Tipping in the USA

Servers often do have to pay a set amount of tip tax based on their sales, regardless of whether their guests actually tip them or not. Many restaurants (not specifically Disney) also require the servers to split their tips with bartenders and people busing tables, so they take home even less of what is left to them. My best friend is a server and I know they aren't taking home $60 per hour when it's all said and done, even though they are good at what they do, and it's a busy place.

Personally, I wish we would get away from tips altogether, and just pay people what the job is worth. It would be better for everyone as far as I am concerned. The employee would know what their wages would be, instead of hoping people would remember to tip, and guests wouldn't have to worry about nickel and dimeing their way through a trip.

Oh, the person who mentioned room service . . .always check the fine print on the menu before adding a tip. Most places include an 18-20% gratuity automatically, so you could end up tipping twice if you aren't careful. Disney does add in a gratuity on their room service. We usually just round up to the next dollar so they don't give us coins back.
 
Sorry, I'm not accepting any browbeating for this.
Browbeating isn't something that anyone looks forward to accepting. You seem to be attempting to be doing a little browbeating in advance yourself, attempting to warn off anyone who would feel compelled to reply to what you wrote. Regardless, there are many problems with what you wrote that need to be highlighted. I'll just highlight two.

You say that you exclude the cost of alcohol because the server is fetching the drink from the bartender, but don't seem to tip the bartender directly as an alternative of tipping through the combined food-and-beverage check. Even if you did, you're still harming the restaurant server who just served you, since in most restaurants in the United States, the server is required to tip the bartender for the service that the server received from the bartender, even if you stiff the server.

As a matter of fact, that $6 that you grudgingly decided to give has to get split among all the service workers that helped out in providing you the service you just received, i.e., the busser, the food runner, etc. You may feel that how that's structured isn't your concern - and it is isn't - but you make it your concern by trying to excuse under-tipping with excuses that highlight that these other people are doing some of the work. If how service is structured isn't your concern, then don't use the structure of service as an excuse.

A related problem had to do with your claim that you exclude the cost of alcohol because alcohol is "charged a premium (because they can)". It is worth noting that many items in a restaurant are charged at a premium, as that's what makes the difference between a restaurant that doesn't make ends meet and a restaurant that earns some profit. So at best it is arbitrary that you only consider alcohol. However, that wouldn't make sense regardless, since how the restaurant prices items doesn't affect the extent to which tipping on the full check tracks to restaurant servers earning their wage for their work.

I cannot help but think you're just struggling to convince others that you are justified in doing what you want to do, under-compensating restaurant servers. Rather than trying to discourage people from replying, it might be better to just say that you don't care about the servers' situation and instead prefer to pay as little as you care to, since it means you get to keep more. I doubt those who disagree with you are going to interpret your comments any other way, regardless, and being upfront and direct about it probably would result in shorter responses, since that way you wouldn't be providing so many rationalizations to respond to.

I am concerned about how - especially over the last ten years - both economics and the overall interpersonal-climate has changed in our country so much that many people have been prompted to take this kind of approach to treating service workers who serve them. Those who serve others, and especially those who serve others and are compensated primarily via gratuities, have been harmed the most by this more anti-generous approach to interacting with each other. It's a vicious cycle because even when a few people are contravening the societal norm it places pressures on the system that actually prompt more people to do it since those who behave properly end up effectively subsidizing those who do not.
 
What annoys me are those restaurants that are basically self service where you order on your own and then someone brings you your food. In Disney springs you have for ex Wolfgang Pucks and Polite Pig. Polite pig is even more tricky as you also have a condiment bar that you have to go to yourself. We just threw a few bucks down on the table and didn’t care. We will not pay a 15 to 20% tip if 1. We have to stand and wait in line to order our food. 2. Someone simply brings our food out to us And That is it. polite pig it was so ridiculous we are right next to the kitchen food came out for our family I would’ve rather gotten up to walk those few feet and save 20 bucks. It’s not like we felt like we were getting any type of service I really wonder if these types of restaurants Use this concept of avoid paying true minimum-wage.And expect us to take care of the rest of your pay. Someone at McDonald’s probably has a higher salary due to reg minimum wage. This concept they probably hire all staff as servers even those who take your orders, and that you take care of the rest of their pay
The server didn’t cook your food, either, and as for paying a premium, it doesn’t cost me $12 a hamburger to feed my family at home, or $12 for a glass of wine. Plus the waitress tips the bartender, and goes out of her way to the bar to get it (and like most bars, is fighting to get her drinks over others). $60 an hour? Maybe one hour, but downtime is spent doing backwork.
 
