======= ======= ====== ====== ====== ===== ==== ====== ====== ===== ==== ======= ======= ====== ====== ====== ===== ==== ====== ====== ===== ====
Imagine a person who is using an Al-Qaeda flag to mutilate an adorable puppy in front of 15 Kindergarteners while proudly donning a Hitler mustache and singing the words of the Russian national anthem to the tune of that one really sad Sarah McLaughlin song. This guy takes the silver for “Worst Human Being On the Planet,” because while he may be awful, he isn’t the dirtiest of scums inhabiting this beautiful, beautiful earth. Instead, the gold medal is reserved for the trashiest group of jackasses: the people who go out and don’t feel like tipping.
Drawing a line through the “add tip” line is essentially telling your server or bartender that while you loved your night out, you don’t think he or she deserves to be paid for his or her hard work. The problem is, you get to close that checkbook and discreetly leave the restaurant without ever having to confront the actual man or woman who is going to have to struggle that much more to pay rent this month. Would you go to a concert and not expect to buy a ticket that supports the musician’s income? Would you hire a babysitter for the night to entertain your leaky toddler and compensate him or her with a mere smile? No, you would not, so why would you expect free service at a restaurant? A tip is not a courtesy. A tip is not “a little something extra.” A tip is someone’s income. A tip is always necessary.
“But what if I get bad service?”
Unless your server sprinkled boogers on your food, purposefully dropped it on the floor in front of you, and demanded you slurp it up like a starving kid in Africa, you CANNOT leave that restaurant without leaving at least a 12 percent tip. Even that is cutting it close. If you cannot afford to do so, go back to your house and microwave another Lean Cuisine because you cannot afford to go out at all. As a customer who has never worked in a restaurant, you cannot fathom all that goes into making your order timely and perfect that is not in the hands of the server. Sometimes we mess up and give you a Diet Coke when you asked for regular because you mumbled your demand of an order in response to me saying, “Hey, how’s it going tonight?” Sometimes the chef misreads the ticket I entered correctly on the computer, even though I promptly apologize and take it back to the kitchen. Sometimes we’re forced to work a double and we take a moment to grab a drink of water instead of immediately splitting your $900 tab into 35 different checks. Sometimes I have to grab another waiter to give you an in-depth review of the different burgers on our menu because I am a vegetarian. But please, I beg you, stop taking that out on your server’s tip.
For some reason, when the restaurant gods created the industry in our American culture, they decided that servers’ wages would be tip-based and that minimum wage would be $2.13 an hour. No, you did not read that wrong, nation. $2.13 an hour is what the majority of bartenders, waiters, waitresses, bar backs, hostesses, and busboys make for bending over backward to make sure you’re having a spectacular night. On top of that, this sweatshop worthy wage is taxed and hasn’t been updated in more than 20 years. Many are up in arms about the Fair Minimum Wage Act, which would raise minimum wage up to $10.25 an hour with tipped wages being 70 percent, yet they still believe they are justified in skimping out on a tip for their hardworking server. To those people, I say: back the Senate bill or foot your entire restaurant bill. Either way, servers have mouths to feed and rent to pay.
Those who work in the industry did not stay up at night dreaming of the day when they could be yelled at by a privileged tiger mom for bringing out her salad with the dressing on the side instead of “lightly” mixed in. Many work those crazy hours to supplement the poorly paying full-time job they were able to snag after spending tens of thousands of dollars on a necessary education. Many work those long days because it is their sole income since they could not afford said necessary education. If deserving people want to continue to enjoy an awesome meal with awesome service, then every single person needs to start tipping decently. Taking advantage of service industry workers is causing thousands of your favorite bartenders to find other, desperate work. Non-tippers are slowly taking over the world like a plague of Nazis who think free labor is neat. Do. Not. Succumb. To. It. Karma’s a bitch, and I promise your waitress will remember you as “The Guy Who Thinks Inappropriately Complimenting One’s Chest Is A Great Substitute for Tipping.” She’ll be sure to wipe her butt with your napkin in the future.
Bottom line? Stop being selfish and tip 18 percent or GTFO.
Respond
Topanga
Topanga is a contributing writer for Post Grad Problems. Lover of red wine, mediocre gossip, and Corey's whipped ass.
@TopangaPGP
went to bdubs Sunday after the world cup. my server came to our table a total of three times: once to seat us, once to take our order, once to to give us our check/subsequently collect it. not once to let us order more drinks. not once to ask how the food was. other people delivered our food and such. left one dollar tip. sent an email to the national website. got a call from the location’s manager with an apology and a $15 gift card for next time.
on the other hand, i know a couple who always undertips and its annoying. we went to a pizza place and our total was $28 ($14 per couple). i put in $20 to cover my part and my tip, they put in $10, thus not only not paying for their own part, but taking away the tip too. so tacky and unfair to our server.
For the most part, that 1$ tip gets split between the server, the bar, the busboy, and the hostess. So yeah you got shitty service from your waitress, but should the rest of the staff get punished for that?
i didn’t consider it getting split. thats a good point. i mainly did it because i sat with my mouth on fire from wings without so much as a water or enough napkins for a solid 15 minutes. spoiler alert we were three of maybe ten people in there so it was just annoying.
Pooling tips should be illegal.
