What factors decide how you tip?

there IS no law as to what or even if we tip!however when i leave a tip it will always reflect the service i recieve !exelent service will get an above average tip whilst i have been known to leave a penny for bad service cause i think that sends the message more than stiffing them completly!

I've been a waitress, but i still won't tip good if it's poor service.

I know how important tips are to the waiters but I still think they have to work for it. I so have a genreal amount that I will start with but it con go up from there depending on the service. Unless the service is absolutely terrible they will get the base amount. Two of the biggest things to me for raisning the tip amount is keeping my drink filled. I hate it when I run out so if you keep my drink filled then you will get a higher tip. the other is personality. If you are friendly to me and take a moment to say a few words then you will get a higher tip. If you make me laugh then you will get a really good tip. To me it is not just about bringin me what I ordered, the customer service is really improtant also. Be pleasant, friendly, understanding and humoruous and you will have won me over.

I've been a waitress myself and I do know how hard it can be. However, while I do take in to account how busy the restaraunt is and what time of day it is, I also rate the server and how friendly they are, if they check back on us, if they ask us if we want dessert or an appetizer. Those are all things that I myself had been trained to do so it's what I expect. Also, I tip more if the bill comes to more, after all, I'm paying for better food, and in theory, better service. I mean, I'll tip more at Applebee's than at Denny's.

i work as a waitor for a few year, i always i to earn tips with good service. but i tkink some people dont deserve tips if their service is less than expected

I try to tip at least 10% of whatever the bill was more if the service was good. I also take into account if the place was really busy but the person was doing their best. However there ARE times when the service is Terrible for no reason then I lower the tip according to how bad the service is I have also left a note for the server detailing what I thought was wrong & reported the same to the manager occasionaly the district manager as well. The other side of that coin though is that I have left notes & reports with servers and managers when I thought the person did exceptionally well & deserved special recognition need less to say the incident had the effect of substancially increasing the tip.

these are few factors to look at: 1. whether i am in a good mood 2. whether i got spare cash on hand 3. the service 4. finally whether the food is delicious.

Yes, I use a system and it all has to do with drinks. Depending on how long it takes them to come over and take my order and then fill it. Also, I decrease a tip by 1% every time I have to ask for a refill. I am one of those people that has to be drinking constantly, so if I run out of water or soda I can't eat any more, it make the meal less enjoyable. I don't believe that it is fair to base it on the quality of food or the time it take to get your food, because the person waiting on does not have control over that, but they do have control over drinks.

I was also a waitress/bartender and an assistant manager of a bar/club a year ago! I did this for a year and i am a crazed tipper at times and it does not take much to win me over but a server does have to win me over. I always leave some change regardless of me being impressed or not . I have however been known to tip over $100 in a night depending on my moods and my service ... LOL! Keeping in mind i never got out much as i was always working ... LOL!!! So whe i did i made sure i tipped and i tipped good ... LOL! I tip this way though expecting their best service posible to our table of course , a smile, picking up our empties, and even emptying ashtrays all of these things make a great waitress! At least in a bar and i also think that conversation is always good when it is slow sort of keeps your customers more occupied as well as your time!!!

There is only one factor that I consider to be the biggest reason why I would tip or not. The service. It could be the best food in the world but if the service is absolutely terrible than I am not going to even consider giving them a tip at all. I went into a restaurant one time and their food was incredible but the service made me want to scream at one of the servers. It was as if they didn't even know I actually was there sitting in the dining room ready to order dinner. There's been a few times that I've been out at restaurants where the servers have outright expected a tip from me and I've looked at them like they were crazy. The main reason I gave them a look like that is because they didn't give me good service in the first place. They seemed to think there was some other greater reason why I should hand over a few dollars to them for no good reason. This waiter was just down right rude to us. And ignored us half of the night & then ended up bringing us the wrong orders. And then when we had told them that our order was wrong they just picked up our food & sent over the assistant manager just so they wouldn't have to deal with us. I think that the only thing you need to take into consideration when it comes to the whole tipping issue at a restaurant is if your service has been up to par or not. If it hasn't or if it has been completely terrible I think you should be doing more than just not tipping. I feel that if you've been completely screwed by a business's employee you have every right to go after their management and get them involved as well. There has been one stand out in terms of bad service that both me and my other half have vowed not to order from anymore. After one night of good service and food, the following time was so bad we ended up calling management. What was even more disappointing was that the manager didn't care a bout anything we had to say and he told us basically that we were worthless as customers. I didn't appreciate being treated like this and I wanted to just call the head office or someone even higher up than that store manager and report the issue to them. Maybe then I would have gotten some answers and perhaps a credit toward my next meal. The worst service we had came this one night after we had eaten at the same restaurant the night before. This specific server was a complete jerk. We had ordered our food and he was off talking to a couple waiter friends of his. Anyways, he finally delivered out meal with the wrong things on my burger. I have acid reflux and thus, I have to stay away from things that make it flare up. My other half asked that it be taken back and made properly. Upon doing this the server got an instant cold shoulder which he passed on towards us. We took whatever he gave us in terms of attitude but we knew we had to talk to management for his attitude and arrogance towards us as customers. I have never been treated the way they treated us. It didn't help when we got in contact with their management they were very cold just like our server was. The manager said he couldn't do anything and it didn't make us feel good about our dining experience there. In conclusion, I really cannot understand businesses that operate like this and get away with it. You would think that they would at least be interested in what was going on. Obviously the management of this one place was terrible and I guess they couldn't really handle trying to make their customers feel welcome or happy in general. There is only one reason why I tip or not and it has everything to do with the service I receive at a restaurant. Thanks for allowing me to share! xx

