Tipping at restaurants determined by what they do?

Question

1/2 the time I go out, the service is crap. It would be great if a national standard got started for service and how much they'd get tipped then. Does anybody do this and what is their setup?
1. For example if they only fill drink once, or its empty for 5 minutes and you have to ask to get it.
2. your in a rush and they throw down the receipt after you've been waiting 10 minutes to get it, just to have them run off and come back another 10 minutes later to pick it up. Etc.
3. AND after you made a special order, they bring the food out when it was done wrong, knowing its done wrong to see if you'll take it. ( a good waiter/waitress would be the one to tell the cook immediately so you don't have to worry about sending it back on your own)

In those situations i"m very tempted to not tip at all or very little. I also think they prob wouldn't get the point or know why.

Do you just tip flat amount no matter what, or what do you do in those situations?

Answer 1

I start with 15%. If the service is good, I leave more. If the service is really bad (and not as a result of their being busy), I lower it.

If I leave a smaller tip, I either leave a note or speak to the server to tell them why.

Answer 2

What I have started doing and this really upsets my husband, I leave a note along with a very small tip. In my note I will expain this is part of their tip because....I explain all the reasons. Lately I have noticed service is getting worse and worse. And another thing I hate when they just come and start clearing the table and I haven't even finished my coffee. We are not an assembly line to rush us in and then out so you can seat the next group or couple. we just had a very bad experience at Outback on Valentines day and I sent an e-mail to the main headquarters. Well it's been a week and we never heard a word back. Guess they just lost a group fo 4 that were pretty much regulars there.

Answer 3

Good luck to get a nationwide standard! The problem with a lot of people that are servers is that they can't handle the job. It is hard to be a good server... people think it's an easy job, but you must be able to multi-task and deal with rude people at the same time with a smile. If you haven't ever been a server/bartender, you can never comment on how easy it is. I have been a server/bartender for 17 years (my 2nd job) and I am extremely good at it, but it takes a lot of work. I expect to get 20% from each customer, which is the new standard. I do agree that when the above problems happen, please talk to a manager. Yes, the server will notice the tip if it's not what it is supposed to be, but nothing will be done to help that server be any better if no one is told. On the other end of the spectrum, if you have an exceptional server, please let them know by a generous tip as well as letting a manager know. So many people are willing to criticize quickly, but not praise quickly.

Answer 4

I always tip according to the service I get. You do not have to tip at all, it isn't law. But it is the only way the server is making money. They make 2.13 an hour and that goes to taxes. Tip according to what you feel, the standard is 15% but if the service is that bad, tell a manager or complain via email or letter. If the food was late and it was the kitchens fault, then don't take it out on the server...we all have bad days and things that happen that is out of our control. Think of your bad days and feel for that poor college student trying to make a buck and stay in school. Have a heart!!

Answer 5

You don't know what the chefs are like. If a waitress questioned the chef, there would be h*ll to pay later, reduction in shift and tables. There's a lot that goes on behind the scenes that a customer doesn't know. I agree that sometimes you have to send something back, and then we get yelled at again. We pay for it, and don't get anything for it.

Servers can be very flaky, leaving a restaurant short-handed. That's why it can take a while to refill drinks and drop off and pick up tickets.

Do it for a while, and you will totally understand. We want to do our jobs perfectly, but sometimes it just can't happen with chefs and managers micromanaging you.

Some of us do love our jobs if not for the management.

Answer 6

A good tip is usually between 10-15% of the bill, but everyone is different. Some people would leave $2, but if the service is really bad, maybe $1 will be okay since that ain't nothing to live off of.

Answer 7

As a former manager/waitress etc... you need to speak to whom is in charge of the facility and discuss the lack of attention or service, that is not acceptable. You are the customer and they are there to provide you with the utmost concern of your food and experience. Generally speaking you should leave something, but if it's really that bad don't leave a tip and maybe a note suggesting how that service could have been better, talk to the manager for sure though. They don't get paid w/out you as a customer. Plus the General manager should want to know how his staff is perfoming and losing customers for them.

Answer 8

I think you should go to better places. I was a waitress while putting myself through school. I am pretty judgemental regarding service but I don't have a rule about 5 min for drink or punish them because I'm in a rush and should not have tried to squeeze in a quick lunch.
My guidelines are:
10% for just getting the food to the table and not being rude about it.
12-15% for good, pleasant service.
15-18% for outstanding service
more than 18% for going above and beyond the outstanding.

