It never fails to shock me how a tip is demanded in the US. People simply refuse to listen to reason when we (yes, there are others!) tell them that leaving a tip isn’t necessary. Well, I’m hoping for too much here, but if you’re a waiter, here are 5 reasons why I will try my best not to give any money to you and why the reasons for tipping are crappy.
1. You act as if you’re my best friend
Just leave me alone ok? I don’t want to bloody chit chat with you. I want food. FOOD! Get it? It’s a restaurant. I go there to eat. I go because I want either Italian food, Chinese Food or something else which I can’t get in a McDonald’s. So I come to a restaurant to fulfill my cravings for it. I will pay for what I value – food. Not you.
Christ, you offend me – kneeling down next to my table, pretending to like me and chatting as if you’re my best friend when it’s obvious that all you’re after is the tip! I’m not a bloody money bag you know. I will pay the bill which includes the cost of the food, the environment and the salaries of the people involved – nothing more.
The only way to get money out of me that I don’t have to legally pay is by prying it out of my cold dead hands…
Bottom line: I don’t want to know your name, or interact with you for any longer than I have to in order to place my order. As far as I’m concerned, you’re the equivalent of a conveyor belt that brings me my food and a computer into which I input my order. Of course, I won’t be rude. But don’t expect me to interact with you any more than I would with some stranger.
Image Credit: cafemama
2. You don’t get paid enough
And this is my problem how exactly? It’s astonishing that customers are expected to make up for your employer’s cheapness in not paying you a decent wage. Please include the full cost in everyone’s bill thank you very much. I’ll pay it because I have to and the charge is there for me to see.
What’s really funny here is that no one seems to criticize the employers! All criticism is reserved for non tipping customers instead of the owners of the restaurant for not paying a decent wage. Wtf! Could it possibly be because you guys know you can make much more by tips and under report your income to the IRS?
3. You’ll spit in my food if I don’t tip you?
And I’ll shoot your kid if you don’t give me a million dollars. Seriously, am I even hearing this right? You’re actually using the threat of blackmail to make me pay you? Well as long as you’re openly claiming to be a criminal it’s all right I guess.
Fortunately that’s why I prefer buffets. Listen apart from it being illegal, this shows your poor integrity. But if you spit in someone’s food because they didn’t give you money you didn’t earn, then you’re a loser and deserve to be a waiter for the rest of your life.
4. Bringing me my food isn’t worthy of being paid extra
Did you cook it? Did you invent it? No. You picked it up and brought it to me. While it might not be easy, there are plenty of jobs which are much worse – shop floor workers for example. And I’ve been a shop floor manager, so I know. Face it – compared to other jobs, being a waiter is unskilled. You get paid what the market will think your services are worth. You don’t deserve more for your work over and above what your employer should pay you.
5. Money doesn’t grow on trees
I expect you to be grateful and pray for me at night if I tip you 10%. Be happy I gave you anything at all. I worked for the money in my wallet and by giving you some I didn’t have to, I’m doing you a favor. Learn to remember that when people give you something they don’t need to, it’s a favor. You don’t complain that they didn’t give you more!
By the way, the same thing above applies to all professions that demand tips including those on cruise liners.
So now that you understand why I won’t give you money you don’t deserve, stop with the “oh how could you?” attitude. I can. And I will.
Update: Here’s a rebuttal of the many silly justifications for tipping that people have given in the comments section.
My guidance system of having servers for your OWN restaurant.
Experience & Skills required:
Server Responsibilities Include:
*Team Work
*Multitasking
*Greeting guests in a timely manner
*Serving guests at tables and the bar
*Maintaining a pleasant atmosphere for all guests and coworkers
*Expediting food
*Bussing tables
*Maintaining a clean work space and restaurant
*Opening & closing the restaurant
*Server/Bartender side-work and cleaning
*Handling cash and credit card transactions
In reply to Mohawk tribe
Hey chief why are you always drunk on Fire-Water and high on drugs while the government gives you welfare?
I don’t fire server because of customer complain.
I fire them because they can’t perform thier own task that I required.Please !!!!stop mentioning my name to my servers.I don’t know you unless you can bring me good customers.I don’t want to socialize with cheap people.It’s very bad reputation to have any cheap friend around my employees.
In reply to Mohawk tribe
It’s your responsibility to pay your employees not mine!!!
I wouldn’t eat in your shit hole restaurant anyways you dirty reservation drunk Indian.
