San Francisco Restaurants Want to Implement 25% Standard for Tips

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF/99.7 Now) – It’s a question many of us ask when we go out to a restaurant. “How much should I tip?” Whether your service is good or bad, San Francisco Restaurant workers want to implement a 25% standard tip onto your bill for you. Is this fair?

Many in the food industry say “…yes, it’s about time.” However, many “foodies” are not as happy with the idea. According to an article in the San Jose Mercury News, for the most part, people, on average tip between 15% – 20% and the restaurant worker actually has to claim 15% of that to the IRS.

Opinions that sway against the increase said that “…the whole purpose of a tip is to reward service.” They feel the new tip increase should be earned and if more is needed, then they must step up their service so that the increase justifies a larger tip amount.

Not everyone is against the idea. Some have felt with the state of the nation’s economy is in, that 25% is not unreasonable. And some tip above the average already. Some went a step further to say if you want to reward service, you must start tipping the workers at fast food places as well. Most fast food workers earn minimum wage and rarely get tips.

In other news… so do cabbies, bell hops, doormen, concierges, tour-guides, paper boys, hair dressers, garbage collectors, personal trainers, babysitters, dog-walkers, gardeners, and everybody else on the planet. My rule is this… if your server is awesome, tip them well…very well. If they suck, tip them 15%, and let them know you would have liked better service.

Side note: I’ve been the guy for years that loves to drop knowledge and ask friends, “do you know what ‘TIP’ stands for?” Then I go on to drop the infinite wisdom of my father on them. “To Insure Promptness“. Well, I just checked Snopes and now I’m the a.hole… doesn’t mean that at all. Whatever. Dad was always good for one-liners, or random trivia, right or wrong. To this day, whenever I see anybody give the bird, I have to resist my childhood urge to yell, “Is that your IQ, or your number of friends?!” Love you, Dad.

-bp

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