Are you frugal or are you stingy?

[Martha]

You might want to check the Bitter Waitress website to see if you are on their Sh!tty tipper database:

http://www.bitterwaitress.com

The waitress gets your name and address off of your credit card and if you leave an inadequate tip, she can post it on this site.

[HFWR]

Is there a website for chitty service?

[Jay_Gatsby]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HFWR Is there a website for chitty service?*

Here's an interesting academic article on the origin of "tipping":

http://econwpa.wustl.edu/eps/eh/papers/0309/0309001.pdf

If found this quote particularly interesting:

Quote:

Indeed, etiquette books dictate that tips should depend on service quality. Post (1997), for example, writes, “Where service is bad and the personnel is deliberately rude, inattentive or careless, the amount should be reduced. If it is bad enough, no tip should be left at all… If everyone continues to tip at the same rate, regardless of the effort made to please, there is no incentive to make any extra effort at all.”

I suppose whether someone is a sh!tty tipper is dependent on the server's own perception of the quality of service s/he provided to the customer. However, the server's opinion on the quality of the tip (or the appropriate amount) is irrelevant, since tipping conforms to the Golden Rule -- "He who has the gold makes the rules."

[Maximillion]

In some countries, Australia comes to mind, you do not tip.

A visit to Florida recently, we learned servers get payed about $3 an hour and must rely on tips.

[Andre1969]

Basically, it boils down to this. If everybody stopped tipping in the US, then they'd have to put waiters, waitresses, pizza delivery drivers, bartenders, etc on salary. That would make the cost of the food go up, so basically it would be a wash. Either that or establishments that traditionally used tipped employees would go the way of the dinosaur and tailfin.

He who has the gold may THINK he makes the rules, until some other way is found to get the gold anyway. For evidence of this, just look no further than the government. Aren't they always trying to find new ways to get at our gold?

[justin]

I usually tip $1 per person at most casual restaurants where the service required is minimal. As long as service is between "below average" to "above average". Outside that range, and I adjust my tip appropriately.

I think the idea of tipping 20% on a $50 tab for two at a decent restaurant is ridiculous if the server does the same amount of work as the waiter at the Mexican lunch place where I leave 20% on a $10 tab for two.

I would prefer a system (like many foreign countries have) where servers and the like get a reasonable base wage, and get tips for exceptional service. It seems like tips are suggested everywhere now.

I'm a youngin, but does anyone recall the "standard" tip in the U.S. being 10-15% a decade or two ago? Or am I imagining a past that never existed? Now it is 15-20% apparently.

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Quote:

Originally Posted by justin I'm a youngin, but does anyone recall the "standard" tip in the U.S. being 10-15% a decade or two ago? Or am I imagining a past that never existed? Now it is 15-20% apparently.

15% has always been standard to my recollection. I personally find 20% to be a bit much, but will do it for exceptional service. On the occasional really expensive meal for two, or with wine, that can be as much as an additional entree. And rarely - very rarely - I will stiff a server for rudeness or gross incompetence.

Then again, I remember working as a bus boy so I guess I have a soft spot.

[Andre1969]

I worked as a waiter at Denny's from 1989-1990, and back then the "standard" was 15%. I think maybe in the 70's and earlier 80's, it may have been 10% though. I can definitely remember the 10% figure being thrown around as a kid.

One thing that seems to have changed these days though, is in some restaurants you have the bussers (I guess "busboy" is un-PC these days) to tip out, as well as the bartenders if they make you a mixed drink for your party. At least, that's what my one friend, who's a waiter for Olive Garden says. Back when I was a waiter at Denny's, we had to clean our own tables. And the only alcohol we had was the Budweiser and cheap bottled wine that was $2.98 per box!

A few months ago, I went to Outback Steakhouse with two friends, and the bill ran up to something like $85. I ended up giving the waitress a $20 tip. She was INCREDIBLY attentive, and got us everything we needed right away, so I thought she really earned it. Plus, she just seemed genuinely friendly, and that's one thing that seems to be an increasing rarity these days.

