Tipping in NYC

andygb

Delree wrote: »

Yes it is your money and you make whatever decision you want. Do try to find time to enjoy New York inbetween moaning moaning about beggars (wait staff in his parlance) and the prices in general.

To be honest if you can't afford to leave a reasonable tip you probably can't afford to go to this city. If you can cancel and get your money back I think that would be the best thing for you. Try Spain, don't worry there will be plenty for you to moan about there I promise.

I have been to the US and have no wish to ever visit New York. I found that extreme double standards applied to tipping. In "proper" restaurants you were expected to tip well, and in down market burger bars there was a box on the counter, and the staff were very appreciative of you putting in anything - they were usually from the black or Hispanic demographic.
We have already been told on this thread about waiters in NY earning $100K ayear tax free in tips - hardly on the breadline are they?
This is illegal in two ways - they are not paying tax, and the employers are not paying enough wages - both are criminals, and the real mugs are the people who pay large tips to support this system.;)

ferf1223

I'm American and I tip in line with Lovelyjoolz's post early on and that's pretty much what the Americans I have known throughout my life do too...except for very poor service many people will leave a penny to show that you haven't forgotten to tip, but you aren't leaving anything of any consequence....not sure I have ever gone quite that far but off the top of my head I cannot recall a penny-worthy service experience in the US.

Lovelyjoolz wrote: »

Frankly, considering how hard service staff in the US work to make your visit enjoyable I'd rather tip generously than leave knowing that someone who looked after me so well takes home so little.

It's not a big leap to understand that service levels in the US are much better than here because the employees supplement their low wage with tips...better service = better tips...so they have an incentive to provide better service.

I much prefer this to the idea that employers increase base wages (which would no doubt be to a level that is less than current salary + tips for a good waiter/waitress) and tips go away...then service would be like it (mostly) is here with rather indifferent staff making minimal effort as all the great servers would go and do something else....plus, menu prices will go up as the owners will have to recover the additional staff costs somehow.

I don't actually care what other people do...but I think some of the arguments for not tipping are just silly. But by all means don't tip if you don't want to.

Also - the food being poor isn't the waiter's fault...if the service is good, take the food issue up with the manager but tip the waiter properly.

Doshwaster

andygb wrote: »

This is illegal in two ways - they are not paying tax, and the employers are not paying enough wages - both are criminals, and the real mugs are the people who pay large tips to support this system.;)

It's not illegal at all. State and federal laws allow tipped workers to be paid less than the regular minimum wage and all tips need to be declared. In fact they are taxed on the tips they are expected to make. If a waiter from a busy Manhattan restaurant only declared $20,000 then it wouldn't be believed.

richardw

andygb wrote: »

...$1 a drink - you must be barmy...

richardw wrote: »

How many times have you had a drink in a Manhattan bar?

andygb wrote: »

I have been to the US and have no wish to ever visit New York...

Thanks for clarifying that you've never visited New York.

NiftyDigits

Delree wrote: »

Yes it is your money and you make whatever decision you want. Do try to find time to enjoy New York inbetween moaning moaning about beggars (wait staff in his parlance) and the prices in general.

To be honest if you can't afford to leave a reasonable tip you probably can't afford to go to this city. If you can cancel and get your money back I think that would be the best thing for you. Try Spain, don't worry there will be plenty for you to moan about there I promise.

Oh dear... there is the typical travel snob clich!; "If you can't afford it don't go there".

Why should I go if I can't afford to give my money away??
Only the rich should be able to travel beyond Spain??

Any argument you may have held, has been dashed by that rather pathetic comment.

I'm proud to be British. I don't need to act like an 'American' when I visit the USA, that is just silly.
I've seen some Americans when they travel and often cringe at what I see.
Demanding supermarket staff pack for them and showing no patience at all.
They are used the the 'wage slave' culture.

I treat my staff like human beings.

I can tell you about the times when I've helped tourists in London, only for them to try to give me a 'tip'.
Close to an insult for me.
Personally, I find the whole tipping system distasteful.
Even more of an annoyance when restaurant adds an (optional) 12.5% service charge to your bill and then leaves a space for you to add a Gratuity. Distasteful begging. A lowly American practice brought to our shores.
We know that many restaurants often use the Service Charge as an additional source of revenue. If they choose not to pass it on to their staff, it should not be a concern for someone who just wants to eat.

People complain about airlines when they quote one price, but the final price is completely unrelated. It's an annoyance to the customer.

So no, it isn't about afford-ability. I just don't want to be bothered by people holding their hand out for every 'service' that they decide to provide for me. If it costs me a US$1 for you to open the door for me, I'll open the door for myself thank you.

Visiting the USA is just a part of my multi-continental trip. I'm not going to emulate the culture of every place that I visit in order to ingratiate myself to the natives. Neither will I be in the least unpleasant to anyone.

Doshwaster

NiftyDigits wrote: »

I'm proud to be British. I don't need to act like an 'American' when I visit the USA, that is just silly.
I've seen some Americans when they travel and often cringe at what I see.
Demanding supermarket staff pack for them and showing no patience at all.
They are used the the 'wage slave' culture.

I treat my staff like human beings.

So you don't believe in "When in Rome..."?

Brits who don't tip in the US are just as annoying to the locals as loudmouth Americans who come here and demand table service in pubs or people who go other countries and don't observe local customs on polite behaviour.

I go to Thailand regularly and never tip more than a few loose coins (10-20p) as that's the custom. In the UK I would never tip a barman for pouring a drink but I do in the US. It's about respecting local customs and has nothing to do with being "proud" to be British .

NiftyDigits

Doshwaster wrote: »

So you don't believe in "When in Rome..."?

Brits who don't tip in the US are just as annoying to the locals as loudmouth Americans who come here and demand table service in pubs or people who go other countries and don't observe local customs on polite behaviour.

I go to Thailand regularly and never tip more than a few loose coins (10-20p) as that's the custom. In the UK I would never tip a barman for pouring a drink but I do in the US. It's about respecting local customs and has nothing to do with being "proud" to be British .

Sorry, but this is just nonsense.

If you think that the average New Yorker will find me annoying for not giving money to everyone who holds out their hand, you are completely off the mark.
The only person who might be bothered as to whether I tip adequately or at all, is the person whose hand is outstretched.
Whereas a loudmouth who thinks that money can buy them anything is likely to offend all and sundry.

As for local custom.... I will do what I believe to be reasonable. I will negotiate and pay any agreed price. Whatever I pay over and beyond what has been agreed, is solely at my discretion.

As it happens, I don't have a problem with leaving a tip in restaurants, especially as it has become the norm in the UK in the form of an optional service charge.
But I won't be doing anything that I wouldn't normally do and I would hardly care if someone opinion's of me was based on how much money that I give to them.

So many big spenders out there who live on credit. I live within my means thank you.

totallybored

I don't know about bar tenders but I was under the impression that waiters in the US were taxed on their tips and a lot of companies would declare how much their staff would receive in tips as a percentage of the bill. So if you don't bother leaving a tip the restaurant would still assume you'd tipped the wait staff 15% and that employee would be taxed as though they'd received it.

NiftyDigits

totallybored wrote: »

I don't know about bar tenders but I was under the impression that waiters in the US were taxed on their tips and a lot of companies would declare how much their staff would receive in tips as a percentage of the bill. So if you don't bother leaving a tip the restaurant would still assume you'd tipped the wait staff 15% and that employee would be taxed as though they'd received it.

That is not the way that it works at all. If you really care to know, look here.

In addition, not all states adhere to the system of allowing tips to top up the minimum wage requirement.