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.
Do your research you cheap prick! It’s $2.63/hr. all charge tips (which is 90%) are reported because they have to be by law. Meanwhile in other counties such as Canada & European counties automatically include a 15-18% gratuity to every single check whether big or small size party. You’re lucky we can only add it to parties with 6 or more. You’re so cheap! We’re the losers? Who’s the as hole that knows these people in restaurants work on tips and refuses to give one? Stay the fuck home and cook an serve yourself. If you can’t be bothered by people asking you how the dinner was or offering you something to drink then don’t go out you miserable prick! People like you deserve to go through a drive-thru for $5 meals. You’re an idiot who doesn’t even know the first thing about the restaurant business. Try it. You wouldn’t go past being a busboy. I work 3 days and make $1200. What do you make writing these ridiculous articles? Stay the fuck out of the country if you can’t become accustomed to how we do things here you fucking slumdog!
In reply to LATIKA
How about go back to Mexico.
OMG a foreigner not tipping! Color me shocked! we make less than $4 an hour and we are paid so little because a tip is expected. ON OUR TAXES THEY TAKE OUT TIPS! IT IS A LEGITIMATE FORM OF INCOME TO THE IRS!
I dont work in America so this post doesnt apply to me, but I am a waitress so this article pisses me off. The lack of respect that you have for the people handling your food is ridiculous. Sure working in retail is hard but so is being a waiter. You get the bosses hounding you, same as the chefs and the bartenders and the customers and their kids. Some people are so rude to you and some people let their kids run around and throw food everywhere, and waiters are the people that have to clean it all up. You mentioned us not deserving the money because we did not produce or cook the food? Well, we all have to put up with your whining at us about what you can and cant eat and all of your demands about how you want your food and requests for things we dont even have on the menu, we have to set up the restaurant and tables so you can come in and clean it all up when you leave. You think that isnt earning our money? You think that isnt working for it? How about you try doing breakfasts shifts at a busy hotel restaurant by yourself while having to monitor a buffet, run cooked meals and take room services by yourself. Or try doing night shifts on a weekend with big tables, where half of them cant eat gluten and some of them cant have dairy and one woman is vegan and someone else has an allergy. Or the tables that claim they ordered an entree, even though they didnt after you ask them if they did want one and inform them that everyone else was getting one. Or try serving a table who has had a crappy day and decides to take it out on you. Or try dealing with customers who threaten you and swear at you and throw their food or drinks at you. When you can do that, then you write another post about how servers and waiters dont earn their money.
Your a douche. You are tipping to help pay the salaries of the people who work there. You won’t ever get good service or quality food because of the way you tip. Just remember that next time you want to be a dick to the person taking care of your food!
tip means to insure proptness this is America you terrorist are even trying to ruin our restaurants go back to the desert where you came from
If you don’t want to tip waiters why not go to the store buy food and cook it your damn self! Obviously you have never worked in the food service industry. If you are too good to tip then they are definitely way too good to wait on you
Do any of you know what the minimum wage for a server is? Sounds like you don’t because if you did then you’d know, that in the majority of the states in America, servers make LESS than $9 per hour. Maryland is $3.63. Let me further break this down for you. Most pay periods are every 2 weeks. After my 30 hour week, I theoretically should have $217.80 on my paycheck. Do I? The answer is no. The federal and state government tax paychecks, as I assume you already know. After they are done taking all the money I (judging by you idiocy) DESERVE, I am left with sometimes a paycheck that reads sometimes as low as $0.00. Does that seem fair too you?
Maybe working as a server in a restaurant isn’t a “real job”, but after I’ve busted my ass getting you and your rude family 6 refills of Coke and 3 extra ramekins of Ranch, all the while sporting a smile even though I am exhausted and probably have 3 other tables of possibly respectful, understanding, and deserving guests, AND THEN I am left to scrape your plate of leftover half-eaten food into the garbage. You can leave me with 36 cents? I don’t know about you but to me that is selfish and unfair.
Have you ever carried 3 scorching hot plates at one time? Balanced 3 filled to the brim cups in one hand? Have you ever walked into your serving section and seen 16 people at one table and have to know who orders what and have the cook prepare it exactly as you’d like it and have the food delivered to your table in 16 minutes or less of entry time? That’s a negative.
If I gave you bad service don’t leave me a nickel. If you can’t afford to tip me because you’re tight on money, don’t leave me a penny. But if I gave you great service and and decided to attempt to have a small conversation with you maybe about the T-shirt you were wearing or why you decided to come to our restaurant, please at the very least honor a 10% tip. Your bill was $30.00, if you can’t leave an extra $3, you need not grace us with your presence.
I would spit in your fucking face you piece of shit low-life taint sucking douchebag!!!
If employers paid servers a higher salary, your food would cost more. The cost of your meal under the current arrangement (food + tip) is about the same cost as just your food would be if server wages were increased. The current system empowers you to reward a server for quality service, which provides incentive for them to work harder. So in conclusion, you’re argument is, that since the servers earnings for their service to you, has been left up to you and not the employer, they will recieve nothing.
You get a 0/10 for intelligent thought. Go home little man.
have anyone of you saying this guy is correct ever actually carried a 20 pound tray of food through a busy restaurant, remembered which a=hole ordered what, what drink you ordered and brought you another one every time you arrogantly wave your finger at me like you were nero? no? then dont say its unskilled. it takes skill to carry that much food, drink, and manage a tray stand to set the tray on for serving. you know whats really unskilled? being a loud mouthed arrogant schmuck.
everyone saying this guy is right: put up or shut up. try a waiting job for ONE FULL SHIFT. you wont last 2 hours.