We’ve slipped! Apparently were not the biggest tippers anymore. According to an independent study the USA is now number 1. Number 10 was Germany.
I generally leave a decent sized tip, more for great service less for mediocre service. In fact as I’ve been getting up in the years I have started to leave less and less for undesirable service. In my experience it seems that the new generation of service workers have come to “expect” their 15% regardless of service. I’m not cool with that anymore. Why should I leave a good tip when the service was horrible, and sometimes down right rude. I have worked as a server before, so I’m not expecting any miracles, but there is a certain level of service I know can be met with little effort. Basically I now leave anywhere from 0-30%.
What do you leave as a tip for servers/bartenders? Is there any other service you regularly tip on? Valet, dry cleaning, hotel stays, hair, etc? Do you calculate how much to leave exactly or do you guess?
Umm.. I left $70 for a $56.xx check today at Baton Rouge, a 27% tip pretax.. only because I got three gigantic lemon wedges.. exactly what I asked for.. three big wedges NOT thinnly sliced slivers/slices.
But normally I leave a 15% pretax tip for decent service and above for services that went above and beyond my expectation. Poor services= 15% tips still BUT I do not plan on being a repeat&referral customer in the future.
Other industries should receive tips for great service. IE: Retail. Why is it the norm for the hospitality industry and not Retail? Retail workers receive minimum wage as does the hospitality employees?
my 0% doesn’t happen much, but considering that I’ve had to walk out a restaurant a few times Hells Kitchen style, I wasn’t leaving a tip.
I expect things when I eat in a restaurant …
. was I offered refills on my coffee or tea (and not 1/2 apart either!)
. were my empty plates cleared off the table soon after I was finished with the dish so I could continue the meal/coffee/dessert with a “clean slate”
. was I asked if I was happy with the meal?
I start off with a good tip in mind when I order a meal, then I mentally deduct for all any of the above that were not done !
My mother raised our family on waitress salary (she waitressed for Woolworths many decades (yes decades) ago. So I always budget for a good tip in my meal out budgets!
I do expect good service especially from the restaurants that I frequent often!
I waitressed for many years when I was younger. I was always grateful for tips and did my best to be pleasant, quick and helpful for my customers. I didn’t feel entitled to it, I felt I had to earn it. Nowadays you are expected to tip, even for poor service. It’s the employer’s responsibility to pay fair wages, not the customer’s to subsidize poor wages. I tip for good service only.
The US is number 1 only because it has become their custom to tip for nearly EVERYTHING. Carry a bag to your car? Dollar. Bring you coffee? Dollar. Bring me my coat? Dollar. Hold a door open for me? Dollar. I’ve even seen them tip other people (as in non-employees) for bringing them something they forgot in the store (in this case, their umbrella) to them in the parking lot. (Actually that last on was in San Fran, otherwise I don’t think that’s too common). But I’ve seen many more stranger examples that I can’t seem to recall at the moment.
On the flip side in many parts of Europe tipping is considered rude and they simply won’t take it from you. I’m not sure if Germany is one of those but I know that England is.
So perhaps this ‘study’ that is suspiciously coming out of the US is a little misinformed. Just because you don’t tip for absolutely everything doesn’t mean that as a Canadian you’re bad. Actually I think we’re good, we tip where appropriate.
Americans began tipping for every little service many years ago as a show of wealth and that continues in their culture today. We are more modest (and I must say much wiser) with our wallets because we’ve never been show offs, and so I don’t feel that we are wrong. I’ll tip where I feel it’s deserved, but I hate tipping when forced to as in the US. Do you deserve $5 for bringing me my car from two feet away, simply because you won’t let me go and get it? I don’t think so. Ten blocks away (as is often the case in places like San Fran and NYC), sure, maybe more if the traffic was bad but you were timely anyway.
The difference between food service and retail service is that in retail our (and yes, I’m in retail too- paying for Grad school) customers aren’t staying in one place while we check on them and get them everything they need. We’re not personal shoppers (although some people do need reminding of that) and therefore we don’t serve as much to a concentrated group of people as food servers do. We serve large quantities of random people usually for one thing. We are also not in charge of up to 10 people’s needs at a time and in a rotation, well unless you’re the only employee in your store.
I usually tip pretty high depending on the service I receive because I work in the Tip industry being a Hairstylist. Sadly, I add my tips into my budget, and I’m sure everyone who isn’t in high school does. I believe if the clerk thats serving you is friendly and has a smile on their face I don’t see why you shouldn’t make their day a little better buy adding a little extra. A small tip goes a long way !
My partner and I are “easy” customers almost all of the time. We sit down, order water, order straight off menu and rarely ask for modifications or recommendations, eat, ask for bill, pay, leave. We usually tip 10 to 15%, and while in North American culture this is considered a low tip, but I think it is fair enough for how undemanding and non-fuzzy we are. If we were in a large party and the staff still managed perfectly, had special requests that were met, staff had obviously did more to accommodate, something was spilled that they had to clean up, things like that…then I leave more tips.
when i was applying for a job at montana’s the manager told me the min wage all servers get is $8.95 according to the ontario law which with tips it is generally well above min wage. In the USA I believe the min wage is much lower. If they do not like how much they make then tell them to get a new job. I am in thousands and thousands in debt because of university
Growing up my mom was a server at a swanky restaurant. She actually had customers that would go on vacation and bring her home gift, earrings and such. She had customers that would only book when she was there, she made a lot of tips and when I do occasionally get a server that does as good of a job as she use to I over tip.
Oddly enough the best service I’ve had in the past year was a 17 year old boy at Tony Romas by Masonville in London, his name was Jeff and he was absolutely an amazing waiter. I think between the 4 at our table we left him $50 tip.
When are kids were younger we always said we don’t tip for service we tip for the clean up.
Tipping really bothers me – we do tip 10% don’t get me wrong but I think its out of date. There is lots of service industries that don’t get tips.
Did you tip the oil change person or gas pump person – it’s a service job.
Definition of TIPS = To Insure Promptness of Service!!. I worked in Hospitality industry more than a decade ago & I know how difficult it is with minimum wages. These days the newbies think it is their right to demand those 10-15% tips. But I dont agree. If I get good & prompt service I tip them well or else it reflects on the final bill. I remember few years ago when I used to frequent a famous Cafe on the Danforth(Toronto) & one day I went there with a group of approx 15 people, the cafe included the tip on the bill itself. I did Tip the waitress extra even though the 15% Tip was included. The waitress demanded more but we never gave in!!. After that I & my friends never went to that Cafe!! I do not know why they include the Tip in the bill if its more than 7-8 People & still expect them to be tipped. These days if we are in groups of 8 or more we split the bill in 2 or 3 to play it safe!!
I don’t think we should most of the service stinks. I was always taught to tip for good to excellent service your lucky these days if you get mediocre. 🙁
I leave 10%-8% for decent service – crappy service and 15% for excellent service.
I worked at a coffee shop and there was a customer who would only place her order with me. She’d order $15-20 worth of espressos (done a certain way), pay $25 and tell me to keep whatever change as a tip. Usually tips go into a community tip cup, but she would specifically tell me not to share it. lol There was another man who’d give all the employees a $20 tip on Christmas Day. Many regular customers would also bring chocolates, cakes and cookies as a “thank you” to the staff. It would brighten everyone’s day!
I usually tip whatever tax is, rounded up to the dollar if the service is fine. I have walked out not paying any tip before due to lack of service- waiting 5 minutes to be seated when half the restaurant is empty. Then waiting another 10 for menus and 10 for the waiter to come back to take the order. Half an hour for a burger/salad and he didn’t even ask us what we wanted to drink. It was brutal!
Great, over my expectations service? I’ll tip up to 30% and take the time speak with the manager or owner about how wonderful the waiter/waitress was. I will say, that this is rare though!
