The Art of Tipping

[nudeyorker]

No NYer it was something on the park or on the green. It was towards the South West corner of central park.



That's common practise here too and negates any incentive to excel IMHO.

Oh noooooooooooo! You went here HAHAHAHAHAHAAHA! I'm sorry to laugh, this place is only in business I think for tourists, and to be in a movie once and a while so tourists will visit! I'm sorry about the laugh! But Tavern on the Green is dreadful!
Tavern On The Green

 

[sdbg]

If the service is OK I leave 15% if the service is good, I leave 20%. If it's outstanding 25%.

I'm with ya, Nudeyorker. I worked as a food server for 18 years while putting myself through college. I know how hard the work can be if you care about providing excellent service, and consider tipping well (when justified) as part of the dining experience. The servers at the establishments that we frequent always smile at us when we walk through the door.

 

[bobabooey69]

As I used to be a server back in my high school days, I always tip well, cuz I know how little waiters make and how much the job can suck.
I always tip 15% by default, less only if the service is really bad, and if the service is great I am willing to go up to 30%...good service should always be rewarded.

 

[DaveyR]

Oh noooooooooooo! You went here HAHAHAHAHAHAAHA! I'm sorry to laugh, this place is only in business I think for tourists, and to be in a movie once and a while so tourists will visit! I'm sorry about the laugh! But Tavern on the Green is dreadful!
Tavern On The Green

That's the one You are correct it is dreadful but everywhere else we have ever eaten in NY more than made up for that place. :smile: It was my cousin who suggested it when we met up but she's from Jersey so......................:biggrin1:

 

[798686]

Yes it is sad but true. I remember when I was waiting tables and the dread that overcomes you when you greet a table and realize that they are European tourists!(Maybe it just me but I always do a little research when I travel to understand the customs of the country) Most that I had the displeasure of waiting on did not.

Oh no! Looks like I was wrong about Europeans being polite! :redface:

A lot of my mates have worked in hotels round here, and elderly customers are often the rudest, apparently.

My bro works on the taxis sometimes, and the pay they get is so crap that the tips mean a great deal to them - lots of ppl don't bother to tip tho, and 15% is a really good tip compared to what he sometimes gets.

 

[B_Stronzo]

Oh noooooooooooo! You went here HAHAHAHAHAHAAHA! I'm sorry to laugh, this place is only in business I think for tourists, and to be in a movie once and a while so tourists will visit! I'm sorry about the laugh! But Tavern on the Green is dreadful!
Tavern On The Green

I saw Lee Majors and Farrah Fawcett-Majors at The Tavern on the Green in the fall of 1977 and the food, then, was really very good.

She (Fawcett) was even more beautiful in person.

 

[nudeyorker]

I saw Lee Majors and Farrah Fawcett-Majors at The Tavern on the Green in the fall of 1977 and the food, then, was really very good.

She (Fawcett) was even more beautiful in person.

When Warner Le Roy was running things in the 70's it was actually quite divine, by the 90's it had really declined into a tourist destination. Since his death it has become ghastly. And yes she was.

 

[justmeincal]

When Warner Le Roy was running things in the 70's it was actually quite divine, by the 90's it had really declined into a tourist destination. Since his death it has become ghastly. And yes she was.

I ate there in the late 70s and the food was quite good; never returned though.

I normally tip 20%, but if the service is great I'll leave 25 to 30%. If its a cheap meal, I usually tip a lot more to help the server out.

 

[Draconis71]

I've been to restraunts where there is an IMPOSED gratuity of 18% on bills of $20 or more.
The service was, frankly, shitty... food not much better, and the drinks... well... I probably should have had the liquor (and health) inspector(s) in.
The staff were REALLY rude when I did not leave an ADDITIONAL tip on top of the one that was included on the bill. (Later I found out that the company was claiming part of the gratuity it was collecting.. but, still... service from the get-go was shit)

 

[BigA11x7]

I know of more and more places these days that institute a mandatory 10% gratuity on tables of 6 or more people, or orders over $80. If customers aren't going to tip, then the establishment should help take care of its employees.

I remember my university days, delivering pizza to make ends meet, and $2 was the average tip, no matter what size the order was, or how fast I got there. It's depressing.

Because of my personal experiences with the tipping industry, and being on the receiving end, I now tip quite nicely, whenever I can, or whenever I feel it's due. Hell, I even tip the people when I buy my "Booster Juice" Smoothies at the gym.

 

[Incocknito]

I don't know if this is standard practice but I tip whatever the change is.

If something is £3 I pay with a £5 note which means a £2 tip. If something is £11 I pay with a £20 note and its a £9 tip. Or possibly a £10 and £5 note which is a £4 tip. Etc. Of course it does depend on how the service has been; I don't tip poor service.

One thing I always do though is tip the taxi drivers. £1 for a £4 taxi ride is a 25% tip.

 

[crescendo69]

I am not well off financially, but still tip at least 15%, except at cheap places like Waffle House, where I tip $1 - $2 on a $5 breakfast. I also tip my hairdresser $2 for a $12 haircut. As a restaurant pianist once, I know what the servers and I feel about tightwads.

 

[D_Portelay Porquesword]

Have people forgotten what a good tip was?
I'm just curious because it seems to me that most people don't realize what they are doing out there.
I'm an excellent server. I truly am..
And what really just EATS at me is one I give SPOT ON service and people leave 5% tips.
I can't tell you what this does to a server.
It's like getting your dick ripped off mid-shift.
A verbal tip... can be shoved up your ass.

