When I get a cheap no-tipping black table I call them "cheap". When I get a cheap no-tipping white table I call them "cheap". Most waiters I've worked with don't seem to see the similarity. They feel the need to point out someone's ethnicity (if they are a minority) when they leave a bad tip, but a white person who leaves a bad tip is merely "cheap" or an "a$$hole". I think the word "Canadians" is the same as the N-word. Words by themselves have no meaning. The meaning behind any word can be positive or negative. I think I'll just call anyone who uses the C-word a "pilot" and have it mean what I want it to mean.... I'll probably have a lot of fun that way.
DREAMer But that's just a semantic game. The meaning of a word depends on shared assumptions between two interlocutor... otherwise, it's meaningless. The word "Canadian" does not mean "n-----" to waiters. It's just referring to an accurate cultural phenomenon- black people really don't tip as well, across the board. Neither do Europeans for that matter. I don't hate either group at all... I just realize that different cultures have different assumptions regarding tipping. In Europe, waiters, etc, are paid more and don't need tips. In America, they do. Perhaps black people, as a group, have had to work harder for less for so long that they don't believe that waiters are underpaid without tips. Maybe, as a group, they're less affluent, and can't afford to tip as well. Whatever. It's not a negative judgement. But it is true. And from pole's and gr8-1's histories on this board, I don't think either one was being racist at all. Although pole certainly has taken his share of shots at me .
Another tipping question... 20% (or 15%, or whatever) of the tab before taxes or the tab after taxes? My husband thinks it's "before" but sometimes I'm afraid the waiters assume otherwise. He always leaves 15% (before taxes) no matter what. Usually I'm afraid somehow of what will happen next time if I'm not a little nicer, so I try to sneak coins on top of it. If he catches me, I try to explain that I had too much change in my pocket and needed to get rid of it. Once, when his father took us to Ryan's and didn't leave any tip at all, I tried to at least sneak a couple bucks on the table. He caught me, and I'm sure I probably insulted his father that way, but what was I supposed to do? (see, even us cheap people look out for waiters sometimes. even though no one ever gave me a tip at Mr. Gatti's. but it is expected, at 15%, to be part of your wage.) gr8-1 will probably not be running into me at his upscale restaurants... I've never been to a really "nice" restaurant and quite possibly never will. Which is OK by me. If you're going to spend that much money anyway, I can see why bigger tips would be expected.
The tip should be based on after tax. Also, don't double the tax if you've had a lot of drinks since they aren't taxed.
kind of strange that the stereotype "Gays are the best tippers" goes by with NO mention, but someone says something about blacks, and they are racist, bigots? Is it ok to make blanket statements about gays but not blacks?
Because people aren't often offended by positive stereotypes (assuming that being a good tipper is a positive stereotype). My question is: how do you know that the men are necessarily gay? Or is it only the flaming gays that tip well?
Black people don't tip pizza drivers either, but Spencer Tillman did give me $20 once. Maybe it was to impress his poker buddies, I don't know, don't care...the guy rocks in my book. Poor people don't tip pizza drivers either. Oh, and Indians/Pakistans don't tip. These are are generalizations of course, but in general, they are true. I don't know if any of you PC people can put a spin theory on this either with this quality of service idea cause all I did was deliver pizzas. I really didn't care either cause I'm laid back, but all the other drivers I've worked with get real mad if they have bad days. And all you guys who tip $5 for pizza, wow, y'all are like 2% of the population. And all you cheapos, watch out, cause some places keep a no tippers list and spit in your pizza.
haven, Semantics my as$. "Canadian" most definitely DOES mean nigg--. They just say Canadian so they won't get in trouble. I've been waiting tables for over 5 yrs, seen it all. You know how I know? Because, (knowing full well who and what they are talking about) I will ask, "Oh really? Canadians? Where?" To which they inveriably reply, "No, the black (or insert racial slur here) table. ---------------------------- Ty_Webb, You've said some pretty dumb stuff in the past.... especially regarding racial issues. If you can't see that one reference is positive and one reference is negative, then you've got issues. Also, saying that all black people are poor tippers doesn't really bother me. Statistically, I'm sure they are, but that's not where the descriptions stop. I have to sit there and listen to a bunch of totally racist ****, then quietly ask them if they'd say the same thing to a black employee. They then always looked puzzled, some don't answer, some say "No.", so even say, "Hell yeah, if I didn't have to work with them". ---------------------------- Pole, Now, why would you go and try to rile me up? Besides, I don't think he applied for a Canadian citizenship or anything just yet. ----------------------------- I am very serious when I talk about the use of the "N-word". People don't understand there is no other insult that comes close to containing all the derogatory meaning behind it as does that word. That word means (among other things): slave, boy, monkey, animal. So, when you go around substituting another word for it, it makes that word just as bad. I'm telling you, if anyone ever used that word in my presence and it were directed towards someone in my family. I would hurt them extremely bad. I know there are racists out there. I don't pretend to deny it. But, I don't go around punching everyone who says that in the face. Had I done that I would've already punched at least 10 people in the face at my current job. I usually just let them finish making a total ass out of themselves, then let them in on the little bit of information that my wife is black. EVERY TIME, that person had apologized profusely. It probably has something to do with the fact that I'm bigger than anyone else at my restaurant, but that's fine. I realize that. So far, I haven't had to tell anyone not to say that word twice. And, that's pretty much the point I try to make.
