right this has turned into a to tip or not tip debate
i'm off to the mall of the emirates to eat at my usual table. they all treat me well i know them by name and i'm happy to tip them.

so much so the management give me a 20% reduction now

so i can afford to tip more!

YAY!
( spimf ™ is whoever you want him to be, Sat 25 Oct 2008, 16:36, 1 reply)

Apparently tipping was the only thing people didn't agree with.
Here the average wage for waitstaff is $2.15/hour. If restraunts raised the pay and cut out tipping, they would also have to raise their prices significantly and therefore lose business. A decent waitress/waiter will make around $500/week off tips. A really good one will make more. The tips are good enough that these are't used as stop-gap jobs, but as careers or second jobs. We have one restraunt in town that exclusively hires teachers as their waitstaff because the teacher will more than double their income in this way. (It is a sad state of affairs when a waitress makes more than a teacher)

Frankly, I tip according to service. The waitstaff isn't responsible for the taste of the food, that is the kitchen's problem. But, if the service is lousy, the tip will be equally lousy to non-existant. If the service is good, I wil give a 10-15% tip. If the service is excellent, I will give 20% or more and tell the management how pleased I was. The more compliments the waitstaff gets, the better shifts and tables they are assigned.
( flirting with badgers What? It sounded good at the time., Sat 25 Oct 2008, 19:22, closed)

i do this too
people are quick to make complaints but not to praise

if i get good service i make a point of telling the management the person who served me was superb

i have been in the position before of telling a manager his food leaves a lot to be desired but his staff are a credit to him(her)
( spimf ™ is whoever you want him to be, Sat 25 Oct 2008, 20:20, closed)

.
"If restraunts raised the pay and cut out tipping, they would also have to raise their prices significantly and therefore lose business"

(Lower price + tip) == (higher price + no tip), no?
(misanthrope is so adjective he's verbing nouns!, Sun 26 Oct 2008, 17:39, closed)

It's perception
You'd also need a big neon sign, and posters everywhere saying "Don't tip, we pay our staff a decent wage", and even then, I doubt it would help, as the punter is unlikely to do the required arithmetic to turn your radical pricing structure into one he can compare with other restaurants.

Customers just compare listed prices, so if a $10.00 item ends up costing $11.50 because of tipping or taxes or whatever other extras get added on after the fact, they still only perceive it as $10.00 for the purpose of comparison, so it still looks cheaper than $11.50.
(Rastus P Watermelon, Mon 27 Oct 2008, 15:02, closed)

Low wages
The fact that waiting staff earn such a low wage does not mean we have to give a tip. When i was in NYC a few months back i recieved an average service, which if i had been in the UK i would not have tipped for, however it was EXPECTED in NYC. As tips are optional and a reward for good service, tip affordingly. Heck if i don't have enough change/money on me then i will apoligise for the poor tip.

I working in London in this very service industry. A few weeks back we had 10 guys come in and order breakfast, no biggy however they didn't order straight of the menu and started to make up their own meals. We accomidated, we even gave them the extra toast for free, i got them their drinks and ensure everything was in order. Did they tip did the fuck. I believe i gave them great sevice. If i had been in their shoes i would have tipped. On the flip side today i had two come in and order two coffees, nice and simple. I got them their drinks and made sure they would happy, they tipped (£1.10) 28%. I would have only have left 50p max and really for two coffes i don't expect tips.

I have however noticed that i calculte what a 10% tip would be for certain orders. I don't expect it and if it is one of our regs i don't hold it against them, why should I. I have had it in the past where we have made mistakes on orders, had a complaint or two and still they have left a nice tip. Tis a strange world. Could have been the fact we showed we cared and did everything we could to ensure they felt taken care of.

Having said all that we are looking at adding a service charge. I think it should be for large parties and at the waiting staff's/my discretion. I think we have given average service then leave it off, however if we have dealt with stuck up pricks who treat me or my staff like shit then slap it on or we have out done ourselves to make sure they are well looked after. I don't feel i deserve a tip if i have just taken your food out to you and played till monkey.

This reminds me, i dislike places where they "offer" you a something and then stick it on the bill. Had it at an idian place in Edinburgh. They said would you like poppadoms and we said yes please. Now i wouldn't have minded but then they charged us a stupid amount for what they brought out, £6 for 4 and some sauces (very small amounts), most indians i have eaten at they are either free or only a couple of quid and you get loads. On top of that the service was average, they fucked up our order and then stuck a service charge on top. The food was average to boot.
(StyX is staring at you, yes YOU!!!, Tue 28 Oct 2008, 2:38, closed)