<<These resturants can pull in six figures plus a year but can't pay their staff a living wage.>>

You MUST be joking! Restaurants (99% of them) are not making anywhere near a six figures. In fact, most are loosing money. Restaurant owners must pay rent on the facility; lights; gas; food costs; beverage costs; employee wages (small as they are); taxes on employees wages; liability insurance; liquor liability (which is very expensive); insurance on equipment; city/state business taxes; fees for the permits required in the area that they are in (one of my accounts is a wine shop....the only food he serves is cheese on wine tasting nights. He has to pay the city $500 a year to put out cheese that he buys at a store...in other words, no cooking).

Then there is the cost of food, beverages, liquor, glassware, silverware, plates, cooking utencils, pots and pans, linens, cleaning supplies, toilet paper (hey, would you prefer they not provide that and let you off from paying a tip LOL). There is also the cost of allowing people to use debit/credit cards to pay their tab. There is the paper your tab comes on.

I could go on, but you get the idea.

It is obvious that you do not own a restaurant (neither do I, but I do have them as accounts). Restaurants are NOT money makers. Most restaurant owners are in the business for the love of their craft.

I was disgusted to read your post. I am a server, and I nearly kill myself working 40 hours a week of physical labor. I have had jobs that covered my expenses but was downsized out of them. If you are not willing to tip then you should not eat out. Or when you are out, get a water and tip the amount of a pop. Where I work we tip out other staff members-for every $100 in sales I give the busser, bartender, food runner $4. It would be nice to find another job BUT THERE AREN'T ANY OUT THERE! If you are concerned that you don't get good service when you are out, it is likely that you frequent the same place and they know that you don't tip.

hi,this si my first time on this website , i am a server(hate that word) at ruby tuesday, not sure if this is the case for all ruby establishments,but they now have this computer set up where when u clock out the computer brings u to a screen which prompts u to put in your cash tips it already knows your percentage in charge sales but not cash,now if you dont equal 20% it will prompt you to claim more to equal atleast 20%.If you do not it will let you clock out,but the gm receives a report on how much you claimed if its not enough you will get written up after three times your fired. Is this legal?Can someone answer me? Ive been there for quite a gew years and have always received money back at the end of year,in this case ill owe money.They never asked me before and never had to prove to them how much i got back.The only thing I can get out of it is a smaller paycheck from them and a tax bill. Can someone explain this to me.This is not the economy we had,not everyone can tip or will tip 20% at rubys u have to.

I tip 15% no matter what even if the service was horrible. If the service was wonderful I usually tip at least 20%. If the service was really bad I try to speak with the waiter/waitress, sometimes I will ask to speak with the manager just to give him a heads up. When I do try to talk to the waiter/waitress, it is simply to let them know something that they probably didn't even realize they were doing.

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I think pay needs to be raised for waiters/waitress to at
least minimum wage. The fact that they
are underpaid because they receive tips is ridiculous. Think of everyone else we usually tip- hairdressers,
furniture movers, cab drivers. Their
regular and usual pay is not cut because it is offset by a tip. Why can’t we pay them at least minimum wage.

I think bar-backs, hostesses, kitchen crew, etc. should have
a set hourly wage (which should be able minimum wage) and only waiter and/or
waitresses receive the tip. They are the
ones that have direct contact with the customer. Just my opinion.

Wow obviousy you have never been a server. I work for Red Lobster in Texas and go to college. We only get paid $2.13 an hour before taxes. For working 40 hours a week, I recieve a pay check for at most $30 sometimes they come in and say VOID on them because all of it was taken for taxes. Its safe to say servers live off there tips! As far as the resturaunts making all this money, that has nothing to due with our pay. They pay what the state requires them to pay which for me again is only $2.13 per hour! Maybe to save money you should try and cook at home more. Sorry we all cant afford personel chefs!

I was outraged when I heard that Oprah was telling people to only tip 10% when it comes to tipping servers. There are a lot of costs associated in running a restaurant, and restaurant owners cannot afford to pay servers a "living wage". In fact, they would have to pay servers ALOT hourly to do what we do. FYI- we do not actually want to serve you people, and the money is the only reason we do it. Not to mention we have to give up our evenings, weekends, and holidays. You are paying for an experience and environment, and if there was no tip incentive, believe me you would have a lot of bad restaurant experiences. If you cannot afford to tip your server, don't go out to eat at all or go to a fast-food chain.

Tipping only 10% for servers is a complete outrage!!! My husband is a server at Romano's Macaroni Grill here in Texas for a whopping 2.13 an hour. He busts his butt every night to give good service and deserves more than 10%. If you can't afford to tip, then you don't need to eat out! When your given outstanding service and run up a 75.00 tab, it's your responsiblity to tip your server appropriately. You sat in their section, took up their time, ran them to death and in turn they deserve compensation for that. Servers in turn have to deal with rude customers, annoying children and to top everything else off, being tipped horribly. Despite what the economy is these days, you don't have the right to go out and treat people like crap and think it's okay. The fact that Oprah would even support this makes me enraged and to the point that I won't even support her show anymore. To me, when she made a statement like that, she sounded like a moron that doesn't even understand the American public at all!!!!

Reply to jesstina17,

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. I hope this is helpful. Please know we hope good things for you.

