TIPS

To Insure Prompt Service also known as TIPS. We as a society go to restaurants all the time. We order drinks, entrees, and sometimes dessert. There is one more thing most restaurants offer that we order-- service. The difference between our meals and service, is sometimes we don't pay for the service. Maybe the service was poor, maybe we are cheap, maybe we weren't taught proper etiquette, or maybe we just don't care.

I've worked in the restaurant business for a few years. If you could see or experience some of things I've gone through; you would be shocked! To start, people must understand that servers only make $2.13-2.17 an hour. Our hourly wages pay for our taxes. This means our TIPS are 100% of our primary source of income. Often times servers must tip out bussers and bartenders from their tips, for the work they do. This can be up to 10-15% of a server's gross tips. So what does all this exactly mean? Well, say you go into a restaurant and spend $45 on a meal. You decide to tip 10% so around $4.50. The server does not receive $4.50 he will receive around $4 of that tip. In this scenario it doesn't seem to affect a server too much, but lets look at a different scenario. Say you go out with your family and spend $100 on a dinner. You decide not to tip the server for whatever reason. This translates into the server losing money for having served you. Because whether or not you tip a server they have to tip out bussers and bartenders on either their gross sales or gross tips. Now you can start to see why it is important to pay for what you order.

Some people have a false notion that they are entitled to the server doing whatever they want. Let us not forget that you are not above the server, you are in fact paying* for the luxery to have a server. Thus you must think in terms that you are paying the server to serve you. A server does not come with the meal, his/her service is not included in the price of the entrees you buy. You should pay the server for his/her services.

Now the question arises, "well how much am I supposed to TIP?". My father taught me to pay people well for the services they provide. In the long run it will yield greater benefits for you. Some people take the tax and double it, some feel 18% of total sale is adequate. My feelings are biased on the subject. Of course I want the largest tips possible, but I know that is not reasonable for everyone. However, I do beleive people should legitamatley pay for the service they receive. So I feel that I received A+ service or $20 service, I will pay that server that amount.

In the aggregate I believe it is important to be honest and pay people honestly for the services they provide. It is important to learn proper etiquette, otherwise karma can be a biotch.