Tipping

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Originally Posted by gabriel;2731591;

The IRS has automatic amounts they add to a persons tax based on income and averages of people who are in tipped positions. Maybe Unklescott could enlighted me more, it's been many years since I managed a dining room

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Yes,they tax us on the tips that we report. We have to report credit card tips, but no one I know claims cash tips. The unfortunate thing is that when people under tip, we suffer for that as well. We have to tip out based on us getting 15% (which in this day and age is quite outdated. Tipping should be around 20% now). So, if I get a 10% or less tip, it's basically going to bussers and bartenders. I work in a place that 99% of payments are credit cards, so I'm claiming 15% of my tips. (I also usually make a lot more, but sometimes not) The restaurant computers do that for me.

I don't agree that parties of less than 6 should have an automatic gratuity and I am betting that this particular restaurant will stop doing that pretty quick. People don't like it and they will start getting complaints. As for parties of 6 or more, they can really be a lot of work, especially when they all want separate checks, a lot of drinking, picky eaters, etc. Many times managers won't give you more tables because they want you to pay more attention to the bigger groups. So, absolutely I will add on a gratuity- (18% before tax). There have been a few times that I have taken a risk and taken the gratuity off- and got screwed. Never again. I do wish people would add on more to the tip, but often times they won't. What people don't realize that when we get bad tips, it's insulting and hurts our feelings. If the service is so bad, at least talk to a manager. Many times I have had people hand me the check book and say "Thanks- this was great- you were great- we will be back!" and then I end up with a 10% or less tip. That won't pay my bills and makes the patron look like the cheapskate he is. (in the restaurant biz there is a funny *rule* that if a guests gives you a verbal tip(like telling us how great everything was) chances are his monetary tips sucks. It's usually true)

I give great service and I've done waitress work for years so I know that I am good. I get compliments all of the time from my guests and I do usually make a higher than average tip. So knowing that I have made a guest feel welcome, and helped them enjoy their meal without too much fuss- it especially burns when the tip is substandard.
Again-if the service is so bad that you don't feel like they deserve a good tip- that is completely valid- but please talk with a manager! Leaving a tiny tip to *give the server a message* does not work. Many times the server has no idea they were bad and they just think you are a cheap ass who doesn't know how to tip! (there are far too many out there) If you at least speak with a manager, they can go back to the server and help them with their weaknesses to improve their performance. Also, remember that some things are out of the servers' control so if the food is taking a long time, don't automatically blame them. We don't have any control over the kitchen, but at the same time, the server should be speaking with you to let you know what is going on.

It's the little things that determine my experience and therefore my tip. If I'm given extra napkins without asking (come on, how many people really can get by on just the one napkin each per person?), my water (coffee, etc) is filled regularly, offered a straw, offered cream for the coffee, and kept up to date on when the food will be coming out, that is a sign of good service to me.

The customer isn't concerned if the manager short staffed the schedule or if people called in sick. In that case, the manager(s) should be helping out as much as possible so that it isn't noticeable to the diners. I want to be able to see my server regularly enough so that if I do need a refill or more napkins, I don't have to hunt him/her down or yell across the room at them.

Recently I went out to lunch with a friend and the restaurant wasn't that busy but we hardly saw the waitress. When she brought our coffee, she brought one cream each, without even asking if we needed more (which we did, so we asked her for more and by the time she brought the extra, we were almost done). We never got offered a refill. I mentioned something I didn't like about an item I ordered and she said "I'm sorry" but really she wasn't and she didn't ask "do you want to speak with the manager?" I could have pursued it but I didn't.

In this case I guess I should have talked to the manager about our service but I tend to just not go back to a place that makes me uncomfortable. Unless the food or restaurant is downright disgusting, or the server is really bad, I usually don't say anything. I know that's not the right thing to do but I don't really like confrontational situations.

I tip closer to the 20% mark (lots of times more) but if service is bad, I still tip around 10%. After reading the suggestions from ya'll here, I'll try to be more outspoken when I have an unpleasant experience and hope that I'm helping make the establishment run better in the future. I just wonder though how many places actually take the complaints/suggestions to heart.

