OT: Tip culture
- Thread starter KeithK7624
- Start date
I'm not sure. The staff at high end places can make some really excellent money. So good that the IRS audited 10-15 of the top Manhattan restaurants back in the 90s where they thought they were missing out on a whole lot of tip income.
Federal minimum wage for tipped employees is $2.13/hr, but many states have higher. For example, in NJ, it's now $5.13 as of 1/1/22... while across the river in PA it's $2.83. Both are still far lower than non-tipped minimum wage. The federal minimum of $2.13 was set in 1991 and hasn't been changed since.
The expectation is that tips will make up the difference to at least minimum wage. If it's a very low traffic week with low tippers, and tips don't make up the difference, the employer is required to cover the gap. That's put additional stress on businesses during the pandemic, because they have to keep a staff on hand even if there was no foot traffic - which added to their overhead at a time when they were already dealing with reduced revenues.
Tips rely on two things, though -
- The first is the variable percent people tip. Some people don't tip at all, while others tip well over expectation. On any given day, depending on who comes in to eat, you could see anywhere from 10-35% of your receipts as tip... from which you frequently have to "tip out" a portion to support staff like bussers, bartenders, hosts, etc. In my experience, former servers who are now salaried are some of the best tippers.
- The second key thing is the number of table turns you're able to get in during your shift. Pre-pandemic, you might get multiple turns of each table a night as there were a lot of people coming out to eat, there was a full staff to get food out quickly and to bus/turn tables.... but even then, there are slow shifts/days that wouldn't see a lot of traffic, and you had to make that up on your busy shifts. During the pandemic, the balance collapsed.... far fewer people were coming out to eat, fewer servers were available to work, and support staff made it harder to get food out quickly and to turn tables... which would impact the % you could get from each party. Many places went to a take-out-only model, where there were no tables seated at all, so the servers became order takers and bag packers, which further hurt their income because tips on takeout are much lower (someone might tip $2-5 on a takeout order of $100 vs. $15-20 if they sat down).
The expectation is that tips will make up the difference to at least minimum wage. If it's a very low traffic week with low tippers, and tips don't make up the difference, the employer is required to cover the gap. That's put additional stress on businesses during the pandemic, because they have to keep a staff on hand even if there was no foot traffic - which added to their overhead at a time when they were already dealing with reduced revenues.
Tips rely on two things, though -
- The first is the variable percent people tip. Some people don't tip at all, while others tip well over expectation. On any given day, depending on who comes in to eat, you could see anywhere from 10-35% of your receipts as tip... from which you frequently have to "tip out" a portion to support staff like bussers, bartenders, hosts, etc. In my experience, former servers who are now salaried are some of the best tippers.
- The second key thing is the number of table turns you're able to get in during your shift. Pre-pandemic, you might get multiple turns of each table a night as there were a lot of people coming out to eat, there was a full staff to get food out quickly and to bus/turn tables.... but even then, there are slow shifts/days that wouldn't see a lot of traffic, and you had to make that up on your busy shifts. During the pandemic, the balance collapsed.... far fewer people were coming out to eat, fewer servers were available to work, and support staff made it harder to get food out quickly and to turn tables... which would impact the % you could get from each party. Many places went to a take-out-only model, where there were no tables seated at all, so the servers became order takers and bag packers, which further hurt their income because tips on takeout are much lower (someone might tip $2-5 on a takeout order of $100 vs. $15-20 if they sat down).
Also of note, a lot of tipped employees have traditionally resisted moving to a salaried model. Good, charismatic servers/bartenders in high traffic restaurants/bars have a very high ceiling on what they can take home - and going to a salaried model risks seeing less money in their pocket. I used to work weekends bartending when I was just out of college about 20 years ago, and I was taking home more money than my sister was as a salaried teacher in Maryland - and the female bartender who worked Thurs/Fri made a lot more than I did (she was young and attractive and our patrons were mostly guys - women in those situations tend to make more in tips behind a bar than men). If you're good, and get the right shifts in the right place, you can make a ton of cash - so there's a reluctance from some to rock that particular boat.
That's not everyone, and probably not even average across the industry, but it's a large enough chunk that there hasn't really been a strong push from tipped employees to change the way things are done.
The pandemic may be changing the math on that, though. I've been out of that world too long to really know.
That's not everyone, and probably not even average across the industry, but it's a large enough chunk that there hasn't really been a strong push from tipped employees to change the way things are done.
The pandemic may be changing the math on that, though. I've been out of that world too long to really know.
If that's the case, his landlord is a scumbag. I gave a bartender tennant of mine a reduction. Luckily all of mine didn't lose work. Many were not as fortunate.No. The pandemic has exposed that these workers are underpaid.
For now, restaurants that had been shut down, reduced capacity and had to invest in a lot of workarounds (shields, etc) are doing what they can to recoup lost $. Saw that a popular bagel shop in Aberdeen (open since 1974) shut down because they could not get by anymore. Meanwhile, the landlord had raised their rent, knowing that they had reduced revenue.
Yeah, yeah- play the world's smallest violin for the service workers and restaurant owners.
It sure is fascinating which posts are considered in violation of the "rules" isn't it?
Oh fret not. I am sure any day now the rules will be enforced against them. You just wait.
Im headed back in April. Went last year for the World Cycling Championship. First Sunday in April is the Tour of Flanders, one of the classic single day races in the world.
