Tipping on comped dishes?
 

ms. birdstrike and myself have become rather regulars at an upscale place in SFO. We know the chef and most of the staff by name. Almost every time we dine there now chef sends us something special (but substantial) as a comped dish.

This is rather a novel, though appreciated, situation for us.

Should I tip on the total value of the meal or only on the actual amount billed?

Interesting question. When there's a discount coupon or some other promotion, or when a dish is comped because of a problem in the kitchen, I tip as if I had been charged for all the dishes, since the server has done the same amount of work whether I'm charged for the dish or not. But when the dish is coming out of the kitchen unordered, the server is just carrying the dish out, not taking or managing an order. I think I'd tip only on dishes ordered--but then, since you're well-known at the restaurant, that's already a good tip, right?

I take it a step further. We often only drink water, but I tip as if we had a glass of wine or two.

I figure that a normal tab would include drinks, and since we are occupying the table instead of big drinkers, the waitstaff shouldn't be the ones who are left short for the evening.

If it is a restaurant where you eat regularly, all the more reason to tip as if they are your friends ;).

We always tip on the amount it would have been if the dishes weren't comped.

If it's routine to get this then you should consider it. The staff do have to manage this part of the order (along with the other courses) and do clean it up. It also might prevent you from actually ordering other things. It sounds like you're pretty considerate. Just tip appropriately.

People around you take note of your actions. I worked at a restaurant where one of the guests was a friend of the owners. They commonly took care of his bill when he came in alone. He was very keen to pull out the wallet to make the show of offering to pay his meal, but he was equally quick to put it away once the owners said they would take care of it. Once they noticed this, they didn't take so kindly to being overly generous with him.

Again though, it sounds like you're a considerate person so just do what you feel is appropriate.

At Nove in Las Vegas we had to send our inedible entrees back,no charge for them on the bill and we were comped desert.
We tipped as if we were charged full tab.

I think in situations like this where you know the staff, chef, etc, you are afforded the opportunity to be fliexible w/tipping... and you should be. For example, next time, send a few drinks back to the cook staff (or chef).

At a restaurant near to me, I come to know the chef and he surprises me w/dishes every now and again. Most often, I: 1.) tip the barmaid a bit extra and 2.) either send a drink back or have the barmaid deliver a tip for me to him.

Thanks for all the replies! I've been tipping 20% of the bill, but I'll also factor in the cost of the extras. We usually eat lunch there and the comped dishes are often appetizers from the dinner menu.

Same here. ^ ^

Ditto.

Why? IMO, this is unnecessary. Do you tip for steak when you had chicken? Why do you feel guilty for what you order?

I would do so on the actual $$ amount.

same here. my best friend's girl worked at Outback and we'd have to tip (more as a courtesy than anything else) on the real total had we had to pay. This was when we'd get 50% off their meals

It's only fair if you asked me.

Regarding tipping for water service:

Not so fast! Point being, when tipping for service, (not necessarily check total), it takes more effort/service/attention to keep water glasses filled throughout the meal than to bring over a glass of wine once or twice.

When you're well known at a restaurant and receive better service in whatever form, I would recommend tipping generously. You want to show your appreciation just as they demonstrate their appreciation for your patronage. Pretty simple equation if you ask me !!

Tip, as though the dishes weren't comp'ed

I think it depends on whether you are ordering in anticipation of another course coming or if you are getting extra food beyond what you planned on ordering.

Say that you have had this happen a couple of times, and now you go in for lunch. You could look over the menu and say we should split an app and we will each get an entree. If the chef pops out a 2nd app along with your regular order, then I would tip the usual plus a couple of extra bucks.

If on the other hand you say, let's just order a couple of entrees, because they will probably send out an free app, then I would tip heavier.

Actually, while the comped food is often tasty, neither ms. birdstrike or myself eat that much at one sitting. While we're flattered by the attention we often end up getting more food than we really want :)

I would never change my order in expectation of getting the comp.

Poor phrasing on my part, I was speaking in general. :o

No, I understood. My dining habits are out of the ordinary. I almost never order an appetizer, only a small entree, and almost never a dessert.

I'd tip based on the comped food as well. It shows your appreciation a little more. You could also consider bringing in some sort of small present for the staff at the holidays if you really wanted to show that you appreciate the attention at each visit.

The establishment, even if requested by the owner, is going out of their way to show that you are a valued customer. I think you need to show that you appreciate the food and service as well.

Tipping on alcohol you didn't order because other people order it seems excessive to me.

