Tipping.

[Chucktshoes]

I start at 20% and move up from there. As an example my wife and I ate at Red Lobster tonight. Our server was very attentive and quick with whatever we requested. Our glasses were never more than 2/3rds empty before refills were brought and we were brought more cheddar biscuits (yummy) without having to request them. She received a nearly 30% tip (just south of $10 on a check just north of $30)

One odd thing that we do though is that we pre-bus our table (plates and bowls stacked and everything grouped together at edge) don't know why or how we started, but we leave as small of a mess for the busser as is possible.

[Oh Shoot]

I had this thread all wrong:

- OS

[jdi731]

I go out to eat quite a bit and frequent the same places so the staff knows me and friends. My girlfriend is a waitress so I hear all too often about people stiffing her on tips and I know how it makes her feel. I wouldn't want to be responsible for making someone feel like that unless there's was a big problem.

I tip like 25-30% for good service and if they just did an amazing job I will tip even more.

If the service is bad I try to watch the waiter to see what is causing the problem. They could have a large party they are dealing with without any help or could be getting sat another table and that is causing the delay so I won't hold that against them. If they are just goofing off not really doing anything then they will generally get tipped only 10-15%.

When it comes to Sonic, I normally give them $3-5 depending on what's in my wallet, unless I'm ordering for several people then I'll try and give them more. I almost always have the same female bring me my food and I can tell she enjoys me coming up there. I didn't have any spare cash in my wallet one day and I told her I was sorry and she told me "don't worry about it, you're always up here and tip more than you need to so it's no big deal".

I also like to be social and interact with my waiters. It seems to make their jobs more enjoyable if they can laugh, smile, and have a little bit of fun while working. I will leave them notes on the receipts saying "thanks for the great service" or "have a good day". Plus when they know you and know you're going to tip them well you're more likely to get your drinks/refills before others.

If I don't have money to cover tipping, I won't go out and eat because I don't think it's fair to the waiter.

[Guest Sgt. Joe]

On the other side. I was in a restaurant once and at the end of a $14 + change, meal only had $20 in my wallet so I left it all to cover the tip. I went to the bathroom and on my way out heard the waitress make a comment about me being a cheap a$$hole & only giving her a $5 tip. It made me a little upset & I wondered what she would say if she knew it was my last $20. I was laid off at the time and didn't go out much, but still wanted to be generous. I remembered the 'Golden Rule' and let it go, but did request a different waitress the next time we were there. I later heard she was fired for being an a$$hole to another customer. What goes around...

Yep that one was a Royal Beach.....she got what she deserved in the end and that was plenty enough tip for that meal whether it was your last 20 or not.

One odd thing that we do though is that we pre-bus our table (plates and bowls stacked and everything grouped together at edge) don't know why or how we started, but we leave as small of a mess for the busser as is possible.

I tend to do the same thing. I think it comes from when I was very very and I do mean a loooooog time ago young, I bused tables and washed dishes at several places before becoming a "cook". Everywhere I worked I started as a dishwasher and ended up as the cook within a couple months or less. My very first job I went from dishwasher to asst. manager in a little over a year.

Doing the dishes like that makes busing the tables sooooo much easier. As long as it has been I can still remember some tables that were left downright nasty and not like a place that someone had just eaten at....nasty enough that I still remember them.

I will also seek out the manager if I get terrible service....as was said there is always someone else willing to do a good job.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

I tip food service at least 20 percent. Usually a minimum of $5 even on a small tab.

I tip others professions when it is expected, if I know it is expected. I ain't the swooftest sophisticated feller and maybe there have been times I should have tipped and was too ignorant to know that I was supposed to. Wouldn't have thought about tipping a guy at Autozone.

In some cases one could embarrass or offend offering a tip.

Steve Martin was pretty funny playing a mobster in "My Blue Heaven". Can't find any of his big-tipping scenes on youtube. He was laying big tips to everybody for everything. He tried to tip police and his FBI handler.

[Transplanted Hoosier]

I usually do the 20-25% as well but then again most of the girls that wait on me have known me or my wife for quite a while and they always go that extra mile for us.

[Punisher84]

There's too many people that need jobs to put up with servers that hurt your business. On the other hand, I'll also tip 20% to 25% for very good service and seek out the manager to report that as well. It works both ways.

