Forced Tipping in Restaurants, what is your opinion?
 

I HATE IT !!!:feels-hot It promotes lousy service. I want to have the option to reward a good server, instead of being forced to encourage a sloppy unattentive one. Went to an "Out Back" in Miami where they force a 15% gratuity as part of the final bill. The waitress made an attempt to be mildly disinterested.The food sucked, the $23 steak was like saw dust with a little pink juice thrown in to fool the eye. Yes, they Have a big sign in the front that the tip will be added , should have walked out when I saw that. Having been on my feet most of the day just wanted to sit and have something that was edilble. Boy was I mistaken, next time tired or not I will keep on walking when I see the "Gratuity added" sign. Have you had a shit experience like that ? I am not a lousy tipper , I hate to subsidise someones salary when they are undeserving. :2 cents:

use your CC and do a charge back.

forced tipping is lame...

my dad went to a BUFFET once, when he was paying the bill after he finished eating, the bitch told him "Hey, you forgot to leave a tip, you know you HAVE to leave a tip?"

Some places do it in big cities or where there is a high black population. I know us (including me) black folk dont like to tip the whitey much. :1orglaugh

j/k I'm way over that. I've seen it more and more lately. We were in a upscale (all white) bar for the Super Bowl and I was with all white friends all in out late 30s to mid 40s. The tip was added to our bill. There loss though, because I normally tip way beyond 20% By doing so the waitress losses money.

Did someone take his plates away? Refill his drink?

I tip even for bad service. I tip more for good service. Those people have families to feed to , ya know.

So does everyone else. And that $5 tip could go towards feeding yours more.

Tipping has become ridiculous.

me too, i tip no matter what. but a good server makes me go deeper in my pocket and will bring me back to the restaurant.

I hate that for you JFK. I would be pissed as well.

Whenever I get lousy service, I will make it point that they know about it by leaving them a couple of pennies. I'm not a cheap bastard (well maybe I am) but I do leave around 20% if they do their job and do it good. If they don't they get the pennies.

I used to wait tables some 13 years ago, and I know it is a hard job but that is no excuse for lousy service or for forcing a 15% gratuity, that is just dumb on out back's behalf.

who gives a fuck
i dont


if they need the fucking money so badly they could at least offer a friendly service

i agree to you JFK
forced tipping sucks

When we go to Ryan's we always pay with a credit card and they ask us if we'd like to put the tip on it, but you pay BEFORE you eat there because it's an all-you-can-eat buffet. We're always like, "No, we'll leave cash when we see what the service is like." I would NEVER eat at a forced tipping establishment except for Waffle House. They add a forced gratuity onto take-out orders, but since I'm not staying for service, that doesn't bother me too much. As long as they get the order right, I'm happy. And I check it before I leave. :)

Oh yeah, we always leave something even if the service is horrendous. We leave at LEAST 10% even to the really bad ones. We leave 20% and occasionally more for good service.

cheapskates

No, it was actually one of those self-service buffets where you have fountain drinks in the open and refill the stuff yourself.

They may have families to feed, but perhaps an attitude adjustment would go a long way! Are you afraid not to leave a tip??

Every restaurant I've ever eaten which had "forced tipping" (usually for parties of 6 or more) a manager will remove it if you've had poor service.

As a former waitron, I can tell you that the number of people who are clueless about tipping is staggering and it gets worse when there's a large table as people usually sit there and figure out what they owe WITHOUT putting in the tip.

Not to mention most waitresses and bartenders make $2.01 an hour and they have to pay taxes on 8% of their sales even if they don't get tipped 8%.

Again, if the "forced tip" is more than you think is deserved, talk to the manager. :thumbsup

forced tip = no additonal tip. usually i would tip a lot more. we had an awesome waitress one night and I was planning on tippin g her 35%, but she decided to charge us 18% on the bill. guess what she got nothing else. and i TOLD her that too!! she was kinda like oh, i guess i shouldnt have put that on there...

usually in parties of 4 or more they just add the gratuity

Good service or not they still did a service

15% is just the base

Add more if its better service

Afraid? No.

i used to be a server and there is a big difference in the money a good server makes vs a bad one.

