When Did "Tips" (Gratuities) Become So High?

[Nerys Ghemor]

McAlister's actually got its start in Oxford, MS, and seems to have spread significantly since then...

http://www.mcalistersdeli.com/locations/

Wow! I guess the 'owner' lied to me... very sad. Thanks for the heads up.

If it's the same McAlister's, wow...that is really weird. That would have to be the first and only "bad experience" I could think of, at a McAlister's, and I've been to lots of them across 4 different states.

On the up side...no need to disclose where, but maybe there's one closer to you.

 

[RoJoHen]

It's so weird for me to hear these stories about horrible experiences because those don't seem that abnormal to me.

Maybe I'm just lucky. I almost always get very good service wherever I go.

 

[Kestra]

It's so weird for me to hear these stories about horrible experiences because those don't seem that abnormal to me.

Maybe I'm just lucky. I almost always get very good service wherever I go.

I think that's part of the reason I hate the system so much. A 20% tip on average seems kind of ridiculous given the type of service I receive on average. Is it me? I never thought of myself as terribly difficult or fussy and I always try to be pleasant (not just to people in restaurants, but workers everywhere). Maybe I'm actually a horrible customer!

 

[RoJoHen]

It's so weird for me to hear these stories about horrible experiences because those don't seem that abnormal to me.

Maybe I'm just lucky. I almost always get very good service wherever I go.

I think that's part of the reason I hate the system so much. A 20% tip on average seems kind of ridiculous given the type of service I receive on average. Is it me? I never thought of myself as terribly difficult or fussy and I always try to be pleasant (not just to people in restaurants, but workers everywhere). Maybe I'm actually a horrible customer!

Yeah, you probably are.

 

[Squiggy]

Good job...

Thank you.

 

[Captain Ice]

It's so weird for me to hear these stories about horrible experiences because those don't seem that abnormal to me.

Maybe I'm just lucky. I almost always get very good service wherever I go.

If you are then so am I for the most part. Most places I go to, I get very good and often intuitive service from the waitstaff.

 

[Amaris]

Yeah, for the most part I've had very good service from waitstaff. I've had servers drop my food before, and look at me like they accidentally shot me. Still, people make mistakes, and that should always be accounted for. I love to tip generously, and oddly enough, I like to overtip someone who has made mistakes, as long as those mistakes were due to their efforts in being a good server. It's a bit of encouragement that I feel goes a long way. I much prefer to be positive than negative. The zero tips or tiny tips always go to people who either didn't care, or treated us poorly on purpose.

 

[Tora Ziyal]

I tip well, but I hate the system...

I'd rather have stuff worked into the price, even if the price increases.

I'm with you, T'Bonz.

I too remember 10% being the norm, and I'm only 26. I don't remember where I heard that growing up, but that is what I've always understood to be the going rate, with it having risen to 15% in the past 5-10 years or so. So, I always tip at 15%, with 20% being given for exceptional service. Maybe I live in a cheapskate area or something, I don't know.

Sorry, but I'm your age with the digits reversed, and I can't remember the norm ever being anything below 15%.

I suppose I'll look like a silly foreigner (when in fact, I am a silly foreigner), but I need to ask: what is the point about "refilling my glass"? For context, here in Italy when you order a beverage, you either get a glass full of it (beer, soda, coffee), or you get a full bottle and a empty glass (wine, water). If you want more, you need to order (and then pay) anther one.

So in my mind, "refilling my glass" means that you are too lazy to lift your bottle to fill your glass and need a waiter to do it for you.

Another interpretation is that waiters go around the tables with a ton of bottles, filling random customers' glasses with their beverages of choice.

Either way, it sounds quite silly.

I ate dinner tonight in a restaurant that I'd heard had a European flair to it. And, sure enough, they gave us glasses, filled them once, and left the bottle of water on the table. I immediately thought of you, Iguana.

 

[Amaris]

Really? I do recall 10% gratuity being the standard at some point.

 

[Nowhere Man]

I've never heard of anyone but a horrible tipper paying 10%. For as long as I can remember (in America), if your service was good 20% was expected, if you were broke you could go down to 15% without being a dick, but any lower than that and yeah, you're being a dick. You must remember, waiters and waitresses usually don't make anything near minimum wage if they get wages at all: tips are what they live off of. Why they're not paid more in the first place is a question for the managers in the industry, but don't dick the waiters because you have a beef with their bosses.

Tough.

As a customer, my obligation should only be to pay for the listed price. When I order, I'm establishing a contract between myself and the service provider.

It is not my job to make up for the wage inequities in the service industries.

And why do servers get special consideration anyway? You could argue that a whole host of people in services are underpaid.

