I went out to lunch the other day with my long time buddy Andy, who I haven’t seen in years. He agreed to take me out for lunch and we went to a busy Sushi restaurant in the Bay Area. We had a nice talk before our waiter came out to take our orders for drinks. After we placed our order for drinks, Andy handed our waiter some money and explained that he liked to tip first.
I didn’t understand it at first because normally people tip after the service was rendered, but he explained that we would get better service because the waiter will want to live up to their tip. The service was just as I would expect it to be, so I haven’t changed my mind on tipping after the meal is over.
I have other friends that have a tip set in their head and they either add or subtract from that amount depending on how the service went. Tips can be confusing, I prefer to have the tip included in the price. What do you guys do?
www.PeterFever.com
Tipping rules. The tip is based upon the full price of the bill -- including tax. Your tip should be at the least 15%. this is like a “D” grade for you as a customer if that is what you tip. If service was better than expected we bump it up to 20%. if service was very bad and the waiter was a total jerk / you can tip as little as you want BUT if you do this let your server know you want to know what you did that made them so angry as to give you such bad service. Tipping should be made to anyone where they bring the food to you. As a general rule nothing less than 2 bucks -- ever. I also prefer to give my tip at my table and not in the tip jar when you pay.
The math isn’t really that hard. Tipping in the US is 20% for your basic good service. That’s one dollar for every five. People get all tied up in it with odd, nitpicky questions like, “But what if there’s sales tax?” Really? At 8% that’s another 40 cents on a $5 bill, which means you tip an extra dime. Are you kidding me? Considering how hard it is for people to do good table service in some environments, and how much stress and tension in kitchens and with some customers the server has to politely endure, it’s just not that big a deal to tip the standard 20% for service that meets the basic standard. Any person who has had to do physical labor or stand on their feet for 8 to 10 hours while dealing with the public does not have to ask the question “How much do I tip?” They already know. And if the service is super-excellent? Then tip 25% (or even more if you feel it was mega-special.) For someone who has to rely on goodwill and hard work, tips can make all the difference. But I don’t tip them before the service is given, because I might not even know what the bill will be. They might live up to the tip, but they might not exceed it either. Best wait till the service has been rendered, and the bill arrives. Besides, waiters are hard workers, not escorts.
Well, I think that according to the category of the restaurant is the service category, I usually leave the tip of 15% only when the service was bad I evaluated how bad it was and leave only a portion of leave a tip or complaint and never return again, but …….. if I were to assist you with you I fall apart in praise and attention
I pretty much follow what you do- wait until I see how it goes. I do try to also pay attention to the overall staffing of the establishment to make sure that the server is not actually being over worked and I try to think about whether the kitchen is run well or poorly, if those things exist, it is not fair to the server to cut their tip. But if they are just plain bad at what they are doing I will cut back a little and I still believe in the old practice of leaving a penny to indicate dissatisfaction. I suppose a lot of people don’t know about that but it was how I was raised. I have seen servers go back before I have left the property and just kind of have a stupid look on their faces when they see the penny , in that case you almost feel bad for them and figure maybe you should have left two pennys to make your point. I also hate when I am with friends and we are splitting the bill up and they are bigger tippers because it takes away my opportunity to fully express how I regarded the service so I usually will request separate bills. Andy’s idea is good ion theory but sounds like it doesn’t actually work, or maybe your server didn’t realize that if he went above and beyond there could be a possible bonus of an additional tip AFTER the meal. Oh well- stick with fast food or home made! Love ya Peter- Take care!
I usually wait until the end… and depending on the service, I either double the tax and round it up or do that and leave extra for truly excellent service.
I prefer tipping after a service… and it all depends of the service… here in Canada we usually tip 15 to 20%… but less if the service is not so good… sometimes a server can have a bad day and it really could make it worst with a bad tip or no tip… Usually my waiters know me and I get pretty good services anyways… I’m a hairstylist and usually get $10 to $20 tip for a haircut but sometime $50 or more…