Tipping is Required anywhere. Well there are some places that add it on if you have a large party but I'm pretty sure it's not against the law to not tip.

I think it would be better to not have tipping. Have the wait staff make normal, decent wages and have their promotions be based on how well they are at their job. Don't leave the tipping up to the customers, everyone has different ideas on how much to tip.
It might not be against the law to tip, but when they're making what, 2.35? an hour.......
My family lives in Europe and you don't have to tip, but sometimes we still do, if we have a large party, or were extra difficult, or got amazing service beyond what we thought should be expected then we leave a little something extra as a thank you. (but not as a supplement to what their job pays them just to make a decent wage.)

Though it is true that sometimes you might not get as good service because the waitstaff doesn't care because they don't need your tip, but i've rarely encountered that.

Interesting. We're learning about incentive based pay in econ right now.

Not every waiter or waitress makes $2 something an hour. I guess I should have added I don't like tipping especially now. You spend enough money on the meal.

Oh with that being said, we do tip.

Tipping makes me uncomfortable. I'd rather have a premium built into the price.

Staff would never get hourly what they end up averaging with tipping. Depending on the restaurant/bar, you can make upwards of $25-$75/hr when factoring tips! With the type of industry it is, you can't just 'pay better wages' hourly and expect to fill staffing for the establishment...without tips, it still wouldn't be worth it.

I agree with Berlin. If I averaged it all out, I was making a lot more money waitressing than I am with my office job now. However, there's room for growth in this company, and waitressing doesn't really offer that.

I used to live in London and I got some of the most horrendous service of my life at restaurants where we didn't tip. My boss at the Barbican, who was British, even told me that he preferred American service because there was an incentive to be nice. I had a waiter once flat-out yell at me because I apparently asked to separate our bills "too late". Because the tip is built-in, serveral of my servers made no effort to be courteous or to get me my food and bill in a timely matter. Believe me tipping is so much better for service.

As for those who say in this economic climate it's difficult, there is a simple solution--don't eat out. The service industry is hard-work and they don't make a lot. If you can't afford to tip them nicely, then you shouldn't be eating out. It's only fair. They are suffering in the economic crisis just like the rest of us.

Tipping isn't really tipping -- it's an expectation.

No matter what the service level, I think everyone expects at least 15 percent.

Besides, do you honestly think not giving someone the full tip amount sends a message?

Do you think after you walk away, the server goes, "Gee, I guess I was kind of mean. I can see how they wouldn't give me the full amount."

No, it's usually "What jerks! They didn't tip me enough!"

Lack of tipping rarely leads to soul searching.

Well, if restaurants would bother to pay servers a decent wage instead of passing the obligation on to customers, that might be an idea.

The thing is, although maybe tipping used to signify the level of service, I feel like it doesn't anymore. It's like there's an expectation to always tip 15% or higher even if the service is awful, like 20% is somehow the minimum for decent service. I'd rather have it built into the price of the meal, have waiters paid a real wage, and have some sort of quality control whereby you could no longer get away with awful service.

Articles like these make me want to stop tipping, or at least to stop tipping as much as I do (I tend to over-tip, based on nothing in particular other than social norms/pressures).

However, I've never worked in the service industry, so I dont feel comfortable changing my ways since I myself have never depended on the kindness of strangers for my income.

I know that servers depend on tips to make a living, to support their families and to put food in their mouths.

However, my immediate reflex to that argument is to tell them to get a different freaking job...maybe one that pays regularly!?

I used to work at a restaurant where the waitresses made $2.50 an hour. If you don't tip, you are a big jerk.

I'm the worst at math, so I would love it if the tip was included in the restaurant's prices.

I hate tipping, mainly because even if you give exceptional service there is always someone who won't think it was "enough" I tend to overtip, but if I get horrible service I never feel like I can tip less, then I just tip the 15%. We're headed to Disney as a large party in December and I dread dealing with the tips. They'll automatically add 18% and most of the places we're eating are buffets.

I live in New Zealand and we never tip. Most customer service jobs, including tending bar, waiting tables and working retail are paid incredibly poorly, but you just have to get by on your salary, meagre though it is. To be honest, and I say this as someone who has worked exclusively in customer service jobs, I'm glad that we don't have tipping. I don't think you should have to pay extra every time that you eat out, even if the service is terrible, for goodness sake, especially considering how much food costs. It was incredibly stressful having a holiday in America and knowing that the staff at restaurants and cafes would alter their behaviour to you depending on how much or how little extra money you gave them.

