What is your philosophy on tipping waiters?- Page 3

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 2/12/08 at 5:47pm

I'm all for tipping waiters. They look so funny when they hit the ground.

[South Fl Marc]

Posted: 2/12/08 at 5:52pm

I tend to overtip - but thats just me.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 2/12/08 at 6:52pm

Good service equals good tips

You cannot blame them if the food is no good . They did not cook it.

[LaurenB]

Posted: 2/12/08 at 6:55pm

Scenario - You are dining with a small group of people (party of 4). Service for 3 of the people is OK (just), service for the 1 person is worse - forgotten order, then brought out late, coupled with some attitude (borderline rude).

Time to tip. Does bad service for one person in the party affect your dining experience? If you had an OK experience (not worth more than 15%) but your companion did not, would that affect the amount of your tip?

(Bad service does not always equate to a bad tip. Bad service with a dose of apology and good attitude can overcome a lot.)

[caitiesus1522]

Posted: 2/12/08 at 7:00pm

I hope most people can tell the difference between a bad waiter and just a crappy situation.

I had a friend who would tip less if anything went wrong (ex. they were out of something, the wait was longer than she though ect) and did not understand that everything is not the waiter's fault.

I will not take off much, if anything, from a tip if the person is not in the best mood because sometimes everyone has those days. As long as they are not rude or insulting, I usually try to tip well

[Link Larkin Wanabe]

Posted: 2/12/08 at 7:21pm

I am a waiter at a fairly nice (although usually understaffed) restaurant and for the most part I feel like I am tipped pretty fairly. I have a question for any South Africans on the boards? Why do you NEVER tip. Like...without fail. I have pointed this out to my best friend, who is South African, and he doesn't really know.

Akiva

[best12bars]

Posted: 2/12/08 at 7:23pm

I was a waiter for years too, and I don't believe in tipping all equally.

If the service is excellent, I tip around 20 percent. On rare occasions higher.

If the service is good and standard, 15 percent.

If the service is terrible, 10 percent or even lower.

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 2/12/08 at 7:25pm

That is funny, Akiva, because here in the US the joke is that CANADIANS don't tip.

[Link Larkin Wanabe]

Posted: 2/12/08 at 7:31pm

Hah, are you sure that wasn't just because they were tipping in CDN Dollars when it was lower than the American?

Akiva

[JohnPopa]

Posted: 2/12/08 at 7:31pm

I tip high, I know a lot of servers. At least 25%, oftentimes more, unless the service is just abysmal but that almost never happens. Oh, and pretty girls get better tips, it's the way of the world.

And people who refuse to tip should inform management of that before they get their bill so their check can be adjusted to reflect what it would actually be if the restaurants paid a typical labor cost. The system in place does more than force people to pay extra, it keeps the cost of eating in restaurants down.

But I'm guessing most people who refuse to tip are interested in hearing those facts.

[wexy]

Posted: 2/12/08 at 7:31pm

When I went to Australia they didn't tip the bartenders.
I'm pretty good to waiters/waitresses. When bank tellers have tip jars that;s a bit much.

[Elphaba]

Posted: 2/12/08 at 8:14pm

Akiva, in many countries (as you probably know) a tip is usially rounding up to the next Euro, etc. Perhaps it's the same in South Africa.

In Europe I have had tips given back to me as it is not expected except rounding up

[Calvin]

Posted: 2/12/08 at 9:05pm

But I'm guessing most people who refuse to tip are interested in hearing those facts.

And that's my problem with it. Restaurants should have to pay their employees minimum wage like any other business, with any tips just being gravy. If it makes eating out more expensive, so be it. That way a tip could be what it is in most countries: a reward, a small bonus for excellent service, rather than just an obligation to make up for low wages paid by management.

I'm no economics whiz, but I would think in most restaurants -- since tips in theory should contribute enough or more to get the staff in line with minimum wage to keep the restaurant in accordance to labor laws -- the resulting price adjustment shouldn't be any different to those of use who already tip our fair share. And those cheap jackasses who never tip or tip poorly could start paying their fair share for once.

[Mamie]

Posted: 2/12/08 at 10:08pm

"If it makes eating out more expensive, so be it."

I think you'd see a lot of restaurants going down if that happened. Even if people understood in advance that ALL prices at ALL restaurants were going up and why they were going up, they would still resent having that extra money taken out before they received any service from the restaurant or their employees. They (all right - ME) like having the option of expressing our delight or disgust with the service we've received via the tip.

[bdwaygirl]

Posted: 2/12/08 at 10:41pm

I took a friend out for dinner for their birthday back in January. Our waiter was friendly, cute, very attentive, etc. I think I tipped him pretty much the amount of the bill!

[wonderwaiter]

Posted: 2/12/08 at 10:58pm

I've been in the service industry for far too long, so 20% is my base minimum - even for crappy service. The server would have to actually go out of their way to personally offend me in order for me to tip less. I usually tip about 45-50% of the bill unless I'm in an EXTREMELY upscale restaurant, which is pretty scarce around here. Maybe it's karma or maybe it's because all of us service industry people know each other around here, but those tips always come back to me.

[singtopher]

Posted: 2/13/08 at 10:51am

Its easy for me because our tax rate here is 6%, so I always just tripple the tax and round up. Unless I'm getting some sort of student discount, then I adjust it to whatever the full price would be. But I always leave a tip, even for bad service. It's a tough gig, and even a mediocre waiter deserves credit.

Updated On: 2/13/08 at 10:51 AM