My buddy that works at Olive Garden usually does very well with tips. I think it's because he's from Michigan, and people out in the midwest just seem more naturally friendly than they do around here in the DC suburbs. I've also noticed that, whenever I go up to Pennsylvania for the various classic car shows at Carlisle, that waiters, waitresses, the clerk at the gas station, grocery store, the people working at McDonald's, etc, just seem more naturally friendly than they do down here. But with my friend, I guess it just comes natural to him and people can pick up on that, compared to someone who fakes it like a used car salesman!

[Cool Dood]

A number of years ago I stopped giving money to beggars altogether and started tipping 25%+ every time instead. I often tip a lot more than that (sometimes around 100%), and it always depends on the quality of service. Those people need the money too, and they don't get sympathy or social assistance, and they're working their butts off and have to put up with a lot of jerks.

I think I got the idea from some guy's website, but I have no idea where that was.....

[cute fuzzy bunny]

One of my friends use to do a lot of waitressing.

If someone left her a really crappy tip she'd run out to the parking lot and give it back to them. Usually telling them "I think you need this more than I do..."

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

One time I picked up the tab for our party of 4. I made an honest error when calculating the tip (I do the 10% plus half of that deal, to get 15%) and ended up adding 5% only. The service was average.

In front of our entire party, the waiter comes up to the table and makes a big, loud scene: "You got a problem with the service? Got something against tipping? Was the food cold?" in a very loud and abrasive way.

I looked at him like he was crazy and examined the bill realizing my error. I told him that I had in fact made a mistake, that I meant to leave whatever. However, in light of the scene and embarrassment he just caused I have changed my mind and will leave nothing. We have not been back.

Mind you, I would not have minded a discrete one-on-one comment, like "We noted that your tip is small, and are sorry if you were disappointed in the service. Is there anything we could have done better? " I'd have fixed it and kicked in a little extra guilt-money in a second.

[sgeeeee]

I'm frugal, but DW is stingy. She would stiff over half the people who ever serve us. I usually take care of bills unless I agree with her (rarely). She will be mad at me for a little while after I've given the standard tip to someone that she was not pleased with. If a waiter or waitress is going to get sub-standard tips, I let her do the dirty work. She won't pass up the opportunity to explain her dissatisfaction either.

The funny thing is that she held waitress and server jobs in high school and college. I never did. I always worked manual labor jobs because they paid more. I think she was probably an exceptional server. She sure made a lot more in tips than her coworkers when I met her in college. Once she started waiting on someone, she was almost obsessive about making sure everything they wanted or needed was take care of to their satisfaction.

When we disagree about service and tip (often) it usually involves a situation where something outside the control of the server causes a glitch (like a kitchen fire or running out of something). She expects the server to show remorse and to be truely upset and sorry that they cannot deliver. A simple less-than-heartfelt appology just makes her angry.

[SteveR]

DW is good about tipping and also good about b@tching if the service is less than adequate. We are not demanding and are more patient than most but when the service really sucks we get the manager involved. I am there for a meal and they won't let me give my order to the cook or pick it up in the kitchen so I am at their mercy to get what I want in a timely and friendly manner. I don't like the system and would rather they pay a decent wage and forget about the tips except for exceptional service. I think it would be at least as good as a break even proposition since the deadbeats who don't tip would have to as part of the meal price which should create more cash flow to pay for the added cost of a higher wage.

[riskadverse]

I had a friend who was a waitress. She said the funniest tip she ever got was two Midols.

[MasterBlaster]

Quote:

I usually tip $1 per person at most casual restaurants where the service required is minimal

Hey Justin, Do you ever intend to go back there? Do you think you'll get better service next time ?

Just remember they have your food.

I wonder what little extras you just might get with that big dollar tip?

[SteveR]

Smallest tip I ever left was 2 cents. I wanted to make sure she knew I had not forgotten to leave one and at the same time sent a message.

[Andre1969]

I think it would be at least as good as a break even proposition since the deadbeats who don't tip would have to as part of the meal price which should create more cash flow to pay for the added cost of a higher wage

Back when I was a waiter, it was actually a very, very small percentage of patrons who didn't tip or were stingy with the tip. And this was at Denny's, in a not-so-great neighborhood, where we had a lot of senior citizens on a fixed income. Then there were families with kids, who were strapped for cash. And then there were, well, poor people! But even here, I'd say it still averaged out to around 15%. I would've done much better though, if I had worked at a more upscale restaurant, but truthfully, back then there wasn't a whole lot around here. This was before places like Applebees, Olive Garden, Outback Steakhouse, etc had really sprouted up. I guess I could've tried the Jasper's next door.

