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.
Well then the attack of waiter/waitress it’s wrong .. The employee should have to pay them min wage as any other min wage job and if someone would like to leave a tip that should be a bonus. BUT to slam people bc someone thinks this is a unskilled job LOL id like to see you do it for 2 weeks see how your feet feel and then say its unskilled .. My mother was a waitress and made very goood money and she was very skilled JUST SAYING so why not say bad stuff to employer who does not have to pay there help instead of the person bringing your food .. most of ya id hope the waitress would sneeze on your burger !!! some people have no class ! Now if you all have such high paying jobs why are you on here slamming others ? Next time go to mcdonalds or burger king no one wants to talk to your rude asses anyway !!!!
LMFAO!!! Who is this retard? You don’t come to a restaurant for the food, you come for the service you fat, stupid zipperhead. You pay, for the service bitch, or you don’t get served, bottom line.
In reply to Sandy Kofax
Sandy. The only reason I go to a fine restaurant is for the food. I don’t want to speak to the waitstaff because they are beneath me socially and financially.
In reply to Gerald
Gerald. You pay for the service, your lazy fat ass is incapable of providing for yourself, period. Otherwise, eat at McDonald’s. Now, even though losers like you would turn the fine dining experience into an old country style buffet if you idiots had your way, thankfully that will never happen. Gratuity is tagged on all fine dining restaurants anyway so you don’t have a choice in the matter. Enjoy being a garbage man for the rest of your life loser remember to shower before coming into my establishment or we’ll tell you to get the fuck out.
In reply to Gerald
Gerry. you go for the fucking service. deal with it.
I make any where between 10-50 an hour depending on large parties, and how many servers scheduled that day vs. how many tables I have in my section. I can walk with 200, 300 or near 350 dollars a day. It’s great too, because where I work we have all kinds of
“coupons” that we accept (management even accepts them if people plum forgot them at home ;) and when people leave the money on the table, all I have to do is run a “coupon” through taking an additional 10 or 15 dollars off, and a 5-6 dollar tip turns into a 20 or 25 dollar tip on a 30 dollar check, which goes directly in my pocket. BELIEVE ME it pays off!! I make more in an hour than some lawyers lol, that’s why it pisses people like this loser blogger off who actually blew a hundred grand away on school.. Fuck you cheap, liberal losers. P.S, have you retards figured out yet what stunt you could possibly pull off to enough media exposure, in order to really get the ball moving on the whole “living wage” loser retail shit out there? LMAO fucking LOSERS! Fuck those stinky Walmart and greasy fucking LOSER McDonalds workers out there, they’re the real chumps!! lulz
In reply to Jason WIlliams
Seriously, you bash retail workers? We do the exact same thing servers do (trust me, I know, because I work both HIGH END retail and in a restaurant), only the difference is I service people with waiting on them hand and foot bringing them items, rearranging the store, working endlessly during the holiday season. Waitressing is hard, but it’s not that difficult (as you obviously stated) but honestly, you’re the kind of person I wouldn’t tip because you seem to cheat people for their tips anyway.
Servers make great money. They just like to bitch so that the gravy train keeps rolling. A lot of them even brag in these comments about the money they make. If I get good service, I tip. If I don’t, I don’t. AND I don’t owe you more because I ordered a steak than if I ordered a grilled cheese, another ridiculous part of tipping.
In reply to Joe
Heres the the holes in your arm chair quarterbacking. What is great money to you? Your average server makes in the ballpark for $30-45,000 a year ( before 1099 taxes). Of that $45,000 75% comes from gratuity not the $5.00 an hour your employer pays you. Furthermore consider the fact that when your steak comes out a little too well done and you then stiff the server it wasn’t the smiling face keeping your glass full that ruined your meal. It was however Jesus your Hispanic cook that makes $9.00 an hour.
In reply to Joe
If you don’t want to tip then maybe you should get your own food!
In reply to Joe
Here’s the part you all keep missing. Servers don’t make minimum wage. When you work a tip position you get paid less than minimum wage with assumption that your tips will make up the difference. If you don’t tip, you are valuing their work at less than minimum wage. Pry open your wallets you cheap bastards.
