[SkyDancer]

I remember watching a movie with the family of Humphrey Bogart’s first movie - it took place in an out of the way cafe in the desert .... on the wall over the cash register was a sign that read “Keep your money - Tipping is Un-American” .... movie was made in 1935 ...

My folks don’t tip - if the server needs more money they should go to their boss not expect the public to pay their wages ... do you tip if some salesperson helps you find a shirt or something? Why only at restaurants and several other businesses ....??? Ok, tip the bartender at your favorite watering hole hoping you’ll get a little more but that’ll stop when they all go to computer pouring as in several places I’ve been ....

Just being curious here ... not wanting to develop this post into a debate ....

Thanks,
Regards,
Jane

[Myrddin]

Many restaurants pay the servers less than minimum wage on the understanding that tips will make up the difference. I was paid $1.30/hour (minimum wage as $1.55) when I worked as a waiter at Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour in high school. That is still common practice in restaurants where I live today.

I go out to eat almost daily. I patronize restaurants all over town. The servers compete for who gets my table because I'm give consistently good tips for consistently good performance. You get what you give.

[ml/nj]

Have you ever heard of custom? Here in AMERICA, it is customary to tip waiters and waitresses (among others). They know it. Their employers know it. And you know it too. So did your parents. Shame!

ML/NJ

[dinodino]

Sorry, but you’ve obviously never been a waitress, nor travelled in countries which traditionally didn’t tip (e.g., UK). Waiters are paid very low hourly salaries, and they must consequently perform well to earn decent hourly pay—think of them as being on commission. Conversely, in places where tipping has been replaced with a mandatory service tax, the service uniformly sucks.

[Jacquerie]

Cheapskates. Tipping wait-staff is traditional and an expected part of their compensation.

[Balata]

You obviously have never been in a position of living on your tips. I guess it’s that silver spoon thingy.

[Gorzaloon]

My folks don’t tip - if the server needs more money they should go to their boss not expect the public to pay their wages ... do you tip if some salesperson helps you find a shirt or something? Why only at restaurants and several other businesses ....???

Because people who intend to return to places are more sensitive to waitresses spitting in their food, than they are on their clothes.

The tipping mechanism exists to reward good service and attitude by people who are not paid very much, and who rely on tip income..it is because, unlike buying a shirt, dining is supposed to be pleasurable, and the waiter delivers a pleasant experience in order to be better paid.

People who will not tip are quite rare-And probably do not get out much-or shouldn't. It is "Mean" in the original sense of the word.

[NittanyLion]

My folks don’t tip

Then your folks are morons.

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

You need to start tipping and encourage your parents to do so as well. It’s rude not to leave a 20% tip for average to good service. If you receive bad service, adjust accordingly, but let the wait person know exactly what you found deficient. You have to tip. Wait staff only makes about $2.50 an hour and that’s nowhere near a sufficient wage.

I always boost my father in law’s 10% tip to 20%.

[VirginiaMom]

Do you realize the minimum wage for waitstaff is $2.13/hr. ? I was a waitress for 16 years and I hated waiting on people like your folks, but I always did it politely and with a smile on my face.

VirginiaMom

[Suzy Quzy]

Good Grief, Jane.....tell your parents these wait staff make only about $3.00 an hour with TIPS making up the difference between the $3.00 and minimum wage!!! Your parents must be so popular...:)

[Tammy8]

As someone that not only worked as a waitress for a while- & also did books for a restaurant at a later job I will try to explain the problem with that type of thinking.

Tips are so ingrained into the restaurant/bar business that they are considered part of wages. I think it is a bad system, and I don’t agree with it at all. Having said that I always tip- and for great service I tip more. The reason I do this is because the person being tipped has NO control over the system. The person receiving tips is dependent on those tips to make a living wage or in some cases just to make minimum wage. Tips are figured into reported salary, as required by the IRS, so even if the person that served you did not get a tip- they are required to pay taxes on the premise that they did receive tips. If you don’t tip the server, you are actually taking money away from the server in the form of taxes they will be responsible for on money they did not receive.

Servers are at the bottom of the food chain and if they go to their boss for higher salary to make up for no tips they will simply be let go and will have no job. People working jobs of that type have no bargaining power with management. If you don’t like the system a better idea would be to complain to owners, and the IRS for the current system; please don’t punish the server that works hard for very little money.

[GOPJ]

My folks don’t tip - if the server needs more money they should go to their boss ...Ok, tip the bartender at your favorite watering hole hoping you’ll get a little more but that’ll stop when they all go to computer pouring

Your parents don't tip -- well unless it's an under the table "bribe" to cheat the owner? Your parents must be liberals. I'm stunned you would brag about their tacky behavior...

[Dan Cooper]

Food servers get taxed on an expected tip amount of 15% of the bill. If you don’t leave a tip, they are actually paying taxes on money that they don’t receive.

[Beaker]

Sales staff, in addition to a minimum wage, work on a commission depending on where you go. At the very least, they get minimum wage. Wait staff get a measly 2.00 an hour or less, and rely on tips. Their wage is low because of the fact that they are supposed to be tipped, and that gets factored in. In fact, some states assume that as a waiter/waitress, you make X amount in tips and tax you accordingly. To not tip is plain rude and I can't believe that your folks don't do it. I tip waitstaff at least twenty percent if the service is good, fifteen percent if the service is bad. I even tip my mechanic. (He's a GOOD mechanic, and got even better after I started tipping him)