U.S. Restaurant Tipping

[Epigonos]

Many states, California included, have passed laws requiring that restaurant workers receive a living wage ($20.00 per hour more or less).  Here in California many restaurant owners, rather than increase prices, to cover this added expense are adding surcharges to customers bills.  My question is simple, how should this change affect tipping?  In much of the world, European Countries and Australia, for example, tipping is usually limited to simply rounding off the bill and is not set at a certain percentage.  I’m accustomed to adding fifteen to twenty percent of the bill as a tip for the server.   Now that restaurant servers have had a considerable increase in their salary should customers adjust their tipping to follow the rest, of much, of the world and simply round off the bill?

Edited October 7, 2021 by Epigonos

[Guest]

3 hours ago, Epigonos said:

...Now that restaurant servers have had a considerable increase in their salary should customers adjust their tipping to follow the rest, of much, of the world and simply round off the bill?

Yes, they should, but I'm afraid they won't. Tipping has gone completely out of hand in the US, especially, as you pointed out, in states which mandate high base salaries. Servers have come to expect 18% as a standard tip, and there are a lot of people who already feel 20% is standard! And restaurant billing has gotten so out of hand that the price you see on the menu has little to do with the price you pay. I would love to see legislation requiring "surcharges" be included in the advertised price--but I'm not holding my breath...

[+ tassojunior]

What really bugs me is all the iPad requests for tip amount on carry-outs. Even places that are all carry-out. You want 20% for handing me a muffin? 

 

[jeezifonly]

My restaurant patronage has been all but eliminated. Take out once or twice a week, dining at a table once every two weeks. Servers need the money more than I do, and even though they have a better basic wage than before, I tip based on service.
Minimal effort? 5-10%. Getting my allergy requests right the first time? they’ll get 20. Competence AND charm? 25%. I do not travel outside of US, and I will adjust my percentages according to local custom, if I am forced to travel, say, like if I was avoiding a Congressional Subpoena.

[MikeBiDude]

@Epigonos I’m not aware of any CA minimum/living wage in the $20.00 range? I do know employers are required to report tip income to the IRS and contribute FICA/etc on this tip income, and maybe withhold taxes too.

As someone associated with the biz, I tip generously - starting at 20% and up from there - unless service has been poor.

Many employers are paying far higher than minimum nowadays due to current labor shortage. Signing bonuses are not unheard of in fast food chains!

[+ bigjoey]

47 minutes ago, tassojunior said:

What really bugs me is all the iPad requests for tip amount on carry-outs. Even places that are all carry-out. You want 20% for handing me a muffin? 

 

Absolutely correct.  I hate these tip screens at carry out places where the clerk has done nothing to deserve a tip.  If I pick my food up from a case and the only effort the clerk has done is to wave the bar code reader on my item(s) and tell me to put my credit card in the slot and not even bag the order, I find it difficult to think they are going to get an 18% tip minimum.

I have become brazen in my old age👍😇😀. I have started hitting the “OTHER” button and then giving a dollar if the clerk is good.

[cany10011]

58 minutes ago, tassojunior said:

What really bugs me is all the iPad requests for tip amount on carry-outs. Even places that are all carry-out. You want 20% for handing me a muffin? 

 

For places like these, i try to bring cash and throw in the spare change. I hate the awkward feeling of not adding a tip for something I have to walk to and pick up. They are just doing their job when they are handing me a bagel. 

[+ tassojunior]

OTOH, this.......

 

 

[cany10011]

Thanks Tasso… this guy deserves a “tip” and so much more

[Luv2play]

I haven't been to the States since just before the pandemic. At that time I was tipping 20 percent in the restaurants in Manhattan. I thought that was pretty standard. The service was great at all restaurants I patronized, usually with escorts in tow. I'm assuming that helped with the service😛

Edited October 7, 2021 by Luv2play

[Islesguy]

7 hours ago, cany10011 said:

For places like these, i try to bring cash and throw in the spare change. I hate the awkward feeling of not adding a tip for something I have to walk to and pick up. They are just doing their job when they are handing me a bagel. 

I never feel awkward about not tipping in any food establishment where I am not sitting and being served by waitstaff. Places like Starbucks, McDonald's, or delis are required to pay the full minimum wage not the tip minimum. I'm pretty anti-tip generally but do it in places I frequent like for haircuts, nails, waxing, etc. because that would be awkward.

[mike carey]

9 hours ago, Unicorn said:

And restaurant billing has gotten so out of hand that the price you see on the menu has little to do with the price you pay. I would love to see legislation requiring "surcharges" be included in the advertised price--but I'm not holding my breath...

I WUV Australian consumer law! Here, the price on the menu has to be the amount on the bill (and the total has to be the sum of those items, not with some 'surcharge' added). And like all retail outlets, GST has to be included in the list price, not added on, as sales tax is in the US. The law even applies to Sunday or holiday surcharges. They can't put a note at the bottom of the menu saying they have such a surcharge, they have to have separate menus with the higher prices.

Being accustomed to Australian tip levels, I'm nervous about getting it right in the US, but not obsessively so because most likely I'll never be back to the same restaurant. I'm a hard 'No' on tipping for takeaway purchases, although when cash was king I would sometimes throw the coins into a tip jar if they had one.

[BSR]

My aunt & uncle who struggled to make ends meet when they lived in NYC are "rich" now that they live in Manila.  The Philippines has no standard percentage for tipping, just whatever you give to the server is appreciated.  By the way, all tips are shared equally amongst staff, including cooks & dishwashers.  They always tip between 10% (at more expensive restaurants) to 20% (at cheap eats where the checks are low).  Their server will often look at the tip (my aunt & uncle have never tipped more than 20%) and ask, "Are you sure? This is too much," like my aunt & uncle must have made an arithmetic error.

