As a waiter it's difficult not to approach new guests and make assumptions about what kind of tip you're about to receive. A table of teenagers in the diner doesn't look nearly as promising as a first date or birthday party.
But when the crumbs have settled and the check is signed, the reality of whether a table was satisfied with the service is right there on the tip line ... unless, the tip is exactly 15 percent. Then, according to Slashfood's Hanna Ruskin, a waiter has no idea whether you were pleased with the level of attention you received.
Her argument centers on the idea that over the course of the past two decades, the standard tip has edged up closer to 20 percent. And so a 15 percent tip might actually be the sign of a stodgy customer or someone who was potentially displeased with the service.
Is 20 percent really
standard for most customers, or is it still reserved for
exceptional service? Large parties are regularly charged 18 percent
gratuity at restaurants -- in part a reflection of the fact that
bigger tables often require a larger percentage of a server's
attention. But still not 20 percent.
In a down economy, it seems difficult to believe that people aren't cutting back on tips. The California Restaurant Association
says that today's standard is between 15 and 20 percent, but anecdotal evidence suggests customers are finding
ways to justify a smaller gratuity. Whether these are isolated stories
or indicative of a larger trend is hard to quantify, since tips have never
been perfectly reported or reported on.
I've always seen 20 percent as a good barometer for good service and
I'd like to believe that other people are tipping in the same fashion,
knowing that servers are struggling alongside them in today's
economy.
[Image via Flickr: adventures of pam and frank]
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Ryan,
The capitol grille has some issues. Years ago a famous singer was in town. The singer requested a private room and server to have dinner. The hotel called the Capitol Grille and the maitre 'd was frustrated that we couldn't devulge the guest's name for the reservation. I believe the phrase said was "If he's so special, we'll give him his meal for free". The singer and his crew ate $700 in lobster. The Capitol Grille employee was out on his rear. The hotel concierge got the tip and it was better than 20%.
ryan- i used to live in kc...like to keep up with things :)
i've always had great service here in austin for the most part. the one time above at hill's is the only horrendous service i've had. my favorite mexican place, polvo's, is hit or miss...but they are always busy so i take that into consideration. our table actually made friends with our waiter at opal divine's once- he was on a split shift and instead of leaving between he came and sat with us while we sat and drank. and at the neo-comfort food place moonshine, the waitress was awesome- she gave us pitch perfect recommendations and was geniunely interested when we suggested they carry sweet tea vodka (before everyone had it).
I've done that same thing, Dawn. Unfortunately, I was completely ignored by a waiter once at the local Capital Grille here in KC, but since it was a dinner out with my bosses, they were paying. They, of course, were not mistreated by the waiter. (It was like he totally focussed in on one half of the table, and the other half of us got the shaft for being in the way. It was weird.) Just for an example of what happened, I ordered a 2nd drink 3 times before I finally gave up. (It never came.) The last straw was when I opened up my leftovers the following day to eat for lunch and realized they had given me my other coworker's leftovers instead. Soooo not awesome.
I wrote a letter to the manager, they forwarded it on to the corporate offices, and I not only got an apology from the local and regional manager, but a $100 gift certificate to boot. I really appreciated their efforts, and I sure hope they gave that waiter an earfull about how to treat a table of SIX. According to the manager, that was one of their best waiters! They didn't understand why he would treat me that way...yeah, well, neither did I. Except I was drinking Bud Lights instead of the wine that my boss was drinking. Very odd. ::shaking head::
Wow @dawn another reader of this blog from Austin... what are the odds.
I was going to mention this in my comment earlier, but the difference between service, in general, between Austin and Kansas City is night and day. Austin service generally sucks, and KC is generally excellent. My girlfriend, who is an Austin native, and I just got back from a visit to KC.. she couldn't believe how much better the service was at the restaurants we went to (especially at the Drop, great, great service)
the reason i rarely tip less than 15% is that i usually can tell it's not the waitstaff's fault
that's not to say that i won't tip less if the waitstaff is clearly at fault. we had ridiculously horrible service at one place here in austin...they were busy, but we knew that wasn't the problem as the girl had no problems paying attention to the tables all around us so we left no tip. and we were there for a long time, drinking and getting food(everyone was...there was a hurricane ike benefit show going on).we also went home and emailed the restaurant manager to explain why.
