I know that a tipping question has already been asked but I have another one....?

Question

If you were at a resturant and got bad service from the serve, would you tip him or her? I know that servers make their living with tips, but if I get one with an attitude or something like that I don't leave a tip....is this worng....should I feel bad about it??

Answer 1

I don't feel bad about it. You are right, they make a living with tips. If they have a negative attitude then they are telling you that they don't need the tips. Part of their job entails serving the customer and keeping the customer happy. I do not feel obligated to tip a server just because they bring me my food, I tip them for courtesy also. I am a pleasant customer so they should put forth the effort to be a pleasant server.

Answer 2

Were you getting bad service because you server was in the corner talking with her friends? Or because the restaurant was very busy? Everyone has a bad day. That includes your server. It also includes you. You should not feel guilt if you don't leave a tip. Guilt changes nothing. But before you decide, please remember that servers make far below the federal minimum wage and are supplemented by tips. In Texas, they earn $2.12 an hour plus tips. They must declare tips as income. Then their tips go against their hourly rate. Some make nothing on their checks after tips are declared. As you sit in a server's section of the restauant, you occupy that table for up to an hour or more. That is time that someone else, who tips better could be eating there. A lot of severs are single parents too. Of course, all this is good reason for your server to give great service regularly.

It is okay not to tip. But it is also okay to be gracious and tip when you get bad service. Just leave a penny on top of the tip. It signals to the server that you are tipping them, but feel they don't deserve it.

Answer 3

What I do probably isn't exactly etiquette but I feel OK doing it.

I will give them a small tip. Maybe about 10% but then I leave a comment on the bill explaining why. Nothing snappy. Straight-forward comments like "appetizers should come out before the meal, not with it," "our glasses were empty before we got our meal and you never refilled them," "my meal was awful but you never came to check on it," etc.

Someone I know who is a local restaurant reviewer will call the manager the next day if he cares about the restaurant. He tells the manager the servers name and explains the service. He says he gets good responses and often will get gift cards out of it. The managers seem to appreciate that he's calling during a time that isn't as busy as lunch or dinner. But he also will leave a small tip. He says if it's bad service he gives 10%, if it's acceptable he gives 15%, and if the server is attentive (don't have to ask for refills or they notice something is missing from the table) he'll give 18-20%

Answer 4

They don't make living with tips, far from that. They have hourly wage. Tip is shared between other servers and chef and the rest of the people working in the restaurant. Also, tips are taxed at a ridiculous rate. So, no, you're not depriving that waiter...

If you don't leave any tips they just assumed you forgot, or assume you're not nice.

Low tip (below 10%) is an indication of poor service. If they did a really outstandigly bad job - yeah, no tips for them, but let them know it's about them and their poor service.

Answer 5

You could leave a small tip. That lets the server know you were not satisfied with the service. Also, you could notify the manager or the restaurant owner. Less than 10% usually gives the message of poor service.

It may have been a bad day for the server. However, that does not excuse poor service.

Answer 6

LOL....this might be truly mean, but I leave a tiny tip on a credit card just so that they will have to report it on taxes. If the person is really trying, even if the service is bad, I still leave a tip, but if the person's attitude is just bad and they're hostile, I usually ask for a manager to fix the situation before the check gets there.

Answer 7

Before leaving a bad tip, I always ask the server: Are you having a bad night? Sometimes the answer is revealing. Only after asking do I decide on the tip.

Answer 8

You should try to tip SOMETHING, even if it's not the full 15%. Often the servers are over-worked, due to understaffing by the management. You might have had to wait a few extra minutes for your coke re-fill, but this poor guy/girl might be extremely busy and you just don't know it, by no fault of their own.

If you are missing something, or if the server forgot to bring something, you can always flag someone else down and ask them for it. We all forget things at one time or another, what would make your waiter/waitress any different? You should tip based on service, but keep in mind that you may get exemplary service one day, but if you go to that same place at the busiest time, you may not.

Answer 9

Well, tradition states that if you are dissatisified with the service you leave one penny as a tip. I have done that once in my 32 years. Otherwise, I always leave a tip, even if it's just $2. These waiters and waitresses make $2.90 an hour generally. So the big chunk of their salary comes from the tips.

Answer 10

No, there is nothing wrong with that. You tip when you have excellent, great, or even good service. If you have bad service, you don't need to tip. I was once berated by a waitress for not leaving a tip (we were not even finished with our dinner yet), and I left a note that simply said "I would have given you a tip if you hadn't acted like you did." They are in a service business......they should act like it.