When I delivered pizzas, it was also a very small portion of the customers who were cheap/non-existent with the tip. Delivering pizzas was also kinda funny, too, because we really didn't strive for 15% there. I'd say that I averaged a bit over $2.00 per delivery. Logically, with pizza delivery, the tip should depend more on how far the customer is from the store, and less on the actual bill amount. The further out you are, the more you're benefitting from the driver's resources (his car and fuel) and time (it would take you longer to drive to the store), and also, the driver is literally putting his life on the line for you (driving is statistically one of the most dangerous things you can do). Plus, if you're further away, the driver could be making more money with more lucrative closer deliveries, and could probably deliver 2-3 orders in the time it takes to deliver yours.

Often the tip depended on the price point. If an order came out to $15.74 ($14.99 + 5% tax), we'd usually get $2.26 for a tip, but occasionally we'd get $3.26 or $4.26, and once in a blue moon, $1.26. If it came out to $16.79, most often the tip would come out to $3.21. Although sometimes it would be $2.21. Rarely would it be $1.21 though. But now, at $18.89, it was pretty often that we'd just get a $20 and "keep the change". Although a $2.11 or $3.11 tip were still fairly common. I quit delivering right about the time that we started accepting credit cards, so I wonder if that's had much of an effect on the tip?

Oddly though, some of the most generous tippers were right around the corner, while the cheapest ones tended to be on the fringes. Overall though, I'd say maybe 5% of the customers, at best, were cheap/annoying. So the vast majority were really cool.

So in getting away with the tipping system, I don't really think that you'd stick it to that many deadbeats, although I agree it would be nice to get them to pony up their fare share. One thing I'd do, when I used to deliver, was that if I KNEW I was going to a deadbeat's house, and had other deliveries in the car, I'd take the others first, regardless of what order they were originally placed, if I knew I could still get them all there in time. Unless doing so was out of my way. I'd always try to plan my route to do the shortest amount of driving, while still getting them all there on time.

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MasterBlaster Hey Justin, Do you ever intend to go back there? Do you think you'll get better service next time ? Just remember they have your food. I wonder what little extras you just might get with that big dollar tip?

I can see the $1 tip at a place like Sizzler or Pizza Hut where you're getting your own from the buffet.

One of the most controversial posts at M*'s Tightwads forum (if it still even exists) was a guy proposing to never tip while traveling. His point was that he never expected to eat at that restaurant again, so why tip at all?

I tip 15-20%, depending on how enjoyable the service is. Attitude helps a lot. However I'm not sure that we dine out often enough to ever encounter bad service-- the places we go are our favorites (if they had bad service they wouldn't be our favorites) and we rarely yearn for something new/different.

[justin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MasterBlaster Hey Justin, Do you ever intend to go back there? Do you think you'll get better service next time ? Just remember they have your food. I wonder what little extras you just might get with that big dollar tip?

Um, yes, I intend to go back to these places. A $1 tip on a food tab between $4 and $6 (what my lunches usually run) is 16-25%. Not bad. I give the $1 tip when the service is below average to above average. Great service gets more. Bad service gets less or zero, and I may never return.

If I happen to go to a place where the tab is $7-8, I still leave $1 usually. That is still 13-14%. In my area, over $8-9 goes from "casual" to fine(r) dining, and I will tip according to the service rendered. I go to these types of places infrequently enough and in enough different locations that I've never had the same waiter twice. I think my tips are fair, based on the service rendered. The notion that tips should be a mandatory percentage of the price is an illogical notion (in my opinion).

Why should I leave $2 if all I order is the $10 salad at a nice restaurant, but I should leave $10 if I order the $50 filet mignon? The system as-is doesn't make sense to me.

Wouldn't it be interesting if you could buy a tip-o-meter? *When you sit down, you put the tip-o-meter on the table where the waitperson can see it, and needle rests at 15%. *If there's no service after 8 minutes, the needle starts to drop at a rate of .5% per minute.

At any time, you can push a button to adjust it if the waitperson is good (e.g. nice smile) or bad (e.g. inattentive).

If it drops below 5% a little klaxon sounds, and a red light flashes.