I used to be a waitress, I do expect a certain level of service at a restaurant and do not hesitate to not leave a tip if I am not happy. Why reward someone who is not doing a good job? We used to have to tip out a percentage of our sales, that money mostly went to management (corrupt restaurant for sure!) And a very small set amount went to cooks and bussers/hosts. I work hard for my money, servers can’t expect the tip no matter how well or horribly they serve.
I never leave a tip.. why should they get tips? I don’t get tips.. other people don’t get tips, lol.
I usually tip 10% unless the service wasn’t great then I only leave a dollar or two. I will tip more for excellent service but that doesn’t happen often where I live. If we get the same waitress a lot we will usually tip a little more. We have one waitress we really like at Boston Pizza and we look for her every time we are there.
The worst service I had ever had happened a month ago while I was visiting my family in Newfoundland. That surpised me cause normally service is excellent at most places in Newfoundland. I had a waitress completely screw up our order then argue with us that we ordered it. Not once, but three times! I finally had to get rude with her and tell her it was her fault and to leave us alone to eat. When she handed us the bill it was written exactly as we ordered. She screwed up putting it into the kitchen. Needless to say I didn’t leave her a tip!
Well, US is ‘great’ for tips/ gratuities because it is already billed-into the check. So whether you like it or not you still have to pay the 15%. Of course most servers try to be nice, as it’s part of the job. I some times think of the ‘tips’ as commission so I usually leave the basic 10%- unless it’s take out/fast food then I don’t. Also sometimes I leave less then 10% when the server comes and ask me how’s the food when my mouth is full or when I am in the middle of a conversation. It drives me nuts. I choked a couple of times trying to answer her by swallowing too quickly. Gees… good timing.
Just a quick fact: Japan do not require gratuities at all. If the dish is 1000 yen then that is all u have to pay. Servers will not take tips even if u insist. That’s what I call honest service.
I’ve had a server come back to us after we have paid the bill and is getting ready to leave because they felt that he felt that we undertipped before. Needless to say I never went back to that restaurant ever again. If I felt that service was exceptional and that you deserve a tip, then that’s great. but it should never, ever be taken for granted or be something that is expected. I understand that waitresses for example, tend to make very little and depend on tips as a essential part of their wages. However I don’t feel that it’s my responsiblity as the customer to make up for it – it’s a part of your job description. If I want to leave you a tip then it’s my choice
A bit of the topic – I get so annoyed when I pay with cash and the server asks me if I want change back. Of course I want my change back! If they worded it like “I’ll be right back with your change” Then sometimes I say don’t worry about it. But don’t straight out ask for your tip.
If I don’t receive good service, I tip accordingly. I have been a waitress, and I’ve been very accomodating to customers, regardless of the treatment they may have given me that wasn’t the most desirable. Good service deserves a good tip. I used to give a tip, regardless of the service, but as I get older and I see how so many people think they deserve the tip, I am more discerning to my waitstaff and how much their “bonus” pay is.
I work as a bartender at one job and a server at another. I never expect to make 15% if I gave bad service. I usually go above and beyond for my customers as that is how I would want to be treated if I was a customer. Someone leaving more than 15% does make my day, especially if I felt that I gave them great service. I make minimum wage at my job and between the two I work 35 hours a week and go to school full time. I have to work two jobs that provide tips in order to pay my tuition and rent and bills.
I agree with most above that I also do not tip for bad service and being a server if I know I gave bad service, I dont expect a tip either. If I messed up an order, I will apoligize, get them the correct order immediately (my kitchen is REALLY good with that) and I will even buy them a beer or get them a dessert out of my pocket in hopes that it will make their experience a little better.
We usually tip 10% if it was a “fair” service, 15% average and 20% if they were great. 🙂 dont know if thats good or bad, but thats all we can really afford.
I’ll tip 15% for okay service and up to 20-25% if the service is excellent because I know the server isn’t keeping the whole tip. Servers tip out to the kitchen, bartenders and hosting staff every shift. The percentages vary on the restaurant. From past experience this can be any where from 3-5% of the total sales they sold. So if the service was okay and you tip 8-10% they could only be getting half of that.
I can barely afford to eat at times let alone tip. If the service is stellar, I’ll tip a buck or two — that’s for taxis, servers, hairstylists — they all get the same amount. If they’re less than attentive, or especially if they’re rude, they get nuthin’. I don’t have it in me to reward poor service, and I don’t believe that certain jobs automatically qualify for tipping.
I think tipping has gotten out of hand, really. I hate feeling obligated to hand over my little bit of cash, especially when prices are already so high!
I don’t eat out much because of the cost of it but for the past few years, I’ve been able to afford more so I generally have been leaving 10-15%, depending on the quality of service. I can see why the U.S. claims to be #1 if my experience explains anything. I ate at a cafe in a department store there a number of years ago. I did not receive my beverage at all but I did eventually get my food. The waitress was not in anything close to a pleasant mood. I paid my bill but did not leave a tip at all, then proceeded to go into the shopping section of the department store. Much to my shock, in the midst of the lamp section, the unpleasant waitress was right in my face demanding that I give her her tip, to which I told her why I didn’t leave her one. She demanded that I MUST giver her a tip because she has to pay tax on all her tips which is automatically calculated by the value of orders she has served. She yelled that if I didn’t leave her a tip, she would still be charged tax anyways. I told her that I’m from Canada where we give tips for good service and that if she expects to be given tips, she should give good service. I left her among the lamps without a tip.
Having to tip really irks me! Especially at a buffet? My philosophy at a buffet is $1.00 per person at the table. Bringing me a drink and removing dirty plates is really hard work!!! I do not believe in drinking alcohol so do not appreciate the fact that a portion of my tips go to the bartender to encourage the consumption of alcohol. Excellent service gets a 10% tip from me. Most meals out for us are between 40 and $50 for about $15.00 worth of actual food so they should take the rest of the profit and pay their staff. Low end job = low end pay. Sorry!
Hairdressers: My neighbor is a hair dresser and she told me she makes between $700 to a $1000 per month in tips. She pays her mortgage from her tips!!! Tipping is really getting out of hand!!!
My family runs an adventure tour. Some guests tip the tour guides, others don’t. It’s really hard to judge who will tip and who won’t, everyone gets the same tour. One thing for sure though, Americans tip much more often, and with bigger tips, than Canadians.
I’m quite certain that if Quebec were considered as an individual entity in this study that it would be #1 by far. I’ve never seen a place that’s as tip crazy as this province is.
When itc omes to tipping, as someone who worked as a server and Manager and restaurant owner for years…my expectations are simple…
Refill my coffee, visit my table and ask if everything is ok, can I get you anything else, know the daily special…and be able to recommend something on the menu…
If you can, you will be tipped accordingly. If you cannot, you will be tipped, but no where near 15%. There is always someone who will complain, but the expectation of reward for nothing has gotten out of hand!
Blimey,
I currently work as a server at a family restaurant, I work my butt off, and quite often bend-over-backwards serving to the best of my ability, I greet my tables in a friendly way, get their drinks immediately, tell them about anything new on the menu,Engage in conversation if they would like to talk, ensure they have everything for there meals , check if things are satisfactory and serve how i would like to be served in a polite and efficient manner,
every THINKS you make a LOT of tips but the reality is quite different, as a server you are paid $1 less that minimum way, you have to share a percentage of your tips with the kitchen plus tip out to the bar,
the reality is I find people are often mean tippers, but when you get a Great tip it really makes your night :o)
Staff also talk about their tips among themselves,
I tip depending on the waitresses service, poor service = 1.00 up to 5.00 tops!
As a pizza delivery driver I am paid by the delivery not per hour so I get to add the tips to my delivery wage. 98% of people leave a tip of some sort undertipping to overtipping. It all averages out by the end of the evening. My problem is those who thank you profusely and leave nothing even though I am earlier than expected and the food is hot. Or the woman who signs the visa slip, folds it and says, “This is for you” when there is nothing added to the tip line! To not tip is fine but don’t be a jerk about it. When I eat at restaurant and the bill is less than $10 dollars I always leave at least $2. Anything under a buck is an insult for good to great service.
