I'll leave a penny if it is poor with a note. Usually I get a manager before the service gets that bad though. Tips are earned by great customer service. No service, no tip.
The one time I stiffed a waitress was at a family restaurant type place when I was traveling across upstate New York.
It took the waitress for my section a long time to even notice me, because she was flirting with some men who were seated at a large, round table.
Once she condescended to take my order, she did bring the food and the check but then proceeded to ignore me. No refills on water, no questions about whether I wanted anything else. In fact, I had noticed some wonderful-looking pies on the way in, and I had planned to order some pie.
But I could not get the waitress's attention. She was circling that table full of men, stopping at each one to flirt. I suppose she was angling for tips.
In doing so, she lost my tip. Maybe she believed the legend that women don't tip (this was about 25 years ago), but whatever the case may be, she ignored me. I left no tip, along with a note explaining that I normally tip unless the service is noticeably bad, and furthermore, that her inattention had cost the restaurant some revenue in that I had ended up not ordering that pie.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by oneant
@ the OP:
If you're dining at a place where you bring your bill to a cash register to tab out, I think you have the explanation for the service right there. Sometimes the service isn't the issue, it's the expectation.
I didn't expect outstanding service--I did expect to have drink refills in a decent amount of time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cordelli
I read the post as nobody offered them any assistance, including the manager. And if you did give a smaller tip, the odds of it going to anybody else is about zero, the waitress would just keep it.
One of the posts reminded me of the funniest Adam 12 (for those who remember the show).
They were in a diner and got lousy service. When the bill came, Reed paid it and left a penny tip. The waitress asked "Hey, you call that a tip" And Reed looked at her and said "No, I call it a Hint"
Restaurant service is a group effort. I don't see anywhere in the post where anybody in that group, including others who could have offered service, did anything to do so.
No one, from one of the managers to other servers, offered refills, or even said, "I'll tell your server you need refills." Had another server stopped to say, "I'll tell your server you need refills," even if we'd never actually received them, it would've been better.
__________________ “The church is near but the road is icy, the bar is far away but I will walk carefully”
---Russian proverb
I don't know about the rest of you, but if I'm being ignored in a restaurant and I'm "pot-commited" so to speak (already received the food), I get up and go find someone and tell them what I need. Sure, I shouldn't have to. But if it comes down to that or sitting there cursing the lack of attention, I'll make the trek.
Usually, the service picks up after that and a tip, even a smaller one, is earned.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by oneant
I don't know about the rest of you, but if I'm being ignored in a restaurant and I'm "pot-commited" so to speak (already received the food), I get up and go find someone and tell them what I need. Sure, I shouldn't have to. But if it comes down to that or sitting there cursing the lack of attention, I'll make the trek.
Usually, the service picks up after that and a tip, even a smaller one, is earned.
I've had situations where after being seated, I've been ignored for quite a while, with servers walking past, but no one stopping to take an order/ask about drinks, etc. If that happens, I typically go back to the hostess desk, and ask to be reseated, in an area where I might obtain service.
__________________ “The church is near but the road is icy, the bar is far away but I will walk carefully”
---Russian proverb
I make it a point to reduce the tip, but the service has to be (> 60%) consistently bad throughout the entire dining experience to trigger this. Slow waitstaff, thing I ask for directly (utensil, refill, condiment) not delivered quickly, dirty wares, poorly prepped food, inability to cook steak precisely, bill arrive too early, etc.
Everyone has bad days, and the best waitstaff can be plagued by poor kitchen or management. The greatest annoyance for me instead are people who continue to tip 15% even with poor service. The second biggest annoyance are people who tip 20% and up because the waitress was pretty and fawned on them .. pathetic.
For normal service I tip 15%, very good 20%, mediocre 10%. Sometimes if I'm in a foreign country, I'll give 20-30% if the bill is quite low ($2-$5), if the service is good. I've gotten great service at small cafe's in Bali, where you have a 5 course meal for $3.25!
$5 can be a weeks' wages in some parts of the world!
When visiting foreign countries, please be considerate that in most parts of the world service is INCLUDED in the price. A tip is of course a good way to show appreciation for good service received, and I am in no way against tipping, but paying 30% on top of a bill that already included service is just contributing to the spread of the US tipping culture (waiters paid below minimum wage and expecting to make it up for a tip- something not good for the waiter nor the customer) all across the planet.
The OP had bad service..............period. IMO bad service = no tip. If everyone tipped 10%, 20%, 30% etc after getting bad service everyone would be getting bad service all the time. Why is that so difficult to understand or comprehend.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MisterNice
The OP had bad service..............period. IMO bad service = no tip. If everyone tipped 10%, 20%, 30% etc after getting bad service everyone would be getting bad service all the time. Why is that so difficult to understand or comprehend.
MisterNice
I totally agree with this. Bad service always equals no tip from me... and usually a discussion with the manager.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MisterNice
The OP had bad service..............period. IMO bad service = no tip. If everyone tipped 10%, 20%, 30% etc after getting bad service everyone would be getting bad service all the time. Why is that so difficult to understand or comprehend.
MisterNice
OP did not have "bad" service.... in essence, the only thing lacking in OP's service was a "third drink refill". Service received was spotty, not bad. Below average service = below average tip = 10%. http://flyertalk.com/forum/showpost....41&postcount=5
Since it's not a white tablecloth establishment, what exactly was so "bad" about it? Sounds pretty typical for a chain restaurant. What am I missing? Clue me in, please!
Ruth's Chris is a chain. Would you tip for bad service there? Tablecloths are irrelevant, btw.
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They were in a diner and got lousy service. When the bill came, Reed paid it and left a penny tip. The waitress asked "Hey, you call that a tip" And Reed looked at her and said "No, I call it a Hint"
*lol* Great line (and a fave childhood show)!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by essxjay
Ruth's Chris is a chain. Would you tip for bad service there? Tablecloths are irrelevant, btw.
Tablecloths are not irrelevant. They are a commonly understood metaphor for an establishment that offers a higher level of cuisine and service. Morton's is a chain also. Very expensive, with a world-class wine list! A major difference between Morton's and Ruth's Chris, and the establishment OP refers to is that in the latter, the customer brings the check up to a register in the front on their way out, which is typically staffed by an assistant manager. In the former, tablecloth establishments, the server or captain handles the transaction at table. But all of that is irrelevant, as I maintain that OP did not receive "bad" service. As far as I can tell, and OP confirmed it, what was truly lacking in this specific instance was a third free beverage refill. FWIW, Morton's and Ruth's Chris don't refill any beverage for free, except iced tea.
But to answer your specific question, dear colleague, "Would you tip for bad service there?", my answer is "Yes: a bad tip."
Excellent service: excellent tip
Good service: good tip
Bad service: bad tip
NO service: no tip
