If a waiters tips and their salary don't equal out to the minimum wage, their employer is required by law to make up the difference.
http://www.dol.gov/wb/faq26.htm

Apparently spelling and English aren't parts of your job or you'd know that it's paid and not payed.
There's a big difference between being too cheap to tip (you) and those who don't understand that in the U.S., tipping is such a strong custom that servers are paid less than minimum wage due to the expectation they'll receive tips, and that they are taxed on a certain amount of tips whether they get them or not.

You, and everyone in this thread is obviously some butt-hurt waiter who thinks the world is too tough. While I'm working in a job which I get payed satisfactory for and don't mind all the work. Grow up babies

you're a kid and you really don't know what you're talking about. come back to this thread 5 years from now and you will think to yourself how stupid you sound. but we live and we learn

So according to your brilliant logic. I am "scum" and a "lowlife" because I don't tip? Wow, you have some serious issues hahahahaha.
How pathetic, let me guess. You work in hospitality and you cry yourself to sleep every time someone doesn't tip you? What a sook you are. I feel really bad for you hahahhahahahaha.
You're AN idiot

You're a idiot, you probably had mommy and daddy pay for everything you own your whole life. It's people like you who make this world suck. I don't know if you realize this or not,(which you most likely don't because you seem like a real pud thump.) but it's people who don't tip that are looked at as the scum and lowlife's. You're a fool. Go pound salt douche.

All you people are bloody idiots.
As if I'm gonna tip you for you doing your job. If you don't think you're making enough working there, DON'T WORK THERE!

We always tip in restaurants, even if the service is not the greatest. About a week ago, we went out and had some of the worst service I have ever had. I will not go into details, but it was the first time in years that we didn't leave a tip. It was that bad.
Get busy livin', or get busy dyin'

then don't go out to diner, and YOU get a "Real Job".

What the hell sense does that make lol? So if I go out for a meal with someone totalling $60, I should take $80 so that I can tip the waiter?
That's the dumbest thing I have ever heard, and I've heard it wayyyy too many times in this thread.

"Shouldn't the employers cover the cost"
The law allows the employers to pay food service workers less than the minimum wage, basing the lower amount per hour on an estimated tip credit. The system is designed that way.
The tax on the food is entirely different, sales tax is a way of funding state and local government. It has nothing to do with the person serving you. Tipping isn't a second tax. It's a customary thing, designed to reward good service. If the service was bad, don't tip. If it was good then a tip should be given.

I do tip but it still doesn't make much sense to me. Shouldn't the employers cover the cost. I am already being taxed on the food, which most likely is low quality, and then I am essentially paying a second even higher tax. The whole system is stupid.

This message has been deleted.

But what if you can't afford to tip after paying for a $50 dinner?!?!?!?! Not everyone is rich enough to tip lol.

This message has been deleted.

I manage a sub shop in Boulder, CO. There is this prepaid cardthat
students can get there mommies and daddies to buy them.
Most of the students who have them don't ever tip.
On a busy night we will have anywhere from 10-20 transactions, and
on the slip it will say the total percentage, which on average is
about 2-5%.
When I am low on money and I know I can't tip I will ALWAYS go to places
that don't take tips.
I always tip around 40-50%, unless they do a bad job.
I can sometimes order food on a Friday, or Saturday night, be told it will
take around 45-60 min.'s. 30 min.'s later I got my food.
See here is the deal. If you tip well, and you go to the same places,
you WILL get faster service, they will go more out of there way to make
sure you get your food first. Sometimes they will even try to make sure
that when you order something extra that would cost a little extra normaly, to
to be at no extra cost to you.
Oh, and to those jerks who "tip" like 5 cents so your bill will be nice and rounded. SCREW YOU. I am not going to spend the time to tip out a few cents. It's an insult. I hope I screw up your perfect little numbers.
"Friends don't let friends use Microsoft!"

