If you’ve ever worked for tips you’ve probably formulated your own, albeit unscientific, conclusions about what kinds of people are bad tippers. Women? Doctors? Wall Street Guys? Republicans? Democrats? Country Club Wasps? African Americans? Latinos? Rich people? Poor people? The young or elderly? Teachers? Canadians?
Tell me what you think! Let ‘er rip in the comments section! This is a non PC free fire zone. (And the usual disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the owner of this website!)
I’m sure there’ll be something here to offend everybody.
The worst were Canadians. I started to explain American tipping systems to them when they were seated in my section. The absolute best were the retired Jewish folks that lived in the area (South Beach). They were demanding as far as service requirements, but they were the absolute best tippers I have ever served. They were also the best in letting management know they had received good service.
In canada the worst tippers are chinese and east indians. They do not tip at all in pizza delivery some make give u the nickel back. I heard they do not tip at ALL>
Whites are the biggest tippers and most canadian born people. Some whites are very cheap such as scottish people, dutch people etc so they I dont think would tip either. British whites also are very cheap. French are great tippers but demand great service.
I waited tables for years and in waiter speak Canadiens is code for Blacks, think I’m lying? Ask any waiter on a personal level
The new term for “Canadians” is “Irish” since the majority of the “Canadians” caught on to them being called “Canadians”.
As the old saying goes “Everyone’s Irish on St. Paddy’s day” In America we love to extend holidays. In my restaurant it’s St. Paddy’s day year round and the effin Irish are always in town.
And hordes of dumb rich Americans and tightfisted Canadians swamp Ireland with their Trust fund offspring on St Patrick’s day, forever seeking discounts! How’s that for a sweeping stereotype?Black and Indian migrants hate spending money too.
While hordes of rich, leprechaun seeking Americans and tightfisted Canadians swamp Ireland with their Trust fund offspring on St Patrick’s day, forever seeking discounts. How’s that, to rival your rude stereotype?
Haha yes Canadians referred to in waiter speak to as Blacks , sorry who are the worst , cheapest tippers everywhere, along with Canadians, and Latinos. This is not based on racism but 20 years experience in the service industry. Jews are the most arrogant and demanding but tip well if you bend over backwards for there every demand and make feel like there the only diners in a busy restaurant.
The cheapest are Indians I don’t care what anyone else has to say. They will plea and bargain with you to the point where its Fucking annoying. But try to rent a room from them and they will nickel and dime where ever they can. America please stop outsourcing jobs to these fucks.
110% agree!!!!
Not all indians just HINDU INDIANS
100 agree with you!!!!
I agree totally agree, and I’m Black. Black people and Indian people I think they should be ranked 1 and 1A with just an eyelash between them. Next would be Chinese, Mexican/Rican, Amish or Menanite, younger people (young adults) especially younger women who think they’re cute and followed by any Eupoeans visiting the states.
I find it funny when Indians don’t tip.they can ask a million questions as well or ask for special order vegetarian dish.
But Indian taxi drivers expect a tip. While they’re on their Bluetooth headset the whole ride
there is a reason why they do arranged marriages it’s about saving early and not paying 4 dates
Indians.. Indians never ever ever in their lifetime tip! I work for a rideshare In Las Vegas, my car is super clean, and some of them will be leaving my car smelling like camel, takes hours to go away specially after i pick them out from a masala restaurant sorry but not sorry! Every time the name is Indian requesting a ride i ither cancel or ignored. Im not hating on the race and not generalizing but most of my co-workers will agreed with me.
Indian the worst
My parents were from India and my Dad was always an excellent tipper, at least if the service was good. We lived in New York City, I saw him always leave at least a 20% tip, sometimes more if warranted.
I’m not arguing with you, BTW. I have never worked in the service industry. I did have an Indian roommate once and I was so embarrassed the one and only time we went to lunch. She left a $0.50 tip on a $10 meal. I had to leave an extra generous tip because I didn’t want to stiff the waitress. I asked her why she didn’t give at least 10%, and she said she couldn’t afford it. I told her, you shouldn’t go out to eat if you can’t afford a decent tip… or order a cheaper item on the menu.
Like my Dad, I always leave 20% if the service is good, more if it’s exceptional or if I’ve made special demands.
I also watch how men tip on dates. If a guy stiffs the waitress, I don’t go out with him a second time… I think as Indians become assimilated hopefully more of them will learn to tip better.
I manage a very high end specialty retail store. We hate dealing with Indian clients. They ALL reinforce their stereotype. That all want and expect something for nothing yet when you go to THEIR business they won’t budge on pricing and nickel and dime you for every single thing. The Indian people are arrogant and believe they should be treated as royalty while they look down on everyone else. We dread them in our stores. Have yet to be proven wrong once in 18 years.
Absolutely I got stiffed on my last two “Canadians ” tonight and wasted two hours of my time. As usual
Indians are the absolute worst tippers. They really suck, then ask you a million questions about the vegetariantarian options.
Honey you’re absolutely right the blacks are the absolute worst tippers and they run you around they’re ignorant they don’t know how to act they come in smelling like weed laying all over each other ordering orange soda and a white tablecloth restaurant they have no idea what food is they act like animals and then they don’t tip. Gee I wonder where stereotypes come from. I’m pretty sure they don’t just fall out of the sky
I used to work at Huckleberry Junction and there blacks would put a quarter on the table sha give u a hug. Maybe 1 out of 5 would give a couple dollars. The whites would give between $5-$10 tip. The Arabic’s would clean everything up and give $5. The Mexican’s was the best tippers. They would clean up and give between $20-$50 tip.
Mexicans? Bullshit. Ive been a waiter for 29 years and that is a complete lie. White people are the best tippers. Every waiter knows this
Where I deliver we get what we call snowbirds from Canada and they are horrific tippers. I don’t think anybody is using the term Canadian to replace African American. And my experience 90% of African Americans just don’t tip at all and the other 10% are awesome tippers. They can’t cry ignorance because in 2021 everybody knows what customary tipping is. It is such a slap in the face regardless of race Creed religion whatever to have to perform several job functions within the store and in my situation deliver the pizza then received nothing for my time and effort. Pizza delivery driver’s absolutely do not get the delivery fee that is many times the cost for the company to maintain workers comp insurance for the drivers.
Blacks are by far the worst. I used to live and work in Little Italy in Baltimore. And talk to some leaders and waitresses at sabatino’s. And they said they would have prom parties where people would order the seafood combination. First of all there’s no seafood combination on the menu. So I’m glad to believe that they can’t read the menu. And for the coup de gras the cherry on top. One of the guys asked who ordered the gratuity? Can you fucking believe it? I can. My response was yes the girl on the end had to gratuity medium rare and she said it was delicious. And he said okay. Wow I mean wow let’s just face it the blacks are the worst they’re the worst in every category you can think of. The worst at work the worst doing things the worst it doing lawsuits the worst it obeying traffic commands the worst of being courteous the worst it’s showing respect to people who are trying to take care of them they are a bunch of monkeys. Unfortunately crack enabled the black population to get rich and start the record labels and everything else and that’s why they have infiltrated our culture the way they have but that doesn’t change the fact that these fucking monkeys need to tip
definitely indians. not a single one who tipped more than 8% and they always come close to closing time with so many demands and keep calling you over as if you are only serving them…cheap country=cheap people ig
I am in the restaurant business and you are completely correct Canadians is a code word. And I think it’s sad that they’re actually has to be a code word for a group of people that are absolutely awful and don’t know how to act in restaurants don’t know how to order and don’t know how to tip. They act like monkeys I’ll let you figure out who I’m talking about
Sorry but Scots and Dutch are not bad tippers nor are they “cheap”. That’s a stereotype.
I consistently serve KLM airline staff in Canada. And they are all Dutch and some of the worst tippers I’ve ever seen.
Stereotypes don’t give birth to themselves. The Dutch top my list of the worst, followed closely by blacks.
My experience was same as far as large parties of blacks, we used to draw straws, loser waits on the non tipping, most demanding customers.
I own 3 restaurants in Southern California and my wait staffs tells me that the absolute worst tippers are Blacks, followed by Indians and older white folks after church on Sunday.
Best tippers seem to be Jews and Mormons unless they are Asian. I have to agree, some of my business associates are black, but when we go to other restaurants, they never pick up a check, plus they tip 5% and run the wait staff ragged.
Mexicans work harder than most, but they don’t tip and sometimes just stiff everybody. Women, as a group, also do not tip well, especially lunches.
Sounding more like racism as I scroll down through the comments….WTF
Don’t know about the Scots, but as far as the Dutch are concerned the stereotype is definitely true.
John ain’t no one racist being a server will
Make you racist !!!!! So stfu
20 years in restaurants bartending, managing,serving. Blacks and Indians are the absolute worst tippers regardless. Call it a stereotype but 1 in 10 that actually tip appropriately if at all is a fact. Just today $6 on $76 for two hours of time is ridiculous. Very friendly family but when a tip guide is included you are just assholes.
Too funny! Tonight I had a table of four Indians, they split two soups, one app and two entrees (FOUR people!!!), they tipped $5 on a $70 check, SMH
I’m Chinese and I literally tip everything I can! Some Chinese people don’t tip cuz they don’t know what is tip and how important it is. When I first came to Canada, i didn’t tip just because I didn’t know what is that. I felt guilty. But after I knew, I tip everything to respect others’ works.
As a follow up my waitress was a young white lady, several years back I had slow service by a black lady, wasn’t as bad, thankfully. It took me a hour to get my food the restaurant was moderately busy, but I felt like I was being neglected, I left a 5 percent tip compared to my normal 18, I have worked very hard to get ahead in life and I believe others should as well!
Interesting how earlier Matt said Black’s are the worst tippers only 5% but goes on to say Mexicans work hard (has nothing to do with this discussion) than admits they stiff and don’t tip at all. So let’s do the math because Matt just told us 5% is less then zero (being stiffed). He goes on to say he did a black lady a favor by tipping her 5%. Matt Hall you may want to look in the mirror and make sure you’re not lying to yourself.
18% is not good… are you even serious
Bitch 20% or don’t bother BYE
Kevin <3333 yessss
The food taking a long time to get to the table is not an issue with the server, but the kitchen. Get over yourself, you fucking troll. You should spend some time working in a restaurant and develop a little compassion for people in the service industry.
Wow. You blame the waitress being paid nothing for your slow service. While the restaurant is being paid more for the raw product being placed on your dish. When your one warm spotted seat is being kept taken for a
5% !
THANK YOU!
That is to Oliver Ba
I’m an Australian Uber driver. Since in-app tipping was introduced, we are sometimes tipped (sometimes once per day, sometimes just 4 or 5 times per week). Nearly all my tips have come from Australians, of all ethnicities. I’ve never had any foreign tourists tip, apart from a French couple once. Passengers with American/Canadian or New Zealand accents have never tipped me. Before COVID-19 I found many tourists to be incredibly rude. Mainland Chinese tourists are rude, but that’s just because they are clueless. There are many polite people from Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong and also from Europe. I have never found Canadian or New Zealand tourists to live up to the “polite” stereotype. I think the most polite people are local Australians (of all ethnicities). Many stereotypes of Thai, Japanese, Filipino, Canadian, Kiwi “politeness”… I am yet to come across. I think Australians are the most polite. Please note I worked with foreign tourists even prior to becoming an Uber driver in 2017.
Oliver,
I’m from San Francisco but I’m not gay. Does that mean there aren’t a lot of gays in San Francisco?
Think about it.
I am bartender at a wedding venue that is 100% open bar. Our pay is 100% in tips from the guests.” Canadians” are bad and Puerto Ricans, really bad. But I have found anyone with a thick accent, no matter where that accent is from, bad tipper. Also women at a wedding rarely tip. I get that they don’t have pockets in their dress but come on! Drop a 20 on the bar at then end of the night at least for me making your Cosmo’s and appletinnis, and espresso Martinis. Be better ladies. I am not trying to get in your pants and buying you drinks, I am providing a service for which I do not get paid if you don’t tip. If you want equal rights then don’t expect the men at the wedding to pick up the slack for you.
Oh and bald guys with a beard, maybe it is just coincidence, but all terrible Tippers, especially if they are fat guys. Just awful.
Not all but 75% of black folks don’t tip. And I remember all of them. ~\€¥>\¥. The next time
I’m not racist as I have many black people who are my friends who I love. But damn blacks after basketball games would swarm Chili’s trying to get as much food for the little money they had expecting constant service. I hated working Tuesday nights when there were home games. It was one school that was primarily niggers and another one half an hour away assaulted a customer on prom night so the could get kicked out without having to pay. I would never work as a server again. Thankless low paying crap. Plus most of the people are gay or doing drugs.
“I’m not racist”
You sound incredibly fucking racist, like most people in this comment section. I can’t believe you inbreds actually think this way.
I worked at a Jewish Federation once and actually saw women there digging through the break room trash and eating food that had been thrown out from earlier meetings! Yeah….cheap doesn’t even begin to cover it.
I find that hard to believe. Some Jews might be a little bit thrifty, but they would never stoop so low and destroy their reputation, by rummaging through a trash can. I am a Muslim and I live in a Jewish neighborhood and I only see them as classy people.
One time when my uncle, who is Jewish took us all to dinner at a restaurant where my sister worked. Our server was someone my sister worked with, and my sister told him to not worry if the tip is small, she would give him something if the tip was “short”. My mom, told my sister that my uncle, and my dad were always generous tippers, regardless of the service. My mom did add that one time when they went out, the service was I guess, not great. My uncle or dad left a tip and my aunt took part of the tip because she thought the service was less than expected. So, it may be based on whatever people’s opinions are, but my mom gave us the impression that Jewish people are good tippers, no matter what.
Stupid cheap ass motherfuckers
Oh, that’s nice, Ron.
I allways tip I know I make a person’s dat even if their service is slow people have family and lives I sat give regardless your eating out no excuse
Agreed. I have never not tipped and probably never wil; ten to fifteen percent, at the least ( more if the service was good).
It’s a shame that we allow restaurants to pay workers so little that they need tips. In Europe staff are paid well and you don’t have to tip.
I’m a waiter, and this comment will not be well-accepted by other servers, but my opinion is that if you give a bad server a good tip, you are only cheapening the profession and rewarding incompetence. Shame on you!
I have never been a waiter, but I had worked starting out, for years in the cleaning industry, which is fairly comparable field. I would tend to agree with Tom, except for one time I was at a restaurant in Atlanta, it took 15 minutes, with the restaurant being dead slow, to place my drink order took another 20 to get my drink and after placing my order I waited for close to a hour, with no sign of my waitress, I put down the exact money for my Diet Coke and walked out. I have no problem looking out and helping someone, especially, if they provide good service, this however was ridiculous, it was the first and only time I have never left a tip!
That’s right.
Just like lawsuits about Dominos being racist is bullcrap. It’s playing the race card, trying to whine like a little piglet.
I delivered pizzas when younger, where one went out to the projects, all these brothers drinking beer saying I was late. I told the manager and he took the place off the delivery map. But I’m Florida a low life federal judge ordered Dominos to deliver to a violent arsa, where America’s enemies are those in government. Sorry sob, his butt isn’t the one that faces robbery, assault, theft, etc. Which blacks neglected tipping then. Then I’ve asked around and I’ve watched as well, blacks in the South don’t generally tip. Big lard butts with their wide rear ends. As waiters and waitresses get less than minimum wage usually. They make their money off tips. Like delivering pizzas, now there’s a surcharge. When I delivered, cost was the pizza. At 75cents per delivery, it wasn’t anything.
Then go in black neighborhoods, there was the risk of getting robbed. At the least harassed and no tip, while they say around drinking beer.
Where a federal judge is going to act like a racist tyrant and dictate delivery guys go into bad neighborhoods. He’s an enemy to the citizens of the United States of America.
AFRICAN AMERICAN BRITS AND CANADA AND MUSLUMS ARE THE WORST TIPPERS.IM A NYC CAB DRIVER RETIRED SO I KNOW
Cracker talk..
How do you know blacks are the worst tippers for cab drivers you won’t even stop for blacks even a blackman standing on a curb in a suit and tie.
wow with the replies. So if he says black people are bad tippers he gets called a cracker, shaking my head unreal. sorry I waited tables for 40 years from Diners to fine dining. thomas is dead on I might add in 3 different states. new york florida north carolina.
you’ve been waiting for 40 years? lmao loser
I’ve worked in the restaurant industry for 25 years in Canada . To say Canadians are cheap is outlandish. In my experience. And I do believe I have a broad spectrum to pull from. The worst tippers are:
Middle Eastern, African, Native American and Phillipino are tied as worst.
A very close second are Brits and Spanish(Mexican)
Scottish and Dutch are also up there.
I’m black. The wait staffs of several restaurants, here in Boston, trip over themselves to wait on me whenever I walk into one of there establishments. I wonder why! Which group are bad tippers you ask. One must never be so foolish as to paint with a broad brush.
Sharon is right – and to those of you who don’t like it: truth hurts, don’t it?
To Lee: I grew up in San Francisco. When people would tell me “there’s a lot of gays in San Francisco,” I never felt the need to say, “well, I’m not!”
How did u differentiate “muslums” fare just looking? bogus claim at least this part. I used to drive NYC Yellow myself.. worst tippers: Blacks, Indians, Asians (there are always exceptions), Uber fares. Tourists worst tippers: British, Spanish (all sorts, euros + south americanos), and europeans..
It’s funny, once uber started, asians + indians stopped taking yellows at all.
Partial clip from Washington Post:
Within the U.S. restaurant industry, black customers are generally considered comparatively poor tippers. One recent survey of roughly 1,000 restaurant servers from across the nation found that 34 percent thought black diners were “very bad” tippers. An additional 36 percent thought black patrons were “below average” tippers. In contrast, 98 percent of those surveyed believed white customers were “average” or “above average” tippers.
This widespread negative perception of black peoples’ tipping practices cannot be attributed solely to racism because it is consistent with a substantial body of empirical evidence. A number of different studies using different methodologies and different geographic samples have found that, on average, black people do indeed tip less than whites in U.S. restaurants.
hey the truth hurts. Always expect an SJW to come roaring in throwing insults, screaming racism, etc. Indians are the worst tippers in the world in my experience. they will also rip you off in a heart beat if you don’t take them to court.
Matt, you’ve basically described the typical dining experience in Georgia. Service is generally poor and the waitstaffs are indifferent at best. Unlike New York, where I was born and lived until I was 46, there are very few professional bartenders and waiters in Georgia. They are mostly college kids who don’t give a damn about doing a good job. You’re fortunate if you receive the meal that you ordered. It’s not like it’s happened once or twice. It has happened to me and people that I know, too many times.
They slather everything in mayonnaise here. I ask them to leave it off my food and half the time there’s a big oozing pile of the crap on my plate.
Their attitude is that they should receive the top suggested tip on the check, regardless of the quality of their service. That ain’t how it works for me.
Do your job properly and cheerfully and the sky is the limit. Treat me like who cares and who cares is basically what I’ll be leaving you. leaving you. I am not a demanding customer. I simply want good and cheerful service. I don’t like spending money where I don’t feel welcomed.
My biggest pet peave is that when you give them your card to pay, they disappear and leave you cooling your heels for 15 or 20 minutes. I’m done with you. Take my money and let me go.
Restaurant people are in the hospitality business. I do not think it is too much to ask that they be hospitable.
PS: I never tip on takeout,. What am I tipping for? For handing me a bag of food. Ridiculous.
Tawab, thank you for saying this. We don’t hear enough of that sentiment reported. In truth, Muslims and Jews live alongside each other (and in Israel) peacefully and respectfully.
my dad started his company with $50.00 and was the sole support of his family (Jewish_ ) When he went out he tought his children to take care of those who served them.
Never less than 15% when 5% was the norm ..Our employees were the highest paid in our industry. We never looked at color of our workers. Nor if they were woman.
Alll paid the same rate. Now the company has been sold doing just over 9B $ US with 5600 happy workers. We all lived in a small N.E. town and the stores thrived. Now my family never gives less than 20% for any service.
I think that blacks,muslums,Jews,etc. here in this great country can get along and my family have great friends among all of these people. We know that the service people in the restaurant business are underpaid and should be treated as you would like to be treated. If you do not agree to bad for your mindset. You have to live with it. I have taught my children “It is good to share”
I do not like cheap people. They are the first to complain when they are not given a good return on their services
Good for speaking truth to power and calling out ignorance.
Jewish people may be murdering rapists, but they think WAY too highly of themselves to eat out of trash cans.
to the reformed Fat Guy
Now as a Jewish murderer/rapist I have never gone into a trash can for my meals. I do think enough of myself to at least go to a dumpster. The choice is much better as it has a larger choice. Most murderer and rapist do think they are a lot better than those who must only go to a trash can.However a big mac half eaten is a treat to many. What happened to the fries??? Go to the dumpster my friend. Stop going to the trash can,do the dumpster. Is that why you are a former Fat Guy, Not enough in the small can? Trust me, as a former Murderer
the dumpter is the top choice of most of my brother Jews My choice now is at the Plaza in NYC back alley. Great stuff is found there. And you can not beat the price..
I am a female Barbaer, If 2 people want the same appt time, the big tipper gets served frist. If I help out in the salon part of the shop. I shampoo the 10 buck tipper frist. Money talks bullshit walks.
Hairdressers are greedy and overpaid for their minimal skills. Your boss is cheap and you’re greedy.
You’re an ass. Hair stylists create a person’s entire persona with their scissors. I hope you, CdF get the worst hair cut ever because you sound like a cheap ass.
Hairdressers are skilled trade workers actually. Who make you feel good about yourself, entertain you, provide Street relieving rituals, and make you look good. They make minimum wage without your tip and paid approx 15000 $ for school.
@amy and that’s our fault that you chose a career where you have to pay 15,000 just to make minimal wage? you’re the fool here.
Too many glasses of wine after your shift?
And let me guess… you work in a cubicle farm with a computer that could do your daily work in a quarter of the time… but then who would there be to take an hour for lunch so they can shit on the person answering their insipid questions about basic food preparation, fighting on their behalf for a million stupid modifiers because *SOMEBODY* needs “everything” on the side, and trying to get them that 9th side of ranch without having to charge them five dollars for all the extra sauce they’ve guzzled.
Any of you who have never worked in the hospitality or service industry, and choose to disparage the abilities of those who work therein… you have no conception of how much skill, finesse, and tact these sectors require.
Your hairdresser (so greedy, so overpaid!) would probably have the time of their life watching you trying to cut your own fucking hair. As a server with a BA, I can make more money waiting tables than I can with my degree… that doesn’t make me (or anyone else for that matter!) ‘overpaid’. It makes one efficient and judicious with ones time.
How many people have you seen digging through trash for food, who were not Jewish? You formed an opinion, then looked for coincidence to support that opinion. This is the opposit of science.
OMG This is the worst comment I have ever read on the internet. I work for the Jewish Federation in Atlanta. Maybe that person was a volunteer , or caring for a disabled family member and was not able to buy food. You do know anything about the personal circumstances of an unknown person. This post was about tipping, not about people trying to feed themselves. The worst tippers are those who commit the cardinal sin of gluttony. Those that will order a fancy drink, multiple appetizers, the most expensive item on the menu and then modify it to add extra everything and not want to pay for it, and then have dessert. Those types will have huge bills, taking money straight out of your pocket as you have to tip out 4% to the busser, host and bartender, regardless of what you get from the customer. Those people are usually black. At least the Indians are not gluttonous.
Long overdue reply: Jewish Federations are non-profits. They pay poorly except for the CEO and any endowment managers. Their staff often work side hustles just to pay the rent. They long assumed a pay scale from ancient history when non-profit staff were bored married women whose husbands earn enough to support them.
I live in SE Texas and the worst tippers, by far, are Mexicans, especially Mexican nationals. Not only bad tippers, but uncivilized, rude, demanding, and let their litter of kids run wild. Like someone stated, around .25 for every $10.00. And that’s if they tip at all. Servers in Texas only make.$2.13 an hour so we rely on tips to live. I am an excellent server and have waited in other states, and rarely if ever got stiffed. Here in Texas some days I get stiffed three times a shift. Last night, I waited on 14 Mexicans and got a.$6.00 tip. One table with
a $90.00 tab left nothing. These people are nasty too. They refuse to flush toilet paper and wipe the shit off their ass and throw it on the floor or on top of a trash can. I hate them with a passion. Fuck off dirty rude Mexicans!!
Did you know that the majority of Back House employees in Texas are Mexicans. Have you ever tipped out any of your cooks? How much money have you made in tips because of the hard work from the back house. Maybe those same dirty Mexicans worked the Back House as cooks and dishwasher. Perhaps they justify not tipping you because they are line cooks themselves and never ever have been tipped out.
I don’t make enough to tip out you fuck. And not tipping doesn’t explain their uncivilized behavior. Kids running wild, demanding, and rude. They are a piece of shit race of uneducated savages.
Oh hell no I am Mexican my father’s from Mexico don’t say all my father moved here in 1980 taught himselfbto speak English owns 6 companies and sits on his ads now. But maybe because you treat them differently they don’t tip you racist fuck.
well, if they’re so uneducated why are they making 40 plus dollars an hour in construction jobs while your ignorant fuck face is making 2 dollars an hour…..
They are not that type of people. It is very sad that you have made such a horrible image of Mexicans. You call them uneducated, but you’re over here insulting people and stereotyping. I hope you take some time to get to know hardworking, smart, EDUCATED, and loving Mexicans!! 🙂
My boyfriend is a Mexican National AND a Cook and he tips hella fat because he knows how much servers complain about bad tippers. Latinos in Ohio are strict with their kids, very quiet and polite. Here, Arabic speakers and Indians are The worst tippers, and those Indian children run around and act like animals. Some are polite though and some are very rude.
I have been a waitress for a long time, and in my experiences, black people are the worst tippers. Sometimes the truth hurts. If the shoe fits west it.
Preach !!
Back of house gets paid an actual wage you stupid fuck. Maybe the kitchen should bring servers half of their paycheck.
If u dont like working BOH become a server and then u can have an opinion. I agree. Mexicans are horrible tippers! cheap and rude!
I tip out 8% to the house. That looks after kitchen, bar and host. It’s a huge tip out but most of the time Iam compensated handsomely. I post this in hopes of people understanding that the tip doesn’t just go in our pocket. It goes to all. In my restaurant if I recieve no tip. I still tip out my fellow employees that 8%. I have paid out of my pocket a fair amount for people to dine in my restaurant.
I know right? I love the assumption that servers just get to take home all of the tips that we make. At the restaurant I work, I tip out 6%, to the BOH. 1% goes to the hostess, 2 % goes to the kitchen, 1% goes to the bartender, 2% goes to the managers .
So when you leave your shitty little 10% tip, your server is actually only getting 4%.
Also I love all of these morons who have never worked a day in their life in the hospitality industry who are quick to pipe up and spout out nonsense, not all servers are uneducated and chose a bad career. Most of us use this as a steppingstone while in school because the money is decent and the hours are suitable for going to school and trying to better yourself .
Worst tippers:
1. Chinese
2. Indians
3. Black people
4. Women (most women are jealous cunts so if you are a server and look better than them, well you’re not going to get a great tip. Period. They will look for any little reason to complain. “Oh my coffee is cold”. Well if you drank it half an hour ago when I put it on your table when it was hot then we wouldn’t have a problem).
5. Russians
6. British
And I don’t care if you’re from Europe and you don’t tip in your culture. In North America we do tip and I’m sure they know that.
Here’s an idea : pick out a recipe, go to the grocery store , buy all the ingredients on the recipe, come home and slave away at the oven and cook it for yourself, then serve yourself, then do all the dishes and clean up after yourself.
Do servers a favour and stay at home if you’re too cheap to tip properly or go to McDonald’s where you belong.
End rant.
I agree. I live in South Florida, and the latins are the worst tippers. Actually even worse than them are the people from India. They’re awful, but atleast nice. The latins treat u like you are supposed to kiss their*** and then tip you 10% at best if u are lucky.
East Indians from India are on a green card and don’t make as much in the tech industry compared to if they were off the green card
and they send money home if they didn’t have any money it would not have an education. Times of change there’s a lot of doctors in India and high-tech jobs that’s why America has so many Outsourced work
but even if they made the full amount they would still not tip we believe that money could be two great buffets in India and then I say you do not live there anymore
the other number one people to take food orders to go but also want vegetarian options
Cuban Americans are great tippers in general in South Florida .So if ur referring to them you’re an asshole.
OMG!!!! You nailed it!! I’m really sorry to hear that your had such a horrible day, But I agree most are disrespectful. I hate when they think it’s okay to turn a channel that’s put on English to a Spanish channel. It’s one thing to not understand our language but most of them speak fluent English.
Stop complaining and get a REAL job instead. Then you won’t be ranting. Tips are earned, if you did an averave job or non memorable then it will be reflected on your tip.
Corporation: wishing you an unjustified cut of wages! Cope with that.
Why isn’t waiting tables a real job?
That is true ignorance, false ego, and total lack of humility speaking.
I’ve been at this for 22 yrs. Own my own home. Have traveled the world and have carved out a great career being a waiter. But it doesn’t matter how good you are at your job. Middle eastern people are the rudest and worst tippers ever!!!!!! Hands down. 80 cents on a hundred type bad. But everyone whom I deal with gets the same service. I’m very good at what I do. Yet certain cultures just won’t tip. And in my opinion shoudnt bother going out if they’re not prepared to pay for an experience.
Yoour tip is to pay service.next time tell the waiter I want to be self. I not paying no tip. This way don’t waste time. I wonder how your date go without people serve you. You are really as whole.
I agree with you, but don’t be a classist asshole. The amount of skill and knowledge one needs to do the job of a professional server (where one can make a low six-figure wage) is most likely well beyond you. “What is an appropriate pairing for foie gras?” Or “How to use 2 spoons, one handed to serve both food and sauce efficiently (without spilling anything, and while answering a question about what ‘riddling’ is”.
OK -so I get to sit in a pleasant environment (and if I don’t find the environment pleasant enough, you try to accommodate me) and you give me a list of dishes I can ask for (that I don’t have to cook) and if I am not happy with the dish, you do everything you can to try to fix it -servers should be treated like gods!
Corporate: hey dumb ass, this website is for service staff to complain, so get the fuck off our site if all you have to contribute is a statement telling someone to get some lame ass office job where you sit in a box on your lazy ass under artificial lighting for 8 hours a day and make only $800/week.
A real job? What do you do you arrogant fuck? I’d bet I make more than you do in a year. I’m a waiter and travel the world. I own a home. I own my vehicle. I take four holidays a year. You know nothing about this industry or how hard its employees work. You’re an imbecile!
WTF are you doing on a Waiter Rant site if you’re going to tell people who wait tables to “get a real job”? Either you’re the most bored unemployed fuckface in history or you’re a really shitty waiter.
A real job huh? I make more serving than I did at my “real” job! I had to go to college for four years to get! You are a loser! Don’t speak on things you know nothing about! I’m so sure you make more though!!!
Oh
Fuck you you don’t know what earned is bitch
It never goes over well to go to someone’s country and try to force them to speak your language, it’s all about presentation, when I went over to Paris France, I made a sincere effort attempting to speak French, in turn people bent over backwards to try to help me, it’s the same way here, if more of the Hispanic population would try to be more respectful of this being an English speaking country, it would solve a lot of issues. At least in the south east it would help if they’d be more respectful
This! I work in a private upscale country club. We have many activities other than golf. We have a few mexican national families that have memberships. They make reservations, show up 40 minutes late, have 6 extra people then complain about service. They never tip, they screw you on your other reservations for activities since they overlap due to being late. They let their kids just run wild and make a mess. We had kids decide to lay on the bar floor with iPads and block the walkway. Keeping in mind this is a very exclusive place…. The parents got mad when a server stepped on a kid’s hand.
Candadians…..we got them too. So arrogant and demanding and they don’t leave a penny.
Canadians!!!!
Lol ok
Your boss is obligated to make up the difference. You are either a waitress or a waiter. Tennis players are servers
Cdf needs to go fuck himself. It’s 2016 you sexist politically incorrect fucktard
I think CDF is trying to justify being a bad tipper.
No dumb ass, tennis players are tennis players. When was the last time you heard Maria Sharapova being called a “server”. Pick up a dictionary before you correct someone else. What’s does CDF stand for? Clinically dumb Fucktard?
‘Clinically Dumb Fucktard’ made this thread so worthwhile!
THIS!
In Mexico you don’t throw toilet paper down the toilet. The pipes in those countries are very small and can plug up very easily. Most bathrooms in Mexico provide a trashcan next to the toilet to accommodate this. It is probably out of habit that they continue to do this. Try putting a sign up in the stall.
They are rude and their children run wild. Mexicans are pushy and act like they own the US. They all have attitudes, but God only knows why. They know where to go for every freebie and welfare benefit available and they spread the word to other spics.
YES! Mexican nationals are the worst! They let their kids do whatever the fuck they want. Went to a very nice restaurant, the damn kids ran around the tables screaming, then laid on the floor with their ipads. Servers and patrons were trying to step over them to get to tables. One kid got stepped on and the parents got mad at the server. The manager came over twice and tried to very nicely get the kids off the floor. Kids stayed on the floor after the food came. Parents then complained the kids food was cold after it had sat on the table for 20 minutes.
I wanted to grab the tray from the waiter and dump it on those arrogant sons of bitches. They go shopping and expect YOU too move out of their way when walking and driving. They have no problem cutting in line, screaming into cell phones, and being the most annoying damn people on earth. If you don’t know these people, it is not all mexicans, it is the ones with some money and think they own the fucking world.
I’m fortunate not to have encountered these Mexican Nationalists people, sounds like a Southwest type of thing, I consider myself to be very fortunate because if I saw anyone acting like that, I’d quickly put them back in their place!
A agree with you in that. Mexican is the most bad tipper, plus Chinese.
I am in the service industry, and I agree 100%. Mexicans are everything you just described. And I hate it, because I’m an educated woman and I’ve always been against racial stereotypes. But I am really starting to hold a deep resentment towards Mexicans. I am a cocktail waitress, and everyone treats me with respect and pays well, except Mexicans. The way they treat women is especially disgusting. Calling me princess, mamacita, and other demeaning names isn’t even that bad anymore. It’s being grabbed and groped, and slapped on the ass. I actually have at least one a week (and not the same person) who will grab my face and try to kiss me. And they all tell me, “Relax, it’s ok,” when I push them off of me, as if they have all been rehearsing that line. It disgusts me to the point I’m going to find another job. If I don’t I am worried that I will not be able to reverse this racism that’s already forming in me.
Has it occurred to you that being prejudiced is actually a good thing bcuz it informs of you FACTUAL REALITY?
You weren’t “educated” to be “anti racist”, you were INDOCTRINATED by anti-white cultural Marxism.
Yes, Mexican culture degrades women. I can 100% confirm this
I agree. Waitered all my life in between school and theater gigs. Plus I worked in many states, so I’ve had experience with all races, religious affiliations, and financially-opposites. In Texas, the worst tippers by far were the Mexicans; they always pretended to NOT KNOW tipping procedures in San Antonio, despite speaking our language fluently añd making frequent business trips here monthly. Finally, I got fed up añd added the graduity on groups over six! Never got busted.
you are out of control I am Mexican and I was a waiter for several years. To say Mexicans are the worst tipperss… yeahhhh buddy i doubt it. Now all that other shit you talk about them maybe its true maybe its not. Am not gonna lie yes some mexicans here in the usa fuck it up for the rest of us. also people on this forum here are so proud to tip 10 or 15 percent. Honestly in my opinion it should always be at least 20 percent to begin with. for example the way i tip is if i got to texas road house and my bill is 40 bucks and received good service your tip would be 12 dollars.
You are gross. Please stay in that wretched state of Texas. In Mexico there is no tipping, sometimes it helps to understand a culture before you slander them with HATE its so disgusting when people exude so much hate. Especially when it is obvious they are just ignorant blindly hating people Texas used to be Mexico until they wanted to be a part of the racist Confederacy. In Mexico you don’t flush toilet paper at all either along with MOST OF THE WORLD. Get over yourself!
You sound like some whining, entitled, valley girl wannabe, who isn’t clear about how piled-up, crap-filled toilet paper leads to diseases like cholera and dysentery. To you, it’s more important to respect ‘diversity ‘ than to teach these third-world jackasses how not to to treat the first-world USA like the filthy, nasty, third-world hellhole they left. Maybe you’d be ok with middle easterners, or sub-saharan Africans using their left hands to wipe their backsides, and not washing up afterwards.
Amber- NO, YOU STAY THE FUCK OUT OF USA, go live with the disease riddled mentality- fix the fucking plumbing issues, wash your hands and learn about the rest of the civilized nations,!!! keep your hippie, diversity crap to yourself. YES, MEXICANS, BLACKS, INDIANS,- WORST & MOST DEMANDING PEOPLE EVER IN A RESTAURANT- Read the fucking thread you moron!!!
I agree. Management has failed you though. If it’s a group of 6 or more automatic gratuity should be included in the bill PERIOD! No excuses! Take care of your people, they will take care of the business.
“Uncivilized”
Especially rich coming from a Texan… Perhaps take it up with your boss(es)?
Best to shit
1. Industry
2. Middle age white
3. 25-30 yr old white
4. Asian-American
5. Hispanic-American
6. African-American
7. Indian-American
8. 14-22 yr old white
9. Asian out of town
10. African out of town
11. Black(ignorant)
12. Gypsies
I’m only racist when im clocked in.
Spot on
Lmfao dead accurate, I work valet in a Las Vegas casino
Lol I agree with your list almost completely. I would put Asians out of town with #2 or #3. They are a bit demanding but always tip me really well. I do have to communicate with them and explain tip is not included. Theyre sweet/ gentle people. I would say Middle Easterns are the worst. Piss me off everytime. Also the part about being racist whn clocked in is so true. I love people but it’s hard to not judge when I continue to keep seeing the same patterns.
you’re a white supremacist 24/7
Negative comments towards anybody and everybody including calling someone a loser for working in the industry for 20 years. You should take a step back and really look at the state of your life and ask ‘Who is the loser?’ A lot of these servers who have worked in the industry for over 20 years are probably in a lot better shape then you, including myself!
Unlikely
Hahahahaha………I’ve never heard that one. You’re missing Lebanese in there. They are the among the worst. They are rude, demanding and complainers! Can’t stand serving them.
“I’m only racist when im clocked in.” and yet you’re surprised people don’t tip you (hint: we know when our server is a racist; you guys don’t even try to hide it)
Please clue us in. How can you tell when your server is racist? And I’m not talking about your recent trip to the KKK Diner.
Ad hoc justification for being cheap and rude.
I think honestly the worst are Indians. I work as a waiter/server and maybe like 10% of the Indians that I get tip.
Indians always mentioning is it a big portion not too hungry but they always finish it
straight up
I want to amend your list slightly
1a Lesbians/Gay
1b cops/firemen
1c bikers
6a teachers
How is this even a DISCUSSION?! Black people are by FAR & AWAY the worst tippers… period… hands down. I’ve served in a half a dozen different types of restaurants, over 10+ years, and everybody received the same level of great service… the worst tips were ALWAYS from blacks
I agree 100%,They are rude,and let’s not forget about the glass of hot water for their silverware.So entitled.
Black people are hands down the worst! They’re entitled, rude, stuck up and disgustingly messy. They want extra ranch, extra napkins, extra chicken or shrimp, refills every five minutes, extra lemon to make ghetto lemonade, and free whatever they can squeeze out of you…..for maybe a ten percent to…if you’re lucky!
You’re an idiot. I’m an African American graduate student. My mother, father, grandfather, and grandmother all graduated with bachelors and MBAs from the university of Nebraska Lincoln. I was raised to tip 30 percent at the minimum. Anything past that depends entirely on service. I will also have you know l worked that industry from 18-21. The worst tippers are poor people. Quit trying to divide by race. You’re just a bad server.
No, Mitch. It’s a culture thing. Whether the AA you had in mind are poor or not, the stereotype of black customers not tipping holds true even for middle to upper middle class AA. I know and have served as well as fraternized with AA families and I know this for a fact. It has been a point of discussion. Black people in the U.S. are generally some of the worst tippers – but I guess if I was black and a white person was serving me, I’d be tempted to stiff them too given that inconvenient thing called American History. But I’m NOT saying black people are trying to stiff white people because it happens even with middle eastern or AA waiters/waitresses.
To Mitch: the exception only proves the rule.
P.S. To Mitch: I got my grad degree from UNL too.
I worked in the Pennsylvania Hotel in New York City and by far the worst tippers were the Ghetto Blacks & Latinos, Cheap Ass Indians who made you run thru Hoops and the Horrible South Americans who thought there Bullshit Checks could Justify you Running Raged. Sorry Boys and Girls In Corporate not every profession is in front of a monitor and desk.
Agree.
Agree 100%!! I had a lady come in with her 6 kids. They were throwimg their silverware on the floor and at eachother. They were all trying to order at the same time. And guess what? The mother was on the phone the whole time! Seriously? Get your kids in order before i do!!
After their food is delivered, we also deliver the check as well, so when she grabbed it, she yelled across the whole restaurant for me to come back. I knew she was going to go all black on me. She claimed that she talked to a manager on the phone, but didnt remember who, and they told her that all of her kids could eat free!!! I about burst out laughing. So to shorten this up, i got a manager, who gave her one free kids meal… she cried saying she could only pay for 1 meal. She started screaming and cussing, had the cops called on her after spitting on said manager. It was a fun day lol. And no tip! The table was destroyed!! After that, i never served black people. I paid other servers to take them.
‘I’ve seen this. Like it’s your fault they have six kids they can’t feed. They are so accustomed to getting everything free, they then think it should all be free for them just because.
This is an old myth that I never found to be true TBH. For me, it is really all about where you work (you will get better tips at higher end places over places like Applebee’s period) and how you treat your customer. Some of my coworkers complain about blacks or Mexicans not tipping them well, but I can clearly see them paying more attention to their white and Asian customers. So no sh*t the people you neglect aren’t going to tip well.
LOL…
No matter what is said, blacks with a higher education tip no better than the street ghetto blacks,wasted race Treat everybody white people black people any kind of people with no respect!
“If you can’t afford to tip your waiter, you probably can’t afford to eat out”.
Worst are Australians.Minimum wage in their country is 15 aus an hr…Read a guide book and follow local customs. A Bellman, waiter, pizza delivery driver etc is not making $15 before tips.
Almost as bad are Indian- Canadians.In other words ones who moved from India to Canada. Their king of the $2 tip
The origin of the term is To Insure Prompt service. It is customary but not required. If you treat me right as a customer but give me attitude or just plain lousy service, I feel no obligation to tip.
PS many years ago I worked food service so I do understand the frustration at times but is not an excuse for boorish behavior MN
You are a fucking idiot. Please go kill yourself.
That “to insure prompt service” bullshit is a myth, probably made up by a bad tipper.
I can’t speak for other Canadians, but I have never not tipped on purpose in the US. In Canada, when paying by card, we use the machine, enter our pin code, add a tip. So we go to the states, hand them our card, and expect to get this machine back but it doesn’t happen. Then you feel bad because you were never given the chance to add it on the machine, but you don’t have any American cash on you.
Yeah sure.. here you still have to sign it and total it, and right before the total is the tip line. Nice excuse tho
As a Canadian and a waitress, I can tell you when you go to the US you’re right they don’t use machines as we usually do. HOWEVER, when they bring you the receipt to sign there is clearly a line to write in the tip then a line below that to total the bill plus the tip. It is VERY obvious. Stop making us Canadians look bad by pretending you can’t figure that out.
ever heard of cash?
I agree….also Brits and Europeans…..one Brit living here in Puerto Vallarta who was a professor in North Carolina for 20 years believes in tipping nothing…cheap asshole….but he has some compatriots who also tip cheaply or not at all….also Brits!
celebrities,local,regional,national they all tip zero..blacks don’t tip..period..celebs are too important to tip a scum water or waitress..you should” pay them for just being there” is their attitude..every dam one of um..
personally..Brett Favre[3 times in Bioxi],Bob Hope,Richard Dawson,that i’ve personally waited on off he top of my head.. all of them tipped zero..
…never knew how hard waitering was till bar-tended for 12 years,and went back to tables for about a week..that’s all i could take..twice the work for half the pay..if your going to work for tips? tend bar in a popular casino in Biloxi or Vegas..you have a built in clientele ,and you can count on nearly the same money every week..other casino workers,bartenders, waiters & waitresses who are addicted to video poker[50%] are your best tippers as well..if you have video poker machines at your bar expect a $100 tip[most of the time] for a royal flush on the qtr video poker machines and $200-$400 for a big jackpot on the $1 machines..if you work at a show-the best bartending gig of all will again be at a casino entertainment bar with a great regular live band or good live bands from the past doing the casino circuit,you can make $80,000-$100,000 a year and pay almost zero income tax..and THAT was what i made in the early 90’s….that would be about $180,000 -$200,000 today or $500-$600 a night before tipping out barback casino cashiers etc..not bad for making a gazillion vodka tonics,rum & cokes,scotch & waters,crown & coke,etc etc..90% of drink orders at casino are the simple staple drinks and daiquiri machine drinks for the ladies [add the rum]
Mexicans I have worked at the same place for three years, their rude, and they don’t tip you can give great service and they act with no class. For the love of God just stay home. You live in America and you know what your supposed to do when you go out. Playing the dumb card doesn’t work. You cause your own discrimination and you make Mexican American mad 😡 because you think they want to be associated with people who act with no class
Rich Canadians are amazing tippers. Aboriginals and Filipinos are the worst tippers. I have never been stiffed by an Asian or Black person. I have had pre-teens tip better than any Filipino person ever has, and I don’t blame Aboriginals for being cheap.
Aboriginals, Native Americans, etc. shouldn’t be required to tip
The worst are blacks. I worked at restaurants where the clientele was either all white or all black. And I always made more money in the all white clientele restaurants even if my sales weren’t as high.
Indians (Naitives) are by far the worst! They are so rude and they won’t leave you a penny. You see them walk in the door and you pray you don’t get them in your section and you don’t feel bad at all because you never get a nice one or one that will tip even though they need something every 2 seconds. They don’t know the word thank you either.
The worst are the people in coco plum none of them tip shit just a bunch of classless cheap ass motherfuckers
The Negroes!!! By far!
Maybe your service wasn’t up to snuff. I, as a Candian, tip good service appropriately.
I have been a waitress for 15 years at a very high volume NYC “Family restaurant” and I ca and will say that blacks (US/Canadian/Africoon blacks, it makes NO difference), browns (mexicans/ricans/pineapples/sand nig dot head camel jockey rapists, anyone the same color as my poop!), yellows (gooks/chinks/japs, nips, anyone the same color as my pee, female gooks and dot head broads ARE by FAR the cheapest and greediest bitches on Earth!) and jews (especially jew “women”) do NOT tip!
EVER!
They ARE all cheap bastidz and will run you ragged, demand this and that and than wine about every item’s price on their bill and never leave ANY tip at all, not even 1 lousy cent!
But the WORST are the nigs who NEVER intend to tip you (many times they have pulled the old “dine-n-dash” and just run out on the entire bill! They ARE cheap and lazy and all mentally challenged!) They will run you ragged, demand this, don’t want “pork bacon” because some muzzy book they’ve read in prison, and also NEVER keep their savage chimp (kids?) in their seats or keep them still or quiet! And they have the nerve, the gaul to get mad at you (or management) whenever they are asked or told to stop their rabid animalistic offspring from running around and making a scene or a mess, ya know, because it’s a RESTAURANT and NOT the playground at the projects where most of them live for FREE!
It hurts me financially, because I work solely on tips earned and have 2 kids to feed while my husband recuperates from a severe work related spinal and hip injury, which after 5 operations will keep him out of work for at least another 12-14 more months.
I always say these two things!
#1, If you are too cheap to tip, than just stay at home in your house and cook your own damn food, ya cheap, lazy loser!
#2, “Tipping” is NOT a city in China!
The BEST tips I get ARE ALWAYS from hard working (non-jewish) white men, some white women and some older aged white people who understand what hard work is!
Kids, teens, young adults rarely ever tip and they always come in in groups of 6 to 20 and expect 5-star food and service at their beckon call while knowing they are not going to tip you!
BTW, or on nig “customers”, We draw straws at my job to see who will be forced to wait on the savage sub-human monkeys psychos, they ALWAYS have the WORST attitudes, eat 9/10 of their ordered meals, than bitch that “the food was no good”, and never tip!
If the food wasn’t good, why didn’t they mention that at all during one of the 30 or 40 times I had to go to their table?
They just always want to get over and eat for free, just like how they all want to live in the P.J.’s for free!
Just like how they love to get hired at a good job, than only keep it for maybe one whole day, maybe and than they quit or purposely get fired and than start claiming “Sexual harassment”, because they think they can get their free payday to never work again land that way!
They also ALWAYS love to try and play the race card at every turn!
Had one actually ask me on “marchin’ lootin’ koon” day if “blacks eat free”?
I was like “Oh, hell NOOOOO!” And than I asked the dumb ape “why should they?”, “What has ANY of them put INTO society, other than annoying cRap “music”, “Should they be rewarded with free food just for being the most criminally violent race on the planet? or for being the biggest bunch of welfare scamming/stealing, conniving, crack smoking, heroin shooting, business looting, people and cop shooting, molesting, raping, robbing, mugging, stabbing, scheming, scamming, thieving savage goons on the planet?”, “Nah, they have put ZERO positive into society, so they deserve NOTHING more for free!”, “But by all means, feel free to pay and tip with that FREE welfare money ou have in your monkey paw!”
And yeah, I’ve said that 1000 times and WILL continue to do so as long as monkeys wanna act their color in public!
Ya wanna know what I also REALLY find to be highly offensive?
When big, fat, gross, morbidly obese 300, 400, 500, 600, 700+ pound land whale SLOBS come in and order $100 or $200 worth of food and want it “ASAP”!, as if they aren’t storing enough fat for an entire neighborhood to survive on for a month, and than they start eating like pigs as the plates are being set onto the table, they can’t even wait two seconds for the plate to actually touch the table before the food touches their rhino tongues!
They very LAST thing ANYONE should ever have to see in public are big, fat, nasty, ugly, disgusting, nauseating, inbred blimpo pigs stuffing their disgusting hippo heads with any more food that they DON’T need!
If you are disgusting to look at, than STAY HOME TRY A DIET AND SOME EXERCISE!
And why is it that those morbidly obese cow pies ALWAYS seem a bit mentally challenged, oblivious, ignorant, illiterate, slow, dimwitted, and stink like hell!
I guess they really CANT fit into any normal showers nor reach their butts with a wash rag and soap?
I say wash ’em like the circus elephants!
Hose ’em down and scrub their fat spots down with a soapy floor mop!
Fat, black, brown, yellow, joo, all suck as far as being a customer and I’m NOT afraid to say it!
Where I work at in west Chester, pa black people are the worst. They often never leave a tip for the delivery driver.
Everyone knows negroez are the cheapest, no contest!
Same group responsible for 57%+ of the homosides since 1980!!
Give a white Man a pile of bricks & he will give you back a city!
Give a Blackman a give & he will give you back a pile of bricks!!
I am a server at an upscale Pan Asian Restaurant in Nashville. I am of Korean descent. Been a server or bartender for about 10 years. Indian people usually tip 10% at best. It is called getting “Pateled.” Black, Asian, and Hispanics, I honestly have not had too many bad experiences, as I think it is more of an age thing, than a race thing with most groups. Young people do not tip as well. I hate to say it, women also on average tip less. Foreigners may not know the tipping practice in the States, as I recently had a Chilean couple ask me “what percentage is proper to tip?” Bachelorette parties usually are pretty poor tippers, especially groups from the states of AL, MS, LA. Studies have proven, white male Northeastern Republicans are the best tippers. Socioeconomics and cultural environment have a huge part to play, in tipping differences, based on race and gender. If you do not have enough money or will not tip at least 15%-20%, than one should learn how to cook, or eat fast food.
Jews are by far the worst tippers EVER anyone debating this obviously has never worked in the service industry, not only are they not going to tip you or tip the bare minimum but they’re going to be condescending and pompous the whole time! To the point where I literally googled “why don’t Jews tip” and the only things that come up are in defense of them being great tippers when it’s an unspoken truth that Jews just don’t tip or don’t tip well. Must have to be part of the “tribe” to see any of those coins
People from India are the worst. Next, black people. Next Latinos. The best are White people. Ive been a waiter for 29 years so don’t throw any politically correct bs art me. These are facts
I work in an international airport, taking disabled passengers to and from their flights in wheelchairs, in some cases two at once.
Most people tip, some very generously, and of course some choose not to. I have heard the common generalizations regarding which types of people are bad tippers, but have always realized that people are ultimately individuals, and some of my very best tips have come from members of these oft-disparaged groups.
That said, there does seem to be a measure of truth to some of these stereotypes. For example, in my experience, while women generally tip well, young women usually don’t tip at all.
Recently, I took a young woman to her gate. She was very nice, but did not tip me. Normally this wouldn’t surprise me, but for the fact that she was a BARTENDER.
I do find it more disturbing when those who themselves work for tips do not tip.
Of course a Jewish girl with the name Kat toots her own people’s horns. Statistically, Jews and Asians and Indians are the worst tippers, and then blacks. Latins tip somewhat fairly, and whites tip the very best
Incorrect! There’s no one worse than Chinese. Everyone knows it! They love to take your tip but they simply don’t believe in sharing or giving.
The absolute worst tipper in my 50 years as a waiter was Jackie Onassis I was a room service waiter at The Ritz Carlton.
I delivered her breakfast on a padded table with wheels, linen topped tablecloth, polished silver coffee pot and creamer, Iced juice, a perfect rose and a basket of warm croissant with assorted jams and butter She tipped me 50 cents!
No hands down it’s the Canadians who are the worst. I’ve been doing a lot of delivery food service and the trend I’ve noticed is , They all have nice places , nice cars and branded clothes but are always able to have every meal they eat ordered and they always seem to be off work during the day whilst ordering the food to, but they absolutely never never never tip. Then I bet when it’s them doing the delivering they are the first to claim discrimination when someone doesn’t tip.
I’m absolutely sick of Canadians if it’s waiting on there lazy ass’s to pick up orders to not getting tipped at the eater end, then watching them gouging orders at Walmart from family members (yes they have found a way to switch the good paying orders to other drivers, Even if you are waiting for the delivery and on time )
And just to top it off the other trend I’ve noticed is the only orders that get reported as not delivered always have a Obama Biden sticker on the mailbox or car or door.
Facts
The worst tippers are blacks and white people who wear a lot of nice jewelry, like Rolex’s and who wear expensive clothing (people you can just tell had money.. I am only guessing that they have the money they do because they don’t tip shit.
The absolute best tippers are the average or below average income households.
This isn’t every situation of course however in my many years of server experience this is my personal experience. I live in Florida, it may be much different across the U.S.
Well I’d have to say the worst tippers on the whole in my experience were middle aged guys who looked like they were in their 40s or 50s and probably blue collar workers. For whatever reason I always seemed to be lucky to get 15% from them, while ladies around the same age tended to leave me 18%-20% on average.
Probably because you are younger and attractive.. Visa versa for me.. And 15 is nothing to complain about…
That’s because u are a guy. If you were female you would understand how bad middle aged- secretary-looking women are at tipping. They are very needy and then tip awful
Women by far, and gay women are horrible and #1 about tipping a man, zip nothing, ever, Black Hispanics French follow closely then gay men.
My mom was waitress she supported us off the tips her hard work was so appreciated, myself I leave a %35 – 40 tip.
You mean diners supported you
Does CDF stand for “completely dumb fuck?” Lol.
As a Canadian (a good tipping one 😛 ) and also a server I’d say the worst tippers are Brits who don’t live in Canada or the US and church people. The Sunday crowd is uber needy but they don’t put out. No bang OR buck. Also trust fund kids. No sense of what it’s like to work for their money. But this is all IMHO of course.
Canadian or irish is code for black people, canadians are known to tip well minus the east indians – just a fact
I currently work in A Italian restaurant and have been here a month now I find Italians the most picky and demanding and 40% are terrible tippers the other over tip considerably.. But in such a short time I have never been stiffed so badly on 200 – 300 bills with bottles of fine Italian wine 5 course style service..they order out side of the menu.. Make up there own dishes and want it served family style..with out notice..for 10+ ppl. I love a challenge.. But when the challenge is accepted and completed beyond expectations and I’m not rewarded.. It hurts a little..like a lot a little..but of course I get the tip smile nod and say thank you graciously and tell them what a pleasure it has been….worst ever..and this restaurant won’t implement auto great..
It is now against the law to put gratuity on a bill.
Whoever came up with the idea for that law should fall down some flights of stairs. Lol
I love it when people pronounce shit like this as if it were true. Research your “facts,” Lisa, and you won’t look so dumb!
Italians aren’t used to tip as in Italy the waiters’ tip is already in the ”coperto”.
coperto is for bread or breadsticks and the dry cleaning for real napkin and tablecloth…..italians unfortunately don’t tip.worst for sure are blacks ,asians and from today people from Arizona,full restaurant and none of them tipped.
Scandinavians. Used to wait on a group of SAS pilots every Sunday in Minneapolis, and I think they gave me 5% or so on average. Maybe three out of my five best tips have come from black people (or African Americans, whichever you prefer), and I’ve had ladies who lunch leave me 100% before. But the Scandinavians have always screwed me.
Man, the church crowd. We would practically kill to not work Sunday mornings/Wednesday nights after the baptists got out of church.
Holy crap. Churchies are the worst! Sit in your section for 3 hours with all their nasty kids and give you 10% because they just gave all their money to Jesus. Awful. You nailed it.
Oh Yes!! I used to get this kind of crowd on Sunday afternoons in one of our local coffee shops and they ran me to death for nada..I told my boss do it again and I quit!!
That was always the worst for me. I used to get a church group every Sunday that was demanding, rude and never tipped anything more than a ‘million dollar bible bill’ and finally they came in on my last day so when I got the bill I handed it back to them and said if god cared he would make sure his people knew I need more than fake money to survive in life. They sometimes literally hide behind god to refuse tipping. Eat at home if you hate it that much
Mexicans are the worst tippers right around .25 per 10$. 2.5%. but they sure got their hand out to receive tips. lol when i go out to eat i like going to Mexican restaurants because i know i dont have to tip them nothing more than i get from them. so me and my friends go eat at a beaner restaurant and we had out bill at 50$ and we gave him $1.25 tip. it felt sooooo good to give the beaner the kind of tip % that they give. the waiter asked if there was a problem and we said nope. our tip % is solely based on the fact that you are Mexican and your people tip us the same way.and told him if you were black youd get NOTHING
My son just told me that yesterday (New Year’s eve) he got stiffed by a Mexican party of 3. They literally waited for him to get out of site to slip out. They paid bill but NO TIP. Co-workers said they new them.
Next time they walk in, they should be seated next to the restrooms. (My comment).
new = knew LOL
Excuse me, your racism is showing.
You don’t deserve a tip. I can’t believe you even work in the industry.
You all must be awful at your jobs…
Blacks and Mexicans always tip me decent 12-15%.
The only culture that doesn’t tip well across the board are people of Asian decent. I even work in an Asian restaurant. But you better believe I never tip less than 20%, no matter where I’m at. That’s called integrity.
Oh…and of course I tip my kitchen staff. Everyone, everyday. Those people bust ass for me all day, it’s the least I can do!
Its “descent” u e-tard
I agree with you completely. For starters, there are many people bitter about not making enough money. The solution is to get a different job, excel on your existing job, or shut up. People can read hatred like an open book and if this individual is racist, they’ll feel it. There is also something to be said for not knowing someone’s circumstances. Just as a waitress might be struggling to make it for her family, so may be her clients. Some people feel obligated to go eat with someone, despite the money they have, and don’t know how to say they cannot afford it. There ia scum in every race and no reason for anyone to treat anyone poorly for any reason.
Also, I love the individual who called you names due to your [correct] spelling of ‘decent’. The only apparent descent was the descent in the IQ of responses once that person decided to interject.
Excuse me, your racism against people of Asian “decent” is showing…
Blacks have been given nothing since slavery, so no surprise here. Keep hatred alive!
your so full of sh-t, man.
the majority of african americans are on welfare. and many are given free housing (which they ruin).
i’m not even a waiter. and i know that african americans are the worst tippers.
p.s. you claim to be educated. i’m willing to bet that the government GAVE $ to you, to go to school.
Educated, yet doesn’t understand how to use commas correctly.
Blacks act like you are the only culture that has been repressed. Most white people in this country are a mixture of cultures that have been repressed as well. I’m cherokee, irish and German …and that’s a german jew, as in surviving concentration camps. But you don’t here is complaining a hundred years later bitching and expecting to be given everything from the governmentnt like the black people in the south. They are straight up lazy pathetic people.
Blacks are given everything free and oppress whites just by breathing the same air. Your people started the slave markets in Africa and others just jumped on board. If not for whitey, you’d be in a mud hut eating grubs.
Given nothing, unless you include the welfare state, paid for by all US taxpayers.
OK you’re black you’re educated you forgot to mention entitled and black people never tip I raised three daughters made them all work in the service industry while in college they all said the same thing blacks are the worst tippers how’s that work with your education that was paid for by white people
that’s weird my church always encouraged us to leave good tips when leaving invite
I agree. Church people are always a bed sign.
Now this gets my vote! Church crowd are the worst. I HATE working Sunday brunch
1. Fat Nurses…I always get a bunch of coins from them!!!
2. Real Estate Agents…same as above.
Fat nurses always tip ugly retards. Maybe you should work in a hospital?
While I generally try to avoid stereotypes, the worst is if you are in a tourist destination. People love to think that since a restaurant is packed you’re just making money hand over fist. They don’t realize that 75% of your other tables are thinking the same thing. I worked in Hawaii for a couple of years and you can ring up some sales. $1500 and up was your average sales. But with the no-english speaking japanese that act ignorant of tipping customs, the europeans that either think the tips included or are just cheap, the australians who get paid a really high hourly wage so a tip isn’t usually required, and then your regular mix of cheap, rude, canadians, black, british, etc.., I was usually lucky to walk out with 10%. And while some stereotypes do prove over and over again while we pick on them, once in a while we are proven wrong and their status is redeemed.
I feel sorry for US servers. I will remember to ask if tipping is required when I eat overseas. In my country, the waiters get their income mainly from the hourly wage or salary. We are so stingy, we seldom tip them.
Thanks for the enlightenment!!!! Stereotypes are as dumb as the moderator’s who pick and choose the most ignorant comments and censor common sense.
I will preface this with one of my best tips came from a black british family on holiday. Also I base my tip expectations largely on education, class, and familiarity with the industry. (altho i’ve been screwed by a manager from my company)
In my experience working right off of disney property (Orlando) for about the last three years the worst by far are the Brazilians. (uber rich used to getting everything handed to them and they have no manners. they drink too much { a few nights ago i cut of an entire 17 top } and their children are allowed to act like little hellians)
other offenders include: (in order)
smaller european countries (holland ect.)
germans
asian internationals
less sophisticated southerners
Brits (altho if you know how to handle them they can be awesome)
but by far the worst are the Brazilians
The myth of the black man as a bad tipper in my experience is true… but black women are often my best tippers.
I also get horrendous tips from immigrants. I understand they weren’t brought up under this system, but I don’t understand why they just don’t accept the fact that we tip in this country (you know, when in Rome…).
During the past few months, as the recession drags on, I found that people that I think would usually tip well are now tipping around 15%. I guess the recession is a good excuse to tip less…
I work at a casino and when a black cocktail waitress gives a free drink to a black customer or a customer from India,
she doesn’t even stay to see if she is going to get a tip, but if she drops of a drink to someone other than those she pauses for a tip. I have issues with loudmouth people from Chicago and Boston hands down worst tippers. The south like the Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia etc. non -tippers, People from Turkey, Japan, France all of the Middle East and most of Asia are the worst at tipping. There may only be a few from these areas that will throw a tip your way but for the most part it’s nil. I have to believe though it is a cultural thing and how people are raised about money and if their country puts the charge into the check as a service fee.
I used to work as a glorified busboy in a buffet-style restaurant, where you paid up front, so I only got tips in cash, usually a buck a table. I fetched drinks, cleared plates during the meal, etc., and in my several years of experience working this job I found that groups of three or more women almost never left a tip of any kind. Either they didn’t carry cash (a possibility), or perhaps felt awkward pulling out their wallets in front of the other women. Maybe it would have embarrassed those who didn’t tip or some other silly notion of social propriety. Groups of men (a much rarer breed in a buffet restaurant) averaged two to three bucks, suggesting that the social pressure for men is to follow suit and drop cash (and I have a hunch that men are more likely to carry loose cash instead of just plastic).
Strangely enough, my most consistent tips tended to come from elderly couples. Maybe I reminded them of their grandsons or something. Dunno.
This is all the exact opposite of my experiences. Perhaps switch up your demeanor.
Ide rather always wait on a group of men rather than entitled,used up has been ,cheap ass cunt women that are jealous or cheap or both.lucky next time you come in we don’t throw something “special in your stupid hot tea or inexpensive salad that you sit and eat for hours so I can’t turn my table and make real money!!
Hahaha.. I would comment any further but just curious why your previous commenters just came in btwn 2 or less than 2 mins..
Nice blog.. 😉
Unfortunately, the area I live in is rifle with uneducated people from a really bad urban city (hi US Most Dangerous List!). Yes, a good quantity of them are black, but there are a lot of white people who don’t tip at all.
But the worst? Sunday Church goers who sit for hours and hours and leave 3 bucks on a $40 bill.
Thank you for this site. Waiting tables was the most degrading, and frankly hopeless (and at times depressing) time of my life. I didn’t get into a university right after High School, and spent the next three years trying to transfer into my top choice so I could realize my dream of becoming a Naval Aviator. I waited tables in Austin Texas all three years and never let go of my goal and endured more than the general public really knows (or cares to understand.) It’s dirty, shameless, thankless work. I’ve had some positive moments, especially when lashing out at my tables, and I met my wife at a job, but other than that I’m glad I’m out and hope all the best to all the countless, tired, salty under appreciated wait staff out there. To this day I tip AT LEAST 40% and when possible, I start shit with the managers. Hang in there guys.
God bless you not church crowd but am carrer waitress thank yo for understanding.
Thank you, you hit this nail on the head. I was a waitress in more than one Casino restaurant in Nevada and when the customers are losing at the slots and tables, so will you. And their attitudes were even worse. Our cooks were brutal to the bus loads of tourists who were demanding and cheap..you don’t want to know what they did to their food before it went into the TO GO boxes but I am sure more than one of them fell ill, or if they didn’t they got lucky. What a business!
I worked at a casino as a cocktail waitress. I thought -like everyone else- that I would make great money, but honestly is was a nightmare. People run you around for coffee. They all want their coffee a certain way, and they all assume that you make tips off everyone else so half the time you don’t get anything at all. You work long hours, and have to wear a very uncomfortable outfit with uncomfortable shoes and your section is huge so you have to walk very fast to cover the whole atea in time. for the amount of hours worked its not worth the effort
I was at Tahoe watching the game and about to play and the dealer asks if I’m playing and I said I was going to watch and he loudly said “Scoot back from the table, right now Sir” everyone looked at me. I gathered my 2 friends and one was playing..I said , I’m leaving, you can get a cab..he played one more round and left and that was my gambling experience.
I served (I really don’t like this term but it was encouraged from my boss at my last job in the industry) and Lt. Rick H Ellis is totally spot on! It is the hardest job in the world and most of the time you are treated like dirt……I always tip more than 20% and I have tipped much much more for good service. I have such respect and commiseration for people that wait tables it sometimes pains me to even eat out…..I know the servers are working their asses off to please their customers and getting shitty treatment AND tips! Serving changed my life, had a significant effect on me and it will stay with me forever……I say everyone should have to do it for a few months and see how it changes their perspective!!! TO ALL YOU SERVERS OUT THERE: YOU ARE THE HARDEST WORKERS, SMARTEST PEOPLE, AND I RESPECT THE HELL OUT OF YOU ALL!!!
Black, white, whatever, the worst tippers were always working-class people who didn’t seem to have a lot of education. (Or class.) Older people and Jewish people of a certain age were high-maintenance, but not necessarily sucky tippers. Foreigners visiting this country sucked, but it’s sort of not their fault and the British were always so nice that I couldn’t get too angry. Immigrants who’ve been here more than a year would also not tip, and had no excuse. Sometimes their American-born kids, too. I once actually ignored such a table so long that they left, and I am not sorry.
I know a guy socially who was born rich and is a high-maintenance customer who tips poorly. So that supports the “trust fund babies don’t tip” theory above.
I worked at a Jewish deli, so we didn’t get churchy crowds, but I’m not surprised to find out that the kind of person who would vote to take away gay people’s rights is also a bad tipper.
What right was taken away from a gay person? They can do whatever they want even get Married now.
Canadians! In New Orleans, many restaurants (including the one I work at) add gratuity to foreigners. Usually, this is only to foreigners that don’t speak English well. We can’t grat Brits, Aussies, Kiwis or Canadians. Western European countries have come a long way in the past 20 years, but not the Canadians. Occasionally, I’ll get a good tip, but usually it’s 10%. Ethnic groups are a different story. Most ethnic groups get substandard service on a regular basis and are usually expecting it. I find that these groups appreciate good service more and usually reward it well.
Old people. My Mom was a waitress in a sushi bar in a tourist town here in California and she’d bitch about the old people who gave crap tips. Then insult to injury, she’d deal with our family of old people who left a dollar or two on a $40+ bill. She’d slip a decent amount to the wait staff before she left the establishment. And Koreans from Korea. They don’t get the tip thing either.
The worst tippers: The Slumdog Millionaires from where else?…India. Worst tippers and worst humans to have to deal with in the restaurant and retail industry. They want everything for free and expect you to pay for it to boot. Yes, I’ve had to deal with the Sunday Church people, and I agree…they suck. So much for getting some Christianity enlightenment for the week or should I say, Weak? Once they leave the Church, it all flies out the window. Hypocrites.
totally agree!
I’m gonna go ahead and say it: The CONSISTENTLY worst tippers I had were black people. Granted, I live in Atlanta where the majority of the population is black. Maybe it’s just a numbers game. But my manager, who is literally African-American, as in he moved here from the Gambia, told me that a slang word for black people is “Moulie”. His name was Abdul and he said his nickname when he moved here was Moulie Doulie. Anyway, we started a saying at work, “The Moulie 5”, because black people tend to think that $5 is an adequate tip, no matter the amount of the bill. It’s nice when it’s just, say, 2 people and their bill is $25 and you end up with 20%. But when there are 8 people and the bill is $75 and you still get $5? That’s bullshit.
