OT: Tipping dilemma

[18IsTheMan]

Curious to see what folks on this issue of tipping I recently encountered.

Went out with a big family gathering the Friday before Mother's Day to an Italian restaurant. I was not in the mood for pasta, so I ordered meal that had a steak and mashed potatoes. It was, hands down, the worst steak I ever had, and that includes Ryan's and Golden Corral. For starters, it was barely warmed. It had a sickly gray color to it. I ordered it medium but it was cooked well. It tasked about like a dish sponge. It gave every appearance of having been previously cooked and then warmed up for my order. Also terribly tough. My father also got the steak and his was terrible, so it wasn't worth sending it back to have them try again. Also, I didn't want to wait for them to cook another steak while everyone else was eating. Potatoes were also barely warm. I'll add, I'm not even a steak snob like a lot of dudes pretend to be. Sure, I thoroughly enjoy a truly great steak, but I can make do with a family steakhouse kind of steak as well.

Here's the dilemma: the service was good. I wouldn't say it was GREAT, but it was good. Nothing to complain about.

I know all these restaurants split/share tips, so it killed me to know the person who served me a steak that should be illegal would get some tip money. I've been in restaurants where I've had good food and bad service or bad food and good service, but this was the biggest discrepancy I've ever had between food and service quality. So the question....

Do you factor food quality into the amount of your tip? I would say I typically do not, but when it's genuinely one of the worst food items you've ever had, I don't see I couldn't take that into consideration.

 

[LazyIslander]

So, tip sharing is usually done with the service staff, meaning the host, server, bartender and expediter (the person who gets the plates ready to serve and compiles the tables' orders) but not the kitchen staff. They make normal hourly wages or salaries. So, I would not consider the food quality when tipping. However, I definitely would have let the server know of the issue and considered the reaction to it in determining the tip.

 

[Lakemurraycock]

So, tip sharing is usually done with the service staff, meaning the host, server, bartender and expediter (the person who gets the plates ready to serve and compiles the tables' orders) but not the kitchen staff. They make normal hourly wages or salaries. So, I would not consider the food quality when tipping. However, I definitely would have let the server know of the issue and considered the reaction to it in determining the tip.

Well said.

 

[will110]

Curious to see what folks on this issue of tipping I recently encountered.

Went out with a big family gathering the Friday before Mother's Day to an Italian restaurant. I was not in the mood for pasta, so I ordered meal that had a steak and mashed potatoes. It was, hands down, the worst steak I ever had, and that includes Ryan's and Golden Corral. For starters, it was barely warmed. It had a sickly gray color to it. I ordered it medium but it was cooked well. It tasked about like a dish sponge. It gave every appearance of having been previously cooked and then warmed up for my order. Also terribly tough. My father also got the steak and his was terrible, so it wasn't worth sending it back to have them try again. Also, I didn't want to wait for them to cook another steak while everyone else was eating. Potatoes were also barely warm. I'll add, I'm not even a steak snob like a lot of dudes pretend to be. Sure, I thoroughly enjoy a truly great steak, but I can make do with a family steakhouse kind of steak as well.

Here's the dilemma: the service was good. I wouldn't say it was GREAT, but it was good. Nothing to complain about.

I know all these restaurants split/share tips, so it killed me to know the person who served me a steak that should be illegal would get some tip money. I've been in restaurants where I've had good food and bad service or bad food and good service, but this was the biggest discrepancy I've ever had between food and service quality. So the question....

Do you factor food quality into the amount of your tip? I would say I typically do not, but when it's genuinely one of the worst food items you've ever had, I don't see I couldn't take that into consideration.

Personally I'm going to tip 18-20% no matter what, even if it's poor service. That's how most of these folks make a living, so even if they're having a bad day, I'm not going to try and make it worse.

If service is good, then I'll tip higher.

Food quality is not going to be something I take into consideration when tipping.

 

[Rhode Island Dork]

I'd like to see the expected tipping practice to go away forever. Restaurants should pay their employees, not the customer.

 

[Viennacock]

I'd like to see the expected tipping practice to go away forever. Restaurants should pay their employees, not the customer.

We would ***** that the prices were too high. Restaurants would certainly have to raise prices substantially. I'm good with tipping. That said, it's nice when you go to a restaurant (normally lunch) and order from the counter with no tipping.