Why would you tip 20%... even 15% if the service was lousy! Those of you not in the restaurant industry: do you reward poor performance in your industry? Here's my take: tip well and generaous... cuz many waiters work really hard on behalf of the customers to "make it happen". You'd be astonished on how much grief waiters get when trying to cajole chefs, cooks, barenders, etc for "split", "on the side", "extra this", "none of that". If your getting more attitude than reasonable service... don;t be afraid to short the tip! Additionally... if the service stinks damand from the restaurant that your bill be reduced for the terrible experience. The owners and management should also suffer the pain as they are responsible for training (or not) their staff.
I say this aas a 30-year Professional Career Waiter.
Paul Paz - www.WaitersWorld.com
Holy shit! Minimum wage has gotten that high??? ::faints::
When I was serving, I made minimum wage along with my tips. BUT I only had 4 days of shifts, and while I worked an average of 35 - 40 hours a week (10 hour shifts - oy!), I had to live thin in order to make ends meet...I was in southern California at the time, though. So, yeah.
Minimum wage back then was only $5.35 an hour. Working the breakfast into lunch shift, I tended to earn anywhere from $25 - $55 per day in tips. It covered the rent, but I had to live without cable.
Another thing to consider -- local wage rules can hugely influence how much a server makes in the end.
I live on a border between two states. On the other side of the line, servers make a minimum of $3/hr and the tips make up the rest. On my side of the state line, servers get the same state mandated minimum wage as everybody else, $8.75/hr if I remember right - plus tips.
On my side of the line, my waiter makes as much working part-time as I do in my 40-50 hrs a week. I try not to let that fact make me stingy -- the service is worth the same regardless of whether one state inflates or the other devalues the base wage -- my tips go between 15% and 20% if the server does well (and they almost always do).
But it's worth noting that servers are not always poorer than the customers they wait on.
I also tip 20% as a base line. And usually it comes out to a little more than that.
My rule is pretty much, I will not leave less than $5 regardless of the bill amount. There are very few cases I will leave less than that.
If there is really exceptional service I have no problem tipping up to %50 percent.
It is hard for me to stiff somebody... you would pretty much have to insult me or ignore me for me to lower the tip. I hate when that happens.
I worked for tips from my first job until I graduated college. I definitely think that is why I tip more than average.
I agree with the others on this point. I've been there...and I tip a minimum of 20%, too.
I'm also weird in that I will tip more if the restaurant appears to be slow that particular night. ::shrugs:: It's like charity for me, in a sense.
And then there are the drunken tips. Lordy lordy...I left my bartender friends $24 on a $41 tab last week. And I even caught it before I gave it to them and was all, "Am I THAT drunk? Shiiit." And my bartender friend grabbed it, said, "Thanks! I love it when that happens!" Hahahaha! I know it's totally stupid sounding, but I had budgeted $65 for our night out, and that was what the total came to if I tipped that high. THAT was the logic behind it. ::lspas forehead::
At least I'm not one of those assholes that tips waaaay too low when they drink too much. I know one of those types...they're such douchebags.
my new standard when i tip is 20% rounded up to the next even dollar- regardless if there was an auto-grat or not. good service gets 25%. if service was not great, but i could tell it wasn't the waitstaff's fault i don't penalize. i've worked in the industry and know how important tips are. rarely do i tip 15% or less...it has to be beyond bad service.
anecdotal evidence suggests customers are finding ways to justify a smaller gratuity
I seem to recall a conservative blogger/commentator who wrote something after Obama's election about leaving smaller - or even non-existent - tips as punishment for voting the wrong way. Since, obviously, all servers are Democrats.
Sounded more to me like they were looking for an excuse to be a cheap bastard and still feel righteous about it.
Based on my dining experiences with others over the past several years, 20% is DEFINITELY not standard. I've had to walk out of restaurants embarrassed because the person who picked up the tab was a suckass tipper.
For me personally, 20% is what I tip unless you give me multiple compelling reasons not to do so (good OR bad).
Why?
Because on a $20 tab, the difference between 15% and 20% is A DOLLAR. Trust me--that dollar means more to your server than it does to you.
Exception: If my meal was, say, $7, your tip will be no less than $2 unless you were a total trainwreck (The DLC mentioned this rule on kclunchspots.com, and I fully agree with it.)
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