In defense of black people, though, my best tips ever have also come from them. One time this awesome group of black guys gave me a $60 tip on a $60 tab. We all hugged each other goodbye when they left. I treated all my customers well, whether I thought they were going to tip or not. Being mean doesn’t earn you any more money, and it makes the whole half hour or so pretty awkward.
For those who listed church folk as the worst tippers: get in touch with the local nearby churches and let them know what is going on. As Christians, we are suppose to be the best tippers. If the pastor gives you some crap, tell him to read the Parable of the Dishonest Manager in Luke 16.
On the behalf of all church folks, I am truly sorry.
WoW! That’s the first time I’ve ever read anyone apologizing for church folk. Thank you Joseph L.! Never heard in my 50 years on planet earth that you were supposed to be the best tippers. Contacting the local churches is a good idea, as I’ve toyed with contacting the Embassy of India and telling them they are doing their people a disservice by not enforcing the “While in Rome…” theory. Then again, they probably don’t practice it either.
HA hahahahahahahha
I signed up JUST to laugh at that comment from 6 years ago. Oh my god, I die. I die lol
Brahaaaaaaa…. Yeah….Beth, I signed up to reply to you. These comments…I’m laughing till it hurts. I don’t work in this trade but accept and need gratuties as a private car driver. I agree, those from India are the worst as are most foreigners. I tip well but won’t for bad service. Here’s a tip: some of you should find alternate employment…..
Contact the embassy of India asap please! I can’t handle another $2 tip on a bill over a $100. Lol
As an ex-waitress myself, I will say something I know is likely to offend: expecting a tip of over 15 % is ludicrous. The customer should not be expected to be paying the wage of their server; their manager should be giving them a decent wage. Even if the wage is not fantastic, I always considered a 15% tip perfectly generous for the kind of work I know is done in restaurants (hard, but mindless).
If you don’t want to tip or leave a decent tip, then don’t go to a place where you have to tip. It’s that simple! N
As a waitress I feel that the best tippers are people who work or have worked in the service industry. It’s sad to hear that you tip so poorly. you may feel that it’s the responsibility of the employer to pay an honest wage but as you know waitresses work for tips in addition to 3.65 an hour which didn’t even cover taxes. You should be ashamed of yourself for being so cheap. You must have been an order taker not a waitress. A great waitress such as myself expects to be tipped at least 20 percent and would never tip
I want to curse now gracenow but I won’t obviously yo didn’t spend 9 to 12 hours aday running miles for ungratefull snobs. Or maybe you did you did such a bad job that’s all youcould get….
You aren’t an ex-waitress, very few places in america pay their servers over a couple of dollars an hour, everyone knows this. so expecting some common decency too ludicrous? Fuck you mam.
Grace,
The cost living and inflation have both increased whereas the minimum wage hasn’t. If you think the company paying the employee is putting undue pressure on you to supplement the employee’s income, then you should never be eating out anywhere in the U.S., ever. EVERYTIME you go to a restaurant, be it for a sit-down meal or for take out, you are paying for the level of experience, attention, and investment that the server has in their position, serving you. The standard tip in the U.S. has gone up to supplement the income of the staff serving you because both the U.S. government and the companies whose products you consume will only give enough for the staff to simply survive. Whether or not “survive” means to live with 5 other people in a run-down apartment with no insurance and no hope for further education or advancement, you’re supplementing their income, either through tips or through your taxes.
I only tip 15% if the service sucks. Get with the program lady! Oh your name is Grace- you must be one of those Christians everyone on here is complaining about. Whats a couple extra dollars to you? For the server it adds up, and not to mention the people that servers have to tip out from that crappy 15% you leave. there are bartenders, food runners, and bus boys who get a percentage of the sale no matter what you tip out!
Mindless??? What kind of service could you provide??? 15% was overkill for you. Try learning the taste notes on a wine menu of over 100 items within week period. Mindless …
Speak for yourself: maybe you did mindless work, but not every server works at Denny’s. My job includes knowing a list of 200+ wines, what they cost, where they’re from, which grapes and which methods are used in their production; 200+ whiskies; precise recipes for dozens of cocktails; and the details of a seasonal menu with dishes, ingredients, and preparations most customers have never even heard of.
Well, I don’t know that we’re supposed to be the BEST tippers but we certainly shouldn’t stiff the waiters either…
From what I remember from psychology classes it’s a bit like the mind keeps a running tally of good and bad deeds. If you walk up a street and someone ask you to help lift some crate into their car and you decline then you are more likely to drop some cash in the hat of the beggar further up the street. Your mind feels guilty for not helping the first guy so you compensate it with helping the second. Could very well be that it applies in reverse too for church goers who think they’ve done their good deed for today…
Well, Grace…most work done anywhere is mindless, unless your a rocket scientist or into astrophysics. A 15% tip is archaic. It’s old school and not generous, but rather insulting. Have you heard of inflation? The only thing not going up are prices at Wally World or Micky D’s. I like how many think that the owner/manager of a restaurant should be paying a good wage here in the US. Yup, yer right they should. It won’t happen until the workers unite and write lots of protest letters to their Congress people and Senator’s. Have you done that Grace?? Has anyone here done anything to actually try to change this archaic system we live with day to day to support ourselves and families? I know that I have. I actually quit working for a restaurant when I found out that the owner was the head of the National Restaurant Association in the State that I live in. He didn’t pay over time, was cheaper than cheap, lived in a very expensive neighborhood and cried poor mouth all of the time. I’ve written to Congress and Senate people. I’ve tried to educate the masses. The major issue in the restaurant biz…most of those employed don’t give a rat’s ass, are lazy, and/or drug users and alcoholics. MOST…not ALL.
15% does account for inflation you idiot. 15% commission on any sales is very good not archaic.
No its not good its the tip u leave when your server sucks. Archaic is a great word to describe it.
I totally agree, if you’re not happy with your wages: unionize. But expecting equally hard-working people to pay over 15% of a bill simply for it to be dropped off at their table is ridiculous. Other countries (UK, Continental Europe and to some small extent, Canada) have not allowed the kind of inadequate wages and ridiculous tipping practices to prevail, why should the US be falling behind?
Grace, all due respect… You’re a fucking idiot.
I agree. Grace you are an idiot, also insensitive.
Ok, can we all just go ahead and agree that Grace grew up with a silver spoon gorilla-glued to the inside of her mouth? Because that’s quite obvious. My mom is a waitress, and has been since she was pregnant with me. I’m almost finished with high school and I grew up with the wait staff and grill cooks being considered a large part of my family. Tipping 15% (in most cases) is not only rude and inconsiderate, it’s sadly expected on a daily basis. People these days don’t think about how yes, servers get “minimum wage” in most places in the US, if you could even call it that. But when it comes down to it, when they take out insurance and “benefits” (benefits, my ass) your paycheck is literally pennies. So Grace can go fuck herself.
“Simply for it to be dropped off at their table?” Really? Have you ever been anywhere to eat that doesn’t have pictures on the plastic-coated menu? Do you know the difference between a Speyside and a Highland single malt, where they’re from, or even what they are? If you took your special someone out for a nice dinner, would you know what the torchon on the menu actually was? If you wanted a nice bottle of bubbly, would you know the difference between extra brut and demi sec? Or for dessert could you say how a pudding differs from a custard? Well, if not, that wine list and that menu won’t mean shit to you, will they? But your waiter will know, if he’s good at his job, and will cheerfully help you navigate through that sea of mystery. So shut the fuck up.
I waited tables in college at a country club in a small town, and the older ladies who lunched were the worst tippers of that crowd ($1 tip no matter what they ordered). The older men were definitely better — probably because they wanted to show off in a crowd.
My husband waited tables for several years in Chicago and Joliet and he reiterated the point about church goers and African-Americans (particularly black men) generally being bad tippers. He did say that gay men tended to be really good tippers…
I’m glad to hear people say that they treat all their customers the same, no matter what, though. As a teenager, I frequently received terrible service by servers who undoubtedly thought I was not going to tip well. I remember being irritated, not just because of the bad service, but because I wanted to tip well. So, in that situation, should I have tipped poorly because I received bad service (and reinforce the stereotype) or well, even though the server was rude? I usually erred on the side of 18%+, even with bad service…
Tip bad and tell the mananger why you tiped bad and say you normally tip 20+% then they would realise that
So many of you are so concerned about what your server thinks of you! I’m a waiter and I’m proud of giving good service, so I say grow the hell up and show some fucking self-respect. If you get shitty service, for Pete’s sake, don’t tip well (if you even tip at all)! When you do you’re just reinforcing bad behavior. You should treat a bad server just the way you would treat a bad barber or a bad masseuse: leave a commensurate tip (which may be $0) and get the hell out. If you plan to return, tell the manager or at least the server what was wrong, and that you hope your experience was an exception and not the rule. And if it happens again, never go back! Don’t kiss the server’s ass because you’re afraid of what they’ll think of you. If you do you’re just part of the problem, and you’re only making things worse for the rest of us!
I’m proud of giving good service ” you say. But you’ve left loads of racist comments here. As if customers can’t detect your attitude.
Facts aren’t racist, asshole.
Large groups in general, but especially the lunching wannabe business people who ask for separate checks. Hmmm…showoffs. Entree-splitters. Oh yeah, people who claim to be “in” with the owner. (Okay, asshole, this is the sound of me puking at your pretentious attempt to impress — who? Me? News Flash: I KNOW who my guys know, dumb shit. And IF you in fact DID know the owners of my restaurant you would know that if they found out what shitty customers you are they’d throw your cheap asses out the door and loudly tell you you’re not welcome in the place since you insist on treating us so disrespectfully. Yeah. I was one of the lucky ones — had GREAT owners. Grazie to my two Robertos.)
COCAINE ANONYMOUS! Used to come into a glorfied coffee shop where I worked in my much younger days, friggin’ squat forEVER, MOVE TABLES AROUND to better suit their needs (GOD I HATE TABLE-MOVING PIECES OF SHIT), act like they’re better than you because you’re a server and they’re — what? Clean today? Snap your fingers at me again, asshole: you won’t have a working nose to snort up ANYTHING…problem friggin’ solved. You’re welcome.
I got out of the business when I was to the point where I was accidentally saying that kind of stuff out loud. To my customers. Like, “WHERE’S MY BREAD?” was met with a dead stare and “Your bread is in the oven. Cooking. You want me to go get it? I’ll be happy to bring it out to you in the shape it’s in now. No problem.” So yeah…it was time to get out.
Tourists from countries where tipping is not part of their culture and the waiters back home get paid decent, even above-average salaries.
I think it’s always a good idea as a tourist to do some research on the tipping customs of the destination country. Things like what services are tipped, how much should you tip, etc. That way, an honest mistake can be avoided and there won’t be that shock when you’re expected to tip.
DragonFly – When inflation causes restaurant prices to go up, a 15% tip goes up proportionately. It is not necessary for the tip percentage to go up to keep up with inflation.
I found the worst tippers – the ones who totally stiffed me or left 5% – were the ones who gushed about what great service I provided and what a wonderful waitress I was, sometimes interspersed with a comment or two about how broke they were.
The good tippers let their cash do the talking and didn’t feel compelled to waste my time telling me I was the best waitress they’d ever had.
The ones who felt compelled to *tell* me I did a good job invariably left little to no tip. Perhaps they felt guilty for stiffing me and wanted me to know they didn’t think I was awful? Or maybe they just truly believed their compliments could pay my bills as well as their cash could…
These “gushers” as I called them, seemed mostly to be lower income caucasian folks. The African American and Hispanic folks who appeared to be lower income would generally leave a 10% tip (or possibly no tip) and skip the gushing about how wonderful I was. That was annoying, too, but at least they had the decency to slink away instead of rubbing my face in it.
@Dragonfly
I have to agree on Indians as the worst tippers in the world. At one point of my 8-year-career as a waiter I have worked in upscale French-Indian restaurant. We had a lot of Indian patrons, a lot of them from Silicon Valley, and I can tell you that the best you can hope for is 15%. I’m not talking about Indian tourists, for whom is very common to round up a bill from $97.56 to a hundred.
What I disagree on is your categorization of restaurant biz. people as “Lazy”, “don’t give a damn”, “junkies” and “alcoholics”. I find it a bit offensive.
Question for those who’re considering church goers as the worst – How do you know who they really are? Do you ask them after getting stiffed: “Mam, by any chance have you been to the church lately?” or do they tell you “God bless!” instead of leaving a tip?
As a Canadian waiter I just recieved 50 cent tip from Americans. They always seem the worst. Followed closely by Britts and the Aussies who just NEVER tip no matter what.
I’m really surprised people are saying Canadians are bad tippers. I live in Canada, I myself am a very good tipper. I tip 15% for good service and 20-25% for superior service. I find that black people and east indians do not tip 95% of the time. People that don’t tip because they are cheap assholes and make terrible excuses that its their “principle” not to tip. If I don’t get tipped I do NOT make any money.
@ Anonymous.. you’re a fucking idiot, not Grace.
Totally agree with you. Black, West and East Indians basically never tip. You are considered lucky if you get 10% tip from them. It just sucks that you try so hard to give them the best possible service and you end up getting nothing from them. It shows that the educational system needs to teach them a thing or two about tipping and appreciating their services.
What I hate about them is if they order $49.00 or $99.00 worth of food, you will get that $1.00 tip (that’s if they don’t take the change back)
I’ve had a group of 15 Indians dining in once and not a penny. I’ve even had a group of 20 people coming in without calling a head of time (church group). They ordered $240.00 worth of food and tipped $24.00. They were missing $10.00 and took $10.00 from the tip to fill in the mistake.
Seriously people need to learn how to tip. I understand if you received poor service than you may not want to tip as much but seriously even when they receive the best service… NOT A SINGLE DIME. Get take out and eat at home. >.<
This is very old as I’ve been working in places other than restaurants since early 1992, but when I was there, the ardent non-smokers – those who complained if they could so much as see the smoking section – were the worst. In the normal sections, it was easy to average over 15% after tipouts to bar, busser, etc.; but in non-smoking maybe 12% at the most.
Hands down worst tippers are (in no particular order):
blacks
jews
nurses
white collar workers
“kiss of death people”(“you were the best server we’ve ever had”)
old people
Blacks ARE indeed the WORST tippers. I had a client who came in for a deluxe $44 service. I worked hard on her feet and she paid with credit card. I saw what she put on her receipt under “tip”. She drew a horizontal line. So much for gratuity. I also had one woman who left me a $1 tip. Not to sound racist but from my experience black people where I work tend to be cheapskates.
The damned church people were the worst. Seriously, if you leave your server one of those cheezy fucking tracts that are disguised as money, but are actually some bullshit about how your reward is in Heaven? You should be instantly struck dead. “Your reward is in Heaven” doesn’t pay the rent, bitch.
Tied for first place in the Awesome Tipper department were the drag queens from the local show bar – sweet, hilarious, a little demanding, but very generous – and the little old ladies from the Jewish retirement home. I loved my little Bubbehs.
One theory about mean Xtians is that as they pony up 10% of their income (15% of their TAKE-HOME income!!!) to their greedy God or whatnot they are too broke to tip.
As Waiter says, “If you are too broke to tip 20% — you are too broke to eat out”. 15% is what I tip for BAD service — even a rude waiter will get 15%. Average is 20%, a good waiter/ess gets 25%.
I worked as a waitress in a small town and the people who thought they were hot shit (and very demanding) always tipped the worst.
Later I worked on an Army base and suprisingly, single young soldiers(usually male), who came in alone ALWAYS tipped the best(even on a $4 to-go order). I think that single soldiers in groups of 3 or more and people with kids tipped the worst.
We frequently had table set-ups like this- 2 adults and 4 kids out to dinner while the kids throw food ALL OVER THE PLACE while the parents act oblivious then not tip. That pissed me off and happened almost daily.
I vollenteered to take 3rd shift on weekends while my husband was deployed(so no one else was forced to do it and then bitch-BIG MISTAKE)Single soldiers who came in from the bar at 2-3am tipped so shitty. Normally the drunk ones tipped better than the sober ones. They would come in 3+groups always and be obnoxiously loud and dirty. Then leave. 1/2 they didnt even end up paying.
At my resturant we have a $5 lunch specials. ANYONE that comes for that is a terrible tipper. Also getting $12 off your birthday meal does not mean that you dont have to include that into your tip. ASSHOLES i dont fucking care if its your goddamn birthday
The “Early Birds” hands down. They come in for cheap food & cheap entertainment because they are cheap! Unfortunately there is no catorgorizing them because they have infiltrated all social, ethnic and religious groups. Be forwarned :o) it’s like there undercover or something.
DenverGregg, non-smokers should have eaten somewhere else. But if there were no non-smoking restaurant options in the area (something we have run into), then the low tip was probably due to having to put up with the smoke. I don’t short the tip due to that, but I can understand why some people would.
Was a concierge, and have to say, most were CEO’s of companies, and school teachers.
Salesmen. Motherfuckers never tipped when I was a parking valet, because they couldn’t expense valet tips and too cheap to pay out of pocket. Assholes.
The extra religious will leave a bible quote as a tip. And I have seen Indian IT contractors tip very little. As if they have no idea about money. Usually these people are trying to send money back home; and save for when the gig ends and they have to go back to India. But if you are going to go out for lunch, pay the tip. I will usually throw in an extra buck or two over my usual tip to model how it is done.
@Vasil–I worked in a brunch restaurant on weekends (and weekdays, but not as many brunchers M-F) and aside from the church-goers being dressed up and the non-church-goers looking like they partied all night, YES I would ask them. “Aw, you all look so nice! Were you at church this morning?”. And yeah, some of them could be some BAD tippers. I had this one family (black, coincidentally!) that had 4 kids and would all cra into one booth with the high-chair at the end. In a crowded-ass restaurant that in itself is annoying enough. They would make the kids all split a meal and the adults would split one too, so for a 6-top their bill was never more than $30 and I was lucky to get $4 off of them. The worst part is, they were regulars so I had to be nice to them EVERY WEEK knowing what was coming. Technically we’re allowed to grat 18% on 5 or more, but 1)I don’t think that counts when 2/3 of the table is under age 10 and our computer system was beyond ancient so we had to write in the grat on the receipt, and you can all imagine how well THAT went over. We had (black) people arguing with (black) severs that maybe they WERE going to tip well but since you assumed they weren’t and added it to the bill, they were insulted and now weren’t going to tip at all. Nice logic.
It’s been my experience that I can’t pin down the absolute worst or best tippers. I’ve received both great and lousy tips from just about any group. But if I had to single out one sector that was the most consistently bad, it would be black church people. They seem to spend all their money on red or purple shiny suits for men, big fuckin’ stupid hats for the women, 9-year old cadillac sedans, and huge gold-rimmed sunglasses. And they always seem to arrive in large groups, unannounced!
They seem to always order things well done or deep fried, sometimes both! They search the menu up and down, forwards, backwards, and even inside out, looking for the soft drinks (it’s either Coke or Pepsi products, along with lemonade, juices, iced tea, etc.), ask if there are free refills, and then order water with 85 lemons and a case of sugar packets. Sometimes they order prime rib but expect ribs that come from pigs. And always extra napkins, extra sauces, and tons of togo containers, even for the stuff they didn’t like.
Invariably, one of the group seems to be the Reverend of the church. If he pays the tab, (with a church credit card), the server might get 6-9% and be told he/she did a great job! But mostly, it’s separate checks, with each individual paying with large bills, $50 $ $100, all needing change. On a party of 20 people, the server might get a buck per person, maybe less.
As I said before, there are good tippers and bad tippers in any socio-economic group. The black church people, were the most consistently least return on investment of time and effort.
I love you OMC. I wonder if you worked in my restaurant, because you hit the nail right up on its head. “I need a bowl of lemons. And more sugar packets.” “Yeah there’s actually a jar of sugar on the table.” “Yeah but I like that raw sugar. And extra lemons.” “Oh really? Are you making your own lemonade? Because we SELL THAT HERE!! FOR MONEY!” “Uh..no.”
I worked at a Greek diner in Buffalo, NY IN 2009. I bartender and served. One bu
My in-laws.
I work in canada, and the worst tippers in my experience are the asians and indian (from india). No offense or anything, I’m chinese, and every once in a while the trend is proved wrong. They’re usually comepletely nice and will love you as a server, they just tend not show to that gratitude in extra cash.
Chinese people tip shitty as well. Educate your people?
@Vasil – You can tell the church people usually because they tell you they are church people…often they try to convert you or leave you little religious tracts on the table. Sometimes the little tracts ARE the tip..like, “Here’s a tip: You’re going to hell!” Thanks for that one!
I used to get one group in every Wednesday night, maybe 10-12 including the pastor, and they would order weird stuff..like hardboiled eggs with a hamburger patty and a bowl of pickle slices. And they always left a religious pamphlet and never more than $5. Sweet.
I just started waiting tables again (after taking a hiatus to get a bachelor’s, a master’s, and a law degree…glad I spent THAT money wisely), and aside from the church folks, the other group I am dreading waiting on are the old folks that hobble down from the neighboring assisted living facility. Maybe 6 nickles was a killer tip in 1939, but not so much any more. I would actually love to consistently get 15%.
my first waitress job was in the teeny-tiny town i grew up in, and while we got some tourist trade, most of the customers were people i’d known my whole life. most were decent tippers (at the time, pay rate was less than $2/hour) but the worst were the ones with kids my age. it was like i was stealing the money directly from their teenager’s social life by working my butt off on weekends. one weekend, a party of 15 of one of the town’s most prominent families was in my section, and their daughter was in my grade in school. the children ran around life deranged monkeys, the daughter busted up biscuits and threw them on the floor, and they sat at that table for three hours. it took 30 minutes to clean up the table when they left and they left me…15 cents. the bus girl and i were so insulted, we just tossed it into the give a penny/take a penny cup.
Churchy people! Sunday afternoons totally suck. I was entirely stiffed twice yesterday, and it was not due to the service.
They treat the wait staff like pieces of shit. They also tend to throw food and trash all over the floor and let their children run wild throughout the restaurant.
Maybe it’s just in this area, but that’s what I experience.
Not very Christian of them, is it?
Agree with Melissa – church crowd is the worst. They need 100 cups of coffee, 10 baskets of breakfast breads, and fruit salad(free, included in the cost of brunch) oh, and bring me take outs for the “free” crap I don’t finish. And then they leave you a 10% tip w/ a scripture card. Whatever happened to “do unto others…..”
The worst by far? Teachers. a lot of them seem to hate their lives, so they go out of their way to be demanding, high maintenance and then don’t tip. That or young couples who are still paying off student loans…
Although the worst I ever got was a group of servers from Boston pizza. On average they tipped less than five percent, and a few even walked out on their bill. Of course, they were a group of almost 20 who ran us like we were their own personal slaves…and they ate and drank a lot, not to mention sat until an hour after closing. That was a bad night…
Hmm, in my experience, I wouldn’t necessarily remember the customers who would merely leave shitty tips. I remember the customers who were a huge pain in the ass AND left really shitty tips:
Churchgoers – Yes, you can see these people coming a mile away. For one thing, it’s not rocket science to spot Churchies. Gee, it’s 11:30-1pm on a Sunday and you’re coming in with your whole family, all dressed up. And they ALL have the same attitude: Expression like they’re sucking on a lemon. Entitled rudeness- snapping fingers, demanding items with no please or thank you, complaining about the service being slow even though it’s obviously shit busy AND they have a large party to boot. And more often than not, someone would ask in a sanctimonious tone if YOU’D been to church. Once you get that, you KNOW your tip will be 5% at the most. And then there’s those fucking jerks who perform all of the above acts and then leave as a tip one of those church tracts that are folded and printed to look like money, but no actual money. I hope you someday run into a waiter who decides it’s his last day and beats the shit out of you for doing that.
Ladies who Lunch – Argh, I HATED these uppity bitches. They’d always come in during lunch rush in groups of 4 or 5, yet get shitty if they ended up at a table not of their choosing (because how dare it be busy during lunch rush) or that their designer purses and coats would be dirtied. Then they’d get water with a lemon or worse, hot tea. Then they’d take forever to order because they had to modify the shit out of everything to remove all extra calories, fat and carbs. It seemed like a contest of who could find the item on the menu that could be most drastically altered with modifiers. Then they would camp at the table not-eating these items yet resisting any attempts to move them along. At the end, they would ALWAYS want separate checks and ALWAYS pay with either credit cards or ATM-fresh twenties. And of course, since they got a shitty table, their Prada got touched by the busboy, their food tasted funny and you took ten minutes trying to chase down $77.42 in change or running 5 credit cards, you’d get a really crappy tip. Also because since you’re one of the unwashed masses and live in the ghetto compared to them, $1 is obviously a lot of money to you.
Moms with Kids – Even worse than the Ladies who Lunch, because at least with the LwLs you don’t have to listen to them scream for 20 minutes straight, they don’t tell you to hand over every maraschino cherry on the premises, and they don’t leave their table looking like a tornado went through Cheerio Town. Moms with Kids will also occasionally commit biological warfare in your section: Junior will puke or shit himself or Mom will change her baby on the table/leave the dirty diaper on the table, all for you to clean up. All for 5-8% if you’re lucky.
Academics – Overeducated people who generally don’t have that much money because they work at a college and thus get paid 75% market rate. So they make up for it by acting like they’re your intellectual superior. (Ironic, considering that probably at least half of restaurant workers are putting themselves through schooling of some sort.) However, these Ph.Dickheads never seem to have common sense, so they come in on Friday night 45 minutes before their play is supposed to start, and then order a steak medium-well. And nothing builds confidence in your community of educators like waiting on a table of math teachers who can’t figure out how to split a check.
Sexual Harrassers – These little assholes usually thought they were God’s Gift to The Ladiez but had all the pickup artistry of Johnny Drama from Entourage. So you’d have to deal with comments of increasing inappropriateness and possible Bad Touching until it became clear that they expected their meal to come with a happy ending if you wanted a tip. Since most waitresses can’t be bought for $5, you usually lost out. Some of these shit heads would even have the nerve to complain to the manager.
‘tornado went through Cheerio town’- just killed me! I have spent so damn much of my life on my hands and knees scraping crushed Cheerios and Goldfish Crackers out of the carpets with my fingernails. People who think we just “ya know, write down an order and pocket a whole bunch of money” have no idea.
I literally got sick to my stomach just thinking about having to work lunch shift on Sunday and wait on a bunch of cheap, asshole “Christians”. I served off and on for years and raised my daughter plus finished college. By the time I last served in a restaurant I was ready to commit murder on most shifts; Sunday lunch being the worst. If you want to experience the worst in human beings, be a server. It will change your life. Also, you will never look at a so-called ‘Christian” the same ever again! My heart truly goes out to servers everywhere; I even tell my elderly Christian mother, when she mentions church to me or tithing, “I tithe to servers, that is where I know it goes to people who put up with so much yet get back so little!” And to the other comments: 15%! Are you kidding me? Never less than 20% but typically 25% or more! Much love to all the servers out there!
I agree entirely that academics don’t know how to tip. They also act awkward and can’t seem to respond to simple questions!
@Beth: You are right, church goers are the worst (I attend regularly and do my best to counter the trend).
In my experience it is the upper middle class 40 & 50 somethings that don’t tip well. They leave the lowest amount possible while not being outright rude, no matter how good the service is.
True, some other groups (poor & elderly) often don’t leave generous tips. But they leave what they can and make up for thier lack of funds with kindness. The above mentioned have no excuse.
NBA players. I worked as a valet in college, and was stiffed by both Kevin Johnson (now our mayor) and Bill Cartwright.
This is from years ago, but I have to concur — the Sunday Brunch groups were the most likely to be bad tippers, relative to the amount of extra work they made. By that I mean, one person would ask for a refill on their soft drink, I’d ask if anyone else wanted anything, get noes around the table (or ignored) and when I brought the refill, would get a request from someone else for something that I could have brought just as easily with the refill, if I’d known about it. That they were parties or 6, 8, 10 or more just made it worse.
On the other hand, the AA group would come in for coffee and sandwiches after the Tuesday night meeting and they usually left pretty good tips for the amount of service they wanted. Mostly they wanted to be given their stuff and left alone to talk. Keep the coffee cups filled and plenty of cream and sugar on the table and they were happy.
Two friends who waited tables agreed that Amway and other multi-level marketing scheme salesmen are stingy bastards that frequently stiff the waitstaff. Oh, I guess they did give the “tip” to try selling Amway if they wanted to make more money.
Christian church goers, hands down, are the worst tippers.
My husband attests that Muslims are some of the best tippers. “Giving to those who have less than oneself” is a Pillar of Islam, so….I like that it doesn’t say “poor”, just “less”.
Japanese people in Hawaii tend to be very wealthy people who wouldn’t ever think of getting a guidebook; it simply wouldn’t cross their mind. And having lived in Japan, they really don’t know what to do if someone tries to tip. They think you’re forgetting your money. My father went to China and says that they think it’s an insult.
But really, you’d be amazed what doesn’t cross someone’s mind. My boss in Japan had gone on a road trip in the U.S. He asked me “where are the convenience stores? I found lots of gas stations, but I never saw a convenience store!”. He’d paid with a card at the pump every time, and so never went inside to discover that’s where Americans keep their convenience stores!
Worst tippers, pizza delivery:
College students
Church groups (15 pizzas, check for exact amount)
Dairy farmers
Artists
Late-night business workers (exact amount)
Best tippers, pizza delivery:
Pediatrician’s wives
Poker night groups
Bartenders
In Canada,
I agree with Amy. Asians are by fare the worst tippers second to Indians.
Best tippers were usually middle aged, caucasian men.
Young people generally sucked too.
Worst tippers: Europeans. I am in the Midwest, and if we get anyone with an accent we can expect little to nothing. Probably because of the expectation that we are paid higher.
Also – inflation is raising the meal prices, that’s our raise. If you think I’m going to go out to dinner in the year 2020 and tip 60%, you are out of your mind.
20% may be standard on the coasts, but I am still happy to get 15%, and if I get 20%, I know it’s because I’m good at my job.
I’m college educated, not a druggie or alcoholic, have an 8 to 5 job that I really like, but have a server job on the side because I love it. And right now, it’s really helping with the current economic environment, no raises, longer hours, insurance premiums being raised.
Waiter – first time post, love your site!
I meant second were Indians…
Not a waiter and never have been. That aside, after reading your stories, even though I consider myself a good tipper, I’m leaving more.
I work in an authentic Japanese place, and the worst tippers are, by far, the Japanese. We get a mix of about 50/50 Japanese/not. I suppose it’s normal to stiff in Japan, and some people just haven’t bothered to learn societal norms here in Canada. I usually don’t hold it against them if they appear very new (I’m near to a university with a very high asian population) – when you’re new to a country, you have better things to figure out first. I get it. But when someone seems like they’ve been in Canada awhile and have a good grip on the culture and they still stiff, I get cranky.
i too was a young server i worked at a locally owned brewery and my boyfriend at the time worked at a very nice place both in downtown des moines. i’ve always been a good tipper even when i was very young. but we went to a high end mexican joint and had the worse service i have ever expirenced. we spoke with the manager, told him about the expirence and he just shruged it off. we left a small tip and a note of why it was so small. our bill was over $100 and if there was good service i would have givin a generious tip.
The French, in my experience, are the worst tippers!
Only worked in one restaurant one summer for some extra spending money. Don’t know how qualified that makes me to comment but my experience seems to be par for the course. The lowest tip I received was from a group of Germans who rounded a $193 bill up to $200. They had a lot of questions and some extra requests but were very polite. I was aware of the low tipping expectations that came with non-Americans and usually saw them as an opportunity to interact with another nationality rather than potential for a big tip. I still always gave the best service because I generally like to see people happy and not have complaints related to my work.
I worked at an ethnic restaurant in a very old money but extremely liberal/progressive town. The prevailing type of clients seemed to be comfortable people who enjoyed dining and even getting to know a thing or two about the staff and the ethnic traditions and other cultural facts. I give the owners and the chefs credit for this. 20% was the norm much of the time.
This was in 2004 however. Im sure things have changed drastically.
I worked at a local pub and the best tippers where always the construction workers. Maybe it was because I was young and pretty, and I served them cold beer, but they were by far the best.
Europeans, I hate you, especially the French. Don’t get me wrong! I love and appreciate the culture, the philosophy, the food and the fashion. But you can’t claim to be sophisticated and continue to plead ignorance of tipping customs. The Irish were the exception, as I always found them to be fun and friendly. I waited tables in San Francisco at a diner that was open at all hours and located near bars and movie theaters, so I think I saw it all. The absolute worst, however, were the gypsies who tried to order off of the menu, ran us ragged and tipped pennies, scowling all the while.
As a Christian, I’m offended by other Christians that leave horrible tips. I almost always leave 20% – it has to be bad really bad service for me to leave less.
Also, I’ve tried to slip more cash onto the table if I see someone in my party stiff a server.
And if you want to leave a tract, fine. The server can read it, throw it out, etc., but it DOES NOT make up for a tip. The “their salvation is more important than the tip” mentality may be true in the long run (from my/other Christians POV), but it ain’t payin’ nobody’s bills. Leave the tract and the proper tip.
Like the other poster(s) above who apologized for poor Christian tippers, add mine to the list.
worst tippers: old people and black people. sorry, but its true.
best tippers: firemen and policemen, always. i love them
Well…these comments are quite interesting as I was always curious to know who tipped the worst. Surprisingly, although many people stated tourists, elderly and churchgoers – I was surprised at the randomness of opinions.
Which in my opinion tells me there really is no one set of rude tippers!!
The Worst:
1. Groups of the Red Hat Society.
2. Over-entitled, middle-aged, nit-picky women.
3. Church crowd.
As a future teacher, I am disappointed to read that teachers have made some of the worst lists, but as a former waitress, I definitely will overcompensate for that!
I’ve worked in mostly only establishments where I am required to tend to the bar as well as wait tables(on the typically slower nights). One place I worked at for 5 years, I even had to cook it as well. Where I’m at now, we get a Euchre crowd of anywhere from 15-30 people wednesday nights. Often times many of them come in early to eat before hand. I’m not sure if this one woman has a tad bit Alzheimers and is stuck back in 1930 or what. She often stacks the dirty plates for me and hands me my 50 cent tip while saying with a smile, “I used to be a waitress once upon a time.” I usually end up cocktail waitressing their tables throughout the night and making MAYBE 5$ total from the entire group. They do not have the courtesy to understand that they are taking my time and attention away from paying tables, or the fact that I have to re-set the tables and clean up after them for 4 hours. GGRRR.
I forgot to mention that most of them are ridiculously unfriendly, will interrupt me when I;m taking another tables order so I can refill their water. And when they eat, they use their ‘Buy one cheeseburger and fries for $5.50 and get the second free’ coupons. And the only time they order drinks is when they have a drink chip that was given to them for free by my boss the previous wednesday. Some of them have even started bringing their own bottled water. =] Do you think I got that much dis-respect from seniors when i was a Nurses aide at the hospital??? Eff no, of course not.
My boss looks at it like “People drive by and see the full parking lot.” I look at it from the standpoint that I’ve had people walk in to eat and walk right back out because it looked too packed. And what patrons want to eat in a dining room with the lights cranked as bright as possible creating the worst possible dining atmosphere.
Thanks. I feel better even though it’s almost wednesday.
I’ve been a waitress for over ten years in a small town in Indiana, and by far the worst tippers are Jehovah’s Witnesses. They leave no tip at all, no matter how high the bill. My fiance is a former Witness, and he noticed it every time he went to dinner with his family. I even knew some of them by name and would have friendly conversations with them, and they would still stiff me.
Mexicans and Asians are the worst tippers…sorry guys, but I waited tables for 15 years and in 3 different states. It doesn’t matter which coast, either. There, I said it!
I’m embarrassed on behalf of church people. I know Kempeth said it already, but I just have to add my apology to his. I’m so sorry!
The worst tips I’ve ever *seen* came from old white people. I saw a 60-70 year old guy drop a quarter on the table for a tip once. Both my husband’s and my grandparents think that a 10% tip is standard and that you don’t have to tip at a buffet-style restaurant.
The church people don’t tip when they get their hair cut and styled or just styled. I have been doing hair a long time, and they may share other things with you (things they no longer need) but not a cent of their money other than what they have to pay.
i, too, am a recovering waiter. my consistently worst tippers were municipal elected officials: judges, councilmen, supervisors and mayors. this held true in four cities over a ten year period. minga, those guys (and gals) are cheap.
i certainly have to say that as a career bartender i go into work every night with zero expectations. i tend to work in establishments that focus on craft cocktails where 20% is the standard across the board if not the benchmark. that being said i have worked every type of venue from college bars to fine dining to clubs and held every position at these venues over the years. college kids seem to be fairly bad tippers if not out of sheer lack of money and genuine embarrassment because of the fact or simply due to not knowing at a young age how to tip. latinos/asians have generally been a crap shoot for me over the years as i’ve learned to never judge a book by its cover. i’ve been stiffed by more minorities than i can count but also been blown away by the same. i used to run the bar at a prominent hotel in my city and was regularly surprised by out of town sports fans leaving obscene tips for good service (50 dollar cash tip for 6 dollars worth of beer). out and out though african-americans are the bane of existence when it comes to tips as a bartender. the pours are always “short”, the prices always too high and the customer never understandable (as much as i respect your ebonics, please respect the fact that i’m educated and not privy to them.) to that length though i would routinely have black customers stiff me or the very next customer leave 50% in cash. the fact remains, you can never really tell in the service industry.
Yeah in my experience, the worst tippers are black people and church people. These are stereotypes and I know there are black people and church people that tip very well. But as a whole, if you’re playing numbers you don’t want to be sat a party of black people or church people in your section. Hey church folk, a printed sheet of paper about god, not so much a tip. Waiters are mostly looking for paper money. Spendable money. Not your church propoganda.
After 20 years in the business, it’s a two way tie:
1. NPR/PBS member card carriers are the worst tippers of all. The worst.
2. ANYONE who promises to tip well. The kiss of death. I don’t even try to hide my tableside deflation when you tell me what a great tip I am going to get.
As a Canadian who works in the food industry i have to say that Europeans are the worst. And they don’t even have the manners to say please or thank you! I hate to say it but especially Bosnians and Serbians.
Waiting tables in Texas for a long time, Mexican nationals were terrible tippers, for the most part. Like churchgoers, they were extremely needy but did not compensate for the hard work.
Let me add my apology for all the cheap churchgoers. I’m a chuchgoer but I, too, never tip less than 20% and will add to what is on the table if someone I am with doesn’t “get it.” I’ve explained to everyone I’ve seen do the drop a tract thing, that insulting people and demonstrating your own stupidity is not the best way to win souls. My daughter has been a server for 14 years and says the worst tippers are the Red Hat Ladies.
I worked as a server in a restaurant in a small city in Arizona, and I had also heard people saying that church people tipped the worst. As a “church person” myself, I was embarrassed to hear that. However, and I don’t know if it was just a cultural thing in our town, but I *loved* working Sunday lunches, because I actually got much better tips on average from the church people than the other people in town. Like I said, it may be a town-specific thing, but I loved serving them – and it amused me when they left tracts along with their tips (the key is, they left it *with* the tips).
Worst tippers were the Californians who had their second or third homes in our town to store their boats and toys, and would come into the local restaurants and tip 10%.
I worked in a few different types of restaurant\bar during university. Not counting the poor students I served, the worst tippers were foreign non-english speakers and groups of middle-aged women. And middle-aged women were also the least forgiving and most stressful to serve. In any group of more than three women there is inevitably one uber-bitch who is so demanding and runs you so much that her friends are embarassed. They won’t make up for it with a nice tip, unfortunately.
28- i’ve always made it a point to pay compliments when i got better-than-expected service. Had no idea people do that to try to make up for a bad tip. Hopefully it is a nice surprise then, when they see i tipped 1/3 of the bill…
I forgot about people who promises to tip well. If the customer mentions the tip at any point before actually leaving the tip, you should expect to feel ripped off at the end of service.
malone and craig: YES, the ‘promisers’–lying, cheating bastards!! Right there in a special class with the infamous ‘i’m a friend of the owner’.
I worked in a Chinese restaurant- the worst tippers by far were kids (they’re also the most likely to try to dine and dash…unfortunately most of them succeeded). Most of them were friends with each other and none of them tipped. Maybe occasionally there’d be a few cents left over in change that they wouldn’t bother taking, but we’d just shove those right back in the cash drawer; no one likes change.
Another one of the more memorable customers was this lady who always brought her daughter in to eat with her and called her “Princess”. She’d always ask for lunch specials, even though they ended at 3 and she came in at 5…her tip usually consisted of all the dimes, nickels, and pennies she could find in her wallet.
No Canadians where I work, though. Old people do tend to be not as generous with the tipping (maybe 10%).
Yeah, I forgot to mention groups of middle aged women. Christ, they’re horrible. They’ll order water with lemon and salads. Sit in your section till you’re cut. Then ask for seperate checks. You’ll get a buck from each one. Not worth it.
I have close to three years exp. delivering pizza, in E. Lansing, Mi. and Clearwater, Fl. My total tips, in three years, from black females is $1.58. The $.58 was only because I didn’t have any coins for change in my pocket, and she didn’t want to wait for me to go back down three flights of stairs to my car to get it.
I can agree with most that church goers are in the top 5 worst tippers. But my experience is that lesbians are the worst tippers, followed by mexicans and mexican nationals, church group, europeans and then asians.
Women in healthcare. Table full of ladies in scrubs? 8% if you’re lucky. Fucking cows, the lot of them.
Hell, women in general, especially if they’re over 30 and there’s more than 2 of them. The more of them, the bitchier they are and the less you’ll get.
Church people, especially those fuckers who leave you $2 on a $30 tab and a fucking Chick Tract. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? The exception always seemed to be the Catholics. For whatever reason, almost all the Catholic people I knew tipped acceptably. Not stellar, but not the less than 10 that the Calvinists gave. No idea why.
People with small children. Insult to injury, usually, given the terrible mess those little monsters would make.
People who tell you “I’m a good tipper.” Riiiighhht.
The restaurant I worked at longest was a place that desperately wanted to be “upscale casual” but was really just a “white trash beacon.” Anyone who came in wearing any sort of NASCAR paraphernalia were guaranteed to be pains in the asses. Without fail. Every. Single. Time.
I know that a bowling alley doesnt fall under most people’s spectrums of where they should leave a tip. Where i work each section pools their tips among themselves: Desk, Kitchen, Bar. While everyone tips the bartenders and servers, most forget about the cooks and the desk people. I’ve worked both sections and although it will be the cooks who make your food and the bartenders whip up your drinks, its going to be US the desk people who will wipe down and clean up after you and your party of 4 lanes with wild children who throw your popcorn all over the ground. It’s also us who deal with you as you stare in shock at how much bowling costs and demand that you get a discount because you “didn’t know.” We have a sign that states our prices.
Worst Tippers:
–International Asians (the ones who can’t speak english and spend 20minutes deciding how to pay and then pay seprately in credit card in their group or 10)
–Teenagers
–Black people.
–rich people
BEST TIPPERS!
–Gay men. (hands down these are my favorite customers of all time. They are friendly, funny, and tip well if not generously.)
In East Asian culture, restaurants and its staff take pride in their work and so tip is not necessary. No one tips cause it’s not a thing. Menu prices either have built in tip or just the price to dine there. All prices reflect the final cost including tax if any.
Asians aren’t the only ones who take pride in their work.
There is a reason I don’t work sundays, the church crowd refuses to tip well. I guess they put their tip money into the communion plate. Brits, teachers, ghetto fab, and last but not least, department store ladies!!! They come in 15 minutes before close, want rounds and rounds of drinks, think you want to hear them bitch about what a long day they had, and proceed to tip 10% IF you’re lucky!
Oh and lets not forget the verbal tip. “You were the best server ever! You’re sweet and blah blah blah…” and leave $2 on $50. WTF?!
my mom: white, middle class, middle aged, real estate agent and christian republican woman. i hate eating out with her. i have seen her take my tip off the table just because she could… i was so embarrassed i snuck back into the restaurant and personally talked to our server and tipped her over 50 percent…
Aussies are consistently shit tippers hands down. I personally know quite a few of them and have had discussions with them on this topic. The ones I’ve talked to simply don’t understand tipping because it’s not a natural part of their culture. They feel waiters should be paid a decent wage, as they apparently are over there.
As a Canadian server I was completely taken aback that my brethren are viewed as shitty tippers abroad. I tip 20% regardless of the tipping policy in whatever country I’m in pretty much just out of habit, and because it’s better to get caught leaving too much than not enough. And the societally acceptable tip here (15-20%) is basically the same as the US. So I can’t explain it.
The Dutch….I have been stiffed by these bastards so many times.
Yep.
to Craig @ 10:42 — Women tend to tip according to how good they think the service was (as opposed to men who tip according to who they are trying to impress) so if one woman in a group of women is dissatisfied with the service, she shames the others into not tipping well either.
We ate at a nice restaurant last night. We had two coupons. They added 18% tip to the bill — apparently they do that whenever there’s a coupon or deal. I left an additional $5 on the table because we thought he should get at least 20%. I hope he doesn’t think I didn’t notice the 18%.
In my experience women tend to tip based almost entirely on how they feel about you, and men tend to tip based on what kind of job you’ve done for them.
I have also experienced the scourge of the bitchy group of middle aged women. I used to work at a golf club and Ladies Day was an absolute nightmare. Regardless of the temperature it was soup of the day and waters with various combinations of lemon/lime/cranberry juice/straws/no straws, complaints when the soup did not appear instantly because “how long does it take to put soup in a bowl?” and gripes that bread was not free with the soup. All of these women (more than likely their husbands) paid 5-figure golf course fees and lived in mansions, yet felt it was appropriate to toss me loose change.
@ 93 Leah: yeh, aussie waiters are paid pretty good wages. About 20 dollars an hour if you’re casual, or about 16 dollars an hour if you’re permanent. Even more if you’re working in fine dining. People generally don’t tip. Maybe a little tip if the service was exceptional, but nothing like 20%. I guess any tips are truly out of “gratuity” and not because the waiter depends on it for a living.
In my experience the worst tippers I’ve ever gotten are entitled people. These are not necessarily people with money or white people or foreign people, they are simply the ones who were spoiled by their mommies and daddies into believing that *they* are the most important people in the world and can do no wrong. So essentially: a good portion of the Baby Boomers and their progeny in Gen Y.
Actually their progeny is Gen X! I’m Gen X, my daughter Gen Y, or Millenial, anyway you are totally right!
Wow – some funny comments. As an Aussie I am not surprised to see us get a mention – tipping simply doesn’t even cross our minds! It is probably simply because we are numerically few that we don’t get more mentions. I went to the US once as a 23 year old. Thinking back now I strongly suspect I completely stiffed some poor diner waitress but it was done out of ignorance – not malice. It simply never occurred to me that the girl who took my order for 10 seconds, delivered a plate then stood behind the cash register to take my money needed to be tipped! Lucky every other time I ate out was fast food. BTW, it would NEVER (even now) occur to me to tip the desk staff at a bowling alley – the food and drinks staff I guess I can now understand but the counter people?!?
pollacks!
vasil –churchgoers are EASY to spot-one its just after a regular church service which in the Bible belt is sunday lunch mainly and less for sunday dinner and in between that volume for wed dinner. they tend to be in their “sunday best” attire. They tends to look down their noses at you since you have to work during their day of rest and worship to pay your bills-not sure how you spot them in areas where other faiths are3 big like say catholics since they have mass more3 often than other faiths-can you tell I learned the art of serving in church of christ/southern baptist area in a exican restaurant with a buffet on sunday mornings-only got 1 sunday off in 3 years.
church goers sucked ass for tips but the folks from the great white north were bad
a few faiths preach their followers to tip-Kenneth copeland is one and I caught a televangalist advocating proper tipping once
ladies who lunch ie dont work and swill wine to get thru the day were bad tippers too
but any1 who reads serve blogs KNOWS spring1 is the worse tipper who ever lived!
I work at a Mexican restaurant / bar and we have 99cent ritas every Friday . Well every Friday we get large crowds of black people and they 1 never tip or 2 walk their tabs!!! Sometimes they complain that the salads are cold.. wtf?
Asians. As an Asian who lives in Australia, and who tips, I often find that I actually have to ASK/MAKE my fellow Asian diners to share the tip with me!
I would like to apologize also for the church goers. My family is part of that group but we always tip well, especially if we have our young children with us (we know that when children are at the table the wait staff has to work much harder then if it was a couple of adults). Yes we do leave a tract, but it is always with a tip of at least 20%. I am embarrassed to say that there are people from our church that we will not go out to eat with because they tip poorly and are so incredibly needy.
I distinctly remember going out with a family one time, they had their children and we did not, they ordered an app. and of course their bill was much higher then theirs because there were 5 of them and 2 of us and I saw them leave only $5 on probably a $40+ tab. My hubby and I left $10 on our $25 tab because of that and we had chosen not order an app. so that we would have enough to tip.
I wish I could take each of our fellow church members and make them serve one week, I think they would see things much differently then.
In Denmark tips are included, hence a Danish tourist in the U.S., – probably all Scandinavians, would be the worst tippers – unless they read the “do’s and don’ts” before visiting the U.S. – an American would be a darlin tipper for us! – had he or she, not read the info on tipping being included.
I actually started tipping in Denmark a while back, just because to me, it’s a nonverbal way to directly communicate a “thank you” for good service and great food.
This blog has definitely not changed my mind about tipping, although almost looked upon as showing off over here! – Thank you for “a glance behind the curtains”!
Hey, You waiters in usa have it lucky. In South Africa every one stil on the measly 10% tip. And yes some black people, and trashy Afrikaans people don’t tip. And our best tippers are middle men and other waiters.
Chantal
I will avoid all the racial and sociological stereotypes because, let’s face it, they exist for a reason. There is no logical argument against this, so just nip that right in the bud.
For my money (no pun intended) the people who deserve their own little special circle in hell are the fuckers who DON’T TIP ON THEIR TOTAL BILL WHEN THEY HAVE GIFT CARDS/CERTIFICATES, COUPONS, OR COMPS.
Happens all the time right after the holidays when people come out to use up those dining dollars. Couple comes in to enjoy a nice dinner, their bill is $125 (because they just drink diet coke and iced tea), leave a gift card and a credit card in the check presenter, GC covers $100, and you get a $5 tip on the $25 you rang on their CC. DOUCHEBAGS. And they probably think they’re being generous because they gave you what they perceive to be 20%.
As for comps – I recently waited on a 3 top that started out wonderfully. Decent bottle of wine, nice witty banter, checked back on their food shortly after it was delivered, all is well. Then they decide to tell me that their steaks are undercooked, that their sides are too salty, that their meal basically sucks. Manager visits the table, gets their food re-fired, I send out free dessert, comps a bunch of stuff. What was a $400 check is now whittled down to $200 and they leave me $10. As if everything was my fault. Oh, and they took their food with them. FUUUUUUUUUCK YOU.
Then there’s the manager’s VIP who he swears is going to take great care of you. Entitlement junkie runs you ragged but buys a whole bunch of stuff, most of which is comped by his buddy, then he leaves you shy of 20% on the total after comps. ASSHOLE.
These people and their ilk are evil and deserve nothing less than total annihilation.
Working in fine dining in DC, we have many of foreigners to serve. The worst Europeans by far are the Italians. At least with the British and Irish you know you’ll get 10%. By far the worst tippers are people from Central and South America. I’ve never had a problem with Japanese people. Most tip 18-20%.
I was out to dinner with a friend once who was paying the bill.(American Jew) The manager came back with the bill to tell him that the tip he left was unacceptable and the minimum was 15%
I’ve never seen this happen before or since, so why not? If the tip is really part of the bill, why isn’t a tip enforced since it’s required for waitstaff to live?
Businesses are allowed to charge a “service fee” as part of the check. This is often done to ensure they can keep good front of house staff without increasing wages.
Canadians by far are the worst tippers I have encountered.
Without a doubt, the after church crowd. The only reason I can get out with any money in my pocket on Sunday is because you can’t buy alcohol on Sundays in this state.
my personal theory on how Canadians were “trained” to tip is b/c of the loonie & twoonie coins. it’s so easy to just dump a coin on the table without much thought or math.
i find the comments interesting. stereotypes exist for a reason. but try to remember innocent until proven guilty 😉
i find the entitlement attitudes telling. in a free market why should the servers dictate the percentage? it’s a tip, it’s not mandatory. period.
tips are supposed to be a means to say thank you for your hard work. instead y’all sound ungrateful for our hard earned money and *we’ve* all lost our sense of manners and caught the entitlement bug too.
you should do your job to the best of your ability regardless, instead tips are the anvil over your head to keep you even remotely professional. it’s sad.
i knew from the time i was 11 i am not cut out to be in the service industry lol. but i’ve been a waiter/server for catering companies (0 tips) and work front desk at a hotel (i get marriage propsals more than tips).
that being said, i’m the daughter of a Canadian poor tipper (and am often mortified by how bad 5-8%) and married an American good tipper (and often feel he way over pays, 30-35%).
i often end up feeling stressed and anxious over the tipping b/c i want to do it correctly yet feel obligated to shell out too much for crap ass service. the attitudes here hardly alleviate it. silly me for expecting a pleasant dining experience when i’m paying for it.
If I could afford to not work Sunday mornings I would. They kill me! The church crowd is so often needy, huge groups, and bad tippers. They leave tracts, but if I were at church, who would get you your 15 refills of diet coke? That being said, I have received some excellent tips from church goers, and a couple of weeks ago got a surprise 50% tip from some teenagers who had just been to church, so sometimes it’s not all bad. It probably just seems that way because you remember the bad tips more than the good ones in relation to the effort you put it.
Best tippers? Bikers. I always have GREAT experiences with people who ride in on Harley’s and are covered in leather. I fight to wait on them! They’re courteous, good natured, and usually very generous.
As a middle aged Canadian woman, I find the stereotypes mildly annoying. However, I am a good tipper (20-25%) but still resent it. Why can’t the restaurant owner pay decent wages like any other industry? I worked hard my whole life and never ever got a tip, yet restaurant owners expect us to pay for our meals and their employees on top (it should be included in the price of the meal). I also tip my hairdresser generously while she is overcharging me the whole time.
Would you be happier if menu prices were 18% higher across the board, and small, privately-owned businesses went under, leaving you nowhere to eat but corporate chains?
I would love if the Church people were just given a couple of fishes and the bread basket, and you told them to feed themselves.
It’s been more than 20 years since I waited tables (at a popular 24 hour diner in NY) but I still remember. It wasn’t a certain ethnic or religious group, but a time of day. The late dinner, early and late bar crowds and early morning breakfast people were all generous. It was the lunch time and early dinner crowds that were cheap with tips. Gonna sit for 3 hours with your bottomless cups of coffee, taking that table out of commission for me? Or are you going to cram 6 people into a booth, demand every damned accomodation I can give you and complain because you’re in a rush to get to a movie? Well then, I already know you’re going to tip for shit. Those early morning fishermen who eat a $4 breakfast will make up for your stinginess by leaving me a $5. You should thank them.
My parents were terrible teachers when it came to tipping. They made tipping look painful–tipping to the exact amount but often less–for some reason they couldn’t throw that extra dollar or two on the table. Like that amount would change their lives.
As an adult I realized that if I had the money to go out to eat then I could damn well tip. I never leave less than 20% but usually it’s 25%. And I always calculate it on the total before discounts,deals, whatever.
I’m sure I fit the stereotype for some wait staff–I’m a middle aged white woman with kids who occassionally brings her kids, dines with other women or uses coupons. I rarely complain. My children know how to behave in a restaurant (they complain about bad kids at the nearby tables!). I leave the table neat and tidy as possible. AND I always leave a generous tip. If I’m dining with others I usually leave the tip. I hate it when my dining partner(s)are cheap on the tip. I hate the superior attitude. I hate it when they embarrass me by asking for special considerations. I hate the attitude that it’s their meal and their money and they can act however they want.
When I go out to eat I expect it to be a relaxing, enjoyable experience. Complaining and having unrealistic expectations just ruins it. Why do those people even go out? They’re never satisfied!
I saw lesbians mentioned earlier so I wanted to share this. I’m a lesbian AND British and I always tip a minimum of 20%, usually more. I played for a womens full contact football team (at least 75% lesbians) and one particular restaurant would stay open late after games for us (we usually arrived 30 minutes or so before closing, but always with prior notice)partly because of how well we tipped and treated the servers. I agree that gay guys tip REALLY well. My experience with bad tippers has mainly been older people and the church crowd.
In San Francisco, at least, lesbians tended to leave bad tips for everyone except other lesbians, unless the restaurant was owned by a lesbian, in which case they left a little more than usual.
One other thing I consider the tip as part of the cost of the meal. And i try to give it as cash and not on the credit card–wouldn’t bother me if it doesn’t get reported to dear old uncle sam! 😉
If owners paid better wages and thus upped their prices would the bad tippers still go out? I know my mom thinks she’s “saving” when she’s lite on the tip. She figures she can use that to go out another time.
May we be judged and tipped the way we judge and serve.
Pizza joints here give local businesses discounts (up to 50% off) as a means to advertise our good smellin’ foods. We stopped giving one place a discount b/c 1 of their staff would tip the change (72 cents on an $11.28 order) and the other would first try and swindle free pizza then tip only 10%, never mind how much he saved.
I worked the majority of my FOH career in high-end establishments in NYC, NYT 2 and three start rated restaurants. I worked both as a server and a bartender. These were places where you expected the big tips because our level of service was outstanding. That said, I have had a more than a couple of interesting experiences. As for the worst tippers, I can only point to two major categories: Attractive women in groups, and people (especially on Valentine’s or Mother’s Day) who generally don’t eat out or are eating beyond their means. Oh, and rich South Americans. (That’s three!)
The women: Young and attractive in groups, they are out fishing and are there to be seen by rich males. They are generally pissed that they have to pay for themselves. Older and attractive in groups, just out of Bloomingdale’s or Barney’s, do what another poster said — run your ass off, stay late and split the bill.
The inexperienced: Usually reeling from the check and are out of money.
Rich SA a holes: Have an outdated aristocratic self-importance, will snap at you, order pretty much when the kitchen is about to shut down, and parting with a penny for service is against the natural order of things.
Best tippers: Other Service Industry folks and gay men and women. Hands down. And Wiseguys.
Most interesting tip story: Working as a bartender in TriBeCa where we got a lot of the Wall Street crowd in the ’90’s. We used to pour an Uber-expensive Cognac for something like $200 for 1 1/2oz.
One night, we got this trader-type who ordered two. He looked at the bill and asked my partner “How much should I tip?” Restaurant policy was that we weren’t to dictate something like that, plus with the 20% rule, that would have been an $80 tip for pouring two Cognacs. That’s a lot, even to a greedy bartender. So Vinnie told the guy he should tip only what he felt was necessary. The guy said “You sure?” like three times and then left $2.
It was only until I got home that night that I realized what game that guy was playing. He was one of these ballsy traders who was addicted to high stakes. A month later he comes in again. Same order, same song and dance. This time, I cut Vinnie off, looked the guy in the eye and said, “I think 50% of the bill would be fair.” I could have gotten fired for doing that had it gone sour, but the guy said, “That’s what I’m talking about. You don’t get what you don’t ask for. Here’s 75%.” So he left $240. Not the best tip I ever had, but easily the most interesting.
You never know though, and in this economy that guy might be applying for my old job right now.
Someone earlier mentioned “who wants bright lighting when they dine?!”. I do. I have poor night vision, and I enjoy seeing the food I’m eating. When a place is dim, it really bothers me. I want regular lighting like I’d have at home, or at least half strength lighting. Also, why is the music in restaurants usually so loud?
Hm, back to tipping. I think the wealthier someone is, the less they tip, generally. My husband will deliver pizza to the trailer parks all night happily, but send him to fancy parts of town and he’s sure to complain. Sometimes they even jip him on the pizza itself, so he’ll *lose* a dollar or two in tips! It’s not that management makes him pay. It’s that they add up his sales, then add up all the money he “has” (it’s not actually in his pocket all night!) at the end of the night, and take the sales. But this also means he gets his credit card and check tips that night.
Loud music during dinner is unacceptable, unless you’re eating in a bar, but so is bright light. Bring a flashlight.
Gamblers. Not the high roller type. I mean the pull-tab and scratch-off addicted idiots who make weekly trips to the Indian casinos.
As a restroom attendant, my customers are all women, and I would have to say it’s a toss-up between black women and Russian women. Not all; some have been very good to me, but for the most part, neither group tips, yet will avail themselves fully to all that I have to offer, therefore actually costing me money.
The worst tippers I encountered when delivering pizzas (and it is the same I heard from my friends who served tables) – those who really are upper class. Those who wanted to pretend they were upper class but really weren’t were great tippers because they were trying to impress. Those who really have a lot of money don’t care if they impress anyone or not, and are generally lousy tippers.
Incidentally, I am a preacher and thus part of the “church crowd” a lot have mentioned. I always tip between 15-20%. It’s a shame others don’t.
Tellya what, I’m not a waiter, but I tip a standard 20-25%. Despite this, I get treated badly at the local diner here in Brooklyn (I’m from the South, and yes, I no longer go to the aforementioned diner). I’d be curious to hear the other side of things, if the Waiter agrees. Perhaps an article like this one where customers explain their tipping practices?
I’m both a waiter and a customer, and I’ll say it again: bad service should mean a bad tip, period. Good for you for quitting that diner!
My best and worst tippers have changed over the 15 years and many levels of dining establishments I have worked in. Back in the place my 16 year old self worked in that had both table service and a drive-thru, I (a white teenage girl), had a co-worker (a black teenage girl) BEG me to swap our new tables. My table posessed an elderly white couple, hers a twenty-something, upper middle class looking black couple. Seriously? I agreed, and my tip was folding money, while hers jangled.
In a four diamond restaurant years later, I had the pleasure of having Brits with sunny dispositions, impressive food and wine knowlege (7 year old kids ordering foie gras? Sweet!), leaving $500 on a $495 bill.
Back in the lower end day, yes, church folk were the worst…and who can get the friggin soup hot enough for the asbestos-lined elderly tongues?
High class places, it’s the ladies I watch out for. Thank god the last place I worked had a computer system that could split checks painlessly- which you WANT to do for ladies- so they couldn’t pretend to mess up the math or forget about tax.
Men in suits are some of the rudest and most lucrative! They COMPLETELY ignore you when you approach your table just to DO YOUR FRIGGIN JOB the way your employer expects you to. I’m pretty sure it is part of proper business dinner etiquette to be a dismissive dick. Know what? I couldn’t care less, so long as management isn’t on my ass about turning the table. I have actually been thanked for completely ignoring guys for well over an hour. They argue about the check, they defer the whole meal to some dude who isn’t even paying, they buy big wine, they tip rediculous to show off.
I’m gonna send eighty church tracts in lieu of a check to the electric company now. They will appreciate it in the long run. Maybe I’ll just pray for the church lady’s eggs to be over easy.
thank you Jeff for pointing out that as a percentage of the total the tip percentage does not need to increase to keep up with inflation
Where I worked, we could generally foretell the tip we were going to get by the salad dressing they ordered. If they ordered blue cheese or the house dressing, we could expect 20%. If the ordered 1000 Island, 10% or less.
I worked in a resort town and found “Car Cruisers” (those that restore old cars and take them to events) were horrid tippers. Bikers and guys from South Jersey were awesome tippers.
The church crowd and devout Christians were the worst tippers, and were, more often than not, condescending in their dealings with me.
The Alcoholics Anonymous were good tippers and by far the kindest class of people I served.
I would have to say that the best tippers were truck drivers when I worked at a truck stop. The ones that hit on me a lot were the best tippers and if I teased them about it in front of their buddies I got really big tips. I guess it was entertainment for them. I mainly worked in the kitchen cooking.
I work for a well known IT company and I eat out more often now but I still have it fresh in my mind when I worked the kitchen or the dinning room.
Not sure if it makes you all feel just a little bit better but my Pastor of a big church and other pastors have made a point to do sermons encouraging church goers not to go out to eat, get gas or do anything that required anyone to help them out. I know guys who are well off but didnt dress like it. On the Holidays they would eat out at several places and pick one of the staff who REALLY needs it and give them a huge tip Sometimes $500 then race out of there. These people have encouraged others to call you all by name and to quit pretending you are not there.
Pastors have even spit from the pulput, lashed out at church goers for asking employees, “Why arent you at Church today?” The pastors have said, “If you would quit running errands and eating out after Church, they wouldnt have to work” Some people just dont listen or act like going to Church is their good deed for the week. Which is wrong. 🙂 Its about always trying to be a good person, but failing cuz they are human. Contacting the pastor is a good way to point this stuff out to them. They are always looking for material for the next sermon. Yes they need to have than sermon more often. 🙂
I always hate it when the people I am with are mean or have their nose up in the air. I feel like telling the people at my table, “shut up! They are spitting in my food as I speak.” lol
If the guy is a jerk to you, the guy ain’t getting laid. hee hee! Same if the girl is rude. Chances are the guy wont stick around. First dates take place where you work and I look to see how he treats the wait staff, if he is nice then talks mean when you leave the table, he is soooooo not getting a call back!
I hate it when I am on a date and the guy is rude or is a terrible tipper. They cant interact with the server very well, or are fake about it to try and impress me. Or insist Im their princess and they should send something back to the kitchen so they can show off. They have no people skills and not the kind of guy I will call back. Keep that in mind when you see a new couple.
At Mexican places, my mother will act like she knows spanish when she soooooo does not, and acts like she is better than them. I look at the server and tell them “Lo Siento” I get so embaressed. I know you all dont get paid much and when they tip so little I have to explain, you all make below minimum wage. The server might be a single mom, a college student, or a single dad who gives half his check to the ex wife. I put extra money out. I never put the tip on my credit card.
“As a middle aged Canadian woman, I find the stereotypes mildly annoying. However, I am a good tipper (20-25%) but still resent it. Why can’t the restaurant owner pay decent wages like any other industry? I worked hard my whole life and never ever got a tip, yet restaurant owners expect us to pay for our meals and their employees on top (it should be included in the price of the meal). I also tip my hairdresser generously while she is overcharging me the whole time”.
Not all industries “pay decent wages”. There are millions of salespeople who work only on commission (and a tip is more similar to a sales commission than the average person will admit). Why do people pull out this old saw? Why don’t they realize how expensive their menu prices would be if “the employer paid the full wage”? And why, oh why, would they want to lose the ability to reward or penalize good service without being automatically charged even when the service sucked (or have to beg to have something taken off their bill)? It’s just insane and the case of cutting off the nose to spite the face.
I’d say that the only time your hairdresser is “overcharging you” is when you have no idea how much you’re paying ahead of time. BTW, how much is “looking good” worth to you? If you’re willing to pay the price to have your own hairdresser (which is how it seems since you talk about “my hairdresser”), then, almost by definition, you can’t be being overcharged because there are plenty of cheap alternatives. There’s probably a good reason why you aren’t going to a bargain basement hairdresser, right?
Teleburst, “Why don’t they realize how expensive their menu prices would be if “the employer paid the full wage”?”
Many of us do realize how expensive it would be, and would welcome the change. Ideally, it would be the current price, plus 18%-20% to make up to the servers et al. who would not be receiving a tip, but in reality, it would probably be more (some folks are wicked, and will take advantage whenever they can). I’d still prefer it.
“And why, oh why, would they want to lose the ability to reward or penalize good service without being automatically charged even when the service sucked (or have to beg to have something taken off their bill)? ”
Because some of us just hate doing performance reviews, especially for free after a relaxing meal. We don’t have to do them in department stores, and we like that a lot. (Also, why would we want to penalize good service – that seems odd.)
We won’t beg – we are a proud people. We just won’t patronize establishments where the service sucks.
Higher menu prices would mean fewer restaurants could stay afloat, and you’d be stuck with nowhere to eat out but shitty corporate chains that cut costs on everything.
I am a stylist, and I’ve unfortunately found that the elderly customers are the worst tippers. You do the most work on most of them, teasing the heck out of the 4 hairs they have left to make them look like they still have hair. Perming their hair with super tiny rods that you can barely get your fingers around. And then they tip you a dollar! I have younger clients that tip me 10 or 15 dollars on a haircut… and the older customers act like the dollar is SO much more than you deserve to get! I’m grateful to have a job during these trying times. But it feels good to get it off my chest! Thanks!
Grace (Line 21) If you thought waiting tables was mindless, you either worked at a crappy restaurant or you were a crappy waitress. Serving food is more mentally and physically taxing than 95% of the jobs out there. It takes monumental abilities to multitask, educate, communicate and market (all while keeping a freakin’ smile on your face). If you work in a high end restaurant (I’m pretty sure you didn’t), it takes a considerable amount of knowledge of food, wine and service. Most people are incapable of it (including a lot of servers).
By the way, I forgot to mention Alabamans earlier. Unfortunately, Alabama is only an hour and a half away from New Orleans. To the best of my memory, I have never once received a decent tip from an Alabaman. 5-10% is the norm.
Thanks I was very offended by what grace said.
I have spent many years working in restaurants. I still work in the business part-time for extra money. I have learned never to judge a customer by their appearance. For example, I always enjoyed waiting on bikers.
They came in with their long hair, leather pants, and motorcycle gear. Although they always looked rough, they were always polite to me and generous when it came to tipping.
On the other hand, I found well-dressed men to often be snooty and tip under 15%. People don’t realize how hard servers work for their tips. It’s wonderful that your blog and book are educating people about the service industry and how hard these people work to make a living.
Peace, WG
One English couple asked me flat-out how tipping worked because it made them nervous- they didn’t want anything bad to happen. I told them that the standard varied between 15 and 20% depending on who you talked to (and there’s a guideline on the bottom of the check that says 15% for good, 20% for excellent), and they nodded, thanked me, and left 10%. I don’t understand.
I used to work as a beer cart driver at a public golf course. A typical day would begin with somewhat stingy old timers early on, move into very generously tipping middle aged white dudes around lunch time, then taper off with cheap but consistant Koreans at later twilight special times. As it was a golf course, most of my customers were men, and the woman golfers I encountered typically did not tip as well as the men did. Of all my customers, korean women were almost the worst tippers, second only to adolescents.
As far as foreigners go, I’ve had decent tips from british, italian, japanese, south american, and especially german people and not so good tips from the irish, indians and the aforementioned koreans. However these are gross generalizations as I have had some very good tipping koreans and have gotten nothing from white guys. Honestly I found that the economy, the weather, the time of day, the day of the week, the B.A.C. of the individual, whether or not the individual had a y chromosome, and the neckline of my shirt all had a much greater overall influence on my tips than just the race of the person.
