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Just curious.....what about car hops? All they do is deliver food.....what do you think about tipping them? A percentage, the same as in restaurants? Personally, I usually add a $1, no matter whether it's a glass of tea or a burger and fries, whatever.....now there I'm using the logic you're wondering about in the restaurant I think.....giving a flat rate, not based on the bill.....
posted by
Krisles
on January 19, 2012 at 6:05 PM
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My goodness, I find service varies often.....but, I'm a bit of a customer service nut; that said, my daughter spent years waiting so I've a soft spot and rarely leave less than 15%. I have to chuckle at some of the tipping concepts out there.....my new hair dresser automatically adds a 15% tip to her bill. She explained on my first visit that she found this was easier for her customers. I bit my cheek to keep from laughing. I like her and the work she does so I continue to go to her even though this arrogant attitude would normally turn me off so much I would never return. I mean, a tip is not a "given"....it is something that is earned and given based on the customer's decision....but, she's young and full of herself. Little does she know that I would normally tip at least 20%.....my payback for her arrogance is that I never give her anything extra!
posted by
Krisles
on January 19, 2012 at 6:01 PM
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Re: Never thought of it this way...
I'm sure that's true. Like I wrote, I don't mind tipping in general, and also like I wrote, I try to be as generous as possible, because there's seldom anything wrong with either the food or the service. It's just the irony of basing the percentage of the tip on the bill, with really no other way to calculate it, regardless of what you order to eat or drink. I guess you're lucky out there in Washington. I believe that people in the "serving industry" here in New Jersey are actually paid well below minimum wage simply because they do receive tips! Thanks for joining the debate. 
posted by
JimmyA
on January 17, 2012 at 7:19 AM
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Never thought of it this way...
I think it really depends on the restaurant, and on what state you're in. In Washington state (where I live), servers are paid the standard minimum wage, which on its own is still a paltry amount to live on. When you figure tips in though, a good server can earn a respectable living part-time while attending college, raising kids, etc.
I used to work as a busser in a Chili's restaurant. Servers were expected to give I believe 10% of their tips to the bussers. On a good night I would sometimes take home more in tips than some of the servers. So that's one way to figure your tip. At Chili's for example, when you order more food, there's more to clean up after you leave, so your tip doesn't just pay for the service directly to you. In a weird way it's sort of like taxes. You get direct benefit from the service, but your money also helps pay for services you don't notice, but that benefit the next person who sits down at the table.
posted by
myrrhage_
on January 16, 2012 at 7:45 PM
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Re:
Perhaps. But the enigma ( much like the song ) remains the same. The tip percentage is still going to be based on the total price of the bill, and not necessarily based strictly on the performance of the wait staff, regardless of what they push or sell. Still kind of a tough debate, though, isn't it?
posted by
JimmyA
on January 16, 2012 at 1:45 PM
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This may or may not enter into the equation, but, arguably, part of the job of the waiter/waitress is to sell the patrons on ordering the premium cuisine or starting their meal with appetizers or ending the meals with a rich dessert. More often, though, they plug the in-house special--because the chefs have prepared it in mass that day and to entice them to come back and order it when it is not necessarily a special or to come back again for another special. Returning patrons are part of the strategy.
posted by
Against4WindsOn2Flam
on January 16, 2012 at 9:28 AM
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Re: I wish that their employers would pay them a proper wage
That's probably true. I have a good friend who is a bartender in Atlantic City, and I hardly ever see him because his salary depends on tips, and he is busiest during the weekends. Like I wrote, the tip should be based solely on the quality of the service, not necessarily a percentage of the bill. But there doesn't seem to be any other way to calculate that percentage . . . thus our quandary. 
posted by
JimmyA
on January 16, 2012 at 6:36 AM
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Re:
Not a bad system, and I know there's no other way to calculate a tip except to base it on a percentage of the total bill. It just seems a little odd to me that the bill will always fluctuate with the price of the food, and thus the tip calculation will fluctuate, but the service is basically the same. Tough one, though, huh?
posted by
JimmyA
on January 16, 2012 at 6:31 AM
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I wish that their employers would pay them a proper wage
and that tipping was truly casual, like it is in Europe where a proper tip is to leave the coin change on the table.
posted by
Ciel
on January 16, 2012 at 2:55 AM
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That's a tough one! I just tip according to the amount of the meal and stay at 15%! sam 
posted by
sam444
on January 15, 2012 at 12:37 PM
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