My Rant! TIP jars at fast food joints!

I'm an old part time bar tender and I guarantee anyone who ever worked in the service industry TIPS no matter what and almost always 20%. I find it's geographic as well, some areas of the country are notorious non/cheap tippers. I traveled a lot for business and when splitting a bill at a Denny's, as an example, there was always one or two who would only pay what they ate ignoring the fact that some 90lb waitress had to haul all the slop to and from the table. Not to mention the restaurant can allocate tips and the wait staff now has a tax liability based on what the restaurant earns so when you don't tip the wait person, they could end up owing income tax on money they didn't receive. Servers in NJ make about 2 bucks an hour. As far as getting a better job, in a good restaurant you can make a nice living and we have some around here that have had the same people working there for their entire working lives. I do agree that the sub kid had a pair to assume he was getting the change.
 
Most of the time my local places were we eat breakfast the waitress will pick up the bill with the cash I put in it and politely ask do you want the change.

I think the going tip rate is 15% for four people. It goes up to 20% for five or more people. If we have a big crowd and the service was awesome I go to 25% ++. The server makes or breaks the meal. Our last dinner out took three waitresses. The dinner cost $850 with tip.
I paid $1,000 the evening was awesome.
 
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coltle6920 said:
Got my change and wont go to any of their stores again.Been thinking about writing a letter to the corporate office but it really isn't worth my time.

These kids today have no sense of what a job is worth but they sure know how to scam us or their parents to get what they want.
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you must remember.... you are not dealing with a Harvard graduate.....
 
wbraswell said:
I have never tipped anyone at a fast food place, and personally, I've never heard of anyone else doing it before I read this thread. I tip well at restaurants, if the service is good. If they round off my change in their favor, they are going to pay for it. If I get poor service, I hope they do starve. Not my problem. A person at the sub shop making your sandwich, exactly as you want it, is not serving you. They are doing just what they are supposed to do. Waiters and waitresses in REAL restaurants usually make a lot less than minimum wage.
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Wow, I'm sorry but to me what you just said is just plain wrong for many reasons. What does a waiter or waitress do that makes their job any different than someone working in a sub shop - carry your free water and order to you? If you go into one of the shops that this thread is about that has a seating area, they will also deliver your food. And, they are indeed serving you - do you think a waiter or waitress prepares your meal on their own? Maybe one of those people you hope starves would be the one that helped you out if you were in a jam along a highway somewhere. I really can't believe you would make such an insensitive statement like that for the world to see!
 
I IGNORE all of them!! That goes for the McDonald House grab box on the counter also. Ronald makes enough money before noon on Monday to buy his own house!!
 
chuckster57 said:
I really don't care for that chain so I don't know if its a company policy, but I prefer Togo's, and have been known to tip the person making my sandwich if they make it right.
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I ate at TOGO's forever in California.................unfortunately they do not exist in IOWA................dang I miss TOGO's sandwiches!!!
 
how about the waitress that fumbles and takes forever digging out your change ...giving you extra time to say "naw... its okay, just keep it" :)
i always wait until she digs the correct change out , then i choose the tip amount. 20% if the service was fair/good. more if excellent.
fast food places get no tip from me unless they go above and beyond.period.
 
When I stand at a counter & order, wait, & pay, I do not tip. There is a donut shop near the house that i used to go to till I got attitude from the counter person. You walk in the door, approach the counter, & you're about eight feet away from the donuts. Between you & the donuts, there is a chest high counter, & the counter person. She is maybe a foot & a half from the donuts, & the same difference from the counter. You give her your order, & she actually doesn't even have to take a step, she just grabs a bag, turns around, grabs the pastry, throws it in the bag, turns around & hands it to you. She takes your money, & before she gives you your change, looks pointedly at the tip jar then at you. When you hold your hand out for the change, she shakes her head as if in disgust, mutters something under her breath, slaps the money into your hand, & walks away. This is exactly what happened, & I haven't been back to the place since. I don't really need donuts anyway, & especially from that place!


Also, I have no problem tipping when I get good service. I start about 20% for decent service, 25% for good, & up from there if the service is truly exceptional. Like another poster mentioned, I never tip on the credit card receipt, I always tip in cash & I try to always put it directly into the server's hand.:cool:
 
I am com[lately with Alpo on this. Totally my choice whether to tip and if so how much. Definitely no tips to pizza delivery guys. They already charge an extra two or three bucks to deliver.

I tip according to service I get.

Many years ago a bunch/group of us went to a family type steak house for a birthday celebration and when the waitress brought our checks to us she told us to be sure and leave her a nice tip because that is the only way she could really make any money. We reported her to the manager and the next time we went there she no longer worked there.
 
