I’ll let an idiot letter to the editor author take care of this one;
By Joyce J. and Ray M. Hofer, Freeman
I am writing about Honorous L. Yusoff’s letter dated Sept. 21.
I, too, tip at a restaurant but not very willingly. We own a business and have employees, and no one has ever tipped. We have to pay our help.
If a restaurant can’t make tons of money, there is something wrong when I pay for my food and part of their wages.
Plus, what really makes me angry is when I’m punished for bringing a group of more than six people to their restaurant and they automatically add a 15 percent to 20 percent gratuity.
Shouldn’t I be able to tip the percent I feel is ample for a large group?
The comments under the article are awesome & stupid;
Let me get this straight: Your job is to take an order and bring it out to the customer when it’s ready, and you want more money than what your boss pays you to do this? Is this capitalism or socialism?
These people are freaking clueless about dining out in a full service restaurant. I would love to make 20% tips by only doing this, but I know I have to go the extra mile to get a good tip, that’s kind of the point of tipping, jackass. Come eat where I work and request me, and I’ll give you ‘take your order’ kind of service. I can guarantee after I take your order and drop off your drinks you won’t see me until check time. We have an infamous family that comes in and never tips. NEVER! When any of us get them, that is exactly how they are treated. They even complained once that we never refilled their drinks, asked how they where, or brought them more bread. Hey, McFly, ever wonder why? T.I.P.S. (TO INSURE PROMPT SERVICE). No TIP. Do the math.
And this guy is a real rocket scientist;
The waitress pulled a fist full of cash bills that could choke a horse out of her apron to put the 15% tip I left for the buffet. This was early in the evening dinner hour, so I am assuming she brought in even more in the next few hours.
You wanna know why she had a fist full of money? Because servers are responsible for their own banks. Not only was that her tips, but I can guarantee most of it was payment for meals she had to give to the restaurant at the end of the night. That is why I try to avoid making change at the table, because dumb fucks like this think that is your tips. And besides, what if it was all of her tips? Are you jealous she has to wait on poor slobs like you all day and gets to take home a living wage? It reminds me of the clever folks who pay part of the bill with a giftcard and only tip a percentage of the amount that is left. Do you think you are fooling us? If your bill is $50 and you normally tip 15% your tip would be $7.50 not $3.75 after a $25 gift card.
Can you make good money waiting tables? Yes, but you have to bust your ass, and you have to put up with the Joyce and Ray Hofer’s of the world who think people should just wait on them because they are so fucking cool to own a business in Freeman. I would love to see what they pay their workers. Take my advice, stay in Freeman to eat, we don’t want you polluting our restaurants in SF with your anti-tip, Oprah watching nonsense.
I would also suggest that every server in SF write down their name in their server books and if they ever come across these people with a check or CC to make their exiting experience one to remember. Servers in Sioux Falls may not have an union, but we talk, and we have your number.
As always, love your Ugly Tables – as you know, I only have about 16+ years of them.
But you are forgetting the most important argument about the stupidity of this letter and all people that feel this way -> restaurants pay servers lower wages to save on menu pricing. If all servers made minimum wage or more, your $8 burger would be $11 and so forth.
And yes, servers do talk and take notes. I have a whole list of people I have 86’d over the years – always remember the great business saying: “We have the right to refuse service to anyone” especially cheap ass hicks who don’t have any manners, can’t add, and shouldn’t be allowed out in public.
Ok, thanks for letting ME rant a bit.
I was sure you would comment on this article! I was astounded as well at the tackiness of the letter writers and some of the comments. As I’ve said before, I tip well, but you brought up gift cards, so I’ll ask someone who would know:
1. If I have say a $50 gift card to a restaurant, and I spend $40, is it ok to just use the entire gift card and tip with that remaining $10?
2. Does it help you as a server if I tip with cash on the table vs in the ‘tip’ field of the check? I guess only if you were to pocket some of the tip and lie about what you got I guess?
3. Oh and the biggie, do you tip for take out? I’ve always been perplexed by this. I’m always thinking “Is this guy thinking I’m a cheapo because I didn’t tip when I picked up my takeout order?”. For example, I walk into Dominos, and the guy walks 2 feet to get my pizza and hands it to me (I ordered it online), but I have to sign my receipt. Do you tip that? I would think no? Another example, I go to Texas Roadhouse, now that guy/girl I believe has to go get all the food together, package it up, bring it out to you, ring you up, so they are doing some work behind the scenes. Just depends on the place and what was involved? Always confused on tipping take out order etiquette.