I'm an above average tipper as I think most people are who have worked in a tipping industry at some point in their careers. But one area I do not tip in is hotel maid service. Am I wrong?
come on Dreamer!?! Is that all I get? I thought that was a damn good attempt at some tongue-in-cheek humor--considering this site, this discussion, and current events. Oh well, I should know better than anyone how weird my sense of humor is.
I'll admit it's not P/c, but I guess I can't always be P/C. I don't know, black waiters have said it to me. When I get a bad tip from a white table, my first thought (whether right or not) is "white trash" or "Euro trash." Is that anymore P/C ? I hope this isn't a race issue, I would consider it more of an us (the waiters) and them (the customers) issue. I won't go on a rant on "I'm not racist, I got a million black friends." That's not true at all, but I do have friends of all races and I tend to get along with all of them.
I have a couple of questions. 1) Do you tip when you pick up "order to go"? Who would you tip in that case, the cashier? 2) After your meal, you order something "to go" to bring home, should your tip also be applied to that "addition"?
A couple of bucks if there is a tip jar. I know that cashiers make at least minimum wage though. I'm still hesistant to think of tipping movers. I think those guys do get paid decently, regardless. I'm pretty sure they do actually. But, I don't tip the guy who gets me cigarettes at a convenient store. I have to draw the line somewhere.
MoonBus, Yes and Yes. In the first case, if there is a "To-Go Person" then absolutely "Yes" tip them. They put all your food together, put the order in, made sure everything was right, etc. If you pick it up at a cash register, then I'd say no. But, 10% is an acceptable To-Go tip. Not that you can't tip 15-20%. But, most "To-Go waiters" get paid minimum wage (at least or a little more), and plus, they do not have to pay a percentage of their sales in "Tip Pool". I usually tip 15%. On the "Additional To-Go" food. Remember, that waiter has to pay out a percentage of what he sells not what you consume in the restaurant. And, again, the waiter has to take the order, place the order, most times put the order together, and make sure everything is right. One time, while I was at Pappasito's, I was asked to deliver a To-Go order across the freeway. Pappas does not deliver, but this was a special arrangement. So, it was about $250 worth of food. You can imagine how many bags and crap. I finally get it all together, and pack it up in my car, drive over there, and come to find that their office is on the third floor. Well, I had so many bags that I had to make two trips. When I finally got finished putting all the bags where the lady told me to, and going through everything to show her that it was all there, she hands me this check. Pappas does not accepts checks. And, to top it all friggin' off, it was for exact change. I could've killed everyone in that office......
Here is a sweet tipping move When your paying your Bill at a restaurant, slip the waiter your valet ticket. The car will be waiting for you when you get out front. Not only is that stealth to your friends and the women you want to impress, but you get good service. The waiter will be glad to do it because he hasn't been tipped yet on the bill. He may also look at you as a professional, but you should throw in a little extra. Do this at high priced restauraunts. Most Concierges consider it more professional for you to tip at the end of your trip. You just hand them an envelope and say thank you for getting the tickets or whatever. And they will get you tickets. These guys network like crazy at the higher priced hotels. If you are late to an airliner, get a baggage claim person just as they are putting someone's bags onto the rail, slip them the money up front, and tell them exactly what plane you need. They wait for those opportunities. This is one of the few times you should slip the money up front. At hotels, if you can't get a room, ask for the manager before barking at the desk. Be calm. Tell them your situation. They will get you a room. Tip them at the end of the trip.
WOW.......I didnt know you were susposed to tip @ Sonic I will not make that mistake again. Isabel- you should leave a tip @ Supercuts. You can either add it into your check/ credit card and she will get it when the cashier rings you up.
Tipped employee minimum wage is $2.12/hr or thereabouts. ( a little post-post editing here) I noticed the thread discussed who tips the worst, and in my personal experience at random restaraunts in McAllen, the worst tippers are Mexican nationals who come into the states for a fancy dinner or something of the sort. You've no idea how many times I and other waiters at the restaraunt I worked (Red Lobster) had tables with tabs over $150-$200 (5 or 6 people) and ended up with a dollar per person as a tip. I'm not talking about hispanics either, because living in the valley there were a whole heck of a lot of hispanics, and you could tell who was from mexico and who wasn't, that being said, the hispanics and whites from around the valley (I might have waited on 1 or 2 african-american parties in the year i worked there) generally tipped fine, it was just those damned people from Reynosa. Okay, I'm done ranting.
I think part of the reason that Mexican Nationals tip sub-par is because when we go to Mexico, we always leave a dollar or two on the table, regardless of how much they serviced us. A dollar goes alot further in Mexico, but some Mexican Nationals may not know this.
Since my least favorite part of eating out is waiting to pay, I have devised my own tipping system. Assuming average service (ie. they didn't spill anything on me and a resonable amount of time elapsed between sitting, ordering, and eating) I start at 20%, then I knock off one percent per minute that it takes to bring the check/change. If the waiter is quick, he can pick up the whole twenty. If he wants to let me sit there doin' nata for twenty minutes, he just lost his whole tip. I hate sitting doing nothing, and it shouldn't take more than five minutes to pay, bringing me down to a very reasonable 15% tip. I could care less about the waiter making chit chat, but acting superior is gonna piss me off.
