Tips.........

[BKOnce]

On the late news, congress will pass minum wage/pay law of $7.25 by year 2008! ... Did anybody hear that lately to confirm?... But we all know it for sure it NEVER apply to waiter/waitress for that scale.

[JollyGG]

On the late news, congress will pass minum wage/pay law of $7.25 by year 2008! ... Did anybody hear that lately to confirm?... But we all know it for sure it NEVER apply to waiter/waitress for that scale.

Effective July 24, 2007 minimum wage is 5.85.
July 2008 it goes up to 6.55
July 2009 it goes up to 7.25

I found this table with minimum wages from 1955 to 2006 interesting. It also shows the federal minimum wage each year adjusted for inflation. I'm always a little skeptical of adjustments like that, but still it is interesting. http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0774473.html
I hadn't realized that it has been 10 years since the minimum wage was last raised.

Was 1955 the first year we had a federal minimum wage? Anyone know?

And no minimum wage does not apply to waitresses/waiters base pay. However, legally they must make at least minimum wage after wages AND tips.

[guzzie]

if service is good they get good tip....I still give when its not good....was a regular at a bar in my neighborhood and those barmaids knew i tipped them well and they took great care of me....wouldn't want to do it for a living today...they work hard for no pay....guzzie

[Bandit]

Well, if it were not for the waiters, the dishwashers, the cooks and busboys, there would be no such thing as EATING OUT.
If the waiters & busboys never got tips there would be no one there to bring you food so you could just go to the buffet or eat at home.

There are times I get real bad waiters but I go by attitude & not just the service. Like any business- if they are busy then you have to wait & sometimes (like Mothers Day or a football night) if you want a table you may wait for an hour.

I always give at least 15% & if they go out of their way it will be 20%.

Generally I only hear of them adding the gratuity automatically to the bill is in real nice restaraunts, country clubs or if the party is more than six or eight.

[Bandit]

Adding that 20% to your bill for a "tip" is THAT COMPANIES way of making up enough money so that their employee will make minimum wage.... SO REALLY, you are NOT TIPPING, you are paying the salary for the company where you are eating.

NOW - does the $3.00 delivery fee they charge to deliver food (pizza, etc) go to the driver for gas for his vehicle he uses, OR does the company collect it as an extra BONUS for them for delivering your food????

Yes & if they did not add the gratuity then you would just pay the extra 20% in the price of the meal like they do in other countries so they could pay the staff in the front of the house. Not sure about the deliver fee & who gets that.

OH YEAH, BELIEVE ME - THEY KNOW WHO THE GOOD TIPPERS ARE!!!

And yes, it's worth it!!

Agreed! it is worth it even though I do not get to go out to eat very often. That is like a very special thing to me. I waited tables for a long time & we knew who tipped well & who did not & who would always have a coupon or be early bird specials & whatever. (nothing wrong with any of that- it is just a reputation like with tipping) One place I worked even the manager got fed up with these two ladies never tipping & treating the staff like dirt & told them they could leave at least one dollar each minimum. AND...they did start tipping us then.

I also tip the girl who cuts my hair because she is real nice and good at what she does. She also makes me lunch with a soda when I go & we have become friends.

[Bandit]

On the late news, congress will pass minum wage/pay law of $7.25 by year 2008! ... Did anybody hear that lately to confirm?... But we all know it for sure it NEVER apply to waiter/waitress for that scale.

Maybe in California & New York the waiter gets the minimum wage but everywhere else, no. I forget which person running for president nominee said they would get it up to 9.25 an hour within the first couple of years. Maybe it was Clinton, not sure though.

I can remember the days when it stayed $3.10 for about 10 years back in Reagans day.

[Bandit]

Several months ago there was an article that waiters/waitresses groups are pushing restaurants into automatically adding a 20 % surcharge to the meals as tips, as they contend that a lot of customers do not leave a tip.
Why should I be "punished" if I have to wait 5 or more minutes to be seated, wait another 5 minutes for them to ask me what I want to drink, wait another 5 minutes for them to bring a menu, and being asked every 30 or so seconds if I have decided yet.
And after eating wait another 5 to 10 minutes until I get a bill.
Supermarket baggers are more worthy of a tip, especially if they help you out to your car sometimes in 100 degree heat or bone chilling cold.

this just sounds like someone does not know how to wait tables & they are not very attentive. everyone knows you drop the menu first bring drinks right away (or at least water) & as soon as you can get the order then you are over the hill. If they are looking around & do not want any sweets, then drop the check & get them out so you can get a new table.

baggers work just as hard but I never need help to my car. When I get older I will need their help & I will tip them.

There is a downside though to them adding the gratuity to the bill. I feel it can make some waiters lazy thinking they will get 20% no matter what & they wont give decent service with a bad attitude.

Just some observations over the years.

[Bandit]

Just think of how many tables you need to make $100 in tips for the night...and do them right?!

It depends. If you are at Dennys doing breakfast & lunch you would need about 75 to 100 guests in about 7 hours. If you are at the Ritz Carlton for dinner shift you would only need about 10 or 15 guests because you are serving millionaires & they usually tip better.

