waitress actually asked me for a tip at a buffet

[bUU]

And if you happen to have 6 people in your party, many restaurants will automatically add 18% to your bill so it isn't even up to the customer anymore if they want to leave a tip or how much (unless you want to go argue with the manager to lower that amount which I have done on occasion).

Opposition to the current gratuity system would yield precisely this result: A surcharge either built into the menu prices or applied as a set service charge (you see it both ways, around the world, where gratuity systems don't prevail). And I bet that 18% would be at the low end of the likely result (since recall that the management would have to pay more to SS on an employee's behalf because the IRC 45 B Credit would no longer apply).

[Gailete]

One of the last dinner parties I went with my job there were about 10 of us. My title at this job was Financial Representative (obviously into numbers and finances). Time came to pay and we each had our separate bills and I noticed that some of the ladies were leaving tips. I had read my bill and had already seen that the restaurant had automatically billed each of us 18% for a tip (thankfully the waitress deserved it) but until I alerted the ladies that a tip had already been added to their bill they were going to leave an additional 20%. Even knowing that the tip was on their bill, some of them had a hard time not leaving a tip and kept asking me if I was sure about the tip. One of the reasons I had the job was most of the girls were bird brains when it came to finances, but yes I knew I was right as it was right there and the math added up right.

Of course, that brings up the issue of separate checks for a large group of people. I know my finances and I order something at a restaurant that is in line with them, others don't seem to have any budget and order whatever they want, no matter the cost, and then add in alcoholic drinks. Well why should I whose bill would be around $15 plus tip, have to throw in an extra $5-15 or more to help cover the cost of others drinking and extra large meals? Too many years of having tight finances makes me careful of what I'm spending. Maybe I'm a fuss-budget, but I won't do it. Thankfully I don't have those occasions anymore to deal with.

Tipping came into being as a way To Insure Promptness and I doubt if it was based on the cost of the meal or as a way for a place to get away with not paying their employees.

[disneysteve]

I noticed that some of the ladies were leaving tips. I had read my bill and had already seen that the restaurant had automatically billed each of us 18% for a tip

I've seen this too. The restaurants that add the tip automatically aren't always very transparent about the fact that they've done so. They still include a tip line on the bill and I'm sure many people double tip as a result.

[bUU]

After a certain amount of time it is utterly ludicrous to try to insinuate aspersions on some vague notion of people behind changes that brought about "getting away with not paying employees". This system has been in place for at least 250 years. A good rule of thumb is that you can legitimately only make such curmudgeonly remarks if you were alive when the previous system was dominant.

[alternativegirl]

I know someone who loved giving big tips.(way out of proportion to the bill) To me that was a sign of money management gone wild. Also his car was totaled when someone else hit him and it was the other person's fault. He never made a claim for the car or injuries. I wasn't surprised when he lost his apartment several months later. Sorry if this seems judgmental.

[Gailete]

I know someone who loved giving big tips.(way out of proportion to the bill) To me that was a sign of money management gone wild.

For four years I was married to someone that would do that. It was much more important for him to look wealthy and generous in the eyes of people he didn't even know than to understand that our finances were a mess due to him and that we were drowning in debt.

[alternativegirl]

Having someone else understand this in some way makes me feel better. Like my head is on straight.
but sorry you had to deal with that for four years. oops that reminds me of what my x husband did - lol. I'll post later when I have a little more time.

For four years I was married to someone that would do that. It was much more important for him to look wealthy and generous in the eyes of people he didn't even know than to understand that our finances were a mess due to him and that we were drowning in debt.

[greenskeeper]

I wonder what Mr. Pink thinks about tipping?

[dunnrobert700]

10% is customary at a buffet. Less is taking money from someone who has earned it and isn't going to get paid much any other way, more is extravagant and entirely optional.

For anyone who thinks 10% is cheap remember that a buffet waiter has less work to do and can therefore service proportionally more tables. It should all work out.

BTW FWIW, my understanding is that the customary and standard thing to do for a tip jar at say a coffee house register is to drop in whatever coin change you get whether that's 1 cent or 99 cents.

[shaggy]

If you aren't going to tip, it's only fair to tell your server in advance and see what happens.

[bUU]

Honor demands that, indeed.

[Liopleurodon]

When it comes to buffets to tip or not depends on the buffet. Do the staff walk around cleaning-up plates, bringing drinks, etc. If so then they get tipped. Do I simply prepay and then do everything myself? Then no tip.

[Gailete]

BTW FWIW, my understanding is that the customary and standard thing to do for a tip jar at say a coffee house register is to drop in whatever coin change you get whether that's 1 cent or 99 cents

NEVER heard of that one! I believe that our local coffee stop, that I don't go to since I don't drink coffee, has a tip jar but not for the employees. Each day or week the tips are designated to a local charity or whatever, like the sports boosters, thanksgiving baskets, that sort of thing. Other than that, you never see tip jars in my part of the country.

[bUU]

I ignore "Tip" jars on retail counters. These employees are getting paid a regular wage set based on assumption of no tips.

[disneysteve]

I ignore "Tip" jars on retail counters. These employees are getting paid a regular wage set based on assumption of no tips.

I agree. That is not a place where a tip is warranted.

That said, there have been rare exceptions when I felt the person went above and beyond to help me. Perhaps I had some special requests or a particularly large order and they did a really good job accommodating everything and did it with a smile. On those few occasions, I tossed my change in the jar.