Letting server know you tip like a local

[ROO]

Originally Posted by T.jenni

I can testify that even in the UK where tipping isn't necessarily required as a server I pay a percentage of every single bill to runners, barstaff, chefs and bussers. Tipping is an everyday part of life even in the UK.

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Sorry but I totally disagree, tipping is not a part of everyday life in the UK .
DH, myself & the larger majority of my friends all work in the Hospitality business & have done for over 30years, working from the bottom to the top in some cases & tips have Never been a part of our wage !
We do get them & they are distributed amongst the staff twice a year but all the staff see them as a nice bonus not a supplement to their wage.
Which in all honesty is a good job as most people DO NOT tip in the UK !

[thelegalbeagle]

What are you supposed to tip at the car park when you get skinned for $25 or $26 :S

[Chris7cc]

Personally I will be tipping 10% for very good service the same as I do here and nothing if it is just normal service, a tip is a reward for excellent service not a means to top up someones wages, just because Americans have been guilted into it as the expected thing to do shouldn't mean that we have to follow suit.

[Nimbus]

Originally Posted by YorkshireT

There are some distinct differences in your analogy.

There is a minimum wage, 8 dollars odd, which the restaurant owner is legally obliged to pay if customers don't tip.

The goalposts also keep moving. Originally a decent gratuity was seen as 5%. Then for decades, 10%. Then for decades 15%. That has quickly gone to 18%, then 20% and now even (NYC) 25%.

In the same period food prices have risen. Concentrating on WDW, I once did an analysis of a few restaurants, and it's massively above inflation. So if the tip had stuck at 15%, the staff would still be ahead of the game.

But the hospitality industry force changes by massaging expectation and using guilt, as they want bigger tips for staff. This means they can enforce larger tip pools, and pay more backroom staff so they don't pay themselves. They can attract and retain staff easier- at no cost to them.

This has expanded into areas such as hotel housekeeping. It was one of the big chains who started putting out tip envelopes for housekeeping- and faced a backlash. It wasn't for the good of the housekeepers, but for the corporate bottom line.

I agree you should tip in USA, but the issue is the greed we now see, as highlighted by the OPs post. I also agree I don't see this changing anytime soon, and it wouldn't surprise me to see a 'suggested' 22% on WDW bills soon.

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I didn't want to get into the details. And as I said earlier I wish the US didn't do things the way they do and instead adopted the UK way (because, well, I'm a Brit). I was merely pointing out that things are different in the USA. We may not like it (I don't) but that's what it is.

Regarding the minimum wage, you are correct about the restaurant owner being legally obliged to pay the server the minimum wage if the customers don't pay for that service. Because that's the law over there - he/she can't demand that the customer pays. But it is expected that customers will at least contribute to paying for the service they received.

That's the problem with making this voluntary and separate. If people don't pay - and they are legally allowed not the pay for the service they receive in the US - then the restaurant owner has to make up this shortfall. IMO, it would be much better if the service was already included - simply add 15% or 20% onto the food prices. But it's not my country.

Goalposts that keep moving is an issue I have as well. The goalposts shouldn't have to move. As meal prices increase with inflation (or above inflation), so will the tip in dollars - the percentage should remain the same. It's why I still tip around 15% and will continue to do so.

As I pointed out, the customer gets to choose how much to pay for the service. If you think that your server did $5 worth of work then give them $5. If you think they did $40 worth of work, then tip $40. Give them however much you think you would be expected to pay for the service you received.

But don't go into a table service restaurant in the USA knowing that you're not going to pay for that table service at all. You should go in there knowing that you're going to pay separately for the service; you get to choose how much.

[Nimbus]

Originally Posted by thelegalbeagle

What are you supposed to tip at the car park when you get skinned for $25 or $26 :S

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Nothing.

As far as I'm aware, the people manning the carpark kiosks are not in a tipped position.

Unlike here in the UK, there are two types of workers in the US - tipped employees and non-tipped employees. An employee can be working in the service industry and can be paid a tipped wage or a non-tipped wage. What this (sort of) means is that with some jobs, the service is included in the price whereas with others the service is not included in the price (well, it mostly isn't included in the price).

Mousekeeping is a non-tipped position. Servers at many table service restaurants are a tipped position. So, the service you receive from mousekeeping is already included in the cost of your hotel stay whereas the service you receive from a waitress is not included in the bill.

[Guest]

Originally Posted by ROO

Sorry but I totally disagree, tipping is not a part of everyday life in the UK .
DH, myself & the larger majority of my friends all work in the Hospitality business & have done for over 30years, working from the bottom to the top in some cases & tips have Never been a part of our wage !
We do get them & they are distributed amongst the staff twice a year but all the staff see them as a nice bonus not a supplement to their wage.
Which in all honesty is a good job as most people DO NOT tip in the UK !

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Poster didn't say the tips were part of the wage, they said it is part of every day life in the UK, I would agree with that. I also agree we don't have the concept of tipped and non-tipped positions in the UK. But tipping is still normal in restaurants, I have gone for a lot of meals with a lot of different people and a tip has always been left.

[YorkshireT]

Originally Posted by T.jenni

I can testify that even in the UK where tipping isn't necessarily required as a server I pay a percentage of every single bill to runners, barstaff, chefs and bussers. Tipping is an everyday part of life even in the UK.

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Unusual and abhorrent practise. I read this was been done by a few places with a newspaper expose on it. In 2016 the government said they'd ban this.

[xcited]

Originally Posted by YorkshireT

and it wouldn't surprise me to see a 'suggested' 22% on WDW bills soon.

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Last week in the house of blues printed a suggested gratuity of 18%, 20% and 22% on our bill.
With just one alcoholic drink on the DDP the servers don't even need to keep the cokes filled up, the gratuity should be decreasing!

[scottsman]

Before I get judged for my opinion, I accept tipping is part of the culture I won't ever make a stand and refuse to tip just to prove a point.

I personally hate the tipping culture I think that I would rather the cost of the meal was increased rather than a % tip

If I have a sit down meal in California Grill does that waiter \ waitress do much more work than if an identical party went the next day to Liberty Tree?

For me I would prefer to see the price in the meal or at best 10% for regular service and 15% for exceptional service!

right now their looking to push tipping up to 20% and 25% for exceptional service.

[silver_age]

Originally Posted by Nimbus

I didn't want to get into the details. And as I said earlier I wish the US didn't do things the way they do and instead adopted the UK way (because, well, I'm a Brit). I was merely pointing out that things are different in the USA. We may not like it (I don't) but that's what it is.

Regarding the minimum wage, you are correct about the restaurant owner being legally obliged to pay the server the minimum wage if the customers don't pay for that service. Because that's the law over there - he/she can't demand that the customer pays. But it is expected that customers will at least contribute to paying for the service they received.

That's the problem with making this voluntary and separate. If people don't pay - and they are legally allowed not the pay for the service they receive in the US - then the restaurant owner has to make up this shortfall. IMO, it would be much better if the service was already included - simply add 15% or 20% onto the food prices. But it's not my country.

As I pointed out, the customer gets to choose how much to pay for the service. If you think that your server did $5 worth of work then give them $5. If you think they did $40 worth of work, then tip $40. Give them however much you think you would be expected to pay for the service you received.

But don't go into a table service restaurant in the USA knowing that you're not going to pay for that table service at all. You should go in there knowing that you're going to pay separately for the service; you get to choose how much.

See more...

Are you really saying that table service restaurants are essentially priced as counter service restaurants and the customer is expected to make up the cost of the compulsory table service part through tips? That’s surely not the case? Why would you ever set up such a bizarre system?