I recently ate at a restaurant in Georgetown in which you ordered from the counter, but had a waitress. You paid your bill and tipped when ordering, if you were using a card. Waitress was awful yet I tipped her 20% up-front. I'll take cash next time.

 

[PrestonyteParrot]

What about the tip screen when paying for a carry out order where all they do is take the order and hand it to you when it's ready?

 

[92Pony]

What about the tip screen when paying for a carry out order where all they do is take the order and hand it to you when it's ready?

I never tip when picking up to-go orders.

 

[Viennacock]

I never tip when picking up to-go orders.

I'm with ya. I may if there's a cute young lady or someone I know but normally no. That said, i have been more generous because most of these workers are high school or college kids. My kids are in the same age group so I'm a little more empathetic.

 

[Thunderstick]

My cardinal rule: I never tip before receiving my food.

 

[Rhode Island Dork]

I never tip when picking up to-go orders.

This.

 

[Gradstudent]

I tip better, the older I have become, its not as important of a deal to me, and pretty much 20% min, but if great service then, I can be generous.

I'm reluctant to complain to much and really never send food back, but my wife will in a instant, , she has no qualms about that LOL

To Go is pretty tricky, I get all arguments, i don't think you tip the same as a sit down for the servers efforts at all and get not tipping or tipping a smaller % if you feel so inclined.

 

[FootballLVR]

In similar experiences, I eat the salad, send the rest back. Tip based on the total price but refuse to pay for the steak and potato. Then I get a burger on the way home. They can take the overcooked steak and undercooked potato, turn it sideways, and stick it up their......

You get the idea

 

[18IsTheMan]

I guess I’m just old-school. Can’t bring myself to tip extra for poor food or service. You wouldn’t do that under any other circumstance…so I don’t know why people feel compelled to do it in restaurants.

I know servers have a low hourly wage, but that should be all the more incentive for them to give good service. I worked in a restaurant for nine years and knew a lot of disgruntled servers who did not work hard because they felt they didn’t make enough. Then they would get further disgruntled when they got bad tips so they would give worse service and get worse tips. On the other hand, there were servers who busted their butts and made great tips and that made the ones who didn’t work hard even madder that these other servers were getting good tips while they got bad tips. it’s just common sense.

 

[Rhode Island Dork]

Does the pennies left on the table custom still exist?

 

[KingWard]

Curious to see what folks on this issue of tipping I recently encountered.

Went out with a big family gathering the Friday before Mother's Day to an Italian restaurant. I was not in the mood for pasta, so I ordered meal that had a steak and mashed potatoes. It was, hands down, the worst steak I ever had, and that includes Ryan's and Golden Corral. For starters, it was barely warmed. It had a sickly gray color to it. I ordered it medium but it was cooked well. It tasked about like a dish sponge. It gave every appearance of having been previously cooked and then warmed up for my order. Also terribly tough. My father also got the steak and his was terrible, so it wasn't worth sending it back to have them try again. Also, I didn't want to wait for them to cook another steak while everyone else was eating. Potatoes were also barely warm. I'll add, I'm not even a steak snob like a lot of dudes pretend to be. Sure, I thoroughly enjoy a truly great steak, but I can make do with a family steakhouse kind of steak as well.

Here's the dilemma: the service was good. I wouldn't say it was GREAT, but it was good. Nothing to complain about.

I know all these restaurants split/share tips, so it killed me to know the person who served me a steak that should be illegal would get some tip money. I've been in restaurants where I've had good food and bad service or bad food and good service, but this was the biggest discrepancy I've ever had between food and service quality. So the question....

Do you factor food quality into the amount of your tip? I would say I typically do not, but when it's genuinely one of the worst food items you've ever had, I don't see I couldn't take that into consideration.

Absolutely not, with respect to linking food quality with what I tip. I tip the wait person according to his or her performance, and I have to be downright displeased to go under 20 per cent. Usually I tip a little more. I also interact cordially with wait people, and consequently, I get good service everyplace in town. Additionally, I tip in cash and hand the money to the wait person discreetly. It matters to them and is remembered.

 

[RevRuss]

I be crazy, but I usually tip bad servers as much as good because they may be having bad day and they need the money more. My wife made a living off tips and had a lot of bad days living with me.

