Tipping Etiquette

As anyone who has read my blog knows, I am out of work on bedrest because I went into early labor on Halloween. The company I work for, which has many good benefits, screws you on short term disability. I qualify and I receive it, but the way they do things makes it so I get less than half my usual take home pay. Because of this, Thomas is working and he is waiting tables at a nice family-style restaurant. Thomas is a SUPERB waiter, he has already been offered a job as a waiter trainer, but of course he refused since he won't work after I return to work.

Now my complaint is about the way folks tip, not all folks mind you, but a large number of people. Part of the expense of eating in a restaurant that employees a wait staff is leaving a tip, if you can't afford to leave a tip, you need to eat at a restaurant that doesn't have waiters/wairesses. Now, that being said, a tip is expected to be 15-20% of your total purchase, which means on a $50 check you need to leave $7.50 - $10.00. If you receive lousy service from a waiter, then I understand not tipping, but you also need to let the manager know of the problem because if you just don't leave a tip then the entire staff just thinks you are cheap. Believe me, everyone knows you didn't tip and they remember this should you come back into the restaurant again. If the waiter is bad, believe me the manager WANTS to know because it makes his restaurant look bad and could cause him to lose customers.

Thomas says the chronic non-tippers seem to be the most demanding of customers at times, the ones who keep him running for this and that, then either don't leave a tip or tell him to "keep the change." This usually means the check is $19.88 and he is given a twenty. I wonder if some people aren't taught about tipping or if they are just stupid, rude, and inconsiderate. A waiter is paid $2.13/hr and tips make up the rest of the salary. Thomas has told me of some really good managers who confront repeat customers who are chronic non-tippers, one previous manager he worked for encouraged a customer not to come back if he couldn't properly tip. One of the managers at Thomas' current job has said he has done the same thing before in the past. The other issue that people don't know is that a waiter is required to "tip out." This means that he has to give a total of 1% of his sales to the busboy, 1% to the bartender, and 1% to the person who helps set the trays up and carry them out to the customers. This is 3% of his sales, not his tips. So if he has a busy night and has $500 in sales, he has to tip out $15. This may not seem like a lot of money, but if you have crappy tippers, you many not have much money to bring home at the end of the night. Or if you think of the person with the $19.88 check out "tipped" 12 cents, then Thomas lost money on that table as the 3% he has to tip out is 59.6 cents. Tipping out is not optional.

I really would like to understand why people feel they don't need to tip. Thomas has averaged a very good salary every time he has had a job waiting tables. If there was a change and tipping was no longer allowed and restaurants had to start paying their waiters the salary they had been making in the past, where do you think the money would come from? From the bottom line? I don't think so. Menu items would increase in price 15-20% or more to make up the difference, and then there would be no statements about how one could not afford to eat out AND leave a tip. If you can't "afford" to leave a tip, you can't "afford" to eat out.