how much do you tip at restaurants?

[kairamoon]

Well as a former waitress at an Italian restaurant and going into work at a bar next month I was just wondering what do you tip when you go out to eat/drink?

[emma15677]

I don't tip cos I'm from Australia..:P oh well they'll just have to get offended.

[Ezra]

Keep 'em happy and they'll keep you happy.

I usually tip between 15% & 20% of the bill, closer to 20%. Bars are a different story though. Alot of people plunk down a dollar bill each time regardless of how much the drink cost... so cocktail servers and bartenders can really clean up!

[debijeanm]

I'm a lifetime tea tottler and my hubby is a recovering alcoholic (20 years this January) so I don't know about bar tipping. As a teacher married to a retired college professor and as a mother of two, twenty-something sons, I have lots of inside info into the finances of restaurant servers and I know their wages are the pits and they rely on tips to make ends meet. With all that as background, here's my decision on tipping. If the service is insultingly bad (slow, rude server), I won't tip. (I've always been lucky to have good servers, though, so haven't had to follow through with that.) If the service is adequate, 10%. If the service is good and the server pleasant, 15% and if it's all awesome - that is, if the server makes me feel like the food wasn't the best part of the experience because the server made it so much fun - 20%. I'll also go close to 20% if the server is terrific but it's obvious there's some "other" reason for the food coming slowly (like, another table of demanding customers monopolizing the server's time).

Which is all way more than anyone ever wanted to know, Deb.

[ShrunkenNed]

It all depends on attitude and friendliness of the server to me. If food in the kitchen is slow, it's not their fault. Do the drink refills keep coming? Do they check in with us occasionally to let us know what's going on? If service is poor, probably around 10%, if it's adequate, 15%, and if it's good-great, anywhere upwards to 20%.

[bigben78]

90% of the time, I simply double to tax. Seeing how tax in California is between 7.25% and 8.5%, it is a pretty easy solution. If the server is an obvious jerk, that may be deviated from....but after working in a restaurant while in highschool, I learned, it is not a glamorous job, and most all of the servers out there are trying their best.

[mousecrazy]

I always have a tendency to tip on the high side. 20% - 25%.. I can't help it! I love in a college town and I like to help out the kids whenever possible.

[TimmyII]

I tip depending on service! If it was crappy service, they might not get ANYTHING from me! If they were happy, fun, prompt, lively, and looked like they ENJOYED working there, I can give HUGE tips! It's all up to them. I don't go by the "standards" of tipping....I think that's ridiculous! And please...to any servers out there....STOP, STOP....yes, STOP asking me if I need change when I pay the bill.

[RankoAnime]

I agree with what everyone else said. If the service is horrible, I don't leave any tip. If the service is decent, I double the tax. If service is excellent, I tip about 20%. I honestly don't think that everyone should automatically give a 15% tip, because it's unfair to those who work hard and deserve the tip and those who don't.

[reillysix]

I always give 15%.

[Legend_S]

Well, yeah, with us it depends on the service, horrible is nothing... of course, but when the waitress or waiter are doing a great job, then about 15% or 20%.

[kairamoon]

Well after working in a restaurant I ALWAYS tip something because even if the service is bad it could be the server is just having a bad day no matter how hard they try. I always try to tip 30% or more for good service and bad service usually gets 15%. The reasoning of course is that the minimum wage for servers in Colorado is $2.13 an hour. That means our wages are purely tips because our two week paychecks are only like $20 for full time. I don't know what it is in Cali but that's my reason for high tipping!

[RankoAnime]

^^ Sorry, but I don't care if a server is having a bad day. He or she has a job and is expected to do it when he/she comes to work. It's REALLY bad when I have to call another waiter or waitress over because my drink has not been refilled once throughout my entire meal or that I have to get up and grab my own container or ask the front counter for a receipt because my waiter or waitress mysteriously disappeared after giving us our food. In fact, it's justifiable not to give a tip in those circumstances anyway because aside from bringing our food, we received NO service!

[adrianne]

I usually tip 20% (25%-30% if the service is really outstanding). If the service is really awful (waiter is deliberately rude, inattentive, etc), I'll tip a penny or a nickel, so they know they're being dissed, not forgotten. And I agree with want RankoAnime said about

He or she has a job and is expected to do it when he/she comes to work.

As far as bar tipping goes, I'm one of those that drops a buck down per drink. But I usually don't have more than 1 or 2, so it's not like its a big chunk o' change for me...

[kairamoon]

Originally Posted by RankoAnime

It's REALLY bad when I have to call another waiter or waitress over because my drink has not been refilled once throughout my entire meal or that I have to get up and grab my own container or ask the front counter for a receipt because my waiter or waitress mysteriously disappeared after giving us our food. In fact, it's justifiable not to give a tip in those circumstances anyway because aside from bringing our food, we received NO service!

Oh I agree with that. I'm just talking about if they are a little slow or if they are not on top form. Lol because I've definitely had bad days but I would never be that bad.