Tipping in restaurants

[Sandor]

Always a perennial debate. So how do you do it?

 

I've allowed multiple votes as people don't always just fall exclusively into one area. Not particularly scientific so if the questions suck....deal with it. Don't slag people off for their choice(s) if possible ;)

[xreyuk]

My results are from the UK, where tipping is slightly different than the likes of the US. 

 

I usually tip 10% for 'normal' service, a little more for 'good' service, and around 15% for very good service (like in the Indian restaurant I visit regularly). I won't tip if the service has been good or very slow, or will tip less than 10% depending how bad.

 

As I said though, tipping here is quite different, the wages aren't low like they are in the US for example. 

[cooky560 Veteran]

Very rarely tip, when I do I simply round the bill up so a ?17 bill becomes ?20 etc etc

[articuno1au]

Has a "never" option but doesn't have a matching option at the bottom..

 

We don't really tip in Australia. We have a minimum wage that's not a complete joke >.<

[Orange]

Hard one really, i used to do it all the time, hardly anymore.

[Coagulated]

I round up most of the time - it depends on the cost / cash I'm carrying as to how much I'll tip.  If it's exceptional, I'll over-tip happily.

[cork1958]

I always tip between $3-$5, but don't figure out any percentage. There's usually just my wife and I and sometimes the kid. No matter where we eat at, the bill is around $30-$35, so $3-$5, isn't bad, IMO.

[HoochieMamma]

Has a "never" option but doesn't have a matching option at the bottom..

 

We don't really tip in Australia. We have a minimum wage that's not a complete joke >.<

 

Boom! We have a winner.

[articuno1au]

Aww Yeah!

 

What do I win? :D

[_dandy_]

Fact:  Tipping amount is in direct proportion to the amount of cleavage shown by the waitress.  And they know it.

[Charisma Veteran]

Depends on where I am. In the US it's so cheap to eat out compared to other places that even with a good tip, you're probably still out less money than you would eating somewhere in Europe or UK and not tipping much/at all. And more of the money goes to the actual server instead of "the establishment", as it were. Kind of balances out. But as I said, depends on where I am. In some countries it is seen as rude to tip, in others it's rude not to... so I try to find out the way a place works before I go there.

 

When I do tip, I tend to tip well, at least 20% usually. I grew up really poor and we occasionally had to rely on welfare or charities, so now that I'm doing well for myself, I feel like paying it forward ^_^

[AJerman]

Didn't we just have a huge thread on this? And before that another? And another? This is one of those topics that keeps coming up repeatedly and people just argue over it. :laugh:

 

Yes, of course I always tip in places where I'm being served. Other countries and even some parts of this country work differently, but here servers get $2 something an hour and make the rest on tips. If I couldn't afford to tip, I'd stay home and make myself a sandwich rather than stiffing the person and making them pay to serve me.

[_neutrino Veteran]

I do not always tip and I never tip a standard amount, i tip based on the service i received, if you did your job correctly you are rewarded for it, if you did your job exceptionally and went above and beyond you are exceedingly rewarded for it.

[Astra.Xtreme]

I usually tip between 15-20% depending on how the waiter/waitress's attitude is.  As long as they're happy and smile, I'll tip the 20%.  But there have been a few times where they don't seem interested and have a sour attitude, so I don't feel that they deserve a good tip.  I personally don't care if something gets messed up or takes a long time.  It happens, and it always gets resolved in the end.

 

I bartended when I was in high school, so I know what it feels like to be shafted on a tip.

[Growled Member]

I very rarely not tip. I base my tip on service. If I get good service I tip well and for poor service I tip poorly. I have not tipped at all to show my displeasure over non-service.

[Bertch]

At lower end dine-in places where the bill is lower ($10-$30) I will usually just round up or leave a couple bucks.  At higher end places where you end up with larger bills I usually do a percentage between 10% and 20% depending on service.  As Astra.Extreme said if something is messed up or slow and they actually try to resolve it, or it's not the servers fault then I'll still tip.  Also having worked in the food service industry for a few years during high school and having a better job now I like to "pay it forward" as Charisma said.

[Shadrack]

In the US you basically have to tip.  If you don't tip, you will get the reputation at the restaurants you frequent as a non-tipper and your service when you return there will be practically non-existent.  The services in restaurants lives off of customer tips.  They only make like $2.50/hour from their employer.  That being said, a good waiter/waitress at a well-to-do restaurant can make a LOT of money off tips.

 

I tip anywhere from 15 - 25% depending on the service.  If the service was bad I may tip as low as 10%.  If the service was just terrible I don't leave a tip and never come back.

[abecedarian paradoxious]

How much I tip depends on how long the glass of iced tea I order sets empty before the server asks if I want, and brings, a refill. And If I have to ask for a refill, the tip is $0, or maybe the change rounded up to the next dollar. I do also, though, consider how busy the server is and adjust accordingly... as in if the server is the only one, or one of few working and is doing the best they can I do tip more.

 

I try to be considerate and not demanding. I used to deliver pizzas so I know what it's like, but I also know what to expect from customer service.

[riahc3]

Hello,

Has a "never" option but doesn't have a matching option at the bottom..

 

We don't really tip in Australia. We have a minimum wage that's not a complete joke >.<

Correct. There isnt a never option on the bottom so I cannot vote.

[DConnell Member]

I use 20% as a starting point. Exceptional service (or my favorite waitress) gets higher. Poor service gets less. One girl only took the orders for half the table once.  I didn't want to tip her anything, but was overridden.

[spacer]

I always tip because wait staff wages are primarily based on tips, so it's kind a dick move to not tip them. I start at 20% and it goes up or down from there based on the service. The lowest I have ever tipped is 10%. I have never had such poor service as to not tip at all.

[+Nik Louch Subscriber²]

Ugh this again?

 

Look, there's no definite answer because customs change around the world.  In the US you have a culture of underpaying staff which is made-up with tips - hence tipping is more "assumed" than elsewhere.  In the UK, we tip dependent upon service, but at a general rate of 10%.

[remixedcat]

I had baaaad service at one diner chain and I put her tip in the glass with the left over pepsi. Her tip--->20c. She was apathetic and rude and was too fixated on this one visitor of hers. 

 

I had reaaallyy good service at a steak chain and the waitress got a 10 dollar tip on a 20 dollar meal. Was extremely attentive, very personable, funny and she even loved my phone wall paper I made and my bracelets. She even got me a free coffee. 

[riahc3]

Hello,

I had baaaad service at one diner chain and I put her tip in the glass with the left over pepsi. Her tip--->20c. She was apathetic and rude and was too fixated on this one visitor of hers.

When that happens, I observe the other tables and waitresses. If in the diner chain, they are forced to also cleanup their table and I get bad service, I make a complete wreck of the table after I paid my meal: Extra napkins, ketchup spilled, my drink spilled, everything. If not (if other people clean the table), I just get up and leave.

I had reaaallyy good service at a steak chain and the waitress got a 10 dollar tip on a 20 dollar meal. Was extremely attentive, very personable, funny and she even loved my phone wall paper I made and my bracelets. She even got me a free coffee.

Im not too sure she was trying to be a good waitress........just a good catch, if you know what I mean ;)

[+Nik Louch Subscriber²]

Was at a restaurant the other day and my GF had a Groupon thing, so we'd already paid.  But drinks, etc on top, brought a ?18 bill.  10% of that is ?1.80.  I rounded it up to ?20.  Fair, right?  That's a small tip, but percentage it makes sense.  The guy who took the payment mockingly said "Very generous sir".  Twunt!