Tip your waiters!!!!

[Apollo Creed]

I've waited at about 3 different places throughout high school and college. Bottom line, good service doesn't always get rewarded. Cheap people are going to be cheap no matter what, especially given today's economy.

One problem is that the customers often punish the server, for a kitchen error or poor food. When the server did his job properly. It sucks but its a part of the game.

Serving is the easiest and hardest money I've ever made.

 

[CATCH17]

I got a bar tender who will charge me 6 bucks for drinks and I usually tip him 20.

Drink all I want for 26 dollars.

 

[theogt]

I got a bar tender who will charge me 6 bucks for drinks and I usually tip him 20.

Drink all I want for 26 dollars.

Yeah, I had one of those in college.

 

[Apollo Creed]

Yeah, I had one of those in college.

Ditto.

They make bank off that 20 buck tip, the managers/owners rarely measure liquor so a good bartender knows how to make a lot of extra cash on the side.

 

[lewpac]

My standard is that "a good server can save a bad meal, but a great meal can't save a lousy server".

Meaning, that no matter how great the chef and kitchen staff is, if the waiter/waitress has got their head up their ***, then the evening out with my wife suffers. However, if the meal isn't exactly a 10, a great server can salvage the night out and make my date night a success.

I was a bartender for 10 years in some of the biggest clubs in Houston. I worked the happy-hours at the El Torito's and then go work nights at the clubs. So I too am a big tipper. Everyone starts with an "A" and has the privilege to work themselves down from there if they chose. And I'm not hard to please, because my default position going in is to tip big. You gotta' work REALLY HARD to get my tip total to go down.

The OP's position of "entitlement" isn't helpful. Many servers feel that an abundant tip is an entitlement and automatic simply because they show up and stumble through a shift. The fact that one is simply shovleing the food in front of you is worthy of a gratuity. Never forget that word: GRATUITY! As in TIP! It has to be earned, and at the pleasure and the leave of the SERVED to be pleased with doing so.............

Most of the tips I gladly leave on the table are probably 80% the same people at eateries and bars I go to regularly. In this regard, tipping becomes a personal relationship with the same people over and over again. They know you're gonna' take care of them, and you get more service than the average bear. I got at least a dozen relationships like that around town, because I enjoy good service and appreciate them treating me like a big-spending regular.

There's been only ONE TIME in the last 30 years that I pulled the following stunt................I left a dime once for a tip on an over $200.00 tab! It was in Vegas a few years ago. The service was SO TERRIBLE all evening. Everything from the drinks to the bread to the water, the meal taking over an hour and a half to FINALLY be served. It was a classic case of us being just another after-thought table that is just going to have to suffer along with everyone, and YOU'LL BE HAPPY WITH WHATEVER WE GIVE YOU type of service.

I felt that, leaving nothing, that the server just might think it was a mistake. So I made sure to leave just .10 cents to drive the point home. I felt terrible, being an ex-bartender and all. But that's how bad the service was.

I know that tips are the life-blood of any bartender, waiter or waitress. But don't ever take for granted that you're "entitled" to a gratuity simply because you punched your time-clock and schlepped the grubb in front of the cattle. It doesn't take a lot to get the average Joe to pony-up the appropriate tip, but you still gotta' earn it.

 

[TheKey]

My standard is that "a good server can save a bad meal, but a great meal can't save a lousy server".

Meaning, that no matter how great the chef and kitchen staff is, if the waiter/waitress has got their head up their ***, then the evening out with my wife suffers. However, if the meal isn't exactly a 10, a great server can salvage the night out and make my date night a success.

I was a bartender for 10 years in some of the biggest clubs in Houston. I worked the happy-hours at the El Torito's and then go work nights at the clubs. So I too am a big tipper. Everyone starts with an "A" and has the privilege to work themselves down from there if they chose. And I'm not hard to please, because my default position going in is to tip big. You gotta' work REALLY HARD to get my tip total to go down.

The OP's position of "entitlement" isn't helpful. Many servers feel that an abundant tip is an entitlement and automatic simply because they show up and stumble through a shift. The fact that one is simply shovleing the food in front of you is worthy of a gratuity. Never forget that word: GRATUITY! As in TIP! It has to be earned, and at the pleasure and the leave of the SERVED to be pleased with doing so.............

