All that obvious charm, how could he not be? It's disgusting, really.
He's far too gracious to ever complain about a stingy tipper, but the facts of his job make some things plain to me. And because I have a blog, I'm going to share my philosophy about tipping a server, with all of you! (No need for thanks)
Here's the crux: Tipping should be an opportunity for rewarding good behavior, not punishing the lack of good behavior! (Every single server has a mother people; don't steal her job.)
It's true that servers earn a base wage, but at least in Joe's case, his base wage is just enough to cover his taxes at the end of the year, and nothing more. That means that his ability to feed and clothe himself, to make car payments and rent payments, and wine and dine some sweet girl enough to dazzle her into marrying him and baring me some babies to play with... woah, getting a little sidetracked there...
Anyway, his sole means of providing for his needs and wants comes from that wadded-up bill you plunk down in your spilled Pepsi. Not only that, he has to split that with the busser and a couple of other people too. Yikes hu.
I've heard it said that if the server's plight is so bad, we should just do away with tipping, and pay them a regular wage just like everyone else. That's probably exactly what we should do, but until that happens, I will be using the following formula to tip my servers.
If a server takes my order, brings my meal, checks on me once or twice, and presents the bill, all in a timely manner, then the server, and all the other help, did their job and receive a 15% tip from me.
Now, if my drink never goes empty then that's worth another 5%. If the server is friendly, without monopolizing the conversation then that's worth another 5%. If they do all of this and manage to anticipate my needs, then I'm glad to pay them a 30% tip or more.
I'm not saying that I never pay less than 15%, but those moments are few and far between. I remember once when my server showed up only three times, once to take my order, once to bring my food, and once to ask for money. Not only that, I had to wait like 45 minutes between each visit, and when my food did come, it looked and tasted like it had been sitting out, waiting for my server too.
I believe I only gave that person a whopping 5-7%. But I figure if they don't do their whole job, then they don't need their whole wage. I feel bad that the people working under bad servers suffer too, but maybe they'll use that opportunity to gently take the server by the hand and guide them into improvement... or maybe they'll just hackle them enough that they get the message! Either way, hopefully the server will quickly bring their skills up to par and begin earning whole tips.
Well there you have it. Just remember to tip your servers generously. Please people, or I may never get any nieces or nephews out of Joe!
8 comments:
Well, tipping seems to be a touchy subject with some people. I have had a number of conversations with people regarding appropriate percentages vs. the amount of attention your server commits to you. For a normal experience, I usually tip between 13%-15%. If I feel that the server made an effort to provide me with a good experience then I'll pay 20%-25%. It also depends on what it is that I ordered. Foods that tend to be more difficult to server are worth a better tip. As an example, if I order a steak medium and my wife orders a steak well done, then it is the server that needs to make sure that both of our meals arrive nice and hot. It doesn't matter that mine took less time to cook and may have sat for a few minutes waiting for my wife's. If I wanted to be bothered with the details of getting them complete at the same time I would have stayed home and cooked myself. I'm sure that Joe goes the extra mile to make his patrons feel loved and he should be tipped accordingly. Oh, if I just want to eat and be on my way then I'll go with fast food.
I guess I never know what to tip. I would tip 15-20% on a dinner or something like that...but lets talk other tings. I didnt even know I was spost to tip my dog groomer? and how much do you tip your hair lady? or nails LOL yeah ok, i have had nails done maybe 5 times in my life! and now i see tips at quiznos and jumba?? really??
Some i dont get...others I do...but there should be a manual or something!
Was the one time when we went to lunch for my b-day? That has to be the worst service ever on record. Especially when I had to get up and go get water after 45 minutes. I bet Joe does much better and gets great tips! I know he does from us.
Thank you! When Johnathan was just a baby, I was staying home with him, and Corey was furloughed from his job from about the beginning of November to around February or so. He delivered pizzas for Pizza Hut in the meantime. It was rough. Christmas was meager, as was Johnathan's 1st birthday that was in January. I barely even got a birthday, because mine is also in January, and I cared more about Johnny's. Corey was paid less than minimum wage, and we depended on those tips! If it was a low tipping week, than we were praying that no one got sick, and our cars didn't break down.
Typically people tipped only 10%, if that, and there were even times where he got stuck paying for customers' pizzas!
Most restaurants pay as little as $2.13 and hour because the rest is supposed to come from tips. I'm not saying that is right. I'm completely against that mentality, but that's the way it is. And a server in many cases is splitting a "generous" 16% tip with the wine steward, the busboy, the dishwashers, and the hostess. And that's all before taxes! And restaurants are required to report a percentage (which is around 12%) of the gross sales for food and beverage to the IRS for their staff. This means that if you have a $200 food bill the restaurant will report 12% of $200 as income to the server. In other words, the server has to pay tax on it whether you tip it or not! If the restaurants don't report it accurately, the restaurant and wait staff get audited by the IRS. So, you can see why it was frustrating to Corey to drive up to a gigantic 6 bedroom, 3 level, monstrous house complete with perfectly manicured lawn, with a stack of pizzas and breadsticks, which his car burned up more gas, and he and his family were pinching every penny just to get by in a little 2 bedroom apartment, and then not receive a tip.
I rarely ever tip less than 20% because I've been there and I know that they are depending on it. I've never ever tipped less than %15. If I have a problem with the server, I still give them at least 15% and then talk to the manager. I just can't live with the idea of making any little kids that my server may have suffer because Mommy or Daddy didn't get tipped well enough to buy enough groceries for the week, or enough clothes, and even if the server isn't married, he or she still has to pay their own bills and feed themselves. I just won't do it to them, and I don't care how badly I've been treated. And something I've found interesting, is that you can usually tell the people who have ever been a person who receives tips for a living, because we are generally the best tippers. Our favorite pizza place knows us by name and we get wonderful service with them because the servers know they will get a great tip from us. It's about the same with all of our other favorite restaurants.
Good points all! Another point to consider: a dish like all-you-can-eat soup & salad is a super cheap meal, but can be a ton of work for the server. It's tricky.
Wow, good topic girl! I for one am a HUGE tipper. I have never ever not left a tip. Like the poster above, I will always tip at least 15 % even if service isn't great. But if the service is good, I will tip WELL. Same goes for the hairstylist, for a cut and color, I will usually tip 20 dollars.
I don't know, I just agree with those that said I have been there and done that and it's the worst when you depend on those tips pretty much for your whole income.
Like Jayme's husband, I delivered pizza. It was during the summer break and I like to have cash when I came home in case Marin needed something, however, the tips were sometimes just what was left from a 10 or a 20 and you hope it's more than ten cents. Some days you drive about 5 miles one way to deliver one pizza and it costs you more deliveries or one of your workers takes too many deliveries and tips the boxes over in the back of his car, gets the $5 tip, and you end up having to drive back out with new pizzas and no tip.
I was the closing driver quite often because I cleaned the best--the assistant manager said that's she liked moms the best for. If I wasn't the closing driver and hadn't made enough tips, I'd trade with one of the younger drivers, so they could go home early and I could make more tips.
Food delivery and severs are providing a service and most are congenial. Tips are part of the wage that food service people get and so most work hard for the dollar tip.
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