Tipping - For? Against? How Much? Yes To Waitstaff, But No To...?

[olympic]

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I found the food service in Paris to be generally poor, bordering on rude. I rarely find that in the US. The food service in Italy, even in the tiniest of places, is always excellent.

This could be a big city [Paris] v. small town [Italy] thing? Also, not saying you, Cruisin, but in the US, since waiters work for tips, I think American diners expect to be entertained a little more while dining out which isn't the case in Europe.

[cruisin]

This could be a big city [Paris] v. small town [Italy] thing? Also, not saying you, Cruisin, but in the US, since waiters work for tips, I think American diners expect to be entertained a little more while dining out which isn't the case in Europe.

That is fair, Paris is a big city, and we did not find any rudeness in the hotels, shops, museums, etc. Actually, we found the cliche that the French can be rude toward Americans, to be (in general) false. When you take the time to learn a few key words in French and don't expect that everyone is required to know English, people are quite friendly. It seemed that the restaurant workers (mostly the maitre ds) were the only exception as far as arrogance (though not in the hotel restaurant). In Montpellier and the area, everyone was very kind.

I, personally, don't expect a lot from a waiter. All I really expect is that they are friendly (as in, simply, a smile) and that they don't practically ignore me. I don't blame them for food quality, or how long it takes to get a meal. I do blame them for rudeness.

I actually found the waiters in Italy to be even more "entertaining" than waiters/owners in the US. Especially in the small restaurants, they pull up a chair, chat, and bring you a lemoncello (on the house) after the meal. They don't rush you. They hug you when you leave. In one small place the owner and I discussed (at length) whether or not there should be zuccini in ribolita , and he was quite surprised that I make it!

[dbell1]

I give my hairdresser a $20 for my $52 haircut. Always have, always will. She's cut my hair for years and will until one of us moves very very far away.

I tip very well for great service and it decreases as the service gets worse. I've noticed bias among wait staff when I take my son out for dinner (we go out at least once a month). For whatever reason, I've seen waiters/waitresses totally ignore us while lavishing service on a table with a grown man. Son picked up on it without my even commenting. If I couldn't afford to eat AND tip, I wouldn't eat out. There's great local restaurants that have lost our business due to their staff.

[barbk]

Just had one of the worst restaurant service experiences ever. Went to a mountain restaurant, 12:45, several tables open. Seat yourself. At least ten minutes to get menus -- and then only when we were able to signal the waitress as she had two in her hands from a table that had just ordered. Long wait to take the order. Long wait for food. (No fault of the waitstaff for that.) Challenge to get water. People behind us got up and went fishing for condiments on their own. Food shows up, cheeseburger is minus the cheese. Ask for cheese. Plate taken away. Ten minutes later it shows up again -- same burger, just really well cooked now, still no cheese. Server says, "Oh, you wanted cheese?" (Well, yes, as it was originally ordered and sent back once already.) At that point we gave up, asked for our check minus the charge for the undelivered cheeseburger, paid and left. This particular community is known as the pot capital of the state, and if we had to bet, the staff were frequent indulgers. (They'd disappear for minutes at a time, several times.) For a beautiful Sunday afternoon, the place was surprisingly uncrowded, and with service like this I'm not surprised.

Too bad, because it used to be a great place for breakfast or lunch after a hike.

[milanessa]

Just had one of the worst restaurant service experiences ever. Went to a mountain restaurant, 12:45, several tables open. Seat yourself. At least ten minutes to get menus -- and then only when we were able to signal the waitress as she had two in her hands from a table that had just ordered. Long wait to take the order. Long wait for food. (No fault of the waitstaff for that.) Challenge to get water. People behind us got up and went fishing for condiments on their own. Food shows up, cheeseburger is minus the cheese. Ask for cheese. Plate taken away. Ten minutes later it shows up again -- same burger, just really well cooked now, still no cheese. Server says, "Oh, you wanted cheese?" (Well, yes, as it was originally ordered and sent back once already.) At that point we gave up, asked for our check minus the charge for the undelivered cheeseburger, paid and left. This particular community is known as the pot capital of the state, and if we had to bet, the staff were frequent indulgers. (They'd disappear for minutes at a time, several times.) For a beautiful Sunday afternoon, the place was surprisingly uncrowded, and with service like this I'm not surprised.