The two places I tip most often are the hair/nail salon. Neither expect a tip but since I have been going to both places for many years now the also deny me of paying a tip on occassion. My nail salon is really awesome. I rarely get my nails done but use the waxing services and the owner is really accomodating. She will fit me in quick while with a customer if they’re waiting(ie for nails to dry, soak feet, etc).
I think this reflects the service received recently, I am happy to tip 25% for great service but I am also happy to leave a penny and speak to a manager when I receive awful service.
The last 3 meals I had out:
A nice restaurant in Toronto, they know us well, we use this restaurant for events at work, the manager came out to greet us when told we were there, but the service was terrible. The server dropped my boss’ soup spoon on the floor, picked it up and put it back on the table. I have never EVER seen my boss leave less than 20% even when the service was so-so but he signed it off with no tip and will likely not use that restaurant for events again.
Swiss Chalet (yes, I don’t expect perfection from a place like Swiss Chalet) the side plates we were brought for our apps had grease and something pink on them, as did the napkins because she laid them on the plate. I told her but she never brought more. She brought the wrong drink, I told her it was wrong since I could tell by the colour and she told me to taste it and make sure! She also went on a smoke break, so we ended up asking another server nearby for more drinks and the bill. I handed the other server 10% for bringing the drinks/bill and left a penny for our server.
A little Chinese hole in the wall place, I know it is excellent, but it looks run down and dingy from outside. Amazing service, I asked about the flavours in a dish and he said they just had another order in for it so he brought me a small amount in a bowl to try. He even asked to ensure our tea was not too hot because he would bring a chilled cup to cool it. The bill came to $30, we left $50.
As far as others, we rarely use valet service unless we have to, a hotel once lost our car keys, bartenders usually get the change, depending on the mess left in the hotel and how long I was there, I will leave something for room service, but if I am staying just one night, no they are doing their job not providing an extra service to me. I always tip the hairstylist, usually 20%
Personally, As a service provider and a contractor, I depend upon tips to help boost slower months.
tips are not just for wait staff. Any service can recieve tips. Often customers are suprised that they never realized that tipping is normal place when you happy with a service.
Dont cheat the hairdressers 15 per cent of a 50 dollar cut is 7.50
I am luck to get 5 dollars from 2 clients per day, verus US where I normally would walk home with over 60 dollars per day in tips.
my spouse sold lottory tickets at the time and would have atleast one day per week with over 100 in tips.
Canadians are ummm…lets say “frugal” with tips since ignorance is bliss.
About Mike Ms comment-“Other industries should receive tips for great service. IE: Retail. Why is it the norm for the hospitality industry and not Retail? Retail workers receive minimum wage as does the hospitality employees?”
Actually, waitresses make less money then the people in retail. There has always been a wage difference. I was a waitress for 14 years, and always made good money, but there are alot of downsides to being a waitress.
1. Most of the time you have to work holidays, including Christmas. I worked 5 Christmas days from 1pm until 11 pm, so I was there for my kids to open their presents, but not for the turkey dinner.
2. In order to make good tips you need to work on the weekends, so you never have the normal ‘weekend’ off if you work in a restaurant that is busy then.
3.When you work an 8 hour shift at alot of restaurants you don’t get the normal breaks that people do in retail for example. If you take a break, you lose tables because while you are sitting down, you tables may be ‘sat’ which means that you lose that table for 1- 1 1/2 hours while someone else looks after them.
4. Most restaurants & bars require the waitress to tip the bartender and kitchen staff. One bar where I worked I was required to tip 4% of my sales, not my tips. So if I sold $1,000 worth of drinks (usually only a small amount of food was sold), they expected me to make around 15% which would be $150, so I had to tip out $40. If I only made $100, or 10%, then I only made $60 for the night. And most people that go to bars don’t tip 15%, usually just the change from the drink they bought which for a beer was only a $.25 or
continuing from above comment:
….for a beer was only $.25 or 7%. And working in bars that are busy isn’t working under the best conditions. People shoving and ordering drinks then leaving. If someone left I was stuck paying for it unless I could sell it to someone else.
5. The job is very physical. I worked with lots of people that had carpel tunnel from carrying heavy plates and trays. Varicose veins, bad knees, bad backs, and on and on. Also when smoking was allowed, for a non smoker it was very difficult, and caused many illnesses.
So, yes it is right to expect good service, and I agree that some of the younger generation expect a good tip for bad service, however I have been places where the younger servers are the better servers, so it’s all how the servers treat you to decide on the amount of the tip.
I HATE tipping. I do it out of guilt more than anything.
I wish servers were paid “real” wages, costs of menu items reflected that and this arbirtrary tax on customers and under the table income for servers was eliminated.
I went to Japan a few times, you don’t give tips in the restaurants but you get excellent service, same as the hotels and other places. In Hong Kong, you have the option to give tips (usually people give very little), but you still get mediocre service. In Toronto, the waiters at most restaurants are getting worse and worse, don’t know what’s going on. May be because the minimum wage is too low or they all work part-time? Anyways, they just make you feel obliged to tip them 15%.
I generally leave about 15% – more if the service was really good, but also less if it sucked (there is this bar a couple of friends go to and the service just gets worse every time – so last night, there was NO tip. After all, I spent 2 hours there, did get NO refills, had to wait 28 minutes before I even got asked what I wanted for the first time and had to get up and order food, because I was starving and our table go ignored. No, thanks).
being from Germany, I am very surprised we made it the Top 10 – tipping is not a usual thing there and too high tips can even be considered rude. Servers make way more than minimum wage and so we usually just round up the check….
I leave 15% usually — more (20%) for good service, less (variable) for poor service. I tip the same percentage for servers, bartenders, hairdressers, cabbies, etc.
I agree that service in general seems to be worse than in the past — maybe that’s why we’re not No. 1 as tippers anymore.
Service industry workers get paid from their employers for jobs they provide. I think they should make decent wage from the beginning so that the customers are not forced to help the employers paying their own workers’ wage.
I work in customers service industry and face 300 people a day. I try to be as helpful as I can but it’s not the type of place where people tip.
I get paid for doing my job.
It is up to me to be nice to people or not.
We visited Taiwan last fall, the service we got from retaurants, coffee shop, and taxi were excellent, and we didn’t have to worry about how much to tip because workers were not expecting to get tips.
I think it’s depending on the business owners to require their service staff to give good service regardless.
I have noticed that teenagers and young adults that are working these days make it seem like your bothering them or as if they are doing a favor for you when it’s there job! We normaly leave a pretty good tip!
I tip according to service. Excellent service gets a higher tip.
I agree Geoff!! a couple of years ago my sisters and I went to Montreal for a concert, and we aren’t big travellers… my sister was scared to death actually lol. We found a cafe for breakfast while we waited for check in time at the hotel. We left our tip on the table, and as we were trying to leave, the waitress BLOCKED our way to tell us that a tip wasn’t built into the bill. We were shocked.. and a little dumbfounded. We kinda stuttered and stammered that we left a tip on the table and only then did she let us pass. Basically bullying a tip out of us. Suffice it to say, we didnt go back to that particular cafe.
The honest to god truth is that no matter what drive in you go to ! Nobody ever listens to a word you say ! It doesnt matter if you order a cheeseburger,frys or a coca cola drink cause usually youll get a double stoner burger with frys and drule and a drink that has coffee in it instead of coca cola ! I dunno anything anymore ever again ! I mean I think Ill stick to going to the store over really sad service ! Although when you order food in a resturant its usually decent service (although this may not be the case in all canadian or american restraunts) I on the other hand would have to admit that I leave a tip about 88 percent of the time !
When I was a waitress, I got less than minimum wage + tips. So I believe back then it was $8.00/hr so I got $7.50 + tips. Let me tell you that tips were rare. The ones that did tip were the poor ones. The rich ones never tipped much. That’s why you should tip if the service was good. Some only get less than minimum but I heard that now they have to claim and/or share their tips. I don’t think that’s right. When we had banquets, they left tips on the table for us and we had to share with the cook. Why should I share with the cook when the cook is making more than me.
