Re: Got stiffed on a tip tonight
 

Nope.

Re: Got stiffed on a tip tonight
 

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BTW- For those of you who don't think tipping is part of the bill, STFU. Servers don't get a paycheck. They have to declare how much money they rang up and it gets taxed out of the paycheck.

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wow, no [censored]! So that means if i don't leave a tip, that I help the waiter save on taxes!

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No, he pays taxes. When you ring in a meal, it gets tallied. So lets say that at the end of the work week, you have $1000 in meals. You have to declare at least 8% or the IRS comes looking for you. So that means you need to declare at least $80 in tips. Whether or not you get tipped, you need to declare $80. So when you are a cheap bastard and don't tip, you cost your server money.
BTW-If you continually only declare 8%, the IRS WILL come looking for you. Most do 10%.

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I don't think this is right. the 8% only applies as substitute for keeping records. That is in the absence of records they would declare 8&. However if the person kept records of their tips and it totaled below 8% they would be able to declare the actual amount of income they recieved. There is no tax law that could require you to pay tax on income you did not earn. I'm not 100% certain as I worked in audit and not tax but I am fairly sure.

Re: Got stiffed on a tip tonight
 

This is not at all the right answer.

Re: Got stiffed on a tip tonight
 

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Please define a 'proper' job. You know, I mean by your standards.

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By MY standards? I don't get out of bed for <$100/hr.

Re: Got stiffed on a tip tonight
 

Oh [censored]! you're the one!

Re: Got stiffed on a tip tonight
 

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I've done it all. My family has owned restaurants, and I've worked in theirs and others, as wait staff, cashier, dishwasher, food prep, etc. And worked in lots of other customer service jobs too.

I always approach the customer positively and do my best no matter how trying it is. I never blame customers for my moods, and I never keep them in the dark as to why anything might be going wrong or when they should expect their meal, etc. I try to make them feel at home, but a little better. I never feel the customer is there for me; I feel I represent the restaurant on the one hand and my own good standards on the other. If I do my job well, both will be well represented. If I'm unwilling to do the job well, I definitely should be fired or quit ASAP. The customer has nothing to do with any of that.

You meet all kinds. And unless you're a lousy employee, you give good service to all kinds. Unless they're lousy customers, they give you a good tip back. Sometimes you won't get tipped. That's life. You do your job and hope for the best -- and try to earn it.

What I usually see in discussions like this is the amazing sense of entitlement so many waitpersons have. You don't have to know many people to get endless earfuls of stories about bad service, if you ask. Bad service is not uncommon. Mediocre service is usually the best you can hope for unless you go to a more expensive place, and even then, you're still just hoping, and can expect to be waited on better if your clothes are more expensive and less if they're not.

I've been on both sides of the fence plenty, and am actually a very good tipper whenever possible. But it's not uncommon that wait staff make giving a good tip simply impossible, and even ruin the meal. Wait staff can be as much of an advertisement for the place as the food itself, and I'm sure, as I noted in another post, that many restaurants lose as many customers over the service as they do over the food. One or two bad experiences and I'm outta there, and my huge loyalty to places I like and normally great tipping is just something that never got a chance to happened.

Frankly, I feel more sorry for the owners in some respects than for the wait staff when a dining experience has gone wrong. And of course for the customers, who paid restaurant prices for an unpleasant meal.

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What I don't understand, if the service is bad enough where you are thinking about not leaving a tip; why wouldn't you complain to the manager? I've had bad service and I didn't leave a tip but I spoke to the manager and explained why I wasn't tipping. He understood. But it's wrong to just be like "Screw him, I'm not tipping." If the service is bad, speak up.

Re: Got stiffed on a tip tonight
 

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This is not at all the right answer.

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Not only have I not made a wrong answer, I haven't provided any useless one-liners. You're either in the discussion or you're out; make up your mind.

Re: Got stiffed on a tip tonight
 

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BTW- For those of you who don't think tipping is part of the bill, STFU. Servers don't get a paycheck. They have to declare how much money they rang up and it gets taxed out of the paycheck.

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wow, no [censored]! So that means if i don't leave a tip, that I help the waiter save on taxes!

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No, he pays taxes. When you ring in a meal, it gets tallied. So lets say that at the end of the work week, you have $1000 in meals. You have to declare at least 8% or the IRS comes looking for you. So that means you need to declare at least $80 in tips. Whether or not you get tipped, you need to declare $80. So when you are a cheap bastard and don't tip, you cost your server money.
BTW-If you continually only declare 8%, the IRS WILL come looking for you. Most do 10%.

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I don't think this is right. the 8% only applies as substitute for keeping records. That is in the absence of records they would declare 8&. However if the person kept records of their tips and it totaled below 8% they would be able to declare the actual amount of income they recieved. There is no tax law that could require you to pay tax on income you did earn. I'm not 100% certain as I worked in audit and not tax but I am fairly sure.

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You are probably right, but I have never met a server who kept a record of all the tips recieved. They just declare 10 to 12% of the money.

Re: Got stiffed on a tip tonight
 

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I'd welcome the chance to speak with a manager about why his waitperson was not worth tipping.

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I used to be a manager at a restaurant. The waitresses made $2.50/hr and depended on tips. As a manager, I would know who my good and bad waitresses were. Most of the time, they were tipped. The only group of people who regularly did not tip were Indian people.(big surprise, huh?) If I knew my server was doing a good job and did not get a tip, I would do a paid out of the register. I would do about 10% of the bill. It made my servers happy.
I've noticed that when people don't leave a tip, it's usually because of bad service like not getting drinks on time, food being cold and late, not having napkins on the table. That's a big one, not having napkins. People go apeshit if they don't have enough napkins. Another reason is not having toys or crayons for kids to play with. Also, a lot of times with big parties, people assume someone else got the tip when in reality no one did.
BTW- For those of you who don't think tipping is part of the bill, STFU. Servers don't get a paycheck. They have to declare how much money they rang up and it gets taxed out of the paycheck. Most paychecks are $0.00. You have to work about 50 hours a week to get a check over $5.00. If the service is so bad you don't think a tip is worthy, you should be complaining to the manager anyway. It pisses me off when people who have never worked in the food service industry criticize those who do. Ask anyone who has spent a day serving food and they will tell you how hard it is.

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no one said it's not hard. But once again, how servers get paid or not paid is not my friggen problem. You want your servers to make more money? Pay them more. Charge a little more for the food, I don't care.

But I will not tip if I feel the service was subpar. And yes, I'll complain to the manager.

Once again, tipping is discretionary. Period.

Re: Got stiffed on a tip tonight
 

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BTW- For those of you who don't think tipping is part of the bill, STFU. Servers don't get a paycheck. They have to declare how much money they rang up and it gets taxed out of the paycheck.

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wow, no [censored]! So that means if i don't leave a tip, that I help the waiter save on taxes!

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No, he pays taxes. When you ring in a meal, it gets tallied. So lets say that at the end of the work week, you have $1000 in meals. You have to declare at least 8% or the IRS comes looking for you. So that means you need to declare at least $80 in tips. Whether or not you get tipped, you need to declare $80. So when you are a cheap bastard and don't tip, you cost your server money.
BTW-If you continually only declare 8%, the IRS WILL come looking for you. Most do 10%.

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This is a YP, not an MP.