I have been fortunate that the service I get is always VERY good! It takes so little effort to treat others with respect and dignity while maintaining a positive attitude. This has served me well, literally, for a long time.:)
 
That's a bit of a harsh response wouldn't you say. After all, I am just voicing my opinion, I am not making a law.
 
I just came back on the forum and I have been reading what was said. I can appreciate both points of view.

For the poster (I don't recall who it was) who has a problem by my postings, GET REAL!!. How anyone can be suspicious of a post that asks for an opinion is ludicrous to me. As I am recall, this is an open forum and quite frankly I am asking a genuine question. I don't even know what is controversial about this or any of my other posts. I am asking for opinions not trying to sway anyone into thinking how I think. GET OFF YOUR HIGH HORSE AND ACCEPT THAT PEOPLE ARE DIFFERENT WITH DIFFERENT CONCERNS AND VIEWPOINTS!!!

x(
 

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