Who came up with the need to tip a waitress? Doesn't a business make enough on the sell of food to pay their employees? I use to be a waitress and I think it is awful how you have to "BE Extra Nice" just to make your tips. And as a customer I find it uncalled for to pay for the price of meals for your family then the need to leave a tip as well. What amount tip is proper anyway?

I've always heard it said 15% of the total amount of your bill.

I have been a waitress and it is awful only making $2.13 hour plus tips because alot of people don't realize that you don't even get paid minimum wage.
There are also places that pay waitress' $5.15 hour but they have to split tips at the end of the shift. I always said I would not work at one of those places because if I work my butt off for tips and make a bunch of them (especially if family and friends were to come in) I shouldn't have to share with someone who didn't. I leave a tip depending on sevice not the personality alone.

I worked as a waitress for 4 yrs. and a bartender/waitress for another three. I made about $2500 in tips and I realized before accepting the job that people really care if you have a great personality. If you are just a whiner or complainer you usually don't get paid as well. If you have to be "extra nice" you were probably in the wrong field. It is my experience the people that usually oppose tipping are the customers that come in, make you run for a million things, complain about every little detail. If you worked in the service industry you know tip karma. If you do not tip as a customer you SHOULDN'T get tip as a server. 15% is generally speaking but, you can get away with $2 per person around here. Food is usually not lobster or escargo. Remember when you go out to eat, the person waiting on you is not there for their health. They are there to earn a living and usually get paid peanuts so if you have a good server be generous. If you can't afford a tip maybe you should consider fast food!

I agree that waitresses work their butt off. Enough so that they should make $6.55 an hour and not have to rely on tips. I mean you know the business can afford to pay the waitress. It should be if she gets a tip from a table then the tip is hers. You take a family of 6 go dine out the bill is usually somewhere between $75.00 to $100.00 around here then there is the $12.00 tip for food that cost around $30.00 at the most. I always leave a tip. I was just asking why the customer has to pay for the food and the waitress and who on earth came up with it. If you go to a insurance office and pay your insurance you dont leave the sec. a tip because she was helpfull. You dont leave a nurse a tip because she emptied your bed pan for 3 days while you were in hostiple. WHY DO YOU HAVE TO PAY A WAITRESS TO BRING THE FOOD YOU ALREADY PAID FOR? She works there it is her job to wait tables. I was a waitress as I mentioned and I felt and still feel that it is the businesses job to pay their employees not the customers.

I don't know about you but I would much rather look at my paycheck as bonus and earn enough in tips to pay all my bills, take lavish vacations, and do whatever extras I feel the need for. When you bartend you get paid a real wage ( in MI it started at $10 an hour I left making close to $14 an hour) and that was NOTHING compared to what I earned in tips. In response to why you don't tip the insurance agent I am sure you don't run her for a napkin, wait for her to come back then ask for catsup, wait for her to come back oh I need more ranch, etc. THAT'S why you tip a waitress. I am not trying to come down on you but the difference in culture here kills me sometimes. I know I went off on you but, it is really for all those people that sit around, take space in a table, complain about everything, and still don't tip. Sorry for the vent.

I was just asking why the customer has to pay for the food and the waitress and who on earth came up with it.

The custom of tipping has been in existence for several hundred years.

I recommend reading this:

The history of tipping – from sixteenth-century England to United States in the 1910s
Ofer H. Azar
Department of Economics
Northwestern University
May 19, 2003

http://129.3.20.41/eps/eh/papers/0309/0309001.pdf

Foxit PDF Reader 2.3
http://downloads.foxitsoftware.com/foxitreader/FoxitReader23_setup.exe

If you are a good & do a nice job - you get a good tip - if you totally suck I pay you NOTHING & I do not feel bad. You EARN your tip - it is optional!

I once wrote a tip on a napkin.... hehe

20%.

If you can afford to eat out you should afford not to behave like a heel. The tightwads around here make us all look bad when they don't know how to behave.