Tipping thread (who do you tip/don't tip)

[Leesin]

Yes I give waiters tips all the time, like get a better fucking job.

Kidding, I always tip if the service was good, if it wasn't then I don't tip anything.

[B3RS3RK]

No it's not a choice, consistent tipping for certain professions is a fundamental part of their modern compensation.

It's taken for granted when they are hired, that regular tips from customers are part of their compensation, which is why they get a lower base salary. It's taken for granted by broader society that they then get tips for doing their job, yes it's a quirk that logically is somewhat out of step with normal compensation practices.

Is it a coincidence that your little rebellion against tipping also saves you money? Try it if you want, but my advice is you keep it to yourself as a little secret because society at large understands the tipping-compensation relationship even if you are too dense to, and you will be judged harshly as a cheap loser if it is known you don't tip.

You obviously didnt read or understand everything I wrote.

I DO tip.I LIKE to tip.I just DONT like people taking tips for granted(Also, about the saving money part: I mentioned that I am a rather poor student, and when I get something to eat, it often is that I have just enough money to pay what I ordered, which makes tipping impossible.But whenever tips fit in my budget, I tip)
At least in germany, tipping is not mandatory; It is, however, rather customary to tip, which I am okay with.It leaves me the freedom of choice, and nobody will treat you different if you dont tip; people do their job for which they are paid for, and if they get tipped, they are grateful.

This is something I miss whenever I hear something about the american tipping culture.You see, I think the actual Problem here are the Employers, not the Employees, and their attitude about the problem, which has lead to this kind of culture.

Basically, this:

About the pay model, businesses that deliberately pay their employees less to have lower nominal prices and then expect you to pay more as a mandatory tip, can go fuck themselves. That's a schoolbook example of bait & switch.

There are enough taxes, I should not be forced to pay a 10-15% "service tax" everytime I buy a service or something to eat connected with service.

Iam glad we dont have this shit round here in germany.

[Malaclypse]

Basically, USA needs to integrate tips into the bill, or Waitresses and other workers who depend on tips need to lobby collectively for better pay.

I avoid the whole situation by generally not supporting businesses which use that model of pay (why go out to eat when I can make better food at home, I'm lazy but not that lazy, and I enjoy cooking; why have someone else change my oil when I can do it myself very easily, etc).

[CrazyCracka420]

Basically, USA needs to integrate tips into the bill, or Waitresses and other workers who depend on tips need to lobby collectively for better pay.

I avoid the whole situation by generally not supporting businesses which use that model of pay (why go out to eat when I can make better food at home, I'm lazy but not that lazy, and I enjoy cooking; why have someone else change my oil when I can do it myself very easily, etc).

We should get us MN players together and call it the Great Minnesota Smoke Out 2013 (and do some grilling).  Found another one of us in our midst, Bonesaw is from the cities as well

[Overdriven]

In the USA it's standard practice to tip your waiter/waitresses 15-25% of the total bill.  The reason for this is a lot of them are paid less than the federal minimum wage, and the government charges then taxes on 15% of each bill they serve (something like that).  So it's basically "mandatory" to tip a restaurant waiter/waitress.  It's also pretty standard for people to tip a taxi cab driver, or a barber/hairstylist. 

But it has me wondering, why don't we tip ALL service industry workers?  Some people tip the maids after they stay at a hotel.  But I personally don't.  Recently got into a debate with family/friends about this and a lot of them believe firmly in tipping the maids.  I asked them why they feel they should tip the maids for just doing their jobs, and the only real reasoning I could gather, was because "it's a shitty job" (cleaning toilets, cleaning up people's messes/bodily fluids, etc). 

I gave them my analogy for tipping maids is like Mr. Pink's reasoning for not automatically tipping waitresses at a restaurant, and apparently that makes me an insensitive jerk.  But then I brought up the fact that there's a lot of service jobs out there, and most of them we don't tip.  We typically don't tip doctors, dentists, trash collectors, janitors, school teachers, counselors/psychologists, fast food workers, car mechanics (can't think of more now, but I know there's a ton out there).  I'm an IT guy who provides services for external customers (fixing problems they create typically) and I never get tipped. 

I understand the automatic tipping of waiters/waitresses here, but do you believe that there are other people that "automatically" deserve a tip?  How do you justify tipping them, and not all services people do for you?

In the UK it's generally 10%. Waiters and waitresses auto tip but rarely do other people get tips. Also a lot of restaurants now include a service charge of 10% in the bill rather than a tip. But that usually just means they can get away with paying their staff on minimum wage and earn a bit more out of it. I was in India recently and there you tip everyone. From the guy cleaning the toilet to the guy holding the door open at the hotel. It's standard practice.

What I can't stand is people asking for tips 

[CrazyCracka420]

In the UK it's generally 10%. Waiters and waitresses auto tip but rarely do other people get tips. I was in India recently and there you tip everyone. From the guy cleaning the toilet to the guy holding the door open at the hotel. It's standard practice.

