Instead of the best, how about the worst?

[alan]

Thunder, to be fair, i don't agree that you should tip a person because they don't get paid very well. A person agrees to work for a certain wage, they aren't forced into slavery.

tipping should be reserved for recognition of cheerful, helpful, informative service.

anything else is just charity. i don't work for charity.

[Thunder]

perhaps you missed the part about superior service.

Exactly, too. Emy, you can still tip Sackers at a big store, even tho they don't bring out the grocery to the car for you.

How do you analyze how much you should tip? Watch how they sack.

Double sacking for heavier load.

Separate the cold and frozen food.

Separate the breads and eggs.

Separate the meats.

Organized from bottom to top.

Neatly arranged and not tossing.

Honor any requests made.

Heavier sacks with food that doesn't get smashed at bottom with ligher load at the top when placing them in the cart.

Friendly, conversational, and cleaniness. (Keep in mind, if someone doesn't respond, they can't hear.)

How fast they sack and the waiting time.

If you forget something, go get it and a Sacker will unload the grocery from the cart onto the register or ask for the forgotten item to be brought up.

Emy, there is a lot of superior services. You just need to keep ur eyes open to witness them.

[Thunder]

Thunder, to be fair, i don't agree that you should tip a person because they don't get paid very well. A person agrees to work for a certain wage, they aren't forced into slavery.

tipping should be reserved for recognition of cheerful, helpful, informative service.

anything else is just charity. i don't work for charity.

I can understand that and I agree with that, but the issue is that most people isn't aware that they can tip cashiers.

Most cashiers do light sacking, such as breads and eggs, which is always last, and if a Sacker didn't get to it, then a Cashier will while waiting on the customer to pay or the machine to process.

[Oh GAWD the Smell!]

Thunder...I only WISH people tipped sackers when I was doing it. I was technically a stocker, but if they got rushed, they'd call stockers to go up front. Best tip I EVER got was a dollar, and that was only once. I usually got nothing. I remember one time where I took THREE carts full of groceries to a lady's car for her, all at the same time. She stood there and watched me pack it into her trunk and backseat for 10 minutes, telling me exactly where to put things, then having me move them around a couple of times for good measure. She then thanked me for doing such a wonderful job and handed me a dime. lol...Really lady?

Not sure how this turned into a tipping thread...Tipping discussions can get as heated as political ones. People have strong opinions on it, that's for sure.

My wife is a sub-par tipper, and I'm a generous tipper (good service required for that though). We had a couple of fights over it, so we made a rule...Whenever I pay, she's not allowed to look at the bill and I'm not allowed to look when she pays. I've tipped $15 on a $18 breakfast just because she was breaking the rules and watching (had outstanding service too though). MAN, was that a mistake. She still brings it up over a year later.

[ronronnie1]

As a rule, I'll tip 15% to the waiter/waitress/server/whatever. If they got a stank attitude or if the service sucks, well then, they get nadda.

[alan]

I think a tip jar is expecting a tip.

no, it just facilitates the transaction. it says, "a portion of my salary comes from tips". the customer chooses to tip or not.

plus, for multiple employees, it provides an easy way for them to divide the tips up evenly.

i don't see why so many people see a tip jar as a slap in the face. if you don't get good service - ignore the tip jar.

if you do get good service, recognize it.

no biggie.

[CuatrodeMayo]

Where is Bobby821?

[Vines_&_Cattle]

So everyone gets good service and good food from Braum's?

Must be just me.

[Oh GAWD the Smell!]

Personally, I wish that they all had bells like Jersey Mike's.

When I tip, they ring the bell, and everybody in the joint knows I'm a hoopy frood.

[PennyQuilts]

I tend to leave karma tips on small expenditures, like a single meal. Other than that, I tend to leave bout 20% which I know is ridiculous for some service but there you go. My kids were waitstaff and I have a hard time not seeing them when I see a waiter. Husband gives a $5.00 for most anything less than $20.00 but more than $10.00.

We recently were in North Carolina for the weekend and stopped at several convenience stores, motels, restaurants. OMG - we'd forgotten what nice service is like. The clerks in Northern Virginia - and this is not an exaggeration - don't make eye contact and rarely even speak to you in check out lines. When they do speak, they are surly. They are hideous. I make it a practice to report to the management when I even get one of them that smiles. No, I am not joking. Drives husband crazy that I have to track down a manager to tell them I appreciate the service. Many of the wait staff are better but nothing compared to further south and Oklahoma. One of the things we love about coming back home is the pleasant attitude from people at grocery stores, gas stations, etc.

Interesting, to me, but my kids don't tip if they don't get get service. Well, actually, they carefully count out the amount that is supposed to be shared with the busboy and leave that. They tell me that they aren't going to screw the busboy and the waiter will know exactly what they are doing if they do the math. But when they get good service, they tip well.

