Tipping
Feb 23, 2008 general food
This is not the first story I’ve seen recently about restaurants suffering due to the economy.
No, no, it was Joe Bonwich’s excellent article in the Post Dispatch earlier this week.
What it was, however, was the first one I’ve seen locally that mentioned some server’s tips declining even when the customers do show.
Customers who used to leave 15 to 20% tips are scaling back five to ten percent.
Regardless of your price point, next time your dining out, consider the following:
$2 is not much more than $1.50?
Is the $2.50 difference between $7.50 and $10 going to break you if you spend $50?
If you can drop $100 on a meal, seriously, what’s another $5?
And if you’re dropping, say, two hundred dollars on dinner, a sum I know some of you spend (and more), is $10 really a big deal at that point?
For those of us who can afford the luxury of dining out (and don’t forget it is a luxury), do the right thing and round those tips up. Those little bits add up for our servers over the course of a night, and they will most certainly return their appreciation on our next visits.
Tags: economy, Joe Bonwich, servers, tipping, tips
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February 23rd, 2008 at 2:51 pm
I think you have to really be careful about reading too much into the anectdotal evidence produced by KSDK. They have no studies to back up their report. In fact, the one restaurant worker they quoted (a waitress at Uncle Bills –a magnet for generous tippers) acknowledged that, although once tips seemed to be low, they are now going back to where they were.
February 23rd, 2008 at 4:11 pm
I guess I was commenting just as much on tipping in general.
People get cheap with their tips, and if you’re spending $200 on dinner, tipping your server 20 or 25% instead of 15% is not a big deal.
February 24th, 2008 at 8:43 pm
As someone who owns an establishment in which we hope you’ll leave a tip – more often than not I tip 20% or higher. I ALWAYS tip at independent coffee shops (if I’ve got cash). Working in food is hard work and the pay isn’t great. Tips show appreciation for doing a good job – or at least *trying* do do a good job.
February 24th, 2008 at 11:58 pm
I love you.
February 25th, 2008 at 7:05 am
As a diner (and a non-industry-veteran), I do try to tip well. Two points of minor disagreement – if I’m not satisfied with the service, my tip is smaller – “trying hard” (or thinking that you are) is different than delivering good results – a drop in tips may actually represent a slip in the level of service, not in people’s ability to pay. And I do disagree that an expensive meal should result in a higher-percentage tip. If it takes me 2½ hours to enjoy a $125 meal ($25/20% tip) at Monarch and only 1½ hour to enjoy a $60 one ($12/20% tip) at JackSon’s, the server is making less (per hour) and working harder at JackSon’s – if anything, in my mind, generosity is more important when the check is smaller . . .
February 25th, 2008 at 9:52 am
It is always suprising to me that most people don’t realize how little servers make per hour. When I was a server 10 years ago it was only $1.35/hr. I think it has gone up a little since then, but not by much. I think in nicer restaurants servers might make a little more, but most of us eat in the everyday restaurants more often than the nice ones. So, tips are most definitely how servers are making a living. Most people think all servers make minimum wage + tips for some reason and that just isn’t the case.
February 25th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
What I mean by “trying to do a good job” is that sometimes the server or whatever has no control over what’s going on in the kitchen and they’re doing their best to put a happy face on the situation. In the case of coffee shops – I drop a buck if I have it – or at a minimum – the change from my order.
February 26th, 2008 at 6:45 am
I dine out enough to know the difference between something a server can control and something they can’t. If everybody’s waiting for their food or it comes out “wrong”, there’s obviously a problem in back. But if tables in the same or adjacent sections are receiving more attention and a better attitude, then it IS a server problem – it could be a bad day for them or a bad career choice, but the fundamental reason for tipping is to reward good service, and the flip side is that poor service will be rewarded less generously, if at all.
I agree, the basic system is somewhat f’ed up – there should be a basic salary paid for showing up and going through the motions/completing one’s assigned tasks. The reality is that ain’t the way it is, and it’s not going to change anytime soon. And lobbying for a bigger percentage tip (20-25%)is NOT going to play well with the dining public, especially now that St. Louis voters have agreed to a sales tax at sit-down restaurants of nearly 10%. This on top of the inflation in all the other costs we all pay – the $80 meal of 4 or 5 years ago is now $100 . . .
February 26th, 2008 at 9:30 am
I think the main point here is to educate people on what they should be doing and to understand the impact of cheaping out on the tip. If people can afford to drop say $100.00 on dinner than they can afford a $15 – $20 tip (providing the service is good). Obviously if the service is bad you should tip accordingly. However, good service deserves a tip of at least 15%. If you are tipping $10 what will it matter to cough up at least the extra $5? What does $5 extra dollars matter at that point when you have spent $100? And hey, if Bill manages to change just 1 person’s mind that is worth it to me.