Well I think it works the other way too. I can tell what waiter will be good by how they are dressed and how they carry themselves. The worst waitress I have ever had by far was a middle-aged dyed-blonde woman who spent way too much trying to be prettier than she was ever gonna be. It was New Year’s in a decent NYC restaurant (I know New Year’s is amateur night but I tip a minimum 20% after tax, after wine, the whole nine). I had just given her back the check holder thingy with my 20% on a tab of $200 and she gave me the most condescending little nod as if to say ‘good boy. well done! here’s a bone little doggy!’. If I hadn’t been pretty far in the tank, it might have ruined my night. It certainly left a bad taste in my mouth.
Best waiters by far are working class, slightly slovenly, the ‘salt-of-the-earth’ kind who despite being jibbed two seconds before, still give you a smile and great service. They’re the type of people who take everyone one at a time. I love to tip these guys above and beyond, they are the glue of society. Another great waitress I had was an elderly mexican lady who made me feel sorry for her. she totally succeeded in pushing the little old lady ‘feel-sorry-for-me’ button (and i’m a jaded paranoid guy, i pass by homeless people every day of the week). She was a master at that. Sometimes I think women are far more advanced than men, like just WAY ahead to the point that men are lucky women have emotions to keep them in check from just running all over us men. I live in NYC and damn that Mexican broad just worked people all over the show. She emptied my pockets!
Jeff Lichtmann: Let’s talk theoretically here. If the menu prices go up $5.00 per entree, and you have 4 guests at one table, then you stand the chance of only making an extra $3.00. Most menu prices don’t go up that much. I don’t consider an extra $3.00 per table keeping up with inflation.
Vasil: I said, MOST not all. So if you work in a place that has 20 servers, and 11 of them are lazy, etc., than that’s most, not all. As far as the “Church People” go, many here have answered that question. You see them in their finery and church clothes. I’m not Christian, so I really hate those Christian fliers they leave behind. Here’s your tip: Believe in Jesus and you will be saved. I wonder if Jesus will save me from my creditors?
How about the ladies from the Red Hat Society? Any one had to deal with them?? Split checks all the way around. Or the woman’s book clubs? They’re really special.
Having recently spent a month in Auz, I surveyed what the server’s were making. Anywhere from $14.54 to $25.00@hr. The worst service I have every experienced was in Auz. Ate in fine establishments to pubs.(Love the pubs though as they had the best food)…Got my own sugar, utensils, napkins, soda from the soda gun, and even cleared my own tables. In one hotel restaurant, I had to teach the cook how to make a lemon-butter sauce that was on the menu for fish. It was stupid. They were getting paid mainly for doing nothing, all over Auz.
nyc diner: the question was who are the worse tippers. saying who is a good waiter or not based on looks its shameful . YOU should always remember that THAT waitress/er could have got a BETTER CUSTOMER/TIPPER than you instead .Someone who would not have judged her by looks or even efficiency but only the fact that is another human working under his or her service.
isnt the servise wage regulated by the goverment? or each state? or city even? i heard minimum wage in san francisco was 8 dollars an hour. I wouldnt mind 15% tips for that
The worst tippers in my experience are Indian, they want veggie meals and tip $2 on a $50 bill. I treat all walks of life the same. I think they tip so poor because they come from a Class system in India, well this is America and they can go back to where they are from if they can’t learn how to treat their new fellow Americans if they are living here. Also, Church folks, a Payer card is not a TIP, don’t leave them they are a waste of paper that get thrown away.
I bought groceries today and the guy behind the counter not only scanned my items but also helped to bag them.
Should this person be tipped? Do waiters feel bad that these hard working people don’t get tipped?
You make me sick Moe! What part of ‘we make 2.13 an hour do you not understand?” I sincerely hope you have to serve one day! The grocery bagger makes minimum wage at the least and I still tip him!
Southern white ladies in large groups. They always order water and share meals claiming they don’t eat much while flagging me down for more bread. If they came from church it’s even worse. Plus if you’re a female they’ll treat you like a slave.
As for the Canadian server who thinks the Brits are worse that canadians… Not so much. They both tip about the same (10%) but the canadians still have a bit of that obnoxious arrogance that Americans have while the British are lovely to wait on. If only they could tip approriately they would be perfect. They enjoy a nice drink ( and let’s face it servers, we live drinkers) and rarely get upset. Cheers!!
And just a note to Grace (somewhere in the middle of this page) who claims to be an ex waitress but thinks expecting a tip above 15% is ” ludicrous” and management should pay us a wage, where do you come from? If the restaurant pays us more they’re going to have to pass the buck onto you anyway by hiking up the prices of the food and drinks. I have to wonder what kind if waitress you were if you never expected a nice tip. While I understand what you mean when say that waiting tables is “mindless”, I think anyone who has worked as a server for more than one month will understand that it fucks with your mind. I work at an extremely busy restaurant in Times Square and sometimes I get home and I am so mentally and physically tired I don’t want to leave the couch or have any human contact for a good 15 hours. That’s not normal behavior. I expect 20% because I know I’m a good server, and I deserve it.
I’m a Canadian server working in an Asian neighbourhood.. and find that while the Chinese residents are cheap.. they are almost exactly on the 10% mark all the time (ie if the bill is 31.25 they will leave 3.12) so at least i can rely on that tip. And I don’t worry much about foreigners from countries where you don’t tip, I just suck it up for that one table per week. The very worst are Indian customers. They KNOW the tipping system and just are cheap and generally leave about $2 no matter what the bill is.
I will speak up for Americans though. I get a lot of American customers working near our city’s airport and hotel area and they generally tip 15-20%.
Oh, the VERY WORST tippers…. teenagers.. they don’t know what’s right or wrong and see nothing wrong with leaving the 37 cent change for their bill as a tip or nothing at all. That is also after each having five drink refills and ordering the cheapest thing on the menu. I actually request a different section if there are reservations for large parties of teens.
Waiter, it’s great to ask who are the lousy tippers. Let’s also ask who make the worst waiters.
Go to another website.
Yay Kris!!!!!
You are exactly right. If Grace thinks anything above 15% is ludicrous, she obviously is lying about being a server, or waited tables in the ’50’s.
I agree- I am a good server and try to do a great job. So I would like to receive 20%.
So if I mess up, I don’t expect 20%-but most people leave that anyway. 🙂
*Complete honesty warning – You’ll probably won’t like this* –I think it depends on your race. Since I am a person of color I know that I will obviously get tipped less than the skinny white girl with long blond hair and blue eyes. But, I also know that because I’m not white, some people do not tip accordingly. For me, the worst tippers are “white trash” i.e. WT, tailor house living, uneducated, non-dentist visiting, welfare dependent…trash. Before I thought the worst tippers were Mexicans or dare I say, “blacks,” but now I know that it’s WT. They’re the worse because they stiff you and then still treat you like a piece of crap. From the WT I’ve waited on, they think because I don’t have white skin they are better than me in every or any way. Um, newsflash… I’m in school getting an education to get a decent job to pay f*cking taxes to pay for your stupid food stamps. So, “white trash” do me a favor and suck on your two teeth and shut the hell up.
How do you know what they think?
P.S. Though blacks make up 13% of the population, they receive 33% of the Food Stamps while whites are 63% of the population and receive just 43% of the Food Stamps. Call it a “hate fact” if you want.
I just dont get when tipping went from 15 to 20 % automagically
A 5 % raise , I cant remember the last time that happened at my job
There are a lot of bad tippers, but the absolute worst is a large party of African-American churgh people. They are just as needy as they are cheep too. It’s like ok, so you want a bowl of lemmons for your water, then I am charging you for a bowl of fruit….. getto lemonade isn’t free mother fucker!
Verbal tippers suck ass too. What are they retarted? I sure as hell can’t call the electric company and tell them “Man, you guys are doing such a great job. I have never had an electrial fire, never an outage (we all no thats bull shit) and every time I flip on a switch the light comes right on. I don’t have any money to pay you this month, but my thanks should be enough!” It would take about an hour for them to shut me off. FUCK VERBAL TIPPERS! I would rather be treated like shit and make money.
I’ve never worked as a waiter, but I managed an ice cream and frozen yogurt shop for a couple of years. I also worked retail for several years. ssdf23 is exactly on: people who feel entitled are the worst. That’s why the range of who are bad tippers varies from region to region and town to town. My old money customers were usually kind, patient and thoughtful. New money? I wanted to drown them all.
People who consider their religion as setting them above others, believe their wealth, race or special snowflakeness entitles them to special treatment are going to be bad tippers and petty, annoying, even abusive customers.
I’m a middle aged woman who tips 20-25% and has left 50% for above and beyond. One waitress at a restaurant near my work (unfortunately, she has since left) knew me and she would arrange for me to fed and out the door in under 25 minutes if I told her I was in a hurry. She got 30-35% every time.
In California, waitstaff are paid minimum wage, but it’s pretty much impossible here to live on that. From what I’ve seen traveling, food is not that more expensive here. It really doesn’t add up to that much more to pay staff minimum wage if you’ve got a decently busy restaurant. The real criminals in this mess are restaurant owners who grab every available penny for themselves and the legislators who kiss their asses.
I think the 15% versus 20% has to do with region. I’ve worked in restaurants in the Midwest, and I also ask at my favorite places. 15% is a good tip in the Midwest. The cost of living is lower for all, and the minimum wage tends to be better for servers than elsewhere. Also, there are very few places out here that have things like food runners and bussers. The waiter isn’t going to have to split the tip.
The coasts, of course, are a strange strange place of high cost of living and low wages for the service industry.
So, 15% in the Midwest (I don’t know for sure about other non-coastal), 20% on the coasts. Of course, I generally tip 20% where I live simply because my servers are great.
P.S. Claiming the tip percentage should go up due to inflation is very poor logic, never mind the bad math involved.
Being in Nebraska, let me just say that I hope your silly justification for your cheapness works for you. I worked for years on the West Coast, where my wage was 2 to 3 times higher than it is here.
Tourists. (Non-metropolitan and european are the worst. Especially the British!). I don’t care what your own tipping practices are. When you come to NYC you tip your waiter 20% for good service, and your coat check person AT LEAST 1$ per ITEM (no only per ticket). Why are so many people ridiculously cheap when it comes to coat check? Most high end restaurants don’t have a station. Guests should know that the coat check people depend on tips as much as the servers.
I am a server and I have noticed that sleazy, flirtatious men in groups of 2 or more tip poorly. They speak somewhat condescendingly, ask if I have a boyfriend, follow up with something along the lines of “he doesn’t deserve you…”, and then stick it to me with a 12% tip. And I HATE to say this, but they tend to be from the middle east. Some other bad tippers are women who pay/sign the credit card slip while dining with their husbands, groups of homely middle-aged women, and college kids who have never had to work. I work by a private university and we get large groups of 21 year olds who order expensive wine, etc. and tip nowhere near 20%.
I TRY not to judge people when they walk in the restaurant, because there is always the table who you never thought would tip well and they end up making your night. Seriously though…I despise being a server.
Marsha Marsha Marsha wrote:
“Teleburst, “Why don’t they realize how expensive their menu prices would be if “the employer paid the full wage”?”
Many of us do realize how expensive it would be, and would welcome the change. Ideally, it would be the current price, plus 18%-20% to make up to the servers et al. who would not be receiving a tip, but in reality, it would probably be more (some folks are wicked, and will take advantage whenever they can). I’d still prefer it”.
See, that’s where you wrong. It would be more like 30% more due to the economics of the restaurant. Do the math. Because we have to cater to your every whim and we never know exactly how many of you are going to come in, restaurants must automtically overstaff. To pay me my current $25 an hour (I’m in a high-end restaurant but it works for those who make the more average $15 an hour as well), the restaurant is going to have to pay me $22.87 an hour because I make 2.13/hr. Now multiply that by 10 – 15 other servers (depending on whether we have private parties), and then consider the bartenders who probably make more like $35 an hour currently and will have to be paid around $30 an hour for their services. Then there are the $12 – 15 an hour server assistants that you’re going to have to pay an extra $10 (more like $10 – 12 in more modest places). Then look at the balance sheets of the typical restaurant. In a restaurant of $6mil as the one that I work at is, you’d be paying out EASILY well over an additional $500,000 – 600,000/yr over what’s being paid now.
Need a concrete, real world example? When Per Se went to an included service charge of 20%, prices went from $175 to $275 within a couple of years. It didn’t go up to just $210, which is what adding 20% would have been. It went up an extra $65 ON TOP of the service charge. That’s 35% right there and then you have to add the 20% as well. that’s more than the average rise in menu costs would be because they were also paying the chefs more out of that pie. But menu prices would rise AT LEAST 30% if you took away tipping (if servers weren’t to get a pay cut – if you think that we are overpaid, that’s a different issue entirely – currently, we’re paid exactly what the market will bear).
“And why, oh why, would they want to lose the ability to reward or penalize good service without being automatically charged even when the service sucked (or have to beg to have something taken off their bill)? ”
Because some of us just hate doing performance reviews, especially for free after a relaxing meal”.
So aren’t you still going to judge the quality of theservice? I would think so, considering how judgmental some of you folks are (and how judgmental YOU yourself sound). I guess you’re going to be OK paying what you have to pay even if the server sucks. Right.
“We don’t have to do them in department stores”,
If only I could actually GET service in a department store. Do you really want to use department stores as some sort of standard?
“and we like that a lot”.
Wow. That’s about all I can say. heck, most of the time, when I go to a deaprtment store, I don’t even NEED any service, but let me try to get some product information about that “organic soap” or is this shoe made in a sweatshop in China. Hell, some of the time, you can’t even trust the answers you get when trying to buy a big ticket item like a TV or a dishwasher, unless you go to a big box store that specializes in them. Try getting a good answer at Target about a flat screen TV 9assuming that you can even FIND someone).
“(Also, why would we want to penalize good service – that seems odd.)”
I have no idea what this means. Of course you shouldn’t penalize good service.
“We won’t beg – we are a proud people”.
As am I. I’m proud of my service and I expect for you to reward me properly. If I screw up, then dock me. If I give you a great experience, by all means reward me. Let’s not forget, tipping isn’t a “true gratuity” or a “gift”. From a tax standpoint, a true gratuity or a gift is not taxable up to a certain level. Tips are totally taxable.
“We just won’t patronize establishments where the service sucks”.
Nor should you have to. But you have to ask yourself, which gives the server more motivation – a system where he or she has to earn their money directly from the person to whom they’re giving the service, or a system where they’re going to get paid regardless of the level of their service? Sure, we get screwed on occasion. the thing is, for the vast majority of us, about 95% of guests either tip appropriately or tip generously. The rest either are medicore or bad tippers.
I average right at 19% over the time frame of more than a shift or two. And that’s 19% of post-tax totals, baby. If you go to pre-tax, which is how some people like to tip 9and that’s fine with me), it jumpsto about 21 -22%. And I’m not all that unusual.
Only on the internet do people get wound up about tipping. Most people find it quite routine and some actually enjoy the act itself. It makes them feel good.
Well said! You have summed up the economics perfectly. Avoidance of the simple math and the tax issues involved, like pretending not to know the local tipping custom, is a form of “willful ignoral” people use to justify their petty stinginess.
I’m not surprised that Aussies feature frequently in these comments. The only reason I know to research the tipping practises while abroad is because of this blog. It’s not necessarily something we would normally think about.
It certainly doesn’t help when some establishments have the gratuity built-in to the bill. Are we to then assume that all eateries do the same?
It’s these inconsistencies that will cause a waiter to be burned by an ill-informed tourist, rather than deliberate stinginess.
We Aussies can be a generous bunch when we’re not confused!
Steve, it sounds like you need a holiday. Come to Melbourne for a couple of weeks and I’ll buy you dinner!
Confused my ass. It’s hard to Google something (or simply ask a local) if the answer might affect your pocketbook, isn’t it?
danish people…
for delivery drivers: African Americans, people from the ghetto section of town, Asians on the college campus.
Accountants!
It was a tossup between blacks and church people. Blacks don’t tip and church people think a tract is a tip.
Interestingly enough, I also spent 5 years working the front desk/switchboard at a local tv affiliate and I have to say the religious people were the top of the list of the worst callers I had to deal with there too.
Older women. Not only do they leave bad tips, but they leave it in the amount of coins. They also have to calculate everything and make sure that they tip an exact amount. God forbid if they round up on a tip. They’re the neediest people and just horrible. I have had some likable little old women at my tables before, but I mostly do not get good tips from them.
I’ve waited tables at a fine dining restaurant for over five years, and I would say generally the worst tippers tend to be black people and also foreigners. Older Jewish people may sometimes be demanding, but they always tip 20%. Best tippers I would say are upper middle class couples, and also younger people as well. They tend to drink and spend more $ too.
1. Black people
2. Foreign women
First of all, let me state I am a black. And a woman before a bunch of the brothers and feminists want to start a cyber attack: So I’m gonna say it: BLACK PEOPLE SUCK AT TIPPING! Yeah, I said it. In fact, I’m always the one server who doesn’t want to serve them and considering I’ve been almost always the only black server in most of the bars and restaurants that I’ve worked at, the other servers don’t know wether to laugh or cry. But I digress. I think we’re getting better at tipping but we still have a long way to go. And LESBIANS! Holy crap, I don’t get it. Maybe its because women typically get paid less than men in America and this only becomes worse when the two incomes combined are both from women? I don’t even know anymore. I quit the service industry three months ago after four long hellish years. Damn me if I ever go back.
Don’t blame the mythical “wage gap” – lesbians (and women in general, in my experience) tend to tip less because they seem to feel like the world owes them something, IMHO.
I worked a sunday lunch once and i had a party of 12 or 15. They all ordered water and shared ONE dessert. No tip. I’m not gonna say what ethnicity they were, but I can tell that they just came from church.
I work in am upscale Italian restaurant in Bucks County, PA and in my experience the worst tippers are: Doctors, Lawyers, Business men using their corporate credit cards (GE employees to be more specific), Teachers and women. As for, Black people they are not all bad, I have gotten some really good tips from them.
I feel like I need to go back to the business men with corporate credit cards, if their company won’t let them tip more than 15% these guys really need to reach into their own pockets and tip to make up the difference. It’s not like you didn’t just eat for free anyway.
I live in a fairly small town, maybe 35,000. I moved from a big city, 900,000.
there, the worst tippers were nurses. in this small town, it’s a bit different. but noone really stood out as the worst tippers.
I would agree with most comments here.
no offense intended but the worst tippers in this town are African Americans. then white trash.
it gets pretty ridiculous.
but I think it also is going to depend on where you live. and there are always those crazy exceptions that surprise you. 😉
Rahul,
Assuming that the waiter makes none of their income through their hourly wage (a plausible assumption in some states,) tipping 20% on the bill instead of 15 percent would constitute a 33% wage increase, not a 5% wage increase.
E.g, If the waiter received a $10 on a $66 bill (10%), they would receive a $13 tip on the same bill at 20% (do the math, if you don’t believe me.)
With that said, I don’t agree that it’s ‘a wage increase.’ For it to be ‘33% wage increase’ as described earlier, it would require that every patron increase the size of their tip by said amount. As aptly illustrated above, many, many patrons still tip well below the 20% mark.
For what it’s worth: I have received a 33% wage increase on several occasions.
Regarding other posters who suggest we should eliminate tipping:
My experience dining in London was that the food generally cost more, which strongly offset the savings of not having to leave a tip. However, because the servers are not directly incentivised to provide the service by means of a gratuity, the quality of service wasn’t quite what I had come to expect from living here in the United States.
I would be *very* interested in hearing stories from other patrons who have spent a lot of time in countries where the waiters do not rely on gratuities.
‘You should be paid a living wage’ comes off as a cop out from people who begrudgingly leave a gratuity. Realize, the waiters are ultimately paid by the patrons, whether that money comes in the form of a gratuity, or through menu prices. If the gratuity system were eliminated, the wages would not end up being paid out of the resturaunt owner’s profits, if for no other reason that a large number of restaurants don’t make enough money to be able to pay those wages out of their existing profit margins.
Tipping is part of dining out. Budget for it when you read the menu.
I used to live in Tokyo, where tipping is unacceptable, and I got consistently the best service there that I have gotten anywhere I’ve been in the world (only four countries, including the US). In collectivist Japan shame and pride are primary motivators, unlike in the individualist West, where personal gain trends to hold most weight.
*tends*
also.
I would also rather be treated badly and tipped well. I don’t care about getting my feelings hurt. I’m at work to make money. end of story. tip me well, I won’t care how you treat me.
of course, this goes to a certain extent, but you get the point.
third comment. I know, right?
Moe, I don’t think baggers should be tipped, personally. they make minimum wage. we, servers, make a mere 2.13. wtf.
Definitely teenagers and Church-goers. I once had a nice man and his girlfriend come in with a nametag from the local methodist church. I gave him the best service I have ever given anyone. When I saw that he had left me 10% on a 34 dollar tab I was mad. Then I read the note he wrote on the back. It said and I quote, “The service was excellent, better than I have ever received, but I only give God 10% so……” Yeah but you give God 10% of your salary, not lunch. It made me really mad and everytime he sat in my section I would make it a point to give him 10% worth of service.
I have worked for years at a restaurant in the deep south. i notice that most non-tippers share common characteristics nationwide. I will say that in my town the worst tippers as a demographic tend to be african americans, depending on what time at night people come in has an impact as well. the later people (all people, not just black or white or whatever) come the more rude and less they seem to tip. (we stay open past midnight.)
as far a the church crowd goes, i have noticed they dont tip well either. I attend church regularly and was frankly quite disappointed when i discovered this. i do the best i can to help counter this with my tipping.
anybody who wants fried foods. anybody who has a coupon. anybody who begs for more bread and water.
Groups of women, Scandinavians and people who overcompensate with compliments. When people tell you they’ve had a perfect evening, with fantastic service and the best food they’ve ever had. And thank you for your wonderful wine choices, really really excellent work all around, etc etc. Yeah that’s code for I’m totally going to “forget” to tip you…
The worst tippers I have found is black women. They nit pic all during the meal, disect the check, and most dont tip. The best are the gay men and women. Just treat them normally and the tips are great.
butch lesbians never tip me well. i have nothing against anyone, really don’t give a shit ’bout ur personal life but they seem to not want to give me money. and what makes me laugh is that half the shit they drink is owned by people who don’t support them. *shrug* sorry i ain’t butch.
I’ve put a few days of thought into my answer.
I’ve been serving for 6 years and have been in the industry for 8. I am a college student living in southern California. I love to serve and I take pride in my work. This is what I have put together from my own personal experience. As always, there are exceptions to every rule. That being said, these are the groups who frequently tip significantly below average:
–People with the black titanium mastercards.
–Black people (I would love to be proven wrong- just once even)
–Mexicans- all Mexicans (and I’m not referring to Mexican Americans)
–Rich white women at lunch *(not at dinner)
–Men from Israel (and they are SO rude!)
–“Entitled” children/young adults (leaves Ferrari keys on table next to their iPhone)
–Foreign Asian women. The older they are the worse the tip gets. This is funny because Asian men, especially those out with families, tend to tip well.
–High School Prom/Formal groups (if non-gratuity)
–Sunday brunch crowd (but at least it’s only on Sunday’s)
–Red Hat Society women.
–“Regulars” who either dine alone or are a married couple.
–Anybody using a corporate business card.
And this last one is kind of strange:
–Somebody who boldly states “Oh I understand, I’m a server too,” (or a similar quote) when it doesn’t come up comfortably or in a natural conversation.
You are SO RIGHT!! Only I would group anyone raised by Mexicans (American or Not) to be sh***y tippers, This year at Valentine’s I had a Mexican American couple running out on their tab, I caught them in the doorway and then he tried to say he left a 50$ bill on a 23.00 tab…. LIAR and this kind of thing happens mostly with White Trash, and Mexicans! PS: I AM A WHITE GUY, but don’t have any problems with races, I have lived all over New England, Texas, SoCal, Colorado and 6 Southern cities including MIAMI(highly latino). Also Spent my teenage years in Europe. So I love all cultures and races, but the resistance to tip or even pay a tab at a RESTAURANT is beyond my understanding!
As a Canadian, the worst for me is Americans because they will leave a US dollar and grin at me like it’s a fifty dollar bill. Our dollar isn’t that weak anymore!
As for travelling to the States and tipping, I know a lot of people don’t realize how little American servers make. As a waitress (in an establishment that doesn’t serve alcohol – it’s like a truck stop type restaurant) I make $9.50 and hour, plus tips and we choose how much in tips we declare on our taxes. However, living as close to the US border that we do, most people I know are aware of the low wages servers recieve.
Another bad group is the Sunday church crowd. They are the most demanding, act like they’re our best customers because they show up every week and we should be honoured just to serve them.
Not far behind is the regulars that have “just a cup of coffee” and the 20 free refills that go with it, then leave me a quarter. Sure, it’s 15% but I’ve done more running for them, than tables that eat a full meal!
Worst? Those from India, many old people, and teenagers. God, the teenagers. VERY high maintenance and you will be lucky to get a dollar out of them. We all cuss when they are in our section.
Many of my fellow servers gripe when we see blacks sit in our section because they are SO picky about their food and will run your arse off, but I have found (after 11 years waiting tables) that as a whole, their tipping has improved.
lennysgurl are you saying that so as long as the tip brings a server’s wages up to the minimum wage that would be sufficient in your eyes?
Sounds like you think an 8 dollar tip for an hour long meal is enough.
If not what is your rationale for not tipping the people who scan and bag your groceries?
To answer your question, I am probably the worst tipper you will ever find.
The only tips I leave are the coins which are too much effort to put back in my wallet.
I agree with Jeff. BTW- My customers NEVER see me angry or mean. Yesterday a man-an ele. engineer no less, was eating at one of my tables. I spoiled him as he was working off his laptop while he kept the table for an hour.
He left me a $1 tip and a tract about Anger!
wtf?
@Moe –
The distinction between a bagger making minimum wage ($7.25) and a server making minimum wage ($2.13) is that the employer is paying the bagger’s salary, but the customer is paying the server’s salary. While any tip is ultimately voluntary, when you are giving a tip to someone who already makes what the federal government considers to be a living wage, you are saying “you did an exceptional job and I want to give you exceptional thanks.” When you give a tip to a server, you are only doing what the federal government, the employer, and the server expect you to do. You are saying “you did your job, you deserve to be paid something.” You can certainly say “you did it poorly” by leaving 10% or “you did it very well” by leaving 25%, but the fact is that you are expected to do it. The minimum wage for servers wouldn’t be so pathetically abysmal if you weren’t expected by every person in our country to *at least* make up the difference.
And this leads me to my theory: I have wondered why the acceptable percentage to tip has gone up so quickly recently. I remember when 10% was an okay tip. Then %15 percent was the standard. Now 18% is kind of the default for decent service. People are quick to dismiss inflation as the reason, but after some thought, it makes sense to me, especially in cheaper, high-volume restaurants. Bear with me: Since I started as a server in 2001, the federal minimum wage has gone from $5.15 to $7.25, which is an increase of about 40%. The minimum wage for servers has stayed the same, $2.13/hour. The prices in my restaurant have stayed the same, or even gone down for some “special” menu items in the last year or so because of the struggling economy and the desire to keep people eating out. So, where is the difference in server’s wages coming from? Not from federal minimum wage, not from increased food costs…so it must be from the customer — the *real* employers of the servers. The percentage of the bill that the tip comprises would have gone up to cover that difference.
Now, I would be all for the federal government upping the server minimum wage (and actual minimum wage) to a realistic living wage, such as $10/hour (here in the Midwest, anyway). After that, tips would truly be voluntary, instead of just per se voluntary. That way, I could decide which tables I want to be nice to. Since the half-senile retirees are never going to tip me anyway, I might as well ignore them completely and treat the nice 20-something couple exceptionally well and hope for a little money to come my way for the effort. I could be free to judge all of my customers by their looks and sneer openly at the ones that I didn’t like. I would never again have to smile and laugh at the inappropriate comments from some old lech or run and get 2 more sides of butter for an obese troglodyte. Yes, I think that would be a good idea. Anyone want to help me get the ball rolling on that one?
Rofl!
@Moe again…
Oh, and I don’t know about anyone else, but if I only had to take one table an hour and they were guranteed to give me $8, I would be super thrilled by that. They would get the best service ever. Instead, I have 4-12 tables/hour and they leave me religious tracts, messes to clean up, and pocket change. Sweet deal.
Pig farmers. You can tell they are pig farmers by the smell and what is living on their boots. Europeans would be a distant second.
During university I ineptly waited tables at a busy mid-range restaurant for all of two weeks (they fired my incompetent ass), and went on to “waitress” at a touristy tea hall in Niagara-on-the-Lake. In actual fact I artlessly served surprisingly good tea, questionable sandwiches, so-so meat pies and frozen baked goods such as scones, pie and fruit bread. Perhaps I was too excited by my tips to notice any trends other than said tippers being bipedal and exceedingly kind. These experiences taught me to tip 20 per cent or greater for decent to good service, and just a smidge less for inferior service.
Excuse the slight digression, but two weeks ago I was the victim of a hideously botched hair cut. The stylist (who was over 40 minutes late) cut off more than three inches when I asked for a half-inch trim, and completely screwed up the ends. I had brought a picture, clearly explained what I wanted, and he still botched the job. I was so upset that I was almost in shock. Yes, hair grows back, but as a 45 year-old woman I’m proud of my thick, wavy, naturally-colored auburn locks. Knowing I was upset he offered to fix my ends, yet that would have meant losing another inch or two of length. Here’s the bit that might interest your readers – when paying my bill I still tipped the guy 20 per cent.
Tipping is just part of the deal, even if you’re not happy with the service. Even a (somewhat well-preserved) middle-aged Canadian woman knows that. Everyone has off days, and unlike administrative staff hidden behind cubicle/office walls, people in the service industry have to smile despite having sick children, dying family members or any number of personal tragedies to deal with. Cut them some slack. If your experience is incredibly bad, tactfully inform the management in a diplomatically worded letter or e-mail. The process of writing might cool your temper, which can only be a good thing.
Love your blog by the by!
Just a diner, not in the industry. However, I am a business traveler, and my company has a 15% limit on tips. Fortunately, I am not required to use my corporate card for meals, so I can tip decently on my own card, and expense the total without breaking out the tip. If I used the company card and the tip showed up on my statement, it would raise flags.
Some may not be so lucky, and may be required to use the company card for all expenses.
The worst tippers are:
1-Foregners
2-Inmigrants
3-Teenagers
4-Jews orthodox
5-Tourist
6-Seniors citizens
7-Students
8-Europeans
9-Rednecks
10-Ethnics groups
11-Church folks
12-goverment workers
13-Farmers
14-Intoxicated customers
15-White collars workers
16-Early birds customers
17-Family with childrens
18-Brunch customers
19-Sport fans
20-Special celebrations
21-Set menues with no service charge
I am an older black woman who until ten years ago tipped poorly as a reflection of the service I received. If I were alone I was mostly ignored by waiters. Good service came with white companions at the table. In the past ten years my policy is to start the restaurant experience with a 20% tip and see if the waiter earns it. The tip is reduced only if the waiter is awful, condescending or neglectful (I still tip for ineptness if they are new). This means I begin my meal in a good mood and dare the waiter to make it otherwise; I am as understanding as he is attentive. I’ve never walked out on check and since I’ve instituted my “it’s-up-to-you-to screw-this-thing-up” policy, I look forward to establishing a relationship with my waiter and enjoying my meal. I like it when they pay attention and pace their inquiries to my progress.
Is there anything worse than a waiter who asks if your meal is OK every five minutes?????
By contrast, my 91 year old aunt refuses to tip anyone, anytime, anywhere and I leave a tip as she is hobbling towards the front door so that she can’t pull it off the table.
It’s interesting to me that you point out you’ve never walked out on a check, as if not being a thief were something to be proud of.
As a waitress, overall, I can’t think of any one group that stands out more than the rest. However, there seems to be a trend with the people that seem slightly agitated and uneasy in social settings giving less than 10%.
I’m guessing they don’t get out enough to know which resturaunts have a gratuity and which ones don’t. Either way. I get the table with the quiet, jumpy, jittery fellow and I know what I’m in for; a customer that doesn’t let me know what they need, allow me to give them the EXTRA in extraoridnary service, and if not a stiff, then a less that standard tip. (Lets hear it for water and a half sized fried chicken salad!)
In regards to all the people saying the church crowd doesnt tip well, I have wonderful experiences with that crowd. I have a giggly, innocent nature and it appeals to them. Most of my coworkers would say the Rodeo (yes, Rodeo) crowd doesn’t tip well, when in all honesty its the server. I don’t get anything less than twenty percent when I wait a Rodeo table. True I’ve probably competed with them at some point, or my Mother has at the least, but that doesn’t seem to make any difference. It’s all in how I present myself. People would be amazed at how much a hair cut, lack of body piercings and/or tattoos, and makeup if you’re a woman, can help your tip out at the end of the night.
Yeah, that’s my experience too: presenting oneself respectably seems lost on many young people in the service industry these days. It’s as if they’re daring people to take offense at their armpit hair, ridiculous “body art,” and the bull-ring dangling from their nose.
Hey Kat (post #1), maybe Canadians were the worst because you “explained the American tipping system” when they were seated in your section. Guess what: the American tipping system is exactly the same as the Canadian tipping system! If you had tried to explain the “American tipping system” to me (a Canadian), I would have been offended and probably left a bad tip too!
The verbal tipper. The guest that thanks you profusely for everything you do for them: refilling their water glass, bringing their entree, smiling at their table. If you get thanked more than four times, best believe you’ll receiving a less than 13% tip.
african americans don’t tip right 80% of the time. idk what it is, do they think they deserve it?
#178 ~ Jackie~ “Is there anything worse than a waiter who asks if your meal is OK every five minutes?????”
Yeah. A server who never comes back. What would you like them to do? That’s their job.
Worst tippers.
Blacks.
Church goers.(Anyone else get the fake $100.00 which is a tract on the other side? That was just cruel.)
Elderly people.
Foreigners.
don’t you hate it when people pay, they have like 8 $100 in their wallet or pocket. they pay with a $100 bill. then tip you shit. wtf. seriously?
Native Americans. Im sorry but we hate it when they are sat in our sections. They come in huge parties and never leave even a penny for a tip, even when you bend over backwards for them. I suppose it is in their culture…we took their land so they feel they dont owe us anything? I dunno, but it sucks.
Oh and I also forgot… THE HIGH SCHOOL CROWD. They come in, order all waters, the cheapest things off the menu (even try to order off the kids menu they are so cheap, have you split the check 10+ ways and then leave you a couple bucks with no thought to what the overall total was…I feel like I lose money when they come to eat (after tip out)
FrequentDiner: Then put some cash down, the server shouldnt have to be punished for your company’s policies. I commend you for using your own card to make up the difference
For Canada (Ontario) waiters:
Just one of the reasons why we tip less (in Ontario) than our American counterparts is that we pay a whooping 13% in taxes for restaurant meals.
As Ontarians, we are accustomed to automatically inflating prices by 13% in our heads when we look at any price tag, so we are expected to pay the socially expected 15-20% on top of the tax. However, it does add up and thus I almost never go over 15%. I do recall visiting BC, and was only taxed 5% on my meals I was a bit giddy and tipped 25% to make up for the provincial tax that I didn’t have to pay.
I usually stay between 12-15%, depending on whatever rounds better. I always thought this was an appreciated percentage but after reading this forum, I’m a bit embarrassed about how many waiters may have sneered at me behind my back. I will do better.
As a waitress in Canada I have had many horrible tips from Americans. I guess they still think that their money is worth soooo much more than ours. So many times I have had them leave exact change in american bills assuming that we will make a buck off of the exchange. To bad we take it at par so more often than not we are left with nothing.
I worked in several chinese restaurants that are more or less only patronized by chinese students wanting an authentic meal. They are the worst tippers. They always pay with a credit card and only round up to the next dollar. Needless to say, I couldn’t afford to work in authentic chinese restaurants anymore.
Well in my experience Black people do not tip… Though i have had a few that have contradicted my theory. Brits are awful, french are evan worse..Rednecks.. well enough said.. can i tell you imbreeds something. just because im a guy waiting tables does’nt make me GAY.And even if i were does that give you permission to treat me like shit?? Your wife did’nt think i was gay when she was riding me cowgirl style last night.
I haven’t waited tables in 20 years but back then the church crowd never tipped, old people left $1 ’cause that was a lot in their time, but the worst were the AA groups.
Not only did the AA groups not tip they always shorted the bill. What pissed me off the most is the manager wouldn’t do anything about it. The new wait staff always got stuck with that group too so if you were low man on the totem pole you knew were serving 40 people and getting nothing.
Finally when that manager was fired for peeking at men in the restroom we got one that had some balls. When the group returned he stopped them at the door and told them they were not welcome and explained why. They were all huffy but you could see it in their eyes, they KNEW they were ripping us off. Bastards.
Oh and to the idiot woman that says she was a waiter SHOULD get paid more well DUH! But I imagine that’s just your excuse for not tipping well, “Well I’m making a statement! I’m proving to the waiter/waitress that they are stupid and should get a better job that pays what it should.” FU lady.
Black people from all varities… “ballers” and professionals.. they will even shake your hand and still leave ten percent.
Also europeans… and from my understanding (at least they have a logical excuse).. its because in europe they make hourly and you tip BEFORE the meal.. either way if you come to america, you should learn the culture. In some states you only make 2.13/hour.
Oh, and I never tip less than 20%. 20% is crappy. I usually tip about 25% or even 50% for a great waiter. And you know what? The next time I go to those places they treat me well. There’s one place I go that will seat my party even if there is a line, pretending I have a reservation, because they KNOW I tip well and am not a dick.
That’s how to roll!
@Redwine: Funny you say drunk people don’t tip well. Those were my favorite customers but in all fairness no one else liked them. I just treated them in my natural convivial way and they were, mostly, the best tippers.
I even took the late shifts on Friday and Saturday at the Steak & Shake because I made a killing those nights. This was over 20 years ago but I could easily pull in $50 to $75 a night. Doesn’t sound like much but back then my rent was only $200 and an average day was maybe $25. My best night was around $150 but it was because one drunk guy who only had coffee tipped me $100.
Being nice pays.
People paying with MasterCards regularly tip significantly less than those paying with any other form. I don’t know what it is, but at soon as I see a MasterCard on the table, I know I’ll get 15% at best.
@Bridget– depends on the MasterCard– I’ve had good luck with the World Perks/ AAdvantage cards, but fairly average tips from people using Discover. The worst? Mexican nationals with black cards.
I’m with Joe L. As a Christian, I once apologized to a fellow-server who was tipped with a million-dollar bill gospel tract. If you can afford the bill, you certainly can’t pull a biblical ‘Silver and gold have I none’ shtick.
Also, “Canadians”. One of my best friends is black but that doesn’t change the facts. I had to follow a professional football player to the parking lot for a $50 tip on a $1,000 tab.
http://spiritualwaiter.blogspot.com/2009/09/dont-forget-to-tip-your-waiter.html
You still can’t beat Sunday afternoons, white, black, Indian, etc.
I’m single and travel alone alot. I tip 20-30%. I’ve been seated near the bathrooms, the kitchen, even next to mops. I rarely complain, but due to health issues I do request special things (no cheese, dressing on the side, etc.) I’ve been ignored, condescended to (oh, honey, what are you doing alone?), and given crappy service consistently. Still, I continue to tip well in the hopes that someone will treat me well.
That’s really sad.. If you are a regular does the service improve?
yes, black people. old ladies who split the check. drives me nuts. i refuse to wait on them. then there are the regulars who get a discount, are rude, and run you ragged. as for teens, yes, never looking forward to that table, but my kids shock the waiters when they eat out w/ their friends. i have always told them never leave less than five and always at least 20%.
Not a waiter and have never been one. I typically tip 20% on the total, partly because it’s really easy to figure out, and because I think that makes me a slightly above average tipper.
I have often wondered if I leave a tip less than 20%, will the waiter recognize that I was unhappy with the service, or will they just think I’m a crappy tipper? Where is the dividing line?
That’s a tough one: if your server’s an asshole he won’t ever wonder if the tip reflected the service; a good server will still wonder, unless he did something obviously wrong, or unless you say something about it.
I think my fellow servers A HUGE DROP in Tip is coming, from now on.why? because of Oprahs comments on the economy being bad so its ok to tip 10%. iF YOU DON’T BELIEVE the influence she has just watch when she recommends anything, their sales skyrocket!!
Who is influenced by oprah and whos gonna be the future “kinds of people that are bad tippers” are her audience and look how long it is…
**Oprah’s audience is predominantly female, white, and over the age of 55. Nationally 7.4 million people watch Oprah daily — about 2.6% of American households. Four percent of American women (about 5.7 million) watch her daily, compared with 1.2% of men (1.7 million people). Overall, 2% of all 18- to 49-year-olds watch Oprah.
@kathy bravo for your generosity but i truly believe if the service is crappy you shouldn’t tip good at all. Now that doesn’t mean don’t be understand when a waiter is busy but as a guest you should be treated with awesome hospitality. Don’t let the incompetent waiter off the hook and let him know what he could have done differently that would have gotten him a better tip. On the flip side if a waiter gives great hospitality they should be rewards 30%plus tip
Hear, hear!
I waited tables in college, so I can relate. That said here are my tipping guidelines, maybe this will help increase your tips.
1) I always start at 20% your actions or lack there of make it go up or down
2) Are you nice, nothing worse then a mean waiter
3) Did you come to my table in the order that we were seated, can be tough but if not sure ask the hostess
4) Did you come to my table soon after we sat down or did we have to wait anything over 10 minutes is bad
5) Do you know the menu, and if you can not answer a question do you ask
6) If it is your job is my water / beverage kept full (sorry but I drink a lot)
7) Did you bring the food hot
8) Did you check back to see if all is ok
9) Did you ask if we would like desert
10 Did you make me wait for the check
Extra credit Did you engage the table, did you bring some bread for the kids, Did you offer a free ap or desert if we are good customers, If I asked you to order for me did you or did you refuse, did you do something to make the meal stand out.
I have been known to tip up to 100% (on a $200 bill) for mind blowing service. If I need to tip under 15% I will ask the manager for a different wait person. Now the surprising part other then my beverage I am a low mantainance customer.
Yes! (except the freebies thing; I have no control over that)
I’ve question to all you folks who’ve said, “Church people and people who talk about how well they tip”:
Do you believe the folks who say, “I’m part of the Christian lunch crowd, but I always tip well”?
lleecarpenter— Does that mean I should start saying “thank you” less? I smile and say thank you a lot, but tip 18 1/2* to 20% generally. Sometimes less or more if the service is out of the ordinary one way or the other. Lately, though, I’ve been tipping 20%, now that I’m employed again.
*18 1/2 is because we sometimes double the tax, which is 9 1/4% around here.
@pmk- Why do people assume I have the ability to give them free stuff (Appetizers, drinks, deserts)??? Do you honestly think the amount of ‘hook-ups’ should affect the tip amount??
I work in a casual greek rest in the burbs of Chicago.
I agree that Church people, especially Black Jehovah’s witness are the worst! There is a huge Kingdom Hall, not to far from the rest and near a very big interchange……. I-55 north to Chicago, south to Danville. They come in big parties, tie up your time. They don’t know what they want, and run our asses off.
Also, they all want to convert me…… You people are really nice. I WORK weekends. I don’t have time for any kind of church!
I had a table that gave me the money for this big check. He acted like a big shot. Maybe, he couldn’t read. He shorted me 15 bucks and NO tip!
I had to pick up the slack. It cost me money to take care of this table!
A white minister and his wife come in. I tactfully approached them. They made up for it and gave me a sweet card.
The other worst tippers in the Chicago area. Real Esatate agents….
They are tieing up the deal, They come in my rest, only order drinks. Tie up my tables during the dinner hour. They leave only change,,,,,,,, gimme a break!
How am I going to make any money if they are ” Lollygagging ?”
Go to Starbucks or Barnes and Noble?
Am I jaded? Maybe I am…….
There was a comment made about a server’s job being mindless??????????
Are you freaking kidding me?
There is multi-tasking going on BIG Time!
This is the scenario………. You have five tables. One table sits down, you need to greet them so, they you are aware of them, so they don’t feel slighted or ignored. I have a table, that needs soup and salad, I have another table that is eating slow,, OK I have time to spare!
Ok, get a bread basket and drinks to hold them for a few!
I have regulars that I know what they need, whatever, let me slip this by and get this out of the way!
I hope this helps!
I agree with many others here, the Sunday Church crowd as a group are among the crappiest of tippers. It is had to describe the hell of having 20 or so members of a church decend upon your section with the members of the same family sitting at different tables and asking for split checks (yeah, the blond haird boy at that table and the woman in the blue flower print dress at that table all are both with me.) all the while occupying your section for 2 hours making sure that the 5 to 10% they average and a tract on how to be saved by Jesus is all you’ll take home that night. One of the reasons I liked working the smoking sections (back in the day when there were smoking sections) was that I never had to deal with these people. Or am I just bitter?
As a bartender, I have noticed Australians are the worst tippers when it comes the bar tab. In addition to their bad tips, they always want to tell you the “correct way” to make a drink. Thanks guys but I know how to make a great old fashioned, the correct way. The other big group I have noticed while working in Boston were the people that probably have like 25% irish blood but yet they “know” the correct and irish way to pour a stout and are very vocal about it. (“Well when I visited the Guinness brewery…”). What happened to trusting someone when it concerns their profession?
Two words: Asian students.
1. Churchies.
2. Canadians. By the way, non-servers may wonder how we know they’re Canadian. They tell us. They always manage to slip it in so they won’t be confused with us ugly Americans. And then they leave 5 on 75…
@Dave (post 193)
I’d like to know where you got your information that we tip BEFORE the meal anywhere in Europe.
oh and on the tipping front best and worst tippers often come from our own industy.
Hooters Girl, actually at a lot of restaurants it is the waitstaff that is able to do just that or they can say to the manager “I have 2 top that is here all the time how about we send a little something over”. Now should it affect your tip, never in a negitive way but yes I do feel that it is ok to tip extra at such times. Also a note to owners that might be looking on, the cheapest thing that you can do to retain customers it to give a freeby every once in a while. Case in point a place that use to go to 3-5 times a week for lunch for more then three years never sent over as much as a free soda, we went to a new place with a friend and liked it so we went back 4 times in a 2 week period. On the 4th visit the owner came over Thanked us for the business. When we asked the waitress for the bill, she said that the owner picked it up. Guess where we go for lunch now. Don’t get me wrong I am not looking for free food, but a little something 2-3 times a year goes a long way. And yes we did tip the waitress 30%
Please shut up!
Reading these makes me laugh! The church crowd is generally terrible tippers, I agree about them thinking they have done their good deed. Or leave church pamphlets. Also, the verbal tip. “What a great server you are!” Wow, thanks. I will take that church pamphlet with me to pay my electric bill, tell them what a good waitress I am, and see how long my heat stays on.
Teachers!!! As a teacher and a server I must say that teachers are horrible tippers. I am embarrassed to go out with my teacher friends sometimes, I end up overtipping to compensate. I am also Canadian and don’t find Canadians to be bad tippers, I think that they may be playing that “ignorant tourist” game while on vacation.
I would have to say after working in a country club, an upscale D.C. restaurant, and a few family style places…the worst tippers were different in every restaurant, because of the different customer base. In the country club, they didn’t tip at all, believing I got paid at least minimum wage. In D.C., the worst were political housewives that came in with their ‘accessory’ children, nannies in toe, who have never worked a day in their lives. And now it is most certainly nurses getting off their shifts, super religious people, and regulars.
The worst time would have to have been in D.C. The plastic rich housewives came in for a busy lunch shift. Kids going crazy everywhere with no nannies to actually parent them. After two hours of the women getting hammered on chocolate martinis, one of the children went missing. I looked around in the bathrooms and stuff for the woman. I found the kid under one of the tables crying and when I returned them to the mom, she went ballistic on me, telling me I should have been a more attentive waitress and should have been paying more attention to their table, then the kid wouldn’t havent gotten lost. She told me I didn’t deserve a tip and that she should get her food and drinks for free. The check was nearly $400 with over half of that being their martinis. I wished I had a xanax, but I didnt, so I replied, telling her there is no way she is getting anything for free and that I was going to talk to her husband about the tip when he comes in later that night. She asked me how I knew her husband and I told her that he came in all the time with a 6′ tall blonde calling herself Candy and tipped very well. Of course, I didn’t know who the hell her husband was, but I figured all is fair in war and waiting tables. She was none too happy, but I got great satisfaction out the look on her face.
TEACHERS!!!
Good read!
PMK- Most chain restaurants will not give free food or drinks to patrons unless there is a circumstance where it is absolutely necessary. If you do get free food no reason other than being a regular at restaurant be certain it is either a mess up from another table, an unclaimed item from the expo line, stolen from the kitchen (most cooks in these restaurants will not give a server an item without it being rang in) or the server bought it for you themselves.
LESBIANS.
First of all, I love the idea of this blog, I just stumbled upon it looking up blow jobs.
Back to lezzies- They would serve themselves in order to not tip. They are the worst! They wish they could pay in licks to ma muff but they can’t!
I could give my whole pecking order of tipping, but I would come off a big bigot.
@pmk,
“Case in point a place that use to go to 3-5 times a week for lunch for more then three years never sent over as much as a free soda”
So you obviously enjoyed the place to go there quite often but decided that because you werent getting sent free drinks from there you should stick to going to a place that you got a freebie from. Big spender.
@pmk:
You’re an idiot.
Black-French-Canadian-Jewish-lesbians, there arent very many of them, but they were widely regarded as the cheapest tippers where I worked in Florida. Difference between a canoe and a Canadian? Canoes tip.
What the hell’s wrong with 10%?
I usually tip at least 20%, (to make up for those years I couldn’t afford to tip at all), but nobody EVER tipped me anything, much less 10%!
In my 17 years of serving experience, I’d have to say the worst tippers are (in no particular order)
Ladies who Lunch- eating disorder wannabes who come in at the peak of lunch rush, bitch about their table, modify their orders beyond recognition, and invariably need the check split 4 ways so that each lady can pay with either a credit card or a brand new $20 bill so you need to either set up camp at a micro station or ask the manager for $77.92 in small bills. Then they sit there trying to think of the 47 ways you detracted from ideal service so they can smugly leave you 5%. Lovely!
Churchgoers- Every Sunday, they come in, all dressed up, with their entire family. Then they run you ragged, act like jerks the whole time, then have the nerve to be sanctimonious because they went to Church and assumed you didn’t. Then they leave you a shitty tip or worse, a church tract saying why you’re going to hell. I hope that when they die, Jesus hands them a folded up piece of paper that says “VIP Ticket to Heaven” on the front and opens up to say “Why you’re going to hell” on the inside.
Sweet Sixteens- Groups of obnoxious, over-privileged adolescents wearing $185 jeans and $80 shirts, who take up your entire section and either order the most time-consuming items on the menu (N.A. smoothies, peanut-butter hot fudge sundaes) or a bunch of waters and an order of french fries to split between 6 kids. They also try to claim it’s some kid’s birthday for the free dessert. They sit there for 2 hours making a mess of the place and leave you $15 on their $14.62 bill.
Amway Victims- They’re almost exactly like the Sweet Sixteens except that they’re older, a lot more broke, much less well-dressed, and try to tell you how YOUR job is dead-end because they’re poised to make a million dollars any day now. And they’re more likely to leave you $14.62 on a $15 bill.
Mothers of Young Children- They park a stroller the size of Shaq’s golf cart right in the aisle, tell you to empty the bar of maraschino cherries, expect you to sit there while they teach Jr. how to say “chicken nuggets” and then remain calmly oblivious while Jr. has a shit fit for the next 40 minutes. After they leave, your section looks like a tornado went through Cheerio Town, there may be bodily fluids to clean up, and the rest of your section hates your guts because Jr. ruined their meal and Momma changed his diaper at the table while you weren’t looking. 5% from everyone, yay!
Sexual Harassers- desperate dudes who think that flair or polo shirts are just really conservative g-strings. Their behavior gets more crass and inappropriate as they hint increasingly blatantly that they expect their meal to come with a happy ending. For the $5 on $65 they were planning to leave, of course. When you turn them down, the real dickwads have the nerve to complain to the manager about how frigid and standoffish you were.
Man, I do not miss these people. I say you can tell a person’s true character by the way they act at a wedding, a funeral, and a restaurant.
People who come in the last fifteen minutes and expect their food to be hot. I don’t care if you love fresh and great service, if you come 10 minutes to 11, your food is being mircowaved or heat lamped.
there is a list of endless bad tippers! I have @ leat 20 different categories!
First off, I’ve never worked in places that weren’t fine dining/high end and maybe my expectations are different. And while I hate stereotyping and I feel somewhat prejudgist saying this, here it goes anyway:
(in no particular order)
1. Groups of women-horrible to wait on and horrible tippers. SOS, split checks, extra this and that….
2. Black folk-the ones with gold teeth and their pants around their knees. Not the ones who come in dressed like they were going out for a great meal.
3. Canadians-even though I’m Canadian and made great money waiting tables at home, here in Orlando they are pretty bad. (PS when black folk screw you over it is more kosher to call them Canadian)
4. British- Figure we should be paid a living wage or “forget” where they are visiting. This does not pertain to the many Brits who live and work here in Orlando. These are the ones who you can spot from a mile away by their white legs and fanny packs.
I think pmk has a point, but maybe I’ve worked in different restaurants than most. At the current place, I’m given a fair degree of autonomy on comps. A regular guest came in tonight and requested me. It was her friend’s birthday, and while my restaurant doesn’t normally buy birthday desserts, my managers had no problem doing it. We also do it with some frequency for regulars regardless of the significance of the day. We’re even encouraged to send out and comp shared appetizers for people when the kitchen’s weeded and the guests haven’t ordered a first course. Our guests are happy and we’re happy.
College kids who pay with a plasma donation credit card have no problem leaving a dollar tip on a 40 dollar bill. I get it you’re broke, but when you’re broke a 50 oz margarita isn’t a priority.
A few people said restaurant owners should pay their servers more. I don’t know how it works everywhere else but in California servers can ONLY make minimum wage (which is currently $8/hour). Why? Because our tips are considered part of our income. So inflation is a reason to tip your server more.
To answer The Waiters question:
Australians, Canadians, Church people, and the “verbal tipper”
INDIANS!!!!!
They are the WORST WORST WORST tippers in the world. And to make matters worse, they’re picky and hard to please. They’ll order an entree and split it, only order waters w/ lemons (so they can mix their own lemonades instead of buying one). “Slum Dog Millionaires” describes them perfectly… in my area many of them are wealthy (buy their BMWs, Benzs, Lexus, etc) yet they can’t even leave 15%.
Hootersgirl you miss the point on the free stuff. It is not about getting something for free, it is about the owner making you feel that you are a valued customer. It does not have to be something free sent over. Send a card on a birthday, an invite to taste test new menu items, anything that shows the customer that you are thank full for their business. I own a business, we do things like this. We send holiday presents, at the convention that we go to twice a year we host a party for our customers, we do some otherthings through out the year. Nothing a huge but our customers are very loyal and have been with us for years. Right or wrong in the restaurant business the way to show gratitude is usually to send a little something over.
To oh so anyonypants on this one, if you are a waiter you only wish that all of your customers were like me, you’ll say not but I know better.
You want your servers to send birthday cards and promo invites now? Isn’t marketing your fucking job?
School teachers and A.A. counselors are shit tippers.
Man, this was one fun 45 minutes of rants. Couldn’t a loved it more. I’d leave 40% tip for this. One question? I live in a a summer resort. I lunch out a lot. Because most customers here are here for a week or less, the service in most restaurants is horrible. What do you do then? I tip 20% standard and 25% at the places I go to regularly. When did tipping not become a reward? If I tip 0-5-10% tip, it’s based on the bad service. But the servers just think I’m a jerk.
Also, I hate restaurants where the workers act like the place is their club for their friends. That sucks.
ps: love the fact that Churchers are the worst and gay men are the best tippers. That speaks volumes.
In Maine servers are paid 3.25/hr. If you don’t make enough tips to bring you up to minimum, the owner has to kick in. Never seen that happen. I average $20-$30/ hr. After 30 years in the biz on both sides of the line, and 13 years as an owner, I make the best money waiting tables as a side job.
Worst by far was church people, after church Sunday mornings. Perplexing!
Alex T- great story, thanks
I have been surprised so many times I try not to generalize anymore. I do this more as a hobby now, and am not getting bitter and burned out like I used to. Took me 3 years after selling my cafe before I was able to do this again.
As a cocktail in a casino for a decade. . .by far the best tippers were asians. As a -group- they were the very best. Older white men did pretty well. . . the worst as a group were college students and blacks. They wanted top shelf stuff and usually would not tip. . and thought nothing of sitting in my section the entire eight hour shift and not give me a nickel the whole night. Bimbos with a guy never tipped, if he was busy when she ordered, you got nothing. And celebrities were usually very lousy tippers or total stiffs.Occasionally one would give up a few bucks. The groups of Indians they called Gypsies were horrible. . they trashed the hotels, and never gave anyone a penny.
Um.. Alex T YES thank you. Loved it.
to SJ –> In Jersey you make 2.15 an hour 🙁 and that usually turns out to be a paycheck of 0000000 since it goes to taxes.
I love the sense of entitlement coming from some of the comments here.
When did 15% become ‘archaic’ – you kids claim inflation, but the prices of meals have gone up, which means your tip has automatically gone up as well.
If service is bad I’ll leave a terrible tip to teach them a lesson. It’s up to them whether or not they learn the lesson. But if the service is exception I’ll go much higher.
I wonder how long before self-entitled waiters of the next generation start demanding 25% and 30% tips and whining when they don’t get it.
Church people. Especially, during Sunday brunches when they’re just leaving church and all straight with god so nevermind mankind…
The best tippers are men on dates who are convinced by the end of the meal that they will get laid.
I wonder how long it will take people like Edward to stop lurking on sites like this making nasty remarks before he gets bored and looks to harrass another occupational website.
indians are the worst tippers ever. after i spent the past 45 minutes running around getting you extra hot sauce, water with no ice, bread and butter with crushed red pepper and parmesan cheese shakers, and reading you every single thing on our 5 page menu that can be made vegetarian, you’re going to leave me a 50 dollar bill on a 47.98 check? go back to india, or just don’t come back here.
Edward,
If service is bad, than by all means, leave little to no tip. What many servers are complaining about here is doing everything possible to make an experience enjoyable and than getting stiffed on a gratuity because, lets face it- these people we are catagorizing usually dont know better. We take it personal when we get a bad tip on a good job. If this thread was titled “Who are the Worst Tippers when you do a shitty job” than sure you can assume we are acting self-entitled to other’s money. Also, if a server is just shitty at their job then all they get is shitty tips, so trust me they wont even notice your “lesson” because it is normal to them to get bad tips and they dont know better. The best thing to do is tell them they did a bad job and let the manager know…chances are that person isnt cut out to be a server in the first place.
Right.
I am a little disappointed at the regular mention of the Church crowd, both that they are notoriously bad tippers but mostly that they come straight from Church. Don’t they know the 4th commandment?
I’m going to address Edward first. I’m not a kid. I’m a Grandmother for 2. How is a 15% tip archaic? Well, let’s see. 15% for a tip has been around now for how long?? Hmmm…at least a good 20+ years. Talk about not keeping up with inflation. I’d add to my list as the worst tippers: older white men who are demanding and rude to boot.
Aussie Ben: The best service and food I had in Auz was in Melbers. Love the “Lane ways” and a certain hotel that served 2 for 1 dinners on Monday nights, back in September.
Hooter Girl: People DO know better. They just choose to act ignorant.
AJ: Your comments were funny! I’ve worked with many black servers who tried to get me to take the black tables. I figured if they didn’t want to wait on them, I sure as hell wasn’t. White Trash people don’t discriminate. They are equal opportunity stiffers.
As far as the teens go: Ignore them. Their parents didn’t raise them right, and it’s not our jobs to do it. I’ve had many tables of those ignorant inconsiderate brats. I wait on them after everyone else is taken care of, and I don’t care if they have a limo waiting for them. To this day I’m not sorry they got sub-par service. Go home and tell yer Momma, and gawd help her if she comes in and bitches while I’m working. Server jobs are a dime a dozen, and if you look on craigslist under restaurants, you’ll be amazed how many restaurants need help.
@DragonFly:
Percentages do not have to go up with inflation as long as the value they are based on does.
If your meal costs 20$ and you get a 20% tip that’s 4$.
Now comes inflation. Let’s take something easy to calculate: 50% inflation.
Now your meal costs 30$. A 20% tip of that is 6$ which is exactly the same 50% more as your inflation.
I agree with comment #198. I fit the “bad tipper” profile, middle-aged woman who drinks water. The reality is that I tip 20%, even on take-out. I’m tired of getting sat near service stations and bathrooms. The issue I have is I can’t hear when there is a lot of background noise. I want to enjoy my meal out, not have to read the lips of my dining companions.
What troubles me with this thread is that on one hand, we’re told that tipping is to make up for the sub-par wages that servers get paid and on the other hand, if we get rid of the tipping system it means we’ll all have crappy service. Talk about mixed messages?!?!
Every time there’s a thread like this on Waiter Rant, I become more and more convinced that it’s not the tip of 15% that’s archaic, but rather the whole system of tipping that’s archaic and needs to go the way of the horse and buggy.
Leigh
Time to change the entire service economy. I’m sure our feelings will have a huge effect on it!
People who have never worked any form of service job — those who have never gotten their hands dirty while performing their work — they are the shittiest tippers.
They tend to feel entitled to leave small tips because the work that we do ‘isn’t hard enough,’ or doesn’t require a college education — and that’s reason enough to leave a crappy gratuity.
Blacks are the worst by far. No matter how high the bill is you will only get five bucks and if they order a heineken or henessy than forget it no tip for you.
By far the the worst tippers are Indians. I have almost a decade of food service experience and while most people are hit or miss about getting stiffed on tip Indians will ALWAYS stiff you. It is so bad that the hostess will never sit more then one table of Indians in a section (unless 6+ when we add gratuity.)
For sure it is any person from Asian countries. In thier cultures, it is concidered rude and disrespectful to tip, as if you are paying a maid to serve you. They find that appreciation of the food is good enough. I lived in Hawaii for may years and worked at several restaurants and bars. At one place we had tip suggestion cards in Japanese that we would give them along with their bill which explained how to tip waiters. We still never got what we expected.
FWIW, Oprah NEVER said that it was okay to tip 10% in these trying times. Check out snopes.com.
As a missle age Canadian woman who worked for many years in the food service industry, I never would have thought that other Canadians would fall into the worst tipper catagory. After all, even here we’re tipped employees and make less than minimum wage based on expected tips.
But in my personal experience, the worst tippers were Quebec french. Maybe because I am english, and although I’m bilingual my accent clearly comes through. But I know that when the same customer was served by another member of the staff who was french, the tip would be higher than if I served them. And especially if they were trash french – like being stuck in the 80’s with mullets, Maybelline blue eyeshadow, hot pink Wet’N’Wild lipstick…
As a general group Asians were the worst tippers overall no matter what langualge they spoke as a 1st language. The best tippers were the police – hands down. Tips were usually 50-100% for small orders, and 25% on larger ones.
Leigh, yay!
Being raised in the business and working every job from the back to the front of the house I have to agree with most of the worst tippers mentioned Asians #1 Japan not included they are generally very generous, French Canadians but only the ones who wear way too much cheap gold oversized chains and speedo’s down in Hollywood Florida the rest are generally good, Americans from small town anywhere demanding, arrogant, ignorant and cheap, anybody who comes from old money(how do you think they got it), depression era seniors,30 year old kids taking mom out for mothers day and lawyers. The best are most food service people especially ones that work bars and high end dining,accountants(as strange as that may sound), surgeons, kept women, guys on a Valentine date, hookers and drug and car dealers.
Officers.
I grew up Air Force and used to work as a waitress on a military base at the Officer and Enlisted clubs.
The Enlisted, making half the money of the Officers, went above and beyond in tipping with 25% or more.
Sincerely,
Ally
People who claim gluten issues…what’s up with this?…almost always guaranteed to leave a bad tip even though you bend over backwards to recreate the dish they really want and get utterly weeded in the process.
I have been a Bartender and Server for 19 years and have lived in New Orleans and the Midwest. I have worked in sleazy bars and now in high-end restaurants. I give excellent service, unless I’m getting absolutely crushed, and then above average at the very least. The worst tippers in no order are Blacks, teachers, Guvment(Sp) workers (especially the Sunday before a bank holiday), farmers, Europeans (notably Dutch, French, German, Scandinavian, and British), groups of middle aged women and doctors.
When I run across bad service as a customer, I always observe and assess the situation and tip accordingly with a note explaining why they have gotten a small tip. 10% is my lowest I will give, as they still have to tipout. If the service is absolutely horrible due to neglect or poor attitude, I will speak to a manager.
The best tippers are bartenders, high-end servers and the aforementioned gay men.
Edward- you are exacly the kind of person I hate waiting on. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again- 15 percent is an insult.
I only worked as a waitress for 6 months at a low class diner in Zellers (not sure if American’s have Zellers, it’s like walmart but shittier). You can imagine the class of people that came in – usually the elderly were bad tippers, generally I didn’t get a percent but pocket change. The job sucked and I was exhasted by the end of the day, but at least up here we get paid minimum wage no matter what – I realized that the tips were icing on my student life cake, I’d be busting my hump just as hard at some other job to put myself through school instead, and waiting gave me a nice little chunk to play with. The harder I worked, the more play money I got, so I relished a busy day or difficult customers to please. Usually the picky ones tipped well if you doted on them. When people tipped badly, or the other waiters literally stole the money off the table, I didn’t care too much and brushed it off – I was still grateful to be getting the extra. Tips weren’t part of my pay, they didn’t say anything about the service, they just WERE. I had this mindset until I met “the couple”.
The couple were legendary non-tippers. It’s not that they didn’t know, they apparently tipped once and only once, and I got to work with the waitress that lived to tell the tale.
They came in and spent a huge amount of money, badgered and demanded superior service, talk at length about their problems, cause a huge mess to clean up and use to SNAP THEIR FINGERS at us to get our attention. Nobody wanted them in their section, but being the moron I was at the time, I took pity on them and invited them to sit with me…before, it was Russian roulette were they would go and what unfortunate soul would have to deal with their shit.
As time went on, they learned that sitting in my section was best. I even got to the point where I had memorized their order, and when they sat down I would bring them their usual drinks, spend the time chatting with them instead of asking what they’d like, and throwing in a pre-cursory “would you like your usual today?” instead of just assuming. The meal was always prompt, perfectly in order (they were picky – extra lemon, turkey gravy, salad before entree, over easy eggs, extra bacon, No butter brown toast, extra jam…crap I still remember it) and they never had a complaint in the world. Yet, they never tipped. They paid to the penny on everything that came to the table.
Now, I wasn’t smart enough to offer them a declining service when I knew they didn’t tip. I like to think everybody has good intentions at least in their heart, so I actually turned UP the volume instead of down to try to reach a level of satisfaction where they said “God, she really knows us and treats us well every single time we come in, no matter what else is going on. Maybe we should leave her a little something for this superior service.” I guess I was waiting for that validation – but it never came. Eventually, it started to effect my self esteem. If people are wondering why waiters are so bitter over low tips, this is why – you’re not just saving a buck, you’re complaining about the service. If I get shit service, I leave a shitty tip – it goes to reason that if you leave a shitty tip, no matter what your reasons might ACTUALLY be, you’re saying the service was bad. My robust sense of self and cheerful good nature began to dive. Eventually, I left. The money just wasn’t good enough to put up with the shit from the kitchen, the shit from my co-workers, and least of all the shit from the customers, even though it’s literally the best paying job I’ve ever had. I’ve never had another job where I’ve felt so unappreciated, even with all the great people who let their money talk about how the liked the service.
Bad tippers come in all shapes and sizes, but the non-tippers…they’re recognized not so much by sight as by their reputation.
I’m British so can offer some explanations for why many Brits don’t tip well.
Our minimum wage applies to all workers, there aren’t lower amounts for servers. It’s currently £5.80 an hour. To put this in perspective the median weekly pay for full-time employees is £489.
In the UK 10% is seen as a standard tip. Some places automatically add 10% or 12.5%. I’ve never seen more than 12.5% added automatically. When service is added there is nearly always a note on the menu that says it is optional, this is a legal requirement. The whole tip should go to the server but some places stiff their servers, or use the service change to make salaries up to minimum wage. This is illegal and owners can be prosecuted.
When the tip isn’t included the natural inclination of a normal Brit is to work out 10% and then round up to the nearest pound. Tightwads either don’t tip at all or round up to a figure they believe is convenient, e.g. leaving £80 on a £75 bill.
I’d like to hope that those of us (a small minority) who have read Waiter’s book and enjoy his blog aim higher. I may leave 20% if service is good and I’m eating somewhere I will return to. However as no more is expected I’m perfectly happy to leave 10% somewhere crappy, this isn’t looked down upon. I generally settle around 12.5% to 15%, this probably puts me in the upper 25% of tippers in the UK.
I have been to the US enough to have a rough idea when and where tips are expected, but a Brit who hasn’t been before is left feeling that everyone is asking for extra cash. It’s actually quite intimidating for us. Lots of us know 20% is the going rate in restaurants, but knowing how much to tip other workers is a minefield.
I suspect there also are plenty of Brits who know that 20% is expected but use being tourists an excuse to pretend that they don’t know and leave less.
Being married to a Scandinavian woman I can understand why they are seen as poor tippers as it’s just not in their culture. Leaving 500 kroner on a 475 kroner bill is perfectly acceptable. Scandinavians are almost universally polite and friendly people who would be mortified to learn that they have caused offence. Perhaps a card explaining the US tipping culture in airline seat pockets might be the way forward?
Good Lord, will you Limeys please stop telling us you’re cheap “because Britain?” WTF, how hard is it to ask the local sitting next to you how things are done in America?
Christians were always the worst. The nightclub I worked for used to do occasional Christian rock shows and it was excruciating. Only sodas ordered (with extra cherries) and plenty of pious lectures from the customers. The waitresses and bartenders would start drinking early out of sheer boredom and be completely hammered by the end of the show.
Also bad were anyone getting free drinks/food.
Also anyone that would promise a great tip at the end of the show-almost always a lie.
Best tippers-gay men hands down. And other restaurant workers of course.
I was a 3rd shift waitress for all of two and a half months, so I’m not sure how much my opinion counts. But when has that ever stopped me? :}
My absolute WORST tables were the high school and college students. They would leave a huge mess and fill the salt shakers w/ cream as a joke. They would ask for constant refills and extras; tips were whatever change was in their pockets.
