How well do you tip when you go out to eat?

I myself haven't ever tipped a waiter, though I live in a small village/city whatever this is that there's only one restaurant heree. Plus I rarely go to restaurants when I'm in any big city.

I never determine tips based on the quality of the food. That's the person who is preparing the meal, not the person who is serving it. I always make sure that my children stay seated at the table or booth and I always make sure to clean up before we leave. Not that we make a big mess, but I just have the need to tidy it all up. I guess it's the Mom in me, LOL. The very least I tip is $5. That's usually the normal tip. I always make sure though, that 20% of the bill is under $5. If it's over, I'll tip whatever 20% is. Say the 20% tip is $6.30. I always round up, so the tip would be $7. If I've experienced really bad service, then the tip might be the exact amount of 15% of the bill. But the service has to be really horribly rotten in order for me to do that. I have to add, I haven't encountered really awful service in a very long time to justify me giving an exact 15% tip. I'm the "waitress" here at home and even though I've never waitressed professionally, I have somewhat of an idea about what a rotten job it is. So to have someone wait on me in a restaurant is very nice and I appreciate it. I don't think anyone should ever withhold a tip or give less than 15%. The people that do that sort of thing shouldn't be going out to eat!

I have worked in the restaurant business as a bartender for years now and I tip really well also If the service is ok I still tip 15-20 percent But if I am really impressed by the service and everything else I will tip more then that even. It is a hard job to do and I think that everyone needs to work in a restaurant for at least a month to realize this. Some people come in and are such pain in the butts to serve and if they are in a bad mood they take it out on you and it is ridiculous

For normal service I average 15% less or more depending on whether above or below service.

I've been in the same possiosion. I'm a waitress at summers and I know what's it like to depend on tips. I usually have good customers who give normal tips and some much above when they are really pleased with my work. But when we change places and I'm the one sitting at the table I try to give at least 10% of the bill, even if I'm not pleased from the waiter's job, but just because I know what's it like.

I don't usually give a tip since all of the restaurant we had been eating had already a included service charge in our bill..:)

i tip if the service is good. i worked as a waitress for several years. a liked the tips but i dont see that they are mandatory if i am hired to do a job rather they pay $2.00 a hr. or $10.00 a hr. i took the job knowing the pay. i love working as a waitress and never had a complaint against me. i also brought in alot in tips. It doesnt matter how bad your day is the custermor always comes first even the pain in the butts.

It all depends on how friendly and patient the server is with me but mainly my children and any other kids we have with us....It depends on how helpful they are, how quick and attentive etc...I mean there ahve been times when the service has been horrible or the server has been rude to us or the kids and we wont leave a tip at all if its REALLY bad...or we'll leave just bare min... BUT there ahve been numerous times when I'll tip REALLY well (especially in bars LOL) like there was one time my gf came from MA to Niagara Falls Ontario with her then husband and 4 kids to visit me and mine....Well my husbnad and I ended up treating them and some other friends (total of 15 ppl 8 of them were kids LOL) to dinner at this place called Franks Tomato Pie (great restaurant) and my husband tipped $300 BECAUSE not only did the restaurant and servers accomedate us, but they had AMAZING patience with ALL the kids and us grown ups and we were having fun so we were a tad loud etc plus all the orders that were flying at them (and we let the kids order for themselves but we listened to make sure they are getting it right cause some of them were only 4-5-6 yrs old LOL)...all the drinks, appetizers and then meals PLUS all the desserts etc and they didnt screw up ANY OF IT! (I used to love Franks LOL) We were all totally impressed with how they handled us LOL.... So ya, when its well deserved....we tip well....if its not deserved...they'll get minimum to zip depending

Here in sweden waitresses gets paid good money - or atleast not less than anyone else .. the tip here is already included in the check, so there really is no need to tip.,. Usually we just leave the leftover change though if we got decent or good service. Sometimes - when we are a large group of people we will leave a good tip, since they have done a great job serving us all (if we are happy)

