Tough stuff here.

My mom waited tables and worked as a carhop for a number of years after she and my dad divorced. She was very attentive and did reasonably well -- so I have always been a pretty good tipper.

However, in the past few years, service has started going down the old crapper. Parts of dinner aren't delivered -- you wait forever for your check -- you have set off fireworks to get drinks refilled -- and, sometimes, wait staff is downright surley.

Here's my present rule, even given the above paragraph. I start out at 15%, and then round up to the next dollar (or $5 if it's a big dinner/check) That way, the tip is never less than 15% and sometimes 20% plus.

We recently moved into a country club community and the tip (18%, I think) is automatically added to each meal at the clubhouse. I generally leave an extra buck or two because I think the service is generally pretty decent.

LOL, dude I think that's pretty much the norm. Unless the people that recognize you dislike you.

And man, tipping 50-100%?! And being able to spend $1000 in a matter of weekends - what do you do for a living? For reals.....

LOL

Man-Whore :p

I realized this last night...
 

I tend to tip better when I'm drunk than when I am sober. Case in point: last night. The cab driver got a $3 tip on a 5 dollar ride, the bartender got $5 for a $6 pitcher (Coors Light). I guess I feel that when the staff is nice to me when I'm drunk, they deserve an extra-special tip. :)

I think the message here is two-fold...

1. Don't be a stingy tipper (unless the service was REALLY that bad)
2. When you go out in large groups, don't be that a$$hole who makes the whole group short on cash. I hate this! DON'T BE THAT GUY (or girl)! PAY UP!

As a server, I just wanted to say....

If your server deserves a good tip, tip them well. Our job is to make your dining experience an enjoyable one, to get what you need, and make sure your needs are taken care of. If they do all these things, then PLEASE tip well.

However, if your server is rude, ignores your table, then I say don't tip well. If they are NOT doing their job like they SHOULD be doing....well tough on them.

Sorry, I am a server and I bust my a$$ to make sure I take care of my customers, I'm polite and nice, I always have a smile on my face, and I get everything they need. I get REALLY mad when other slacker servers make as much or sometimes even more, when they don't give two sh*ts about their customers.

OH FOR THE LOVE OF GOD TIP WELL!

i have always been a good tipper, and i thought karma would come around when i started serving here recently, but of course not. if you haven't read the random thread, i was tipped a CONDOM today...and i gave them hella service. what made it funny, though, was it was a small one.

jerks.......

What about pizza delivery people? I know in my college town they have a lot of deals and pizza's are as cheap as 4.00. I know if it's just me and a friend we don't buy more than one. So I usually tip $1-$2.

Definitely should tip at least $2-3 on the pizza (more if it's snowing or if very prompt)... they came all the way to your house whether they brought one pizza or five.

I really dislike it when the peopel I am with divide up the bill "evenly" and I get sutck paying $8 for a coke when it was a $2 drink. It's nice to acknowledge when someone got a salad instead of prime rib and not expect them to pay as much.

Yeah on the one hand don't be cheap. On the other hand don't be a leech on your friends. Also remember where the other person's money comes from. A lot of my friends have this desire to call people cheap when they still get allowances.

-Rudey

When a group goes out to dinner, I think that it is easier to divide the bill evenly if you have comparable meals. If I a more expensive entree, I will pay more. Most places where I eat, an alcoholic drink and a soft drink are almost the same price. I think that it is better to overpay than underpay anytime you go out. Luckily, when I go out to restaurants, it is usually with my boyfriend who would never consider letting me pay.

Another way to combat this problem is to go to a restaurant with fixed price menu. That way the bill is the same for every person. :)

You got that right, Diva... [Noo Yawk accent on]Geddef*ckouddahere! [/Noo Yawk accent off] now that is the epitome of low class! Too cheap to even leave a tip... jeez!

ONLY when deserved!
 

My family went out for mother's day. There are 6 of us. The restraunt we went to was extreamly packed and when we were finally seated it was in a booth towards the back.
Well they had a door open and that day it wasn't sunny and it was rather windy...thus blowing cold air in. My father joking asked the server if they were taking orders for blankets cuz it was so cold; thinking he'd get the hint. He didn't. So my father asked him if they could shut the door cuz not only our table, but many around us were FREEZING!

They didn't shut the door. So our dinning atmosphere was rather COLD. Then the waiter never bussed our table after our apetizers. We had to do it ourselves. He asked us if we wanted anything else to drink instead of just BRINGING us new drinks. Then our food came out and he never stopped by the table again to ask how the meal was or if we wanted a refill (we got ONE refill the whole time we were there).

Finally we wanted 2-go boxes and my mom said he could combine the two spaghetti plates. He said, "yeah that'd be more conveinent for me".

EXCUSE ME! Since when did it become what's conveinent for you? We're the guests here.

So on a $100 bill my father (i found out later) left a BUCK tip. Poor service + unhappy customers = NO TIP!

alphasig, i'm tellin you, dude......it really didn't hit me what happened until we slowed down....then i was like, "Wait a minute..........." but i remember their faces and won't serve them again.....and if i have to (which i shouldn't)........some special sauce is comin their way. BWAHAHA!!!!

;)