Japan's got no tipping, and the service is generally second-to-none. I wonder how much of the service quality has to do with the lack of tipping and high pay and how much has to do with the culture.

I've only sent food back once. I was paying premium dollar for a tenderloin steak and ordered it medium. It showed up well done. The only problem was the replacement show up rare. I didn't even bother to tell the waiter. I tipped reasonably well as the waiter provided good service, I won't be going back there any time soon.


I disagree. I feel tipping is necessary when someone receives a reduced wage because the employer expects the wage to be compensated by tips. Therefore I tip waiters/waitresses, cab drivers, delivery people, etc. I don't tip the cable guy or the guy I buy my tires from as they already recieve a decent salary.
I can't belive someone would stiff a delivery person on the tip. If you are too lazy to get in your car and go pick up the food yourself (take out) then at least have the courtesy to tip the person delivering the food a couple of bucks for the convenience they provided.

I almost always tip 20%. I tip 15% if service is below average, but I usually don't go below 15%.

As for returning food, I don't see how one has to do with the other. I rarely send food back to the kitchen but if it's not the way I ordered it, it goes back - end of story. I paid the price to get the meal the way I asked for it and it's not unreasonable to accept that.

I think you hit the nail right on the head. Me myself always tip the pizza guy heavely. There is no set amount we (my roomate and I) tip, usually if the total comes to around $15 we just give him a $20...partly for our convinience and also so he doesnt have to make change and can get to his next delivery faster. Also we should at least compensate him for bringing us our food because we were too lazy to get off our asses to go get the food :D.

In the restaurant is a completely different thing. I have a kind of sliding scale that i try and follow when tipping. The tip starts off high between 15-25% and can go up and down depending on how the service is. If the waiter jsut forgets about us until we are ready for the check then the tip will drop. On the other side, if the waiter refills drinks without asking us or strikes up some interesting small talk then the tip can get pretty high. I think the highest I tipped someone was 100%. Although my sister and I just went out for ice cream and the bill came to about $5 and i just threw down $10. usually the highest i go is 30% on average.

I always tip waiters, delivery people, cab drivers, and especially my barber (he has the power to make me look like either an idiot or a sexy bitch, i will not piss him off).

One thing I can't stand is people working at stores asking for tips. You poured me a freaking cup of coffee or pulled a donut out of a basket what the hell do you want?

I've noticed that people tend to tip a lot better in NYC than SoCal, but far more stores in SoCal have tip jars. Of course this might be a feature of my friends in NY coming from more humble beginnings than my Southern California ones.

Same here. Restaurant food is also very expensive so I don't feel like tipping. When I'm abroad, food is really cheap so I usually tip good.

I think they're related. Service usually sucks here; no smiles slow waiters etc. If tipping was common we would've gotten way better service.

Time to look for a new job my firend. I've had more than my share of jobs that involved tipping. People, for the most part, are cheap bastards. The more money people have got, the tighter they hold on to it. Try to find a job that pays better so you don't rely on the charity of your customers.

I tip for service, from nothing (and I explain to them why) to 30%, depending, but I err on the high side. The minimum for anything is $1.00, even if the charge is only $2.00. Pizza dudes get $3-4 for one-two pies, even if late, because I have to assume it wasn't their fault. I mean, why would they cruise around when time is money??

i dont think that people should be expected to tip.. .(well rich people can) but people work hard for thier money and have bills to pay.. im not saying tips are bad.. but shouldnt be expected

pizza delivery is so incredibly stupid... I bet your dont even have insurance( you need special insurance for commercial driving) and yours will probabluy be normal insurance... you pay for the insurance.. you pay for the gas.. and they dont pay you much... the problem with pizza delivery is cheap employers.. not customers

Yeah, I'm 17 and my sister ordered a pizza (she's 15) ONCE. Yes, we had just a bit more than exact change...Like maybe 50 cents. My sister gave it to the pizza delivery guy, smiled, and said thank you. The guy was like: Can I get your number?

