To Tip Or Not To Tip

[carrot red]

Tipping point. (http://news.yahoo.com/s/chitribts/20050826/ts_chicagotrib/tippingpoint)


Beginning Thursday, chef Thomas Keller will charge customers a 20 percent service fee at Per Se, his year-old outpost in the Time Warner Center on Columbus Circle, where the views of Central Park are nearly as breathtaking as the prices.

The service charge is intended to take the place of the customary tip, whose amount is left to the discretion of the diner as a way to reward attentive service.


I believe in tipping. Waiters/waitresses work hard for a living and rely heavily on tips. However, I also believe the tip should reflect the service provided and attitude of the wait staff. My tipping meter always starts at around 15%, then goes up or down based on service. TIPS: "To Insure Prompt Service", started in England, I believe, and you would give a small cash token at the door when you walked into an eating establishment, to get better service. The concept of the TIP sure has evolved...

Are you a good tipper?

[Starkist]

I tip whatever change I have. If the bill is $17.49 I'll round it up to $20. If the bill is $9.12, I'll round it up to $10. Sometimes if I get extra good service I'll play the percentages.

I detest restaraunts that demand tips, or include them in the price like the one you mention there. It defeats the purpose. Although I've found that most Americans make a habit of tipping whether the service was good or poor.

[Machiavelli]

I tip, whenever I even pay (I say that becaue I don't usuall pay).


I detest restaraunts that demand tips, or include them in the price like the one you mention there. It defeats the purpose.
Applebees does that. The one we usually go to does, anyway. When me and some friends went to Pennsylvania, we went shopping and stopped at an applebees for food (duh). They didn't include the tip in the bill there.We tipped anyway.

[Beldaran]

I don't go out to eat much, but if I do, I follow a little system.

If the bill is $0-$6, I leave $1.
If the bill is $7-$15, I leave $2.
If the bill is $15-$20, I leave $3 or $4 depending on the service.
If it's over $20, I just leave approximately 20%

I don't usuall spend over $10-$12 in a restaurant though. I hardly ever go to them, and I never go to really nice ones.

[Ibis, God of Magicks]

I'm a good tipper, unless a tip isn't warrented.

I think it is stupid to have a mandatory tip. I always leave at least a 5 (once I left a 100.00 for 4.76 bill) but it all depends on service, if I HAVE to tip you, does it matter what the server's attitude is?

[Darth Marsden]

I don't tend to tip unless the service was excellent. A really good waiter/waitress can really liven up the meal and make it much more enjoyable all round. If I get someone like that, I'll usually leave an extra few pounds. Sadly, it doesn't happen very often though...

[Rainman]

I don't tend to tip unless the service was excellent. A really good waiter/waitress can really liven up the meal and make it much more enjoyable all round. If I get someone like that, I'll usually leave an extra few pounds. Sadly, it doesn't happen very often though...

Tipping doesn't see to be as automatic in the rest of the world as it is in America from what I hear. My sister is a waitress and she insists everytime we go out to tip 30%. With my sister or not, we are usually pretty simpathetic to the waitress and tip well.

[Archibaldo]

I've never actually eaten at a restauraunt where I had to tip. Mainly because my parents pay when we go somewhere nice. But when I do go somewhere and tip, I'll probably endup like tipping 30%+. :shrug: I throw my money around alot.

[Great Warrior]

Standard tipping for me is 10% for poor service, 15% for average service and 20% and more for excellent service.

[Shadowblazer]

Growing up with a waitress for a mother, I learned early on how hard these people work and how little consideration they often get. I start at 20% and will go up or down depending on the service. I hardly ever go down, however, unless the person is obviously not even trying.

By the way, "Tip" (or "Tips") doesn't stand for anything (http://www.snopes.com/language/acronyms/tip.htm).

[DarkPanther]

AA and I went to a Chinese place last week for a nice sit down meal.

Our waiter's name was Bong.

I tipped him $10 immediately.

Bong was thrilled and delivered the best service I've ever had.

[Master Ghaleon]

I usually at least tip something even though it may be bad. Sometimes ill give more then intended when its needed

[Kevin]

carrot red's way of tipping is probably the best one mentioned here (although the percent you choose is up to you). It's simple, easy to come up with, and if everyone did it, waiters and waitresses would do a better job generally. I don't tip yet, as I have no job, but my parents seem to tip in that way.

[Glitch]

I'm a good tipper, and leave a minimum on $2, sometimes more if they aren't busy and it looks like the waitress isn't going to make much in tips.

[AtmaWeapon]

I have a rubric and after I have evaluated the performance of the server I adjust for the event and my general mood.

Here's an example.

Base tip: 15%

Event:
Proms, anniversaries, etc. affect my mood and I expect to have a good time. On a special occasion I tend to spend freely so the base tip is modified to 20-25%. Additionally, special event rules go into effect (detailed below).

Mood:
When I'm in a good mood, I tend to lean towards a 20% base tip. If an event has already modified the tip, I add 5% (to a maximum of 30%).

Important tasks:
The waiter must satisfy me. I expect the following:

Prompt service (adjusted for how crowded the restaurant is) Polite service Drink refills Prompt ticket delivery and service

Drink refills:
Lately this is the single most important modifier to my tip, as I've had a string of servers that feel like refilling my drink is an option. First, I should never have to ask to have my drink refilled, monitoring your customer is a task of the server. Second, refills should come before I run out of beverage and have to move my drink to the corner of the table.

Prompt refill service can increase the tip.
If refills come without asking but are slightly late, no modification is made to the tip (subject to my mood and how busy the restaurant seems).
If I have to move my drink to get a refill, any "good mood" or "event" modifiers are dropped.
If I have to flag a server down to get a refill, the tip is reduced to no larger than 10%.
If my date does not get a refill on time, the tip is reduced to no larger than 10% and special "bad service" rules apply.

Ticket service:
I expect the "here's your ticket, thank you for your payment I'll be right back with your card" process to take no more than 10 minutes. This can ruin the tip.

Event/Mood Rules
When I am in a good mood, at a special event, and the service is at least average, I tend to tip very high. 50% tips and higher are not uncommon, particularly in the event of good service. One of my favorite methods of tipping involves rounding high up, depending on what cash I have. If the meal was $30 I might just leave $45 in cash.

Bad Service Rules
If the service is bad, particularly when I can see the server spending oodles of time at tables where friends/large groups are sitting, I start to be a jerk. Effects range from no tip to a list of infractions on the back of the receipt.

Prior Service
Some restaurants have a history of bad service. At these restaurants, if I receive passable service I tip as if it were exceptional service at a better restaurant. For example, at a restaurant where I usually have to ask for refills I will tip high even if the server is late with unrequested refills. I do not penalize based on this rule; that is I do not give an additional penalty for bad service at a restaurant where I usually get good service.

All in all it works well. Generally I am a high tipper because most servers do well. At restaurants where the servers don't change frequently (like my local Chinese eatery) I have found the quality of my service is exceptional since they recognize me as a good tipper.