Are you really gonna miss that dollar?
Thanks for reading Adult Acne the newsletter. This one is about tipping, which is bad but probably not going away so you better take care of your servers and bartenders bucko. Speaking of you can smash that button below to subscribe which is sort of like a tip in that it also costs money. Best wishes and warmest regards.
The reaction to a bad tip is swift and angry at first, followed by a pained, resigned exasperation. Your cheeks flush and your ears start to get hot like you just got cut off in traffic, maybe your extremities begin to involuntarily shake just a little bit, not enough for anyone else to notice but enough to feel on the cusp of explosion, like a tremor before the earthquake really starts and things begin to fall off the walls. You think about what you could’ve done differently, which if you’re good at your job as many of us are is often next to nothing. You would love to ask for an explanation, at least then maybe you could either figure out an area to improve for next time or simply take cold comfort in knowing that you did your best and it just so happens that the other person is an insane asshole or even worse, a Yelp user, but in this industry that sort of thing is frowned upon. We’re expected to be subordinates, responding to every whim and quirk and outrageous request with an easy cheer, a “no problem” instead of a “that’s fucking weird, no” which is what we often want to say as servers. But the tip says it all. It’s either a vindication or an indictment on your abilities. It quite literally attaches a number to your worth. And there’s often no rhyme or reason to it: sometimes, you give great service, the guests are extremely warm and friendly toward you, and they tip poorly; other times, an overly ornery guest turns out to be a great tipper. Without an hourly wage to fall back on, it can be a volatile, uncertain profession.
I’ve worked in the service industry off and on (mostly on) since I graduated high school in 2003. I went to college in my mid-twenties with the idea I’d get out of it; I taught myself how to do social media marketing and copywriting and HTML and web design and photography and audio with the idea I’d get out of it; I read and wrote voraciously with the idea I’d get out of it. But I always came back, yes, often out of necessity, but also because it’s truly what I love to do. I’ve never been the 9-5 desk job type. I like working nights. I still mostly am fine working weekends, though as I get older that part of the arrangement is slowly starting to disagree with me. I enjoy interacting with people, educating them about beer, solving their little problems with my years of acquired knowledge. I love helping people come to a decision that will make them happy. I have bad days like everyone does at their jobs, there are days where I find the constant interaction exhausting and by the time it’s over I just want to sit in a quiet room, alone, and not speak to anyone. But I look forward to it more than I don’t. The biggest problem in the industry from a labor perspective, outside of the need for a stronger union presence, is twofold: our bosses largely don’t value our work, and as such, neither do many guests because they’ve been conditioned not to by a society that treats service labor as low-skill, expendable and ultimately a stopgap for workers on their path to something greater like sitting in a cubicle all day in stodgy, uncomfortable clothes staring at a computer screen. I can’t tell you how many times a well-meaning regular has asked me what my “plan” is. Buddy you’re looking at it and there’s no shame in it so nice try. Don’t y’all know that most of those jobs are bullshit?
The history of tipping is ugly, rooted in slavery, and disproportionately affects women and women of color. Women in the restaurant industry working for tips are often forced to endure sexual harassment and unwanted advances to make their living, since the restaurant itself isn’t paying them.
“Most people don’t know that America’s time-honored tradition of tipping is rooted in our country’s racist history of slavery. But while tipping is so ingrained in many aspects of American commerce today, it actually didn’t originate here: It began in the aristocratic homes of feudal Europe, when lords would give their servants a little extra money when they went above and beyond their duties.
When the practice was brought to the United States in the 19th century, the American public was deeply uncomfortable with it. Many saw tipping as undemocratic and therefore un-American. A powerful anti-tipping movement erupted, fueled by the argument that employers, not customers, should be paying workers. But American restaurants and railway companies fought particularly hard to keep tipping, because it meant they didn’t have to pay recently freed black slaves who were now employed by those industries.”
Even now, in April 2019, the federal minimum wage for tipped workers is still just $2.13 an hour and has been since 1996. This “wage” exists primarily for tax purposes—employees never see a dime of it. Their paychecks are often for zero dollars and zero cents, whether they made $1,000 in tips that week or $200. Federal law does require restaurants to make up the difference if workers’ total pay doesn’t equal the federal minimum wage—still a measly $7.25 an hour for everyone wondering—but because the base wages are so low, even a server working at a low-volume restaurant still will probably make enough in tips to get to that $7.25 number, which isn’t a livable wage anywhere that I know of. Many states have raised their own minimum wages for tipped and non-tipped workers over the years—New York and California both have minimum wages north of $11/hour—but 24 states still have their tipped minimum wage at less than $3/hour. These wages keep many people in poverty, which is a problem in an industry that in the age of dying retail, is attracting more workers.
“Almost 13 percent of tipped workers are in poverty, compared with around 6 percent of non-tipped employees, according to a 2014 joint report by the Economic Policy Institute and the Center on Wage and Employment Dynamics at the University of California, Berkeley.
These problems are likely to be exacerbated by the fact that more workers will be making their living in restaurants. While employment in the private sector grew by 33 percent from 1990 to 2016, the number of full service restaurant workers doubled, according to Allegretto.”
