So I went to the waffle house after a night of drinking

[tenureplan]

I ordered a bacon egg and cheese texas melt scattered smothered covered. I got a steak and cheese texas melt scattered. I was fully planning to leave a .25 to .50 tip when I heard the waitress and cook bemoaning the fact that they didn't work at walmart anymore and wouldn't be able to spend Christmas with their kids. I ended up leaving a $5 tip on an $8 tab.

Have you ever been to a ****** restaurant where you felt so sorry for the server that you gave an undeserved tip?


No Fatboy, do not tell THAT WH story.

 

[RockstarFromMars]

Having spent a couple of years as a server in a ****** restaurant, I always tip at least $5 regardless of how much the actual food costs, even with sub-par service. Usually I'll just add up to the next $10 mark for the tip. (i.e. Bill is $22.50, I tip $7.50.)

 

[DAWG61]

You should never leave a quarter or 50 cent tip. It's 2012 not 1942.

 

[Sutterkane]

Why not? If I get ****** service I will absolutely leave coins on the table to insult the server, and yes I used to work in the industry. Leaving the same amount or % for every meal doesn't promote the server to work harder, and they'll grow to simply expect it every table no matter how much work they actually do. For what it's worth I usually leave anywhere from 15-25%, which if a server averaged that at every table they'd be thrilled. It also depends on how much they actually assisted my meal experience. If I have a buffet that costs 15-20 dollars, I have to go get the food, and all they do is bring me a plate and ask if my meal is ok, I'm leaving 10%(or possibly less) every time.

 

[o_hacker]

Congratulations, you decided to not be an ******* in the spirit of the holiday season.

 

[FirstPoetsThenSunDoggy]

You should always tip unless the server is malicious in some way. Go 10 percent for subpar serivce, 15-20 for normal, and more if you feel like it. Many people look for excuses to not tip, and I question the ethics of that attitude. I don't think it's right to expect others to work for you for free. So your meal wasn't perfect. Big deal; it's not your last meal.

 

[Dawgfan61]

I saw a Waffle House server

Throw a quarter or two back at a customers feet who just left him a small amount of change as a tip, the whole restaurant cheered for the server standing up to the drunk *******. I got the same server and he was hard working and did a great job. It's obvious people like you and that ******* should work as a server, just so you can know what they go through.

 

[patdog]

I sometimes go to the late afternoon Christmas Eve service at my church and then leave from there to go to Birmingham. When you're looking for a place to eat at about 5:00 on Christmas Eve, you will be eating at Waffle House. One year I saw a man leave a $20 tip on an $8 meal. I usually leave $4 or $5. The minimum tip anywhere, assuming decent service, is $2 per meal, no matter how inexpensive the restaurant is.

 

[SignalToNoise]

For me it depends on who is at fault for the ****** service. If the kitchen is screwing up I'm not going to screw the server out of a tip.

 

[Wicked Pissah]

50 cents? Wtf?

Tip 20 percent minimum unless they **** in your food. I mean, absolute horrible service should still get 10 percent.

And yes, white castle does an ironic deal where you have to get reservations on valentines day. We do it every year because it is just funny that they seat and serve you. Our tab was $17 and we just left a $100 dollar bill.

Ive also tipped the kid that unloads the groceries in you car $100 on several occassions. It isnt that I have a ton of money, it is that $100 doesnt mean much to me and it could mean the world to someone else.

We left the money on the table at white castle. Maybe they will remember us this year but they probably wont. That isnt really the point.

 

[paindonthurt_]

I generally tip pretty well. My level of tip definitely goes up or down with the service provided though. As it should.

I generally don't leave less than 10% (that's b/c i'm a ***** and don't want confrontation). If the service is good, i'm leaving in the 15 to 20% range. If it is great, i'll usually leave 25%.

