Most people tip a %. If you and I get the same service, why should tip more because my food cost more?

You pay for what you get..if you don't want to tip, stay at home and eat your own cooking, clean up your own dishes, sweep up the crumbs your wild kids throw on the floor, wipe up the spilled drinks you tipped over, complain to your wife/husband because you don't like what they fixed for you, sanitize your table and floor so you don't catch a germ from your sneeze at the table, wash the lipstick off of the glasses before you put them in the dish washer, then maybe next time you won't mind leaving a little money for the waiter or waitress that did all that for you when you ate at their table in a restaurant..you cheapskake

I agree totally. I understand the reasoning for tipping, and feel the restaurants continue to pay substandard wages to save money because they know the public will continue to tip the servers. I feel I pay enough for the meal, it shouldn't cost me 15% more just so the owner can save $3-4 an hour on wages. And, I was a cocktail waitress at one time so I do know what it's like. I would rather get a decent wage than depend on kissing other people's a**** to make a few extra dollars.

Of course people choose to become waiters and bartenders, because those people know that 90% of the population is knowledgeable about tipping and will tip....and 10% are cheap....like you.

I tip 15% to 20%, and my usual is 20% if the server is young and I feel needs the money for school or whatever. I agree with you the concept is wrong. I truly believe it is better to have the price of the meal be what it is, and the restaurant should pay the waitress/waiter, not the customer. I would pay more for what I order, if that were the case. It should be inherent in their job to give good service, regardless of tip, or they shouldn't work at that restaurant. The same with barbershops and hair salons, cost of the service, flat rate, and the shop should pay their employees, not the customer.

Servers only make half of whatever minimum wage is in your state. They depend on tips for the other half. And they get pay income taxes on 15% of their sales everynight. Some resturants even pass along the credit card processing fees to the waitstaff. Plus some servers are also required to tip out the busboys, bartender, hostess, doorman, ect. a percentage of their sales. So if everyone stopped tipping, or became really cheap in their tips then the resturants would have to pay servers, hostesses, doormen, and bartenders more per hour to make up the difference, that cost would be passed on to you, the customer, in the menu prices. And since you seem to lack even the basic understanding of what a grueling job it is I have some suggested reading for you. Waiting, By Debra Ginsberg.

Well...you have options. You COULD educate yourself on the economics of the situation...but that might hurt your brain and you hate things that hurt your brain like calculating percentages and making bizarre and incoherent analogies. But....you could also 1. Stop eating out if you don't like the idea of tipping! It isn't going to change overnight...if you can't afford it, or don't like it DON'T. Cook, eat fast food, etc. 2. Move to Europe, they barely tip, and they have HORRIBLE service. 3. Start a campaign to raise the cost of entrees and then you won't have to tip (they don't pay the waitstaff much so you can pay 12.99 for your steak and potato dinner, if we didn't have tipping you would STILL pay for the service) 4. Tip, and don't get all worked up about it. If you don't like the service, give a 10% tip and don't go back to the restaurant.

You sound very arrogant. Waiting is not the same as begging on the streets. These people are working hard for a living. Beggers do nothing and want something. So don't ever use that analogy again. I spent three years waiting. I worked harder and longer than most people that sit at a desk and got paid less that $2.50 an hour BECAUSE WE GET TIPS. So yes, you are expected to tip at a resertaunt. The other thing, you get your service before you pay/tip. So your arrogant comment about being required to tip to get service is out of wack. Waiters (should) give good service even though they risk being stiffed. I know every table I served got that and plenty of insulting people left no tip or a cheap tip. The other thing you probably dont know, we pay for every table we get. Its because there is a thing called TIP OUT. 3% of our total sales goes to the company to pay the busers and other staff like hostesses. So when someone walks in a orders $30bucks worth of food and doesn't tip...I pay for them to have sit there 3% of $30. WE contribute to the food you are ordering making it to your mouth...because yes, we chose the job. Maybe not even choose it, but some have to work there in order not to be a homeless person. Don't ever think less of a waiter because they are waiting. Its one of the hardest jobs. To provide good service and deal with ungrateful people like you. And sometimes it hurts our pride to shut our mouths and not chase lame people down to give them a piece of our minds. It is EXPECTED that you tip at a sit down resteraunt. If you don't like that, go to Taco Bell. It is a given. And for you to walk up in any resteraunt that EXPECTS a tip and won't tip, then you are in the wrong. Karma hopefully will get your arrogant butt because you sure deserve it. So let's indeed be fair. Don't come into these resteraunts...and you dont have to tip.

I'm sure you get paid more than just over $3 an hour at your job. Yes, servers choose their job, but if no one tipped, no one would choose this job and there would be no more restaurants. In Europe, the tip is included in the bill, so you don't even have a choice but to pay it. In America we give people the right to decide how much tip they feel is appropriate for the service they are given. Tipping is based on a percentage because people with higher tabs also require more service. You don't tip homeless people because they are not giving you a service.