I applaud your generosity in tipping BUT a good waiter or bartender in a good establishment can bring home a real good wage, especially if it's off the books. I always add tips to the card so that one day they will hopefully use those marvelous computers to account for the income like every penny of mine. In today's world of handouts, why would you want to enable another to qualify for more gimmes paid for by those of us having our incomes fully taxed?

This is how we get such hard luck stories in certain industries for being under paid. Less than 1/2 of the income is actually tracked. If you can't make an honest living, retrain and move on!

Sorry, didn't mean any offense, just a hot button; especially as I look at my taxes and the check I need to write.

I'd rather see fair wages and no tipping.

timn8er said:
Like another poster mentioned, I never tip on the credit card receipt, I always tip in cash & I try to always put it directly into the server's hand.:cool:
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PA Reb said:
[FONT="Verdana" If you go into one of the shops that this thread is about that has a seating area, they will also deliver your food. And, they are indeed serving you I really can't believe you would make such an insensitive statement like that for the world to see![/FONT]
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I have been in Subways, Quiznos and Jimmy Johns, and have never seen food delivered to a table. It's always given at the register. A waitress or waiter in a restaurant, keeps an eye out, if you need anything, checks on you periodically. When they bring your order, they ask if you need anything else. They take care of you. I tip the waiter, not the cook. Poor service= no tip. Their problems aren't mine. If I don't leave a tip, THEY were the problem.
 
Someone said that the young folks today have it so much harder...Boo Hoo! Cry me a river! I didn't have an I-pod,smartphone and computer growing up.My parents didn't buy me $120 sneakers.I wasn't paid money to mow the lawn or shovel snow.What I had to do as a teenager was part of learning responsibility and honing my work ethics.

Minimum wage is $7.25 in most states.Some States pay more.If one is in a "service" oriented job the employer can pay less so long as the expected "tips" make up the difference in pay.I will be the one who decides if you are providing me a service or just doing your job,not you!

The problem with people today (IMHO) is that they always seem to have money for what they want but then complain because they don't have money for what they need.Seems to me that they have their priorities in the wrong order.

The better paying jobs will always go to people that realize they have to work harder in school to have a better chance in Life.A lot of our children today think that they can skate by in school and still become successful.

I don't care what job someone does.It's still only worth so much in relation to the product you produce.Fast food jobs are nothing more than entry level jobs and were never meant for one to be able to support oneself let alone a family.

A tip should only be given in gratitude not expectation!

Now continue your bashing....
 
ladder13 said:
I never tip at Subway, their food sucks so I don't even go there. :D

Eat fresh?
puke.gif
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The only Subway you will see me in is when I am going downtown.
 
Tipping is ALWAYS optional. The better the service, the bigger the tip but it's my decision, but, like with the pizza delivery guy, I say "the change is yours" before he has time to do anything. I would be majorly offended if there was a tip jar at a fast food place, let alone if the person behind the counter took it upon themselves to decide if a tip was warranted.
 
I mostly put the tip on the card, don't have time to figure out if the place pools the tips or the person who served me keeps it. What about the busboy, you think the wait staff shares with them or stuffs the $ in their pocket? Does the wait staff skim off the top and only kick in some $? People are people ;)
I was at a Latin restaurant Sat night and was served by 3 different wait staff, they said that's the way they do things, by committee. Can't keep up with all this, the tip goes on the card, let them deal with it.
 
coltle6920 said:
Feel free to bash me guys...I'm not a scrooge...I just have my limits for how much I'll tolerate from ingrates.
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Do I still get to bash if I totally agree with you?:p

I have a couple of small places I go to with tip jars, but they go out of the way to get things right or make it special.

Big fast food franchises have no right allowing employees to put tip jars on the counter.
 
coltle6920 said:
Someone said that the young folks today have it so much harder...Boo Hoo! Cry me a river! I didn't have an I-pod,smartphone and computer growing up.My parents didn't buy me $120 sneakers.I wasn't paid money to mow the lawn or shovel snow.What I had to do as a teenager was part of learning responsibility and honing my work ethics.

Minimum wage is $7.25 in most states.Some States pay more.If one is in a "service" oriented job the employer can pay less so long as the expected "tips" make up the difference in pay.I will be the one who decides if you are providing me a service or just doing your job,not you!

The problem with people today (IMHO) is that they always seem to have money for what they want but then complain because they don't have money for what they need.Seems to me that they have their priorities in the wrong order.

The better paying jobs will always go to people that realize they have to work harder in school to have a better chance in Life.A lot of our children today think that they can skate by in school and still become successful.

I don't care what job someone does.It's still only worth so much in relation to the product you produce.Fast food jobs are nothing more than entry level jobs and were never meant for one to be able to support oneself let alone a family.