So the industry is growing, which means there’s more competition for these jobs, and many people with stronger resumes and college degrees are entering, re-entering or simply staying in the service workforce, which hinders the upward mobility of those less formally educated workers. A higher wage would give those people some security, but it may also disincentivize guests from tipping, which seems to be the argument from the Restaurant Workers of America, which despite sounding like it is not a union. Joshua Chaisson, one of RWA’s founders, noted in a Philadelphia Inquirer op-ed last year defending tip culture that he earns roughly $28/hour with tips—good money to be sure for a white guy who probably works at a high-end restaurant that typically almost exclusively employ white people in the front of house, but hardly typical of the entire industry. Finding a lucrative serving or bartending job is often as much about skill as it is about luck and privilege, which is something seemingly never acknowledged by those who benefit from it the most. It is true that many workers in the industry prefer working for tips. Going home with cash in hand after every shift is a great feeling, especially if you’re young, single, childless, maybe living with roommates, with minimal expenses. But the industry is full of people on the other side of the spectrum who rely on guests to support their families, pay their bills, and be able to survive and save money.
Almost everyone would hopefully agree that these restaurant workers need to be paid more, but we’re divided on how we get there. Even with a history so bleak, I don’t think tipping is ever going away completely. So with that in mind and seeing as CNBC, the TV channel for people who are horny for stocks, released a video yesterday with “tips” on how people can save money when eating out which, the tip is just tipping less, I am here to give my readers the Ultimate Guide On Tipping because it’s abundantly clear very few people actually know how to do it. Consider this my foray into service journalism for people who don’t want to be assholes.
Bars/Restaurants:
Tip at least 20% on the total bill after tax regardless of the quality of service. Feel free to tip more if you feel it’s warranted, but no server has ever balked at a 20% tip no matter how difficult a table may have been. You’re not rewarding bad behavior by tipping the customary bare minimum, so stop being so sanctimonious about it. Everyone has a bad day at the office sometimes, and often what guests perceive as poor service is not always the fault of the server. Maybe the kitchen messed up the food order even though we put it in correctly. Maybe the runner ran your plates to the wrong table. Maybe the bartender made your cocktail too sweet or too slowly because their bar is busy too. Maybe it was our fault. Shit happens. We’re working hard for you to have the best experience possible, and if you didn’t for some reason, by all means, bring it up with us or with the FOH manager. Maybe we can knock an appetizer or round of drinks off the bill. For the most part we want you to come back.
Many restaurants automatically add gratuities to the total bill for larger parties, and in some places, do so regardless of party size (I noticed this when I visited Miami a few months ago). If that’s on the bill it’s OK to not tip on top of it, but, as always, you certainly can if you want/feel it’s warranted.
If you’re at a restaurant or bar during happy hour, tip based on the original, non-discounted total. Half-priced drinks and apps doesn’t equal half the work. This is an all-too-common occurrence that needs to end.
If you ran a tab and your total bill or portion of the bill is more than $10 but less than $25, tip at least five dollars. Say you had three beers after work and your bill was $18. Tip five, not three. Five is the minimum, always. Five dollars is not a lot of money, but for a struggling bartender, it could add up to an extra 30 or 40 bucks a night or more if every guest adheres to the rule.
If you’re paying cash as-you-go at a bar, the 20% rule still roughly applies. Generally one dollar per beer is fine, but we always appreciate people who tip two dollars per beer more and we will play favorites because our livelihood depends on it. For cocktails with more than two ingredients, tip at least two dollars per drink.
If you’re being comped a meal for some reason, you’re at an event with an open bar, you’re using a gift card, etc. don’t forget to leave a tip. Just because your meal or drinks were free for you doesn’t mean that we didn’t work to serve you. Tip 20% of the total just as you would on a bill you’re actually paying.
Leave a couple bucks as a tip on a takeout order. Doesn’t have to be much, but we’re taking time away from our more lucrative tables or bar to take care of your order and it’s always appreciated. For delivery, the five-dollar-minimum rule above applies.
Servers and bartenders often pay a percentage of their tips to support staff like runners, barbacks and hosts, and servers often pay a percentage of their liquor sales back to bartenders. Percentage depends on the establishment. So when you leave a bad tip, you’re not just fucking your server, you’re fucking the entire front of house. Keep that in mind next time you think about making a point to feel good about yourself.
Fast casual/coffee/retail:
If you see a tip jar, stuff a dollar in it. I’m fortunate to work somewhere now that pays me an hourly wage well above the minimum, but I still rely on tips for about 25% of my income. I don’t expect everyone who comes in to leave a tip—though I would love if they would—but those guests that I spend ample time helping, answering questions about beer, pouring drafts, filling growlers and crowlers, offering recommendations, I do, in fact, expect them to tip. Many do, but a lot of them still don’t. My wage isn’t livable unless I make tips, and I would assume this is the case at other bottle shops, coffee shops and places of that ilk. Ask yourself, would you really miss that dollar? It’s likely more valuable to them than it is to you. I can say with relative certainty that no one has ever gone broke tipping.
If you don’t see a tip jar, ask the worker if they’re allowed to take tips. Many are! And they’ll take them. If they say they can’t accept them because of some dumb company policy or whatever, at least you tried.
Other service/retail/sales:
Tip your barber/hairstylist at least 15%. More, as always, is always good.
If anyone is performing a service for you, see about tipping them. Many grocery stores forbid their employees from accepting tips, but if a kid helps you load your groceries and you’re allowed to tip them, tip them. Tip the mechanic who changes your oil. Tip the landscaper who mowed your lawn. Tip the kid at Best Buy who told you which TV to buy. Tip anyone who has performed a service for you, even if they’re making an hourly wage to do so, because they’re likely not making enough money to survive and if you’re buying a new TV or paying someone to mow your lawn, you probably are.