• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

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
Gipper said:
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".
Click to expand...

To each their own. I enjoy going to the same place twice.
 
cpgrad08 said:
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).
Click to expand...

Fair enough... at our restaurant guests were told of the mandatory tip ahead of time and it was considered a contract. Here is the actual menu of the place I worked at:

http://www.vintnersinn.com/pdfs/dinner.pdf

You can see the 18% a the bottom. Of course people could argue and change it but they generally changed it to a lesser amount. Once a guy flipped and wanted 0% tip on a freaking huge bill after he ran us around a lot. The manager called the police on him.
 
Bodhisattva said:
Fair enough... at our restaurant guests were told of the mandatory tip ahead of time and it was considered a contract. Here is the actual menu of the place I worked at:

http://www.vintnersinn.com/pdfs/dinner.pdf

You can see the 18% a the bottom. Of course people could argue and change it but they generally changed it to a lesser amount. Once a guy flipped and wanted 0% tip on a freaking huge bill after he ran us around a lot. The manager called the police on him.
Click to expand...

Love-Love-Love! that menu. No problem here with 18% for parties of eight or more. That's actually fairly standard.
 
Bodhisattva said:
Fair enough... at our restaurant guests were told of the mandatory tip ahead of time and it was considered a contract. Here is the actual menu of the place I worked at:

http://www.vintnersinn.com/pdfs/dinner.pdf

You can see the 18% a the bottom. Of course people could argue and change it but they generally changed it to a lesser amount. Once a guy flipped and wanted 0% tip on a freaking huge bill after he ran us around a lot. The manager called the police on him.
Click to expand...

If it clearly posted and I still eat their I won't argue unless the waiter was just flat out rude and didn't care ( was only happen once) but I will argue and fight it if it isn't clear marked and they trying to sneak on it on to the bill. I personally believe tips should not be a automatic thing but should be earned.
 
I liked the lower minimum when I waited tables, I made "standard" minimum wage of the time in with one "standard" check as a general rule , and I could rotate a table within a half hour or less. I had a good living and as someone else said, my check paid taxes plus my tips if the paid wage wasn't sufficient at tax time but I wasn't hurting at 2.15$/hr.
 
MaggieD said:
To each their own. I enjoy going to the same place twice.
Click to expand...

See, that proves my point. Everyone keeps trying to "one-up" with regard to tips as opposed to just giving a fair amount. If I have to give you 3 bucks to put a 7 dollar cheeseburger and fries in front of me, how about you go fornicate yourself and I'll replace you with the clown's head at the drive-thru.
 
MaggieD said:
Love-Love-Love! that menu. No problem here with 18% for parties of eight or more. That's actually fairly standard.
Click to expand...

Fair enough but many place here will try to do that to a party of one or two.
 
Gipper said:
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".
Click to expand...

The nicer the place and the better the service (professionalism, product knowledge, helpfulness) the higher the tip... that is my policy.

Only one time in my life did I not pay a bill. We were at a pizza place and my bud and I were the only two people in the place. The waiter was crap and after we got are food he sat with the manager talking. We finished and sat there. And sat there... and sat there. As waiters we decided to test them. After well over an hour after we finished we stood up by the table and waited for about ten minutes. We walked over to the host stand by the front door and stood there for about ten minutes. We were in full view of the manager and the waiter the entire time. We stepped outside the door, just a few feet. Nothing. We walked out front 20 feet or so and waited a minute or two. Nothing. We walked to the side walk down the streeta bit. Nothing. We left.
 
Gipper said:
See, that proves my point. Everyone keeps trying to "one-up" with regard to tips as opposed to just giving a fair amount. If I have to give you 3 bucks to put a 7 dollar cheeseburger and fries in front of me, how about you go fornicate yourself and I'll replace you with the clown's head at the drive-thru.
Click to expand...

:lol: :lol:
 
cpgrad08 said:
If it clearly posted and I still eat their I won't argue unless the waiter was just flat out rude and didn't care ( was only happen once) but I will argue and fight it if it isn't clear marked and they trying to sneak on it on to the bill. I personally believe tips should not be a automatic thing but should be earned.
Click to expand...

Agreed. but at nicer places where the staff is professional and knowledgeable I think that larger parties should be automatically tipped.
 
MaggieD said:
To each their own. I enjoy going to the same place twice.
Click to expand...

There is a local dinner that I go to all the time called "Burs" good food and great service.Plus it's only a min down the road from me. You can get a 15 prime rib meal on the weekends ( you get a pound of meat) plus the owners like and encourge me to open carry my side arm. I will give the waitress about 15-20 %
 
cpgrad08 said:
There is a local dinner that I go to all the time called "Burs" good food and great service.Plus it's only a min down the road from me. You can get a 15 prime rib meal on the weekends ( you get a pound of meat) plus the owners like and encourge me to open carry my side arm. I will give the waitress about 15-20 %
Click to expand...

See, that's a great experience. I love that. Going back to the same place . . . having them appreciate my business . . . going out of their way to make me feel welcome. Sounds like a nice place. And a $15 prime rib? Perfection!
 
Tigger said:
Yes, it is fine. Waiting on tables is not intended to be a career path. It's a means to assist in supporting oneself before a career or supplementing income during that career.
Click to expand...

Not intended by whom? Being a waitress is a perfectly fine career. Not everyone is going to be a rocket surgeon.
 
MaggieD said:
See, that's a great experience. I love that. Going back to the same place . . . having them appreciate my business . . . going out of their way to make me feel welcome. Sounds like a nice place. And a $15 prime rib? Perfection!
Click to expand...

