My husband and I have always been advocates for tipping employees that provide some kind of service. And I know what most of your are thinking “its not our job to support other people”, and although you might bey right, your way of thinking is not. Tips are important, and should never be dismissed.
Respectful customers should give employees who work in the hospitality/food industry a fair tip, especially if their service was fantastic. I dont care if you have called in your order and picked it up to go; those people had to work to put your meal together, so tip them! it’s sad that so many customers hardly even consider leaving a tip, when in reality, leaving a tip should be second nature. Even when going out to eat at a buffet, the server still comes to the table to clear dirty dishes, refill drinks, or bring little extras upon request. Giving that server a tip, especially when it was well deserved, is just the right thing to do. Leaving a tip shows class and appreciation for the hard working server. In return, this usually leads to consistent, excellent service for repeat customers. No one forgets the face of a customer that tips well.
But what constitutes the amount of money that a customer should tip? Should a customer just guess, leave a small percentage of the total bill, or maybe use an online tip calculator?
Let’s think about this: industry standard for tipping in a sit down restaurant is roughly around 20% of the full amount of the check. But, I have lived that life, and know that most of that 20% doesn’t go directly to the sever. Most of their hard earned tips are distributed between the bussers, hostesses, bartenders, or chefs, which leaves them with very little. Right now, industry standard for tipping is so insulting, and I truly believe that (especially in larger cities like Miami, Washington D.C, etc.) tipping etiquette should be raised to a minimum of 25%. Think about it, most servers only make roughly $4 an hour on their bi-weekly paychecks. Could you live off of that?
Lasty, I’m going to paint a picture to show the outcome of a job where customers tip well and hopefully it will inspire you to become a tipping advocate, too. Pretend that you work at a starbucks, and you’re seventeen years old. You work your butt off all day (after you just finished an entire day of school), you’re rushing around like a crazy person, making sure all orders all called correctly, and all customers are given the perfect latte. After the store closes, you have to rip the disgusting, food and milk filled mats off the floor, mop, clean up all of the stations, wipe down the tables, re-stock, and count the till. All while getting paid just about minimum wage. However, you dont mind it, in fact, you are happy, because those tips imply that customers appreciate you enough to fill up that tip jar. And even though the tips are collected and distributed amongst the employees of that shift, the extremely generous amount of money the customers leave make their minimum wage job so much more rewarding. Customers that tip well boost morale, and make employees feel like they are doing a kick ass job, even if it is just a barista at a coffee shop. If you are willing to tip a generous amount just for your morning coffee, I’m sure you can afford to tip a server just the same.