It’s not a servers fault that they do not receive 8.00 an hour, and I understand it’s not your fault either but it still doesn’t give you the right to steal. Yes, steal. You’re stealing a service when you do not tip. It’s the way things work, you receive a service and you pay for it (the refilling of drinks, taking your order, the other various things a server does). You receive a product and you pay for it (your food and drink). It is known that in America your bill does not include the payment for your sever. Your bill is payment for the product you received and the tip is payment for the service you received. I know you want to change it and just have the service included in the price of food, but you’re lucky you get to have the option. You have the option not to tip your server if your service was poor, but if your service was good then you have the great joy of rewarding someone for their hard work. If you received good service and still don’t want to tip then I’m sorry you’re just an asshole and there’s nothing I can do for you. But until servers are paid 8.00 an hour, you need to tip. You may not like it, but it’s just the way things are. There’s plenty of things I don’t like but still do because it is what’s considered polite and acceptable. Oh and I’m not an asshole.
In reply to Mary
Mary, you are completely delusional. You make it sound like you are providing a skilled useful service that requires lots of education and expertise. Guess what sweetie your job is unskilled according to the Labor Department. Plus you are not providing any services. Bringing my food from the kitchen to my table is not a service dummy. No tip for you because what you do is not worthy of a tip or even minimum wage.
In reply to Linda
Servers do a hell of a lot more then just bring the food to your table!!! You all are so damn stupid! If it wasn’t for us your grouchy ass wouldn’t get an order made to perfection. We have to make sure the kitchen staff makes everything just right!!! We have to clean up after you slobs eat and refill your drinks every time they go below half full! We have to keep the drink station stocked. We have to clean all of the cups. Roll silverware. Oh and then at the end of the night after you’ve all left and droppe food and spilled drinks, WE are the one who have to sweep and mop and clean absolutely everything in the front!!! We do ALL of this for $3 an hour. How in the hell is this fair when you don’t leave a tip? Sure if your server is a jackass and it was a horrid experience, by all means don’t tip!! But if you didn’t have to complain about anything and your drink was never empty and we were at your becin call the entire time you better fucking leave something!!!! People are so damn arrogant!!! Get your fucking facts straight and try to live off a server wage WITH NO TIPS, while going to school.
In reply to Linda
Linda, if you can’t afford to tip a waiter or waitress for their service, then you should not be going out to eat. It’s common courtesy. I currently work as a programmer in a security firm, but I also worked at a restaurant through high school and part of college. Surprisingly enough, it’s not an unskilled job. I actually had to learn a lot to do it successfully. Why don’t you try to be less of an ungrateful bitch and more of a decent human being? I was raised to always tip people for their services (The pizza deliverer, or the guy who fixed my car, or the people who mowed my lawn, ect) because not only are they doing something for me, whether it is their job or not, but we also have to keep in mind about what would we appreciate if the roles were in reverse and WE were the one doing that job. If you can’t afford to tip a few dollars to whomever just did a service for you, then you REALLY should not be going out.
This is the exact reason why I love that in Europe, tips are built into the bill. You have no choice but to pay them, because not paying the tip would mean you aren’t fully paying the bill. Sure, that might mean that you’ll eventually end up being forced to tip someone who actually didn’t deserve it, but it will also prevent cheap-asses like you from ripping the workers off. I think that is a great trade-off.
A. People who don’t tip have small penises. Look it up
You are a total retard. You think that everyone has a sob story and that it is not worth the tip of a measley 20 bucks. You are a ass clown. These people deal with your stuck up asses ordering and talking to them like shit while some are in school trying to support them selves. Not everyone made shitty choices and are in their situations because of circumstances beyond their control. I was in medical school to be a doctor and my wife in school to be a nurse when we had a child and she worked as a waitress while I worked on her days off at a medical parasitical manufacturer. She could have worked at a nursing home or possible hospice, the hours would not have worked with our son. I am former military and to continue as a police officer was not the path I chose when having a child. She is not a sob story nor did she ever give one. When she worked it was only to make sure we had what our son needed. You and your high self worth can go take a leap of a fucking tall building because no one is going to give a shit what your attitude. You are part of what is wrong with this country and its self importance problem. You are not any better then anyone else because you have been fortunate in your life and can go out to eat. Not everyone is a dueche bag who has to look down at others. I would rather save 10 of those sob stories then 1 of you.
