Appropriate Tipping

I will be the first to admit; before I was employed at a restaurant I was a dreadful tipper. My beliefs were that they were already getting paid to work, and since the restaurant was eventful and busy, their pay was going to be decent already. Why should I have to give them an exceptional tip? Little did I know that a servers minimum wage is usually between $2.00 – $2.50 depending on the state. That pay usually takes care of taxes with close to nothing left over. Essentially, an elementary explanation of the server position would be that the employer is paying their taxes to give them the opportunity to make money off of the establishment's customers. What customers and employers tend to forget is that the restaurant is built on these servers. They make crucial interactions with the customer; making a lasting image of the establishment. According to the book The Modern Girl’s Guide to Life, author Jane Buckingham states that tipping at a restaurant should always be “15 to 20 percent of the bill. If you’ve had expensive wine, you can keep it at 15 percent. If the service is terrible, I recommend leaving 10 percent, but mention the bad service to the manager on the way out. That way you don’t look like a cheapskate, and the waiter’s poor performance won’t go unnoticed.” Buckingham makes an immense point. When we are subjected to bad service we feel better leaving no tip and making our frustrations known. This makes us feel better, but in reality, the server could have had no idea that they performed poorly, and in the end you look like an ungrateful customer. Tipping 20 percent has become more of the norm. Brad Trammell, a local server points out that "15 percent is very 90s, minimum wage has increased, but not for servers." Another point I’d like to make about the dynamics of restaurants is that the management is a gigantic mirror image of the employees. If the manager or the kitchen is aggravated or distressed, the entire restaurant is troubled. This is reflected hugely on the servers as they interact with customers. Next time you want to leave $1.50 tip on a $50.00 meal, remember that maybe your server was having a bad day and put yourself in their shoes. As cliché as that sounds, we all have days when we do not want to be at work, no matter how dedicated we are. As for figuring out the 15 to 20 percent, I tend to look at the tax on the bill and double it, then add onto that depending on the ability and likeability of the server. I am now proud to say that I am a very excellent tipper.