The "New" Art of Tipping

What's the big secret with tipping? We all know it is going on, but we rarely think about it, talk about it or consider how the practice might have changed. People who tip regularly seem to have many varied ideas about the process, but do not generally share their thoughts with others. Some rely on tried and true methods handed down for centuries, (with no change in rate), others have no precise idea what to do, and still others use the tip solely as a means to impress. Well, whatever people are doing, times have changed and the time has come to rethink the process. The time has come for the "New" Art of Tipping.

For one thing, if you still believe in the standard 10% tip, your age is showing. A few years back, the ante was upped to a mere 15% to 20% for satisfactory service and stayed the same. Statistics reveal that only one in twenty diners actually tips 25% or more and the average tip is around 18.9%. Under certain circumstances, that is nice, but under others, it is a bit chintzy. After all, we are not talking about throwing quarters at begging urchins in the street. These are hard working adults. Why shouldn't they be paid at least as much as the rest of us?

By law, restaurants are allowed to pay waiters, servers and bar staff lower wages as tipped employees. Anything else tipped employees make is usually theirs to keep. Establishments can, by law, require tipped employees to share their tips, and, if an employee's combined wages and tips do not add up to at least minimum wage, the employer must make up the difference. Now, does that seem fair? Are these people really deserving of only minimum wage? Isn't it true that a good server is worth his or her weight in gold and can make or break a restaurant? Sure, the restaurants making money hand over fist should pay their servers more, but they do not. After all, if you go into a fine restaurant, (or any restaurant for that matter), it means something when the food is valued higher than the people who take it to the customers. It is just logical that a hamburger served by Mr. French is just going to taste better than Filet Mignon served by Archie Bunker, and whom would you rather have taking care of your table? Do you prefer the neat, clean, trained professional or the inattentive, cigar-smoking braggart? Are you willing to pay more to get more?

For example, if Mr. French works at a restaurant serving entrees at $6.00 and Archie Bunker works at a restaurant serving entrees at $30.00, French will make a tip of $1.20 on his entrée while Bunker will make $6.00 on his, figured at 20%. So, what are we really tipping here? Is it actually the service, the quality of food, or really just the price of the food? Personally, I have gone into some dive-looking joints only to discover great food and great service. Do you really think I am going to reach into my pocket and pull out a standard 20% tip? On the other hand, I have gone into some fancy places only to be served mediocre food by inattentive help and been charged way too much. It does not make sense for me to just automatically come up with a nominal gratuity for something that did not live up to expectations. .

Along the same line, customers often gauge their tips based entirely on the restaurant, the server and the server's performance without considering the obstacles the diners themselves present. Should the easy customer who orders directly off the menu with no special requests and who dines alone tip the same as the mom with the screaming two-year-old, special needs and asking for many menu "substitutions"? Before deciding on gratuities, restaurant goers need to consider the difficulties they present as customers and how the professional server responded. Maybe, the time has come for a new standard that better takes in to account this variety of factors.

For starters, forget the 15-20, and consider a Minimum Tip Wage. The new bottom line should be 20%. Hey, these people pay the same price for gas, food and housing as the rest of us. To be really fair, start at the minimum and work up to a tip based on an hourly rate in an amount equal to what you, yourself, earn in an average hour. After all, aren't the people who serve you worth at least as much as you are? If you make a lot of money, a tip of around 25 to 30% including the cost of beverages, (even wine), and tax should be adequate. Some very good people, though, should get more and we should not be afraid to tip as much as 50% for an enjoyable evening. This takes the tipped employee out of expectations, opens up incentives and can actually enhance the dining experience. The criteria you use to temper your judgment are entirely up to you, but keep in mind the extra work you present as a customer, and do not discount the server because he or she is serving value priced food.

Another factor to consider in tipping is HourlyTable Rental. Many people meet at restaurants with family, friends and business associates only to spend hours at the table before leaving. Long after the food is gone, the table wiped clean and that after dinner coffee has turned to ice, the group is still sitting there chatting away. Hey, that is nice and restaurants love to have you come for long stays, but how can the server make any money on that table if your group occupies it all evening long? If your group was there eating for an hour and left a $30 tip, but stayed another hour just sipping coffee and chatting, you just cost that server the opportunity to make another $30 by occupying his or her table. By all rights, if you stay another hour, you should throw down another $30, even if the restaurant is empty. It is only fair.

Whatever you do as a customer and how you handle your tips is entirely up to you, but the time has come at least to think about tipping and to think about changing the rules. You can use my suggestions or come up with others of your own, but if you treat me to dinner and you leave a lousy tip, do not be surprised when I reach into my pocket to throw a bit more into the pot. The time has come to take talk of tipping out of the category of social more and taboo, and to treat it as an acceptable subject of conversation. The time has come for a new art form, the New Art of Tipping.