I tip based on service as well. excellent service will always get well over 15%.
the rare situation where the service was so bad it actually ruined my meal I have not given a cent. its bad enough I have to pay for food I did not enjoy let alone give even more money to the person who ruined my meal!
I speak to the manager in those situations but it has to be pretty bad to get me to that point.
Wow…its shocking to read some of the cheap responses on here. You can tell they never worked in the food industry!!!
We tip well, and never “calculate it”. If my hubby and I go out for a $100 meal, we normally leave a $20. If we go out for 2 drinks, normally leave $5. I have rarely tipped less than $5.00 on a bill under $20.
Why? Because I know that most places pay minimum wage, and it is a HARD job. Also, I dont like to “eff” with people who serve me my food!! If you are a jerk, then they wont be very nice back to you. Or neurotic. And with this, if I get good service, I am happy to throw down extra money.
If I can afford to go out and eat, I can afford a good tip.
I usually tip my hairdresser 20%. Carrying my bags? $1.00/per bag. Or I will give you a large tip ($20.00) and expect service for the weekend (staying at the fairmont, etc). Sure, I dont get a tip for my job. But I do get paid a lot more an hour, and I am not on my feet all day.
When I dine with family/friends who are cheap, I will always offer to pay for the tip. I refuse to undertip just because someone else doesnt think they deserve it.
Ia gree 100% with Mike M. and Jeff I ended up tipping the bartender nothing last night because I gave her the exact ammount, while looking for a couple quarters to leave at the counter because our society has a stigma against not tipping. She started complaining because she thought I wasn’t giving a tip, so I just kept my change. The price of a TINY glass of rum and coke is 8$ Plus their low cut tops they wear in desperation for high tips don’t impress me. I should have told her I would leave a generous tip IF I got tips at my retail job. People have respect for bartenders because they are supplying them booze, yet people often treat sales associates like crap. I HATE WHEN PEOPLE BULLY FOR TIPS. THAT SHOULD BE AGAINST THE LAW. It is worse than panhandling. I would then ask to speak to the manager.
By the way, about a decade ago I used to give good tips, because as a lot of people here mentioned, the servers/bartenders appreciated them. I’m not going to dish out money to them if they are ticked off that I am not giving them more. Self entitled little prics these “bullies” are. 😛 Sorry but your OP couldn’t have posted this a better time for me cause this has been on my mind.
@Debbie: My parents are from Taiwan and I have some family there. I go to Taiwan every two years or so. The service provided is pretty good. (They should give lessons to some rude waiters in North America!) Traditionally, wait staff do not expect a tip. (Been to Japan where tips were not expected.) I think that is more of a North American thing. Not only is a TIP is expected but 10-25% of the final bill.
I don’t mind giving a bigger tip when I feel the staff deserves it. But I don’t think the wait staff should expect a Tip when I recieve lousy service.
please, don’t give me a hard luck story about waitresses with carpal tunnel and not getting paid enough. A LOT of jobs out there don’t pay well enough and cause employees injury without any hint of compensation through tipping. Farmer workers come to mind, when was the last time they ever got a tip for working their a**es off all day long doing manual labour? Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think waitressing is an easy job and I do tip, but I think it’s foolish for people to claim they deserve to be tipped just because of their profession. That’s nonsense.
I always hate tipping because I don’t know what and when it’s appropriate to tip!! I have never tipped a hair dresser before…I usually pay with a CC and don’t carry cash and they never include a tip in the total or ask if I want to include one. I also HATE when they ask at a restaurant if you want change back. It’s embarrassing to say yes. That’s why I usually just give them a bill and tell them no to the change question and leave. I actually prefer the restaurants that have a tip jar at the cash register because I can toss my change I get back into the jar and don’t feel pressured to leave a ridiculous tip.
Actually, Ann a lot of people in retail don’t get their desired weekends. At my store the weekends are busier. And I have to work at least saturday or sunday, which I would prefer to work mon-fri. One of the main things you look for while job searching, is the business hours or what the employer is offering, instead of relying on clients to make up a better paycheck, one can simply work elsewhere.
I lived in LA for a really long time, and I pretty much always tipped 20% (unless the service was bad…then it was a sliding scale!).
When I moved back to Alberta, I was shocked (LOL!) that my parents were leaving 10% tips. I felt that was a bit low, so for me (in Canada) I typically tip 15% to 20%.
My hairdresser gets the same 🙂
I live in Montreal where tipping is totally out of hand. I tip for hairdressers/bars/restaurants. I agree that excellent service should be rewarded but I also think that if you receive poor to no service then you should not have to tip. Tipping is not mandatory but if I feel sometimes as it is exactly that. Employers should pay a fair wage. If I have had such bad service not to tip then I won’t be going back to that establishment again anyway so they have lost out twice. I have friends with no qualifications who work tables/bars in restaurants and clubs and receive up to $500 a night in tips alone. Something tells me I’m in the wrong job!
I agree with above comments that these jobs are low salary for a reason as they are mostly done (please I hope I don’t offend anyone here)by students and unskilled people. The norm here is to tip $1 a drink at a bar for someone to pour a glass of wine. At the jazz festival you were expected to tip $1 for a can of beer??? I have had hairdressers who have bitched and complained about other customers not leaving 20% tip therefore making me feel bad. Honestly, I even had a waitress not bring my meal one night and still expected a tip….you can imagine what I told her:)
I say tip for good service but please don’t expect it and certainly Don’t demand it!
I also think tipping is out of hand. The bottle depot now has a tip jar!
I suppose with restaurants we could look at it as we only pay more for meals when the service and food deserve it. If they raised the prices to raise the wages, we would pay more regardless of quality of food or service.
But I think it is ridiculous to tip the bottle depot, coffee shop etc.. I order a muffin, the clerk puts it in a bag and for that I should tip? Not going to happen.
It may seem like bits of change, but a few months of bits of change add up. I put my bits of pocket change in a piggy bank and added it at the end of about 4 months. Over $50! Let’s see… groceries, fuel, bills, into kid’s RESP…
I leave 15% before tax for poor and fine service, more for good service. I don’t like it though. I’d prefer that restaurants paid their staff a fair wage for experiences and professional wait staff and that that cost was included in the price of the meal (think Europe).
I also never tip at places where the employees have put out a tip cup for performing 10 seconds of service for me (taking my order, etc.). I find
My husband’s family worked in the service industry (first as wait staff and then as cooks/owners), so he was raised to be a good tipper if service warrants it, as was I.
We’re both pretty easy to please when we go out: don’t screw up our orders, offer to refill our drinks before we have to ask, ask if everything’s okay or if we need anything, and be prompt if we ask for something including the bill. We also notice if the restaurant is understaffed on a busy night and take that into consideration if service is less than we expect, since the servers are doing the best they can. We always tip 15% if service was decent, and much more if the service was amazing or if our server was particularly polite or personable. We’ve had times where we tipped 30% because the server was just that good. I’m the same way when I go to the hairdresser or other service industry types like hotel or spa staff.
I’m a waitress and a bartender, and it really pisses me off when people don’t tip or leave a ridiculous one. Yesterday, I got a 25 CENT tip for a guy who wanted the cook to make a breakfast when we were past the breakfast serving time, in which the cook graciously accepted, and I gave him good service. It’s like k you know what? Don’t tip me a quarter just to make yourself feel good, strutting out like you did something to be proud of. We get paid way below minimum wage, the government and workplace consider tips to be part of our salary and that’s why it’s not illegal, THAT’S why you tip. And as Sam said, if you as customers didn’t, you would be paying a hell of a lot more for food regardless if you liked it or the service or not.
When I go out to eat, or get my hair cut, or eyebrows done, whatever, I ALWAYS tip 20%.
