How would you tip in this situation

Yep… Father’s Office is irritating.

Yep… Always err on the side of generosity. But it sucks when you do and have J_L’s experience. Bad service is worse than bad food. It makes me feel like a sucker.

Pretty is as pretty does… And that is no lie.

Lol, first thing that popped into my head at your comment:

“I’m old, I’m old
I wear my trousers rolled.”

1 Like

I just got carded buying beer the other day. I should have said that to the cashier heheheh.

2 Likes

I don’t even get ‘carded’ when I go for the senior discount :frowning: LOL

Question for the peanut gallery.

For those that would tip (however much or little, but would tip) for to-go orders, do you do the same thing when ordering through a drive-thru at, say, McDonald’s or In N Out? Or when you go into the restaurant and order your food to-go?

Because if you tip at Father’s Office because the server has to bag up your food “to go” then doesn’t the same rationale apply to the worker at McDonald’s or In N Out? Because doesn’t the teller at McDonald’s actually has to put your items in a bag? Open up the bag, put it in, etc., as opposed to just setting it on a tray?

Do tips typically go 100% to the server? Or are they ever shared with the kitchen? I ask because I assume (perhaps wrongly) that gratuity is often shared. So in effect, I would be tipping for the server bagging up the food and the creation of the food.

Regarding tipping for fast food, if I had to sign a receipt and there was a tip line, I probably would throw in something on the top. Probably in line with tipping at a coffee shop. But I don’t think that’s how most fast food transactions are set up, right? I don’t think they require signatures/have a tip line. At least they haven’t when I’ve been recently. And then I rarely have any cash.

1 Like

It’s a debate in kitchens right now. Mostly cooking staff don’t get a share of the tips, like busboys and even hosts sometimes do. They are considered salaried employees. But because of tipping they often make less than hourly servers. Which causes tension between front & back of house. Servers and cooks are notoriously hostile toward one another, for many reasons.

1 Like

[quote=“ipsedixit, post:27, topic:3930”]
do you do the same thing when ordering through a drive-thru
[/quote]I probably would if it was set up that way. I tip everyone: The person helping me carry stuff to my car, tow truck drivers, my plumber’s assistant, my gardener’s son, etc. I can’t help myself.

My husband on the other hand - if I’m not watching - doesn’t tip for take-out orders and such. I don’t get mad though. He has a lot of folks depending on him and saves any way he can :slight_smile:.

2 Likes

Paying it forward. We have so much compared to so many.

2 Likes

It depends on my mood. I’m so tired to the tipping wars between restaurant owners paying their staff and expecting us to cover salaries through “health tax” charges and tip jars., etc. No other industry does this. (Actually taxis and nail/hair salons do too, but I find that intrusive also.)

I prefer a flat service charge, if anything. And please don’t tell me about the “razor thin margins” of running a restaurant. Many small business owners run on small margins, but they don’t expect me to tip the guy changing my oil.

Tipping seems very third world to me. It’s patronizing. I’m about to get all Marxist now, so I will stop.

2 Likes

Well, it seems it’s going to be mostly how it is in the US and I’m not going to punish servers because of it.

2 Likes

Nobody said anything about punishing servers. I overtip, if anything.

My point is this. Tell me what your product/service costs and I’ll pay that. Don’t hit me up with your miscellaneous tax and labor costs; build it into the price, like a normal business. My food is not $20 if you’re charging a 20% service charge. It’s a $24 sandwich.

[quote=“Bookwich, post:34, topic:3930”]
My food is not $20 if you’re charging a 20% service charge. It’s a $24 sandwich.
[/quote]Your comments are somewhat contradictory. Which do you want?

In Europe, no tipping, no service charge. You’re getting the $24 sandwich, that’s it. If you don’t like it stay home. But this is the U.S. We’re not accustomed to those prices. We want it all and we want it cheap. Restaurant owners are trying to figure out how to handle the new changes as much as we are. I don’t think they’re standing behind the counter rubbing their hands together, thinking about how much they’re gouging us suckers.

You wrote about not tipping the guy who changes your oil. Well… You’re being charged 6 times what that oil change is worth. And the guy doing it? He is paid 3 times more than a restaurant/hotel worker.

I may have a different perspective. My mom owned a B&B, I’ve been a waitress and now run a high-end service business. But still, our biggest concern is keeping customers happy - “who are tired of hearing about razor thin margins” - while trying to provide a livable wage and benefits for our employees.

2 Likes

[quote=“Bookwich, post:34, topic:3930”]
Tell me what your product/service costs and I’ll pay that.
[/quote]By starting to charge the service fees they are telling you. Do you want to see a profit & loss before you’re willing to cough up your money? You don’t have to eat out. But you can also refuse to pay the service charge. I Believe they give you the option to decline.

1 Like

Sorry for being a killjoy folks. I just spent 10 hours doing my company’s monthly budget & expense reports. This was probably not a good thread for me to click on tonight. Hugs to all… And happy eating this weekend!

2 Likes

I would rather pay $24 for my sandwich. And of course I pay the service charge and I tip well, even when I don’t think the service was very competent. I’m nice like that.

I sympathize with your difficulties running a B&B. I know it’s America and tipping is a custom, I’m saying I find the custom of tipping annoying.

Yah, my boss finds it annoying. She’s a U.K. resident. She has the same sentiment as you, and doesn’t understand why she should supplement someone else’s employee’s income. But I try to explain to her that she’s already supplementing their income in England, by paying more for the meal. But I can tell it doesn’t sit well with her. Because I manage her expenses when she’s here and cringe when looking at the tip section of her receipts :grimacing:. Not exactly generous, which is unlike her in every other way.

2 Likes

[quote=“Bookwich, post:38, topic:3930”]
I pay the service charge and I tip well, even when I don’t think the service was very competent. I’m nice like that.
[/quote]You shouldn’t though. My stepdad had great manners. But always taught us we should never tip for bad service. He said for really awful service don’t leave a zero tip, leave a quarter so they know you didn’t forget. Fortunately I’ve rarely had that kind of bad service.

But I understand what you’re saying. You’re generous. If I have incompetent service, then get charged a fee and pay a tip I feel like a sucker afterward. Like J_L getting home to find his/her order messed up.

2 Likes