I tend to tip well also- I've never worked in any type of restaurant for tips. If the waitress/waiter is pleasant and checks back on us- I usually give double the tax.. 16%. If they are great- outstanding and make the meal out enjoyable- I'll give up to 25%.. It also depends on how many people are with us? If its a large party and they really have to work hard- I tip well. Even if my food is terrible its not the servers fault so I still tip well. If the server really is rude-- bad day or not- I don't tip as well- usually 10%.. Everyone is entitled to a bad day- but when you work in customer service you should leave it at the door- Easier said than done- I'm sure- Like I said I've never worked in the industry- I'd probably tell alot of people off- : )

Waitresses have a very hard job, and I appreciate when I get good service, especially when it's very busy. I always tip 15-20%. Sometimes, we have a favorite waitress who remembers us and knows what we like, and we leave even better tips.

I don't need to go through the whole "walk in their shoes" thing to know that it's a tough job. Just watch how people treat waitresses and waiters on a holiday to see just how tough the work can be -- people can be serious jerks over the most trivial things ("this coffee's ten minutes old, so it's not fresh enough, go make another!") and that wears a person down *fast*. I generally tip 20%, even for mediocre service. Good service nets anywhere from 30% to 40% (I tipped a waitress $8 on a $17 ticket on easter Sunday because she did a great job with us even though all her other tables treated her like crap), and even bad service will get about 10% unless they *really* work hard to cheese me off.

I usually tip pretty good. I do not know the exact percentage but I was told to at least double the taxes. So that is usually what I do. What does everyone think about that method it probably isnt right and I am probably not doing it good. Let me know

I usually try to leave no less then 20% with a max being 30%. I was a waitress through out my teenage years. My fiancee went out to lunch with his parents recently. When they got up to leave his parents wasn't going to leave a tip because his mom felt that the service didn't merit a tip.The had gone during the busiest time. My fiancee started to lecture his mom about how little the waitresses make. He left a good size tip because he felt bad for the girl having to put up with his parents. My fiancees mom has never worked outside the home so she doesn't understand how hard some people have to work.

I usually tip close to or at 20%. If the service is really not good then I will leave 10%. If the server went out of their way or was very good, I will leave a larger tip. I remember when I was a kid if the service was poor my Grandmother would leave a penny tip. That's one of my pet peves, kids in restaurants not behaving. I just can't stand it when parents have no control over unruly children in public.

I tip pretty well too. I also used to be a server. I tip around 20%. It really depends on the server. I also don't think that people realize how little they make in hourly wages. In my area it's $3.90 an hour. $2.13 is a very low amount. Serving isn't an easy job. You have to work hard to make what you make. And even harder when you make a lot of tips a day. When I was serving I always left my bad thoughts at home. I found it helped me make more money whenever I didn't think about the bad things going on in my life. If I had a child I would also make sure my daughter or son didn't make a big mess because I know what it's like to clean that up. It's horrible. Half the stuff is vegetables which is hard to get off the carpet with a broom or a vacuum. In my area they keep their kids pretty in check as far as running around the restaurant. I've only seen this once or twice in a few months. At least on my shift. It is very dangerous for the kids and servers. They could hurt themselves or the server with the hot food or glass that may break.

we usually try to tip 15%. money is tight in our family so we do our best. i do try to keep the kids from making mess at the table and i straighten up before we leave to help out the server. i have a friend who works at ruby tuesdays so i know that she relies on her tips.

I always tip about 15 percent, and although I realize that this is in the low end nowadays, this is simply what my budget can hold. We only go out on very rare occasions, since we have a tight budget, and when you add the babysitter, a night out with the husband can very easily break the budget. I know that a dollar more or less is not much for many people, but in my family we really do appreciate the value of a dollar, and I work so hard to make just a few dollars every day to contribute to the family budget.

As a rule I tip atleast 15% even if I'm not happy with the service, but if I had a great meal and the server was really great to us then I will tip 25%. Its tough being a serving in a restaurant, especially when my family roles in, we have 4 kids and I'm italian....man can I eat...lol...and the kids ...well kids are kids.

my god,i'm chinese,in our country we havn't the habbit to give the tip. It's our traditional behavior.it's different from your country.