How do you feel about tips in restaurants?

[Stavros]

I don't know Applebee in the US but I have been aware for many years that tipping is essential in US restaurants (it is illegal to tip in China, and often optional in other countries); but this story by the waitress who was sacked after the customer complained his bill was posted online raises questions about the salary she was being paid -$3.50 an hour? is THAT legal?- as well as his Christian beliefs: 'I give God 10% why should I give you 18%'. I feel the waitress was right and Applebee is wrong to sack the staff, he could have asked to see the manager to explain why he wasn't payng the tip.

For the record, I have had some rubbish meals in the US; I have also had some splendid ones, its that kind of country; but the worst in North America was in Montreal. The link is below the article.

Tips are not optional, they are how waiters get paid in America

An Applebee's diner refused to leave a tip for religious reasons. The waitress who exposed it wonders if Jesus will pay her bills
Chelsea Welch




A customer at an Applebee's restaurant in St. Louis left no tip and a note saying, "I give God 10%. Why do you get 18?"



I was a waitress at Applebee's restaurant in Saint Louis. I was fired Wednesday for posting a picture on Reddit.com of a note a customer left on a bill. I posted it on the web as a light-hearted joke.
This didn't even happen at my table. The note was left for another server, who allowed me to take a picture of it at the end of the night.

Someone had scribbled on the receipt, "I give God 10%. Why do you get 18?"

I assumed the customer's signature was illegible, but I quickly started receiving messages containing Facebook profile links and websites, asking me to confirm the identity of the customer. I refused to confirm any of them, and all were incorrect.
I worked with the Reddit moderators to remove any personal information. I wanted to protect the identity of both my fellow server and the customer. I had no intention of starting a witch-hunt or hurting anyone.
Now I've been fired.
The person who wrote the note came across an article about it, called the Applebee's location, and demanded everyone be fired -- me, the server who allowed me to take the picture, the manager on duty at the time, the manager not on duty at the time, everyone. It seems I was fired not because Applebee's was represented poorly, not because I did anything illegal or against company policy, but because I embarrassed this person.
In light of the situation, I would like to make a statement on behalf of wait staff everywhere: We make $3.50 an hour. Most of my paychecks are less than pocket change because I have to pay taxes on the tips I make.
After sharing my tips with hosts, bussers, and bartenders, I make less than $9 an hour on average, before taxes. I am expected to skip bathroom breaks if we are busy. I go hungry all day if I have several busy tables to work. I am expected to work until 1:30am and then come in again at 10:30am to open the restaurant.
I have worked 12-hour double shifts without a chance to even sit down. I am expected to portray a canned personality that has been found to be least offensive to the greatest amount of people. And I am expected to do all of this, every day, and receive change, or even nothing, in return. After all that, I can be fired for "embarrassing" someone, who directly insults his or her server on religious grounds.
In this economy, $3.50 an hour doesn't cut it. I can't pay half my bills. Like many, I would love to see a reasonable, non-tip-dependent wage system for service workers like they have in other countries. But the system being flawed is not an excuse for not paying for services rendered.
I need tips to pay my bills. All waiters do. We spend an hour or more of our time befriending you, making you laugh, getting to know you, and making your dining experience the best it can be. We work hard. We care. We deserve to be paid for that.

I am trying to stand up for all of us who work for just a few dollars an hour at places like Applebee's. Whether a chain steakhouse or a black-tie establishment, tipping is not optional. It is how we get paid.

I posted a picture to make people laugh, but now I want to make a serious point: Things like this happen to servers all the time. People seem to think that the easiest way to save money on a night out is to skip the tip.
I can't understand why I was fired over this. I was well liked and respected at Applebee's. My sales were high, my managers had no problems with me, and I was even hoping to move up to management soon. When I posted this, I didn't represent Applebee's in a bad light. In fact, I didn't represent them at all.
I did my best to protect the identity of all parties involved. I didn't break any specific guidelines in the company handbook – I checked. But because this person got embarrassed that their selfishness was made public, Applebee's has made it clear that they would rather lose a dedicated employee than an angry customer. That's a policy I can't understand.
I am equally baffled about how a religious tithe is in any way related to paying for services at a restaurant. I can understand why someone could be upset with an automatic gratuity. However, it's a plainly stated Applebee's policy that a tip is added automatically for parties over eight like the one this customer was part of. I cannot control that kind of tip; it's done by the computer that the orders are put into. I've been stiffed on tips before, but this is the first time I've seen the "Big Man" used as reasoning.
Obviously the person who wrote this note wanted it seen by someone. It's strange that now that the audience is wider than just the server, the person is ashamed.
I have no agenda here. I seek no revenge against the note writer. I have no interest in exposing their identity, and, at this point, I'm not even sure I want my job back. I was just trying to make a joke, but I came home unemployed.
I've been waiting tables to save up some money so I could finally go to college, so I could get an education that would qualify me for a job that doesn't force me to sell my personality for pocket change.
While this story has garnered immense media attention, my story is not uncommon. Bad tips and harsh notes are all part of the job. People get fired to keep customers happy every day.
As this story has gotten popular, I've received inquiries as to where people can send money to support me. As a broke kid trying to get into college, it's certainly appealing, but I'd really rather you make a difference to your next server. I'd rather you keep that money and that generosity for the next time you eat out.
Editor's note: Chelsea added the final two paragraphs at 2:30pm EST on Friday.




