Tipping gone out of control ??!!! What about tipping in this harsh economy

My husband and I rarely go out to eat anymore. With 5 kids, eating out costs us the price of 3 meals made at home. Add into it a tip, and we are hitting the cost of 4 meals at home. If we do go out, I still tip with the 15% rule. While I do understand that people are trying to earn a living as a waiter or waitress, I refuse to pay ungodly prices for the service of that person. I have been known to give a 20% or more tip to someone who gave us excellent service, paid attention to my children and was willing to put up with their need to order for themselves. Mind you, this is hard when the child ordering is 3 or 4 years old, so my thought is that they deserve the little bit of extra. I have also been known not to tip at all. I expect good service, and when it isn't given at all, what is the point to tipping? On those rare occasions, I also speak to a manager before I pay my bill. I do think it is better to tip less and go out more often though, as you are right. If we all decided to stop going out or go out much less, that would put others in danger of losing a much needed job.

Well I understand that most people that work tipping jobs live off of their tips. But I also see what you are trying to say here, I mean when it gets to the point where a tip is not worth the effort of eating then it goes to far. I myself try to tip but then I also feel if they do not do a good job then they do not deserve a tip. I try to tip at least a dollar if I have a lot of money at the time I tip anywhere from 1 $ to 5 $ I never tip more than that. I mean I understand they need money but I need my money too. I like this discussion and I hope you get more responses from it as well. Happy mylotting

I'm not an over-the-top tipper, but I still tip. What I don't like are places that add tips to their prices so they are supposedly shared by all employees, when we want to say thanks to the person supplying the good service. Needless to say I refuse to tip bad or impolite servers. I don't go out so much that I have to review how much I tip. Having said that, I have to survive on a pension now so that may change.

Hey ricknkae, how are you doing? Yes, of course I tip. It would be weird not to. Many restaurants that get tips make server pay which is very low cos they make their money on tips. I tip anywhere from 10---20%. If the service is really bad then the sever is going to get a lower tip like 10%. I understand that some people don't tip but then again if the service is really bad then I still would tip 10% maybe 15%. The server still needs some money as a tip. No, I think tip boxes are annoying. I usually don't tip them cos they are getting normal hourly pay (not reduced sever pay like in many restaurants). I've gotten some special treatment such as when I was in a coffee shop I ordered food and it was supposed to come with bread. The "barrista" gave me a bagel instead (for free!) I don't think anyone else would have so I did put some of my change in the tip jar. Yea we don't go to many restaurants anyway. Plus we sometimes go to cheaper restaurants like Steak N shake, Bob Evans, or other fast food places. Many don't require tips. Ricknkae you ask a good question. If you cannot do tips it's best not to go out to eat. If you go out I would say to leave at least 10% tip at the least. It depends on the bill it may be 1 to 2 uSD. However if you spend 40 to 50 USD (such as if there are many more people than 2 people) then the tip should be at least 4 to 5 USD. It's always good to approximate the bill and make sure you have enough to leave the tip. Cheers! Pablo

You raised so many interesting questions, I am affraid that i will not be able to answer to all of them. I think that tipping should go from your heart, if you don't feel like leaving a tip, than why should you do that? I know that all these people expect that you will leave good tips, but if you don't they will not die. And still, do you care if someone thinks that you are cheap? I don't. I try to do what I want and don't care what they say.

i don't go out if I can't afford to give a decent tip. I know the waitress chooses this line of work but many choose it because it is all they know or are qualified for. It's a job. I don't eat out often...when I do ...I get takeout. It is very rare that I will go out and eat and be in a position to tip anyway. I have this hangup about having to feel obligated to pay the salary that the owner of the establishment should be paying. I always do tip if I go out regardless of the waitress. I was one for a short while...I really couldn't cope with it. It is a lot of work and depending on how busy it is...you could go home making next to nothing for your time. When it is not busy...that's when the boss has you working hardest...cleaning, scrubbing etc...all for 2.50 per hour?? He is drastically underpaying his help and relying on the public to pay them for him. The meals are costly enough .....the tips should be extra ...a reward for a job well done. It should not be their salary.