Tipping 101

When you walk into a restaurant and your server greets you, what are your thoughts? How thirsty you are, how hungry you are, how nice your server is, or how their day has been? I am willing to guess the last question does not go through many non-food industry civilian's minds. However, if you are a part of the restaurant industry you may notice how many tables they have, the attitude in their voice from the constant insults from table 95 and the fast pace motion that, you know means, they still have not greeted 93 and still need to get drinks for 101.

The way that non-food industry civilians treat servers is a crisis in today's society. Your waitstaff is not your punching bag after a long day and is definitely not your servant. The average waitstaff makes around 9 an hour and often times in many states make 2.18 an hour. When you think about the fact that a server only works around a 5-6 hour shift a day, you realize they are definitely not working for their hourly wage.

The purpose of a tip is to show your appreciation to the person who just waited on you hand and foot. Although your waitstaff loves to hear all of your wonderful compliments, this does not pay the bills. From my own experience, an average tip is around 15% depending on the mood of your guest and if the food was set on the table exactly how they wanted it. Sometimes, the service given by the waitstaff can effect the experience you have at a restaurant, but most guests don't think about the kind of day the waitstaff is having.

Tipping a waitstaff at the end of your meal has appeal to value, in the sense that the underlying value of tipping is to show appreciation for the service you received, and how you value the experience. When a guest gives a good tip (15%-20%) this concludes that the waitstaff was doing something right and that you were happy when you walked out, if a bad tip was left (10% or below) it tells the waitstaff that they were leaving unhappy and that something throughout the meal was inefficient.

The issue with this system is that many guests that enter into a restaurant do not realize the problem with leaving less than 10% tip. The guest does not realize that the server does not get to take home this entire tip, that they are taxed on this amount and also that this is all they basically live on. So some leave such a low tip based on the fact that they spent a little more than they wanted to, or they ran out of money, and don't want to break a $20.

There could be a few solutions to this phenomena of tipping. Two solutions that I believe could help is built in tip or raising minimum wage for waitstaff. Although I think it would be hard to raise the minimum wage for waitstaff this could help stop the expectations for tipping. The other solution is having a built in tip, why this could also be a problem is because TIPS stands for 'to insure promptness service'. Some may not be thrilled with the idea of having to automatically tip the server not being based on the service given.

Before you go, you should know.

Article:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gina-crosleycorcoran/explaining-white-privilege-to-a-broke-white-person_b_5269255.html



That is an awesome article. I have read the peggy macintosh article before too. This is what I try to explain to people, to open their eyes and to understand. If you are privileged in one area why not reach out and help those who aren't. I know what I am privileged in and what I'm not, but nonetheless where I am privileged and where I'm not I want to help advocate for those who have no voice and feel like there is no fight left. As a white person I can stand up to other white privileged people and not be accused of harassment, however, I know as a woman when I stand up for woman's rights, people shoot me down. They have the upper hand in that privilege and most of the time I feel beat. I feel like I can't win those battles. So by me trying to get others to understand or even consider their privilege, it is to open their eyes to what good they can do and what change they can make. I have many friends who are in the agent groups, and benefit from many types of privileges, and they have the power to make a change. I don't always have a voice that people will listen to, but I won't stop trying. I want to change one persons life and I don't mean I want to convince someone of my ways and change THEIR life. I want them to one day be in a situation and they stick up for someone who is of less privilege and change that strangers life, so that they know there is change happening in this world.

Replace Fear of the Unknown with Curiosity

Fortune Cookie Reads:
"When fear hurts you, conquer it, and defeat it."

Just like the rest of the world, I too try to connect my fortune cookies to my life. This fortune cookie, I had to dig a little deeper than usual because I was unsure if I wanted to really understand what it was saying. Fear is a tricky topic. When I fear something, I usually throw it on the back burner until I am forced to face the situation.This is one fear that needed to be faced. I connected this fortune to my love life, and how I let the fear of my past reoccurring stop me from moving forward. I put up the walls, and be proud of being single because I find it less scary than having to deal with the real truth that lies underneath. So, this fortune is perfect for me, because these fears need to be faced so I can conquer and defeat.