Hahaha.

/waits to see <i>Insane</i> changed to <i>Banned</i> in 3...2...

I should not be expected to tip, as a customer. If your employer dosen't think you're worth the extra cash, why should I?

Maybe he meant he was 17 at the time.

yeah maybe he/she was 17 at that moment.

i doubt their that stiff with age rules... especialy once a person has proved them self.. if i were 17 id be banned tho :P

I tip if the service is good. My opinion is that what the employees make is the employer's responsibility, not mine.

The tipping culture is just another way to fuck over anybody who isn't their own boss.

expectations only lead to dissapointments.

The larger the expectation, of course, the larger the dissapointment.

Hey, the way the economy is, be thankful you have a job right now.
My husband works construction- and as his company was slowing down, he was loaned out to the sister company. His co-worker at the sister co. (who used to work for the other co.) kept telling him he should come work for them. He chose to go ahead and join the sister co. A DAY BEFORE the other co. folded and laid tons of people off.

Yep, ditto that. Restaurants for sure, and to the bar person if they're cute or are doing a good job. Pizza guys? Hell no!

[QUOTE]Originally posted by anleja
[B] I deliver pizzas part-time, and have noticed that people in the richer neighborhoods don't usually tip worth a damn, and usually the big tippers are people who don't seem like they would be good tippers, based on how I perceive their financial situation to be.




I used to diliver on a military base and I found that the enlisted men tipped well, the NCO's tipped like a mofo and the officers not at all for the most part. Go figure!

I live in South Korea, where tipping is no expected at all either. Like in Japan, the service is normally excellent, much better than I got on a regular basis (even tipping well) back in the states. I still have a habit of tipping though. Karma I guess. But there have been a few times when I have tried to tip a cab driver or waitress and had them refuse because of the cultural aversion to tipping.

Tips aren't a "right" in some circumstances. Maybe for a pizza delivery guy, but not in all cases. I'm sure you're well-informed that waiters and waitresses make about $2-$3 an hour? They LIVE on tips. No, they don't just want tips...they live on them.

At most restaurants, the dishwasher, cooks, preps, busboys, cashiers...managers, bartenders, EVERYONE that works there gets at least minimum wage except for the waiters and waitresses. That puts them in a different situation. They depend on your tips.

There are untold shit-sandwiches that take place behind the scenes at restaurants as well. What if a customer just told a waitress that she was an ugly bitch that needs to get a better job? It's hard to put on your game-face for the next customer when stuff like this happens. What about when customers say, "bring me another straw, and don't touch it with your grubby fingers this time." This happens all the time. If the food comes late...is that the waitress' and waiter's fault? No, they don't make the damned food. They deliver it. If it's late, it's the cook's fault. The only thing I can agree on is refilling of drinks...all waiters and waitresses should come by at least every 10 minutes. That's a key aspect of service.

I think waiters and waitresses should make at least minimum wage everywhere including tips for the shit that they have to put up with. I couldn't do it. I know deep down that if I was a waiter and a customer said something like the comments I mentioned above, I'd blow up on them. Waiters and waitresses should get a tip at every meal unless they're rude. If they aren't rude but simply deliver poor service, at least leave them something...customers don't know what goes on behind the scenes at every restaurant.

-Lasereth

Ya but business will get the money out of the customer one way or the other.. if tipping were eliminated and servers were paid more we'd just take the blow in higher prices. At least with the tipping system we get to decide what the server earns based on his service.

And yes if you dont tip (if your service was good) you are a stingy and really dont deserve the service you got. Some people also just dont realize in a bad situation, tipping can be your leverage to force some good service out of your server. I love seeing a slack server suddenly get on the ball when you put your tip money on the table and tell them for every fuck up or 10 minutes that go by without checking in, 2 bux gets removed from the table and goes back into the wallet. Thats a last resort but sometimes has to be done. And it is effective.

