Interesting airticle

[flyrr100]

I read this in this morning's Sentinel. I'm not tryting to spark a fire. But it could make for an interesting debate! It's not online, so I'll type it as it's printed. For you in Florida, it's page 2 of the Local & State section. The story is about different people who may run for governor when Jeb Bush's term is up. Enjoy:

'There is, after all, an overlooked local and upstart candidate who has filed papers to run as well. That would be Jamie Gannon, a bartender at Walt Disney World's Typhoon Lagoon, whose first idea was to institute a state-mandated 15 percent tip at restaurants and bars. "That would stop the European tourists from stiffing us," he said a few months back.'

Hmmmmm....

[Jill]

Okay I will start this off and annoy some people! Of course he does not think employers are stiffing him and all the other workers in this sector in the first place by not paying them a decent wage so that they expect everyone else to make up the deficit in their wages? I have nothing against tipping for good service.

[steph_goodrum]

My sentiments exactly Jill, + if it becomes a compulsory 15% tip then should be included in the price shown and not added afterwards anyway, if it is discretionary then it should be based on the level of service given.

Employers should be forced to pay more than the couple of dollars an hour many of the bartenders and waitresses earn, after all it isn't their fault if there are no customers to serve or if the chef serves up lousy food. They can also be the most polite, efficient. attentive servers going but if someone decides not to tip they will still lose out.

I don't see why if I go to the supermarket and pay for my groceries the checkout person may spend anything up to 15 mins serving me and packing but would not expect a tip yet a bartender who may pour only 1 drink for me thinks they have given me better service and deserves to be rewarded on top of the wages they are paid.

[Nostromo]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Jill
I have nothing against tipping for good service.
[/quote]

Same here. Waiters everywhere expect to make a significant part of their takings via tips, but that should remain at the discretion of the customer. A 'state-mandated' tip makes no sense - it becomes just like an additional tax that one has to pay and will only lead to a deterioration in the standards of service in restaurants; waiters who know that they will get a 15% tip might not be as eager to please as those who don't know what to expect.

I always tip well for good service, but will go out of the way to show my dissatisfaction at poor service - including a delibrate 'tip' of a few cents or pence. This will show the offending waiter that we took exception to his/her service (or lack of it), whereas not tipping might be considered as simple forgetfulness.

[LiesaAnna]

what do you think of the cleaners in the villas leaving an envelope asking if we want to reward for the services would we put in the envelope provided for named cleaners?????
i didnt know what to make of it, we always leave something but i felt like we were being asked to leave something , and am not sure about that, what are others views?
[msnwink]

[Cruella DeVilla]

I have only ever seen an envelope left out for cleaners the once, it did not bother me as always leave a dollar or two for the maids on a daily basis (in hotels), saves them cleaning the loo with your toothbrush

I know where you are coming from though Leisa, it is the being told... or suggesting you might like to.... leave cash and in restaurants sometimes how much on these cards the shove in with the bill.

We have discussed this many times on here in the past and it always gets emotive so lets not let it get this way!

[Robert5988]

Some friends and I had a discussion about tipping last month in Florida. 8 of us had a meal in a restaurant where parties of 6 or more have a 20% tip automatically added. (You can opt out.)

Our meal cost just over $200 without tip and we were sat down for 90 minutes. The same waitress was looking after 4 other tables – a total of 24(I think) including us.

Now assuming everyone spent roughly the same($25), tipped 20% and stayed the same time, she was taking $80 an hour in tips. Even a 10% tip gives $40 an hour.

I appreciate that the tips will be shared with other staff.

At least a waitress works for her tip. However barmen who just pour a drink for you at the bar and expect a fat tip!!!!!!

[Nostromo]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Robert5988

At least a waitress works for her tip. However barmen who just pour a drink for you at the bar and expect a fat tip!!!!!!
[/quote]

I understand what you're saying and agree. I have always been aware of this paradox and try to base my tips on the staff member's workload. Accordingly, I tip waiters & waitresses 10 to 15% depending on the service, but seldom go over 5% for bar staff, unless they have also been running around serving snacks - as they do in Chiquitos for example. Likewise, I am always miserly with tipping Taxi Drivers for an ordinary ride, but am willing to go to 10% if they have helped with the luggage etc.

[ringwood1]

Have no problem with tipping as I know waiters/waitresses get taxed on their assummed earnings, but if the service is poor it will only be a few dollars, if excellent than 20%. However, when I was in the Bahamas, staying at an all-inclusive resort I felt a bit lost. We didn't need to carry cash and it was nice not having to worry about it, but the bar staff made it obvious they expected a tip (by not serving you, not smiling at you and generally being unfriendly) the Americans who were also at the resort generally handed over 1 or 2 dollars each time so they always had the best service. As the bar staff constantly changed my orignal idea of just giving the bar tender $20 at the start seemed foolish, then if you tip the bar staff who else, the kids club was excellent but they didn't expect a tip, housekeeping were wonderful but there was no envelope and were always very friendly and happy to get anything we needed - maybe because they were cleaning the toilet with our toothbrushes!!!! All in all the best service were from those who expected nothing in return and the worst was from the bar staff who thought because they had poured us a drink they should receive a tip and became rude when this didn't happen.

[flyrr100]

I'm sorry I posted that! I guess it's been argued over and over before.
This is my 10c worth; I'm a pilot for a US Regional Airline. Our flight attendants work for around $20k a year. So many of them have part time jobs in resturants, bars, or the theme parks. Most earn below the minimum wage. Some even work for 'just tips'. Almost all complain about Europeans being bad tippers. I try to explain that it's not that they are bad tippers, it's their culture.
You also have to understand that it's a totally different culture here in the USA. It is, after all, a foreign country. And you are all foreigners visiting here. I've been here since the mid 80s and I'm still trying to 'get it'!
This is who I tip, and how much I tip:

Waiters/Waitresses 15% or more
Haircut $1.00
Hotel van driver $1.00
Cab 10%
Barman (if I'm carrying a tab) $5.00
Hotel cleaners ZERO unless they turn down my beds.
I've tipped $20.00 for a great table in a Vegas nightclub before.
That's about it.

Another thing you have to understand is around 95% of all tipping is tax deductable. So every time I do my taxes (it's mandatory every year here) I can deduct around $500. So even the US Government knows that these people need the money.