Tipping at Restaurants

[Rafiki31]

If you can't afford to tip then you can't afford to eat out! As a former server, I would suggest you remember these people and next time you see them, return the favor. They have now set the standard for what level of service they deserve. If they are going to stiff you anyway, might as well take your time and put your energy into your other tables.

If you are one of those people that leaves no stip or stiffs the server, how can you ever go back to a resteraunt a second time? I would be embarrased.

 

[Shutterbug]

if you just take my order, then drop it off and if you barely check on me or I have to have someone track you down... less than 15%
(*note to above rule...now if I see the above is because the restaurant is understaffed and the person is just overwhelmed but is trying I will usually give 15-20 then.)

If you take my, order drop it off and keep my glass filled..15%

If you are at my table promptly, take my order with a smile and keep my glass filled...20%

If you do all above plus have a very upbeat personality and are very attentative...over 20%

One thing I will never do is cut back on a tip cause the kitchen screwed up.
If the kitchen screws up and he/she goes out of her/his way to get it taken care of and make it right and done quickly, that will also get over %20

Now one thing...I dont care how much cleavage is flashed at me, if your service was terrible you are not going to get a good tip.

 

[emma'smom]

15% or so.... 10% if they don't do much/lousy service

 

[mrsstats]

We alwways tip between 15 - 20%. I am sorry that this happened to you. Some people really suck. Even with bad service we would give 10%

 

[redlight]

I usually tip about 20% for standard service, and a bit more for exceptional service.

 

[paintnolish]

A rounded up 20%, like if 20% was $8, I'd leave $10. 20% is standard around here and 15% is considered a "bad" tip or what elderly people leave (which doesn't annoy because they probably just don't realize it is different now). We are expected to maintain around a 20% tip average.
I am a server and I definitely feel your pain. Every once in a while, everything goes right and you still get a cruddy tip. I've gotten the occassional tip that was so bad I thought they made an addition mistake! All of us servers also say the "verbal" tip it the worst-they tell you how wonderful you are and how everything was just great, but then they stiff you on the tip!

 

[zachnsamsmommy]

My DH and I always tip between 15-20%, depending on the level of service. (The lower end of the scale is for more 'buffet' type places that only refill your drinks and bring you clean plates).

My exception is for super lousy service. I'm not talking about the occassional forgeting to refill a drink, or when a restaraunt is really busy. We left NO TIP once when my mom took me to Red Lobster for my 19th birthday. We were both dressed a little frumpy b/c I just had finished classes, and she had been running errands. Our waitress deserted us to wait on a table of older women. We had to flag her down to order, flag her down for refills. Watched her take care of us like she despised us, while being wonderful to the table of older women. We complained to the manager after our dinner, and let him know WHY we left no tip when she was so horrid on my birthday. And that is the only time I have NEVER left a tip. Luckily the manager gave us gift certificates for the next time we came, and apologies as well for the (lack of) service we received.

Anyways...I'm on a tangent. It seems you did nothing wrong...you just had a poor tipper. Hopefully you'll have some generous tippers to make up for it.

 

[bigtinkfun]

I'm really bad at math, so I hate the mental gymnastics required to figure out a 15% tip on a bill. So I usually just figure out 10% of the bill, round it up to the next dollar, and then double it.

Servers work hard, they've earned it.

 

[merryweather20]

A rounded up 20%, like if 20% was $8, I'd leave $10. 20% is standard around here and 15% is considered a "bad" tip or what elderly people leave (which doesn't annoy because they probably just don't realize it is different now). We are expected to maintain around a 20% tip average.I am a server and I definitely feel your pain. Every once in a while, everything goes right and you still get a cruddy tip. I've gotten the occassional tip that was so bad I thought they made an addition mistake! All of us servers also say the "verbal" tip it the worst-they tell you how wonderful you are and how everything was just great, but then they stiff you on the tip!

The bolded part is when I stopped eating out. I was talking to someone who worked at a chain restaurant and they had to tip out many many other positions, and the total came to over 20%. I can understand the busboys, but they were tipping out several of the kitchen staff as well.

How am I to know? I would always tip the waiter based on their service, not on the quality of the food for example. Not to mention I still think the standard tip is 15%. I tip 20%+ because when I'm out I'm generally by myself, which I don't think is any less work than waiting on a couple. My parents grandparents and all their friends tip 15%, I don't get when the 20% memo came out.

 

[pearlieq]

I'm really not crazy about the upward pressure on the percentage of the tip. When I was growing up, 15% was standard, but now it seems like there's a hard push for 20%. However, the price of food is also going up, which should keep tip amounts rising as costs rise. I don't like food costs going up AND the tip percentage going up.

That said, I still start at 20% at an average restaurant and adjust up or down from there. I have tipped zero once or twice in my life, and think it's perfectly appropriate when service is horrible. But it really should be an incredibly rare thing--if someone is finding an excuse not to tip every week, they're just being cheap.

I adjust a bit depending on the check amount. I tip closer to 25% at a local diner where our check is only $20. Likewise, I tend to hold the line at 15% at overpriced resorts and touristy places like WDW.