http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisf...ess-needs-tips

[Prospero]

I think it is a disgraceful commercial practice where restaurants believe that the salaries of their staff should depend upon tips. Staff should be paid a decent wage.

Many restaurants now include a service charge on the bill. It is claimed that this is divided up between staff. I've no idea if this is true.

I would like to see serving staff paid properly and then, if they do a decent (or even better an excellent) job get tips on top, directly from customers which they get to keep.

[Willie Escalade]

I always tip...even when the service is not up,to par (I consider why). Why? Because I used to be a server in a restaurant and I know what they're going through. I actually usually OVER-tip...even more if the service was extraordinary. Yes, I was payed the minimum wage as well (I worked at an M&M Soul Food restaurant).

Damn shame...I LIKE Applebee's.

And from my experience, church people are some of the worst customers...ESPECIALLY on a Sunday. That's coming from both being a server AND as a customer in a restaurant with them. See story above.

[Quiet Reflections]

I always tip at least 20 percent if the service is decent. The restaurant had every right to fire the girl for posting a customers personal info online but the customer was wrong for not going to the manager about bad service if that was the case. Mandatory tips are silly anyway and if the service is bad I make sure it isn't added to my bill.

[amberskyi]

I always tip at least 20 percent if the service is decent. The restaurant had every right to fire the girl for posting a customers personal info online but the customer was wrong for not going to the manager about bad service if that was the case. Mandatory tips are silly anyway and if the service is bad I make sure it isn't added to my bill.

Wow mandatory typing is bad even tho that person is making 3.50 an hour? Lmao okay

[BigDF]

I always tip at least 20% because I've dated waitresses in the past and my wife is a restaurant cook. She makes pretty good money, since she is paid a living wage. A good waitress can make nearly what she makes at this restaurant, because most of the customers are local and know the staff well. A place like Applebees though is different and while I'm not surprised this person was fired, I think the management overreacted to the situation. The customer in question was obviously an idiot, as his note indicated.

[Acron]

I tipped in China and they didnt have a problem. I just heard you dont tip in some Asian countries before you eat or anything because the quality you get might not be as good as what your tip would suggest it is.

I got a shock at just how much tipping goes on in America. Not saying its wrong or anything but its so much different to England.

[Prospero]

I tip 99 per cent of the time too - the only exceptions being if I have had totally lousy service, or rudeness from my server (I once had a stand up row with the owner of a restaurant when I sent a dish back because the food was badly off. He told me no one else had complained... which was hardly a defence! ) But I still tipped the server.

But despite that they should NOT depend upon tips to make a living.

France seems to have the system right where service is automatically compris. But then being a waiter or waitress is considered a real profession there.

[Stavros]

I was puzzled by the author's claim that her minimum wage was $3.50 an hour and checked online; apparently the US Federal Minimum wage should be $7.25 but obviously many employers do not pay this. Even $5 an hour should be considered an insult, and its not good saying they make extra on top if this woman was mostly making $9 an hour.

In the UK the official minimum wage is £6.19 for workers over 21 which is $9.73; it goes down to £4.98 if a worker is between 18-20 ($7.83); £3.68 for under-18's ($5.7 and £2.65 for apprenticeships ($4.16).

In France the official minumum wage is E9.40 ($12.70) and in Japan ranges from between 618-739 Yen (($6.63-$7.93).

In Norway, Sweden, Germany and Switzerland there are no official minimum wages other than in some professions, but they have strong union representation and collective bargaining with employers.

I don't mind tipping for good service, but I think the basic wage should be a living wage -tipping is supposed to be an Extra, not a compensation for the employer's parsimony.

[kmersh]

I tip anywhere between 15%-20% in the USA depending on the type of service and restaurant I am dinning in.

In Europe I generally leave a tip if the service was good to excellent but usually just a Euro or two. I lived in Switzerland for a while and at least in Switzerland I am told that servers go to school to learn their profession and are paid a salary by the restaurant.

In the USA servers are generally not trained beyond whatever the specific restaurant offers and thus the belief that they can be paid less than minimum wage. I am not sure that I agree with that practice, but it is what it is.
k