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Why do we tip waiters?

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Reply 120

KingStannis

Cooks are professionals though.

Reply 121

Rabbit2

Original post by Birkenhead

But how does it make sense to apply this to waiters but nothing else? Do you also tip hairdressers who give a particularly good haircut, or baristas, or taxi drivers?

Yes, we do, actually! The 'tip' is the customer's "feedback" as to the adequacy of service. Without that, (as in europe), my experience has been that you get slovenly, rude, service - and have NO way to apply corrective 'pressure'. I normally pay $10USD for a haircut. I usually tip anywhere from $2 to $10 for the service. The $10 was for the one occasion where i had been stuck 'in the field' for a month, had had no opportunity to get it cut, and was a terrible mess. I had dried paint in my hair - along with a quantity of dried cement. The gal cutting my hair had a terrible time, but finally managed to get through it - and ended up with a remarkably good looking result. [I'm an engineer, so i'm not too critical, but the change from before/after was remarkable - even in a mirror]. She had to take between 2x and 3x the time for me, which cut into her income - not being able to handle other customers. I thought it was worth it. She appreciated it too.

As to cab drivers. I used to travel extensively - all over the US - 'running' contracts for the US government. As i was visiting the same contractors, over and over, usually a couple of months apart, i got to know my way around places like "Mountain View, California". If i got a cab at the airport, i occasionally found a cab driver who would 'ride me around the maypole' to increase his fare. You can take a number of routes from an airport to any given motel, but they usually should not differ in distance by a factor of 4x, or even 3x. When i found one of these 'maypole' guys, i made sure it was reflected in his diminished (or lack of) tip - and i told him why. Occasionally, i was surprised by a 'shortcut' taken by a savvy driver - that i hadn't known about, and that was a considerable time saver. In that case, i complemented him/her, & added it to my driving routes when next i was on my own in that town (with a rental car), and increased the tip. Cheers.
Cheers.

Reply 122

ërol

Original post by Ezisola

No one ever tipped me for saving their child's life when I was a lifeguard.. So why would I tip someone for carrying food they didn't prepare to my table?

You’re saying you’re entitled to a reward for saving a kids life? As if preserving the life of others isn’t a reward in and of itself? And of course lifeguards don’t get tipped, all they do is sit around doing nothing and sulk in their high chair. Waiting staff get tipped for the good service they provide, making the customer feel at ease and brightening up their day with friendly conversation they might be deprived of.

Reply 123

Rabbit2

Original post by Birkenhead

Employers want them to deliver good customer service all round. Their incentive to do their job properly should be their salary as it is for everyone else.

The problem is, that the judge of whether or not they are 'doing their jobs properly' - in part - is the customer, and without tipping, the customer gets no voice at all. Rather than have the employer add an amount to the bill that the employer feels is adequate compensation for the waiter/waitress, i would prefer to do that myself. In this way, i can 'feed back' my feelings as to the wait staff is 'doing their jobs properly'. I have (in the past) left more than a 100% tip, i have also left nothing. In the first case, the waitress went out of her way to solve a problem for me. In the second, a different waitress, in a different town, a> was slow to come over to take my breakfast order [took 20 minutes - with no other customer in the restaurant], b> greeted me with "Yeah, whadda want"?? c> went back to chatting with her boy-friend [i assume that he was], after taking my order, and never turned it in to the kitchen. Forty minutes later, with a plane to catch, i walked over to the two of them [huddled and exchanging lovey-dovey sentiments], and asked what i owed for the coffee. She looked startled, and said .. uh... $1. I put $1.00 on the table, noted that my order was still on her order pad (both copies), and headed for the door. "Don't you want your breakfast"?? A: "NO! I've wasted an hour with you - i have a plane to catch. Cheers.