Living in the U.S., I hate the idea that it’s an unwritten rule that you ALWAYS have to tip. To me, it amounts to highway robbery. In an ideal world, the waitstaff would be given a decent wage. That said, I almost always tip unless the service was absolutely horrible.
The amount I tip always reflects the service. Excellent service usuall gets 20% or more; decent service usually gets 18-20%; somewhat poor service about 10-15% (same for buffets/cafeterias); absolutely horrible service or rudeness 0-5% and/or a discussion with the manager.
In the US, I virtually always tip. Right or wrong, it is what makes up most of the server’s pay, and it is part of the cost of eating out. Adequate service gets 15%, and it increases the better the service is (my typical measure is how long I have to wait between drink refills). I only don’t tip for unusually bad service–I’ve only done this a few times in my life.
However, my understanding is that in countries where servers are actually paid a living wage (such as in chowder’s situation in the UK) it is the opposite–tips are reserved for unusually good service. In the referenced pit thread the OP was dissatisfied with his experience, so he was perfectly justified in not leaving a tip.
As a long-time reader / first time poster, I figured this would be a safe place to make my entrance into SDMB-land. So, first… uh… hi, everyone
Anyway, I usually err on the side of overtipping. My perspective is that it can only help you (whether that means better service on the next visit, or merely good karma, varies by person, by restaurant, and by individual visit). But that’s just me…
I do have a question for those that do the “leave a penny or two” thing. If your experience was bad enough to warrant this, why not address the situation head-on and speak with the manager?
I really do not like the idea of wait staff getting less than minimum wage because “they’ll make it up in tips”. And with that in mind I do not like tipping most of the time because I feel like I am being forced to. Though I have never had a situation bad enough, knocks on wood, for me to consider not leaving a tip.
Yet there are times when the service is good or the wait staff is really nice and friendly and then I want to leave a tip to thank them for the good time I had partially do to them.
The only two times I tip no matter what the service is like is for delivered pizza and my hair cut lady.
I always tip 5 for pizza even if it is late and somewhat cold which from experience is usually the fault of the cooks messing up the order and the pizza having to be made again. I used to deliver pizza and got stuck so many times with no tip or the "you can keep the change" style of tipping and thats usually .50 or less and every once in a great while when someone would throw $2 or more my way it totally made my night and usually the next couple of nights so I like to be that person to the people who deliver my pizza’s.
And my hair cut lady is just so nice and sweet even though I can barely understand what she is saying, she is asian of some sort, but her being so nice and laughing and smiling always puts me into a good mood for the rest of the day so she always get $5 even though the hair cut only costs $15.
It’s been source of constant marital disagreement here We’re in the US by the way…
My wife’s view: staff gets shit pay and is struggling to survive, she tips 20-25% even for poor service.
My view: 15% for normal service. If someone is doing awesome work for us above and beyond the call (which I think should be the default expectation personally, the “extra mile” is the norm for the job) then I’ll tip higher. For example, a server helping out by asking ingredient questions from the kitchen, replacing silverware, splitting charges, and generally being beckonable if we need something is considered expected service and not exceptional. Poor service gets no tip at all.
In almost every case of poor service, I do make it a point to address my concerns with the server directly, or with the management, if possible.
On a few occasions, I’ve found that the server is unwilling to accept that they may have screwed something up. In other situations, the restaurant has been so busy that I’ve been told that “the manager is busy, I can’t find him” by multiple people, or “the manager is taking care of something else, he’ll be over shortly, though” and he’ll never arrive. Sometimes, you get the best of both worlds – a server who has no intention of admitting fault, and a manager who couldn’t care less about what his/her staff does. In those situations, a penny or two would suffice.
Good answer. I guess my question would really be more for the folks (if any) who go the penny route without first taking the steps you described above…
I have left one punitively puny tip in… I don’t know how long.
Roundel Cafe on Hastings – slightly hippy-dippy “organic” breakfast joint. Basically, there was no service. I got up and walked over to the counter at least four times, to ask for things that are usually offered as part of table service.
“Uh… can we have some coffee?”
“Uh… can we order?”
“Uh… is there ketchup?”
“Uh… could we get some jam for our toast?” (Waitress then grudgingly brought one small tub of jam, about 1/8th of what could be expected to cover our toast.)
That ended the experiment of going for breakfast there – went back to our usual spot, where a 20% tip is the minimum I would expect to leave - and a bargain at that.
If I lived in a place (like California, apparently) where servers were guaranteed at least minimum wage, I wouldn’t feel so compelled to tip well. But I don’t, so my minimum tip is 15% unless service is truly abysmal. I suppose I could make my little stand against the Man by refusing to tip, but the only person I’m really hurting there is the server, and if they did a reasonably good job serving me, I’m not going to shaft them just because I feel like making some kind of principled gesture about how they should be getting paid more base wages in the first place.
My mother is a notoriously bad tipper - like 1.50 on a $25 lunch check. When out with her, we (her kids) routinely (and surreptitiously) leave extra on the table. One time, I had to leave my coat behind so that I could go back for it, get change at the bar, and give it to the waitress directly, as she had already cleared the table.
On a completely unrelated note, I avoid restaurants with a tip pooling policy - the service at such places is invariably poorer than at conventional places. Which only stands to reason.
Being a really good waiter/server requires a whole bunch of skills. There can be so much to do, so much to remember; but a good server can make it seem effortless. I know I couldn’t do it.
There have only been a few times over the years that I haven’t left a tip, but that was only because the service was terrible and unexcusable. If a server is just competent, I will leave a decent tip. I know it can be a tough job and often the tips are a big part of their salary.
My best friend and I go out to eat almost every Saturday night. We always get good service because we always ask for certain peoples tables so we get a particular server. The fact that these servers also happen to be pretty young girls is merely a coincidence
These kind ladies will always treat us well, give us exceptional service and let us flirt with them a bit, even though we are probably older than their father. For this, they get a nice tip. Not anything fantastic, but about 25% or so. Sure, they are nice to us because we always give a nice tip, but they will also drop by our table and talk with us the same, even if they aren’t serving us that night.
A really good server can do their job flawlessly, handle all their different customers with grace, and make it all look so easy. It ain’t an easy way to make a living.
Typically I leave a minimum of 15 percent and as much as 30 percent for outstanding service. But it’s not automatic; I have left no tip and very low tips when service sucked.
A week ago, my SO and I ate out and left our waiter a 5 percent tip. He didn’t check up on us at all, got my order wrong, and my SO could see him walking around and making faces and gestures that made it clear he didn’t want to be there. I wished I weren’t such a bleeding heart and left him zilch, as that’s what his service was worth.
I refuse to feel guilt for earned low tips. I’m sorry you have a crap job that pays shit, but lots of people do, and many of them don’t have the opportunity to augment their income with tips. So if you do, but just can’t be bothered to put some effort into it, then you don’t deserve anything extra.
This is why I don’t leave “bad tips,” unless I explain them. It’s either a 15% minimum, or nada. If I leave 5% because the service was poor, this comes off as “damn, that guy is just a poor tipper.” If I leave a penny, it’s clear that I remembered to tip, I just had no justification to leave more. This holds especially true if you’re not the type to confront the server or manager – 5% makes you look cheap, and doesn’t tell the server that he/she did anything wrong.
Hello and welcome. You are responding to a 17-year-old thread, so the tip amounts, if nothing else, will have changed considerably since then.
For the record, I always tipped the bartenders when I was out drinking, because I tended to nurse my drink and I figured I should pay a bit extra for taking up space.
sorry pal you’ve had too many profiteroles! Ha)