# When is tipping not 12%? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 20, 2005, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-tipping-not-12/331906 "2005-11-20T09:12:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-tipping-not-12/331906/81 "2005-11-22T21:18:50Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > I know for sure that 10% was fine as a tip 50-60 years ago. I think that might be why, in _Resevoir Dogs_, Nice Guy Eddie (who was by far the oldest of the bunch) was the one to make the “12 percent” crack. For him, that was a nice tip. Joe was the oldest. Eddie was his son. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-tipping-not-12/331906/82 "2005-11-22T21:20:26Z")
> [@Rilchiam](#): > > Joe was the oldest. Eddie was his son. Ah … OK. In my mind’s eye, it was indeed Joe that was admonishing Mr. Pink about being cheap. Gotta watch that movie again sometime. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-tipping-not-12/331906/83 "2005-11-22T21:24:28Z")
> [@Duke of Rat](#): > > Another way to get a better tip (I only do this at night, when having some fun), I give the hack $1 for every other cab he passes and stays in front of on the way to our destination. I could have retired a young man. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-tipping-not-12/331906/84 "2005-11-22T23:53:56Z")
Wow, I am a right bastard. Most of the items below I’d expect as a matter of course, i.e., they all define average service (deviations appropriately interspersed with my comments). When I don’t get such treatment, those are usually places I don’t go back to, although sometimes I’ll do second chances if the food and atmophere were good. Of course I guess it’s “average service” because I don’t return to the subpar places – I’m east of I-75, blue collar part of the tri-county, fat chicks aren’t jolly, older part of the suburbs, and “average” really sucks and disappoints me and makes me want to go to Oakland County more often 😉 > [@crazyjoe](#): > > Your cup (water, coffee, soft drink) never sits empty long enough for you to take note of it (as long as refilling it is free, of course). _I’m happy if he or she asks me about another beer before it’s empty. If it arrives just as I finish the last slurp, then there’s really an incentive to tip better. God, I’m such a lush, it’s usually the most important thing I notice!_ > Your server will never show up to your table with a tray full of food and then proceed to ask everyone who had which entree. _I guess it doesn’t happen too much for me to notice. Also it seems more and more common for mid-range places to have dedicated food runners who don’t have a clue._ > Your server will verify the properness of all orders before they leave the kitchen…ie you will not get a rare steak when you ordered well, you will always get the extra tartar sauce you ordered, etc. _Oh, yeah! I notice when this is wrong._ > (If it’s a members-only type place) Your server will greet you by your honorific and last name when addressing you. _Guess I’ve not made it yet. Oh, yeah, in Texas every place was “members only” but that was only a cloak._ > Your server will check on you throughout the evening, offering more wine, cocktails, etc, but not stopping by your table every 2 minutes and interrupting conversations._Yes!_ > You will not have empty, dirty plates on your table long enough to notice that they are in the way._Yes!_ > The server will smile, and make the customer beleive that yes, they truly do think that being a waiter or waitress was their life calling, even if they are working toward another career._Yes! Attitude is so important._ > You won’t be pressured into ordering something (ie dessert, appetizers) just to pad the bill (and thus get a bigger tip)._This bugs me – if they ask if I’m interested in a desert, then no problem. If they bring the damned tray over (even if they “have to”), it’s disappointing. I prefer to ask to see the tray, but only if I’m interested._ > And, one of the most important things: Your server will know the menu. He or she will not have to go back into the kitchen to ask what “Chipotle sauce” or “carbonara” means on a dish._Yes!_ > Your server will be able to recommend wines to accompany the entree._Hmm… being an uncouth beer drinker, I’ve yet to test this out…_ > If you get all this, that’s exceptional service. Deviations end you up in the “average” category. Above and beyond can get a bigger tip. I’m a 20%-round-up tipper, so I guess I’m tipping appropriately for the service I expect. But it’s a sad, sad, state of affairs when all of the above represents “exceptional” service rather than “average,” “this-is-the-way-it’s-supposed-to-be” service. Exceptional to me, then? Well, I’m not demanding beyond the basics, so there’s not really anything exceptional, I guess, that a server could do for me, comping or other illegal things aside. Add kids, sickness, and other special accomodations in there, and I can see things getting exceptional. Don’t forget to analyze the root of that word. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-tipping-not-12/331906/85 "2005-11-22T23:55:11Z")
And, of course, I’m a dumb-ass that used \ nested within \ which is italic, which is why bbcode really, really needs non-semantic tags like \ or \. Oh well; sorry for the mess. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-tipping-not-12/331906.md?page=4)