Legal Question Regarding Tipping

[e_BoY]

Was on another forum and an interesting question came up about tipping.

You know how some places like Earls for example will automatically add tip to your bill if your party size reaches a certain amount. Well lets say that the service was so bad that you don't think they deserve that 15% they added. If you subtracted 15% and just paid the amount you owed for food and left can you get arrested or get in some kind of trouble for it?

I know places like Earls will tell you straight up before you sit down and some places even have it written on their menu or somewhere so in this case I can see it legally being a contract between you and the place so maybe some trouble might come from this. But what if a place doesn't tell you ahead of time nor do they have it written somewhere?

[veN]

If you have a gratuity automatically added to your bill and you find the service doesn't deserve it, talk to a manager. That's the only way you'll actually change anything, AND you're covering your bases. If you just short the server without saying anything, they'll just think you're cheap or that you didn't understand the whole auto-grat concept.

edit: sometimes I wish that my work added an auto-grat on large parties, bc it's hard when I give AMAZING service (especially if the group is very large, they might well be my ONLY table and my entire focus), and not always, but OFTEN servers get shorted or shafted by large parties in the tip department. When the total bill is large and people feel they've already "spent too much" they don't tip well...

And I don't think they realize that servers don't get that whole tip... Servers tip out to the kitchen, support staff, and the bartender before they get their own cut of the tip. If EVERYONE tipped 15%, you'll walk home with 10% yourself.

[dabbler]

Originally Posted by veN

And I don't think they realize that servers don't get that whole tip... Servers tip out to the kitchen, support staff, and the bartender before they get their own cut of the tip. If EVERYONE tipped 15%, you'll walk home with 10% yourself.

remember this^

if you show up with a party of 15 and then screw the server over with NO tip (ignoring an autograt) then you are actually costing that server money. potentially they have to pay out up to %5 of your bill before you even pay

[dabbler]

and if you randomly show up at a busy restaurant with 15 people and no reservation, and expect excellent service - then you should just not go out. With reso then at least they knew you were coming and could have scheduled extra staff for you

[esoter1c]

PS: I do tip.:P

[bebu*funfun]

Auto gratuity has to be verbally told to you before they serve you, and like Nev said if you dont think the service was up to par with the auto grat, then talk the manager. Remember tipping ISN'T always just about the service, its the whole experience from walking in the door, to the FOOD, and of course the service. The chefs receive part of the tips as well, so if you had amazing food give complements to the chef and maybe leave a larger tip.

the tip out thing doesnt make sense to ppl that have never worked in a restaurant, but put yourself in the chefs position, you'd like a cut of the tip of the table you cooked for. Its all fair game.

[ebbomega]

Originally Posted by esoter1c

PS: I do tip.:P

His introduction to the movie world, and honestly gotta be the best damn scene Tarantino has ever done.

Though his Top Gun rant is pretty hilarious.

[diva]

Originally Posted by veN

And I don't think they realize that servers don't get that whole tip... Servers tip out to the kitchen, support staff, and the bartender before they get their own cut of the tip. If EVERYONE tipped 15%, you'll walk home with 10% yourself.

I just found out yesterday that not all restaurants make their servers tip out the kitchen staff. My roommates bf works at Morton's as a chef, and was telling me that kitchen staff don't get tipped out at all. He says it's because they're an American company and it's not their policy to do that. I think that's really shitty because the servers there must make a lot of money from tips.

Edit: I wonder what would happen if I told a server there that i was leaving a smaller tip because I know the kitchen staff wont see a penny of it. :P

[veN]

Originally Posted by diva

I just found out yesterday that not all restaurants make their servers tip out the kitchen staff. My roommates bf works at Morton's as a chef, and was telling me that kitchen staff don't get tipped out at all. He says it's because they're an American company and it's not their policy to do that. I think that's really shitty because the servers there must make a lot of money from tips.

Edit: I wonder what would happen if I told a server there that i was leaving a smaller tip because I know the kitchen staff wont see a penny of it. :P

Wow, that's shitty for the kitchen! I hope they get a better hourly wage atleast. I don't begrudge tipping out the kitchen at all... It's those guys and girls working hard to get those meals out. When they look good, I look good.

[cubed]

Originally Posted by ebbomega

His introduction to the movie world, and honestly gotta be the best damn scene Tarantino has ever done.

I'd say it wasn't so much Tarantino's writing that sold that scene, but more Buschemi's delivery.

