To be fair, it does have it’s costs. Like treating people with dignity and paying them a livimg wage. Where’s the incentive in that? /sarc
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Yeah, when we visited the US last year, prices seemed quite reasonable until the bill came and we found there was an extra 28% for tax and tip.
The cloying, overly friendly, perky waitstaff , trying to ensure a good tip, was a bit of culture shock. Constantly interrupting someone’s meal to ask if they are enjoying it or to offer drink refills, would be considered quite rude down here in Australia.
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http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2014/06/10/3446937/packhouse-meats-tips/
and i remember 1 or two other stories i read that echoed the same success
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As an American, though, I found it super awkward when dining in Australia to be told, “Tipping isn’t mandatory here, it’s great! We pay our waitstaff a living wage! But feel free to tip as much as you want if you like our service.” So I technically didn’t have to tip, but felt like a cheapskate if I didn’t.
That said, I always had terrific service without it being ridiculously overbearing, which it definitely can be here.
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Heck, Dick’s Drive-In Hamburger chain in Seattle has for as long as I can remember provided employer-paid health insurance, paid vacations, (modest) tuition and/or childcare support, 50% matching 401K contributions, and pay that starts a dollar or so above the state minimum with scheduled raises (though I think they may have opposed the increase in the city’s minimum wage to $15, which passed earlier this year). That’s for workers in a grease palace who hand stoners paper-wrapped burgers through a gap in the lucite! You’d think establishments featuring actual tableware could match their example.
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Agreed! Restaurants have figured out that they can increase their profits by adding a special “tax” to the bill and call it gratuity.
I’ve noticed at coffee shops and fast food joints it’s more obvious now because everyone pays with a credit card and there’s no loose change to drop in the tip jar. So we’re seeing these places ask for tips by putting a tip line on the receipt and asking you to sign(which isn’t really necessary for small amounts).
The other day I was at a coffee shop which used an electronic tablet for the register. They flip it around and you get to choose the tip amount or no tip. I had to wait so I watched and was surprised that only about 20% of the customers would give a tip…and this is near Christmas. Bunch of Scrooges! 
Brilliantly said!
Would 
but still on cool-down period.
Edit: expanded quote to capture all of wonderful word-crafting.
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Over the years I’ve adjusted from 10% to 12% to 15% and now an expected 20% tip when dining out. I’ve grown accustomed to adding a few quarters in a tip jar onto my coffee purchase, or a dollar depending. I’ve even been told that now I’m required to tip when picking up my food to go, which I do, grudgingly. I’m not throwing more money at the guy flipping my burger. Sorry!
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Imagine being sent there for courses or conferences, ostensibly on your employers dollar, but forced to use your own funds and claim back later. And your employer is in a ‘no tips’ country and doesn’t get the US tipping culture at all …
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Frankly, some of us up here find it quite rude. I like someone to stop by about three to five minutes after they dropped off food to check up and make sure there were no issues, stop in when plates are cleared to check in on the coffee bit, and then come over when I make that hand wavey “check please” signal. The places I’ve been to like this it’s always been an absolute pleasure, it’s the midrange places that stop by cheerfully too often to “fill that up for you?” when things are half empty.
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I got him for you.
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Tipping on food to go? I am afraid not. The kitchen staff plates things or puts them in boxes, the wait staff should do no more than deliver it to the front to be picked up.
The waitstaff does nothing whatsoever in this situation except collect it from the kitchen. I think tipping them is ridiculous, but I’ve been told repeatedly (especially by friends/relatives who work as waitstaff) that it’s expected every time.
Yeah, see, they need to tell me what they do in this case to deserve it. I’m a big tipper, but to go food, to my knowledge, doesn’t involve any work from them. I’d love to hear differently to correct any misunderstandings, but from my time in the did industry, there’s no wait staff labor in this case.
If the waitstaff has to A) take the time to answer the phone, take the order, make sure that what was ordered is what is inside, deliver it to the customer and then complete the monetary transaction taking the time away from their tables to do that then B) they are worthy of some consideration. I understand that there weren’t plates, metal flatware and a table involved but s/he is making sure you get the proper items and service for your meal.
The operative item here is that the server is now giving less than 100% to their tables for which they expected to receive nothing for Mr/s SteampunkBanana’s order. If that telephone order which ties me up while Table 20 doesn’t get the service they need to cover that spilled milk, guess who eats it?
The key here is that the waitstaff is, in my experience, not at all involved in takeout/pickup orders. The host at the front desk takes care of that. Only on one occasion have I seen a waiter come over to take care of payment and food delivery, at a small Indian place with no host and only one person taking care of all tables. I tipped him.
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I’ve always been tipped out by the waitstaff. To my knowledge it’s their choice. Hard to justify paying back of house 20 an hour, hard to keep a straight face as a waiter making 300 in tips in a night asking something of a 7/hr employee who totally won’t resent you for it.
It’s teamwork, and the whole pay thing needs to be reworked. As long as management keeps their mitts off it, it sorta works out.
This idea of directly tipping the kitchen staff, this makes sense if I ask them for a tour.
On Brazil (Rio de Janeiro, at least), it is the norms to tip 10%, usually divided as 8% to the serving waiter and 2% to the kitchen staff.
The same comments about wage apply.
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Then we’re somewhat on the same page and your server/cashier should appreciate your observation. I work in a slightly upscale restaurant in Berkeley and there is no host. When the owner answers the phone and it looks like a to-go she hands it to one of us, come what may.
There are a lot of little inequities in restaurant work and every place is wildly different. It’s hard to make blanket rules. Eg, in a place that has tipped the chef, dishwasher and barkeep for years no one wants to rock the boat if they want the good food (on a plate that’s not scorching), extra forks (during a rush) or that life-saving custom expresso drink for self or guest. Since the to-go checks are totaled w/ the rest, I will be tipping out on it, too.
What is the front of house staff doing letting the wait staff answer phones? I think that’s the problem right there. If the wait staff is on the phone they don’t get paid their sorry $2.13 an hour, they are now the host.
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