PartySugar, double the tax and you've pretty much got your tip amount! My husband and I always tip, bad service or not. When I was expecting our first child, he took a second job delivering pizzas and we learned then how important tips are!

If restaurants actually paid their employees decent wages, I wouldn't tip unless I had better service than the average. There are plenty of great servers out there who deserve to be rewarded -- I just don't want to reward the bad ones out of obligation (which I always do).

I said no.

I would love it if restaurant owners paid the wait staff and bussers a livable wage/salary so that they did not have to rely on tips to make up their income. I remember when I once applied to work in a restaurant and the manager told me "oh the wage if $1.35 an hour plus tips". I was shocked that they could get away with ignoring the state mandated minimum wage or that my life would be dependent on the kindness of strangers. I declined to accept the restaurant job but the again I had another option available.

I would prefer that tipping was optional and was solely used to express my pleasure at the high quality of service I received. But I know that this cannot be the case until wait staff is paid better by the restaurant owner.

Honestly, I don't think it's the customer's job to give a worker their salary - I'm definitely not their employer. I don't like the notion that you HAVE to tip, and if I get horrible service (I'm talking extremes here) then I won't tip at all.

On the other hand, it's also ridiculous that places where tipping isn't customary may have worse service. But I don't think that not having tips as an incentive is the direct cause of that...I just think that rude people live everywhere. I know that tipping doesn't make the servers over here super nice and caring.

If waiting was not a tipped job, the service would be as bad as it is at all of the other locations where customers are taken care of by low paying, blue collar workers. I don't think it's fair that most waiters make less than minimum wage and that the owners of restaurants can take advantage of them through a multitude of tipping/payroll abuses, but I do think that service, especially at independent restaurants that can't afford to pay staff, would suffer. We'd also have many less independent full service restaurants for just that reason. Most everywhere would be a chain (and operate with staff no different than your average big box store) or a fast food joint.

I do, however, despise the ubiquitous tip jars that have appeared on the counters of every service-related business. I have had a grunt job where employers explained that they did not need to give employees raises, that that was earned by giving better service and getting higher tips in the jar which the entire staff pooled. That's just an excuse for paying staff less money. I don't think that people earning a wage (and benefits) at a coffee house, florist, laundromat, copy shop, etc. should be tipped.

i think some folks are forgetting that if the restaurant paid employees a competitive rate (which is what it would have to be- not minimum wage) to continue to attract good help, the cost would most likely be passed on in menu prices. personally, i prefer the option... i tend to overtip, but if i receive especially bad or inattentive service, i don't hestitate to undertip. and then not go back to the restaurant. there are plenty out there, and that's what it's all about, IMO. Bitness!

Tipping is a neccesity for your servers as there pay is so low!!

I always thought that the basic premise behind tipping as we do it in the US is silly--we tip to reward good service. But the tip is based on the amount of money we spent on our meal. Do we expect a higher level of service because we ordered a steak rather than a salad? Do the servers require more effort to hand me a steak rather a simple salad? I would rather be charged a premium or cover like many restaurants do in Europe. That said, I pretty much stick with a 20% tip, unless the service was egregious, and then 15%....

See, this is what I'm talking about - only one or two people have said that the tip actually suffers if they get awful service. It should! When I was a waitress, if I seriously messed up I expected to be tipped less. The quality of work that you do should be related to your compensation, no matter what your job is.

If i have really bad service, I'll tip really low or not at all. I think i've only tipped nothing on maybe two occasions.
That being said, i normally tip 20%. I would rather it not be mandatory to tip though.

I always feel bad about tipping so even if service is pretty crappy I tend to over-tip. Yeah, I'm a pushover. Sigh* BUT that's not to say that I would give a normal tip to crappy service.

I hate tipping someone for doing a job period. Paying a hotel $25 to park, and then the valet a tip to park it when you don't have a choice anyway. Paying a server to take my order and bring it to me...like I can go holla at the chef to cook me something to eat and then go back there and get it...it's their JOB> tipping is the biggest rip off ever. I blame the tradition and not the people needing the tips. Hell, I've been a server at Applebee's...tips are greatly appreciated! But hospitality industries supporting tipped wages should be paying their own employees. It's ridiculous.