 

[msuJD164]

Most servers make $2.13 to $2.17 per hour

I ordered a bacon egg and cheese texas melt scattered smothered covered. I got a steak and cheese texas melt scattered. I was fully planning to leave a .25 to .50 tip when I heard the waitress and cook bemoaning the fact that they didn't work at walmart anymore and wouldn't be able to spend Christmas with their kids. I ended up leaving a $5 tip on an $8 tab.

Have you ever been to a ****** restaurant where you felt so sorry for the server that you gave an undeserved tip?


No Fatboy, do not tell THAT WH story.

Which pays the taxes on the SALES they have. If they have a lot of ****** tippers who think like you do and tip quarters, they are claiming taxes on change. If they have $1000 in sales, and only make $5, guess what? They are paying taxes on the $1000 of sales, not the $5. I have 41 servers that work for me. I have seen a guy tip 2k, and I have seen the Sunday crowd leave little pamplets that say "Here is your tip" and on the other side it says "God Loves You". Yeah thats it. No money, just the pamplet.

 

[Wicked Pissah]

Smokers, canadians, well done steak, thousand island, lemonade....any combo of 2 or more and you are ******.

 

[MadDawg.sixpack]

And this is why service absolutely sucks.

I mean, absolute horrible service should still get 10 percent.

No the hell it shouldn't. Absolutely horrible service should get 0.00%. Good service should get 10-15% and GREAT service should get 20%.

 

[Palmettodog]

I worked in the industry as well, front and the back, and I agree with Sutter on this. I'm not tipping 20% or greater for ****** service. I'll usually leave a minimum of 10% regardless or the service. My wife is worse. She has a culinary degree and worked in the industry for several years and she will tip great if the service is great, but she'll barely leave anything if the service is ******.

Although when I go to WH I'm not expecting much, but usually the servers are very friendly.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

I generally give a 20 percent tip. The lowest tip (and only tip below 10 percent I've given in the past ten years) I gave was 5 percent for really horrific service-- the worst service I've had in ten years. I wanted to give 3 percent and was debating this with friends who said it should be more-- and in the meantime the server overheard our conversation. I probably would have been convinced to give more of a tip had the server *not* passed the buck to the kitchen when there were other issues involved.

 

[Big Sheep81]

THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Wicked Pissah]

And this is why service absolutely sucks.

I mean, absolute horrible service should still get 10 percent.

No the hell it shouldn't. Absolutely horrible service should get 0.00%. Good service should get 10-15% and GREAT service should get 20%.

******** man. If you dont tip at least 10 percent, they are paying you to wait on you.

Not only do they make $2.13 an hour, they have to tip out the bus boys and the seaters.

If they automatically made minimum wage, id say tipping is optional. Unfortunately, they dont. I do find it ****** up that the restaurant business is the only business in the world where the customer is expected to pay the salary of the woker versus the owner.

Only in america. Literally. Very few places outside of america tip. It isnt expected and is insulting some places.

 

[SallyStansbury]

Grady's American Grill

"Ima need to get a scraw fo my drank"
"Lemme get a basket of them rolls...."
"I cain't taste no liquor in my scrawberry dacquri?"

Necks: A-1 or Heinz 57? Wine = White zinfadel........., Well done steaks as mentioned above.

Favorite quote of all time:
Table of 14-15 folks, birthday party, balloons for little kids, etc....excellent service, check comes out and this one dude starts going through the check to split it up among the guests, gets to the end and says to the table:
"Which one of you mother 17ers ordered a gratuity?"

Everyone should be required to wait tables at some point in his/her life.

 

[Shmuley]

If the service is excellent, I will tip 19.83%.

 

[KurtRambis4]

This is

so funny, but true. I think every redneck I've ever worked with, when out eating, gets their steak burned to a crisp with heinz 57.

 

[kired]

Semi thread hijack - how much do you tip for to go orders? I get a lot of curbside to go type stuff on the way home from work. Normally tip $1-$2. I figure they bag up my food, but they are not actually waiting on me for an hour. So they are deserving of something but not really 20% of my bill.