One of the things I really hated –*not* limited to students at all– was when a table would leave a crappy tip AND their phone number scrawled on a napkin or biz card. ‘Cause, y’know, a future date w/ a jerk is equal to at least a 50% tip…
Best? Probably the older married couples w/o kids (maybe they’d been in food service once themselves).
I also had a table of Somalians who tipped me 30%… despite the fact that I had dropped a drink on one of them. 🙁 Nice folks. Really hope that stain came out!
I have worked in the same restaurant for almost 10 years, and here’s my take:
The WORST tippers overall are the Sunday morning church people. 10% is a pretty common amount.
The most INCONSISTENT tippers are high school and college kids. I might get stiffed, and I might get a 100% tip, all without rhyme or reason.
The BEST tippers are generally men in their 30s and 40s. Men almost always tip much better than women, in my experience.
Church goers are terrible. The worse table I ever had were a very rude older couple that constantly called me “little girl” as they complained about the tempurature of the restraunt, the food and pretty much anything they could think of. When they finally left an hour and a half later I walked up to pick up the check and it seemed to have a hundred dollar bill sticking out! I opened the book and it turned out the hundred dollar look alike was a christian tract asking if I had heard the good news! That’s all they had left me.
the worst tippers are always the ones you had to do the most for. i dont care what color they are, or how old they are. if they’re those people who need a new fork every 30 seconds and their coffee’s too cold and their meat just didn’t chew quite right, then they’re gonna leave you a shitty tip. they’re convinced they know more about the restaurant business than you do, and therefore, know that you were a horrible server and don’t deserve more than 5%.
I work at a fine dining restaurant in New Orleans, and the worst tippers here are black folks. Most of them don’t understand what those numbers are beside the entrees and apps (Uh…the price!)and when they find out that those are the prices they become visably mad… AT ME! They make faces and act really sassy and shitty, sending perfectly good (and half eaten)food back for some imaginary problem, and leave nothing or five bucks on an $80+ check. If you realize that a place is too expensive to dine at, stand up, apologize, and say it’s a little too expensive. Most times your server will tell you that they can’t afford to eat there either!
The funny thing is, I’ve had great experiences with these folks too, and I still make that kind of tip. I ran an experiment on (the black) kitchen staff (they don’t rely on or see our tips)asking what they would tip on a $75 dollar tab if everything was amazing…across the board $5. Why? Because many have never heard of tipping on a percentage scale, or have been taught that that’s an acceptable tip.
Also, people who scan the restaurant for a better table when the hostess brings them to theirs (unless you are super shitty from the get-go, you’re getting that table because someone reserved “The good one by the window” and you just walked in)
People who never look at the menu, and just bark things out that they want to eat, “I’ll have the caesar salad!” When we clearly have only a spinach and romaine.
People who either see you approach the table and don’t stop their conversations (I have a fucking job to do. You are not my only table, if you do this to me I will ignore you) or look at you like you slapped them when you begin talking. These people have no idea how to dine out and they feel entitled.
People who snap their fingers at you.
People who are sooooo engrossed in their conversations that they “shut down the restaurant and didn’t even realize it!” While you were having a lovely romantic time you had your servers (I work on a 3 man team)the manager, and the entire dish crew glaring at you because it’s two hours after close, all you’ve been doing for an hour and fourty five of that is drinking an inch and a half of water that’s left in your glass, and I’m lucky if I got fifteen% never mind the tip you should have given me for the table I could have turned when your ass was lingering.
I feel much better now! I want a topic for best tippers next!
I’ve been a server for nearly five years.
Let’s start positive.
Best tippers:
Drunk people, other servers, people sitting alone, Indian folks who live and have lived in the us for awhile
Worst tippers:
Christians, old folks, southerners with children (see also Christians), black people on dates (lots of extra work while hoping you don’t get stiffed), sober college kids (especially If I carded them), anyone European .
I had a Sunday brunch 2-top about 15 years ago with a lovely couple in their 70s. They still seemed so in love that I showered them with affection and my best possible service. They just touched me! They were incredibly sweet to me throughout the meal, and I just adored them. I hoped they would come back often, and I told them so. At the end of the meal, after paying the tab, the husband grabbed my hand and said, “You are the BEST waitress we have EVER had, in all our many years of dining out. THIS is for you!!!” And he presented me with… a quarter. On a 40 dollar tab. I can JUST about laugh about this now…
Oh I hate people who think compliments replace paying me. When people start spouting how great you did you know you’re getting stoffed
Been a serer/bartender for the better part of 12 years. And I have to agree the churchies are the worst. Needy, demanding, entitled, and CHEAP! I had a 6 top from Holland at my bar rack up a 40$+ bill at my bar and not even leave a 1$. Then of course there is the stereotypical african americans, mexicans, asians, lesbians (although I have some regulars who buck this trend) and white-trash. The “verbal” tippers can shove it. I have kids to feed. My pride won’t put dinner on the table. The usual rule is the needier the table, the worse the tip.
My faves (in no particular order): former and current waitstaff (although demanding), construction guys, blue collar workers, bikers, gay men, police, middle aged couple my parents age, and having just experienced recently, vets.
As a lesbian and a server I tip above twenty everytime for good service. But I had to fight it out with my girlfriend to get her over 15
ASIANS! I don’t work in a heavily touristy area, but I work near an artsy design school where a lot of asians attend. They ask for hot water! And generally leave 2 or 3 bucks on any check. And ALWAYS share entrees. I automatically bring share plates, cuz you know they will be asking for them. My definite answer is Asians!!! ugh!
The worst tippers? Without a doubt, it’s the Gypsies that used to descend upon our casino like a plague of uncouth barbarians. Not only were we ran ragged by the countless refills of Shirley Temples in a Styrofoam cup with olives (who does that?!?), we also had the illustrious honor of picking up their countless chicken wings that were thrown on on the floor after being bathed in 10 gallons of Ranch dressing. Amazing that a ten dollar comp will feed the whole family. And even after refraining from punting their future juvenile delinquents across the room whom decided to use the restaurant for their own personal playland/jukyard, we still had to put up with the mile of ass crack shown.
Almost forgot, based on orders:
– Anyone who orders couvoissier and coke
– interplanetary masses who order virgin strawberry daquiri’s or worse yet Miami Vices
– anyone who askes what sort of Manischewitz wine is served.
– anyone who asks for Kreplach or Lavasch
– “skrimp cocktail”
As a waiter in Australia, surprisingly I can without any reservations say that Americans are the worst tippers. I’m not sure why Americans don’t tip when they are holidaying over here but it just never happens, no matter how good a service they receive. I did see an interesting comment on topix recently from a guy in Hawaii stating that it is considered disrespectful to tip the waiters in Australia! Let me make it clear that a waiter in Australia never ever feels disrespect when he receives a tip for his services.
europeans! even asian tourists tipped more in my experience.
White trash with money, they tip like shit.
People who don’t get it…my sister and her friends used to order coffee and sit around at Denny’s for hours until one of the waitresses cornered my Mom when she went to pick her up. My parents lectured my sister for about an hour…because she did this about every single day….and there after my sister wasn’t allowed to go unless she was leaving atleast a $20 tip to make up for lack of food being ordered and the time being spent at the table.
For the last 4 years as a server, it’s Black people. In Ohio, they don’t make up a HUGE portion but only 1 out of 50 will leave a good tip. Servers COMPLAIN about getting them. It’s literally worse than NOT getting a table.
Amen to that! I live in Ohio and work in a salon. Most of the black people that came in were rude, shitty tippers, and just plain cheap. Worst tip I got was from a black woman who paid for her pedi with a credit card. She tipped $1.00.
We also had a group of 2 Jamaican women who came in for polish changes and waxing. They didn’t leave any tip.
Indians Indians Indians. Absolutely the worst motherfuckers to have to deal with in any service industry. Shamelessly cheap, rude, inconsiderate, horrendously behaved children and smelly to boot. And forget black people, Indians steal like no other. Working food service/retail has made me so fucking racist against those fucking Apus (as in Apu from The Simpsons). Fuck.
I worked in a high end hotel restaurant in northern Saskatchewan for 4 years as a youth and the bad tippers varied from day to night.
Obviously the late night coffee crowd that think sitting in a restaurant drinking cup after cup of coffee is a night out and that the servers have become friends with them because they are ‘regulars’. You are not regulars, you are losers who need to go home and get a life.
During the day though, real estate agents and American men on their way up north to hunt. It was luck of the draw, generally the loud ones were great tippers, but then every now and then you would get the complete stiff job after busting your ass all night on a single table of eight.
On the flip side, best tippers, Hells Angels from Quebec when they would come through town on their way out west…you fight for those tables. Great guys and great tippers.
cant be bothered to read thru all the replies to see if this has been posted but…
if you own a canoe, paint it black. that way it will never tip!
and also yes the verbal tippers are the worst “i’ve been all around the world, and you by far are the best waiter i have ever had, thank you”… i cant tell the electric company “i got 20 thank yous today, that should cover my months bill”
oh yes and i agree the Guptas, Singhs, and Patels too
I have to say that some of the worst tips I’ve received have been from church folk that leave a “have you been saved?” pamphlet in place of a tip. It happens about 6 or so times a year. I admit, I meet a lot of people over the course of a shift and that might be the reason I get more than the average person’s share of evangelizing, but what is it about this profession that causes that?
Women in groups. They only drink with approval of the rest of the flock, never finish their food or listen to recommendations, stay too long, demand separate checks after dinner, and then tip like garbage. And there’s always one woman who starts by saying SHE’s not drinking and looks around the guilt the rest of her friends into being miserable, too.
I second women in groups! Not only are they going to tip you bad, but you are going to have to split all their checks!God forbid they pay 25 cents extra for their friend!
White People
Lie.
I’m going to be the villain here, and admit that I refuse to tip if the service is awful. If I have to hunt down my waiter to get my check because s/he kept walking past me ignoring me, or if s/he forgets the wine I ordered (twice) then it’s no tip plus a note on the check detailing exactly why there was no tip. On the other hand, if the service is excellent I’m happy to tip 20%. But I don’t see any reason to reward the sullen, inept or rude.
@BlueWindKami: none of us will ever tell you to tip well for poor service. Knowing the industry myself, I still tip horrific service with 10-12%, but that’s only because I know they have to tip out. Writing a note is a good idea. Speaking with the manager is better. Also, I take someones attitude heavily into consideration. If they keep messing up but are constantly smiling and trying to make up for it and are clearly having and off night, I just take it all to be “the evening entertainment” and let it slide. But all of this is off topic. if you have served before, you are welcome to post in response to who tips the worst. There are LOTS of other entries discussing poor service and tipping. 🙂
6 year waitress in California
Best Tippers:
– Gay men – I’ve never gotten a bad tip from one. Even more generous when in groups (and funny).
– Policemen
– US-born Asians in groups (excluding Indians)
– Anyone that helps you out (ie: stacking their plates neatly, moving drinks out of the way when trying to deliver food)
Worst Tippers:
– Lesbians
– Nurses
– People who say they’re great tippers
– Anyone who talks on their cellphone while you’re trying to take their order (usually after flagging you down to do so)
– Middle-aged women in groups
– Any table that pays the bulk of the check in cash and the rest on a credit card. You KNOW they’re only going to tip on the amount on the credit card.
I have gotten some of the most insulting tips from black people, but I have also gotten some very generous ones, so for me that one evens out.
oh and @ BlueWindKami, you sound like a customer that probably needs something every 2 minutes and is never satisfied. A note detailing what you think your servers flaws are? Seriously? I’d ignore you too.
Great post!
As a server, you just have to take it in stride. I’ve been surprised for good or ill by all manner of folks.
That said, we had a running list of the red flags. Let me see…
1. People who tell you what the prices used to be like you have anything to do with that.
2. People who ask what the Soup of the Day is and – whatever it is – grimmace and say “Blech!”
3. People who claim to know the owner. (The owner memorably said that he “would never befriend someone who would ask for special favors.”)
4. People who make their toddler children do the ordering for the table.
5. People who shuffle their seat around after ordering.
Professional athletes tend to leave next to nothing for tips. You’d think anyone who clears two mil or better per year would drop at least 15% on a bar tab, but alas, no.
Yes athletes suck! I’m a server at a sports bar run by a famous player so we have lots come by. You’re lucky to get ten
I’m sorry the Christians are so cheap, but I’m not surprised. I’m Catholic and I observe the Sabbath – I don’t go out, but stay home and rest. That’s what we’re supposed to be doing, not going out and giving people agita.
Also, as a middle aged bat, I always tip 20% minimum because I know the waitstaff expect me to be cheap.
You whippersnappers might be surprised that some women know their own mind. I go into my favorite breakfast spot, order when the waitress comes over to give me coffee and place my order. I don’t substitute, I don’t try to get away with anything. Just bring me my pancakes still steaming off the griddle and life will be fine.
Europeans don’t tip like Americans. 5 % is generous. Something for Restaurants to know to educate.
I routinely tip well (20%), but what a bunch of whiny complainers. I mean, is there no group that has been spared the wrath of you waiters?
Makes me not want to go to restaurants anymore if the prevailing attitude is that of the ones on display in here. I don’t ask for anything special, I have no loud kids that make a mess. I don’t camp out at the table for hours. I just want a nice meal out sometimes. I leave an appropriate tip even if service wasn’t up to snuff, if only to help alleviate the rampant “Blacks don’t tip well” stereotype.
Please remember that you chose to work in the service industry. I’m not looking down my nose at you, it’s a true statement. While I appreciate the hard work you do, you have to accept the good with the bad. I’m sorry that every customer you have ever had annoys you in some way, but think about it from their standpoint. Even a customer that doesn’t tip is still helping pay your salary by their mere patronage at the restaurant you are employed by. Eliminate all the people that don’t leave the tip you expect and are so incensed at having to serve. Let’s just say they stop coming altogether. The owners of the respective establishments you work at might not need as many of you to wait tables. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t want to lose my job.
For those that have stiffed you, who knows what their situation is? It could be a poor guy that wants to do something nice for his family by taking them out to eat one night and he simply has enough $$$ to get him in the door, not leaving much of anything for a tip. You really turn your nose up at him? You dare talk horribly about him and his family behind his back? Pardon me, but fuuuuuccck youuuuu!
I’m not saying every situation is like that. And I’m not saying you should have to endure abuse at the hands of certain customers either, but hearing all the venom and scowling over not getting an appropriate tip from time to time is pretty disheartening, especially in our current economic climate.
Sorry I’m not happy when I’m paying out of pocket for the privilege of serving you. I tip out 5% of my sales for the day, if I’m not tipped I’m paying for the right to be your slave.
Pro Basketball Players. Without doubt the worst fucking tippers on EARTH. I won’t name names cause there are too many to remember. Came into a restaurant to celebrate cause you just signed a deal to play the next 3 years at 15 million dollars a year and have a tab of over $2000 for a four top and leave me FUCKING TEN DOLLARS!!! TEN!! THAT IS LESS ONE PERCENT!!! FUCK YOU.
I am not a waiter, but I am a hotel shuttle driver. We provide a complementary shuttle to and from the airport and the surrounding areas to our hotel. The people that stiff us the most are Airline crews especially cheap ass continental express. Republic airlines is just as bad. They are overzealous, selfish, and demanding…for nothing. Usually anybody associated with Union Pacific, ConAgra Foods, Gallup University or any airline above you can definitely count on volunteering your time.
Although always exceptions the only statistical correlation I have found consistently for the past ten years is socio-economic class and income level.
multiple kids?
lower tip.
black?
well, statistically they make less than whites and their tips often reflect that same gap.
ask for mt. dew or sweet tea?
lower tip.
xtra well done meat?
lower tip.
Black people were consistently the worst tippers I saw.
I say, Canadians are the worst people to even serve, let alone think about getting a Tip from… first I feel they are the rudest people to ever come across and if they are golfers it is even worst, since they are very perverted and constantly harass the hostess! I can not tell you how many times I had to tell the Golfing Canadian Fuck ball to leave the host alone… also for some reason Hicks are also a major problem. Since a lot think that leaving only 95 cents as a tip is an adequate amount for a tip??? Really who in there right mind would think leaving only 95 in change a gratuity? And if you get me on room service stiffing the room runner/ or bell hop really WTF? This is why I really hate working for hotels and for snobs, and first chance I get I will reinvent the whole system of tipping…
As for this person called “C” I ask, Hu? and for “K” well said when dealing with groups you can get big tips but as for the statement about Nurses being bad tippers I would have to disagree on the fact that my sister is one and she is one of the most generous tippers I know, and I feel grouping individuals as a whole in the spectrum of getting good tips and bad tips is kind of hard, and may sound hypocritical since I went on a tirade about how Canadians and rednecks are the worst but that is only based on a great deal of experience and repeated actions but yeah I go to school for Hotel and restaurant Management and feel I greater understanding of what goes on in the mind of servers from both school and working in the industry, and I justify with that people are ass wipes and it is like playing the blackjack, some times you win 21 some times you bust, it is all about the luck of the draw!!!
I find this discussion interesting. There is a clear pattern in the groups that don’t tip but I wonder if it’s a chicken and egg situation. i.e. maybe a server says a black or church table and consciously or subconsciously provides crap service so the table doesn’t tip – only confirming the stereotypes on both sides.
To the complimentary shuttle driver: so one has to tip the driver on a free shuttle? As a Kiwi who has recently immigrated to Canada I wouldn’t have thought of that.
Re: Canadians as bad tippers. I suspect that that is Canadians who aren’t in Canada. I’m not in the service industry here but the Canadians I see tip in what this blog would consider a normal fashion. The difference is that who one should tip is very small: waiters, taxi drivers and hairdressers.
Yeah, I’m sure every time Nederlanders, blacks, East Asians, lesbians, Indians, Canadians, etc. have stiffed their server it was the server’s fault for having low expectations.
@ A. Woods
Tell your sister to keep doing what she’s doing. She sounds like a good one. But in general, when I see women in scrubs, I know I’m in for two things: a bad tip, and abuse. I’ve worked in two different restaurants on two different sides of the city where we get lots of nurses for lunch and they are generally awful. They want to modify every menu item, get all individual checks, complain about everything, drink their waters inhumanly fast and then get indignant when I’m not immediately standing behind them with a water pitcher when they’re done. Out of all eye rolls I have ever gotten from customers, I think nurses account for 82% of them. They always want to make requests that I can’t accommodate (ie: I tell them they can’t order last week’s special today. Why not? Because we simply don’t have the ingredients on hand. *eye roll*). Then they leave generally 8-12%.
@ Bhagwad Jal Park (post 191):
Die.
ugh women are the worst! any age, any race, rich or poor, doesn’t matter they always want split checks and almost always leave a crap tip. Now a group of men are always easy to please, they want one check and almost always leave a decent tip, but maybe my being female has something to do with it. Oh and parents, we have a lot of people come in with their kids, and the worse the kids act, the crappier your tip is! I shouldn’t have to tolerate your screaming brats for 8%!
Waiter,
I didn’t read every comment but I think you’ve discovered something really important here- at least I have. You wait folk are incredibly talented writers? What’s with that?Are you all closet journalists, you get your writing game on when invited to speak reality and not hold back? What gives, it’s fascinating!
Never even got to wait tables ONCE in my life. I did want to. Yeah, idiot gal. I used to tell myself I could know what people wanted before they did (on the other hand, I’m sure that wouldn’t have prevented some of the abuses you’ve all chronicled here). Yeah, my hands are soft; yeah, I worked in a dining hall kitchen on dishes though…and cleaned houses for the uber rich so…I’m with you in spirit, especially the “busfolk,” known in my generation as the politically incorrect “busboys.”
Well, I have not read every one of the 300+ posts here, but I must say many of the comments I did skim are incredibly offensive. Obviously the intent was to be provocative…more material for the next book, perhaps?
As a woman, I am particularly offended by some of the latter comments by the “talented wait folk.” I tend to leave a minimum of 20% for even sub-par service but am now reconsidering that practice.
It does, after all, just reinforce poor service, rather than reward good.
I love to dine out and for the most part enjoy good to excellent service. There are, however, those occasions when indifference or incompetence in service mars the experience. In such instances, tipping etiquette becomes problematic. I would never not leave a minimum gratuity, but frequently feel social pressure to leave more than I truly feel is deserved. In my opinion, there has come to be a bit of an ‘power’ imbalance in the relationship between the customer and the server. I no longer feel that the amount of the gratuity I leave is at my discretion or a reflection of the service. In fact, I feel I am judged if I leave anything less than 20%…no matter what the quality of service.
This is doubly strange because when an “auto-gratuity” is added to my bill, it is generally 18%. If the management doesn’t value the service as greater than 18%, why would the customer? How do the servers feel about this? Surely, they hope the customers will leave an additional tip? However, asking for 18% seems to send a contradictory message to what is really expected today…well, this is another whole suject, I guess…
Democrats! I was taking care of a 30-top group of Hillary supporters who tried to weasel out of the charged 20% gratuity, complaining about being college students too poor to pay. I told them it was a part of the check, and we had college students who had to work for a living. And they gave me a button with their credit cards (attempting to split it 30 ways), which got tossed in the trash.
@Just a Diner: If there is something wrong with the service, tell management. They deserve to know what kind of servers they have working for them.
By and large, most servers treat their patrons equally well, especially when busy. We don’t have the time to try and hate people. But after seeing so many groups of only women camp out in my section when I could have turned it a few times, and they don’t tip on the time they are taking (which is leeching money from my pocket with every second), I see what I see. A group of 5 women today did the same thing, a pair last night, and a group of 9 earlier in the week, who tipped like garbage (14% post-tax), then stayed in my section for an hour afterward. It seems you tip humanely, and I and the rest of the service industry are grateful for the patronage. If more women thought like you, I wouldn’t dread it so much.
Without a doubt the worst tippers are Amish people. Where I went to school and waited tables, there was a fairly large Amish community nearby and occasionally they would come in for something to eat. They were always extremely pleasant and polite, some of the best customers you could ask for, but they absolutely never tipped more than 5%. I always did my best to take good care of them, but I knew I wasn’t going to be making very much.
It’s been a few years since I worked as a server and bartender. I never noticed patterns along racial or national lines, but the places I worked didn’t get a lot of international trade. The worst were always:
Doctors
Lawyers
Women in groups of three or more, not age-specific: every check was followed by a wrangling discussion to see who could contribute the least to a check and the tip. Like a game, except I was the one who always lost.
Also, my penniless friends who drank at my bar, but they earned their keep in entertainment value.
Folks who worked or had worked in the industry were always among my best tippers. Empathy goes a long way. So I’m in favor of the creation of an official license to dine out, which you can’t receive until you’ve worked in some front of the house job yourself for a period of weeks. I think that would change a lot of crappy tippers into good ones.
My dad could be the best tipper and the worst tipper. If we went out to eat at a resturant,no matter how cheap or pricy, if he got great service, whatever the bill was, he would match it in tips. The meal could be a hundred dollars and the lucky waitress would find herself with a hundred dollar tip. But the waitress had to give VERY good service. By that, it means if we had to ask for ANYTHING, especially drink refills, he considered you a bad waitress and at the end of the meal, he would throw a penny on the table.
Oh, damn! Speaking of church people I forgot this one pompous jerk left a folded card that said, “Looking for a tip?” and there was some religious propaganda inside. I “prayed” that jerk would come back, he never did, but I was all ready to take his order, make him wait 45 mins to an hour, then when he was about to leave I’d give him a folded piece of paper that said, “Looking for your food?”
What an a-hole.
Got a crappy tip from a dentist tonight.
So a credit card ending with “DDS” throws up a red flag to me now.
Tiger Woods’ mistress reveals that Tiger never tipped, was stingy as hell
http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/news/636127/Star-bedded-Janine-Jungers-as-father-lay-dying-in-hospital.html
the guys that my friends & i refer to as dudebro fantastic. you know… the guys with frosted tips, wicked dark tans from the bed and/or spray and wear tap out, affliction or ed hardy. super obnoxious, cheap because they spend all their money on their faux tans & bedazzled shirts and really whiny/needy. sorry buddy… sitting there for SIX HOURS with your two buddies & leaving me three dollars collectively?? not. okay. dude bros are the worst. (girls can be dude bros too)
previous comments touched on tipping your hairstylist on top of “inflated prices.” i would just like to pass on a little knowledge… most times, those prices are not theirs to set. they have to stick to the prices the salon they work for sets. also, of those prices, most stylists get only a percentage of that cost, on top of having to pay a weekly or bi-weekly booth rent to work there. just a little FYI for you 🙂
asians. but after having gone to korea, i can see why they’d see it as weird. almost everybody delivers really good home-style food…i’m not talking just pizzas. And if you try to tip the poor bastard who braved the asian drivers in the pooring rain, and ran your food up 7 floors of stairs cuz the elevator was broken, and you tried to tip him he’d give you a weird look. On the rare occasion they’ll accept the equivalent of 75 cents for a 10 dollar delivery.
But don’t get me wrong…when in rome right? asians should be tested on societal etiquette before getting that green card.
im a pizza delivery guy in new orleans 50 percent of the customers (sometimes more) dont tip at all
I’ve worked in several different types of establishments over the last several years.
At one, I bartended and served. The city was a diverse mix of every type of person you can think of. My best tippers were when I worked daytime bar, my business guys. They’d come in, sit at the bar, drink and eat. I could always count on between a 30-50% tip. They were chatty with me, addressed me by name, and were just all around good people.
I’d also get the white trash there (I’m white myself, btw). They generally were at least polite and friendly, but the tips were horrible. They could have a tab of $40, and I’d be lucky, and I mean lucky to get $3.
Black people, I can’t really say. I’ve had some who have stiffed me completely, or left less than 5%. Yet, I’ve also had some whom I remember leaving me 50% tips before. I’ve had some of my worst, and some of my best tips from them. Like this couple I had at the place I currently work (sports bar and grill). They came in a half hour before close (we serve food til 2am). Ordered one drink, one water, and two entrees. VERY low maintenance, never even wanted a refill. Their check was $35.00, and they tipped me $15. =)
My worst experience was at a small diner in a small town. The town was small, and more or less an old money town. The diner was the type of place that you had your 6am coffee regulars, and the typical sunday church crowd. The 6am regulars were notorious for occupying your section for upwards of 4 hours drinking coffee and eating with a check of about $8-$15. COUNTLESS refills. And you’d be lucky to get a .50 tip. In that case, in my opinion, if you’re going to sit at a table THAT LONG, tip accordingly. Don’t tip according to the damn check. You are sitting there in my section, occupying my table that I could have turned and hopefully gotten better customers at, and you leave me .50. That, and most were over the age of 70, and hitting on me the entire time.
And of course, as everyone else mentioned, the sunday church crowd. It was during this rush that I walked out of that job. lol After several months of dealing with these a-holes and their tract cards left with $2.00 on $70.00 bills, I just had it with them, and the place I worked for (management was horrible there). I was waiting on the regulars who never tipped and were ALWAYS rude no matter how friendly and personable I was with them (despite their shitty tips and behavior, I always made sure that the table they usually sat at was available for when they came in), and the one man started yelling at me that the coffee wasn’t fresh enough (it was made less than 15 minutes prior). I was personally already a ticking time bomb at that point and just said, “Take your coffee, your tract cards and your meager pittance tips and shove them up your ass! You think you’re some kind of a good Christian? You are a total hypocrite, along with the rest of you pricks. It’s a shame that church can’t teach people how to have decent manners and restaurant etiquette.” And then I walked out and never went back. That felt good. lol
Asians are definitely up there with the worst. They generally give you a blank stare when you try to take their order, don’t even look at you when you deliver their order, look pissed off when they get their check, and don’t leave anything to write home about as a tip.
Some of my best tippers are the Russians. Where I currently work, we get a lot who come in to drink and play pool. They rack up a massive tab, they are super friendly, chatty, fun and always tip generously. They hit on me sometimes, but are always cool when I explain that I’m spoken for. They never get pushy and still tip great. I love waiting on them.
Alaska Natives. by far the worst tippers.
I had one lady specifically ask where to write the tip in on her credit card receipt, and after I told her, she wrote a big “ZERO” in and I got nothing. Absolutely nothing on a $65 tab. I have NEVER gotten anything above 5% tip from a native.
Also teenage boys are pretty bad. THeir parents send them out with some pocket change and they’ll buy as much food as they can with that money and have nothing left over for the tip. little punk bastards.
This whole thread is just one big example of good old American hate. Asians, Canadians, church-goers, rich people, salesmen, blah blah blah. I wonder how many of these commenters drive cars with those bumper stickers that say “Hatred Is Not A Family Value.” Some of them need to look in the mirror.
Seriously? In the service industry we can not complain to the costumer. Most of us receive 2.13 an hour. Tipping is how we survive. If you don’t like the complaints. Do not read. Also, if you don’t want to tip the STANDARD 15-20%, don’t go out to eat.
You probably believe in “hate facts.”
The post-Sunday church crowd is always the worst. Yes, they are usually extremely polite, but I feel lucky to scrape by with 15% at cash out.
Teenagers are either really great, or really terrible.
Also, women in groups of three or more. They generally tip poorly and they also sit in my section for two hours or more. They always manage to be there over Friday lunch rush without fail.
This may be a bit off subject, but I find it interesting anyway. A female at brunch today tipped $4.50 on a $38.50 tab, but also left her business card with “20% off my great service in recognition of yours!” She’s a stylist in a local “Great Clips” style salon. Um…thanks, but I already have someone that I trust. I see him every six weeks. Plus the whole “Hey, I’ll give YOU a crappy tip…and then you can come give ME money!” idea is hilarious.
worst tippers by far, and not to be racist, this is from experience, indians )arabs) and african americans. I know people are doing to be insulted by this but its true
Hh-mmm. I am an actual server in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. Our livelihood depends on the gratuities from tourists and the thing that keeps me focused when I work is to realize that everyone works hard for their money and regardless of, but at the same time emphasized by the recession,one must be a professional with everyone that crosses your path. That means that you are in charge of an experience that could possibly make a difference in the lives of the people sitting at the table. They could have picked another place to dine and what goes around comes around in every sense of the phrase. I do have some good ideas of when to add a tip to a check but I have also learned to read tables. Bottom line, if you have a job, do it to the best of your ability as if your life depends on it and everything will fall into place. Being a server is about the conviction you have or not in life to being comitted and consistent with excellence. I am a student and worked at a fast food establishment for over 2 years before moving on up through a hotel as a busby/host and then from a server at a diner to more developed restaurants. I know I would not like to do this forever but it is enough to get by and shapes you into an outstanding individual if you allow it to.
The worst tippers are the elderly, Puerto Ricans and African Americans. All feel that 5 dollars on any amount is the best tip ever.
Two pet peeves of mine with regards to tipping:
1. The people who think that they should not have to tip, and stiff those who depend on tips for their livelihood. The non-tipping rebels think they will change the world by bucking the norm, but all they end up doing is stiffing honest, hard-working people from a fair wage.
2. The media reports that insist that one should tip 20% if the service is passable. Where the hell did that come from ? Since the beginning of time, it has always ben 15%. That is the number that I have gone by my entire life. I give 10% for bad service, 15% for acceptable, and 20% for exceptional. If servers are hurting, then the industry should raise their pay.
Definitely blacks, Brits, Germans and church people for the worst tippers. In my experience, other servers/bartenders and gay men tend to tip the best.
And, Andrea, 15% has not been the standard for at least ten years. 18 to 20% is now considered the norm.
I have to agree with Grace. 15%-18% is the standard and fair. I can justify 20% when the service merits it. Maybe more if it’s REALLY great. But expecting 20% or more (like someone said 40%???)on every service – that’s pretty far out.
I spent years as a waiter through university and know how tough the gig can be. But now, as a customer, the times that I actually get service that is *worth* more than 15% are few and far between.
You want more? Then don’t correct pronunciation. Don’t insult me in front of my guests by trying to bullshit me into an upsell wine choice. Come around more often than to ensure that needs are taken care of. When something’s wrong, fix it. And don’t treat me like it’s my privilege to be sitting in your section and it’s your chore to serve me.
I find this to be the case at every level – from diner to $200/person meals…
Working in Dubai, at my hotel with a minimun service charge of 18% was always included in the bill, which always leads to the questions of patrons> is tip included? and the confusing answer…> well there is a national (by law..) service charge in all bills, its like tax sir/mam… and then again the question of patrons,> but should I tip the waitress? well hello!!! of course! I must say being European in Dubai cuts the possibilities of getting good tips from westerners, thats why the way to get your tips is to fully serve the local Arabs, they love having Europeans serve them! and 30-40% is the norm!
However, I must say that mid-aged Americans are also great, they are so afraid of the “oh my god middle eastern experience” that any kind conversation or as they call it “life changing conversation” makes a goot cut at the end of the night!
I’m an older guy of modest means, but always tip at least 20% of the food and drink bill, rounded up to the next dollar. The area I live in has a restaurant tax of 11 1/4% and I tip on the bill but not on the tax. Am I shorting the server by doing it this way?
I manage a strip club and in my experience the worst tippers are Hispanics, blacks and Indians. Sunday nights tend to draw a large Latino crowd and I cannot get any consistent bartenders to work those nights because of tips and I understand why. Tonight I had to bartend myself because I had no one else and the bar did about $1000 in drink sales, 90% corona, modelo and tequila. I made $43 in tips, mostly from the dancers. Blacks are a close second, they try to haggle the price of everything and are extra demanding about everything. Third are the Indians, they’re especially hated by the dancers because they’re always overly “grabby” and physical during dances, tip poorly and attempt to solicit sexual favors for insulting prices
@Garfi: Not really. You sound like a nice, generous guy. Some servers will undoubtedly argue that they would prefer to be tipped post-tax, but fact is, most of us tip out based on pre-tax (net) sales.
I don’t tip because society says I have to. All right, if someone deserves a tip, if they really put forth an effort, I’ll give them something a little something extra. But this tipping automatically, it’s for the birds. As far as I’m concerned, they’re just doing their job.
Do you ever go to the same restaurant twice?
Andrea/#350: Point #2 contradicts point #1. Plus, again I will state 15% for a tip is archaic. I used to pay $5.00 for a visit to my Dr. when I was a teenager, now I pay $75.00 and don’t even see the Dr.
Garfi/#355: You’re doing good. I don’t tip after tax either. No one should tip on top of tax. It’s tax, not part of the meal nor service.
Mr. Pink/#357:You’re the guy we all watch out for, and the one I will find out where it is that you work in my sly unconventional way. You’re the one that other servers will figure out rather quickly and decide whether or not to mess with your visit in many unconventional ways. Keep that in mind when you dine out, from here on out.
When are you going to start blogging again?
I worked in Miami for a few years and I would have to say my worst tips always came from Argentinians, Brazilians, and Gypsies, with the Gauchos being particularly bad.
Gypsies would come in and run scams, like ordering our biggest steak as an appetizer for 6, each taking a bite (thus eating 3/4 of the steak) and then complaining about how bad it was to get it comped. They would then enjoy their replacement steak and each get a salad and leave about three crumpled up dollar bills. At least they ate fast and you knew what you were dealing with when they came in and they were usually in and out within an hour. The management finally stopped comping their steaks and they stopped coming in. One particularly frustrated evening, I did some beefing up on Gypsy info. They believe that they are permitted to trick and steal by God. The story goes that the Romans went to a gypsy blacksmith to get four spikes for Jesus to be crucified. Knowing that the fourth spike was intended for Jesus’ heart, the crafty blacksmith palmed the fourth spike thus protecting the heart of Jesus. As a reward God allowed all Gypsies to steal by trickery.
Brazilians were just a pain in the ass. 10% usually but fingersnapping all the way. Not the epic bad tips the Argentinians would leave but definitely not worth the effort.
Argentinians were so bad that I would go to Argentinian restaurants in the South Florida area (The Knife, in particular) that staffed nothing but Argentinian people and I would exact my revenge. 1 or 2% was pretty standard from them, so I would usually repay the favor.
When I worked at a diner in rural Oklahoma, I found left-handed Hawaiians with beards to be the worst tippers by far. Most leave absolutely nothing and some even tell other tables not to tip.
As a server at a dinner theatre, where the servers are actors, let me tell you, Sunday matinees are the worst. All of the old people take their coats out of the mothballs and roll the walkers out. Then they come in, bitch about sodas not being free, and tip nothing since they paid for a ticket. Sometimes I want to ask them, “Do the water glasses fill themselves? Do the plates just jump off the tables and wash themselves?” Then I have to tip out my busser and bartender. THEN they shit all over the bathroom because they eat too much! And they whine that their decaf coffee isn’t hot enough. GAH!
American Express Black cardholders
Old school Asians. You can spot them because they never order any drinks, apps, or dessert. They’d probably ask you to doggy bag the free bread.
I’ve been freelancing in Asia for a couple years, where tipping is not expected at most establishments. The service is incomparably better here than at home in the US. The waitstaff typically make $2 or $3 dollars a day, provide excellent service and take pride in their work. Reading stuff like this makes me think American waitstaff are whiny, entitled and filthy rich by comparison and my experience is that they are not nearly as good at their jobs.
I’m a long time fan of this blog. I tip waiters 20% at home because it keeps the math simple and no one complains. I love places with career waitstaff who are very very good, obviously love the job, and take pride in the work. I tip them well and am happy to do it. Mostly I can’t afford the kinds restaurants that can employ this kind of waitstaff, but every so often I get lucky.
What I read here and what bothers me is that it seems like the majority of tip workers fail to recognize that not all people are inclined to be generous to the service-sector class and that not all people are in a position to be generous. It appears that many posting here believe that thrift, not tipping or tipping below 18% is bad behavior. Any comment I might make on why this is bothersome is likely to be insulting. No need. It’s all been said before, I’m sure. I submit that paying a little more attention to those sentiments might be in order.
In much of Asia you can feed a family of 5 on less than $2 a day.
My ex was a pollack and he was the worst! He would eat slowly and expect the best treatment, complain about everything and leave NO tip! I finally browbeat him and embarrassed him to the point that he wouldn’t dare NOT leave a tip!
“not all people are in a position to be generous.”
Then they are in the wrong restaurant. If you are dining in a place where the filet is 45$, the wine list has cult cabs and first-growth Bordeaux on the list, you better believe that 5% or more of every morsel you order is OWED by the server to other workers in the house. You tip accordingly, or go somewhere else. There’s a buffet down the street, I’m sure.
I don’t care how your Asian massage parlor boys get paid, it has nothing to do with the realities of the American economy. We can’t live in a box with 12 other people on 3$ a day, your majesty. (tugging forelock) In America, restaurants can and do pay servers slave wages, and take a percentage off the top of everything the server sells to pay the other employees of the restaurant. That’s the system in which we live. Comparing it to service you receive for 2$ in Asia is patently ridiculous.
You know what I find whiny? An obviously upper-middle class “freelancer” working in Asia complaining about having to tip working-class servers in the United States. If you think servers is this country are “rich” or “whiny” you obviously have never been one or met one. Most pros work 10 hour days 5-6 days a week. Their income varies wildly from one day to the next, and one season to the next. They are required to work before and long after the restaurant closes, cleaning and stocking for 2$ per hour. They never get a holiday off, have no benefits, vacation time, job security, sick pay, and are never entitled to raises. I guess we are whiny in that “turn-of-the-century-steelworker” kind of way.
As to your comment about “thrift”? I grew up in a poor, blue collar neighborhood in New York City. We went to a restaurant about once a year. This wasn’t in the 50’s, it was in the 1980’s-90’s. Eating at home is evidence of thrift. In my eyes, anyone eating out in a full-service restaurant on an ordinary evening is fabulously wealthy.
If you are in a restaurant trying to make ghetto lemonade, getting your overworked server to box up the free bread for you, beating your server down with requests for hot water so that you can slip your own tea bag out of your purse when no one is looking, then tipping 10%, you aren’t thrifty, you are a douchebag. If you are out dining on steak, lobster, and Bordeaux, and your service is good, you tip 20% of the bill. If you tip less after a luxury meal like that, you either should have spoken to the manager about the poor service you received, or you are an ungrateful, spoiled, douchebag.
It isn’t a question of inclination or means, it is a question of acting in a context-appropriate fashion, or being a douchebag.
I know how much to tip the waitstaff, 20%+, always. I’m a regular at a higher end place here. The AGM and GM take great care of me (free drinks, hold tables, etc). How much do I tip the GM at the end of the year? I figure AGM gets $200. Help?
“Your Slave,” brilliantly stated. I love you!
Am I the only one itching for a new post from the Waiter? As endless as this topic might be, enough! Steve, I miss you!
the fat black Americans who eat the, Red Snapper
We used to call them snappers , cuz all they did was tip 5 bucks , so i think they are the worst , other blacks were kool , and also city workers are cheap.. I also waited on grand masters flash
he spent over 250 bucks and left a 10 tip cheap bastard rich F**k that he is .. go back to hence ye came yarrrrrrrrr
After reading a bunch of these, I have to say: this is part of the reason I don’t eat at restaurants anymore. All of this bickering is ridiculous. Some of you have a valid point, but some of you seem to expect way too much from the average person. A smaller tip from people who still go to your restaurant is better than no tip because people can’t afford to go there anymore.
Which is what will happen if the tipping expectations continue to rise.
Be honest – you don’t go to restaurants because 1) you’re cheap, and 2) you’re embarrassed to be the only one eating alone. Am I right?
All i can say is tipping has been here for a while and will contu. to be here for two main reason
1. It encourages and creates incentives for servers
2.it keep foods cost down because thru tipping because restaurant don’t have the full burden of paying employees full amount-shared between guest.( restaurant is small margin business)
Middle-aged women. Teachers in particular. Not because they are mean; they are just clueless.
@ Just A Diner:
“As a ______ (fill-in-the-blank), I am particularly offended by blah blah…”
Generalizing isn’t the same as totalizing.
So if you are an exception why are you so defensive?
Yeah, it’s time for a new post, this thread has run it’s course.
I think the reason we still have tipping and allow for an “exploited” class of worker is stated in post #261 — servers actually make 20-30 dollars an hour after the tips (cheap or otherwise) are accounted for. That’s a lot of money. It’s hard work, but there are many hard jobs out there.
As for comment #367 — why shouldn’t someone pull together a little scratch and go out to a restraunt that is normally above their means? Why should only rich yuppies go out to eat? Waitstaff are not the only ones with hard lives and hard-luck stories. If only those with money to burn went out, then there would be many less restraunts to work at.
However, with that said, I know this thread is about blowing off steam and as such it did succeed.
I always hated the crowds that came in all dressed up after church. The tract phamplets that they left just wouldn’t add up to anything when I tried to deposit them in my bank account… I especially loved the people who told me that my reward would come in heaven. I had a secret fantasy that someday I would tell them all to go to hell!
My experience as a Canadian server is:
Bad Tippers:
Native Indians (some are very good, but the rude ones with crappy attitudes usually leave 5% or less)
Mennonites/Amish/Hudderites (rarely leave anything)
Overly needy/demanding people (will keep you running so you can’t get to your other tables, then leave you a garbage tip)
White trash (i.e. people who wear sweat pants and don’t shower when going out for a meal)
Groups of middle aged ladies (who order hot water with lemon/tea and mod their entire order)
Some Asians.
The best tippers are gay men. Other than them, almost anyone else can give you a terrible tip. And the elderly are not that bad of tippers where I work.
Oh! And I forgot Russians. 5% or less almost always.
I think its totally time for a new subject. This one has no juice left.
I’d definatly have to say mostly the bad tippers are sunday customers expecialy after church lets out. The run you and then tip crap. Also about half of the Europeans who get sparkiling water tip like crap the other half tip ok.
I’d say to those who are disappointed in church people and call them hypocrites is that you may not understand the nature of their true character. Church people are not ethical, nor moral, in a humanistic manner. They have values, that is, values that matter to them. They are largely people who fear death and are motivated to go to church to overcome that fear. I don’t know the meaning of life but one thing I do believe is absolutely certainly true is that church people don’t know the meaning of life either.
For the longest time 15% was the norm for tipping. Then sometime in 1990’s it went up to 18%-20%, though I never got the memo. Who decides what it should be? Congress?
Death of a blog or just in critical condition?
As a Brit who generally tips around 20% when I’m in the US (thanks to the concerned and lovely waitress in Downers Grove many years ago who sweetly explained the rules), I’d be interested to know how many of you pre-emptively put less effort into serving people (Brits, Canadians, middle management…) you assume will tip badly?
Could that end up being counter productive?
Church people, little tips if any and if I got another flyer about converting to their brand of God I would have broken the sixth commandment.
Blacks families are 10% all day but the shit they pull is what takes the cake. I’d bet 75% of the black families I’ve waited on complain until something comes off the bill.
Black professionals were mostly good tippers.
Canadians are bad, but at least they don’t know it.
Japs know it and hide behind, a usually false, lack of language.
Australians are the worst, i once got $5 on over $500 from an Australian who played Hockey for a semi pro team in Canada, the double whammy. Incidentally, the Australian term for cheap person is “too hot skillet”.
Give me a table of servers and bartenders over any other group in the world. Also, in the category of “I’d have never thought”, leather wearing Harley riders are generally great tippers and extremely nice.
“…Give me a table of servers and bartenders over any other group in the world. Also, in the category of “I’d have never thought”, leather wearing Harley riders are generally great tippers and extremely nice…”
True. MOST people who work for tips, leave decent tips. Gay guys, bartenders, strippers, and people who truly work for their money.
I have to say, that when ever I go out, unless the service was so-so (even then, I still leave 15%) I never leave less than $5. If i’m at luch and my bill was $24 and change, they still get AT LEAST $5.
We really are overdue for a new thread. This one as well as the others on here have become tiresome. ~
Also, If I budget a certain amount for my meal, say twenty bucks for lunch, and I only spend ten of it? If the service was good I’ll leave it all. It brightens my servers day and I’m not any poorer than I thought I would be. I’ve been serving a long time, and when this has happened to me even on a very small check, it’s made my day. Tip for service and always, ALWAYS over budget for yourself. This way you can spare yourself the worry about being able to afford something and still leave a good tip.
Chinese, Black people (sorry to be unPC), very large people where you need to pull out the seat with no arms (embarrassing), couple’s in a fight, Men who think you’re hot (when they’re with their wife).
One time I had a woman stick her cigarette into my leg because her husband gave me a tip she deemed “over generous”. I was 13. No Joke. Been waiting tables for many, many years. I started out illegaly in a Greek cafe at 13 and that was one of my worst experiences to date. Of course, now, you can’t smoke in restaurants (thank GOD) even though I smoke…..you get me. But I digress…. and my name? It’s an anagram for “College Educated Waitress”.
Smooches
B
Old people are by and far consistently the worst, in my experience. They try to save money by splitting entrees and/or using coupons, then they only tip $1.
Not to be left behind, though, are the uneducated and the hicks (sorry, country bumpkins) – I once waited on an 6-top to whom I quite literally gave the shirt off my back (we sold shirts with our restaurant on them, which we also had to wear as a uniform, and the one I was wearing was the last of that particular style) and only got $4 on a $100 check – plus they were VERY high-maintenance and sat in my section for two hours!!
Too bad Steve can’t be bothered to blog anymore; I used to really enjoy it. *sigh*
@Lady Proserpina- good thing you dont go to restaurants anymore…if you get my drift.
8 Top Rob – as an Australian, I have never heard that expression before. I think someone’s been pulling your leg.
I would have no idea of the American tipping system if I hadn’t found this blog – we just don’t tip as a cultural thing, and Americans seem to be too busy ridiculing us to mention it.
black people, hands down. most of them that come in my restaurant are super demanding, super rude and super cheap. second behind that, indian people. and right behind them, filipinos and asians. they come in big groups, order two pastas and seven hot waters, and share everything. the best? in my restaurant, it varies. usually middle class families, or if i’m cocktailing, groups of guys just there to watch the game and snack on apps.
People who pray before they eat, wear a cross around their neck, or other assorted “Jesus Freak” totems. They seem to think that Jesus will account for my income or something.
Also, snotty middle-aged white professionals never seem to tip well–perhaps that’s because they dislike the attitude I dish up with their pancakes. I don’t give a damn how entitled you think you are, you really have no right to make me feel inferior.
#393/Lauren: Had you read the previous postings here, you would have seen it mentioned that Australian’s don’t tip and why. That’s because you get paid a pretty good salary for some of the worst service I’ve ever experienced. When in Rome…know before you go. No excuse not to know what the tipping culture is in a country. Google. Visit travel websites.
#395/grayce: Amen Sister!
The worst tippers, in my 2 and a half years as a host and 9 months as a server in a diner style setting, would definitely have to be the Russians/Ukrainians. They generally leave $2 on a $40 tab, next would have to be elderly couples, it’s not the 50’s anymore a quarter is not an acceptable tip anymore.
Heyyy Steeeve!! Helloooo! We’re at 300+ comments. Post, please. Seriously, have you gleaned any new information? You already KNOW who the crappy tippers are, you’re just encouraging us to entertain each other while you take a pass. Finish your coffee and get the eff out of my section already. Love you, mean it!
In my experience I think that the worst tippers tend to eat at “common” places. When I was working at corporate, one on every major intersection chain restaurants, I found that people of all types fell that they can walk all over you, whereas working in a, not upscale, but more unique establishment, I don’t have that problem anymore… as much. Although if I could isolate a few groups of people, “church goers” rank pretty high. Or campers… you know, take your table for 2 hours and leave 15%. Time is money people. Underage patrons. Just because I asked you for your ID doesn’t mean I don’t deserve a tip.
Some vicious lot you are, waiters! I’m a waitress at a diner myself and I DON’T see my customers as walking dollar signs, as some of you apparently do. Yes, good and even average tippers are great, but you seem to have forgotten that you’re also receiving something called a SALARY. We’re all getting paid to do what we do, and dealing with people is part of the job, whether they’re kind, rude, polite, or demanding. If you can’t handle that, then you’re probably in the wrong profession. Am I a saint that absolutely never gets fed up with my customers? Of course not. But the of the remarks made by some people here are downright cruel and very uncalled for.
Pertaining to my experiences on the question that was actually put forth by the Waiter, the worst tippers, in my experience, have to be middle-aged to elderly women who wear lots of makeup, jewelry, or perfume. The correlation between these traits and bad tipping is almost freakish. Do I treat them with any contempt or spite? No. They’re nice people (for the most part) and get average but substantial service. My regulars and everybody else gets great service. But, God, people, there’s more to a person than how much extra money they think is fit to give you for doing your job.
@Dragonfly who wrote:
Well, Grace…most work done anywhere is mindless, unless your a rocket scientist or into astrophysics. A 15% tip is archaic. It’s old school and not generous, but rather insulting. Have you heard of inflation? The only thing not going up are prices at Wally World or Micky D’s.
Well, this is a poor argument because as inflation rises, food costs and bills rise which would mean a higher overall bill to apply the 15% gratuity to. The percent of the gratuity should not go up with inflation. I waited tables for about 6 years and I was quite happpy to get 15%. I usually tip 20% now, but no higher. Also French Canadians and Blacks are the worst tippers beyond the renowned West Virginians who feel 2$ is always a good tip.
Well,Tibby it’s not a poor argument. It’s a rather sane one. Not every restaurant has gone up in prices. Had you read further down from where you copied and pasted my comment, you would have seen my explanation about it. Your viewpoint about the percentage left for tips leaves me scratching my body parts wondering how you can justify how wonderful and thankful we should be about working for less than min. wage and be happy to get 15% for a tip, inflation or not. So everyone else has the right to make a decent wage except restaurant workers??? That’s frickin’ insane.
I’ve been a server for six years and the worst tippers are the elderly and young people. Restaurant etiquette should be a required course in high school.
Waiters after their not waiters anymore.
WOW, DragonFly. If your service is as good as your demeanor here I bet you get tipped squat.
When you calculate in tips, wait staff make a decent wage in most places. Anywhere between $8 – $15/hour. So don’t tell me how bad a waitress/ waiter have it. Waa waaa waaa, everyone else has the right waa waa waaaa. So do you. You want better, get another job.
Looking at all the shi**y attitudes here I can see why so many of you get low/ no tips. Biggest bunch of crybabies: waitstaff.
Waiter – where are you?! These guys are getting really boring!! And snarky!!
The worst tippers are the people who are also the most high maint! They’ll have you list every ingredient of everything they might order, go back to check twice with the chef, make you mix a drink you nor your Bartender’s Guide Book have ever heard of, want a water refill at 3/4 full and then…not tip well.
Actually Pinky my demeanor makes me an angel compared to your rude comments, foul language, and demeaning comments about servers. I hope when you eat out, you get found out. $8.00-$15.00@hr. is a decent wage?? That’s rich! I made great tips when I served.:) 🙂 🙂
Uhm.. Dragonfly $8-15 per hour IS A DECENT WAGE. You aren’t a rocket scientist or even an engineer or accountant or … Its insane how much I made serving, was nice but was way more than the work involved and was even more than $15 an hour.
Dave: How would you know what field of work I am in right now? Are you a psychic? You and Pink are clueless on that one, I assure you. Obviously you really haven’t been following the postings here from the get-go. I suppose one would think those wages are good depending on which area of the country one lives in and how many people one lives with. Try supporting a family on that wonderful hourly wage. Good luck!!
Dave,
You’re the reason we have a pro-labor President instead of the upper middle class twit we endured for the last 8 years. Have fun paying our health insurance bills! We’ll have fun spending your money organizing with SEIU, striking for a living wage, and living the dream while you refill your own damn water glass. Mmmmmm! Naked Hostesses!
Soon, no one will have to tip, but since we will all be unionized, protected by jobsite rules, and health-insuranced (thanks taxpayers!), we won’t be too concerned that your steak is undercooked. Enjoy the feeling of your head exploding when a server says in response to your request for dressing on the side, “talk to my union rep, fat ass!”
Hi! We don’t always feel the need to tip in Australia, although we do for great service. Sometimes we even pay by EFTPOS where there is no opportunity to tip (unless we have cash).
At best, we tip 10%. We frequent restaurants where wait staff do their job as a career. They are paid a living wage and tips are the cream to their milk. So you can imagine how difficult it is for the Aussies when they travel to the US?! Who do you tip, who don’t you tip? Do you tip everybody? I went to a Brisbane restaurant yesterday and they added $2.00 to our bill to help the homeless – glad to do it. Check out http://www.streetsmartaustralia.org However, the brochure on the table said “Please consider donations to StreetSmart as over and above any tip you wish to leave for the staff.”
Hands down, my worst tippers have ALWAYS been the disabled. I have no clue why, but the majority of my experiences with bad tippers are handicapped people. They’re also usually the mose demanding, unfortunately. Please note, by demanding, I’m not referring to reasonable requests to accommodate disabilities, I mean being horifically DEMANDING.
i am echoing indians, but i’d like to narrow it down to indian males. if you manage to squeak out 15% out of them, you should consider yourself lucky as hell. it’s usually under 10%. and if you’re a female, prepare to be treated like you’re not worthy to lick the fucker’s shoe, let alone serve him a meal.
Hold up bigtime, people. I’m sick and tired of reading all the geezers who make fun of the servers saying 15% is lousy. It is. No, the price of the food is NOT going up in most cases, places cut corners to keep the food at familiar prices so diners keep coming back. The ONLY and I mean ONLY prices that are really going up is the cost of living and the amount of options for employment is plummeting. Be kind to your servers when you eat out, or park your cheap ass at home.
I’ve avoided saying this over the years when there’s been a long dry spell without a post, because this guy needs a life as well as a blog, but…
Is BLOG DEAD?
wow. Servers, actually expect more than 15% on the regular?
I am North American- lived here and abroad and I have always been told these are the rules…
15% for regular service
15% or more for great service
less than 15% for sub-par service
I am aghast to think that servers at run of the mill places expect more than 15%. If you are working at an upscale, then ok, but Applebee’s, chilli’s or locally owned grills and family joints should not expect this.
am I wrong?!?!
Worst tipper: my stepmother, who is a middle-aged churchgoing white woman. Not only does she tip less than she should, but she’s demanding and makes life hell for restaurant staff.
Once, while visiting my family, we all decided to go out to a Mexican restaurant run a local immigrant family. She proceeded to play “lady of the manor”, demanding to know where her iced tea or this or that was, grabbing the server away from other duties. All commands were issued in the snottiest voice imaginable. THEN, near the conclusion of the meal, she announced that she and the other people at church had decided that it wasn’t necessary to tip more than 10%. Furthermore, she made this announcement within earshot of the server, who had worked very hard and was consistently polite and patient.
When she and the rest of the family made their exit, my husband and I lingered behind to throw some more bills on the table to compensate for her pathetic tip. Lo and behold, she spotted us, marched back, and told us that we shouldn’t leave the money and were over tipping! My husband managed to get her out of the restaurant without her grabbing the cash we’d left, but it was a close thing. Later, he muttered in my ear “No more than 10%, eh? That’s mighty Christian of them.”
The worst tippers are blue collar, 27-35 year old women. Sometimes they can be the best tippers (possibly because they too worked in the serving industry, once upon a time). But if I were to look back at who tipped me the least and was also the most demanding, it would be this group.
Your Slave: uhm we have a psycho path as President currently.
NorthAm Tipper: as a longtime server 15% is fine for decent/good service, prices of food have gone up right along with everything else as ANYONE WITH HALF A BRAIN KNOWS. Yeah those new to the business have gotten greedy but 15% is still fair leave 20% if a server does something for you above and beyond. Of course leave less than 15% for poor/terrible service.
Remember, servers can’t earn less than minimum for a period (restaurant has to make it up if necessary) and in practice never do. Heck in many states tips are all gravy since they already have to make a good minimum BEFORE tips (eg Calif $8.00, Washington State $8.55, Oregon $8.40)
To NorthAM Tipper:
I’ve heard that the standard is now 18% of the bill BEFORE taxes. But typically I get 20% of the whole bill 🙂 I work in Minneapolis where tippers in general are pretty generous.
Is Waiter Dead?
Urgh, what a load of crap. People tip at the end of a service right? So if you are ignoring people, giving the bad service, with the expectation they are going to give you a bad tip, OF COURSE THEY WILL!! You just gave them bad service because you thought they wouldn’t tip your good service and as a result you get a bad tip!
This is why I hate tipping. You should be giving good service regardless, and have it as part of the cost. If you give EXCELLENT service then people could give you a tip on top of that cost. Simple really, and happily the way it is in MOST OTHER COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD. Hell, lots of places DON’T EXPECT A TIP AT ALL!
NorthAm Tipper-
Yes you are wrong.
I’m surprised that Canadians made the shitty tipper list. Where I work the worst tippers are the Americans! They still seem to think that their dollar is so much better than ours and that leaving a tattered 1 dollar bill is like leaving us 5! It’s pretty much on par, 1US = 1.065CAN , so keep it comin’ yanks!
Christmas tips on listed on this website:
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/Advice/weston-holiday-tips-when-to-give-when-to-skip.aspx
Lots of talks about servers again but most of this is a little more… balanced…
10%/15%/20% is perfectly fine in the midwest and was how I was raised. Maybe 20%/25%/30% is what the coasters expect. If I visit, I normally tip 20% which is the high end of my scale. If it is the low end of yours, well, it’s better than 5% or nothing.
Kyle @420, The waiter who used to write entertaining blog entries appears to be gone for good.
“Is Waiter Dead?”
Nah. Probably just in the proverbial weeds.
Goodbye waiter, thanks for the productive years.
RIP.
For the last time folks, on both sides of the debate, a percentage is NOT a fixed cash amount so it should never need to be adjusted. 15%, or whatever, will automatically give the server more money every time the prices go up.
15% of a $20.00 meal is $3.00 but if the meal goes to $30.00 the tip goes to $4.50. Higher prices produce higher tips even at the same percentage rate. Over and out.
With regard to tourists, I agree wholeheartedly that some people feign ignorance, but for a proportion of people holidaying in the States a reduced tip could be an education issue. Sure, the majority would be aware of the tipping culture, but many wouldn’t understand WHY that culture exists – ie servers are paid reduced base wage.
I’ve always tipped $1 a drink and 20% for food whenever I’ve been there – coupled with my accent that’s lead to numerous free drinks that were “accidentally” poured. Good times.
Maybe we should just be done with it and change the name of the blog to “The Tipping Rant”…
I don’t want to but feel I have to say that asking a waiter whether they should get tipped 15% or 20% is rather like asking anybody to set their own pay – they’ll always err on the high side.
If you asked me what I should be paid I know what I would say.
“Is BLOG DEAD?”
how is babby formed?
how girl get pragnent?
Black people, hands down. Doesn’t matter if they’re rich or poor, unless they are educated, it’s a cultural thing. I’ve been asked more than once by them, “what is a gratuity? Do I HAVE to leave it?”
I don’t find middle class white women to be awful. They’re average, but they tend to not find anything wrong with camping all night so they can chat with their friends.
Bye Waiter, thanks for all the entertainment over the years…
Leftover Hippies have been some of the best tippers I have encountered as a waiter. I work at a Mellow Mushroom, and we get a lot of their business. Living in the “Bible Belt”, I have also been privy to the church crowds on Sundays, and while they are needy and often demanding customers, the tips they leave are lackluster. We also have a lot of “red neck” customers, and while a handfull of them have been great tippers, most tend to leave a small tip. (Ex. $2.99 on a $42.01 check = Shitty) Lunch goers tend to have a different attitude about tipping. Thier idea of a tip tends to be between $1-$3. Lunch is viewed as a quick meal, and business is often conducted during it. I’m lucky to pickup 15% at lunch even if I work my ass off for a table. I also agree with many of you above, that nurses are some of the worst tippers.
I tried to bartend briefly when I was young. They made me coctail waitress, which I found to be one of the most painful-difficult-impossible things I’ve ever done. Or not done. I sucked at it and it was nothing short of a nightmare. I’m always amazed by people who can manage their tables and not lose their minds, so I leave wildly high tips. (To the point where friends take me aside and tell me it’s too much. I ignore them, because I can do the math – it’s never about miscalculation.)
I also am nearly always hurting for money, mainly because of chronic illness. So while I’m leaving lots of money on the table, it’s not because I can actually afford to do it. (It’s also very infrequent that I do eat out, because I know I can’t afford to.) It’s important to me at that moment to leave what I’m leaving. But Christ, these comments make me want to walk out without even paying for the meal. I won’t do it, it’s just what you’re making me feel. I always felt good about those tips, because I chose to give them, because it was me, doing something good, that the waitstaff would find and know they were hugely appreciated. But now I’m hearing that it’s expected? That we’re being judged and compared based on money? That just so profoundly sucks and these aren’t the people I thought I was cleaning myself out for.
I get it that waitstaff are grotesquely underpaid. I remember it. How about, though, directing the anger and disgust at the people who are actually to blame? The owners, the restaurant industry, those people?
Our culture has contorted things beyond recognition, but really (and this has been said in earlier comments) a tip is supposed to be at the discretion of the person giving it. It’s supposed to be optional. If you think there’s a minimum, then up to that figure is *not* really a tip and should be incorporated into the bill. Not just the bill, but the prices on the menu, and the prices put forth in ads. And it’s not your fault that it isn’t. It’s your bosses’ fault, and the industry’s. But it’s not the customer’s fault either.
Any promotion, or any service at a particular price, is going to attract people who need that particular deal in order to take part. I remember when Scott Adams was giving away electronic versions of a book and then tried to sell his next book to the same audience. He was all disgruntled that it didn’t fly – what was the matter with these people who took advantage of the free offer, not paying for the next book? I don’t know why he didn’t get it: the free offer attracted people who didn’t have any money for books. Of course they weren’t going for the paying one.
Similarly with restaurants. If food is advertised at a particular price, people who have that amount of money to spend are going to be drawn by it. Some of those people may feel like they’re already at the end of their rope (trying to deal with their horrible kids, trying to make ends meet, whatever). Some of them may feel like they really need a night out, and look, here’s a flier saying we can have it, thank god. So then what happens? You get to the restaurant and you have enough for the food, but the waitstaff comes to the table and asks you what you’d like to drink. Drink? I just wanted to get that special they offered. And god forbid if you try to limit yourself to water – it’s like you asked them to clean up after your dog. So there’s this brutal interchange where you’re fighting not to feel like dirt, when you were just responding to an offer that was sent to you in the mail. And unless you put forth a huge amount of energy to resist all the pressured offers and to endure the attitude that you’re worth less than the scum on the bottom of their shoes, the drinks and tax and tip (would you care for some dessert?) are going to easily double the figure you’d counted on, which was a stretch for you in the first place.
I don’t take it out on the waitstaff – I come up with the money to give them. But it’s not so hard to imagine what might be happening here, is it? The waitstaff isn’t the culprit, and neither are the customers. It’s a really messed up system, and the people running it and propagating it are the ones to blame. (Maybe it’s easier to blame the customer, since they’re relatively powerless and present only briefly as compared to the owner/managers.) Please, can’t you see this?!
(calming down, slightly.)
Then again, you guys are able to do it, and I’m not. That counts for alot. I just had to write after seeing some of this stuff.
Wait a minute – do I hear music? Yes, it is – it sounds like bagpipes playing “Taps” signaling the death of a blog! RIP Waiterrant – you will be missed
Im afraid, terribly afraid, that my favorite blog is enduring a terrible, painful death. I will miss it like id miss my best friend. Please get well, dear friend, please get well.
I haven’t read every comment here, but I think I can spot a trend here. Servers from the US are identifying “Canadians”, “Scandinavians”, “French”, “Asians”, “Brits” etc. Servers from Canada are identifying “Americans”, “Scandinavians”, “French”, “Asians”, “Brits” etc. It seems to me that the issue is visitors in general. It’s likely that when people are visiting a place they know they will never return to, they won’t feel as compelled to leave a good tip.
I live in Canada, and waited tables for several years. Believe me, our tipping system is the same as in the States, and I could expect to receive the appropriate tip based on the size of the bill and level of service I provided.
In my experience African-Americans are the worst tippers, it was a buffet restaurant in the south it sucked working there. The sunday crowd ie: church crowd nothing christian about them I guess they left all their money at church, a party of 20 would run us to axhaustion drinking like it was the last day of their lives, tip? $5.00 attitude don’t get me started the ruddest people ever. Please I do not want to sound racist but it is my personal experience and of my fellow workers.
Hispanics: always hitting on female servers, I even had one hit on me with his wife present, needless to say I got nothing from them.
Right..we are not supposed to go to a restaurant if we don’t drink or just don’t want to that night.
We should order appetizers and a desert or the pwoor waiter will get upset. Our whole meal should be structured in such a way that it ensures the waitstaff’s enrichment.
And we are expected to pay OVER 15% of the already overpriced entries. No wonder so many restaurants keep going out of business.
I suppose this blog has reached its end of life. How much can you talk about essentially a brain dead job of shuffling food from kitchen to the table without descending to the lowest form of insults, racial ephitets and name calling?
The funny thing is waitstaff will not lobby for regular salaries because they know it will inevitably be lower than what they earn now with tips even after accounting for lousy tippers.
Generally, I think customers tip the same no matter the service.
The worst tippers are the ones that come tto a restaurant expecting bad service. These are the ones that hassle the servers, ask about when their food will be delivered three minutes after they have ordered it, and generally are expecting a bad time at a restaurant. These people can be of any economic class, race, or social status.
The best tippers are ones who allow themselves a enjoyable experience, treat the servers like the individuals they are, and appreciate good service when they see it. Some of the best tippers I have had are grouped into the categories listed above.
In regards to other comments–
Waiting tables may seem like a mindless job, but it requires an amount of multitasking that some do not appreciate. It creates a stressful environment for all involved, but the goal is not to let that reach the customer.
In all my years, I still have to go with Black men, especially the ones who like to stop in right before close. Thanks for running me ragged and sorry there were not enough “scrumps” in your pasta. That and Church people, like they always say 10% to God and 5% to your server.
As a teenage, Caucasian female, I always tip. Even if the service was horrible, I tip anyway. You’ll get a good tip if you were good, and an okay tip if you were bad, but you’ll get tipped anyway. I know how shitty it is to put up with people who seem to want nothing more than to rip out your still-beating heart, eat it on their sandwich, and then tell you that you’ve got some nerve to lie there dead on the floor instead of serve them.
And, living in the deep South, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that 90% of the time, very religious people are the worst to deal with. Not only are they most likely bad tippers, but they are the whiniest, neediest, holier-than-thouest people I have ever encountered in my entire life in nearly all situations.
Granted, I worked at ChikFilA and got an hourly wage (and I’m not saying in the least I had it worse, because I was very happy to have that job) but dear lord, many religious customers of this particular establishment are crazy and not to mention rude. I have seen people step -over- a woman comatose on the floor who was being treated by paramedics so they could get in line.
Worst tippers…. LOVE this topic.
1) Latinos- sorry but I’ve been completely stiffed ($0 tip for excellent service after they had come in 10 min. till close and stayed over an hour) TWICE in two weeks.
2) Religious – Can’t understand it! But even when I go out to eat with my religious family members, I cringe at how they poorly they treat their waiters and how little they tip them after such torture (I always carry extra money so I can slip it on the table on my way out)
3) The Elderly- I don’t blame them always, I mean, I have to believe that it’s just common for them to not tip very much. But it still sucks.
it was on the news this mroing a mother in ar who had kill her three kids . they are taking the three babby back to new york too lady to rest my pary are with the father who lost his chrilden ; i am truley sorry for your lots
To The Ghost-
Your expectations of servers to act like tipping is a plus, not a necessity, is seriously un-realistic. When the government raises the minimum hourly wage that servers are paid (my last waitressing job was I believe around $2/hour) to something that we can actually live off of, then we might be more inclined to not be so pissed off about the shitty tips that the masses leave us.
I can’t believe the people that leave bad tips because they feel that just because it’s not their fault we get paid like crap doesn’t mean they should leave a decent tip. Honestly, where is the good heart in so many of these people? The generosity and the understanding? Yes, we should get paid more by the hour so that we don’t have to pray that we can pay rent and bills on time, but until that happens, the people that dine are desperately depended on. It’s not the best system, but that’s just how it is for now.
That being said, by far the worst people I have gotten tips from tend to be those that use coupons and gift cards. Also church people, no matter what faith. What makes you think that I’m even Christian? Self righteous, needy, annoying people. As well as the groups of teenagers sponsored by an adult- whether a birthday, sports team, or other special occasion, it was hardly ever that the adult present would make up for all of the hard work that their devil spawn would cause. And even if the minors brought their own money their parents gave them, they wouldn’t think about using some of that for a tip and would spend it all on their meal.
The way I see it- If you can’t afford to tip, you either shouldn’t be dining out, or should order something lower-priced. If you can’t afford the tip, I can’t afford the time.
