[masraum]

Originally posted by Dottore
Mr. White had it right.

A tip is a gratuity for good service. You should not tip someone for merely living and breathing.

It is slightly ridiculous that the food industry is able to subsidise their payroll costs in this fashion because of the widespread expecation that people will leave a 15% tip no matter what. Why not just add 15% to menu prices and be done with this mendacity? What other industry explots our gullibility to this degree?

So, even though the wait staff makes $2/hr or even $4/hr, because you think it's crazy you only tip if they really do a great job. Otherwise you don't tip.

I always tip. I may vary the tip, but I always tip. If I go to Chili's and eat for $12 they'll probably get $3-4. THey waited on me for an hour. I wouldn't do that work for $1.80. When I go to my favorite Sushi bar and the bill is $100, they'll get somewhere between $20 and $25 (the service is always good)

If the service is moderate I still tip OK trying to give them the benefit of a doubt.

If the service sucks then they'll generally get something like 10%.

For carry out, I'll generally tip $1-2. (like at a Chinese place or something) No tip at fast food places, because they do get paid. They often make $6.50-8/hr.