HarpoBear, Oprah.com Community Producer

Reply to asmith3303,

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. I hope this is helpful. Please know we hope
good things for you.

HarpoBear, Oprah.com Community Producer

I agree. I love to be able to tip when I am able to eat out. This should not be expected and eating establishments should not expect customers to pay their employee salaries. A tip should be extra money for a job well done. My husband tips the same amount every time.

I am a waitress at TGIFriday's and while at work today a few of the staff were talking about the ridiculous comment that OPRAH made about tiping 10% in today's economy is fine. Who gave her the right to broadcast to the masses that I should make half of what is expected just because you don't make as much money as you used to. So therefore cutting my wages. I can't afford much these days as it is, people don't eat out as much at they used to and now OPRAH is giving them the O.K. to leave me a crappy tip. I work very hard to make sure everyone that I have at my tables is taken care of and is without want. There is only so much I can do though. If you order something and don't like....that's the breaks...most menus have is written out what is in each dish...if you would take time to read the menu you would know if there was something in there you don't like. Ask ?'s, most servers are very educated on the contents of the menu, and if they don't know they can ask. If you don't think you need to tip 20%(the average tip for today), how would you feel if your wages were cut in half and you still had to do the same amount of work. I can imagine you wouldn't like it very much!!! Oh, and this is a BIG ONE!!! I don't come to your place of employment and treat you like an idiot, so, PLEASE DO NOT DO THE SAME TO YOUR SERVERS!!! Remeber we serve your food. I have never tampered with food, but I have heard stories and there was a movie about it...so think before you speak!!! Remember the GOLDEN RULE: Treat others as you would want to be treated! What goes around comes around! And KARMA baby!! Whatever you do just remember we count on tips to make a living!!!!! Most of the people in the rest. world are sinlge moms...The Fexibilty that comes from a rest. makes it easier for moms to take care of there children and still be around to celebrate in lifes moments together. So next time you go into a rest. smile, communicate with your server, and TIP 20% !!! WIth all the discounts out there you are saving that anyways!!

Let me just say this first. Sonastew, you tip your SERVERS (that is the correct way to acknowledge these wonderful people who wait on you hand and foot while you are at their establishment) because they are the frontline people who want to make sure that you have a great experience at the restaraunt that YOU choose to go to. They bring you drinks, food, and conversation when needed. They put up with so much abuse from partrons who feel that it is ok to 1. treat them like they are the scum of the earth. 2. make them feel small because "all they do is work in a restaraunt" 3. yell, scream, bang their hands, WHISTLE, and say awful things to them at anytime. And when all is said and done, they are STIFFED because of people like you! How dare you! I would really like to see you do a servers job for one day, because I bet you couldn't handle it. I hope I never have to serve you because people like you who don't appreciate what servers do for your dining experience can take your 10% tip that you leave and use it to buy food for YOU to cook at home because we don't want you in our restaraunts!

Now, to Oprah. I can not believe that you agree with this. These servers are working their way through school, raising children on their own and trying to pay bills just like everyone else is. How dare you say on national t.v. that it is ok to only tip 10%! Some of these people were laid off from other jobs and were lucky enough to find work at a restaraunt to help pay their bills. If people need to save money, then they don't need to go out to eat. I am so upset that this was even mentioned! SHAME ON YOU!

I think everyone should be forced, at some point in their life , to be a server. They would have a lot more empathy for how hard the people in the restaurant industry work, and how hard it is to budget when you are not sure of what your income is from week to week. I was a server in a sports bar when I was younger. As another mom stated- it is a flexible hour job- that is why it worked for me. I could work when my husband was home to watch our son. I took pride in my job. I considered myself not only a server but an entertainer who made sure my patrons enjoyed their evening. In return I received smiles, jokes, and great tips from my regulars. The downside was (mostly when we were too busy and I couldn't move fast enough) People would call me names, leave me little to no tip,treat me like I was less than they were or had no goals. Now I sit on the other side of the table. When the server is busy I patiently wait my turn. I am polite and respectful to him/her. I call them by their name and I leave them a tip that will not leave them wondering if they did something wrong. If you don't like the rules of tipping, then stay home or put your poor mom to work for you, you can exploit her labors for free.

Just a note, T.I.P.S. actually historically stood for "tipping to insure proper service" which meant BEFORE you were served, you presented your "tip". I am college educated, but at certain points in my life, when needed, I have worked as a server and I can guarantee it is one of the most physically and emotionally demanding jobs I have ever had. The population, on the whole, does not respect people in this position and many seem to think that tips are "extra money". I have respect for anyone who has been/is a server. They are trying to make an honest living. They are providing a service to you, the consumer. Just think of it this way, next time you go the doctor or pick up your car from the shop, tell them that you aren't 100% pleased with what they have done and you are going to cut your payment to them by 50%. Servers get penalized for many things they have no control over, the quality of your food for one example. So next time you decide to go out to a restaurant, put yourself in their shoes for once....and be glad that the real meaning of "TIPS" is old history!!!!

<<They would have a lot more empathy for how hard the people in the
restaurant industry work, and how hard it is to budget when you are not
sure of what your income is from week to week.>>

While I have never been a server, I work on 100% commission, so I can identify with this comment.