The tipping thread

My question is why a fixed percentage and since when has 20% become standard?

Suppose you had a pile of sushi at some generic sushi restaurant - $75

Suppose you had the prix fixe at Tru - $75

Suppose you had Tournedos Rossini and Caesar Salad prepared tableside at Fifi's (a hole in the wall restaurant in Toledo, Ohio) - $75

Would you tip the same?

(Fifi's is actually less than $75 but le'ts assume $75 for the sake of argument)

yeah probably or close, but what I would do differently would be to tip the sushi maker as well as the waitstaff. Just divide the 20% into whatever seems equatable at the time.

To tell you the truth I never go off the final amount it is all about the person who is serving. If they went out of their way and really tried to give the best service then I tip heavy. I have been in some very nice restaurants only to leave 0 for the tip because the server was a complete snob. On the flip side Kuan I have been in diners and left a large tip because the service was so good.

Thats how I tip, based on service. I have even had some servers/bartenders say I tipped too much.

To me tips are like wages. The more they do for me, and better the quality of what they do for me, equates to the amount of tip I leave.

It doesn't take a whole lot more work to deliver an expensive steak than a hamburger (in general). Attitude definitely is part of the "work" that they get tipped for. Maybe they may have a great attitude in general, but maybe they "put on the ritz" specifically because it is part of their profession to be gracious and pleasing to the customer.

doc

I feel the same way too somewhat, like it's work. You can drop the same amount on dinner at a steakhouse as you would at Gary Danko, so why should we tip based on percentage right?

OK guys so how do you figure out what your dropping on the waitstaff at the end of dinner?

Come up with interesting scenerios, everything from diner to fine dining to casual bistro.....some have more staff waiting on you than others.

Whether its one server or seven, it matters how much total work and attitude was expended in serving me. Obviously, seven waitpersons would, in general, equate to more "work", therefore more "tip".

How they split it up amongst themselves is beyond the realm of my business!

doc

I'm gonna stay away from this one lol...

Hey someday, check out the thread I started.

I know I'm guilty of just handing out a 20% tip. Everyone starts at 20% and really has to turn in a poor service to move any lower.

I suppose that's good news for the waitstaff, but I'm (now) thinking that I should rethink my tipping practices.

Funny thing is, I've been running into some horrible service lately (from both expensive and inexpensive restaurants).

:smiles:

dan

There's a standard 15% added to every restaurant bill here in France, and increasingly in the UK (although there it's 10-20% and usually 12.5). You don't HAVE to pay it by law, but most people do so automatically. And generally leave some change on the table too.

heh, here in Aus, tipping is a gratuity based on the level of service - but however is not a given. That probably explains Aussies somewhat reticence to tip.

Personally, i dont work on a percentage, but then again living standards and pay awards are different here

I suppose cultural views stemming from an eglitarian society - vis a vis "you arent any different to me, you just work in a different industry", in fact to some aussies, it could be misconstrued as an insult, but there you go.

I waited tables in a small diner in college (as well as working in the kitchen) so I that gave me some perspective.

I start with 15% and go from there. If it's breakfast at a diner-type place, the price isn't going to be high but the pace of the meal is fast. Breakfast food seems to me to get cold faster, so if my breakfast order is hot, that's a plus. Frequent returns for coffee and timely delivery of the check are important, too. Generally I wind up tipping up to 30% for excellent breakfast service.

Come to think of it, my expectation of the service is highly influenced by timing. If I'm pressed for time, I inform the service and let them know I appreciate an effort to accommodate my haste. If they comply, I tip more heavily- 20% or more. In my area, 15% is the baseline, so that's a little heavier tip.

I often meet long-time friends at restaurants so we can catch up with eachother. I realize this means the table won't turn over very quickly, so I make sure to tell the server we'll be lingering and I'll make it worth their trouble. I can't say the percentage boost it'd be, but it's definitely a generous tip.

But any excellent service, whether it's based on special requests or timing, will be rewarded. Unless the service is REALLY bad, I don't go below 15%.

