What you are about to read derives from, among other things, this lively and fiery discussion on tipping.
This is a topic that always stirs up a wealth of comments, usually with pugilists coming out of only two corners. I think there are many more facts to weigh before making a general statement, but generally, I think tipping is getting quite out of hand.
The argument that I hear most in opposition to my anti-tipping sentiment concerns the waiter wage. In the US, a separate minimum wage exists for employees that are waiters. (Incidentally, I’m going to use the term “waiter” here and not “server” because I’m thinking a “server” would only “serve” my food and not “wait” for instructions. Therefore, according to logic that follows, deserves no tip at all.) It is significantly less (a few dollars, more than half?) than the minimum wage for non-waiter jobs. Without the help of tips these workers wouldn’t make the same money as any normal minimum wage worker.
Ok, that’s fine.� I can agree with that sentiment.� But not every worker works for waiter wages.� For example, Subway employees do not work at waiter wage, yet they have their blasted tip cup sitting there begging for money. On the other hand, there are plenty of restaurants around here with wait staff that receive the waiter wage. I would say that at least they qualify to receive a tip.
I think the real arguments start to happen when getting to this point. The first question is whether a job that is being paid regular wages should be tipped. The next is how one can distinguish a waiter wage-paid workplace from a regular wage-paid workplace.
My criteria is pretty simple. If I have to move food myself from where it is produced to where it is consumed, I don’t tip anyone who provides my food. If I have to clean up my own table when I’m through, I don’t tip anyone who is cleaning tables. This covers mall food courts, fast food, pizza places, and that Subway. It also works in the reverse for local sit-down restaurants like Chili’s or Longhorn. In places like the Old Country buffet, where the plates are cleared while you’re up getting more food, a tip is left for the bus-person. I believe this tipping policy to be reasonable.
By these rules, take-out food gets no tip, ever. I hear the immediate complaint on the ether, “But the waiter prepares the food, so he should be compensated.” The price of the food that I ordered includes the price of the materials and its preparation, including putting it on the plate or in a plastic container. Besides that, the waiter is compensated for this work - with his waiter wage. He didn’t have to interact with me at all, bring me my food, clean up dishes, etc. Even in the rare case that I tip anything at all for take-out, it’s darn well not going to be the same amount as I would pay for sit-down.
Delivery gets a tip at the door. I’m not sure what to tip a delivery person. This pizza delivery site is pretty cool and has some ideas. I recall Emily Post saying that $.50 is enough for a pizza delivery guy. But I think I would rather ensure timely delivery of pizza than skimp on the tip, so I’ll give at least the $2 minimum. Some places have their own ideas about all kinds of tipping.
Mostly, my rule of thumb is that they must provide some additional service above and beyond what I’m primarily paying for in order to receive a tip. Even following the logic of those who vehemently cling to the whole “but they aren’t even paid minimum wage” idea, this holds because if I’m not paying for service, then the waiter deserves a tip. Must service must be provided in order for a tip to be received.
And that’s a good branch for discussion, and I think this is where I start to cause current and former waiters to become frothy at the mouth.� I don’t believe that I should be absolutely required to bring their waiter wage up to regular wage with my tip. (Even if that’s only my $1 in addition to the other three tables they’re running that evening.) In other words, even if their position qualifies for a tip, I should not be required to give it to receive adequate service. If I receive adequate service, then I would give a tip anyway.
Maybe my logic here is way off, but it seems that the trade off in restaurant wages gets paid by the consumer anyway. That is to say, an establishment that uses the waiter wage expects that its waiters will perform well to deserve the tips, thus bringing their wages up to (and usually far beyond) normal. In this way, they can be sure that their restaurant service is of high quality.
Tips don’t work the other way around. It’s not mafia-like scenario of protection insurance. “Tip me well, or I’ll spit in your soup.” Saying that you should tip unless you want to get bad service is fallacious thinking. You should always get good service regardless of tipping. It’s a delicate exchange where a waiter provides good service to me, and I will surely compensate him. Restaurants that are known for good service are not those that do so because they know they will be compensated, but are those that are compensated because they do so.
I also believe the tipping amount is flawed. Although I see some correlation between the amount of food ordered and the amount of work done by the waiter, I see little correlation between higher-priced items and lower-priced ones. Should a waiter receive a higher tip because he served an $8 mug of beer than he would serving 3 glasses of Coke? It’s likewise with food. Someone who orders a lobster dinner for himself is cheated in his tip when the couple next to him order a half sandwich and soup. It’s the first thing that goes through my mind anymore when I hear the words, “Can I start you out with something from the bar?” Is this waiter just looking for an alcohol-inflated tip?
Of course, with all of that said, I still believe I am a fairly generous tipper.