If she was providing poor service she probably won't be serving for long.

forced gartuity is fine, but usually i would think it comes with a certain level of expectation. They have to pay income tax on the sales they bring...so i can understand the desire to force the tip.


A good server/bartender can walk away with 100-500 bucks in one shift depending on the restaurant/bar etc.

I always tip well, but if i get lousy service i let them know. Make them work for that tip.

I don't like it but I hate sit down resturants charging a cover charge even more. It happens all the time in London and you have to look at the small print on the menu. A pound or two for every person in your party just for sititng there, then the meal AND then service charge.

Thats really not fair , you have to remember how many times they get stiffed. If you really going to give her 35% then why didnt you give it?? She gave you the great service.People complain about bad service but then dont really want reward good service.

I have rarely ever had bad service.

I think tipping is ok, BUT I won't tip systematically... if I receive poor service, there's no way I'll leave the famous 15% ... on the other hand, if I receive great service, I think it deserves a "reward", and I've got no problems with that

You should NEVER be forced to pay a "tip"

They cant predict good service or the level of service you recieved.

what he said

The reason forced tipping started was people were stiffing wait staff good or bad service. I am friendly with the staff at one of the places I go, they dont have forced tipping. She busted her ass for a party of 8, I was watching and they left her 3 dollars. I also bet most on this board are very cheap lol.

Brilliant - she was following the rules of the restaurant and probably would have been fired (or at least sternly spoken to) and you punished her for doing her job. :eek2 That's right up there with customers who don't tip well because they didn't like the food. :mad:

Yes it is quite fair , it was good service right up to the point of the forced 18%, she got what she deserved:2 cents:

She deserves a smaller tip than that which was based on her good service because she was following the rules of her employer? :eek2

Ok, now I am a great looking guy and have never had a problem with getting bad service but I will refuse to tip at buffet's because they do nothing, I re-use the same plate and rarely order a refill because you can never find anyone that isnt a bus boy. My money is from work I did, now I expect that for them to get my money they have to work just as hard.

No thatsa excuse to be cheap, you know she doesnt make the rules but yet you penalize her for them. If you thought she was really worth 35% you would of kicked in the extra 17%. I get wonderful service everywhere I go. Is it magic no, I tip well and treat them like people. One of the finest steak houses in Atlanta , I can walk in without a reservation and they will take care of me. I'm I special? No I tip well and treat the waitstaff like people not my personal servants.

So you are one of those Eh?

reusing the same plate is against public health codes. most buffets will have that posted. think about it. you touch a serving spoon to a plate that you have been touching your saliva ridden fork to. we don't want your DNA with our burritos!

A great looking cheap guy lol and they work alot fucking harder for alot less money.

In France there is always a 15% tip included in your final bill. The result is simple: waitresses and bartenders don't give a shit about you. You could starve to death and they wouldn't even notice.

It is an unfortunate situation, and she is caught in the middle. In a fair world restaurants would pay a wage that a person could live on. The cost of the service provided is built into the price of the meal. Do Not expect me to forcibly subsidise some businesses substandard wages

Tip you cheap bastardS!!!!!

The only time I agree with a forced % is if there is a party of 10 or more, seperate checks or one bill this ensures everyone pays their share.
Bars and full service I tip at least 20% - cafe's and starbucks I leave some change but thats a personal choice.

If a family is concerned about a 5 dollar tip making or breaking feeding your family, then they should not be dinning out.. or hit up fast food.. you still dont have to tip there.

At a normal restaurant, the difference between getting good service as opposed to lousy service is reflected in the tip I leave. To the server, it is the difference between getting a $2 tip or a $20 tip, it's that simple. I would never just leave pennies, unless the server was outright negligent and rude, and in that case I would leave nothing and have a word with the manager. Servers have to remember that it is the patron's night out, and every patron's night out should be treated as special. If they do that for me, I make sure to tip them well. On a fifty dollar dinner I'll leave at least $10 for good service. On a $100-$200 dinner a good server should see at least twenty to thirty bucks.


