I don't know if tipping is customary where you live, but in my experiences living in NZ and Australia, tipping is a privilege not a right. I know in some parts of the world the base wages for people working in certain industries is abysmal. I’m not saying minimum wage rates here are fantastic but one can generally survive on it if you have to.Don’t take this as an absolute truth (because I can’t be bothered looking it up to confirm or deny) but I heard or read somewhere that it is illegal here to solicit tips. I don’t think businesses are even meant to display a tip jar on the counter.
I will however generally tip my cab driver or waiting staff if I am out dining…. unless I’ve received really bad service – sorry you don’t get my buck for just clocking on at your job. The better service I receive the more lucrative your tip is going to be.
So yeah I’m curious to hear about your good, bad and downright ugly tipping experiences. Do you earn tips? What was the best tip you got (and why?). Or maybe you have a story about a time when you felt you went the extra mile & it wasn’t acknowledged. Have you ever left a tip when you felt someone just didn’t deserve it? What sort of tipping guidelines do you follow? 10% of the tab or what? Should you tip beforehand to get that good table and service or afterwards?
I’m going to share a story that came to mind when composing this entry.
When I came over to Sydney to meet Lee we spent our first few days together staying in the city, you know doing the whole touristy thing and spending heaps of time wining & dining. Well we had spent most of the day out & about and about 5pmish we were heading back towards our hotel to change for dinner etc. We were both pretty tired and as we were passing the Park Hyatt Hotel, the wine bar (with waterfront harbour views) looked so inviting we decided to stop in for a glass of wine & a chance to discuss our plans for the evening.
The bar wasn’t dreadfully busy, there were several other couples, and one largish group of people, having pre-dinner cocktails, as they were all dolled up to the nines. We were casually dressed in comparison to the other patrons in our shorts & tshirts, but still tidily dressed.
We found seats & proceeded to check out the wine list. Although there was a bar tender working behind the bar, being a five star hotel it was the sort of place that offered table service. The only staff member that appeared to be taking orders was busy with another couple as we came in, but we weren’t in a hurry and it was nice just to sit and relax for a while. So we sat there and chatted for a while, as the minutes ticked by, as she served several tables…having to walk past where we were sitting several times. We sat there, in dumbfounded amazement when she walked over to the other side of the room and started cleaning up empty tables & rearranging chairs.
You know the feeling when you are trying to catch the attention of a waiter or waitress and they refuse to make eye contact with you? It can be really frustrating! I was happy to wait our turn whilst she dealt with the other patrons, but when she started cleaning tables after not even acknowledging our presence I just saw red! There was no way she could not have seen us, like I said she walked right past our table several times.
I marched up to the bar & before I could utter a word the bar tender politely explained I should take a seat and someone would take my order. Gritting my teeth I politely replied I would be happy to do that but considering we had already been waiting 20 minutes & no one had bothered to come near our table to take our order it was expedient to just cut out the middle man. I passed over a $50 note and ordered a $35 bottle of wine, & told the bar tender to keep the change. However it was at this point that she must have seen me standing at the bar so she hurried over. He finished uncorking the wine bottle and I was about to pick it up and the glasses when inspiration hit. I pulled out another $50 and handed that to him and said “And this is for your prompt and polite service”.
Now I’m sure they would get some pretty big tippers in that joint, but I just think my gesture took them both off guard because they stood there like stunned mullets. He thanked me but honestly the sour look on HER face was all the thanks I needed. It was worth every cent knowing that she would have been kicking herself for not taking our order (not that I would have tipped that extravagantly usually, but she wouldn’t have known that lol).
So yeah that’s the first and last time I’ve ever tipped because of lousy service.
Thanks to Diadem Pearl for the inspiration for this entry when I read her entry:
10 Workers to Tip This Season...
Wait a minute, you came to Australia to be with him!???
ReplyDeleteGet out!!! TOO ROMANTIC!!!! ahhh! hahaha
brb to read thouroughly.
I thought you knew that.
ReplyDeleteWe didn't really make any plans after deciding to meet, it was kinda like moving into together on the first date lol
GET OUT!!! hahahahahahahah
ReplyDeleteI read a bit about it but i missed that! seriously! hahahahahaha
you romantic you!
I feel so blessed, thanks, Anj, you took me away. it just makes blogging all worthwhile, getting a closer look at the people, so raw, so bare and so real.
big hugs.
Its customary here to tip between 15 and 20 percent. However, its not demanded and in my book it better be earned. Again tho i would only not leave something if i had lousy service or id leave a penny.
ReplyDeleteMy sentiments exactly. I've been to places where they automatically add the tip to the bill, that really gets my back up. I should be able to determine how much the tip is going to be, if it's even deserved in the first place.
ReplyDeletePity we don't have the equivalent to pennies anymore...that's a harsh way to make a point - I love it lol
every now and then I share a little lol
ReplyDeleteCanada you tip. Almost doesn't matter the level of service. You do it. Although I have seen myself refuse to tip when the service has been really bad.