I've only spoken up once about food I didn't like--and I think it was just a taste thing (e.g. there was nothing wrong with the food--I just didn't like the ingredients they put in it--that happens). I wouldn't have even said anything either, but the waitress kept asking me what was wrong with my meal. I said I just didn't like it. She asked why, and I said that I could taste cinnamon in there and I didn't like cinnamon in Asian noodles (it was a restaurant that was trying to do all these different flavors with Asian food--I should've just gone to a real Thai restaurant instead).

She took it as a personal insult and went on to tell me that EVERYONE else LOVED it. Then she went back to the open kitchen and I could see her and the chef talking about it and they seemed to be making fun of me, pointing and laughing and shaking their heads! :lol I'm like, "Hello! I can see you!" To her credit, she did come out and ask me if they could make me something else, but she was pretty snippy and rude about it, and once again said that everyone else loved cinnamon in their pad thai. I wanted to say, "I'll bet Thai people don't like it. Why don't you try getting a Thai chef instead of some reject from the culinary institute...." But I didn't. (And this wasn't an ethnic restaurant where language could've been a barrier. All the servers/chefs etc. were caucasian and spoke English as a first language...)

Anyhow, I didn't want anything else so I politely declined her offer. I left her a 10% tip and she knew exactly why. It wasn't her fault that I didn't like the food, but she didn't have to be confrontational about it either, especially when I wasn't asking for anything and only replied to her question about why I hadn't eaten more than a couple bitefuls. Had she just done her job and not been such a witch, she would've gotten 20%, because as I said before, it's not her fault I didn't like the way the food tasted. I just don't like cinnamon in Thai noodles. Call me crazy! :wow

I completely agree with you about not wanting to be confrontational and having rude servers. (as a server, they bug me too!) I just think if a server is so inept with their job (not refilling water, coffee, ect) not checking back, arguing with a customer (and especially making fun of a guest) that should absolutely be brought to a managers attention. No need to be confrontational, just ask for him/her on the way out and express your concerns. The management really does take it seriously and will speak with the server, chef or whoever is causing the problem. We know that when one guest is dissatisfied, they will tell ten people, etc., etc.
My personal feeling is if you are unhappy about service/food in the place I work-whether by me or my fellow employees, and won't come back, that hurts me financially. Call me selfish, but I want people to come back to my place and I want them to have a wonderful experience because in the end, we all win.

It never occured to me to ask to speak to a manager in those kind of situations. I just leave enough of a tip so the waitress knows I didn't forget. I'm talking about the waitress who put another person's silverware on my plate she was going to put in a doggie bag and another waitress at the same restaurant who let me order the avocado salad when they didn't have any avocados and then try to argue with me about it when I objected to it being served without any! And her I had to get out of my seat and track down in the kitchen and it wasn't busy at all. Wish I could rewind both of those situations and talk to the manager!

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Originally Posted by Mikesgal;2731707;

I completely agree with you about not wanting to be confrontational and having rude servers. (as a server, they bug me too!) I just think if a server is so inept with their job (not refilling water, coffee, ect) not checking back, arguing with a customer (and especially making fun of a guest) that should absolutely be brought to a managers attention. No need to be confrontational, just ask for him/her on the way out and express your concerns. The management really does take it seriously and will speak with the server, chef or whoever is causing the problem. We know that when one guest is dissatisfied, they will tell ten people, etc., etc.
My personal feeling is if you are unhappy about service/food in the place I work-whether by me or my fellow employees, and won't come back, that hurts me financially. Call me selfish, but I want people to come back to my place and I want them to have a wonderful experience because in the end, we all win.

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I wouldn't call you selfish at all. This is why I don't understand why more people in this business don't give good service. If you are working for the tip, and you give bad service, then you've hurt yourself and ultimately the other servers if the customer doesn't come back and tells others to avoid that restaurant.

I think you have a great perspective and more servers and managers should have the same attitude.

