Hollywood Cheapskates and Tightwads

91. "Yet we as American’s love to waggle our fingers at those that do not tip to our satisfaction. We love to call them cheapskates and penny-pinchers because they didn’t give 20% on a $400 tab. Because they didn’t give $80 to a person whose level of skill is comparable to a high school drop out for an hour of work. "

Yeah, high school dropouts. As opposed to the highly educated Beckhams huh? Please.

If you are rolling in money then yeah, I think it's pretty crappy that you don't fork over few bucks for someone less fortunate.

You say they should go to college and get a better job? I don't know where you people live, but most servers in this area ARE college students, trying to work their way through school. Great that you're dumping on them. Like what they get paid is THEIR fault! Waitstaff gets paid BELOW minimum wage and relies on tips to survive. They are charged taxes on a percentage of their sales, so when cheapskates like the Beckhams leave nothing, they've actually taken money out of the server's pocket. Classy move.

Posted at 12:01AM on Jun 12th 2008 by Brit

92. Brit, I suspect you misunderstood what I was saying. I am not saying they “should” go to college, only that the level of skill needed to be a waiter or waitress is comparable to that of a high school dropout.

As for your thinking that because they have a lot of money they have a responsibility to give it away to those that do not have a lot of money. Hmmmm, sounds awfully socialist if you ask me. Because they earned it, they control it, and because they control it they have autonomy over it. If they wish to be charitable: good for them. If they do not: well that is their choice to make. Besides, they do give it away to those that are lacking in the form of paying a disproportionate amount in taxes due to their disproportionate high level of earnings.

As for your claim that they get paid below minimum wage and rely on their tips to survive, remember, they agreed to work for the wage offered them. If it was unsatisfactory then they should have sought employment elsewhere. I feel no sympathy for anybody who accepts a lower wage and thus feel no responsibility to supplement their low wage. When waiters stop accepting low wages is when wages will be increased. Also, as I posted previously, taxes are 8% of gross sales for a given shift. This means that the IRS assumes that if you sold $1,000 in food you were tipped $80. Since 8% is about half of the tipping custom in the U.S., at the end of a shift they have far exceeded the 8% benchmark. This means that not getting tipped by one patron does not cost them a thing unless they were not tipped by half of their customers. In that case, they really should not be in the service industry because they are terrible at it.

Come on people! Refute my logic. Attack my premises or my conclusions. Say something sensible and compelling.

Posted at 12:11PM on Jun 12th 2008 by Michael

93. Uh, note to TMZ.com "gyp" is a racial slur not so far off from a similar use of "jew".
Watch your language!

Posted at 1:30PM on Jun 12th 2008 by politicallycorrect?

94. RegularGuy, good for you. A college degree does not mean crap these days. Servers can make a lot of money, and should be paid for their services. MommyWhatsADoucheBag? should look in the mirror for the answer to his question. I was a waitress while in college, and someone not tipping hurts. Unless you know how the IRS looks at wages and tips, don't assume that you know all the answers. A college degree is also not an indication of higher intelligence, if one looks at the grammatical errors of these so-called college grads. Lighten up, folks! Without the service industry, we are nothing...Get off your high horses, folks, and tip your servers.

Posted at 7:40AM on Jun 13th 2008 by Dinosmum

95. Well, its obvious that Sherry has never worked in the restaurant business. If you have ever had to work so hard to earn that tip, you would understand what the fuss is all about. Just because their meal was comped doesnt mean that the server does not have the right to earn money from them. That is how they make money. If anything, I have always seen people tip generously when they dont have to pay for their meal. 3.77 is all they make per hour. Plus whatever tips they collect. Then they have to tip out, bussers, hostesses, and sometimes the bar staff.

Furthermore, the Beckhams have been to the US for how long now? Since he started playing soccer and since she was a "singer". They know the customs and rituals of the US.

And for the person that said that servers dont deserve the tip we get because we dont have a college education... Ohhh buddy. I do have a college education. I am a Clinical Dietitian as well as a Armed Forces Veteran. I make a hell of a lot more money being a waitress and there is also a personal gratification I feel knowing my customers are satisfied with the service they got. I am know a operating partner in a very successful upscale cafe'. I make a lot more money than I did being a Dietitian and serviceman combined. How dare you say that we as food and beverage field do not have skills. We have skills to put up with people like you, who put us down everyday and make us feel like dirt. I feel extremely accomplished in my life.

Posted at 5:44PM on Jul 11th 2008 by Michele

96. Your talking the expert here, I worked across the street from MGM Studios for many years. Dustin Hoffman was the WORST! Pretty much everyone else tipped normally. I still won't go see his movies. I was a single mom with 3 kids, he took my biggest table, had meetings all day, people coming and going, eating and leaving, drinking gallons of coffee, iced tea and water, and left me a freaking DIME.
However, that WAS in California, when I moved to other states and found out waitresses made 2.00 an hour or less, (because in many states they are exempt from minimum wage laws) because of TIPS, I got out of the business.
By the way "go to college" person, I did. A career was just not feasible in the position I was in.
And I was a waitress because I could make decent money, but there was no big commitment. I already had 3 big commitments and I needed to be available once in a while for measles, chicken pox, Dr appointments, school meetings, etc.

Posted at 12:09AM on Jul 11th 2008 by Heather5

97. Y'all know that tipping here in the good ol US of A is not required, right?! The only reason we "have" to tip is because the owners of the restaurants do not pay their employees enough to live on so we tip to supplement their wages. Why do the owners not do this? Because then customers would whine that the cost of a meal out is too expensive. The amount of people who frequent restaurants would decrease for a few months, but then like with any other price being raised (taxes, gas, etc...), everyone would get used to the higher price and before you know it, the restaurants would be full again. I would prefer to pay a higher price for meals I eat out and know that I don't have to add anything else to it (though I could still add a tip if I wanted to for exceptional service). And for anyone wondering, I *do* tip each time I go out to eat and it's generally at 20%. If the server is horrible I will still leave something but then I take a few minutes after paying the check to let the server know why I left what I did. I have found that they appreciate knowing why and in some cases they have explained why the service was sub par.

For those of you who have not traveled out of the United States, in most European countries and the UK, pretty much all restaurants pay their staff enough to live on and the bill typically says "Service included" at the bottom. If you want, you can leave some change on the table for the server, but don't expect to be able to add it to the bill like we do here. There's no place to add a tip and they look at you very funny if you ask about how to add one.. I speak from personal (and embarrassing) experience here. :-)

Posted at 6:59PM on Jul 13th 2008 by Living in the real world

98. Most wait staff ARE in school, proud enough to work their way thru school! I think as a rule everyone should have to be a waitress or waiter just once. It's a lesson in how NOT to treat people. Wait staff pay their employment taxes based on the amount of food they serve. If they push the dessert, the bill goes up, thus the tip as well. You try enjoying a meal with a crappy waitress then do the same with a great one... it is a skill. Not a mindless low skill job... especially when dealing with spoiled silver spooners!

Posted at 10:56AM on Jul 14th 2008 by volleyballer

99. well sherri at 3:01 pm is a classy lady-keep eating at burger king. she says"0.00 bill = 0.00 tip" hmm-didnt the busboy,server,and bartender all work the same even thoughthe bill was free? think before you speak.
whenever you got out to a restaurant and you are being served-you tip-that is the americian way. if you dont want to tip stay home or do fast food. when i am in a different country I learn the local customs and follow them, There is no excuse ,for any tourist, not to tip-any guide will tell you the local tipping custom.
Sherri-please get to a school right away and learn-ignorence is your problem not ours!

Posted at 4:17AM on Aug 13th 2008 by christopher