Split the check?

[flyers0909]

20 hours ago, ramssuperbowl99 said:

I don't tip drive through or carry out. I could see an argument for carry out, especially if those staff are paid sub minimum wage with tipping loopholes, so if I'm supposed to and someone wants to yell at me feel free.

I don't see the same argument for fast food workers, the Chipolte down the street is hiring at like $16/hour, so there's no gap there that I should be making up. That's predatory corporate bull**** to me just like the "donate to charity at checkout" routine.

This was back in college but when I worked as a host I never expected a tip.  I made slightly over minimum wage and the tip would only go to me and it was just walking to the kitchen to pick up the food and bring it to the front.  

[ramssuperbowl99]

3 minutes ago, flyers0909 said:

This was back in college but when I worked as a host I never expected a tip.  I made slightly over minimum wage and the tip would only go to me and it was just walking to the kitchen to pick up the food and bring it to the front.  

Appreciate it. And glad you made more than minimum wage. I hope that the reason companies are pushing tip on take out recently is standard corporate greed and not because there's some loophole that has been changed where they can stiff the servers.

[Daniel]

On 1/25/2023 at 8:41 AM, MWil23 said:

I’d never do a group split, ever. Everything should be itemized, except maybe the tip. 

Yeah, if one party isn't just covering the bill, there's no reason to break it up between people.  It's just as much trouble for the restaurant to do that than to itemize everything, and you avoid bad blood with one person ordering lobster and cocktails.

[MWil23]

48 minutes ago, Daniel said:

Yeah, if one party isn't just covering the bill, there's no reason to break it up between people.  It's just as much trouble for the restaurant to do that than to itemize everything, and you avoid bad blood with one person ordering lobster and cocktails.

Pretty much. Granted, I'm not currently in an occupation where group dinners are a norm. Almost always it's takeout or a date night with my wife, perhaps a happy hour get together with coworkers that's more informal.

[MWil23]

16 hours ago, ET80 said:

I only tip on seated service or delivery - drive through or carryout is no tip, only exception is a place where I see them make the food in from of me (like Freebirds or Gyro Hut). I also tip a few bucks at any super localized places in carryout scenarios, like the pho shops in my neighborhood or the donut shop that my kids love - places where the owners and workers recognize me and treat me nicely (might not know my name or my order, but always greet me and give me a drink while I wait for the food to be ready). 

Exactly. Small businesses are different for me in my community, as are the mongolian barbecue place that I occasionally do where the dudes make it right there. Fun times! Plus my kids get to bang a gong when they put money in the tip jar, and it's a fun way to teach them gratitude.

[MWil23]

2 hours ago, ramssuperbowl99 said:

Appreciate it. And glad you made more than minimum wage. I hope that the reason companies are pushing tip on take out recently is standard corporate greed and not because there's some loophole that has been changed where they can stiff the servers.

I just read an article where in CA some restaurants are now charging a 10-20% "health employee" fee for employee healthcare...which almost undoubtedly go straight into some CEO's back pocket.

[ramssuperbowl99]

3 minutes ago, MWil23 said:

I just read an article where in CA some restaurants are now charging a 10-20% "health employee" fee for employee healthcare...which almost undoubtedly go straight into some CEO's back pocket.

Weird how wages are up 15% YOY, square in the middle of the cost of that shiny new health employee fee. So odd. What a coincidence. I'm sure the owners are all telling the truth though.

[BobbyPhil1781]

On 1/24/2023 at 8:44 PM, biggio7 said:

When you go out with a group to eat, how do you split the check? Do you divide the total with the amount of people or does everyone pay for what they get?

 

I went out with some friends (group of 9) to a restaurant on Saturday. I got a burger ($16) and a ginger-ale ($4). Bill came and someone said 'Everyone owes $54, that includes the tip.' All others were all cool with it. I thought that was a bit odd. They ordered four appetizers for the table. I didn't eat any. Some people got dessert and coffee but not everyone.

I just thought it was odd but maybe it's me. I guess if everyone eats evenly then the check should be split like that. But, just didn't seem to fit. What do you all think?

This is the most illogical way to split a check. It literally makes no sense. If others were drinking and you weren't, makes it even worse. The only way this is acceptable is if everyone agrees to it afterwards. I can promise you that your burger and ginger-ale were not worth $54 lol.

It's simple to me: Tell the server who's got who and if apps are ordered, whoever orders em, get to pay for em. Sharing is caring. 

You need to educate your peeps on how dumb this is lol

[BobbyPhil1781]

On 1/25/2023 at 10:10 AM, MWil23 said:

Oh and for the record, I need some clarification about what should and shouldn’t be tipped in today’s age. Am I supposed to be tipping the dude at the drive through now? Do you tip carry out? The tip culture is weird.

At a sit down restaurant, I basically always do 25%, maybe 20% if they weren’t great at service. I think one time I had a horrible server and tipped them 17%.

Tipping for carryout should always be done IMO but I was a server/bartender for a long time so maybe I'm biased.

