Tipping Etiquette

[mawilson 2,133]

What about delivery guys? How much should I give them? $1? $2-3? % of the total bill?

[jezebelseven 0]

Is it going to the guy who did nothing but take my order

THey do more than just that. It's not an easy job...and you don't get paid more than the servers who are working for tips.

I think that depends widely on the restraunt. The one I was referencing, the person who took my order, I've sat there and watched, they took my order, handed it back to kitchen staff, they swept the floor in the kitchen, stood there doing pretty much nothing for 15 minutes, chit chatting with a friend, etc, until my food was handed to me in a bag. I'm not sure if their job is to merely take the takeout orders or if they were just not doing their job, but it wasn't anything that deserved a tip for them. The kitchen staff, maybe, but like I said, I don't know who that tip is going to, but I imagine it's not beign shared with the guy who cooked my food.

I've also been to one where they took my order then went off to make other peoples plates, then had my bag handed to them. There were two people doing plating, and the one that took my order/handed me my bill had nothing to do with my actual food. I'd rather tip the person who plated my food, or made my food, rather than someone who just handed me a bag.

I also feel uncomfortable tipping well at takeout because I have no idea how my food is going to be. I hate tipping someone 15% then getting home to find out my chicken sandwich is still pink and cold in the middle, there's sauce on the sandwich I asked to be on the side, they forgot my baked potato, whatever. Sure, I could open it up and try it while I'm there, but that's kind of the pont of me getting takeout-- I want to take it home to eat it, not eat it in the restraunt. This is why I wish takeout would not be tipped, rather, they should be paid the minimum wage of a standard worker at least.

I've had places that the person who took my order was very catering toward me (Offered me a free drink while I waited) and I watched them package my food up. I'll tip there. I've been to places that the person that took my order was kitchen staff who then went off to, like I said, cook my steak. I don't mind tipping those types. It's just the takeout ones vary from place to place, and that bothers me.

What about delivery guys? How much should I give them? $1? $2-3? % of the total bill?

I do 15%+ for pizza delivery as long as they are within 10-15 minutes of their promised time. Not only are they getting your food for you, they're delivering it to your door for you. http://www.tipthepizzaguy.com/ is really helpful in seeing some of the things they go through and what is acceptable to give more or less to, including the length they drove, weather considerations, gas prices, etc

Edited August 11, 2006 by jezebelseven

[Alex+R 0]

What about delivery guys? How much should I give them? $1? $2-3? % of the total bill?

I used to be a delivery *girl*... tip us well! Remember that they get like $1 for gas money per delivery, if you're close to the restaurant, and that it's not cutting it anymore. Tip according to how much they had to prepare/carry. 2-5 is reasonable, and is about what they are going to expect.

If you are a large business ordering a lot of pizzas, tip 10-15%. It probably wiped out that delivery person's hour-2 hours, waiting for your order to come up.

I always liked the drunk guys who tipped 20s though... so excited that I was a chick.

[Mirorgate 0]

I always liked the drunk guys who tipped 20s though... so excited that I was a chick.

that was you???

[Ban Hammer 12,880]

I always liked the drunk guys who tipped 20s though... so excited that I was a chick.

that was you???

if she was around here i probably put her thru college

[Anyta Holland 0]

Right... Preparing for a flaming....

I tip accordingly to the service.... If it was really good I will give them 10%-15% which in the UK seems to be a lot, since people don't really tip that much...

I used to work as a waitress in a large restaurant chain, 6-7 hours shifts, as somebody said before, not being able to sit... We were given 5 to 6 table of 4-6 people, and maybe just 1 of 2 people. I did my best to serve this people and kept a smile even when they were being plain rude with me.... And still I sometimes came home with nothing but £5 in tips! The best I did was one day when I made £50...

I consider myself a nice person, and I was a darn good waitress, but if the kitchen fell behind, then people would think it was my fault, if there was something wrong with the food, then that would be my fault as well, and so on...

The thruth is, that I felt unfairly trated when it came to tips and the worst for it where large groups and business groups... I will never forget that one night I had a group of 11 between 2 tables and a group of 10 in the other.... From the first table (which was a business dinner) I got NOTHING AT ALL! And from the second I got something like £1.5...

Now I know that tipping is not a rule or an obligation, but I find it rude not to leave a tip if you have been served well...

[Alex+R 0]

I always liked the drunk guys who tipped 20s though... so excited that I was a chick.

that was you???

if she was around here i probably put her thru college

paid my rent for a year with those tips!

The thruth is, that I felt unfairly trated when it came to tips and the worst for it where large groups and business groups... I will never forget that one night I had a group of 11 between 2 tables and a group of 10 in the other.... From the first table (which was a business dinner) I got NOTHING AT ALL! And from the second I got something like £1.5...