ReplyDeleteKorea...............No Tipping.
Traveled with a friend a couple of years ago in South East Asia. She kept asking me about tipping. I said.................no tipping (which is true). She wouldn't believe me, and was either too lazy or too ?? to read her lonely planet guide to find out for her self. She left huge tips everywhere we went. I finally told her I wouldn't talk about it anymore, and she could leave her tips and I would leave mine (no tip, since not the custom). She left a tip in a restaurant in Cambodia. The waiter had no clue, and gave it back. She didn't see, and I just put it in my pocket. I didn't want another mindless conversation about tipping...........LOL
The old saying "when in rome...." comes to mind. That's just crazy of her not to take your word for it - and you live there!
ReplyDeleteI agree, i normaly don't add to the tip if it's per charged
ReplyDeleteOur general rule is 20% if the service is exemplary, with a sliding scale for adjustment depending on attitude, getting the order (or instructions) right or little courtesies offered, remembered or forgotten. Due in a large part to my upbringing, manners are extremely important ~ I don't mean smarming or 'overkill' ~ just polite, attentive behaviour. I've been known to not tip at all if the situation warrants it but have also gone over the top in special instances where I felt it was deserved. My most memorable experience was on a Royal Caribbean cruise {where guests have the same staff voyage-long}. One of our table servers was a very young Iranian girl named Gulcin. She was relatively new to this position, struggling with the language, far away from home and admittedly a little homesick but incredibly warm and genuine with all of us. She was interested to learn about what life in Canada was like, and at the end of the voyage we exchanged addresses and wrote to each other for a few years, but I haven't heard back from her for awhile. She was planning to finish her time with the cruise line and live with a relative in California rather than go back to Iran, and I hope that worked out for her.
ReplyDeleteHere's a site you might find interesting.called "BitterWaitress". Click on the 'Database' and 'War Stories' !!
http://bitterwaitress.com/std/index.php
The reason I tip is twofold, one is definieely because of the service and how good or bad it is can reflect what I tip, the other is that there is a different minimum wage for waitstaff than for general labor workers. I do not know the exact amount it is now, but way back when I waited tables, some 20 years ago, the minimum wage was $4.75 but the wage for waiters and waitresses was $2.15, plus unlike general laborers, a server was taxed on 7% of everything they sell, so even a 15% tip was pretty much being cut in half. It is often said that a good server will live off of their tips and it is true, because of the tax on everything they sell, it is not uncommon to wait tables for two weeks and come in to pick up a check for work only to find it is worth nothing, because you lost it all in taxes on sales. There were many times that my check for two weeks work would be less than $10 and I had seen many of my coworkers checks (who were better at the job than I) would be for nothing at all.
ReplyDeleteMy experience in Tokyo was unusual. Tipping there is confusing and embarrassing. I am a very generous tipper and it is uncommon for me not to get delightful service. I think it's karma. I have a hard time in countries where you don't tip. I tip 20% as a standard, 15% or less for poor service, and up to 50% is the waitstaff is remarkable.
ReplyDeleteOh Angie your story is priceless! It reminds me of the scene in Pretty Woman when Julia Roberts' character goes back into the store where she couldn't get any help the day before and tells them they made a huge mistake.
ReplyDelete@ sakispeaks... Your story is wonderful and brought tears to my eyes.
I generally tip 15-20%, depending on service recieved but in the event of poor service I used to do the penny thing...until a friend and I were at a fairly nice restaurant -- and the waitress was rude, slow, and arrogant... At the end of the meal (the tab was like 55.00) I took the check and my friend said "I'll take care of the tip.." and she handed me a card, the same size as a business card, and it said --."THANK YOU FOR THE HORRIBLE SERVICE, YOU SAVED ME SEVERAL DOLLARS"
ReplyDeleteWell, my daughter has been waitressing for the past several years. And she has made some pretty darn good money from tips. Her last job she worked in a sports bar/restraunt. And in that kind of place its like they expect you to solicit the tips...They WANT good service. The tips are large if the patrons receive excellent service. And it wasn't just about the alcohol they served either. If the waitress wasn't worth a darn...they didn't make bank for the day or night. The bad thing about it here...is that most places you have to split the tips made with the other staff...I don't know if that's how it is done anywhere else....but that is how it is here.
ReplyDeleteMy story is kind of a cute one....
I decided one day to visit my mother and take her for lunch. We decided that we really didn't have time for anything too sit downish...so we went to a local pizza buffet...(normally don't tip in places like that cause you serve yourself)...but on this day...Yeh...it was crazy in the place....
