Senator Milk Phelps said, "West Virginia has been at the top of many lists lately and another one of the lists is worst tippers. West Virginians are known as the cheapest tippers in the nation. Not only does this impact the servers' families but also hurts West Virginia because smaller tips means that is less income taxes we can collect.
Cindy Tipton of Morgantown, said, " I bust my ass to please my customers. There are days when I'm on my period but I still come in and smile and do everything possible to please my customers. It is very frustrating when I pour my heart out to a stranger and then get stiffed on a tip. Service should be part of the bill. You can't get your muffler changed and then decide not to pay for the labor. The labor is automatically added to the bill. I think a waitress's service should be counted as labor and added to the bill."
Mike Carroll, owner of The Wayne Diner in Wayne, West Virginia agrees, "Hey, these ladies bust their tails. It's not right that they could work in strip bars and make more money. These are girls with families to support. I do not make enough money here to afford to pay them what they are worth, so I think the state should do what is right and make the customer pay for their service. If these girls aren't paid then they will be the state's burden as they will be on food stamps."
Scott Kelley of Hurricane disagrees, "Some of these servers are very rude. If they are getting a guaranteed tip then what is going to motivate them to treat their customer the way they are supposed to. If they want to make more money they should take charm classes or something. A tip is like a carrot held in front of a horse to make that horse run. An unmotivated waitress is a rude, slow, and hateful waitress."
The mandatory tip would not restrict diners from going over the amount that is set on the check. The diner could still leave a traditional tip once they have paid the gratuity on the bill. Senator Phelps said, "The customer will not be limited to leaving a certain amount. If they are extremely happy with the service they received or if they are trying to impress a hot waitress, they can as high as they want with the gratuity."
