Currently, only seven states in the United States require employers to pay tipped workers the same minimum wage as non-tipped workers. In most states, tipped employees make between $2.00 to $5.00 per hour. You’ve heard it before, servers are overworked and unappreciated. But do you truly understand the background behind this statement? Most servers work long hours, are paid extremely low, hourly minimum wages, and are often left with poor tips, despite providing quality service. If a sever works a four hour shift, and they average 20$ in tips total for all of their tables, they are only making $36.00. But don’t forget that at many places, servers have to tip out their bar tenders and essays, which is usually three to five percent of their total sales. This can be anywhere from $3.00 to $20.00 taken out of their total tips. You say that gratuity is earned and not given out freely? Sure I can agree with that, but can you say that you always fairly reward your servers who do a fantastic job? Think long and hard about it.

If you cannot afford to add gratuity on your bill, or are able to correctly calculate a fair gratuity for your bill, you should be dinning places where servers are not required. Need suggestions? There are plenty of restaurants that provide food, hand it off to you, and leave the rest up to you. If you are going to take up someone’s time and table at a restaurant, it is not only kind to leave a tip, but it is of good moral. In the United States, the average tip that is considered "fair" is 15 to 20 percent of the entire meal's cost. Many places will have checks that do the math for you and show you what the 15, 18 or 20 percent tip amounts are for your specific bill. If this isn't provided, don't fret. Simply take your total bill amount and multiply it by the percentage you wish to give (18 percent: times total bill by .18) and there you have it.

Maybe your server didn’t receive a college degree, or maybe they messed up your drink order at first. This does not mean that they didn’t come to work not ready to work hard for their minimum wage and tips. Let me break this down for you: if you choose to stiff your waiter, you are most likely contributing to them averaging AT MOST $5.00 an hour. Do you think that’s fair when you take up one of their tables for an hour, at least, while they wait on your every need so that you can enjoy your meal with a few friends for a nice night out and leave them less than 15% or nothing at all? Absolutely not.

You have no idea how hard some of my fellow servers work to provide for themselves or their families. You have no idea about how sometimes, your tip could determine whether they are able to keep their electricity from being turned off that very same night. You have no idea what it’s like to feel confident that you did your job to the very best of your abilities and pick up a check and see that nothing was left for you and your “job well done”. I will say that if your server does not care about their responsibility to take care of you as a table and provides horrible service, by all means, I understand why you wouldn’t leave a great tip. Please don’t be the queen of the $2.00 tip, no matter the bill. I don’t care if your bill is enough to begin a payment towards a college fund, have the decency to leave between 15 to 20 percent on your bill.

I guess what I’m frantically going on about here and trying to say is the next time you go out to enjoy a meal, take a second to be considerate of your server. Ask yourself to fairly gage their tip on the service that they have provided you with. Be courteous and fair and moral, it goes a very long way in this world.

In the end tips are like hugs, just without all the touching.