Restaurant Guests Tip $7, Are Chased Out The Door By Angry Server

Every time I consider going to the States, I read this kind of thing and start looking at Europe again.

The rudeness and arrogance of this galls me. It is not up to the customer to make up your wages. That is the responsibility of your employer. Tips are given for exceptional service, not merely doing your job. A mandatory service charge is NOT a tip! America needs to learn this and change the way they price things in restaurants. Brushing it off as your culture is just stupid. Employees need to know how much they are going to take home at the end of the week.

Someone said 'Don't go out eating if you not prepared to tip 20%'. I would say 'Don't run a business if you cannot afford to pay your staff a decent wage.' And if people who don't pay 20% tip stopped going out, staff and restaurants would have even less money. Stop making your guests feeling uncomfortable and be grateful they visited your restaurant.

We're missing the point here. Is it out of control yes, should you abide by the countries customs you're in, yes. BUT... Americans need to stop blaming the customer for our low wages and DEMAND our employer pay us a living wage and that needs to be done so thru our government! Our entire system needs to change.

I worked in restaurants and the food industry my entire working life. I tip well, but absolutely hate how out of control it is... I don't want to tip at a drive-thru, to pick up a carryout, or anywhere I have to do my own service. Pay living wages, pay employees, stop making their daily wage my responsibility.

Not that I would set foot in the US again inthese times but the last time I was there we would buy stuff in the supermarket (like salads and sandwiches) and eat outside or in the hotel for precisely those reasons. Eating out in the US is not an enjoyable experience, it's expensive, the tip culture is completely over the top, you can't have a conversation because the waitstaff will keep interrupting and the second you finish your last bite they basically shoo you out.

Hand me the $7 back right now, you entitled a*****e

I tip what is deserved based on the service I get..just because you brought me my food doesn't mean you automatically get 15-20%. I also see it when I pick up a takeout order!!! You're not serving me, do I get a tip for delivering my food to myself...another thing I'm noticing is a tipping page at retailers. I picked out my own clothes and am buying them and you want a tip too. I just love how the cashier stares at me when I get to that screen and I hit zero...it's clothes, nobody helped me.

It's not just "getting out of control". It's disgusting. If you can't afford to pay your staff a living wage, your business plan is WRONG! Pay YOUR staff. It's not your customer's responsibility to pay your staff any more than I'd be responsible for paying the cashier's wages at a grocery store. Your cheapskateness does not become my problem. Tipping is gross and an insult to every customer that walks through your door. That business model needs to be made illegal.

If it's a mandatory charge, the restaurant should add it to the bill.

Back in the 70's I worked at a gas station while in college. I made minimum wage with NO chance for more. I would pump the gas, check the oil, wash the windows, check tire pressure and add more if needed. I spent MUCH more time serving every customer than almost all waiters/waitresses. I received a single $1 tip in 2 years. I do not feel sorry for them as all make at least minimum wage and many much more.

In some places in my country, the waiters are super scummy and demand tips, become aggressive. I even had some wannabe Casanova HITTING ON MY DATE. Hell no. I tip 10% as is customary in my country, 15% if service is great. These american customs infesting my country are unacceptable. And they were trying to spread it to civilised countries like Japan, too! It is great that this infection has not taken root there yet.

Dear America, just grow up! you are ruinning everything with your tarrifs, your underpaid workers/beggers.

I am the owner of my own money and I am the one to decide how much to tip $0 or 20%. It all depends on how that experience is. It is not my fault that people do not get paid enough. It is all how people grew up and some are born and raised with tipping in their culture.

This really frustrates me . How a country so big believes the lies they are living in a free and wonderful country, taking for granted that the hardworking wait staff depend on tips due to not being paid properly, your govt who are filthy rich is laughing in your faces. Watching you and us( when we visit) being stressed and give money for tips we can’t really afford and watch us all squabble. As they bask in the sidelines with their millions watching us squabble amongst ourselves but doing nothing about it. How has waiting staff salaries/ lack thereof, gone for SO long and no backlash from the American citizens?

