to tip or not to tip?

Like you, I only give tips when the service given was exceptional. I remember a scene from the movie Reservoir Dogs when they discussed why one of them didn't want to give a tip to the waitress. He said that it was her job to wait the tables and he didn't receive service beyond what was expected of her. I guess it's the same for me: if the waiter or the cab driver didn't give something beyond their job description, I would not give a tip. But if they went out of their way to make sure they do more than just deliver the usual service, they deserve my tip.

For me, tipping is always dependent on performance. Unless the restaurant automatically includes a tip in the bill. Some restaurants have a shared tipping program between wait staff/bar staff and kitchen staff. I try to be informed about the establishment that I have chosen to eat in and take everything into account when deciding what to tip. Tipping is a personal decision and shouldn't be required. If an establishment would like to make tips mandatory, then they should include it in their prices. This is a good discussion topic. Cheers.

I like to give a tip if I am satisfied with the good and cheerful service of the staff/s like in a salon, restaurant, or taxi but if there is a service charge like in some restaurants, I don't give a tip anymore.

I don't feel obligated to leave a tip if the job wasn't done! I can't count the number of times that we've had poor service at a restaurant. It's worse when I'm with my partner because they'll only ask him if everything is alright, probably because they assume that he will be the one taking care of the check. That is so not okay with me. It's rude and disrespectful. I have on occasion been at a restaurant and the waitress was excellent about checking on us and refilling drinks. We went to a breakfast buffet in the city about five months ago or so, and the service there was awesome! I never once had to ask for anything. We left her a five dollar tip when we left. I have no problem tipping to those who truly earned it.

hi lotter yes i agree completely with you ,even i prefer to give the tip in the restraunts only when the staff or say the wiaters there greet us ,with a smiling face,and the service is good ,otherwise idont like to give the tip ,they are getting payed by their employers

i only give tip if i know i still has money to keep me alive for the next payday! LOL! hehe :) i dont usually give tip coz im paying high tax on what i order. but if ever they give me a good customer service and they dont let me wait for century to serve what i order. i may reconsider it. hehe it annoy me if the staff keep bugging me while im inside the resto. for cab, i usually pay the exact amount specially on those cab that has meter problem (the meter is faster than the usual). but if the driver talks to me and even say im cute or pretty, il give him a big tip for that! hehe. happy mylotting!

I never tip for taxi's. I don't have a strong opinion about whether I should or not, I just never have. As for restaurants I also just tip for very good service. If service is good, friendly and efficient then I'm only too happy to pay for it but if it's not then I don't. What annoys me is when a service charge is added and the service still isn't good. Sometimes it's like waiting staff think that just because you're going to be a paying the service charge anyway they don't need to make any extra effort. Since moving to London I've found it very difficult to find restaurants with good service so I rarely tip anymore.

I give tip to those who are friendly and gives a good performance.

I don't take a lot of cabs, I have probably on been in a cab about 5 times in my whole life. I think I gave a couple of bucks each time but they were not long rides. As for restaurants a server would have to be either really, really bad or really, really rude for me not to tip them. They pay taxes on 15% of the table bills weather they get that much or not. I usually give 20% but if they are not very good or not very nice they will get the 15%. I only stiffed one waitress in my whole life and she was just horrible and nasty, I still gave her a dollar in change.

I don't usually leave tips on restaurants but my former girlfriend insists that i should. Well, i've waited long enough to at least get the attention of the waiter who was so slow in serving what we ordered. Giving them tips will just make lousier. The only person i give a tip is the barber in a nearby barbershop. He somehow put me on top of his "priority list" which means less waiting time.

Well as a waitress, I have to say that I ALWAYS tip when I go out to eat. Most of you are right when you say that performance is a big factor on whether or not you tip. But for those who talk about slow service and the server not walking around with a big smile on their face, I have to say that they do not work for their hourly wage. We make a lot less then we should, under minimum wage actually because we depend on our tips. And most of the time, the waitress always takes the slack, for example, when you say the service was slow in most cases its because the kitchen is backed up with orders and we cant serve your food until the kitchen makes it. So when the kitchen is slow, it affects our tips. When it takes a little longer than usual to get your drink, mostly its because you have to wait for the bartender to make it, which again, looks like slow service on our part. You have to take these things into consideration also, and when we get customers who think we should kiss their a$$'s because its our job to do so, thats when the smile fades off our faces. Dont get me wrong, I love my job, thats why I have been doing it for the past 4 years, but please take other things into consideration when tipping, we really do try and do our best, I know I do anyway. But we all are entitled to our bad days too.

I and my husband gives tip depending on the service we got. In some restaurants especially those that are not fast food chains, they have extra service charge plus the fact that the foods are expensive. So we never give big tips but we only leave few coins. When it comes to massage services given free in some restaurants like in Burger King we gave tip to the one who massage our back because she smiles and delivers a good massage without asking for anything. In short we love to give tip when we got a good service and if the person is NOT ASKING anything in return. When it comes to a taxi cab we never give tip because most taxi drivers are greedy. If your bill is 72.50 pesos and you gave a 100 they will only give you 20 pesos. When a driver is kind and he gives us an exact change then we return some tip. If a driver is an old man who seems tired and poor then we give more tip. I and my husband are choosy on whom should we give tip. I mean it is always nice to be kind but we also have to choice when to be kind and give tip per situation.

In my home country, we usually tip some in the restaurant like 10 dollars even the usually have extra 10% service charge included in the bill. So the percentage of tip is just up to you. But here, we need to tip percentage of the amount of the bill, it is like a must, sometimes the wators act very grumpy but we still NEED to tip it, I don't particularly feel alright to tip those but I'm the one to pay so... my husband thinks it is fine so I wont say much.

I probably would leave a tip, even if it was included in the bill already. However, if it was already factored into the bill, I honestly probably would not tip the person if I was not happy with their service. I know that in Japan it's included into the bill and I've been looked at strangely before when almost leaving a tip. Of course, I didn't know that their tip was included in the bill at that time. If someone was particularly helpful I might give them a tip as well, unless I think they might take offense to it.

I always leave a tip.The quality of service determines the tip. If the service is good, I tip better. If the service is lowsy, I leave a penny. That way, the server doesn't think that maybe I just forhot, and I send a clear message that the service was not good.

My husband and I are most generally gracious tippers. If the service is extra good, then we leave more than our base of 20%. If the service is just normal they get the 20%. For taxis, and such, which we don't usually take, my husband will throw in a few extra dollars here and there. For hair stylist, same goes for them.

it would generally depend on the mood of the situation. well all have learn to tip, but not many choose to tip very good. if in a rush, it is best bet to tip very well. you will never know when you will be put in that position again. when dining you would like to enjoy your meal from beginning to end. you would like a dining experience that would last memories. why not tip? tip to future visits.

With the vat cut in the Uk, but prices still going up I have basicly stopped tipping alltogether, with the rare exception of excellent service. Unfortunatly there doesn't seem to be many occasions where that has been applicable and so my tipping spree has been effectivly brought to an end. With taxis, they are normally trying to go long ways/ charge extras automaticly and so I don't tip them either as they have already taken it upon themselves to take one, something I'm not impressed with and I would probably actually tip more if they didn't do this.

The person waiting for a tip, works better when he/she receive it or it is just a misconception? Personally I visit the same place trying to see the live action, and after that I can say that a few pocket change makes the difference. Tip can be good if you go a place several times, you will get special treatment and other bonus if you get lucky.

I believe that whoever serves you should be tipped. Even if the service was terrible, tip 1 cent just to make them realize what it really was.