+100 Too many people don't report good service. I guess, in a way, it's sad we should have to. But, nowadays I think the bare minimum is so common, it's nice when a server goes all out. I always tell their manager if they have done an excellent job.

[analog_kidd]

I usually do 20%, add it to the bill and round everything up to the next whole dollar or two.

One place I'm always unsure about is a buffet. I go get my own plate, and serve myself, sometime even get my own drink. Not sure what the norm is there, but I at least leave 10-15%.

We like to eat TGI Fridays takeout. They had this curbside to go service, where you call it in and they bring it out to your car. Our local one now changed the rules, so that you have to come in and get it. Some servers still will bring it out, so I have learned to ask, however most don't. If they bring it out to me, they are getting a tip. If I have to go in and pick it up, forget it. I figured the cook did the real work, and I did my own serving, they aren't getting anything. If they don't like it they can take it up with management, or continue to bring it out like the few who do.

[brooksjr]

A few years ago around Christmas I tipped a Sonic car-hop $20 for bringing out a drink. I had to roll the window up on her because she kept trying to give it back to me. I would guess she was in her late 30's so I figured if she was working at Sonic she could use a little extra cash.

On average I tip 20%-25% when I go out to eat but have been known to tip close to 100%, especially if I'm using gift cards for my food.

[Mike.357]

if you play golf at a course where bag attendants handle your clubs you should tip two bucks on the way in. If they clean your clubs throw two more bucks.

If you play regularly somewhere and see the same attendants, throw five bucks after you are done and skip the tipping on the way in.

I believe in fair tipping. Give what is warranted. Over tipping is ridiculous, the guy you are tipping will appreciate it, but will be laughing at you about it when you are gone.

[wipfel]

I always tip 20%+, even if the service was sub-par. Crazy, I know. I have tipped 100% before. I have tipped 0% before as well, but my mindset has changed some.

I try to put myself in the person's position and consider the worst-case-scenario. One extreme is that they are just lousy at what they do, and/or just don't care. Well, they've got bigger problems in life lessons to come, and my rudeness doesn't need to contribute to it.

The other extreme could be that this is a single-mother who has 3 children at the baby-sitter, working her 'second' job and being harassed by the baby-sitter who has 'plans' and is angry with the mom for running a bit late. This was my mother-in-law at one time, and she has my respect for doing the right thing. Therefore, I can't justify making an assumption against her, so I just tip the same regardless.

I can't let my character wax and wane based upon the actions of another individual. If nothing else, I'm just consistent.

as the man said above....I like your style.

[Guest Guy N. Cognito]

I tip 15-20% depending on service. Twice in my life I have left zero tip for horrible service, but both of those instances also warranted a discussion with the manager.

[Guest ADAM]

If your a good server you will get a very good tip from me 30% or more most of the time. If you suck I will leave a penny and the reason

you only got a penny, because I dont care if your having a bad day or the host or hostess overloaded you with to many tables its your job do

it correct.

[canadienmike]

I usually tip at least 20%, sometimes more (and I'm even Canadian ).

Do you know that baggage "skycaps" at the major airports make over 6 figures on tips alone!That $2 a bag that they demand adds up.

Yes, some of the skycaps do make that much money, but just to clarify, that $2 a bag goes to the airlines not the skycap. It's a charge that the airlines have added and made the skycaps collect.

[DRM]

If you decide to go out drinking and you sit there for a long time and have several beers, please leave more than $3-4.

If you want more - I'd suggest doing more work, or a better job.

Even if your tab is only $15 dollars you have to keep in mind that when you hold my table

Your table? I think you have your priorities off a bit.

up for hours and then only leave a few bucks, I actually LOSE money from you being there.

I'd love to see the math where you explain how you are losing money.

A good rule of thumb is to tip $1 per drink, especially if you set there all night.

It seems you don't understand what a "tip" is. The product costs what it costs. A "tip" is based on exceptional service, not just doing your job.

Listen, I can be a very good tipper when the situation presents itself. However don't - as a server - act like you DESERVE a tip, if you didn't actually excel at that service.

Edited February 8, 2011 by DRM

[DRM]

BTW, here in TN I generally double the tax, give or take a bit depending on the server's attentativeness. For buffet style, I tip $1 per person, period.

I know some people who refuse to tip at all, and I can respect that view as well (if they wanted more money - they should raise the prices).

Servers do that job because they make good money and a lot of it never gets reported on their taxes... so there are benefits to put up with the system.

