Poll: Tipping Habits at Restaurants

[Pipotchi]

Yeah, tipping always implies service to me. I'm not sure, logically, why to me a barber or waiter performs a service while a soda jerk doesn't, but I never tip the soda jerks.

Your barber, waiter, bartender all have to use some sort of skill. There is a measure of individual input on the part of that service person to make the job good.

The soda jerk, burrito roller, etc all follow a prescribed set of instructions that a robot could do, given enough money and engineering.

Poor robots they always get shafted on their tips

 

[Eerors]

I normally eat out with large groups of people and thus only really tip because the hassle of dividing the change between us is too much.

If I eat myself or a friend then we generally don't tip unless the service was beyond the call of duty. eg acting interested in our lives even if your secretly wishing us to go away, bringing food over in shorter time then we expect etc.

 

[BGH122]

10% usually, all depends on how nice the staff was and food quality of course. Though if I enjoyed said meal yeah 10%.

Yeah, this. Less or more is always due to exceptional service either side of normality.

 

[Milney]

As for the people who aren't from the U.S., and where tipping isn't customary, please tip when you come to the U.S.
Don't complain about how it's not your fault that they aren't paid a livable wage, don't whine about how you don't have to tip where you're from. Just do it, it's nigh-mandatory here, and you're taking away from the income of your severs. When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

I'll tip when I want, and how much I want.

Without people standing up for this, you need to start form somewhere. Change the way pay is structured for serving staff so tipping isn't mandatory.

Just demanding that people tip because "it's the done thing" doesn't help anyone apart from the owner of the establishment who gets to cheap out on pay. The workers lose out on a reliable source of income, customers get strong-armed into giving over extra money (Here's a tip - restaurants don't sell for cost price).

This has recently been an issue in the UK, where employers made up the minimum wage of employees through allowing them to keep tips. Outcry and not giving tips (as they were taken by the business and doled out, not the individual) prompted a new law to come into force stopping the practice. So now they get a proper minimum wage, and tips actually got to the correct people.

Fight the Status Quo, don't simply toe the line because you're in "Rome".

That said, for all that ideology the service generally has to be poor for me to withold my usual 10%.

 

[Flames66]

I rarely eat in restaurants and when I do I don't leave a tip. My opinion is that the food is often so over priced that they don't deserve it. I might give a tip to the waiter if I feel that he/she has given me a service over and above what they are required to.

A place where I might give a tip is a local pub. If I feel that the staff have been friendly and interesting and have engaged me in conversation I may consider a tip there.

 

[AhumbleKnight]

For parties of 8 or more it is automatically added unless you talk to the manager (we had to do this once, the server was terrible and because we were a large party he automatically got his tip, the manager apologized took his tip away and we got free desserts )

however, if it's a party of 8 or below can choose the amount the tip by writing it on the receipt, or leaving the cash

Many thanks for the info I still think its a weird custom though. Why not just put the price of the food up a dollar or two more so your staff get guaranteed proper wages and no one has to worry about maths at the dinner table and everyone's happy??
I will reserve tips for exceptional service and exceptional staff where i see it's deserved, but it'd never be more than $5, because its not customary and because I'm a uni student.
Tipping in Australia is kind of restricted to the small change you have left over being placed in a glass or a jar at the counter...

It is pretty weird, but I think $5 dollars is perfectly fine for a country were it isn't customary. The reasoning behind tipping is that the price on the menu pays for the food, and the act of being served is completely separate, therefore a waitstaff's pay is directly proportional to their performance, prompting them to work harder to make the dining experience better for you the customer so they will get rewarded.

Think of it similar to working on commission. Kind of

Thats fine but as has been mentioned, it depends on the country. In Australia waitstaff get paid at or above minimum wage. That is not too bad because min wage is enough to live off (assuming you are getting the hours). The meal includes all costs so tipping is far from expected.

I would be interested to see what corilation there is between wages and tips per country. ie. the USA pays their waitstaff almost nothing and relies on tips where as Australia is kind of the opposite. I wonder where other countries fit in.

 

[KimberlyGoreHound]

I worked as a dishwasher, with steel wool, bleach, and a conspicuous absence of gloves, receiving no tips, thereby getting a grudge against the wait staff, who go home with intact fingertips and a fistful of tips.

Unless the service was great, I don't tip.

It doesn't help that I'm a miserly misanthrope.

 

[Nimbus]

People don't tip in my country. It's just not expected.

 

[TheGreatDirectorWatanbe]

I tip around 10% if it's crap service I tip like 5% if it's great service 20%.

 

[Marowit]

20% Generally. My girlfriend works at a restaurant, and so I know how terrible it can be to be left a crappy tip (anything less than 15%). Sure one can make the argument that their getting paid, but they generally have a wage that's substantially reduced because it's assumed they'll be making tips.

Plus, I always get much much better service (and often free food) at the places I frequent since I tip 20%.

 

[Marowit]

I rarely eat in restaurants and when I do I don't leave a tip. My opinion is that the food is often so over priced that they don't deserve it. I might give a tip to the waiter if I feel that he/she has given me a service over and above what they are required to.

A place where I might give a tip is a local pub. If I feel that the staff have been friendly and interesting and have engaged me in conversation I may consider a tip there.

You do know that waitstaff get paid like 2 bucks an hour, because it's expected that people tip (in the US at least)?

 

[ma55ter_fett]

15% always, unless the service was really bad in which case I'll leave a couple pennies.

 

[rachel_who]

10% usually, but only if i have had a pleasant time.
If for any reason they have made me uncomfortable I will not tip, eventhough the boyfirned thinks i am unreasonabe

 

[bobknowsall]

(I'm surprised no-one's made a Reservoir Dogs reference yet)

If the service was decent, but not exceptional, I'll tip them 10%. If it's exceptional, I tend to tip a lot more. I figure they deserve it for making a proper effort to make me feel welcome. You remember good service a lot longer than the quality of the meal.

 

[xerofayte]

Ill tip between 10 and 20%. If its a very bad service, I leave coupons. I keep a few Dairy Queen coupons in my wallet for when I have a sweet tooth, so I may drop my buy one hotdog get one free coupon if I didn't like the service.

 

[Flames66]

I rarely eat in restaurants and when I do I don't leave a tip. My opinion is that the food is often so over priced that they don't deserve it. I might give a tip to the waiter if I feel that he/she has given me a service over and above what they are required to.

A place where I might give a tip is a local pub. If I feel that the staff have been friendly and interesting and have engaged me in conversation I may consider a tip there.

You do know that waitstaff get paid like 2 bucks an hour, because it's expected that people tip (in the US at least)?

EDIT: where did my text go?

No I didn't. Not sure if it's true in England. I stand by what I said though, with the amount that restauraunts charge for their meals, they can pay their staff properly rather than expecting me to pay for my meal and pay the waiters wages on top of that.

 

[khaimera]

Why do you tempt me with these threads. Must resist urge to be put suspended again.

So I'll say tip whatever you want you fine gentelmen of the escapist. Its your karma you're affecting.

 

[Naheal]

Anywhere between 15-25%. I like to tip generously, but not go over the top.

 

[historybuff]

I try to tip 15-20% because my mom waitressed while she had three small children and it's murder. The wages are shit and wait staff have to put up with people yelling at them for 8 hours a day. If they're decent, they've earned a couple bucks. If they were awesome or horrid, though, I tip accordingly.