[Oh GAWD the Smell!]

I tend to leave karma tips on small expenditures, like a single meal. Other than that, I tend to leave bout 20% which I know is ridiculous for some service but there you go. My kids were waitstaff and I have a hard time not seeing them when I see a waiter. Husband gives a $5.00 for most anything less than $20.00 but more than $10.00.

The wife and I were talking about that this evening. It kills her to see me leave a HUGE tip at say...IHOP. Hey...That waitress did double the work that the Chili's waitress did the last time we ate there. Not her fault the meal was $14 for the both of us instead of $42. I'll go WAY over 20% in situations like that if I had great service.

Which is why she's not allowed to see me tip

[PennyQuilts]

The wife and I were talking about that this evening. It kills her to see me leave a HUGE tip at say...IHOP. Hey...That waitress did double the work that the Chili's waitress did the last time we ate there. Not her fault the meal was $14 for the both of us instead of $42. I'll go WAY over 20% in situations like that if I had great service.

Which is why she's not allowed to see me tip

Explain to her about karma tips. It will come back to her, eventually...

I've read that women are crappier tippers then men. I don't know if that is true but I try to avoid that stereotype. I figure that anyone working that hard probably needs it more than I do and I'll never miss an extra coupla bucks.

[Thunder]

I've read that women are crappier tippers then men. I don't know if that is true but I try to avoid that stereotype. I figure that anyone working that hard probably needs it more than I do and I'll never miss an extra coupla bucks.

I've never seen a survey or study done on that. To me, they both are about the same. The only group of people that generally is the worst, in my opinion, are those on food stamps, but not always the case.

I've heard a lot of complaints from other coworkers that people from group homes, maybe foster homes, where they get 5 carts full of grocery, never tip at all, not even a penny. Imagine the tough time loading those groceries in their vehicles.

I experienced this one time, these people brought a bunch of kids with them, and these kids choose what food they want. Even with this van they have, there wasn't really any room to load the groceries in the van with all the clutters. The limited space in the back, they told us to just pile them all up basically to the top of the van. I bet when they opened the back door, the whole pyramid comes crashing out.

To do the job for these people generally take about 30 minutes or more. I can understand the lost of revenue when the unlucky Sackers have to deal with them.

[Oh GAWD the Smell!]

Well in their defense Thunder...People on food stamps really aren't in a position to tip much.

[onthestrip]

I tend to leave karma tips on small expenditures, like a single meal. Other than that, I tend to leave bout 20% which I know is ridiculous for some service but there you go. My kids were waitstaff and I have a hard time not seeing them when I see a waiter. Husband gives a $5.00 for most anything less than $20.00 but more than $10.00.

I try to do the same. Say I stop somewhere for breakfast or lunch and I have a $12 tab. A 20% tip ($2.40) just doesnt seem enough for the work they did. I think there should be some minimum amount that should be left, something like $4. At least nothing lower than $3.

[Jesseda]

The thing i hate most is places that atomatically include the tip to your bill for a party of 4 or more, alfredos in moore did this or use to , I will not be going back, the wait staff sucks and the the order was wrong even after the second try, desert was frozen in the middle, which was suppose to be a hot dessert, and the staff never filled our drinks we had to get up and look for the soda machine, but yet we they got 15 percent from us

[ddavidson8]

Explain to her about karma tips. It will come back to her, eventually...

I've read that women are crappier tippers then men. I don't know if that is true but I try to avoid that stereotype. I figure that anyone working that hard probably needs it more than I do and I'll never miss an extra coupla bucks.

I don't remember them being bad tippers, but I definately remember groups of women (no men in the group) being a royal pain.

[metro]

The thing i hate most is places that atomatically include the tip to your bill for a party of 4 or more, alfredos in moore did this or use to , I will not be going back, the wait staff sucks and the the order was wrong even after the second try, desert was frozen in the middle, which was suppose to be a hot dessert, and the staff never filled our drinks we had to get up and look for the soda machine, but yet we they got 15 percent from us

Sounds like you won't be eating very many places then. This is common practice in most restaurants for a certain size party. And 18% is really considered average or the minimum these days.

[jstanthrnme]

I'm going to chime in here, and give my thoughts on tipping.

I worked at a popular restaurant through and shortly after college, and servers depend on tips. If I worked for 80 hours over 2 weeks (which can really burn you out..hours 70-80 you kind of give up on proper service..), my paycheck would often be $0 unless I did something rather than wait tables..