 

[Gamecock Jacque]

When a tip machine is pushed in my face at a drive through window I give them $1 just to get it over with. The other tip I give them? Get back in school.

 

[Piscis]

If service is good, or even just acceptable, I generally tip around 20%. Poor service gets a very small tip, maybe 5%, to send a message to the server that the service wasn't good. If the food is bad, I still tip the same as if the food was great. The server didn't cook the food.

I have a hard and fast rule that if I order my food standing up, I don't tip.

 

[kidrobinski]

If service is good, or even just acceptable, I generally tip around 20%. Poor service gets a very small tip, maybe 5%, to send a message to the server that the service wasn't good. If the food is bad, I still tip the same as if the food was great. The server didn't cook the food.

I have a hard and fast rule that if I order my food standing up, I don't tip.

Small or no tip is like booing at a football game; the ‘message’ is usually misinterpreted. The only message received is that you are boorish and probably an arsewipe.

 

[Piscis]

Small or no tip is like booing at a football game; the ‘message’ is usually misinterpreted. The only message received is that you are boorish and probably an arsewipe.

I had a waitress tell me no tip was perceived as someone who doesn't believe in tipping. She said a very small tip definitely sent a message that the service wasn't good.

Now that players are paid, booing at a football game is a perfectly acceptable practice and the players should receive the message that they are not doing the job they are paid to do.

 

[Gamecock Jacque]

I had a waitress tell me no tip was perceived as someone who doesn't believe in tipping. She said a very small tip definitely sent a message that the service wasn't good.

Now that players are paid, booing at a football game is a perfectly acceptable practice and the players should receive the message that they are not doing the job they are paid to do.

Right. No tip at all... they'll think you just forgot. Small tip definitely sends a message.

 

[SuperCock99]

I only take the server into account when tipping.

In most situations if the food was horrible, i’ll point it out to the waitress and request something totally different.

I ordered lasagna at the Olive Garden once and it came out burnt. Brought it to the waitresses attention and she brought another which was also burnt. Now everyone else was about done with their meals, the waitress comes back and I show it to her and just request something else off the menu. which I got to go because everyone else was done at this point.
The manager heard about it and walked out. I showed him pictures of both slices they brought out. They didn’t charge any of the three of us at the table.

The OG is usually great and i’m not bashing them. But probably the entire batch of lasagna they were serving from was ruined and they should have discarded it instead of serving it.

The waitress was phenomenal and still got tipped.

 

[kidrobinski]

Right. No tip at all... they'll think you just forgot. Small tip definitely sends a message.

Plenty of history in the restaurant biz. It makes an impression more than any 'message.'

Of course tough guys don't care about that. In the final words of Joe Golberg, maybe its you.

 

[Gamecock Jacque]

Plenty of history in the restaurant biz. It makes an impression more than any 'message.'

Of course tough guys don't care about that. In the final words of Joe Golberg, maybe its you.

I have restaurant experience as well, but I'm confused by your comment. Does that make me one of those tough guys? Maybe it's me what? Maybe I provided myself poor customer service?

 

[gamecox4982]

Do you tip before or after taxes? I typically tip with cash (before tax) to make sure they actually get their money and to prevent paying extra for using a credit card.

 

[KingWard]

Do you tip before or after taxes? I typically tip with cash (before tax) to make sure they actually get their money and to prevent paying extra for using a credit card.

I tip off the gross but I certainly am not doctrinaire about it. That's a personal thing.

 

[Piscis]

Plenty of history in the restaurant biz. It makes an impression more than any 'message.'

Of course tough guys don't care about that. In the final words of Joe Golberg, maybe its you.

So, receiving poor service in a restaurant is somehow my fault? Remind me not to patronize any restaurant where you are a server.

Servers are not "owed" any sort of tip, a tip is earned. If the server doesn't do their job, they don't earn much of a tip. If they don't do their job and people continue to tip them normally to avoid someone like you thinking the customer is a jerk, how will they ever know they aren't doing their job. Being a good server isn't that hard to do.

 

[Viennacock]

I only take the server into account when tipping.

In most situations if the food was horrible, i’ll point it out to the waitress and request something totally different.

