Quote Originally Posted by wufwugy
because i suck at and run bad with poker i am a professional server. and much of what some of you guys think is just wrong.

the % system is good. you can isolate incidences to make it seem not, but generally speaking, the more money you spend at a restaraunt the more your server must work. also, what you are unaware of or just forget, we tip out to a number of fellow employees on 1% of your bill, and must claim to the IRS at least 8% of our total sales. your server always gets less of the tip than you think.

typically, good tips come from easy guests. typically, guests who run your ass off, make a mess, and suck in general tip for crap.

a server has the complete, absolute power to break your dining experience, but if things go wrong, it doesn't mean it's your server's fault. all product goes through a number of hands.

it really is almost impossible for you, as restaraunt guests, to discern what kind of tip your server deserves based on your experience. many times my guests have had a poor experience that they blamed on me, yet they are simply ignorant of the fact that sometimes the door doesn't know how to seat rotation correctly, the kitchen sells food that isn't done, the manager didn't staff up enough, the expo forgets add ons, etc. etc.
Sad to hear that.

It reminds me the situation faced by exotic dancers who in both USA and Australia often have to pay the club just to enter, and must in some circumstances tip out the bouncers, DJs, etc... wasn't aware the same situation applied to restaurants

I've thought about it and I guess it's just a courtesy thing. I'm never going to feel guilty if I didn't tip. I really hate the "it's only a small amount of money argument" But I'd have to admit that not tipping is a breach of etiquette. Like the refusal to shake hands analogy that I like. So if I failed to tip, I couldn't blame the other guy for being less than polite to me because I've breached the etiquette.

I still think the way we have it in Australia where all people get paid at least $17 an hour (assuming you're at least 21) so they don't have to rely on tips and tipping is seen as a gratuitous sign of appreciation rather than something that 'should' happen.

On the market argument, I guess there's nothing wrong with a system where a tip is assumed to happen by all the parties and they act rationally on that assumption.