The antisocial practice of tipping - Colleghumor weighs in

We all knew that already, but let's enjoy the presentation...

Poll: Did you find that funny?

The worst is when friends want to tip less and we end up adding more of our share into it to cover them

It was funny.

And since this is a Vegas forum...

When you order room service at Caesars Palace, the tip for the server is included in the bill. There is a line on the check for a gratuity but that would be an additional gratuity.

my research has shown that when I tip more to a poker dealer, they do not start dealing me better hands.....

Other countries where you don't tip....you are automatically charged some % as a service fee.

Do I care if I eat a $40 meal and tip $10 or eat a $50 meal and tip nothing? Either way -- same thing.

What this idiot is trying to promote is non-tipping by using the 40+10 vs 50+0 scenario....which really doesn't make sense. He's saying one thing but means another. He doesn't want to tip but wants to pay more instead. Ludicrous.

As long this subject is up, let me ask a question about a jackpot tip.

When the machine locks up, someone comes by, maybe opens the machine, or inserts card, or gets on their comm device and says they will get back to pay.

Then TWO people, and sometimes more show up. A different person with the cash than the first person who did the other stuff.

Who is considered the correct payee for the tip? Does it matter. They seriously don't expect more because there are two or more them do they?

I know what I do, but have no idea what is the general expectation if any.

Quote: aceofspades

The worst is when friends want to tip less and we end up adding more of our share into it to cover them

I have a friend from Taiwan who, after many years, will begrudgingly leave a 10% tip now. Earlier in our friendship we were at a Red Robin and he rounded his bill up about 15 cents to $16. We all know them.

Quote: rxwine

As long this subject is up, let me ask a question about a jackpot tip.

When the machine locks up, someone comes by, maybe opens the machine, or inserts card, or gets on their comm device and says they will get back to pay.

Then TWO people, and sometimes more show up. A different person with the cash than the first person who did the other stuff.

Who is considered the correct payee for the tip? Does it matter. They seriously don't expect more because there are two or more them do they?

I know what I do, but have no idea what is the general expectation if any.

I tip the same regardless of how many people there are. Generally determine what kind of a tip I'll give before anyone even shows up. (Of course the amount changes based on win, IMO.) But if it's something crazy like a dealt royal for $200,000 and they need supervisors and shift bosses and slot techs to verify and......then I think a tip per person would be in order.

Quote: RS

I tip the same regardless of how many people there are. Generally determine what kind of a tip I'll give before anyone even shows up. (Of course the amount changes based on win, IMO.) But if it's something crazy like a dealt royal for $200,000 and they need supervisors and shift bosses and slot techs to verify and......then I think a tip per person would be in order.

Seems to me that if multiple people showed up, then they'd divvy up the tip themselves.

Quote: RS

I tip the same regardless of how many people there are. Generally determine what kind of a tip I'll give before anyone even shows up. (Of course the amount changes based on win, IMO.) But if it's something crazy like a dealt royal for $200,000 and they need supervisors and shift bosses and slot techs to verify and......then I think a tip per person would be in order.

So you would tip whoever showed up? I hope that reputation doesn't get around or you will have the entire floor show up :)

Quote: rxwine

Then TWO people, and sometimes more show up. A different person with the cash than the first person who did the other stuff.

Who is considered the correct payee for the tip? Does it matter.

Who handed you the money?

Quote: aceofspades

So you would tip whoever showed up? I hope that reputation doesn't get around or you will have the entire floor show up :)

Normally 2 show up, one to pay and one to verify.

On really really big wins, they have a slot tech / shift manager / etc. show up and make sure all is in order (at least, that's what I've read), machine didn't malfunction etc. In that situation, the people working would get tipped. But if 5 people show up for a $1500 handpay, I'm tipping $10-20 total and moving along.

If you're a fish you should tip casino employees 0. If you're an APer you should tip based on whether you think tipping is +EV (for the long run) or not. Like if I'm going to a place once and not returning for a long time, I won't tip a dime, there's no EV in it.

Now, since most people going to a casino are fish, here's the way I look at it. Do you tip your crack dealer for selling you crack? Do you tip the guy at the liquor store? Do you tip the guy selling you cigarettes? Do you tip anyone who's selling you an addiction of some kind?

Casinos aren't in the service industry, they're more like crack dealers.

Dealers aren't "the casino". To them it is a job, just like any other job.

Do you tip at a restaurant, even if you're likely never to return? Do you tip at a restaurant if you think it's +EV? I surely hope you don't calculate whether tipping is +EV at a restaurant nor does frequency of visiting come into play when you tip at a restaurant.

You too because they are giving you a service.

It is unfortunate many places (grocery stores, 711's, McDonald's, etc.) don't have a tip jar. Even some places, like Chipotle (which I frequent quite often) don't have a spot on the receipt for a tip when paying with a card. I always try to bring a dollar or two for their tip jar, although sometimes I forget. However on the upside, places like Mike's Jersey sub's (or whatever it's called) has a kind-of-automatic tip thing. Before hitting " is this the proper amount? Yes/no" on the card machine, it shows a thing for a tip, like "0%, 5%, 10%, 20%, other". Kudos to Jersey Mike's for having that.

