20% almost always unless service is really good or really poor - then give or take 5% of that 20%.

20% and that includes the tax and 20% on any and all wines ordered.I try not to go to dinner with several couples at a time,since i hate the practice of dividing up the check and shouting across the table to join in the conversation.Dividing up the check is a pain in the a$$ for the server and for the couples.Whenever it does happen, on those rare occasions, i quietly ask the server for one check, give him my credit card and tell him to add 20%.It makes for a more enjoyable and less complicated evening for all.

If we get really bad service, we will leave a penny just to let them know we did not forget but on the other hand, we will tip according to service if we have great service also. Usually 20%

Separate Checks Common in TV
 

Suprisely, restaurant servers in The Villages typically will ask if separate checks are expected. Most Greater Boston restaurants would simply refuse to provide separate checks. We typically tip more than 20% to compensate for the "happy hour" drink cost reduction on the check.

The servers in TV, bless them, are the best we have ever encountered, anywhere. They know their business and work hard and are used to separate checks and carry out boxes. They smile at us and serve us sweetly.

Now that's funny, great way to send a message, but hard to ever go back there:1rotfl:

Cruel
 

That's condescending and cruel. Not hard to back there, downright dangerous. Don't mess with people handling your food.

Not at all, would you rather get into an argument that the service sucked.

I never did it, but if the occasion arises I prefer to get the manager explain the problems and let them do their job and train the staff.

If they run a good biz you may even get comped for a return visit.

Now before you say that's bad because the wait staff may be fired, it would not be from my single problem with them.

Well there's bad service and there's downright terrible rude servers who just don't care. Obviously I'm not going to punish a server if the restaurant overwhelmed them even if I took the hit. But even if they were really bad I don't think it's right to be condescending. Even so, you've got a lot of nerve returning.

Leaving a penny is really mean and punitive to the server, when the problem might not be because of the server at all.

It could be that the server was not attentive to you because the boss had them assigned to a side private-party room besides the dining room.....or maybe another server did not show up for work and your server had to cover 2 sections! Any number of things can happen to cause your server to be unable to be attentive to you, and those things are to be handled by the boss who makes decisions about how many tables that server has to cover, how many servers to schedule on busy or slow days/nights/shifts....etc.

Sending a message with a penny does not communicate your point, and it says more about you than the server's job performance.

The spoken word is the way to communicate a problem.....to the boss/manager who makes decisions about the conditions under which the server is working.

:BigApplause:

Good to see someone else with common sense and basic knowledge of how to treat other human beings!

Wait until you move here and you will see that there isn't a problem with servers doing their jobs, for the most part.

The servers here deserve the courtesy that most of them afford us, a bunch of snarly and tight old people sometimes. I say that overwhelmingly, they are better at their jobs than any I have encountered before, anywhere.

I am in the restaurant business and have been for over 20 years. I am not a senior citizen but I can give you a tip. Noone wants to work. We have to work for different reasons, family, bills etc... You should tip on service not age.

For the most part the servers I have encountered in TV have been excellent so I usually end up tipping 20%, rounding up to the next dollar.

My general rule is:
20%+ for good service
15% for average service
10% for below average service.

I say this is a general rule because occasionally what appears on the surface to be "bad" service is actually not the server's fault but the fault of the kitchen staff and in those cases I try to be understanding and tip 15-20%.

I also always try to tip in cash because I don't want taxes to be deducted from my server's tips and I want to make sure they have access to ALL of the tip I have left behind.

I also try to always make sure that I hand the tip to the server or I will actually wait around and see them pick it up. Many years ago I went on a blind date with a girl who took a $5 tip off the table and replaced it with a $1 bill (needless to say I never dated her again!). Ever since then I have been very careful to insure that I see that the server actually gets the tip. It is way too easy for other customers or busboys to pick up the tip and rip off the server.

Very good point that people miss