Think of it this way: The bartender (most restaurants have them handle carryout orders) is away from their guests and getting your food ready, ensuring it's accurate, and bagging it up prior to cashing you out. That is time that could be used to be attentive to their other guests, especially if they're busy. IMO, in the restaurant industry, the FOH staff's time is always worth something even if it's the hostess taking care of it b/c they have other duties as well. Now I'm not saying 20-25% is standard for this unless you have a massive order that takes them a while to take care of but I always tip at least 10% on to-gos. If it's a place I frequent more often, like a lot of places in my town, I tend to do 20% b/c if they see me walk in, they tend to not make me wait long and it's only my wife and I so our meal prices aren't very high in general. 

[BobbyPhil1781]

22 hours ago, ramssuperbowl99 said:

I don't see the same argument for fast food workers, the Chipolte down the street is hiring at like $16/hour, so there's no gap there that I should be making up. That's predatory corporate bull**** to me just like the "donate to charity at checkout" routine.

I always go to a local Chipotle competitor called Hot Head Burrito (basically the same thing but they have more options in toppings and sauces) and I always tip them and usually at 25%. The only reason is when they see me come in, they recognize me and my bowls are usually hooked up as a result, and it's only an extra few bucks so it's worth it.

EDIT: They've even told me that not a lot of people tip so those that do, usually are recognized and get special treatment. Obviously that's a local thing but it's worked well

Edited January 26, 2023 by BobbyPhil1781

[ramssuperbowl99]

Just now, BobbyPhil1781 said:

I always go to a local Chipotle competitor called Hot Head Burrito (basically the same thing but they have more options in toppings and sauces) and I always tip them and usually at 25%. The only reason is when they see me come in, they recognize me and my bowls are usually hooked up as a result, and it's only an extra few bucks so it's worth it.

Oh yeah before I moved I had this thing with a local pizza place where they'd give me extra cheese/garlic bread, so I tipped 100% of the breaksticks cost on top of the the normal tip. The extra bread kept flowing, so I kept tipping 50% of the cost.

I'd also used to leave a $20 on the first $5 pitcher if a bar would be crowded. Never had a problem getting drinks.

But those are the exceptions rather than the rule for me at least, though I guess if you tip like a beast everywhere you increase the odds of getting hooked up.

8 minutes ago, BobbyPhil1781 said:

Tipping for carryout should always be done IMO but I was a server/bartender for a long time so maybe I'm biased.

Think of it this way: The bartender (most restaurants have them handle carryout orders) is away from their guests and getting your food ready, ensuring it's accurate, and bagging it up prior to cashing you out. That is time that could be used to be attentive to their other guests, especially if they're busy. IMO, in the restaurant industry, the FOH staff's time is always worth something even if it's the hostess taking care of it b/c they have other duties as well. Now I'm not saying 20-25% is standard for this unless you have a massive order that takes them a while to take care of but I always tip at least 10% on to-gos. If it's a place I frequent more often, like a lot of places in my town, I tend to do 20% b/c if they see me walk in, they tend to not make me wait long and it's only my wife and I so our meal prices aren't very high in general. 

Damnit. I guess I have to tip carryout. 10% it is.

[MWil23]

35 minutes ago, BobbyPhil1781 said:

Tipping for carryout should always be done IMO but I was a server/bartender for a long time so maybe I'm biased.

Think of it this way: The bartender (most restaurants have them handle carryout orders) is away from their guests and getting your food ready, ensuring it's accurate, and bagging it up prior to cashing you out. That is time that could be used to be attentive to their other guests, especially if they're busy. IMO, in the restaurant industry, the FOH staff's time is always worth something even if it's the hostess taking care of it b/c they have other duties as well. Now I'm not saying 20-25% is standard for this unless you have a massive order that takes them a while to take care of but I always tip at least 10% on to-gos. If it's a place I frequent more often, like a lot of places in my town, I tend to do 20% b/c if they see me walk in, they tend to not make me wait long and it's only my wife and I so our meal prices aren't very high in general. 

What if it's not at a place that serves alcohol? Serious question, not trying to be a cheapskate...okay, okay, 90% not trying to be a cheapskate.

[vike daddy]

i have @ET80's credit card info, he always pays for my meals.

[vike daddy]

3 minutes ago, vike daddy said:

i have @ET80's credit card info, he always pays for my meals.

he tips well too.

[BobbyPhil1781]

49 minutes ago, MWil23 said:

What if it's not at a place that serves alcohol? Serious question, not trying to be a cheapskate...okay, okay, 90% not trying to be a cheapskate.

I kind of eluded to that in my unnecessarily long comment in the sense that even if it's a hostess (or in some cases, a server), they still have other duties they could be doing in the meantime. From the couple places I worked when I was in the industry, they both really nailed home the importance of greeting people as they walk in and if a host/ess is getting your stuff together, they cannot be there to do that part of their job. Maybe it's not as important to some as it is others, but I recall many times seeing people leave if they weren't greeted in what they determined to be an adequate amount of time. There are a lot of pricks people deal w/ in this industry so obviously some guests are worse than others as most wouldn't care if it were under a minute or two. If it's another server, however, you can still apply the bartender logic in the fact that they cannot tend to their tables while getting your order ready. That and the hourly wage they earn but that could open a can of worms this topic is not about lol. 

I'm not here to tell people what to do w/ their cash as that should be up to them but just explaining my reasoning for why I do it and I feel it's justified. If you want to be "cheap" (your words lol), go for it. I am too! My wife hates it. This industry is the exception the rule though as I'm overly generous more times than I'm not.