Most of the tips I gladly leave on the table are probably 80% the same people at eateries and bars I go to regularly. In this regard, tipping becomes a personal relationship with the same people over and over again. They know you're gonna' take care of them, and you get more service than the average bear. I got at least a dozen relationships like that around town, because I enjoy good service and appreciate them treating me like a big-spending regular.

There's been only ONE TIME in the last 30 years that I pulled the following stunt................I left a dime once for a tip on an over $200.00 tab! It was in Vegas a few years ago. The service was SO TERRIBLE all evening. Everything from the drinks to the bread to the water, the meal taking over an hour and a half to FINALLY be served. It was a classic case of us being just another after-thought table that is just going to have to suffer along with everyone, and YOU'LL BE HAPPY WITH WHATEVER WE GIVE YOU type of service.

I felt that, leaving nothing, that the server just might think it was a mistake. So I made sure to leave just .10 cents to drive the point home. I felt terrible, being an ex-bartender and all. But that's how bad the service was.

I know that tips are the life-blood of any bartender, waiter or waitress. But don't ever take for granted that you're "entitled" to a gratuity simply because you punched your time-clock and schlepped the grubb in front of the cattle. It doesn't take a lot to get the average Joe to pony-up the appropriate tip, but you still gotta' earn it.

You're missing the point. I was saying that people who do a good job and are very hard working and pleasing to the customer deserve a good tip. A lot of people these days are leaving terrible tips, or no tips, for really good service. I am not speaking of ones who just shovel food in front of people.

 

[silverbear]

If i have a decent service i leave about 20%. When i have received great service i've been known to leave as much as 30%-40% and will request the same waiter the next time i go to the restaurant.

However, if i receive a poor to bad service i will not even leave 15%. If it happens more than once with the same waiter, i will refuse to sit in his/her section the next time i go back to the same restaurant.

The problem with leaving nothing for bad service is the server just thinks you're a cheap bastidge, and never stops to think that maybe he or she just did a rotten job...

So instead, when I get that sort of service, I leave an insultingly small tip... I think that sends a stronger message...

 

[silverbear]

Total after taxes

I'll also round up to the dollar. If the bill is $20.62 I round up to $21 then add a tip. So a lot of waiters/waitresses get some strange tips from me.

Actually, I generally calculate the tip at the time I get the bill, and tell the server to keep the change... as an example, in the case you cited above, provided the service was acceptable, I'll fork over 25 bucks, leaving the server 4.38...

Part of the reason for that is I don't like carrying a bunch of change around in my pocket...

 

[silverbear]

I always just take the first number on the total after taxes and double it, subject to of course extremely poor service.

So, if it's $75.35, it's a $14 tip. Quick and easy.

I'd give the server 90 bucks when presented with the bill, and say keep the change...

Who am I kidding, I'm not eating in places where I'd spend 75 bucks for one, or even two, meals... LOL...

 

[silverbear]

Shhhh. I don't want the wait staff to pee in my spaghetti...

But that's the "secret ingredient" in their world famous marinara...

Please don't ask what the secret ingredient is in their alfredo sauce...

 

[theogt]

I'd give the server 90 bucks when presented with the bill, and say keep the change...

Who am I kidding, I'm not eating in places where I'd spend 75 bucks for one, or even two, meals... LOL...

I never carry more cash than is necessary for valet or a parking garage. And I would rather, if I were a waiter, be tipped in whole dollar amounts.

 

[Bob Sacamano]

people think waiting tables is easy, it's not

there's a lot of **** you have to remember, esp. if it carries a huge bar selection with taps and all that ****

 

[Avaj]

If service is really bad I skip the waiter/waitress just ask for the manager. So the manager know if I leave a bad tip and why. Hopefully they can be mindful of what went wrong and not let it happen to other customers.

 

[Tusan_Homichi]

I usually average around 20% tip or just under. I consider 15% to be the basement tip unless the service is just bad. Usually at that point, my wife tells me what to tip and it's usually not much.

 

[Yeagermeister]

I'd give the server 90 bucks when presented with the bill, and say keep the change...

Who am I kidding, I'm not eating in places where I'd spend 75 bucks for one, or even two, meals... LOL...