Waiter, we miss you! Please come back. This thread is so dead.
Hello Waiter, Merry Christmas to you. Pls drop us a Christmas gift here in Aus by posting. Thx!!
Merry Christmas to you all..
And to the Waiter
Sorry, NO TIP
The Service here is slow and seems in the alley on a smoke or coke break .
To the waitstaff who say “if you can’t afford to tip you shouldn’t dine”…who the hell are you to tell a diner that? You are just a coke addled loser who can’t get another job. Shut up and serve and be happy with the $2 or whatever you make per hour.
Love this thread. I’ve been in fine dining for 8 years and currently work at a high-end restaurant in New Orleans. In my experience, the worst tippers are….
1. Church people
2. The elderly
3. Anyone, of any age or color, who orders
A. well-done meat
B. cocktail sauce, ranch dressing, steak sauce, etc, when we clearly don’t offer it.
C. Beringer white zinfandel
4. Europeans – specifically Scandanavians, the French, Dutch, and Greeks.
5. Most people paying with an amex black card.
and the best tippers are gay men. period.
former waiter, bartender & pizza delivery driver
Hands down BLACK PEOPLE, who we called “Canadians” as code when speaking in somewhat public settings.
Sorry but it’s just the truth.
Even the other black people at these service industry jobs complained constantly about having too many “damn Canadians” in their section.
No idea how good or bad REAL Canadian people are to wait on, I’ve never served one.
To Jackie(comment 200): you and your good for nothing aunt have eaten gallons of spit over the years.
Us servers/bartenders can’t sense a vibe from guests. Whether you’re tense, upbeat, or clearly a cunty drag who is out to cause problems, we’re ready for it. And, if you are in fact acting like a cunt from the get-go, we’ll write you off and focus on the people who are worth our time.
If I had to guess, I’d say you’re one of those everybody-is-crazy/wrong/failing-but-me people. Those people are almost always projecting as they, in fact, are the ones that are crazy/wrong/failing.
Wow! I’m blown away by all of the people who think black people are the worst tippers. No wonder people start out treating me like they don’t want to be bothered – You would really have to do something awful – like leave me waiting while you wait on the table that came after me for me not to tip 20%. I leave 20% unless you are awesome in which case I’ve been known to leave as much as 100% of my bill as a tip – for maybe a single mom – or college student – or a server that goes out of the way to provide A+ service. So, I would say that while I know people can be cheap and unexposed-be careful not to confuse african american and “ghetto” – If I sense for one second that you are sizing me up like that – as much as I hate it I will leave 10% and a note telling you why I did that and hoping it will be a lesson learned.
I’ve said it above and I’ll say it again: the exception only proves the rule. You can’t blame a kid who’s been stung by bees for being wary around bees!
Bad:
asian guys who do not drink alcohol
asian girls
white girls wearing northface jackets
anybody wearing hip-hop style jewelry (doesn’t matter the color of their skin) but isn’t actually well off at all
college athletes
Good:
asian guys who drink alohol
middle-aged women in groups (especially black women because they tend to be flirtier)
middle-aged men wearing a suit jacket but no tie
frat guys with fake id’s
anybody who is or was a waiter (though they also have the highest expectations because they know how easy it really is)
Well, so much for the blog it seems. Darn.
Merry Christmas, Waiter. Hope you’ll be back after the holidays with more stories for us!
Merry Christmas, Waiter. Don’t let the Grinches get you down!
Merry Christmas Steve Dublanica! I got your book for Christmas! I’m reading it right now and I love it so far.
I agree. Where is the waiter????
I love blogs because of the interaction. Hey, the only interaction currently is between the bloggers, not the author (whos book I bought) This site will become boring without the input of the owner!!!!!!! (it’s been almost a month without a new post). We seem to be writing the book (that we will buy) without any input from you,the waiter. Get cracking with some input baby!!!
we should abandon this comment roll in protest….no new comments till we get a new post
I doubt I’ll be buying that book!
Been great reading for the past 5 years, was hoping the ride wasn’t over but………..Miss reading your posts.
Asians
Cypriots !!! I’ve worked for a few months in this country, doing this job and believe me…compared to what happens in USA, UK…man…you guys are uber-lucky…
In Cyprus, you normally give 1% of your shift sales to the manager (out of your tips obviously) and you’re lucky to walk out with an additional 3-5% for yourself..On a busy day with over 1000 sales (Euro..that would be about 1500$) if you manage to have 40-50 at the end of the shift for yourself you had a marvelous shift..
On top of that, most locals in this country drive Mercedes and BMW’s, dress very fancily and even show off their thick stacks of cash at the table but most of the time they leave pathetic 2-3…5% is actually very good…sometimes absolutely nothing, or even worse..the “copper” coins (1-2-5 cents).
So , NEVER work as a waiter in Cyprus
Large church groups on Sunday brunch or dinner. Run your legs right off your ass for every little thing then don’t leave a dime. We used to hate getting Sunday shifts because of this. I finally wangled my way out of not working any breakfasts. I’m good at what I do and my boss knows it so he finally relented. But god we’d do just about anything to trade out shifts to not have to work Sunday’s. Church people are the worst!!
Second worst: Ladies that lunch. I would count my mom among this group. She’s never worked this type of job and sees a restaurant as an extension of her living room. These are the Hamptons set. God save us from the water and salad table for eight who all want separate checks!
Third worst: Some frat boy types who think it’s okay to make sexual innuendo throughout your meal. Drink too much, are basically obnoxious as can be then leave a big tip of five to ten percent after hogging a table for over three hours of delightful twelve year old humor. God I hate even going to the table and ought to get twenty percent just for walking over there sometimes! Some of you are NOT as “cute” as you think you are!
i was a server only for a short time.
my first job was at a small diner in a little river town in middle of nowhere illinois. EVERYONE who lived in that town who came to the diner was a horrible tipper. i don’t think made more than a $2 tip regardless of the size of the bill or the party form locals. however, the city people who came to town to make use of the marina usually tipped 15 – 20%. i am not sure if it was because the locals were poor, working class people and could barely afford the luxury of eating out or if they were just ignorant (or stupid).
the second job i had was at a nicer neighborhood restaurant/bar in the chicago suburbs. the worst tippers there were businessmen and nurses. i never got any religious paraphanalia or anything as a tip before so i don’t know what that is all about. the sunday breakfast buffet was when everyone wanted to work because the tips were awesome and i am sure that lots of those people were church people.
i have to admit that i HATED being a server SO MUCH, that i no longer enjoy dining out and when i do dine out, i have utmost respect for the servers and i am not demanding and i leave huge tips regardless of the service because i understand that servers have fights with their kids/spouses or maybe have a dog that died before their shift or whatever just like everyone else and that this is how they pay their rent and feed their children.
I work in a decent mid-western country style steak-house and usual take home 15-18% after the 3% tipshare the computer system takes out (uncool!). Aside from people with disabilities (I was once stiffed by an 8 top of mute people on a Saturday night!) the worst tippers are by far TEENAGERS! You know, the kind who come out in hoards for proms and homecoming dances, expect to be waited on hand and foot (just like mommy does for them) and then leave a pile of small change, or try to pay at the hostess stand. Oh how I hate teens!
Having only scanned the first few dozen comments, I’m surprised how few people mentioned teenagers. They are the absolute worst! Most of them are spoiled rotten, have never had to earn a dollar in their life, and Mommy and Daddy gave them the money to pay for the food – they’d rather keep the change for themselves than use it for a tip. Teenagers drive me nuts, especially those that leave a bunch of change, often under a dollar. I’d rather you didn’t leave any at all, thanks; at least then I can pretend you forgot.
I do agree that church groups are also horrible at tipping, and I’m a church goer myself, so I don’t understand it; Christians are taught generosity, but for whatever reason people throw that out the window when it comes to tipping. I always get those “Do you know Jesus?” track cards. Yes, I DO know Jesus, and I’d prefer money over another card, thanks.
I agree that you shouldn’t dine in if you can’t afford to tip. Waiters/waitresses are not just bums who can’t get another job; often people work in the restaurant business as a second job if their career is not yet fully on track, to pay for college, etc. If you don’t want to fork out at least 20% for excellent service, go to a drive-thru or a Subway. Don’t expect someone to wait on you hand and foot, refilling your water glass every two minutes, if you can’t even treat them like a decent human being and give them a tip in return.
I’m quite angry after reading the comments on here. I’m a white teen girl who’s been serving in places similar to Outback, Applebee’s, Chili’s, ect. for over a year.
Yes it’s painful to ‘give’ someone a 20% tip sometimes. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t anyway! Think about it, in a steakhouse your meal (if you don’t go water and salad on me) should cost you about $20 per individual. You’re willing to spend that when you could save your money by 100%, 50%, 25%, ect by: eating a a cheaper place, ordering a smaller meal (since you rarely, if ever, finish everything you order), going fast food, or heaven forbid EAT AT HOME!
I’m a teenager working a job I despise, being ordered around, treated like crap, and more than once being brought to tears by rude customers or management. I go home to my economy apartment, try to pay my bills, and eat a peanut butter sandwhich, or a frozen pizza. My meals never cost me more than $3, and since I do the work myself, and clean up after myself I don’t have to pay a tip.
Even broke as I am, I tip 30% or more ANYWHERE, even pizza hut! Yea, I make ‘at least minimum wage’ with shitty tips, however, if I wanted to make minimum wage I would find a job somewhere else, ANYWHERE ELSE! The hostesses make minimum wage to stand by a door and put your ass in a seat. Serving is a lot harder!
Yes, technically a tip is optional. Otherwise it would be included in the check (which no doubt you would bitch about). Still, consider the basic option: tips = rent $ = I have a place to live. No tips/shitty tips = no rent = homeless. End of story.
So, if you want to eat out but can’t afford a tip EAT AT A FUCKING MCDONALDS!
Really overweight, middle-aged men. They order enough food for four people, expect a refill every time they catch sight of you, ask for extra sauce every time you bring their refill, complain about the thickness of their burger/heat of their soup/amount of mayonnaise…and then leave less than 10%.
Also, you know if someone complains about prices, they won’t tip. Contrary to popular belief, wait staff don’t decide prices. If we could, we’d give it to you for free and collect a nice tip. Unfortunately, that’s not up to us, so I’m sorry that you have to pay an extra 49 cents for grilled onions, but please don’t make me pay for it (or yell at me for it!)
Be nice.
Be understanding.
Tip 18-20%.
If you recieved poor service LET SOMEONE KNOW.
Don’t be afraid to tip less for poor service, but it is common for servers to pay a percentage of their tips out to the bartenders, hostesses, and/or bussers so please never leave less than 8-10%. Just speak with a manager, or better yet fill out a comment card and send it in when available. DON’T leave it there or give it to the server. Mail it in to the office when you can, and when you can’t speak with owners or management.
Oklahomans! Why? Because they are ignorant of the fact that waitstaff only makes $2.13 an hour and pay taxes on 10% of their sales. They think waitstaff makes the $7.15 min wage or somewhere close and reality is they don’t even make 1/3 of that. So you basically work your butt off for very little in the form of tips.
I lived and worked in south FL (Delray Beach), and I would have to agree with those that have commented about Sunday patrons. But, I would also so have to say that some of my best tips came off the “after church” crowds. The worst I have tippers have really been South Americans, from any of the countries there. They act as if the world should stop just for them and that they deserve to be treated like royalty
Maria, once for an wink of time I worked in Oklahoma and found that some of the more down to earth hard working people were great tippers. I’ve even had them say to me while leaving “We appreciate how hard you work, we know what it’s like to work hard.”
I’ve worked a lot more higher service places in big cities than I ever did there but, the over all experience I had in my admittedly short time was quite good really. Salt of the earth people seemed to understand things like being polite and being appreciative. It’s odd how different some people’s experiences can be.
*Ahem* NOT that I’d want to give up working better restaurants in bigger cities for going back there though. lol.
Just a question for the waiters. I always pay my bill on my debit card. I calculate my 25% tip and then add enough extra change to make the bill end on a whole dollar total. Is this offensive in some way to the wait staff? I heard on waitress think this was odd. I never thought of this practice as offensive in anyway. I don’t want to offend my wait staff.
The Sunday morning crowd do have a rep for being bad tippers. Its like they have gone to church, and there for have done their good deed for the week. I once had a table of 8 come in one Sunday afternoon. Since it was a larger party, a 15% tip was automatically added to the check, just like the menu said it would be. I saw the man at the table write something on the check, but had not pulled out any money yet. I went into the kitchen for a minute. When I came back out, the entire table was gone. The man had left the exact amount of the bill in cash, but had also left me a lovely little note. “I only give God 10%, why should I give you 15%”. Hey, if you want to leave me 10% of your yearly earnings, I will gladly take that instead of 15% of your $50 check!
I can’t believe the bitch that said “you waiters are just coke-addled losers that can’t get another job.”
You’re right, I can’t get a better paying job at the moment because I’m in the middle of getting my college degree so that I CAN get a better job. Since I’m still in school, being a waitress is the best option for me because it offers flexible hours and I get to work with other college students that all help each other out when we can’t make a shift, whether it’s because of a project or test coming up, or there’s a family emergency at home, or when we’ve had a shitty night with customers like you and haven’t made enough money to pay the bills and everybody chips in to help out.
How dare you assume that I am “a coke addled loser,” when you don’t even know me enough to know that I’ve never used any drugs even once in my life.
Fuck you and your idea that two dollars/hour is enough.
Very informative conversations. It seems that there is a disconnect with respect to those in the know (generally those who are in the industry) and the rest of the folks. I did a quick google search on “how much to tip”. All of the sites (e.g., cnn.money and HowStuffWorks.com) on the first page of the results recommended 15-20% for good service. Generally these are broken down to the already mentioned 15% for adequate service, 20% for good service and so on.
It seems that the expectations of the folks who find 15% insulting or ludicrous is out of step with the broader culture. It could be that in your specific city, the norm is different, but it seems that there is a broader culture out there saying that 15-20% if acceptable.
Now, before you jump on me, I did not make this up. And yes, I have worked for tips and do tip generously (usually >20%). However, wanting, say 20%, to be the norm, does not make it so.
Disgusting AA motherfuckers are the worst tippers I’ve ever had. While in college, I worked the night shift at a 24-hour diner next to a church where bi-weekly Alcoholics Anonymous meetings were held. Every night after a meeting, HUGE groups of the most foul looking people you’ve ever seen (think the gangs from Cormac McCarthy’s THE ROAD or the zombies from DAWN OF THE DEAD) would roll in, push several tables together, chain smoke, order coffee ($1 for a bottomless cup) that needed to be refilled every five seconds and the cheapest thing on the menu (usually a plate of fries or an egg sandwich) and sit for HOURS discussing how unfair life had been to them and how everyone else was to blame for their alcoholism. Sometimes they would sit for up to six or seven hours, slugging down cup after cup of coffee, smoking entire packs of cigarettes, generally pissing the hell out of me. And then when they get up to leave–PENNIES on the table. A buck if I was lucky. And always a religious tract, since AA is a Christian cult. So, recovering alcoholics have and will always stand as my worst customers ever.
In my experience, best have always been gay male couples (they’re fun, love a drink and order pricey entrees, and almost always leave at least 20%) and, surprisingly, singles. Show them a bit of kindness and they’ll reward you.
Oh Anonymous, anyone who looks down on waiters is not worth replying to. After all these elitists are not very bright to disparage any hard working person. Let their ignorance show itself as it so often does and ignore their snobbery.
The hard part of waiting tables isn’t the lack of tipping, it’s having to put up with these types AND then not get a decent tip to top it off. Karma baby. I hope these people get everything in life they so justly deserve.
Stephanie:
No, it’s not offensive unless you round off and it’s a small amount. For example, I’ve had a bill that was $48.01 and they rounded up to $50. THAT is insulting. As long as it’s an adequate tip, though, there’s nothing wrong with rounding up to a whole dollar. Although I don’t see why people make such a fuss of doing it.
Indians. Of the dotted (not feathered) variety. For sure. I read once that most people there believe food/beverage service to be a profession for lowest-class citizens only… Those who apparently aren’t worth a tip. But I’m not bitter!
i’m not a waiter but my sister and a couple of my friends are waitresses so i always tip at least 30%
Hi there, I think that if you have a great meal and a lovely experience you should always tip generously.
Chinks? Cause until I read your book, I was tipping BEFORE tax and now, I feel like a total asshole. Thanks.
Besides, they’re cheap as hell anyway. You should see me haggle. It’s beyond embarrassing. I have no shame.
Worst tippers….retired old ladies and foriegners. They never tip and they are so demanding. In the last 13 years that I have been a Server/Bartender and never been tipped well from either of them.
I am still amazed about the level of tips in the USA. I am living and working in Australia. From a “good” costumer you will receive up to 10% tip. It is sad even we are earning around $18-$35 / hour.
It is still common to leave nothing, but more and more tourists and new settlers are changing it a bit.
New Zealanders are the worst. They never leave anything. I hate when costumers are hugging you, shaking your hand for excellent service, but leaving nothing.
BUT you understand their tradition. My worst tippers were Australian girls around age 25. 20 of them had a Hen’s night in our restaurant and the bill went over $900. They left 50 cents on credit card. That is bad. “Maybe” I was not too nice with them when I explained we can not charge the 50 cents on the credit card, because it cost more for us and gave them the 50 cents back before I asked them to leave.
Soccer moms, allow me to digress.
Reason 1: The most common stereotype for worst tippers are foreigners, mainly because they don’t know any better. Soccer moms though, THEY SHOULD KNOW BETTER!! They we’re born and raised in a country where tipping is the social norm. It’s not out of choice that they tip poorly, it’s out of pure choose to do the cheapest thing.
Reason 2: The groups of soccer moms. 1 check split 8 ways with every item going to a different check and they all got places to be to pick up their kids, so they want it now and they want it fast. All so they can leave you that buck twenty on their 14 dollar check. Sadly most of the times this has happened my the restaurant I worked for there had to be 9+ to get gratuity. Chain restaurants, ain’t those a bitch.
Reason 3: These take charge mothers have no qualms with hunting you down in the restaurant to let you know their food is taking too long. For some reason the calculation for time to cook a well done steak should be 5 minutes or less.
…okay, that last one doesn’t have anything to do with their tipping. But why waste a good rant?
How shamelessly can you people whine about tip! We come in the restaurants to eat, we pay for the food. We all know that the menu is overpriced, when we’re paying $5 for a cup of coffee instead of some cents, why should we pay the waiters who get the salary for what they’re doing. You’re not doing us any favour. Oh wait, I get it, you must be one of those people who don’t want to work and then live off on Govt. money.
So I just got turned onto this book by a coworker of mine and I love it. I work in Louisiana, one of the low paying states. The establishment I work likes to think it is upscale, but it really isn’t. We have too many bad customers to be upscale. In my year of working at this establishment and my 3 years in the food and liquor service industries, the worst tippers are sportsfans. I recently waited on a table during the Saints Dallas game, let the guests move to a different table to see the game better, and kept there bar drinks coming. The food was out quick and had no complaints. Then toward the end of the game they asked for their check, which was upward of $250. Got them paid out and was giving the usual sports chatter, helping them cheer for the Saints. Saints lose, no tip. I was livid. I had no complaints from these asses and got nothing. Made my night. Not to mention my coworkers tried to go on a power trip at the end of the night with the vaccuum cleaning. Made me stay later than needed. Did management do anything. Nope. Managements too busy talking to boyfriends or smoking a cigarette.
Although I haven’t recently been working in the Biz, I did for 20 plus years.People w/seperate checks are a red flag for lousy tips.Once I accidentaly sneezed while waiting on a couple(couldn’t stop the sneeze) and apoligized and was embarrased and yes, I did cover my face, but they still chose to leave me a PENNY!This was 30 years ago & I still remember.They have no class or compassion!That type will LOOK for a reason to be an ASS!!!Where have you been waiter?By the way, I walked out to the parking lot and gave them the penny.
@ Beggars: If you’re paying 5 bucks for a cup of coffee, than you’re even dumber than your post suggests. If you have NEVER worked in the food service industry, which also judging by your post says you haven’t, you would KNOW the basics of the business. You would know waiters don’t get salary, food prices have only one purpose and one benefit for servers, it bumps up the tip we SHOULD get, but half the time doesn’t because of jerk-offs like yourself, and we probably make half as much unemployed as we do employed, because UE bases mostly off your standard wages + part of your earned tips. Do yourself and the world a favor, don’t have kids, cause chances are they’ll turn out to be even bigger douchebags than you clearly are. And if you already have kids, put them up for adoption. Simply spare them a lifetime of having to put up with your holier than thou attitude and belittling comments directed at some of the hardest working people who should make more than a lot of the assholes in charge but never will, partially thanks, again, to people like you who would probably be happy being served by a robot whenever you go out to eat.
As a Brit who visits the States quite regularly – I want to tell you that in the UK a normal tip is about 10% of the bill if you received good service and nothing if you didn’t. My partner is american and when we are out for a meal – whichever country we are in his instinct is to tip at least twice as much as me – whether he has had good service or not!!
So there is an education thing here – if tipping practice varies from culture to culture then stick a notice on the menu which tell customers what the cultural expectations are – or incorporate a service charge in the price and make damned sure your staff receive it!!
I am going to go with college boys (I moonlight at a bar and when they are paying for beer in quarters you know you are screwed!) and women when left to tip because their guys are gone, not sure whats with that!
@ Oh You Beggars, you clearly haven’t read the book. Go fuck yourself.
@ Patient Rage, I’m a soccer mom and I tip AT LEAST 20% even before I learned about not tipping before tax. My feeling is, if anyone has to deal with THAT many children, I’m going to compensate them for it because no one’s compensating me for it.
I’m a special ed teacher and I tend to tip on the higher end because I know it’s a job I couldn’t do. My sister was an office manager and she is horrible to eat out with because she wants to be cheap. I always end up covering at least part of her tip.
As a “church folk ” my minister preaches from the pulpit , that we should be the best tippers. so don’t assume everyone who goes to church is a bad tipper. I know my family tops at leasst 20-25% more if we are more work.
I’m an Australian who lived in the US for 3 years and received my share crap service, unless my American husband was with me… I did take it a bit personaly at the time, now I see wait staff ‘expect’ no or small tip from foreigners so adjust service accordingly.
I’m heading over for a vacation next week, what to do??? advise the wait staff on arrival that I know about ‘propper tipping’ and get good service or leave a buck and a note to advise that us in the modern world know how to read a guide book and happily accept the customs of the country we are visiting.
In any case its cheaper to eat out in the US even after currency exchange and 20% tip
Are you alive? It’s been a month…
In the 80’s I worked in a place that had great food and equally terrific jazz. I had a party of 20 African Americans w/ a reservation for 8 o’clock on a Saturday night. Naturally we start saving the table an hour before hand. Once they found out it was one check 15%…beelines for the bar. 4 hours later my total was $15 for the entire table…nuf said.
I spent 14 years in food service, and in my experience the worst tippers were church people and black people. When I first started waiting tables, I was told by my trainer that “black people are shitty tippers” and I vividly remember my righteous indignation rising up. I made a promise to myself that every single time I waited on black customers, they would get the very best service. I wanted to be absolutely sure that if I got a bad tip, it was not because I failed to give exemplary service. (Sometimes to the detriment of my other tables.)
In 14 years, I got a 15% tip ONE TIME. (It was technically a bit less than that, but close to 15%.) Every other time it was 5-7% range, or no tip at all. This was in many years, different style restaurants, and in three different states and regions of the country. I am glad I stuck to my “Make sure it’s them and not me” policy. I just wish my trainer had been proven wrong more often.
And church people? Church people *suck*. They’re rude. They’re dismissive and demanding. They run you to death. They have a generally unpleasant demeanor (despite your best efforts at killing them with kindness.) I was never so glad as when I had the “seniority” on staff to get out of Sunday shifts.
where are you? everything ok?
I’m surprised to see so few “women eating together” comments here. I usually tip 20% or more, but often when I’m with other women (for business or pleasure) I notice that we get bad service. Always assumed it was because they figured we’d tip badly. Maybe it was just cuz they sucked anyway. 🙂 I give 15% for extremely bad service.
We do often ask to split the bill evenly on our cards, but I frankly don’t see what the big deal is. Most restaurants in my metro area are able to do this with no trouble, and if you cater to business customers who need their own individual record of payment for expense purposes, it’s essential. When people give us a hard time about this, we go elsewhere next time.
Most of the time the difference between a 15 and 20% tip is well under $5 per person. I always figure the extra few bucks don’t mean that much to me but it will mean a lot to the starving student bringing me my meal. Why not throw the extra few bucks in there? People are just cheap.
I had to laugh when the first comment said “Canadians”. I live in Maine and we get a few cannies down this way, I ALWAYS get a manager to auto-grat their checks because they don’t seem to understand that I only get paid $3.75 an hour and i RELY on tips… Do Canadian wait staff get paid more?? Maybe that’s why they suck at tipping!
Other than that, the teenage girls that string in 10 at a time ALWAYS tip close to 10%.
You think tips are bad now, just wait until the tax bill kicks in in 2010 for “health” benefits you won’t see until 2014, if you ever see them at all, because all that tax money will go to ACORN and other DNC organizations to prop up the puppet Obama.
You can say THAT again, Hymienator!
Hang onto your wallets, folks.
You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.
Happy New Year “Waiter”, where ever you are. Hope you are OK, no posts for a month 🙁
Yeah, Hymienator and BornInTheUSA, this is definitely the appropriate place to hold a political discussion. Also, you two are fucking idiots.
Steve, I hope everything is okay with you – over a month of radio silence leaves your faithful readers a little worried.
Groups of 4 or more women. Hands down. One – or more if they’re accountants – will whip out a calculator and sort each person’s meal and drink; multiply that subtotal by the local tax; then add on exactly 15%, IF you busted your ass and made them feel pretty and important. Oh… you didn’t? Expect in the neighborhood of 10%. That’ll teach YOU!
i worked in hawaii— the Japanese that only speak english when it suits them.. are the WORST tippers out of every place that i lived and worked HANDS DOWN
Listening to “Waiter Rant” the book on ‘playaway’ device & loving it…
Canadians are bad and any Europeans in the Virgin Islands are bad
But what gets me angry is getting bad service when it’s me and another woman and the server assumes we’ll be bad tippers…don’t they realize that woman who “wait” also eat out and that we’ll be your best customers ever cause we know what you’re going through…don’t ignore me, treat me right and you’ll get what you’ve earned
I DONT TIP, HAHA FUCK U
Hi! I am loving the blog (apart from the bad language!) I have a good tipping story – vastly different to all of the blogs.
I’m from Australia; we’re a 10% nation (we pay the wait staff better).
My husband and I ate at River Cafe in Brooklyn, NYC. The tip was built in, however we added a further tip. (I’m the blogger who was so shocked in the US that I handed out dollar bills like there was no tomorrow – don’t want to offend!) The waitress followed us out of the restaurant and told us that the tip was inbuilt and we weren’t required to pay extra. Now that is service that you don’t see everywhere! We had the most amazing night, food and service – we were happy to do it!
Love great service!
To me, the worst tippers are black people, Sunday lunch people, & rednecks. I don’t wait tables very often (just when I’m visiting people where I used to go to college & pick up a few shifts) but to this day, whenever I get sat with a black table, I feel my stomach drop & almost have an anxiety attack. This is because in the area where this restaurant is, the black people are very demanding, complain about everything, run you to death, & then MAYBE leave about $2 regardless of the ticket. Granted, I have had some amazing black tables who do know how to tip & are so friendly, but unfortunately the stereotype (in my case) is true.
Rednecks are ridiculous. You know they’re going to order some form of steak (usually the Bourbon steak), ask you to repeat the sides about 3 times, need refills about 5 times, & leave you about $3 or $4. Plus, they don’t know how to pronounce words like “penne” & “fiesta” & laugh at how funny it is that they can’t.
I worked a few Sunday lunch shifts when I started serving, but luckily I had started as a host beforehand so they already knew & liked me & I was immediately put on the shifts I wanted. Because of that power, I got myself immediately taken off Sunday lunch. I don’t understand why the church crowd are such terrible tippers. And they’re so rude too! Maybe they are judging the fact that we are working on the Sabbath or something. I dunno. All I know is I hated it. After a while I decided to start opening on Sunday so I’d have a good section. I still didn’t make any money so I stopped that after 2 weeks.
The best tippers seem to be families with teenagers (I’m only 23 so I can banter with everyone pretty well), middle aged women, certain types of business men, & surprisingly Asians & Hispanics. I have always done well with those tables even though most everyone I know crashes & burns with them. I also find that if I can work into a conversation that I (was) in college or I’m working on my Master’s currently, that increases the tip. I used to always give them a pen advertising my college for them to sign their credit card slips, hoping they’d notice & say, “Oh, he’s in college. More tip!” And it worked quite a bit, I think.
If all goes according to plan, this should actually be my last weekend serving ever. Wish me luck!
Like JP said, I hate going to a restaurant & being treated differently because I’m young. You can tell that the server is kind of dreading the whole experience, especially when I order water (I just prefer it). When it’s pretty obvious they were expecting a bad tip, I always make sure to leave about 25% or more. But I usually tip high anyway just because I know how it feels.
I meant JG in my last post, but I also wanted to clarify something. Regardless of who I get sat with, I don’t try to give poor service & I still bust my ass regardless. It just gets frustrating after a while.
Hey Cavinicus –
You phallically-challenged weasel. To use your own words:
“… the tenor of your post (if you were, in fact, serious) indicates that you are an utter ass.”
(BTW, lawyers are the worst tippers.)
I must say I’m surprised (and pleased) that there is no discussion of women eating alone.
I regularly eat out at about four-five different restaurants a week as I travel and hate to cook (when I’m home.) I always tip at least 20% and am happy to do it.
I’d also like to comment on the 15% tip level; food costs have not risen proportionally in terms of inflation. $2 should be minimum tip on any bill and 20% should be customary.
It also really frosts me when people don’t tip on to-go orders. Just because they don’t need to sit in the restaurant; doesn’t mean the wait staff doesn’t need their tip.
Students. Both in the small amount they leave, and the weird places they hide it.
i’ve always said servers aren’t racist, we’re monetarist: the only color we care about is green. that said, i would say i am most disappointed by canadians and british. not because they don’t tip, but because they know better and don’t care — and are also among the first to bash americans for disregarding the customs of other countries.
i would also say the brits and quebecois are the worst, but at least you know what you’re getting into. people from other parts of canada [as well as people from other mentioned groups] are hit or miss, but the chance that your table from anywhere in the UK or quebec might actually tip is like trying to fill an inside straight.
I have found that, although polite and kind, people from India are really bad tippers. When I was a server, there were a few exceptions. Gay men and women tipped fantastic, as did business men in their 50s.
Worst tippers? Strangely enough, Americans on vacation. You think they’d know better but it seems like the whole tipping culture goes out the window once they’re off their home turf.
This is all so interesting. In ’01, when I was traveling in Australia, we asked what the tipping standard was, as we weren’t really sure, and the waitress said you NEVER tip, and she said that some people would find it rude if you did. Also, being Canadian, our servers get decent wages, so a 15% tip is the standard. I live in New York now, and when I first moved here, I didn’t realize how badly waiters here were paid. A lot of foreigners, even Canadians, don’t realize that, which would explain smaller tips. I guess we should all research tipping in the country we are traveling to!
sort of got offended about the aussies – but if you come from a country that pays $20 ph even more after hours – you can understand. Having been a waitress for the last 9 months – I take it as it comes. And in my opinion – americans have ripped me off the most.
that aside – my recommendations on treating foreigners. Ask them what they would like to drink (that’s the greet)
Get drinks – take order if ready.
Drop food. Ask if they need anything else.
Come back when everyone is done.
Remove plates – ask if they need anything else – drop check. Almost guaranteed good tip.
Because when I go out – I do not want to be interrupted every effing 2mins when I am eating.
And don’t give me shit because I am a foreigner – as I live here and tip at least 20%. But next time I get shit service, because you think I am going to stiff you – well I will.
DO NOT take my effing plate while people are still eating at the table.
Ignore the corp b/shite – that’s my tip. The crap that we are meant to say is time consuming, irrelevant and just pisses people off. Treat everyone equal – whatever country they come from.
Cheers!
Happy New Year!
hey steve!! you haven’t written in a month! we miss you! hopefully you are just busy with the holidays. can’t wait to hear from you!
I had a 4 top of mid to late 20 yr old male Brits today and they tipped me 30% for lunch. I was absolutely amazed. I gave them great service along with info of the area, they were very engaging and not demanding at all.
ASIANS!!!!
Europeans, religous people, a lot of the elderly.
Having been a server since 1978 I find the practice of tipping odd, but have made a living off of it for many years. A good living…I work 30 hours a week and make far more then a teacher or fire/police person..go figure.
Of course it is hard work and how many people can/want to do it. Which is why their are people who work the front, or the kitchen instead.
I find that it all balancesout at the end of the shift, thanks primarily to regulars and people who are foodies, but the alternative would be pooling tips or having a wage paid by the owner which means you get mediocre service and servers who just don’t excel because THEY don’t have to. Just like any other job or say ….a union position!!
And yes I should have proofed my submission. Sorry..
waiter, where have you gone. I check your site almost every day, hoping at least for another question where we, your readers, are actually the bloggers and you are the facilitator, but nothing. It has been over a month. I know that writing a book takes time, but at least post something that says, hey, i’m too busy to spend 3 minutes posting, but i’ll be back around this time. don’t leave us hanging. the barmaid did it last year and it was sad. now she’s back and your gone. come back, waiter
I’m starting to think that our absent host is sitting somewhere quaffing champagne and chortling to his buddies about the incredible number of idiots who continue to respond to this long dead thread. Yeah, I do get the irony of being yet another one.
Question: What’s the only difference between a Canadian and a canoe?
Answer: A Canoe tips.
I’m a Canadian. I can tell this joke.
Obama is only half Canadian.
I’ve got to agree with everyone who said foreigners. I used to work in a fairly nice place in Washington, DC, and, as you can imagine, we got a ton of foreigners. They almost all tipped like like shit. In my experience Europeans were the worst. British, French, Germans, Italians, Spanish, and Scandinavians – all bad tippers. I’ll never forget one Saturday night I had a German couple who, after telling me multiple times how great the service was, left me 2 bucks on a $200 check. In fact, they liked it so much they came back the next morning for brunch. Of course they were seated in my section again.
In my experience, blacks on the whole are no better or worse than the rest of the population, but there’s a subset of blacks to avoid like the plague: the wannabe gangstas, ballas, whatever… These fuckers come in in their throwback jerseys and gold chains, always run up a huge tab, bitch about the drinks not being stiff enough, and make a big show of picking up the check, only to leave a 5% tip. If you really want to prove what a “balla” you are, leave 25% like everyone else trying to show off.
The worst of the worst though is a large group of teenagers. They’re usually a pain in the ass to deal with, and inevitably you get fucked on the tip because they don’t know / can’t add.
I also work in Washington D.C in a busy environment where we hand craft your food literally in front of your eyes as you watched from start to finish… and the group(s) I notice NEVER tipped even when ordering LOADS of shit are
1. Indians
2. WEST AFRICANS !
3. White saviors (usually in a relationship with an immigrant who can barley say a sentence in English..)
4. White washed Asian teenagers
Tonight at work I had a table tell me how good I was & I was like, “Damn. Verbal tip.” I’ve had that happen before & then reading this the past few days it scared the shit out of me. Especially when the grandma paid & I walked by & heard the grandson say, “That’s 10%.” But apparently I deserved more than a verbal tip because they left me about 16%, which is good for this God-forsaken town.
Thank you for proving the verbal tip wrong, people.
My husband and I are both Australians living here in the US. We love going on road-trips and stopping at small town diners. I suspect sometimes we get really shitty service due to the waitstaff thinking we’ll give them really shitty tips. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy, waitstaff. Usually if we go to a cheaper chain restaurant or diner we’ll tip in excess of 25% – I tend to leave a minimum of $5 even if my sandwich and coffee only came to $10.70 or whatever.
Don’t stiff me, and I won’t stiff you.
retiaw: you must not live in the US. Food costs have gone up right along with inflation so no reason to change the current 15% for decent service at leasat in a big city like Chicago. Also, there is NO REASON to tip for takeout. There is minimalo if any service generally but you never were a waiter like I am so you wouldn’t know.
Worked for many years at a 24 hour diner off of a college campus. Saw the gambit of good and bad tippers. Had kids who would “camp out” at a table for hours while studying and most of them would tip a bit extra for taking up the space. Occasionally had the true starving college student, they would pay their bill in change and leave what they could. It never really upset me, because they were always very polite and never made my life as a waiter difficult. But there were those few that would make you mental. “Friends” of the owner who came in never tipped. We had one guy we nicknamed the “Hundred Dollar Asshole”. Back when we still had the register system he would come in first thing in the morning (immediately after we’d changed the drawer and made a cash drop) and purchase the cheapest thing on the menu and then pay with a crisp $100 bill. We would of course have to go into the office and get the manager to open the safe and pray to the restaurant gods that we could make change. Then the guy would never tip. Every morning… One of our other most hated groups was the charity hospital group. They would always call in a HUGE togo order right at the busiest time of night (around 2am when the local bars closed), then they would send 1 person to pick up the order, but with 10 or so different payments (because of course everyone want to pay seperately). We had to give perfectly exact change (down to the last penny) and then there would never be a tip left. And on top of that, they would always call and complain that something was messed up. We politely tried requesting that they place their large order at a slightly less busy time of night, but they never seemed to grasp that idea. So management tacked on a 10% gratuity to togo orders. That seemed to get the message across and they stopped calling in orders. Over all, most people that patronized the diner were great and pretty good tippers, but I guess every place has those elite few that make you mental. Great blog! Thanks a bunch!
Additional thoughts:
I give good service to every table I get. If I get a good tip, great, if I get a crap tip, I get over it. I try not to have my level of service affected by a presumed stereotype. I have quite often been proven wrong, and those are always happy days.
you have to walk off a bad tip and not let it ruin your entire shift or the rapport w/your other customers. Although I don’t like to stereotype, I’ve consistently found that Indian people are often the worst tippers and most difficult to deal with.
One little, two little, three little Indians, four little, five little, six little FOUR PERCENT….
So out of all my years of serving, I came across the worst tippers of my life in Tallahasee, FL. I was working at T.G.I. Friday’s (post striped shirt/suspender days, THANK GOD). Our guests consisted of FSU, TCC, FAMU students and Baptist church-goers. FAMU is a predominantly African American college, they were the worst, god awful tippers, next to the Baptist church-goers. The FAMU students, which we nicknamed “Canadians”, would leave 5% if we were lucky. Even the African American servers cringed when they had these students sit in their section. At Fridays, were were all given 4-table sections, if we had a full section of FAMU students, we were able to call BINGO. BINGO was a game the servers invented to help out their fellow servers make money on a section that we were most likely not going to make a dime on. If you were able to call BINGO, every front of the house employee had to give you a dollar, which usually equaled to about $15. I was able to call BINGO once in a year, but I came close quite a few more times. FAMU students definitely get my vote for the worst tippers ever. (Sorry if I offended anyone, just stating the facts.)
Dave: Why would you not tip on take-out? Even if it’s just a couple bucks or 10% or something? Because the waiter is taking time from handling their tables to order and box up your food. Maybe you work somewhere where all of that is done for you, but in my experience the waiter is always stuck doing that kind of work. Sometimes I’m juggling 4 tables and 3 take-outs and my table service literally slows down because the take-outs are so much work.
As for whether 15% is a decent tip or not… I haven’t been serving for 20 years so I don’t know if wages change that much, but in my shorter experience, server wages don’t go up, even as minimum wage increases. So I’m paid the same measly $6/hr and if I’m not getting between 18% and 20% tips I can barely make a living wage. Restaurants should pay servers more, but that’s also one of the few places they can cut costs. After all, most restaurants don’t make that much money, from what I can tell.
I always tip 20% unless there was something terribly wrong with the service, because I know that when I get less than 20% it makes me feel like my table wasn’t pleased with the service. 15% is a crappy tip in my eyes, I usually only pardon the families with kids who probably are struggling in this economy anyway.
As for the worst tippers, I find a lot of Asians undertip (though I’ve had some great Japanese business men who tip %20 even when their food gets delayed, etc.), as do the people who go out of their way to compliment me and thank me for my service, and even tell my manager how great I was. These people seem to feel it is then adequate to leave 15% or less, and half of me is frustrated by this while the other half forgives them. Speaking of Asians though, I am Asian myself, so I always try to tip well when I go out to fight this stereotype.
BLACKS and the Church crowd. Absolutely terrible 99% of the time (at least in Maryland). Always extremely demanding as well.
When I worked ina restuarant, the best tippers came from single people or middle class people and families. The worst tips came from parties of 10 to 20 people. We had a group of people come in once of about 60. There was not a penny for the bus boy.
I would like to say that here in Canada there is a minimum wage standard, in Alberta where I live I am payed $8.00 an hour to serve, I get at the most 5hour shifts, after that shift I have to pay 3% of my total food sales to kitchen and host, I have had days where I would have to pay out of my pocket for that 3% because there wasn’t enough tips to cover it…I have also had days where I have sold over $1000.00 in food but still only walked home with $10 after my 3% pay out on sales….
After 5 hours of busting my ass for customers I would hope that I pleased them enough to make at least 15%, chances are half of my customers will leave the customary $2.00 and the rest will average $4 -$10 tip….I am usually pretty happy when I leave work with $30. to go and get some groceries to take home and have money left to tip the guy who carried the said groceries out to my car…
I am truly annoyed at the comments about old people.
I worked for fun at Nordstroms after I retired. And guess what? The rudest people I waited on were young people.
One customer’s 2 year old (sorry for being gross) pooped on the floor. She said sorry, smiled, and left me to clean it up.
As for demographics. The young Asians were beyond rude, followed by young mothers, followed by high tech workers – having worked in high tech and having graduated from an Ivy League University – it was rather amusing to be treated like a dummy, their slave, and there to meet very unresonable demands.
I worked in the active department and what people did to the swimsuits was not to be believed. The filth left on the swimsuit bottoms makes me wonder why I didn’t die of a dreadful disease. As these were bikini bottoms you can be sure that the customers were young.
Less you think that I did not give good service – I got many many atta girls.
So all you young ones – you are not perfect either.
BTW I leave 20% tips unless the service sucks.
This is my best (yet worst) tipping story. Years ago on our honeymoon, my husband and I were dropped at a prominent site in Paris. We got a taxi that took us around the city for some time with a great big bill at the end. The taxi driver gave me a huge ‘what sort of tip is that? (his language was worse than that)’ so I threw some money at him and said ‘well is that enough?’ We found out the next day that our accommodation was exactly one block from our drop off point……
I haven’t waited tables for years, but when I was waiting, the worst tippers were those who paid with Platinum American Express cards. CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP – which is why they have so much money.
Someone who lives in Atlanta wrote on here that they think black people are the worst tippers and since Atlanta is 65% black, they get screwed a lot.
Well let me say that there’s got to be something wrong with your service! I live in Atlanta, wait of plenty of black people and bad tips are not associated with race. I fear that servers look at a table, see that they are black and unknowingly give bad service because they think they are going to tip bad.
I don’t get too many bad tips, but when I do it’s usually from Europeans. But they don’t tip there. I think they know we tip here but don’t know how much to tip. Hey, at least they try…
And for Church people… I don’t work Sundays. Almost never have so I don’t know how the Sunday crowd tips even after 8 years.
Bad Tippers (most of the time)
Blacks (nice little cracker, can you hand me my change purse?)
Browns (no speaky english)
Yellows (no speaky english)
Canadians (15%, a little much, eh?)
Brits (Ignorant fucks have no cuisine of their own)
Krauts (richest country in the world, still cheap as fuck)
Frogs (one word, hypocrites, go to hell)
Old People (ahh..fixed income…make a fucking sandwich at home)
Teachers (let me teach you something about tipping(it’s 15% you cunt, you get an F)
Working class whites (go to fucking McDonald’s, you’re not fooling anybody with those dress shoes)
lol!
Churchgoers (take your Christ pamphlet and go shove it up your hypocritical ass, I hope you burn in hell while getting sodomized by an herpetic ram)
Punjabs (first you come and steal our jobs, now you want to run me around like I am your rickshaw driver, go fucking wipe your ass with your right hand)
Take a tip from your favorite waiter:
1)Don’t ask stupid fucking questions that can be answered by reading the menu.
2)Don’t complain about how slow your food is taking. Don’t worry I put your food in the computer first cause I do not want to look at your diseased face and deal with your deviant personality.
3)Do, sit down and shut up, eat your processed meal that I spat in, and move out of my restaurant like the cattle that you are. If you do this, I will not jizz on your macadamian nut brownie dessert.
okay… Anonymous, I think it’s time for you to leave the service industry. Or for the very least, leave the place you’re at because you’re obviously very unhappy there.
Granted we are all ranting about our work, but who doesn’t bitch about their job. With the language you’re using… you really need to find a new industry because you are very unhappy.
@Boon: I’m sorry you’ve had some bad experiences with us Canucks. Not all of us are scant tippers… Canadian receive, at minimum a dollar below minimum wage, which is, in Ontario, 9.75; So servers get 8.75. The minimum wage changes for each province, but the amount below minimum wage is fairly standard. I know Americans get a lot less than that.
I tip based on service, but at the same time, good service will get a 20-25% tip out of me. Great service, possibly more.
I am a university student and server, and I work in a facility that is open 24/7 (casino). My worst tippers are Sunday brunchers, and people who would rather put the money into a slot machine than a server’s pocket. It sounds harsh, but it is true. Addicts are an ugly truth of casino life. I also have trouble with people who feign ignorance to Canadian tipping policies, but if I were to sit here and list, I could be here all night.
Hope I answered something for you, Boon, and good luck with the writing, Waiter!
I despise dealing with the nouveau riche types, they come in dressed in their designer clothes, acting all uppity and what not, while emitting the strongest odor of bullshit I have ever smelled. They usually drive a Nissan Armada or Cadillac, live in a cookie-cutter McMansion, drink Budweiser cause it’s American, pray at the table for THEMSELVES ONLY, use some of the most broken English I have ever heard, and stick me with $5 on a $120 tab. You’re not fooling anybody with your lifestyle. Now I know why these douchebags got rich. I hope when you are on your deathbed and you are listening to Sinatra’s “My Way” that you, your money, your McMansion, your clothes, your jewelry weigh you down and suffocate you, you cheap no good ignorant lout.
In response to Grace and others about having owners pay a decent living wage here are my thoughts…
I worked for a german guy who wanted to pool the servers tips and delegate an amount to us of course we would not stand for it so it never did happen. His attitude,(he was an immigrant) was that we the servers should not be earning as much as we did, this was in the 80′-90’s when I was there. My response was he should be happy I earned what I did because it was a testament to the food and the restaurant and how successful it was.
I stand by that. We are in a profession, it is hard work and Grace or whomever stated the work being “mindless” I have waited on quite a few executives who can’t speak well, make a decision, control their children, or add numbers!! And they make 6 figures and above. Yet I remember what their children need, what they had last time they were in, what they drink, what grape comes from what region and what the soil grade is in that region, and correct their addition mistakes. While also waiting on at least 6 other tables at the same time!
I like this work, I have done it for more then 30 yrs and like I said before it all balances out.
However if servers were paid a set wage or pooled their tips, then you would lose servers like me who enjoy and take pride in their work because once it is a set wage the slackers don’t have to try anymore, their is no bar to reach, whatever they do they get thier wage, and like it is with unions, you get bitter employees who actually want to do their job well but it really doesn’t matter because the bar has been lowered. the slackers win.
I am fortunate to be in a small family neighborhood restaurant with regulars that come in weekly, I have developed relationships through this restaurant. The owners are great, the money is good and here is the clincher,…the owners want the servers to make as much $$ as they can because they know that this makes a successful business!! No one leaves this restaurant not even the cooks, which is unheard of! That alone is enough of an explanation!
History has turned the tables 180 degrees.
In the 1800s whites would order blacks around for absolutely no money or else whip them.
Today, black people order whites around for absolutely no money so they can eat food.
You should have told you ancestors not to fuck with mine! HAHA!
I LOVE YOU SUPER NIGGER.
THE WORST TIPPERS ARE MEXICANS!!!! HANDS DOWN!!! ESPECIALLY THE ONES WHO DONT SPEAK ANY ENGLISH AND POINT AT WHAT THEY WANT ON THE MENU!!! The bring in their family (which is a small herd) expect everything and give you NOTHING!!!!!
My worst tippers are definitely mexicans and teenagers. (And I’m in New Mexico).
The teenagers I don’t mind too much, especially if they are on the younger side. I don’t work at a big fancy restaurant and if someone orders 10 bucks worth of appetizers I don’t expect much of a tip. Although I wish they would just order it take-out.
The other group is typically a family of mexicans with 2-3 kids. They always make a huge mess and their kids are always running up and down the halls being obnoxious. Then they tip 2 dollars. 2 dollars seems to be the standard tip from mexicans no matter how big or small the table is.
I have been a server for over 12 years and HANDS DOWN the worst tippers are BLACK PEOPLE!! Not only are they the worst tippers but they are needy, rude, ask how much everything is, complain, want something for free, and run my ASS off!!!
You want more money? Get a better job!
I only tip when I get good service.
Waiter/waitress has an attitude? Food cold? Inattentive? F-you I won’t be back anyway.
Amazing how people think they are entiteled to get more for doing their job. Where is MY tip for doing MY job?
Trash guy picks up trash….rain, sleet snow, cold, high heat…where is HIS tip?
Doorman stands all day in shitty weather, where’s HIS tip?
Policemen deals with sociopathic scumbags all day? Sorry, no tip for you!
F-you. Be happy with what you make or do something else/get a second job.
No one is making you work at a f-ing restaurant.
BTW most Black people & Latinos don’t tip because they get shittier service and bad attitudes from racist white waitstaff.
European restaurants have sense enough not to be dumb enough to count on a patron’s generosity as a supplement to their income, so they just charge higher prices and pay a better living wage overall. Ever think of that?
You a food server. Your job is to bring people what they are paying for – when they want it.
You are f-ing complaining because people expect you to fill their requests as they dine? And that they are paying for?
No customer should be rude or obnoxious-that goes for any service industry.
But if your f-ing JOB is to GET PEOPLE THINGS WHEN THEY ASK FOR THEM BECAUSE THEY ARE PAYING FOR IT, either quit complaining and be prepared for the worst – or quit and do something else.
I could give a rats ass if you make enough money. Not my problem.
A soon as you start you tipping ME as you exit my bus, after I finish mowing your lawn, bagging your groceries or ringing up your clothes purchase at the mall… I’ll f-ing think about tipping you just because you have a low salary in a job YOU chose to take.
F-you. do your JOB and STFU.
Anonymous wrote on 01/6/10 at 3:15 pm :
History has turned the tables 180 degrees.
In the 1800s whites would order blacks around for absolutely no money or else whip them.
Today, black people order whites around for absolutely no money so they can eat food.
You should have told you ancestors not to fuck with mine! HAHA!
One of the BEST comments.
I work with a miserable piece of shit woman who is as uncharitable a person as I’ve ever met. She says that if the paper boy would deliver her paper on time, she’d tip him. She never thinks to try it the other way around: tip the carrier, and maybe he’ll care about his job more. And she talks about everything this way. She can’t help herself; she’s a lonely, miserable, judgmental bitch who hates everyone just because the rest of the world is happier. And she’s a shitty tipper. So who are the shittiest tippers? Miserable people are.
I have worked in restaurants during college and as a result, find that I always tip WAY too much in order to overcompensate for the people I’m with who have either never worked in customer service, are trust fund babies, or are old (ie. parents). But at times, because I’m Asian, I feel I am already pre-judged as a bad tipper and as a result will get crappy service…if I leave a poor tip for the crappy service, then the server will attribute that to the stereotype.
Based on my current job:
1. Indians usually leave 10% or less
2. Elderly is a straight hit or miss
3. Canadians are terrible
4. Ghettos/ghetto fabs 10% or less
4b. ghettos/ghetto fab teens are 5% or negative
Correction to #4a should be 10% or $5
5. Young girls with babies and no daddies are good for a buck or two
I agree with Sarah! Teachers!! I used to get 6 teachers in for lunch about 3 times a week. Every one ordered the same thing but all had to modify it in a different way, It was a Greek salad but one wants no dress. another dress on side, one no onion, one no green pep. and on and on !!! Then leave 10%! After telling you what a good job you did, like you were a student!
Shut up R D… I agree if you don’t like your work find something new. However I do tip my garbage and recycling people, my mailman, my paper girl/boy, and my servers….As I have stated before if servers got a set wage then service goes down and people like you complain and try to get something free!
The worst tippers are the Jehovah Witness Sunday brunchers. Uber demanding, slightly degrading tone disguised in a sickly sweet voice, and they always choose the cheapest item on the menu.
A close second: ninety-year old, partially-deaf men on New Year’s Eve. A seven-hundred dollar bill in a fine dining establishment requires a minimum of 25% on NY’s eve. I received 3%. And a wake-up slap upside the head of the younger folks who not only allowed this ancient relic to pay, but did not peak at the credit card receipt to ensure an adequate tip was left. HOLY SWEET MOTHER OF BLEEP!!!
Anonymous needs to pop a strong pill, chase it with the cheap-ass vodka I’m sure he/she drinks and can the bigotry already.
Get a life!
In my experience, other service folk can be terrible tippers. When me and my former waitrons used to go out there was a 50-50 split between us over-tippers and the others who used every service slip (“She didn’t bring me my third glass of water in a timely fashion”) to deduct from the tip. One, who was a terrible waitress herself, said that she didn’t tip one girl who had busted her ass for us because she didn’t want to “encourage her” to continue “a restaurant career.”
The worst was when I got stiffed for a tip by the family of a busgirl. I should’ve & could’ve put ’em down for an automatic gratuity too. I asked her why and she told me they complained when I didn’t didn’t bring a third round of complimentary breadsticks fast enough so she told them not to tip me. Then I told her that I didn’t make any tips that night so she would not be getting a tip out from me and she freaked out.
Thanks for letting me rant
I serve in Canada, at a restaurant near a hotel and the airport. My customers are 50% American, the rest are Canadian or other nationalities. I survive off of the American tips. It surprises me to read canadians claim to receive crappy tips from Americans, as for the past 4 years I have consistently received 20% from texans, Californians, north eastern Americans, and all others.
In my experience the worst tippers have been mexicans (not Latino immigrants but people actually visiting from Mexico), elderly east Indians, verbal tippers, and the last person at a big top who says they’ll pay what’s left on their debit card, and only tip on that difference that they’re settling.
As for the average caucasian Canadian, I find that they tend to tip about 12%, but in between all of the Americans I have the pleasure of serving and the $9 minimum wage i make, it’s not too bad.
I found this site after a recent horrible service experience as a diner, and have a few replies to the service people:
Canadians – meaning the ones from Canada, and not the code for veiled racism like some have talked about… As much as Canadians don’t like to admit it, they are pretty much USA North, and the same customs apply. 10-15% is normal in Canada, since min wage for servers is $8-10 an hour. Off of four tables, you should be able to take in $18/hr at least with tips, which I would say is a reasonable wage. I know in the US it’s different, but have any of you perhaps considered a petition/letter writing campaign to your elected officials to invoke a change?
Professionals – After tips, a server can make just as much as an entry-level college grad. The server didn’t have to spend 4-5 years of their life and put tens of thousands of dollars at risk to become a server. Young professionals have much less disposable income than you after the fact. And no sympathy for them either, as they chose to incur that debt, but no sympathy either for servers who want more money but seem to do nothing to attempt to better their position to earn it.
I’ve read the “if you can’t tip, you can’t afford to go out” line a bunch on here, so I’ll address that in different groups.
Foreigners/Tourists – yes, maybe they should make an effort to learn customs before they visit, but telling them to “stay home” is ridiculous. First, a good portion of a restaurant’s business comes from tourists, so if they stay home, then either you or several of your friends/co-workers jobs are eliminated due to not being necessary. Also, the tourism dollars they bring in increases the amount of corporate and consumption taxes brought in. Without it, you either see a substantial increase to your personal tax rates or a drastic reduction in your social services provided by your municpality/state. Consider it a trade off.
Elderly people – a large number of elderly people didn’t have a nest egg to retire on, and live off roughly the same amount each month as you do. Many of them no longer have the ability to drive to the grocery store or the capability to cook for themselves, hence they rely on the restaurant business. So nice going, you’re trying to get ahead by stepping on someone who’s in just as bad as shape financially as you. And if it’s an older guy, chances are that at one point, he was in the middle of a field under fire from Nazis/Koreans/Vietnamese risking his life so that people like you could come to a place like this in the future and freely complain about your wages and do petty little things like “Vote” and “Make Your Own Choices.” So I’d consider that and perhaps cut him a little slack.
Also, wine should NOT come into play when a percentage tip is involved. Unless the restaurant is conveniently located within a couple miles of a vineyard owned by the same company, I’m 99% sure that nobody in the restaurant had anything to do with it’s preparation. Expecting an extra $25 on a bottle of wine that nobody had anything to do with making is ridiculous.
In fact, the whole notion of percentage tipping is ridiculous. How much extra work is created for you, the server, if I order a $30 steak as opposed to a $10 burger? None at all. Yet the tip is supposed to be 3x as much? The only way I wouldn’t argue about this is if I was assured that every last penny of the difference between the “burger tip” and the “steak tip” went to the kitchen staff who had to do extra work, and not the server who didn’t.
Also, I’m a little confused. Some of you have complained that people didn’t order alcohol/appys/desert. Others complained about people taking too long and not turning the table over quick enough. So which one is it? You can’t have your cake and eat it too, it’s either more turnover with lower bills or less turnover with higher bills. And for some people, it’s their tastes. Me for example, I don’t like alcohol so I don’t drink it. I’m not going to add $5 to my bill for something I don’t want just to drive up your tip. As far as appetizers/deserts, well either I don’t want to fill up on stuff before my entree which I believe will suffice my appetite, or I filled up on my entree and can’t eat anymore. Again, I’m not going to be wasteful and order things I don’t want or won’t finish for the sake of driving up your percentage.
Also, for restaurant workers, you can lay a good amount of the blame on workers in other service industries for the reduction in your tips. It’s not just waiters/waitresses who want tips anymore, it’s haircutters, taxi drivers, the cleaning staff at the hotel, the guy at the laundromat, the guy at the oil change place. Most normal people would be broke if they paid 20% tips to all of these people, and these people make above min wage for sure, so perhaps some of your anger should be directed at them.
One last thing I will say is this. I know some people who work in the service industry, and I can tell you that their idea of a “living wage” is pretty outlandish. I know it’s not across the board, but how many of you have considered your own spending habits, because I can tell you the majority of the ones I know haven’t. They eat at the restaurant all the time, and after shifts are spent drinking there. They could brown-bag a lunch and drink at home for MUCH cheaper, even with their staff discount. And then they just have to be seen at the trendiest club in town every weekend, getting bombed on $7 drinks and wearing a brand new $250 outfit every weekend (god forbid complete strangers would see them wearing the same thing twice). And the idea of living with a roommate to share expenses or perhaps downgrading their car into something with a lower payment… NONSENSE!! So yeah, I do feel for the people who don’t do this and can barely keep a roof over their head, but there are many who are exactly like what I’ve described and bitch about their low tips not supporting their desired social status rather than an actual “living wage.”
Now, you’re probably thinking I’m against tipping, which I’m not. And as a testament to at least some of the servers on here, if you’re in Southern California (particularly the Anaheim-Disneyland area), I commend you on a job very well done during my stay about a month ago, and my tips for meals totaling 35-40 dollars for two adults was always in the $10 area, and was a level of service I only wish I could get back home. However, the attitude of many that tips are owed rather than earned has become quite bothersome to me lately (and reached a boiling point with my experience this past week). Remember to treat everybody fairly and the same, throw your stereotypes out the window. Are some people going to stiff you? Yes. Part of the game. But equally, the same amount are likely to overcompensate if you just follow the same set of rules for everyone, and it will all even out in the end.
Oh, and as far as the religious people that leave you scriptures go, sorry about that (even though I’m far from religious). ATTN religious people: If you wanna be religious, fine, but not everyone thinks like you, so stop throwing it in everyone’s faces.
Overweight, unattractive middle-aged women. I consider myself a relatively attractive girl and I’m very confidant in myself. But it’s like, these women are punishing me for their lack of self esteem sometimes. Especially if they are in groups. They will almost always find something wrong with their food/service and demand to speak with management.
Sunday church crowd is very bi-polar for me.. It’s always win or lose.
By far, the very worst.. And they can’t even be categorized by race, religion, or class.. They are just the lazy people who do can’t be bothered ( or just can’t) read the menu or comprehend the laymans explanations I give them when they ask ten thousand questions. In one instance.. We have two kinds of fried chicken. One is crispy and flaky, the other is beer battered. There are two very different explanations and menu sections for these items. A woman orders the Classic ( which are the beer battered) after I explain the difference twice to her. She proceedes to eat all but one before complaining that they were gross and SHE knows that this is not how our classic platter comes. ( I have worked there for two years) A manager gets involved, they replace her food and box it to go. She pays only for the appetizer and her drinks and proceeds to leave me a 35 cent tip. Then, she does our survey and complains that I mislead her. ( by now i should mention that she also fell into the above category of women) and that I was refusing to correct the situation. As a result I got written up and my hours were cut.
The menu is there for a reason folks. Think of your server as a friendly tour guide to help you find your way around and answer your questions. But it’s still up to you to do the sight seeing!
Native Americans (indians) I am Canadian. As a 17 year old server in a small town, all of us servers talk and gossip with eachother. We all conclude that the natives are the world. Lucky if they tip us 2%. I am not a bad tipper. All us servers in my town made an agreement to tip eachother good. We all agreed on 20% but I tip 40% to flount my wealth because my g/f pays for rent, and car, i do groceries and bills.
After working a 6 hour shift and walking with $4, I have to say the worst tippers are black people. It never fails. May God be with you if you work at a place with 35cent wings.
“but there are many who are exactly like what I’ve described and bitch about their low tips not supporting their desired social status rather than an actual “living wage.””
No there aren’t, you lying sack of excrement. I can’t imagine the beatings and torture your family must endure considering your low self esteem, jealousy, and anger issues. Wow, you actually need to take out your life frustrations (small penis, low wages) on people struggling to provide for their families by doing one of the worst jobs in the world? What a tiny little man you must be.
I know more people paying for diapers, day care, and prescription drugs with their tips than I do who are paying for $250 outfits. Here’s a tip for you, if you imagine that EVERYONE is avoiding you…you are right. If I knew a jerk off like you, I wouldn’t take your calls either. If you are a representative North-westerner, thank God it is a sparsely populated area!
I was a line cook for 15 years, so I don’t eat out much since I can cook great food at home cheaper. $45 for a steak? add a potato for $8? Are you kidding me?? I only eat out for sushi, which is too expensive to make at home, though I have done it. But everytime I eat out, no matter where I have sushi, the server pridefully won’t write down the order. My wife and I order a handful of sushi items at once and the server ALWAYS forgets something. Every. Time. So the tip suffers. Write it down, knucklehead. And where did this 20% come from? I was raised to double the tax…BAM, there’s 16%. Easy. That’s if you were efficient and friendly, and depending on total meal price.
And I absolutely agree that wine shouldn’t be included in the tip total. The waiter takes the same 30 seconds to open a $10 bottle as a $100 bottle, but whines that he didn’t get an extra $20 tip coz the bill is now over $200? Opening wine is worth $2 to me regardless of the cost of the bottle. Get over yourself.
The waiter is doing the same amount of work to bring me a $6 plate of pasta and a tea as he is $130 Kobe steak & lobster and wine. Who invented this “percentage rule” anyway? Ridiculous. I’m an adult, no kids, I don’t run you ragged with refills, you don’t need to vacuum crackers off the floor when I leave and I don’t harass you sexually. You did X amount of work for me, so you earned X amount of dollars for your trouble regardless of the bill’s total, which may be artificially high due to the menu items I picked. Shaddup.
To the couple of servers who bragged that you inflated the customer’s bill by suggesting high-profit apps or Dom Perignon, then were rewarded with a $100 tip instead of *only* $30 by that drunken bozo: what do you think you did to deserve that money? Skipping by his table 4 times in his hour long visit? I mean…c’mon!
And for you bartenders out there: I tended bar myself for a couple years in the mid-80’s. I’m not tipping you a $1 for opening my beer for me. You charge me $6 for a Bud, then spend 4 seconds flicking off the cap, and you think that’s worth a dollar? Nope. You earn an hourly wage for that. Maybe a dollar tip for a complicated drink like a home-made Bloody Mary. Not a mix from a store-bought jug. Home-made. If you’re nice while you make it. And didn’t make me wait 5 minutes while I wave my money trying to get your attention.
You peeps are in the service industry by choice. Apparently you think the money’s good or you’d leave. And when you get off at night and go out to eat yourself, aren’t you more critical of your server, knowing what all’s entailed in the job yourself? Isn’t YOUR tip clock ticking down when you’re left to sit too long before your order is taken?
I suppose it’s almost a cliché now that blacks and churchies don’t tip. But which came first? I bet you and all your waiter friends wait on the gay men in your section and make the blacks and Canadians wait till you have time. They see this and subsequently don’t tip as well. Multiply this by months and years and it’s a vicious circle and becomes a cliché with time. The gay men tip well because maybe they’re funny, and you therefore like them more and spend more time with them. Maybe this routine was in place looooong before you filled out your application to work there. Maybe you could do something to change it instead of complaining and perpetuating a practice that irks both sides.
As for the churchies leaving worthless Jesus propaganda as a tip, well, that’s pretty low. But how would you feel about a handfull of McDonalds “Be Our Guest” coupons worth about $10? Or 2 free movie tickets with no expiration date? Can’t pay rent with ’em, but it’s something! To the person who received a “10% off a haircut at my salon” coupon: THAT’S not what I’m talking about. I mean a non-money gift (of sorts) that requires no out-of-pocket expense to redeem, like free car wash or Lotto scratch tickets. Not worthless crap like free psychic reading or “Jesus Saves” flyers. Would that be something you might be interested in?
You in the service industry, whether waiters, pizza delivery guys or prostitutes, should be proud to do an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay. You chose this profession. Do a good job, get a tip, at the discretion of your customer. It shouldn’t be expected, yet our (American) society has decreed that clients should augment your paycheck and so we do, whether you deserve it or not. And of course some customers use that to treat you like servants, cracking the whip with the promise of a few extra bucks. And then, in turn, a website is set up for you to vent about that situation.
But I ask, where does it end? Does everyone have their hand out? I think cab fare is high enough, but I have to tip him as well? After he filled my ride with racist comments and took me 5 miles out of the way? I can see tipping a bellboy to carry my bags that I didn’t want to lug up to the 15th floor, or tipping the casino cocktail waitress since I couldn’t be bothered to interrupt my game to search out the bar myself. But I’m not going to tip her EXTRA just coz I got an expensive drink. I have to tip the barber? The grocery bagger? The bank teller for giving me my own money? The blackjack dealer who FINALLY gave me a decent hand after 10 minutes of taking my money?
Where does it end? Geeeez!
@bhagwad: THANK YOU! At last! SOMEONE who’s talking sense out here! It never fails to baffle me- the whole American concept of waiters literally DEMANDING tips and instantly labelling the customer a cheapskate if he leaves them anything that falls below the amount they are ‘entitled’ to..
How is it the customer’s problem if you’re paid below minimum wage? Blame your employers and the system for that. Don’t expect diners to make up for it..we aren’t moneybags. We’ve worked hard for our money and as bhagwad said, consider it a favour that we’re leaving you anything at all, since we’re aren’t REQUIRED to, in the first place. We’re certainly not going to throw our money away to make up for YOUR cash-strapped wallet. There are countless other workers who have it harder than you, servers.. you’ve no idea how much better your working conditions are as compared to the rest of the world.. Ever heard of sweatshops? get a little perspective, you snotty pampered twits..
Yes, I’m an Indian and I know the value of the money I earn. No way are you going to make me give you cash you haven’t earned or deserve, just because its what I’m ‘supposed to do’! I’m certainly not going to pay you for what, carrying my plate of food..! That’s your J.O.B -not some out-of-the-way thing you are doing for me. You get a salary for that, for christ’s sake! And if you’re underpaid, that’s not my problem. Take it up with your employers.
And leave us customers the fuck alone.
Here is a tip for you who bemoan the fact that you are expected to leave a tip.
If you are SO damn broke that you can’t afford to tip, when you KNOW good and well most of us are PAID by our tips, save the servers who have to deal with you the pain in the a$$ waiting on you brings, and COOK YOUR OWN FOOD AT HOME. That will save you money to buy all those things and pay all those bills.
Because like it or not, this is the way the system works and tipping is not a freaking city in China. If you are that damn broke, go to McDonalds and hit that dollar menu wide open. They pay their people at least minimum wage.
You are cheap, plain and simple.
You are the people I will give the most minimal of service to, so you can believe that your dining experience will be less than stellar. It will be the minimum of company guidelines.
The best tippers I have had by far are drunks. I work the lowest end of the tipping restaurants, in diner-style chain.
I live for the 3 am drunk rush. If I can manage to keep the beasts in their seats until I throw food in front of them, they usually leave a nice tip once they sober up a bit and look at the pig sty they are leaving behind them.
It never fails to amaze me what animals people really are.
The expectation of a tip on an expensive bottle of wine is once again a problem with the management/industry, and not the server.
The server is not hoping for/expecting a tip on that $200 bottle because she did “more work” than if it were a $20 bottle. (Although she very well might have, in between going through the proper wine presentation, and the fact that any server with common sense is going to pay some extra special attention to a table with such a large tab)
But no, the reason your server expects a tip on that wine is of course because she’s tipping the house about $8-14 on it, and if you stiff her, that comes out of her own pocket.
Is it the customer’s fault or responsibility that this tip out exists? Of course not. But is a human being justified in complaining a little when they have to pay out of their own pocket to work? Absolutely.
I’m not saying everyone has to tip on a $200 bottle of wine, I’m just saying that no one’s acting all high-and-mighty if they’re upset about not receiving a tip on it.
Yes, I’m an Indian and I know the value of the money I earn. No way are you going to make me give you cash you haven’t earned or deserve, just because its what I’m ’supposed to do’!
I hope you know you are probably eating fecal matter and urine EVERY time you eat out? With your attitude, you deserve to.
If you can’t abide by the customs of the civilization to which you voluntarily immigrated, take your third-world ass back home.