I'm sorry you got stiffed by that rude family. Hopefully you get a really nice one to make up for it.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

I've waitressed at three different restaurants and will leave a fairly sizable tip, I can think of only two times I did not leave a tip at all: The first was actually at a restaurant I used to serve at. The girl did not do anything for me hte whole night. She did not bring my food, did not check up on me, and then left for the night without saying anything, and I had been wiating for quite awhile for my bill but could not find her. I had to walk up to the bar just to get some more drink.

The other time was this week. I was at a buffet and I never even saw my server. I had to go up to the cash register to get my drink refilled. But even if I have lousy service, I normally tip.

 

[honugirl]

I tip right about 15%. If you did an outstandingly spectacular job or it's a really fancy/special restaurant, I'll probably tip at bit more. Our tax is right around 8%, so it's very easy for me to look at the receipt and double it.

 

[Beca]

I also wish more people knew how restaurants really work. A waiter/waitress brings home about $1 per hour for their work. At the end of the night, most restaurants require their server staff to "tipshare" with other employees in the restaurant (cooks, hostesses, expediters, bartenders, bussers, etc.). This amount is based not on what the waitress gets as tips, but is based on the amount they ring up in sales. For me, it was 6% of my sales. So, for the OP, if she has a 6% tipshare, she had to pay out about $3.50 to wait on that table, so she actually lost money. This is also the reason I encourage my family & friends to ALWAYS order "to go" meals from the bar instead of a waiter/waitress...bartenders receive tipshare and do not have to pay it. If you are someone who orders "to go" orders from a waitress, and you do not tip them at least 6%, you are taking money out of their pocket. So, I always tell my dh....either order from the bar, or tip 15% for to go orders.

 

[paintnolish]

The bolded part is when I stopped eating out. I was talking to someone who worked at a chain restaurant and they had to tip out many many other positions, and the total came to over 20%. I can understand the busboys, but they were tipping out several of the kitchen staff as well.

How am I to know? I would always tip the waiter based on their service, not on the quality of the food for example. Not to mention I still think the standard tip is 15%. I tip 20%+ because when I'm out I'm generally by myself, which I don't think is any less work than waiting on a couple. My parents grandparents and all their friends tip 15%, I don't get when the 20% memo came out.

We do tip out a large portion (bartenders, busboys, and food runners). I think the 20% also might vary based on where you live and the type of restaurant. The vast majority of servers are quite near to the 20% mark. 18.5% is pretty low with most people around 19.5%...I know because the percentages are posted weekly.

 

[tuckerkeys]

as a rule we always tip 20%. Even on lousy service ( we will find the owner or manager and say something if this has happened ) I understand that the waitstaff basically work for tip$....

I have 2 small kids. When they come with us, we leave extra, b/c of the mess the baby leaves on the floor. I wish everyone would do this. We have been lucky to have good experiences. Very few bad, but, it happens....

 

[Skatermom23]

Mostly we tip 15%. I don't think I have ever left anything less than that. If the service is good, I leave 20%. But, they are going to have to work for that. Just taking an order and dropping the food off is not going to get you 20%. DH loves his soda and if his glass is kept filled, then you will get 20%. I have never left more than that, except to round up the dollar.

 

[pilesoflaundry]

Minimum 20%, I've given 25% for outstanding service and I've given 10-15% for awful service (but I also complain and get something comped if the service is bad enough to affect tipping). When the kids were toddlers I cleaned up the huge mess they left too on the floor if it was somewhere like Denny's when I figure they had to split tips with the bus boy or didn't get much in tips because of small checks.

People in the service industry are people who need to eat too. It may seem like the cashier or waitress or stockboy are beneath you but without them you can't get a lot done. I'm sorry you got stiffed . My grandpa still tips everyone .25 like it's 1955!!!

 

[JoBird]

20%.
ALWAYS.

Even if you burn my food, pour my drink down the front of me "on accident", and never refill my glass.

Know why?

Because eating out, being waited on- is a luxury. There are so many things going on in someone else's life- that you can't say why your server is good or bad on that one occassion.

A few months ago- I went to a restaurant where the waitress was clearly overworked. I never got half of what I requested- she was running ragged, trying to keep up with more tables than she should have had.

I realized at that moment that she wasn't working there to have a fun time- waitressing is a HARD job--- she actually needed the money, and badly.

So, for a $20 meal, I tipped her a $50. I felt led to do it.

As I was leaving- she came running up to me and said "I need to give you your change." And I said "No- that's yours to keep." She said "But that's a $50 tip." ANd I said "You're right. I hope your night goes a little better."

She started crying-- and said "I don't know you, ma'am, but you will never know how much I need this- I am a single Mom with a baby at home that needs formula- and I was hoping to get enough money to buy him some at the end of my shift. Thank you so much. I will never forget you."


Actually, I will never forget her.

A little niceness goes a long way in leaving your mark on the World.


Jo

 

[kydisneyfans]

Triple the tax and round to the nearest quarter-that is within a few ticks of 18%. My parents are cheap. They left a $2.25 tip for a $73 meal last time. I snuck back and added a $10, which was all that I had.

 

[~disneydiva~]

I usually tip at least 20-25 %.

I waited tables for at one restaurant for awhile, and I usually got pretty good tips. I had a few people stiff me at times. Like the time I waited on this table and it was my ONLY table (late afternoon). They were one of those tables that asked for one thing and when you bring it to them, then they ask for something else. They kept me busy. Their bill was $99 and change. They left a $100.00 on the table.