Tipping a Server

I have been a server, many moons ago, and it's really hard work. I had the same experiences, some people left literally pennies. Now, as a customer, if the quality of the food is bad, I will bring it to the attention of the manager, and not penalize the wait staff. I typically tip 20%. If however, the server is ignoring me, or, I have to wait more than 10 minutes after arrival for them to acknowledge me, the tip will reflect it. Above all, if the server seems to genuinely care about my business, I will give them a generous tip.

Hopefully i dont make anyone mad by saying my opinions. But why do people have to be so cheap? Im not going to sit here and act like im made of money because im not. But its very rude to leave someone a couple dollars. If i go somewhere and the bill is around $25.00 or less then i leave anywhere from $5-8. I dont eat at places often where i have to leave a tip. But when i do i make sure that i have enough to give a good tip. I used to waitress and i know how it feels when someone gives you a crappy tip. Living off of 2 something is nearly impossible. And i know people really have to work for their tips. People should be a little more respectful and give more of a tip. And your right the server does get the blame for a lot. And its not your fault if the cook messes something up.

I come from a country where people are not tippers... i don't know why but we don't usually give tips... that is why most restaurants have this what we call cover charge... but when i went abroad and work as a part time waitress... i realized how important it is to give tips because i would want to be given some for the extra good service that i gave... When i came back from working abroad... i started giving tips because i know how it feels to get one... eventhough there is already the cover charge to some restaurants that we go to...

I always try to tip well when I have it and no less than 15%. If I do not have enough to cover a decent tip then I just don't go out. My best friend is a waitress and often makes great money but equally as often she has a slow nite or a night when tippers where not so generous even though she worked just as hard. What I don't get is why are these employers allowed to get away with paying such low wages? Why is it up to us consumers to pay the Waitresses and waiters salarys? For me, I can hardly ever afford to go out and buy a decent meal in a resteraunt as it is and then to pay the waitresses salary on top of the high cost? I work in a convenience store and I don't earn much but I never ever get tips. My bosses overhead is very high and I'm sure he'd love it if he could reduce our pay and let the public take over. I would tip a waitress even if she were making a decent pay but I would not feel so pressured to make sure I could cover a certain amount as that is her living. I would give what I could. I feel I must surely be missing something here.

I have been a server as well so I will say my opinion from experience. I think it is wrong to expect a certain amount of tip. Everyday I went to work with this attitude: the restaurant gives me a measly paycheque for doing an adequate job. If I want tips, I need to work my butt off to get them. I always smiled, I always accepted blame for the kitchen's problems and I always received great tips. If, on occasion I received a lousy tip, I didn't dwell on it because it would put me in a lousy mood which would ensure more lousy tips. I simply decided that that bad tipper must need his money more than me. No matter how many times I recieved a 20% tip or more, I pretended like it was the first time and I got it for being the best server around. That way, if I got less than 20%, I was not let down. My attitude worked because I ended up getting more tips than most of my coworkers. Bethyboo, don't dwell on bad tippers, start a discussion about your best tip or your favourite customers. Brush it off, think positive and I bet you will get more tips!

I was a server for years, and I always tip 20% or more. The only time I don't is when I get rude service. If my server forgets something, or has trouble getting to me quickly, I don't get upset because I know what it's like. I have heard people say that it's not their responsibility to tip their servers, but if they want good service then absolutely it's their responsibility. Otherwise, they should stick to fast food. What really gets me is that it always seemed that the people who run you ragged the most are the ones who tip 10% or less.

I have also been a server, and I have had customers that were lousy tippers. But I think that there are other customers that make up for that. I think the best tippers are the customers that you have been serving for a while. Some people know that servers are taxed on a percentage of the sales. In my state that being 8%, and that is what some people tip. I know that I base my tip on customer service, and communication. If I am waiting and waiting for my food, I expect my server to come let me know that the kitchen is getting the food as fast as possible. I also expect to see my server hustling. One night we went out to dinner, and it cost about $65. Add on a tip of 6.50 because our server spent more time visiting with some kids at another table. Our server didn't even bring us our food. On the other hand, if the service is great, we tip the server 20% or more, and if the food was to die for, we tip the cook as well. I know that it used to be standard for the servers to tip the cooks, but now days, that isn't the standard. So when we are really impressed with the food, we make sure the cooks know it too.

I always leave a good tip for the waiter or the waitress. I understand theat the flavor of the meal or the preparation of the meal is not the servers' fault. If the server is attentive, or seems to go out of their way to make sure I have everything I need to enjoy my meal, then they have earned a generous tip. It is important to me to make sure the server is compensated for enjoyment of my meal.

I base it on the service that I get. It's always better to error on the side of tipping too much than not enough though. I have stiffed really poor servers though.

I am a server myself, and i Don't think that people realize that you really don't get a paycheck, and everything that you make for the week comes directly from them. When I get my paychecks, their always negative money that I have to pay back at the end of the year when I do my taxes. I think that some people just plain do not care, and don't want to spend the extra money to tip you, even though you did everything they asked you to do. If you can't afford what you are ordering, then why are you ordering in? That is just my opinion. IF you dont want to tip the server, then you should go to a self-serve place and do it all yourself.