And while everyone else is ranting about tipping and how little servers get paid, kitchen staff get paid less. Even if a server only does a mediocre job, has an average amount of tables, they still make more than a cook. Yes, a server has to deal with customer's attitudes, smile even if they are more hungover than they've ever been in their life, refill glasses, etc. A cook is going to stand there in a disgustingly hot kitchen, get bitched at by the wait-staff because they're ranting about their customers, deal with endless customized orders, mistakes that the wait-staff make, timing, knives, open gas, flames, burns for $13 an hour. So the next time you think you've got it tough 'cause your customer stiffed you a couple of dollars, through on a chef's jacket and apron and work your behind off for next to nothing pay
Wow, $13 an hour? That's almost twice what I got paid per hour at my last job. I'd love to work for that 'nothing'.
You want cool stuff? I'll give you cool stuff!
http://bright-circle.deviantart.com

And while everyone else is ranting about tipping and how little servers get paid, kitchen staff get paid less. Even if a server only does a mediocre job, has an average amount of tables, they still make more than a cook. Yes, a server has to deal with customer's attitudes, smile even if they are more hungover than they've ever been in their life, refill glasses, etc. A cook is going to stand there in a disgustingly hot kitchen, get bitched at by the wait-staff because they're ranting about their customers, deal with endless customized orders, mistakes that the wait-staff make, timing, knives, open gas, flames, burns for $13 an hour. So the next time you think you've got it tough 'cause your customer stiffed you a couple of dollars, through on a chef's jacket and apron and work your behind off for next to nothing pay.
And you do realize that tipping doesn't just affect the servers, right? There are tip outs to the busboys, the bartenders, the kitchen, the house, etc. You stiff one of them, you stiff all of them.

'If you cannot afford to leave a tip, then do not eat at a full-service establishment.'
I completely disagree with this. If you can't afford and you scrape together the money to treat yourself or someone else to a nice dinner for a change, I don't begrudge not getting a tip if you can barely afford the meal and it's for an occasion. When I was waiting on and tending bar I rarely got grumpy about tips. It was nice to get them because you're on such a low wage and the chefs I worked with could be obnoxious so having to deal with them when a customer wanted something specific was a ball ache, it was nice to get a reward. That said, if I was more money motivated there are jobs to accommodate that which are just as easy to get.
With me, if you're polite and friendly, I'll give you the best service I can. If you look down your nose and are straight up rude, you'll get that back. I hate customers who are rich as heck or getting a free lunch on the company card who don't tip and are rude. Generally in my experience it was the suits and high flyers who, despite being those most able to afford it, were the worst tippers and still acted like you owed them something.
How much s**t is there on the menu and what beep flavour is it?

This message has been deleted.

What are you talking about? Tipping isn't included in a price because it's a completely discretionary action. You leave a tip based on how the service was.

Include the total cost of a dish to me in the price on the menu. Don't tell me it's a $10 burger when there's gonna be 9% sales tax and that I'll be expected to pay an extra 15-20% on top of that. Just list the price as $13. Strange how restaurants in every other country in the world have figured that out. And every other industry in the U.S. has figured it out as well. Seriously, if you don't get paid enough take it up (and get mad with) your employer for being dicks about what they pay you.

Does anyone here realize that there is a seperate - much lower - minimum wage for servers? They rely on tips to supplement. And don't give the argument that they should be paid more. Just how much did you want to pay for your food at that full-service establishment?

If you cannot afford to leave a tip, then do not eat at a full-service establishment.
You do know there is another side to that argument. If you don't like the fact that you have to rely on tips, don't be a server.
I have been in the service industry for 20 years, so don't think I am saying this because I just don't "understand". I will be the first one to say that when somebody doesn't tip well, it sucks, but it is the way it works. The customers control very little in a dining experience and the tip is one of the things that they do fully control. If they don't tip well because the service or food is poor, or just because they happen to be "bad tippers", it is their right. As ALL servers know, for every bad tip that they cry about, there is a fantastic 30 percent tip that they never mention. Suck it up; this is part of your job. If you don't like it, go do something else.
Rylant