I'd love to eat in your restaurant. I bet the service is wonderful.

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Originally Posted by gabriel;2731591;

The IRS has automatic amounts they add to a persons tax based on income and averages of people who are in tipped positions. Maybe Unklescott could enlighted me more, it's been many years since I managed a dining room

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You called? :lol Here's how it works.
Tipped employees are required to report 100% of their tips to the IRS. You may deduct the amount you pay out of these tips to other employees (tipping out bartenders, bussers, etc) but you must keep accurate records of this. Employees who are "tipped out" must report those tips if it exceeds $20 per month.
Some restaurants have entered into agreements with the IRS where they automatically allocate a predetermined % of each server's sales as tips. The IRS standard guideline is 8%. Anything below that is a red flag that tips are being under reported.
Here's a pamphlet from the IRS that explains it all.
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p1872.pdf

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Originally Posted by Unklescott;2731958;

You called? :lol Here's how it works.
Tipped employees are required to report 100% of their tips to the IRS. You may deduct the amount you pay out of these tips to other employees (tipping out bartenders, bussers, etc) but you must keep accurate records of this. Employees who are "tipped out" must report those tips if it exceeds $20 per month.
Some restaurants have entered into agreements with the IRS where they automatically allocate a predetermined % of each server's sales as tips. The IRS standard guideline is 8%. Anything below that is a red flag that tips are being under reported.
Here's a pamphlet from the IRS that explains it all.
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p1872.pdf

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Thanks for the answer there Unklescott. That 8% thing is what I was thinking about. Personally I think the IRS should have left tips alone and gone after corporate taxes or other ways to generate more money. I remember using my tip money from the times I had to wait tables as a means to live.

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Originally Posted by myrosiedog;2731939;

I wouldn't call you selfish at all. This is why I don't understand why more people in this business don't give good service. If you are working for the tip, and you give bad service, then you've hurt yourself and ultimately the other servers if the customer doesn't come back and tells others to avoid that restaurant.

I think you have a great perspective and more servers and managers should have the same attitude.

I'd love to eat in your restaurant. I bet the service is wonderful.

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Thank you. I think my perspective comes from being older and more mature than many of the kids that serve today. I find a lot of the younger people feel that a tip is expected, but they don't have to earn it. (and this is a generalization- not all younger people do this) I also know the value of a dollar and eating out can be expensive for me, so I figure it is as well for my guest. I don't want them to feel like their hard earned money was wasted, because I don't like to feel like that. I've always been in the restaurant business, except for the 10 years I was a stay at home mom. So when my kids got older and I wanted to go back to work for extra cash and some out of the house time- the restaurant is where I went back to. I love it.:nerd

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Originally Posted by Mikesgal;2733090;

Thank you. I think my perspective comes from being older and more mature than many of the kids that serve today. I find a lot of the younger people feel that a tip is expected, but they don't have to earn it. (and this is a generalization- not all younger people do this) I also know the value of a dollar and eating out can be expensive for me, so I figure it is as well for my guest. I don't want them to feel like their hard earned money was wasted, because I don't like to feel like that. I've always been in the restaurant business, except for the 10 years I was a stay at home mom. So when my kids got older and I wanted to go back to work for extra cash and some out of the house time- the restaurant is where I went back to. I love it.:nerd

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Once again you've hit the nail on the head. We don't eat out often and when we do, I want it to be a fairly nice experience. If I'm spending my money on dinner, I truly expect to be treated well. (the better the restaurant, the higher my expectations) Because if I'm not treated well, I will think twice about going back next time to spend hard earned money.

Thank you for being a good server. Maybe there will be ones that learn from you and spread that same message as they move on. I hope.

If I'm treated well, then my server is treated well and it doesn't matter what level of nice the restaurant is. I once tipped more than the entire amount of the bill for breakfast to the most wonderful server who was just fabulous and I also complimented the manager on her. And that was at a Village Inn, so it wasn't a huge amount for breakfast, but she got 3 or 4 times more than the $4 tip that would have been about 20% then.