I pretty much always get iced tea rather than water, which gets billed as a soft drink, and therefor factored into the tip. That said, two things apply for me:
1) better frequency of refills of tea or some other soft drink (or water, at places without free refills) is a big part of the difference between a 20% tip on the total bill and a 15% one
2) being ignored on soft drink/water refills is the sort of thing that gets one dropped to a 10% tip, or in the worst cases, gets a request for the manager so I can make a comment (as I've said in prior tipping threads here, if the service is ever bad enough to tip under 10%, it's bad enough that I'll ask for the manager.)

If I'm at a *really* inexpensive place with table service, I'll always tip a minimal amount ($2, here in the states) jeven if my bill is too low for that to be a 15-20% tip.

As for the original question, I'd certainly tip on an comped item whether it was requested or not, unless it was not really wanted and just accepted out of politeness. If I'm already tipping on the regular cost of a meal and the extra was expensive I might not tip a full 15-20% of the item's price, but just add "a couple of bucks" onto the regular tip.

Tip
 

Agreed.

why tip the waiter instead of the chef?

A lot of time tips are split with many employees (waiter, bus boy, etc.). The OP was talking about how they have a strong relationship with the chef and most of the staff. The restaurant obviously values him as a customer. Do you think the chef would be as generous if the OP wasn't respectful or cheap to the wait staff?

It's all about paying it forward ;-)

i'm glad i'm not the only one who does that. i'd feel ridiculous leaving a 20% tip of 1.50 or something

Yesterday the Chef brought the comp out of the kitchen, but it was a slow lunch day ;)

I could get used to this.

tip on the would be total. what restaurant is it?

I've barged into the kitchen to tip a cook or a chef when the urge struck: it blows them away! It almost never happens!

As you can see by the posts here, tipping is a universally diverse topic. I spent many years in the hospitality industry and have a degree in Hotel Administration from UNLV and have worked just about every position in food and beverage ranging from fast food to gourmet and fine dining. That doesn't make me an expert but I would like to offer some input based upon my training and experience. I will only address it as pertaining to the United States.

Wait staff is usually the lowest paid of all employees and are highly dependant upon their tips. Many establishments even legally lower their salary even more by a 'tip offset' that allows the employer to undercut minimum wage and factor the expected tips to approximate mimimum wage with tip income added. In most general dining situations it is customary to tip an amount of 15-18 percent on the food total before taxes and should not include alcohol, although many people tip on the booze, too.

The IRS 'levys' a standard 8 percent of a server's food sales even if the person does not make this amount in tips. If the establishment can show that the amount of tips routinely falls below 8 percent this can be reduced on a business by business basis. This was done in the 80's to try to reduce unreported tip income, a very big issue in the food and beverage industry. Their is a similar provision for those that serve ONLY beverages, such as bartenders and cocktail servers.

A basic tip is called for when you receive good service. I premium tip of around 20 percent is appropriate for excellent service. In some fancier restaurants that have captains and wine stewards that provide an additional layer of service you may see charge receipts that have additional tip lines for these people, for which 5-10 percent is appropriate.

In many union shops there are archaic tip splitting arrangements that often take an unfairly large percentage of the pool away from the food server. So it is acceptable to try to find out from management if service staff pools their tips and then you can adjust accordingly. In fact, casino dealers at the Wynn in Las Vegas recently unionized due to the polarizing affect when management tried to implement a tip pooling policy of sharing tips with salaried supervisors, previously unheard of even in that mecca of greasing the palms.

Chefs and food preparation staff do not routinely receive tips, although it is not that uncommon. Professional kitchen staff are usually the highest salaried members of the staff, often making more than managers or maitre d's. I would not recommend sending them alcoholic beverages from the bar with the exception, perhaps, of at the end of their shift, such as if you are still around at closing time. Many places have little or no tolerance for alcoholic consumption by staff. A more appropriate gesture would be a small gift card, such as for Starbucks or something like that. I have seen many posts at FT of people that do that for FAs that go above and beyond.

AND...it is totally acceptable to leave no tip at all when the service is poor or non-existent, but don't leave a few coins trying to 'send a message' as this is just rude. At the end of the day you vote with your feet and management needs to be on top of the actions of staff and poor service will kill a restaurant much quicker than the so-so food quality.

If you are a regular patron, treat the staff around the holidays the same way as you do your doorman, super, mailman, and others that you gift to (or for special occasions).

I have a thick skin after 25 years of officiating college athletics, so if I have ruffled anyone's feathers I stand ready to accept the criticism that may follow my post.