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

[Tora Ziyal]

Normally I wouldn't give a place more than two chances either. I went there impulsively tonight -- we were in the neighborhood and hungry, and I kind of forgot about my bad experiences until they started to repeat. Not a mistake I'll make again!

 

[tighr]

We had a Tilted Kilt franchise that opened up here in town a few years ago. The service was absolutely horrible, and the food was not that great either. Since I work in management, my friends and I immediately recognized the problems with the restaurant as symptoms of bad management and not just bad waitstaff, and sure enough the place was closed within the year. I heard through the grapevine that the franchise owners were a bunch of spoiled rich kids that somehow cobbled enough money together to buy the franchise, but weren't smart enough to run it.

The waitstaff (all of them, didn't matter which one you got) rarely came to check on the table, never offered refills (on the beer, no less! Alcohol drinkers are nearly universally great tippers!), and would bring your check in the 3rd quarter of a football game, assuming you were ready to leave. Um, no, I plan on watching the fourth quarter. Bring me another beer.

Of course, if any of you have ever been to a Tilted Kilt, you know the other reason we kept going.

 

[MacLeod]

When people thought they should get better tips for Shitty service, it should be Illegal to automatically built it in.
Tips should be earned not expected. Just my 2¢

Legally, you can't be charged for the automatic tip. They can include it, but you don't have to pay it.

When it's the restaurant staff operating the credit card/Point Of Sale terminal its a bit difficult for the guest to change the amount charged to your credit/debit card from something like $52 (last $8 for tip) down to $44 ($40 for food and $4 for tax).

Whilst I knw the UK and US are different in regards to tipping. In the UK I've been in places were you get to add your own amount on the card reader for the Tip, true the actual bill for the food/drinks is added by staff.

 

[Mr Awe]

I was watching on television about a place literally trying to force a family to pay a "required" 17% tip after a meal.

When did tips become so much? It seems to me that at one time tips were generally considered to be about 10%. Then 13%. Then 15%. Now 17%.

Why do they keep going up? Why not just pay food service people more money to begin with?

I'm not paying a near 20% surcharge to a server no matter how much my meal is.

It's not that the rate has increased. It's just that you're noticing it more as you've grown up and started paying it more. You're also experiencing the social expectation of paying the tip along with the stigma of being a poor tipper. So, it seems worse, but nothing has changed except you and your role in the system.

Pay a fair tip for a good effort. I almost always tip 20%. On extremely rare occassions, I tip less but that's always due to notably poor service. Literally just a handful of occassions over the past several decades.

I've never been a waiter, but I realize that it is hard work and I'd suck at it too!

Mr Awe

 

[Mr Awe]

I just love how worked up people get about the subject on both sides of the argument.

It's something that has pretty much always pissed me off. I hate tips in general. I'd rather know what I'm required to pay and then be able to be generous on my own terms. Which is why I also get irritated when people make it about being cheap. I don't go out unless I can spend money. When I am with friends, I will often pay the entire bill including the tip. I have no problem leaving a 50% tip for people who are awesome.

It's NOT cheap if you give a low or no tip for lousy service. That's entirely reasonable in my book. Don't pay for poor service. No worries!

Mr Awe

 

[Turd Ferguson]

I just love how worked up people get about the subject on both sides of the argument.

It's something that has pretty much always pissed me off. I hate tips in general. I'd rather know what I'm required to pay and then be able to be generous on my own terms. Which is why I also get irritated when people make it about being cheap. I don't go out unless I can spend money. When I am with friends, I will often pay the entire bill including the tip. I have no problem leaving a 50% tip for people who are awesome.

It's NOT cheap if you give a low or no tip for lousy service. That's entirely reasonable in my book. Don't pay for poor service. No worries!

Mr Awe

I also agree with this. I know I get stiffed sometimes when I'm super busy and give bad service due to my being busy. I can accept that and deserve that. It's the no tip for great service that I disagree with.

 

[Kira Nerys]

Most restaurants I have been don't require a tip in the USA.They leave it up to the customer .I was however,in one that had a 10 percent gratuity.