What Tip % do you leave at a Restaurant ?

1-2$ per drink
$5-25 per delivery
20-100% depending on the meal

it all varies on service , location etc. but having bar tended , delivered and been waiter,I tent to air on the side of more than less when it comes to tipping . one lady whom waits on me in the diner get a $20 tip on my 12-15$ breakfast once a month . shes also has know me since i was a kid and knows my whole family .

with that being said . im glad i gots my edujamakations

 

Among the many things I taught my children is to always show respect to every able person that works...for working, regardless of what they do. Not sympathy, apathy or jealousy...but respect. Whether they mow lawns or run the Country makes no difference.

I will add this, how and why a person tips reflects more on character...than how they dress, what they drive, income, life style, race, sex, socioeconomic status or perceived entitlement.

 

Exactly the same for me.

Service staff get paid at least minimum wage here too £6.50 ph, so a tip has to be earnt. Any joint that adds the tip to the bill gets it deducted and I'll give cash to the server; be that £0.10p or £10.

Been a long time since I ate out though

 

I dine out 3 times a week for lunches... and twice a week for dinners... I don't eat alone, so the wait staff do have some work to do if I have come in to eat.... some of the food joints gave poor service when my frau was with me - either because of what they had to do so we could get her wheelchair to the table, or because they looked directly at her 02 bottle while addressing us, and then reacting way slower than they were for the able-bodied diners... over the years that I have been caring for my frau's decline we have experienced numerous instances of wait staff treating her, or her and I because we were together, in a less courteous manner of service than what we could see others receiving in the same diner at the time we were hoping to have someone else prepare us a meal or nice snack.

Unfortunately for us, just this year since Christmas on three separate occasions, other diners when they saw how my frau was ill-treated, spoke to the management of the eatery, on our behalf... which was/is in itself humiliating for her... and makes me feel totally impotent to make her day a better one. I did not tip those times, and frankly, have no desire to return.

The struggle to cross the barriers of intolerance and bigotry because someone is different or challenged to do some everyday tasks as Susan is now, isn't an easily understood concept for many of those we find serving us when we want to enjoy something to eat that we didn't have to prepare for ourselves. I know the wait staff doesn't earn what I do, and have that understanding every time we eat out. I tip for service accordingly.

I hope you get more opportunities to dine out and receive the service you are looking forward too at a nice eatery Bra.

 

I hear what you're saying. I used to run a wheelchair cab and had many good customers who just happened to be in a wheel chair. When I first started I must confess I once asked a question to the carer rather than the person in the wheel chair and had it quickly drawn to my attention. Very embarrassing mistake and one I never made again. I always treat people as I want to be treated and find you usually can't go wrong that way. I did come across all sorts of ignorance from others dealing with disabled people. I had a couple good customers who couldn't speak easily but I'd make the effort to talk with them and was rewarded with humour and friendship as well as a regular customer.

I don't think normally well intentioned people realise how their reaction to someone different can be taken badly. A badly timed "oh" or "well..erm, I suppose we have to" or just talking like someone is a child, talking loudly or even asking others a question on their behalf can really hurt.

Just treat folk with respect and you can't go wrong.

 

I tip 20% in general and if the service is great, then I go up to 30%. Like others, my first job was in food service and I feel their pain. I could never ever forget it. So, I remember those that made my day with good tips, and hope to pay it forward.

 

I was a busboy when I was a teenager. I think most if not all retired busboys tip pretty generously

I tip poorly (< 10%) at buffets, but 20-50% at places where a waiter is needed. Part of the reason for the relatively high percentage is that my wife and I drink water during meals, and we often share a portion. The waiter ends up with $5-10.

My pet peeve with tipping actually has to do with the lion's share going to the waiter. I do not expect or want "great service," I want great food. The cook matters a whole lot more to me than the waiter. That is why one of my favorite places to eat is a Thai place owned by the cook. And since we tend to frequent the same places, the waiters eventually learn that their tips are larger when they leave us alone. I get testy when I am interrupted by staff who think they *must* add water to my glass, or ask if I am satisfied. Perhaps I am old school, I like the waiter to be invisible unless I purposely catch their eye or quietly ask for attention.

 

Sounds reasonable to me. But don't the chefs get paid big $$'s already? At a restaurant it all relies on the weakest link - the waiter. You can have the best chef in the world but if the service is appalling then you'll never return. As they're also the lowest paid, it makes sense to reflect their good service with a tip.

Having been at the receiving end of tips I can tell you they do work, even in a non tipping culture like the UK. Some people here say that you're not obligated to tip and some even take great pride in saying they never tip! I've come across those people. I wasn't rude with them or anything, but when they asked if I could put my foot down so they could make their train, they'd get an answer commensurate to their previous tipping The same applied with lost property (lost and found?). If I get a call saying the last customer left their i-phone in my car, I'll turn round and drop it off at their house - if they tipped. If they didn't I'd hand it in at the official lost property office for the customer to drive to and collect at THEIR convenience the next day. I wasn't doing anything wrong and actually complying with the taxi rulebook .

So don't tip and you get exactly the extra service you paid for - nothing

 

You seemed to have jumped over a large range between appalling to good service. Or perhaps you think that not-appalling = good ?

In my world (my wife and I eating out,) it is quite rare for a waiter to do anything other than take our order and bring the food. How much is that worth ? I'm not out to change the tip culture in restaurants but truth be told, I am much more dependent on the busboy than the waiter, since a very clean table is important to our dining enjoyment. Sometimes it seems to me that people value the act of bringing food to them. I would not be bothered in the least to get up and collect my food when it is ready. This could very well be different in large groups.

By the way Grumpy, congrats on the new job. What are you doing ?

 

Something completely non taxi related.

I have been at a certain location for a year but the job and I are not made for each other and I'm moving on to pastures new. Unfortunately the pay cut is extreme and probably about what I was on over 15 years ago, but there's something to be said for 9-5 hours, 25 days paid holidays, a pension plan and medical cover. The pay cut was a negotiation to get them to take a punt on me, so if I'm still on the same rate in 6 months I was no good.

This last 5 years has been one heck of a roller coaster, and got very very close to losing everything, but the benefit of being at rock bottom is that the only way is up.