Tabatha Hunter goes to work while holding on to the clinching reality that her bills are now past due. Her rent, car insurance and cable bill must all be paid by the end of the week.
Hunter is a 26-year-old single mom juggling school and working 40 hours a week at BJ’S Restaurant & Brewhouse.
As her nine-hour shift comes to an end, she hopes to make at least $250 in tips. Her sales for the day amounted to a little over $2000. After tipping out the bartender, food runner, and busboy as required by her restaurant, tears charge down her face, flooding it with the dreadful reality that she only made $198.
Awarded employee of the month more than three times, Hunter is known for “displaying excellence and always smiling despite the chaos,” said Dave Lehart, manager at BJ’s.
She constantly gets praised by her guests for doing a “phenomenal job.”
“I appreciate the flattering compliments, but the reality is I can’t pay my bills with a thank you or smile from my guest,” Hunter said. “I need money!”
Consumers must understand that servers live off tips. Making under $5 an hour, many servers spend countless hours working, trying to make enough money to pay bills or school-related fees.
What many guests don’t realize is that usually at the end of the shift, many servers have to tip out the bartender for making drinks, the food runner for bringing out their guests’ food, and the busser who clean the tables. The server must tip 1 percent of their total amount of sales from their shift. So, if a server’s sales were $1000 and they only made $150 in tips, based off their sales only, they are required to tip the bartender, food runner and the busser a minimum of $10 each. That’s a total of $30 in tips that is now out of their hands.
Legally, servers are supposed to record every tip they make for tax purposes. According to U.S Department of Labor website, on average, servers in Florida make $4.90 an hour plus tips. This may not seem too bad; however, the government places taxes on their tips. In other words: If a server does well in tips over a week- or two-week pay period, the government deducts their hourly rate, leaving them with a paycheck that amounts to as little as $15.
According to the new tax law, as of Jan. 1, tips for large parties accompanying six or more guests are taxable as normal wages. Normally servers would pocket the tip; now they have to wait until payday to get their tip.
There are a lot of changes in the restaurant business that consumers should be aware of. For one, some restaurants have removed large-party gratuity. In other words, a party of 12 guests could spend over $400 in food and only tip $5.
Another popular reason why people may not tip well is because they simply can’t afford it. Some people only dine out because they have a coupon, gift certificate or free-meal voucher. Most servers get annoyed when they have guests with these because they know they won’t get tipped well.
“If you can’t afford to tip, stay at home,” said Rachel Rammarine, a server at Chili’s. “I worked hard to serve you, so whether you have a coupon or not, I deserve a quality tip.”
There are some consumers that don’t tip well because they simply don’t know how to. All consumers can’t be held accountable for tipping if they aren’t aware of how to properly tip. So, here are five tips for tipping.
- Evaluate your server.
Many people hold their server responsible for things they can’t control. If the food isn’t good, the menu is not favorable, the prices are outrageous, and/or the decor is appalling, it does affect your overall dining experience. But it is not the server’s fault. When evaluating your server, consider the following:
Did the food match what you ordered?
Was the server attentive to your needs?
Did your server take empty dishes off your table?
Did your server quickly process your payment?
Was the server hospitable and professional?
If your server did all the following, they deserve a good tip.
- Give the benefit of the doubt.
Did the entire restaurant appear busy and understaffed? Less attentive service might be the result of poor management. Mistakes do happen. We are human. If your server makes it apparent they are working hard to fix their mistake, be forgiving. They could be having a bad day or they could be new. Wouldn’t you want the benefit of the doubt, too?
- Determine the percentage of the tip.
Based upon the evaluation of the server consider what level of tip they deserve.
10 percent = bad service
15 percent = good service
20 percent = great service
20 percent is not the highest percentage amount that you can tip, but it does show that you appreciate the hard work and outstanding service your server provided.
- Paper is better than plastic.
If you have the cash, try using it instead of a card. If you pay with credit card, the server might have to wait a week or two before pocketing the money, whereas cash can be taken home sooner. In some cases, restaurants subtract the credit card service fee from the tip, leaving less money for the server.
- Don’t leave excess change as a tip.
It can be interpreted as rude and offensive. It is not a good idea to upset someone that is handling your food. Servers do remember these tippers.
There is a saying: “Do unto others as you would want done unto yourself.” The next time you go out, consider yourself in the server’s position. Imagine if it was you working hard and going out of your way to make your guest’s dining experience memorable, and your guest tipped you $5 on a $50 check.
Here is a final tip: Think about how you would want to be tipped.
