tipping

i was a waiter for 3.5 years and hated it cuz the places i worked were above crap like steak 'n shake but not upscale like ya know ruth's chris or anything. some customers didnt get the concept of not being able to occupy two spaces at once (ie, flagging you down and trying to get yr attention when yr clrly takin someone's order!), some tipped badly, many acted condescending, and in my experience almost every waiter i worked with in those types of places either had a jail record, a drug addiction, or both...hell not gon lie i smoked bud with my manager on occasion n it put me in his good graces.

but i got out. and will never go back. but have trenormous respectages for those who do it

ian you are clearly the best tipper ever

i think it is kind of a NYC thing. i only got buybacks in LA at a couple bars.

sorta, i had luck finding a few spots out here with friendly staff(also spent a lotta time in bars : /)

waiters, have any of u ever been told u weren't being tipped cuz the person didn't believe in it? just wonderin'

i used to get buybacks at the verdugo & sometimes at johnnys in highland park

xp - no, but I once got a Bible pamphlet from a five-top (too small to grat).

I think I'm still militant about the service industry because I figure it's my fallback if everything else goes to hell. I'll still be able to wait tables and I need all the karma I can get.

wait what, you americans tip bar staff?!!1!?

I tip a penny a beer, unless I'm out with Jaymc, then it's 2 dollars a beer and a shot for him each time.

tips of the day:

tipped coffee guy $0.75
tipped delivery guy $7 (guy is mad nice, gave me free brownies, hooked me up in the past etc.)
tipped bartender $2 on first drink cuz i also ordered a bowl of chilli
tipped bartender $2 on second drink cuz i also ordered a basket of french fries (table service but order at the bar, and imo if they're delivering shit to my table i am fine with giving the cute lady another dollar.)

god i spend a lot of money every day.

http://www.yorkblog.com/biz/spendthrift.jpeg

i WAS probably too generous with delivery dude, but he's super nice & always around at one of my local diners. also he's delivering shit by bike in the winter, and in addition to the free brownies we were also not charged for onion rings & a sweet tea.

ian, as a former delivery person, I can say your behavior was rad.

wait what, you americans tip bar staff?!!1!?

the roffles begin once more.

I remember a great earlier thread about tipping, where Anthony seemed to be saying that he walks down the street handing out money to everyone he meets. It was the big fat tip for his florist that got us all going. Great days.

protip: $2

omg abbott u would make a great delivery person

oh man this thread makes me feel poor and cheap! i never order delivery because i'm like "if i'm going to eat it at home i could probably make it cheaper from scratch anyway." although sometimes food tastes better when you don't cook it. especially if you live in a not-quite-kosher-but-kinda-trying house...now i'm like "where can i order some stir fried mustard greens and pork?" but unfortunately i don't know the answer.

less about tipping and way more about just being nice to the staff as a regular.

Correct! See also: asking the bartender if they need anything when you go to the pizza joint for a slice -- if you pick them up some garlic knots etc on request you might be drinking for free; busing your own table (if you're sitting at one).

To what extent do you bus your own table?

In a restaurant: not at all. But in a bar, if there's one bartender and they have to come around the bar to clear tables, I bus the whole thing & leave the empties on the bar where they can reach 'em. Otherwise they have to stop serving to clear tables, and that just sucks for them and the other customers waiting.

yeah, it is a level of consideration that's easy to forget when drinking but definitely worth remembering

In a cocktail bar where there's a barback who does the chores, I probably wouldn't bother. But in a small local bar/pub, where the bartender is alone/friendly and everything is low-key, it's a good way to show consideration and friendliness -- and helps you be remembered later.

Simple version: The bartender is a person, just like you and me. Don't make their job suck (unless THEY suck).

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/26/hey-waiter-just-how-much-extra-do-you-really-expect/?hp

looks like it was written by a yelper

more like david sux

lives in Park Slope and always tips 15 percent

sounds about right

First law when I'm made dictator is that everyone has to wait tables, full time, for one year after they graduate high school.

i would ban restaurants

and food writers

The main obstacle to tipping in Buenos Aires is that nobody has change, and if they do, they don't want to give it to you.

how much shud i tip to not seem like a racist hipster?

And you, my dear bartender, who cracked open a $4 beer bottle, and handed me back my change entirely in a stack of one-dollar notes. Very subtle. As though the sheer bulk of that paper would deter me from putting it back in my wallet, and, defeated, I’d simply leave it there for you like a burnt offering on your sticky altar.

hi david, welcome to the country of "america!" i gather you haven't been here long.

I have fantasies about that happening here, but it never does.

Ok, dude sounds like an ass, and being given change in $1s doesn't mean you HAVE TO leave ALL the $1s so he probably should chill out. But:

“Do you need change?”

Funny you should ask, because I just gave you a $10 bill, and my latte and raspberry scone came to $5.75.

that is a little ridiculous, I don't think I have ever had a server ask that in such a situation.

Getting all your change in $1 bills seemed common practice to me from my (limited) experience of US bars - certainly in place of a $5 anyway (maybe not a 10 or 20). I love it because I'm always short of singles for the bus/launderette/tips. It just gives you greater flexibility for how much you want to tip, surely?

yeah i mean it's crazy to read anything into this--if i pay for a $5 beer with a 20 and the dude gives me back a 10 and a 5, i might be unable to tip on that drink--which goes against the custom in all bars in the united states.

btw i have NEVER seen a bartender give back more than $5 in change in ones--that just wouldn't make sense.

I've seen a bartender give back more than $5 in change in ones - makes sense if, say, the tab is $14 and paid w/ a $20.

true--was only considering buy a single drink for myself in cash.

worst is when the drinks are $19 and you don't have any more singles. Sorry for the cheapo dollar tip, catch you on the next one, bro.

such a stressful practice

tipping is?

As expected, those comments are priceless. Like this is really all a scam perpetuated by waiters to make money, because they are secretly earning $156 an hour. I do, however, agree with the annoying tip cups popping up in fast food places (mainly Subway from what I've seen). Um, no, not tipping you guys. Sorry.

yeah xp

Yeah, that Park Slope guy is a dick. Since I grew up in New Zealand, where tipping is almost non-existent, I learned pretty quickly what was expected. For a few months, it felt like money I wasn't used to spending, but it doesn't take long til it's just part of living in the US. My everyday calculations are pretty simple: 20% for dinner, $1 per drink, $2-3-4 for food delivery (depending on size and some weird perceived difficulty of deliver), 15-20% or whatever I have for cabs. The rest is guesswork! 20% for a haircut, $2 for a bag at hotel, and some money (often forgotten) for maid service. Coffee, nothing.

Food is cheap in the US, and in the bigger picture...if you're out, and spending money, then tipping is part of the deal. I don't notice service too much, or bother keeping tabs on who/how served me. The next day the whole $ thing has disappeared - not to say that I don't notice or get stressed about money, but just that you roll with some costs, and resist others - and tipping is definitely a roll with it thing.

When I order my filet mignon I expect the wages of the peon carrying it to my seat to have already been included in the price!

^^why shouldn't we expect this to be the case? :P

lol i dunno, it's just not! i don't think that either the us or euro system is more valid. paulhw otm--those are like my exact day-to-day guidelines.

I just see tipping as some sort of silly and archaic system that has been grandfathered into our culture. I mean I follow it and try to tip 15-20% and be a good tipper and whatever but I still think it's silly.