I've worked in the restaurant business for almost 20 years and am constantly amazed at the amount of naivet� when it comes to gratuity. Yes a tip is optional. Yes, you should adjust the tip according to the service rendered. Some people double the tax, some leave varying percentages...an on and on...
I have listened to so many excuses as to why a person shouldn't get a tip, that I find it refreshing to hear someone state that they overtip.

Here is how and why i tip what i do.

On a check of $10 or less I never leave less than 2$. Yes it's a large percentage, but it's also just two f**%&!* dollars, and it may make the difference in someone's life.

I usually tip a minimum of 20%...that is my bottom line. I strongly suggest to all those who read this to start doing the same. people never forget an ******* or a cheapskate. Never. Under tipping demonstrates ignorance and greed. Servers and maitre d's also remember those who are consistently generous. At my restaurant we use a system called Open Table. I have a history of every customers visit and any other info i decide to put in under their name. I won't punish the person who is cheap, but i wont do them any favors either.

If you plan on returning to a place as a regular, i suggest you start opening your wallets a little bit. You will be rewarded tenfold. I buy dinner (not cheap either as my check average is about $75) for my regulars on holidays and when they have come to the restaurant more than fifty times. You will also find that your food is tastier, the service snappier, and the drinks stronger.

I always strive to give excellent service. I always try to anticipate the needs of my guests...that is a constant. If one of my servers is out of line, then they will have to deal with my not so nice side.

If you are a guest and you receive poor service, or get the butt end of someone's bad day, or are treated with aloof service, i suggest three things:

1. Tell the Manager. Not in a nasty way, but explain how your servers behavior has made your dining experience negative. If you start making threats you will be ignored or just mearly tolerated, given dinner and shooed out the door.

2. Punish the server: don't stiff the server, sometimes people forget to tip. Leave a dollar. On a $75 check this sends a strong message.

3 Write a letter. Be complimentary of how the manager assisted you, and how much you love the restaurant. State that you just wanted to let them know about your experience so it won't happen again to someone else. Believe me, I get these letters, I know I'm getting manipulated, and I always respond in a likewise generous manner, while correcting the problem that was the concern of the guest in the first place.

[B]



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Just My 2�

--TheMaitre D'-- Have you considered a thread called "ask the Maitre D? "Ask me a hotel question "certainly shed a lot of light, Perhaps, you, too, can shed some light.--Your post on tipping was most informative. Thanks.--Welcome to FT.--

I believe that too often the amount or giving of the tip is not based on the level of service, the job category, the wage, the custom, etc. but rather upon the tipper's level of self-esteem and need to feel important and powerful. Doesn't one feel fortunate and superior when one can give the lowly, pathetic maid more than her allotted salary?

Quote by Maitre'd:"If you plan on returning to a place as a regular, i suggest you start opening your wallets a little bit. You will be rewarded tenfold. I buy dinner (not cheap either as my check average is about $75) for my regulars on holidays and when they have come to the restaurant more than fifty times. You will also find that your food is tastier, the service snappier, and the drinks stronger."

Fascinating! Do you think that this applies worldwide? "food tastier, service snappier and drinks stronger?"

Does it make any difference to an employee making $4.50 per hour?

15% of the bill, excluding tax (and excluding expensive wine), is not "under tipping." It is the customary tip in the US for good service.

Maybe if there's only one restaurant in town. But in LA or Vegas, if I go someplace and the food is bad, the service slow, and the drinks weak, I simply won't come back. And I generally find that people who give good service give it regardless of tips; it's just in their nature. Being nice to the staff returns more value than being a jerk and overtipping.

QL

I would like to think that it applies everywhere. Treat people with courtesy and respect and they will treat you in kind.

There are certain people who consistantly receive the highest level of service at my restaurant.[list=a][*]Those who react with appreciation when welcomed to my establishment[*]Those who are kind to my waitstaff, even after a hard day[*]Those who, don't look down on servers as servants, but rather as people who are care givers.[*]Those who are honest about their experience when asked how their dinner was.[*]Those palm a twenty spot on their way out ; )[/list=a]

It's always better to get the cash on the way out. That way it is a THANK YOU, and not just a bribe for a good table.



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Just My 2�

I find it interesting that you state that 15% is the customary amount in the US.
I have worked in and run restaurants in not just Los Angeles, but also, Philly and Upstate New York. Philly has so far proved to have the overall highest tip percentage averaging out at 19%, and Utika, New York the lowest, averaging at 17%. Los Angeles runs at about 18%.

Now these are above average upscale casual dinner houses, not chain restaurants such as Denny's.




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Just My 2�

I think that many of us have different opinions on "tipping when you should." I agree with taucher that there are far fewer instances where tipping is appropriate than we now see during our day-to-day travels.

I think it is well-known both in the US and abroad that waiters and bartenders in the US are "tipped" employees. But many other employee groups appear to expect tips more and more frequently.

And this is my primary concern -- that by tipping people like the candy store operator or the dry cleaning employee, those who tip have the effect of devaluing work for wages. And it can ruin the everyday standard service that the rest of us expect. I think 'good' service should be the standard from all service employees, whether they are the traditionally tipped employees or everyone else. (I also assert that the vast majority of people do not tip for these sorts of traditionally-non-tipped services).

What are your thoughts on the tip when you have one or more expensive wines on the tab?

Let's say your food bill comes to $100 or so for four people, but you ordered a $300 bottle of wine. Are you still supposed to be tipping that 15-20% tip on a bottle of wine that was the same amount of work as the $10 bottle?

d

Let me make this clear - I agree 100% with you. I do not tip the Starbucks people, I do not tip the dry cleaners, I do not tip the cashier at the deli/grocery store, whatever. I find that "tip jar" practice unacceptable and offensive.

Having said that, there are specific instances where tipping is customary and expected, like cleaning people, waiters, bartenders, and others. I am not promoting adding any categories to the to-be-tipped group of workers. I agree with others that not tipping the cleaning people is not the way to go, and it is not optional, like oh, I used only one towel, now I don't have to tip the chambermaid.

As I said before, you can do what you want, I have no power to force you to tip, nor do I want that power. However, you simply MUST tip the cleaning people if you want to be taken seriously.

I imagine the cleaning people who are stiffed by customers tell the GM or front desk people who then make a notation in that person's hotel/companyh profile for the next visit, and then do not go out of the way for them.

God, that's the funniest thing I've ever read here! Five minutes later, and I'm still LOL.

Thanks for the belly laugh, and I mean that most sincerely.

I'll forgo any comments about the mentality of somebody seeking self-validation from the chambermaid.
As for the assumption that not tipping results in your being "blacklisted" - this is simply ridiculous. I'd love to run this by the managers at Hilton and Marriott, where I stay every week. I am having a very hard time reconciling your theory with my actual experience and that of my traveling colleagues. But then again, may be we are not a representative sample - our sense of self worth is based on a slightly more complex formula.

Okay, you got me! I admit it, at first I thought you were serious!

Are you sure you're not British, taking the p*ss like that?