Thank god in the US a mandatory tip (service charge) is added to the bill of parties greater than x (depends on the restaurant).

Now I know that tipping is not a rule or an obligation, but I find it rude not to leave a tip if you have been served well...

In the US I would say tipping IS an obligation, because that's the system. That's how they make their $$. In Wisconsin waitstaff made $2.33 an hour. I know this has already been pointed out in this thread but it's important to remember.

[KaiserD 12]

This thread has been really useful, I don't know anything about tipping

6 hours without a break and a sit down? Is that even legal!? I know in the UK it isn't, max is 5 hours I think. Stand up all day in retail I should have athlete's legs by now

I remember once we had a chinese in Atlanta airport and 3 out of 4 of us got food poisoning from it! Luckily it didn't really hit me untill after I got home, I would have hated to be suffering on the flight. Okay it's not really relevent but I thought I'd say it anyway

[Fuzzness 2]

I rarely tip these days unless the service is good. Most of the time the service is just mediocre. Besides, I can't afford to tip everywhere I go. And anyway I don't believe it is my responsibility to pay for their wages. Minimum wage laws should count for all employment.

[iceyspots 0]

Well I have to throw in my personal opinion here... I was a server for 2 1/2 years... and we do appreciate the tips!!

I remember many instances at my old job.. I was VERY customer service oriented and that's why normally I made quite a bit more money than other servers.

Sometimes I would get the pickiest or difficult customers -- "i'll start off with a water and a little bowl of lemons, an unsweetened iced tea with no ice, and a glass of ice on the side, and when my dinner comes i'll have a large glass of %2 milk w/o ice and another full glass of ice on the side" Ok so I went and get all that... Then I come back to order and get a million questions about the menu -- OK.. yea they are easy to answer -- but at that point I am under a little pressure because 2 of my other tables have just gotten sat and they are looking around wondering where their waitress is --- hmm -- ok so person actually decides to order... and let's say they want to order some kind of side dish that I honestly think that side dish was prepared wrong or looks like ####### that day -- I'd honestly tell them "The X side dish of the day, i'll be honest, it doesn't look very appealing or looks like it was made incorrectly. You can still get it, if you want to change it you can" bla bla bla.. so I put in this customers orders, took drink orders for my other two sat tables, brought out the other tables drinks and brought soup and salad for the difficult customer. After bringing out soup and salad, difficult customer wants to change their order. Yelp! Have to run back really quick and find the ticket and write the change on it before the cooks make it.

After I'm done taking the food orders at the two other tables that were waiting -- I bring out the food for difficult customer -- pushes it off to the side and yells at me saying it is not hot enough and wants it re-cooked. I advise a new plate will have to be cooked/re-fried because we can't put food on the grill/fryer that has already been touched by a customer for sanitary reasons. I bring the food in the back, stick a temperature stick in it and the stuff is hot - Not PIPING hot, but still hot goodness... Hmm.

Fix the food, ok difficult customer is happy now, and the other two tables are eating.

guess what happens..? the people who originally had to wait a long time until I shown up has left me a %20-%30 tip, and the difficult person leaves me $1 or nothing.. That's just how it goes.

personally, if service given to me is outstanding, I'll tip very well... %30 %40 %50 .. sometimes even %100... one time I left a $10 tip for a $5 meal because I saw how other people were tormenting a regular waitress of mine, and I watched them leave her next to nothing.

if the service is good, i'll leave %15-%20

if the service is bad and the server was running around like a chicken with their head cut off or was overwhelmed, i'll tip %15

if the service is just plain bad and server was lazy or didnt seem to care, i'd tip %5-%10.

I tip on take-out sometimes -- I have a couple restaurants that I'm used to going to, and i usually know the servers that work there, if i know they are hardworking and friendly, I have no problem leaving a couple bucks for the take out.

I used to tip a chinese lady too at one buffet I frequented ... I used to go there because I wanted to sit for hours and study --- I wouldnt do that at a regular restaurant because I would be holding up a waitresses section (thus preventing them from making money)... so yeah the buffet was $6 for lunch and I'd get unlimited salad, fruit and tea/water... anyways the chinese lady was the busser -- does nothing but clean off tables... sometimes she would come and talk to me and ask me what I was studying.. her english wasn't very good.. but she was nice, so I didn't hesitate at least leaving one or two dollars and some change.

I guess you just have to use your best judgement as far as tipping goes. I am a little bit more liberal when it comes to tipping because sometimes even though I get bad service, I watch and see what that server is doing and I say "Damn, I was in that situation before, and I remember the panic.."

Sometimes, if you don't know whether or how to tip, ask a couple servers (Not your own because obviously they would be biased) or ask a manager if it is appropriate, and if it is what percentage is appropriate.

