Tipping is more than a way of expressing gratitude to your server. It is the only way they are able to make a living. There are so many people who do not understand the truth behind serving. In order for menu prices to stay as low as they are, restaurant owners cannot afford to pay their servers minimum wage.
That is why the minimum wage for servers in New Hampshire is approximately three dollars and twenty-seven cents. Factor out taxes, and a typical paycheck for a server at any given restaurant is zero dollars. Yet, there are people who think it is okay to go out to eat and not leave a tip.
Twenty percent is the standard rule one should go by when deciding what to leave for a tip. Of course, this is subject to change depending on how good or bad the service was. For the most part, servers work extremely hard to provide quality service to their customers, and deserve at least 20 percent.
However, I cannot tell you how many times those who do not feel the need to leave one cheat us out of our tips.
One of the most popular arguments that people give for not tipping is that they simply cannot afford it. Well, in my opinion, if you cannot afford to leave a decent tip, you cannot afford to go out to eat.
Brian Cantore / Photo Editor
Servers need to live. They have rent to take care of, bills to pay, and some even need to support their families. When people take advantage of their servers and then do not compensate them for their hard work, this becomes impossible. We rely on tips as a way of living.
For those who do not tip, my only question is this: why? Servers work really hard and are on their feet for hours at a time, and to deprive them of a tip, you are wasting a good amount of their time. While they are taking care of you, they are also taking care of numerous other tables that have a number of demands as well.
They are quite literally running laps around the restaurant to ensure that every guest is comfortable and has everything they need, and when they are not tipped, it was all for nothing. Not all people are bad tippers. In fact, many people are excellent tippers. They understand how demanding a job serving is and appreciate them for it. These are the people that make the job worth it. Serving can be a great job to have in college or while beginning to establish one’s self, thanks to those who tip.
Devon Roberts can be contacted at droberts@keene-equinox.com