Tipping

[Ping898]

So you go to a nice restaraunt and order a sandwich which should be hot, but when you bite into it you find it isn't so you NICELY tell your waiter, he apologizes and takes it back, a few moments later he says "I am very sorry would you mind if we made you a new sandwich, do you have time to wait?". You do, so you wait, after a few minutes he comes and apologizes for the wait and says the sandwich is on the house. Few moments later you get your sandwich back and it is perfect, you have a great meal. Through all this the waiter has been very nice and attentive and suitably apologetic. How much tip do you leave? I am boring I had the same lunch yesterday so I know in all would have cost me $14.22 which my soda. I left $8 figuring I didn't know a) if the lunch would come out of his check, though I doubt it cause this was an upscale place, b)if the soda was covered in his free lunch offer too and c) cause he was a nice guy and good waiter and I would have left him a $3 and change tip anyways and I figured I would pay him half of what I would have had to pay for the lunch anyways.

In situations like this, what is considered the norm, when you are eating alone and your meal gets comped?

 

[Flying Crane]

I'd say anything above 20% for this. If you know the meal would have cost you about $14, and you left $8 as a tip for a no-charge meal, you probably left more than you needed to, but you did a good thing. congratulations, ya got some good karma coming your way. I think it is very unlikely that this would have come out of the waiter's pay.

 

[Kreth]

Having tended bar before, I usually start my tipping at around 20%, provided the service is good. For something like this I would bump it up, since it sounds like he went out of his way to make you happy. I agree with Flying Crane, your $8 was probably overkill, but it was without a doubt appreciated. Service like that is unfortunately becoming a rarity. You have teenagers at Mickey D's getting an attitude because they screwed up your order and you called them on it.
Conversely, for really lousy service, I leave a penny. I want them to know that I didn't forget the tip.

 

[matt.m]

Dude, you did a really nice thing. It was the right thing to do. Once, my pop and I were eating lunch at an Applebees kind of joint. This new waitress had four tables and no help. She had just been thrown to the wolves.

She took dad and I's order to the wrong table. The other people bitched like they were being shot in the toes. Pop just told them to shut up. I mean over an honest mistake some people can be jerks.

The manager comes out, comps the people their order. Dad and I made mention that the people at the other table were absolute jerks. The waitress was about to cry, thinking she was going to lose her job etc.

So dad and I left the girl a $20 tip in case the comped order came out of her paycheck. It was her second or third day.:erg:

 

[Ping898]

I wasn't necessarily looking to know if I did a good thing so much at what is the standard is in a situation like that if anyone knows. Like for regular meal and service, I grew up being taught you give 15% for service that is expected, 20% if the service goes above (i.e. you have unusual drink preferences like you want lime with your diet coke not lemon and the server remembers when they bring refills or if you have kids and they are exceptionally nice and tolerant with them) and 10% or less if the service is crap. I was taught the tip you leave is always based upon the service you recieve regardless of how good or bad the food is. And I know that if you have like a coupon or gift cert for the restaraunt that you leave a tip based upon what the meal would have cost. But I didn't know if the same rules or tipping scale applied when your meal was on the house...

 

[Ceicei]

But I didn't know if the same rules applied when your meal was on the house...

Even if the meal is on the house, tip anyway. The tip is for their service performed. You did just fine with your situation.

- Ceicei

 

[Flying Crane]

I don't thing there are any written rules to follow with this type of situation. Given that 20% is for exceptional service under normal circumstances, for this situation I would put it at maybe 30%-40%. That's just what seems reasonable to me.

 

[Bigshadow]

Conversely, for really lousy service, I leave a penny. I want them to know that I didn't forget the tip.

I actually did that once. I don't know if I would do that again, unless the service was non-existant.

I usually do 20% minimum. If part of the ticket was free due to some circumstances, I tip as if I were being charged for the entire meal. Regardless of whether the food is free or not, it costs the wait staff the same amount of effort to serve.

 

[Kreth]

I actually did that once. I don't know if I would do that again, unless the service was non-existant.

I only do it for horrible service, especially if it's horrible service along with an attitude. I did have a waitress chase me to the front door once to throw the penny at me and call me a "cheap mother****er," at which point I made sure to elaborate in a loud voice exactly what was wrong with the service. A few of the people waiting for tables got up and left, and the manager followed me outside to apologize and write me out a certificate for a free meal.

 

[monkey]

I give 30% of bill & my card for free lessons for 1 month.I get alot of people that way.I was good to them & they return the favor.Kinda like karma.

 

[Bigshadow]

I only do it for horrible service, especially if it's horrible service along with an attitude. I did have a waitress chase me to the front door once to throw the penny at me and call me a "cheap mother****er," at which point I made sure to elaborate in a loud voice exactly what was wrong with the service. A few of the people waiting for tables got up and left, and the manager followed me outside to apologize and write me out a certificate for a free meal.

Wow, my event wasn't quite like that! Now on the other hand, my sister-in-law is a drama magnet. I hate it when we all go out to dinner together. When we do, the wait staff has an attidude with her, and this is followed by her recieving lousy service. However, at the same table, I do not have any problems. Now if we go, I always give her a hard time about behaving before we get in.

