San Francisco restaurant workers want to implement a 25% standard tip onto your bill for you. Here’s another view. What do you think of this? How much do you tip and does your tipping depend on your service? How you get your food? Just what does your tipping depend on?
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Us Girls..Our Views 
Oh, this is a BIG pet peeve for me.Not only do I not think that restaurants should have “mandatory tipping”, I think tipping should be on the endangered list. I, as a customer, should not be expected to pay the wait staff’s salary. That is the job of the restaurant owner. Now, if they wish to raise their prices, and put a note in the menu that says that tipping is not expected, I’d be fine with it. I understand the salaries [should] be built into the cost of the food. But to be expected to pay an extra 15% (and now it’s pretty much become 20%, if you don’t want to be considered “cheap”) just for sitting in a chair and drinking water, is absolutely ridiculous.
I go to other discussions – that “other site” runs stories about this often – where the waitresses come out in force, “We only get paid $2 per hour, you NEED to pay us those tips so we can break even.” Well, cry me a river, honey, take it up with your BOSS. It’s HIS job to pay you, not me. Especially if you’re rude, mess up my order, and spill my drinks.
So. Am i in favor of those restaurants adding 25% automatically to my bill as a “tip”, which I will be expected to pay even if the service is deplorable? No. Am I in favor of those restaurants raising their prices 25% or whatever it takes to pay their wait staff a decent wage so a tip is not expected? Absolutely yes.
First of all if you are being charged for drinking a glass of water you’re in the wrong place. 😉
My tipping does depend on the service, but I do not base it on the food itself. I usually base it off of how we are treated by the waiter/waitress.
Is there a mandatory excellent service connected with this?
Just be honest about organs include the MANDATORY tip amount on the menus with the price of the meal!
I generally tip 20%. Even if I have bad service I tip at least 15%. But when that happens I generally leave a note with the tip. “You must be having an off day. Hope things improve for you.”Good everybody has bad days.
Derivation of the term, “tip” = To Insure Prudence.
If you pay your server ahead of time, you might get it.
I think if you would pay the server a head of time they would really lose all incentive to serve you well… Are they not working hard for a good tip?
I always tip 20%
Even if the service is bad, the people getting that tip make min. wage and rely on tips.
If they paid these people more $$ and raised the prices and took out tipping I would be fine with that also.
If I made $7.50/hr. I would want a tip also..
Good to see you. I’ve missed you here.
I pay according to service. Most of teh time it is impecable…deserving 20%.
Growing up with my mom working as a waitress, her tips brought great joy for us. Although it was a pitance, it was a treasure!
I don’t like this idea. Tips should depend on how well you serve someone. If your tip is included in the bill already, then the waitress/waiter may not work as hard since the tip is already on the bill. Like Jason said we usually tip well, no matter what the service. It has to be really bad for us to tip hardly any.
My computer won’t take me to you links, so I will wing it.
Since I can afford it, I usually tip at least 20% IFF the service is good. If the service is not horrific, my minimum tip is 15%. I will tip 25 cents if there is a serious problem with the service. The whole point of a tip is to encourage proper service.
When my money was tight, I tipped exactly 15% for acceptable service (and I rarely ate out to begin with). Wait staff are not the only people living on a tight budget.
I would be very much against a 25% mandatory tip. Eating out is supposed to be a pleasure / convenience, and that’s why we pay so much more for a meal out than eating at home. If a large tip is mandatory, there is no incentive for the staff to make an effort to provide a pleasant dining experience or even be civil or get the order right. If you got bad service, your choices would be to suck it up or complain to the management – neither of which makes for a pleasant evening. I think this rule would actually cause patrons to choose to dine out less often and lead to layoffs of restaurant workers.
I agree that it would make more sense to require a pay increase or some kind of profit sharing from the restaurant owners, IF there is actually a need for an across-the-board mandatory pay increase. And even if they do decide to make tipping mandatory, it should be mandatory at say 10% (diners would then decide how much more the wait staff deserves). And a mandatory tip should not increase the cost of a meal for a reasonable tipper. A reasonable tip is usually 15% to 20%, so a mandatory tip of 25% should mean the menu prices decrease.
If San Francisco decides to take the position that the special minimum wage for wait staff is unfair, they can simply make restaurant owners pay the same wages as everyone else, and people can feel free to stop tipping except for exemplary service (if at all).
I would not go to this restaurant. Who’s to say I will get good service. That is what we base our tip on. I don’t care if you only make $7.50/hr, if you do your job, have a good attitude, I’ll tip you 20%. If not, you’ll lucky to get a few bucks. You decide what kind of tip you get from me. Why would I tip a server 25%, if I got crappy food, or a crabby server. That’s your job, you work to serve the public.
