tipping at restaurants...

The one thing most people don't understand is that here in the states, the average wage for a waiter is about $3.50 /hr, and take out taxes, and that comes out to a whopping 30 bucks a week. What pissed me off when I was a waiter is getting complaints about the food quality, It's not like I made you're F'ing food! GRRRRR, sry for the rant, but waiting IS the top 5 most stressful jobs out there because the money you earn is completly based on what people leave you. I hate it when some people are like "Waiting isnt hard, there already making enough per hour, so I'll just leave a couple bucks." I always leave at least 10%, good service=15-20%.

I tip 20% for good service. In an expensive restaurant, I'd go to 25% if both the service and food were exceptional. On that $100 tab, I'd tip $20.

I don't "stiff" or under-tip waiters. I did that job myself when I was a kid. I know how hard they work and know they're factoring in folks who routinely don't tip enough. If something goes bad wrong at a restaurant, we'll diplomatically complain to the floor manager, and down here that inevitably results in an adjusted or complementary bill. I still leave a tip on what the total would have been if the problem weren't with the wait staff (usually it's a problem in the kitchen). More and more, all the restaurants we regularly go to have implemented surveys or some sort of customer-service feedback mechanism, which seems to have really helped assure good quality service and food. We live in a nice area that's just flooded with restaurants, so they're all competing for all they're worth.

I usually don't pay attention to percentages. If I have a $10 meal and the service is good, I will usually leave a 5. If the service is horrible, I will leave a buck. If it's a $100 and the service is good, I would tip $20-$25, if it were horrible, I may leave 10-15.

My feeling is this, if you can't afford to tip the server, you can't afford to eat in a restaurant. Not to mention, servers only make around 2 bucks an hour, they are counting on tips to pay their rent.

Granted if they suck at waiting, they need to find a new job. You couldn't pay me enough to wait on hungry assholes again.

if im at a place i like, and the waiter/waitress was trying or busy then i will double the tax. but if im at a place where the service is horrible and the meal sucks then i will leave little

should have put this in the post before, but its been past 10 mins (it says)

anyway the check was 100. so the tax would be like 8-9% (im not sure as to the exact decimal place) so that is roughly 11 dollars.. and i would doublethat to 20ish.. depending on service.

by the way.. i think doubling the tax is perfect for determining how much you tip someone.

I use to be a Server at a denny's fast paced resturuant, and I know how important tiping is to your Server when you go out to eat. So I will allways tip unless its absoulutely horrible service! If its ok service I'll tip at least 15%, but if its good service and beyond I'll tip 20%+ depending on how good the service was, and if its busy as hell, and My server is crazy busy,and still gives me half decent service I will tip very well if I can! :)

I remember my best tip I ever got as a server. I was working on a super busy day shift, and I had this one table of 6 young people (20's-26) and they told me after the meal was done, that they had just traveled all across Canada, and I was there best Waiter they have had the whole time :) The guy who came to pay the bill tipped me 25 dollars, and everyone else left 4-5 dollars on the table. so i walked away with at least 45 dollars from one table, and the bill was about 120, but I can't honestly remember the total of the bill, thats just an estimate of 20 per person. The morale of this story is if you get good service let the person who served you know they will apreciate it ever so much! Even if that table hadn't tipped me so well, just that comment alone was worth me going the extra mile to give them great service! I use to love being a server, Because I was allways meeting new people everyday, and in the summer time, I was bringing home in tips anywhere between 100-250 a night! only hit the 250 mark a few times, but those nights were killer busy! And also remember a Server's income is based mainly on there tips, Most resturuants in the states to my understanding, don't pay there Servers much an hour(In Canada serving is ussually minimum wage or a few dollars more depending where ya work), they depend on their tips for a part of there income. So next time your out for Dinner, and you get good service, tip well cause that person serving you is trying to make a living of their tips too, not just there wage!

Average service earns 15%, amazing service is going to net the server 25%. If the service is beyond horrible and they didn't try to correct it after being clued in, all they are going to get is 5% and a word with their manager on my way out. I've worked wait staff jobs before, and all it takes to make good tips is a pleasant demeanor and a willingness to fix any mistakes that might be made. When I worked at an upscale restaurant in Orlando, I only made $3 per hour on the clock, but almost always went home with $250+ in tips, and that was after tipping out my busser and bar back. It was common to make twice that on a Friday or Saturday night. Cheese and crackers! Why the hell did I leave Orlando? LOL

I usually leave 20%, so 20 bucks on a $100 dinner. A good server can really make a restaurant experience great, so it's worth it. And they usually aren't paid enough in wages to make it.

If the kitchen makes a mistake, or if things are running slow, then I expect the server to correct the error or compensate by adjusting the bill or bringing something special. If the service is bad, then the tip will be smaller. But usually the server should already know I'm not happy and should understand why the tip is small. I almost never have to leave a small tip, and I never walk out without leaving something. I think if you leave a small tip, it says more than leaving nothing. It let's you keep your dignity and still sends a message.

If you are at a bar and going to be there awhile, It's worthwhile to tip well on the first drink. You'll get better service the whole night.

I leave 20% if the service was acceptable.
I leave less depending on just how unacceptable the service actually was.

If the food is bad, or screwed up, ask the server (or his/her manager) to comp the food. That way, you can still tip the server for his/her service, but the restaurant still eats it for giving you crappy service overall.

On $100, about $20 sounds right. I am also one to base it on service though. I don't count kitchen mess ups-just on the service. If you didn't give good service you won't get a good tip from me. If you give exceptional service--you will get an exceptional tip.