A tip should only be given in gratitude not expectation!

Now continue your bashing....
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Ah yes, you've swallowed the blue pill of American mythology. Our civilization has even built constructions to try to reinforce the mythology--constructions such as: more education=more pay, hard work begets rewards, people who are rich are to be idolized, and the poor are deserving of their plight and not of sympathy or compassion. We desperately cling to our mythology and repeat to others anything that helps to prove it and dismiss anything that disproves it. "Confirmation Bias," if you will. Even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, we cling to our mythology.

If hard work alone equalled success, an African mother with many children and no family to help would be the most successful person in the world.
 
brucev said:
"Here's another little tid bit....If you pay with a credit card, and it list a place to add a tip...don't...If you're going to tip, give it directly to the person who served you..." Extremely good point. That is the only way to guarantee that the tip actually gets into the pocket of the person to whom you intend it to go. Cash in their hand is the way to go! It completely eliminates any "middle man."
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I am on the road 30+ weeks a year and my employer picks up expenses including tips. In MT 90% of the time when they see a tip on the CC receipt they pull it out of the till and set it aside.
 
RENTING THE TABLE

I worked in a breakfast restaurant once where the average meal tab was fairly low. You earn your money, especially if the coffee is bottomless and you make 5 trips back to the table. I had folks that were very generous and those that left nothing. Luckily, I had another job and was really only there helping out because I was chasing the owners daughter.
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Long ago in a far away universe (late 70s - NW Arkansas)
I was part of a pipe smoking group that would spend a few late evening hours at a shop with the bottomless coffee cups. (remember Sambo's) I knew the husband of one of the waitresses. He asked me about our LARGE tips at the table. The women wondered if we were up to something. Simple explanation. We figured that if we were not occupying the table there would be others that would eat and also tip. We figured that we should cover the lost tips. Explained that we simply viewed it as table rent.

Next visit all of the waitresses came by and thanked us for the explanation and the tips.
 
I am not offended by tips in fast food places. At the same time, I feel no compulsion to tip. I have never encountered behavior like that reported by the OP. If I did, there would be no tip. I did frequent a Subway for lunch for a while. There was a sandwich I liked to order, and a kid behind the counter who was personable and remembered my usual order and how I liked it made. I tipped him, usually a buck on a $6.00 sandwich.

There are a number of restaurants in town that I frequent. I am well received there, and know a lot about the servers' families and pets. They give me good service, and I tip them well.

Several of our kids have worked as food and drink servers. My son tends bar in a music club. He makes a bit over minimum wage, but has done well enough on tips to buy a duplex and support his family. My stepdaughter did very well as a waitress in an upscale downtown restaurant. She has been able to put herself through school on her earnings. Both of them tip very well when they are out, and watch me like a hawk to make sure my tips are up to snuff. I try not to disappoint them.

They have been fortunate. When I was driving a transit bus, I saw lots of kids riding to and from work every day, in their fast-food uniforms. I know they are working for peanuts, and often trying to support families on their earnings. I don't mind leaving them a buck or two here and there if I think they are doing their job well.
 
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As a former pizza delivery guy of many years standing, I offer up these words of advice to anyone who stiffs the pizza guy :

Beware the special sauce.
 
Bekeart said:
Long ago in a far away universe (late 70s - NW Arkansas)
I was part of a pipe smoking group that would spend a few late evening hours at a shop with the bottomless coffee cups. (remember Sambo's) I knew the husband of one of the waitresses. He asked me about our LARGE tips at the table. The women wondered if we were up to something. Simple explanation. We figured that if we were not occupying the table there would be others that would eat and also tip. We figured that we should cover the lost tips. Explained that we simply viewed it as table rent.

Next visit all of the waitresses came by and thanked us for the explanation and the tips.
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My group used to frequent Sambo's every Saturday after the Friday festivities. We had a habit of out bidding each other on the tip. Tips would out do the check by 3x.

Sambo's always had the best waitresses.
 
sigp220.45 said:
As a former pizza delivery guy of many years standing, I offer up these words of advice to anyone who stiffs the pizza guy :

Beware the special sauce.
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My son worked in a fast food place and he warned our family and friends about people that do what you did. You are not the only one that has said they did this to people.

I don't understand this.
 
MY15-22 said:
My son worked in a fast food place and he warned our family and friends about people that do what you did. You are not the only one that has said they did this to people.

I don't understand this.
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I didn't say I did it. I never bothered, but I know plenty of guys who did.

If you can't afford a couple of bucks for a tip you should put a frozen pizza in the oven. The delivery guy usually doesn 't get the buck they add on as a delivery charge.
 
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