Too bad, because it used to be a great place for breakfast or lunch after a hike.

But how much did you tip?

[cruisin]

But how much did you tip?

A roach

[milanessa]

A roach

Nah, that's for the kitchen to give.

[cruisin]

Nah, that's for the kitchen to give.

I didn't mean a bug .

[milanessa]

I didn't mean a bug .

[kylet3]

I head to London and Paris in about 10 days, what is standard tipping practice for tipping in London? 15%? 20%? Help!

[orbitz]

Just tip how you normally would tip at home.

[moebius]

I don't understand the tip jars at fast food/non-restaurant food places like Subway, ice-cream parlors, bakeries, cafes, etc. Why should I tip them? Aren't they paid for doing what they are doing? And how is the tip jar divided among the workers?

[milanessa]

I don't understand the tip jars at fast food/non-restaurant food places like Subway, ice-cream parlors, bakeries, cafes, etc. Why should I tip them? Aren't they paid for doing what they are doing? And how is the tip jar divided among the workers?

Kind of ridiculous isn't it?

[Vash01]

I don't understand the tip jars at fast food/non-restaurant food places like Subway, ice-cream parlors, bakeries, cafes, etc. Why should I tip them? Aren't they paid for doing what they are doing? And how is the tip jar divided among the workers?

ITA. I never tip at those places. I do tip at self serve restaurants like Sweet Tomatoes, Fresh Choice, etc. where the servers come around many times to pick up the dishes/bowls I emptied, and refill the glass with water. However, I tip them just 10%. When it's a full service restaurant, I tip in the 15-20% range (less than 15% if the service is poor).

[AndyWarhol]

I tip when service has been good. Normally around $10-$20. If a waiter is rude/forgets things/ etc, I will take off $5 or so. If the service is bad there is no tip. I used to waitress, so I do like it when service is good, and like to tip (tips used to really boost my income). It's not mandatory to tip in australia though.

[allezfred]

I head to London and Paris in about 10 days, what is standard tipping practice for tipping in London? 15%? 20%? Help!

Can't speak for London, but imagine it's not too dissimilar to here. First of all, I'd check to see if there was a service charge on the bill. Then if not 10% if you felt the service was good, but there's really no obligation to tip if you feel the service isn't worth it.

[gingercrush]

We don't tip in new Zealand so for me the whole give people extra largely baffles me. My partner and I do tip for what we believe is a great experience. But that would be rare. Its just not the custom here. Many would be on above minimum wage here anyway.

[CantALoop]

I don't understand the tip jars at fast food/non-restaurant food places like Subway, ice-cream parlors, bakeries, cafes, etc. Why should I tip them? Aren't they paid for doing what they are doing? And how is the tip jar divided among the workers?

I used to work at Starbucks - the tips were pooled for each pay period, then we got a cut of that proportional to the amount of hours we worked to the total hours of all workers. For myself, it usually came out to about $2-3 every week for 19 hours.

Now that I'm on the other side of the counter, I usually drop the change in the tip jar. However, if a worker is really outstanding or if I had an extremely complicated order, I try to discreetly slip them their tip outside of the jar.

[milanessa]

I used to work at Starbucks - the tips were pooled for each pay period, then we got a cut of that proportional to the amount of hours we worked to the total hours of all workers. For myself, it usually came out to about $2-3 every week for 19 hours.

Now that I'm on the other side of the counter, I usually drop the change in the tip jar. However, if a worker is really outstanding or if I had an extremely complicated order, I try to discreetly slip them their tip outside of the jar.

That answers the question about division of the tips but why? Sure, found money is always a nice thing but where does it end?

[cruisin]

I think that what Panera Bread does is actually nice (I hope I am not being naive). They do not have a tip container, but a container to put what you would offer as a tip, which goes to a local food bank. They all have them and they support their communities, I think that's great.