What I can't stand is people asking for tips 

Never had anyone ask me for a tip before, you're sure it was a tip they were asking for, and not a handout (like a homeless person)?

[Overdriven]

Never had anyone ask me for a tip before, you're sure it was a tip they were asking for, and not a handout (like a homeless person)?

It doesn't happen so much in the UK. But in Thailand and India it happened every where. I don't think they fully understand the tipping culture. Most of the ones who asked I would have given a tip but it pisses me off when they do.

[Rumblood]

RAWR TIPS!

Here's a free tip. Don't eat in places where tips are expected as part of the service. Eat at McDonald's or a cafeteria where they don't. Or eat at home. You aren't forced to eat at those establishments. It is part of the business practice in the U.S. and you are well aware of it. Case in point, depending upon the restaurant, they automatically add a 15% gratuity on parties larger than X number of people. Why? Because their servers are being taxed on a percentage of your bill and while being stiffed by a single person doesn't hurt that much, larger tables do. And yes, it is called being stiffed.
The only reason you should walk out without paying an appropriate tip is when the waiter simply didn't service your table properly, e.g. you were constantly without a drink refill, your food came out cold, etc. Otherwise you are just as much a douche as you make the people out to be who expect you to follow the common expected business model.

[B3RS3RK]

That Business practice is simply shit.

It´s just a practice I would only grudgingly follow when I´m in the US, and I would only follow it because NOT following it would make eating at way too many places awkward/dangerous.

Because their servers are being taxed on a percentage of your bill

And THAT is the biggest shitfuck tax I have ever heard of.

[Duster]

If you can't afford to tip, you can't afford to go out to eat.

[B3RS3RK]

If you can't afford to tip, you can't afford to go out to eat.

Yeah, and if you cant afford to buy a band-shirt you cant afford to go on a concert or what?

Oh wait, that comparison isnt really good because when I buy a band-shirt, I get actual value, while a tip is just something I give to someone that has just fullfilled the service I was paying for in the first place.

So basically it would be like giving the guy you just bought a band-shirt from more money for selling you the shirt.

Maybe it´s just the cultural difference and probably we wont ever get to an agreement in this discussion acceptable for both, but I have stated my opinion and I find that most people I meet in my country share it.

[Rumblood]

That Business practice is simply shit.

It´s just a practice I would only grudgingly follow when I´m in the US, and I would only follow it because NOT following it would make eating at way too many places awkward/dangerous.

And THAT is the biggest shitfuck tax I have ever heard of.

I don't like the "Free to Play, Pay to Win" game models. But I don't go there and complain about them. I simply don't play them if I don't like it.

[B3RS3RK]

I don't like the "Free to Play, Pay to Win" game models. But I don't go there and complain about them. I simply don't play them if I don't like it.

The big difference is that those games do not make up the majority of good games.Furthermore, games are accessible anywhere and anytime, while living in a certain area could make it impossible for me to eat anywhere else than McDonalds if I follow your advice.

Also, I dont "go there and complain", I am simply stating my opinion of a, from my point of view, absolutely idiotic system which sole purpose it is to fuck over the customer in favor of the employer.

[Rumblood]

The big difference is that those games do not make up the majority of good games.Furthermore, games are accessible anywhere and anytime, while living in a certain area could make it impossible for me to eat anywhere else than McDonalds if I follow your advice.

Also, I dont "go there and complain", I am simply stating my opinion of a, from my point of view, absolutely idiotic system which sole purpose it is to fuck over the customer in favor of the employer.

Actually, the one who gets fucked over is the government. If it weren't a tip based system, the employer is going to charge you whatever amount the employee gains from a non-tip system. If the employee gets 15% of the check pre-tip, you get charged an extra 15%. In the current system, employees are charged 8% of sales, while making anywhere from 10-25% (I know I made 20%+ on average back in the day) but they only report 8% to the IRS, making the other 2-17% tax free. The system you are grouching should be in place, would result in you paying more as right now you can tip the minimum. Under your system you couldn't. Then it would result in the employee paying more to the government in taxes because they would pay exactly what the employer reports that they are paying them, which would be less than good waiters and waitresses make under the current system.

So if you got your way, who would benefit?
The Government by collecting ALOT more in taxes.
Who would not be affected much?
The employer would have to pay more in matching social security and medicaid taxes, but not much and they would make it up by charging you more on your bill.
Who would get fucked?
The employee who now has to pay more in taxes and get less income than a decent waiter/waitress actually makes.
Anyone who tips the minimum like you who now has to pay more than you would have, both in terms in size of the actual tip and the extra on top of the tip you will pay to make up for the employers share of the taxes.

Seriously, you don't understand what you would get if you got your way. You are asking to be fucked in the ass with a bristle brush.

[zagibu]

Hey, I got a great idea, why not offer everything for free and request 100% of the price as tips? More money for the people, right? Who needs roads, we can drive through densest forest with our 4x4.