I tip no more than 10%. Crap service = 0%. Wait staff and servers/bussers, ect., should be paid appropriate to the difficulty of the job and the skill required to do it. And yes, customer service is a SKILL, and should be paid for. I rarely recieve tips, and have been informed many times that my customer service is excellent. I am in a trade that the person who does the work normally does not interact with the customer, so to get even a compliment, I must go far above what my profession requires.
A waitress give great service, you tip to show appreciation. What about the people who hold you and your families lives in their hands? Ever think about tipping your automotive technician? He/she quite literally holds you and your families life in their hands, every time you turn the steering wheel or step on the brakes. Sure, they make much better than minimum, but the outlay compared to those on minimum is 50x to do the job. Would you tip 10% of the labour on your next R/O to the tech who did the job, to let them know that yo appreciate them? I give the best service possible, every time, almost never see a tip.
I tip between 10%(horrible/little work done) to 20%(standard work and polite). Biggest tip I gave was $50 a couple months ago from my hockey pool group table(which I won) so I paid for everything, plus the waitress was hot.
I have a friend that doesn’t tip so I end up tipping for both of us after he leaves the table first.
interesting reads! I agree with as any people as I disagree with, and everyone is entitled to their oppinion.
I really agree with the comments that servers are no more entitled to tips then others, it’s just the norm. There are lots of hard working people in other positions that deserve an extra pat on the back, whether it come in the form of tips or not. When you begin a job you are told the amount you’re going to be paid and you agree to it…or you look for something else. And usually people have to start at the bottom and work their way up. When I first started in sales we made LESS then min wage because we also made commission and it wasn’t always that much.
I tip lots of people, even those not in the service industry. Servers that do their jobs really well I tip more then the norm but I also have no problem leaving a small tip or none at all (esp at places with a tip jar! lol I hate those!).
That’s my 2 cents 😛
I don’t believe in tipping for crappy service. That being said the only time I left 0 tip is when the waitress did nothing, blamed the kitchen being swamped for delays (there were only 3 customers ) and then spent her whole time texting on her phone.
Most people get a standared 10-15% tip and I’ll give 15%+ for really good service.
I would love to win the lotto one day and be able to give my favourite servers a random $100 tip It would bne so awesome to surprise someone that way and reward very good service.
I’d rather see someone leave a 0 tip then a penny. Leaving a penny is considered to be just spitting in their faces. Theres no reason to be so indignant about it. But thats just how I was raised.
Ann, everything you described is exactly what retail is like, except for the Christmas day thing. You have to work weekends becasue everyone has to, it’s extremely physical running around getting things for people, I never get a holiday that isn’t government imposed off (as in Christmas Day and New Years day, those are the only two), for example, I work tomorrow, Labour Day.
I’m sorry, I know waitressing is different on priciple, but it’s the same amount of stress and trial, and I work returns which means I get complaints and angry people all day because the thing they paid $20 for doesn’t work like the $200 ones they wanted them to work like but were too cheap or ignorant to pay for the quality. I have to plaster a smile on my face even though I often get called very unpleasant things on behalf of the product or the company, or because I’m telling them they can’t return it because it is repair only, and no one tips me.
I get to live the rest of my life (I’m only 29) with a weak back because I’ve pulled muscles lifting heavy things for people who are usually just too lazy to do for themselves (elderly people and the ill exempted, of course), simply because they think it is part of my job. Actually most stores are self serve, you’re supposed to know what you want, how to use it and have the means to get it out of the store and home all on your own. Things like carryouts and heavy lifting are extras that we don’t get compensated for and often leave us hurting. We do it because it is expected by customers, but rarely does anyone tip (and we’re not supposed to take it) for the fact that I get to go home that night with a sore back, and I don’t expect it. I do it for you because you asked and it’s my job to make you want to come back.
In the case of wait staff, you’re not owed it, it’s earned. I’m very sorry that you have to share it, that is unfair (although I do get the tipping the cooks, since they made the food, although I always assumed that they got paid more in the first place), but it isn’t the customer’s responsability to even out your wages.
I always tip 20% at sit in restaurants (not in fast food or coffee places, but I don’t like complicated food or drink), but if you’re a jerk you get less. I wouldn’t leave nothing, but I’ve left $1 before, because the waitress treated us like a huge inconvienience and then told us flat out that she needed to turn over our table so we can have our conversation over coffee elsewhere. We hadn’t been sitting there that long after our meal. Plus we’re paying, we should stay as long as we like. We were just a number to her, so she got her table turned over but I doubt she got any better tips than us.
There is one person I will ALWAYS tip no matter what, that hasn’t been mentioned yet. Pizza deliverers: They actually make your life more easier, and you get to save on gas. If you don’t tip them, then this is the only case I see fit to be angry about not getting a tip.
This certainly turned out to be an interesting topic! So many good and bad experiences “on both sides of the fence” (so to speak ! )
I’m young so it kills me inside when the bill is alot, plus the tax, plus another amount of money I have to add on! I am the worst tipper… when the service is good I usually end up leaving 4 or 5 bucks considering I usually have a small bill. I have left without tipping many times because of the rude service. I’ve have full grown men give me terrible rude service and never came back once to check on our table. Its terrible how older people don’t even bother to be nice out of courtesy because it is “just a couple of teenagers”.
Michi, I agree with you 100%. I just hate the way the youth get treated in a retail / food environment. I’ve been known to say something to the person who is being rude to teenagers. It infuriates me because that could be my daughter who is getting treated like that. They do it because most young people just won’t say anything. I don’t blame you for not tipping.
We just got back from a trip to Manhattan. Before we go I get about $60 in American 1 dollar bills so I have them on hand for tips. When we got back home I went to the store the next day and someone held the door for me. Out of habit I checked my pocket for a tip for them. lol
I hate the fact that waiters, servers, etc or so nice JUST to get tips. I tip what I can afford not what society tells me I should tip.
I was also a server at one time so I know what it’s like to work your butt off and get no tip. But that’s one of the down falls of the job. Every job has it’s downfalls. I’m expected to stay late a few nights a week for meetings, but don’t get paid. It’s just expected.
I wonder how many servers claim all their tips as their income at tax time. Any of us who are not tipped for the work we do, don’t have a choice.
Most work situations are “thankless”. You have to do what’s right for yourself as well.
I was always under the impression that Canadians were bad tippers. There’s that old joke, “Canoe’s tip more than Canadians,” lol
Right on PWest and Mike!!!
I have worked retail for years and never got why I could run around finding things for one customer for 40 minutes with low pay, on my feet, bad hours and no expectation of a tip. Then, if I go out and you spend 8 minutes getting me a Coke, I “OWE” you a tip??? And servers don’t make “way less” than minimum wage, it is usually 1-2 $ less per hour which is *more than made up for by tips, even in lower paying places. And, many mnay servers over $20 per hour. Not so in retail!! Not to mention that many don’t report all their tips on their income tax.
Really, retail is just as hard and you don’t get the extra cash, so why do you “have to” dole it out in restaurants?
Someone please clarify…
There is a labour law in Canada that states employees must be paid AT or ABOVE the minimum wage. I read a couple of posts above that says servers are paid below the minimum. How is that possible?
This just occured to me. Being a server is just a job- and tipping is to show job well done?! If you translate that to other professions this logic is silly. Think about it. I tip my dentist/doctor for a job well done??? Well if it was done poorly it would have serious consequences. Or if my pilot takes off an lands the 747 safely, I need to tip him/her? Really?! And I don’t see anyone tipping the janitor or the people that works at slaugther houses? A job is a job, if you don’t like it find something else to do.
Another thing, if we all boycott tipping then the servers would reflect that to the restaurants and eventually that will change how they are paid. I think that is a win-win thing to do. Just my 2 cents.
I am a server and have been for three years and will continue to work in the restaurant industry while I put myself through post secondary school. The most ignorant comment I have read on this blog is that “I don’t tip because I don’t get tips in my job”. I bet you also don’t TIP OUT in your job, correct? Where I work I TIP OUT 2.5% to the kitchen and 3% to support staff on total sales AFTER TAX. That means for every $100 of food/drink + tax that I sell I must PAY $5.50. Which means when you don’t tip us, we are PAYING TO SERVE YOU! My manager (like many others) has zero tolerance for adjustments on tip out. So next time you decide to leave that $7 for a $100 bill ask yourself, did my server really only deserve $1.50 the service he or she gave? On the flip side, it is people like you that only make me work harder in school.
