How much do you tip?

[M-5]

its starts with the attitude of the waitress. If she is happy to wait on me then she is off to a good start . when my tea glass is set down it better not ever be empty. I prefer female waitresses, I have asked to be moved to another section if the first impression of the waitress is good and I expect my order to be prompt and the way I ordered it. I Choose to eat there I am paying the bill so I dam well better be treated like I matter Or I will let the whole place know what the problem is. I learned how to whisper in a saw mill.

 

[Alan]

I will add that I will hold the waitress responsible for how I asked my food to be cooked, over easy eggs are not over hard or sunny side up, a medium steak is not well done or rare. The wait staff should catch that at the window or do what it takes to get it fixed fast.

 

[Rafter S]

I"m wondering what everybody considers "good service". As I said all I want is someone to promptly take my order, bring my food, check on us once then leave us alone to enjoy the food. What do you want?? Just curious.

Good question TB, I want my ordered taken within about 15 minutes of being seated and not so quick I barely had time to open the menu. Food should be there within 15 to 20 minutes after order assuming it's a easy fix, if it's dinner, salad in five minutes. Don't let my coffee cup or soft drink glass or beer get empty. I won't dock the waitress/waiter for something that's the cooks fault.

Alan,

I agree with you, and I fixed it.

Just one more example. We went out last night. The food was brought out in stages. My sister's meal came out 5 or 10 minutes after the rest of us got ours, and my wife and daughter-in-law's baked potatoes didn't come out until they were half through with the rest of their meal. I assume it was brought out as it was ready, and I realize the waiter couldn't bring it out until it was ready, but it would have been nice if he had explained what was going on when he brought the first batch (or the second). We didn't know if the rest just wasn't ready yet or had been forgotten. He got tipped for average service instead of very good. And I hope that doesn't sound like nit-picking, but my daughter, who waited tables for 4 or 5 years, agreed that he should have done better.

 

[City Guy]

If you remember the service it was not that good. Good service, by its very nature, goes unnoticed. I told my waitresses that the customer is there to have a relationship with the food, not you. If they talk, talk back and be pleasant, otherwise be quite and do your job, speak only as needed and I better never hear you ask "who ordered the _____?"

I realize that some people expect the waiter to entertain them. That should cost extra! Unless your are alone, entertain or be entertained by your companion(s).

 

[slick4591]

If you remember the service it was not that good. Good service, by its very nature, goes unnoticed. I told my waitresses that the customer is there to have a relationship with the food, not you. If they talk, talk back and be pleasant, otherwise be quite and do your job, speak only as needed and I better never hear you ask "who ordered the _____?"

I realize that some people expect the waiter to entertain them. That should cost extra! Unless your are alone, entertain or be entertained by your companion(s).

If they are busy entertaining you they are neglecting another table.

 

[greybeard]

TexasBred wrote:
I"m wondering what everybody considers "good service". As I said all I want is someone to promptly take my order, bring my food, check on us once then leave us alone to enjoy the food. What do you want?? Just curious.

Cleavage.
Well--you asked...

 

[ez14]

thanks id appreciate it :tiphat:

EZ14,
You have to remember many waitstaff don't stay busy with that many tables for 8 hrs. They spend time during mid morning and afternoon setting tables or wrapping silverware for no tip at all.
You do expect a clean table don't you?

EZ14,

I did ask her, and similar to what bbirder said, they don't cover the maximum amount of tables every hour of a shift, and she agreed that 10 would be exceptional. She said that 6 tables an hour would be about the most she could cover and still give them reasonable service. She said she had covered more occasionally, but wasn't able to give them the level of service she would have liked to.

thanks rafter :tiphat: my post was more of a question so thanks everyone that answered

(and i was thinking the table turn around would be closer to 1/2 hour (i guess not everyone is in and out as fast as me :lol: ) so i was thinking they could cover 5 tables at a time)

 

[Jogeephus]

I"m wondering what everybody considers "good service". As I said all I want is someone to promptly take my order, bring my food, check on us once then leave us alone to enjoy the food. What do you want?? Just curious.

For the most part I'd prefer them to leave me alone but if my glass gets low I don't want to sober up before I get another.

 

[TexasBred]

TexasBred wrote:
I"m wondering what everybody considers "good service". As I said all I want is someone to promptly take my order, bring my food, check on us once then leave us alone to enjoy the food. What do you want?? Just curious.

Cleavage.
Well--you asked...

:clap: :clap: :lol2: :lol2: GB that's twice in one week you win the honesty price.

 

[bbirder]

For the most part I'd prefer them to leave me alone but if my glass gets low I don't want to sober up before I get another.

 

[Luca Brasi]

Open/closing hours are almost always on the door. If they want to close at 9:30pm, then put that on the door instead of 10m.

Unfortunately it doesn't work that way in the restaurant business always. Depends on the owners and type. This place was a sit-down and people were allowed to stay until their meal was finished. It was a crappy job, and thankfully she's not doing it anymore.

