Comments on: Should the Current Economy Affect How Much You Tip?

By: September 11 inside job

September 11 inside job — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 06:33:22 +0000

I don’t have to tip if I don’t want to. Good service? You got it. Bad Service? Maybe next time pal. Either way, I’ll tip if I want to and the economical status of my well being will dictate my behavior toward tips. Call me names, insult my intelligence but personal remarks shouldn’t influence what I think. Look at it from my perspective. First, consider that the restaurant joint is lucky enough to even have customers eat at the place in this gloomy economy where restaurants should be going bust. The customers must already pay a premium amount for food that could be cooked at home and not to mention the nationwide sales tax increase (9.25% now in CA) and then the hefty tip itself (almost like a 2nd tax itself). Don’t forget, no matter what the biased laws of courtesy may say about mandatory tipping, the tip should always be done by choice of the customer. It always has been but lately something is wrong. Remember the last century when it was not required to tip? Nowadays people make it seem as though not tipping would imply rudeness, cheapness, disrespect and although it may seem so to the robotic crowd, tipping is still a freedom of choice. In this depressing economy along with the Federal Income Tax sucking me dry, I don’t feel like tipping. Plus I have student loans to repay, my wallet is light, and Obama’s Health Care Plan will soon force me to buy health insurance or be fined for failure to comply. I’m poor but I can still afford a meal at a restaurant. If I’m in a jolly mood, I tip. If not, maybe next time. Don’t harass me on my way out the door because I indirectly pay for the restaurant’s livelihood. No customer, no business. Simple. And speaking of simplicity, we have forgotten this basic freedom behavior of the consumer to tip or not and as a result, automatically accept the 15%, 18% or 21% tip as though it was a requirement. We resort to the calculators and the how-to-tip charts to govern our decision and on how much to tip at a restaurant. It’s plain business psychology and we feel better and more content after tipping. Well I’m here to break the status quo! Your lucky to have me walk through your door. I had to open it myself too. The economy is in shambles and I’m in a bad mood. I don’t tip. Go cry to the next customer.

By: Oliver

Oliver — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 15:59:16 +0000

In the same way that I consider tax to be part of the price of an item, I also consider a 15% tip to be part of the price of a meal. Of course, I may still go up (or down) from this number if the service was particularly good (or bad).

So in the same way that I would add tax to the price tag of an LCD TV and THEN decide whether I can afford it, I add tax AND tip to the price of an item of a menu and then decide if I want to pay that price.

It makes no sense to me that someone will say, “Gas is so expensive/The economy is down/etc/whatever, so I tip less now.” If the price of the food plus tax and tip is too high for you, then DON’T eat out at that restaurant in the first place.

Of course, the 15% number only makes sense in North America. Tip appropriately to where you are.

By: How Much To Tip - How Much to Tip in Sticky Situations

How Much To Tip - How Much to Tip in Sticky Situations — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 13:32:24 +0000

[...] Should the Current Economy Affect How Much You Tip? at Cash Money Life [...]

By: How Do You Decide To Tip Or Not?

How Do You Decide To Tip Or Not? — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 15:22:24 +0000

[...] over at Cash Money Life asked the other day if tipping rates were being affected by our economic troubles, and 76% of the respondents said that it has not affected them at all. That is great, I think, as [...]

By: HisHersMoney

HisHersMoney — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 18:02:58 +0000

I believe that the tip amount should not change. If you can not afford a fair tip (assuming fair service) than ou really can not afford to eat out.

By: Nancy

Nancy — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 16:17:31 +0000

I think most here are in concensus regarding not tipping less. A person is pretty low to tip less just because he/she paid more for gas to get there and the food might be priced a little higher or the portions smaller (God knows we don’t need the super size portions most restaurants serve). I used to be a waitress plus I worked on ships where some of the crew were paid $45/month and relied on tips. Tell me giving a decent tip isn’t the ethical thing to do. If you are seated at a restuarant and see that the prices are higher and you might not have enough to order what you decided on, switch to a lower priced entree. You still have the enjoyment of dining out and aren’t stiffing the wait staff.

By: Laura

Laura — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 18:41:35 +0000

We went out twice last week and tipped almost 30% and over 20% respectively. The quality of service was different, so we tipped accordingly.

We also noticed that food was a bit more this time, so in a way a higher tip was built in.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:37:00 +0000

Katie,

I don’t think it is ranting. I think a lot of people simply don’t think about it, and don’t understand how tips are calculated, taxed, etc. Thanks for sharing your side.