"I can't afford tipping"

 San Francisco, CA

June 9, 2016

"I am a bad tipper."

Have you ever told your waitress/er friend that you are a bad tipper? No? try it, I dared you. 
I did, and the conversation went something like this: 

Me: "I am a bad tipper."

Friend: "Then you're an a**hole" 

The end.

Tips? "Thank you!"

Right now, I can't afford tipping so usually I don't go out to restaurants where I have to tip (also because I can't afford eating out either, I am a grad student :D). 

A few years ago I move to South Beach Miami for a summer season. When in Miami, I worked for tips, and it was great. I never got mad if I didn't get tipped though, but it was really nice when I did get good tip. 

Before Miami I never worked for tips, so it was a learning experience for me. The first day of the job I left all the money at the tip-jar for the manager to divide it among all the employees. I thought that's how it worked. 

The next day however, he told me that whatever I got at tip-jar I get to take at the end of the day. I couldn't believe it. There was almost $700 in tips in that jar!  I got paid more in tips than for the actual hourly wage (minimum wage). It was a new concept for me... and I thought it was crazy awesome!

Really soon I learned all the moves to get tipped. I got to know which customer would tip and which one would not tip. I learned how to be the best at that job because of tips. I loved that job. It was great! 

All the charts on this blog are from this Article, read it! http://waitbutwhy.com/2014/04/everything-dont-know-tipping.html

Entitlement: "You have to."

My friend also works for tips. She, in the other hand, gets really mad if she doesn't get tipped well. She works on a fancy restaurant and has to share her tips with the kitchen guys. She gets paid below minimum wage because she gets tips but she lives in San Francisco so she usually get tipped well. 

So, why does she gets mad if she doesn't get tipped "well" once in a while? I say, it's entitlement. She got so used to being paid well, that now she expects it.

People get really, REALLY mad if you admit that you are a bad tipper. I say, it makes sense to work for tips if that jobs is known to get good tips; like my friend, who works on a fancy restaurant, in San Francisco, where normally people tip well.

It doesn't make sense to work on a place where they pay you $2,30/hr and you don't get tipped well. I am not saying people shouldn't tip. I love tips and they are always welcome. I say, be smart and work where you know you'll get enough money to live.

Not all restaurants can afford to pay their employees minimum wage, so there's something there too. If you are so proud of your job, be smart and work smart. 

Entitlement II: "I shouldn't have to."

Entitlement goes both ways though. If you can't afford to tip, then avoid going where people usually tip. In the US, I've learned, you are not entitled to the service. Gratuity is a "must" here. It's considered part of the wages employees get.

The price for the food prepared for you, not only pays for the "signature" food and its ingredients, but also the for it being cooked for you... it does not include your taste or being served to you... You usually pay a lot extra for good tasty food. 

Gratuity is not really gratuity, but a must, no matter your opinion about it. (And if you have kids dining with you, you are expected to tip extra , again, no matter your opinion about it. The more kids you bring, the more you should pay) 

Some anti-tips suggest to include the tip on the price, like in Europe. Including the tip on the price would actually affect the workers because they would get less money from tips as they would get from good tippers.

 

So, in conclusion, the tipping system is messed up. Big companies/hotels/restaurants, etc (who can afford to pay their employees at least minimum wage) shouldn't be allowed to count gratuity as their wage.  It's just messed up. 

If you are a waitress/ter... I think it's important for you to know and accept that bad tippers exist. Period. It comes with the job. Just let it go.

If you are a bad tipper at restaurants, you should know, your are an a**hole. And your a**holeness is affecting PEOPLE. Starting with the person greeting at the door and seats you, the person who cleaned your table before you got there, the person who took your order and brought it back to you (no matter what her/his mood was), the person who cooked it for you, the person who washed the dishes before and after you, the person who rented that place and the person the place is being rented from. 

The list goes on and on, but you are an a**hole, and you know it, so there is no point on keep talking to you... I know that, because I am one too... and, you know, it takes one to know one.