We went to a good steak house over the summer. The food was exceptionally good, and the service was OK. She got the tip she deserved, but we also asked for a tip to go directly to the cook. I know some places divvy out their tips to everyone…and that too, I don’t agree with. I feel, you should earn your money. I’d be pretty upset if I worked my tail off, but the waitress working the other tables barely did what she should, and never anything beyond that-get money I worked hard for.
Of course, it would be San Francisco!
I know!!
I agree with everyone else. I don’t think tipping should be mandatory or added to your bill without you being the one to do it. I know in most places if you have a party over “so many people,” they’ll add it and I don’t really like that either just like everyone else stated, I feel tips are “earned” and shouldn’t be “expected.”
I tip completely on service. I tip for attention and kindness. The more I’m paid attention to and tended to, the more I’ll tip. I ALWAYS tip and I always tip well but the better the service, the more I’ll tip and I’ll seek that person out the next time I go in. I have NO problem asking to be in a someone’s section. I embarrass my son Toby when I do that but I feel it’s a compliment to the wait person.
I don’t see how you can take it out on the person bringing you your food if it’s not the way you wanted it. That has to be on the chef.
I also don’t think it’s my responsibility to pay the wait staff’s salary. I feel, for the most part that if someone is in this business there’s a reason and they know going in that the hourly wage is low. I think that wage should be higher but I still don’t feel it’s up to me to make up the difference. I’ve waitressed as a lot of young people do and I worked hard for my tips. I think they should be considered an “extra” of the job and should not be counted on. But like Joseph said, those tips are really treasured. It feels good to get a good tip. To me, a tip should be a bonus.
Let me also say that waitress is one of the hardest jobs in the world and your whole body hurts at the end of a shift. I have NO idea why restaurants get away with this minimum wage crap!
I agree with everyone else,a tip is incentive to give good service.We always tip well though I can think of one time that waitress got no tip,it was a really bad experience.I wouldnt go to where there is mandatory tipping.I think we did end up at one in AZ once.I felt ripped off that I couldnt decide the tip amount!
Now tell me what you think of this.There is a small burger place in the city that we just love and they are extremely busy,its hard to get a table there almost any time of the day.Now I cant remember how this came up but we ended up having a conversation with the waitress one time how she gets paid.I may have wanted to know if our tip was going only to her or if she had to share it,I do ask that sometimes.Anyhow,she said the owner took all the tips,they didnt get them BUT that he paid the staff more than most restaurants.Now that I was shocked at!Id never heard that before.That place is so busy, Im sure the owner is making out much better.We actually dont tip there at all now,I dont know if we are correct or not to not tip but somehow it doesnt seem right.I want my tips to go to the wait staff!I suppose its good if they are making a good wage but most people tip so Id think they’d be better off getting the tips.And then I wonder if the owner claims all those tips,pays taxes on them?Different anyhow.
That does present a dilemma. I have a few “hands” here. On one hand, they are making more money and that’s what most of us want but then on the other hand, where are the “tips” then going? Then I feel tipping shouldn’t be expected or allowed. Otherwise wouldn’t we have to start tipping everyone out in our lives? Think how many cashiers are in our lives and bank tellers and the pharmacist. This list could go on and on. Then were would tipping stop? If they’re making a higher wage then they’re on an equal field as everyone else. The point of a higher wage is to get rid of the need to tip.
I’m not sure.
I think I would still tip my standard amount, because the boss is going to see who gets tipped more vs. less, and may make employment decisions based on that.
To me, a tip is a message as well as compensation. “This person did a great job” or “this person provided horrible service.” You want their boss to get the right message.
Though of course there are places where signs are up saying they don’t accept tips, and then I don’t tip.
Do you all tip the same for a buffet, though? I mean, if all the person is doing is basically seating you and maybe bringing a drink / utensils, is a tip appropriate? If so, how much?
thats a tough one! Usually at a chinese buffet we do leave a couple of bucks on the table. That’s the only place that we do that. We don’t tip at like Old Country Buffet or places like that.
No. I don’t tip nearly as much at a buffet and I don’t tip at all at places like Old Country Buffet because nobody even seats you.
I generally don’t tip @ buffets but otherwise im like most of you’s i tip according to my service. there is NOWAY i agree with a tip added in on my bill.
Waitresses are generally paid less per hour, (back in the day it was way below minimum wage, i dont know about now) because they get tips and they really rely on getting them.