Most waiters live day to day because there are really only 5 good money making hours in a day, being the lunch and dinner rush. Say you have a 4 table section, and on a good night, it turns 3-4 times (thats 12-16 tables), and each table tips $5, thats $80 for that shift. Then factor in the tipout that goes to each busboy, bartender, or support staff, then subtract about $10-$15 that is divided among them. Tipouts are on average, 0.5% to 1% of TOTAL sales. So the more you sell, the more you tipout, but also, the more you make assuming the tipping percentages are honored..

As far as tipping, unless you speak with the manager, or server about the poor service you should tip 15%, for great service 20%, minumum. That is the standard. For the automatic gratuity, its typically considered an average tip and the menu will let you know the percentage. This is a must for waiters, If you get to work at 5 and have a party of 15 coming at 5:30, it will take up most of your shift, with little oppurtunity for other tables during the dinner rush. That $22 gratuity is a lot better than the $10 you could possibly have walked out with after your shift. If your not okay with this, then host the party yourself..

Ideally, I looked at each person, and thought if I could just get $2.50 from *each* of them, no matter how much they bought, I'd be okay with that. Parents should go with a little more, say $3, for each kid. Hey, you're not cleaning up those cherios, are you? Thats what I think. If you're in a nicer, restaurant, then give a little more.

What is absolutely the worst, is the whole rounding up thing. Sure it makes your bank balance, and bookeeping a little easier when you round up your ticket of $32.85 to $35, but when you do that, throw another buck or two onto the table...

[OKCMallen]

Sounds like you won't be eating very many places then. This is common practice in most restaurants for a certain size party. And 18% is really considered average or the minimum these days.

You are so contrary lately metro.


I don't know that I have ever seen a place put an automatic tip for a party of FOUR. Not even out of town...

[Heyuri]

I waited tables all through college (and had friends in the industry at different restaurants) at and never found a tip out that was less then 3% of total sales. So if you tip under 3% the waiter pays out of pocket for that 3%.

I used to not tip for bad service until my brother gave me some good advice that really hit me. If your angry enough to not leave a tip, you should have the courage to find the manager and complain about the service. 9 times out of 10 you will get a good portion of your bill removed. If the service was not bad enough for you to complain, suck it up and leave a passable tip. A bad tip will just convince a bad waiter that you are cheap, a talk with a manager will change that server or get them removed.

As others have said waiters do not get paychecks, they work for only tips. I got one that wasn't stamped void, and I think I kept it as a souvenir.

[JerzeeGrlinOKC]

I waited tables all through college (and had friends in the industry at different restaurants) at and never found a tip out that was less then 3% of total sales. So if you tip under 3% the waiter pays out of pocket for that 3%.

Can you explain that to me? Why 3%? I'm confused...

I remember back in the day waiting tables, and I sometimes got stiffed. Maybe that's because I was the worst waitress EVER! Don't like your food? I'm being too slow? What no bacon you're a vegetarian? Tough !@#$.

Some people aren't meant to work in the food industry

[Caboose]

So everyone gets good service and good food from Braum's?

Must be just me.

The service is typically bad at Braum's, but who cares? I don't go there very often but the food has always been good. Who goes to Braum's expecting service?

The worst service I have ever had was at Legend's in Norman years ago. We eventually just got up and left after waiting about half an hour for our waiter to arrive and the other passing by waitstaff promising someone would be with us "shortly".

Another instance of terrible service was at the Chili's on NW Expressway. The waitress did nothing correct the entire meal and was extremely slow and obviously uninterested in doing it. She got a 13 cent tip. I figured 13 cents was more insulting than zero because she wouldn't be able to rationalize that I must have forgotten to leave a tip.

Incidentally the best service I have ever had was at the Chili's in Norman. There was a tiny gnat in my water and I discreetly asked the waiter for a new one, which he brought promptly. I forgot all about the issue and never said another word about it. Later, as we were wrapping up our meal the manager came over and apologized for the "uninvited guest" in the water and comp'd our meal and gave us a gift card for our next visit.

[jstanthrnme]

I should have added that for a tip out, the "0.5% to 1%" of sales goes to *each* of the support staff, and yeah its usually over 3%.

[GWB]

The thing i hate most is places that atomatically include the tip to your bill for a party of 4 or more, alfredos in moore did this or use to , I will not be going back, the wait staff sucks and the the order was wrong even after the second try, desert was frozen in the middle, which was suppose to be a hot dessert, and the staff never filled our drinks we had to get up and look for the soda machine, but yet we they got 15 percent from us

I would never patronize a restaurant that automatically includes a tip for a party of four. That's absolutely asinine. I assume the tips were probably pretty low in this place and that's why the owner initiated this stupid policy. Instead of training the staff to do a better job, the owner probably decided to "force" people to pay 18% tip so that the lousy wait people can get a decent tip. They won't last long doing business like this.