how much do you tip your server?

with me having delivered pizzas, i realize how much the tip actually means to how much you bring home. im always very generous. And if the waitress is fine she might even get 50% on a 10-20$ bill.

 

15% minimum..better service will get more than that

 

Depends on the service. I've gone to a Ryans, an all you can eat style franchise resturant, in the middle of the day with it being me and maybe 10 other people in the resturant the waitress gave us our receipt and drinks then left us alone, I refilled my own cups. I left her whatever change was left over it totaled to 7 cents. I've also been to a few resturants where it seemed the waiter or waitress was there every time I looked up, and we tipped them well above 15%. Usually when I go to Hooters they get a minium of 15% because they have to try hard to give bad service.

 

not in CA. they make at least minimum wage.

 

Serve well-Get tipped well.
If I wanted a decent meal with a bad attitude and I had to ask for or get everything my self-I woulda made the wife cook at home.

I'm usually right around the 20% range. A few have earned more for great service or great candor. A few have been tipped pennies-I don't like leaving NOTHING for shitty service. I want them to know before their manager comes to bitch at them that I was seriously displeased.

Last time I did this was about a year and a half ago- The female server was completely inattentive-Never asked what we would like to drink and once I said something about that...Never refilled them. Service was slow and she didn't give a shit about my wife and I....and then as she dropped the bill on the table she gives this great big smile and apologizes for the crappy service. I just frowned, left two pennies, and talked with the manager on the way to the door.

 

where the hell do u work that pays 2.13 per hour. pretty sure minimum around here is like 10 bucks or somethin

 

when i was a waiter i got 2.13 a hr plus tip. if your collecting tips minimum wage goes out the window

 

$7.50 is SC's minum wage.

 

Actually, I tip well... usually 18-20%. Sometimes more if I feel the server busted their ass above and beyond.

Now, my wife is another story. She is picky... real picky. I have seen her approach a manager about everything from service, to a wrong drink order, to food being too hot, too cold, too lousy, etc. She is also very direct with shitty servers--she'll tell them like it is. Me, I don't like doing that because when the food finally hits the table, I wonder if someone was pissed off at us enough to do something to the food. I have stared at many a full plate wondering for quite awhile.

However, she also is the first person to go tell a manager about great service or a great experience too. She's even written letters to the restaurant management before. I'll give her that, she's fair. She tips no more than 15%.

 

Many states have a different wage scale for tipped vs. non-tipped employees. Texas does. Their is a formula that says basically wage+tip = >minimum wage. Effectively, if a servers wages + tips during a pay period do not equate to minimum wage when divided by the hours they worked, then the employer must make up the difference.

 

7.25 in VA

 

hmm. well from what i have been told from friends in the server industry here in canada, they get minimum plus tips. thought it was like that everywhere :S

that kinda sucks tho just over 2 bucks. i couldnt do it thats for sure.

 

i fucking hated being a server....i hated every min. of it

 

I was a waiter for years and it is a very touchy subject.
Most clients can be divided into 4 categories:
-those that tip good (usually people with strong financial income)
-those that think that they tipped well enough (those that were going to give a 20% tip but when they looked at how much they rang up their bill... they take out difference from the tip)
-those that tip poorly (out of country tourists and certain ethnic minorities)
-those that do not tip at all (certain ethnic minorities)

Now most people will tell you that it all depends on service. Trust me that argument is as valid as trying to bail a sinking boat with a colander. Yes there are people that tip well when they get good service but when kitchen is busy and it takes 3 hours to get their food then good tip goes out the window because there is only so much a server can do. Everyone seems to want to dine at the same time and there are only so many cooks behind the line capable of cooking so much at the same time.

Working as a server is horrible and a rewarding experience at the same time. If you work in a place like Denny's that is visited by people with low income... your tips will be low even if you break your back. Meanwhile servers working in a gourmet restaurant serving 3 tables a night will make 10 times what you make with virtually no effort. I learned that the hard way by working in mom and pop restaurants, chain restaurants, later hotels, banquets, casinos etc.

Most people are iffy tippers whether they want to acknowledge that or not. Some people are good tippers. Here is an example: A person comes in and orders a cup of coffee and a slice of cake. Bill is $7.00. 20% tip is $1.40 but most people will just leave $1. Likewise if their bill is say $1,000 green ones after a family dinner of 16 people... tip should be $200. Unless restaurant has a mandatory tip requirement on large groups server will be SOL because most people would not want to leave a $200 tip. Corporations would but not people.

In my experience best places to work as a waiter are in gourmet restaurants and serve rich folks or work as a banquet server and get paid a flat fee which is usually very inciting.

At mom and pop restaurants I was lucky to earn 50 bucks after a long day. At chain restaurants I was lucky to earn 60 bucks after a long day. At a casino I earned 100 on a slow day and 250 on a busy day. In gourmet restaurant I was making 150 on a slow day. As a banquet server I was making 250 flat fee+personal tips.

I would not recommend anyone to be a career waiter without trying to move up the waiting ladder. It does not get better otherwise.

 

@yarik83. Good personal analysis. Nothing like hearing from someone with experience.

 

couldnt of said it any better....waiting on tables was accually the first job i ever quit lol

 

I agree with your analysis and you also have a point here too.
Most waiters/waitresses spend a whole day working and make most of their money in the two hours that they get the dinner rush. its a demanding job.

 

Im thinking about quitting personally, but the every night when I pull that wad out of my pocket those feelings go away lol. And I generally have to cover 5 tables a night, it sucks big time.

 

I've never worked food service, and I never will. I don't think I could do it.