I totally understand these negative comments about church-goers, blacks, and Canadians. I never worked as a waiter, but when I worked in fast food (20 years ago) we had church groups come in on Sunday after service and on Wednesday nights. They always left a huge mess on the tables and floor. I don’t understand how they did it, but it was like they ground in bits of food that I had to scrub extra hard to remove. On Wednesday nights they would hang around so long guzzling coffee after closing that I would just try mopping around them. They would eventually leave… very slowly and hugging each other repeatedly… and there would still be a huge mess to clean.
Later, when I worked in retail, the Sunday afternoon crowds were the absolute worst. They would come in with their church clothes still on and give me hell if the store was out of a sale item. They were beyond rude– they were absolutely mean with some of the things they said.
Blacks were terrible in the fast food place, always complaining about their very fresh fries not being hot enough, and trying to claim they were overcharged on their combos. They were even worse in retail– stealing and returning merchandise for cash (before the current computerized system of keeping I.D. records and giving store credit). We had a black biker festival in my town that would bring them in droves. They would flock into the store making a lot of noise shouting and laughing with each other and dressed like trash. The only thing they would buy would be one disposable camera each, all paying separately (even couples and families who were together) and they would all insist the damn camera they chose was the wrong price and demand a price check. They would pay with loose change that they counted out slowwwwwly and tie up the lines. I hated them so much… It was enough to make me a racist if I had stayed there for much longer.
And the Canadians– cheap snowbird bastards who always tried to haggle and would return their used beach stuff for a full refund after their two-month stay because something was “wrong” with it just before they were leaving for home.
You waiters are not the only people these jerks annoy.
The worst tippers, albiet, they might not realize that they are, are Latinos. Day after day, month after month, year after a year the tips seem to not pour out of thier wallets and purses. A seemingly average $80 check only warrants a $2-5 tip in thier eyes. Whether uneducated on tipping, or for whatever reason, this act of serve and recieve nothing gets old after a while.
In recent experience?
People in casinos.
Apparently, if you dine in a casino on a comp ticket, you do not have to tip.
I have been taking home 5 percent of my sales consistently since I started working in a casino.
A note to those who like to gamble.
If you eat in a casino restaurant, even if it is for free, YOU STILL HAVE TO TIP.
About waiting tables being a mindless job and expecting tips… I would dare all the people who have never waited tables to try it for at least a week… if a week is too long for you try it for a day… then we can discuss these topics again!!
First of all, excuse my Enligsh. Its my second language.
Second, WOW. So, are we not supposed to dine out unless we are able to leave a tip of 20% or more?
Yes, i am from a country where tipping is considered a “nice gesture” not an obligation. But still, when i am in the US i tip 15%. I had no idea waiters expected way much more than that!
I work hard all week so i can earn enough money to treat myself to one nice dinner. Apparently now im supposed to work extra hours so i can afford the obligatory expensive tip?
I thought the purpose of restaurants is to attract customers, keep the business going, not put obstacles like obligatory tips of 20% or more. IMHO, all these strict tipping rules might force people to STOP going to restaurants. Is that really the way to go? WOW
Restaurants cant afford to tell people to stay home. That is stupid. So, wouldnt it be better to just choose not to have a server? I can very well get up from my seat and go get my plate when i hear the little bell ring.
I’m a Canadian and a good tipper. The yanks Suck where I work and they are all Yanks! LAst night I got a $1 U.S bill folded into a Ring. It wasn’t a total loss. I also got a “thanks for everything” and a “we are gonna ask for you next time”. Most Arabs tip great. Especially when there is atleast two couples and they fight over who is gonna get to pay the bill. It becomes a status thing and I usually come out a head.
Large (obese) people in general, but especially large women. I find that they tend to be the least friendly, too – at least in restaurants.
Annie A. A 20% tip is not mandatory! It is a nice gesture from a few customers who believe their server deserved a little extra for the service provided!! 🙂
JJJEEEZZZ people…
This horse has left the barn already!!
The people who never tip and the people who tip have spoken..numerous times.
The holy rollers, latinos, asians, etc. probably are never going to tip adequately but you make it up on someone else..That’s what we do without giving bad service to the bad tippers…you can’t go to a table with the attitude that you aren’t going to make a tip because it will show. Find something you like and serve them as QUICKLY as possible..turn and burn..
And again there are reasons why some people cook and some people work the front of the house..serving is a hard job,(and one that forces you to deal w/the public) it looks easy when you have a server who knows what they are doing, but the reality is that they are taking and placing orders so they come out in a timely fashion, opening wine, answering some pretty inane ??, dealing with spills from the breeder’s kids, running credit cards, dealing with computer crashes, etc. etc….This is why it is such a transient business unless you are a professional and work in an establishment with owners who want you to make $$. I work in a place where a number of servers have been there for 15+ yrs…we have our customers who tip great, adequately, and poorly. Sometimes its evolution, they come in the first time have a great meal tip poorly and then slowly as our relationship develops they become great tippers!
The haters are never going to tip for whatever reason, they have their excuses and it’s not going to change and no they won’t go to a lesser restaurant. My goal is always to make the restaurant the most $$ I can, so my rationalization is if I don’t make whatever percentage at least the restaurant made $$ off of them. And for me thats enough! Because if they are cheap in the first place they will probably return to their mediocre haunts. They have heard of us, tried us, but even though the food is stellar it’s higher priced then what they are used to…
The bottom line is that if you can handle the stress and let stuff roll off your back then it’s a great profession, the $$ fluctuate but I have made a great living the last 30 yrs from various places. If the $$ were bad I moved on, if you have talent there is a job somewhere for you.
A customer comes in the restaurant on his cell phone. He ignores me while having his phone conversation. When he is off the phone I am taking care of another table… he waves his hands in the air to grab my attention. I am not the only one annoyed at this…so are the customers I am waiting on. When I finish taking the order I go to his table, say hello… the cell phone rings again… he answers it and with a hand gesture tells me to go away. After a few minutes, while he is still on the phone, he points to the dish he selects on the menu … He does not tell me if he wants something to drink because he is too busy talking to someone else… When I am delivering the food, he gets off the phone, and tells me that I didn’t offer him anything to drink… I politely ask him what he wishes to have… in a nasty he tells me now I don’t want anything… I tell him to enjoy his food and proceed to my other tables… After a few minutes I go back to his table to see if everything is ok.. he replies that everything is fine and he needs his check… after all this he does not leave me a tip… So, what is wrong with this picture? I would like to say that this was a one time occurrence, however, it happens more often that you think!! Apparently, waiters don’t deserve respect nor tips!!
@mnrocko – Well said!!!
planetocatch: doesnt seem that way. I read post after post that says “tip 15% for poor service” “A 15% tip is archaic” “20% should be customary, more if the service is good” “people used to tip well, now they tip 15%”. All those imply 15% is NOT good, or enough, even bad.
Annie A: IMHO, should be customary does not have the same meaning as mandatory!! 🙂
After serving for many years in four different restaurants and four different locations, the worst tippers ever are consistently Russian or Eastern European people. I have nothing against them personally, but when they sit in my section (usually already coupled with being late at night or on a Sunday morning) they demand the most of my time, the most ridiculous requests and consistently leave 5% or less. They are by far the rudest, and stingiest assholes to ever sit in my section.
Folks with Heavy Platinum American Express credit card!(-;
Marco Andretti.
O.K. People, I have read ALL 610 replies….chuckling, groaning, roaring with laughter with my martini in hand. When I get home at night of course…..I’m an experienced server. Here’s a different one that no one has put in the lousy tipper category yet. Pennsylvania….Berks County…..there are two or three well known (not to me) race car and “funny” car (damned if I know what that means) race courses that get a LOT of tourism and beef up the local economy for a weekend in the summer. There is also a car thing with race cars sometime in February with owners and they display thier cars in the local malls and they are fairly nice, kind of macho, but they eat and drink and tip like drunken sailors. But getting back to the summer time thing, it’s awful. A bunch of big fat bleached blondes with scrawny dark haired husbands…the broads do all of the ordering…and no tip. A bunch of hairy neanthreals with a six pack under each arm…and the men were not much better.
Wait staff should be paid properly by their employers, and we should abolish this “mandatory” tipping crap.
Good luck making that a reality, Jim.
all you guys who blame foreigners for not tipping correctly – of which I am one – pause for a second to realise – that we are horrified to learn that your government has not mandated that your wages need to be at a level where this vile pactice can be abolished once and for all – as it is throughtout the majority of the rest of the world.
You are being exploited by your boss and your government – and then you blame your customers – you guys need to get unionised – and get what is your right – a fair days pay for a fair days work
I see people from all over the world come and eat here. Being a tourist destination can be a wonderful thing sometimes. It seems people from Louisiana tip the worst. Even my family from that state thinks that 10% is a good job and that you have to blow them away for 15%. They think 20% is just out of the question. That being said, they can be some of the most fun to have sit in your section.
The British, for sure give the worst tip and are the most demanding!
Worked on a cruise ship and we get 5% gratuity off alcoholic drink sales… our income always drops by 30 percent when sailing around the British Isles because they only ask, ‘May I have a cup of tea please?’
Now I’m in New Zealand and wondering whether Kiwis tip or not.
After 12 years of serving, percentage wise, the most demanding customers tend to be the worst tippers. They think everyone “owes them”. Europeans, African Americans, senior citizens, people who use coupons, groups of people (if you don’t add the gratuity you are screwed, Indians and teens. Last night I was blown away by a group of 5, 20-30 something well to do crowd. I know for a fact that one of the ladies worked at a high end hair salon nearby. (She should know the protocol on tipping)They hung out and kept the restaurant open just for them about one hour longer after all the other customers left, gave them excellent service and they had the balls to leave me an 8% tip! You just never know~
@ISAFP
Don’t use that argument as an excuse to leave a shitty tip. Until that happens, i.e., we become unionized, please leave the appropriate tip amount. Servers are usually very powerless individuals and will never be able to unionize because someone will always do that type of work. There will always be scabs. Stop being a cheapskate and using excuses and tip the person who has very little power and don’t be a cheap-ass sadist. Brits make me sick. So arrogant and ugly at the same time. Brush your teeth when you wake up and when you go to sleep.
Oh God, I’m one of those foreigners and I just spent a week as a tourist in New York, and I tried hard doing the right thing. The guide books tell me to tip “twice the tax”, which I did. But judging from the comments here I’ve been cheap. I gave cabbies about a 12% tip, is that OK? My two teenage boys got a haircut priced at 25 dollars plus tax each, I left a ten buck tip, is that reasonable? I didn’t use to know you were supposed to tip bartenders, but after consulting a guidebook I left 40 dollars on a 38 dollar bottle of wine, was that being cheap? We staid for six days in a hotel near Times Square, I left 20 dollars for the maid at he end of the say, was I supposed to leave a few dollars every day given that the maids probably change shifts? I gave no tip to the girl in the lobby even though she helped us out a lot, did I break a rule there? When we went to restaurants some restaurats add an 18% tip to the bill which I gladly paid, but was I supposed to add something on top of this? We had lunch at the restaurant by the ice skating rink at Rockefeller center and the waiter was very explicitly annoyed that we only had entrees; no mimosas, bloody marys, soup, wine, desert ,coffee — since were going to have a nice dinner a few hours later – did that mean that he deserved a smaller or a larger tip then the “normal” percentage? In other restaurants, I left 10 dollars for coat check for a family of four, apparently that is OK by what I have read here..
I have to say, the comments here show that tipping etiquette is really hard. I even used to live in the US and I realize I have probably been the object of service sector personnel censure without realizing it. I would like for US service industry establishments to do a very simple thing: post a recommended % tip wherever tips are expected; it will help all those who want to conform to etiquette but donät know what it is to do the right thing.
Anyone wearing excessive gold or diamonds (chains, watches, bracelets, TEETH) flashing his (or her) wad of $100 bills. They usually order waters, try to act ghetto, run you like crazy (and say things like “WAITER!” or snap their fingers at you), point to menu items (the single most irritating thing IMO) and never say please or thank you. Now this wouldn’t be terrible if they tiped the appropriate 20% on their $150 bill. Alas when you return to the table, said asshole slips you a fiver, says “This is for you my man (or sweetheart)”, and you die a little inside.
Annie, they have places like that. They’re called buffets, and it sounds like thats where you should be eating.
Waiters and waitresses are under appreciated and over worked. We are under paid and only catch a rash of shit from Sir Wadsworth Douchington the 5th when his mid rare steak is cooked rare, or from Buffy McFaketits when she bitches that her fucking martini isn’t strong enough. Have you ever waited tables before? What’s that? You haven’t? What a fucking surprise.
Don’t try and say you don’t need to tip until you have actually worked in a restaurant. “I can very well get up from my seat and go get my plate when i hear the little bell ring.” And are you going to get your own condements? if the food is undercooked are you going to deal with the cooks? Are you going to clear your plate? Wipe down the table after you’re done? If so then bravo, you just paid 3x the price you could have paid to eat at home, and got none of the perks of eating out. You don’t tip a waiter because he/she you your food, you tip the waiter because they gave you all the extras. You could have a relaxing meal, not having to cook, clean or even get up off your ass for anything. While you are enjoying your steak, we are dealing with the following: our other customers, the bitchy hostess, the asshole cooks, a manager who is downright incompitent AND the other shitheads you work with and their drama.
Please understand that we are not making a grand a night, we are simply trying to eke out an existence and keep a steady job. At the end of our day our backs and feet hurt, we smell (usually pretty bad), we get home at odd hours of the night depending on how much we have to drink after our shift is over.
I personally wait tables because it is what I’m good at. I was raised in restaurants and it’s second nature to me. As much as people like you piss me off, I still come in every day with a pressed shirt and a smile on my face. Please believe that we talk shit about you in the kitchen. Listen close sometime, you might hear it.
And if an extra 5% is such a big deal, maybe it’s time for a career change.
I used to say Europeans until I moved to Europe and realized they don’t work for tips. Now looking back and excluding them I would say teenagers.
and to Annie A. I understand that you work hard for your money, but servers in the US do not make minimum wage. When I worked there 6 years ago I made $2.30 an hour plus tips. Sure there are times when you leave making $15+ and hour and there are times when you leave making $3 and hour.
I live in Canada and the worst tippers / people to serve by far are the flight attendants who work for West Jet. They are demanding, and act like servers are below them because they work for an “airline”.Seperate bills and minimum tips if any at all. You would think they would be a little understanding since they work in a service industry. Its well known among servers and we all lie when we see them coming and tell them our kitchen is closed. You would think people who are in the industry of serving others would be nice, but that is not the case with west jet employees.
How about the best tippers? Hands down gay men and anyone who works for tips: wait- staff, hairdressers, car hikers.
I have been in the service industry for 14 years, and now I am nearly 30. I have waited tables in everything from 5-star restaurants to dive bars in both Dallas and Austin. So here is my list for worst tippers–
Rich, self-entitled college kids: hands-down the absolute worst treatment and tippers. they have never worked in their life, and nor do they pay their own bills. I’ve been treated horribly by them, beyond often getting tips like $5 on $300 tabs. Though they’ll happily shell out $9 of their parents’ money for a Jager-bomb.
White-trash families: not to be confused with blue-collar working men, white-trash families are rude, demanding, and have ill-behaved, messy, and obnoxious kids.
Church crowd: more often than not they’re crappy 8% tippers, but usually at least polite.
Young Hispanics out on dates: demanding and awful tippers, usually 2 bucks no matter the size of the tab.
Groups of single white women aged 25-50: They are bitchy, picky, and condescending, and hate me because I’m prettier, thinner, and younger than them.
The best tippers? Fellow servers top my list, for obvious reasons.
Also, blue-collar working men are usually great tippers. They understand the difficulty of a manual labor job, and can also relate to being treated as unintelligent or second-class by those who have never held such a job. Plumbers, movers, construction workers, and UPS drivers would frequently tip me 50% or more. They appreciate being treated well since many servers give poor service to them based on their appearances. But often these men have plenty of money, with lots owning their own companies.
Additionally, the supposedly ‘ghetto’ black men that many other servers frequently bitch about usually tip me an awesome amount. I’m white, but was raised in the hood and have dated plenty of black men from all walks of life. When going out to eat with my boyfriends I noticed a significant decrease in the quality of service than if I was with other whites. If you treat young black me well it is worth it, more often than not.
So that’s my observations based on my life spent in the industry.
I would also like to add I’ve repeatedly waited on Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks and Mike Modano of the Dallas Stars–always been tipped by them at about %200 percent for tabs ranging from $5 to $50.
I waited on Texas Governor Rick Perry–a total douchebag who ran me repeatedly, tickled me and winked at me, while taking up my entire section with his group of 16, and then left me 10%.
But I waited on Michelle Obama a couple of years ago while Barak was running. She was an absolute joy and tipped 40%.
I have to disagree with merkin4 (#59) about pizza delivery tips. Back when I was a delivery boy, my best tip came from a young, college-age couple with a toddler and an infant. From what I could see from the doorway, pizza was a major treat for them.
My worst tips always came from the McMansion part of town.
I’ve got a question: if you work in a coffee shop of the type where there’s no table service (you know, like Starbucks), do you expect tips in the tip jar, or is it just a nice extra?
Rae, I would to work at a sub shop where there was a tip jar & it wasn’t expected, but was always nice to receive something.
As far as best tippers go, I have to say families with teenagers/young adult children. Their kids are around my age & we can shoot the shit pretty easily. They also take an interest into my life & see what I’m doing as far as an education.
The worst tippers are asians!!!!! I don’t think they care about tipping at all. They don’t want to do any canadian customs including speaking english. They are the most anoying poeple to serve. Second is East indians,rude arrogant and smelly
There is a post near the beginning of the commemnts stating that managers should pay more wages to the staff and that the tip should be extra or something like that. The truth is that in some states, wait staff makes federal minimum wage. In other states though, they make state minimum wage which is generally used for farm hands and other very menial tasks. In Kansas for instance, where I am a waiter, I make $2.13 an hour. That wage hasn’t changed for 100 years or something. Missiouri now pays $3.13 an hour plus they grandfathered in current staff for a years worth of missed pay or something. The reason they do this is to provide quality food for prices people can afford and so the companies can provide jobs. They also ‘get away’ with this by using that excuse and saying that the tips bring our hourly wage up to at least the current minimum wage. If a store had to pay minimum wage for 4-7 servers a shift there prices would be outrageous because they couldn’t make any profit and make it affordable for the customer. I would agree that once the bill hits about $30 15% is perfectly acceptable and 20% is a nice surprise and bonus. But on anything above $10 a $2-$3 tip shoud be minimum and at $20, a $4 tip. Maybe that sounds greedy or outrageous but I make $2.13 an hour as a server. If you sit at my table for an hour and leave me a $1 tip on a $10 check, I lost money. If you sit for 20min and do that, I’m a little more understanding but still irritated. I look at tips 2 ways, one for the part of me that is overselous and expects money and one way to keep me in check and keep me planted on earth. I open a check always hoping to see at least 15% of the bill but at the same time, as long as I make $2 per person at the table, I am perfectly happy and content. I honestly don’t think it is to much to tip $2 per person for a 30min to an hour lunch or dinner. Where I am bringing in the food, refilling drinks and taking away the mess, leaving you free to interact and not worry about a thing while you enjoy your meal. My place for dinner is $12.49 on average, places with a higher average, if I worked there, I might like more per person but where my stores prices are, I make a good amount of money and I’m happy.
Oh and the worst tippers are the white trash families that come in with 5 kids and sit for 4 hours. That has happened to me 3 times with the same family. Not 4 hours each time, but the first time they literally sat there for 4 hours, 4 adults and 4 kids and they left me $3. Their subsequent trips lasted about an 1 1/2 to 2 hours but had the same tip result
Best tippers, around here, its the church people and suprisingly most of the college students
Oh and yes meal prices go up when inflation goes up. BUT THEY NEVER GO UP EQUALLY!!!!
Inflation has averages between 3% and 5% A YEAR in recent years. In my short time in the industry I have seen the food prices rise maye 1 to 2 percent TOTAL. That means there has been a shortfall in the neighborhood of anywhere from (really low-ball) 6% to (high-ball) 15%, maybe even 20%. Yes prices go up but like another post says, managers cut corners to keep prices lower. Thats why you don’t see your 5.95 deal for lunch go up every few months (during various seasons for different foods) or each year (because of normal inflation), you see it jump a dollar overnight after so long that you are outraged that it went up (such a little amount). Kind of like gas prices. And in all reality, what is happening is the store has no more corners to cut without really hurting quality or service and so it has to go up just a little bit to keep it going but it goes up just a little bit further than bare minimum so it can fall back to cutting corners again when it has to. Because it inevitablly will.
Best tipper so far – Mr. Batista – professional wrestler… 84%… Maybe he will be back!!
I think Asians are bad tippers because of the service they receive from Americans. Americans are happy-go-lucky friendly servers usually – to personal for Asians. Asians are not that way. They expect a submissive “yes sir/yes madam – immediately attitude…” Try keeping conversation polite, but minimum and see what happens. Asian Americans, however, are a different story – it’s hit or miss.
I was a server for 4 years; it got me through college and a whole lot more. I was fortunate enough to work at Bahama Breeze in Tampa where it’s virtually impossible to have a bad dining experience. Located in beautiful sunny Florida right on the water…
The bad tippers were usually the poorly dressed, poorly educated, and poorly spoken people but at Bahama Breeze I was surprised many times with great tips from these “poor” groups.
Immigrants – yep they need to work on their reputation for tipping, but I did well many times with them too.
Joey Galloway, Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver was the best tipper I had. $500 bill – He and his rowdy buddies left me $800 ($300 tip – not bad.)
drunks are super need yet have no concept of tipping
My best tip so far was by a caucasian man in his 50’s who came in with his family. 93% tip on 80$. My worst tips are usually from asians, Indians, Native americans, 30 tops half of them children , very wealthy Jews, Brits, insecure young girls, religious african americans, and very old people! The elderly think 3 dollars on 20$ is okay after a 5$ discount.
to…bernie! no Brittany $3 tip on $20 is exactly right. you have to do MORE for the extra 5%
Ever work at a restauraunt that sells unlimited soup, salad, and breadsticks? Well I do and it sucks BIG time. You run your ass of back and fourth for the starving fat business fucks who only leave you 10 percent. Along with the Indians who act is if they are oblivious to tipping customs in America. The worst tippers in my opinion are by far the Indians. Whenever they pop up in your section at my restaruant, servers always try and give away the table. The best part is when they all seem to come out at night in a party of 9, 10 minutes before we lock our doors. Fucking ignorant.
I have to say that hippsters are the new worst tippers that I see and deal with. All of the stereotypes seem to come and go. I have great African American regulars and customers and bad ones. I have taken care of good to great tippers who were European. However, not once have I waited on a young hippster who thought they were cool in an avant garde way that wasn’t a complete asshole topped with being a bad tipper. Your V neck tee and beard don’t make you cool they are just the badge of a douche bag.
It was my experience that Caucasian, middle to upper-middle class families were the worst tippers and would stiff regularly. Maybe you’ve seen them – 2 screaming kids, wifey looks like she has not had sex since the conception of the last brat and the husband looks like an animal stuck in a trap, trying to figure out if he should chew his leg off to escape or die in that same trap. Here’s a tip from your server – leave the brats with Grandma/Grandpa and go save your marriage and leave my table so I can get a tip from people who actually appreciate service.
African American and working class Caucasians were the best tippers.
People from India are the absolute worst tippers. Ever. They expect everything for free for absolutely NO REASON. You’re not a regular, you come in once a month and give me TWO DOLLARS no matter how much your tab is.
As a bartender, I have to report 20% of my total sales as tips, even if it’s less than that. Apparently people don’t know this because the worst tip I ever got was twenty seven dollars on a NINE HUNDRED DOLLAR tab. Pricks. Indian pricks. If you’re going to drop that kind of cash and make my ass run up and down stairs getting bottles, ordering 8 different kinds of shots, while I’m still serving and entire other bar, I know you know better than to leave me a 3 percent tip.
Fuckers.
Best tippers were the guys (not the customers, but the employees) from the strip club down the street. Rock on, people who live on tips/are in the industry always have your back.
Also, lesbians are the best tippers in Boston. For some reason they always leave 20-30%.
So I’m not any type of wait staff nor do I work in the restaurant industry. I am a massage Therapist in Texas, which is probably only beat by Florida and California in over saturation of massage businesses. The Worst Tippers? Actually it depends on the time of year. In the Spring the best tippers are people that work in Tax and bank related jobs. Thank you, federal government, for stressing people out over their income. The worse tippers are people given gift certificates by loved ones over the holidays. Tip is not included and just because this was a gift to you doesn’t mean you get to be selfish. If you enjoyed the massage, tip the poor therapist who’s probably next to living out of her car. Then comes summer and the worst tippers are young people. Again, its just like eating out; if you can’t afford to tip the poor people serving you, then don’t eat out. Please, don’t get the massage if you can’t show monetary appreciation. Fall and Winter it varies month to month.
Rude niggers who order a ton of food stuff their face and need hot water to set their silverware in.
IGNORANCE
I work at a restaurant in portland,or and BY FAR the worst tippers I have encountered are the russians! SO rude, super demanding, incredibly cheap, and you’re lucky to get a dollar tip, if any. Half the time, when I go to the table to get the order, the girls glare at me and then whisper in their boyfriend/husbands ear and make THEM tell me what they want to drink! we close at 10 on sunday nights, and it’s basically a custom thatt a group of 15 will show up at 9:52, split 3 or 4 entrees between all of them, and then argue to get the gratuity removed. i usually end up staying over an hour after closing waiting for them to leave. aghhh! it’s even more annoying when they’re wearing christian louboutin heels but can’t afford to leave you a tip. gypsies are horrible tippers too. mexicans in this area aren’t too bad, but african american women suck, and so does the after church crowd, which seems to be the trend every where
I live and work in a Large-ish city in northern MN. By FAR the worst tippers in our area of the country are Canadians, and alas, they make up a large porion of our business here. Most come down to my city to do their shopping since Canada has such ridiciulos taxes. Do they pass that savings along to me? Heck no. Do people actually tip in Canada?
We actually have a little joke that we tell each other around here about this particular problem:
Q: What’s the diffrence between a canoe and a cannuck (slang for Canadian)?
A: A canoe will tip.
I also agree with many other people’s opinion on foreigners, especially Hindi (Indian) people. Very rude, needy, and more often than not leave a tiny tip if they do at all. I have found myself resorting to using the little button on my POS marked ‘automatic gratuity’ when I get a big party of Hindi people. Thank the restraunt gods most foreigners can’t figure out the bill anyway.
I have never had a problem with black people – churchgoing or otherwise (though I work nights exclusivley now, smart man that I am). Most of the black people I have waited on in my career have usualy left me more than 15% – more than many white people.
why would any canadian go to your shithole state
Oops. It’s news to me that tipping is now 20% instead of 15%…when did that happen? How come no one I know personally knows about this? I tip 20% for parties and exceptional service – I guess ought to start leaving 20% as my average tip? Someone enlighten me about this. Honestly, this is NEWS.
Sidenote, on tipping in general: I was a passenger on a dive boat (live-aboard boat tour for a week) with a large party of Russians. I agree with Sara #644 that they were horrible tippers. Both the boat staff and the Russians privately bitched to me about each other – “bad service” and zero tips. Dive boat tipping is usually around couple hundred dollars++, and both the Russians and boat staff reported $0 in tips.
I would have to say the worse tippers ever are guests who are just plain miserable people from the time they enter your restaurant and have nothing but complaints and negativity from the get go.
Let me tell you folks there is no race, gender or age specifics, these people come in all shapes and size and they know exactly who they are. The “lets complain and get a free meal” patrons of the world are by far the most annoying, cause the most grief, make you run your ass off and at the end of the night won’t crack a smile even if they were being served by Chris Rock himself. Then these unruly people have the nerve to leave a 10% tip if you’re lucky.
The “I don’t like this table, it’s our anniversary” people…the “my butter is too hard, my drink has too much ice or not enough ice. The “how come you don’t have this on your menu, wine list or dessert cart. The “I think my shit stinks and no matter how awesome your establishment is and how great our server was tonight, I’m still going to find something to complain about if it kills me” people.
That’s who I think tips the worse! If a guests first words out of their mouth are negative ones, look out you’re in for a treat!
When I was still waiting in the Waterfront in Cape Town South Africa, I found that Americans are overall very good tippers, whereas the French are the worst as well as the German folk, and the best part of all is that the bad tippers are always the ones who demand the best service(and they get it) but oh boy, when it comes to returning a small favor, their hands seem turn inward and the mind cannot subtract 10% from the bill. At the end of the day, I just smile and say sarcastically “Thank you very much for your generosity and please… do come again”
Also, never make a snotty remark like looking in the bill folder and then at the customer and saying “Wow, you shouldn’t have” the humor is often different depending on which side of the table you are on.
Cubans are very good tippers, and are often very open to humor and suggestions. I had a couple of Cubans as customers in a peak season, my pockets were stuffed with cash every time.
worst tippers: teachers, nurses, young families, teenagers, coupon cutters, single mothers.
best tippers: current or past servers and bussers, businessmen, men on dates, famous actors, drunk people, regulars.
Just some examples from the other side of the ocean. Cultural differences…
In Catalonia, Spain you leave some euro cents(!), maybe 1-2 euros, no matter how big your bill was. In Brussels, Belgium you usually give 10%. In Hungary it is usually 10% also. In Sweden they rarely give tips. In Japan taxi drivers do not understand what tip means and they give it back to you.
@ european:
What happened to the saying: When in Rome do as the Romans? How about when in the US, tip at least 15%… 🙂
thankyousdontpaymybills:
You just provided the answer to all of our problems. If a 15% tip is a problem, then you should consider a career change. Instead of blaming the customers that keep the restaurant you work at open, no?
This proves my point. Tips have become mandatory, not customary. Then its not a tip anymore. Turns out, by leaving 15% tip, im not even being grateful. So then, looks like it there should be a set percentage, established by a union, the restaurant, etc., and automatically charged. But wait, restaurants already do this don’t they? They don’t charge just the cost of the meal. The price includes every single thing you listed. Have you heard of value added? Your customers are not to blame, Its your employer! And its honestly very unfair and just plain wrong to take it out on the customers. Customers are the ones who keep the business going. Tips or not!
I didn’t say i don’t tip. I do tip, and i mean well by tipping. I’m just very very surprised, that all this time i though i was doing the right thing leaving 15% tip (and not because I’m cheap or rude or ungrateful, but just because i didn’t know any better) turns out i was being secretly insulted over at the kitchen. To think that all those times when i left 15% for a good waiter/waitress i also recommended the restaurant AND the server to other people, left a great review online, plus i kept going back. I wonder who’s ungrateful?
And yes, i have waited tables, many times. But like i said on my first posts, where i live, tips are considered a nice gesture, not an obligation.
Oh, and haven’t you heard? According to all the posts here, tipping is also mandatory on buffets!
“Worst” tippers oftentimes will vary between individual servers. Take me, for instance, I’m 23, blonde, petite, and female. In my personal experience, the worst tips always come from: fat women, middle-aged women, women in groups, and teenaged girls. My boyfriend is a server as well, and he always makes a killing with any one of these groups. We both work at the same restaurant and close together on Friday and Saturday nights. We have a system, women walk in the door- table is his. Group of guys come in- all mine. Then we both turn on the charm, rake in the dough, pool our tips together at the end of the night, and split them evenly. Everyone’s happy, (Interestingly enough, through our three years working together with this system, we have found that I always do better with couples because the man usually pays. While a man may think of me as the cute little sweetie who’s running off to fetch his wife her third glass of shiraz, he will see a young, attractive man as a threat to his male dominance. Whereas if his wife catches HIM staring at my ass as I prance away… well who gives a shit, she’s not the one filling in the tip on the credit slip anyway.)
Very good points! Servers: never ignore the social/sexual dynamics – with inexperienced diners that often affects your tip more than quality of service does.
In my experience it’s a pretty common misconception that it is black people that tip badly. Granted, the vast majority of black people I have waited on have tipped me badly, but it is not the black ones, merely the “ghetto” black people, or ghetto white people for that matter. If you want to stereotype your tip when they come in, just listen to their verbs – if they aren’t conjugating their verbs correctly you’re probably screwed “I be, I is, what this be?, etc” but if they are speaking correctly in English, “I am, do you want? etc” 100% of the time I have gotten a normal tip. But the ghetto tip 90% of the time is the $5 tip on whatever – they aren’t sitting there doing math – pay the bill and $5 is a good tip to give someone is the idea. However, there are some ghetto people trying to change this stereotype I have found and have occasionally gotten %40 – but that is very uncommon. And I always give everyone the same service – being an ass isn’t going to make me anymore money, so I why not just give them good service. But it’s, I think, a ghetto phenomenon, not a black one. Consequently, I used to be a valet, and always got the $5-for-whatever tip versus the $1 valet Jewish tip, and thought ghetto people were great tippers. Now it’s $5 on a $150 check versus the 15-20% minimum Jewish tip (on a smaller check but still a good tip. With tip-out I usually lose money serving high-check ghetto people, like I just paid the restaurant $1 or $2 for the privilege to wait on these people for 2 hours for free – we tip out a percentage of our sales, not our tips – and all of my $3/hr salary goes to taxes – every 2 weeks I get a check for 0 dollars). But on a correct-verb-conjugating black table I get a 20-25% tip every time, usually more than 20% just to fight the stereotype (and I haven’t given them poor service just because they are black). I work in South Florida.
The most consistent bad tippers I’ve had to wait on have been Indians. Ghetto people too, but Indians stand out. Now, the issue is not necessarily JUST the bad tip…although it fucking sucks getting 5%…it’s the fact that they RUN YOUR ASS and you know you aren’t getting shit for it. Special modifications for vegetarian dishes, more of this, “this didn’t come with enough onions”, you come back now someone else needs more of the same thing you just asked the table if they needed. Many times, the Indian folk are nice and friendly (I’ve met and gotten to know a few Indians and they’ve been really cool people, and their culture is awesome and I really want to go to India..just to throw that out there.) In my early serving days I waited on an Indian fellow who was making small talk and jokes about Rachel from ‘Friends’ (my name is Rachael)…But, how many dollars did he leave me? $0.00.
Maybe he didn’t know. Having been serving longer now, I’m willing to bet he sure as hell knew…but maybe he didn’t read the 15-20% factoid before making the trek to The States. Whatever though, that’s not what the question asked. Indians: good people, terrible tippers. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need some water, no ice.
Church people. Which I don’t say hatefully, because I am one, and my husband and I very rarely leave less than 25%. But all the old church people tithe, they don’t tip.
This also may have been addressed, but upping the food prices doesn’t continue to make 10-15% an adequate tip. Because the waiter’s or waitress’s base wage hasn’t gone up as minimum wage has gone up. When minimum wage jumped up almost a dollar, my waitress base wage remained the same–$2.15. If you can’t afford the tip, you can’t afford the food. Go to McDonald’s.
But don’t take your church group there, either. They were just as bad to take care of in fast food as they were in sit-down restaurants.
The church crowd. The ones that come in a herd after church with a gaggle of screaming howler monkeys in tow and make you push a bunch of tables together. Then they sit there for hours, oblivious to the line of people waiting for a table, letting their howler monkeys run wild around the restaurant, and making a huge mess. When they finally leave, after three hours, there might be a total of $3-5 on the table. FOR THE ENTIRE TABLE OF 12 PEOPLE. I hated working Sundays.
I am a black woman who frequently dines alone and I always tip a minimum of 20%.
I expect good or standard service (and that means no bringing up tipping in the conversation — I know that you’re stereotyping me then — so waiters, your ruse is very transparent). Just treat me normally, and we’ll be good. (Even when I’m treated slightly poorly I tip 20%, because I don’t want to feed the stereotype.) I’m also not a “well-done steak, are the drinks refillable, demanding” type.
Just judge me for me. Not for the stereotype. Part of the reason people tip badly is ignorance. Another part of it is the result of being treated badly. I myself am aware of the cultural standard so act accordingly. But it does chafe to be treated condenscendingly , or given poor service, because of your bad expectations of me.
Tell me waiters, what do you think/do when you treat a customer shittily because you expect a poor tip, and then get a normal/good one? Does it impact your worldview at all?
@ M… I can only speak for myself and I can say that I treat all my customer with the utmost respect and without profiling.. if customer’s tip me well I am happy if they don’t someone else will make up the difference… it all works out at the end…
In order, from worst to least:
Blacks: Separate checks, extra everything that there is no charge for (bread, drinks, napkins, condiments), and of course tips as low as $2 on $100+ checks. I actually had a black coworker exclaim to me out loud upon inspecting his tip, “That’s why I hate waiting on black people!”
Hispanics: Most notably the ones who don’t speak English and are not here to stay. 10% or less. Never fails. And yes, I had a Hispanic coworker refer to much of our Hispanic clientele with a racial slur for this reason.
The Elderly: On social security or some other form of fixed income, will eat two bites and have it boxed to go, then leave a tip in coins.
The best tippers? Able-bodied, affluent white people.
Are there exceptions to these observations? Of course.
Non-scientific? Yes.
Accurate observations? Sadly, yes.
I am a waitress and I agree 100% with Former Waiter that Blacks are the worst tippers. I once had a black couple who I enjoyed a conversation with for at least an hour of my precious server time and they even walked out exclaiming to all “This girl deserves a raise!”. When I walked over to the table and opened the book, I closed my eyes and felt like those celebrities on ‘Punked’ where these people just made a complete jackass out of me. Inside the book was only 38 cents, basically what was left after paying the bill. It was by far the worst tip I’ve ever experienced, I was humiliated.
As a Canadian (canadian fine dining waitress) I find it offensive reading all of these remarks about how Canadians are the worst tippers. What you need to realize is that our culture is different than yours- you excuse foreign guests, but you forget that your way of earning money is foreign to us. As servers we make Canadian minimum wage ($9/hr) plus tips. With that in mind, our general tip here is 10% and when we receive tips in the 20% range its for doing an extremely good job, and well appreciated.. not expected.
Worked as bartender in NYC. Any gaggle of girls that come in (3 or more) that order colorful martinis or blender drinks. you’ll get a buck for the entire gaggle. Chics in a group think they have covering fire to unleash their inner cheap.
A flock of dudes that orders shots will tip bigger.
So don’t discount the group affect! good and bad tippers change once their in a flock
NBA players and gypsies. not necessarily in that order.
My husband was a waiter and he agrees with the following belief: tipping is completely voluntary. I refuse to tip for mediocre to bad service. If it was bad, you get nothing. I don’t tip the cashier, I don’t tip the sales person at the store, and I don’t tip receptionists. And all of them help me above and beyond their work far more often than waiters. I’m not a stinge, I’ll tip 20%+ for a job well done. But that is the true purpose of tipping isn’t it? I’m just as poor as the rest of you and nobody is giving me extra money for doing my job right and it’s in the service industry.
By the way, all you waiters out there who treat me like nothing because you are profiling. You can say goodbye to your tip. And I can tell when you are, you’re the ones who act like I’m an inconvenience even though if you did your job I’ll probably tip better than the rich folk in the corner.
The worst tippers are those who receive the worst service.
I recently dined at an upscale place in a city I had never visited. I sat at the bar and dined.
When I asked for suggestions from the bartender/waitress, she picked the two most expensive items on the Specials list. Anyone can do that. She neglected to tell me about the Specials that were already 86’d. Of course, that is what I ordered.
All during dinner I felt rushed when I was talking to her although she spent a considerable amount of time with the group of four several seats down.
The crowning moment came when she handed me my check while standing sideways to the bar and talking to the four group. She never looked at me.
When I got my credit card back and signed the bill, as I stood I asked if I could tell her something.
She smiled and said yes and I told her that her service was the most horrific service I’ve had in years and that I’m amazed I left even 10%.
She seemed surprised and I told her about her crowning moment and then left.
I have served for 4 years as a means of paying my bills through college and my table the other evening told me how OPRAH WINFREY announced on national television that during these tough economic times, a good way to save money would be to TIP SERVERS ONLY 10%….I was absolutely disgusted. I wonder if Oprah knows that black people usually don’t tip at all…nevermind 10%. I would like to know how she would feel if we cut her pay in half? WTF? I used to be an OPRAH fan…..
I have been a server in Georgia for over 3 years and I must admit that African Americans are the worst tippers. With my experience, and I assure you that I am welcoming, friendly, knowledgeable, and understanding to ALL, I RARELY get tipped more than a couple of dollars on any sized tab. I am usually sent to run about the restaurant fetching things left and right, the cocktails are never “strong” enough or they are way too strong, something must always get comped and received for free, and I usually get yelled at from across the room… 75% of the time, I get left nothing.
“I am usually sent to run about the restaurant fetching things left and right, the cocktails are never “strong” enough or they are way too strong, something must always get comped and received for free”
Forgot to add that one. Comps are a way of life for the black diners I’ve had. I recall one black woman telling me she had found a hair in her food. What was noteworthy was that the hair was long and black, and NO ONE ON SHIFT IN THE KITCHEN OR ON THE FLOOR HAD LONG BLACK HAIR. Wonder how that happened? What’s worse, she got the meal comped.
To Grace:
Thinking that expecting a tip greater than 15% is ludicrous is fine if u work in a highway diner…granted my job isn’t mind-blowingly hard, it’s anything but mindless….my company expects that the servers take extra care in being courteous and having proper etiquette…it pays well when people tip appropriately….furthermore, I work in Nebraska…it’s a right-to-work-state…I make $2.13 and hour…I haven’t received a paycheck in 3 months…I work solely on tips…20% is acceptable…15% is nearly insulting…
worst tippers (in my opinion):
Japanese, African Americans, Old people, Fatties, and definitely Church goers….lord have mercy on the person who has to serve the old, fat, Japanese Protestant on sunday..haha
Grace:
Thinking that expecting a tip greater than 15% is ludicrous is fine if u work in a highway diner…granted my job isn’t mind-blowingly hard, it’s anything but mindless….my company expects that the servers take extra care in being courteous and having proper etiquette…it pays well when people tip appropriately….furthermore, I work in Nebraska…it’s a right-to-work-state…I make $2.13 and hour…I haven’t received a paycheck in 3 months…I work solely on tips…20% is acceptable…15% is nearly insulting…
worst tippers (in my opinion):
Japanese, African Americans, Old people, Fatties, and definitely Church goers….lord have mercy on the person who has to serve the old, fat, Japanese Protestant on sunday..haha
I was mortified last weekend when a coworker revealed that she rarely tipped and when she did it was pretty paltry. Apparently, she’d been raised by parents who were horrible tippers and learned the behavior from them. She explained that the family would figure out gratuity by using an astounding calculation that went something like this: If five people at the meal, they’d leave a dollar per individual. I couldn’t hide the disgust that was written all over my face. But rather than figure out why this person didn’t tip well based on her ethnicity, gender, or socioeconomic status, I went to the root of the problem. First, it was obvious that she’d never been taught better. And second, she hadn’t worked in the service industry. My coworker had no idea that many servers make below the minimum wage and depend on tips to make ends meet. Additionally, she learned that wait staff must often share tips with bartenders, hosts, and bussers. Using stereotypes to explain undesirable behavior merely dehumanizes others and does little to help educate. Instead of denying people subjectivity through shallow analysis based on clichés—it’s better to look at experience and knowledge (or lack thereof).
I never worked as a waiter, but saw this and asked my wife and best friend (both long time servers) and I was shocked when they both instantly said “The Church Crowd.” They each separately said servers disliked working shifts Sunday mornings/early afternoons and Wednesday nights because of this. Apparently Evangelical Christians (or at least those who went out to eat after their worship services) were the worst in their areas.
I cannot comment about any other country, but in the UK a tip is not expected. It’s a bonus. So if British people are bad tippers it’s because we are not trained to know what a good tip is. We go on guess work. Personally I thought 10% was good, but from reading this blog I’ve learned my lesson. Thanks
I worked at a popular restaurant in San Francisco where the bulk of our business was from tourists, and after many bad tips from Brits I began writing “customary 15-20% gratuity not included” on the bill for English patrons. After that I never got less than 20% from them.
“it’s better to look at experience and knowledge”
Well, my experience and knowledge tells me that blacks are the worst tippers. This is from years of seeing the same types tip the same way. It’s not based on prejudice or stereotypes. This is what happened and continues to happen. And in most cases, nothing is done to educate a bad tipper.
Let me keep the books in balance here. Another great set of tippers: the gay community.
Never had a problem with “Church Crowd” tips, as my restaurant automatically added 18% gratuity to the groups of 8 or more. My problem with them was large parties with separate checks and constantly needing attention to the detriment of service for other tables.
I worked as a server/bartender for 4 years. Bad and good tippers depends. The worst party that I hated having was teenagers after a school game or something. They will drink pitcher of pop, run you all over the place, then want all separate checks. Sometimes you might get a dollar or two and sometimes you come up short cause someone didn’t pay for their tab!!! As for churchgoers, some do tip well some don’t. My husband is a minister and I have trained him well!! When we go out to eat somewhere, he helps stacking plates and clean the table up a little and always leaves at least 20%. Sometimes, we’ll leave more because why not make your server’s night and give them a little something extra.
As a transpant currently living in north central Arkansas,the cheapest groups of people are pilots,teachers,and folks from Missouri.Middle-aged women in groups are up there too.You will be lucky to get 8% from these groups.Of these groups, Missourians are the cheapest,and the fact that our restaurant does not add gratuity for tables over 8 doesnt help either.The best tippers are the middle class,well educated people,and the tourists from Illinois.I once heard a lady from the show -me -state say,and I quote-“This is Arkansas,you don’t have to leave anything”.
Foreigners suck at tipping, African Americans suck at tipping. Love the people who stack the plates and clean up the table, always good tippers.
Pizza Driver
1.) Indian people. Add that to the look they give me (doctors and such) like I should be completely honored to serve them.
2.)Welfare/housing projects and certain trailer parks. I don’t mean the general low income housing with single parents doing what they can to make ends meet. I mean the apartments that have a computer, flat screen, ps3 and no furniture.
3.) Spoiled black college students.
Accountants, doctors, teachers, middle aged women, asians, latinos. the usual suspects when bad tipping is concerned. Women in tables of 2 are fine, but when you get 4 or more at one table, you are screwed.
We all like to “read our guests” as our managers say in lineup. When I get a 15 top of young 21-30 females, I know that unless I separate their check 15 ways, I am gonna get fucked in the long run.
If I get a table of black people, I do my job and try to be welcoming and more often than not, they perpetuate their stereotype. There are exceptions, but they are rare.
I am Canadian, and I agree with EVERY comment made about Canadians being bad tippers. I don’t know what it is about us, but we suck at tipping.
Aside from that, the worst tippers for me are:
Native Americans (First Nations people), Hutterites, Mennonites, Sunday church crowds, and Farmers.
The best? Middle aged Asian-American Men.
i agree with most of you… the worst are the British and the French! It’s because of them that we usually add the 18% gratuity on all checks belonging to tourists. They don’t grasp the concept that if they don’t tip, i cannot pay rent!
the first of the month is the worst to get good tips…everyone wants a steak with their welfare checks but forget to tip the people who work instead of sittihg on thier butts waiting on the check that my taxces provide them
If I never hear another person say ‘Your industry is broken! You should demand more wages! I shouldn’t have to pay you!’, it will be too soon.
Please: servers are a dime a dozen. I don’t care if the entire nation rose up and demanded higher server wages (which, by the way, is a state issue, not a federal one): we’re all (easily) replacable. Also, the practice generally improves service. Witness Canadians (who have lower tipping practices but higher wages) stating they get better service in America: earning all your money in tips is quite a motivator!
Despite the bitching you see above, servers generally want you to have a good time and want to provide good service, because they want good tips. What you see exposed here is the stereotypes under which we all labor: of course there are exceptions to the rule, but the stereotypes exist for a reason. If those stereotypes change our service, then shame on us! But if you ask us what ‘group’ is the worst tipper, well – we’ll tell you, at least anonymously.
This topic incites so much rage on both sides and also so much apologist behavior. Just tip me for the service I provide: poorly if I do poorly, and well if I do well.
Thanks,
Hughes
By far, Mexicans or [to be pc] hispanics. The fat ones with way too many kids will sit for hours, make a mess of the restaurant, and leave nothing for the service received. A waiter is lucky if those patrons didn’t run out without paying. I don’t mean to appear racist in this comment, but the fact is true.
When I read the book Waiter Rant at first I thought it was very cheap and rude to be complaining all the time about the tips.
I have lived Spain and now in Sweden, were tips are not mandatory, you give them when you receive a splendid service. Tips are a compliment in many countries of Europe. Waiters don´t depend on their wages to pay for their rent.
The fair thing was that you had a suitable wage and didn´t have to depend on tips. I´ve been to the U.S.A as a tourist and since you have to eat all the time at restaurants you feel as a good part of your long worked saving wash away with the tips. Sorry if I sound cheap, but I DO like to give tips, especially if I get a good service. On the other hand, once we were followed by a waitress in Asia because we tipped, they thought we had forgot our money. And they even find it rude. Just don´t be so hard with foreigners.
Wise up! If tipping weren’t an American custom, you’d have fewer restaurants to choose from, and higher menu prices at the few that were left.
Think of the tip as a variable part of your bill; tip generously (20+%) for good service, and little to nothing for bad. Those of us who improve your dining experience deserve to be rewarded for it, and those who make it worse deserve to be unemployed!
The worst tippers in my opinion are the African Americans. They run you the hardest, and are hardly ever satisfied with the food when it comes out. However, I’ve had a few of them who actually tip 20-30%. The second worst would have to be the british. Especially the women and older men. Everytime a black or British table would come in, all the servers would be conveniently busy doing something else.
For some reason, guests who want you to take their pictures never tip well. They leave all smiles, love you, are happy to be celebrating, but no money on the table.
Also, it seems the people who need the most attention, who want to talk, run you the most,etc. never tip. And of course, the worst is the “Verbal Tip”! Spare me.
Blacks. Definitely. Black men… black women. They all are shitty tippers.
I been a server for about two years, and the top 5 worst tippers are:
1. Senior Citizens (Live on fixed income)
2. Teenagers (Live on a budget)
3. Africans Americans (Just mean)
4. Indians not Native Americans (CHEAP)
5. White-trash (Just Ignorant)
As someone working to make rent in a Southern college town, I contend that high-maintenance, demanding sorority women with purses that cost as much as my car are the worst tippers. Only equaled by their mothers. I shudder when I see the Gucci purses get laid down on my bar. They always order really complicated, fruity, designer martinis, margaritas and shots, generally while looking at me like I’m some kind of bizarre insectoid life form not worth the powder and shot to blow me to perdition. My favorite is when they order $60 worth of fruity mixed shots (all different kinds so it’s not like I can just mass-make them) and tip a dollar. Or don’t tip at all. A lot of these women just flat out won’t tip a bartender. My theory is that because I actually have to work to earn money and don’t have control of Daddy’s credit card or a sorority emblem emblazoned across everything I own, they think I’m subhuman.
I totally agree. Why is it that the people who have money are the least likely to spend it?
Usually the best tippers are gays and Italians. Give me the “wise guys” any time!
Annie, sounds to me like you should go work as a server or bartender in the States for awhile. Then you might understand and think of it less as a “privilege”. We clean up your disgusting messes… have to touch the utensils you put in your mouth, the glass you put to your lips, etc. and so forth. I’ve even had a diabetic leave a hyperdermic needle on a table once that I needed a hazmat suit to pick up and throw out. That being said, add in the fact that you have people who are rude, hateful, think they’re above you because you’re a server and they’re… what? Someone with a 9-5 job? Good for them. You couple this with all the BS that comes along with being in the industry and for what? I’ve bartended and served. In fact, I recently got punched in the nose by a drunken “customer” because I asked her to move out of line because a) I wasn’t going to keep serving her alcohol, and b)she was going to hurt herself if she fell on the bar. More like drunken trash. Are you aware these people make between $2.15 and $3.65 an hour? No? Yeah. Next time you’re thinking about that (which, if you work 10 hours, because an average shift is rarely the luxurious 8 that you’re accustomed to, that equals out to $21.50 per day. That’s $430 a month. Try not tipping now. SAY IT AGAIN. I dare you. Aside from putting up with people with disgusting attitudes like yours, we also have to put up with people letting all their ugliness come out at once. Thank GOD I finished college and am getting out of the hell that is the service industry. I feel bad for all those still engulfed in it, humiliated on a daily basis. So Annie, learn to tip or don’t go out to eat at establishments were tipping is a necessity.
By the way, black people are by FAR, HANDS DOWN, the WORST tippers time and time again… and I’ve worked in the southeast, southwest, and northeast. It’s not regional. There’s no excuse.
Great stuff, here. hilarious. I just wish the posts showed where people are so we can see regional variations.
15% = average
18% = above average
20% = great service
<15% = talk to the manager and explain the problems with the service.
I’ve even gone back to a place the next day to tip a server when I was caught short.
If you can’t afford the tip, you can’t afford the restaurant. Go find a McD’s.
Funny thing is, in my restaurant we’ll gripe about getting stiffed (no tip or less than 10%) – and this is a common occurance, and yet averages for the servers still come out to 16-18%.
We’re a pooled house, with bartender(s), runners, a ‘captain’ and a Maitre d’. So, servers end up averaging maybe $120 for a long, tough night.
Europeans usually assume service is included in the price and leave a few dollars extra to be nice.
Best method for adding a grat, ask them! “Would you like me to complete your check with the service? We can do 15%, 18%, or 20%.” I’ve been surprised at how often people go for 18 or 20.
Absolute worst are hippy-wannabes/trust fund losers who try their best to be in the proletarian class. If they do have kids, the kids will run wild. Next comes dykes then overweight, middle age gay men. Asian Indians are terrible too. The best tippers are real New Yorkers (as opposed to the trust fund brats).
What many guests don’t realize is that when leaving a tip on a debit or credit card, the house will often charge the server a percentage of the tip to cover the cost processing.
So, if you get 18% tips all night, you owe up to 3% back at the end, so that it doesn’t cost the owners anything to process your tip through the credit card company. You end up walking with 15% of your 18% tips.
I’m australian and as a casual waiter doing around 40 hours a week in a 4.5 star hotel we would get paid around 6oo dollars a week from our employer. we usually get around 50 bucks a week each in tips which is a bonus for us (pays for a beer after work). We get paid more if we work on the weekend. It’s funny because tipping isn’t compulsory here but we still do get competitive and try as hard as we can to score from our guests. But overall i must say – we also are very proud of the work we are doing and see it as a profession not a ‘must do’ job.
It’s also funny when Americans come in and we all of a sudden spoil them with service because we know they will tip.
In the hotel i work in, the people who don’t tip are Australians!
In closing, i would usually rather a nice person tell me that i did a great job and they enjoyed their night and not tip, rather than a big headed ego tripping guest not give me any ‘respect’ and then tip. But Of course i can say that – i can afford a beer after work.
I recently had a conversation about tipping with a few coworkers after spending a few days on a business trip. I witnessed people being extremely cheap and inconsiderate with their tips. (I am going to identify ethnicity for the sake of this topic.) My cambodian friend said our white friend whispered to her that in her experience, black people are the worse tippers. I am a black woman, oh I am also a Christian. For a second I was offended, but quickly got over it because I know I tip very well and not always according to the type of service I receive.Whenever my husband or I go out, we make sure we have enough money to tip those who are serving us whether they are waiters, bellhops, cab drivers, car washers, etc. I especially like dealing with waiters that are not in the best of mood on a very busy day. Before reading this blog, I always assumed that the waiter was not at his/her best because maybe he/she was just having a bad day. After reading some of the blogs, I was probably wrong on many occasions.I learned from some bloggers that they serve according to stereotypes.
I am always very pleasant to people who are in the serving business because I appreciate it even when they are not so nice to me. The poor service has never caused me to not tip well. My thought is always, maybe I can put a smile on that person’s face with a nice tip. Maybe that person will treat the next person better. I guess it is easy to stereotype, especially if you are dealing with a mass of people everyday. Inspite of reading this blog, I am going to continue to try to make someone’s bad day better instead of thinking the waiter is treating me poorly because I am black and he/she is assuming I am a poor tipper.
I will not stereotype!!!!
Oh, thank you comment number 98, I will try to let people know about the debit/credit card process.
black people – once worked a solid 4 hours with NONSTOP service at my bar and made $150. Normally with that big of a crowd i would expect to make at least $400. Not to mention these weren’t expensive drinks they were having to shell out for it was a $2 U call it night! on that note people who buy drinks on special are horrible tippers.
College age kids, unless they obviously work in the service industry.
Couples are some of my best tippers. Guys with a date are 50/50 since im a female, either they try to impress her and leave a big tip or dont want her to get jealous and stiff.
really young chicks
young american born asians are great tippers and gay guys!
The Sunday crowd. ALWAYS ends up being the older crowd who thinks tipping $2 on anything is a good tip.
Please don’t get my hopes up by saying “keep the change”.
are you kidding me black church goers for sure… i had a table order some queso for an appetizer and after two hours they yelled at me because there queso had solidified and the wanted to take it home and couldnt… hello its simple fucking phisics you assholes… melted cheese will eventually get hard… luckilly their was more than six of them so i was able to grat their table… but the split everything so i got 18 percent of jack crap… i hope the all get herpes
best tippers to me are regulars younger than thirty and who i would def hang out with outside of work
I will say that the worst tippers are Russians. They are always rude and very demanding, and never leave anything other than small change. Americans tend to be even more demanding, but if you can provide the level of service they expect, they will treat you like gold. Asians are always unfailingly polite, but never leave more than a low-denomination bill. Blue-collar workers tend to tip well, possibly due to “we working-class stiffs have to stick together”-mentality, but white-collars, especially yuppies, tend to spend loads and leave shitty tips. College kids tend to tip decently, since most of them have done a stint in some form of service industry, but since I know they don’t have a lot of money, I don’t blame them for not tipping well.
Hate to stereotype but been serving for some time and I have found that black people are in fact the worst tippers, from my experience. They are ususally the most needy. with constant refills and sending the food back for rediculous reasons, and ending the night with a dollar tip.
Please just remember, if you dont tip us, we arent making money. That $4.80/hour isnt what is paying my rent.
Servers work really hard and deserve to be tipped!
If you cant afford the tip, you cant afford to eat out. Same goes for not believing in tipping…If you dont agree with it, go to a buffet, where you arent expected to tip!
Elderly were always my worst tippers, and always on Sundays. I’d leave work on Sundays (affectionately known as “elderly and asshole day”) with 50% less tips than any other day of the week. I guess they used up all their nice, Christian generosity at church.
Not tipping is bad.. but having your table walk out on you sucks!
Not tipping is bad.. but having your table walk out on you sucks! Happened to me three times this week. I had a few tables outside and it is so easy to walk away! I now learning
Ha stumbled upon this site–LOVE IT !!!
SOOO Glad I am no longer part of this industry but I have to comment about the Church People
OMG it’s true I have never seen a more sanctimonious group of people with a “christian” sense of entitlement is it double wrong to hate the god squad? so cheap and demanding I’m bitter all over again LOL.
It used to be rare that I received less than 20%
I forgot to mention the nice cards some would leave in the place of a tip with scripture on it and telling me this piece of paper with gods word on it was the greatest gift of all and worth more than money.
My landlord disagreed
As a server I actually have the stand up for my church going crowd. Sunday lunch usually brings in $100 for me easily. Ive worked in a moderate bbq joint for about 4 years and have racked up loads of regulars. The average p.p.a is about $15, but I know what my guest need before they ask and they leave happy and loyal to return. Quick turnover adds up fast. That said I make my least money that same day once “Black Church” lets out. I give the same service and get %10 less with them (and that’s only because the great and standard tips make up for soooo many $5 on $80 checks.) And I am black female!!!!! After that I can say rednecks. My most hurtful night occurred when I came up to a table in my usual cheerful manner and was barely acknowledged. Getting the order was like pulling teeth, never one to stare someone down,I like to make eye contact so they know I’m listening and getting the order correct….I literally titled my head for a minute before I gave up. The grandpa of the group nearly chewed my head off when i gave him a lunch platter with bread on the side rather than as a sandwich (same amount of meat, bread, etc.) Once fixed and no other issues, every few minutes Id glance over, 3 times in an hour asked how the food was, anyone in need of drinks, dessert, etc, and was met with no-look groans and grunts. I practice kill ’em with kindness, but racists like them are a lost cause, worse yet white servers had them before and never saw a problem because it wasn’t an issue. As hardened as I am, I still like to say I gave everyone the best service, and hope that those people are rare.
The worse tippers and the worse people to wait on are African American people! They run you to death and only leave a couple crumpled up dollar bills no matter how high the check. Where I work if you have 8 or more in your party we add a 20% gratuity that is optional. But I always do it automatically. Sometimes Caucasian people will complain under their breath about it but will pay it no questions asked. But every single time I wait on an African American party they ALWAYS demand to have the gratuity taken off and I end up working my ass off for a 5% percent tip. I’m sorry but if you can afford to eat where I work then you can damn well afford to pay the server accordingly. WE DONT MAKE PAYCHECKS PEOPLE! Go to McDonalds!
I tip 15% ONLY when I have to and ONLY when Im with a group or if intimidated by the server in some way, NEVER 20% for crying out loud. I wouldnt even do 20% for a happy ending at a massage parlour! WTF? Especially when Im drinking WAY overpriced beer and/or booze, tipping big gets expensive. Its not my problem you work for $2.15 per hour, thats your choice. I frequently “STIFF” when IM by myself and if Im not ever going back there.
Heres a tip for you, dont smoke in bed!
You’re just evil, IMHO. BTW: why does it matter whether you’re alone or with others? Are you ashamed of yourself? And you tip better if the server “intimidates” you? You must be a real pussy.
Worst tippers would definitely be foreigners. black people are pretty bad too. And I’m not trying to be racist or anything because I’m a black foreigner and whenever i seem “my people” sitting at my bar or my tables its one of the saddest things. I am yet to find a way to recognize good tippers from looking at them, and regulars don’t count.
To Grace:
I dont know what kind of service you provided to your customers or what kind of restaurant you worked at but im never happy with a 15% tip. And im assuming on that note that you never had any regulars going back, asking for you and leaving you 30-80% tips right? i dont know about you dear but i make way more money than alot of my customers.
And to Bazz the australian person.
I would rather deal with a dickhead that tips me 20% than a nice person that tips me 10%. Im there for the money not for the verbal tip
easter is a time when you realize jews are not cheap but christians are
WORST
NOT NECCESARILY IN ORDER
1 white trash
2 black people
3 fat women
4 french
5 canadians
6 teachers
7 russians
8 kids
9 lesbians
10 christians
11 black waitresses
12 red hat ladies
13 british
14 laywers
15 bankers
16 irish
17 ugly gay men
18 transvestites out with their wives
19 ghetto sport stars
20 vegetarians
WORST TIPPING HOLIDAYS
NOT NECESSARILY IN ORDER
1 EASTER
2 MOTHERS DAY
3 VALENTINE’S DAY
4 MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY
5 MEMORIAL DAY
Grace- WTF! 15% IS NOT A GOOD TIP! Are you aware that servers have to tip out 3%-5% of their tips to the bussers, bartenders, expos, hostesess, etc.? Do the math! When you go out to a restaraunt, you are tipping your server for your experience there. And as a server, if you came in and I gave you amazing service and you tipped me 15% of the bill, take a guess at the type of service you will recieve the next time you come in. YOU ARE A CHEAP BITCH, DON’T GO OUT TO EAT IF YOU CAN’T AFFORD TO TIP!
I want to start off by saying that I don’t mean this to offend anyone, I am going solely by my past 3 years of serving experience, but black people are by far my worst tippers. Granted, I have gotten a 15 or 20 percent tip from black people once or twice, but about 99% of the time, I’m lucky if I get anything. I had a black lady the other day start ordering her meal as I’m walking her back to a table to be seated. Is it that difficult to be a civilized human being that waits to sit down and be greeted by the waitress to order their food? It’s always a well done steak, homefries, scrambled eggs with cheese, bacon, and a raspberry tea if they’re getting breakfast. I can predict the order with complete accuracy before they even order the vast majority of the time. There is no problem with that, but when you complain about everything possible with your food its a little ridiculous. There was a large group of black ladies sitting at a table nearby my section of tables I was waiting on. I wasn’t their waitress, but when I was in the middle of taking an order at my nearby table, the one lady decided to yell, “Bitch you better get my waitress over here or she’s going to be sorry”. I treated this as a threat and advised our security guard about it (we have security on the weekends for third shift to keep the drunk crowd under control). He asked the ladies to leave due to their language and threat. They called me a racist bitch saying that it was because they were black that I talked to security which was not at all the case. Then calls the restaurant later to warn the manager and I that she was sending someone up to “take care of us”. I give every table of black people that enter my restaurant the same respect that I give any other customer. I always have a positive attitude that maybe they will prove me wrong and treat me nicely and tip me. But they usually end up pulling out a nice stack of 100s and 50s they got from their drug deals, pay the bill, and then leave me a dollar on their 50 check if I’m lucky. Usually I’m just left with a huge mess and no money sitting on the table. It’s sad that the majority of black people tip like this, it really gives them a bad name and causes servers to stereotype.
So I came to this site thinking fellow bartenders/servers/cocktail etc came on here to get things off their chest. My ? is who are all these random non-service industry ppl talking trash about things we say? wtf man
the thing that bothers me the most down here in Mississippi is that we are told ALL the time that we are one of the most generous and charitable states but yet when you have a server that has worked their tail off for you every week and you ALWAYS leave crappy tips why then do you request them and ask them about their children whom you know the names of all 5 little girls and then still only tip $5 for a $60- 70.00 meal,,,, what are you tipping me a dollar per daughter? Craziness
take it easy on Poor old Grace she did say taht she was/ is an EX-waitress. Maybe whereever she worked she was doin good to get 15%…. ya never know. Not all servers can be KICKASS servers that can make their living off of it!
I worked the counter at a locally-owned informal restaurant. The staff did not wait tables, but we did handle a lot of customer service. Tips were appreciated but not required. Surprisingly, I would say that the best tippers could be classified as middle class. It’s hard for me to stereotype though. Sometimes I would treat seemingly kind customers with the utmost respect and go above and beyond my job requirements to no reward. In other cases, the biggest tip would be courtesy of the evening asshole. You never really knew what to expect.
I have been waiting tables at sudo-high end restaurants in the napa valley for many years. I have found the best tippers are people from texas, those in the industry, and the neuvo riche from san francisco. The worst…oh well tourists from the mid-west, most folks from Europe (they don’t know any better, right?)and those born before 1960 (again they just don’t know how to tip). I love the few times I am proved wrong, however. don’t you? The british couple that drops 20%, the russian folk that leave 22%. It’s a grand thing when it happens. I love the people that blow apart my stereotypes.
Hey No Tip 4 U –
Why do you think that if you’re paying for overpriced drinks that you don’t have to tip? We don’t keep the bar tab. If your boss pays too much for plywood, does he take it out of your check?
Here’s a tip for you – if you can’t afford a beer in a bar, stay home.
The worst tippers in the small (but rich) SE Indiana town where I currently work are Church people and the people who work at Cummins Engine. I’ve actually been suprised by some of the people who have tipped well. I’m usually pretty good at reading my tables and can generally get a feel for how it’s going to go. I’ve missed my mark a few times, but not very often. But I hate waiting on church people! I actually had one guy say “I’m not going to give you more than I give God”. My reply was, “I thought you were supposed to give God everything”! If looks could kill. In one place I served (in a small southern KY town just outside a major military base)….Black people were the worst. I had a black woman start to paw thru the food before I even set it on the table looking for something wrong. Then of course you get the high maintainance soccer mom’s who THINK they’re prima donna’s, or the spoiled rich kid that has everything handed to them on a silver platter. But I’ve found that learning to use body language to control your tables will keep your headaches to a minimum.
A couple of points: Tipping percentage has nothing to do with inflation. When restaurant prices go up along with inflation, the server’s income goes up coordinately…thus, percentage growth is NET growth, not inflation adjustment.
Servers do not get to set expected tip amounts any more than the one side of the market EVER gets to set prices on a non-rare commodity, like restaurant service. The dining community NEVER had a chance to vote on 20% by declining to do so, thus setting a fair price for service. 15% seems more than fair to me, especially at today’s prices. Taking a typical server at a 2 hour dinner for $100, that would be 5 minutes to take the order, 5 minutes to deliver it, and another 10 minutes running things back and forth. 20 minutes for 15 bucks, or $45/hr. Seems perfectly reasonable wage for someone whose job suffers from an embarresment of supply and limited demand.
Personally, I tip 15% with the rule of “big man for a dollar”…always rounding up to the next dollar. Of course, extrodinairy service can bump it up to 20% or 25%.
I do not really care if the waiter remembers me fondly and thinks I am wonderful, any more than I expect my boss to overpay me so I’ll love him. I also don’t believe that waiters feel this way or even remember you, unless you really overtip them, in which case you are sucker and should give the excess to someone you love. Most people don’t overtip because they are generous, they do it to be a big man or becaause they are moritified at the thought that they undertipped.
I travel for work and eat out incredibly frequently and can make a couple of observations:
1. Waiters do remember repeat customers who tip adequately (15%) and will treat you just fine.
2. Great waiters do not make a meal taste appreciably better despite whatever they think but bad waiters fuck a meal right up.
3. The question of tipping for wine is tricky. It seems weird to be divying up your check into tranches so you can vary a tip across differentiated food/drink types. I have solved this by not drinking expensive wine in restaurants. Why pay the markup and why pay someone a percentage of markup on top of that. Drink beer and mixed drinks and save the difference for you son’s college fund.
4. Waiters should be treated as highly respected and necessary employees by restaurant patrons until they give attitude or suck too badly. At that time they should be treated like the low-paid hired help they are, with mildly disdainful, though perfectly respectful distance.
5. I personally do not believe in fucking with another man’s livelihood so, even if the service sucks beyond recall, I do not rat a server out to his manager under the assumption that I do not know what is going on in their life and maybe helping cost them their jobs is not my job. That said, I’ll talk directly to the server about my dissatisfaction in no uncertain terms…during the meal.
6. Unlike most people, I don’t really give a rat’s ass if you spit in my food because you don’t like my demeanor. Food is not produced, stored, delivered, or cooked in a hermetically sealed, microbe free, government tested, anticontaminant environment and a little waiter spit might actually improve the taste…thus, they do not get a pass when a waiter is rude…I come right back…Let the loogies begin.
7. A good professional waiter is a fucking joy to the dining man…but there are a lot less of them around than waiters who think they fit into the category.
8. Patrons, don’t bring kids into restaurants not built for them. Not even when you think they are sleeping. Chilis fucking loves kids and you will not be annoying someone paying substantial dough for a quiet, well-cooked meal, with you child’s caterwalling.
