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How much to Tip ?

RembrandtRembrandt Member Posts: 4,486 ✭✭
edited November 2001 in General Discussion
Had a group of clients out the other day for lunch and got hit with a 20% automatic tip on the bill....now I don't have a problem tipping for good service, but I would like to be the one that decides how much. Most times I go the 15% unless the service is really poor...then I send a message with none at all or a few pennies.Been on a couple of guided hunts where I dropped $50 to $100 tips for a well guided hunt. Some hunters tell me they give gifts to the guides, binocs, ammo, clothing. Anyone else have experience tipping guides?
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    LowriderLowrider Member Posts: 6,587
    edited November -1
    Depends how much the waitress flirts with me. And waiters don't get much at all.
    Lord Lowrider the LoquaciousMember:Secret Select Society of Suave Stylish Smoking Jackets She was only a fisherman's daughter,But when she saw my rod she reeled.
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    RembrandtRembrandt Member Posts: 4,486 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I was at an "Outback Steakhouse" in Ohio last week, the waitress comes by for my order with a trainee, first night. They were very methodical and got the order, so I motioned for both to come back and sit down across from me in the booth. I said to the new gal, "so this is your first night?"...yes she replied. "Would you gals like some advice on how to make more money and get good tips?"...."yea!" I proceeded to tell them how people like to hear their name, it's a flattery thing, when you address your table find out their first name and get on a more personal communication link, then smile and display a bubbly personality. They left....then came back to find out my first name....I watched these two during my meal and their interaction with other customers. They were having a ball and the customers were enjoying it too. They brought my bill and thanked me for the advice, said they hadn't had so much fun for a long time....I left them a $20 bill to split. A little kindness goes a long way.
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    218Beekeep218Beekeep Member Posts: 3,033
    edited November -1
    This reminds me of a letter to the editot of the local paper,about tipping.A gal wrote that her friend was a waitress at one of our best restraunts,and we have some of the finest.anyway an older couple came in,and was treated like royalty,then left nothing but a prepared note on a buissiness card tipe thing,saying something like..."To our server:we would like for you to know that we appreciate your sirvice.We worked hard all of our lives to finally retire in florida,and we enjoy an occasional night out.However,we are now on a fixed income,and there is little left to do the things we enjoy,so all we can offer is a kind word of appreciation.We hope you understand,MR. and MRS.whatever~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Break out at least 20% if the service is good,and if ya can`t...then keep yer * at the house!!!!!However,I don`t care for any automatic tipping systim,and have not experianced it yet..218
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    just-shootjust-shoot Member Posts: 233 ✭
    edited November -1
    If they pour my beer in a glass and put my leftovers in a container, this will guarantee a 20%. Bring me a beer, no glass and hand me a container for my left overs - well hell, I mite as well be serving myself at home.
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    semiwadsemiwad Member Posts: 14 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    The mandatory tip sux!!!!!!!I want to be able to decide ... for myself, if the service merits ''something extra''.Damned cheak I say to ''load'' my bill first!!!If the staff work well and make me feel at home and take trouble, then ... they deserve a reward .. simple.
    "UNITED WE STAND"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"Never mind the dog - beware the owner""Growing old is mandatory, growing wise is optional"
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    timberbeasttimberbeast Member Posts: 1,738 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I generally tip heavily, probably because I've worked in service jobs and know how hard you have to work and get paid less than minimum wage, but don't care for the mandatory thing. Raise the price of the meal, if that's the way you want to go, and don't chase people away by making them feel obligated to tip. Waitresses fight over my table when I go out, because they remember. It's nice to be treated like royalty in jeans and a t-shirt!
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    mlincolnmlincoln Member Posts: 5,039 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    This is a tricky field. It's tough to realize that sometimes poor service is not the server's fault: the kitchen is slow getting the food cooked or the manager has the server assigned to too many tables. Can't fault them for that. Even taking that into account, though, it's been a while since I've had some truly good service. I normally tip 20%, but if I got somebody who did an incredible job I might easily double that.
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    218Beekeep218Beekeep Member Posts: 3,033
    edited November -1
    Hey timber,they probably think you`re that famous rocker...do they ever catch you writing lyrics on a napkin?Could have somethin` ta do with why they fight over ya..Either that,or you`re just a real handsome feller!Of course the latter would rule out the former.....and visa/versa.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Point Two Eighteen~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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    TLynnTLynn Member Posts: 353 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Take into consideration that the cost of the meals those waiters/waitresses serve is figured into the percentage of tips they should make (10% is the rate the federal government says) and that is the amount their tips are taxed - whether they make any money or not.So I can see why they set up the 15% gratuity thing but I just don't believe in it and do not go to resteraunts that charge that.I do minimally tip the 10% because as it stands in many states they are only making around $3.00/hr - the owners of resteraunts do not have to pay minimum wage (again because of the tip thing).When I can't afford to tip - I don't go out.
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    v35v35 Member Posts: 12,710 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    15% for lunch and 20% for dinner. Bad service gets less and maybe a complaint and excellent service gets a little more.
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    He DogHe Dog Member Posts: 50,964 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    The standard in the US is 15% for waitresses and waiters and 20% for more personal service like a hairstylist. In some metro areas add 5% to both figures. You should never leave nothing: they write you off as a cheapskate. If the service is poor leave three cents or a nickle to be sure they got the message. In Europe the standards are about half what they are here. I'd retire there if I could take my rifles.
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    gruntledgruntled Member Posts: 8,218 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I've always hated the idea of tipping or being tipped. The standard was 10% & thensomehow it got raised to 15%, I never heard of it going to 20%. I give 10% & hate myselffor doing that. Now ask me how I feel about all the best parking spots being reservedfor Valet parking.
