As a DFW Do you Tip in Restraunts, etc?

Rosie75

rog2 wrote:

This practice is disgusting:mad: :mad: I also know of a restaurant where all tips are 'surrendered' to the owner. I used to eat there often, but when I found that out, I voted with my feet.

When I was a student I used to work as a waitress in a posh hotel in Hertfordshire which catered for weddings and other functions. On many occasions we would see the father of the bride hand over a £100 or £200 tip to the manager and say "this is for the waiting staff". We never saw any of that.

Phoenix79_2

I tip if the service warrants it. If i have a moody waiter/waitress then they get nothing. If the service is good then i do.

saubryn

Rosie75 wrote:

When I was a student I used to work as a waitress in a posh hotel in Hertfordshire which catered for weddings and other functions. On many occasions we would see the father of the bride hand over a £100 or £200 tip to the manager and say "this is for the waiting staff". We never saw any of that.

Thats disgusting - I'd almost be tempted to tell the father of the bride 'don't bother offering a tip, the manager just keeps it'.

I don't mind giving a tip straight over to the waiter / waitress in question, which is what happens in the places I go, but I'd be very wary of handing it over to someone else, especially after hearing a story like that.

susie76

I'd like to try (as a restaurant manager) to clarify a few points made on this thread.
1. If there is a service charge added to your bill (which can be added to all food and drink items, it just has to be openly declared), it is not mandatory, you can sk to have it removed.
2. If you are a tipper, it is worth checking, before paying the service charge, or tipping by cheque/card, who gets this. Some restaurants will keep these, as all non cash tips legally belong to the restaurant. Some will use these to make up wages, or just plain keep them, both legal but reprehensible. Cash tips belong to whoever you give them to.
3. All tips given via card, cheque or service charge that do go to staff are given from employer to employee, which makes them liable for PAYE tax and national insurance. Any cash tips paid by customer to employee are not liable for national insurance, but shuld be declared to inland revenue, but this is the responsiblity of the employee not the restaurant.

susie76

If you don't believe in tips, you are unlikely to be swayed by any argument for them, but i believe good waiting staff do perform a function over and above the basic job that they are paid for. A good waiter will do much more than take an order and bring your food, drinks and bill. This could be anything from recommending food and wine, to bringing treats to your fractious children so that you can eat in peace, to cleaning up sick when a customer has had too much to drink, and anything in between. Being a good waiter means smiling and being charming even when you are tired or down, being good natured when old men lech at you, or when people are rude or condescending because they assume that you are in the job because you are stupid. I think these things are worth tipping. I wouldn't tip if i had appalling service, but i haver rarely experienced that. Even with tips, it can be low paid work, and for many people, Willsnarf, getting a different job isn't easy. Many are working second jobs to pay debts, or working around their children. No one should feel obliged to tip, but the issue isn't always black or white.

rog2

susie76 wrote:

If you don't believe in tips, you are unlikely to be swayed by any argument for them, but i believe good waiting staff do perform a function over and above the basic job that they are paid for. A good waiter will do much more than take an order and bring your food, drinks and bill. This could be anything from recommending food and wine, to bringing treats to your fractious children so that you can eat in peace, to cleaning up sick when a customer has had too much to drink, and anything in between. Being a good waiter means smiling and being charming even when you are tired or down, being good natured when old men lech at you, or when people are rude or condescending because they assume that you are in the job because you are stupid. I think these things are worth tipping. I wouldn't tip if i had appalling service, but i haver rarely experienced that. Even with tips, it can be low paid work, and for many people, Willsnarf, getting a different job isn't easy. Many are working second jobs to pay debts, or working around their children. No one should feel obliged to tip, but the issue isn't always black or white.

Can't argue with that:beer: