People who work in Utah in the restaurant business claim that Mormons are lousy tippers.

I will say that I did have a TBM coworker who would wait until the party was beginning to leave and he would sneak back to the table and take some or all of the money. I was shocked, did not think I was understanding it properly until another coworker confirmed it.

Mormons are lousy tippers--I have seen it first hand and have talked with a few acquaintances that work in Utah restaurants. I have seen it and heard about it for years. Of course, there are exceptions and I have noticed it more with Utah Mormons that California Mormons, for example. So, I am not 100% sure if it is more a Utah thing or a Utah Mormon thing but that is my experience and what I have heard.

My nephew used to waiter at Spaghetti Factory at Trolly Square. He could attest to the lousy quality of tipping. Often was the night that a large family came in, not ready to order, changing orders, making a huge mess (little kids, etc.), and then tip 5-10%. One man told him God only demands 10%, why should the waiter get more. By the way, the new standard in Vegas and New York City is 20%.

I have seen transplanted-from-Utah Mormons tip 10% in California. The standard here (CA) is 15% (double the sales tax to calculate it) with 20% for superior service. I was in New York last month, ate at a $100-per-person prix fixe French restaurant, and tipped 20%. I agree, in NYC 20% is now standard.

...I totally sympathize with servers, and tip accordingly. It's a crappy job. If I'm eating alone, I tip as if there had been two of us, because they still have to work my table even though the tab will be less. The smaller my bill, the higher percentage I tip.

But it's important for Mormons to be poor tippers so they can afford the showy items that tell people the Lord is blessing them for their righteousness.

My daughter worked in a Chilis in another state and when they moved to Provo, she transferred. She said that she made less than half the tips, just for people having regular dinners, not to mention the tabs didn't get run up with alcohol to add to it. Those that did tip figured if 10% is good enough for God, it's good enough for a waitress. They'd come in with a bunch of kids and order kids meals and split it between them. Then they demand so much from the waitress for their kids but maybe leave her $2. She finally quit and worked retail since it wasn't worth the money.

I think you're right that it's worse in Utah with Mormons. She said the only day she made money at Chilis was when she'd work lunch shift on Wednesdays. That's when people from out of state would bring their kids to the MTC and go out to lunch before they took them. They'd tip pretty good.

My TBM father is also an awful tipper, usually just leaving a buck (even on a $50 ticket). I think he's just used to doing that since he probably left a buck for the last 50 years. I doubt some people realize that servers don't even make minimum wage and their tips ARE their wage. When I go out to eat with my parents, I always bring cash and leave a decent tip as we are leaving the table.

AND I TIP AT least 20%.... afterall ...i was once as they are... anyone who leaves a dollar for a tip and it aint under a ten dollar tab should not go out to eat!! beleive it or not...PILOTS are lousy tippers.... course that is a generalization... but i used to work near MIA(Miami International) so i can WITNESS!!! :p)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/22/2011 10:34AM by bignevermo.

When I waited tables, I hated families with children because they were the WORST tippers of all. That probably explains Mormon tipping.

The best tippers were adults who smoked and drank alcohol.

Is this a new game similar to Cow tipping?

So the game is to approach Mormons in public places, like restaurants, and tell them a totally bogus claim. If they buy it, you win.

No that's a game called 'Missionary Work' played on non members.

Stumbling Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Is this a new game similar to Cow tipping?


Actually, that's a restaurant here in Atlanta. Cowtippers.

I know a lot of well-to-do Mormons,a lot of exmormons and a lot of Mormons who don't pay tithing, and a good number of them, especially those from Utah, are still poor tippers. They just can't bring themselves to do it - they grew up that way. Maybe the root cause was tithing and income, but they've retained the habit in spite of tithing or income no longer being a concern.

Outside of Utah, but I know who the Mormon's are.

The High Priest Group Leader and his wife are fabulous tippers. However, their kids are grown and out of the house, and they both have good jobs.

Most of the older TBM ladies (widows and such) that come in are very appropriate tippers (15% exactly) And they are low maintenance. Except for the Primary President. I think she's still bitter about the time I offered her Sex on the Beach

However...

The TBMs that come in that still have small children at home are just as described above. HORRIBLE tippers (sometimes I get less than $1) Their kids throw stuff on the floor, break the crayons, whine, scream, cry...and the parents do NOTHING! Probably because they are so overwhelmed all the time and can't even console themselves with a margarita. Most non LDS people that come in with small children have limited themselves to the amount of children they can control (usually one or two) My plumber has 6 kids, all under the age of 8 (he's not TBM--its a blended family) and they are all polite, well behaved, say please and thank you...and even without another adult to help him, I've NEVER seen his kids misbehave like TBM kids do on a regular basis. I can only conclude that those kids get enough attention on a regular basis that they don't feel the need to act out in public. Mom isn't on Prozac, Dad isn't working 60+ hours a week and then trying to have time for Church callings on top of it, kids aren't forced to sit still for 3 hours every Sunday when kids should be out playing... I don't have kids myself, but after seeing the TBM kids vs non TBM kids, there's a HUGE case for keeping your kids far far away from the Mormon church if you want them to be polite, well adjusted, happy kids.

I think out of control kids, like the ones you describe, are the result of the parents believing not only that The Church® is a good place to raise children, but also that they don't need to teach their kids how to act because The Church® will.

When I was growing up our family came out to Utah one summer for vacation. We went out to eat and invited one of my aunts to come along. When the check came my Dad and aunt argued over who'd pay the bill. They decided that Dad would pay, but my aunt would leave the tip. My aunt left a dime on the table.

So my Dad got everyone out in the car, then pretended he'd left his wallet in the restaurant. He went back in and paid the tip as well.

I hope I NEVER have to do it again.

When I would go out with TBM friends, they were always shocked at how much I would leave. I was the one, or me and my ex and one child, with the lowest bill, but highest tip. Maybe cause I'm from MI, and even though we grew up poor my mother taught me about tipping at an early age, making me take 3 dollars to the lady who cut my hair, etc. And that was back in the 70's.

They are the TBMS with several kids, split the plate, etc. I wonder if they got any better when their son worked at Wingers, I don't know. I know they go to Los Hermanos and manage under 10 bucks, even though they are quite well off at this point. Maybe that's why?

Of course she gets mad at me when I buy a 1 dollar jr roast beef at arbys to split with my dogs, so maybe its ME!!

I always pay 25% if the service is great, and 20% no matter what unless it is a complaint, which seems to never happen. then I would talk with the manager. But usually the waiters or servers (sorry, I'm old school, or maybe just old) work their butts off to make us happy for the most part. I take my teen age son out to eat with me, and he is so good!! I explain the whole tip thing, and my brother has taken him to nicer places and has taught him, so I hope he gets it.

I waitressed for several years. I was very good at my job, averaging about a 25% tip per table. I actually got an award from the state corporate offices for my customer service.

So imagine how pissed I was on the occasion when Morgbots from Utah would come to the Nauvoo temple and hit our nearby town for supper afterwards. They are shitty tippers, period, end of story.

I can understand bad tips if you are bad at your job, I won't tip a crappy waitstaff myself. But knowing quite well how good my service was for each of them it got rather frustrating. They would come in big swarms of people, racking up a huge bill, letting their celestial spawn run rampant in the store and then leave me a dollar or two. For the amount of work I put in at their table, I could have taken care of four other tables instead and made a crapton more money.

I actually had a customer sit next to a TBM table one day, and he noticed how hard I was working for them. When they left, leaving me a $1.00 tip for a huge bill he also noticed that.

He came up to me afterwards and handed me a $50.00, told me "don't let those assholes get you down, you did a nice job."

So basically I stopped caring about their shitty tipping after that. I knew I was good at my job, and most other customers had the sense to recognize it too.

MissionField Mormons don't tend to have this problem, or so i've noticed. Just the Utards.

He came up to me afterwards and handed me a $50.00, told me "don't let those assholes get you down, you did a nice job."

better him than me cause i woulda said something to the people as they left!!

When I lived in the SL area I had an acquaintence who sometimes filled in delivering pizza. He would tell about the homes that would order two or three pizzas and the tip would be "keep the change" if that.

...the change is often a 30% to 60% tip.

That means they don't take taxis... At least all that often...

What everyone else said above...

So glad that even as a crazy Mormon I was an exception on this one. Maybe that's because I'm not from Utah and wasn't raised by Utahans? I don't eat out often, but I have always been a generous tipper.

(Assuming their tip is at all based on reality.)

I used to work at Old Spaghetti Factory in SLC too, and the tips SUCKED. Don't know if it was because the Old Spaghetti Factory was a cheap place to eat and so just the cheap bastards ate there but it was usually the young Mormon families tipped terribly. The people who drank alcohol (i.e. non-Mormons) were the better tippers.

I confirmed this with other waitstaff, who were also Mormon, that the young Mormon families were tightwads.

Not just Mormons.

Not true. When I had young children, I always tipped more (and I am a generous tipper) because I knew the waitstaff had to spend more time at my table than others, both during the meal and clean up afterwards.

It's a generalization and a true one.
It was my experience as a waitress.
There is some truth to Profiling.

I think there are many families that are the same.

If that's what I got seated with all night, I worked my butt off and made very little money.
If I got the smoking section and lots of adults came in and ordered drinks with their dinner, I made a lot of money that night.

As a frequent lurker, but as someone who still attends LDS services, I will defend at least myself by saying that I recognize that waiters and waitresses make a poor wage and depend on tips to make their living.

As such, I will always tip at least 15% and will tip 20% if the service is particularly good. We don't often take my children out to dinner at a "service" type restaurant, but when we do, the same tipping rules apply. My wife is usually all over me for "tipping too much", but I recognize that these employees are making, what, $2.40 an hour? Without those tips, they'd be living in the street.

The only exception to any of the above is when I receive lousy service (waiter/waitress forgets about us after serving the meal, meal is delayed without any explanation, etc.) - then I will either lower the tip below 15% or leave nothing at all (if the service is absoutely horrible).

Sorry, I meant to say "OUR" children..we don't take "our" children out to eat at service-style restaurants too often. :)

In AZ, it's $2.00 more, and I think in CA it's something like minimum wage, but think about the high cost of living in CA.

Something I want to explain, whether people who tip or not, servers are taxed 10% of their income, regardless of how much they make that evening. So anyone who tips less than 10%, you're basically charging servers to wait on you. It's a shitty system and I'm glad I'm out of the game for now. Yes, there are other jobs, but trust me, it's hard to find a decent one in Utah county if you're not a Zoob or have nepotism going on for ya'.
I have a million stories of how nasty people can be to servers- It's not just Mormons, it's people who've never had to wait tables to make a living, which EVERYONE should try at least once to gain some empathy. BYU students are the worst in UT, especially the ones who are newlyweds and expecting.

And while I don't practice the antics of the characters in the movie "Waiting," I'm not shocked by those who do. " She broke the cardinal rule: Don't fuck with people that handle your food." And yes, they do remember you from the last 7 times you complained. :)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/22/2011 12:52PM by Itzpapalotl.

each night as tips, whether I made that much in tips or not.

So, if your checks totaled $200 for a shift, you had to claim $16 in tips. Maybe that's gone up to 10% by now, but it is not what you are taxed, it is the percentage of sales you must claim as tips.

It changed when the IRS decided to crack down during the Bush administration. The book (not to be confused with the movie) "Waiting," by Debra Ginsberg, explains it more in depth. Plus don't forget about the places that force the servers to tip out the busboy, bartenders, etc, regardless of how much they make that shift.

I think I first start waiting when the wage was 2.06 and it was 8% of sales. That seems sooooo long ago, lol.

I think in WA state restaurants are required to pay minimum wage. However, I believe ppl don't lower their tips bc of that.

iirc, it depends on state interpretation of the minimum wage laws.

Utah is chincy with regard to working people, that's for sure!

anyone?

It really seems unfair that they are still getting tipped 15-20% when servers in most other states are paid less than $4/hr.

Tipped employees (adults and minors) may be paid $2.13 per hour so long as the tips they earn bring them up to the minimum wage.
thats plain poopoo!! because as someone else said ..ya gotta tip busboys and the bartender!! Yikes!

Sorry-but we always tip more when our kids are with us-and we expect our kids to behave-say please and thank you to the staff. We tip 20% as a baseline-more if the kids make a mess-it all comes down to class-some people have it-some don't.

A good friend of mine whom is the head chef for a nice establishment in Idaho Falls always hears the servers bitch about the Mormon couples with kids. He has related to me that the Mormon's are the worst customers he has hever run across and he has refused service to them, on a couple of occassions.

Unfortuantely when I walk in he points to me and says, "That crazy guy will tip. Go get him"



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/22/2011 01:20PM by dthenonreligious.