9. If 8 is ignored, waiters serve everyone in the restaurant when they immediately bring out the kid’s stuff immediately. The parents may not give extra tips for that kind of service but the general well-being of other diners upon not being subjected to hungry child noises will up your tip anyway.
10. People never undertip because they don’t know what the tip is supposed to be. Every asian, european, poor black guy on a date, churchmarm, etc…KNOWS what the deal is they. They undertip because they are overentitled douchebags stiffing you to save a few bucks. Treat them accordingly. You may do the same to be if you feel 15% is not fair, but it won’t mean shit to a tree. There are an infinite number of restaurants and plenty of your bretheren willing to do their job for 15%.
11. Diners, I have a secret for you. You will eat again…probably within a couple of hours. A less than perfect meal or a waiter having a bad day is (you listening here?) NOT A FUCKING TRAGEDY! If you are frequently disatisfied with your food or experience, it is isn’t the restaurant…it is you. The sad fact is a good meal only makes gluttonous failures whole. If it is that important to you that everything be perfect, go home…learn to fucking cook, and make your dream meal secure in the knowledge that the spit you taste, will be your own.
12. Waiters are funny and engaging the way stand up comics and prostitutes are…with a practiced professionalism that speaks of years of honing and discarding the pat for the charming. Appreciate that skill…a really good tableside manner can be the sum total of literally decades of practice. Think of that, years of sharpening a greeting and refining casual banter. Waiters, rightfully so, expect to be paid for that shit. You should honor their desire. This does not mean, necessarily, increasing a funny waiter’s tip (though I do so). It means if the water takes a little longer than you think it should but the waiter is engaging, he gets a pass. Quid pro quo baby!
Awesome points, dude! I wish more diners had your attitude, and more waiters took your advice.
In reference to this comment:
Wow! wrote on 12/27/09 at 10:27 pm :
“…Even broke as I am, I tip 30% or more ANYWHERE, even pizza hut! Yea, I make ‘at least minimum wage’ with shitty tips, however, if I wanted to make minimum wage I would find a job somewhere else, ANYWHERE ELSE! The hostesses make minimum wage to stand by a door and put your ass in a seat. Serving is a lot harder!”
I do agree that serving is harder than hostessing, but hostessing is not easy at all. Maybe it’s easy if you’re working at Friendly’s or some other little shitbox…but not at my job.
“THE SEATING ARRANGEMENT ON A SATURDAY NIGHT IS CRAFTED WITH THE SAME METICULOUSNESS AS THE PLANS FOR THE GULF WAR. EVERYONE GETS A TABLE WITH AN ALLOTTED TIME TO EAT. REMEMBER THAT SHIT ABOUT HOW A BUTTERFLY BEATING HIS WINGS CREATES A TSUNAMI A WORLD AWAY? IT’S THE SAME PRINCIPLE. MOVE ONE TABLE AND THE WHOLE WAR PLAN FALLS APART AND THE HOSTESS BECOMES A PSYCHOTIC BITCH WHILE SHE TRIES TO REROUTE TRAFFIC BEFORE THE WHOLE PLACE TURNS INTO TRAFFIC ACCIDENT. -STEVE DUBLANICA
This is so true. We have to deal with rowdy people on a 2 hour wait list who act like you’re lying when you say that there isn’t a seat available in the house, as if they can’t see for themselves. They look at 5 tables that are pushed together and set for a reservation, and say, “Why can’t I have that table?” They say, “I called at 4 and you said you weren’t busy!” Yes, at 4pm we were not busy and had plenty of space. It is now 7pm on a Saturday night, you do the math!
You have a crowd of people piled up in front of the hostess stand and in the doorway, and sometimes these people have the gall to come behind the hostess stand to look at your reservation sheet and wait list. These are the times when I wish that hostesses were allowed to carry firearms.
Trying to seat 60 parties on a Saturday night, while conducting crowd control, trying to seat the servers evenly, and trying not to double and triple seat the servers since their section just happens to be the only section with seats available, is not easy or fun. You try to leave a few minutes before seating 3 of the 60 parties that are waiting in that section, to give the server some time to get their shit together, and the masses start their shit. “There’s a table! Can I have that one?” Sure, have the table that 30 parties before you have been waiting for.
We also have to deal with the “sexual harassers” that the servers do…leaning over the hostess stand or trying to get behind it to get closer, and sometimes they’re drunk too.
And at the end of the night, the servers give the hostess hell. All day they want the most tables and the biggest parties and bitch over why they think they should have that 15 top instead of the server who was next in the rotation (going strictly by numbers, OR managers orders)…but in the last hour or two, they don’t want any more tables. They’re not cut by the manager, but they refuse tables. Meanwhile I have to chase them around to find someone to take table 24 that I just sat before they sit there too long without being waited on, so I get yelled at, and the servers get yelled at. I have to chase you around to do your job and I end up with a new pile of people up front waiting to be seated. Who wants to start a new wait list an hour before closing?
All of the fools you deal with, I also deal with. I have to go through hell trying to seat them where I need them to be seated, for YOUR benefit! I have to deal with the assholes who want to sit on the patio, and then decide that it’s too hot, too cold, too something, and want to sit inside, after they have ordered their food, have been served, and we have no more room inside. I warn every single party that once they are outside, they stay outside, and sit at their own risk, and still, they want to move and mess up the sections, and YOUR money!
I know a lot of servers who started as hostesses, and they know what I am talking about. Do some of you not realize what a big part the hostess plays in the grand scheme of things? I can make or break the night. If I fuck up the seating arrangement, screw up a reservation, not have that reserved table set and ready to go on time (because busboys are outside smoking or nowhere to be found), or you piss me off, I can make or break your income too. It doesn’t benefit me to screw your tables so you don’t make the tips you should, but just remember that the hostess can “fuck up” from time to time and forget to seat you, or make sure you get that 15 top of rowdy, demanding, non tipping shit heads. What do I care? I don’t work for tips. I make an hourly wage, to just ‘seat people’, right?
Everyone plays a part! Servers, kitchen staff, bussers, hostesses, managers, owners. all of us! Let’s not forget that!
And back to the main topic, from what I have seen, sadly, black people are the worst tippers, at least at my restaurant. Don’t perpetuate the stereotype!
In Canada, the worst tippers are Asians and old people but servers make an hourly wage of at least $9.00 an hour.
Worst Tippers In Order @ an Ethnic Upscale Mid-West Restauant
1. Indians (always 10 percent pre-tax)
2. Lesbians
3. Females Age 20-30
4. Black People
5. Asians
5. Europeans
6. People that have more money than god
Bently…Amex Titanium = – 12 percent
Ok ive been driving a limo for 13 years in boston mass we get alot of work from hotels from people who need airport service . the list goes as follows best tippers are americans mostly (nyc and l.a) its customary to tip noone wants to be viewed as a cheap ass . other than americans IRISH from ireland are great great they are always upbeat jolly and intelligent . british are good to me although i hear that they dont tip australia is good to . french are cheap as hell , italians used to be good when theyre money was on the lira but are cheap now .germany inthe late nineties cheap but have gotten better . chinese oh lord very cheap . indians cheeeaaaap !!!!!. greeks cheap !!!!! . anyone from arab nations cheeeap . people from singapore maui and hawaiians good . bermuda good . mexicans from mexico cheap but their money is greatly devalued from ours . scottish good , swiss good . as far as ethnicity goes my people (black people ) goes as follows professional blacks tip 75% and tip well , poor blacks like 2% its the middleclass brothers and sisters that kill me . italians tip well especially new york italians latinos are cool puertoricans from pr are good dominicans cheeaaap . haitians cheaaaap . there you have it
Alaska has to be the capital of non tippers.
Worst Tippers:
Samoans – They’ll pay you with a $100 bill on a $40 ticket and leave nothing.
Filipinos: Cheap tippers in general. Will leave maybe 5% of the check or nothing
Russians: I have yet to receive a tip from a Russian customer.
Old People: Generally cheap tippers but I’m ok with that since most of them are on social security.
Hispanic/Latinos: 50/50 Some of the are generally just bad tippers but not all of them.
Teenagers: Bad Tippers
Black People: Both men and women here are generally cheap tippers, especially the men.
Alaskan Native: Most of them think they’re being generous when they give you a $1.00 tip on a $40.00 ticket.
Foreign Tourists: Usually don’t leave a tip.
Did I miss anyone?
People from India. I worked in an Indian fine dining establishment… checks averaged around $250, and our friends from the subcontinent left $10 (2.5%) more or less on that, after being the most horrific and demanding (think snapping and hand-clapping) customers ever.
@Mateo
I feel your pain but at least you’re getting 10%. Try serving a party of 10 Alaska Natives and getting nothing, nada, on a $200 ticket. The best part is they’ll be friendly and tell you how great the food and service was and then stiff you real good on the way out.
What a bunch of sanctimonious self centered bastards you are. Pick a different career if you don’t like this one. Tips are based on servises rendered if the service stinks so do the tips. I just completed a 10 day vacation with my 15 yr old son. We overtipped when we got exceptional serv ice we undertipped when we were rushed, given poor food, bothered by the wait staff when we were talking, or not treated as equal human beings because the staff are busy. What do I care if you are busy, its not my problem. I have been self employed all of my life and karma does work. If you do the job right the tips will come, if all you worry about is the tip from each customer you will be negative every day of your life and we do not tip negative self centered bastards.
I’m a waiter who loves a good meal out, and I agree with you: the entitled snowflakes who whine about tips tend to give the worst service, and as I said in a comment above, those idiots deserve to be unemployed.
in buffalo ny, toronto cheap-skates fleece the goods from r galleria mall, & leave shitty tips @ the eating establishments. to avoid border taxes,canucks wear the very clothes they just purchased, & leave their old clothing in shopping carts …then have the nerve to bash our floundering city ! if it wasn’t for usa’s mighty military umbrella, the ungrateful canucks would be speaking russian or german !
Worst tip I ever received was when I worked at a fly-in resort.
It was from a multi-billionaire. I served he and his daughter breakfast and dinner for 7 days and got a whopping $5 in return. In addition, the two of them refused to make eye contact with me and would just bark out orders. The trucker couple who had saved up for 10 years to go on their vacation gave me $100 for serving them breakfast twice and working the front desk. They were also the loveliest people I worked with all summer.
In fact, most of the bad tips I’ve received have come from people with ridiculous amounts of money.
Anyone who orders thousand island dressing.
Frat boys/ sorority girls.
Anyone that prays at the table.
Women with bad teeth.
Best tippers:
Cheating men, out with their mistress.
“Western European countries have come a long way in the past 20 years, but not the Canadians.”
I’m surprised by how high a percentage some waiters expect from tips. I’ve always heard and read that the 10-20% range is perfectly acceptable.To find out that some people are calling 15% cheap is surprising.
You know a lot of these groups people are complaining about tend to be poorer. Of course their not good tippers. Some of them probably could not afford to go out if they gave generous tips.
Blacks and men who think they’re something. Women who are jealous.
YOU CANNOT JUDGE! While the stereotypes exist for a reason, I HAVE been tipped very well by black people, elderly, teens, and rednecks. I give each table 100% because you just never know, plus that is just my work ethic.
If you start altering your sevice standards based on a stereotype, then do you really deserve a tip?
I’ve been a server for over 6 years. All during those years I had been working on my BA. I recently graduated this past May.
I will say this in my experience the worst tippers
1.Black People
2.Foreigners
3.The Patels (Indians)
Black people and Indian people will “try” to run you around and are also very needy.
Also, Lesbians are horrible tippers but gay men are EXCELLENT TIPPERS!
I am a server in Canada and I always tip at least 20%. I find the worst tippers are people from the mid east and Britain. I’ve heard Americans say Canadians are bad tippers but I am glad when I get Canadians in my section. Maybe it’s the Canadian tourists who are tight wads. Believe me American tourist here in Toronto can cheap. Caribanna was a nightmare. Walkouts every year and rude and arrogant people. Most of them Americans. Not saying all Americans are like this but Carribanna really attracts the people who demand top notch service and then leave a shitty tip. One person said we should eliminate the tipping system and get paid more per hour. Hey, who do you think is going to pay if I get paid what I am actually worth? The customer. And it will be more than 15%.
I have waited in the Houston area for over 5 yrs. I have seen really good tippers and horrible to the point on no tip at all. I think teenagers are some of the worst tippers. I know that they usually do not know or realize but I think every parent should teach there kids how to tip if they let them go out and eat in public. I had this teenage girl come and eat and she left me nothing. I gave her good service and she liked it. One of my co-workers went up to her after and asked her if she left a tip and she said she did not know how. Really, if you own a damn credit card you should not how to tip.
OMG…I have been reading this for an hour 🙁
I have agreed with most of the post and found some very funny. I am a 6 year server in ‘good ol Alabama’.(Montgomery Metro) I moved here a year ago from Destin, FL to take care of my brother’s house while he is fighting in Iraq. I am still shocked at these tips here. 5-10% max….now and then 15% from the travlers. The residents are mostly nice, but nice doesn’t pay my bills. Question for the people in this area…… How is it right,in your mind, to tip $3 on a tab of $100??? Do you not know that you just tipped me 0% because I have to share 3% of my total sales (not tips) to the host and bartender??? Also did you know that I make $2.13 per hour PLUS tips.
Yes, I know that not ever waiter has taken care of you all in the past, but why not tip those of us who are good.
To say that we should be paid the state wage of $7.25 an hour so you don’t have to tip would reflect back on you anyway. On an Average Friday we have 10 servers. So you and the other guest would have to pay for that extra $51.20/hr labor cost. These places exsit to make a profit. No they don’t “make a killin” of of your steak dinner. You forget that the cooks, the managers, the district managers, and the people at the home office have to be paid.
Now back to tipping….. You will always have the waiters that could care less, because their daddy won’t give them gas money so they have to make a few dollars on the weekend. However, this is a real job for some people and we serve you guest for TIPS. 15% isn’t that much more out of your greedy fingers….heck, I’d take 10% most of the time as a great tip from some of you.
And the non-tippers……sigh!!! You people are just wrong. The ones that know we only make $2.13 an hour or the people that look for mistakes the waiters make in order to lower the tip.
Maybe it should work for all areas of work. The cashier at Wal-Mart double-checked an item and I didn’t see it until I was at my house…… Maybe the cashier should have a few dollars removed from her pay?? Maybe the police officer made a mistake and arrested the wrong person. Pay deduction??? I bet you crime would go up because we couldn’t find people to be police out of fear their PAY would be affected.
Oh….people in Alabama aren’t poor rejects… they are just cheap and greedy. Nothing like seeing a guy drive up in a nice BMW, open the car door for his date, act as if he is God’s gift to the planet, order the highest priced items we have, then tip $2 on $80…… but doesn’t let his date even look at the bill or the credit card slip….. acting as if he did me a favor by him given me his hard earned $2. Please go to Arby’s and spend your hard earned money there…. because my business expects that you will tip me so that they can keep me happy and keep me working for them. Yes you spent money buying our products but you are going to loose a good server for that high schooler that could care less if you are trying to impress your date. You then have a bad night, your date is unhappy and wants to go home….not to your place for late night activities. You did this to yourself….have fun finding dinning options because you are driving away the good servers to save 6-7 dollars while eating out.
Just tip the service people. Lead by example as Americans and stopped saying that tipping is unheard of in other countries….. YOU LIVE HERE!!!
If you don’t have the money to tip, then cook at home. We will not miss those who don’t tip…not I or the business.
15-20% is the average here in 2010…. You except and pay for everything else as the prices rise…. so now leave 1985 and the 10% behind…… you can still listen to your 80’s music …. we servers don’t mind.:-)
INDIANS … they die a little bit when they tip.
I work at a Thai Restaurant and yeah INDIANS like curry.
INDIANS usually come late an hour or so before closing time (we close at 11).
so we call the 10-11 hour “Ugly Time”
Indians (especially the males) are just downright ugly fuckers and when they tip or if they ever do, these fuckers will leave a buck or two and then run away.
Best Tippers:
Waiters !!!!!!!
Lie.
Whoops, thought you meant worst! I’m an idiot.
I’ve read a ton of comments on here and I can at one point or another agree with at least half of them. However, I don’t think it’s right to classify women, black, canadian, etc. into one profile. You have to be much more specific when posting your reasons. Every single race/sex/ethnicity has been generous to you on more than one occasion, even if you didn’t deserve it. Any and all sexes, race, and ethnicities apply to what you’re about to read. It’s long, but hell I have a lot to say and this is merely the tip of the iceberg.
Think of the 16 year old on a date. You think that this is a waste of your time so you don’t give them great service. The bill winds up being $29.36, they hand you the book and say it’s good and in your mind you’re expecting change to fall out of it. What you find is $40.00 which is a 36% tip.
To me it’s all personality based. The majority of tables I wait on will let me know by the time I drop the drinks off exactly which show i’ll be seeing. However, some don’t shine until after the appetizer/salad/dinner has arrived (when you’re hungry, you can get grumpy).
Biggest red flag for me is the immediate “Can we get some rolls or something?” (we don’t serve rolls and never have). Followed immediately by “How much are colas? Is it free refills!?@?????” A question about soft drinks being refillable is absolutely understandable, but the question of cost is the flag itself. Anyone over the age of 16 knows the cost of a soda, period. When anyone over the age of 16 asks me that, I know i’m in for trouble. The tip I expect and usually get, $0.00, they’ll ask for change if it’s only 7 cents.
Next is the amount of time it takes to order. I’m not talking about how long before a table tells me they are ready, we have a huge freaking menu and it takes me 10 minutes to decide what i’m going to have on my break sometimes. I’m talking about the tables who say “Oh no we’re ready”, when in fact they are not. At that point you stand at the table for 10-15 minutes, and your blood is slowly boiling as your blood pressure goes up concurrently with your awareness that you need a refill on 12, 32 wants their appetizer cleared, 15 hasn’t got there food which is a big problem, and 11 has been drilling holes in the back of your head for the past 8 minutes. People like that don’t realize that 10-15 minutes is literally an eternity at the restaurant i’m at, a meal could have been placed 5 minutes before I started taking their order and by the time i’m done with the process of taking their order, my other table is done and discouraged. If they had any problems with the food I wouldn’t have known because I didn’t have the chance. All I can do is apologize and hope they saw me at the other table. This behavior on the “i’m ready but i’m really not” table shows to me a complete disregard for anyone other then themselves and displays a thought of superiority over me, because of the fact that I have to sit there and wait. I have to appear patient and obedient until I have recieved all of their menus. Terrible tippers, less than 10%, usually around $3-6 even if the bill is $200+.
Campers. Campers are HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE tippers. There are few exceptions to this and they are made absolutely obvious during the course of you actually serving them to when they actually leave. You have to pick up on the “I need to be here for a while but I will tip you accordingly if you just back off” vibe, which is shown by how respectful they are, constant conversation about business, and visual cues (binders, folders, laptops, etc.) If you pick up on this and you just make sure their drinks (usually coffee) is good and don’t say a word, i’ve gotten a $100 tip on a $60 check personally. That is as far as i’ll go in giving the benefit of the doubt to them though. These people view your booth as a place for them to hang out for as long as they want because they purchase something. “Two waters and an order of fries please.” 2 hours later and at least $20 out of your pocket, they round up the bill and add one to two dollars for you amazing tip. The $100 tip has happened once in 4.5 years of waiting tables, out of 1,000 campers you are probably looking at 15-20 being mindful and respectful tippers. So please, don’t hold your breathe.
Complainers, generally the worst tippers period. I’ve had people that stuff their fingers in the food before I can set it down and tell me it’s cold while i’m watching the steam rise from it. I’ve had people tell me there coffee is cold when i’ve dipped their coffee cup in boiling water, made a fresh pot of coffee to compliment, and had the cooks toss the cup filled with the fresh coffee in the microwave for 2 minutes. It’s still cold apparently, despite the fact that if I were to dip my finger in it, I would seriously burn myself. I especially love it when the person who is complaining is adding 5 creamers to ONE cup of coffee. Not a Starbucks size, literally a cup. 50% creamer and 50% coffee at that point and i’m to blame. Nothing that you can possibly do for these people will ever make them happy. You could do an hour of standup, make a famous celebrity appear, hand them a check for $10,000, and give them the best experience of their lives, and you still will get around 1-2%.
Alcoholics! What fun we have with these people. “Make my drink strong!” When you let them know about the price increase, immediate anger and resentment falls upon you. “This drink doesn’t have any alcohol in it!” I watched the bartender pour the drink and I know that there is exactly one shot of Jose Cuervo 1800 in your margarita. When alcoholics come into a corporate store they expect to get the same types of drinks they would at a bar, which is a place to get intoxicated at. However, at a restaurant, that is one of the last things that the owners desire. The drinks are purposely not strong and getting one that is as strong as a heavy drinker wants it, is pricey. Pay to play, period. You’re not going to get a margarita that is 50-50 anywhere outside of your own kitchen, or at a bar where you support the bartenders life in a serious financial way. Once you kill there buzz and they realize that they just wasted $5.25 on a drink that won’t get them to their comfort zone (get rid of the shakes/anxiety), you get stuck with squat as a tip. Pray someone else pays/tips at the table or you’re stuck with paying to wait on a table as you now have to tip out your bartender and you weren’t tipped adequently by the customer.
Last but not least (FYI I rant on this topic), which many people have mentioned, is the kiss of death. Anytime ANYONE tells a server that “I’m going to hook you up man” or “You hook me up and i’ll hook you up” or “You are the best waiter i’ve ever had!”, it’s all B.S. If you get a penny out of this event you’re lucky. These are the cheapest people out there. The only reason they don’t fit into the same category as complainers, is because it’s the opposite. You see, by complimenting you and building up your spirits, or even by complimenting you to your boss, that’s your tip. Period. Complainers just make you hate your job and hate people. From my experience the main perpatrators are men who are on dates trying to impress a female. 99.9% of the time it’s a date, the other 00.1% it’s a collection of cheap people. {My imagination justifying my non existant tip}: The guy thinks that by boasting how much he’s going to “hook me up”, that the woman would never think that he’d publicly make himself out to be a liar, which would embarrass her, right? And so she believes it. Just accepting that she was taken out to dinner and her date was respectful and generous to others. {/imagination} Well sorry ladies, if you ever hear that come out of your dates mouth than he’s a cheap bastard and will not tip. When it comes to a date, he’s going to give me next to nothing (which seriously, a stiff is less impacting emotionally than a slap in the face tip), for one reason: He doesn’t think you’re worth it. I’m sorry for including this here but hell it runs through my mind every single time I relive this scene. Want to know when a guy is giving a waiter/waitress on a date? He will look the waiter/waitress dead in the eye and tell him/her to have a good night while handing him the book.
I know this isn’t a blog about dating advice but it is a rant blog, and I couldn’t hold that back. I kept this PG and open, if you want to know what I think of races and people on an R level, just ask. I could write a 400 page novel right now, without blinking an eye, and have it all completely organized and done in two hours.
As someone who regularly eats out, is friends with a restuarant owner, and has a middleclass income, I find the endless complaining by waiters that a mere 15-20% tip just isn’t enough for them a bit insulting. Particularly when the bill is over $300, they expect $60 for visiting my table 2-3 times and spending a total of 15 minutes. Why should the customer be responsible to make this job so much more profitable for the few high end waiters?
I am not a waiter and i would never want to be,But you knew what you were going to making when you took the job.I dont understand the mentality that because you make shitty money than its the customers place to make up the difference.I have eaten at all kinds of places and if my waitstaff person is really good than i have no problem tipping 20-30%,but that also means i dont want to have to hunt you down when i need something and i want my glass filled BEFORE if is empty,and you should come by to see if we need anything with a smile on your face and if i do need staek sauce bring it to me Before i get done eating my steak.There are some REALLY great waitstaff at some places and i go there to be waited on by them even if the food is lousy.But i think some waiters feel too entitled to a great tip when they are doing a lousy job.If you dont like where you work..Quit.
As I have seen on this website and countless others is people complaining about having to tip or makeup the difference for a low pay scale. I can bet my last hard earned (Tipped) dollar that not one of these people have worked a food service job in their life. The reason you go out to eat is to get good food, good service and for most places ambiance. What they don’t realize is that if the person working this so called lousy low paying job was earning minimum wage, their prices for the food they are enjoying would be that much more. Then they would be bitching about that and the poor service. Cause lets face it, why on earth would a server bust their butts at a table knowing tips would not be coming cause they are making money regardless. What else these people don’t realize is the server/waiter is not getting all of the money being tipped. We have to tip share with the bus people, the bartender, the hosts, etc. etc. etc. So when you come into my restaurant and sit for a while, eat, drink and enjoy yourself. Leave me a poor to no tip. I actually lose money because I have to tip out others. I agree whole heartedly in good service deserves good tips. I would love to see how all these people who complain about tipping would enjoy a meal knowing they weren’t being taken of at all cause they shouldn’t have to pay for service.
Ghetto people and teenagers, without a doubt.I feel weird saying that because I’m 19 and grew up in the Bronx, but I remember going to restaurants with my friends when I was 14 and tipping our server 20%. I was surprised when I started serving and people from the same area and around the same age as me tipped so poorly
Well, It is true the african american is the worst, i used to wait tables in Birmingham and they actually haved literally closed down restaurants, i.e. Baumhowers(sic)Wings on Lakeshore and TGIF fridays, it sounds racist and probably is but it is true, once they become the only patrons they drive away the good clientle and with their antics{you fellow servers know} kill the morale of the staff and eventually the management continuing a vicious cycle leading to the eventual closing,being a part of the TGIF fiasco almost destroyed my usual proffesional joy of working in this industry,
I am new to reading this blog – I saw his book in the bookstore. I am in the process of moving and starting a new job, but having been a professional server turned management for part of my life, I have some thoughts on some things shared here. I just don’t have time right now, but stay tuned …
You know, I can abide with the tipping, but I also think it should work both ways. So many times I have placed an order and been served something barely near what I asked for. Not that the order was complicated. As an example, last week I ordered a Swiss cheese sandwich on whole wheat toast (not grilled) with lettuce and mayonnaise. I do speak fairly understandable English and the waitress spoke a comparable dialect. She asked if I wanted tomatoe and I said no. The sandwich was served untoasted and when she came by to aked how everything was I pointed out the mistake and she took it back. When it was presented again, the term toasted could be loosely applied to the bread but the lettuce and mauonaisse were missing. This time I didn’t send it back because I didn’t want to risk have it served again with something I didn’t ask for on it. When the check came I told her about the mistakes and she blamed it on the cook and said it wasn’t her fault. She was very busy. Hey, if the cook is the bad guy, let me talk to him but it protocall says the waitress is the face I deal with, accept some responsibility. I don’t care what your name is; I don’t care that you’re working a double shift; I don’t care that you hope you can get out in time not to incur extra fees at childcare. Just get my order right and we’ll call it a good day. It seems people don’t listen, don’t pay attention, or they hear what they want to hear. It’s the waiter’s and waitress’s function to serve me; to see that I am served waht I asked for, and if that simple task is fulfilled, a tip will be left and all will be happy. My complaint may seem trivial, but it isn’t the first time and we all know it won’t be the last. To all the restaurant workers out there: Focus and accept responsibility, and if you do then I will tip. If not. . .
This happened when I was 17 or 18 in Virginia beach at one of the restaurants on the oceanfront where I was a waiter. It was one of the hotels that was selling timeshare so every person that took the tour got a voucher at the restaurant that including an automatic 1 tip for a full breakfast (not a continental buffet). The first week I was there the salesperson would always make a point that the gratuity was included so I would never get and additional tip. The restaurant was run independent from the hotel so the second they would call us out on the gratuity we would always say that the timeshares at gold key were much nicer and since the customer usually got roped into the timeshare with the promise of a camera they would only need the smallest excuse to hall ass. Pretty much everyone there was a pothead college student and a late 20’s manager that had an affinity for sucking everyone’s dick but preferred puerto rican dick. She would report to anyone that was even vaguely interested of the length and ejac time of her male co-workers. She would tell people at the front desk and would talk about it with other co-workers so they would get horny and then find themselves in the same situation that I found myself in a few days previous where everyone is staring at you and you do not know what the fuck for. Anyhow to the point of the story. Anyone that is familiar with Virginia beach during labor day weekend has a good idea that we essentially have a 3 day eclipse because it gets so dark down here. I had the unfortunate experience of getting called in this day and after smoking up with my co-workers and getting head from the manager we looked out onto the beach to see if there was going to be any good tips out there. We only spotted one white person so at this point everyone started to make excuses talking about their grandmother was in the hospital and etc. While we were getting setup it started to sprinkle outside and I swear to god it was like a stampede. I guess they did not want the oil in their hair to run but anyhow every seat in the restaurant was taken in a matter of seconds. Being that I was high trying to take orders in ebonics was nearly impossible. I somehow dug down deep and managed to get two orders and in the meantime had everyone calling me white boy and iss neeedsss to oder. I put in those orders and hid out in the back with the rest of my crew. Until the food was ready I took it out and I was tipped 35 cent on one table and 80 cents on the other. I then said that if anyone wanted to tip I would be happy to wait on them otherwise I was done much to the chagrin of my manager. I had a couple of fuck you white boy, I will hook you up, and you not serving because we niggers. When I was leaving the first table I seated I went to clean it off and much to my surprise I saw a folded 100 and about 35 bills in it (nigger roll hundreds on top and 1’s were in the middle). I threw that shit in my pocket so quick and about 3 seconds later was counting my money in the backroom. In the meantime the only person left on the floor was the flaming black homo bartender that was getting harassed nonstop and he eventually came back with us. The manager by this point had also waited on a few tables and collectively got her enough to get a item off the dollar menu at mcdonalds so she stopped taking orders. The black guy is so pissed because all these leroys are showing stacks of cash but have not given him one decent tip. He says he is over it but thinks the best idea is to jack up the price of some cheap chardonnay and champagne that you could buy at 7 eleven for 7 bucks. He came back out and announced that he was out of everything except wine and bottles of champagne and that it was by the bottle at $75 a piece. They wanted to be big ballers and it the reverse effect of what he wanted, he thought they would all hall ass. They went ape shit and could not buy it fast enough, keep in mind this is a run down holiday inn want a bee restaurant that did not have a wine menu. Anyhow within a few hours he was completely sold out and made the restaurant about 13,000 the biggest day ever. The bartender was given like a couple of grand and he was happy as a clam. me and my co-workers of course mad nothing in tips but found 2 stacks of money, expensive sun glasses, and cell phones. I actually had a great time that day because we ate like kings (opened a bunch of crab meat and put the grill out back and fired up some crab cakes on the beach while the whole restaurant is full, clambering for some champagne), got to see everyone act a fool, and macked on some black girls. I left and got a voicemail from the manager and she said that afternoon one of my customers came back and flashed a gun said he was looking for some money that he left. Unfortunately i missed the call because i was at the mall spending my new found wealth of about $800 and my boy found like 350. The next day the manager quit and we had a dick as the new manager and I was fired a week later for fucking up someones order and I told them to suck my dick. It worked out because I had to go back to school in like a week so it gave me a little time off. I have retired from the waiting business but still have truly fawn memories. It is truly a fun job. The place I worked was really loose and probably had fewer rules than mcdonalds. Also worked at doubletree hotel as a room service which was much more uptight that same summer. They had the hoard festival and did not get any additional tips from the musicians but had and auto 17% gratuity but the crew for Hanson the band tipped great and were shooting off fireworks in the parking lot. Made like 400 and 500 each day.
All in all, how much I tip depends on the restaurant. If I order an entree, I will tip more but if I am eating an all you can eat buffet where I serve myself and the waitress only brings drinks and clear plates, then I tip less. I think a $3 tip for the waitress who brought my drink when I’m eating an $7 buffet is more than generous. Grocery baggers do more work than that and they get paid less and are not tipped.
I hate that people think that serving is mindless work. That the person sitting in an office is better than me. I have a college education, but am still serving tables. I love the people that have commented that the owners and managers should pay there employees not the customer. I agree, but live and work in a “right to work” state. This means that my hourly wage is around $4 an hour. My tips are suppose to make up the rest to get me to the federal min. wage. If not then I get compensated and my wage for the week will be brought to the min. It states that anything over $30 a week in tips constitutes earning min. wage. With that being said all the people that come in thinking that serving is mindless easy work and they are better than me so they don’t leave a tip can kiss my ass. The worst tippers from my experience are the elderly and teenagers. There are exceptions though.
I love the comments about people that if can’t afford to go out if they left a tip. If you can’t afford to leave a tip then eat at McDonalds. To those of you that say servers know what they are getting into when they accepted the job and if they don’t like it then they should just quit. You guys can blow me. As far as the worst tippers go, I have been stiffed by every race, religion, age, etc. etc. I have also been tipped very well by every race, religion, age, etc. etc. You have to approach each table as if they are going to be the best tippers in the world. Just don’t get your hopes up. Take care of everybody as you would want to be taken care of. I served some professional baseball players. Players that you see on ESPN negotiating multi-million dollar contracts. I was pumped. Thought I would get a good tip, especially since their meal was payed for by the manager. Yep you guessed not a penny. Even the super rich can’t even leave a tip. Greedy bastards. By far the best tippers are servers.
the worst tipper are i’ve ever encountered are indians who were in college. a group of mix 5 people came to restaurant i worked. after everything done, i brought the check and i saw 4 of them put in like $20, the check it self is about $80+, but this indian lady took away all the money and put in her debit card. i swiped it and gave it back to them. when i saw the receipt that she signed i was amazed. she put the total for $90. i was so mad but what can i do? they already left the rest. im agree with “pissed off”. if they dont have money just go to Mcdonald or dunkin.
The people who gieve you the best verbal tip! Ive had the same man offer me jobs and he always leaves about 10%. But out of all the bad tips these people leave, the worst tip Ive ever recieved was from a Arab family. Everyone was on their Iphones the entire meal and dressed to the nines but very kind. Their bill came to $140 and I really let my guard down and thought I was going to be walking out with a great tip, but when I picked up the check book and looked inside there wasnt a tip. Sitting there under the salt and pepper shakers was a $1 bill. But all I can do it laught about it now.
having worked at a golf course for 5 years with filthy rich men, women and their children to wait on, the worst tippers were by far the children who would come up after their rounds of golf, they would come in during the busiest order a fairly cheap meal, but making their server give them more attention then anyone in the lounge, by getting a drink refill every 30 seconds, wanting ice cream, or desert (which we had to get ourselves), then they would pay for their meal with their tabs which their parents really ended up paying for and some of them even had the balls to write “NOTHING” in the line that says tip. our staff would actually fight with each other to not get the kids table because it was the same everytime.
the second worst were the extremely demanding women who also came up during the busy times and when you couldnt do everything fast enough (because you had 20 other tables) they would give you a 5% tip.
I get that there are bad tippers out there. I have worked in the industry for 20yrs. Servers forget how greedy the dollar bill can make them. I have servers who make $200 off one table and the bartender, cocktail server, and busboy who helped her provide remarkable service, she chose not to tip out at all. I see this all the time, I also here servers gripe about their overpaid manager doing nothing, however most servers make money than their boss, everyone is quick to criticize the few bad tips, but never tell you about all the good tips they get.
Old people (like my beloved Grandfather – I always have to sneak extra cash to the server when we eat out) I guess since they lived thru the depression when toothpaste cost 10 cents or whatever. Large crowds sometimes suck because everyone thinks that everyone else tipped well. The worst table ever were from the Middle East. They were horribly rude and awful tippers. That’s a whole freaking other post right there. I’ve been consistently given bad tips by teens (esp middle schoolers), black people, and church people. The second worst table was a group of black teenagers from church. They were rude and then when I got sick of it and smarted back they left me change (I’d rather they just stiffed me) and an adorable love letter that I burned in the handwash sink with my lighter. To be fair though when black people tip well they tip extremely well almost like they are trying to make up for the other 90% who suck. Teenagers just don’t get it. My philosophy is if you don’t have money to tip you don’t have money to eat out at full service. Hit the grocery store or the dollar menu. And while I don’t think you should pay for bad service at least mention it to the manager so we know you aren’t just being cheap and the problem can be corrected. And I think 20% should be standard, less for crappy service, more for better. This is from a former waitress who is now a manager. Goddess I absolutely hate working for tips it brings out the worst in me anyway. I never want to go back, so for those of you surviving on all I have to say is I have a lot of respect for you. No way a billion years could I pull it off.
Let me also add when I’m dating someone I always peek to see what kind of tippers they are. Bad tippers are cheap bastards (unless the service totally sucked) and are a waste of time. And to those rich entitled losers who say we should just quit if we hate our jobs clearly come from well to do families with privileges that not everyone else gets. Its so easy to say if you hate it quit. But at the end of the day even servers have to eat and pay rent just quitting before finding another job is not an option. And in this economony more people than ever are turning to tipping jobs to make ends meet either as their second job or primary. All I have is an associates I’m working on my bachelors and I have college educated people with bachelor’s degrees and one guy with a masters worked for ME for a while as a delivery driver because he needed extra cash for his very sick child. So those of you of the belief that waiters should just quit should pry themselves out of their little lily white perfect world and take a hard fucking look at reality. At best you are naive at worst you are just a fucking idiot looking for an excuse to be a shitty tipper/person. And remember Karma’s a bitch.
First and foremost; the gratuities we receive are a direct reflection of the service we provide. I wish that was true, unfortunately it is not. Now I’ve worked as a tipped employee for over 19 years. Yes, I consider my career path a “real job”. I’d live to give you an exact account of the worst tipper I’ve encountered in my career, however, I will not. I feel that no demographic is more likely to stiff you then the next. I will tell you what burns me the most; the multiple payment option check splitting scam. 2 or more people split the check using a combination of gift cards, credit cards and cash. The way this one works is for example the person paying by credit card has used the gc and cash to lower the bill substantially and only tips on the amount charged to the card. These people should be banned from dining out… Period. They basically stole the gratuity paid by there co-diners and used it to off set the cost of their own dining experience. Yeah, it seems like an innocent mistake, it’s not! Pure BS, you know the tab was a 100 bucks, friend a) used a 25$ gift card for there portion, friend b) put up 40 bucks in cash, and this person charges 35 bucks on there card and signs for a 5$ tip. Come on, you know it’s not right, but you’re the person who had 2 extra rounds, ordered the appetizer, and was the only one to get desert and coffee. You should only be allowed to eat food you prepared for yourself at home for the rest of your existence. Dining out is a priveledge.
Brazilians!!! Nothing else left to say
Old people! I love how they press that quarter (sometimes two!) in your hand as if they just tipped you something grand.
Yet another Christian here to apologize for how some church-goers tip. It really broke my heart to read that.
Having worked in valet parking and food delivery, the worst tippers were the richest and poorest customers. The richest had either never worked that kind of job, or bought into some sort of social Darwinism; the poorest really couldn’t spare that extra buck or two. Best tips were usually people who had enough money that they could afford it, but not so much that it ceased to be special. It was their special evening out on the town (or, when I was delivering, their special evening in) – and they were basking in the glow of it while thinking about the tip.
In my experience I find that black tables have always been the worst tippers. The after church crazy hat ladies especially. I’ve always been lucky to get 5% even when I know I took great care of them and everything was perfect. Second worst has to be teens who will come in with their parents credit card they splurge on food and seem cool until you overhear one in the group saying that the tip is included on the bill when it’s not. I don’t understand why people think coming in on a Sunday night 15 min before closing with 4 screaming children is ok in the first place. If you have done that and you are reading this, servers play rock paper scissors to see who takes you. Your server is the looser. But even those hard feelings can go away with an appropriate tip. 6 on 141 isnt ok.
im waiting tables in india ,india is very worst for restaurant jobers,and for a thousand bucks they will give 10 bucks tip always asking for comlimenris and discounts
I am a waitress in a touristy neighborhood in Buenos Aires, and Brazilians are hands down the worst tippers and some of the most difficult customers. In Brazil the tip is included in the bill, so some times they don’t know to pay it. They come in big groups, often complain about the food and drop their fork and split the bill 5 ways and say all the beer isn’t cold enough dont even ty to speak spanish spend half an hour ordering and then tip nothing. Everyone told me thats what Brazilian customers were like and I didn’t believe it and even thought the otehr waiters were being prejudiced until the evidence was forced down my throat. I have a hunch (based on no real information) that there are some class issues going on in Brazil and the rich are used to having a lot of service people, and used to treating them badly.
As others have suggested above, I’m sure that’s why East Indians are such bad restaurant customers too.
There’s a reason I don’t work Sunday’s. A lot of previous commentators have already made note as to why. I would also like to throw in military people as a close second. They’ll leave between 15-20% but it isn’t always worth it for the amount of work you have to do. High maintenance, ALWAYS want separate checks, think they own the place, and camp forever
The worst tippers are African-Americans, Hands down! Followed by Jewish people, most women and asians(not many dine out), and Southern people. That’s the truth and there is no debate
I work as a tour guide in Hollywood. I drive and narrate at the same time. I do 2 hour tours of celebrity homes and other landmarks, and I also do tours of the whole city for 6-7 hours. Tipping the tour guide 10-20% at the end is customary. We have signs in the bus telling people that. I used to rely on the sign alone, but it got frustrating providing a great tour and being overly friendly only to get complimented without a gratuity. I finally worked up the courage to explain the custom of tipping. This way I knew who was stiffing me on purpose. Unfortunately, the majority of people who take guided tours in LA are international tourists from all over the world. From my experience here are the good, the bad, and the ugly tippers and personalities by nationality and race. Keep in mind that there are exceptions to all of these generalizations.
Good tippers:
Americans, except black Americans. White, brown, yellow Americans usually tip and tip well.
Australians. Many are visiting America for the first time. They usually get it and tip very well. Although a few don’t and tip $1 after an all day tour.
Oriental Asians (i.e. Chinese, Japanese, Singapore, Vietnamese, Thai), regardless of nationality almost always tip generously.
Other good tippers UK, Irish, South Africans, Sweden, Portugal, New Caledonia, Tahiti, Nigeria.
Ones that can go either way. They might tip but it probably won’t be much. Canada, New Zealand, Holland, Belgium, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Poland, Switzerland. Canadians are usually a huge disappointment. They are familiar with American customs and tipping is the norm up there, so why do I get stiffed by so many? The ones who tip and tip well usually come from the border cities. I have been tipped well by many Canadians, anglo and french, but I’ve also been stiffed by many so that’s why they fall in the middle.
The worst:
All of Latin America and Brazil. They are loud, want everything done in Spanish, and never usually tip. Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela are the worst of the worst. Some Brazilians and Mexicans have been OK. Hispanic-Americans are usually good tippers.
Spain. They are not much better than their Latin American cousins.
Italians. Loud, late at all the stops, never usually tip. The ones who speak english are usually decent. Italian-Americans are great tippers though.
Israel. Same as above.
French. Need I say more?
Indians. The worst people to deal with. Extremely fussy, rude, cheap, unpolished. They seem to have no sense of embarrassment. Westernized Indians are a little better.
Arab/middle-eastern. Not as bad as the Indians but lousy tippers nonetheless.
Other bad tippers are Russians, Romanians, Turkish, Czech, and of course Black Americans.
That’s been my experience with people from over 60 countries. I do love my job and the rewards outweigh the disappointments.
Whoever does not tip 20% is cheap and either does not understand how servers and bartenders make their money or doesn’t care. Really? I don’t care what your rationalization for tipping less than that is. I work in Alabama and we make $2.13/hr. And we have to tip out to hostesses, busboys and bartenders. We also have to open the restaurant, clean it and restock between lunch and dinner. Everyone should have to wait tables at least once in their lives. I don’t understand people who think that tipping is an option or however they feel about it.
Hey servers! Im a server myself working at a tgi fridays in cali and we get the worst tipper!! nothing but old people and mexicans -_- but anyway i make designer server caddys that i sell to the servers in my restaurant and im trying to expand really so please check them out on ebsy under special designer caddys!!! thanks!!!
Wait tables right now putting my way through school.
Worst tippers by far are black men. Often get stiffed with no tip at all. Black women on the other hand, have been generous with tips. While Jews have a reputation for being cheapskates, they have always tipped me well. Can bust my nads at times but tips are always good. Asian people tip but tip less than 10% as a rule. Sheesh.
black females…churches (black and white) soccer moms
MEXICANS. Mexicans are the worst tippers. About 90% of the time, they won’t tip. Ironically, the majority of the black people in the place I bartend are actually great tippers, but the Mexicans just refuse to pay for the service we’re giving them. The best part about it is that they’re constantly peeling hundreds off this massive wad of cash in their pocket but can’t be bothered to drop a dollar on a beer.
lets just be honest here kids…the worst tippers are “boofers” and “church goers”
Black people are the worst. Especially black women. Sorry that sounds bad, but in the south, numbers don’t lie.
I wouldn’t say one group in particular. I’ve had white people, black people, Hispanic people and Indian people all leave terrible tips. Lately, nearly everyone at our restaurant has been getting stiffed, several times a night.
$0.68 on a $50.32 check is not a tip, people. Please don’t tell me “keep the change” with a smug look on your face as you ran me around for an hour for a side of everything for your bratty little kids.
$1.01 ain’t a tip when you have a $71.49 check and you need 5 large ice creams made to go (all of which servers have to make themselves here). You’re all in your mid-40s yet you run out of the store like little kids when your server realized you stiffed him? Classy. Don’t come back.
Verbal tippers are one of the worst in general; race isn’t a factor in this case. Please don’t tell me it was the best service you’ve ever had and then leave $3 on a $50 check after splitting it to use two coupons (saving over $10), moaning and bitching all the while that your chicken sandwich was too small. Order something else, talk to a manager about it, just stop bitching about it.
Another one of my favorites is the coupon group. Half the time, they’ll use a $5 off $25 coupon or something like that, then leave half of what they saved. Did you not budget that into your cost of dining out?
In general, I think a lot of people just aren’t attentive to the service they receive. I’ve rarely received complaints about my performance, which makes some of the low/no tips all the more baffling. Other servers at our restaurant have a smug, entitled personality at their job; not I. I always try to go into the next table as if it were a fresh start to the day. Those who are attentive to what I’m doing for them are the ones that are a pleasure to serve (not overly bitchy or whiny about minutiae that I can’t control) and tip well (I’ve gotten 175% on a smallish check before). Anyone who makes you run around their entire time is almost guaranteed to leave a lower tip. Please ask for sides of honey mustard at the same time, not only after I bring each one out individually. Saving 2 other trips adds up, and you’re not my only table that I’m serving just for the hell of it.
Not to mention people that look too young to drive an expensive car. Usually they’re paying so much on their car note that they’re just big ballers. They’ll front like they’ve got money, but you’d never see that on a tip.
Best tippers so far have been groups of 4-6 adults. Usually they are not too needy, are well-behaved, and are attentive enough to realize that I can take care of them even though I’m busy with everything else, and tip accordingly. lol, everything else being anything from washing the *outside* of windows (before clocking in nonetheless), doing dishes, doing carryout orders, seating ourselves, busing our own tables, and sometimes, acting as manager-on-duty. Yeah, not kidding.
And to those who say servers should become unionized and stop “whining” about low tips, just know that for every server who attempts to confront management or the owners about low wages would be terminated quickly and replaced with minimal effort. Changing an industry can’t happen with one person, and stiffing a decent server on a tip just because you don’t believe in the system established over decades and decades doesn’t make the system any more privy to change. It just makes you look uncaring and ungrateful to another human being who is trying to make your dining experience as genuinely pleasurable as possible.
I worked at a Japanese restaurant, and I found the worst tippers were the Japanese and Koreans. Okay, I’m sorry that we don’t fly in real fresh wasabi from California every week, I’m sorry that we don’t get up every morning to make fresh noodles, and I apologize that the fish wasn’t caught this morning. But really, what did you expect, WE DON’T LIVE ON THE COAST.
Middle Easterns and Indian people don’t tip very well at all. And older people tend not to tip as well. I once had an old grandmother and her two grandaughters. After the bill came to a total of 130 dollars, she left a tip of FOUR DOLLARS. She even smiled at me and told me what a great job I was doing!
Who Are the Worst Tippers? Let me preface my answer by saying it does depend on the establishment and the location. For instance, I personally have never served the church crowd, so I cannot comment.
About me: I have worked professionally as head server for several of the best establishments in cities in the US and around the world, but I will direct my answers to the tipping practices and experiences in the USA.
In the USA, what most bad tippers fail to grasp or blatantly ignore is that the gratuity in the USA is the server’s wages. Full stop. The $2 an hour they receive from the house is used in full to pay the taxes on their tips. I have never had a paycheck that had money left over to cash after taxes. My paychecks were always $000.00.
When budgeting for a meal out at a restaurant, you must also budget in the gratuity of 20%. If you cannot, or will not (for any reason) pay that amount, you should not dine out. Plainly put, the server still has to pay taxes on what you were supposed to tip whether you do or not. It’s tallied by the server’s actual check averages for the IRS.
If one does not tip correctly, it always reflects poorly on that individual. But, the very worst type of poor tipper, by far, are those that think they are ‘punishing’ a server.
Only the cruel/disjointed person would use that excuse. Where else can you go into someone’s place of business and take their pay away? Some people do dine out for this very luxury. The kind of person to avoid in every situation, whether he’s your customer or an acquaintance.
If there is something legitimately wrong and unfixable with your dining experience that is the direct result of the actions of your server, the way to air your grievance is with your words.
That is how the system works in the USA.
Until the system is changed, do your part or do not participate at all.
The job of the server is to serve the customer with food and or drink in a timely fashion. Even something as simple as this can be cause for error that is beyond your server’s control. Human err is no reason to cut a person’s pay. That’s childish and petty.
All servers are trained to view the serving process as a chance to offer their clients a nice experience. In my years in the hospitality industry, I have never once witnessed a server deliberately give bad service. It just wouldn’t make sense.
But I have seen many a server take these bad tippers personally, and I have seen it crush them, like it did to the earlier poster who tried everything to get a couple to ‘like’ her enough to tip her.
(note to her: They did like you, they are just assholes)
To my fellow servers, a reminder; People can be assholes. Bad tippers are assholes, nothing more, nothing less. Forget them as soon as they leave, and be thankful you only had to deal with them for a little while- remember- probably some poor soul is married to them.
The next table will make up for it.
The best tippers are those who know how to relax and have a nice time. They are an absolute joy to serve and make it all worthwhile.
p.s. As a US immigrant from Britain, I’m going to tell you the truth about Europeans and their tipping practices. They absolutely do know the US custom of tipping. They pretend to be ignorant (as do the Canadians), but they know. However, do not hold it against them. Just as we would feel awkward leaving what we would consider a bad tip in their country, (even though it’s their custom, as their employees get paid) they feel just as awkward tipping us correctly as they consider it slightly insulting to us. They just cannot bring themselves to do it. Europeans and Canadians = 10%.
After 15 years in the industry, the Indians are BY FAR the absolute worst group of people in general to deal with (not just tipping!) They’re rude, arrogant, hateful & demanding, usually spending their entire experience treating you as a SERVANT rather than a SERVER, & then they expect to NOT HAVE TO PAY for the privilege of being jackasses? Man, just get lost already!
I can’t believe all these waiters that expect everyone to use the 20% rule. On a breakfast special that makes a tip of about 75 cents. On a bottle of wine that’s about $6. On an expensive bottle of wine that’s about $20. I think the breakfast servers worked a lot harder. What difference should the price of the meal matter to a tip?
And some customers are students, and others unemployed, and most make less than waiters.
In my circle of aquaintances, waiters make more than anybody else! They already have the good job–because they are good looking, or tall, or whatever–and then they complain that they don’t make as much as doctors. There are SO MANY jobs that are a lot harder, and pay less than serving tables. Suck it up.
the absolute worst tippers, are two sterotypes combined..black church people. im not racist by anymeans but black people are horrible tippers..same black lady every friday night…always ends up in my section..drinks margarita after margarita…eats her fajitas…around a 35-40 dollar ticket…65 cents EVERYTIME.
@ Fred, work one day in a restaurant and you’ll have a different perspective. You have to know food knowledge, bar and wine knowledge, health codes and customer service. We are the face of restaurants so when you’re pissed because the cook didn’t cook your fast enough somehow we need to find time to keep you busy while 8 minutes pass. We wish we got 20% everytime. But really covering 120 heads in a night on your own isn’t a for sure thing. You fail to forget that we also have to tip out. Depending on the restaurants you need to tip the bartender, busser, runner, host, bar back, and roll up guy. We hold it down for house. We make the money for the team. So when I don’t make 20%.. my buddy that’s the runner or busser doesn’t get extra side tip….. Does that change your perspective?
Now. I think the worst tippers are people who have never worked in Las Vegas’ industry. We are top 10 failing economies and this the only industry that is booming. So when tourists give me less than 10% I’m screwd for the rest of the night trying to catch my over 20%. When someone is in the industry I always get over 20%. all locals take care of each because we hope one day someone will pass the good tip karma!
Grace, you’re an IDIOT!!! do you live in a shack or just don’t have bills to pay? 15% is absolutely not adequate and whomever thinks so is a cheap fool! I have served table and bartended for sixteen years and I love my profession! There are days, weeks months even that I want to stab every person I see but that’s the case with any career.
The worst tippers I’ve found other that blacks, foreigners and middle aged women (25-45) are the a**holes that feel entitled. You know the ones, “Idon’t see it on the menu but can I…?” NO! YOU MAY NOT!!! It’s not on the menu for a reason, idoit! And you have to love, “I know the chef/owner”, my perpetual response to that is “guess what jack ass I do to, I don’t get special treatment,why should you? I work for the man/woman for christs’ sake!”
Come on people lets face it servers’ emotions are on our sleeves, please don’t tell me how wonderful I am or how great the food is, frankly I could give two sh*ts if you like me or not and I don’t care if you choke on the food, just pay me because just like you I’m doing my job you cheap bastards!
To Fred, You should consider working as a server. I promise with every fiber of my being you will definately be humming a different tune by the end of the first week!
Serving is a more demanding job than most people think, we have to be aware of an enormous number of things. We have to have executive knowledge of food, beverages, psychology (you all know what I mean) and still keep smiling when some a**hole treats you like a servant rather than a server! Yes, I do expect at least 20%, would you tell your employer “oh, it’s okay you don’t have to give me a raise even though I’ve worked for you for 20 years.” I don’t think so, servers should expect to get paid top dollar for what we do, just imagine if you piss one of us off and we see you again, can you be sure that you’re not eating… what ever we decide to put in your food? Oh, and yes I’ve given someone Pine-sol in thier soda!!
I’m a waiter working on the strip in Las Vegas so you know I’ve waited on people from around the world and here is a list of the worse tipping (in order from worse down)
1. Brazilians (they’re jerks on top of it and never tip you anything)
2. Italians (the young one are the worse)
3. Dutch (what a bunch of clueless idiots)
4. Germans (I’m sorry you lost every war you’ve been it but don’t take it on me)
5. Brits (the younger ones are better, but still lousy)
6. Canadians (but they are pleasant to wait on…just cheap)
7. French (Jesus, take a shower, shave your legs a leave a tip once in a while)
The best tippers here are the locals because they have a clear understanding of what it is like having to live on the tips you receive.
Best waitstaff ever:
The 11pm (at a 24/7) Denny’s crew in California who not only put up with a table full of about 20 teens that decided to pull out the D&D books and dice mid-meal, but actually sat down with us and watched and chatted and asked while we played when we rolled around to 1am.
Suffice to say, they got a 200% tip. And our bill was massive.
That’s awesome!
@bowlingalleygirl I have worked in the restaurant/service industry for 38 years and it is not required or even expected to tip the desk personnel or cooks. These people are not tipped employees and their wages come entirely from the mangement. Worst tippers? Blacks. And they give you attitude and try their utmost to cause you as much grief as possible, from running you unmercilessly, to planting their own hair in the food to try to get the meal free.
@bowlingalleygirl I have worked in the restaurant/service industry off and on for 38 years. Tipping desk personnel and cooks is not required nor expected. They are not tipped employees and their entire wage is paid by the management. Worst tippers? Blacks. And they have bad attitudes, run you unmercilessly, complain incessantly, and many times try to get their food for free too (“there’s a hair in my food” when it is clearly one of their own hairs- duh.)
@PMK Your tipping guidelines were fair until I got to the part where you expect to be offered a FREE app or dessert! These things are not owned by the server. The server will be fired if caught giving food away for free in most cases. While it is possible for a server to do this sometimes without getting caught, it is TOTALLY UNREASONABLE for you to expect it as a criteria for a good tip.
@JANYX If you can’t afford to leave a tip then you can’t afford to eat out. Period. The only people who complain about tipping are cheap assholes looking for excuses to justify their unacceptable behavior.
I have delivered pizza for Papa John’s in North Carolina and I would say senior citizens are usually the worst tippers. I hear the “fixed income” excuse all the time, but when I knock on the door and it’s a senior, I know I won’t get a tip, even though gas is $3.37 per gallon to bring them their pizza. Teenagers from the hood don’t tip either, although it might be because they don’t know any better.
Australian are the worse tippers alive
I am Asian and I tip 20% to 30% everywhere I go!!! My friends who go to clubs, lounges, and restaurants tip the same. Do not stereotype Asian Americans because we tip well! I always tip freakin $5 per drink at a club (I drink fancy, mixed drinks), so the server who serves me for the night is lucky, even if he/she splits the tips. Also, I am a young female, so I don’t know where some people get their statistics from….
I love how so many people who belong to a group named here say “I’m ___________, but I tip well.” Now pinkblings says not to include Asian Americans “because we tip well!” I guess I need to take your word for it and ignore my years of experience that tell me you are the exception and not the rule. Asian Americans aren’t notoriously bad tippers, but come on!
Black people
Mexican people
Teenagers
Chinese people
Japanese women
Foreigners
Indian people
As a bartender in Australia, when americans, canadians or any tourists come to our fair shores they are a mixed bag of tippers and some will say that “you do not need to tip in australia because the hourly rate is high…yadda yadda yadda” to that i say sorry you are sadly mistaken. The hourly rate here LEGALLY is high but most people who work hospitality get under cut by asshole bosses who tend to under pay staff but at the same time we need a job so we take it…simple as that.
Generally speaking:
In terms of education: very important factor…..my dad and i and my whole family are “PATELS” as someone so eloquently put it and he taught me….at least…always 10%. Coming from my tight ass dad….that is remarkable because he is very frugral…but since i work in the industry my general standard is around 20%, whenever i travel to the states i throw my money away because i know the standard there is low….and also if you want to sleep with a bartender tip her really well lololol 🙂
Black americans will tip…i have experienced quite a few black americans that tip quite well and some that don’t.
The best tippers i find are the people that you can engage and sell them something….be it your personality or your product knowledge. If someone comes up and looks at my cocktail menu and they can’t find something on the list i make it my point to sell them a really awesome drink, perhaps a twsit on a mojito or a woodford reserve old fashioned.
Women tend to be terrible tippers in australia….or maybe i’m just an ugly bum 🙂
Ethnic groups are also one of the categories of bad tippers….trust me i am indian i know how demanding us curry people can be 🙂
anyways just my two cents…or in a real situation 40$ bill? 10$ tip 🙂
In my opinion, the worst tippers in no order are churchy people, “business” people out for a quick lunch, Canadians, and native americans right off the rez. And that is not being racist because I am native.
Worst tippers gotta say are old asians! Dinner would always start with hot water lemon and honey working in a fine dining restaurant I could not believe it when an asian family of 6 would come in and order 3 entrees and ask for extra plates so they could all share. But i moved into management and got some sweet revenge I added into the system a charge for honey. fuck it just cause your making your own ghetto tea made from condiments and garnishes doesnt mean your not going to pay for it
AFRICAN AMERICANS- Tip well at clubs but are unwilling to throw money at any fully clothed female.
WHITE TRASH- Yeah I get it your going to pay me with your welfare card & you and all your ill mannered children are going to leave a huge mess behind but come on now my taxes just paid for your meal, the least you can do is cough up a decent tip.
TEENAGERS- I don’t expect you to know the value of a dollar and hard work yet that’s no excuse for you not to be in the take out line.
INSECURE FEMALES- Yes you know the ones who snatch up the credit card slip as soon as it hits the table and jot down a whole dollar bill. Your pathetic & your self esteem issues have come to an all time low.
BRAGGERS- Rather than hold me hostage at your table for 20 minutes going on and on about my serving abilities, show me. Not only have you taken away from the time I could be spending with my WELL TIPPING tables, you’ve just made yourself look cheap.
THE ELDERLY- At one point in time I bet a $5 tip was a decent one but wtf can I get with that in 2012? Not shit.
I work at a restaurant that is rather upscale and had these 3 guys come in and were Southerners. I come from NY and you can tell just by hearing me talk. Their check came to $138.00 but they wanted their checks split in 3. I ended up with a grand total of $14.00. Go figure! This is not the 1st time this has happened to me. In general, people from the South are arrogant and hateful. They are the WORST tippers. The Civil War is OVER. Get over it.
I had a party of two women come in right about the time I clocked in and were there, no exaggeration, for 3 hours. After an hour and a half, I checked back over and over hoping the ladies would get the hint and let me have my table back. No way. They talked and talked. They left a $15. tip on $68, which is above average, but kept me from making money by sitting there a long time. I could have made another $50 for the amount of time they stayed. By the time they left, I was almost cut off the floor. People like that should be more considerate and decent.
Indian hour can be the worst tippers ever and run you like a slave. I agree that 15-18% is reasonable but 10% or stiffing your server is just rude. Also Indian hour (Indians), come in at the worst times and expect the best service and if anything happens they get pissed. Their children are horrible and the best birth control i have ever had.
I’ve been reading these posts (so far I’m up to 166) and I sympathize with all the Servers who’ve been jipped out of tips. I must say, I think the problem is more with management than it is with the patrons. I read one poster here, saying how s/he received a bad tip and the manager went up to the person and told him it wasn’t acceptable. I think that’s a great idea! How it would increase the morale of the Servers to have management standing behind them and standing up for them by politely reminding patrons of tipping etiquette … anything below 15% is unacceptable for good service and patrons will be asked to not come back if they received good service and left a tip less than the min. 15%. It’s time for management to support their hard-working employees! Let’s face it, who would go to a restaurant with bad service? Servers are the face of management. They represent the owners. Bad Servers = poor business. The least management could do is to support their Servers by having their back.
Another poster on here wrote saying that in a free-market there would be no “standard” tip-rate, praising that ideal and labeling those who are against that (for tipping standard rate) “entitled.” (Ref: “The Ghost” post #120)
I am a free-market Capitalist, but I am first to say free-market Capitalism has been used by evil, wicked men to promote their own inside agenda. Rob Paul calls that “corporatism” because he doesn’t have the balls to call it what it is, greed! Anyone who thinks free-market Capitalism is a guarantee against such evils is sorely mistaken! The only problem is, for those who do such evil (like the bankers and financiers in today’s economy) they don’t just take down their own company or their own employees, they also take down the rest of us! This “ideal” is what the late Capitalist apologist Milton Freedman espoused. Government bailouts? Never! Let them go down! Yes, but not at the expense of everyone else!
So the point? To “The Ghost” I say this … free-market Capitalism is no excuse to treat people poorly, an ideal you seem to be espousing under the disguise of a free-market Capitalist! While I myself am proud to be a free-market Capitalist and believe in most of the ideals free-market Capitalism promotes, I am ashamed of the non-chalet attitudes of assholes like “The Ghost” using free-market Capitalism to promote their own selfish agenda and greed. The Greeks would have labeled you “hubristic” … a selfish, prideful, wicked greedy little man. Mr. Ghost, next time you go out, don’t tip standard for good service, show us your higher ideals and leave a 1,000% tip which would be $250 for a $25 lunch. Put your money where your mouth is.
I’m from the UK and I work on a restaurant boat that goes up and down the River Thames and we received all sorts of guests from around the world, but the majority of them do seem like they actually come from the UK. Today I had an “Elite” table which is where the guests have an inclusive package which already includes house wines and bottled waters.
Anyway, this large table was some kind of family wedding function (Russian bride/Swedish groom) so I approach them with a smile and a friendly meet and greet, but I just get that “cold” aura from them, in other words they are saying “just serve us quick”. So I do my utmost to make sure their wines are always topped up, going to the table periodically to ask if everything is ok and if they need anything else.
Also because it’s a boat the seating can be a bit awkward at times I have to squeeze in and some of them didn’t even have the common sense to just move their chair a little bit, not only that there was a big handbag on the floor and one of the guests didn’t move it until she realised it was in the way! I know you come to a restaurant to be served, but come on at least try to make it easier for me to serve you efficiently instead of me having to lumber around you and ask you in the most polite and undemanding way possible to just inch your wine glass a bit closer due to me not being able to get in/around, or move your wine glass away from where I’m going to put your food!!
Despite that they already paid for everything in advance, I left a “bill” with a receipt showing what they had (but to be honest that’s more for somewhere they can leave a tip) and as I was about to just about to thank them and leave it on the table a guest proceeded to say “We already paid”. I felt quite embarrassed and quickly took it away and that was it. Needless to say they left NOTHING.
Saying that though, I’d be lucky to make some money at lunch time as they tend to be more full of older people or young couples wanting the cheaper option. Although I have had tables of 2 leave £5 notes or sometimes £20. This is good because we are assigned our own tables and get to keep ALL tips we make, but it’s expected to pay 10-12% to the barman who made your drinks to take to the tables, as the next time one of us is on the bar we’d be expecting our share of the tips too from the previous barman who is doing tables for that night!
Evening dinners tend to be better tips as that is an a la carte menu and not a set lunch. Here in the UK we are paid a minimum wage which is £6.08 and that still isn’t great, but that’s no-where near as low as to what you guys in the states earn! I always tip appropriately and here in the UK the tipping culture is not dominant like it is in the states. I also try to make things easier for the server by stacking up plates after eating etc.
I also noticed that “Brits” were up there on the list as bad tippers. Well rest assured as a BRIT and as a fellow server, I’d be sure to leave a more than adequate tip if I ever visit the states! 😉
What really pisses me off is the methods that “guests” can use to manipulate the tip. This is my favorite one. You drop the bill to a table of two separate parties. When earlier you asked if they would like the bill separate, they said “No, we’ll take care of it.” So, I pick up the book, and the “leader” of the table says, “Just take the cash off first and put the rest on the card.” Translation: I am going to tip you on the card amount, pocket my friend’s money, including the part she intended to be your tip. I have gotten so tired of this happening that I stopped accepting the book before I ask, “Does the cash include the tip?” While looking towards the party who left the cash. When they say “Yes, it does,” I am then clear (IMO) to ask how much they would like me to apply toward the tip and how much toward the bill. I have never gotten a complaint doing this, although I FREQUENTLY get an “eat shit” look from the party member with the card. HA!!
So much of our tip money depends on geography. Last summer, I worked in Panama City, Fl. It’s where the “not so affluent” people vacation. The restaurant owners have jacked the prices so high that these vacationers don’t tip well because, from what I have gathered, they wanna enjoy their vacations. The fact of the matter is, these people care more about their family vacation that they really can’t afford than their server’s livelihood. It’s human nature.
I recently moved to Sandestin, Fl where I am a bartender and server. The clientele here is sooooo much different. This is a somewhat ritzy area, so the people vacationing here have plenty of money. I have seen sever Amex Centurion (black) cards. My tip percentage is dramatically higher here than in Panama Shitty.
I think those people who never work for tips don’t know what it’s like to work for tips. I bet you most people don’t realize that waiters/waitress only get $2/hr on payroll, some place it’s tips only (which according to labor dpt it’s illegal) I never worked as a waiter but I worked for tips @ a military grocery store back in High School, so I know how tough it is, some time you feel cheated coz some people just don’t tip you at all or 50 cents!!! that’s why I went to college coz I do not want to work for tips ever again. But, I got lots of college friends who works in restaurant. My girlfriend was a waitress, we tend to over tip when we go out eating. She said that it does make their day a bit better and make up the different for bad tippers. In her opinion worst tipper is “Indians” (the from the land of Slum dogs). These people would be picky, demanding and give her lots of headaches then in the end they would give her 98 cents, or some chum change. They would order shrimp or seafood dish and ate all the shrimps then tried to complain that the food taste bad. Or order the vegetarian dish and finish almost all then complaint to try to get the food for free, then don’t tip you. Most of these Indians are programmers, software engineer. Her restaurant happens to be close by Sprint. Sometime they’ll walk in 5 mins til close and stayed an hour past closing time and gave waiter/waitress bad tips. I don’t want to sound like we stereotype but that what she had experienced along with her co-workers, they had voted that “Indians” are the worst customers and tippers! My girlfriend had given up on those Indians, all she asked just don’t give her a headache, even if you are bad tipper, if you can’t afford to pay tip be nice to your waiters or waitress by take “TO-GO” don’t dine-in!!!
while Australians may have higher wages, their cost of living is also higher. Something to consider before making assumptions.
So yeah, I’ve been a waitress for a little bit now and I’ve learned that stereotypes don’t help gauge who is going to tip poorly. And let’s be honest, some days when a customer doesn’t complain or try to make things special, that IS a tip in and of itself, especially when it’s so busy you’d rather run away screaming than tell your table there’s a wait on their food.
But is that how I feel normally? No. Just when I’m to the boarder of insanity.
My worst tipping experiences, as much as race or socio-economic status goes, have been random and therefore unreliable and just plain racist anyways.
1. The cheap church goers- everyone’s had them. Sometimes the love of Jesus DOES flow in a palpable sense- sometimes it does not. I’ve never had someone leave me a tract, though. It’s always a 50/50 chance for me.
2. Sorority alum meeting: all waters, small apetizers, $1 tips all around, hey!
3. Regulars: creepy, old, cheap as hell. Making passes at me and my co-workers, never leaving a good tip.
But can I praise the great customers for a moment?
1. My favorite people to serve are Starcraft gamers. Not only are they generous with their tips, they are kind, courteous and funny people. I like them and would hang out with them any time!
2. Regulars: yes, I do love some regulars very much indeed. They know my name, aren’t demanding and leave me a solid tip even if they order the $8 special.
My favorite customers are the customers that are happy with their food and service. Sometimes, people just won’t leave money. They don’t care. Good food and service? $3. Shitty service, cold food? $3. But in general, if I meet customers with a smile and care about them as human beings, not walking tips- it shows. I’ve met some really great people and had some pretty crazy stories as a waitress. I love being able to speak Spanish to latino customers and talking to foreigners.
The worst is when people assume I am uneducated. I know, I’ve got piercings, tattoos and am a waitress. But ya know what else? I’m working. I pay my bills, and I’m putting myself through school. Once a person insulted me directly and I responded quietly that I am an honors student at the local university double majoring and have been out of the country twice since starting undergrad- once for studying and the other because I worked hard enough to pay for a three week vacation, and that I’ve been on the deans list 4/6 semesters. My tip was superb.