It’s not pooling tips. The server has to tip out a small percentage to the bar and the busboy and I guess the hostess but I’ve never seen that because those people all help the server to do their job and make those tips.
Waitress, can I get some cheese with that whine?
Alright guys, EVERYONE has a shitty server story. Judging the entire industry based on one (maybe a few) bad experience(s) is just completely wrong. It is just helping you validate being a cheap ass.
I have been a server/bartender off an on for about 10 years. I also have two college degrees and a full time job. I still serve as a way to help pay off my student loans. So assuming your servers are (insert derogatory term here) really does make you an asshole.
“Imagine a person who is using an Al-Qaeda flag to mutilate an adorable puppy in front of 15 Kindergarteners while proudly donning a Hitler mustache and singing the words of the Russian national anthem to the tune of that one really sad Sarah McLaughlin song.”
You are one fucked up chick, Nanner.
I would purposely not tip if I could somehow make that^ situation not happen. Does that make me a bad person?
You want more money? Get a better job.
This is the most ignorant, asinine response to these types of articles. First, “you want more money? Get a better job” could apply to any profession even the President of the United States. People are working where they are in life because of a number of variables, all of which your self-entitled ass is clearly to ignorant to understand. Second, if all the servers, busboys, and bartenders “got a better job” then we wouldn’t have restaurants and bars to enjoy a nice dinner or a couple cocktails. Hello? This is a crucial part of our economy. Americans eat out more than any other nation. Even the most menial of jobs (though putting up with pompous assholes like you when you go out to eat takes far more skills than most jobs) should pay enough to provide food and housing to people working for living.
I beg to differ. No one should be surprised at the wage waitstaff is paid. You do not have the right to complain about the wage of a job you willingly applied for, and subsequently accepted. It is not your employer’s (nor the government’s) duty to pay you enough to live how you would like to live.
*too
All these tipping articles are about as annoying as “Go Vote” statuses on FB. Shut up, I’m going to.
So sick of hearing servers complaining about tipping. Do you honestly make so little serving that you compare it to minimum wage? Unless you’re a professional in the industry working full-time at an established venue, how can you demand a comfortable living wage for a part time position? I follow the general “double the first number” rule in most occasions because it’s close to 20%, and give extra if the server displayed a reason to get it. You can’t demand people pay you more just because you want more and expect it to happen. Too many shitty servers giving the hard working servers a bad wrap. Funny how that works on the tipper side too huh.
You follow the 20% rule, which is awesome. A majority of people don’t. Just because a job is part time doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make at least minimum wage.
All of these tipping articles are as annoying as “Go Vote” statuses on FB. Shut up, I’m going to.
An honest question: a friend and I were talking. She bartends on the side to earn some extra cash, and she was telling me that 20% is the new 15%. As in, what I used to think was saying, “I think you gave great service and I’m paying you extra to say that” is now “you did the bare minimum so I am compelled to give you this much.”
When did that happen? Either way, I’m usually too lazy to do the math for 15% and round up to 20%, but that’s odd.
It depends on the area. Here in Nebraska, a common tip is probably 12%. In DC, it’s about 20%.
Minimum wage laws do not leave the server/bartender out to dry. At the end of their shift, they are required to report their tip earnings to the manager. If the amount does not add up to at least the standard minimum wage level, the restaurant/bar must compensate to make up the difference (excerpt from Michigan’s Workforce Opportunity Wage Act is below)
“If the gratuities described in subdivision (a) plus the minimum hourly wage rate under this subsection do not equal or exceed the minimum hourly wage otherwise established under section 4, the employer pays any shortfall to the employee.”
Yes, but then you tip out your bar and support staff.
I used to bar back so I know that. I worked my ass off for the bartenders to make their job easier, not to expect tips. I was grateful (and honestly surprised) at the end of the night when I would receive tip money from them. However, they chose how much to give me depending on how much they made and how busy the bar was that night.
Not every bar gives you the option.
This country suffers an epidemic of wage theft, as large numbers of employers violate minimum-wage, overtime, and other wage and hour laws with virtual impunity. Especially hard-hit are restaurant workers.
Although employers are legally required to pay tipped workers at least minimum wage when tips do not meet the hourly full minimum wage, enforcement is weak and disorganized. According to the Pew research center: In 2008, the federal government employed only one workplace inspector for every 141,000 workers. That meant the average employer had just a 0.001 percent chance of being investigated in a given year. And low-wage workers most likely cannot pay a lawyer to sue their employer for the wages that are rightfully theirs. A restaurant worker shorted, say, $300 isn’t going to find a lawyer who thinks such a small amount of wages is worth his or her time. Employers can be pretty certain they can get away with it.
Did you get lost on your way to the Huffington post?
HA gottem! Way to go, man! That was a really good point you made
Cmccallie seems to think that the poor restaurant workers are incapable of obtaining other employment or employment at another restaurant that doesn’t treat employees unfairly (or just sucks) due to variables that the ‘privledged’ restaurant patrons are too ignorant to understand and the poor restaurant workers themselves are incapable of controlling to any degree. Therefore, us patrons must pay them their 20% because, by God, they deserve it regardless of their conduct or incompetence. Seems like run of the mill Huffington post material to me.
Did someone get lost on their way to the Rush Limbaugh Show?
I feel like I just read a press release from the DNC or Nancy Pelosi