[evilcanuck 0]

Gratuity

n 1: a relatively small amount of money given for services rendered (as by a waiter) [syn: tip, pourboire, baksheesh, bakshish, bakshis, backsheesh] 2: an award (as for meritorious service) given without claim or obligation

I have waitressed, and bartended...but I still tip according to service (taking into consideration how busy the restaurant is, if its a holiday etc etc.) I detest it when a tip becomes obligatory. We went to a steak chain for their buffet wing night about a year ago, our waitress brought us our drinks then never came back, we had to get our own napkins, side dishes for the bones, etc etc, refills were apparently out of the question. We had to hunt her down for the bill. WHere was she? Chatting with some guy at the bar almost the whole time. Then we get the bill with the tip added in! #######? She did NOTHING for us, then when she brought us the credit card slip there was the space for an additional tip. I was FUMING. When I got home I immediately emailed the head office. No where was it mentioned that a 15%service charge would be added if we were having the wing buffet. It was not a 'gratituity' it was clearly a service charge, dont call it what it isnt! The head office explained to me that it was written on the menu (no it wasnt, i searched) and that the reason for it is because the servers keep the buffet station full all night. I suggested they pay thier staff more money on buffet night, or charge an extra $1 or $2 per person for the buffet and allow us the courtesy of deciding a tip on our own. Anways, they sent me a $20 gift card, but I gave it away, I wont ever go there again. A tip is earned, not expected. Yes we make less than minimum wage, and the tips are meant to balance that out, so its supposed to give us incentive to give great service. Tips have become so obligatory that servers expect them without earning them.

I worked with another bartender recently who refused to serve a guy who didnt tip her the first or second round. So here we are sharing tips all nght, but I am obviously doing more work because she would pick and choose who she would or wouldnt serve according to whether or not they tipped. THAT is the mentality of people who make me not want to tip. I get tipped, I say thank you whether its 50 cents or $5 and you are going to get the same smile, same quick (as I can) service and same good attitude no matter who you are or how much you lay on the bar.....I guess its the way I was raised or maybe my age, I was always taught to earn my money *shrug*

[Ban Hammer 12,880]

good story icey. i've worked in that environment before and i'll always tip good unless the service is horrible.

in your case evilcanuck, i have to wonder if that is one of those places that instantly adds it if the party is over x amount. i avoid those for the exact reason you stated above. they are guaranteed a tip with crappy service.

Edited August 12, 2006 by charlesandnessa

[danae 0]

Now im curious about something on the topic of tipping....are we meant to tip the people at grocery stores who pack our bags?? I have no idea- sometimes they are really friendly and helpful and ask questions about where you'd like certain items, then when im set to leave I feel like they look at me like 'well?'. Does anyone ever tip them??

I would feel like if I tipped them Id have to tip the cashier, and then thats all just getting silly. Im new to this tipping thing- and I find it quite unnerving!

[jezebelseven 0]

Now im curious about something on the topic of tipping....are we meant to tip the people at grocery stores who pack our bags?? I have no idea- sometimes they are really friendly and helpful and ask questions about where you'd like certain items, then when im set to leave I feel like they look at me like 'well?'. Does anyone ever tip them??

I would feel like if I tipped them Id have to tip the cashier, and then thats all just getting silly. Im new to this tipping thing- and I find it quite unnerving!

I don't tip them, mostly because when I worked in a grocery store we were forbidden to take tips, and could be fired for it. I know my family USED to tip them back when they would actually push the carts out to the car and load up your groceries, but I don't think I've seen that done in *ages*.

They also get paid the standard minimum wage so I don't think tipping is nessessary for them, at least not like it is with servers who get paid $2 an hour versus the $7 minimum (or whatever it is depending on your state).

Edited August 12, 2006 by jezebelseven

[danae 0]

Now im curious about something on the topic of tipping....are we meant to tip the people at grocery stores who pack our bags?? I have no idea- sometimes they are really friendly and helpful and ask questions about where you'd like certain items, then when im set to leave I feel like they look at me like 'well?'. Does anyone ever tip them??

I would feel like if I tipped them Id have to tip the cashier, and then thats all just getting silly. Im new to this tipping thing- and I find it quite unnerving!

I don't tip them, mostly because when I worked in a grocery store we were forbidden to take tips, and could be fired for it. I know my family USED to tip them back when they would actually push the carts out to the car and load up your groceries, but I don't think I've seen that done in *ages*.

They also get paid the standard minimum wage so I don't think tipping is nessessary for them, at least not like it is with servers who get paid $2 an hour versus the $7 minimum (or whatever it is depending on your state).

Ah ok Thanks