Leaving a Tip when Dining Out.?

Question

My husband and I have a disagreement on this issue. We're dining out at an mid-class sit-down restaurant. We have a single server, who brings drinks, takes orders, brings condiments, extra stuff, cleans spills, brings to-go boxes, refills drinks, etc.

Husband: "I think if I go to a restaurant and our server does all of the above but was not UNUSUALLY polite but average, I do not owe our server a tip at the end of the meal, as he/she was merely doing what was expected. Tips are optional, and 6% is not an insult."

Wife: "I think if we go to a restaurant, we are paying an amount for our food, and for service - two separate prices. Servers work for tips, that's their income. We pay the restaurant and cooks to supply and cook for us, we pay the server to bring it and other stuff to us. We're paying them for the job they do. A tip is not optional. I like 20% to 30%, but NEVER less than 15%."

Is a tip required or optional?
How much?
Please quote sources, and details.

Answer 1

15% tip is considered standard, more if the service is beyond what is necessary. Tips are not mandatory. Yes, a waiters base pay is usually ludicrously low and not a living wage, a poor waiter should not recieve tips to either prod him to improve his trade or encourage him to find a more suitable line of work. If atomsphere is good, the food is good, and the service is just bare minimum, why should I pay extra for it?

Answer 2

First off, how many people know what "tips" means?

T.-to
I.- Insure
P.-Prompt
S.-Serivce

No joke. So the acronym alone is reason enough to leave one. Having worked as a waitress, I know what it is like to be stiffed on a table and to be left a small tip.

At a smaller restaurant it is acceptable to tip $1.00 per person. At a larger one, $5 is not asking much. In the end it does come down to the bill. I tip 15% only if the waitress was truly bad and its not her first day. If the waitress is feeling rushed, I tend to leave her a little more as this puts a little pep in her step and creates a warm feeling of accomplishment for her. Which can mean the difference between a good day for her and a bad day for her. generaly I tip 25% for a good waitress, and 30% for a great waitress. Stiffing a waitres only creates hostile feelings toward the guest that performed the action, especially if you are regulars, and the guest following you. She is automatically predispositioned to think "Oh well, I just got stiffed, its going to happen again" meaning that the service to the table following is bad. And one of these days its going to be you in that position.

So YES YES YES YES YES YES tip your waitress at least 15 % no matter what. It is just common courtesy and I am sure that Peggy Post would tell you the same.

Some restaurants will add gratuity to a bill for over 6 people or 8 people or a certain amount to ensure that the servers get tipped for all their hard work for your table.

Answer 3

I have been in the food and beverage industry for 14 years. I know 1st hand what it feels like to be given a slap in the face with a 6% tip.
Most servers who work in a restaurant make $2.25 an hour. Their tips are what they live on. If you are not thrilled with your server the least that you should give is 10%. Sorry, this is still a slap in the face. Unless this person was extremely rude, banged your plates down, ignored you, or any other infraction, then 15% should be the least that is given. This is the 21st century, not 1945.
Go for the 20% or more.

Answer 4

I think tips are optional. They need to charge it as separate service charge if they are not optional. On the other hand, tipping 15% for decent service is expected given the cultural norms of America.

However, if someone doesn't tip, then it is my opinion that the restaurant should have the right to refuse service to that person if he/she returns. If tipping is optional, then service should also be optional. So, if I were your server in the scene you described above, and your husband left only a 6% tip, if you were to return and I remembered you, it should be well within my right to refuse you and your husband service.

My personal habit is to tip 15% for average, decent service. If a server somehow "wows" me with their service, then I'll leave 18-25%. If the server is below average or even rude, I think it is well within my right to leave anywhere under 15%, all the way down to nothing.

This Wikipedia article is quite good at describing the cultural differences of tipping.

Answer 5

In must US cities tipping is an option. You are correct when it comes to what a customer is paying for when they go to a restaurant. When you pay for the meal you are paying for everything but the server wages. The server does get an hourly wage. It normally rages between $2.13 per hour up to $4.00 per hour. A 15% tip is a good starting point, use it to decide through out the meal if the server is worth more or less.

Answer 6

Although tips are optional, servers on most places get an hourly rate of $3.00. They plan to tips to make it up. Unless a server has been rude, in which case you ask to speak with the manager.
A tip should be not less than 10% of the total bill. More if the service was extra nice.

Answer 7

A tip is optional, but expected, and servers do work for about $2.13 an hour in this country with the expectation of making tips.
It is difficult work being a server, and your husband is being a tight-wad.
If I receive poor service (not if it's the kitchen's fault)I tip poorly, but average service gets 15% and great service ...20%.
If I was you, I would go back to the table and leave money, without your husband knowing.

Answer 8

I'm a big tipper by nature. I personally have never been a waitress, but I have friends and family that have been and I understand how difficult and wearing the position can be. Therefore, I tip no less than 15%, but if I can afford it then I tip around 18%. If they spent the time to talk to me, and paid exceptionally good attention to my table without disservicing other tables then I'll tip closer to 25%.

The other day, my hubby and I went to dinner with a group of people from his work. It was supposed to be a group of nearly 20, but wound up being only a group of about 8. We had 2 servers for our 3 tables, and they both were wonderful. Our table's server took one person's plate back b/c it had broccoli and he asked for no broccoli and THEN at the end of the night, she also had them remake the plate with NO broccoli for him to take home. He paid for the food, and then everyone at our table tipped her atleast 20%. Yes, our food was around $15 a plate, but the tip is separate, strictly for the waitstaff. She was worth the extra $10 on our tab.

Answer 9

when i was a waitress i made less than 3.50 per hour which was for the reason of paying taxes, not my salary... the only money i made was from tips and even the tips you get you have to split with the bus "boy" and the bar tender. no one gives any respect to the wait staff feeling that they are there to make the person dining out feel like a king... although everyone seems to feel that the bar tender is god and should be well thought of, while the wait staff is your lowly servant class...don't think i over do it on that one..

in dc you will find people from all countries who do not realize that tip is not included in there bill and pay nothing extra, other still will belittle you and act as if you are the dirt below their feet and only exist to serve them... been there see that and did not serve them!

also if you go to Disney in Florida the tip is included but few realize that... so be careful and don't tip twice for bad service

the thing that wait staff really hate is a ton of change! that is more of an insult than no tip.

if i eat out i warn the staff that i always tip well, but you have to earn it. i pay 15% to almost everyone but if service is great i've paid up to 30%

my co worker can be hard to manage and if you survive his dining experience he usually tips well just for putting up with him lol

Answer 10

A tip is optional. If the service was standard, leave a standard tip - 15%. If the service was exceptionally good, raise the amount. If the service was exceptionally bad, lower it. I have given very low tips for bad service. Omitting a tip makes the server think you just forgot.
This is also true in hotels, resorts, cab rides, etc.