Quote: RS

Dealers aren't "the casino". To them it is a job, just like any other job.

Do you tip at a restaurant, even if you're likely never to return? Do you tip at a restaurant if you think it's +EV? I surely hope you don't calculate whether tipping is +EV at a restaurant nor does frequency of visiting come into play when you tip at a restaurant.

You too because they are giving you a service.

It is unfortunate many places (grocery stores, 711's, McDonald's, etc.) don't have a tip jar. Even some places, like Chipotle (which I frequent quite often) don't have a spot on the receipt for a tip when paying with a card. I always try to bring a dollar or two for their tip jar, although sometimes I forget. However on the upside, places like Mike's Jersey sub's (or whatever it's called) has a kind-of-automatic tip thing. Before hitting " is this the proper amount? Yes/no" on the card machine, it shows a thing for a tip, like "0%, 5%, 10%, 20%, other". Kudos to Jersey Mike's for having that.

Waiters are providing a service, for the most part, with the exception of people who have an eating addiction.

Dealers are pushing a fix for people with a gambling addiction, for the most part, and the exception is people who don't have a problem.

I reluctantly tip out of societal norms. I tip happily for a +EV play, I want slot techs on my side even if I have to buy their friendship.

Quote: sc15

Waiters are providing a service, for the most part, with the exception of people who have an eating addiction.

Dealers are pushing a fix for people with a gambling addiction, for the most part, and the exception is people who don't have a problem.

Both are ridiculous statements.

What is a waiter to do, "I'm sorry you have an eating addiction, I can't serve you." ?????

I don't think most people in a casino have a gambling addiction (well, depends on casino). If you're at a casino on the strip, almost all players are tourists and wouldn't have a gambling addiction. If you're somewhere like a stations casino / dotty's (not that they have dealers, but same idea), I'd say many more there have an addiction (percentage wise). Are strip-dealers "good" because they service tourists while off-strip dealers are "bad" because they service degenerates?

Are workers at McDonald's bad because they are more likely to service people with eating disorders....and workers at a higher end restaurant are "good" because most people there don't have an eating disorder?

Some people you tip, others you don't. There is no reasonable explanation. It happened traditionally. In Europe they give you a buck, in America it's 15%. Europe has better social services while in US people pay for everything by themselves. McDonalds employes are considered to be students, no tipping, cabbies and waiters are pros who make a living by providing services.

THREAD HIJACK ALERT

Quote: Dicenor33

Some people you tip, others you don't. There is no reasonable explanation. It happened traditionally. In Europe they give you a buck, in America it's 15%. Europe has better social services while in US people pay for everything by themselves. McDonalds employes are considered to be students, no tipping, cabbies and waiters are pros who make a living by providing services.

Wait, what?? Sorry. My BS detector went off and I couldn't help myself.

And I would agree with RS. Dealers are dealers, no matter where they work. I'd gladly tip a good dealer (friendly, helpful) in a sweat joint, and I'd quickly walk away from a jerk in a high-end casino. They don't choose their employers' clientele, they're just looking to earn a day's pay for a day's work.

Quote: Canyonero

Poll: Did you find that funny?

Yep, that was funny and surprisingly educational from a historical perspective as well.

Quote: RS

Normally 2 show up, one to pay and one to verify.

On really really big wins, they have a slot tech / shift manager / etc. show up and make sure all is in order (at least, that's what I've read), machine didn't malfunction etc. In that situation, the people working would get tipped. But if 5 people show up for a $1500 handpay, I'm tipping $10-20 total and moving along.

So you want to know how much to tip when people show up to try to find a way NOT to pay you....as far as I know they are not showing up to make sure you get paid correctly. Were you still planning to tip them if they found out the machine malfunctioned (or do they then tip you) and your not getting paid. how about the guy who issues you the tax form, and if we get audited, lets tip the internal revenue agent.

I tipped $7.00 on a $68.00 after-tax check at a Korean Barbeque place and the waitress actually confronted me and asked me to tip more. I couldn't believe it. This WAS in New York City, though.

Quote: teddys

I tipped $7.00 on a $68.00 after-tax check at a Korean Barbeque place and the waitress actually confronted me and asked me to tip more. I couldn't believe it. This WAS in New York City, though.

Was the service actually bad to warrant a low tip or no tip?

If so you should've told em you want to change it to no tip and that they should go eff themselves.

Quote: Eazzy

So you want to know how much to tip when people show up to try to find a way NOT to pay you....as far as I know they are not showing up to make sure you get paid correctly. Were you still planning to tip them if they found out the machine malfunctioned (or do they then tip you) and your not getting paid. how about the guy who issues you the tax form, and if we get audited, lets tip the internal revenue agent.

I never asked how much to tip. I think you're confusing me with the OP?