Answer 9

I dunno, it's your call...they say you must tip between 10 and 20%--if the service is really good, I'll go close to 20%, if it's really bad, a bit less than 15% I'd say...or 15%. I dunno, I dont eat out too much, and when I do, I dont usually pay....but, it's important to keep in mind that waiters at your everyday diner and casual restaurant are not making that much money....it's not an easy position to be in. and theyre soooo busy most of the time! how tired they must be at the end of the day. I think you should at least do 15%, unless the service is TERRIBLE. if theyre not super busy and are just being lazy about refilling your water/bringing back the check etc, then theres a problem, and their tip should suffer...other than that, 15% at least.

Answer 10

There's no excuse for not refilling your drinks, but it's not always your server that brings out your food. Not the servers fault if it's wrong. Not only that, but chances are, you're not the only one with a special order. Do you expect the server to remember, by heart, every customers special order that they made. If that's the case, they were probably spending so much time with that, that they forgot to refill your drink. Here's something floating around........

The next time you're out eating at a resturant, look at your server. Do you think they are really happy to be doing that job? The answer is usually no, they are not... but it's what they do, and they do it for the money so please help them out. It's a tougher job than you think, and you should pay them accordingly!

There are SO many people out there flooding the restaurants without any knowledge of how to tip. Here is a short guide for the general public to follow. Feel free to print out and store in your wallet and/or purse.

1. CHILDREN, "THE LITTLE DEVILS":
If you have children... DO NOT let them open, and dump, anything on the table (ie; salt, sugar, etc). IF YOU DO, you must leave an extra $5 for the server to clean up YOUR CHILD'S mess & to restock the now unusable wasted items. Don't get mad if you ask for crackers and your server tells you they're out when you just saw another table eating crackers with their soup -- can you blame them for not wanting to clean up the mess afterward? We are neither their babysitter nor their parent. The least you can do is pay us for the extra work. Also, make sure you control your kids and don't let them scream or run around the restraunt. It's very distracting not to mention dangerous if they get ran over by a server with hot food in their hands.

2. "THE CAMPERS":
If you feel the necessity to stay for longer than 15 minutes after you pay, it's an extra $3 every 30 minutes. We make our money from the tables. If you are in one and we can't seat it, we don't make money.

3. COMPLIMENTS:
Telling a server they are the best server they've ever had is not a tip. If we are good, let us know by leaving us more money. We can't pay our bills on compliments. It's not that we don't appreciate the praise, it's just that if you say that - and then leave 10%, it's an insult.

4. TIPPING:
It is not 1960. Cost of living has gone up dramatically since then. 18% is the MINIMUM amount of what you should be tipping your servers. Remember, that steak is $12.99 not $22.99 because restaurants aren't required to pay minimum wage in most states! ($2.13 in Texas,New Jersey and most of the south!) We are taxed on 1% of your meal automatically anyway... yes, we have to tip out a percentage of our sales - your bill - to the hosts, food runners, bartenders, and bussers. So if you dont leave a tip, WE END UP PAYING FOR YOUR MEAL!! So move that decimal one spot left and multiply by 2.
($25 = $2.50 x 2 = $5)

5. THE COMPLAINERS:
If you get a discount because your food was prepared wrong or something, do not take it out of our tip. We didn't cook it. The cooks get paid hourly regardless if the food sucks. However, we only make what you give us. And don't ever leave a percentage on the total after the discount or comp -- always tip on what the total would have been.

6. THE LATE ONES:
If you come into the restraunt 10 mins before closing, or any time near closing, hurry up and order your food and get out. Closed means closed, not social hour. It is so rude to sit there and take your sweet time. We can't leave until you leave because we have to do sidework and clean the table you are sitting at. We don't want to stand there waiting for you for an extra hour just because you don't want to go home. We recommend 24 hour establishments such as Denny's if you wish to sit into the wee hours of the night.

7. THE TABLE HOGGERS:
If you only come in for coffee or a dessert, to do paper work, or to have a meeting, don't sit there taking up our booths for hours. We are not Starbucks or a hotel restaurant. If you want to sit for hours, go there or else you better leave a good tip for us and camping fee included.

8. THE GREET:
When we come up to the table to greet you and we ask how you are doing please let us know. We honestly want to know how you are doing. If you are in a bad mood we want to know that from the beginning. A confused stare or complete silence does not suffice as a reply to "How are you doing?". Also don't interrupt our greeting and say "I want coffee", "Can we get some bread," or "what are the soups?"

9. CELL PHONES:
Don't ever talk on your cell phone in a restaurant. This is probably the rudest thing to do. If you must be on your cell, at least keep your voice down in respect for other customers. If you are on your cell phone when we walk up to greet your table, we will walk away until you get off your phone. Just show some respect and give us your attention for a couple of minutes.
10. TAKE-AWAY OR TO-GOS:
Always remember to tip the take-out order servers! They work just as hard as a server, and hardly ever get tips for it! THEY DESERVE TO BE TIPPED TOO!