[Guest]

3 hours ago, mike carey said:

...Being accustomed to Australian tip levels, I'm nervous about getting it right in the US, but not obsessively so because most likely I'll never be back to the same restaurant. I'm a hard 'No' on tipping for takeaway purchases, although when cash was king I would sometimes throw the coins into a tip jar if they had one.

Although some restaurants try to hint otherwise, I will not tip either if there's no waiter (i.e. for takeaway). Of course, I will tip the doordash driver or pizza deliverer, but if I just go to the counter and pick something up myself, I'm not usually going to tip. 

[Merboy]

I always tip.  Always.  Even if the service is terrible I'll give the waitress $5.

If the guy is super hot, super nice, and flexes his biceps for me, I'll give him $25 - and all I ordered was a glass of water 🙂

[+ DynamicUno]

I wish we could end the tip culture in the US.  I don't believe it leads to better service and it I think the overall dynamic is toxic.  Since that's not going to happen anytime soon, I think it's reasonable to tip somewhat less in places that have set up higher minimum wages for service workers, but it's the last thing I want to think about when travelling.

The other thing I wish they would do is implement POS systems where they take the card reader to your table instead of having the staff take your cards back.  Way more secure and convenient.

[MikeBiDude]

9 minutes ago, DynamicUno said:

I think it's reasonable to tip somewhat less in places that have set up higher minimum wages for service workers

Has the cost of living gone down for these workers at increased minimum wage whose tips you now reduce?

[+ DynamicUno]

48 minutes ago, MikeBiDude said:

Has the cost of living gone down for these workers at increased minimum wage whose tips you now reduce?

To be clear, I haven't reduced my customary tip because I don't live in a state or municipality that has changed it's wage laws.  But I would consider reducing the percentage a bit it if my area did do that, as I believe the cost of the food is increasing to help offset the increased labor costs to the owner.  As far as travelling is concerned, I usually stick with my customary rate because I'm not going to go to the trouble of looking up which places have implemented living wage laws.

And no, obviously the cost of living hasn't gone down for the workers, nor me.

[Guest]

57 minutes ago, MikeBiDude said:

Has the cost of living gone down for these workers at increased minimum wage whose tips you now reduce?

I think he means that if the wage has increased from $9 an hour to $20 an hour in a space of 2 years, but inflation has only been around 3-4%, that the server's income has increased much more quickly than expenses. Also, it wasn't too long ago when waiters had to provide for their own healthcare, and now employers are paying for that as well. Becoming a waiter doesn't involve a $100,000 university education and years of schooling, so I'm not too clear as to why they should be earning $50 an hour. There are places in the US (most places, actually),where waiters aren't making $20/hour plus tips, and I understand the high tipping in those areas. 

I will disagree with @DynamicUnoon one point. I do think that as a result of tipping, service is generally better in the US than in places where tipping is not the norm. That being said, I think tipping expectations have gone somewhat out of hand, and I particularly dislike surcharges which are not part of the menu price.

[+ tassojunior]

The pandemic re-tool of everything is a good opportunity for shifting the labor cost of staff to restaurant owners by raising wages and lowering tips.   I think this may come about with the menu codes on tables where you can order on your cell phone. More and more people are becoming accustomed to ordering on their phone.  If the labor shortage makes that possible then tips will become reasonable. 

Have people found tabletop QR codes that allow you to pay on your phone? 

Also, to confess, I use "tips" as bribes. I slip $20 upon checking in and the hotel desk clerk finds a great upgrade room, the rental car guy finds an upgrade, and a hostess gets me a great table fast. As a Vegas desk clerk schooled me, it's best to show the "tip" but not actually convey it until after the transaction where it is a "tip" for services performed, not beforehand when it is a "bribe" to get something. That's the only time I've had any trouble passing a "tip" for something I want. (I wish Congress members were even that honest). Regular good tippers in restaurants often get special additions for free.   

 

[Guest]

14 minutes ago, tassojunior said:

...

Have people found tabletop QR codes that allow you to pay on your phone? 

...

 

I hate those QR codes. I don't like having to look at my tiny phone in order to read the menu, let alone scroll along many pages. And sometimes the code doesn't work. "Chris" and I went to a fancy restaurant yesterday which didn't have a printed menu available. I wasn't pleased. 

[Epigonos]

Unicorn, now, when I make a reservation at a nice restaurant I have gotten into the habit of asking if they have  printed menus.  If the answer is NO I thank the receptionists for her/his time and explain that in that case I won't be making a reservation.  What follows is usually a shocked silence at the other end of the line until she/he stutters an insipid apology. 

[Guest]

I think that's a good idea, @Epigonos. Maybe if enough people do it, the restaurants will get the message. It's getting tiring to put up with restaurants getting chintzy with their costs at customer expense. 

[MikeBiDude]

18 minutes ago, Unicorn said:

I think that's a good idea, @Epigonos. Maybe if enough people do it, the restaurants will get the message. It's getting tiring to put up with restaurants getting chintzy with their costs at customer expense. 

I’m surprised you don’t realize it’s more common now as a Covid precaution? More paper menus (and reduced menu items 😖) since RE-openings.

[+ RJD]

3 hours ago, DynamicUno said:

The other thing I wish they would do is implement POS systems where they take the card reader to your table instead of having the staff take your cards back.  Way more secure and convenient.

They do.  I just dined at a Mediterranean BYOB on Saturday evening with my local regular.  There was a placard with a QR code on our table.  We used our cell-phone cameras to scan the code and review the menu.  When it was time for the check, our waitress brought a small wireless POS terminal to our table.  The credit card never left my companion's hands.