i'm so disappointed in you oprah. we are hardworkers just like those people who are able to go out and spend their money. as if we don't have to already work hard enough to earn a decent tip, you think its exceptable to tip only 10%. are you nuts. im a college student LIVING off my tips. my paychecks are non-exsistent after taxes, and even if they are its for no more then $3. i can't even get gas with that!!!!! how do you now expect me to pay my bills and eat and other day to day things on a 10% tip. i'm sincerly hurt by this, your say has such a huge impact on viewers, i just hope they don't follow this.

LOL How many threads do we need on this subject? Oprah didn't say this. Where is the proof?

One thing I will tell you, I don't have as much respect for servers as I once did. All of this hoopla has made me see the light.

Hello,

We’d like to respond to the concerns raised about Oprah’s thoughts on tipping. The truth is that Oprah has never said that people should tip less during the recession. She believes in generously compensating waiters and waitresses.

-HarpoBear, Oprah.com Community Producer

I could not believe it when i heard the oprah really said that ten percent tipping is okay in this hard economy. if the richest woman in the country came into my place of business and left me only ten percent, i doubt any of my friends would even believe me when i told them later. it is hard times right now so why would you tell the millions of people who watch you daily that they do not need to be tipping us as much because the business owners should be paying us more? it is really nice to think that the oprah effect would work on the mostly male dominated restuarant owners, but it does not. it however effects the millions of femals that are now going out to eat and thinking they do not need to leave me a decent tip because "if oprah says it's okay, it has to be". that is an exact quote one of my customers said today. i made $2.13 an hour working in atlanta and recently moved to key west florida where i make $4.13, but i do not think that she understand that since the day i turned eighteen and started serving, i have NEVER recieved a paycheck. Just stubs that say "THIS IS NOT A CHECK" because of my claimed tips, my entire low hourly wage goes to taxes. Even if we recieved a raise....which will never happen, most of that would be eaten up by taxes as well. WE LIVE OFF THE TIPS PEOPLE LEAVE US. i have worked in the restuarant business for nine years now, since i turned thirteen and this is really shocking to me. I am eleven weeks pregnant and trying to work full time and go to school and now i have to worry that because of ONE COMMENT THAT ONE PERSON SAYS, it really is going to effect my wages. Yes, we deserve a raise.... but it is realllly fair to punish us and tip us less until we get one? how does that make sense?

It depends on the service, but I usually tip at least 15% for average service.:8}

I think 15% is the minimum tip for average service.

Hello,

We’d like to respond to your concerns raised about Oprah’s thoughts on
tipping. The truth is that Oprah has never said that people should tip
less during the recession. She believes in generously compensating
waiters and waitresses.

-HarpoBear, Oprah.com Community Producer

Hi aisley (and Harpo Bear) - Honey - I have been watching your struggles on
several threads and you have my admiration. I would have given up a long time ago. This whole
tipping thing is the perfect example of the destructive power of
misinformation. Once something that a person actually wants to believe is
out there, there is no way to convince them that this is not the truth.
You see this deliberate twisting and lying every day in the news. How
many people still believe that President Obama is a Muslim and that he was not
born in America - despite all the evidence to the contrary and his birth
certificate? How many Americans still believe the September 11^th^
hijackers crossed into the U.S.A.
from Canada?
Just a few weeks ago Senator John McCain stated this fallacy yet again and was
actually brought to task about it by the Canadian Government. It doesn’t
matter. People will believe what they want to believe if it suits them no
matter how many times the truth slaps them in the face. I believe Queen
Elizabeth handles these things as best as it is possible to handle them. Never
deny, never explain.

I am a server at a restaurant in Ohio and yesterday all the talk was about Oprah and tipping 10%. I am happy to hear that she did not recommend tipping 10% but I do think this is a greaat opportunity for her to be a proactive spokesperson for the service industry at this time in our struggling economy. In Ohio servers are paid $3.65/hr plus tips. This is the federal minimum wage. At $3.65/hr my paychecks are not large enough to buy health insurance for my family through my company because they will only take it out of my paycheck so I have to buy a private plan @$548/month. After taxes my paychecks are about $25/week. In regards to appropriate tipping, people should tip the standard 15% or more. Servers work very hard and our rewards are immediate. How would you feel if you worked really hard on a project for work and you boss said great job but I am only going to pay you half your wages this week.

Here are some numbers to think about. If our food and beverage sales for the year is $150,000, 15% equals $22,500 in tips. For the same sales @10% our tips are $15,000. That is a $7,500 difference. This does not take into consideration we tipout the busser and bartender who make $6.85/hr plus tips. The government expects that we claim 100% of our tips and we should but if tips are low compared to sales we will be targeted with an audit. Servers are the working poor of today. Most people are respectful and tip appropriately, while some people are just cheap and have no class.

Oprah, please use your popularity to have a positive influence on your audience in these hard economic times.

I find it odd that THIS is all the talk, when there is NO talk about this whatsoever, except within this thread on THIS site.

Those of us keeping up with this thread figured out awhile ago that this is all being fueled by one or two people. If you notice, there is a pattern here. Ever so often, someone shows up basically posting in the same format as the others complaining that they are outraged over Oprah's comments. These posters are first time posters that registered on the same day as their post, and this was their one and only post. It's just a little too consistent to be different posters.

No one ever posts that they "heard" Oprah make these comments. It's always so and so TOLD me that Oprah made these comments. When we ask for proof suddenly you hear crickets chirping.

Hi,

We’d like to respond to your concerns raised about Oprah’s thoughts on tipping. The truth is that Oprah has never said that people should tip less during the recession. She believes in generously compensating waiters and waitresses. Please let me know if I can help answer any other questions you may have.

-HarpoBear, Oprah.com Community Producer

HarpoBear,

I have only "heard" that oprah said on her show that a 10% tip is acceptable. I didn't see the show with my own eyes or hear the words myself, so if she didn't make the comment, then why do I keep hearing this rumor? Oprah has a very powerful influence on the american public and their consumer habits. I worked at bath and body works when their pumpkin face mask was on her list of favorite things for that year, and as soon as I mentioned that to a potential customer, they almost always bought the product. If Oprah does another segment in her show about ways to save in the economy or spending habits or ways to buy better or anything along those lines it would be greatly appreciated by many people if she could help us servers out by informing people that servers really do work 100% on the tips they make. I live in Pennsylvania and the server wage in my state is $2.83/hr. I haven't cashed a paycheck in years, and the ones I have cashed, have never totaled more than a few dollars. Servers work very hard and we depend on other people's generosity to make ends meet. Any help she can provide, by just educating people on this would be greatly appreciated.

HI beth121983, Thank you for your question. I'm not sure where the rumor started. I can only assure you that it is not true. I hope this is helpful. Please know we hope good things for you.

-HarpoBear, Oprah.com Community Producer

As many as it takes to make the general public realize that we LIVE OFF OUR TIPS!!!!!!!!!!!

See the light of WHAT???? How would you like it if someone with as much influence as Oprah made a comment about YOUR salary. And how would you feel if that actually AFFECTED your salary negatively? Hmmmm... think about it...not quite so pretty when it's YOUR wallet is it?

MMF