@ Me and my 2 cents
It is possible for servers to be paid below minimum wage because their minimum wage is set at a lower amount than the regular minimum wage. For example, the minimum wage in Ontario is $10.25, but the minimum “liquor servers wage” (which most servers fall into) is only $8.90 per
hour.
Yes, being a server is just a job. But it’s not necessarily the same as the other jobs you listed, like dentists/doctors and pilots. For one, they make much more than minimum wage (I’m not going to get into the whole well they deserve it, they’re educated etc. speil because that’s a whole
different issue). The job descriptions are completely different with the only common element being the fact that yes, they are both jobs.
And as for the refusing to tip in the hopes of changing the norm of tipping altogether, I highly doubt that’s going to happen. If it did, establishments would probably have charge more for their food and include the service charge right in the bill.
Just a thought relating to the whole minimum wage thing. I never had worked in the service industry so I don’t know but you would think that wages that get reported to the gov’t has to be at least minimum wage by law. However, someone pointed out that the bosses take into consideration the tips they will be getting. If this is true, these bosses are the ones that are cheap that they have to rely on their customers to ensure their employees get a decent paycheck. Outrageous. Its like the boss is a psycic..”Mary will make $500 in tips this week”. I wish the companies will stop being so cheap and using the customers. Maybe people will now have a better perspective about these so called high class restaurants, which kinda makes me want to stick to self order places.
So basically my thought was possibly there are servers that are working under the table, I’ve heard of such situation, so technically the service indusry are pros at scamming the gov’t and keeping profit, and the people who work under the table get lower wages (since the employers are hiding this from the gov’t) So the employees are unable to complain but in that case they don’t have to pay taxes. Basically a lot of sneakiness can go on, and we all assume that all businesses follow the book. ha.
I know this is a pretty contentious issue. I am in the service industry and work during the hours you sleep and where you would probably not want to walk. I get reasonable tips but I was kinda shocked to hear that canadians were ever the best tippers. I consistently find that Americans always tip well for good service, canadians are good tippers but rarely great tippers.
Probably the most ironic tipping situation is when I deal with wait staff and they don’t tip. What goes around comes around. I think too often that people in the SERVICE industry forget, just that. I never complain to a client about their lack of tippage, I am always glad to have been chosen to serve them. But appreciation in the form of a tip sure makes the night go smoother.
I thought most restaurants share their tips. So regardless of the excellent service you get from a particular waiter. Your tip to reward the person will be share with the hostess, dish washers,cook,busboys and so on.
To Jo & PWest – Yes I realize that in retail most people work on weekends. My husband has worked in retail sales for over 25 years, and he works weekends as well. He also has a bad back due to lifting heavy items, and he is never tipped either. I was really meaning my comment to others that don’t work in the service industry, I just stated it wrong, sorry.
To Towser- you friend who ‘receives up to $500 a night in tips alone’, must be working in very high class places, as I never made anywhere near that and have worked in several different bars and restaurants. I once received a $100 bill from a regular customer who knew I was going away for a very special weekend with my husband, and he wanted to buy me a dinner out on him. As I said, he was a long time regular, and that only ever happened once.
To Laura-I agree with you about your tipping out the kitchen comments. I bet alot of people on here didn’t even know that some places require the wait staff to do that.
I agree with alot of comments on here about how the tipping has gotten out of hand. I think that the discussion about the difference between a server who has looked after your entire meal for 1-2 hours and the person who gets you a coffee and muffin is totally different. Everyone is entitled to their opinions, however, I think that most people on here that say that they refuse to tip have never worked in the restaurant business. One thing that I don’t remember being discussed is other forms of tipping, like baked goods or a small gift. I love to bake, so occasionally I take muffins or cookies to my hairdresser, or the newspaper delivery person, etc. My hairdresser actually says that she enjoys those little gifts because it is different then a monetary gift, and she said that she realizes that not everyone can afford a cash tip.
To all of the people that say that they don’t tip because maybe the wage will change and the servers will get paid more per hour if this happens, I’ll say that I know that you not leaving a tip isn’t going to change a thing. It’s the government that decides what the min wage for servers is, and if they raise it, they will probably change the menu prices to reflect a higher wage payment to staff at most restaurants. I wish that a restaurant owner would give their opinion on her about what would happen if they did raise the servers min wage. Anyone out there that could give their opinion?
I have been a server thru university, then I quit my full time job to be a SAHM and served part time. It has allowed me to be home with my kids, make a good income and I thank you. I haved wonderful regulars that have become good friends. It is physically exhausting, 9 hour shifts with no breaks, running around in circles. However it is what chose to do and I ‘m good at it. I don’t expect tips, you have good days and bad days. However I don’t expect to be treated like a 2nd class citizen. If u have a bad day don’t take it out on me. I’m university educated, have a nice home and a great family. I’m not less than you. Treat everyone with respect. Tipping is bonus pay and I appreciate my guests. Said my peace! Happy long weekend.
I hate the tip jar at:
wedding bars
and
my local Mr.Sub… what the hell??
At my wedding I refused to allow them a tip jar. It was open bar. If they did good, as I paid for the bar, I paid the tip. I didnt want my guests feeling obligated or overtipping because their drinks were free.
I usually tip around 13-16% unless the service is bad. The issue is that bad waiters don’t seem to realize that they’ve given bad service. I wish you could check off a rating form when you leave your tip so that they can improve and know that you were unsatisfied instead of assuming you’re cheap.
When I used to waitress, the minimum wage for tip-earning workers was $7.
I always gave good service and in a quiet dinner, I usually earned an extra $7-14 per hour on top of that, doubling to tripling my hourly pay, and didn’t have to share with any staff since I worked alone. In a fine dining restaurant, I averaged over 20% tips. I put myself through one semester of university by working just 15 hours per week!
How does everyone feel about tipping taxi drivers? Just curious.
There have been some really interesting points brought up here.
Pretty funny that the people upset her are all service staff. I personally hate tipping. My ex-girl freind was a bar tender and she was always a 30-35% tipper because thats what she wanted to get. We fought all the time. My new GF is a doctor. She makes about $60 an hour and deals with tons of pressure. You can’t tell me that when we fine dine and the bill is $400 for a table of 4 with a 15% tip the server should make $60. (say 2hours so 30 an hour) Assumiung they have 2-3 tables they are making more then her. Forget it! Tipping should be 5% max! Even at your local $25 a plate eatery.
To the open bar wedding non tipper.
Ever think that the bartenders are working extra hard because its an open bar thus people are drinking like fish that maybe they deserve that extra tip?
I’ve seen bartenders run off their feet for open bars with no breaks.Now tell me that doesn’t deserve a tip jar.
Kristina:
I always tip taxi drivers. Depending on the fare anywhere from 1-5$. But I never have spent more then 30$ on a cab to my destination.
I tip around 15% for good service, for really bad service, I will tip almost nothing. For my friends bachelor party we had reserved tables starting at a quite time at a pub. There were us and one other table. Took the waitress 45 to take out first order and nearly 20 minutes to bring our drinks, and that was the best service we received all night. On a almost $400 bar tab we left a $3 tip. You want a good tip, then give good service.
Maybe if servers did something to deserve a tip they would get one.
People forget that servers/waiters/bartenders for example are getting paid a wage to work… and they shouldn’t EXPECT a tip every time a customer sits at their table. To me, a tip is something you give someone when they have gone above and beyond to make your experience great. If the service is poor, or the food is bad (Because tips are sometimes shared with kitchen staff) then no tip. I don’t feel bad about not tipping someone if they don’t deserve it.