[Jonnin]

Are you a big tipper or so tight that once someone has taken a dollar from your hand they are only receive a blank piece of paper and you are left with a hand covered in green dye?

I went by Autozone this evening to get a battery for my car. I know Autozone as with other places will put in the battery free of charge. The guy who sold me the battery also put it for me since I did not have any tools with me. I tipped him $10 for 5 minutes of work. I thought that was pretty good, but I have to hear all about tipping too much when I get home.

Maybe it is just me, but I feel sort of cheap if I give someone a dollar or so tip for doing something for me. I have often got dirty scowls from lunch companions for leaving a $5 tip on a $10-15 lunch when they leave like $0.50.

I remember when I took my brother to play at Caledonia in Mrytle Beach, Fish Club. Nice course to play if you are ever in the area on vacation. At the end of the round, a caddy removed my clubs from the cart and start to scrub them clean. He then carried the clubs to my car. I gave him a $20 tip. The two things I remember from the incident was the look from my brother like I was on drugs, and the caddy's response, "I like your style."

$10 for 5 min is excessive. If you want to do that, then do it, but that implies that the guy makes over $100 an hour in tips at your rate. Half that is over $50 an hour. $1 tip is still over $10 an hour in tips. So 1-2 bucks is more than enough for a 5 min effort of manual labor. I am not cheap, but I will be darned if I will contribute more per hour than I personally make on top of their wages by giving out huge tips. If it had taken him 1/2 an hour, and he did an outstanding job, $10 is in order. More than $5 (1-2 for doing it, and a bonus for doing it fast, doing it right, and being friendly) in your example, I cannot see going there, and only that much under exceptional service.

[1908_Cubbies]

I usually follow the "norm" and tip 15-20% based on service, but I am a cheap ass and don't like it! I am not really sure why it should be based on the cost of the meal. I would expect the same service if I was ordering a $5 burger or a $30 steak. Why would the server be deserving of more of a tip because I ordered a more expensive plate??

[Guest Drewsett]

If you want more - I'd suggest doing more work, or a better job.

Your table? I think you have your priorities off a bit.

I'd love to see the math where you explain how you are losing money.

It seems you don't understand what a "tip" is. The product costs what it costs. A "tip" is based on exceptional service, not just doing your job.

Listen, I can be a very good tipper when the situation presents itself. However don't - as a server - act like you DESERVE a tip, if you didn't actually excel at that service.

You come off very pompous here, DRM. I've had some good discussions with you in the past, please don't take that personally. I know text is a limited form of communication and tone and body language mean a lot, but as a server myself, I will say a couple of things.

Yes, if you sit at my table and leave me no tip, you cost me money. I have to pay 5% of my gross sales to my bussers and hosts. If you sit down and spend 100$ at my restaurant and leave me nothing, you just cost me 5 bucks. Then there is also the economic principle of opportunity cost. Had I given your non-tipping party up to another server, I might have received more. My next best alternative to $0 is pretty easy to find, so you cost me money in that sense as well.

If I get terrible service, truly terrible, I leave 10% and I speak with the manager. If the server is adequate but not great, maybe I ran out of my drink a couple of times, but it wasn't malicious or negligent, 15-18%. 20% or more for good servers, sometimes up to 50%, if the server is one I go in and normally see. I assure you all I am a pretty picky customer being a waiter at an upper-tier restaurant myself, but as others have mentioned, there can be more to the job than just the "stupid college kid" you think you have waiting on you.

Oh, and I tip $1 a round at most bars, I also have found that to be a good ratio. Usually works out to be around 15-20% of the drink if you're drinking nicer beers or cocktails.

[dralarms]

I try and tip 20%+ but sometimes the service does not warrant that so I do adjust.

Now throw this into the works: You go into a resturant (using a coupon (hey if they didn't want you to use them they would not print them)), don't forget to tip on the original amount not the adjusted amount.

Had a funny thing happen to me last Friday, Took the grandkids to Ruby Tuesdays (they love the place) and the waitress brings me a glass of coke to refill their's (we get them the "to go cups with lids and straws"), I set the glass down, decide they do need a refill and pick up the glass. The dang bottom FELL off of the glass,coke everywhere, none in the food but I took a coke bath and so did one of the girls. She came over, helped us get it cleaned up, got us a new glass and then went a raised cain with the manager (I know this because he came running over to make sure everything was ok). Now after everything was said and done they knocked of a 10 spot off my bill, and after taking my coupon off my bill was only 31 and change for 4 people. I left her the normal tip for the simple fact that the glass breaking was not her fault, now if she had poured a glass on me that would be different, she was very prompt on getting everything cleaned up and even offered to move us to a different table.

