We haven't had a conversation about tipping in awhile

[Grey]

Rainbow Dash wrote:

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I feel that creating an industry standard, and by percentage, turns it from being a tip into a tax. Something required regardless of level of service. They've set the standard of what I believe to be a fair tip, and force my hand, because if I don't tip "industry standard", then I'm apparently a cheap ass, and that's just not right.

...

I do understand where you're coming from, as well. Like I said, I love to tip generously, but when it's demanded of me, it changes the relationship between the server and the customer, placing undue pressure on both by the employer.

And there you go. I have to agree with this.

The industry standard, so far as I know, is 20% base with higher for exceptional service and lower (but no lower than 15% or 10% in extreme cases) for worse service. But when I talk to people outside of the service industry?

"Oh. I thought 10% was the base standard for exceptional service!"

How many times have I had that conversation? People who haven't worked in the food industry don't actually know what the current industry standard is. And then you get people who do use tips as a way to communicate various messages about the service, but they don't tell you which messages, nor do they tell you which amount corresponds to pleasure vs displeasure (remembering that many still think 10% is for excellent service!), so in the end tipping percentage does a lousy job of communicating how effective the service was.

Carcazoid wrote:

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I've noticed the quality of service decrease with each new generation (for lack of a better term) of young people. "Millenials" in general are the worst, especially about interrupting conversations.

Hey, you raised us.

[Robert Maxwell]

Kreacher wrote:

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This was kind of buried in my first post, and I'm still curious... Has anyone else run into this policy anywhere?

I've never encountered that. However, I do know that servers get pissy if you don't tell them you want separate checks right up-front. This is made all the more annoying when I'm with a group of people who are too socially awkward to say this themselves, so I'm stuck doing it.

[RoJoHen]

The reason servers get pissy is because it can be a huge pain in the ass to separate checks after the fact, especially if it is a large table. Servers don't always remember everything that every single person ate or drank. If they just have a big list of items, trying to figure out who had what can be really annoying.

If you tell them at the beginning, they can ring in everything separately from the get go. Makes it a lot easier at the end of the meal.

When I was a server, I would always ask if my customers wanted separate checks before I ever started taking an order.

[teacake]

Ghostavo Fring wrote:

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I've never encountered that. However, I do know that servers get pissy if you don't tell them you want separate checks right up-front. This is made all the more annoying when I'm with a group of people who are too socially awkward to say this themselves, so I'm stuck doing it.

I am always that person

Because nothing bothers me and other people are apparently terrified of appearing to be rude.

[MacLeod]

^The server could always ask what each party member had, rather than trying to remember what each person had. Remember they would still have a list of what was brought to the table.

[teacake]

It's way too complicated if you're there for hours with people ordering drinks mid meal and dishes that are shared like curries and rices. I can hear some people I know.. "well I only had a spoon of that rice, you had the whole rice so.."

[Kestra]

As I've gotten older, it's been less annoying to go out in groups. Part of it is that I was hanging out a lot with siblings and spouses so half the time one of us picks up the tab for the other relatives. But even with friends, I probably only have two that are stupid about the bill. The rest of us are happy to either take turns paying, or just all go in for our shares.

[teacake]

When I go out with my family it's great, half the time there is more money on the table at the end of the night than we need. But friends always seem petty to me. I don't care if I'm paying towards some little kid's chips in a bill split but other people seem very mathematical about it. Financial pettiness always irritates me.

[Grey]

teacock wrote:

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But friends always seem petty to me. I don't care if I'm paying towards some little kid's chips in a bill split but other people seem very mathematical about it. Financial pettiness always irritates me.

Hahaha! Those people are so funny.

Even better when they break out the pad of paper and the calculator.

Ok, I had 43.5 percent of that dish, so your tip contribution should be...

[teacake]

Or everyone shares everything to split the bill evenly but they have to make sure the person who ordered a beer that cost fifty cents more than everyone else pays their extra fifty cents

[Captain Ice]

No tip on a $140 tab because "I'm a single mom and can't afford it" is absolutely ludicrous. To get a tab that high, you're either buying for a good sized group of people (7 or 8) or eating at a high end restaurant. in either case, not leaving at least $15 (10%) on the table is unacceptable.

[Flux Capacitor]

I always double the tax (and with tax rates here being 8.5%-8.75% that's well over 15%) if the service is good, and start deducting percentage points for things that aren't satisfactory. I've left without tipping before but that's only when things regarding the server themselves were just outright terrible.

[Rhubarbodendron]

Kreacher wrote:

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Oh yeah, he also babbled about service being included in Europe -- even mentioned the names of a few countries, I guess to make sure I knew where Europe is. Right, but we weren't in Europe.

Service (and tax as well, btw) is indeed included in Europe, but the staff is payed so badly that we still tip. The amount varies from one country to another. Usually, it's around 3-5%. You simply round up a little. For example for a coffee for $1.8 you'd pay $2.0, with a $23.5 meal you'd tell the waiter to make it $25 or $26.

[Jim Steele]

In the UK there is a general tipping procedure but it's basically that you tip if the service was exceptionally good, or if you're feeling particularly generous. We have a minimum wage, service is included in the bill, and it's generally accepted that a server shouldn't expect to get tipped. (some places have been cheekily writing "service not included" on the bill, but they're just chancing bastards)

So this thread is a fascinating insight into a strange and alien culture, I can tell you.

Tipping is so alien to me that I managed to completely piss off a waiter on my honeymoon in Italy where tipping *is* expected. It honestly didn't occur to me. We spent the week wondering why the guy started off being so pleasant but then progressively treated us with ever increasing, blatant contempt.

Didn't twig until we were on the plane home. Still feel like such a monumental asshole when I think about it.

I have no idea why I'm telling you this.

please kill me

[Alidar Jarok]

Ghostavo Fring wrote:

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I've never encountered that. However, I do know that servers get pissy if you don't tell them you want separate checks right up-front. This is made all the more annoying when I'm with a group of people who are too socially awkward to say this themselves, so I'm stuck doing it.

I've never gotten annoyed by separate checks. I'd rather separate checks than people fighting over the bill (which often leads to people not paying enough money). If you don't tell me early, it can lead to mistakes that could otherwise have been avoided, but it's often preferable to me.