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As restaurant owners, during the past 18 years, my husband and I have worked to not only create a great business for ourselves, but since my husband is the chef and I make the pastries and handle the front of the house, we are also here to support our staff, as they are part of our success.

We work hard to make a good income and to make sure that our waitstaff does as well. This is 2007 and it still totally throws us for a loop when guests say that they had an enjoyable night, the restaurant has terrific atmosphere, they received fantastic service, and even go out of their way to tell my husband that this was the best meal they have had ever (their words). Lo and behold we see that the tip is barely 8%.

What happened? Don't they know any better, are they still living in the dark ages, are they ignorant or were they Europeans or Canadians? I am from Holland originally and trust me foreigners know what they should tip , they know what is the norm and what is meager, there are guidelines in all travelbooks, it is just easier and cheaper for them to plead the 5th.

As the owner, I have actually spoken to guests after the fact, and asked them again , in a nice way, if there was anything wrong with the food (of course not), with the service (it was the best), anything else we could have done better (no way).
This leaves an opening for me to explain that the waitstaff in the U.S. does not make a salary and that the tip here is basically their income, and when somebody leaves 8% we just want to be sure we did not do anything wrong.

This then becomes an opening for them and it helps that I can relate, being European myself, and in the nicest way possible I explain the above, so that they can be prepared as they continue their extensive travels and eat their meals throughout the U.S. (HAH!).

We also indicate clearly on gift certificates, discounts etc. that the tip should be calculated on the amount prior to the discount, and if it was a gift certificate we donated for a fundraiser or special event(no money exchanged hands), we actually state that we will add an 18% tip to the bill, or, if the guest received exceptional service, they can ask us to increase it.

There is no excuse not to tip 15-20% and we see that our waitstaff on average makes more than that. People can say that servers need to receive a salary instead of minimum wage and tips, but it will be a long time coming, and till then we will do all possible to make sure that they receive their deserved reward.

Learn more about this author, Catherine Pawelek.
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