I have a tip question... How do tips apply when being served drinks at a club or at the bar? Does it follow the same rules?

 

[Ping898]

Conversely, for really lousy service, I leave a penny. I want them to know that I didn't forget the tip.

I had a friend that did that once on a credit card payment, left a lengthy note why he was doing it, so the server went and reprinted his receipt and wrote in the tip he wanted. My friend was ripped and needless to say the restaraunt had to do quite a bit to apologize and that waiter got fired.

 

[Grenadier]

You did the right thing. You got a great sandwich on the house, and a waiter who was friendly and apologetic. Yes, they did make a mistake, and whether it's the cook's fault or the waiter's fault, you'll probably never know. Still, at least you know that the friendly face won't get overly screwed here.

Now, had they been rude, or if the food were so bad (perhaps adulterated?), then you would have been perfectly justified in leaving no tip at all.

I worked as a waiter during one summer of my college years, and tried to be as polite as possible, and accomodating the old adage of "the customer is always right," but there were some times where the customers would eat well over half of the stuff on their plates, and then complain in loud voices that the food was unsatisfactory. I would apologize on behalf of everyone, and bring them fresh new plates of food, piping hot. We didn't even charge them for the meal. They'd eat the entire plate this time, and leave a dime tip. I suspect that these folks were more of the mooching type, that they've probably made a living doing this to all sorts of restaurants in that area. Needless to say, that was my last summer that I ever worked as a waiter.

I would have to say, that from a waiter's point of view, receiving a miniscule tip like that is more insulting than not receiving any tip at all. At least with no tip, if you did a good job, you can still cling to the belief that the customer made an honest mistake, instead of thinking that they're complete cheapskates. It's probably wishful thinking at best, but sometimes it's these things that help you keep your faith in humanity. Then again, I've had customers who wouldn't leave a tip, and this was after they insisted on counting every last penny that was part of their change (yes, I did accidentally give one customer a nickel instead of a quarter, and she screamed bloody murder, yelling at the manager that I was trying to rob her).

 

[crushing]

I know I'm not answering your question, everyone else has done a great job of that.

I justed wanted to say that I'm real leary of sending food back to the kitchen and upsetting the person that prepared it and having that person prepare the 'fixed' replacement. I probably shouldn't be. Anyone else have worries like that?

 

[Ping898]

I know I'm not answering your question, everyone else has done a great job of that.

I justed wanted to say that I'm real leary of sending food back to the kitchen and upsetting the person that prepared it and having that person prepare the 'fixed' replacement. I probably shouldn't be. Anyone else have worries like that?

Yeah I do too, but sometimes you just got to...

 

[Kacey]

I think that you did the right thing; when similar events have happened to me, then I tend to leave double the tip I would otherwise have left - and I also make sure I talk to the manager about how good the service was, even more than when the service really sucks.

Wait staff take the blame when the cook messes up as well as when they mess up themselves, and I try not to blame the wait staff for things the cooks did wrong; after all, wait staff minimum wage is something like $2/hour, on the assumption that they get tips... I have to be really ticked off before I leave less than 10%; our tax rate varies (depending on which city you're in in the Denver Metro area) between 7.5-8.5%, and I usually double the tax as a minimum.

I haven't left a penny since I was 16 and out with a couple of my friends; we were the only people in the restaurant with the waitress and the hostess, and the waitress took our order, brought our drinks (it was a food bar - like a salad bar, but with a lot more choices, but not quite a buffet), and asked if we needed anything; one of my friends asked for catsup, which we never got, and she never came back (since we all got the food bar and soda she left the receipt then)... so we each left a penny, so she'd know that we knew enough to tip and that that's what we thought of the service - we also filled out a complaint card. The manager later called each of us, apologized, and offered us a free meal, but I can't remember if we ever went to get it.

 

[Ceicei]

I have a tip question... How do tips apply when being served drinks at a club or at the bar? Does it follow the same rules?

Basically, yes. You do tip the bartender.

- Ceicei

 

[MA-Caver]

Basically, yes. You do tip the bartender.

- Ceicei

Basically if you're sitting AT the bar yes tip the bartender... otherwise if you're at a table and a waitress/waiter serves you... DUH!

 

[stone_dragone]

Speaking as a former waiter, you tip the server (waiter, waitress, bartender) for the quality of their service. The quality of the food and general atmosphere of the establishment add to the enjoyment of the entire experience, but the tip should be a relfection of the service alone.

My personal rule is 15-20%, not less than $2.00, regardless of meal/drink price.

 

[shesulsa]

If something was exceptional and I leave a higher tip than usual, I tell the server and/or manager why.

If the server was overworked and I have problems with service, I leave my standard tip which is 15%.

If the server did his/her job well but the food was crappy, I leave my standard tip and fill out a feedback card and tell the manager.

If the server is exceptionally rude, I leave the table, call the manager over, leave enough to pay for any drink I've gotten and leave - with a nickel on the table. I've yet to have anyone chase me down, tho.

My once good friend was a waitress and told me ALL kinds of stories of stuff she'd pull when people ticked her off. I'm careful about what I send back and why.