Civility alert! :)

Posts deleted that were unnecessarily personalized.

cblaisd
Moderator, Dining Buzz

20% is the norm. Not the new norm (In the US).

Why is 15% OK on a 'large bill for only 3 people'?

And for those who think you do not need to tip 20% on expensive bottles of wine: Waiters and Waitresses need to 'tip out' all of the staff that assist and support them throughout their shift. All of these assistants (food runners / expediters, busboys, host staff, service bartender) know what your gross sales were for the evening, and the assumption is that you earned more or less 20% of that number in tips.

They get their share of that number as a part of the waitpersons 'tip out'.

If the waitperson consistently says 'I got stiffed by my customers', the assistants either assume they are lying, or an awful waitperson.

Either way, the waitperson gets less enthusiastic support from the team when they don't tip out on their full gross, which makes their ability to serve their customers more difficult.

Which makes our experience as customers less enjoyable.

So, tip well! :)

As long as tipping is arbitrary people can't be guilted into tipping more than what they feel is reasonable. If so many people depend on those tips something is wrong with the system. Make it mandatory then. I have no problem whatsoever with those restaurants in London that do so.

And, speaking for the rest of us: Yes - 15% is still the norm (less if not earned, more if exceptionally so). ;)

Only in the media is 20% the norm, and frankly I'm tired of "tip creep" because some new article says X% is what we should all be doing now or we're bad customers who don't appreciate how difficult life is for waitstaff.

A tip is a reward for good to excellent service. I tip according to service received, and will continue to do so no matter what journalists and bloggers have to say about what percent they think we should be handing over without regard to the quality of the service.

^

20% is NOT the new norm or I'm a Senator from Missouri :td: :mad:

Wow!

A Senator on FlyerTalk?

Blunt or McCaskill?

:)

Your were not nickle and dimed. You where charged for what you ordered. The waiter might have been able to comp you the carbonated water, he might not have.

In the US, tips are expected when you go to any table service restaurant.

You tipped 15%, what I consider to be the minimum.

Your were not nickle and dimed; the waiter was not stiffed.

What was the point of this post?

Get your head out of the stand.

I find it paradoxical that, in cheaper restaurants, 15% is the norm, resulting in a lower tip for the server. They might not have to perform as sophisticated a service, changing silverware, folding napkins, etc. but the check is usually fairly low. I tend to tip at least 20% at these places for that reason. If my tab is very low, I'll tip at least $3.

In higher priced places, 20% is the norm. If you won't pay that for a tip, please use the cheaper places (Denny's, Red Lobster, etc.).

As you go even higher, the expectation is over 20%.

You cheapskates may think otherwise but you're just being stingy.

That's how I roll.

I tend to tip generously
 

But here in SF if the resto charges for Healthy SF separately, I tip more like 14-15% and not 18-20.

Sorry, I tip 15-17% generally, and 20% for excellent or exceptional service. For poor service, I might drop it to 12%. And I'm happy to dine wherever I please.

And you can feel free to make up for my stinginess any time you wish - I'm fine with that. :D

Apparently the earlier note was not understood.

cblaisd
Moderator, Dining Buzz