Keep the tip?

Duke wrote: At the risk of continuing this tangent, I *strongly* disagree with the statement that giving an undeserved 10 doesn't cost you anything.

Why? The poorly run, crappy dealership will still be that, even if the service guy breaks his back all day trying to change things.

In reply to JG Pasterjak:

If that's how you choose to spend your money, that's great. I only tip poorly when it's deserved. I will tip above the 15% as I said, when it's warranted. That's rare. Service around here is not very good. I would never tip for take out, but the last time I had something delivered here (a dishwasher) I gave them a big enough tip to have a nice lunch on me, and they seemed surprised. If you're tipping based on how much they make per hour, you're tipping for the wrong reason.

What the standard tip is probably depends on who you ask, and what they do for a living, if you know what I mean..

I am philosophically opposed to tipping. I think employers should pay a fair wage and not expect customers to subsidize their payroll.

That said, it is the custom and I'm not going to take my frustration out on the server.

I tip at least 15% at a restaurant - based on the entire bill including tax. More if the service was excellent. A little less if it was sub-standard. I tend to round down a bit if wine was involved - it irks me enough to pay $50 for a $12 bottle of wine.

$5 for the pizza guy, and the thai food delivery, etc. Maybe a bit more if it is a big order or the weather is crappy. All of these places are within 3 miles of the house. Same for a haircut, etc. 15 minutes of your time earns you a five spot from me.

When I travel (which is often), I carry a wad of singles for all of the folks with their hand outstretched - bellhops, shuttle drivers, etc. If you are obviously fishing for tips, you get a buck. If you are a little more subtle about it, you get more.

At the ballpark, I give the usher a buck per seat to wipe them off with a towel. I tip Beer Man generously, and he is very attentive. I tip generously at golf courses, because I know that many of those guys are working for tips and golf privileges - sometimes they don't even get a paycheck.

I was taught that you tip the help, but not the owner. My wife's hairdresser is the owner - he doesn't get a tip, but we bring a very nice wrapped gift for his family at the holidays.

The newspaper carrier gets a nice tip around the holidays, as does the guy who cuts my mother's lawn.

Unless there is a compelling reason, I don't tip counter help. The washroom attendant can kiss my ass (okay, not literally).

In short - I hate tipping, but I probably tip more than most people. I'm grateful that I don't have to depend on the generosity of others to pay my bills each month, so I try to do my part for those who do.

I thought I was a cheap bastard until I read this thread. If you don't want to conform to societal norms for tipping, don't eat out.

I think tipping is good, within reason, my barista?!?!? your spending 3 minutes of your time, how does that even warrant $1... With a meal and ONGOING services9 drinks, appetizers, order taken, refills, food brought out, refills, bus dishes as needed) that is worth of a tip, but one time take my order and then i walk out to my own table and get my own drink/refill... NO WAY... sorry.... not gonna happen...

In reply to bludroptop:

That pretty much sums up what I do.

JG Pasterjak wrote: I tip, and usually tip well. If I'm in doubt as to whether someone deserves a tip (like a cable installer or a tree guy), I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and try to tip them anyway. Take out? Tip. Come to my table with an attitude and sass me through my dinner? Yeah, you'll probably get a pretty good tip, too. You were probably in a lousy mood because someone from earlier in this thread was your last table. Maybe my generosity will put you in a better mood and the next guy will get better service, and the world will be an overall happier place. I don't want to live in a world where we're all trying to stick it to each other so hard that everyone's miserable. If it costs me an extra buck or two a couple times a week to put a smile on someone's face, I consider that a worthwhile investment. jg

Fuggin A.

Zomby woof wrote: Service around here is not very good.

We always tip well. Then again, we don't go back to places with poor service. Even then, we still tip well, just don't go back.

JG you nailed it. + 1

JG Pasterjak wrote: I don't want to live in a world where we're all trying to stick it to each other so hard that everyone's miserable.

You mean, like, a full size card made of cardboard that we can't remove from the magazine that makes reading it irritating?

Sorry, you kind of walked into that one right there

poopshovel wrote:

JG Pasterjak wrote: I tip, and usually tip well. If I'm in doubt as to whether someone deserves a tip (like a cable installer or a tree guy), I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and try to tip them anyway. Take out? Tip. Come to my table with an attitude and sass me through my dinner? Yeah, you'll probably get a pretty good tip, too. You were probably in a lousy mood because someone from earlier in this thread was your last table. Maybe my generosity will put you in a better mood and the next guy will get better service, and the world will be an overall happier place. I don't want to live in a world where we're all trying to stick it to each other so hard that everyone's miserable. If it costs me an extra buck or two a couple times a week to put a smile on someone's face, I consider that a worthwhile investment. jg

Fuggin A.

this

I hate tipping discussions. They expose a very ugly part of human nature.

