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Wait staff, tipping, and Minimum Wage

Should Tipping be figured into a wait staff wage?

  • Yes, it is perfectly fine for wait staff to have a lower wage, they are making that up in tips.

    Votes: 14 30.4%

  • No, It is the job of the management to pay their employees accordingly.

    Votes: 16 34.8%

  • A combo of both.

    Votes: 10 21.7%

  • I need a beer and I don't care...

    Votes: 6 13.0%
  • Total voters
    46
jmotivator said:
I tip 20% base and up to 25% for excellent service. If the wait staff was getting paid salary I see no point in tipping as my tip is already included in the higher price of food.

As "cool story bro" anecdote, I had a discussion about tipping a few months ago with a colleague who was on a two week visit from London. We went to lunch together every day while he was in the states and he never got over the speed and attentiveness of American waiters compared to London. I explained to him the idea of the American merit pay system for wait staff and he couldn't quite wrap his head around it. He looked at it as the wait staff working for almost no money until I pointed out to him that the average tip was 10% and each of the 5 tables had a turnover at meal times of 30 minutes, and the average bill for two people was $50 dollars and left him to do the math.

When he realized that the wait staff was pulling $50/hour during lunch shift in tips alone he quickly realized why the wait staff in America is so much more customer focused than in London. London waiters get paid better hourly wages but don't even touch the take home pay of a good waiter in the US.
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I worked dinner shifts... and this was over ten years ago, but if I walked out with less than $100 dollars cash it was a horrible night. Generally I would wait on 5-8 tables a night and make $200-$400 dollars in about 3 hours. Cash in pocket. The $150 dollar pay check every two weeks was just bonus.
 
Chiefgator said:
So, the "living wage" thread and the "minimum wage" thread brought to mind an old annoyance...

I think it is absurd that Wait Staff has a different Minimum Wage.
I feel that tips should be extra, not expected.


If you have a great hostess, then the business owner should be the one paying her instead of me. We have become so accustomed to the Tip are Wages that we just go with it and pay the extra 20%. I am a heavy tipper as I know that is how they get paid. I have worked for "tips only", so I understand. BUT.... I feel it is the managers job to pay the staff accordingly, not the client.
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Then you will simply be getting worse service or higher costs for meals...
 
Bodhisattva said:
I worked dinner shifts... and this was over ten years ago, but if I walked out with less than $100 dollars cash it was a horrible night. Generally I would wait on 5-8 tables a night and make $200-$400 dollars in about 3 hours. Cash in pocket. The $150 dollar pay check every two weeks was just bonus.
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Where in the heck did you work? I made about 150 dollars on an average night. $400 dollars in 3 hours is a LOT of money IMO.
 
I've made my opinions of waitresses well known. Other than teachers, the most overpaid "profession" out there.
 
ChrisL said:
Where in the heck did you work? I made about 150 dollars on an average night. $400 dollars in 3 hours is a LOT of money IMO.
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I worked in Fine Dining... top end restaurants.

Santa Rosa Hotel | Wine Country Hotel | Sonoma Hotels

...and other restaurants.

I was one of the Head Servers. Waited on Dustin Hoffman, Donald Sutherland and other famous actors, Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Fabio, Steven Segal, politicians, tons of professional athletes actually, wealthy business owners, corporate execs, musicians, etc.

I had one table one night... 18 people. I walked out with $600 dollars cash after tipping out. I worked as a bartender for a top end catering company in Laguna and Newport Beaches CA. Bartending to the rich and famous at their 10 million dollar plus homes sculpted into the cliffs over looking the Pacific Ocean... tough life I had. I would surf or mountain bike during the day, work the evenings and party the night. Repeat daily...
 
Bodhisattva said:
I worked in Fine Dining... top end restaurants.

Santa Rosa Hotel | Wine Country Hotel | Sonoma Hotels

...and other restaurants.

I was one of the Head Servers. Waited on Dustin Hoffman, Donald Sutherland and other famous actors, Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Fabio, Steven Segal, politicians, tons of professional athletes actually, wealthy business owners, corporate execs, musicians, etc.

I had one table one night... 18 people. I walked out with $600 dollars cash after tipping out. I worked as a bartender for a top end catering company in Laguna and Newport Beaches CA. Bartending to the rich and famous at their 10 million dollar plus homes sculpted into the cliffs over looking the Pacific Ocean... tough life I had. I would surf or mountain bike during the day, work the evenings and party the night. Repeat daily...
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You do realize I hate your f'n guts, right?
 
Gipper said:
You do realize I hate your f'n guts, right?
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For a long time now... yes.

That was a long time ago. I have been a high school teacher for ten years now... but I did have my fun. Partied at Dennis Rodman's house, met the Chili Peppers and Tommy Lee.