I keep thinking about servers (was one many years ago myself) and compensation. I guess I would favor the higher wage and higher meal cost way overall. No tipping at all, unless you really felt someone went above and beyond. In the meantime, is the concept of tipping a percentage of the sale the fairest way? Is a flat fee to the server per person being served fairer? I always think that the low cost diner type place wait staff get shortchanged and give them extra. They often do as much for me as at a place charging several times more, where the server would thus get multiple times more in tips too. Now granted there are places where there is an evident higher level of service where more may be warranted, but there is a wide swath of places where service is basically the same, yet a server can make a lot more for doing the same amount of work, just because of menu price point differences.
 


I keep thinking about servers (was one many years ago myself) and compensation. I guess I would favor the higher wage and higher meal cost way overall. No tipping at all, unless you really felt someone went above and beyond. In the meantime, is the concept of tipping a percentage of the sale the fairest way? Is a flat fee to the server per person being served fairer? I always think that the low cost diner type place wait staff get shortchanged and give them extra. They often do as much for me as at a place charging several times more, where the server would thus get multiple times more in tips too. Now granted there are places where there is an evident higher level of service where more may be warranted, but there is a wide swath of places where service is basically the same, yet a server can make a lot more for doing the same amount of work, just because of menu price point differences.

One difference in the diner type establishment is that the tables, as a rule, turn over much quicker. In a "nicer" place it is not the norm for a table to turn over in 30 min., as Cubbiecakes suggests. In fine dining you're lucky if you turn them once.
 
One difference in the diner type establishment is that the tables, as a rule, turn over much quicker. In a "nicer" place it is not the norm for a table to turn over in 30 min., as Cubbiecakes suggests. In fine dining you're lucky if you turn them once.

Yes that is true. I didn’t work in a finer type place, and even there had people who lingered for hours after the meal, so the table did not turn ( and the one I remember most vividly was because they actually tipped poorly, despite taking up the table for the night!)

I find it often takes an hour even in the traditionally “quicker” type places, but it is true that other places can be two hours or more. It gets very complicated, so I guess maybe they came up with the percentage of the bill concept for simplicity. Maybe it would be best if the establishment decides what their level of service should receive, and price their meals accordingly.
 
Here's the thing, though. The server gets a "serving wage" of like $2 and change. I've given them $6, and have been at my table for 30 minutes to an hour+15 minutes. The server has at least 4 or 5 tables. So take a best case scenario - The server has 5 tables, all of which stay 30 minutes. That means they've had 10 tables in an hour. If every person paid them like I did, for a similar tab, they've got $60 for that hour. Minimum wage here is $10.50. Oh boohoo, servers. *crocodile tears*

Sixty bucks an hour or $124,800 a year. If on average servers made that, you and everyone else that complains about tipping on these threads would probably be one.
 


I find the service to be much better in the US. I’m happy to tip. Just returned from Spain. The service was horrible everywhere we ate. I was happy not to have to tip.
 
I figure the waiters at the signatures restaurants at WDW are making a pretty good living. There always full and I know evertime we eat at one the tip is at least 40 to 50 dollars. I’ve talked to many of them that have been there for years. A lot of them have made a career out of it. Not a bad gig.
 
I figure the waiters at the signatures restaurants at WDW are making a pretty good living. There always full and I know evertime we eat at one the tip is at least 40 to 50 dollars. I’ve talked to many of them that have been there for years. A lot of them have made a career out of it. Not a bad gig.
It’s been a while since I’ve been there, but there were servers at the Carnation Café in DL who had been there for years, and they get tipped... WELL.
 
To be fair, no server works a 40 hour week. (I'm talking in one restaurant, of course.)

That just reinforces my point though. If being a server is so lucrative, great and easy money, why isn't she one? The answer is obviously when the time comes to fish or cut bait, she doesn't really think it's so lucrative, great, and easy money.
 