If you can't AFFORD to go out and eat I got ONE word for yah!!!!!
MCDONALDS!

Seriously... if you're out there, you bad tippers.... Go to Hell.

3.64 on 58.00 is NOT good.
2.00 on 68.00 is NOT good.
0 DOLLARS ON 105.00 IS NOT GOOD.


Wish I could DICTATE your wages love....

With that said, a huge thank you to all you 15-20+% tippers.
You're appreciated more than you.
Every time I get a tip as such, I kiss the ground you walk on!:biggrin1:

My nephew owned a restaurant in West Hollywood for 4 years. He often complained (in jest, of course) that his wait staff made more money than he did.

I believe in giving a good tip if the waiter/waitress is doing their job. If they have a great personality and personalize that service I always give extra on my tips.

Wait staff that pays little attention to the table will be lucky to get .50 cents and that has been known to happen. Most recently during a trip to Las Vegas the waiter "hollered" at us across the room asking: "Ya'll wont yall's beer now?"

 

[Tattooed Goddess]

i was seriously disappointed this wasnt about cow tipping.

 

[798686]

Seems like Americans expect more - but also tip more, so fair's fair.

In France you're almost forced to tip - some mates of mine didn't know this and thought the glass dish on the table was an ashtray....which didn't go down very well with the staff. :/

 

[D_Kay_Sarah_Sarah]

I thought this was about tipping at rubbish tips!

How dare you mislead me.

I avoided thread thinking it was about stupid tipping cows or whatever that is
Anyway, here in Oz we don't generally tip as wages are designed to cover that. Which personally seems a much better system as it isnt leaving a persons income up to the chance of others generosity

 

[StrictlyAvg]

Just take the trouble to learn the customs in the country (if we're talking the US the state!) you're visiting. The locals will let you know the local norms.

 

[nudeyorker]

Just take the trouble to learn the customs in the country (if we're talking the US the state!) you're visiting. The locals will let you know the local norms.

You would be surprised at how many people are hesitant to do this. When I was a waiter after the third time getting stiffed by a foreign tourist I took matters into hand. At the end of the meal when I presented them with their check I said "Thank you very much for visiting us this evening it has been a pleasure serving you and I hope you enjoy your stay in our city." On the check I wrote (in their language)* Thank you... Gratuity not included* (I kept a hand written list in my waiter pad in Spanish, Italian, German, French, Dutch, Japanese and Chinese)

 

[D_Gunther Snotpole]

In Canada, there seems to be a tendency to tip roughly 20 percent. (I wonder if that's really true ... but I've read it in several newspaper articles.)

I usually go with something close to that, unless the meal was really cheap. Then I up it a bit.

If I paid 12 bucks for breakfast, I'll probably leave a four dollar tip if the service was at all good.

That's probably a dollar too much, but philanthropy for a buck is a deal I can't turn down.

 

[Sklar]

I'm actually getting to resent tipping.

No matter where you go EVERYONE expects a tip.

A tip = To Insure Prompt Service.

If I don't get prompt service, I don't tip. Now, before everyone gets the hair in a tizzy, I don't expect to be doted on hand and foot. I understand that places can get busy. I take that into account.

But I go into a lot of places, that, right there, by the cash register is a tip jar. At that point, all they did is take the order.

I don't like going to high end restaraunts because the portion of food you get to the amount you pay for that food is ridiculous. When I go out to eat, I want a meal, not child sized portions. There's been too many places in the past that I've left just as hungry as when I went in. And was out between 50 - 100 dollars. So I don't go back to those kind of places. Inevitably, they are always high end restaraunts or places that have a show while they are cooking i.e. Bennihanna's.

I was with a group of friends at Bennihannas. We sat around the table. The waitress brought out our drinks and never came back. I tend to drink a lot of water and the glasses we got the water in were child sized. We watched the chief prepare the food. He served it and it was ok. Nothing to write home about. But the portions were TINY. When the bill came around (30 dollars just for me), i didn't leave a tip. The waitress looked at it and in a voice that was practically screamming said "NO TIP!"

I said, no service, no tip. Walked out and haven't been back to one again.

Just taking an order isn't enough to get a tip, for me. Taking the order is part of the job. The place I have gotten the best service is at a local IHOP. We became friends with one of the waitresses and no matter how busy they were on a Sunday, when we showed up, we were taken to a table right away. She made sure that we had a standing reservation when she was on. It even got to the point that she sat us, didn't have to take our drink order because she had it waiting for us before we sat down! Over time, she learned how we liked our food cooked and made sure it was made to order that way.

THAT'S the kind of service that deserves a tip. Going above and beyond what you are expected to do.

Places that add on a mandatory tip, I take that tip off, unless I am part of a large group, then I can understand that. But, again, I've been in too many restaraunts that even for one or two people eating there, automatically charge a 10% - 15% tip. I take that tip off and complain to the manager about it. Places that have this policy also have the worst service because there is no incentive for the staff to do their best. Twice I contested the charge to my credit card company and they took the charge away.

Sorry if this horrible to some of you but a tip is something that has to be earned. To the OP, I believe you when you say you are a kick ass waitress and if you were serving me, you'd be compensated for that service. But there are too many out there that don't go above and beyond. They just plow through and that's it.

Sklar