Tipping

[toobfreak]

When you tip, do you tip on the total, or just on the food and drinks? In other words, do make your tip calculations without including the tax?

After twenty-five years, my wife just figured out that I omit the tax when calculating the tip. Why would anyone tip on the tax?

You should tip on the real value of the actual FOOD, not tax and other service charges because none of those were an actual part of the meal.

 

[ABikerSailor]

Some places force the server to split tips with the bartender and the busboys. This gets crazy if you are making $2.15 an hour.

At the place I used to work, everyone got paid minimum wage. If you were a server/bartender, you split tips with who was on your shift. That worked out well for the owner, as all of us would make sure the others were doing their job well so that we all went home with decent cash at the end of the night. However, sharing a shift with a lazy idiot on some nights sucked, as I would do most of the work, and they would rake in a share of the tips I earned because they didn't get tipped as they were crappy servers. But, that wasn't too much of a problem, because if someone was a lazy idiot, the other servers would talk with the owner about it, and the idiot would soon be looking for another job.

Maybe that is why the bar/restaurant did so well, because the food was pretty good and the service was usually excellent.

 

[Disir]

And just FYI, you folks know that cow tipping not a real thing, right? Just something country folk told city folk. It doesn't happen.

Sshhhh. One of these days we will get to see it in action. It'll be fun. Promise.

 

[ABikerSailor]

And just FYI, you folks know that cow tipping not a real thing, right? Just something country folk told city folk. It doesn't happen.

Dunno where you're from, but it is real. Cows actually do lightly snooze when standing, and they can be tipped over. They wake up quite quickly when they hit the ground though.

 

[hjmick]

Do you tip on take out?

Yes. We only do take out from a couple of places, and we eat in there as well. We do so often enough that the folks there know us, so...

 

[Disir]

At the place I used to work, everyone got paid minimum wage. If you were a server/bartender, you split tips with who was on your shift. That worked out well for the owner, as all of us would make sure the others were doing their job well so that we all went home with decent cash at the end of the night. However, sharing a shift with a lazy idiot on some nights sucked, as I would do most of the work, and they would rake in a share of the tips I earned because they didn't get tipped as they were crappy servers. But, that wasn't too much of a problem, because if someone was a lazy idiot, the other servers would talk with the owner about it, and the idiot would soon be looking for another job.

Maybe that is why the bar/restaurant did so well, because the food was pretty good and the service was usually excellent.

Some servers just suck and the key player in all of it is the busboy. I have worked in places where they back of the house was mostly illegal aliens and they get shafted no matter what.

 

[Concerned American]

Some places force the server to split tips with the bartender and the busboys. This gets crazy if you are making $2.15 an hour.

Where do they pay wages that low?

 

[MarathonMike]

Tip 20%+ no matter the service. Sometimes more. But I don't eat at restaurants more than once or twice a month.

When I do, what's another 10 or 20 bucks?

I agree, food service people work their asses off. If service is "lousy" there could be lots of reasons why, not the fault of the server.

 

[WinterBorn]

Where do they pay wages that low?

Lots of places. If you receive tips your employer can avoid the minimum wage laws.

 

[JoeMoma]

And just FYI, you folks know that cow tipping not a real thing, right? Just something country folk told city folk. It doesn't happen.

Damn! and I tipped a cow $20 just last night.

 

[Sunni Man]

I usually pay with my credit card and put "0" in the place for for tip amount.
Then I'll hand the waiter cash money for my tip and tell them to pocket the money.
That way they don't have to share their tip with anyone including the government. ....

 

[Disir]

Where do they pay wages that low?

Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees

www.dol.gov

It's not uncommon if your money comes primarily from tips.

 

[JoeMoma]

I usually pay with my credit card and put "0" in the place for for tip amount.
Then I'll hand the waiter cash money for my tip and tell them to pocket the money.
That way they don't have to share their tip with anyone including the government. ....

I usually leave a cash tip as well.

 

[hjmick]

Where do they pay wages that low?

Currently, the U.S. federal government requires that tipped employees are paid at least $2.13 per hour in direct wages, as long as this amount equals the federal hourly minimum wage when combined with tips. If the employer’s direct wages of $2.13 per hour plus the employee’s tips do not equal the federal minimum hourly wage, the employer must make up the difference.