Laura, it’s not a customer’s job to tip you. It’s a courtesy, not your right. You don’t “pay me to serve me”, your EMPLOYER pays YOU to serve ME. I didn’t give you the job, I don’t pay your wages – I give YOUR employer MY business. Your income is not my business or my concern. With attitude like that, you can bet I wouldn’t be leaving anything at your table.
I have been serving for not quite two months. I am a fully certified Ontario teacher, and serving is the best I can do right now because there are no teaching jobs in Ontario. So, I definitely resent the comment that servers are unskilled/uneducated. And yes, servers make $8.90/hr when minimum wage is $10.25, so like it or not, the government assumes you’re going to be getting tips, otherwise there wouldn’t be a lower legal wage.
I have never been left nothing for a tip (hopefully that means I’m doing something right), I certainly expect something though, 10% is reasonable, 15-20% is more rare, but awesome. And if you are in a big group (5+) and leave your server $5 (assuming the service is good) because that’s the absolute most you will tip regardless of the bill, well then maybe go through a drive through. You would be surprised how much you can brighten someone’s day with an extra couple of dollars. And if you can afford to eat out, you can afford the 10-20% tip.
If you go to a site down restaurant and are served well then you should leave a tip. It is up to you what to leave but you should always have the intentions of tipping when being served. If the sevice is bad, tipping less or not tipping is understandable. If you are one of those people who don’t tip because you can’t afford it, are cheap or are bitter that your not tipped in your job, a solution for you people is to stay home cook your own meal and serve yourself.
Another thing for people to think about waiter/waitress job is the hours. Sometimes if your working lunch you might just work 1-2 hours at prime time. If you work dinner you might get 1-4 hours. So if you work the lunch and the dinner shift in the same day you have to do twice the amount of travel and prep time because you probably will go home between your shift. Plus your never guaranteed hours, it all depends on how busy the restaurant is that day. You also never know when you’ll be done working. At least at retail you have set hours and your hours are longer then servers shifts.
i will not be pressured into tipping someone based on a sob story or being accosted at the door…i tip when i get great service which is hardly ever.it is not my fault that they have to work at a demeaning job with no benefits,if they ignored me the whole time i will give no tip..i will give a great tip to attentive servers.i realize they get paid less,but maybe they should find a job that doesn’t demean them.i ask for no tips,my hsuband works on his feet for 12 hours straight,if he asked for a tip he would get laughed at
I’m going to let all my thoughts go from reading the above comments that are not logical in any way. “I hate tipping” — are you joking?!!
THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart to all of those who choose to leave a gratuity.
I wouldn’t be able to live on my own and put myself through school without your generosity.
Of course I provide great service to everyone, no matter what (you can NEVER tell who is going to tip you, sometimes you are shocked by who does and doesn’t).
But sincerely, thank you.
I was a server for a long term through university, and I loved my job! I had folks that left great tips and some that left no tip, but I just figured they couldn’t afford to leave one! It certainly didn’t have an impact on the service they received – I counted tips as a bonus, not as something deserved! So now, if I have a server that does a great job, they get a great tip. Bad servers get little to no tip, because I know first hand how little effort it takes to smile and do a good job!
It’s interesting to me that so many folks mentioned that minimum wage is lower for services. I worked in a number of different restaurants in Manitoba, and I was always paid minimum wage plus my tips. I guess it varies by province?
i usually tip 10-20%, sometimes more if i don’t want change as 99% of the time i pay cash. But i have a horror story, me and my friend went to a kelsey’s once and we had an incredibly rude waitress, took her a while to come take our orders never asked us how the food was, empty plates glasses sat on the table most of the time we stayed, and we waited a long time to order a refill, while i payed cash and might of left under a dollar in tips, my friend payed with debit. As soon as she found out she didn’t get a tip she refused to give him his card back untill he gave her, we complained to the manager.
Sally – my comment about open bar tipping must have been misread. What I said is that at my wedding, when I hosted an open bar – I LEFT A TIP… I didn’t want my guests to feel an expectation. It was my party – my treat.
RE: SERVER MIN WAGE… If you are going to complain aobut the minimum wage being lower, notice it is only 35cents lower. Based on a 40 hour work week, that is only $14. After taxes, assuming around 20%, that is only $11.20 less, so those figuring we should be dropping huge tips for this reason are wrong. I do think serving is a hard job and I sucked as a waitress, so I went to school and now I am a teacher. 🙂
How about Massage Therapist do you guys tip them.. I would think they are like dentist or Doctor .. Chiro ..and 90$ for an hr … they make already too much money.. 🙂
Everyone should be a waiter at least once in their life to understand it. Just to see how people treat them and to learn how you would want to be treated yourself. Sometimes it doesn’t matter how spectacular you are, people just don’t tip. If you can’t afford it, don’t go out. People don’t understand that you don’t get to keep all of it. If people don’t tip, you end up paying to go to work! I tip unless the service is ridiculously poor. I did it for years, I get it. And for people that frequent the same places and repeatedly don’t tip regardless of stellar service – if you notice the service gets increasingly bad…..it’s your own fault.
I do not agree with tipping unless it was exceptional service. Wait staff should be paid more from their employers not customers who pay exorbitantly overpriced food and drinks. Being in Retail for years I have been expected to provide exceptional service at Minimum wages at times or the threat of losing your job is at risk, nevermind TIPS!!! And we are with customers, like a personal shopper, for many times 1 hour per person, rushing back and forth getting items for them, coordinating outfits, and expexted to know all prices, sizes and material of over 2,000 items in stock, all off the top of our heads. So, when I gor to a restaurant and the waiter does not know the menu nor items on it, and comes to our table maybe 3 times,…. NO I DO NOT THINK THEY DESERVE A TIP! for what I am expected to do without.
Dear Tut, it is your choice to work at that job that you just described to be so horrible. Don’t take your miserable attitude out on servers.
Since I moved to Manitoba not to long ago, I’ve always excellent service in the restaurants my husband & I visited, so we had no problem tipping 20-25% before taxes. For us, the tip is part of the eating-out experience, but the amount tends to fluctuate depending of the quality of the service. That being said, I understand that some people are not being able to give as much, but personally, I couldn’t eat out and leave nothing for the waiter if the service was good. That’s my opinion; I’ m not judging anybody. Ok, now I have a question for the nice people of smartcanuks I’m originally from the province of Quebec, and like someone said earlier, we tend to tip everywhere there, which I’m starting to believe its true lol because there are some places I tip here and I get surprised faces from the employees. Do people tip at Tim Horton’s, at Subway’s or for massage therapy in Manitoba? I think I just left a dollar tip in a ‘leave a penny, take a penny’ cup’…they will be okay for pennies for a while lol!
10% for bad service, 15% for good service, 20% for great service. Simple as that!
taxis – $2 for small trip (say 15-20min ish)
pizza guy – $2
pedicure lady (i got to those cheapy places with the smelly fake nails) $5 – they do a really good job and with tip its only $40
massage therapist – no. they are medical professionals
laser hair at a MEDICAL SPA – no, laser hair at IN HOME SPA – no, laser hair at a general spa $2-5 depending on how many areas and time
haircut $5 – standard (although i don’t dye or perm my hair, so im pretty simple)
fast food or retail – no, but sometimes if it is a really super happy kid that is just exceptionally friendly, I’ll leave them a buck because once when I worked in a fast food restaurant when I was 16 someone did that for me and it made my day
restaurants 10% after taxes. 15-20 if I was extrememly impressed (its not too often that I get anything extra special). I hate how f you go to expensive places the tips are soooo much more, but lets face it, very typically I get sooo much more in terms of service too.
drink at a bar – quarter per drink (unless its some special froufrou drink)
I refuse to tip….The way I look at it, most people take their jobs knowing what the salary amount is. This is what they expect. I took my job in a non-restaurant field and I do not expect a tip for doing my job and what is expected of me. With food prices having increased at restaurants in the last few years, I don’t want to give extra money for service.
I also have a beef with the fact that most people don’t claim 100% of their tips either come income tax time.