Check out the Stained Apron!

All I can say is that the American idea of paying food servers based on the idea that "they'll get tips" and taxing them on those (possibly nonexistant) tips, is horseshit. That minimum-wage exception needs to be deleted STAT!

Most food servers working in a halfway decent establishment make quite a bit more than minimum wage. In fact they usually do pretty well because of the tipping system. Servers, bartenders etc usually make a damn decent living if they are good. Theyd probably make alot less if you left it to the employers to pay them and killed the tipping tradition.

Then they should stop complaining.

From Stained Apron:
"Order FOR little Johnny, no matter how cute you think it is to see the waitress trying to coax his order out of him. You KNOW what your kids eat. Avoid the trying process of the child changing his mind 20 times or refusing to order while the waitress stands there waiting and waiting and waiting."


That made me laugh. My mom always followed that rule. I took her out for her birthday a couple of months ago (i'm in my 30's now) and she ordered for me. Old habits are hard to break I guess ;)

My shithole job pays waaaaaaaay less than that. Yay for customer service slaves!

I tip based on performance. 15% or more for full service, %5-10 for buffet style.

I try not to tip on my credit card. Cash is preferred.

I do not tip for poor service. Not to anyone. If my pizza is 2 hours late, no tip. If the driver is pissed and its not his fault, then he needs to figure out why he is late and fix it for next time. I do sympathize with him/her but poor service should never be rewarded.

If the local guys get my pizza to me in a timely manner, sure I'll tip. If it take an hour to get my pie, don't expect a tip. I don't care if it is the cooks fault, you can take it up with the person responsible.

Granted, I live only 5 minutes away from virtually all pizza shops in town, so it's not like a great deal of time / effort is expended there. Top it off with the fact that the guys here get paid per delivery, not per hour.

I work for a private club, and get paid $2.50 an hour plus tip shares. There's a 19% gratuity tacked onto everything, and the cash from that goes to the theoretical tip share pile. It's then split among all of the servers based on hours worked. this means that we get paid somewhere between $8 and $15 an hour. It's a great system, because it means you can't get stiffed, but the people that come have been encouraged to not tip, so regardless of how good a job we do, we tend to get the same amount. Now, getting coats for people (especially at functions) I get tipped reasonably well ($1-$2) considering I'm just getting someone's coat.

The problem is that the idea of the tip has changed from what it used to be. There used to just be a jar at the front that said "To Insure Prompt Service" on it, which was basically a bribe to get seated and served faster. Somehow this mutated into the system we have today, where people get paid less than minimum wage on the basis that they'll be getting tips to make up for it.

Now, on a good note, if you're making less than minimum wage before tips, they tax you as if you were making minimum wage (as far as I know, our tipshares get taxed since they're on our paycheck :( ) but if you're making more on tips you got untaxed funds!

You'd think that, but I couldn't even begin to count the times that I've had orders sitting under heat lamps for upwards of 20 minutes, waiting to be picked up. And by the time the server got around to picking it up, they'd have to bring it right back because it's cold. Guess who they would blame?

I always heard in college that if you don't tip the Pizza guy, you go to hell.

and it wasn't even a religious school.

You tip for service. Most of the time the servers act like they are doing you a favor. You give good service, most of the time you get a good tip. Act like you doing a favor, you never get a good tip. Sometimes you have to take the bad with the good.

I believe that it's a combination of culture and the current economic situation. I currently live in Japan and teach at a JHS, and I see 9th graders sweat over both SHS entrance exams and job interviews. Employers want efficient, courteous people with experience working for them at all times, even in the graveyard shift of the corner 7/11 or gas station. It's very difficult to find a job here and anyone who doesn't treat every customer like a minor deity will find their ass canned soon enough, which means looking a new job to pay for the already outrageous living expenses out here.