Also - do you tip before tax total, or after tax total? I always tipped about 20% of the grand total until I noticed once the automatic gratuity was calculated from the pre sales tax amount. So now I tip at least 20-25% of the pre tax amount.

 

[JML105]

Semi thread hijack - how much do you tip for to go orders? I get a lot of curbside to go type stuff on the way home from work. Normally tip $1-$2. I figure they bag up my food, but they are not actually waiting on me for an hour. So they are deserving of something but not really 20% of my bill.

Also - do you tip before tax total, or after tax total? I always tipped about 20% of the grand total until I noticed once the automatic gratuity was calculated from the pre sales tax amount. So now I tip at least 20-25% of the pre tax amount.

Usually the to-go server just got a crappy shift and while the other servers are inside racking up 15-25%, the to-go servers are getting the "keep the change" customers. I always give them a little extra because they do have to deal with more than you think and they aren't making as much as they would with a regualr shift.

Everyone needs to realize that sometimes these kids might not be giving exceptional service because of other things going on behind the scenes. I always try to evaluate circumstances when I dine out. Is the server "in the weeds", are they having to pick up others server's slack, are they polite but maybe just having a bad day? These are all things that should be considered. The only reason to leave a bad tip in my opinion is if the server is rude or if they completely ignore you, but usually I'll still give 15% and just write on the credit card receipt my thoughts so that their manager is sure to get the message. I don't ever vocally complain because I don't want a free meal, even if it is terrible.

 

[Dawg Jurist]

I tip 20% or slightly more of the post-tax amount (I round up to the nearest dollar--never down and I never try to make the bill come out even. I don't understand tipping someone $5.37 so the bill comes out to an even number).

For to-go orders, I half the tip to 10%. Someone had to pack that **** up.

 

[Tds & Beer]

False

Which pays the taxes on the SALES they have. If they have a lot of ****** tippers who think like you do and tip quarters, they are claiming taxes on change. If they have $1000 in sales, and only make $5, guess what? They are paying taxes on the $1000 of sales, not the $5. I have 41 servers that work for me. I have seen a guy tip 2k, and I have seen the Sunday crowd leave little pamplets that say "Here is your tip" and on the other side it says "God Loves You". Yeah thats it. No money, just the pamplet.

Taxes are paid based on tips that are recorded manually and almost always low balled.

 

[patdog]

Yep. Greater of $1 per meal or 10% for anything to go. Greater of $2 per meal or 15%-20% for anything in the restaurant. Then adjust up or down for exceptionally good or bad service.

 

[Optimus Prime 4]

To Go tips usually go to the kitchen. At least that's my experience

 

[hatfieldms]

Exactly.

20% is my absolute minimum unless they are just complete ********

 

[WrapItDog]

Where were all you high tipping MFers when I was bar tending at the landing. I kept a clean bar, ash trays were emptied weekly and I would occasionally push a few empty long necks aside to serve you another. On a good night we would throw extra cake in the piss trough before leaving.

 

[ckDOG]

Out of curiousity - a question for the folks that ain't scared to leave 50 cents

I get that there should be a correlation between tip amount and quality of service. You won't find many people to argue that. Poor service happens from time to time and shouldn't be rewarded. Personally, I still tip well on the first offense, but I won't if I get the same server again and they suck. That's a rarity though.

Anyhow, for the folks that are passionate that your server should get nothing for "poor service", do you find that you often get poor service and you end up tipping small amounts? If you do, I ask this because my theory is there are 3 reasons for routine poor tippers:

1) You have an unrealistic expectation of quality service
2) You are cheap and create the illusion of poor service as an excuse to save a few bucks
3) You aren't a pleasant person to be around and the turn off is reflected in the service quality.

Now before you folks that have left next to nothing for a legitimate reason every now and again, I'm not referring to you.

