What are your tips based on??

[Kirby]

Personally, after 17 minutes and basically no service, I would have gotten up and left and found another place to eat.

We tip 15% for good service and more for great service. Less for bad service, the amount depends on the circumstances.

 

[Grog]

I agree with Kirby. If it got to be 17 minutes and no order taken I would have simply left.

One time a friend and myself were in a restaurant and actually were forgotten. Our order was taken promptly, but then after getting in a long conversation about the route we were going to drive on the next leg of our trip, we realized 45 minutes had gone by and all the tables which had arrived after us had been served. We hadn't even seen our waitress since getting our drinks. We stopped someone else and asked about our food. A few minutes later our waitress appeared with the plates. The food was soggy and cold and had obviously been sitting under a heat lamp for the last half hour. We told her that we weren't going to eat it, and weren't going to pay for it. She offered to get us new food but we had a long way to drive that evening and were already behind schedule. I asked for the bill to pay for our drinks and she offered to comp them. From the way she was acting it seemed that she was only offering to do this as our bill was already made out and she would have to explain to her manager why we weren't paying for the meal. I paid for the drinks anyway but left no tip.

Normally I tip 15-20% but have given more for good performance. Once at a local Italian restaurant myself and three friends had such a great time that we asked our waitress to call the manager over. She brought him and in front of the waitress we told him what an excellent employee he had and then tipped her $100 on a $60 tab.

 

[mickeyfan1]

For what you got, I would have left one penny under a plate. If I had waited at all. Sometimes it is better to leave, DH and I have on occasion for the reasons you stated. Yes, everyone can have an off night, however it is the waitstaffs job to wait on all the tables, not just some, not just the ones they want.

I admire anyone who waits tables and does it well. It is a very demanding job. I try to tip at least 20%, even if I just get "standard" service, because I know most people who wait tables really need those tips. But bad service does not get that kind of a tip. Actually, I thought that the meaning of tip was - To Insure Proper Service - so maybe the tip should come first.

 

[Fishbone†]

I appreciate everyone's opinion. I really was interested in what others would do considering that the three of us at our table all would have done something different.

A little clarification:

Chattyaholic: I was a waitress for three years while I was in college, so I'm well aware of the pressures of the job. This makes me both empathetic when I see a waitress under pressure, as well as tougher on those who simply aren't giving their best. She had a entire 5 people to wait on in the time frame we were there, and that's not a lot to ask. There is no "to go" option, and no one was crabby to her until we were frustrated. You are right, now and then we all have off days where we don't give 100%, but then I don't get "tipped" for my job either. I'm sure she got her paycheck regardless of her "off night", but she didn't earn her tip in my opinion. I tip very well (you can ask my friends) when I feel they have served me well.

Jeff: It is a restaurant we frequent VERY often (maybe once a week). Usually we sit in the booth area, but it was full last night, so we ended up in the table seating. And I do plan to go back, but that wouldn't have effected my lower tip..... a tip is earned (in my opinion), and she must know she didn't earn one. Oh, and my food didn't just "look" a little off, I ordered a tuna melt, she brought me a turkey sandwich with bacon on it.... she ordered it incorrectly.

At any rate, I wasn't complaining about the time it took for the food to come once it was ordered, it was the time it took to get waited on. And, while we thought of leaving, when you live in the boondocks as we do, it's the only show around.... we drove 30 minutes to get there, and were at least 15-20 minutes out from anywhere else. We really do like the restaurant and have never had trouble before.... but then we've never sat in "Jo's" section before.

Ahhh, but everyone is different.

 

[disneefamily]

Disnee Dad Says.........................................I never did get the % thing. If it's an expensive place, for round numbers say $100 and I tip $15.00, vs. a cheap place for only $10.00, I only tip $1.50??
Sorry, but I lower the % a bit at high end places and raise it at low end places. But never less than 10% unless it was horrible, I'll even tip bad service if I feel the person is trying, everyone had a first day and week on the job.

Lets say we go on that once in a decade expensive dinner and the bill is $87.00, I leave $100, so the person gets $13. Thats, pull out calculator, 14.9 % Well, I guess I don't lower it at high end places!

Then I get a Denny's special breakfast for less than $4.00. a sixty cent tip???? No, at least $2.00, that 50%. Every penny of it earned.

Your dad was generous, 15% for bad service is a gift, but at this affordable place I'd tip at least 20% for decent service. The prices are low and the servers work hard or you wouldn't keep going every week. So toss in an extra buck!

 

[C.Ann]

Registering my vote a bit late here but....

It takes a LOT for me to not leave a decent tip, but given your circumstances?? A penny would send the message loud and clear..