Sperls, and I know where you work, I can about imagine. I have often told people that if we went to the European style of dining, you would pay more for your food (as you point out) and your service would suck. I wonder if people ever realize that servers are nice to them because we want to make good tips? Sure, there is a few regulars I really like, but for the most part, I really don’t care. Next table please.
There was also a guy commenting about restaurants counting kids as guests. Well duh, they are there eating. I think they should be counted twice for the freaking mess they make. And for the most part people with kids (not all) don’t tip worth a shit.
Greg – Most places will allow you to leave a tip on a giftcard, and that’s fine, a tip is a tip, the company doesn’t take a percentage of that (surprisingly) and yes, most servers do prefer cash because we don’t have to claim a 100% of our cash tips.
I guess I am bad about tipping on take away, but here is my philosophy; I tip 20% on delivery to my home. I tip 10% if it is carry out delivered to my car. I tip zilch if I have to walk in and grab it and pay the cashier. Most take away servers get paid an hourly and tips are additional, while a lot of delivery drivers only get paid mileage and tips.
I tip 20% when service is good, 25% when exceptional, 15% when inferior, 10% when bad, & none when everything is wrong. Not sure what’s proper but this is my policy. Efficient timely takeout deserves a tip. For me it’s coin change & a buck or two.
Sperls13–restaurants pay servers lower wages to save on menu pricing. If all servers made minimum wage or more, your $8 burger would be $11 and so forth.
Knowing that a restaurants pays servers lower wage–and you chose to work there. Rocket science like yours amazes me. If you don’t like the working conditions, then why in the heck (don’t cry and whine) even apply for the job?
I believe you to be correct about restaurants keeping their prices lower so that people will come. Whose problem is that? Yours, mine or the owners?
I defend the tipping system. It assures people get good service. What I don’t defend low wage/tip share practice. If a restaurant wants to only pay me $2.13 an hour, I’m okay with that, but don’t expect me to give 20% of the tips I earned for the night to other employees. If you want me to pay your other employees, then my wages should be high enough to cover my tipshare. Restaurant owners seem to want to have their cake and eat it to.
I have been in places that have signs posted stating that they pay their servers enough that tipping isn’t necessary, and that they shouldn’t be tipped. I don’t mind tipping if the service is decent. I don’t like when a tip is automatically added to the ticket. Several years ago I dined in a place with a group of people and we all had separate tickets and a 20% tip was automatically added to each one. The places that I have seen the signs requesting no tips, didn’t have exceptionally high prices, they were average.
You can debate the 20% tip added to your ticket if you don’t feel you received good service. Happened to me in Omaha once, the server was a fucking jerkoff and added the grat to our ticket, even though there was only two of us. (he didn’t like our casual dress, even though the place has no dress rules) I actually searched out a manager instead of asking him for one. The grat was taken off of our ticket and the asshole got ZERO from us.
“most servers do prefer cash because we don’t have to claim a 100% of our cash tips.” Isn’t this shit illegal? The same tax dodging that you would complain about the rich doing. Hypocrite is what I’d call that. What do you think? I get it, you don’t make a lot of money but you don’t pay shit for taxes anyway like the other 47% of Americans. I didn’t pay my fair share either but do now. Oh yeah, and I don’t complain about it or try to dodge it.
There is a thing called school that allows you to make more and pay your fair share of taxes. Buck up buddy and use your brain for more than complaining and trying to dodge the system, or get in there and change it.
After tipshare, we are actually getting screwed on taxes, because even though we only have to claim 10% of our cash sales as tips we most likely are paying taxes on the tips we are paying to someone else (tipshare) and so are they. It is apparent you have never waited tables before, so the next time you want to criticize the working class about paying their fare share, I suggest you just go grab another bag of Doritos and a Coors Light from your fridge, walk away from the computer and STFU!
Most likely doesn’t mean you do. I am the working class fool. I don’t own the place I work for, I went to school for my degree, the money I make I pay taxes on…ALL OF IT. I don’t skirt the law. I most likely will pay for your sorry ass if and when this piece of shit obama care crap is instituted unless we, as American’s pull our heads out of our asses and realize how unconstitutional it is to charge someone for being American. Health care is expensive because it is. But I digress.
If you want to improve yourself, do it. If you want to bitch and complain because you have not done something about it, sorry. Like they say, if you don’t vote, you can’t complain. Likewise, if you don’t improve yourself, STFU. Figure it out, waiter jobs in this town are a stepping stone or a dead end.