"Tip" Of The Iceberg

“It seems like No matter where you look, everyone expects tips these days,” says Utah State University student Keaton Nielson. “Even the employees at Starbucks that literally push a single button and then hand you your coffees have a tip jar.” According to the U.S. Department of Labor, nearly eight million Americans work completely or partially for tips. With such a wide array of jobs that expect gratuity along with new rules or standards of how much to give, many consumers find themselves wondering when they should tip and how much to offer.

It’s rumored that the word “tips” is an acronym that stands for “to insure promptness.” Whether or not its timely service we’re hoping for, we all notice great service and the not so good as well. “Service is at the heart of the customers experience,” says Justin Hamilton, owner or Hamilton’s Steakhouse and Café Sabor. “People remember foremost how they were treated and how they felt.”

Currently in the United States, it’s illegal to require or enforce patrons of a business to tip unless stated before hand such as a note on your restaurant ticket that carries the disclaimer, “15% gratuity added on to parties over 10 people.”

Many wonder why the United States doesn’t include gratuity in totals such as other countries have started doing. According to CNN Money, including the tip promotes sub par service because servers know they will be compensated the same either way. Perhaps it would be possible to observe the difference between somebody who styles hair at a set wage and somebody who styles hair works for tips.

In some jobs, tips make up all of workers income. Many people are shocked to realize that several states including Utah do not require restaurants to pay their servers minimum wage. This is especially true for non-chain establishments. The Department of Workforce Services of Utah estimated that waiters and waitresses around Cache Valley are making as little as $2.13 an hour plus whatever they make in tips. After state and federal taxes, that wage of $2.13 is almost non-existent. “I think that sometimes people don’t realize that whatever I make it tips is all I get,” says Abbey Mckay, a local waitress at an upscale eatery. Mckay also said that she’s required to tip a certain percentages to a bartender for making her drinks, a table assistant and the food runner on whatever she makes. Other servers from different restaurants also noted this.

It’s pretty common knowledge that your suppose to tip servers but what about other jobs? Perhaps you’re planning on heading off on a cruise over the upcoming spring break. Some cruises include tips in the cost of your ticket but most require you to tip the individuals that open doors for you, attendant to your room and the list goes on. What about the next time your driving through Oregon; how much do you give to the person pumping your gas? Tip experts suggest that if you’re unsure, plenty of knowledge is available online. Tipping.org offers every job from the pizza delivery person to the people who help out at your wedding, and what to expect, or what’s expected anyway. As for the presumptuous tip jar, experts say that you’re never expected to tip in that circumstance. That is, unless you desire to.

References:

CNNmoney:
http://money.cnn.com/pf/features/lists/tipping/
http://money.cnn.com/2003/05/15/commentary/everyday/sahadi/index.htm

Tipping.org
http://tipping.org/tips/us.html

Statistics:
National: www.dol.gov/
Local: jobs.utah.gov/

Hamilton's Steak and Seafood:
hamiltonssteakhouse.com/