At a buffet they aren't doing as much for you as at a normal restaurant, but at some they do still bring you your beverages, coffee etc... and they do clear away your plates and ask you how it was, if they can get you anything else etc. I leave less of a tip than normal, but still decent enough to show some appreciation. For lousy buffet service I'll leave a buck. For good service I leave 4 or 5 bucks.

OH, and forced tipping joints better be good enough to deserve it, or I simply won't go back there. I will also inform someone there that their service was substandard. Hey, if you don't tell them they'll never get it right, right?

And this is where it's at... a tip is a GRATUITY. The dictionary defines gratuitiy as A favor or gift, usually in the form of money, given in return for service. For people to EXPECT a certain amount of GRATUITY, even when it's undeserving and not neccessary, it's not giving them any reason to go above and beyond the call of duty. I tip a waiter/waitress VERY WELL when they are attentive... sometimes I might be said to tip excessively. But I also want the option to WITHHOLD my gift if they are undeserving. What happened to you sucks JFK..

And before people start yapping at me, my mother is in the service industry and her tips go a long way to helping her out. But she would certainly NEVER expect a tip if she treated someone like shit, and I guess by listening to her, my tipping standards are fairly high. These people already get paid to be there. They can go that little extra bit to get more if that's what they want. They chose the job, and all the ups and downs that go with it. If they want a free pay raise even if their work is sub-standard, they should go ask their boss.

I hate it too..I lived in France for a while and I go back once a year and it irritates the shit out of me..

I only tip if the person gives good service and is pleasant towards me and whoever I am having my meal with.

Its a job, they got to work for their money :2 cents:

Hey,

did I understand that correctly? Waiters have to pay 8% of their _SALES_ as income taxes??! What kind of crap is that? Just because they get tipps and the gov does not know how much they get?!

Thats just scary!

I am wondering why waiters get paid so little in the US anyway. In germany for example they might not got LOADS of money, but they get enough to not require 15% or 20% tips to survive! And all the restaurants still make good money, and they are NOT more expensive!

Yup Magnus is right.

I heard an interesting philosphy on tipping the other day. It is not the server's fault if the service is bad, it's the RESTAURANT'S fault. Hence you should tip your normal 15% and call the restaurant the next day to complain about your service. Most likely the restaurant will want you to come back and offer you a free meal. Trust me a owner of a restaurant will be very interested to know if his service is bad in his/her restaurant and will get that fixed. By leaving a pennies tip that will not get back to the owner hence the waiter/waitress doesn't want to let them know that they are not doing their job properly and get fired.

Just my :2 cents:

DH

Becuase they can..
The government needs to step in and put a stop to this mess.

I'd give you a tip just for being cute :)

If you keep going back to the same place no wonder they recognise you. Try and go somewhere where they dont know you from Adam , and are not aware of your tipping habits. I treat everyone like I would like to be treated, but in some cases it does not work out that way. I do not want to be forced to pay for what I consider is misteratment.

I have no problem with a tip being added to a big party, say 8 or more. For small ones, no way. Though I have to say from my wife's experiences there are certain groups that are not particularly good about leaving tips.

Her last waitressing job was at a top end steak house and they would get 4-6 tables a night, and she would alway be pissed as hell when she would bust her butt on a table that had a $400 tab and leave her $15 for a tip. Especially since they team served (every table had two people attending to it) so she had to split it with someone.

So you wouldn't mind a 15% increase on your purchases so they could pay a "fair wage" but you mind the exact same amount in the guise of a "forced tip"? :winkwink: At least with the "forced tip" you can negotiate the amount with the manager if you received poor service. Not so with the food costing more. :thumbsup

:1orglaugh :1orglaugh

:1orglaugh :1orglaugh

unless the local restaurants scrub too hard...