The Rules of Tipping

[johny Uppercut]

because i work at a restaurant, i encounter people everyday who do not know how to tip. I give them the benefit of a doubt, that they just dont know how, and dont automatically assume that they are just mean.

Growing up my parents always told us to tip 10%, that was in the 80's and early 90's. And from what i understand, they tipped 10% growing up to, which was in the 60's. since i have worked in the food business for a while now, i realize, that 10% isnt enough. servers get paid anywhere from 2.65 an hour, to 3 an hour, most of them (myself included) only 2.65. The cost of living has dramatically gone up since the 1960's, so why hasnt the tipping rule gone up.

Now in NWA it isnt so bad, many of the people who live here do know how to tip, and it is usually people from surrounding areas like fort smith and oklahoma who are in the dark about this. But an average tip for this area should be 15%. 15% is what should be tipped when your server did a good job, if they messed anything up, they fixed it promptly, they were nice, and attentive. Now if you have a server who does better then that, a good tip is 20% to 25%. You know, when you enjoy yourself, the server was fun to talk to, and helped to create a great dining experiance for you.

i have talked to people about this, some people say they wont tip more then 10% because servers do not claim everything that they make, and therefore are not taxed on it. If you work in the restaurant business, you know that this is sometimes true, but that the IRS has really been cracking down on servers who do not tip a realistic amount. I personally, claim 100% of my tips, and do not feel it is right to use that generalization as a reason not to recieve the money that i deserve.

Coupons, if you have coupons, and discounts, please figure up the 15% on the amount the check was before those discounts were taken off. I had a table the other day that left me five dollars on a 100 dollar check, because they had so many coupons and discounts. They are getting so much food for free, yet i am doing the same amount of work.

Another thing, if the food tastes bad, it is not your servers fault, unless you can tell just by looking at it that it is bad. I as a server make sure all the food i take to my tables looks the way it is supposed to, and if something looks undercooked, or overcooked, i will send it back to the kitchen before taking it to your table. But we cannot tell you exactly how it is gonna taste before you get the food, so keep in mind, the quality of the food you recieve is not entirely our fault. But if you do get food that tastes bad, be sure to let us know, and a good server will fix it for you, if they give you attitude then i wouldnt tip very well either.

so tipping rules
15% for an average to good server
20% for a good server
30%+ if your server is awesome

if you have a server that isnt worth tipping 15% i would probably talk to managment.

[Jim]

Johnny: If the food and the service is really really bad and it happens on occasion, what do you think of not tipping at all to make a statement? I have a friend who thinks this is appropriate. I disagree because I doubt the server would "get" the reasoning. I agree about telling management.

[johny Uppercut]

well, honestly, i went to dennys one time (i know i shouldnt expect great service there) but seriously got the worst service of my life, and so i didnt tip, i also told the people at the front desk (one of which i am sure was a manager) and they looked at me like i was stupid.

Needless to say, i didnt leave a tip.

I think you should definitly always talk to the manager, i think leaving nothing as a tip should be a last resort. Take in consideration how busy the resteraunt is and how many tables it appears your server is taking care of (most places have a 3 to for table rule, but others i.e. Common Grounds, their servers can take care of up to 9 tables at a time)

but i feel if the service was that crappy, why pay them for it . . . i am a server saying this, if i give you good service i want to get what i deserve, and i dont want soeone who doesnt do their job to get the same tip as i did for doing nothing.

so i think talking to the manager, and what your friend does, are both appropriate, it all depends on circumstances, sometimes you get bad service because your server is taking care of more tables then they can handle, and a good manager would realize that and help them out. (my managers have helped me out planty of times)

[Sam McMillan]

I usually leave at least 15% tip for full service and 10% for buffet service. 20% if I happen to have wine, beer or spirits. If the food is bad something the server would not know I still leave a tip, however if the presentation is bad and the server knew it was bad when they served it - this now becomes a different matter. In some restaurants there is a line-manager who makes sure about presentation. If their is none, the server should take on this responsibility but most don't they end up losing my good tip. My wife is very hard to please and usually has to complaint about something - wilted lettuce in a salad, this is a big no,no! Food not hot enough. When it comes to soup, she almost always specifies 160 degrees and checked with a thermometer. Her soup always gets a second heating. Most restaurants in town know us and they make double sure things are right. If there are too many goof ups they never see us again. My wife likes her steaks charred on the outside and pink on the inside - its hard to find a restaurant that can do this to perfection, some don't even try. There are two in town that have failed several times - we simply don't go back. We made TGIF our second home for a long time and then my wife got really bad service - she won't go back, I love their ribs and sometimes order out when I'm at work. The Olive Garden is usually good to us. Fish City Grill knows us well. Mimi's has become one of our second homes. Lins Garden usually sees us once or twice a month. Almost every new restaurant sees us at least once. Oscar's Prime Rib doesn't see us anymore. Johnny Carino's sees us infrequently. Carraba's Italian sees us infrequently. Bonefish is really great but pricey. There are others that I won't bore you with.

[johny Uppercut]

i understand you and your wifes problem, ther is a couple that comes into fridays about twice a week, and the wife is extrememly particular, to the point that it is ridiculous, since i have come to recognize them i always go to whoever is taking care of them to make sure everything is right.

for you as guests in a resteraunt my advice is this, especially at bigger resteraunts (like fridays) where we have a server staff of over forty. First off, just cause something was messed up once does not mean it will always be messed up everytime you dine there, now if it is a repeat offence i totally understand. But what i would do, is find a server who has taken good care of you before, and ask for them everytime, if you ask for a server specifically, they will go out of their way to make sure everything is right for you, not only because we feel good that someone has asked for us by name, but because we want you to come back, and keep asking for us.

but i totally understand your problem, and if a place messed up my order several times, i wouldnt go back for a while either. This, along with how incredibly unhealthy it is, is why i have stopped eating fast food alltogether.