I don't leave any tips for housekeeping at Disney as it is a non-tipped position there...they get paid just like the ride attendants or bus drivers. Food service is anywhere from 15-20% depending on service. Bell hops will get $1-2 a bag. Bar is just like bellhops if not opening a tab, otherwise it is like food service.
 
Check for any restaurant that already includes a "service charge" that goes to the staff. Some restaurants automatically include them for parties of a minimum size (i.e. 6 or 8).
 
Hello all! Wondering if you all can help. I am visiting the USA soon from Europe and am struggling with knowing when and where to tip - and how much! I know you need to tip at restaurants - we have done this during our prior trips - but we will be using more services this trip that I believe require a tip. So far I have:

- Valet parking
- Hotel staff delivering bags
- Being served at a bar

I am assuming that tips are unofficially essential for these services? I’m really struggling with when I need to tip for each service, and for how much. (For example, with valet parking, when do I tip the valet person? With the bar tender, do you tip when he gives you your drinks?)

Are there any other things we will be expected to tip for?

Is 18-20% still a respectable amount to tip for meals? (The last time we visited Florida was 2013 so I’m not sure if things have changed since then.)

Thanks very much for any advice you can offer - this whole concept is rather foreign to us and we want to make sure we are following customs!
Are you going to Disney world. At disneyworld they figure out the tips for you. At the bottom of the bill it will have the recommended amount Usually 15 18 or 20. This also holds rue for bar drinks.
 
That just reinforces my point though. If being a server is so lucrative, great and easy money, why isn't she one? The answer is obviously when the time comes to fish or cut bait, she doesn't really think it's so lucrative, great, and easy money.

I'm not the person you were referencing, but I wanted to respond to your statement above in bold. I know from experience how much money servers can make in tips. Of course, a lot varies on restaurant, shift(s) worked, clientele, etc, but you're still generally going to make good money. 11 years ago, I was a server at a cheap diner. It was pretty well known that servers made far less in tips there than at a place like Chilis, for instance. I also didn't work the lucrative breakfast shifts where servers at my restaurant easily took home double what I did in a shift. I averaged almost $15/hr between wages and tips, which was nearly 3 times the federal minimum wage at the time, and over double what it is today... and this was 11 yrs ago.

I've considered going back to serving, but logistically, it wouldn't work. Every restaurant in my area switches the days and shifts up every week so you don't always work the same hours. When you have to work around a spouse's work schedule as well as kids, one in school and the other not, it makes shift style work very difficult to pull off. Also, though the money may be great, it's not the line of work I want to do for the rest of my life. I'd rather do something I love, even if I make less money.
 
I don't leave any tips for housekeeping at Disney as it is a non-tipped position there...they get paid just like the ride attendants or bus drivers. Food service is anywhere from 15-20% depending on service. Bell hops will get $1-2 a bag. Bar is just like bellhops if not opening a tab, otherwise it is like food service.

I know there are a lot of people who don't tip housekeeping (and it's always a personal choice) but I do tip housekeeping, in part because I HATE making beds, cleaning toilets, and cleaning shower/tubs. Having someone do that for me is worth a little something extra. It's not like the housekeepers make a huge wage even though it's a non-tipped position. When I applied at WDW when I first moved to Orlando, they were desperate for housekeepers, but not paying much above minimum wage (they really wanted me to take a housekeeping position even though my education and skill set are in a totally different area). I passed, but that always stuck in the back of my mind. A good housekeeper works hard and is often taken for granted.

Otherwise, your guidelines are pretty much what I follow as well. One thing I started doing at Disney is splitting the tip for the bag handling and giving half to whoever unloads the car, and the other half to whoever delivers it to the room. Sometimes it's the same person, but sometimes it's not, so if I waited until the bags were delivered the person unloading the car got nothing, and vice versa.
 
That just reinforces my point though. If being a server is so lucrative, great and easy money, why isn't she one? The answer is obviously when the time comes to fish or cut bait, she doesn't really think it's so lucrative, great, and easy money.

We did a series of reports on college/student debt/jobs. Many work PART TIME in tipped positions and sadly discover that when they are done with their degree, that they will make less FULL TIME in their chosen field than they make working part time in a tipped position. And 2 of the people we interviewed did use lucrative to describe their tipped jobs.
 

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