Tipping! And polls!

[on_reserve]

Tipping -- it's everyone's favorite subject -- I'm curious so please answer honestly.

Ok, imagine you find yourself in the following scenarios as a restaurant customer. Your answer is how you would tip in that situation (and it's perfectly ok if your answer is the same for all situations):

Poll Tipping!

Comments

[onceupon]

I don't generally do things to a precise percent - and there is a lot of variance between "this service is pretty bad" and "this service is truly abyssmal." So, the last category is actually really blurry for me.

And sometimes I will tip extra well even if the service is mediocre if, for example, the restaurant is slam packed and I can tell my server is running their ass off and totally overwhelmed.

I tend to think in general percents with 20% as a sort of guideline. For really cheap bills, though, I can't handle leaving such a little tip. If I go to Waffle House and my bill is $9, I'm still going to leave $3 or so dollars because otherwise I feel like I am leaving a shitty tip and I don't want to do that, especially to someone who works in a dive like Waffle House.

[onceupon]

Sometimes if the kitchen is fucking up and the food is taking forever but the server is attentive, I'm not going to penalize the front-of-the-house for the back-of-the-house's errors.

Oh, this, absolutely.

[on_reserve]

I agree with you -- that there can be other mitigating factors like, "service sucked but the waitress looks like she's about to cry any second ... I am giving her a decent tip because she looks like she really needs it

[wikkid_smaht]

wait. yes. i misread the last question. i have worked counter food service. multiple places. but i have never waited tables. i have friends who have, though, and one inparticular has affected the way i tip. she almost always throws an extra dollar on the tip because, as she said once, "it's just a dollar to me, but to that waitress, it's a huge deal to get an extra dollar in your tip." so, because of that, if i can swing it, i will sometimes toss in an extra dollar or round up to the dollar instead of the change. (like, if the tip is $4.26 instead of rounding to $4.25 or $4.50, i will round to $5.)

[on_reserve]

I always round up to the nearest dollar anyway. I throw on an extra dollar or two if it isn't a big deal (i.e. if total with tip is $9 it becomes $10, $18 becomes $20)

[retrofizz]

tip totally depends on what I'm tipping for. I answered this poll in regards to food service.

I always tip at least a dollar if I get some kind of beverage somewhere. For haircuts I generally tip 25%, unless it sucks.

I also generally tip 20% unless the service is HORRIBLE or I'm broke. I figure that when I tip less and have no money my karma is okay because when I have the money I tip with it.

I also agree with onceupon, if the check is really small then I don't leave a tip according to percentage...

[fetteredwolf]

Yes, I'm with you and onceupon on the small checks. I always tip 20% unless the service was exceptionally bad. If I have no money to tip, I have no money to eat out.

For haircuts- well, my friend cuts my hair. She used to just be my hairdresser, but now she went back to school to be an electrical engineer so she cuts my hair in her home. She charges a lot less then the salon she used to work in, but I pay her the same, i.e. her tip just got larger...

[maa3120]

Agreed - I always tip a minimum of 20% UNLESS the service was extremely horrible. And sometimes if the service is really bad, I take pity on the server and tip her well because I know the *rest* of the tips she gets that day will probably be lousy.

And if the bill is really small I always leave 25%+.

[on_reserve]

The very small checks are in their own category.

I've tipped $5 on a $2 refillable hot cocoa at late-night IHOP because that's just what you do when you're there for 3+ hours at 2 a.m.

[damsel_ophelia]

I've done take out and delivery work. Like onceupon, I don't generally tip in an exact percentage. My usual thinking is that OK, here's what X% is, and I'll round up a little bit to make it a full dollar amount (this is really helpful when paying with plastic). If the service is bad (not necessarily the food itself, that's a whole 'nother ball of wax), I will go out of my way to only tip 15% and I will bring it up with the manager - but if the service is good, the tip is huge and I let the manager know as well.

[masculine_lady]

easiest way to calculate 20% tip? drop the last digit of the total, then double the remainder. piece of cake.

[maa3120]

You might be surprised how difficult it is for some people to do that, though.

[masculine_lady]

oh, no, I am not. I said it was the easiest way, but not that anyone could do it on the fly. I've known plenty of folks who look at me like I have lobsters crawling out of my ears when I tell them that.

[maa3120]

I know what you mean. :)