Work in a Resturaunt, then come back and tell me this, I doubt you will, asshole.

 

[Amaris]

I don't like going by percentages.

My general policy for tipping, if it's a restaurant like, say, Frisch's or something, is $5 for myself, and $1 for each friend with me, not including whatever they tip. Now, of course, there are variables involved. If it's a busy night and our service was really good, I make it $10 + $1 for each friend.

In a very nice restaurant, where dinner is going to be a bit more expensive, and I know this beforehand, I tip $10 + $2 for each friend.

 

[Danoz]

If servers were payed a more livable wage then the prices on the menu would be a lot higher. So you'd be paying that "20% surcharge" anyway and probably then some.

This is not so. I live in Japan where tipping is NOT a custom (a server would think you forgot money if you left it on a table) and meals are about proportional in cost for the most part. You're not realizing what a small percentage the "server" is of the cost of running a restaurant-- even if they were paid a fair wage.

Tips for as long as I can remember have been around 15%, I personally always tip a minimum of $5 (unless the bill is under $5) or 20% which ever amount is higher. That's my minimum tip which can go up depending on how good the server is (but I don't really ask much) or if she's hot (yoga pants are a good way to get a 50% tip out of me.)

I've got the money to part with, serving is a hard job and is an enormous convenience for me.

Tip your damn server.

When I'm back in the States I tip around 15-20% and usually jump higher for good service. I'm heavily influenced by how kind a waiter or waitress is, whether they are polite and if they smile and are positive. If a server is short with me, seems generally annoyed and bitchy, and never comes back to the table to see how we are-- 10% is all I'm willing to part with.

 

[Danoz]

People in jobs where tipping is part of the deal are exempt from the minimum wage. So, they're often not just underpaid in the sense that others are but they really do get less than minimum wage without tips.
The last time we had this discussion posters who worked as a server also said that it's not uncommon for waiters who often get meagre tips (like 10% or so) to be fired because it is assumed that something's wrong. So, not only do people who don't tip well make the waiters' wages low but they might also get them fired.

Exactly right. Plus, if a waiter or waitress doesn't claim enough tip to make minimum wage--- a restaurant technically has to supplement that discrepancy.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

I've never heard of anyone but a horrible tipper paying 10%. For as long as I can remember (in America), if your service was good 20% was expected, if you were broke you could go down to 15% without being a dick, but any lower than that and yeah, you're being a dick. You must remember, waiters and waitresses usually don't make anything near minimum wage if they get wages at all: tips are what they live off of. Why they're not paid more in the first place is a question for the managers in the industry, but don't dick the waiters because you have a beef with their bosses.

Tough.

As a customer, my obligation should only be to pay for the listed price. When I order, I'm establishing a contract between myself and the service provider.

It is not my job to make up for the wage inequities in the service industries.

And why do servers get special consideration anyway? You could argue that a whole host of people in services are underpaid.

Work in a Resturaunt, then come back and tell me this, I doubt you will, asshole.

Infraction for flaming. Comments to PM.

 

[BillJ]

Really? I do recall 10% gratuity being the standard at some point.

I do too. Maybe it's a regional thing?

 

[Danoz]

Really? I do recall 10% gratuity being the standard at some point.

I do too. Maybe it's a regional thing?

It's one thing seriously missing from this thread. Tipping in the major cities is a very different phenomenon from tipping in small towns and other areas.

 

[iguana_tonante]

I suppose I'll look like a silly foreigner (when in fact, I am a silly foreigner), but I need to ask: what is the point about "refilling my glass"? For context, here in Italy when you order a beverage, you either get a glass full of it (beer, soda, coffee), or you get a full bottle and a empty glass (wine, water). If you want more, you need to order (and then pay) anther one.

I ate dinner tonight in a restaurant that I'd heard had a European flair to it. And, sure enough, they gave us glasses, filled them once, and left the bottle of water on the table. I immediately thought of you, Iguana.

I am always delighted to be in your mind, my dear.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

Really? I do recall 10% gratuity being the standard at some point.

I do too. Maybe it's a regional thing?

Probably lower-income parts of the country have lower norms on tips. A lot of the figures that I'm seeing that look really outrageous seem to be coming from places like NYC and LA.

 

[Knight Templar]

I ate at Huddle House this morning.

I tipped 20%.

But then again, the service was outstanding and the food was great.

 

[Squiggy]

Really? I do recall 10% gratuity being the standard at some point.

I do too. Maybe it's a regional thing?

It's one thing seriously missing from this thread. Tipping in the major cities is a very different phenomenon from tipping in small towns and other areas.

One of my earlier jobs was serving in a mid-size town of 60,000 people.

In 1996 the standard was still 15%.