I love this post!

I am sure if you owned the resteraunt you would be very happy with thw $200,$600,$1000 spend on a meal with a lot of very overpriced wine being sold.

If the service was excellent then yes the waiter may get a good/better tip but why the hell should you stick to 20%? And if the servcie is bad then dipping to 15% makes no sense to me. Only 5% between good and bad is crap. If it is bad or very bad I would leave 0% end of story and I would tell the owner/head waiter why if I could.

Now I am off to McDonald's for a happy meal...

A couple of months ago, 6 of us ate at a fine dining restaurant in Las Vegas. Our bill came out to $308 which included a 17% gratuity. I was a bit surprised that this gratuity was added as most places usually do this for parties of 8 or more. We probably would have tipped more than the 17% but if they were happy with this it was OK with us also.

This was taken out of context. I expect my customers to tip seperate on the wine because I would never expect them to add it into a regular tip as it would distort the % much too high. For an expensive bottle of wine the sommelier would be tipped and a smaller grat to me.

If you want. Otherwise no problem.

I think the wine concept of gratuities in the US is highly similar to what occurs in fine dining establishments in Europe. That is to say, at a regular US establishment, one USD per drink is plenty.

But at US fine dining, with sommelier, do expect to pay up to USD10 per bottle, even a bit more with extraordinary service.

For the mainstay, 15% of food is plenty, and $1 per drink is more than enough. If you are given any attitude, complain liberally. And welcome to the US.

Good, I won't. Less revenue for you. I think you overestimate how easy it is to run a restaurant.

So if I tip $20 on a meal for two, the next time I visit the waiters will be surly? Well, I guess that's OK in that it saves me $20, because the tip on the second meal would be zero, and the second visit would be my last.

Thank you JS

Normally TIP is after services are rendered and BRIBE is before. If a restaurant owner keeps track of tips and does not welcome low or non tippers in the second visit is he expecting TIP or BRIBE?

Interesting thread. Opinions on tipping always generate lively discussion.

I leave about 15% for average service, but I won't hesitate to leave 0% or 25% if the service demands it. I've left really good bartenders even more. I have absolutely no problem taking extra care of a waiter/sommelier/bartender that is taking extra care of me.

Too many people are scared to leave less than 10 percent if they get bad service. I think that has led to a general deterioration in the craft over the past 10-15 years. It seems like 95% of the waitstaff I see these days DON'T consider it a craft like GKG does. They just plain don't care - why work hard to get 18-20% when everybody leaves 15%? We get so much bad service these days that we are almost shocked when we get someone who actually cares enough to fill the water glasses once in a while.

A couple of things really bug me and WILL cause me to leave a lesser tip: (1) if you add it in to the bill for me, or (2) if you put precalculated "suggestions" for my tip on the check. If you do number (1) and put a blank line expecting me to leave even more, or do number (2) and try to hoodwink me into tipping 18-20% of the state sales tax or liquor tax in addition to the meal cost, I will leave very little. It's deceitful and offensive.

Anyone want a woman's point of view?

If the guy is paying, I equate the size of the tip to other things that have directly to do with the rest of the evening. To big a tip means he is showing off, to little of a tip and it usually means he is trying to demonstrate superiority over the waiter if it is a man, and telling the waitres she is simply a domestic.

I watch a man very closely when he tips.

I usually tip in the 15% to 20% range and ajust for expesive wine, but I have no problem with 0 if the service is bad which is what I left at a resturant in manhatten last month to a waitress with a tude (dinner for 2 was $200) interesting sidenote: she was british, oh and flyjessy43, the sex was great that night! what is tips spelled backwards?

Hahaha... so true, I think!

Interesting note that here in SFO we are known as a "foodie" town. Really the whole Bay Area is, with some fine eating places. Fancy, cheap, expensive and not. When I first moved out here and lived in SFO proper, I was dismayed at the attitude adn unprofessionalism of the servers. It contibues today. While there are many good ones, it seems like we remeber the bad ones especially. I guess that's true with lots of things.

Anyway, I believe it is AGAINST THE LAW to add the tip in unless you are told ahead of time. (Usually a blurb on the menu.) This was a big controversy in Florida, especially Orlando, where the average non-American visitor is not necessarily a frequent traveler and therefore not necessarily knowledgeable about tipping. I believe the Florida legislature changed the way that happens now.(Including tips on the bill.) BTW, I personally never included the tip (even when I worked in low end places in Orlando).. I just figured it would all come out in the wash... really p*ssed off the old ladies I worked with when I still made more $$$! Hahaha.

My pet peeves? (Here we go....)

1) A waiter who sits down at my table while they take the order. 15 years ago at Bennigan's (in Orlando!) when this first happened, I thought it was charming and friendly. Now it seems obnoxious and lazy.

2) When the server says, "Hi, my name is Jason and I'll be your server." Doh. Gee thanks, I was too stoopid to figure that out.



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There are days when it takes all you've got just to keep up with the losers.

Robert Orben.

What's the proper amount to tip in Scandinavia?

I can honestly say that the only time this has ever happened to me has been in places where obnoxious waiters are intentionally part of the experience (Dick's Last Resort, Ed Debevik's, etc.). I'd be a little freaked out if Joe at Bennigan's with his 15 pieces of flair decided to have a seat with me!!

It's not customary to tip the server in restaurants or bars, although no one will complain if you round up the bill or add on 5%.

Fodors has an online tipping guide that provides additional information for specific countries.

Always tip the van driver.