In the SF Bay Area 15% is the norm. Here in the City the tax is 8.5% so I usually just double the amount of tax for a 17% tip. I round up or down from there depending on the level of service. Really good service will get you 20%. Much more than that seems excessive to me and I would never go as high as 30% even if they laid rose petals on the path to my table. I mean, where should it end? If 30% becomes the norm providers of good service will expect 40% and so on. Pretty soon the tip will be more than the bill! All right, maybe that is a bit far fetched but you have to draw the line somewhere.

Just one diner's opinion.

Jock

Here's my M.O....I give 15% if the service sucked. 15% to me is like saying to the server: "I understand that this is customary and you could have earned 30%, but you choose to not care enough to make my dining experience mediocre at best." Bar staff, I tip a standard 20% if I don't know who my bartender is. If it's friend of mine, I'll throw an extra ten-spot at 'em and I usually get a free drink out it. Some places though servers work 100% on tips, they don't even get the 2.53 an hour that is the standard hourly wage.

When tipping a server, I never take into consideration the food.
I most always adjust the tip based on time and service. I'm a slow diner. I will always tell my server up front. I'll let you know when we're coming to a close. If I figure they might have missed a turn on the table I will always double. I only tip our front server. it is their job to take care of the rest, including the sommelier, but not the Chef. If the kitchen is run without the head chef present, I may sometimes tip the chef preparing the meal.
The one thing I try not to do is buy good service. I have no respect for a server that will neglect another diner to attend to me because I'm known for good tipping. That might be the only time I have stiffed someone.

yea you have to tip...I always shoot for 15%-20

ill give 5 $ if its 20$$ or under( the bill)

yea you have to tip...I always shoot for 15%-20 you have to

ill give 5 $ if its 20$$ or under( the bill)

I tend to start at a base of 20% and alter it during the experience. Up/down accordingly.

No tip on tax and alcohol

What about alcohol and tax? I learned that you are NOT expected to tip on alcohol and tax. Sometimes I get "nervous" that I am tipping too little when I don't tip on drinks. I especially feel like this in cheaper chain restaurants where you are being served by teenie-bops who don't know better.

However, one of our favorite prime rib houses prints on your bill the appropriate tip for the appropriate percentage--e.g. 10%=$10; 15%=$15; 20%=$20. And without fail, the recommended tip never includes the alcohol nor taxes.

That is why I will dish out the cash at an upscale restaurant. They treat you right, AND their servers are trained professionals. And if they do a really good job, I WILL tip on the tax and alcohol. Try finding THAT kind of treatment at an Red Lobster.

I really hate the tipping system. It's annoying to have to add a certain percentage on the food and then ANOTHER percentage on top of that as a tip, and then take into consideration that there are many places where all tips are split equally per hour among every server. What's the point then. Just pay them more!

That being said... I want to say about 12% should be fair. (when I was little, in my area 10% was the norm) I never tip on tax, and I take into consideration how overpriced/underpriced the place is though I also consider the service. But really, If I go to a restaurant that's supposed to be trendy and get an absolutely unremarkable dinner surrounded by unremarkable ambiance, I don't care how obsequious the wait-staff makes themselves, I'm not going to tip $4 on a $30 dish that should've been priced at $15. On the same token, once I went into a Korean mom-and-pop diner which was very cute and friendly and had the best sundofu and kimchi of anywhere I've ever been. In that case a $10 meal got a $5 tip.

I had found a website that is primarily a server's domain, that has many stories about the unwashed masses (those of us that are seated with menus).

Here are some of their topical headings (info only or a turorial, if you will).

What All Customers Should Know:

*Customer 101

*Why Tipping Properly Is So Important (Bad Things Could Happen)

*Signs You Are A Good Tipper

* How to Make Service More Efficient

Aimed at those of us who have been blissfully unaware of the seething anger or wrath held by the wait staff, it is informative, if only slightly biased...

They also have the following areas...

FOR SERVERS ONLY:

*Sue Your Restaurant!