Either place you work just as hard though. At the fancy place you have a Captain, front & back waiter plus you have to tip the bartender & Matr d' & you do tableside entrees and flambe. At the less expensive place you do not have to go to the table as often but there is more volume.

For example I could get $20 off a two top & do that 5 times or I could get one dollar from a 6 top & have to do that 100 times. Just glad I am not doing any of it today. It was kind of like a trap because you get use to having cash every day.

[Bandit]

No one gets rich waiting tables. My daughter waited tables for five years while she went to school. She saw a big change over those five years - fewer tips for less money overall. I believe it's a sign of the financial hard times in this country.

Yes. It is changing & some of them say the establishment is simply not as busy as it was in the last few years.

[Bandit]

Plus, the wait staff refills salt, pepper, and other condiments that go on the table. Rolls silverware and napkins for the next big meal rush. Many other little details jobs that people don't think about. Not to mention cram in a trip to the bathroom when they can catch a minute. .

There is a lot of side work & prep that customers do not ever think about because they do not see that part of the job unless they have done it themselves. They are working those hours basicly for free.

[AMISLANDER]

OH YEAH, BELIEVE ME - THEY KNOW WHO THE GOOD TIPPERS ARE!!!

And yes, it's worth it!!

Right on! If you frequent certain places, that good tipping makes all the difference!

[Minnymouth]

In my past (very colorful) I have been a waitress and a bartender both in restrauants and in nightclubs..... made a good living as a parttime job with my fulltime day job....

Yes, customers KNOW who the good ones are, the waitress that knows what you want and how you like it, and sees that your table has 1st class service at all times......

Now days everyones tips usually go into a "pot" - then divided up - THAT I OBJECT TOO.... and would now if I was still waiting tables. WHY should I share a $50.00 tip that if it were another waitress person they might get $3.00.......

There are exceptional waiters/waitress and then there are good, average, and the plain ole lazy ones....

Pooling tips to me puts them all in the same class together and they are not....

Why should a good waiter/waitress give up their good tips to someone that doesn't deserve them or never earned them.....

[Bandit]

There are exceptional waiters/waitress and then there are good, average, and the plain ole lazy ones....

Pooling tips to me puts them all in the same class together and they are not....

Why should a good waiter/waitress give up their good tips to someone that doesn't deserve them or never earned them.....

I agree. Pooling never set well with me either for the same reasons. One place we just pooled within our team of two or three and that was ok because we worked our tables as an agreed team. Another place we did not get the choice and the whole room was pooled and that is when you see the sharp ones and the ones who do not care. Very frustrating. Plus, you do not actually get to see what you are getting and have to trust that they are being fair when they pay.

Bartending was actually fun. Banquets were also fun and you knew exactly what you would make from the start since the grat for the large party was automatic.

Food & beverage Industry is a very different kind of business from your factory work or 9 to 5 job.

[JollyGG]

Yes & if they did not add the gratuity then you would just pay the extra 20% in the price of the meal like they do in other countries so they could pay the staff in the front of the house. Not sure about the deliver fee & who gets that.

If wait staff got minimum wage it would not add 20% to the cost of a meal because kitchen staff already gets minimum wage, busboys get minimum wage, rent stays the same, the cost of food stays the same. Therefore an increase in wait staffs base pay would not increase the cost of a meal out 20%. Therefore people would still be able to tip and could then tip for good service.

[Bandit]

If wait staff got minimum wage it would not add 20% to the cost of a meal because kitchen staff already gets minimum wage, busboys get minimum wage, rent stays the same, the cost of food stays the same. Therefore an increase in wait staffs base pay would not increase the cost of a meal out 20%. Therefore people would still be able to tip and could then tip for good service.

Hi JollyGG

In the case you mention, the customer is still paying for the waiter to be there, not the employer. If people are still tipping then what you say will work. If they never tip then the cost of the meal would go up. Not that the food expense increases or rent increases but the employer would have to pay the wait staff out of his pocket or the waiters will not work there.


Waiters will not do that job for minimum wage, neither will the busboys or bartenders. With tips they average between 8 & 12 dollars an hour in most places. In a nice place maybe a little more. If the owners had to pay the wait staff, bussers and bartenders that wage of 8 to 12 an hour because people never tipped, that would definately increase the cost of your meal dining out.

Do you see what I mean?

Some places like Australia or say a retirement home that is how it is and tipping is not the custom, those waiters are getting paid more than minimum wage or they would not be there because it is too hard & too stressful. Most waiters have to also tip the busboy and the bartender, sometimes a cocktail waitress and wine steward and others from the tips they get.

I also think a lot of tourists come to the USA and do not realize tipping is what they live on, so the waiter gets stiffed after giving great service. Who is going to stay at a job for that? I know at some airports & hotels 15% was added for the waiter just for that fact tourists did not know the waiters only get $2.00an hour base pay and in there country they pay more for the meal instead of tipping.

Do you think the law will ever change for waiters base pay? to the point tips would not be custom?