[diva]

Originally Posted by veN

Wow, that's shitty for the kitchen! I hope they get a better hourly wage atleast. I don't begrudge tipping out the kitchen at all... It's those guys and girls working hard to get those meals out. When they look good, I look good.

Well I don't know what the hourly wage for kitchen staff at most restaurants is, but his wage doesn't seem higher than that i'd imagine the average to be.

[ebbomega]

Originally Posted by dabbler

remember this^

if you show up with a party of 15 and then screw the server over with NO tip (ignoring an autograt) then you are actually costing that server money. potentially they have to pay out up to %5 of your bill before you even pay

If you want to let the server know they fucked up, leave a bad tip. Leaving no tip just convinces them that you're an asshole and increases the chance of spit landing in your food the next time you go.

That being said, this is hilarious:

[ebbomega]

Originally Posted by cubed

I'd say it wasn't so much Tarantino's writing that sold that scene, but more Buschemi's delivery.

I'm gonna say a little of both. But yes. Buschemi stole that entire scene.

[NinjaBoy]

Tipping is a common curtisoy that a lot of people don't seem to grasp. I've seen some pretty big corprate high ups at resturants leave close to nothing on their tips. One explained to me that the waiter is just doing his job, and since it's a low level job he shouldn't expect much.

That might be cool and all that your a manager at a big company, and he's just a waiter. But the next time your at that resturant he's not the one that's going to be eating mashed potatoes mixed with spit.

You've just become his bitch.

[Gusto]

Originally Posted by veN

Wow, that's shitty for the kitchen! I hope they get a better hourly wage atleast. I don't begrudge tipping out the kitchen at all... It's those guys and girls working hard to get those meals out. When they look good, I look good.

i worked in restaurants for about 5 years as a cook and we always got screwed on tips. at the three places i worked, the wait staff got to decide how much they wanted to tip us out and were generally greedy about it. our wage wasn't much higher either. i guess it varies a lot from place to place and franchises probably have some rules around it too.

[LEEROY CHANG!!]

tipping ugh

[esoter1c]

Originally Posted by ebbomega

Though his Top Gun rant is pretty hilarious.

For those that don't know...

[omega_image]

i always tip, although the % is always depending on the service i receive.

the thing i don't get is these places that charge you before you eat, requesting tips on their debit/credit machines. sure its optional, but fuck you didn't even really serve me.

[veN]

Originally Posted by Gusto

i worked in restaurants for about 5 years as a cook and we always got screwed on tips. at the three places i worked, the wait staff got to decide how much they wanted to tip us out and were generally greedy about it. our wage wasn't much higher either. i guess it varies a lot from place to place and franchises probably have some rules around it too.

That sucks! We have to tip out a certain amount (a set percentage), based on the amount we sell. If I ended up in a job where we got to decide how much we tipped out, I would just stick to the same percentage breakdown I think.

[bebu*funfun]

Originally Posted by omega_image

i always tip, although the % is always depending on the service i receive.

the thing i don't get is these places that charge you before you eat, requesting tips on their debit/credit machines. sure its optional, but fuck you didn't even really serve me.

my question is.. do you tip when you go pick up take out food?

[omega_image]

^depends on the place.

if its a place id normally tip if i went to eat anyways, then yes. but i'm not tipping some sushi2go place, where my meal is pretty much self serve.

tipping, by definition, should be optional.

[azazel]

i thought this thread was about drug tripping :(

[galaxie]

Originally Posted by bebu*funfun

my question is.. do you tip when you go pick up take out food?

Sometimes yes, sometimes no.
It depends on the place and how long it took. If I'm waiting around for 15 minutes after I arrive bc I was told 7:30 but it took them longer, then no. Because they're wasting my time. But, if I arrive, my food is fresh and ready to go, then I'll tip. Usually 10% for take out.

[ebbomega]

I don't usually tip take-out, but I do for delivery.

I dunno. Tips for me are for service. Take-out doesn't really fall into that category as it's more self-serve.

[galaxie]

As for the auto-grat, I have a great story regarding that. Tim and I were eating at a (lousy) restaurant in South Miami, and they added an 18% auto-grat without telling us, but here's the kicker: both of my drinks were wrong, Tim's dinner was completely wrong, our server kept forgetting about us, and Tim's coke glass sat there empty for at least 20 minutes before we even saw our server to flag her down - god forbit she would actually come over to check on us. It took me 15 minutes of arguing with the manager to have them remove the auto-grat. What a fucking joke. Auto-grat for TWO people? Ridiculous.