I ordered lasagna at the Olive Garden once and it came out burnt. Brought it to the waitresses attention and she brought another which was also burnt. Now everyone else was about done with their meals, the waitress comes back and I show it to her and just request something else off the menu. which I got to go because everyone else was done at this point.
The manager heard about it and walked out. I showed him pictures of both slices they brought out. They didn’t charge any of the three of us at the table.

The OG is usually great and i’m not bashing them. But probably the entire batch of lasagna they were serving from was ruined and they should have discarded it instead of serving it.

The waitress was phenomenal and still got tipped.

I am not going to hold a waitress responsible for food quality, but a good waitress should push-back on serving burnt food. Twice? Maybe she wasn't the person that brought the food to the table? Fairly easy to visually see burnt lasagna.

 

[treyno2722]

How about tipping on pickup, just had this conversation the other day.

 

[Piscis]

How about tipping on pickup, just had this conversation the other day.

Never. What would I be tipping for?

 

[PrestonyteParrot]

Never. What would I be tipping for?

The way many places have been lately, we're lucky if they have enough employees to open the lobby and let you in the place and the drive thru is totally a backed-up mess.
So maybe we are expected to tip so enough employees will show up to open the doors.

 

[18IsTheMan]

How about tipping on pickup, just had this conversation the other day.

Depends. If it's a place I frequent and has consistently good food and service, I'll tip a little for pickup.

Just overall on tipping, I'm not a bleeding heart. I'm trying to imagine any other scenario in which I'd say "That was not very good. Let me pay you little extra!" On the other hand, I'm overly generous when service and food are top notch.

 

[The Reel Ess]

We would ***** that the prices were too high. Restaurants would certainly have to raise prices substantially. I'm good with tipping. That said, it's nice when you go to a restaurant (normally lunch) and order from the counter with no tipping.

I recently ate at a restaurant in Georgetown in which you ordered from the counter, but had a waitress. You paid your bill and tipped when ordering, if you were using a card. Waitress was awful yet I tipped her 20% up-front. I'll take cash next time.

Would the entire price be that much higher? Remove the tip, but the servers get paid. I was in Ireland in April and they don't expect tips. They don't even wait for them or give you a place to write one. They come out with the handheld machine and do the transaction and go away. The prices of the meals were not higher either. I think the people who would **** at the higher prices are the ones who already tip poorly. They wouldn't get out cheaper than everyone else.

 

[The Reel Ess]

I went to a relative's BD party at a local diner recently. The food was awful. I mean I took one bite and didn't eat any more of the entree. I didn't take it with me. I ate the side and it was pretty good. There was BD cake so I got full. But there was already a 25% tip in the bill due to the large party. Then there was a place to add tip. More than 25% for food so bad I left it on the plate? Nope. And I won't be back.

 

[Gamecock Jacque]

Would the entire price be that much higher? Remove the tip, but the servers get paid. I was in Ireland in April and they don't expect tips. They don't even wait for them or give you a place to write one. They come out with the handheld machine and do the transaction and go away. The prices of the meals were not higher either. I think the people who would **** at the higher prices are the ones who already tip poorly. They wouldn't get out cheaper than everyone else.

When I lived in Germany the gratuity was automatically baked into the price.

 

[The Reel Ess]

Do you tip before or after taxes? I typically tip with cash (before tax) to make sure they actually get their money and to prevent paying extra for using a credit card.

Before if I get the chance to see the whole bill. I mean some vacation destinations really pile on the local taxes. But I also tend to be a good tipper if the experience was good.

 

[Uscg1984]

I eat at sit down restaurants so infrequently that I don't stress much about tipping. The food and/or service would have to be really, really bad for me to even give the tip a 2nd thought and in that case, I'm probably more likely to have a word with the manager. In my experience, that is exceedingly rare.

If I have a particular good server, I will usually add the usual tip to the credit card ticket while also giving the server a cash tip (put it in their hands) and tell them we are particularly appreciative of their good service and that this cash tip is in addition to a tip on the ticket. If they want to share it with everybody else, that's up to them.

If it's a takeout meal I pick up or anything I order from a counter or window, I'm not leaving a tip. I have no qualms about hitting the "no tip" button on the little screen.

 

[Forkcock]

Don't tell me what to tip. That is all.