If going out to dinner is that much of a chore and you need to put that much thought/energy into scrutinizing the service so you can be King Lear and bestow this server with an 18.33% tip--because that's what she earned in your carefully-evaluated mind, then just stay home. The service is probably worse there, anyway, so don't leave any tip.

I think what gets me is that bars and restaurants create a false "salary" when their customers starting tipping enormously. You go to a fancy restaurant...its loud, the service is slow, the food is good, but portions are "meh". Your waiter/waitress was friendly and didn't mess anything up, but your experience left something to do be desired.

Do you: A) Complain to the waiter that the portions were minimal and the atmosphere was too loud and that he should relay this information to the manager who you hope will change your bill to reflect the experience?

B) Not tip the waiter because he should find a new job at a better restaurant.

C) Write a negative Google review?

My general feeling is that when I'm paying for service...I better get service. That means not charging me for extra dressing. That means seating me someplace quiet. That means not letting my water glass sit empty.

If you work somewhere that is sooo busy that you can't attend to your customers, then you can't expect a big tip...because you'll be getting lots of little tips.

So, the more packed the venue, the longer the wait, the less the tip.

gamby wrote: ...then just stay home. The service is probably worse there, anyway, so don't leave any tip.

Home server tip of the week: "You could have avoided that if you got daddy another beer before Mr Belt had to ask you a second time"

In reply to PHeller:

You nailed it. I don't know why some people find it so difficult to understand.

Zomby woof wrote: In reply to JG Pasterjak: If that's how you choose to spend your money, that's great. I only tip poorly when it's deserved.

This. I have only twice not left a tip and otherwise I always tip at least 18% or more. And those two times it was because the waiter was actively rude and didn't refill my glass except for once and then I had to wave him down. The times I go out to eat it is to enjoy peoples company and so long as the waiter doesn't mess that up in some huge way I will leave a decent tip.

I get grief from friends and family because I'm so demanding of service, yet I only tip 20%.

Well if I don't ask for a damn thing would that mean the service is free?

PHeller wrote: I get grief from friends and family because I'm so demanding of service, yet I only tip 20%. Well if I don't ask for a damn thing would that mean the service is free?

Chill out. They're waiters/waitresses--not your slaves.

Are people this demanding/scrutinzing of you at your job? Are they able to alter your salary as a result???

In reply to PHeller:

I try not to base the tip on the shortcomings of the employer. If I have good service and lousy food I am not penalizing the server for the cook's issue.

I penalize the owner by not returning.

At cheap food places I take care of the tip in proportion to how they took care of me, often independent of the cost of the meal. The girl at the diner works hard on my behalf and $2 on a $10 coffee/eggs deal is not really rewarding the effort. The guy who ignores me thru a $180 anniversary meal isn't deserving of more money just because the food costs more. The diner lady always gets $5 and Mr snooty gets whatever my wife sneaks onto the table while I'm in the head.

BTW--I never seem to experience this epidemic of horrible service so many people agonize over during their tip calculations.

Granted, my wife and I are regulars at a few places, so we get treated well. However, we get treated well because we are great tippers, too.

I can't remember the last time I had truly bad service--and we go out to eat at least once a week.

Just like I witnessed in my years of retail--some people enter an establishment looking for a fight. It kills them to part with their money.

Again--stay home if it's that much of an issue.

PHeller wrote: I think what gets me is that bars and restaurants create a false "salary" when their customers starting tipping enormously. You go to a fancy restaurant...its loud, the service is slow, the food is good, but portions are "meh". Your waiter/waitress was friendly and didn't mess anything up, but your experience left something to do be desired. Do you: A) Complain to the waiter that the portions were minimal and the atmosphere was too loud and that he should relay this information to the manager who you hope will change your bill to reflect the experience? B) Not tip the waiter because he should find a new job at a better restaurant. C) Write a negative Google review? My general feeling is that when I'm paying for service...I better get service. That means not charging me for extra dressing. That means seating me someplace quiet. That means not letting my water glass sit empty. If you work somewhere that is sooo busy that you can't attend to your customers, then you can't expect a big tip...because you'll be getting lots of little tips. So, the more packed the venue, the longer the wait, the less the tip.