In reply to Medical Student married to a waitress
Medical student married to a dumb waitress. Everything you just described sounds exactly like a sob story. Wahhhh wahhhh tears oh my nobody gives a crap about your decision to have a kid before you had a excellent paying job and money in the bank. You were so poor she had to waitress. Wahhh wahhh so sad NOT. Just another sob story. We waited until we became partners in an Orthopedic Practice. Then we paid off our medical loans, saved money bought a house and had children. So nobody cares about your stupid sob story. I refuse to tip because the measly paycheck of a waitress is acceptable for her skill level.
In reply to Francesca
I can’t believe you don’t recognize how awful you sound here. More like a child than anything else. I work my butt off as a server and I also go to school full time…receiving a 4.0…and am married with children. I am happy…completely happy. You on the other hand sound like a straight up mess the way you degrade and talk to people. Unbelievable. Do you realize we have to claim sales and get taxes on that? Therefore we are getting taxed on something we didn’t even make if we are tipped. Go ahead, be an ignorant jerk. There are plenty of GOOD people out there that will make up for your disrespect. I have regulars that come in to see me every week, and tip me great just because I go out of my way for them. Can you handle 10 tables at a a time and ensure the people are happy when they leave? With your attitude there is no way. I, on the other hand, can. Stop being so nasty and show some appreciation.
I’m sure others have hipped you to some of these points, but being a typical selfish greed-soaked person with zero sense of community values, I doubt they’ll take. Anyway: Most servers have to tip 2% or so of the food totals to the kitchen and 6% of alcohol sales to the bar so you are literally stealing money from their pockets when you don’t tip. Not just not adding to their wages but actually making them pay for your meal. The wage system is setup because of tipping, otherwise your burger would be $20 and you would be similarly outraged. Serving assholes and normal people equally is an art involving high stress, professionalism, and perfectionism. I’ve worked at every level in the restaurant/bar trade from manager (front, bar, and back of house) to executive chef and you simply have no idea what you’re talking about. I’ve seen McDonald’s level people try to serve and the difference is night and day between them and a great server, because a great server will notice your asshole demeanor and treat you as succinctly as you wish. That server will also notice when the kitchen fucks up on your order and get it right, but you won’t see that or hear about it ever. That server will also smile in spite of your shitty tip because she knows (as the ratings and comments here bear out) that you are in the sad shitty hearted minority that includes such eminent persons as Scrooge (pre-epiphany). You are not worthy to clean the boots of most of the servers I’ve known, who 99 times out a 100 are much more noble people than nearly every Lexus driver I’ve ever met and this is not hyperbole. Just eat at McDonalds. You aren’t worthy of higher cuisine on any level. If you came into any restaurant or bar I’ve ever managed at an executive level, you would be marked in my book and would be politely told to leave when you showed your face again (and you would have tried because the food would made your socks come off). Have fun dying broken and alone on your golden toilet.
This entire post Sickens me.
I’m a service professional and I’m paid $2.13/hr by my employer which goes to taxes. I literally DO NOT SEE a paycheck ever.
My tips are not “rewards”. They are the summation of the appreciation of my guests. I take great care of the people I seat making sure their needs and desires are met if not exceeded.
Those of you who don’t tip because you just don’t tip are seriously The Scum of The Earth. You are frankly the Definition of Trash. If you perform a SERVICE for someone would you not expect to be PAID for that service? Because your policy on not tipping literally is telling me that you don’t feel that should be. That you’d be perfectly fine serving me without any compensation from me. Yeah suddenly it’s not fair is it?
To the Author of this Article: Kindly Go Fuck Yourself!
You want to be financially independent? You want a job where the Government doesn’t know how much money changes hands to yours? You don’t want a socialist union telling you what to do? Then become a restaurant server. These other losers here are all middle class chumps, nobody commenting here is a heart surgeon or a neurosurgeon or what have you: they’re all retail and union laborers who failed at their miserable, useless lives, and can’t stand we make more in cash than they make on a two week paycheck, having to answer to people above on a constant day to day basis, unlike us. We do our job, take our cash and leave.