It depends on if the bar is crowded or not. In a packed place where you keep having to wait for rounds, a big tip on the first round will typically have the bartender coming back to you more quickly the next time around.

$10 or $15 if it was that good.

$40 for breakfast? Wow, I hope that was for a few people...

Yeah. there were three of us. Great food.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1276182984.jpg

When dining with a notorious tight tippers we'll allow the other couple to pay, but insist that we take care of the tip... or after they've signed the check just comment that they gave good service and we'd like to add a little, dropping a couple of extra bucks on the table.

How do you tip at buffets?

One of my favorite Canadian jokes;

Whats the difference between a Canuck and a canoe?

A canoe will tip. :D:D:D

I usually tip 20% of better, as long as the service was reasonable.

I never tip at Starbucks - for some reason, it really bugs me when places have the cup out on the counter; I don't think it's appropriate to ask for a tip.

+1, those tip jars are a joke and they are EVERYWHERE these days...I completely ignore them

My tipping has a lot to do with how often I will be patronizing the restaurant. I generally start at 15% and work up or down from there.

- they are proliferating rapidly & in places where historically there was no tip at all

How long until the Dr.s office has a tip jar??

18% and up now due to the economy and it does seem that the restaurant owners and staff are actually trying to improve quality of the meals and service.

Outside the US, I always use currency for the waiters, Many owners cheat the staff.

John

I like tipping in cash and paying the bill with a credit card.

The whole tip thing with LeSean McCoy this past week go me thinking about tipping again.

Apparently its ok to publicly shame people who don't tip, regardless of if they are millionaires or not. This place barely had 3 stars on Yelp and review after review about how terrible the service is. Of course the owner starts off by saying McCoy got great service and was a jerk from the start...obviously he knew his joint's reputation and preemptively trying to deflect blame?

Easy way to solve the tipping issue....pay the servers a decent wage and eliminate tipping, just like just about every other industry out there.

I'm ok with the policy of tipping, because I tend to reward good service quite well. Conversely, bad service gets little to no tip. In my opinion it's good motivation for servers, the fact that their pay in most cases is directly linked to the quality of their work.

Tipping...
 

Thread from the dead...

Best thing to do IMHO is pay the bill on a card (as long as it doesn't leave my sight otherwise I pay the while thing cash - another thread...) and always tip in cash (unless the service sucks). If you tip on the card the server loses more in taxes. I think they all appreciate it, even the younger ones who might not fully understand the tax implications / benefit I'm handing them - they just all like the feeling of leaving their shift with a few extra bucks in their pocket.

Average service is 15%. Good service is 20% or more. Poor service is nothing and really poor service is a conversation with management.

P-O-P

It also doesn't go into "the pool". Many places pool the tips.

I like the credit card machines they bring to the table so your card never leaves your sight. Plus most of the machines have a selection on amount or percentage for those who can't figure a tip out in their heads.

I tip based on service as well and will usually do 20% if the food and service was good.
If the server had removed something from your tab that wasn't OK or brought samples or a free round I will go higher than that.

Our corporate cards will limit tip to 10% when our expenses are audited so I top up cash to make up the difference.

And right on queue, another industry that would rather have the public do their job of paying a living wage.

Marriott Invites Tips for Maids, but Why Not Just Pay More? - DailyFinance

The good service argument for tipping in restaurants makes no sense. Doesn't almost every industry rely on service? I bought some shoes the other day and the worker showed me a couple pair, went to the back to get my size, etc. Doesn't seem any different than food service to me, should I tip them also? What about the person getting me popcorn at the movie theater, that's food, tip there too? Where does it end?

Do we tip on the bill total or on the pre-tax amount? I usually do 15% on the pre-tax amount. Why tip on the tax?

Ever been to Costco?

I tip 15-20% of pre-tax amount for good (average) service - on average servers are pretty good at their job. If I'm in company garb, I might push up to 25%. Great service and the sky's the limit, but it also depends on the tab. I like some low buck seedy places, and 20% of $20 is nothing, so they get more.
However, I completely understand tipping nothing (or better yet, next to nothing). Sometimes letting the server know you didn't forget to tip, they just suck, means more than a zero.

New Zealand is a no tipping country. The waiting staff get paid a proper wage for the job and that is built into what you pay for the meal.

However... If the waiter/waitress is a school kid or a student who would rather be out with their friends but doing the right thing and paying their way through tec/uni themselves I always give a tip. I always give them cash directly and tell them it's a "personal tip" meaning it doesn't get pooled with the other waiting staff.

A place where I drink coffee one of the waitresses has done first year vet school and is working for a year before going back for year two. I gave her a $100 tip last week knowing the money goes towards school.