My favourite regular was Tawny Kitaen. And she is hotter in real life than in the videos.
 
Bodhisattva said:
For a long time now... yes.

That was a long time ago. I have been a high school teacher for ten years now... but I did have my fun. Partied at Dennis Rodman's house, met the Chili Peppers and Tommy Lee.

My favourite regular was Tawny Kitaen. And she is hotter in real life than in the videos.
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Pfft. Big whoop. I used to stay up 'til 2am playing Dungeons and Dragons with my friends.

Don't be jelly.
 
MaggieD said:
Waitstaff in high end restaurants make great money....easily over $60K a year.



How Much Does a Waitress Make?
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Some barmaids at just regular beer & burger joints make that much in tips if they are good at what they do. This one girl I date who works at a bar down the street sometimes brings home over $500 in cash on weekend nights. I know because she's spilled out the contents of her purse on my living room floor several times around 3AM after the bar closes and I watched her count her tips.
 
No tips should not be viewed as part of the waiters wage. That being said I do not automatically tip people. I only tip if to me they have provided me good service and have earn the tip.
 
I don't know. If it works for the industry, why bother worrying about it? Over time the people and systems adjust and make the most of it. A dramatic change now would undo all that and would certainly have issues at the market/people readjusted. And then would it be significantly better? I don't see how.
 
Gipper said:
Pfft. Big whoop. I used to stay up 'til 2am playing Dungeons and Dragons with my friends.

Don't be jelly.
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We would stay up playing twisted metal on playstation... and when did Jelly become the term?
 
cpgrad08 said:
No tips should not be viewed as part of the waiters wage. That being said I do not automatically tip people. I only tip if to me they have provided me good service and have earn the tip.
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How often do you not tip?
 
Muhammed said:
Some barmaids at just regular beer & burger joints make that much in tips if they are good at what they do. This one girl I date who works at a bar down the street sometimes brings home over $500 in cash on weekend nights. I know because she's spilled out the contents of her purse on my living room floor several times around 3AM after the bar closes and I watched her count her tips.
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She is supposed to be spilling the contents of her blouse...
 
Bodhisattva said:
We would stay up playing twisted metal on playstation... and when did Jelly become the term?
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I dunno. I personally hate the term.

I hope you weren't playing PS with celebrities. Seems like it'd be a waste if you weren't getting plastered and talking crap about other celebrities, or getting them to hook you up with groupies.
 
cpgrad08 said:
Why does it matter to you?
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Because I am a tipping cop looking to bust you...

...dude, you brought it up. I am interested. I asked. No big deal. Never mind...
 
Bodhisattva said:
Because I am a tipping cop looking to bust you...

...dude, you brought it up. I am interested. I asked. No big deal. Never mind...
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I tip frequently because I tend to go back to places that give and continue to give me good service. If I go to a new place and get bad service. I don't tip and don't come back. On a side note I will argue with management and refuse to pay if they put an automatic gratuity charge on my bill (normal 18 to 20 percent).
 
Gipper said:
I dunno. I personally hate the term.

I hope you weren't playing PS with celebrities. Seems like it'd be a waste if you weren't getting plastered and talking crap about other celebrities, or getting them to hook you up with groupies.
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I almost got hooked up with Fabio and his harem one night. We kept the restaurant open just for him and his ladies and since I was head server I obviously took the table. I kept making them all laugh and they asked if I would go with them but I had to close and it turned out to be way to complicated trying to figure out where they would be. I lost out that night, except for the huge tip.
 
Muhammed said:
Some barmaids at just regular beer & burger joints make that much in tips if they are good at what they do. This one girl I date who works at a bar down the street sometimes brings home over $500 in cash on weekend nights. I know because she's spilled out the contents of her purse on my living room floor several times around 3AM after the bar closes and I watched her count her tips.
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Apparently her bar doesn't do Bev-Intel reports. ;)
 
Bodhisattva said:
Because I am a tipping cop looking to bust you...

...dude, you brought it up. I am interested. I asked. No big deal. Never mind...
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I admit it. I'm a chincy tipper. I know what waitstaff makes, and it's not chump change. That's why I laugh at concepts like a tip position minimum wage. Anyone even remotely on the inside knows that the actual check they get is such a small percentage of their wages. Plus people seem to want to "go nuts" with tipping. If service is great, I leave 10%. I don't leave more because of public perception and people want to get into some huge pissing match about "oh yeah, well I tip them <enter ungodly number here> percent".
 
Bodhisattva said:
She is supposed to be spilling the contents of her blouse...
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Well, generally any girl that knocks on my door at 3AM is more than willing to spill the contents of her blouse too.
 
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