When is tipping not 12%?

[Rilchiam]

@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.

[bordelond]

@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.

[furt]

@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.

[Balthisar]

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.

[Balthisar]

And, of course, I’m a dumb-ass that used <i> nested within <quote> which is italic, which is why bbcode really, really needs non-semantic tags like <em> or <strong>. Oh well; sorry for the mess.