I am going on vacation to the US next month and I was wondering what happens in this situation .

What do you do about the tip if the food was poor but the service was great , do you still leave a good tip or reduce it ?

My definition of great service would include removing poorly prepared food with no fuss and replacing it with something prepared properly.

If you mean that the food was priced very inexpensively and had taste/quality to match, but the service was much finer than such prices normally warrant, then it's perfectly reasonable to tip well above 15%. I've gone up to double that when a waiter or waitress at a cheap restaurant has worked hard to meet my needs.

I never send food back , if the meal is really bad I just refuse to eat it and leave, When I was younger I worked in a few bars and restaurants , I saw what some chefs do to food that is sent back ......... and you would not want to eat it .

I hate tipping. You put on an automatic "tip", and I consider that to be equivalent to you taking my credit card and buying yourself a Christmas present. I will change it to zero and leave it that way as punishment.

one thing that troubles me as much, if not more, than automatic tipping, is tip inflation.

i can't pinpoint when it started. a customary restaurant tip is 15% of the pre-tax subtotal. but around 15 years ago, i noticed some "trendy" restaurants that included "tipping guides" that recommended 18-20%. i do not mind tipping 20% for extraordinary service beyond what i would expect for that class of restaurant (i.e., 3-star v. denny's), and usually the subtotal is higher in high-class places anyway. i happily ignored these "guides," which often tried to cover up their pretense by saying they were for foreign guests unfamiliar with US tipping customs.

(of course, there was also the long-standing custom of adding an 18% gratuity to parties of six or more. while i often saw the 18% calculated on the post-tax total, i never objected as i felt i understood the reason for the gratuity, and i'm not sure what i would accomplish anyway.)

this trend seems to have spread everywhere, to the point that 18% or 20% is often quoted as the new standard. some people even act like 15% is an insult. and i have seen people brag about tipping 25%, and perhaps even 30%. yet, so far as i know, the IRS assumes that tips, at least in the restaurant industry, to be 15% (and i have never met a server who reported their actual tips, instead of accepting the assumed 15% for their taxes).

so not only should the tip not be automatically added, it should start at 15%, subject to adjustment (+/-) based on the level of service.

Most restaurants add it on for 6 o8 or more people.

2 points first:

1. I understand that tips have become a standard in north american culture that it now expected not only as a gift of appreciation for good service

2. I'm from LA and having been a server for my first job, i know how difficult it is to survive off Californian minimum wage, in fact, i think all californians know even with decent paying jobs. The standard among members of my household is thus 20%-25%

So number 1 is true so much so that restaurants may add a tip (for my convenience of course) or require a tip upon ordering (restaurants near G in MSP are good examples.) But this sort of practice really annoys me for many reasons

When restaurants have a policy of auto gratuity, i feel the additional tip line is quite insulting. If they automatically charge say 10%, i wont add extra up to 20-25%. I understand that others from different cultures do not comprehend our culture of tipping but this is something i dont understand either

Now for restaurants that force tip, i select the lowest possible pctg some are floored at 1% or 5%.

My question is:
Am i in the wrong for doing this or am i just a jackass? I see myself as quite gracious but i do have an obsession for good sense and sound judgement in practical matters

EDIT: i also know that restaurants that engage in this practice need to explicitly state this policy and i do have a choice with whom i decide to do business but this isnt something i exactly look out for when i go to dine and restaurants arent so excited to make sure its known either...

It is my experience auto-gratuities (AG) occur only in parties over XX people, and although my wife and I eat out frequently together and separately, we don't generally go to the places (IIIC, if I interpret correctly--kinda high $$ places) where AGing is rampant. A couple things come to mind: 1) If an AG amount matches what I was planning to give--it's a push, nothing else added; 2) If the AG is higher than I would have given in light of the service being subpar due to server's and not anothers' fault, I'll ask about the AG and mention to a manager the restaurant failed [threshold] in service and offer to pay the AG with something given for free [if mandatory], or specifically write in something less [keep receipt] and watch out for total on CC bill.; 3) I don't hold the server accountable for non-controllables [i.e., my steak is bleeding when ordered med well unless waiter faulted (ordered from memory incorrectly)]; 4) I generally don't tip more than 20% regardless unless it's a convenient round on a smaller bill [people on expense accounts, aside]; 5) I like the European model--servers are paid more and get more bennies and as a result you pay more for food, but you KNOW from the outright the price of eating since VAT is usually included [a couple Euros for above and beyond is Okay in my book]; and lastly, we're our own worst Western nightmare--we tip a lot, so people expect a lot, so restaurants 'start the process' for us. I'm a lot more vocal now, I suppose, than when younger: tips still need to be earned even by US domestic standards--somehow I don't think I'm doing a service or disservice when service is way subpar and I tip mindlessly.

I've very rarely experienced high-end places which add a gratuity for parties less than 6. I absolutely understand why restaurants do add a gratuity for larger parties and I do understand the places that do it for smaller parties in venues which cater to foreigners who may simply not know how to act in the US.

I don't think it's really a matter of preference. It's a matter of local custom. Part of travel is adopting to local custom, so it's just not a big deal.

How many different tipping threads do we need?

If you want to leave a tip, leave a tip.

If you don't want to leave a tip, don't leave a tip.

This applies if they already put in a tip or not for any additional tip.

Every thread is always going to come down to that. Tipping is a personal choice, so do what you want to do.

^ You beat me to it.

Agreed, we don't need another tipping thread. BUT...since another one is here, I wanted to share this. (Hopefully this isn't where I found it! I searched the forum on key words and didn't come up with anything.)

God I love it

I will start leaving words of encouragement and smiley faces on the receipt. Additionally I think I will insist the waiter view it in front of me, so I can see joy I am spreading.
I will probably get a few weird looks from naysayers, but they will surely be impressed when I ride my unicorn out of the restaurant.

LMAO ^

heck, if servers are demanding 20% now (15% is the proper amount for good full service, much less for buffet, but adjusted where you're sitting for hours and just ordered coffee), perhaps we should just go to the grocery store, buy and cook our food at home, and stop by the restaurant only to give the server a tip on what we would have paid.