The restaurant I work at splits the tips between the servers and bartender. That way, people are more inclined to run food or drinks for someone. It usually evens out in the end if you have a bad day one day and good the next. I really like this system.

It's odd because in California servers can make a VERY good living and often make more than the required minimum wage as a base salary. I had no idea CA is the exception until somebody told me last year. I was astounded! Servers shouldn't make less than minimum wage anywhere! I make sure to tip better outside of California now.

It wouldn't be fair to the wait staff.. Where would most of their income come from?

I love Daisy1845's comment - I had never thought about that, and its a good point.
Also, I can't say I generally get better service in the US than I ever did in Australia (or anywhere else for that matter) where tips are not required. That said, I would tip if I felt it was deserved, but wouldn't feel obliged. I have had Aussie friends who were actually chased down by their server in the US when they forgot to tip - an innocent mistake, but incredibly uncomfortable for all involved. I have no problem paying higher menu prices in order to avoid tipping! Or just take smaller meal sizes...

I live in Australia and like New Zealand tipping isn't the norm here either. It isn't expected. I don't at home. I live in a rural area and know many of the staff who serve me and I am sure would be offended and try and give my money back. When I am eating out in the city though, I have a couple of times, when I was particularly impressed with the meal or the service.

If any of the posters bothered to read the Times magazine article, they'd see that it's not solely a question of eliminating tipping without raising wages of his employees to cover that shortfall. Instead, Jay Porter (the restaurant owner) levied an 18% service charge to be pooled together and then split. If he had just raised prices on all of his foodstuffs and then raised all of his wages, that likely would have done the trick too.

The former seems patronizing to some, the latter may be opaque in terms of the added charge. Service charges, if included, are fully taxable, while cash tips are easily swept under the table. A friend of mine (a budding tax attorney, no less!) will tip in cash even if paying by card so that his server will be able to choose the amount to report and pay taxes on. I would be willing to wager that the aggregate illegal tax evasion by waitstaff around the country even outweighs the legal tax avoidance by wealthy taxpayers who are able to hide or offset gains in wealth in tax shelters.

It doesn't really matter to me one way or the other as long as employers paid fair base wages. I'm known in my circle as a generous tipper. I like to reward great service. I don't really care for the idea of a "built in" tip. I have noticed that the service tends to be lacking when this is the case.

sometimes people are really pushy about tips, like that story about the pizza parlous posted on here awhile ago...and it makes me uncomfortable
like i was on a number of bus tours while travelling in an american city recently and every single tour guide had it built into their speech about tipping and how they expect tips and appreciate tips...and two of them were so funny and made my day great so i loved to tip them, but one woman was TERRIBLE at her job and i just didn't want to
it's just annoying that people expect tips in the service industry even if they're not waiters

If tipping were eliminated in restaurants, I predict that service would sink to an almost horrendous level. Consider restaurants where tipping isn't required such as fast food establishments; the staff is less inclined to ensure a satisfactory dining experience. If a server knows that he/she is going to get paid the same amount no matter how hard he/she works, there is less incentive to please the customer. Waiting tables helped put me through college, and the quality of my tips motivated me to provide the best service possible. Those that dislike tipping have probably never worked in a restaurant. It's an emotionally demanding job at times, and I think that tipping helps establish a personal connection between patrons and servers.

If you have trouble calculating a tip, just multiply the bill by 2 and then add or subtract a dollar or two based on the quality of the service.

I wish tip was included in the price of the food. I always tip 20%, but that gets to be kind of ridiculous on an expensive meal.

In RI the waiter minimum wage is $2.89 an hour. In some states it is less.
At this pay level a waiter is paid by the customer in tips much more than the restaurant owner.
As a waiter I think of myself as a contract worker, hired by the customer for their table. This is the financial reality.
I also work sometimes as catering staff at a higher hourly rate without tips.
The catering gig is a competition to see can do the least work. Tipped restaurant service is a competition for more tables and happy customers. Which do you prefer?

I just hate that tipping has become the customer paying the server's salary instead of something extra to show appreciation. I feel like I can't tip less than 20% these days or I'm really affecting a person's life. I wish the employers had to pay a livable wage and we could go back to a tip that depends on service quality. I even feel like I have to tip at places like Chipotle or Qudoba even though those people aren't doing anything extra for you or even serving you and a tip is supposed to be extra, I still feel like I have to tip because I know they make crap for wages.

