I do not think most people realize that people that wait tables in restaurants make a little over two dollars an hour without tip. I was not aware of this until a couple of years ago. I thought they made minimum wage, and in the expensive restaurants, a little more. To tip or not to tip, I have found is as wide as the Grand Canyon. One of the best stories, I heard last week from a co workers who said he does not leave a tip because on his job he does not get a tip. Personally I consider myself a good tipper and over the years when we go out we get smiles when we leave a tip. We know where this comes from. Black people are not known for leaving good tips, so when they find one that do, it makes them appriciative. The commit from the co worker was sparked, from an occasion of when I took my family to a Chilli’s and leave a ten dollar tip for a bill that came up to forty eight dollars. As a test I asked many of my black co-workers and non of them said they would leave a ten dollar tip. The closest one came was five dollars. I guess there are always truth in sterotypes.
The basis I use for leaving a good tip is to see how well they treat my family, and since I always order water with lemon, I watch to see if they refill my glass without asking. I find that when they treat my family right, all is well with the world and I leave between 15 and 20 percent. Even on occasions my wife have gotten hugs from female waitresses because of the tips I have left. On occasion sticks out in my mind, that happened years ago, but is still fresh in my mind.
When the kids were all at home, we went out one weekend after I had just came from the golf course where I caddied. I used to caddied on weekends, because the it was good cash money. Upon entering the restaurant we heard the remark “the Canadians are here”. We also heard a young white guy pass it off to someone else. We did not pay it any attention, until weeks after when I found out what it meant. On that day we got a really nice young white girl who gave it first class service. At the end I gave her a 20 dollar tip on a 105 dollar bill. Upon getting the cash tip she was all smiles, and gave my wife a hug. On my way to the bathroom I inquire about the person who refused to serve us and mentioned that if he had served us, he would have gotten the tip that the young lady had just gotten.
I tip relative to the service I get , and on occasion have left a quarter when I deemed it necessary. Think we are all in the game of just over broke and should treat each other with respect, because we are all performing a function. It just so happens that they are dealing with the public, while the jobs we perform a hidden. I do not think when I leave a tip the person is on there way to getting rich, which I think is the mentality of some of those who do not leave a tip. Knowing that they make in salary a little over two dollars per hours should snap some people into making up the difference.
Please see below a related story on tipping:
http://moneyning.com/money-beliefs/tipping-guide-for-good-and-bad-service-from-an-ex-waitress/