I’ve had two terrible experiences: one, an “old friend” of the owners and a regular. The regular was a jerk. I had just started working, and was almost two years under legal drinking age. I didn’t know specialty beers. He asked me, after I didn’t know exactly what an Indian Pale Ale was, “Do you know anything at all?” in such a way… Then when the manager found out and confronted the customer, he apologized and told me to not be mad at him and to smile. I told him I would do neither, but I’d do my job.
The second time was at the height of football season- and working in a sportsbar- it was packed. Not a table available, an hour wait on food. I had over at least 12 tables, and waiting on the bar to pour beers. A man yelled at me during the comercial “Where is my beer? I have been waiting five minutes for my beer!” That didn’t bother me. I brought him his beer as soon as I could and he said “My wife’s drink??” It was over 3/4 the way full. I filled it anyways. He left no tip and wrote “Shitty service” on the receipt. Then called the restaurant the next day demanding his money returned. My manager told him off, but it still sucked to be talked about that way, especially when there was nothing I could of done better.
And about that Asian (including Indian) stereotype… I am from Raleigh, NC and I have literally ALWAYS gotten the 20% if not more from Asian people. I do my job and they pay for my service. Now that I read some of these… sheesh!
I would much rather wait on a table full of poor servers than nurses or church people. The servers are always generous when it comes to the tip and are always alot of fun to wait on.
Funny; a South Florida resident said Canada, and a BC, Canadian, said U.S.! Both ignorant, because Canada and U.S. have millions of different nationalities living there. The South Floridian failed to notice that most Canadians there are from Quebec, where the tip is included in the bill. And the BC resident must have meant a U.S. resident from the west coast, because East Coast Americans tip 20-25%. Califronians are broke. And the one who said retired Jews tip the best, must have been working at Denny’s because that is absolutely false, as they tip $1-2 per head; regardless of the price of the check.
The worse tipper is a shady figure. We can knob on about different cultural parameters that do warrant some merit. The worse tippers are the people who think a full drink( even when we are busy and under-staffed and get slammed awkwardly)is their birth right, a full drink that never get’s empty. This asshole does not care if you have 5 tables all waiting for their food, he is thirsty and your tip will suffer if he has to wait. If he did not ask you for two glasses it is your fault. If he swigged it down in one gulp before you have returned you better have a pitcher on hand. Yes this is the worse tipper because no matter what else you do all he will remember is his fucking glass was not over brimming the way his ego does with utterly disgusting mangled warped self importance.
Yeah, Benny, you’ve hit on something there: the worst tippers are people with a sense of entitlement – people who feel like the world owes them something (and they’re gonna get it from you). What groups demonstrate this attitude most? Blacks, lesbians, women in general, teenagers, nouveau riche, and just plain assholes.
there is so much hate-on canadians… in canada, wait staff get paid minimun wage most of the time (and more than that the rest of the time). which is now nearly or over 10$ an hour. and we have 15% sales tax on restaurant food at home. so our habit is to tip about 15% (some people tip 15% before tax, some tip after tax, so there is some variation). WE DONT LIVE IN THE USA. WE DONT KNOW YOUR “CUSTOMS” about tipping. so ya, we forget how shit your pay is and lack of social anything (meaning healthcare, etc) when we tip. But maybe you should, you know, fix your country before you constantly think were just cheap, when really, your economy is ridiculous and f*cks over everyone who isnt rich.
By far, Hispanics are the worst. African-Americans and Indians typically don’t frequent the restaurant I work at, but they are horrible tippers as well. Most caucasians seem to tip depnding on service, many times even over 20%. Asians also seem to leave an adequate tip of 15-20%. However, Hispanics can run up a bill to $247.77 and give me $250 and call it even. I have even been stiffed, NOTHING, on a bill of $230. Rich hispanics seem to never tip, regardless of how the service was-unless you are hispanic yourself and can speak their native language-spanish- with them.
I think I’m seeing more minorities tipping better this year..I want to say that-even though I was stiffed today by foreign blacks and non english speakimg mexicans again today…for really great service-
Blacks, gypsies, and pilots. You all suck.
Latin Americans as well. AND they are consistently the dumbest customers I have to deal with.
I drove a cab while I was a college student. 95% of my black passengers did not tip. If we were busy and I saw a black person trying to flag me down, I usually pretended like I didn’t see them and I would drove past them.
On a somewhat related note, I found a lot of cell phones in my cab over the years. If the person that I thought lost the phone was a non-tipper, I wouldn’t answer the phone when it started ringing. I would then throw the phone down the first sewer grate that I found. If the person that I thought lost the phone was a tipper, I would always go out of my way to return the phone to them.
My sister waitress-ed in Trenton while in college. She said the worst tippers were groups of African American men & women. Not just the worst tippers, but the worst customer. She had a group of about 10 couples come into her section and called her “girl” the entire time; she was around the same age. While serving, they though it would be great to tell cracker and white mother f’er jokes for her to hear. When they got up to leave, someone threw down $1 on the table on as a tip. She grabbed it, crumbled it and threw it back at them saying “Here you racist assholes, you need this more than I do.”
Reading all the complaints and disgruntlement from you waiters, while I sympathize with you folks, as I too had been a waiter for a short while long time ago…I have to say that, stop spitting your disgust at the less-than generous customers. If you must spit, spit it at the face of your restaurant boss! It’s him who puts you into such a degrading position begging each and every customer for a condescending tip for your survival. Since it’s your boss who hires you, you should get your pay from your boss, not from the customer. It should be this way: the customer pays the restaurant owner for the food, the restaurant owner pays the waiter for the work. The restaurant owner can hire or fire you, therefore he, and not the customer, should pay you directly.
But most of all, I think you folks should spit at this tipping custom, for it really sucks!
I have to say when i worked in Pennsylvania where people generally, not all the time, but most of the time left about 20% of the bill i thought that African Americans were the worst tippers because they usually tipped about 10-12% of the check but since moving to Cali Asians and Mexicans are the worst tippers ever. This is just a generalization some Asian families have left me 30% plus as well as Mexican families, but in general those two groups seem to be the worst offenders, which leads me to believe bad and good tipping depends on region.
I delivered pizza for many years and I am extremely aware of my surroundings. African Americans and Muslims are the worst tippers hands down. We know they were Muslims because they always would make sure to emphasize “no pork” on the pizza. They would always be rude to use and give us a hard time and never tip. Some of the employees would put the biggest piece of bacon fat on their pizzas because of how rude they were to us. It’s hard to say who the best tippers were. I want to say older freak (like goth) people were some of the best tippers.
I have worked at a local restaurant for eight years. We are in a small town but right off a state road and a highway. I believe bad tippers can not be spotted right off. I have been surprised one way or the other consistently over the years. I make no prior judgements.I have regulars who leave nothing and get 50% from a stranger, and vice versa! Best tippers Young educated men no matter the ethnicity.
Brazilians,Brazilians,Brazilians!!!!Worst ever!!
Just for catharsis’ sake…
I had a table today who split their tab 4 ways. After I had run all their cards, one of them decided she would prefer to pay in cash, so asked if I could void her charge. I said sure, not realizing that the computer program my restaurant uses does not display the name, last 4 digits, or any other distinguishing information about the charge on the payment screen, so all four charges appeared identical. My manager even spent 10 minutes trying to figure out how to distinguish one charge from the other! I went back and explained this to the woman and the rest of the guests at the table, and said either I could void and re-do all the charges or leave it the way it was. The woman reached across the table, took the cash out of the check book, and THREW it across the table in a full-blown adult temper tantrum. And then she stiffed me. For being unable to correct a mistake that was hers in the first place. Which leads me to the generalization that lesbians are the worst tippers – unnecessarily demanding, rude, and cheap. They don’t skimp on the bill, just on the tip. I wish I could go to her place of work and explain how I refuse to pay more than 80% of the bill because I have – for no good reason – decided that her work doesn’t merit paying.
Australians! I was working in a historic hotel’s fine dining establishment, and about twenty of them came in and demanded I serve them in the mezzanine since there were no tables available. We usually only use that room when a reservation has been made, but apparently these were important people, because my manager sat them up there. They were rude, loud, and none of them would order at the same time, but as soon as I would get back to the dining room, one of them would come downstairs and tell me their order. Then, while I was trying to get the food out, another would come in and ask me for the check. It was a hell of a runaround, and they all tipped about 10%. AGH
Foreigners definitely! I am an american server and foreigners don’t seem to realize that we make $5.69/hour without those tips. We give up our nights, weekends, holidays, dinners with our kids so we can make the mortgage. In a fine dining restaurant in america with good service-20% is a must(25% if they went above and beyond)
What’s the similarity between a Canoe and a Canadian? Neither one tip! 😉
Serioulsy though… I find the worst Canadian tippers are the ones from British Columbia. They’re rude, cheap and demanding.
Don’t whine to me that my employer should pay us a decent wage- (I work in Southern California) You know our customs- don’t be cheap. Oh, and it’s not fucking ‘brown’ toast- it’s fucking whole wheat.
Now just hold on there, Tammy — up here in the land of ice and snow even in August, we say “brown”. And many of us don’t know your customs. Please — give us a break and maybe we’ll give you a break too. (“What?? I brought my skis for nothing? This country sucks! – Oh, and you don’t know what ‘wheat’ toast is??? Up yours!”)
Blacks,I deliveried pizza for Pizza Hut in San Diego. I am a white male who always had great tips but not from blacks. They just gave me the evil eye and slammed the door. I guess they thought they where sticking to the white man. I just brought you your dinner not slavery! Best tippers where working class folks who understood hard work. Also college students at SDSU sucked.
BLACK PEOPLE!! They always are the highest maintenance, need every sauce your restaurant carries and then when the bill comes out they dig in their pockets for change. I’d rather give away the table then run around for a few dollars. Asians usually leave 10% but I’m fine with that since they are such low maintenance once they get their hot water lemon!
im broke, i usually leave a lil over 10% if service was regular, none if it sucked (almost never). more if it was good, and even more if someone else is fronting the bill.
“if your broke why are you eating out?” i almost never do
i also only tip the bartender if they mix me a drink or go out their way to do something. if im just ordering bottles of budwiser, ill just leave a dollar at the end of the night
It’s unfortunate so many who’ve worked as servers and post here have poor writing skills, i.e. spelling, foul language, punctuation. I too waited tables as a teenager and felt then as I do now; tips are gratuities. Gratuities are by definition additional compensation for what a patron feels is superior service. Gratuities are voluntray, not mandatory. Demand more compensation? Perform work that commands it: chef, lawyer, doctor, plumber, artist. I avoid any restuarant that forces me to pay a gratuity – just like you it remains my choice.
hey fred. you are justifying your cheapness. it,s your choice. if you can,t tip then stay home and eat.do you fit in the non tipping category list? circle one. texas,aussie,nebrasken,canadian,african American,brit,indian.
Spelling correction. voluntary not voluntray.
Worst Tippers:
1. Indians(from India)
2. Chinese and Koreans(but not the young ones)
3. Elderly people(church crowd fits in this category b/c they’re usually old)
4. Type of Young People-“Skaters”/”Posers”(not all young people ’cause hipsters are great tippers)
5. Women, especially ‘moms’
6. Dads
I basicaly try to tip what I can afford. I realise that the restaurant trade pays badley. However with tipping there is very little consideration that some of your customers are also in poorly payed jobs as well. A 20% tip hits my pocket a lot harder than a rich guy tipping 40%.
We live near big military bases. They seem to think they do not have to tip, or give you a dollar…….wtf!
Dickheads are usually the worst tippers. And by that I mean, that guy/girl that you look at or talk to in life and say to yourself “that guy is a real, Dickhead!”
The nice, empathetic people that you meet, always seem to tip well, too.
Anyway I created a unique card to almost insure a 20% tip. It works like a PBA Card does on cops. You can find it at http://insdiedish.com
I found this while looking for people’s range on who are the worst drivers (it’s women by the way. Men get in accidents trying to avoid women). I have laughed my ass off and have had to do some soul searching when thinking of my answer. I worked as a waiter for 6 years and thankfully got the hell out of Dodge. That job is awful, and it’s awful for two reasons; 1. The fuckers that own the restaurant. Nobody here has mentioned side work. People who haven’t worked in the industry don’t realize that the waitstaff clean the shitters for 2.13/hr. That happens before or after the tips come in. After taxes you are literally making NOTHING to clean shutters. You also have to whore yourself out suggestive selling things to people that obviously won’t want what your suggesting. But it will make the restaurant more money. I died a little each time. 2. The people you wait on that suck. You wonder how people can be so nasty, and any intelligent person will lose their faith in humanity after waiting tables. I think all races are guilty of this. But particularly awful are white trash (or disposable Caucasians). Brovers and Sistas are hit and miss but are usually awesome. There is one group though that I cannot explain away, and that’s the bible thumpers. Fucking Sunday morning shifts were always hell. I always thought that this was due to their being pissed off about realizing that they are going to hell. They have 46 kids flinging shit all over the place, are nasty people, and they tip like shit. As a born again atheist I can safely say that if you are a bible thumpers and you tip less than 15% then i hope your get a gilded paper cut on your sanctimonius taint while shoving the bible up your ass. Awful, awful, people.
Also, if you modify a menu item until it is indistinguishable, then you are lazy and you don’t want to do it in your own home. Some women can order a burger and it comes out a salad by the time they are done with.
I’m glad I don’t have to do that shit anymore.
Black people. Not even close.
Hi Fred. Tipping is only optional if you are a bad person. You can play semantics all you want, but waiters make $2.13 an hour because their main income comes from tips. Service is not free, even if it is bad service. It’s like anything else. Just because it’s an inferior product doesn’t mean you can just take it and not pay for it, or pay only what you think it’s worth. That would be stealing. Sorry.
Us Brits have a pretty bad rep for not giving tips. Tbh most of us know that the tipping culture is different in America and make sure we give ~10-20% however in the UK, especially the south, tipping is even frowned upon in some bars.
I worked as a barman for 2 years in a place near London and we never took tips, we were actually told not to.
So at that point in my life the idea of giving a tip for your food or drink that you’d already paid for was actually offensive to me. Didn’t go down too well in New York ^_^
Then I moved to the North of England where giving a tip is more common, but still anything more than 10% seems absurd to most Brits.
Then stay in Britain.
I have dealth with almost every country in the world and the worst of the worst are Indians from India. They are rude, expect to have the best service and then screw you at the end. Everytime I get them I end up handing them off to someone else.
people from Nebraska especially from Omaha never tip. I,m a skycap.also Texans are one of the worst not to mention the aussies Canadians and brits!people from Jordan and the vietnameese are the best tippers in my book.and of course new Yorkers are the best tippers in the usa.
Its a tossup between African Americans, Muslims, and Indians. Canadians are largely shitty tippers as well, but not always. Europeans would be a greater problem if there were more of them. But, by and large, African Americans, Muslims and Indians are the worst.
The worst tippers are Indians, from India. Especially young male ones. I’d consider myself extremely lucky if they were to leave me enough dough to cover my tip-out.. which is a measly 2%. They are also demanding, ignorant and condescending customers. Next are Chinese people, although they are less remorseless and far more polite than Indians, I feel as though they are blissfully ignorant of tipping customs. Next are college males. Yeah, I get it bud, you don’t have much cash… just enough to cover you’re douchebagesque sleeveless t-shirt with some pretentious logo about “haters” or “ballin'” or some shit like that, you’re multi-colour hightop sneakers, you’re who-are-you-trying-to-kid gigantic faux square diamond earing, and that pair of Oakleys sunglasses that you so charmingly wear backwards AND upside-down on your head. Do all us servers a favour, would ya? Go buy a case of Busch Light and sit at home listening to Rick Ross while you get wasted, while my time is not being wasted serving you. Thanks.
10% is a good tip
After reading some of the replies here, I’m so fucking happy I never ever tipped pizzaboys or restaurant waiters, LOL !!! You people are rude and feel entitled to extra money on top of your salary, that’s just wrong ! You are PAID to bring my food with a nice smile, that’s your job so do it and shut the fuck up or quit if that’s not good enough for you. Should I give a tip to the cop giving me a ticket ?… after all he’s doing his job too !
They are providing a service for you that you are too lazy to do yourself! You don’t tell an auto mechanic that you’re not going to pay labor because you don’t feel like paying it, do you? Or tell a sales person you don;t feel like paying them a commission. Most states pay servers minimum wage or less, assuming that most of their income is tips. And we get to deal with ungrateful, cheap people like you!
Douche.
Californians! I am from D.C. where people tip 20-25% for good service. I moved out to the L.A. area and was shocked when I was averaging 10-15% and sometimes even less! I’ve always wondered why this is.
California =/= LA (especially considering that over half are from across the country)
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I have to say in my limited experience, African Americans are notoriously bad tippers. As always, there are exceptions, but this opinion is corroborated by many of my waitstaff co-workers from back in the day. You’re run ragged and you’d be lucky to get more than 10%.
I recognize the church crowd. Sundays are the worst day to be in food service. Your table is occupied forever and then you get a stack of coins or a tract. Not only that, but your restaurant probably hasn’t had a delivery since Friday morning and you’re running dangerously low on everything.
Tourist destinations — bad tips all around, but understandable. Those establishments all charge an outrageous premium for everything, as if the customers aren’t spending enough money already. The Orlando Perkins I visited last week wanted like 9 dollars for waffles or something. I can do the same thing at my local Bob Evans for 4.
French Canadians
Teachers
Hello,
I am a woman in California. Since I began patronizing restaurants when I became an independent teen in 1976, I have always tipped well because I worked like a dog myself. When I was with a b/friend or my ex-husband I was treated well but when I was alone I was ignored. I never looked for additional attention and have always been polite, a sympathetic customer and understanding customer. I appreciate the service.
As time has gone by I’ve become older and now am treated even worse. Even if I repeat a establishment where I tip well both young men and women act as if my presence is clearly a bother to them (roll eyes, avoid, not listening/ignoring/disappearing even when there aren’t many other customers/ not responding to “hellos, how’s it going, please, thank you” or even tips!)
Yes, I’m groomed and not demanding a long, meaningful conversation like I’ve seen other people try to do (and would drive me crazy too. I’ll even bring a book/ebook to read: I’m friendly but will mind my own business too.) So what’s my point? I’m a middle-aged female, friendly, have standard orders and always tip well yet treated like something nasty you stepped in outside. I’m thinking now that waiters and waitresses don’t really want a tip, but maybe something else entirely. It’s weird, but I can’t afford to tip people who serve me with such reluctance forever. I dine out less and less these past few years. (It’s bad enough to go to eat by yourself but to also be treated poorly by staff when you do makes it much, much worse.) Q: Would you explain this phenomenon? Thank you!
As a 30-year waiter I’ll tell you what I think: it’s not you or your age; the problem is Generation Snowflake. These are the entitled babies raised by foolish but well-meaning idiots, who think they deserve something for just showing up (and not even on time). I know it sucks, but as these dummies bring up yet another batch of poorly-raised offspring I’m afraid it’s only going to get worse.
Teenagers about 40% tip usually 10% the rest don’t tip
Chinese usually tip 10%-15% honestly I don’t think they know what the percentage rate (most of them are college students , but have a lot of money)
Women tend to not tip as well as men do
overly nice yet demanding customers don’t tip that well while kinda rude ones do.
Church people are 50/50 I’ve been tipped really generously while others tip 10-15%
The Japanese always tip 20% never less never more. They study American customs and they tip what the going rate is out of whats expected.
Drunks usually tip well
I’ve had a lady come in with a $5000+ outfit on , her husband spends $140 and tipped $11 acting like snobs to (and I know i gave them good service)
I feel like the better service you give someone (the go above and beyond for them ) tip less and the average leave them alone kind of service ,tip better.
At a Hibachi themed restaurant you should tip better. Waitress gets only about 50% of the tip you leave
I usually rack in $120- $200 and only get less then half that amount because we tip out the chef 50% (that make salary)
Its usually 50/50 you honestly don’t know unless the customer comes in all the time.
I eat out often (mostly for my lady friends and sometimes for myself) I dont tip as good as I used too(once gave a guy 50 bucks for resteroom service in the san deigo downtown mall, because he was happy offer me his services without selling me cologne…the next time i offered i was in that bathroom I offered to double the tip if the guy could guess how much I gave the last guy (I know its thats a dick move my excuse is I was young and dumb)) I still tipped him a 10) Im black in the states but i noticed there is some stereo-types that blacks and jews tip less…but i have noticed that its the church people from reading the post on site….needless to say to Im atheist… and even if im at sonic your getting 10-15 at least(unless i cant sign it on the card(sonic))…and often if your somewhere else your gonna get 20%-25%, Im not gonna hang around and bs. Im gonna leave and let the table get bussed..on a rare occasion I deduct from the quality of the food (greasy calimari!!!(Rather have it cool than greasy)) and i have to remind myself that its not the servers fault and its usually a woman that tells me I need to tip less. I have worked as a barback so I know there are some bad servers but I usually dont have that issue…I get the service I expect you ask me if I need more to drink and i say no and dont try to sell me the an over priced drink or desert…I tip cab drivers but when they dont try to gas the car at stoplights I tip them more. I cant remember a time that I havent left at least 10 percent but thats on a really bad service (I have kicked myself in the ass for tipping for some service knowing what I know of the world) I dont have as much disposeable income as I used to but I dont go out if I cant afford the 20% you might not get it but its there. I just want a judgement on myself and what kind of service I should expect. I want someone to reply to me and let me know I usually spend between 40-100 bucks for a meal with tip (lunch and dinner respectively for two at red lobster or spaghetti warehouse type places) please respond so i can have some dialog
RUSSIANS. My God, the Russians.
They come in at the last minute, never ever call ahead for large groups, often with three or four children– SPOILED, BADLY-BEHAVED children– and my goodness, the special treatment. I work at a sushi restaurant, and just… “No, no raw fish”. They all order basically the same thing– California rolls are most common. Water with lemon, no ice. Extra ginger. Extra orange sauce. Bill split into impossible numbers– oh, can you split the check for sixteen? We have a roll that has the word ‘devil’ in it. The LOOK they give you…!!!
And after everything, all of my smiling and joking and thoughtfulness… 13 cents. On a ticket of $87. They take up all of my section and they camp out for HOURS… and leave me 13 cents.
Then on the other end, one out of every… oh, fifteen… Russians will come in with one other person. They immediately close their menu and, in a very thick accent, tell you their favorite fish or sauce and ask that you choose your best three rolls for them. They order several beers. Then they tip 30% and, while their mannerisms have you shaking in your non-slip shoes the whole evening, you immediately drown in your guilt for being so bloody racist.
guys who leave their numbers are the worst tippers. and teenagers.
Filipino people will not tip for anything.
They literally walk into your restaurant in huge groups, ask for every single cutlery and in the end pay the bill without tipping. Numerous times i’ve had $250+ bills, and they leave no tips behind except for all their garbage and mess that their kids have made. Rude, inconsiderate and self-centred people. Absolutely hate serving them, they think they are far more superior than you and have the authority to order you around like a slave free of charge.
I’m not even a server. I sell cars. But I think it’s universal. As soon as someone sees a fucking indian, they go hide. Worst people to do any kind of business with. They pissed me off so much today, that I came on a waiter forum just for the satisfaction of seeing that I’m not alone in knowing what lying, rude, greedy little shits they are.
Omg. I know this comment won’t b read because it took me an hour to scroll down here- BUT I have to say- Working in Hawaii where everyone is on vacation- Canadians are hands down the worst. They know straight up how much to tip. They know they are in another country, etc. they are super nice but they suck in the tipping dept. Japanese are also terrible. $2 to $5 if you’re lucky, regardless of the bill. Indians are pretty bad too. They always come in late, the last table in the restaraunt. Lots of vegetarian request, want everything spicy and still tip terribly. Hands down the worst I’ve ever had were Russians. Not only were they bad tippers but damn so fuckin rude it was unbelievable. They must come from a really terrible country cuz they never smile. Jewish people will run your ass off and complain a lot, and usually tip pretty bad. Basically when you live in a resort destination everyone who isn’t American is going to screw you on the tip. After a while it makes you hate other countries for no good reason at all… Thanks for letting me rant.
Now I will disagree with you about the Russians. I work in a truck stop, and Russians are commonly seen around my workplace. They can be so friendly, but you have to go out of your way to smile, and start a conversation with them.
I got one man on third shift to teach me some small words in Russian, and he smiled and laughed the entire time. If you work with them properly they can be amazing, and such kind people, and very good tippers. Normally the Russians at my job leave me anywhere between 30-50% tips.
I worked next door to a Russian deli and they were always telling fun jokes and stories and wouldn’t take my money many times when I ordered some awesome food from them like eggs Benedict. It was called Deli News in north Dallas. Very nice owners always had my back!
The Worst tippers and in general most money conscious are the Armenians!! Trust me, I have a friend who is Lebanese-Armenian and she makes over 100K, but is one of the most stingiest people I have ever met. One day we went to a small diner for breakfast and she complained about the food and service. She complained the coffee was too cold and when the waiter brought her a new one, she turned up her nose and said, I am not going to tip. After gulping down her b’fast and coffee she decided not to tip at all. I have also traveled with her…and she will not order any food for herself but will munch on any side dishes we order as a group but will not pay for anything since she didn’t “order” any food. So this is my observation.
Okay so admittedly the worst tippers I’ve ever had are Hindu/Indian, Hispanic, Church Goers, and teenagers/trust fund babies. But the absolute worst tippers I ever have are the ones who eat their food, and buy a veteran’s dinner. As horrible as it is to say, the veteran now has a free meal, and won’t tip, but assume the guy picking up his tab will, and the guy paying for both meals leaves nothing, saying they did their good deed for the day. It’s horrible to say, but true.
~~~
I work in a truck stop, and work around truckers, who hit on me constantly. But we also see a ton of travelers. And frankly, a lot of people say truckers are these horrible people, and that’s not true. Yeah some are assholes, but there’s and asshole everywhere. My best tips, and best customers are truckers. On a $12 bill, on Good Friday, a trucker who I never met in my life before left me $100, told me happy Easter, and gave me a huge hug. And admittedly I cried, and tried to not allow him to give me that much. I was in a severe financial situation at that time, and it seriously helped me. And if you ever read this sir, to this day I still get tears in my eyes in thanks for your kindness.
Another trucker I see not so often, but he stands to be my favorite customer ever always tips me 40%, and will ream out anyone else who seems to be a bad tipper. A trucker left my coworker $200 when he found out she was having car troubles from a cheap regular.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sadly there are so few good tippers, that as a waitress I forget those kind people still exist. But when I see them, I can only smile and say thanks, and that a little bit of faith in humanity is restored.
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Also as a side note, our hourly wage varies by state. NJ waitresses make $3.50, in WI I only make $2.33 an hour.
I got choked up reading about the trucker tip…thanks for telling it!
Canadaians (born there) are GREAT tippers. Absolute WORST are Jewish people and Chinese. Common knowledge where I worked that you’d never get a tip.
WHY AIN’T ANYONE SAYING BLACKS?! Is Canadian codeword for Black? As a black waitress myself, I didn’t want to believe it at first, but blacks are the absolute worst tippers. The Chinese are next. Then Hispanics. Then old people.
I know – almost everyone here is afraid to say the obvious.
Oh, and “Canadians” is an industry codeword for blacks in many parts of the country.
Women are the worst tippers and it’s not because they have a vagina. Culturally, women are trying to out-do one another on being stingy and cheap and that’s why they don’t tip. I’ve waited on very demanding and bitchy women who looked me square in the eye, proclaiming “I’m a good tipper!” After receiving stellar service with a smile and great attitude from me, the bitches left me a whopping 7%. So when women think they are doing you right, they’re really undertipping. The other day I waited on 7 college-aged girls wearing trendy clothes and acting all “laid-back” and cool. They were very polite and kind to me. When I brought them their 7 waters with lemon, I also had two mixed drinks on my tray for another table. They acted shocked that somebody at their table possibly ordered an expensive mixed drink. I explained that the two margaritas belonged to the couple at the table next to them. Five of the college aged girls breathed a sigh of relief. So I gathered that women compete with each other on being cheap when dining out.
After church people, Mary Kay saleswomen, African-Americans and truck drivers are the worst tippers. Gay men, Jews and people in the entertainment business are the best. So you want a Gay, Jewish man in the entertainment business not a Black Mary Kay saleswoman coming in after church.
Someone finally said Mary Kay! We had a group of 6 of them at a hotel restaurant I worked at in Oregon that would come in shortly before closing time on Sunday nights and order 2 or 3 hot teas between them and then stay for hours. Then they’d leave a few bucks. The two of us servers would trade off having to take their table.
I worked in valet parking at a high end Hotel in Miami, for about 2 years. I can’t really remember the worst tippers, but i do remember the best. Best tippers were local Anglo-Americans and local Cuban-Americans. I remember everytime there was a Cuban party or event we were all pretty happy, we knew it was going to be a good night.
Once when visiting in Costa Rica, the tour guide, who seemed nice and cool, made a comment in front of the whole bus on how Asians dont know that in this country they accept tips. well i would have tipped you, before you made me feel extremely uncomfortable with the generalization, being American. I also second the person who said that people assume teens are bad tippers. My sister is an extremely generous tipper, and always has been. Partly b/c it was our parents’ money and she didn’t work for it, part of it was wanting to be liked by whoever was providing the service (hairdresser, waiter/ress)….I thought, but she has a job now at age 29 and still does it. She gave her hairdresser, and our ex-neighbor a $40 tip for a $60 haircut. My sister was 17. Anyway, for people who are bad tippers, I’m sorry. Especially for the Asians. My dad is a bit of a low-baller, but when he’s not looking, me or my mom will slip in more.
I think 2 factors influence tips for best results work in a high class area like Bev Hills… or similar. I always did best in those areas as a pizza driver in Highland Park Texas. The outgoing extrovert who can tell good jokes and can strike up conversation easily will always do better than an introvert. That’s about it. Oh yeah in crappy blue collar places don’t expect much. People with high class and socialites tend to keep up appearances so the majority will take care of you.
I had worked as a server for several years. By far, the worst tippers that demand the most service and make the biggest mess: Blacks-they just don’t know yet how to ‘mainstream’. I get the feeling they think they are invisible when they don’t tip. I see them drive off in a brand new Cadillac SUV after leaving 2 dollars on a $70.00 bill.
I have heard a lot of servers say that blacks are the worst tippers but that has never been my experience. I don’t think I’ve ever had a black customer stiff me. I find that the church crowd is pretty bad about not tipping (either they don’t tip at all or they grossly under tip). I work in a hotel restaurant that is mostly frequented by middle to upper class business travelers staying at the hotel but it is also open to the public. Most of the business travelers are very worldly so they understand the tipping customs in different nations. We did have one guy from Denmark that stayed long term (I’m talking months) and didn’t tip. Somebody must have told him that tipping was a done thing here in the US because all of the sudden he started doing it and apologized for not doing it before. He said that not only is it not done in Denmark but it’s actually quite offensive. People see it as saying that the person can’t take care of their family or finances. He also said that in many European countries it is the same, servers earn good wages and tipping isn’t necessary.
Here’s an idea. Tips are for employees who deliver EXCELLENT SERVICE. That’s all there is to it.
This list has included a variety of countries and races, ages, ethnicities.
Maybe your service just sucked. Or maybe they can’t afford to offer you killer tips.
stuff happens. Its the same in every service industry. you get 15% customers who are stellar in every way. 15% that are really irritating.. and 70% who are just average.
Life’s no different.
I almost always tip at least 20% even on take-out. One day I went to lunch with two male co-workers. I knew they were terrible tippers. They actually resented having to tip at all saying the employer should pay them. They ran that poor waitress’ legs off all the time demanding this and that. She sucked up to them and I could hardly get anything. I finally resorted to asking my male co-worker to ask her to get what I needed. When we got up I left my 20% and they left $0.50. I couldn’t help but wonder what she thought.
The worst tipper is my neighbor who happens to be Jewish. We take turns buying breakfast, lunch, or dinner when we get together for a meal. If it is her turn to pay she always complains about something in order to justify a low tip. She will complain to is too cold in the restaurant, too loud,or not fast enough. This is on top of a coupon for a discount. She will leave $2.00 on a $28.00 bill. It makes me very uncomfortable as I always tip 20% or higher if I occupy the table too long. I started leaving money under my plate, but sometimes the wait staff or bus person will try to pick up the plate. I have been caught more than once. The odd thing is she makes more money in her career than I do, and she was a server when she was in her 20’s while I never worked in the food industry.
I don’t work in a restaurant. I work in a nail salon. Where I work we are paid via commission and we also live off tips too. I’d say the worst tippers have to be:
1. Middle Aged women (Particularly in groups)- No matter how expensive their service is they tend to leave shitty tips. The ones that have to be done and out at a certain time because they’re either on their lunch break or have an appointment are the WORST.
2. Jamaicans- The ones I’ve worked on NEVER tip. I worked on this woman’s father. He was very sweet and really liked his pedicure. He starts talking to me about accepting Jesus as my savior to kill time until his daughter came to get him. When his daughter came to the shop, she paid with a $100 bill. Didn’t leave a tip.
3. Black people- Worst tip I’ve gotten from a black person was a $1 tip. Plus in the salon they tend to be rude, obnoxious, and very demanding.
4. Elderly people- They expect absolute perfection with their jacked up feet. No matter how good a job you do, they’ll leave you at least a $2 tip or no tip at all.
5. Teenagers- They’ll use daddy’s credit card to pay for the service and then have a shit ton of cash. They don’t bother at least leaving a $5 tip. Teens I’ve worked on were spoiled, rude, drama llamas, and just annoying.
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AT ALL
whether people tip or not is just because of different cultures.
people who live in countries that dont have tipping custom will just never pay you tip because they do not know. unless somebody tell them before they come visit
Stop being racists here
There’s no racism here. This is just from personal experience.
For us beauticians, tips are a big part of our paychecks. Most people here think “Oh you guys get paid so I don’t have to tip.” They’re sadly mistaken. Most salons don’t pay hourly. That’s why we rely on tips and we hope it gets busy. The more services and tips, the better.
You don’t know what you’re talking about. Facts aren’t racist.
I work in service industry in England. The worst tippers at the moment are (wait for it) Americans. Especially young Americans.
You tip at home, you expect us to tip when we go over to the States so leaving NO tip especially when I know I gave an excellent service and went over and beyond of what is expected is just plain rude.
After spending three decades in the serving industry, I firmly believe that EVERYONE should have to work in a tipping profession for at least one month.
That being said, it’s been my experience that the worst tippers are housewives, church people, and anyone who works in real estate. Not surprisingly, these groups are also the rudest and most demanding. Many believe servers to be an inferior, lower quality life form and will not even make eye contact. (Yes, I have actually heard them refer to us as “lower quality”.) The ultimate nightmare? A table of two or three young, spoiled housewives with all their precious darlings in tow. You can count on making a million trips to the table, being totally ignored when you ask a question, and having a huge mess to clean up afterward-all for a small handful of change or (most often) nothing at all.
Best tippers? Gay men, other servers, and bikers. In my area, many doctors also waited or tended bar to help pay for college and, while they can be a bit impatient, always make sure we are well compensated.
The bottom line is that despite the fact we all agree it would be easier if everyone just made a living wage without having to depend on tips, that’s not the way it is. Simply put, if you can’t afford or aren’t willing to tip decently, go to McDonald’s or stay home.
I posted here before but…my updated list: (I work at a nail salon)
Teenagers
Jamaicans
Mexicans
Middle Aged women in groups
Ghetto People
Nursing Students
People going out of town or on vacation soon
Moms with kids
Ohhhh let me have a crack at this, as I have waited tables in both the Caribbean and USA.
1st place = Indians / Orthodox Jews
2nd place = Puerto Ricans (actually from puerto rico, puerto ricans not nuyoricans)
3rd place = Poor, ghetto African Americans
4th= All West Indians.
Best tipper
1st =other service people
2nd= Bostonians
3rd= Middle Class black folks over-tipping to combat the stereotype.
4th= white people with money who give my sympathy tips cuz I’m in nursing school 🙂
The worst tipper (non-tipper) was a roommate that was a paid firefighter and p/t valet. He apparently earned enough in tips and scammed enough to pay off $15k in credit card debt in about 6 weeks. As a former valet (mostly legit), I can assure you that level of scam earnings is sometimes possible. Anyways, he would take me to cheese ball strip bars and was totally embarrassing. He would engage the strippers, order food and flagrantly stiff everyone. Not even a dime. Another incredible tightwad was a Merrill Lynch broker that I worked with in NYC. He would stiff the delivery people despite pulling in big bucks. Last I heard, he ran a large hedge fund.
The best tipper was my dad (middle-aged white guy middle America upper middle class). Despite being a debatable deadbeat growing up (child support etc.), he regularly tipped $100 bills at, like, TGIF… $20 for every valet, etc. Other fantastic tippers were the local people that lived in this beach community. It didn’t matter if they were wealthy or poor, they were excellent tippers. The tips far exceeded what I earned in the very wealthy enclave of Buckhead Atlanta (small tips but guaranteed consistency) doing the same work.
Black people are notoriously stingy tippers although I think it has more to do with age, education and economic level. I have received great tips from blacks, but young thug types are an almost automatic stiff. I have found working and middle-class people to be better tippers than rich people and vice-versa. I think it depends on the person. I quit working in the service industry before hispanics became ubiquitous and have no opinion on their tipping tendencies. Many foreigners are non-tippers as that is their culture. Warren Moon, the ex NFL QB, once stiffed me.
if one thinks it through properly,
doesn’t it make sense to treat well strangers
whose job it is to greet you, take drink and food orders from you, strangers who disappear and pOp back again with said ordered stuff that you then put down your throat?
Eating, drinking and dining is of the oldest human communal activities, involving trust and engendering intimacy.
It’s probably a good idea to give people in those industries, especially those who deal with alcohol, plenty of incentive.
I have never once gotten a tip from a Muslim, not once. And in my experience “Canadians ” are tipping about 30% of the time and usually not very well, if you get a dollar or the left over change your doing pretty good. BTW, I’m a driver not a waiter, if I had to deal with these people for more than the 2 minute that I’m at their doors , I’d probably shoot myself in the face. You waiters are saints.
I was a Verizon Wireles salesperson and got a tip from about every 1 out of 200 people I helped so you waiters are doing much better. I am now a limo driver and my best tips came from a multi millionaire Israeli born man who lives in Beverly Hills. A 30 minute ride to his mansion and he tipped me $200 on the two occasions that I drove him and his friends from the airport. His wife who was African tipped me $100. But these are people who grew up poor and appreciate the work of others. Most passengers do not tip after I drive them safely to their destination, give them water, phone chargers, candy, sanitizer, napkins, hand lotions, mirrors, air conditioning, their choice of music etc. They think it’s all complimentary and don’t realize I buy all that for their comfort so that in return they tip me as limo drivers are not highly paid. I only make $13 to drop off at the airport and $20 to pick up from the airport and I only get three to four jobs a day! I’m lucky if I make $100 in a day and heavily rely on tips to survive. Sometimes it evens out as some customers occasionally surprise me with a $40-60 tip and in my mind it pays for the two or three jerks who decided not to tip me that day. Driving a limo is so much more relaxing for me than standing all day in a retail store listening to complaints or waiting tables. Everyday is different and ocassionally I get to meet celebrities and VIP’s who actually have a conversation with me. I feel for all you excellent waiters and waitresses. More power to you and when you get fed up try driving a limo. At least you get to meet celebrities and some even allow pictures with you!
Visitors from other countries, quite likely, will follow their own habits, so it’s hard to conclude if people from one country or an stingy or not. Visitors should get informed about the local habits, but often they don’t. For example, in my own country – Spain – tips are relatively small and people serving you don’t rely on tips to make a living. In France it varies, some places will include the tip – “service compris” – others don’t, some other might discourage it. I tip well: it’s a great way to get good service, at least in the places you frequent often, and really doesn’t make much difference.
You have to love your job, even when you get bad tips! It’ll make your life easier. Besides it is nobody’s fault that you chose it. If you r undatisfied, then go and find something else. Complaining is gonna do nothing. Doesn’t matter what race or color a person is, they’re people and don’t deserve to be hated no matter what! It’s unacceptable. I’m server myself, so don’t tell me that I don’t what I’m talking about, trust me I do!
I am an Indian (from India) living in California. Speaking of Indians, I would totally agree that they just don’t understand that if they are eating out (or ordering a delivery) they have to tip!
I try to make it up by generally tipping at least 15% (for the worst of service). But that’s just me against a vast majority.
I personally don’t buy the “they don’t know any better” bull. Excuses are easy to come by and easy to rely on, especially when you’re stingy.
I tip 15 to 20%, but if the bill is wrong, I don’t pay via the waiter, I go straight to the register and show them where I was overcharged and NEVER GIVE A TIP IF BILL WAS WRONG. I rarely have had waiter/ess correct my bill without an argument or telling me that they are right, but they’ll make an exception. I’ve been charged for refills, when the hostess has said refills are free, I’ve been charged for large portions instead of lunch or small, I’ve been charged for things I didn’t even get and the worst thing you can do is expect the waiter to fix it..they will sometimes fix it by subracting a dollar when it was over by several dollars. This is why I go to the registrar and if the registrar sides with the waiter..I talk about leaving. Once the manager sided with the waitress on food that never came and I chickenly paid it, but never again! I suggest customers just leave!
Here in Canada, I’d have to say East Indians are the worst tippers. I had this family order at a cafe I used to work at and when they paid their bill, it came up to $99.89. I got a hundred dollar bill and “oh, the rest is for you!” Others when given the debit machine, see the tip option and say “what? ugh, no.” Most Mexicans don’t tip but the more white washed, educated ones mostly do. South Americans (Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia, Brazil, etc.) tip no matter what, even if it’s small and Europeans are hit and miss, either a 10% tip or nothing. Despite what most people say in this thread, I’ve found that 75% of black people actually tip pretty decently here. The other 25% seem as though they’ve never heard of the practice though.. Same for Jewish people in my restaurant, except with them it’s either 50% big tippers, or 50% stereotype reinforcers. They also make you bend over backwards. Chinese are also another 50-50 hit or miss. You have to earn your tip with them. They won’t make you, but if they see that you’re doing a good job, they’ll tip generously. Actually, now that I think about it, everyone under the age of 18, regardless of ethnicity are the worst tippers. They will either automatically try to skip the tip or bewilderedly ask me “what is this?” or “what does this mean?” or “what am I supposed to do here?” when the tipping screen pops up on the machine. I’ve actually seen some parents ask for the bill, give their kid their card, slip off to the bathroom and when the time comes to pay up, the kid just starts hitting the card against the tipping screen, being like “I’m just going to tap.” Swipe-slash-insert you little bitch. My dad has never made too much money but still tips minimum 20% and from the time I was in kindergarten, made sure to cement the practice of me leaving $20 with my barber for a $15 haircut.
Industry folks, keep it up, you all rock!
Doing a quick tally of keywords. These are the results. (Of course, this is just a simple tally. For example, the mentioning of “black” could either be good/bad, or perhaps just talking about a black marker…. All it does is tally the number of times the word “black” appears.)
Black: 260
old: 207
American: 158
Canadian: 126
Indian: 107
Asian: 95
White: 87
teen: 72
Mexican: 54
African: 52
European: 40
Jew: 36
Foreigner: 31
Russian: 27
French: 26
Brits: 25
Japanese: 20
Chinese: 18
Italian: 16
Brazil: 16
German: 13
Latino: 12
Korean: 8
Israel: 4
Vietnamese: 2
Nice job tallying it up. Hadn’t even thought to do that. Curious to know how many of the 158 “American” were African American. Got stiffed by yet another table full of blacks (African Americans) tonight and in frustration, googled “Why are blacks such bad tippers?” and found this site. Appears that my experience is not unique to my locale.
I just recently started delivering pizza for a second job to expedite paying off loans. Even with the occasional bad tipper, it is actually not a bad job in term of enjoyability. Money sucks, but then again, your delivering pizzas so cannot expect much. In tips I usually average $50 in a short 4 hour shift so not too bad. HOWEVER….. If everyone tipped pretty much the same as the rest I get, I’d be bringing in $70 a day. Why? Black people. Granted, I am still very new and nowhere on that level enough with any of the other drivers to talk about these things, but you would have to be blind not to notice it. On a few occasions I saw that they are holding the tip money in their hands!? I go way out of my way to make our encounter great. I make them laugh, smile, I play with their dogs and kid around with their children. Pretty much, way above just standing their silent to make the transaction.
Not to say all are bad though. Of course I have landed a $10 once. A couple of fives and the usual $3. And not to say I don’t get stiffed by other races or types. But one thing I have noticed is (unless there are others there hanging out), black women have never tipped me in all 20 or so times I have delivered no matter their age. It doesnt matter if their husband is sitting on the couch or they appear to be a single parent. Black youth have also never tipped me, but I have only run into a handful of them and pretty much all people under 18 generally give small tips. The one shining are that can be hit or miss is early males. They either stiff you or give you a great tip. I have noticed they tip higher when you give them a lot respect and shoot the shit with them about sports as your going through the transaction.
The best tippers on the planet are young white females. It could be because I am a male their age and flirt my ass off, but I’ve had a lot go back inside and come back with a huge tip $15 or more.
This all kind of sucks because I ALWAYS tip %30 unless the total cost is over $70. It is always a joke with my GF if we get bad service and I say I’ll show her with just a measly %15…. Which yes, is still a good tip. I just don’t understand how you can stiff someone from a tip, especially if they did nothing at all wrong.
In the vancouver area… Persians are the worst. They come in all boogie and demanding yet tip you 10% but can rack up their bill to hundreds with liquor. I’m pretty sure your outfit and your makeup costs more than the tip you left me.. and the best yet, they have to nerve to come in again.
I am a part-time waitress (as an additional job) in a large and diverse city. I’ve worked in three other different locations in larger cities or metropolitan areas. Here is what I have come to the conclusion over 6 years of experience serving people, from best to worst:
Very good to average tippers
1. Lesbians
2. White men, when in all-male gatherings
3. Gay men
4. All female gatherings
5. White/light skinned adults, in general, but mostly men
6. Foreigners (Many tip slightly below average. I believe that it’s just habit that many bring from their countries, not rudeness)
Below average tippers (From now on turn on the red alert…)
7. Teenagers
8. Church goers/conservative Jews/any religious gatherings (awful!)
9. Families with children
10. Blacks/African-Americans, equally men and women, although women are worse (Not matter how good the service is, they will still be a pain in the neck. They (vast majority) are ignorant and rude. Giving $1 in a $150 bill is fu*king cheap)
So, yes, from what i have experienced, whites have a tendency to tip better than blacks. Blacks are the worst tippers. Another interesting thing I noticed (again, this is a conclusion from my experience) is that thinner and healthier-looking people tend to tip better than fatter people.
I was in my 20’s before I learned what tipping was . I never heard of it when in school or anywhere. I had never seen my great grandparents, grandparents, or parents EVER leave a tip and did not know it existed. I grew up in a very backward rural poor community . So the few times I was taken to a restaurant was in the city or to another state by relatives as a teen.
So when I moved to Colorado and became friends with the older locals they explained what tipping was and the 20% general rule as a minimum when we went out to eat at small restaurants and such. It embarrassed me how I had never heard of this .
I did find out they were right in that if you came in and tipped. That after a few visits you DO get better service because they KNOW you will tip . I had no idea how little many waitresses and waiters were paid. Shocked me. I was happy to tip . I use a service dog now and it is wonderful how I only have to go a few times to a restaurant to see how eager they are to help me and place us in a good spot for the dog to be out of the way and invisible. I do warn the person taking us to the table to be sure to tell the waiter I do have a service dog at the table because usually they don’t see the dog until they have already served and are coming back to top the drinks . Don’t want them startled if they see a tail thump way up under the table.
I do wonder how much is from lack of education on this simple etiquette thing.
Appreciation for service rendered. You all make eating out a pleasure !!
Thanks , One grateful customer
I was a bar waiter when I was in college. Blacks always tipped the least followed by Latinos. Older white men tipped the most.
Personally, I think they should just get rid of the whole tipping concept of employment. Employers should just be required to pay a living wage to all employees regardless of job title. If waiters actually got paid an hourly wage that reflected the work they did rather than requiring them to rely on tips to make up any difference then it would be far more fair. Because waiters have to rely on tips oftentimes, no matter how good they are at their job or how good they are to their customers, customers may not choose to tip at all and thus all that hard work could be for nothing. That is unfair and should be changed. If a wait person is bad at their job then it should be the responsibility of the employer to find people that are good at their job. It should not be the responsibility of customers to make up their income difference. I say that having been in the service industry at one time. And I held that view then as well. I hated having to rely on tips. I did it because that was the job but I felt it was unfair. One night I could make $300 in tips and another night I could make $10. There was no consistency in income level. Customers often don’t think or care about the income needs of their waiter. Why should they? They just went to a business to purchase food and/or drink. Not to make up the difference of their waiters income. Placing the responsibility of ensuring that a waiter gets paid an appropriate income to survive on the shoulders of customers is both unfair to the customer and unfair to the waiter. Because waiters can work their butt off and get paid nothing by cheapskate customers and customers oftentimes may not know what to tip or may not have enough to tip enough for that waiter to earn a livable wage or fair wage, if we just ended the tip concept from the equation and paid service employees a livable wage this would no longer be a necessary discussion.
You make a very valid point. I, too, have worked in restaurants during my college years. You must know/realize that employers and customers consider servers/hosts to be low skill/low level jobs that many teenagers can perform well or adequately. Although I too have hated on cheap douchebags during my service industry days, I could not blame them, nor expect them, to float my boat. It’s not their responsibility to pay your bills. That is your gosh darn responsibility. Just like you, they work hard for their wages and it’s not their fault you work as a server. Having worked in the service industry, my SOP is to “tip” 20% for standard service. But, I must admit, most are not deserving of a gratuity of 20% of actual food and services rendered. I recently went to a jersey mike’s and while paying with my debit card was asked for a tip by the ATM terminal. I was kind of surprised and felt pressured to tip. I did tip, by the way, which felt a bit awkward at a fast food joint. I guess they will soon ask for tips at mcdonalds and ring a big loud bell when you do tip. Cheers!
Omg by far the Somalian Muslim people. They are the absolute worse. Not only do they not tip but they feel like they are entitled to everything. I cringe at hearing the words “I need” “that’s it” “get me” “now” like no stop first of all learn to say please and thank you. It’s not only the words the choose its their tone! I wish that were it, it’s not. Somalians have no control over their children because they just don’t care, they let them yell and scream and run all around the restaurant, that’s why they grow up feeling entitled. They stink, they can’t eat half the things on the menu and expect for you to know exactly what they can and can’t eat (no wine no pork) and then expect you to alter the dish in whatever way they want. I worked a dinner shift tonight, it’s some type of stupid Muslim holiday, so those people were basically the only tables I got. I walked out with $35 dollars. That is unheard of for a DINNER CLOSING shift. I ran around all night for nothing. Do they think I do this for fun!? I need to pay for school and bills. As they come in no one wants to serve them, actually one of my coworkers just got fired last week for commenting that she didn’t want to serve them. They order one entree for their entire family and expect to get free stuff. I hate them all in a restaurant setting. I’ve NEVER had a good experience with a Muslim table. They are the reason I now hate children.
I recently started driving for Uber and Lyft and I have to say that millenials are the worse at tipping. I know they have money because they are all going to the bars. Many of them also work as bartenders and servers and receive tips themselves but they rarely pass it on. I find older folks more likely to tip as well as country folks that use Uber/Lyft from time to time. The liberal millenials are rude, show no respect for my car and they never tips.
Ok, let’s stick with the facts, and not get offended, or beat around the bush. Just because you are a good tipper, or someone you know is a good tipper, doesn’t mean that everyone from that group/race/country is a good tipper. In my personal experience as a waiter, and as a restaurant manager, here is the group of people who are the worst tippers (not in the order listed): African Americans, Latinos, Asians, Indians/Pakistans/Bangladeshis, Middle Eastern folks, and jews. Pretty much anyone other than white people. By the way, I am not white, I am Pakistani. We are talking about the averages, not isolated cases. Europeans are not used to tipping because in Europe, the tip is included in the bill. I know this because I grew up in Europe. This is not about belittling folks, this is about bringing awareness…
Right.
I’m Brazilian and try to tip according to local customs, but some friends say “I don’t tip, I pay for the service”. Although I think we should not be against traditions (generally), those friends of mine are reasonable. Why don’t waiters just say the price of their service?
I work as a delivery driver where tips are usually anywhere from 2-5 dollars. I don’t even care if someone order 50 dollars worth of food and gives me a 3 dollar tip, that’s honestly part of the job. It’s all about just getting a little something since all the deliveries add up, even a dollar is cool with me. What’s really interesting is that 98 percent of the people who leave absolutely no tip at all are black women. Yup, 98 percent of people who are so greedy they can’t even give two dollars are ugly ratchet black girls. whoops. just got a bit bitter and racist there. whatever.
After my 30 years of fine dining service experience in four US cities, there’s no question in my mind: Dutch people (including the ones who’ve been here long enough to know better) are the worst tippers, followed closely by African Americans. East Asians (excepting the Japanese) are the next worst. East Indian women, however, are the rudest, also followed closely by African Americans. Since the latter are encountered so much more often in the US than Dutch people or East Indian women, African Americans take the prize for cheapness and poor manners.
Awesome blog, Waiter! I never comment online, but this page kept me reading and typing for hours. Thanks for creating the forum, and for posting my comments; it’s been very cathartic.
Worst tippers – church people and blacks. The crowd around noon on Sundays and into the early afternoon often brings true dread to servers. It’s easy to tell when they are “church people.” Over-dressed, often impatient, frequently have a problem with this or that on the menu, running the server… Once in a while they will have their “advice” pamphlets, which you can fold to show only the part of one side that is quite a good-looking fake of the back of a $20 bill. When you open it up, it says, “Don’t be fooled! There is something you can have more valuable than money!”
How do we get from religious superstition to the justification for leaving something like this in place of a tip? If there is a just god or gods, then there is a special place in hell…
Blacks – it’s often a cultural thing, reinforced by insecurity and petty feelings of having been slighted – even when their server is black and the service has been great. Kids turned loose to go on a rampage and lay waste to the restaurant. Eggs and crackers on the floor, requests for water with lemon, then the server sent running for extra lemons and sugar – sigh… Wanting extra sauce, extra dressing, packets of ketchup, and not even the forethought to ask the server for all the extras at once. It’s “Can I get some ….” and then upon the server’s return trip, “Could we get some more ….” Commonly, a 5% to 10% tip at the end of all this.
And the volume, why do they have to be so LOUD? Does the culture not allow for an ‘inside voice’?
They are the worst
Blacks are across the board the worst customers, and also tend to give the worst customer service. You don’t have to make excuses for for their cheapness and rudeness – that’s just the “soft bigotry of low expectations” talking. After all, I notice you don’t give churchgoers that benefit; you just curse them to hell.
Brown people (Indians, Muslims, Arabs) are hands down THE WORST customers AND tippers, at least here in Canada. Rude, loud, demanding and just overall treat me like garbage. They all seem to forget I have multiple other tables other than them. Always walk in with huge groups without a reservation and think they’re so entitled. Just yesterday I had a walk-in of 10 of these brown fucking princesses who sat on the patio, took selfies for 20 minutes, then they decided they wanted to sit inside when they finally sat down. After they had their meals they decided they wanted to go back on the patio despite it being a full house. They all had ridiculous requests because of their “strict diets” and I had to repeatedly microwave their coffees because they kept pouring so much damn milk in them. Tried to bring a full cake into the restaurant for one of their birthdays and when my manager politely told them that this isn’t allowed they took down her first and last name to file a complaint to head office LOL. Wanted the cheques split a million different ways and were rolling their eyes when it took me a few minutes to bring their cheques and figure out which cheque belonged to who (they were all scattered, wearing sunglasses, all looked exactly the same). When they finally paid they wanted me to take pictures of them on 3 different phones and then bring them all waters. Yet there were 10 of them around a 4 person table with all of their huge purses on the table which made it impossible for me to place 10 different cups on the table. No one attempted to move anything out of the way so I ended up dropping a few glasses trying to squeeze them all on the table. All I have to say is THANK GOD FOR AUTO-GRATUITY otherwise none of them would have tipped me a cent I can guarantee.
One of my coworkers had a walk-in of 8 Muslims (including children) and had a similar experience (demanding, rude, loud) and didn’t tip her anything. Needless to say, we all try to avoid brown tables, even my coworkers who are Indian/Arab themselves.
I’m a hairstylist and I rely on tips quite a bit. Middle Eastern people bring in their disobedient children, who give us hell while trying to cut their hair and they always have a cupon! So not only are they getting a discounted haircut but they NEVER tip!!!!!!
Im a waiter in Cambridge, Ma and in my experience Indians are by far the worst tippers. I have yet to have a bad experience with any black folks. And we get alot of them here. My wife is also black and she was never a bad tipper.
I am a server in Vancouver, Canada
And really really believe me…. the worst tippers ever are the Hindus, Middle East, Muslim people…..
Holly shit…
They are demanding as fuck, rude, lots of them smell like fucking shit, have very special requirements then leave $1 dollar… omggggg I hate them….
Fucking cheap ass if you’re not gonna pay for the service go eat to your home!!!!!
Next, asians… but at least they are polite…
Most of them at least tip me out with 10%.. but at least I don’t have to pay the kitchen tips out of my pocket !!!!
Mexicans suck at tipping as well… and teenagers….
I have not had problem with black people. None… not even one.
They are nice, they tip properly… I have no complaints about them as customers….
And the best tippers and least annoying customers are white people. 15-20%… 98% of the time..
I know tip is not mandatory but remember, if you’re not gonna pay for a service then order food and eat at your fucking house, believe me.. servers don’t enjoy serving you for FREE cheap ass…
Well said
Where I work, blacks. Without question and almost without exception.
French. And blacks.
– Mexicans/Hipanics/Latinos are THE WORST. The absolute freaking worst! They will tip you $5 pretty much always, no matter how high their bill is. The only time they WON’T tip you 5 bucks is when that actually adds up to 20%. Horrible and always. I can guarantee when I see a giant party of Hispanic people, they’ll ask for a lot of stuff and will leave me 5 measley dollars, regardless of a $100+ check. Awful.
– Next worse are black people. It’s a toss up if they’ll give you a decent tip or not. If they;re trashy demanding people, don’t expect a tip. If they’re nice and well put together, you’ll probably get a decent tip. But trust me, if they complain about EVERY FLIPPIN’ THING and/or they’re ratcher, kiss that tip goodbye.
– Indians are next worse if they’re from India. They’ll be polite, but will give you a horrible tip. If they’re clearly American/Americanized, you’ll be fine.
– Brits. They’re probably tied with Indians from India for crap tipping. Probably a little worse actually.
– Foreigners in general are also iffy. I’ve found most tourists know it’s customary to tip 15-20% here in The States. Sometimes you’ll get someone who either doesn’t know or doesn’t care, but I cater to a lot of tourists and 90% of the time they give a fair tip.
How can the views not reflect your website, when you are the one hosting them?
Sigh, this has always been a rough topic for me because I’m black, and my parents are immigrants. Honestly, my mom would leave coins on a $40 dollar bill -if anything at all – and be incredibly demanding to the wait staff. As a kid with no money, there was nothing I could do about this except add whatever quarter or dime I had in my pocket. The embarrassment still haunts me.
You couldn’t fault me for believing that black people were the cause of 95% of our mistreatment in the U.S and elsewhere in the world. But as I get older, I’m starting to realize that the situation is more complex than that and much, much worse.
After working with white people and doing some international travel, I discovered so-called “covert racism”. So it’s not normal for people to act scared to touch your hands or shuffle away uncomfortably when you sit or stand too close (a normal distance) to them. It’s not normal for women to feel entitled to your attention and react aggressively when you don’t validate them. All the tight-lipped smiles, the patronizing forced niceness – all of it is fake bullshit designed to mask their actual feelings. The first and only thing people see is my race, and they act accordingly.
With service workers, the aversion just oozes from them. And I think it goes deeper than just expecting a shitty tip. It’s to the point where I can instantly tell that this white or (insert nationality) is different from the others because it feels like I’m connecting with an actual person instead of an actor.
Also, when I worked as a mover, I received a grand total of $5 in tips for a full days work, while my white co-workers cleared $100s. The only person who tipped me was a black guy ( and he was awkward and weird about it). Basically, I’ve realized that interracial interaction is inherently flawed, and now I do my best to avoid it whenever possible. Dealing with the bullshit stereotypes (which are usually true) created by other black people in addition to the natural aversion from whites and Asians is simply too much to deal with.
Bobbert, when service people show an obvious aversion to black customers, why do you immediately think we attribute inferior characteristics to you because of your skin color? You’re the one making a racist judgment. Black waiters don’t want to serve you either – are they demonstrating “covert racism” too?
Customer service workers of all types are inured to rude treatment from black customers, and getting little or no remuneration for putting up with their shit. All animals – including humans – remember bad treatment more readily than good, and like it or not, American blacks overwhelmingly treat service people of whatever color poorly; adding insult to injury, they tend to tip cheaply if at all. In other words, your skin color doesn’t tell us you’re inferior, it just warns us you’re likely to be mean and rude no matter what, and therefore that if we’re nice to you regardless of how you treat us we will probably just end up working harder for you while at the same time feeling cheated and debased.
We’re not infinitely patient, and we don’t wait tables for our health! You ought to quit being so quick to play the racism card.
Total agree.
No tips is one thing but high demand, rude, insult, complain and ask for free stuff is another things. I know other race doesn’t tips but the majority are black. I know maybe it just coincidence. lol Coincidence all my friends who work in delivery or waiter told me black are annoying and complain the most, of course they dont tips or worst tipper.
When I lived in Japan as a teenager, Japanese people considered Americans (especially teenagers) ill-mannered and rude. I resented it. In retrospect, I realize my American friends and I were often callow and boorish while simultaneously thinking the Japanese were racist.
Immigrants are the absolute worst. Suburban/upperly mobile blacks can be surprisingly good on occasion so I’m not gonna throw them all under the bus. Old white guys tip the same as they did in 1990. That really annoys me for some reason.
Notice: “surprisingly good on occasion.” No further comment.
Waiters,do not qualify for minimum wage,.as they are second grade citizens in USA,ha ,ha..Waiters do not want to work for minimum wage,waiters are beautiful people who like to be paid $20 per hour.So. They need tips,and money,they don’t like to strip.
Over 20+ years in the Service Industry. Bartender, Waiter, Bar-back, Cook, Expediter and Management, to name a few in numerous States.
Blacks are by far the worst tippers, and usually the most demanding customers.
So glad I’m not in the business anymore. I’ve watched grown waitresses cry when a table full of blacks are seated in their section. They KNOW they’re about to work their ass off for nothing.
An Ebony Magazine article from 2012 confirms this. Since the election of Obama, the blacks have gotten exponentially worse.
I waited tables for a couple years. I agree with a lot of these. My worst tippers were definitely teenage tables & Christian conservative church goers, especially on Sunday lunch. I overheard them say things like, “If God only gets 10% nobody else deserves than much.”
I never tip, why should I, you are supposed to tip taxidrivers but not busdrivers, you are supposed to tip waiters but not the staff of Mcdonalds.
Why do you Think that certain Groups are entitled to tips?
I’m Chinese (Cantonese), there are different Chinese and not every Chinese are the same. I always tips 18% -20% with the Tax when i calculate so that make it add additional 1-2% difference.
I know International Chinese doesn’t tips because they are from China. And in China there is no tips system. Anyway i know they are cheap for not follow the American Tips system. I’m sure they heard of it but I guess they just ignored it and use as an excuse.
I’ve been in the business for over 20 years in Toronto and have served most diverse group of customers and the most demanding yet the cheapest have always been the Jewish customers regardless of whether they’re from Canada or USA.
Lol you people are a joke. you expect free money for DOING YOUR DAMNED JOBS? Let me ask you, Do you leave cash for the garbage people who bust their asses every morning driving around the city collecting your stinking smelly decaying trash? Do you tip Janitors when you see them cleaning? Do you tip anyone at all? Do you go out and hand out free food to the customers? Do you tip Bakers and people who work at DELIs or fast food restaurants?
You all dont server a %20 tip on food thats costs $50 + dollars, especially when restaurants CONTINUE TO RAISE PRICES ON FOOD for no given reason. Oh and another thing, do you people TIP THE COOKS you know the people actually MAKING THE FOOD?
Do your jobs and be happy.
Shut the hell up you stingy retard. People who work for tips make minimum wage or less and rely on tips to make most of their living. Anyone who thinks the way you do has never had to struggle financially so get out of here with your entitled bullshit.
If you have never worked in the Service Industry you will never get it, PERIOD. Standard tip is 15-20 percent. You should always tip!!!! When you get the industry and how it operates, you develop more compassion, patients and just overall manners. Dont go out to eat, don’t go on wine tours, don’t even order a simple pizza if you can’t leave a tip. Stay home.
My Father always taught me to tip. He always tipped 30-35 percent. Even if the service was bad he always left a tip regardles, He said “these people work hard and when you deal with people everyday its understandable they could just be having a bad day.” After he passed i been following his example and im proud of it. If any of my friends regardless of race cheapens on a tip i call them out i dont care who you are,, just the way I was raised,,
Indians are by war the worst tippers. Everyone in my whole restaurant knows it, it’s just a fact. Not all of them though.. I’ve waited on plently of indians who have been nice and tipped well. I feel like it’s the more americanized Indians who tip well. Actually the biggest tip I have ever gotten was from an indian table. Their bill was $350, they tipped 20%. They were pretty easy to wait on & really nice which is a plus. It’s funny because it was a large party and other servers didn’t want to wait on them because they thought they weren’t going to tip, but I took them and had a great experience I would say. Anyways, most of the time Indians are very needy & difficult and end up leaving $0 or maybe like $2. One time i was clearly very busy waiting on other tables and an Indian woman hovered over me at the terminal while I ran her credit card expecting me to mess up or something and then demanded that I get her a box and to hurry up.. they tipped me $0.. not only that she kept screaming at me “NO MEAT” even though all the items she ordered don’t contain any type of meat and were clearly listed as vegetarian on the menu. Today I waited on a table of 15 Muslim women including a bunch of young, misbehaved children. They were very demanding, didn’t say please or thank you once. Their bill was $250 and they didn’t tip me anything. Nothing. The woman snapped her fingers when she wanted the check and they made a huge mess under the table that took forever to sweep up. I just don’t understand. I can’t tell if they really don’t know any better or if they’re just straight ignorant. It’s really the people who do things like that than can fuck up your mood the rest of the shift and make you want to quit. Let’s just say if you’re not going to tip your server go to fucking Mcdonald’s or something and stop wasting our time. I don’t think people realize we don’t get paychecks. When i get a paycheck it literally says “$0.00”. And if you do realize we don’t get paychecks and still don’t tip, FUCK YOU
African Americans hands down are the worst tippers. Consistently call you “brother” or “my man” and never ever leave above %10 if they even tip at all. They are rude and shouldn’t be allowed to dine out if they’re not going to pay for the service.
From my experience in delivering pizza:
Teenagers/Tweens: They leave crap tips or completely stiff me.
Old people: Cheap as hell and usually entitled.
Anyone in a hospital: They never tip. Delivered to a patient’s room. Got stiffed.
Anyone ordering large amounts of food for a school or special event: They’d leave something like $2 on a $100 order.
Niggers! It doesn’t matter how nice you are. I have been doing this for 15 years in many states. They ask how much everything is, send half the shit back, and run you to death.
You can spend 100$ on your nasty ass hair and nails..but cannot tip on your fucking meal? Enjoy the spit!
I had a lady yesterday ordered eight pizzas totaling 130 some dollars I had to get on an elevator go for floors up walk down the long hallway set up the pizzas in the area for kids that we’re having a birthday party and at the end after that she didn’t hit me a dime and said I’m sorry I have no cash too bad for you maybe I was the wrong color because she was black and I was white and as I know my experience as a delivery driver the people that do not tip or African Americans and IndiansSorry if I offended anyone but the truth does hurt and I’ve been delivering pizza from most eight years and it has not changed one little bit the only ones that you tip are the ones that work in the service industry don’t know what it’s like to work for tips the rest of them could care less
Wow awesome post ever. Thanks for sharing us.
Worst tippers – Blacks
Best tippers – Gay Men
I’ve not waited tables in over 20 years. But HAHAHAHA that “Canadians” is still the term used to refer to black people in the hospitality industry. I worked for Pappasito’s in Houston off 290. They were the absolute worst tippers. And if some dude came in wearing purple or a spandex shirt, you were about to get run ragged and left with nothing. And they always wanted water with lemon in it. The other servers who were black hated waiting on them and called them “Canadians” as well. Illegal immigration wasn’t what it is today, so most of the illegals (if that’s what y’all are referring to as “Mexican Nationals”) worked in the kitchen but were hardly ever guests. But the ones who worked in the kitchen were good tippers if they themselves came in. At least they were for me anyways. I don’t have any memorable moments with Hindus. The white folk from the country like Hockley and Waller were also bad- $5 on tabs well over $100 no matter how hard you worked and how much they liked you. I think a lot of it is culture and education. Never dealt with Jews but holy crap my best tippers were the Arab crowds from Israel! I served a party of 13 one time, bent over backwards for them, and made $400 off that table alone! This was in the late 90s. Iranians were also excellent tippers. Had a large group from Spain and they tipped well. I miss those days. Made a lot of money while going to school. Oh and across the parking lot was Pappadeaux’s. We’d go to the bar after shift on a Wednesday or something and the bartender there (who was black) would serve us up like a mofo and somehow make the tab only $5! I’d toss that fool $40 and so would the other servers. He took care of us, and we took care of him. Man, what I wouldn’t give to be in my 20’s day drinking on a Wednesday at 4:00pm! Women were also good tippers to me. Of course, I’ve was far better looking back then.
Unfamiliarity with American customs is not the only reason foreigners fail to tip. Some of them come over here thinking we’re all rich Americans and are entitled, spoiled, and don’t need the money. Personally, I never, ever leave less than 20-25% and often, esp. if it’s a small check, I leave more. My children do likewise.
As for Jews being bad tippers, many years ago my grandfather worked as a mailman in the business district (Center City) of Philadelphia. He always said Jews were the most generous of all with their monetary gifts at Christmas time.
Waiters need to quit bitching and get a real job that’s not meant for high schoolers transitioning into college.