I always base my tipping scale on how good the service was. I won't leave a tip if the service was poor, that's just encouraging them to continue giving lousy service. If it happened that I just didn't enjoy the food, I would still tip the server, as that isn't their fault.

The term tips was originally an achronym for the following: To Insure Prompt Service... I tip based on the knowledge, attitude and skill of the server. I am usually tipping at about 15% for those that meet the criteria and enhance my dining experience. I don't feel bad at all about not tipping if a server is rude, not helpful, unpleasant or doesn't care about their patrons..I will definitely tip 20-25% if the server is on top of everything and shows interest and knowledge. I once left a $30 tip for a 15.00 lunch...the server helped us find directions to the next place we were going, made a phone call to insure that we had the right address and was very attentive to us throughout the meal... I feel people in this industry should be rewarded for the above and beyond..when they choose to be great and they could easily get by with mediocrity, I reward them...

I too spent many years as a waitress. And I think because of that I am both leniant and strict. I expect a server to be friendly and attentive. I understand that sometimes it can be busy and the server may be overwhelmed. But a two second 'I'll be right with you folks' is all it takes. Ignoring customers is not the way. A lot of servers will ignore a table if their food isn't ready yet. It maybe because the kitchen is backed up. But again I expect my server to tell me 'I am sorry but the kitchen is backed uo, I am doing what i can to get your food out'. It doesn't take much. I expect my order to be right. If I order food a particular way, it is up to the server to make sure it is right. I also hate when i am in the middle of my meal and they ask if I want desert. LET ME FINISH MY FOOD FIRST! Yeesh. Ok, sorry didn't mean to yell. I don't tip high just because it's expected. I will tip average then it goes up and down from there.

My tips are completely dependent on how good the service is. It's calle a "gratuity" (or "gratitude") as a way of saying "thank you" for good service. Whether it's the current social thing to do or not, I am NOT going to tip 20% whether or not the service is bad or good. I sometimes tip more than that (or less) based on how good the service is.

I can't believe my friends wanting me to tip delivery boys for bringing pizzas, I mean, come on, what service have they given me ? I get the pizza in the dark outside, they are always late, never have correct change, and I have to tip them ? I think you should tip only if you get better service, otherwise, what's the point ? the employee should be the one paying a salary, not me.

i know what you mean because that is how i tip. are they friendly, is my food hot, is the food good, did they come check on me, all of that goes into how much i am going to tip. that is an important part of the meal. the way you are treated by your waiter/waitress

my scales for tipping are similar to yours! i notice how long the waiter or the waitress has taken in coming to fetch my order, how long it took to bring the order, the demeanor of the waiter/ waitress etc! I tip generously when these criterias are met, i dont tip less than friendly waiter/ waiteress!

I too base my tip on the quality of service that I recieve. I have evn went so far to leave two cents with a note to our waitress that said if you dislike people and your job that much than you should quit and she was very rude and only came to our table if we ask another waiter/waitress to get her. I told the manager that I didn't appreciate her service and thats why I was not leaving a tip. It shouldn't take 30 minutes to bring drinks to the table no matter how busy the place is. Thats your job and if you are that bad it then its time to find another career.

Personally I find lowering/excluding a tip based on "performance" hard as I've waitressed before. There were so many circumstances at that job that were in no way my fault no matter how much I tried to hurry up. I even give a little leeway for "having a bad day" in their attitude as they are only human. But, I will tip much lower if someone's not even trying to be pleasant or do a good job. You can always tell those types. I've even left notes "This would be more if you were nicer." Out of town of course =P Oh, and if you eat at waffle house they still often make

Hey Thinkerbell here , It depends if i find their service exceptionally great and the waiters normally have very courteous demeanor .They are normally great conversationalist to start and good dining serving protocol. then I would be tipping them the minimum 5-10 . Its never that high as my wallet are thin.