 

[jdbulldog]

Which pays the taxes on the SALES they have. If they have a lot of ****** tippers who think like you do and tip quarters, they are claiming taxes on change. If they have $1000 in sales, and only make $5, guess what? They are paying taxes on the $1000 of sales, not the $5. I have 41 servers that work for me. I have seen a guy tip 2k, and I have seen the Sunday crowd leave little pamplets that say "Here is your tip" and on the other side it says "God Loves You". Yeah thats it. No money, just the pamplet.

Are you saying that your 41 servers pay taxes on the sales they have? I do not believe that. So, as the owner, what do you pay taxes on? An employee pays on what they earn, not what they sell.

 

[hatfieldms]

20% should be your average

If you ever waited tables you would understand why. It isn't always the server's fault, so why punish them for it? Unless you are just a cheap *** who is looking for an excuse not to tip

 

[TeedOff]

They were all across the bar from me at The District Cafe, that high-brow premium well place...

 

[seshomoru]

There is one thing that will make me leave a meager tip.

If the server doesn't acknowledge that things got screwed up. Even then, I realize that the majority of people in a restaurant treat the server like **** if everything isn't perfect, so I still try to be nice. However, my tip definitely starts shrinking if they just ignore the issue. Just tell me if the kitchen is slow. Just say you're sorry about leaving the plates on the table so long or not filling up the water. I was a waiter at one point. It gets busy, other tables get more demanding, the kitchen screws up orders. I get it. Just don't avoid my table and hope I don't notice, because that just makes it worse. And I know, I've been there. You go explain or apologize to a table and they berate you, ask for free food, or want to act like big shots and call in the manager. But it's way better to take your lumps. Trying to fix it means I'll come back again, and probably even gets a pretty decent tip.

 

[The Peeper]

I actually had a server in New Orleans in March bring me a check and on the bottom he wrote, "no tip expected, I let you down today." He was right, service sucked, food was good once it got there though but it took 10 minutes to get a glass of water, longer for my first beer. I would have bought 3 beers if he had just come by occasionally and asked.

 

[IamGabbyJohnson]

Semi-Semi Thread Hi-Jack....what's your consensus on tipping musicians?

Depending on a venue, many musicians end up making nothing for a nights work...After gas, gear, the occasional drink and food...a lot of musicians just end up playing for free because they enjoy it.

Having been in bands my whole life, I usually tip the band something...or buy them a bucket of beer if they are really good.

What say ye?

 

[msuJD164]

Taxes are paid based on tips that are recorded manually and almost always low balled.

Absolutley not true. A server claims anywhere from 10-15% (which is low balled, you are right there) of their sales as "what they made" in tips. They do not always make the amount they claim. Sometimes they make more than what they have to claim. They may have 1k in sales and have to claim $150, when they may have only made $75. But the guideline to their income is their sales. If a server has a ****** week and low sales,and their "claimed" tips do not equal min wage for the hours they worked, their pay is adjusted to minimum wage. Like I said, I have 41 servers on my payroll.

 

[msuJD164]

Are you saying that your 41 servers pay taxes on the sales they have? I do not believe that. So, as the owner, what do you pay taxes on? An employee pays on what they earn, not what they sell.

A server has to claim a certain percentage of their sales. Some nights you make less than what you claim, some nights you make more than what you have to claim. It equals out, but in the end, servers come out paying less taxes than just about anyone.

 

[patdog]

Depends on the restaurant size. Very small restaurants can get away with a purely manual reporting of tips. However, for any decent sized restaurant, if the total tips reported are less than 8% of sales, the difference has to be allocated to the servers. I suspect a lot of those restaurants just tell employees they have to report 8% of their sales.

 

[msuJD164]

Depends on the restaurant size. Very small restaurants can get away with a purely manual reporting of tips. However, for any decent sized restaurant, if the total tips reported are less than 8% of sales, the difference has to be allocated to the servers. I suspect a lot of those restaurants just tell employees they have to report 8% of their sales.

This is EXACTLY how it works