I agree that it's rude and pretty inconsiderate for customers to hang around so long under the circumstances that you explain, but if you are worried about running into inconsiderate people, being in a service industry is the last place for you. Your wife knew the rules when she took the job, and she agreed to them by continuing her employment there. It is pretty unreasonable to then take revenge when it happens. I'm not saying that she has to like what they did, but spiking their coffee like that is pretty low and uncalled for, if not potentially criminal. Would someone then take it a step further and use the peanut butter knife to cut the sandwich of a rude customer with a peanut allergy? Inconsiderate as they were, the customers were still playing by the posted rules. It's not right or fair to punish them for that.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is this relatively recent trend of tips jars appearing at every counter, even in say a convenience store or a take out place. Counter service is not the same as sit down service. Except in very rare cases when they go out of the way, I refuse to tip for counter service.

 

[cowboy43]

What do you tip at buffet type restaurants where you get your own food. The waitperson comes by to check if everything is ok and you never need anything else. They do not do anything for you.

 

[Son of Butch]

They spend time during mid morning and afternoon setting tables or wrapping silverware for no tip at all.
You do expect a clean table don't you?

Yes I do expect a business serving food to provide a clean environment.
Cleaning tables, wrapping and setting silverware is the very definition of unskilled labor and barely worth minimum wage
let alone additional tipping.

In Minnesota and a few other states businesses are required to pay minimum wages which are a good bit higher than the federal minimum wage and any tips are on top of that wage and not counted in making it to the minimum as I believe may be the case in some states. So food servers have a decent base to start and tips go on top of it to make decent money.
That they only make minimum wage for wrapping silverware and setting tables is as it should be in my opinion.

 

[Bestoutwest]

That they only make minimum wage for wrapping silverware and setting tables is as it should be in my opinion.

I'm having a very hard time with the $15/hour minimum wage deal. I'm a skilled/trained/educated worker. What I do is not as simple as it sounds or looks when I do it. I busted my tail in school and went in on my own volition during breaks to hone my skill. I put in my time and I earned what I have. When I was in high school I worked at a McDonald's franchise. This was in 1999. At that point it was pretty automated, so I'm assuming it's gotten worse. There was no real needed education to do this. The training lasted all of 5 minutes. And the pay matched that. What I'm getting at is that in what way do these people deserve that much money? What will happen to my cost of living when/if this happens? Most certainly it will increase (hopefully not by too much), and my salary will either need to be compensated or I will fall behind where I am. But the real crux is that if these people make more money, and have more spending power, then the cost of ALL goods will go up so that other people can compensate for their loss of spending power. How do these people not see this? :bang:

 

[M-5]

What do you tip at buffet type restaurants where you get your own food. The waitperson comes by to check if everything is ok and you never need anything else. They do not do anything for you.

I don't tip at buffets

 

[slick4591]

At a buffet where they provide a server to keep your glass filled I'll leave a dollar or maybe two if there's several of us and we are provided a good service.

 

[cowboy43]

Several years ago busboys cleaned the table. Now the wait person cleans the table, I have watched as they stick their fingers in the dirty plates then Pick up the dirty tableware and clean the table then bring my food with their thumb stuck in my plate. Maybe I need to eat at more high class restaurants but it is none in my county.

 

[BK9954]

T.I.P.S. To Insure Proper Service
I run a restaurant. Been in the business for 25 years. Started out bussing tables and cooking. Spent years working for tips. Some people stiffed you , some people made up for it. In Texas you make $2.13 per hour plus tips so you are REALLY working for tips. 2.13 covers mostly taxes. If you go out to eat, get good service and dont tip, in my opinion, its rude and almost theft of service. If you cant afford to tip order to go. If the service is bad, tip should be less and let the manager know. Let the server know why they didnt get as much. When I worked for tips I worked my butt off. I made good money but I made my customers feel like kings, not worry about needing anything and I earned my money.

 

[greybeard]

T.I.P.S. To Insure Proper Service
In Texas you make $2.13 per hour plus tips so you are REALLY working for tips. 2.13 covers mostly taxes. If you go out to eat, get good service and dont tip, in my opinion, its rude and almost theft of service.

I never understood the whole "I agree to work for peanuts and depend on the generosity of complete strangers to pay 90% of my income."
If no one tipped, would you have found another occupation?
Do you tip when you go to a place where you know the workers are probably not paid very well--like Walmart, the feed store etc?

 

[callmefence]

Several years ago busboys cleaned the table. Now the wait person cleans the table, I have watched as they stick their fingers in the dirty plates then Pick up the dirty tableware and clean the table then bring my food with their thumb stuck in my plate. Maybe I need to eat at more high class restaurants but it is none in my county.

One reason I only eat out enough to keep the wife around. I'm not a complainer either . very courteous to whoever is handling my food. If I don't like something , I just don't go back.
Tip = 20% rounded up to the dollar.