[Guest no_masters]

dralarms: glad to hear you take into consideration the coupon and adjusting your tip based on that.

I am a server at a upscale restaurant in downtown nashville, I give great service and and because of that and the type on patrons we have I generally see nothing under 20%. I generally tip 20% or more depending on how long I take up the table of the server, if you are really horrible I still give you 15% just because you may be having an off night. When going out to bars I generally give $1 to $2 per rounding depending on how many drinks it entails. grabbing a couple beers is easy but making some cocktails obviously takes more out of their time, justifying a larger percent.

I think as long as patrons understand that we have to tip out generally %5 of the total bill to bartenders and bussers and then also have to be taxed on the sales, I am generally happy with 15% if your bill is under $100.

[Erik88]

If you want more - I'd suggest doing more work, or a better job.

Your table? I think you have your priorities off a bit.

I'd love to see the math where you explain how you are losing money.

It seems you don't understand what a "tip" is. The product costs what it costs. A "tip" is based on exceptional service, not just doing your job.

Listen, I can be a very good tipper when the situation presents itself. However don't - as a server - act like you DESERVE a tip, if you didn't actually excel at that service.

ya know, I could spend a long time explaining this to you, and making you look like a fool. But judging by your other recent posts I can tell that you don't feel you are ever wrong and you refuse to accept the opinions of others on this board. I'm not real concerned though because I imagine you will be "on vacation" before too long.

[Guest Broomhead]

I like to think of myself as a good tipper. 20-25% is the norm for me. If the food is taking an extra long time and/or the server is nowhere to be found, the food is wrong, or the server just plain lies (had that happen at Chili's) then I will leave a much smaller tip and talk to the manager.

The Chili's incident, my wife and I ordered a Chocolate Lava Cake after our meal to share with our daughter. We have ordered them enough times to know how they are supposed to come and that the server is the one who prepares it. Well ours came out with out the chocolate shell stuff and we said something about it to the waitress. She didn't even flinch and said they were all out. So we ate it anyway. Not 5 minutes later she comes out of the back with another Chocolate Lava Cake for another customer. It is covered beyond the norm with the chocolate shell. We motioned for her to come to our table and I made eye contact with her so I knew she saw me, but she quickly turned and walked into the back. We waited for her to come back out for another 10 minutes. We had already gotten the check and had the debit card run before we got the dessert. So she got a $0 tip and I talked to the manager on the way out. He apologized repeatedly and said that they had not run out of shell sauce, period. He gave us several $25 off coupons and apologized some more. Before I walked out the door he had grabbed another server just coming in to take care of her tables and pulled her into the back. We never saw her again. That was one of the few, and I mean few, times that I have left less than 20%.

[Guest TheMikeLurie]

The biggest conundrum for me comes in the instances where you can only tip cash and there is no way to add the tip to the credit card slip.

We live in a world where carrying cash has almost reached the point of being unnecessary. My wife and I don't really carry it anymore. There really is no reason to. You can pay for just about everything with a debit card or credit card. Why carry cash and risk losing it, having it stolen or robbed or just forgetting about it in your pants pocket and subsequently sending it through the wash, when you can just use your card for everything? Plus, the coin change I end up getting back from my cash transactions ends up disappearing into a vacuum. If I break a $5 bill every time I make a purchase, and get back 80+ cents in change on average, that change ends up disappearing from the universe... I don't even know where it goes anymore. But if you make several transactions per day, and you don't have the time or inclination to dig through the coins from your last purchase to make exact change, you could end up losing $20-30 bucks a week on coins that you almost don't consider money anymore.

Sometimes, you're just not in a position to tip, even though you might want to. A couple of months ago, we switched from DirecTV to Comcast... the guys that came to install the new boxes were really nice. We talked baseball for a while, they were very friendly and cordial. They arrived during the window of time they said they would be here (which is a miracle because most in-home service professionals and installers never arrive during the window of time they say they will be there, forcing you to miss a whole day of work for nothing) and I really wanted to tip them. But we just don't keep cash laying around. And since there was no "transaction" as installation gets billed to your first cable bill, I really had nothing to offer them. I did offer them sold cold drinks for the road, but I felt like a cheapskate for not having any cash to give them.