Tipping does pay the server's salary--unfortunate, but true. I don't think this is a new development,though. It's certainly been the case for last 30 years or more.
The tips jars at places without table service are not the same. Those jobs are legally required to pay regular minimum wage, so those are gratuities in actuality, not just in name.

I always tip cash for those reasons, too, shoneyjoe. That includes my hair stylist, and most services. I let them decide.

mesayme - i agree, like for cabbies for instance - they are cab drivers. they get paid to drive a cab. why do i tip them? they just drove me somewhere and i paid the fare. so why the tip?

waitresses/waiters get paid well below minimum wage, but in a restaurant that gets good tips, we might be able to make a good living off of it. If tipping didn't exist and the waiter/waitress was payed say $7/hr there would be 1) an extreme shortage of waitresses 2) we wouldn't give a rats ass if your food got out to you in time and no, we wouldn't be nice to you and get things for you

these tipping surveys make me really angry because the people that are like omggg i should never have to tip they are getting paid to do this job obviously need to go pick up an apron and try coming home from an overcrowded restaurant covered in other peoples p*ss and sh*t..
also, we don't just serve your food, we [in most cases] clean up the messes that your bratty kids leave all over the floor and when they pee on the floor and undo all of the toilet rolls we clean that up as well.,

thanks jerks. tip your waitress because she's getting paid $2.13/hr [in ga] and comes home smelling like crap after getting hit on and/or talked down to all night long.

^I still say "NO" to tips. Tips are privilege, not a right. If you don't like it, work elsewhere. When I go to a restaurant, I go for the food. Not the service. If waiters / waitresses / servers have a problem with it, go find another job where you are GUARANTEED a wage you feel you deserve.

The minimum wage in Oregon is over 8$ an hour...waiters make really good money here. When my boyfriend worked as a waiter he was making anywhere from 2500-3500$ a month including tips!

again if tipping didn't exist, then your service would be crap. I am a full time college student and i do both catering (where i make a livable hourly wage) and waitressing (where i make only tips) - go ahead and guess which job i give better service at. LOL.
Most waitresses don't expect you to go above and beyond for your tip, but if your service was good (*ie I kept your drink filled, got your order right, got condiments, took your dirty dishes, and was generally attentive and pleasant) then I DO expect a 15 to 20% tip. If you stayed at your table (on a busy night) for TWICE the length of all the people around you then you are expected to leave a higher tip b/c you are eating away at tips i could be getting from more people if i was able to reset that table. If you bring your children and they throw cheerios all over the floor, dump out the salt and pepper, toss the sugar packets,leave a DIRTY diaper on the table, etc then you are expected to leave a higher tip because I have to clean that disgusting mess up. If you can't afford to leave a tip then you can't afford to eat out, exspecially at a place you plan to frequent - because the waitstaff DO remember your face. (Side note watch the movie Waiting it's VERY true - EVEN in really nice restaurants.) And in all honesty if you don't believe in tipping then tell your server you don't support tipping when you sit down so that he/she doesn't spend her valuable time keeping up with someone who isn't going to pay, just please be pleasant about it, and we will be pleasant back.

personally i think that sometimes we would be much better off if there wasn't tipping. in other countries, it's not something that you do and i have to say that it makes things much easier. i've had soo many horrible servers that i feel like they don't deserve the tip, but then it's like a faux pas if you don't do it so it's a lose lose situation. you have bad service and you lose money.

I put no, b/c getting tips is so stessful, especially when your customers are just plain cheap! It would be nice if everyone were paid evenly.

Daisy1845 and Tassie- servers are required to pay taxes on a certain % of their sales. In my experience its been 14%-16% average. I do agree that the work may be the same if youre an easy customer, but usually thats not the case. If we all tipped crappy on expensive dinners then the servers would be paying taxes on money they dont even make.

Also, those of you citing parking and tranpsort and other fees that you pay making you not want to tip... that has nothing to do with the server. Basically if you can afford to go out and have dinner and tip properly, then do so. If not, then eat in. Also, crap servers get crap tips, but good servers always get 25% from me, more if they were amazing. BUT I will say that being a server for 7 years made me know how to be a precise, polite customer too, and you will get better service that way.

Happy eating (and tipping)!!!