Bottom line, they're doing their job. They aren't trying to find a way to not pay me. They're making sure it's legitimate. Fine by me.

Like most things in life your actions should have purpose. If it benefits you to tip then tip a lot. If there's no benefit then tip as little as you can or maybe not at all. Otherwise you're just throwing money away.

Oh boy, the tipping thread... Here's a can of worms where either you lose a bunch of money, or you're an asshole. Which do you choose?!?!

The video was funny, and historically accurate. As long as you're not an asshole server to me, I will pretty much tip 20%... However, I agree and personally think the idea of 'forced tipping' is a joke. It's also a good marketing tool for restaurants. Hey, our meal only cost $15! Never mind the fact that after tax and tip you're paying $20! So, in fact, you will NEVER get this entree for $15 and that's just a blatant lie that we put on our menu!

I think cutting tipping out, paying the waiters a real wage, and reflecting that PROPERLY on the menu would change a lot of things. That would let consumers know the REAL price of their meal. Now your entree you want on the menu will actually be listed at $20. The food industry might not like it because it reveals the truth to consumers; where as maybe they would have spruced for a $15 meal before, but they don't want a $20 meal so they'll pick something less expensive and overall spend less. Well, perhaps if you didn't spend the last 50 years trying to HIDE the real price of a meal from us you wouldn't have to worry about the backlash of showing us the real prices today.

In the end yes, it does cost the same amount, but to me the real win here are numerous points:
1) No more awkward tipping... How 'good' was the service really? Are my friends cheaping out on the tip so I need to tip more? etc...
2) More transparency and honesty about the meals I wish to purchase. Don't put $15 on the menu if both you and I know it will cost me $20 to order it.
3) More informed decisions about what someone wants to pay for a meal.

To those whom might say "Oh, well now the servers are just gonna do a shitty job and you can't reflect that or make them 'pay' for it!" ...No. Just like ANY other job in the damn country, if they do a poor job, you talk to their manager, and they get fired. If they do a poor job, they shouldn't have a job. That simple really.

We have a 'wonderful' situation in Australia where you pay full odds for the meal (i.e. wages would be about USD 15 per hour in mid-end restaurants) but people are still creating a tipping culture; particularly in higher-end restaurants. To make things worse, we recently switched to PIN-only credit card transactions which forces the waiter to bring the CC device to your table, type in the bill and then present a screen to you that says 'Tip Amount' while giving you the 'you're not a tightXXXX are you?' look.

Wow. I heard about the living wages in Australia, but I thought there was no tipping there.

Quote: Uranium235

We have a 'wonderful' situation in Australia where you pay full odds for the meal (i.e. wages would be about USD 15 per hour in mid-end restaurants) but people are still creating a tipping culture; particularly in higher-end restaurants. To make things worse, we recently switched to PIN-only credit card transactions which forces the waiter to bring the CC device to your table, type in the bill and then present a screen to you that says 'Tip Amount' while giving you the 'you're not a tightXXXX are you?' look.

$15/hour and expect tips for serving food? Are there college degrees you can get in serving? Man, that sounds like quite an uncomfortable situation to put your patrons in =/.

The various governments would love to see tipping go away as it would raise tax revenues. I am sure that billions of dollars of tip income is not report to the fed/state/local IRS. Then there is the increase in sales/drink/hotel/etc. taxes that are based on the price, which would increase if the no tipping cost was folded into the final price.

At some levels I think that tipping isn't only about the absolute service, but to get better service than the guy next to you. It a competition with your fellow human and it sounds like Australia is experiencing that condition.

Quote: Romes

$15/hour and expect tips for serving food? Are there college degrees you can get in serving? Man, that sounds like quite an uncomfortable situation to put your patrons in =/.

Its a product of the mining boom. The average yearly income in Australia is about USD 60,000 per year (@ latest fx rate). It sounds great on the surface but the median house price in Sydney will head to the $1mio mark by 2016. Hence purchasing power is hit and will only get worse when China stop buying our iron ore.

In Switzerland tipping is what it should be: an option.
The minimum amount a server in a Swiss restaurant might make is $20 per hour. Restaurants and businesses that value service pay more than that.

If you don't say anything when paying the bill the server will give you back the exact change without even flinching. A lot of people round up the bill. If the service was particularly good you might add an extra $5 or 10 on top of that.

I'd rather not have to deal with tipping when in Vegas but I've gotten used to it by now.

Quote: Romes

...now the servers are just gonna do a shitty job...

Some maybe yes; luckily the good ones still give good service.

For years teas and coffees were free in the casino and nearly everybody used tip the waitresses. A few years back a few chains changed the rules and now have pooling. Everybody loses out; it's no longer right to tip the waitress for her continued good service (as she gets little of it), so tips aren't the norm. This means, sadly, there are a few waitresses who see little point in making that little extra effort of going round checking whether people want drinks. The result is if you visit a casino it is now more difficult to obtain a coffee. (I know some people give the girls a Christmas Box, so the management don't get any part of it.)