Its acceptable to be lazy and ask for handouts now.
I see people driving around in cars with signs saying it's their birthday or they are going to an event and have a gofundme.
It's embarrassing.
I see people driving around in cars with signs saying it's their birthday or they are going to an event and have a gofundme.
It's embarrassing.
When I was working and in business I did not take American express for a couple of years, because they charged a rather large fee to the merchant for each transaction..... if you are in a business with a tight profit margin, it could be a problem
I don't think the fee now is 4%, but the merchant fee is the reason, and the merchant may just pass the fee onto the customer right out in the open
to throw out another issue into tipping
I am usually an over tipper, but there are certain things that will have me go in the other direction at times
One time I was eating with my young daughter, and she just wanted some pasta....the place did not have a childs menu, but the waiter said he could do that
He came back with pasta, with shrimp and scallops on top, and the charge was like $35 for that...
I felt like he was trying to jack up the bill to get a larger tip via the percentage, so I deducted $10 he would have gotten from the tip, had he charged $20 or so, and just brought what we expected
another instance was when a waitress suggested a different bottle of wine than we usually got from a place we regularly went....so, we went with that, and the price was double
Again, a deduction in tip
Yeah, im not tipping to those levels, especially when the beer is more expensive than a ballgame beer.
agreed..... if I can fix it by lowering the tip, I do that
problem is, unless you leave a note on the bill when paying, they might not even realize what happened..
I have not left a note, but was a poor tipper those two days
Pandemic has been very good to bartenders and servers who have personality and work in the right places. Tons of people throwing money to us this year when things opened up and the Holiday's were fantastic. Helps working in a place which attracts all the Southern Monmouth County money.
I live in London now, I haven't tipped once since I've been there, nor is it expected of me
Odd tipping-related incident I witness at Whole Foods last night... a youngish, very well dressed, very stylish couple in front of me finished paying for an odd assortment of things (store-made cookies, one of which they ate while in line, fancy bottle of mineral water... ie, not the weekly grocery run). They stepped aside, whispered to one another for a minute, then tried to hand the cashier a $20. She politely declined it, they offered again, she explained that it'll be on camera and she'll get in trouble if she takes it. They walked away.
They paid for the cookies they ate in line.
They paid for the cookies they ate in line.
Last edited:
Mineral water? Well dressed couple?
Sounds like they were looking to add this cashier into the mix to make a throuple.
I’m fortunate to have been born in America and received degrees from RU. Those, along with my parents influence having gone through the depression, helped me become financially successful. I tip table service 15% to 30% depending on service. If I pick up a couple bagels or deli sandwich or slice of pizza I tip a dollar or two at the minimum. For delivery, I tip 15% to 20%. I’m fortunate to be in a positIon to do this and glad to help out.
I think of it like this... 2-3 extra bucks will add up more to my neighbor's kid delivering pizza than it hurts me. When it comes to delivery, I give what feels like a fair amount rather than a percent. Total is $32, I'll give the kid 2x $20s. Again, those couple extra dollars doesn't mean a lot to me, but if it helps him feel like he's doing something worthwhile, that's great.
true, and I bet the places like you're talking about doesn't have one bit of trouble hiring enough servers to keep the place hopping and customers satisfied to tip well.
When it comes to the better venues, low hourly pay isn't a factor because the tips pour in
But for the Bingo Diner/Ralph's eats type of places, tips aren't handed out so generously by the customers . Some skimp on what they give , even if no problems, and some customers make a point of not over-tipping out of habit..
Those places far outnumber the type where tips make the server a really good payday like you pointed out could be had.
The 1,000 bucks a shift server need not worry about paying for health insurance or putting some money aside for retirement, but the workers at low end places live week to week on wages and tips . Health coverage would be working poor government issue and money for retirement non resistant..
Now that the low end/ middle of road restaurants need to entice workers to wait on tables and the ones that used to do it are finding better work, the restaurant industry is starting to raise hourly wage a bit, but mainly assessing a service charge to every bill to make sure the server makes enough money to stay their employee..
The workers that once hustled for enough tips to get by, now are looking at other fields of employment in order to make a better living.
So the restaurant industry is trying to keep up with the times and try to make workers feel they can earn a decent living as servers.
Instead of scaring off cusyomers when they se the menue prices, they add service charge to the bill and most don't realize what the full price will be when they order even though service charge applies is on the menue they order from.
How do you even tip the postal worker? Leaving a card in your mailbox seems like ripe for theft opportunity
What's covert about a waiter suggestion for a more expensive bottle that you agree to?
"I'd like a Macallan 12 ".
"Sir, perhaps you'd like to try the 18 today?"
"Sure"
Whose fault is that one? Lol
How many people go around opening their neighbor's mailboxes?
We usually call the post office to confirm our mail carrier's name, and then leave a card with the name and a bow on it in the box for them in the morning.
If someone orders a $35 bottle of wine, it's one thing to upsell to a $45 bottle and another to upsell to a $300 bottle in the hopes that the person doesn't go look it up the price on the menu.
Not in my area, I guess.
Also, wouldn't mail thieves generally strike after the postal carrier arrives, when the boxes will be full, rather than in the morning when the boxes are all empty?
Sure, but if they know people are putting out cash in envelopes I'm sure they can adjust their schedule during the holiday season.
It's the same POS system. If you guys are going to complain about something, at least take the time to understand how these things work.