This is another place I worked at once I started teaching. I would work her Fri-Sunday nights and make a killing. All the Napa and Sonoma wine makers would come in, we would sample wines and chat too, was great.

http://willowwoodgraton.com/pdf/dinner.pdf

Menus - Willow Wood Market Cafe - Graton, CA 95444 - 707-823-0233
 
Bodhisattva said:
The nicer the place and the better the service (professionalism, product knowledge, helpfulness) the higher the tip... that is my policy.

Only one time in my life did I not pay a bill. We were at a pizza place and my bud and I were the only two people in the place. The waiter was crap and after we got are food he sat with the manager talking. We finished and sat there. And sat there... and sat there. As waiters we decided to test them. After well over an hour after we finished we stood up by the table and waited for about ten minutes. We walked over to the host stand by the front door and stood there for about ten minutes. We were in full view of the manager and the waiter the entire time. We stepped outside the door, just a few feet. Nothing. We walked out front 20 feet or so and waited a minute or two. Nothing. We walked to the side walk down the streeta bit. Nothing. We left.
Click to expand...

I don't know if I could actually go so far as to stealing (which is what that would technically be), although it'd be tempting to not just call it even for crappy service and lost time.

I would say that he probably didn't need the money, but I'd be willing to bet that the more likely scenario is that he's preying on people insisting on constantly over-tipping instead of just giving people what they're worth.

It takes me back to what Maggie said. If I have to tip 25% for respectable service, why in the f'n hell would I even want to go back?
 
Peter Grimm said:
Not intended by whom? Being a waitress is a perfectly fine career. Not everyone is going to be a rocket surgeon.
Click to expand...

Exactly... I have known many waiters and waitresses that were working in that as their careers. Whether at one establishment or when I worked at the Four Seasons traveling around the world from hotel to hotel.
 
Gipper said:
I don't know if I could actually go so far as to stealing (which is what that would technically be), although it'd be tempting to not just call it even for crappy service and lost time.

I would say that he probably didn't need the money, but I'd be willing to bet that the more likely scenario is that he's preying on people insisting on constantly over-tipping instead of just giving people what they're worth.

It takes me back to what Maggie said. If I have to tip 25% for respectable service, why in the f'n hell would I even want to go back?
Click to expand...

It was stealing but I have a feeling that my friend went and paid the next day. Just to see that I am remembering this correctly I am gonna Email him now. He lives in California so the Email could take days to reach him.
 
Bodhisattva said:
Exactly... I have known many waiters and waitresses that were working in that as their careers. Whether at one establishment or when I worked at the Four Seasons traveling around the world from hotel to hotel.
Click to expand...

I can think of worse places to work. Some service professionals do hella good for themselves. I was just talking on here with others a few days ago about how much table dealers make in Vegas. A high-end bartender or waitress can do incredibly well for him (or her) self.

Of course, I don't have to tell you that, obviously. Still hate your guts.
 
Gipper said:
I can think of worse places to work. Some service professionals do hella good for themselves. I was just talking on here with others a few days ago about how much table dealers make in Vegas. A high-end bartender or waitress can do incredibly well for him (or her) self.

Of course, I don't have to tell you that, obviously. Still hate your guts.
Click to expand...

My girlfriend at the time also worked as a wedding planner at the Marriot in Newport Beach, when I was at the Four Seasons. I got to meet a lot of bridesmaids but my damn girlfriend was always around!
 
Bodhisattva said:
My girlfriend at the time also worked as a wedding planner at the Marriot in Newport Beach, when I was at the Four Seasons. I got to meet a lot of bridesmaids but my damn girlfriend was always around!
Click to expand...

Not to mention you work around a bunch of athletic teenage girls. Frankly, how you keep notches off your bedpost is beyond me. I dream for that level of control.
 
Gipper said:
Not to mention you work around a bunch of athletic teenage girls. Frankly, how you keep notches off your bedpost is beyond me. I dream for that level of control.
Click to expand...

I also coach the Varsity girls soccer team, if I didn't mention that one already... 7 years now.
 
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.
Click to expand...

I think it's strange that people jumped all over the Walmart-charity concept and ran the big corporate Giant down . . . but people will defend the low wage because 'it would drive hte cost of food up and made eating unaffordable'
 
MaggieD said:
And what is the motivation for waitstaff to hussle? To check on their food in the kitchen? To come back to see if they want coffee refills? Another drink? Fill their water glass? Why would they encourage people to have dessert? An after-dinner drink? Without tips? Say good-bye to good service. Guaranteed.

I was at Calloway Gardens years ago -- at that time, they didn't encourage tipping. They put 15% on everyone's bill. The waitstaff didn't get it. But most diners didn't realize that. When I questioned management about the 15%, they said, in effect, "We use the 15% to help pay their benefits." Crappiest service I ever saw in my life.
Click to expand...
That should be flat-out illegal.

They should just raise their prices 15% instead.
 
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.
Click to expand...
I'm all for paying all people a starvation wage and have them rely on tips to obtain a livable wage. I can't see why this shouldn't apply to all employees. If a bank manager or a managing director of a multi-billion dollar enterprise gives good service by all means leave them a tip commensurate with the service. If the Bubbalonia government hadn't left a tip, instead of tipping the banks trillions of dollars for their pathetic performance and blatant theft of the customer's wallet a few years ago, they would have tried a lot harder to please instead of ripping Americans off even worse.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom