Is 10% tip out of fashion already?

Most servers are only paid a little over two dollars an hour and rely on tips for the majority of there income. I have read many places that a 15%-20% is a good range to follow. If the service is not very good than I will only tip 10% but any other time I try and tip 15% unless they are exceptional and I will tip even more. I know many servers that loved there jobs but had to give it up since the pay was so low and with the way the economy is people were tipping less so they were not able to pay their bills. I let their service guide me to how much I am going to give them and try and think that they are trying to make a living from what we give them.

Yeah, it's been a while now but the right tip to give someone is 15%. 10% usually means that the server was bad, or that you're cheap. I used to be a server and 10% tips were horrible. People would buy 20 or 30 dollars worth of food and only leave $3?? An hour worth of helping them and I only get $3. They might as well have kept it.

Like the others said, it's now 15% at the least. But with me, it depends on the service. I'll leave the 15% unless someone is incredibly rude or clearly doesn't give a crap about me or my guests. Then I leave less and a note to tell them why. I don't complain to the management, I don't want them to lose their jobs, I just want them to improve. That said, I have rarely left less than 15% and usually leave 20%. That's one reason I rarely go to restaurants, because the service is fairly expensive but it's worth paying for. An easy way to figure is knock a zero off the bill. That's 10$. Divide in half and add that to it and that's 15%. Double the 10% and that's 20%. These guys and girls work really hard for nearly nothing but tips. The service they give is usually great, and it feels good to be waited on once in awhile. Most of them really seem to care if their patrons are having a good time and like the food. I think it's worth it to get a little pampering--I just can't afford too much of it!

10% has been out of fashion for about 20 years. 15-20% is the norm in America now. The tip isn't an extra. It's part of their salary. First they have to tip the cook, the bartender and the bus boys whether they receive tips or not. They also get taxed on 8% of the orders they serve as income. It assumes that they pay out part of their 15% of the bill tips to the other workers. If you don't tip, they actually are loosing money. They get taxed on money they don't receive. That is not fair.

I think it's supposed to be like 15 to 18 pro cent. But I leave whatever I can afford. You right, it is there job so they should be happy with whatever you give them and not complain.

I worked in a restaurant from 1991 - 2001 and at that time where I lived, it was customary to leave at least 15% tip. If the service exceeded expectations, people would leave 20% or more. What made it weird to me is that it was a buffet restaurant where you serve yourself for the most part. You could order off the menu if you wanted to, but most people went with the buffet. Our servers made $3.85/hr + tips. They still had to split their tip with the bus boys and the bartender. So after all that, they really didn't make all that much. Tip is based on service though. If the servers want bigger tips, they should work harder and provide good service. If the service is poor, they should expect to get less.