Hypothetical Management Decision re: non-tipping patron of restaurant

[shaftman11]

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I have never worked in a restaurant, so bear with me. If a group of 6 guys tips 15% on a $500 tab, that adds up to $75. Assuming that the waiter only has one table (which is unlikely), and those guys hog it all night, is $75 that bad? I mean it would be for ~5 hours, which works out to $15/hour. Not a get rich sum of money, but not horrible either.

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For most of the wait staff on a busy night they usually don't have more than 3 mayyybbee 4 tables. So a 6 top is a pretty big thing if they are going to sit there all night. Also, that $75 is going to be split up a few ways. First, if it's on a credit card, they will have to pay taxes on it. Second, the waiter has to tip out the hostess and busboy. And finally, they are usually required to tip out a bartender at the end of the evening as well. So that $75 probably turns into around $55 or $60 for the evening. Not exactly a great night at work.

[DanielDayLewis]

nothing makes me angrier than autograt. It is probably my #1 petpeeve right now.

They call it a "service charge". I always thought the "service charge" was included in the fact that the food is more expensive than buying it in a grocery store.

The entire idea of tipping sucks IMO and in the end benefits the owner more than anyone since he can pay his employees less. I still tip well and agree that this entire thread is going to be useless in OOT.

[garcia1000]

Once I was at this diner with two other people, and the waitress was a woman. She was fat.

The service was okay, nothing special, but not bad either.

When we left, we didn't leave a tip. She chased after us out the door when she realised, saying, "You didn't tip!"

My friend says, "I was taught that tipping cows was wrong"











JUST KIDDING don't kill me

[bottomset]

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First, if it's on a credit card, they will have to pay taxes on it

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hooray took a while for the first mention of tax fraud

[rJ_]

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Also, that $75 is going to be split up a few ways. First, if it's on a credit card, they will have to pay taxes on it.

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This is one thing that pisses me off to no end when I talk to people I know that wait tables. They claim the tip is some sort of gift that should not be part of their taxable income. Then in the very next sentence they will bitch that someone stiffed them (basically saying people have to tip). So what the hell is it a gift or expected?

Furthermore, you know tips are supposed to be taxed when you took the job, so quit if you dont like it. I get taxed on my income why do you think you shouldnt.

Furthermore, 45-70K for a waiter/waitress job is absolute garbage. In many places teachers and police arent making that much and these are actually educated people with real skills.

rJ_

[Golden_Rhino]

I've been ragging on these guys for bitching about their tips, but I am pretty sure there is a lot of skill required. Having the skill to take people's [censored] with a smile is a skill that very few people posses.

[rJ_]

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I've been ragging on these guys for bitching about their tips, but I am pretty sure there is a lot of skill required. Having the skill to take people's [censored] with a smile is a skill that very few people posses.

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What % of tables actually cause the waiter grief in the sense they have to take the people's [censored]? I eat out way too much, and I can not remember the last time I saw anyone being out of line with a waiter. If your food is messed up and you want it fixed is that "putting up with people's [censored]?"

Most all jobs have a component of "putting up with people's [censored]" be it customers or co-workers. I really dont agree with this being a special skill of a waiter/waitress.

My main point on this being a low skilled job, is that almost anyone can do it without 4 years of university like many other jobs that dont pay as much.

rJ_

[skier_5]

You guys are all nuts. There is no way that waiting tables should be worth $20/hour.

Turning down customers for not tipping?
"Only" tipping 15% on a $500 bill is scum?

listen to yourselves, you sound ridiculous.

[blackize]

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What % of tables actually cause the waiter grief in the sense they have to take the people's [censored]? I eat out way too much, and I can not remember the last time I saw anyone being out of line with a waiter. If your food is messed up and you want it fixed is that "putting up with people's [censored]?"

Most all jobs have a component of "putting up with people's [censored]" be it customers or co-workers. I really dont agree with this being a special skill of a waiter/waitress.

My main point on this being a low skilled job, is that almost anyone can do it without 4 years of university like many other jobs that dont pay as much.

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QFT. I've waited tables before and it isn't a difficult job. It basically requires that you have a pleasant demeanor, an ability to write, and that you be attentive. I'm sure at upscale places the job is harder, but at a chain basically all that is expected of you is to be able to take orders and keep drinks filled.

I certainly think waiters are overpaid, but the only way it will change is if people start stiffing in mass.

[adsman]

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I have never tipped in a restaurant, but I don't live in the USA. People should be paid fully by their employers and not have to hope or even beg for charity from the people they are serving, who are given a fixed estimate to pay beforehand.

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In the United States people are gived a fixed estimate, 15-20% on top of the cost of the meal. Why is that so hard to understand?

If you have never tipped in an American restaurant you are an ethnocentric douche bag who doesn't deserve to travel overseas.

Again, sorry if I'm a little jaded but during SXSW, Austin is filled with European hipsters who continually screw my servers to the point that I end buying tons of alcohol to compensate for all the douche bags

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I have worked as a waiter and ran upscale restaurants in Australia, and I personally believe that you are full of it. In one place I ran the average table size at lunch was 8. We used to get tables of 35-40 people that needed to be turned completely over in 90 minutes. I had nights where we did 100 covers in two wait-staff and one barman, and we pulled it off. And I never got a single tip. Because that's not how it works in Australia, you pay the staff a decent wage, especially if you want to keep them. So what makes the USA so special? Why is so hard for you guys to pay wages? It's not, you could easily factor it in, you don't have extra special magical hidden costs that don't exist in other parts of the world. You put the onus on the customer to determine how much your staff get paid. Well, I don't like going out and having to determine that. It's an uncomfortable position to be in. Give me the bill and I'll pay the bill. But why the hell should I have to decide on your in-house staff payment policies every time I go to get a meal?

And speaking of doucebags who travel overseas, why is it that Americans who come into our restaurants don't tip? I mean, you're so used to doing it home it should be second nature, right?