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    He DogHe Dog Member Posts: 50,964 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I could be wrong Gruntled, but perhaps if you had spent some time working in "service professions," you might feel differently. I waited tables while in college and it is a tough way to make a living, and mostly not much of a living. I feel for the folks that make a living that way.
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    GreenLanternGreenLantern Member Posts: 1,647 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    No argument, tiping is an 'accepted' practice and it is hard to make a living waiting tables. But if it's gone from 10% to 15% out of habit, where's it going to stop? 20%? 30%? 40%? Regardless, I also don't believe in the 'mandatory' tip for groups over a certain number. Like a few others said, I should be able to determine how much a tip should be based on the quality of service. Personally, I think it's a little riduclous that if I go out to eat that I'll have to factor in at least another 20%. Maybe if we all stop at 15%, owners and managers will be forced to pay their waitstaff more or be unable to get people to fill those jobs. Yeah, alright, I can already hear the follow-ups to that. "They'll just pass the cost onto the customer!" :-) Isn't capitalize great!!
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    LowriderLowrider Member Posts: 6,587
    edited November -1
    I'm a big-time tipper, especially in the bar, and I always take a bunch of flack from my ol' lady who is as cheap as the day is long.The thing that turns me off about tipping is when the waiter/waitress/bartender is the owner of the establishment.Does social etiquette really expect me to tip the owner of a million-dollar restaurant just because he did a good job mixing my drink?
    Lord Lowrider the LoquaciousMember:Secret Select Society of Suave Stylish Smoking Jackets She was only a fisherman's daughter,But when she saw my rod she reeled.
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    JustCJustC Member Posts: 16,056 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Wife was a restaurant manager for some time, but she didn't start there of course. The mandatory tip for certain size groups is a valid rule. that server has all of their other tables to serve at the same time as well as the large group. Just think the next time you go out with some people, when you start getting buzzed or just having fun at a slightly more audible level; what would good service be worth if it was you doing the serving? If they are uniterested or rude, then the tip should suffer, no arguments. But, if they are polite and maybe a little over-worked that evening, they have earned the tip. this is figured into their money as they don't make much at all by the hour. Just think, if the last group before you hadn't left them a crappy tip after being the most demanding bunch in the place, maybe your service would have been better. But, then maybe you are that group!!! It is a cycle,,,,it can stop with your table just as easily as it can start. Have fun with your server and see how good the service CAN BE.
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    HAIRYHAIRY Member Posts: 23,606
    edited November -1
    I learned that when one is dining in Europe, a MANDATORY tip is included in the bill. We Americans inadvertantly add another tip (once)!!!
    It's not what you know that gets you in trouble, it's what you know that just ain't so!
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    arthur wellingarthur welling Member Posts: 66 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I tip anything from pennies to a tip equal to the bill itself. I judge it by the service presented to me. I reserve the perogative to MYSELF. I only go to places with 'automatic tipping' once, and once only. For all the obvious reasons and one more too.... with servers I have known, once the business gets that money in their hands the server rarely gets an honest accounting of it. I have left a $20 tip for a friend, just to hear how she made less than that in tips that night. You can BETI crawled up that resturaunt owners * and dug a pit big enough for his brain while I was there. Publicly too.
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    berto64berto64 Member Posts: 57 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    For those of you who do tip, if you recieve good service, don't put your tip on you CC. Tip in cash, then the server gets to keep it.On the card there is a record of the tip and is taxable income, cash belongs to them.berto
    What! Trade my M-14 for that plastic piece of ___t!Endeavor to Persevere
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    RembrandtRembrandt Member Posts: 4,486 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    My son works as a bartender at an "Applebees" on the weekends while going thru college, I had a talk with him about how to treat customers in hopes of getting better tips. Many business owners & execs come thru after working hours. (Keep in mind Ol' Rembrandt is probably a little bias and proud of his young one), but he works a crowd like an entertainer. He has had countless job offers, gift certificates, and brings home several hundred dollars in tips over a weekend. One night he served a group of business execs who left him a $150 tip. I don't know where he picked this up, but he is the entertainment for the customers and they love it. Most of these people have had a bad day at the office, and this may be the high point of their day. Point being, smiles, friendly personality, and good service really pay off.
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    biganimalbiganimal Member Posts: 135 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I tip very well (18-20%) if the service warrants it but will only leave a verbal tip if the service isn't up to my standards. If the service is lacking I tell the server exactly why I am dissapointed. It has made quite a difference when I returned to a few resturants.
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    hyperspacehyperspace Member Posts: 91 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I always tip well if the service deserves it. Usually higher than 20%, depending on the quality of service and the crowd.Cute, flirty waitresses end up in the 40%+ realm by default. It's a weakness . . .
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    drawndrawn Member Posts: 544 ✭
    edited November -1
    T.I.P= To Insure PromptnessWhen I take a group out I estimate the bill and after the server is done with water and menu's I follow them away from the table and ask if they know the meaning of tip. After introducing myself and explaining to them the To Insure Promtness thing I hand them the estimated tip in cash. This has never failed and works flawlessly when entertaining clients.When the bill comes I can then augment the tip if need be.
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    idsman75idsman75 Member Posts: 13,398 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Tipping...such a wonderful subject. Has anyone seen Reservoir Dogs? That was quite an entertaining piece about tipping near the beginning of the film. I also found it interesting that the German word for "tip" is trinkgeld which translates directly into English as "drinking money".
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    LowriderLowrider Member Posts: 6,587
    edited November -1
    Mister Pink doesn't believe in tipping and it made NiceGuy Eddie and his Daddy real pissed.
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