cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

What's your tipping policy?

tag
Anonymous
Not applicable

What's your tipping policy?

When it comes to gratuity, what's your policy?

 

  • Do you consider a tip to be mandatory payment for certain types of service (e.g. restaurant servers, hair stylists, lawn & garden service, doormen, etc...)? 
  • Or, do you subscribe to the letter of the definition of tip/gratuity: a gift of money, over and above payment due for service?
  • Do you tip a standard amount (5, 10, 15, or 20%, etc...), or do you base your tip on the quality of service?
  • Is there a situation that usually warrants a tip (dinner at a restaurant) where you haven't or wouldn't tip? How did you/would you handle the situation?

 

Feel free to debate, but please remember to be friendly and respectful! Smiley Happy

Message 1 of 29
28 REPLIES 28
laz98
Senior Contributor

Re: What's your tipping policy?

thanks for starting a new thread, lilmirth Smiley Happy

Message 2 of 29
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: What's your tipping policy?

With inflation and food prices rising, carrying over the cost to consumers via higher cost of meals at restaurants. 

 

Let me say one thing. I live in an area where most of the restaurants are very pricey. Take this for example.

 

Restaurant A - Avg of 20 dollars a meal, drinks are rediculous at 3 dollars, beers priced at 8 dollars.

 

Restaurant B - Avg of 9 dollars a meal, drinks are 2.50, beers are 5 dollars.

 

Okay so these servers do the same amount of work basically. Prep work, waiting your table and so forth. Server for restaurant A is going to make ALOT more money than server at restaurant B. 

 

That is why the whole entire tipping percentage is bullsheep. Because when prices get high, we are expected to tip more than the WORK THEY actually do. 

 

I believe the industry needs to be changed a little and that is my opinion. I believe industry trends will continue to go towards more self service, but intimate locations such as Panera Bread, Calastoga, Ect. 

 

Note - I am always a generous tipper, leaving upwards of 30% on a lot of locations. However, my view point above stems from the inequality in the amount the average person is supposed to tip a server.  I will not give into the whole oh well server a gives much better service, because honestly I never see a huge difference in servers at these types of restaurants. 

 

And restaurants make a lot of money on the mark ups they put up on alcohol, soft drinks, and the works and it is NOT my fault that this is not passed onto the servers and waiters.

Message 3 of 29
llecs
Moderator Emeritus

Re: What's your tipping policy?

Hmmmm, sounds familiar to an older Smorgasboard post. Smiley Tongue

 

I have no issue paying 25% plus, but it depends on the service. If service is sloppy, nobody clears the tables, nobody refills my ice tea, their hair is in my food (no joke), attitude stinks, or they bring out cold food that is meant to be hot (because they choose to go on a smoke break instead), then I have no issue leaving my 2 cents (really).

Message 4 of 29
laz98
Senior Contributor

Re: What's your tipping policy?


@llecs wrote:

Hmmmm, sounds familiar to an older Smorgasboard post. Smiley Tongue

 

I have no issue paying 25% plus, but it depends on the service. If service is sloppy, nobody clears the tables, nobody refills my ice tea, their hair is in my food (no joke), attitude stinks, or they bring out cold food that is meant to be hot (because they choose to go on a smoke break instead), then I have no issue leaving my 2 cents (really).


ditto.  i don't feel like i'm obligated to tip, but i am happy to do so (& well) when the service merits it.  & yes,  i HAVE worked in a restaurant before.  Smiley Happy

Message 5 of 29
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: What's your tipping policy?

Thank god there are some like minded people around, I swear to god i don't like it when any person feels obligated and entitled to a good tip everytime. I swear I encouter more horrible waiters than I do good ones. Plus they all smoke cigs and a lot of them in my area are on drugs. Mostly because you can have a record and easily get a job in the restaurant biz over anyone else. Actually its kind of your only option in a way. So the quality of people they get is sub-par..... a lot of those people smoke pot and even do pills

Message 6 of 29
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: What's your tipping policy?


@llecs wrote:

Hmmmm, sounds familiar to an older Smorgasboard post. Smiley Tongue

 


Hilarious! Same title and everything!  This one must have been floating in the back of my subconscious or something. Smiley Very Happy

Message 7 of 29
scottwagnon
Valued Contributor

Re: question about someone changing tip value.


@mauve wrote:
Thank you for opting to go somewhere else.  They're getting half of minimum wage and the "1-2 minutes" of time they spend at your table is definitely not the amount of time they spend on your table.  Not all of the time they're getting paid that wage includes time with customers and the hourly wage doesn't go up for setup etc, nor do you see the work they do while you're there to make sure everything's right.  Some servers suck or are dishonest, like OP's, but that's not the majority of them IME waiting tables.

@Anonymous wrote:

the whole restaurant tip bulljunk pisses me off. I have left poor tips before to the amount of one dollar if the service is that terrible. I frequently find me and my gf going to places where you can service your self and not have to depend on drugie servers. Such places like calistoga and panera bread, moes, and other places like that. I don't servers deserve the tips that they get, they spend a whole period of 1-2 minutes on your table and they expect 10 bucks. Right. 


 



+1

tips are expected when you are a server at the restaurant (no one ever ought to see tipping the server as an option). though you are not required to tip, the server has the right to expect a tip if he did a satisfactory job. 17.5% for above satisfactory, 20+% for excellect service; 15% for just satisfactory. 10% if he/she was bad, but not poor attitude. 5% if it was a bad server with a bad attitude. think CAPITALISM. we all should understand it.

 

And YES, I was a server, so i know this from personal experience.

earth air water fire master visa express discover
Message 8 of 29
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: question about someone changing tip value.

well I don't agree with your made up standard tipping percentage. typical. former server who feels entitled to get tipped. 

 

It is not my fault that the restaurant, who marks food and drink prices up a ton, does not pass on a better wage to the employee.

 

What other industry can overcharge you and then expect you to give more money as a "tip"????

 

Only the restaurant industry. LOL

 

 

So I again ask the question, why can't servers just make a salary or higher hourly wage? I am paying for marked up food already, why am I paying extra for service???

 

 

Message 9 of 29
laz98
Senior Contributor

Re: question about someone changing tip value.


@scottwagnon wrote:
tips are expected when you are a server at the restaurant (no one ever ought to see tipping the server as an option). though you are not required to tip, the server has the right to expect a tip if he did a satisfactory job. 17.5% for above satisfactory, 20+% for excellect service; 15% for just satisfactory. 10% if he/she was bad, but not poor attitude. 5% if it was a bad server with a bad attitude. think CAPITALISM. we all should understand it.

well, we can all expect anything we like, but that doesn't mean anything Smiley Happy  & "satisfactory" is going to mean different things to different people.  doing the bare minimum may not be considered "satisfactory" to some people, or it might be considered good service......who knows!  i'd say it has a lot to do with what kind of restaurant you are in, too.  i personally am not going to tip 20% just for doing the bare minimum.  that's what you're there to do!

 

unless they automatically add it in to your bill, of course tipping is an option.  yes, we should all definitely consider tipping a part of going out to eat.  but you have your tipping scale & others have theirs. they are completely arbitrary.  no one's is more "right".  it's sad, but there are always going to be cheap a$$ people out there who wouldn't tip you even if you gave them bricks of gold with their dinner.

Message 10 of 29
Advertiser Disclosure: The offers that appear on this site are from third party advertisers from whom FICO receives compensation.