The Importance of Tips for a Waiter
The act of tipping your waiter at the end of the meal is sometimes viewed as something nice to do as opposed as an obligation. The amount is essentially up to your perception of how good or bad the service has been. Granted, 15 percent is the norm, but as any waiter who's been in the restaurant business will tell you, that's not always what's given and received.
Other People Are Reading
-
Livelihood
-
Tips are the bulk of a waiter's livelihood. According to the Fair Labor Standards Act, or FLSA, employers cannot pay tipped employees less than $2.13 per hour as part of direct wages to ensure that their tips add up to the federal minimum wage of $7.25, at the time of publication. If the tips do not add up to the federal minimum, the employer is required to pay the difference. Even in states with generous minimum wage laws, or more than the federal standard, tips make up the majority of income, since even small paychecks can be exhaustively taxed.
Tip Sharing
-
Many restaurants have tip-sharing policies in place to ensure that those who aren't waiters, such as busboys, cooks and hostesses, get a portion of the tips. The employer does this to keep his labor costs down. If the line cooks average about $10 per shift in tips, then the employer is able to account for that in the form of a smaller hourly wage. At any rate, the tip that you give your server is often not 100 percent theirs.
-
Future Service
-
It may not be morally or professionally proper behavior, but if you are a regular at a restaurant and make a habit out of not tipping fairly, you could get sub-par service on future visits. This may seem unthinkable and is something you could go to the manager to complain about. If the waiter is devious, he can do just enough to dampen your experience without getting in trouble. It's passive-aggressive behavior and wrong, but it does happen.
Taxes
-
All waiters have to report their tips to the Internal Revenue Service. Most point-of-sale computers at restaurants ask employees to enter in their tip amounts when they clock out. True, not everyone does it, but the fact remains that taxes are owed when it comes time to file. Just like with tip sharing, this is another reason that the $7 you gave the waiter on a $35 check is not all his. If you don't tip at all, your dining experience actually costs him money in the long run.
-
References
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Comstock/Getty Images