I've always tipped based on how good the service was like my parents do and we've never got harassed by a waiter. Do a good job and I'll tip you, but I've gotta make a living too and it's not my fault you get paid below minimum wage.

Since the pandemic, I've always tipped at least 25%, usually more, especially if the meal or the service or both are amazing. And this is especially true of all of my regular haunts where people know me. I want them to appreciate me when I'm there because I absolutely appreciate them. And when I see a server or bartender struggling, I tip more.

All the comments just made me not want to tip anymore! Over 20% in this economy, get out of here!!! Soon only the rich will be the only one's to afford to tip.

It's not just that tipping is stupid, it's also been inflating recently. 15% at a restaurant with a server was the norm for decades. The last 5 years it's expected to pay 20+% and even automated ordering systems will ask for a tip now.

Whatever happened to the standard of 15%?

I always tip well, but only because I've been conditioned to. But, if it was bad service, I tip less. If a server ever followed me out like that, I'd tell them to get the manager and explain to the manager WHY the server got a bad tip. And then let him/her know that this interaction is going on Yelp tonight. Things are getting to be too expensive nowadays. If these restaurants want to stay open, they'd better come up with a better solution than harassing customers for tips. Tips should be for above and beyond service, not mandatory.

Again, another demonstration that the US sucks.

I don't have to tip you at all. It's my choice. You have a job, do it. I'll decide what, if any monies you'll receive from me. You're not my judge or the jury.

I have worked in the service industry in the USA since 1988. Nobody confronts a customer like that without getting fired. Yes, I am one of the lucky that made about $2.30 an hour at times so tips were essential. I also didn't want to look like an a$$hat to other customers. You treat everyone with kindness and respect. Also my MIL was very cheap so if we knew she was going to treat us to lunch or dinner, like another commenter said, we had cash on hand and tossed it on the table as mom headed away from the table. She was not only cheap but difficult too. Wow I don't miss her. FIL was a saint, guess that's why he checked out early.

Yes, tipping culture is getting out of control. But, it's always been the norm for waitstaff. We aren't talking about a mechanic asking for a tip here. I've been out to eat with my grandparents back in the day and my grandma was a MAJOR cheapskate. I always ended up leaving the tip because she refused. Should the restaurant pay living wages? Of course, but until they do we need to tip.

Its not rocket surgery. If you go out to eat and are waited on expect to tip 20% unless the service is bad.

The only reason I'm here is so I can read all the Euros crying about tipping in the comments. Cry all you want, it doesn't change the system that's been in place for decades. If you don't want to tip, that's fine. That's your choice. Funny how you get angry about Americans acting American in your country, yet you don't see the hypocrisy of what you're doing by crying about tipping in the US. When in Rome people... it works both fvcking ways.

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My budget is very tight. So I don't eat out. Because tipping is customary and I care about other people. I can't afford the luxury so I don't go out. I wish servers were paid better, but this is the reality right now: they aren't. And the people who say "get a better job" can just f**k right off a cliff. My daughters waited tables while in school and so did I. I really hate tipping culture. I find it awkward and desperately sad, but it's the reality so I just opt out of the whole mess. If you CHOOSE to eat in a restaurant where tipping is customary then you CHOSE to pay a tip and deserve to be called out if you don't!

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Dear tourists, Telling the US restaurants should pay a living wage is NOT going to make restaurants pay a living wage. This is what is customary here. If you feel like your service was very bad, then don’t tip the full amount and explain why. It usually isn’t that much more, depending on where you’re eating. If you’re unwilling or unable to pay 20% on a $500 meal, go somewhere cheaper. We have a variety of restaurants that charge very different prices. If you go to the counter somewhere and order, then retrieve your meal yourself, you are not obliged to tip. Other tourists also constantly talk about our portion sizes being huge, free iced water, free refills. So it sounds like you’re getting a pretty good deal comparatively after all. For that 20% tip, turn that meal into two if you need to. When budgeting for vacation, you include food which in the US should include tip. That said, I’ve never seen a server confront someone about their tip $ most employers wouldn’t allow it.