It’s like people tipping at Tim Hortons….why don’t you tip in McDonalds as well?
I don’t tip at the spa either….my insurance pays for me to go for massages, so why am I tipping a healthcare provider? I don’t tip my doctor for writing me a prescription.
Michelle my darling, I took my serving job expecting I’d get tips (of course I give excellent service).
Now that you know that I knew I’d be getting tips before I took the job, you can tip me. Because thats part of the deal.
The sense of entitlement by some of the wait staff on here is unbelievable. I don’t owe you a tip. If I decide to give your boss’s company my business, then you get to do the job he/she hired you for. Without our business, you have no job. Get it??
Service at a restaurant would have to be very very bad for me to not tip the server. I can only think of maybe 2 or 3 times in my life this has happened and trust me they were extremely bad experiences. I always thought 15% was minimum standard for decent to good service. I’m quite surprised people will only pay 10% or less for great service, but I guess that’s just me. That being said I do expect at the very least courteous service but I expect that anywhere I am served. That is the standard I had to uphold in previous customer service jobs so that is what I expect. I do get irritated at some of the self-entitled attitudes some servers express about tips but I still would say those loud, obnoxious voices are a minority.
One thing I disagree with is tipping at Tim Hortons. I order black coffee. I’m not going to tip you to pour coffee in a cup especially when half the time service isn’t even friendly. I understand you’re rushed but at least say “hi”. I’d much sooner tip someone at a McDonalds (or whatever fast food place) if I received excellent service. I really don’t understand where this Tim Hortons tipping standard came from but so many people do it. Sure, if someone there went above and beyond for me I would tip but sorry that never happens. I’ll keep my change, thanks.
@Laura, yeah everyone should have to do half a semester in retail and half in food service in high school as co op, but come to think of it I don’t want some unwashed (boys) or distracted (girls, see; boys and cell phones) teenager that doesn’t want to be there handling my food so, it’s not the greatest idea after all.
We’d be alright if we still had Home Ec in school, it wasn’t just for 50’s women who wanted to become housewives, it was so kids knew what it was like for their moms and others.
However, @Laura and Alex, a lot of people have tried to hammer it home to you but you’re not getting it. YOU ARE NOT ENTITLED TO A TIP. It is a COURTESY. It is an EXTRA. If you are told when you are hired to expect 20%, they are simply trying to make the job seem more appealing to you.
If it were the law for us to give you ANYTHING then you could have us arrested for not, and if you think about it all you are owed according to the government compared to us $10.25’s is $1.35 in tips an hour. So as long as at the end of the day you make and claim that supplimented to your hourly wage then you’re getting what the rest of us are. 9 hour shift =$12.15 in tips, and you easily make that even when you spread it to the kitchen and bar. So where do you get off expecting $50 an hour from your combined tables or more? Please.
And how dare you Laura tell people that they don’t deserve to eat out if they can’t afford the extra whatever you expect! Do you feel entitled because you’re in a higher end restaurant, of which I personally don’t go to because of waitresses like you?.
I am not suprised by your complaints about not getting great tips, you have a horrible attititude! If you walk around acting like you don’t have to work for it, I’d give you very little out of spite too, how dare you assume it’s expected! If you serve that way it’s no wonder you’re bitter about tips. Jeez.
@Alex, you took the job expecting a lot in tips I’m sure, and although you may think you are giving good service, that depends on each person’s experiences both in their past and of you. If they accurately interpret your entitled attitude then don’t be supprised if they don’t help you along that path of those fabled hundreds of dollars in tips a night, because that’s for awesome servers who deserve it (such as one near me where the one lady knows everyone’s names and remembers how they like things, she gets $20 a person sometimes, but only because she’s awesome and can really wow the tourists too), not entitled little prats like you and Laura.
You wouldn’t be complaining if you were truly great, since you wouldn’t be getting nothing. There are cheap people everywhere, they are usually the rich ones, which is how they stay that way. Get over it, just be greatful for what you do get, people can’t afford what you expect, so get over yourself. It’s their money to give, not yours. THEY DON’T OWE YOU IT.
(I’m sorry to harp on but this is really making me angry now).
@Trying to Adjust; leaving a dollar in the take a penny jar at timmies means you just gave the next guy a tip, not the cashier. Tips aren’t common at a timmies (although I know someone that worked there and from the sounds of her it was common enough for her to think everyone should, where personally I don’t think you should unless you’re ordering something complicated, and then, give it to the person who actually made it and tell them it is for THEM. Leaving it on the couter just means someone else gets it if they’re busy).
A lot of places aren’t supposed to accept tips, so perhaps that is why you get shocked looks. I don’t think it is bad, but I also think that again like in the US yours (PQ) is a culture to show off your wealth through tipping, and although I tip what I can where expected (sit-in restaurants, hairdressers and taxi’s) I don’t agree with tipping everyone for everything.
I think personally it does eventually lead to people trying less (see the bitter waiters in this thread, and don’t get me started on treatment in Quebec to those who do not speak french, wouldn’t warrant a tip by a long shot, I won’t even go over anymore, I have no desire to be treated like I do not exist).
I worked very hard for my money and I don’t make much more than anybody else on the lower rung (ie; wait staff), even though like the teachers on here I have 2 degrees but there are no jobs due to the economy, so I don’t feel people should feel entitled to a larger piece of my limited amout of money simply because I want to get out of the house a couple of times a year.
So back to you Laura, just because you see someone out who doesn’t tip your EXPECTED amount, think that perhaps they have been cooking for their family 363 days of the year, and can only afford to go out a couple of times a year for special occasions, but otherwise can’t afford it, and try to tell those people that they don’t deserve it because you feel entitled to more of their money in your tip. Get off your high horse and stop judging your cutomers when you don’t know what their life is.
Well said PWest.
Do you work PWest? Because that must have taken you a long time to write. I became very uninterested when you started name calling, very immature. You took that to another level and it is a shame that you let something like a blog discussion rile you up like that.
I hope you are able to find some peace with this issue. I stopped reading when you became verbally abusive, and will never check back on this topic again.
Thank you for ruining a productive discussion.
I read Pwest comment, I did not see any name calling. No one was called an idiot or anything like that, so I find your post pretty much pointless.
T all of the servers here, you are employed, and that is great. As such, you are expected to do your job to the best of your ability, all the time. This entitles you to the wage you agreed to when hired, or at your last pay negotiation. This is what it means to do the job you were hiree to do. It is when you go BEYOND those requirements, that a tip has been EARNED. Think of it like this. A soldier gets what they get based on their field and rank. They are expected to do their best at all times. It is when they go above and beyond those requirements that they recieve the military equivalent of a tip: a commendation or a medal. If they handed them out like candy because it was “expected”, those awards of recognition would have no meaning, and become worthless. THAT is what a tip is: an award of recognition for going beyond what is required. You need to EARN it, not EXPECT it.
p west wasn’t insulting and had a great point..the entitilement is why i almost never tip,and i like keeping my money where it belongs,in my wallet.i am paying for the food,i don’t pay for the snooty service.
No one likes to be called out and face the idea that they might be wrong. I dare say that was what Alex found unproductive about my comments. And to ensure he wouldn’t have to see some of you agree with me, he vowed not to come back.
It’s a shame, in the end what I was aiming at was changing their point of view so that they could understand more sides of their job than just their own, but instead he tried to make me feel bad for being well read and well spoken rather than actually listen to what it was I was trying to say. But this is human nature… no one likes to be wrong.
I hate cabs period. Lol I am cheap so I don’t take a cab unless I am literally in the middle of nowhere. The last time I tipped a cabdriver (I was broke and used all my money on the cab) so I could celebrate my birthday with my bf, I had my tip literally thrown at me. Taxi drivers seem to like to abuse women 🙁 And they are always so reckless driving through recently changed red lights, nearly running over pedestrians, so usually if I am in a cab it is because someone caroused me to take one and offered to pay while I was opting to take a bus. I will not tip to the people who are abusive and trying to run me over lol.