Wednesday, November 28, 2012
How & Why To Tip Your Server
Student: 10092281
COMS 369, L02
Reddit. (2012, November, 1st). Single mom, sorry. Retreived from http://i.imgur.com/92iOH.jpg
WikiHow. (2012, October 3rd). How to tip your server at a restaurant. Retrieved from http://www.wikihow.com/Tip-Your-Server-at-a-Restaurant
COMS 369, L02
At age eighteen, I moved out of my parents’ home in Calgary and
travelled to Prince Edward Island to pursue a career teaching highland dance. After
a year of dancing, I decided to study communications at the University of
Prince Edward Island. To support myself financially, I got a job waitressing at
a local pub. Often, I worked until closing at 2:00 a.m. although my classes
began at 8:00 a.m. the same morning. Although I was working four or five times
a week, I found it difficult to support myself financially and I was not making
ends meet on a regular basis. Why, you ask? The answer is easy: poor tipping.
 |
| "Single Mom Leaves No Tip" Photo Credit: Reddit Blogger PheonixSongFawkes |
Restaurants in some countries
include the cost of paying decent wages in the cost to the consumer. Some add a
service charge to your bill. However, the North American tipping system places
the ability to reward good employee performance in the hands of the customer. Many people do not know how to use this power
wisely or perhaps they don’t understand the system. Ideally, good service should
be rewarded with good tips and poor service should expect to be penalized with
poor tips. Yet, most times, that is not really how tipping plays out. There are
appropriate guidelines to tipping that should apply to all customers ordering
at restaurants.
The first thing people should
understand is the tip is an important part of the wait person’s wage. They are often paid less than minimum wage
because tipping is expected to play a role in their total compensation. The
consumer has the power to reward good service. This is actually a true benefit.
If all wait staff were paid equally, there would be no motivation to provide
excellent service. It wouldn’t matter – they’d be paid the same amount
regardless of their service. The consumer, in the North American case, has the
power to vote with their dollars and the person waiting on them fully
understands that their best performance results in better tips. It’s a win-win
situation – the consumer wins and the wait person wins.
It is also important to know that tips are most often split among
restaurant staff. When you tip, your tip does not just go to the wait staff.
Kitchen staff receives a portion of the tip, as do hosting staff, and any other
staff that interacted with the customer. It might surprise people to know that
a tip of less than 10% in many restaurants actually leaves the wait person
paying the remaining staff out of pocket.
That’s right; the wait staffs not only do not get any benefit, but are also
in the negative with a low tip.
The first step all people should know is how to determine the tip total.
The total tip depends on the country where you are dining. For instance,
tipping is not obligatory in North America, but is practiced because wait staff
are paid low wages. In countries such as the UK, Australia, and New Zealand,
tipping is not expected (WikiHow, 2012). Tipping is an optional reward for extraordinary
service, but servers are paid fairly by their employer. In countries such as
Japan, tipping can be considered an insult. Before you dine, know your local
customs when it comes to tipping.
To tip is calculated on the value of
the total bill, without taxes and without coupons or discounts. Coupons or
discounts are not considered in the tip because no matter the discount, the
server still performed a full service. Those that choose to tip while including
a discount are punishing the wait staff for the management’s efforts to bring
customers in the door.
The second guideline of tipping all
people should consider is to evaluate the service. Consider if the food matched
their order, if the food was hot and fresh, how attentive the server was, how
quickly dishes were taken away, if refills were quick, and whether the server
was courteous and professional. All of these qualities of service can add or
take away from a diner’s experience, and is ultimately expected to affect the
wait staff’s tips.
When evaluating service, it is
always essential to give wait staff the benefit of the doubt. For example, if
the food order is delivered to your table incorrectly, it could have been a
mistake made by the kitchen staff. If your server goes the distance to correct
the problem it should not affect their tip. If the restaurant is extremely busy,
service is slow and appears to be understaffed, it is most likely a management
issue. Your server may be new to their job, causing them to be slower than your
average waitperson. Therefore, it is essential to give your server the benefit
of the doubt when evaluating their service.
The tip should always be determined
by the service. As a general rule, twenty percent is given for excellent
service, fifteen percent for solid service, and ten percent for average
service. If you are eating with small children and they make a large mess, keep
in mind that staff members are required to clean up after them. It is nice to
consider leaving servers extra gratuity for cleaning up after your children. If
the server is helpful with any child-related issues during the meal, consider
extra gratuity for that as well.
When tipping, it is most desirable
to pay with cash if possible. Customers don’t often know that some restaurants
subtract the credit card service free from the server’s tip. When paying with a
credit card, servers may have to wait two weeks in order to collect their
earnings. If you pay with cash, their earnings can be collected sooner. But,
any tip is a good tip, regardless of how it is paid!
Many people argue that they do not
have to tip because it is not a law in North America. People also argue that
management of restaurants should compensate servers fairly so the public does
not have to tip. Most servers would love to be paid a decent hourly wage
instead of tips on many occasions. However, a lot more people would rather eat
a twenty dollar steak and choose what they should leave for gratuity based on
the level of service they received than buy a steak worth forty or fifty
dollars. On a slow evening, servers make their money depending on how many
people eat the restaurant. Tipping gives the restaurant the flexibility of
having a full staff complement on slow nights knowing that staff will be able
to make it up on busier nights.
However, it is correct that patrons
should not have to give gratuity for poor service. There is a time and place
when it is acceptable to not leave a tip. For example, my mother and I went out
to eat breakfast at a new restaurant. There were only two tables in the entire
café. We ordered water and coffee, and patiently waited for our beverages. Half
an hour later, the beverages were not on the table and the waitress had not
come to take our order. The server kept walking past our table, and as we tried
to get her attention she ignored us. There did not appear to be a manager
working, so we left very disappointed, without drinks or food! If we eventually
were to get food, I would be inclined to leave without tipping to send a
message that the service was very poor.
There are even more reasons for
tipping that ultimately benefit the tipper. Rewarding good service sends an
important message to the server, and to members of your family, too. Why not be
a role model to your children by fairly compensating your server’s good service?
Another benefit of tipping is that servers usually remember people who tip them
well. As a server myself, I am more inclined to dedicate my service to
customers that have returned and have tipped me well in the past. Tipping well
is also a sign of respect and labels you as a respectful, kind individual.
Servers are paid less than minimum wage and work the front line in the
industry. By tipping your server, you show yourself as a compassionate and fair
being.
Wait staff in restaurants should be
given a gratuity in an appropriate manner. Remember that tips are an important
part of restaurant staff’s wages. When tipping wait staff, people should keep
in mind the country they are eating in, and the value of the bill. It is
important to assess the service given in order to leave the appropriate tip
percentage. In contrast, it is appropriate to not tip when service has been
extremely poor. However, it is not appropriate to not leave a gratuity because
one does not feel inclined to do so. Leaving a gratuity to wait staff in
restaurants guarantees excellent service upon return and shows respect and
compassion. Who knows, perhaps there may be a time you will find yourself in
the service industry. Just remember, what goes around, comes around.
Useful Sources:
Reddit. (2012, November, 1st). Single mom, sorry. Retreived from http://i.imgur.com/92iOH.jpg
WikiHow. (2012, October 3rd). How to tip your server at a restaurant. Retrieved from http://www.wikihow.com/Tip-Your-Server-at-a-Restaurant
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