*Menu Manglings

*Keep Your Brats at Home!

*Your Manager Said WHAT?

*Sweet Revenge

*Toilet Time

*Peeves

*More Stories

*Celebrity Tippers

*I Quit!

*Morons
(Feedback from Idiots)

*Tips and Tricks

Interesting stuff, which made me rethink *some* of my restaurant behavior. Although I always thought I was a reasonable tipper, maybe I could have done better in a few spots.

I'm not sure that I should post the site's name, as there are instances of coarse language (not particularly suited for the easily offended).

(you know how those restaurant people are...) ;)

What do you mean? All servers talk like English Butlers. :)

I used to wait tables so I know how it is depending on the tip. I never pay attention to the 15 percent thing I just go by the persons service. If my check is 20 to 30 bucks i will leave a tip of 5 to 8 bucks(dont know wht that comes out to in percentage) .

on a side note.... Have you ever been to a restaurant and you could not get rid of your server??? They just stayed at your table and kind of had a conversation with you lol???

If this link is not appropriate, please feel free to delete it (i guess i'm stepping out on a limb here...)
http://www.stainedapron.com

I think that percentages are good bases to work off of. Sure, if you come in, eat, and leave... then leave that standard 15-20%. If you come in, eat, sit around awhile, chit-chat, yadda yadda, then leave a little more.

Alot of people don't realize that the amount of time you're taking out of a server's shift can be detrimental (sp?) to their tips if you still tip that base 15-20%.

I hate taking big tops from churches now just because of the fact that they come in, invade my entire section, then leave me an average of 50-75 cents a person (ever make $10 off a 14 top?)

This is the perfect approach IMHPO. Unfortunately, and I hate to say it but....in my experience those servers that conplain constantly about poor tips aren't getting tipped well for a good reason. They may think they are "Gods gift to the restaurant industry" but in reality they don't know their arse from their elbow. Hey believe it or not, complainung about things all the time changes your dipostition and you don't even know it. Plus ya gotta sell. Yourself, the food and the ambience. "So waddya gonna have" doesn't do the guest, restaurant or yourself any good.

On the flip-side there are servers I have worked around that received bad tips and never complained. The one thing I noticed about these folks is they looked at it as they did the best they could and there was possibly a very legitamate reason for the poor tip percentage due to variables out side their circle of influence. In reality tho these servers had very few tables that they were "stiffed" by.

It all comes down to this, instead of thinking that you are doing the best job you can just do the best job you can. Don't sit there and expect....EARN! No one deserves anythin g you have to EARN IT! And if things don't go quite the way you had hoped then shrug it off, move on and take care of the rest of yuor guests. You might be surprised.

BTW, If you're constantly getting stiffed, it might be time for a some self reflection and a career change.

I have more but I'll step down from my soapbox now. Don't want to sound like I have all the answers, since I don't but that was how things worked old school.

crazy person

we had a party a few days ago were when the guy paying the bill found out that his party of 6 was going to have 20% autograt, he went a little insane. by insane i mean he was screaming at the top of his lungs, cursing and generally scareing the waitstaff and other customers, long story short he ended up mouthing off to the cop and pushing a waitress, so he got arrested and spent the night in jail. funny thing is the party of 6 only split 1 bottle of wine and they seemd perfectly normal when they arived. then he went nuts. above all the hilarity is the tip was only $40 or so and it was his 30th wedding anniversary. little of topic im sure but any clue as to what would posess someone to freak out of a $40 tip? with a party of 6 no less? thats less than $10 a head! now this man will have to spend a lot of money to travel from nyc back to were ever his court apperance will be, all over $40!

I found out recently that people will shout and scream over the littlest things. I politely asked my neighbor to stop honking his horn outside my bedroom window at 4am. I asked him when he was outside one afternoon and I approached him in the nicest way possible. He immediately started yelling and screaming. It was like he was having a tantrum. Some people are just spoiled brats and it sounds like you ran into one of them yourself.