Normally you are seated by a hostess and then she brings you plates to start and water or whatever you want to drink...But the hostess sat us and never came back...So I saw an elderly lady walking about and after 15 minutes of sitting there waiting...with no plates or anything...I asked her for some help...and she told me the hostess should of taken care of us...and I explained to her that we had received nothing except a place to sit....So she ran and got us some plates and drinks and asked if there was anything else she could get us...and we said we were ok at that point...
Well, the little lady who was in her late 60's early 70's was working another section of the restraunt and decided to go ahead and keep checking on us...Which i thought was completely unwarranted....but also very much appreciated. And the waitress who was working our side....never once came and checked on us...So when we went to pay for the ticket...I left the lady a $20 tip...and she was sooooo ecstatic...She came over to me and told me that was the largest tip she had ever received in her entire waitressing career and that she had been saving her tips she had because she wanted to get her wedding ring set fixed, and I gave her exactly what she needed to get it fixed. Apparently one of the diamonds had fallen out and the weld didn't hold...The set was almost 50 years old. And she was the only one in her family and her husbands family who still had her original wedding set. She was mighty proud of that...and it was kinda kewl hearing her talk about it.
Her husband had been ill for a few years and so most of their money went to taking care of him...and she had been saving for 6 months to get the set fixed...and mine was the last $20 she needed....My mom and left there feeling pretty good...Besides the good pizza...LOL
Interesting reading everyones's stories. As Angie said we don't generally tip in NZ and so I never have done so. I think overall I am against tipping as a system, I think that people should be ppaid a decent wage in the first place so that tipping isn't needed to top up what would otherwise be an abysmal amount of money. One should be able to choose to tip - say if the service we got was exceptionally good - and not feel forced into tipping because it's expected of us.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting stories. The better the service the better the tip. Here a job like a waitress pays less than the minimum wage. Some wise one figured with tips a person can make at least minimum wage. Crazy idea isn't it? And most places now do the pool for tips. Even crazier idea. ~(-:~
ReplyDeleteSorry, I'm late getting here.
ReplyDeleteThis is a good topic. I was a waitress, and lemme tell ya, i have stories!
On the tip being included in the bill: I am normally one of those that is offended by that, except i've had to live it. Around here, its usually written on the menu that if the dining party numbers 8 or more, there is 10% included for a gratuity. In my experience, a party of 8 or more tips like crap. Especially a large party, like a banquet room full of people, requires two or more waitstaff assigned just to that party. That can take them off the general floor for an hour or more, fetching refills on drinks, pre-busing the tables. During that hour, a good waitress could turn five or six tables at least once on the floor- especially on a weekend night. Five or six tables in an hour can be about $60 + in tips. So you get waitresses fighting to NOT be assigned to the large parties, because its really frustrating and doesnt earn them very much money at all.
I consider myself a very excellent tipper, mostly because i've been there. But i'm also quite fair. If I can see that my waitress is busting her ass and is really busy, I can forgive a lot of things. The one thing i DONT forgive is an empty glass. I drink a LOT of iced tea, but i WARN THEM when i come in. If they choose to not take me seriously on that one, I dont take their tip seriously, either.
The girls who work at my hometown favorite place know me by now. They know how i like my tea, they know how much tea i like. They know that i want extra cheese on everything, they know I want extra ranch dressing, and they know I want none of that pesky salad crap on my bar burrito (lettuce and tomato). They also know not to mention to guy B that i was just in there last night with guy A. The fact that they remember these things about me makes me feel like leaving them REALLY nice tips. They know that too. : )
Well I did a litte research, the minimum wage for tipped employees is $2.13. From the US Dept of Labor...
ReplyDeleteQuestion: Is it legal for waiters and waitresses to be paid below the minimum wage?
Answer: According to the Fair Labor Standards Act, tipped employees are individuals engaged in occupations in which they customarily and regularly receive more than $30 a month in tips. The employer may consider tips as part of wages, but the employer must pay at least $2.13 an hour in direct wages.
An employer may credit a portion of a tipped employee's tips against the federal minimum wage of $6.55 per hour effective July 24, 2008. An employer must pay at least $2.13 per hour. However, if an employee's tips combined with the employer's wage of $2.13 per hour do not equal the hourly minimum wage, the employer is required to make up the difference.
The employer who elects to use the tip credit provision must inform the employee in advance and must be able to show that the employee receives at least the applicable minimum wage (see above) when direct wages and the tip credit allowance are combined. If an employee's tips combined with the employer's direct wages of at least $2.13 an hour do not equal the minimum hourly wage, the employer must make up the difference. Also, employees must retain all of their tips, except to the extent that they participate in a valid tip pooling or sharing arrangement.
wow some of those comments were blogs within a blog lol. it made me forget why i reread it. but the minimum wage comments made me think of the state i live in as well as the taxes ill have to blog tomorrow though im beyond tired and am only killing time waiting on the dryer to finish up so i dont have to send matthew to school without pants lol
ReplyDeleteIf a tip is added to the bill,it very often does not get to the wait staff either.
ReplyDelete