Customer service / food service workers don't get paid much, and that's without tipping. Also, the concept of a tip jar would be completely alien to them, since it would make them feel like beggars on the street. In Japan, there is a very strong adherance to the concepts of "tatemae" (facade) and "hon'ne" (inner feelings), so everyone will show pride in what they do and refuse any tip, even though they might live in a hole in the wall and desperately need the extra cash. In fact, in this country, tipping is insulting to anyone, no matter what their situation.

Lord knows many people I see regularly deserve more money than I give them. My barber consistently gives me the best haircuts, which come with a wash, neck/upper back massage and tonic for 3,000 yen (about 30$), which is actually pretty cheap out here. And not a single stray hair falls on my clothes at any time. EVERY convenience store clerk welcomes me, apologizes when taking my money, carefully bags what I bought, bows and wishes me a good day, no matter how brusque I may be. Waiters / Waitresses always have a smile on their face and service is consistently prompt.

Again, this relies a lot on culture, but the cost of living here make any job a good one. I wonder how I'll react whenever it is I return home to Montreal...

From Resoviour Dogs:
NICE GUY EDDIE
Okay, everybody cough up green for the little lady.

Everybody whips out a buck, and throws it on the table.
Everybody, that is, except Mr. Pink.

NICE GUY EDDIE
C'mon, throw in a buck.

MR. PINK
Uh-uh. I don't tip.

NICE GUY EDDIE
Whaddaya mean you don't tip?

MR. PINK
I don't believe in it.

NICE GUY EDDIE
You don't believe in tipping?

MR. BLONDE (laughing)
I love this kid, he's a madman, this guy.

MR. WHITE
Do you have any idea what these ladies make? They make.

MR. PINK
Don't give me that. She don't make enough money, she can quit.

Everybody laughs.

NICE GUY EDDIE
I don't even know a Jew who'd have the balls to say that. So let's
get this straight. You never ever tip?

MR. PINK
I don't tip because society says I gotta. I tip when somebody
deserves a tip. When somebody really puts forth an effort, they
deserve a little something extra. But this tipping automatically,
that's for the birds. As far as I'm concerned, they're just doin their job.

MR. BLUE
Our girl was nice.

MR. PINK
Our girl was okay. She didn't do anything special.

MR. BLUE
What's something special, take ya i the kitchen and?

They all laugh.

NICE GUY EDDIE
I'd go over twelve percent for that.

MR. PINK
Look, I ordered coffee. Now we've ben here a long in time, and
she's only filled my cup three times. When I order coffee, I
want it filled six times.

MR. WHITE
What if she's too busy?

MR. PINK
The words "too busy" shouldn't be in a waitress's vocabulary.

NICE GUY EDDIE
Excuse me, Mr. White, but the last thing you need is another cup of coffee.

They all laugh.

MR. PINK
These ladies aren't starvin to death. They make minimum wage.
When I worked for minimum wage, I wasn't lucky enough to have a job that society deemed tipworthy.

NICE GUY EDDIE
Ahh, now we're getting down to it. It's not just that he's a cheap

MR. ORANGE
--It is that too--

Heh heh. Reminds me of a friend of mine who pretty much never tips.

Me: "Umm, aren't you going to put down a tip?"

Friend: "Nope. Maybe if I and enough other people don't tip, that'll encourage the waitress to get a better job where she doesn't have to rely on the charity of her customers. Why are you getting on my case? I'm just trying to help her get into a better position in life!"

Me: "And save money, you tightass."

Friend: "That too."

I don't mind tipping but when people expect tips when they don't deserve them irritates me. I always tip the pizza guy but If I am picking the food up from the restaurant now thats ridiculous that I should tip the person that is already taking my money at the register common.

I don't tip for take out. They're not doing any serving.

Yup,

This is what's it's come down to.

Employers won't pay a decent wage,

Employees expect a tip,

And when they don't get it, they give shitty service and/or adulterate your food with bodily substances.


That is fuxored.