Yes, That is how we make our living! And it is hard work. I don't sit at a street corner a beg myself through life. WTF is wrong with you people.Yes I chose this job and I learned one thing... people like you should stay at home if you decide to come see us PLEASE READ THIS before>>>> 1. CHILDREN "THE LITTLE DEVILS": If you have children, DO NOT let them, open and dump anything on the table (ie; salt, sugar, etc). IF YOU DO, you must leave an extra $5 for the server to clean up YOUR CHILD'S mess & to restock the now unusable wasted items. We are neither their babysitter nor their parent. The least you can do is pay us for the extra work. Also make sure you control your kids and don't let them scream or run around the restraunt. It's very distracting not to mention dangerous if they get ran over by a server with hot food in their hands. 2. "THE CAMPERS": If you feel the necessity to stay for longer than 15 minutes after you pay, its an extra $3 every 30 minutes. We make our money from the tables. If you are in one and we can't seat it, we don't make money. 3. COMPLIMENTS: Telling a server they are the best server they've ever had is not a tip. If we are good, let us know by leaving us more money. We cant pay our bills on compliments. Its not that we don't appreciate the praise, its just that if you say that and then leave 10% it's an insult. 4. THE SALVATION PAMPHLETS: Prayer cards and any other religious pamphlet is NOT a tip. It is insulting that you assume we are w/o religion and must save us. Again, like ..3, we cant pay bills w/prayer cards. We'd go to church on Sundays if it wasn't mandatory to work on Sundays because EVERYONE who goes to church follows it by eating out. 5. TIPPING: It is not 1960. Cost of living has gone up dramatically since then. 18% is the MINIMUM amount of what you should be tipping your servers. Just look at the tax line and multiply by 2-3, this gives you your minimum tip amount. Remember, our companies pay us minimum wage (minumum wage for servers is $6.75 in CA, $3.09 in IA, ONLY $2.38 IN MARYLAND & $2.13 in Louisiana & TN) And we are taxed on 10 percent of your meal automatically anyway. So if your meal is $100 and you leave $10 and we tip out $4-5 to the busser, bartender, and whoever else then we pay tax on 10 dollars the state assumes we are atleast making and we actually make $5. It seems small but it adds up. How many times do you eat out per week and do this? 6. THE COMPLAINERS: If you get a discount because of your food was prepared wrong or something, do not take it out of our tip. We didn't cook it. The cooks get paid hourly regardless if the food sucks. However, we only make what you give us. 7. THE FREE STUFF: If you happen to get anything for free and you did not have a problem with your dining experience, most of the time it is because the server thinks you will realize that they are giving it to you for free. There should be extra tip thanking the server for the free item. They could get in a lot of trouble giving away free stuff. You should give them hazard pay for it. 8. THE LATE ONES: If you come into the restraunt 10 mins before closing or any time near closing hurry up and order your food and get out. Closed means closed, not social hour. It is so rude to sit there and take your sweet *** time. We can't leave until you leave because we have to do sidework and clean the table you are sitting at. We don't want to stand there waiting for you for an extra hour just because you don't want to go home. We recommend 24 hour establishments such as Dennys if you wish to sit into the wee hours of the night. 9. THE TABLE HOGGERS: If you only come in for coffee or a dessert, to do paper work, or to have a meeting, don't sit there taking up our booths for hours. We are not Starbucks or a hotel restraunt. If you want to sit for hours, go there or else you better leave a good tip for us and camping fee included. 10. THE GREET: When we come up to the table to greet you and we ask how you are doing please let us know. We honestly want to know how you are doing. If you are in a bad mood we want to know that from the beginning. A confused stare or complete silence does not suffice as a reply to "How are you doing?". Also most of us are REQUIRED to say certain things during the greeting, so please don't interrupt our greeting and say "I want coffee", "Can we get some bread?", or "What are the soups?" 11. THOSE DAMN CELL PHONES: Don't ever talk on your cell phone in a restraunt. This is probably the rudest thing to do. If you must be on your cell, at least keep your voice down in respect for other customers. If you are on your cell phone when we walk up to greet your table we will walk away and not return until you get off your phone. Just show some respect and give us your attention for a couple of minutes. 12. TAKE-AWAY OR TO-GOS: Always remember to tip the take-out order servers! They work just as hard as a server, and hardly ever get tips for it! WE DESERVE TO BE TIPPED TOO! 13. DO NOT TELL ME YOU ARE BROKE WHEN YOU ARE LEAVING: If you cannot afford to tip properly then do not go out to eat. If I as a server bring you back $8.00 in change lets say from a $70.00 bill and only leave me $2.00 and tell me you are broke you should be castrated for being such an ignorant asshole!! Do not waste your time or mine it really pisses us off. 14. High School Kids: Learn how to tip!! Just because you do not have a job and mommy and daddy pays for everything you have including the meal that you are eating do not think that it is ok to not tip. Leave a tip people b/c I remember every face that does not tip. !!!SERVERS READING THIS!!! Please repost this so the word can get out, since so many people are uneducated about tips and our lives depend on this - atleast for now...