When travelers from other countries dine in the US, they are often confused by our restaurant system. “Tip not included” is a phrase they frequently see printed on menus and hear staff tell them that piece of info when they get the bill. Most people understand that restaurant workers in this country are underpaid and depend on tips. Since a tip is seldom included in the US, except for large parties, the system sometimes works to a server’s disadvantage.
Many higher-end establishments do not add the customary large-group 18-20% tip in the hopes that the serving staff will excel that expectation and earn what the diner/host believes is an appropriate amount. Those places are often right, and servers benefit from the customer doing the math. After all, good service deserves recognition, which in this case amounts to an appropriate monetary tip. There’s the rub: The definition of appropriate can vary considerably.
Let’s step back a moment. Tipping should be the customer’s decision and not merely an expectation. Slovenly service which often involves favoring one table over another or more simply stated, not working each table uniformly, often leads to an end-of-the-meal debate among the guests. There are those who tip, no matter what. They often tip the same amount in the belief that the wait staff needs and depends on the tip. That’s true.
It’s the guest who takes out his angst on the server for not getting his food to the table expeditiously or even correctly that often makes restaurants rethink the need to include a tip in the bill. Stories abound about angry diners who are harassed by wait staff for not leaving a tip and then they create their own tirade explaining away their reasoning. It often translates loudly in the dining room with words such as I ordered a hot breakfast, not cold eggs…
The tip dilemma will not end here, but diners need to remember that they are being served, waited on, and not all fault rests with the person who brings the food to the table.
Remember the economy and the work force and consider your decision accordingly.
It is about the service.