These are the 2022 rates for states where the tipped minimum wage is the same as that required under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act ($2.13 per hour):

Alabama: $2.13 tipped employee minimum wage

Georgia: $2.13 tipped employee minimum wage

Indiana: $2.13 tipped employee minimum wage; $5.12 tip credit (basic combined cash and tip minimum wage rate = $7.25)

Kansas: $2.13 tipped employee minimum wage; $5.12 tip credit (basic combined cash and tip minimum wage rate = $7.25)

Kentucky: $2.13 tipped employee minimum wage; $5.12 tip credit (basic combined cash and tip minimum wage rate = $7.25)

Louisiana: $2.13 tipped employee minimum wage

Mississippi: $2.13 tipped employee minimum wage

Nebraska: $2.13 tipped employee minimum wage; $6.87 tip credit (basic combined cash and tip minimum wage rate = $9.00)

North Carolina: $2.13 tipped employee minimum wage; $5.12 tip credit (basic combined cash and tip minimum wage rate = $7.25) Note: A tip credit is not permitted in North Carolina unless the employer obtains from each employee, either monthly or each pay period, a signed certification of the amount of tips received.

Oklahoma: $2.13 tipped employee minimum wage; $5.12 tip credit (basic combined cash and tip minimum wage rate = $7.25) Note: For businesses with 10 full-time employees at any one location who have gross annual sales of $100,000 or less, the basic minimum rate is $2.00 per hour.

South Carolina: $2.13 tipped employee minimum wage

Tennessee: $2.13 tipped employee minimum wage

Texas: $2.13 tipped employee minimum wage; $5.12 tip credit (basic combined cash and tip minimum wage rate = $7.25)

Utah: $2.13 tipped employee minimum wage; $5.12 tip credit (basic combined cash and tip minimum wage rate = $7.25)

Virginia: $2.13 tipped employee minimum wage; $8.87 tip credit (basic combined cash and tip minimum wage rate = $11.00)

Wyoming: $2.13 tipped employee minimum wage; $5.12 tip credit (basic combined cash and tip minimum wage rate = $7.25)

Keep in mind that Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Tennessee do not have state minimum wage laws. And while Georgia has a state minimum wage law, it does not apply to tipped employees.

The State of Tipped Minimum Wage in the Restaurant Industry

Everything you need to know about changes to tipped minimum wage, and how your restaurant can deal with increased labor costs.

www.touchbistro.com

Read the linked article. It's damn near infuriating...

 

[JoeMoma]

I usually tip 20% if the waiter fully serves me. Sometimes I eat at a buffet in which the waiter keeps my beverage cup filled, but I serve myself food from the buffet, so I tip more like 10%.

 

[hjmick]

Lots of places. If you receive tips your employer can avoid the minimum wage laws.

Not exactly true. It's all based on federal law and the federal minimum wage. See the article I linked in Post #34. It'll piss you off...

 

[Concerned American]

Lots of places. If you receive tips your employer can avoid the minimum wage laws.

I never lived in a state where that was true. Learn something new everyday. I will have to carry this chart, so that I know where they do that--it will definitely make a difference if it is a high end restaurant and they are stiffing their employees with wages that don't reflect the prices. I was particularly surprised to see that ID and DE are two states that allow that.

Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees

www.dol.gov

 

[Concerned American]

I usually pay with my credit card and put "0" in the place for for tip amount.
Then I'll hand the waiter cash money for my tip and tell them to pocket the money.
That way they don't have to share their tip with anyone including the government. ....

I worked as a busboy in my younger years in a high end restaurant in Phoenix. I got fired for accepting a tip from a particularly generous patron. The policy was to split tips among the staff but this patron insisted that the tip go to me. The manager allowed it and fired me that evening.

 

[JOSweetHeart]

I usually pay with my credit card and put "0" in the place for for tip amount.
Then I'll hand the waiter cash money for my tip and tell them to pocket the money.
That way they don't have to share their tip with anyone including the government. ....

Amen to this. I always give my tips personally so that the deserving person most definitely gets it.

God bless you always!!!

Holly

 

[Calypso Jones]

Standard 20% of total before tax but added to or subtracted for quality of service. Say a 5.60 tip but rounded down to 5.00 or maybe 4 if the service sucked. BUT if you add the tip on and include it with my bill....you get the 18% and nothing more.