Pickle Rick your simply an ass! When you resort to name calling and insults you prove your ignorance and inability to debate with adults. I do think tipping is out of control as far expectations from largely bad servers and willing to discuss but this post has degraded to a point where I doubt it can be salvaged.
In reply to Mr. R
I’m sorry you have me confused with somebody gives a fuck!
In reply to Pickle Rick
Ignorance just has a way of making itself heard. I sincerely doubt that someone such as yourself even has a decent job much less one that pays as well as most servers. Its the only reason I can fathom for such hostility. I do care and have better things to do so I am out of here and sincerely hope your life gets better.
In reply to Mr. R
I’m a union Steam Fitter. I made $117,000.00 wages so far in 2017. I’m pretty sure this qualifies as a reasonable job.
I am also reasonably sure it is a lot more than a restaurant jockey makes.
In reply to Pickle Rick
Then go enjoy your life. You have amassed enough money to have the time to work on what really matters. Love. Mercy. Humility. Go do something.
In reply to Pickle Rick
Yet your still here.
In reply to Gabe
*you’re
Take your PRIDE and your money with you.I don’t need your money.I can rely on my own self.It not YOU who can change my life.YOUR LIFE has nothing to do with this “Expressions – Bhagwad Jal Park”.
Go find your SMILE out there.
In reply to Mohawk tribe
Go drink some more firewater and smoke some more peyote. You’re a worthless reservation welfare dirty drunk Indian.
It”s YOU in the mirror everywhere you go.
Delusional boy,let me tell you one more time.
“WE DON’T CARE ABOUT MONEY”
In reply to Mohawk tribe
You don’t care about money because you’re on welfare
Give us back our corns and turkeys,you maggots.
We don’t want your THANKS GIVING.
In reply to Mohawk tribe
You should get on your hands and knees and thank us for not wiping you off the face of the earth. You should thank us for allowing you to live on reservations. You should also thank us for the firewater you love so much. Being a drunk, dirty poor Indian savage collecting welfare is your life ambition. Your welcome and should look forward to Columbus Day and Thanksgiving.
What do I have to care for?
Soon,one of your family members will turn into a psychopath and prabably murder you.
No one really want to come to your funeral.
The undertaker will shove your money up your dead ass.No one REALLY CARE about you,not even a fly.
Now I just moving on with my life leaving you behind
so I can enjoy my firewater (Courvoisier V.S. Cognac 100cl),watching sunset,smoking cigar and dance around campfire.I have this fine bison steak marinate with ganja for 8 hours.WOW ,life is so good that I don’t even care if I die.LOL
just wondering what the name of this person is. anonymous rile-up post, this is fake. guys just trying to get attention. if he actually believed in his convictions he would apply his real, legal name to this posting. otherwise, you’re all monkeys gobbling up his ape shit.
it is freedom of speech after all. and to the extent of whats being said is quite actually true their is no reason to tip a waiter every time tho when i go to a restaurant i do tip of course but only cause i hate cash and think more people should have it now back to my point which is why we shouldnt be forced to tip anyone for anything one reason is do to perhaps having terrible service and being served horrible food would be a good reason for not tipping and i agree the restaurants and aka capitalism i guess one could say means that one doing less work gets paid more while all the hard workers hardly get any money for doing their work its sad indeed that we live in a greedy society and after a little research it seems to say that waiters are not being payed enough by the hour and are forced to rely on tips then i see some articles are saying waiters would rather be paid in tips and not worry about their hourly wage do to being able to make more cash off of tips then they do hourly im not sure what to think but i do know is that the idea of money is ruining this world
In reply to foggy
Waiters are being paid either state minimum-wage or federal minimum-wage whichever is higher.
With or without tips they are being paid exactly the same per hour as any other unskilled job.
So they don’t have to rely on tips. https://webapps.dol.gov/elaws/faq/esa/flsa/002.htm
All you waiters and waitresses are whiny bitches that think the world owes you. Your simple job is nothing special and you know it. Take the order and bring the food and drinks to the table. That’s all you need to know, other then the dinner specials.
I don’t tip you because I see no reason to. Society is brainwashed into thinking you don’t make minimum wage so they feel bad for you and tip.
If more people knew you actually made minimum wage with zero tips, then nobody would ever tip you.
In reply to Jarvis
I used to tip because I thought they didn’t make min wage. Now that I know they do, I never tip. I also feel stupid I tipped in the past without even knowing this.
I found this https://webapps.dol.gov/elaws/faq/esa/flsa/002.htm
Next time a waiter says they don’t get a paycheck I’m calling bullshit.