Wait, so you go to a restaurant that isn't your style, then want to punish the wait staff, because you went somewhere "trendy" instead of somewhere "quiet?"

z31maniac wrote:

PHeller wrote: I think what gets me is that bars and restaurants create a false "salary" when their customers starting tipping enormously. You go to a fancy restaurant...its loud, the service is slow, the food is good, but portions are "meh". Your waiter/waitress was friendly and didn't mess anything up, but your experience left something to do be desired. Do you: A) Complain to the waiter that the portions were minimal and the atmosphere was too loud and that he should relay this information to the manager who you hope will change your bill to reflect the experience? B) Not tip the waiter because he should find a new job at a better restaurant. C) Write a negative Google review? My general feeling is that when I'm paying for service...I better get service. That means not charging me for extra dressing. That means seating me someplace quiet. That means not letting my water glass sit empty. If you work somewhere that is sooo busy that you can't attend to your customers, then you can't expect a big tip...because you'll be getting lots of little tips. So, the more packed the venue, the longer the wait, the less the tip.

Wait, so you go to a restaurant that isn't your style, then want to punish the wait staff, because you went somewhere "trendy" instead of somewhere "quiet?"

El, you really must try this because it's puerco pibil. It's a slow-roasted pork, nothing fancy. It just happens to be my favorite, and I order it with a tequila and lime in every dive I go to in this country. And honestly, that is the best it's ever been anywhere. In fact, it's too good. It's so good that when I'm finished, I'll pay my check, walk straight into the kitchen and shoot the cook. Because that's what I do. I restore the balance to this country

z31maniac wrote:

PHeller wrote: I think what gets me is that bars and restaurants create a false "salary" when their customers starting tipping enormously. You go to a fancy restaurant...its loud, the service is slow, the food is good, but portions are "meh". Your waiter/waitress was friendly and didn't mess anything up, but your experience left something to do be desired. Do you: A) Complain to the waiter that the portions were minimal and the atmosphere was too loud and that he should relay this information to the manager who you hope will change your bill to reflect the experience? B) Not tip the waiter because he should find a new job at a better restaurant. C) Write a negative Google review? My general feeling is that when I'm paying for service...I better get service. That means not charging me for extra dressing. That means seating me someplace quiet. That means not letting my water glass sit empty. If you work somewhere that is sooo busy that you can't attend to your customers, then you can't expect a big tip...because you'll be getting lots of little tips. So, the more packed the venue, the longer the wait, the less the tip.

Wait, so you go to a restaurant that isn't your style, then want to punish the wait staff, because you went somewhere "trendy" instead of somewhere "quiet?"

LOL. No kidding.

gamby wrote: Chill out. They're waiters/waitresses--not your slaves. Are people this demanding/scrutinzing of you at your job? Are they able to alter your salary as a result???

Uh...yeah...its called getting fired.

That's the thing, if your server does a crappy job, and you tip him nothing, he keeps his job. He may not make much, but until someone complains he's got a job.

They are service. It's their job to SERVE you. Otherwise I'd walk into a restaurant, go into the kitchen fix myself a meal or into a bar and pour my own glass. I can't and won't do that because the servers are there to do it for me and I tip them accordingly.

Some people don't care about their experience. That's fine. I do.

Having worked in catering, food service, numerous kitchens and coffee shops for 8 years, I understand how it works.

When my customers complained about food being E36 M3ty, I let the chef know. I accommodated the customer and their requests. I did lots of things I wasn't supposed to because the customer requested it. Did it piss off management? Sure, but it made for a happy customer that guess what? ...Came back next time.

I think most people have unrealistic expectations of what type of service they should get at a restaurant.

It seems most think they should be getting 5 star, $50+ a plate service, from the $11.95 a dinner places most people eat.

PHeller wrote:

gamby wrote: Chill out. They're waiters/waitresses--not your slaves. Are people this demanding/scrutinzing of you at your job? Are they able to alter your salary as a result???

Uh...yeah...its called getting fired.

I'm guessing you've shorted many more people on tips than the times you've been fired from when a boss has thought you've done a less-than great job.

It's much easier to be insanely demanding and stiff on a tip than it is to get fired.

You seem to have a huge chip on your shoulder about it.

z31maniac wrote: Wait, so you go to a restaurant that isn't your style, then want to punish the wait staff, because you went somewhere "trendy" instead of somewhere "quiet?"

If its a new restaurant or I'm from out of town how do I know what restaurant is or is not my style? I know I want a certain type of food I can only get at this one place.

I walk through the door and its crowded, the music is turned up way too loud, and my food takes an hour to hit my table while my server has passed my empty glass 4 times.

Now, there are plenty of ways the service can make this experience perfectly fine...and there are plenty of ways the service can make it worse. Their tip depends on how aware they are of those options.