$75 is a lot of Big Mac's :laugh2:

 

[HoleInTheRoof]

Reading this thread makes me laugh. Especially the posts from the waiter himself, as if him giving me a sob story about how "hard" his job is should prompt me to tip more.

Hey, we've all had crap jobs before. That's why its called "work". If it was fun, it'd be called a hobby.

I said it in my first post in this thread.... if you don't like your job - quit.


But another thing I wanted to point out because this irks me to no end.... I tip for service or convenience. For example, I tip a waiter for his service, but I tip a pizza delivery guy for the convenience of having a pizza delivered while I sit in my living room.

This morning I went to Starbucks and got a coffee. There was a "tip jar" on the counter. If you go to the drivethru ta Starbucks, there are tip jars at the drive thru.

What? Why in the world should I tip you for simply making coffee? Where is the logic in that?

Starbucks was just an example. I've seen these tip jars in many establishments lately. Paneras Bread had one the other night when the wife and I went to grab a quick sandwhich for lunch. I got a breakfast sandwhich from a gas station grill the other day and they had one as well.

How long before we start seeing tip jars at McDonalds?

Ridiculous.

 

[DCgirl13]

This morning I went to Starbucks and got a coffee. There was a "tip jar" on the counter. If you go to the drivethru ta Starbucks, there are tip jars at the drive thru.

What? Why in the world should I tip you for simply making coffee? Where is the logic in that?

Starbucks was just an example. I've seen these tip jars in many establishments lately. Paneras Bread had one the other night when the wife and I went to grab a quick sandwhich for lunch. I got a breakfast sandwhich from a gas station grill the other day and they had one as well.

How long before we start seeing tip jars at McDonalds?

Ridiculous.

I was thinking about this too. Sometimes I choose to go places because I don't want the added tip to have to pay for. That is why people choose places like McD's so you don't have to tip. Besides, these people are making minimum wage or more, they don't need a tip. Waiters do need tips because they are paid what $2 an hour?

I think it's absurd. People just want extra money.

I also hate when you buy something on debit and there is a line for tip even though it's not a typical tipping transaction.

 

[silverbear]

I never carry more cash than is necessary for valet or a parking garage. And I would rather, if I were a waiter, be tipped in whole dollar amounts.

I figure that if you don't like being tipped an odd amount, you can always decline the tip... I'm not there for your convenience, you're there for mine... and I find it more convenient not to walk around with a pocket full of change...

A server can always cash in the coin he accumulates at the end of the shift...

And I'm the exact opposite of you, I don't even own a credit card... I don't even like writing checks, I prefer to go to the office of the phone company, pay my bill in cash, get my receipt... I find it easier to manage my money when it's in my wallet, and doing it my way, I have never had to worry about credit card fraud...

In fact, about the only thing I even use my debit card for is to pay my DirecTV bill online... I go down to my bank, put in just enough to cover the bill, go home and pay it... so I don't have to worry about somebody gettin' more than about three bucks if they get my debit card number...

Yeah, I'm a dinosaur...

 

[theogt]

I figure that if you don't like being tipped an odd amount, you can always decline the tip... I'm not there for your convenience, you're there for mine... and I find it more convenient not to walk around with a pocket full of change...

A server can always cash in the coin he accumulates at the end of the shift...

And I'm the exact opposite of you, I don't even own a credit card... I don't even like writing checks, I prefer to go to the office of the phone company, pay my bill in cash, get my receipt... I find it easier to manage my money when it's in my wallet, and doing it my way, I have never had to worry about credit card fraud...

In fact, about the only thing I even use my debit card for is to pay my DirecTV bill online... I go down to my bank, put in just enough to cover the bill, go home and pay it... so I don't have to worry about somebody gettin' more than about three bucks if they get my debit card number...

Yeah, I'm a dinosaur...

I have all of my bills on auto-pay. It's nice not having to worry about whether I forgot to pay something.

 

[silverbear]

$75 is a lot of Big Mac's :laugh2:

And there aren't that many people that I like...

Coincidentally, I got my first Big Mac in a long, long time last week... I generally get the Quarter Pounder with Cheese when I hit the Golden Arches, but I saw the ads for the Big Macs currently on the tube, and got the urge to revisit the old classic...

I rather enjoyed it...