Gratuities are not a right!

February 26th, 2010

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – waiters and waitresses are NOT guaranteed a tip, nor should they be. I’m sorry the law allows restaurants to pay waitstaff almost nothing, that was not my idea. I am not their employer, I did not hire them, I did not promise them a certain wage, and they agreed to work for it. I know they work hard and I know most are trying to raise a family with very little. I am not at all saying they don’t deserve to be paid decently. Most servers do.

I think the servers/waitstaff should be paid at least minimum wage, more depending on experience and merit. I know, I know, the argument for paying at least minimum wage is then that prices for eating out will go up. Well, if they do, people will still eat out and restaurants will still make their money.

That being said, I consider myself a good tipper, especially since we are now empty-nesters and have a little more money left over to tip with. However, I expect good service for my good tip. If the waitstaff ignore me, I don’t leave a good tip, if at all. I have one basic rule – don’t let my glass go empty. If I’m paying $2.50 for that soft drink that costs the restaurant $0.20, keep my glass full! If I’m treated well, I tip well, if not, well, I reflect my dissatisfaction in my tip.

And, I tend to boycott any restaurant that tells me how much to tip by automatically adding on a gratuity to the check. That is rude and presumptive.

What set me off? I read an article where a restaurant banned a woman because she is not a good tipper. They told her that if she wasn’t willing to leave an 18% gratuity, then she was not welcome. I guess that’s their right, but she is boycotting this restaurant and I support her boycott! If I lived in Winston/Salem, NC, I would definitely not eat there.

I’m sure anyone working as a server, host, waiter, waitress, or whatever who is making less than minimum wage and depending on those tips to live on are upset with this article. They should be, but not because I think tipping should not be guaranteed, but because they are making way less than people who work half as hard. They work hard, they should be paid.

You can read the article from WLBZ2.com for more information.