As my colleague kiljadn will confirm, we are generous tippers. I am open to your arguments against the practice, though, and interested in what you have to say. If you don't tip, why not? Aside from having more money in my pocket, what advantages am I missing out on?

"Waiters & waitresses" applies to pizza guys as well.

Also, I'd appreciate anecdotes about your experiences with tipping or not tipping, particularly events that changed your mind about tipping.

6/18/2009 11:54:57 AM

i always tip like 25% whether the person is good or not. and then later i get mad at myself

6/18/2009 11:55:59 AM

Asking for change back at any ballpark/stadium is poor etiquitte

If its from a vendor in the stands, round up the next dollar, unless something cost X.75

than your tip is 1.25

6/18/2009 11:57:58 AM

Most waitresses actually enjoy getting slips of paper with Bible verses on them instead of money.

6/18/2009 11:58:16 AM

If she is cute I'll give her the tip
If she is hot I'll give her the whole thing

6/18/2009 11:58:59 AM

in before smath

6/18/2009 11:59:42 AM

i would never try to do anything to reduce the amount of generosity in the world. But I don't tip if the service was anywhere close to sub-par. Bartenders get all my love though because I have been drinking.

6/18/2009 12:00:12 PM

not this shit again

6/18/2009 12:00:27 PM

Quote :

"If you don't tip, why not? Aside from having more money in my pocket, what advantages am I missing out on?"

You like to sample others saliva because you want to build up your immunities? Granted you'd have to frequent the same spots a bit.

[Edited on June 18, 2009 at 12:01 PM. Reason : -]

6/18/2009 12:00:40 PM

i would never try to do anything to reduce the amount of generosity in the world. But I don't tip if the service was anywhere close to sub-par. Bartenders get all my love though because I have been drinking.

6/18/2009 12:01:34 PM

what I hate is...at some places like I Love NY Pizza, where it's not really fast food but there aren't waiters/waitresses either, when I order my food at the cash register and pay with a credit card there's a little line on the receipt for me to put in a tip

fuck that, you get NO tip in those circumstances

6/18/2009 12:01:56 PM

I generally tip 20-25% depending on the establishment, total bill, and generic service. For extraordinary service, or really shitty service, my tipping percentage extends beyond that range.

6/18/2009 12:02:17 PM

Quote :

"in before smath"

haha i'm really not an anti-tipper... i just like getting those people all riled up on here.

I think i tip well in most cases.




but if i get shitty service it's another story.



[Edited on June 18, 2009 at 12:03 PM. Reason : ]

6/18/2009 12:02:51 PM

Excellent service gets 25-30%
Good service gets 20%
Mediocre service gets 12-15%
Bad service gets a pittance (percentage depends on bill)
Really bad/rude service gets the shaft. But that doesn't happen very often.

My girlfriend waited tables to support herself in college and for supplemental income for a while after, so she's all about rewarding good service, and that has rubbed off on me. But she will also call out bad service with the quickness, oftentimes things I don't even recognize.

Quote :

"what I hate is...at some places like I Love NY Pizza, where it's not really fast food but there aren't waiters/waitresses either, when I order my food at the cash register and pay with a credit card there's a little line on the receipt for me to put in a tip fuck that, you get NO tip in those circumstances"

Also true. Just because there is a tip line doesn't mean you get one. Fast food, no. Maybe change if I'm feeling generous but such things will go in the tip jar, not on the receipt.

[Edited on June 18, 2009 at 12:06 PM. Reason : Except at Sylvia's. Because I like him.]

6/18/2009 12:04:00 PM

^that's my scheme.

6/18/2009 12:04:55 PM

jbtilley beat me to it.

(what is "no tips" spelled backwards?)

6/18/2009 12:05:35 PM

Quote :

"But I don't tip if the service was anywhere close to sub-par."

jesus.

having worked in the service industry to pay my tuition/bills through school, i realize there are some circumstances that are out of your control. that being said, it doesn't take much competence to be a good server. you'd have to be damn near incompetent and fuck everything up to not get a tip from me, and often i over tip. i cannot advocate not tipping regularly, sorry.

pizza delivery guys never get more than a dollar or two from me. if they charge a delivery fee, they can kiss those two dollars goodbye.