I find that my biggest tips are when I get a haircut, because your average haircut (Sportsclips) is only about $15 bucks, and I will usually give the barber a $5 dollar tip. Sometimes more if they do a really good job. But again, that's not a problem because you can just write it in on the credit receipt.

As for Sonic, I usually give a dollar. I feel stupid even doing that because it's fast food... I don't tip at McDonalds or Hardees... So I don't see why I should have to give a tip to the Sonic girl, but it seems like the norm, so I do it. But never more than a dollar. I mean, all they do is walk the food to your car. I guess it's more than they have to do at McDonalds or Hardees, but then again, I usually go through the drive-thru at those places, so should I tip the person working the drive-thru window? It seems inconsistent.

At restaurants, I almost always give the normal 20%. or I double the tax and round up to the nearest dollar. If the service is really good, such as making sure I always have a full drink and coming back to check on the table at least twice during the meal, I will give a little more. But what about buffets? We eat at Chef Wangs in Murfreesboro a lot... and I will usually tip a couple of bucks, but what am I tipping for? They bring you a drink and then you get up and serve yourself the entire time. Then they bring you your check. And for doing that, they earn at least minimum wage... probably more. They don't even bus their own tables... so if anything, the bus boy deserves the tip. Should I give a buffet waitress the normal 20% for bringing me my check?

Last but not least, bartenders. I find bartenders to be (usually, not always) the most ungrateful when it comes to tipping. I can't tell you the last time I got a "buy-back". I think the whole concept of "buy-backs" went out of style about 10 years ago. So if I sit there for 3 hours and drink 5 beers, and don't get a single buy-back, I should tip the bartender more than $4-$5 bucks? They don't even have to move to serve you, the beer and alcohol is literally right behind them or right below them. A bartender can literally stand in the same 10 foot wide space for an entire night... Unless you're ordering food off the bar menu, i don't see the point in giving them more than a few bucks for the service.

[DRM]

You come off very pompous here, DRM. I've had some good discussions with you in the past, please don't take that personally. I know text is a limited form of communication and tone and body language mean a lot, but as a server myself, I will say a couple of things.

Fair enough

This is a subject I get short about. Not when people chose - as I do - to tip however they feel appropriate. What I cannot stand is any server that acts as if they "deserve" a tip. A tip is not a guaranteed thing, it is earned, and given freely based on the level of service provided. Not sure how to state that more softly, but that the entitlement mentality that *some* servers (not all of them) seem to have.

Perhaps I was a bit snippy to the server I replied to, my apologies for that. He's probably not of the entitlement sort, but he's sticking his toe in the water

Yes, if you sit at my table and leave me no tip, you cost me money. I have to pay 5% of my gross sales to my bussers and hosts. If you sit down and spend 100$ at my restaurant and leave me nothing, you just cost me 5 bucks. Then there is also the economic principle of opportunity cost. Had I given your non-tipping party up to another server, I might have received more. My next best alternative to $0 is pretty easy to find, so you cost me money in that sense as well.

If I get terrible service, truly terrible, I leave 10% and I speak with the manager. If the server is adequate but not great, maybe I ran out of my drink a couple of times, but it wasn't malicious or negligent, 15-18%. 20% or more for good servers, sometimes up to 50%, if the server is one I go in and normally see. I assure you all I am a pretty picky customer being a waiter at an upper-tier restaurant myself, but as others have mentioned, there can be more to the job than just the "stupid college kid" you think you have waiting on you.

You are quite generous for "truly terrible" service - lol. And to clarify - there is a HUGE difference in poor wait staff service and problems in the kitchen, and my tip to the waiter is determined without regard to kitchen issues. Unfortunately many people take the kitchen's troubles out on the wait staff - and that is something that must suck for the waiters.

Oh, and I tip $1 a round at most bars, I also have found that to be a good ratio. Usually works out to be around 15-20% of the drink if you're drinking nicer beers or cocktails.

I don't buy drinks at bars - they are already overpriced before you start figuring in tips

Again - it's not about how much to tip, my problem with is anyone thinking they *deserve* a tip. If servers weren't happy with the OBVIOUS benefits to a tip based wage system, they would seek employment elsewhere, or change the payment system.