The Mother Plucker’s Ramblings

One of the great things about Pluckers, we believe at least is the service our employees provide. We always do our best to hire individuals that will make your experience with us memorable. Because I own a restaurant, a lot of people always ask me “How much should I tip”? The funny thing is, people don’t just ask me how much they should tip at Pluckers, but for some reason, I am the “guru” of tipping because I am in the service industry. Well, I thought it might be interesting for our fans to hear what I think should be tipping points for different jobs.

Let’s start with Pluckers. For those of you that have never waited tables or worked in a restaurant before, all waiters and waitresses work for tips. At Pluckers, we even take it a step further and have all of our employees share their tips. Like any other restaurant, our servers are paid $2.13 an hour. Most people know this, but others of you don’t. That means that our servers are depending on your tips to pay their bills, buy beer on the weekend, pay for school, etc.

So your next question is…so how much should I tip at a restaurant? Well, everyone has a different opinion, but here is the way it should work in my opinion. If you sit down at a table and someone spends roughly an hour taking care of you, the minimum you should tip is $2.00 per person. To me, whether you buy a $1.29 cup of coffee or a glass of water, you should be willing to compensate the person who is there to take care of you. From there, it should depend on the level of service you think you were provided. 10% should be a bare minimum, but don’t use 20% as a maximum either. The reality is that at a restaurant, the service is just as important to providing a great experience as the food. If you think someone went above and beyond to make your day, don’t be afraid to tip them 30% or even 40%. In your business, people are paid more for doing a great job. In our business, our “bosses” are our guests who are judging us every time they sit down at a table.

I think everyone should also have another rule of thumb about tipping. If you can’t afford to tip, don’t go to the restaurant! I certainly understand that everyone can’t afford to eat a $40 entree, but if you choose to go to a fine dining restaurant, make sure you can afford the tip. Otherwise, you are punishing the people who helped to make your evening special.

At Pluckers, occasionally we have some of our guests who walk in with no intention of tipping. I can tell you first-hand that this hurts the morale of our staff. It is demoralizing to work hard for someone and not be rewarded for it. Very often this happens with our guests who are using a coupon that we provided. As most of you know, we have 5 Free Wing coupons handed out after all UT football and basketball games when the Horns win. We also use this program for the SMU Mustangs, Round Rock Express, Austin Toros, Round Rock Youth Baseball and other community teams and events. This is not only our way of bringing in new guests, but our appreciation for the people in our community. So do us a favor, if you have a coupon from Pluckers where we are giving $4.50 of value for free, please let the people who are working for you receive a tip based on the value of the food, not what you paid for it.

So who else should I tip and how much? Here is Dave’s quick guide to tipping:

• Cabbies - at least 10% and up to 20%
• Bartenders - at least 50-cents per drink and up to 25% if they pour you a good drink
• Hair salons and barber shops - 20%
• Valets - Sure we all resent going downtown and having to pay to have our cars valeted. Just remember, this is their livelihood and tip the person a couple of bucks for taking care of your car for you.
• Grocery Store baggers - if they bring the food out to your car, give them at least 50-cents and up to $1.00 per bag.

Remember, karma is a powerful thing. And tipping is just one way to send a little good karma your way each day. Put a smile on the face of the people who put a smile on yours.