^^^ that's about right.

[Edited on June 18, 2009 at 12:06 PM. Reason : and i don't feel guilty for over tipping.]

6/18/2009 12:05:43 PM

do you guys do the math or just ballpark it ?

I think its hilarious watching people pull out their phone calculators to figure out the tip

I give most of you enough credit that you can do basic division without one, but the average american is much dumber than the average TWWer

6/18/2009 12:06:30 PM

I always try to tip generously, unless the service is just THAT bad. If my server is courteous, has a good personality, and provides great service, they get hella tip. I mean, I try to put myself in their shoes...they usually rely on tips for a decent income, as food service has jack shit for a minimum wage for waitstaff.

I really don't like the whole idea of eating establishments being allowed to pay wait staff such a low wage...and assuming that customers will tip. Sometimes it's a real crapshoot pay-wise...and a cop-out by the employer. On the other hand, it does help to ensure that the wait staff tries its best to provide top-notch service to the diner, who may feel more inclined to tip for such service.

But, there are an overwhelming number of assholes in this world, and I don't know how many waitresses I've talked to who have gotten stiffed for a check...which comes out of their tip money usually. Or, folks either leave a horribly paltry tip or fail to tip at all. You might not like the system, but not tipping ensures that somebody gets the short end of the stick...and it's usually a much shorter end than you'd get for leaving a halfway decent tip. Have some empathy for wait staff...unless they are just being shitheads. Then, unscrew the top off the salt shaker, place and hold a dollar on top, and leave it upside down on the table. Or take your glass to the restroom and piss in it and go back to the table and "spill" it.

6/18/2009 12:06:44 PM

^^i can do the math in my head so i don't look like that. but usually i just estimate.

[Edited on June 18, 2009 at 12:07 PM. Reason : k]

6/18/2009 12:06:59 PM

Quote :

"pizza delivery guys never get more than a dollar or two from me. if they charge a delivery fee, they can kiss those two dollars goodbye."

The delivery fee goes to the store, not the drivers. Don't punish the individual staff for a corporate decision.

6/18/2009 12:08:20 PM

i did not know that, fucking sue me.

6/18/2009 12:09:06 PM

Quote :

"having worked in the service industry to pay my tuition/bills through school, i realize there are some circumstances that are out of your control. that being said, it doesn't take much competence to be a good server. you'd have to be damn near incompetent and fuck everything up to not get a tip from me, and often i over tip. i cannot advocate not tipping regularly, sorry. pizza delivery guys never get more than a dollar or two from me. if they charge a delivery fee, they can kiss those two dollars goodbye."

Kind of contradictory, no ?

Its like saying you'd you'd tip a prostitute at a brothel, but not one that drove to your house to fuck you

6/18/2009 12:10:14 PM

i genuinely thought they had already charged me for a tip. nice try.

6/18/2009 12:11:56 PM

well you're dumber than a sack of hammers

6/18/2009 12:12:38 PM

I do the math in my head, but I usually don't tip to the penny. Sometimes ballpark if I'm in a hurry.

Along the same lines--when you go to a coffee shop, do you tip the barista? I've never been sure of the etiquette on that. I mean if you think about it they're often doing as much/more work than a bartender. But in my casual observations I don't see it done very often.

6/18/2009 12:13:29 PM

i guess you're right. you've really cut me deep this time slave.

6/18/2009 12:13:35 PM

If you can't calculate 20% in a seconds notice you are fucking retarded.

I ALWAYS tip 20% at least unless they are AWFUL! I know that's a shit stick job where they have to put up with douchebags and people who won't tip because they're douchebags.

6/18/2009 12:14:48 PM

furikuchan
Unless they get paid per delivery, as well. At Gumby's they get $1 per delivery. At Jimmy Johns we get 5% per delivery (which is around $.30 for a normal sub + drink).



[Edited on June 18, 2009 at 12:16 PM. Reason : .]

6/18/2009 12:15:15 PM

Stupid as a fried popsicle

Crazy as a soup sandwich

6/18/2009 12:15:23 PM

hahaha 30 cents...thats a blow pop

6/18/2009 12:16:14 PM

I expected more out of the return of FroshKiller than picking obvious troll bait subjects.

