Tipping

[sooner88]

I would say, for me at least, that I tip 20% 99% of the time. It would have to take an extraordinarily bad experience to tip less or a huge party or exceptionally great service to go over. 20% is really an automatic reaction and an expectation for me when I eat / go out. (It's also the amount that almost all bars tip out on a walked tab.)

[Teo9969]

nm- embed chart will not post. Chart was in this article: Twenty-Three Years and Still Waiting for Change: Why It?s Time to Give Tipped Workers the Regular Minimum Wage | Economic Policy Institute Charts in article show demo of tipped workers by age , maritial status etc. Also another chart showing gap between service worker min and other workers min. To be clear I am not against tipping but do feel the min. wage should be applied to all workers.

The problem comes in the massive increase to FOH labor hours that this would cause to many restaurants. I detail this more thoroughly in this thread from November: http://www.okctalk.com/current-event...ping-tips.html

[Teo9969]

Holy crap I thought average was maybe 15. Guess I'm being average the entire time.

when I say "the average server probably walks home with is 12% to 15%", that's to say that after tip-out, that's what they're making. In terms of average tip received, it usually runs 15% to 18%. Bump that up a little higher for nicer restaurants.

[CCOKC]

I also tip at least 20% the majority of time with a minimum of $3. We eat breakfast after mass on Sundays with a group of people at Nina's on Portland. The meals are incredibly cheap and our party sits at our table for an hour and a half (not because the service is slow but because like to savor each other's company). The wait staff is attentive and does just as much work as someone who works at a high priced restaurant. They end up getting less pay for the same amount of work and that just makes me feel badly.

[dankrutka]

^^^^^^^
Perfectly described. In these discussions, people who would like to do away with tipping have usually not spent much or any real time in the industry. I also think you will rarely find an experienced server who would agree with the idea of straight wage, no tipping.

It's not just about the server though. For example, if a restaurant has a busy night then servers' are rewarded why kitchen staff -- who are often highly trained professionals -- reap absolutely no reward from their increased efforts. It's my understanding that a number of states have laws that do not allow those tips to be shared with kitchen staff. Getting rid of tipping also allows restaurants to reassess overall wages to all staff, and at least theoretically (some restaurants are doing it), would not necessarily lower server wages.

But, to be fair, I do not work in the industry. But I would think that there is always give-and-take when it comes to servers determining when to take off and when not to, right?

[Teo9969]

It's not just about the server though. For example, if a restaurant has a busy night then servers' are rewarded why kitchen staff -- who are often highly trained professionals -- reap absolutely no reward from their increased efforts. It's my understanding that a number of states have laws that do not allow those tips to be shared with kitchen staff. Getting rid of tipping also allows restaurants to reassess overall wages to all staff, and at least theoretically (some restaurants are doing it), would not necessarily lower server wages.

I think in your average restaurant, going to a wage based system probably works out better for the average employee. In most restaurants you have a few servers/bartenders who do quite a bit better than others in the restaurant and that's just how it is. If you go to a wage-based, you can give raises as earned to any staff who earns it, and that will probably fix just about every problem. Whenever this revolution takes hold and sweeps through restaurants, there will be a lot of veteran wait/bar staff that will leave for greener pasteurs (many into new labor markets) because their earning potential is going to sink. Most will take a pay-cut and still be expected to be a stalwart of the service staff. Of course some will adapt, but there are many who stay in the field specifically because certain advantages exist.

One of the reasons for this is because a lot of the servers who do very well in any given restaurant have the regulars who come through and tip absurd amounts of money. There are some people who leave $100 tips on $200 tabs everytime they go out. If those people regularly sit in your section, you make exceedingly more money than the person who is taking care of the average guest. Perhaps those people will continue to tip on top of a service charge, but that's certainly not guaranteed. In high-end dining, this is precisely the reason you have servers in Oklahoma City making $75k/year and up. They're generally not selling $500,000 a year in product all by themselves.

But, to be fair, I do not work in the industry. But I would think that there is always give-and-take when it comes to servers determining when to take off and when not to, right?

It depends on your staff. If the bulk of the staff is good, then it doesn't really matter who is working. So as long as there are enough people working, then it's fine. When I say felixiblity, I don't mean that servers dictate their hours by any stretch...I simply mean that they have a lot of leeway to get out of a shift or take off for a moment on short notice. And when FOH labor is literally an afterthought, that's possible. But that's a lot harder to do when Server H can't pick up Server B's shift on Saturday because Server H already has 35 hours on the week and a 7 hour shift means overtime. If a server worked 80 hours in a week right now that would cost the restaurant a whopping $213.00.