Tip Jars - To tip or not to tip, that is the questionFollow

Ah, thanks :) For me , tipping would usually be in a restaurant (a real restaurant, not some subway or burger king rubbish . In pubs, I don't tend to tip, but I'll offer to buy the person pouring my drinks one for themselves every so often .

I don't think I've ever tipped a pizza delivery guy or anything though , beyond occasionally telling them to keep the change if it's only a few pence . My reasoning there is that until I eat the food, I don't know how good it is .

I'm Canadian so where I come from minimum wage is the minimum amount of money a person can make working in a company, I've never really thought about the Tipping Wage culture down in the states but I will definitely have to take it into consideration next time I'm down that way(no wonder the food's so much cheaper).

Generally speaking, up here, I tip at places where I'm waited on, tip jars are a nono. My tip is between 10 and 20% depending on the quality of the service.
I also tip cab drivers 10-15% if they get me where I'm going in a decent time without giving me whiplash.
I tip delivery people, especially if I see them in a vehicle that is clearly not a company car, because gas reimbursements haven't inflated at anything approaching the speed that gas has.
Lastly I tip at Tim Hortons which is just a coffee place, but having worked there as a teenager I know what a fast paced hell it is(seriously makes Starbucks look like the DMV).

Generally I feel tipping is appropriate in situations where the person is providing a service tailored specifically to me, in a prompt, courteous and speedy manner.

Also, as a sidenote(at least in Canada), if you're going to tip using the debit or credit machine, as some are wont to do, tip extra. Waiters are technically supposed to keep track of and claim their tips in income tax, most don't claim the tips they are given in cash because it is untrackable, however they're forced to claim their debit/credit tips as there's a paper trail.

What I meant was that you should tip more because it's a bullsh*t moneygrab by the government, and waiters already make sh*t wages as it is.

edit: grammarz!

Edited, Jun 3rd 2009 3:42pm by reavenance

I don't see the problem. I want my food to be a set price. I'd rather pay $15 flat for my food than pay $13 and be expected to tip the $2. I'm happy to pay whatever wage increase the staff see in the cost of my food. It's annoying to wait around for the waitstaff to bring me my check so I can pay and leave. Since I usually pay by credit card I also incur the wait of having the staff swipe my card and bring it back to me. I'd rather leave a restaurant 5-15 minutes sooner--depending on how busy they are.

Again, I'm speaking about low tier restaurants like Chili's.

Is someone waiting on you at chilis? Are they amiable? Are they making below minimum wage without tips? If the answers to these questions are "yes's" then you should tip them. Just because it's a stupid system doesn't mean you should ***** over the waiter. You're just punishing the wrong people by not tipping. It's an arbitrary social custom, and nonsense at times, but people rely on that custom to pay their bills.

There's no added tax cost, assuming revenue increases by the same amount as wages paid to employees, because net profit would be the same. Restaurants couldn't increase profit without either increasing prices beyond what they have currently deemed optimal or decreasing server wages, which could make it difficult to maintain the service quality they are attempting to deliver.

I'm not seeing why prices would have to increase beyond the standard 15% tip.

You guys don't have Un/Employment insurance or an old age pension that's paid for by the taxation of the current work force of America? Your employers aren't required to pay a portion of those? In Canada, they do and it goes up as the wages go up, until they cap, but no restaurant has line level employees already at cap.


Another reason why Canada is better than America. It actually makes sure it's citizens are cared for.

Do most of you guys tip 15% or more for delivered food? Also, I tip a couple bucks if I'm picking up food from a sit down place (I don't know if this is just a lazy California thing, but many standard mid-range sit down places offer curbside service) but I just can't bring myself to tip, say, 15% for food in a bag.

I'm not educated enough on the mechanics of the system to know if a wage increase for wait staff would matter. You really think it would add $5 dollars on to the price of a now $13 meal (40%)?

Edited, Jun 3rd 2009 2:41pm by Allegory

I generally do not toss money in tip jars. In most of those types of places around here the people behind the counter do little more than hand you your change. That's not worth a tip IMHO.

On the other hand, at real restaurants, where I am actually waited on and my wants are heeded by the wait staff, and they do a fine job, or even a decent job under difficult conditions, or if my waitress has terrific cleavage, I tip generously.

No one delivers to my house. My average restaurant tip is 20%.


edit - some day It'll sink in that there is NO sad in allakhazam.

Edited, Jun 3rd 2009 10:30pm by Elinda

You tip for the service, not the preparation. If you are getting take out, or buying food in a place where you seat and serve yourself, you should not tip. Those tip jars are just there in the hopes that it's mere presence will make some people give extra money to the staff.

The economic reasons for tipping have already been covered. Wait staff are paid on a different scale than other workers (lower minimum wage). They're paid less on the assumption that they'll get tips. If you don't tip them you're ******** them over. Everyone else is paid normal scale. The cost of the food/whatever includes the cost of their pay. There's no need to tip and there's nothing wrong with not tipping in those circumstances.

As a general rule, unless someone seats you at a table, takes your order, delivers your food/drinks to your table, takes your check, gives you change, etc... they should not be tipped. The one exception I tend to make is for food delivery drivers. While they are paid normal scale, they often drive their own vehicles and get reimbursed just barely enough for gas. You should tip them if for no other reason than to cover the wear and tear on their cars.


Having said all of that, a tip jar is a convenient way to rid yourself of a pocket full of change that's weighing you down. But I never feel that I have to put money in a tip jar.



Oh. And always tip your bartender. Early and often...