6/18/2009 12:16:27 PM

And I love me some blow pops. Not all the flavors though. Cherry is okay, but watermelon is HOLLA!

6/18/2009 12:16:57 PM

I round the bill up to the nearest dollar and then tip the waiter the difference


so at most i tip a dollar, i might give another dollar if i just got paid

6/18/2009 12:17:16 PM

you're setting our people back 60 years

6/18/2009 12:18:29 PM

in my opinion tipping sucks and shouldnt be done.

when you tip you are paying the wages for an employee of a company, in all reality the employee should be paid by the company, not the customer. granted in the U.S. waitstaff's salary isnt that much, ($2 something/hr) but that should change.

in the U.K. bartenders, waitstaff, taxi drivers are some of the highest paid people, and no one tips. bartenders make something around $25 to $30 an hour, some manager/bartender can make as much as $60 an hour.

i personally like this method better.

oh and so i dont sound like a cheap ass, i usually tip between 20% and 30% unless the service is outstanding, or the person is just overall cool...

[Edited on June 18, 2009 at 12:20 PM. Reason : !]

6/18/2009 12:18:41 PM

yeah but foot and drink cost more to subsidize the cost

it all comes out in the wash

6/18/2009 12:19:48 PM

$5 minimum on anyone i tip.

ive also been known to tip upwards of 75%. im pretty generous.

but this stems from that fact that my income for years was based solely on tips (bartending)

[Edited on June 18, 2009 at 12:21 PM. Reason : ^^i totally agree with that.]

[Edited on June 18, 2009 at 12:21 PM. Reason : the first part that is.]

6/18/2009 12:20:33 PM

the bad tippers just make the good tippers seem that much better

6/18/2009 12:21:11 PM

ill tip 15% usually.... 20% if shes hot or they did a good job

i feel that this is fair, and people who think i'm not tipping enough can quit bitching and fuck the hell off.

6/18/2009 12:21:57 PM

I'm not black if thats what you're referring to.

6/18/2009 12:22:06 PM

from an ex-waiter's standpoint, i found that some people are going to tip less no matter the service. the same way some people will tip very well no matter the service.

my biggest frustration as far as tips go were when people used a coupon they wouldnt tip on the original bill, but rather on the bill after taking off the discount. just because you saved some money, doesnt mean i worked any less. (i probably shouldnt have been working at restaurants with coupons!)

6/18/2009 12:22:31 PM

thats a common mistake

most people can't make that connection

6/18/2009 12:23:25 PM

5 dollars?

jesus christ i aint gonna wind up in the poorhouse to pay for some whore's designer shades

6/18/2009 12:23:57 PM

Quote :

"yeah but foot and drink cost more to subsidize the cost it all comes out in the wash"

this is true, but it makes more sense to me to pay more for the product, than to pay for a delivery service.

on the other side, most waitstaff ive talked to would prefer a steady salary, than 4 nights with no money, with a possibility of making more on other nights.

6/18/2009 12:24:06 PM

i tip less if they are hot

6/18/2009 12:24:18 PM

I still think that the percentage system isnt great b/c why should I have to tip more if I order lobster as opposed to a burger (assuming they're on the same menu)? Or on the opposite side, if you order water and drink 6 glasses of it, shouldn't you leave more of a tip than the guy that ordered one beer?


[Edited on June 18, 2009 at 12:25 PM. Reason : .]

6/18/2009 12:24:26 PM

^^^ What do you think you are doing every time you pay for any good or service? you, the customer, are paying their wage. With the concept of tipping, you are just taking the middle man (and the IRS, commonly) out of the equation.

I would, however, love to see this country progress to a place where the wait staff is paid properly and doesn't have to rely completely on the abject generosity of others in order to keep their power on and their water running.

6/18/2009 12:24:40 PM

i was a pizza delivery guy...glad i never delivered to you cody

6/18/2009 12:24:58 PM

a downfall with the salary system as opposed to the tip system, is that the service you get will degrade over time.

the service in the U.K. generally sucks, but there are work arounds for that too.

6/18/2009 12:26:13 PM