Restaurant tipping. Pros & cons

[Flyingcursor]

I just read an interesting article on tipping. Apparently the custom didn't appear in the US until after 1865.

Anyway, I'm curious how other people feel about tipping and what customs are in other countries.

I'm a good tipper but technically I regard tipping is something that should only be done for something exceptional. HOWEVER our society has taken tipping for granted to the extent that waitresses and waiters cannot survive on their income without tips.

Do you always tip the same percent? Will you tip less or more depending on service or based on how much of a pain in the butt you are while in the restaurant?

Discuss?

[Tony]

15-20% as a reference.
I may cut back on the tip if I feel the restaurant is charging outrageous prices and the service is only average. Conversely, there is a small latin restaruant I go to where the prices are really low and I'm higher on the tip to compensate for their good service.

[brewerpaul]

In most places, the waitstaff don't get paid much at all and they truly depend on tips to make a living wage. I usually tip 15-20% for dinner, maybe a bit less for lunch. At a buffet, I leave a couple of bucks since I basically waited on myself. I'll sometimes tip more for a waiter who is truly outstanding and who makes the meal a much better experience and I also tip less for a really bad waiter.
One time I had a waiter that was horrible in every way. I was tempted to leave nothing but then he might have thought I simply forgot. Instead, I left a nickle as if to say "I didn't forget your tip: here is what I thought your service was worth!"

[jbarter]

If I don't get good service from the waiter at my local Italian restaurant then I kick his arse when he gets home and send him to bed without any supper.

[Matt_Paris]

15 to 20 % seems enormous to me. Here in France we give something more in restaurants, but never that much, except if the service is really special (or if we want to impress someone).

Waiters don't make a lot of money, but they ususally have enough to live. Tips are welcome of course, but they're not a question of survival.

I was a waiter once, when I was a student... A lot of work, not well paid, but a good experience anyway.

I have a friend who was a waiter in the south of France, and was always looking for american tourists... American tips were a big part of his income.

[Wanderer]

In the US, employers can actually pay under the statutory minimum wage if it is anticipated that tips will make up the difference. So, a lot of waitstaff really do depend on tips for their living.

That said, I tip based on service. 10-15% is my standard..I've been known to tip $5.00 on a $10.00 lunch for exceptional service. If I eat at a buffet, or cafeteria style (like Luby's) if I tip at all is totally dependent on how supportive the support staff is. If I have to get my own drinks, and basically never see anyone at all, then I consider the experience much like McDonalds, and do not tip. If someone is attentive to my needs, fills my tea, etc, I'll tip.

I recently hosted a birthday party for a friend if mine at a place here called the Velvet Hookah. A hookah bar (obviously) with bellydancing and stuff. A pretty neat place. Because we had a party of 10 or more, the house automatically added a 20% tip to everyone's bill. I didn't mind, because our waitress was great. She was personable, fast to serve, and didn't mess anything up. I dropped a little over $80 on food, drinks and hookahs for my friend, and it went up to just a smidge over $100 after the tip. My feelings toward the waitress the waitress soured a bit when I gave the waitress $120, and she asked if I needed change (which is bascially a polite way of asking "can I have the change as a tip"). From my calculations, she easily made $120 in tips for the two hours we were there, from the mandatory 20% everyone had to shell out, and we weren't the only tables she was serving. That was a bit money-grubbing in my opinion.

[emmline]

I usually do 20%, unless the service stinks.
I think 15 is fine though.

[I.D.10-t]

15-20% as a reference.
I may cut back on the tip if I feel the restaurant is charging outrageous prices and the service is only average. Conversely, there is a small latin restaruant I go to where the prices are really low and I'm higher on the tip to compensate for their good service.

Same here.

I would like to add that good service down south is different than up north. While with a friend from South Carolina in a restaurant in DC I thought the service was great and my friend thought the waitress was trying to get rid of us. “Man, I barely got my coffee and she wants to know what I want to eat?”

The three people that I do tip are cab drivers, barbers, and wait staff.

[djm]

I only tip 10% - 15% if the service is exceptional. In some restaurants the tip is included in the bill. I have to watch out for these places so I don't end up tipping twice.

djm

[Tyler]

I usually do 20%, unless the service stinks.
I think 15 is fine though.

I agree there, for the most part. In my late teens I worked for the father of one of my friends who owns a restaurant locally and worked my way up later to being assistant chef, so I have very strict definitions of what good restaurant service should be. If the service was good and I could tell that the server really tried, I tip closer to 20%, but if the service was crud I leave a very small tip, if any at all. I also think that it is of equal import to service to be a good patron; dont walk into a restaurant and expect good service if you act like a jerk. Be nice, servers are people too, and a lot of the ones that used to work for us back then have more than one full time endeavour to pursue.
When I dine out, whether its a nice, high end place or Panda Express, I keep a personal policy to treat those handling my food with politeness, so that when service is good I feel good about leaving a larger tip.

[Tony]

Paul mentioned leaving a nickle tip for poor service.
Hallandale Florida (between Miami and Fort Lauderdale) is a mecca for Canadian snowbirds that have no problem leaving a penny tip if they are less than pleased with the service. Often, it's right near the outer edge of the table where other patrons can see it.
Usually... it's a Canadian penny!

[TelegramSam]

I tip 15% for average service, 20% for excellent service.

[WhistlingGypsy]

I have no problem not tipping if the service is poor. I will tip at least 15% for good service. Eating out in Canada and the US is relatively cheap compared to Europe so it is easier to leave a tip. What I cannot abide is the waiter/waitress that feels they deserve a tip no matter what. Also I go into my local bar and the owner serves us while we sit at the bar (usually drinks only). She expects a tip.........I don't think she deserves one, but I usually leave something small so that I don't get ignored when I want a pint.

I heard somewhere that the word TIPS is an acronym for To Insure Prompt Service. This apparently came from a time when you would tip prior to getting served and that would ensure that you got good service for the evening or whatever. Not sure how much truth there is in that but it sounds reasonable and I like to tell it to waiters to make a point.

[Tyler]

I heard somewhere that the word TIPS is an acronym for To Insure Prompt Service. This apparently came from a time when you would tip prior to getting served and that would ensure that you got good service for the evening or whatever. Not sure how much truth there is in that but it sounds reasonable and I like to tell it to waiters to make a point.

I've heard that as well...I wonder, sometimes, if we went back to that type of tip system if servers would be more or less likely to give better service...

[jbarter]

In the US, employers can actually pay under the statutory minimum wage if it is anticipated that tips will make up the difference.

I'm glad that's not the case in the UK though I think the taxman might take a cut based on assumed tips.