Are we supposed to be tipping much less than I thought in California?

Question

I just fully realized what this whole "no tip-credit" deal in California means.

See here: http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs15.htm

This is completely insane. In this piece, it says that waiter's wages are minimum of $10.55:

http://thepricehike.com/post/63737740271/benu-now-195-goes-tasting-menu-only


And that is the minimum amount REQUIRED to be paid to all servers??

So when I dine out in SF, it should be fine to tip closer to 10% than the 20% I have been?

But this applies anywhere in California really. Why are we, as diners, tipping 20% when our waiters are getting guaranteed high hourly wages?...

I thought the justification for tipping high was that waiters had to makeup their minimum wage, and then exceed it with tips to make good money. But in California, that's not true.

So have I just been a gullible fool in tipping 20% average in California??

Can anyone explain this further to me? What do you guys tip on average?

Answer

When did 20% become the "standard" for tipping in restaurants? I have always thought 15% was standard.

Answer

What I usually do is ask the wait staff for his/her 1044 from last year so I can tip according to his/her station in life.

Answer

You can tip whatever you want, that's the nature of a tip.

But if you don't tip 15-20%, you'll look cheap compared with the average SF diner. You could leave a note explaining how you subtracted for the lack of tip credit and any surcharges, in which case instead of cheap you'll look crazy.

http://www.zagat.com/b/san-francisco/zagat-stat-how-much-do-you-tip

Answer

These owners don't expect to get goods from wholesalers at less than the cost to produce them. They don't expect electricity, gas or water at less than it costs to produce it. That wouldn't be sustainable in the long run. 
.
Why do they expect to get human labor at less than the cost it takes to produce that? That labor model isn't sustainable. There are the costs of rent, food, raising a family, healthcare, taxes, making a reasonable profit for your labor, etc.

Answer

Old Cranky Native Californian Weigh In:

Not only should you TIP 20+ percent in SF, but your waiters' wage should be ~$20+ per hour. Starting.

It is a very expensive city.

Imagine what would happen if, one day, all of the waitstaff just...left. ?

Answer

As with most tipping flamefests, the end result is always the same. You don't get to decide what the cultural norms for tipping are in an area (eg tipping at least 15%, but usually 20% in San Francisco). You just get to decide whether you want to eat in restaurants or not.

If you decide you don't want to follow the norm but you still want to eat in restaurants, you will rightly be labeled unflatteringly. 

And in much of California, let alone SF, you can't really call $10/hr a high wage.

Answer

I agree that it is reasonable to consider whether there is a tip credit. In Washington, servers make minimum wage of $9.35 an hour before tips. I don't expect most people to live on $9.35 an hour, but I'm also not sure waiting tables merits that PLUS 20% of the bill. If a server makes $20-25 an hour, great. Do they need to be making more than that? There is a movement in Seattle to have a $15 minimum wage, and restaurateurs are freaking out. I hope it will encourage honest conversations about how the restaurant industry really works.

Answer

I could give a rat's ass how much wait staff makes or doesn't make. It's their choice where they work and it's really irrelevant to me what their wage is.
I tip high on the total bill (25%) and above for good service and low (10%) for below average service.

Answer

25 -35% period.

Answer

"I thought the justification for tipping high was that waiters had to makeup their minimum wage, and then exceed it with tips to make good money. But in California, that's not true."

I think this is the problem. The purpose of a tip isn't to subsidize the server's wages. You are basically rewarding them for the service they provided, with the standard being 15-20%. Excellent service should warrant a higher tip. You are rewarding the server for the service provided - the better the service, the better the tip. Sure, you can tip 10%, but if you're a regular somewhere, they won't be clamoring to serve you.

Answer

I live in Southern California and I usually only tip 15%. Less if service was sub-par. I don't care what the server makes that's between him and the owner. I tip because of the service.

Answer

At this point I'd rather tip the line cooks who make crap while creating the star of the show.

Answer

Some people are always looking for an excuse to be cheap. This is yours.

Answer

What I find really interesting about all the griping these kinds of stories provoke, about how presumably we're all getting fleeced by these greedy waiters, is that the same people bothered by this seem to have no problem with all the ways their tax dollars go to subsidize all kinds of industries with billions of dollars in earnings. I'm more bothered by Exxon/Mobil's tax breaks than a server possibly making an extra few bucks an hour (which they will spend and put back into the economy, benefiting everyone).

Answer

People can always find a reason to not tip waiters. The waiter minimum wage used to be lower than the overall minimum wage, and waiters would often never make it up in tips. Either way, a lot if people just don't like to tip or have extremely high bars for waiters to be able to earn those tips.

Answer

I live in WA state where, I believe, the wait staff is paid minimum wage. I still tip at least 20%. 

The way I look at it is min wage is still not a living wage. If the wait staff is proving good service I'll tip accordingly.

Answer

These tipping threads are hilarious. Just wondering how much work are you guys making these waitstaff do when your tipping 20+%? 

We usually have two servers a food server and a drink server. If your not ordering drinks. The waiter takes your order,brings the food, hopefully comes back once and asks how it is (usually after two bites when people don't really know yet and all have there mouth full so just smile and nod) and thats it, so you see them twice during visit maybe three times. This is worth 20% of my bill or even 15%? or am I asking less service then most people are? in a tapas restaurant of course totally different. or if your making the server run back and forth with drinks. 

By the sounds of it I make a lot less money then a lot of people here and I work hard. Im not giving it up for someone who isn't doing any hard work for it. 

Its a hard call for me leaving a tip if the service was great and food was horrible or vice versa. Of course tip is always more for great service. when the food great but the service shit, I feel bad leaving a lower tip as I feel the tip also reflects the hard work of the cook which really matters to be 100% more then the service. and also feel bad for paying higher for service when I'm really pissed that the food was shitty and don't want them to think I tipped because I liked the food.

Answer

I've been following this discussion and I think the question is valid, but my personal behavior is that we tip 20% regardless unless something is really unusual one way or the other. I really don't want to try to figure out these state-to-state details, and figure in relative cost of living, etc. But it does point out the basic ridiculousness of the system here, where tipping is generally supposed to be the primary income of servers, even when states impose different regulations on it. I would welcome a change to a living wage for all, and we get rid of the tipping system entirely. Especially as tipping as migrated north from 15% considered "typical" to 20% considered "typical" and 15% now "cheap". What's next? Is this an arms race with "good tippers" running the show with the rest of us feeling like we need to play along to not be considered cheap?

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Are we supposed to be tipping much less than I thought in California?

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