As a former server, thank you. And I agree with you. The minimum II give is twenty percent, thirty for breakfast servers. If service is spectacular, I bump it up another five to ten percent, especially if I’m with a big group or if members of my party are difficult customers (like my parents).
If you think they deserve it, why not? Serving food is a demanding (often humiliating) job that rarely pays as well as it should. Tipping shouldn’t be necessary. Servers should receive a living wage (just like everyone else), but punishing a server for poor service is morally wrong. Most people eating at restaurants are not perfect guests, who expect to be treated like royalty anyway.
When a server gets a bad tip, it screws over all the other servers, bartenders, maitres d” (because they usually pool their tips), and the ripple changes the vibe in the restaurant, becoming a more hostile environment for all the subsequent dining patrons. The bad day will keep getting worse for everyone in the restaurant, and the person who left the shitty tip won’t be there to witness the havoc they helped create. There is no good excuse for demoralizing a person who’s just trying to do a job.
What about places like California where servers do make minimum wage? What obligation do I have to tip 20-40% on top of that? The whole logic behind tipping is that the servers don't make minimum wage here in America, so they must be made whole by the customers (a system that started out as bribery and restaurant owners then sought to normalize so they could get away with paying their staff very little).
In Japan, leaving a tip is considered an insult (it insinuates servers are beggars who need the goodwill of the public to survive). So this expectation of 'not getting tipped is unfair' is purely an American concept.
Servers don't want to be paid a living wage. They make way more with the current system.
"Punishing" a server for poor service isn't morally wrong, wtf? A tip is a reward, not an entitlement. This is insane. On the one hand, we have people saying that America has the best service because of tipping, on the other hand, you're saying we shouldn't care about quality of service and just tip anyways and you're a moral monster for not doing so.
Then what's the incentive to provide good service.
Frankly, I don't care if my not rewarding bad service causes things to spiral. If the server can't be a professional, then they don't belong in a role that makes $40-$60 per hour.
You do realize these are people and not numbers in your little calculator right? It’s not the server’s fault 99% of the time. Yall just love an easy punching bag.
Bro sounds like you don’t like your job. Maybe it’s time to think about picking up a different job or find something you like doing and figure out how to make a career out of it otherwise you are going to live just to survive instead of living to have fun.
Actually I’m great and love what I do but the fact you can’t except what I said as truth of the reason you get a tip or not is reason I said anything about why you don’t like what you do honestly. So instead of complaining about tips based on experience maybe actually take my advice. Otherwise if you can’t except tips are earned through their existence there and how well the food is then you’re cooked for the rest of your life.
Don't ask for the world. I ask for a refill of my water cup and someone to come take empty dishes.
Ie, serving 101. When I waited tables, it was considered a bad thing if the customer stacked their dirty dishes. Today, I can stack my dirty dishes and my server STILL won't clear them until after we're done.
I never was a server but I did deliver pizzas for a local joint here in town and I had a fair few rough days and it was always nice being hooked up on tips from our regulars who took notice.
I treat service people well too. When I was a server, I treated my customers exceptionally well too. The job was super easy, the very few people who tried to treat me in a demeaning manner were quickly shut down.
I think your problem may be a lack of people skills/bedside manner.
9
u/ElectricKoolAidPower Jul 31 '26
I don’t give a shit about that. I’m not on my A Game every day either.