Your thoughts on tipping food & beverage staff

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Permalink Reply by Jon Tilley on March 24, 2009 at 11:07pm

I am not talking about bad or complaint-worthy service. I am talking about-and I think that you either don't eat out often or you're playing devil's advocate- bland service. You get your food; what you ordered and on time. That's it.

I watch and listen to my table and anticipate what they'll need: is the kid almost out of cherries, never making a guest ask for a refill, making sure I see their face and reaction when they take their first bite, bringing extra ice cream for the kids, building the fire a little higher, seating someone when we are technically closed, pushing a stroller to a room, RUNNING outside because somebody left something behind, going to another server and saying, "Hey, it's your turn and the Johnsons are at the door. They'll want table 5 and she'll have a Franciscan cab and he'll have a tea with 4 lemon slices and I've already told the kitchen they're here and they know how to prepare the fish she caught today. I'll go let them know that you're taking care of them tonight. By the way, yell 'O-H' when you get there and he'll yell 'I-O'. They're great." all the while making them feel like they are guests in MY house. I try to make their experience special.

I want to be able to help them out with anything i.e.-the best hikes, fishing spots, where to see moose, what events are taking place and where, run to the gift shop and look up a certain bird to help out with a debate at the table, find a co-worker to baby-sit for an evening, wrap up to-go food like a swan or an elephant to wow the kids, and hold a check for a few hours because someone has to literally run to catch the tour boat, know what year the big fire burned down how much acreage, know how long the lodge has been in the family and why it was built, how thick the ice on the lake is and when you can drive on it.

All of THAT is what I'm talking about; making the experience special for them and their family. I can wait tables every day for the rest of my life without doing any of that and not get a complaint and not lose my job.

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Permalink Reply by Chefness on March 24, 2009 at 11:16pm

Relax, I'm not trying to start anything here, nor am I aiming some sort of barb at you. I merely offer my opinions, nothing more, nothing less. I offer no offense, but only respect for everybody's opinions. If you think that I'm trying to belittle what you say, then I apologize, but that is not the case. But by the same token, I would greatly appreciate it if you don't belittle my opinions either, because that's all they are, and I won't try to push them on anybody else.

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Permalink Reply by Jon Tilley on March 24, 2009 at 11:38pm

Argeed. I get a little carried away on this topic. My apologies for the devil's advocate remark.

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Permalink Reply by Chefness on March 24, 2009 at 11:41pm

Hey, no problem. I think we're all getting a little antsy right now waiting for the new season to start. No worries!

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Permalink Reply by CISCO on March 26, 2009 at 3:42pm

IMHO it is customary to tip when going out to eat or drink.
If going out to eat or drink I always tip regardless of the service, only the amount varies.
In turn, it should be customary to tip out cooks and dishwashers.

just my opinion

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Permalink Reply by Drew on March 26, 2009 at 8:38pm

Just my 2cents worth, if your in a non-tipped position thinking you deserve tips to supplement your paycheck at the end of the week, think again because you don't deserve a portion of somebody's tips that is relying on tips to make a paycheck!!

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Permalink Reply by Travconian on March 27, 2009 at 1:22pm

Tipping spread from England to colonial America, but after the revolution it was frowned upon (temporarily) as a hangover from the British class system. One only tipped one's social inferiors, which, lest we forget, did not exist in the brave new world. Unfortunately, the working class eventually got around to swallowing its pride, and tipping returned with all the fervor it possesses today. Even the Communist countries have not entirely succeeded in eliminating the practice. These days, of course, taxi drivers and waitpersons depend on tips for a substantial part of their income. If you didn't tip, presumably they'd expect to be paid more, and your restaurant bills and taxi fares would consequently be higher. The fifteen percent standard is mostly a question of what the market will bear. In New York, the figure these days is twenty percent; European restaurants generally add a ten percent gratuity to the bill.

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Permalink Reply by Chefness on March 27, 2009 at 1:44pm

Travconian, if you are going to quote someone, it's generally a good idea (and courteous, I might add) to cite your source.

The Origin of Tipping

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Permalink Reply by Carol on April 3, 2009 at 9:34am

Thanks Chef for the link. Yes, Cecil Adams replied to Karen's question with the information we see posted above. Lifting anothers work without properly citing the source is ....plagerism??

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Permalink Reply by reggie on April 3, 2009 at 9:55am

The origin of tipping is lost, like so many things, in the Mists of Antiquity. There's evidence that tipping goes back at least to the age of the Romans, but human nature being what it is, it could just as easily date from the invention of money.

Luckily for us, etymologists have managed to come up with a selection of deeply fascinating etymologies for the phrase "to tip." The dullest and most likely has it coming from the Latin stips, meaning "gift." In the days of Geoffrey Chaucer and Middle English, "to tip" meant simply "to give"--as in "tip me that cheate" ("give me that thing"), immortal words penned by one Samuel Rowlands in his 1610 Beadle of Bridewell.

The most charming explanation refers us back to the days of Dr. Johnson and his eighteenth century circle of wits. Upon entering his local coffeeshop for a session of epigram-flinging, Dr. Johnson (or rather, one presumes, his flunky, Mr. Boswell) would drop a few pence in a box labeled "To Insure Promptness" ("T.I.P."--get it?) in order to encourage a greater display of vigor on the part of the generally listless attendants.

Tipping spread from England to colonial America, but after the revolution it was frowned upon (temporarily) as a hangover from the British class system. One only tipped one's social inferiors, which, lest we forget, did not exist in the brave new world. Unfortunately, the working class eventually got around to swallowing its pride, and tipping returned with all the fervor it possesses today. Even the Communist countries have not entirely succeeded in eliminating the practice. These days, of course, taxi drivers and waitpersons depend on tips for a substantial part of their income. If you didn't tip, presumably they'd expect to be paid more, and your restaurant bills and taxi fares would consequently be higher. The fifteen percent standard is mostly a question of what the market will bear. In New York, the figure these days is twenty percent; European restaurants generally add a ten percent gratuity to the bill.

this is the link hes talking about

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Permalink Reply by Chefness on April 3, 2009 at 12:19pm

Yep, that's the one. It was really well-written, though I still believe that tipping should just be abolished and front-of-house staff should be offered the same wages as any other job. But that's just me, and I'm in the back anyway, so I don't pretend to know much about it. Or maybe I do. Or maybe I should stop, now that I think about it, my brain's starting to hurt now.

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Permalink Reply by Jon Tilley on April 3, 2009 at 12:36pm

;-)

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