Originally Posted by
Swissaire
... poor seating or accomodation, noise, filthy conditions, unprofessional, sullen behaviour from the staff, "off" wines, and a less than acceptable meal would never justify 18% tip inclusion, even in North America.
You do realize the points I've bolded have absolutely nothing to do with the efforts and attitude of your server, right?
If you do not like your proffered table, the time to correct this is when first being seated -- something most often done by the Maitre d' or a Host/ess. Just ask; I did this just this evening and was moved to a much more pleasant location.
"Off" wines would only in the rarest of occasions be attributable to your server; the sommelier or GM would be the one to address this.
And as for a "less than acceptable meal", why would you hold a server responsible for the efforts of the kitchen?
I don't mean to direct these at you in particular, Swissaire, yours was just the most recent post.