[QUOTE=Ozzello;1032937]I live here full time. When I eat out (several times a week), I tip at least 20%. More if I feel the waitress/waiter provided good service. They don't even make minimum wage before tips. After taxes, most make about 50 bucks a week on their paychecks.

I hear it is common during 'season' for a few of the folks that stay here only a month or 2 during the winter, to sit down with 5, 6 or more people for a dinner, and tip 5 or 10% (or less even), like they do in Canada (where they make a LOT more by the hour) , or in Europe.

A 'comped' tip on your bill would be 18%. I know it isn't because you don't have the money, that you aren't tipping a fair rate. I am going to figure it is because you didn't know, and now that you read this ... you know. In my opinion, tipping a waitress/waiter anything less than 18% is stealing from them.


GOOD POINT!! I grew up on Long Island and my father was from Brooklyn, NY....my father always said "IF YOU CAN'T AFFORD TO TIP, YOU CAN'T AFFORD TO EAT OUT"!!....Our family always tips 20% minimum unless its a buffet then it's 10%..

Absolutely! If the service is good but the food is par at best, don't take it out on the server. Complain to management. I've seen so many people leave 10 - 15% tip, and not necessarily Canadians or Europeans, either.

And please tip on what the tab would have been before specials, comps, two for ones. Our servers work just as hard for your discounted meal as they do for those who pay full price.

20% has been the standard for years. I usually never tip below that but would never tip less without telling the server why......otherwise nothing gets better and all they remember is you are a non tipper. I remember when I was working, if my performance wasn't up to expectations I was told about it.....we should do the same to those that don't meet our expectations.

Tip for service not food quality.
 

I tip according to the service provided to me. The tip is never based on the quality of the food. I also like to thank the person if the service was great. The manager also likes to hear positive feedback on good employees.

We tip 20% most of the time but when service is terrible, Imam NOT GOING TO TIP 20%! A tip is not a given ~ they need to actually earn it by providing good service. When the service is excellent, the tip goes above 20% without hesitation.

When I eat out, which isn't that often, I always tip at least 20% and always in cash

When we eat out we tip good for good service and tip poor for poor service. If the food is not as ordered or of poor quality we let them know so they can try and correct the problem. When we do let them know that the food is not up to standards we also advise them that we do not want a compensation, we just want them to know.
My wife and I owned a café for several years and know that something can't be corrected if you don't know.
In regards to servers getting bad tips.......bad servers should get bad tips and find a job doing something they are better at.
Servers can and do make good tips when they pay attention to the customer and do a good job. Cream settles to the top!

I agree. This is correct. In some areas in Europe tipping is only a dollar or two. Tipping is just that...a tip for good service not something that is mandatory and certainly not an excuse to not pay regular wages!

Good service....good tip. Not so good service....not so good tip. Usually around 20% for good.

I always tip at least 20%...except for last night.

Went to a local restaurant and when we checked in, we told the hostess that we wanted a table vs a booth. When our buzzer went off, we were escorted to a booth. We told the fellow that we had requested a table. We had to stand there in the dining room for several minutes while they found us a table.

We ordered our meals plus a shared appetizer. The entrees arrived but we never got the appetizer. I had to request that they take the app off the bill.

The waitress never came back to check on us. I had to hail her down to ask for a beverage refill. Twenty minutes later, we were finished with the meal and I never received the refill.

The waitress finally came over and asked if we wanted a box or a dessert. I said no and asked for the check. It took a little over ten minutes for the check to arrive.

In the tip section, I wrote the words "zero...see reverse" and wrote all the above on the back of the check.

Hate on if you must, but in my view there was no reward merited.

Another area that servers must just love is when couples split a meal. We know a couple who always split a meal and order water with lemons. Invariably, the water comes with a lemon in it but the waitress is then asked to go back and get lots more lemon which is then used to effectively make free lemonade. Then, because the split meal is really not enough to fill both of them up, the waiter has to make at least one additional trip for more free bread and butter. By the end of the meal, the waitress has worked more than the normal amount that a couple would require but is tipped on the $10-12 that a single entree costs. If a restaurant has a charge for meal sharing, they won't return. No wonder there is such turnover in the waitstaff in The Villages.

What restaurant was that?
I want to add it to my AVOID LIST.

Skip

I love the way that servers in TV are happy to split the bill by individual or by couple.
We were very surprised at that when we first started dining out in TV.
Perhaps it's a courtesy thing in Florida that waiters do for tourists.
It's not automatically done in other states where I've eaten, or in Ontario.
Since it's extra work for the servers who cheerfully offer to split the bill, that is worth an extra special tip IMHO.