They might spit in your food even if you don’t tip, why worry about it. Yeah, sounds gross. But how many women have you kissed? I always figure what I don’t know won’t hurt me.

My wife is sort of like those described above. Not that she minds me tipping. As long as it’s a guy, an old lady, or an unattractive woman. If I tip a pretty young blonde girl though,…..it’s because I must want to sleep with her. Well, I tip them anyway. Women are strange creatures.

I tip, and I could have predicted the Pelicanheads who also report tipping (and those who do not). It is a way to say thanks, and they need the money more than I do.

The spitting thing, and any self-interest on my part, is just not in my thinking. And BTW, food service people do sometimes go out of their way to spit on food, but this special service is always for donkey-orifices. Don't be a Richard Head.

Since tipping is after the meal, odds are the same unless you’re a regular who is cheap and maybe a jerk too.

But I bet if you send back something because it wasn’t cooked right, you probably have an excellent chance of getting your food spit on before it comes back.

Right. I think the least that I've ever tipped was 10%, and that was for what I considered "bad" service. When I get moderate service, they still get 15%, because I give them the benefit of a doubt and assume they are having a bad day or something.

That makes *****es a nickel.

There are a couple of restaurants I go to that I guess would be considered "higher end", where a lot of the customers are entitled pricks and treat the staff like total garbage. That makes my blood boil. There were a few times when I opened my mouth and said something. Most of these waiters and waitresses work their butts off and don't need some douchebag hassling them.

.

Being a “server” (as a waiter, bartender, even as a white water rafting guide) taught me everything I needed to know about human nature at a young age.

There is just a percentage of people that are, as you wrote, entitled pricks: I learned early how to deal with them, and, perhaps more importantly, how to avoid them.

Restaurant ownership is, btw, an amazing tight rope act and not for the feint of heart: Customers, staff, suppliers all require attention. Kudos, NYNick.

No you are not the only one. Tampering is what concerns me about the pre-service tipping thing that has become common lately. Delivery folks used to give good service in order to get a good tip. Now they expect to get paid before they provide the service and assume if you don't pre-tip you won't tip at all. I would not be surprised if they gave you a little "extra" if you don't pre-tip.

My wife and I don't eat out much but when we do I often find myself getting increasingly pissed off about the quality of service in recent years. On maybe 2-3 instances in the past 10 or so years, I have actually stiffed a server and complained to the manager about the terrible, lazy or rude service. When I get below average service I still typically will tip 10%. For average to good service I do 20%. On the rare occasion when the service is exceptional 25-30%.

On the rare occasion I get fast food from the counter or thru a drive thru while on the road, I never tip. Until recent years I had never even heard of anyone tipping a cashier at a fast food joint or drive thru window cashier.

All that said, I remember 10% was the normal amount for tipping at a sit down restaurant for much of my adult life.... Somehow now it seems that 20% is the norm.

Indeed tipping convention has always been an average of 15% - and that’s at a sit down restaurant where they take your order at the table, serve you, clean up, and even run your credit card, etc. Full service.
Tipping where you do some of these things yourself lowers the percentage.

Sorry, but this recent nonsense of tipping a higher percentage because prices have gone up is ridiculous. The same percentage of a higher check is already a higher tip.

Yes, I was never a waiter, nor in any food service industry, so apparently that’s my shortcoming.

I worked a high end service industry job as a bartender all through college and beyond a few years too long.

1. never send your food or drink back. trust me
2. if you don't tip and/or are a high maintenance appendage, never return to the same establishment

We have some friends who retired early (mid 50's) and if we eat out and split the check I will tip 40% to cover the service as they do not tip at all.
Low cost breakfast places where there is a server I generally tip $10 regardless of the meal unless 20% exceeds that number. Bill is $6 I tip $10...you get the drift, especailly if you have ever worked a service job.

Its not rocket science folks.

Yep. Many years ago, we went to dinner with my wife's mother and her husband. They drank, and the more they drank, the more obnoxious they were to the server. Then they didn't completely stiff the server, but the tip was super low. And the service had been good despite them being progressively obnoxious.

When we all left, I made an excuse about forgetting something at the table and took some cash back inside for the waiter. We never went out to eat with them again.

I went to a hosted dinner event at an upscale hotel here in LA last week. After I ordered a (free) drink at the mobile bar outside the banquet room I realized the smallest I had was a $5 bill, so I asked for change so I could tip him. He didn’t have any, and none in his tip jar yet, so I just dropped the $5 in. To my surprise he said “you can come back all night for drinks for that much”. He was so happy to serve and had a great attitude and I took care of him.

The nicer and more helpful the waiter/bartender, the higher the tip. But often I run into waitstaff who are disinterested or even grumpy from first contact. And I don’t mean somewhere I’ve been before. You can guess how they get tipped.