Do You Ever Leave a Bad Tip?
Whenever I get really bad service or an annoying waiter/waitress, I always get all worked up and start complaining to whoever I’m with about it. I’m amazed that someone could treat a paying customer so badly. I make a point to leave a tip that’s less than 20% because I want that person to know that the service I got was unacceptable.
Then, when the bill comes, I feel really guilty. They don’t make a lot of money—their tips are what really keep them in the black. So I wind up leaving a 20% most of the time.
My father, the nicest man in the world, once left a quarter on the table after he got the worst service he’d ever experienced. I wish I had his bravado.
I’ve even done it a couple of times when I’ve gone to the restaurant to pick up the food myself. Why am I tipping someone when I walked over to the restaurant myself to get the food? It probably doesn’t help that the person handing me my food stands right over me as I sign my credit-card receipt.
I feel guilty and I wind up tipping too much. And later on I regret it.
What’s going on here and does this happen to anyone else?
Photo by Marcin Wichary
May 19th, 2009 at 10:00 am
My wife and I have a passive method on how we tip. There are certain things we look for in regards to the service we receive. We would never stiff a waiter/waitress, but I think giving less, within reason, is a way to show they aren’t performing at their best.
Stupidly Yours,
Matt
May 19th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
Here’s my rule of thumb:
20-25% for excellent service. This means that they were timely (took order and delivered order in reasonable time), attentive (checked after food delivered to make sure that we had everything) and friendly. Probably 40% of our servers receive this.
18% or so is for moderately good service. This might be if they forgot something but brought it after being reminded. Probably 50% of our servers receive this.
13-15% is for subpar service, but not awful. This usually gets me when they’re not attentive enough and either neglect to re-fill drinks or never come check after the meal is delivered to make sure everything is satisfactory. Probably 8-10% of our servers fall into this category.
10-12% – This is reserved for those who are downright rude. The ones who are not interested in serving you and are not shy about letting you know it. This has only happened a couple of times so probably less than 1%.
To me, if you get exceptionally poor service and leave a 20% tip, you’re only making it worse for the people after you, because chances are the server will think that they’re doing great and will do the same (or less) to subsequent customers. To me, if you leave below that 15% threshold that is considered standard, you send a message that ‘something is amiss’.
May 19th, 2009 at 6:49 pm
Nut,
Perhaps you can give a standard tip and talk to a manager, though I don’t think that’s something you’d be any more comfortable with.
Why not always tip 15% then increase it for exceptional service. If you don’t like lowering the tip, then start out low and go higher if necessary.
Have you ever read ‘Why smart people make bad money mistakes.’ by Gary Belsky. Good book, you should check it out, I’m sure this is covered in there, I simply can’t remember which mistake it is.
-Nate
May 19th, 2009 at 7:24 pm
Hello!
My girlfriend and I have both spent time working in the restaurant business so I know that affects how we tip our server. We are both very understanding and usually develop a rapport with our server, which always seems to help. Sometimes we recognize when someone is just having a bad day and we work to cheer them up! It usually works! Having said that, we usually tip very well and if the service is terrible, we will lower it but it will still be decent.
May 20th, 2009 at 9:38 pm
I’m Australian, and here it is not considered necessary to leave a tip. If the service is good, we’ll usually tip between 5-10%.
On Tuesday night, we went out to celebrate my husband’s birthday. The food was ok but the service was abysmal. Our party was ten people, three courses and lots of drinks, so the bill was considerable – when they eventually brought us the right one!
When everyone through their money in at the end, we could have given them a good tip… but we decided to kick on and shout the birthday boy a few more drinks.
Our friend who took the money back to the cashier, was asked how everything was. And he (very bravely, I thought) told the guy exactly what he thought of the service.
June 8th, 2009 at 10:02 pm
I have indeed and boy do I have a story…
While vacationing in Lake George back in ’04 I was arrested for leaving less than an 18 % tip. I along with three other adults came to the conclusion that both the food and service sucked, so we left just little over 10 %. The owner’s wife was so pissed she followed us outside the restaurant into other shops and call the cops who happen to be right outside her restaurant. I stood my ground andon principle refused to pay because of the way they were treating us. In fact, not only didn’t I pay the 18 % but I ask for the initial 10% I gave them back. I told them if you guys want to arrest me for this go right ahead. I know injustice when I see it..!! Well the police, nonchalantly took me down to the station finger printed me and took a mug shot of me. Needless to say, the story hit a local newspaper , then the news wire and then all over the nation the following day..!!
It was weird, It somehow struck a nerve in mainstream society and made it as far as Japan and South America! The charges were dropped after a few days by the DA and it actually forced a new interpretation of the law which made it clear that restaurants cannot mandate a gratuity. It has to be clearly stated as a “Service Charge”. Since then I’ve seen opinions go both ways. 50 % say it is wrong to leave a small tip, the other half say sure, if there is a system in place to help show your gratitude or lack thereof use it to the fullest of its ability just as I did!!
Rgds,
The Notorious Tipskate
August 30th, 2009 at 9:59 am
I definitely leave a strong message when the service is poor. And tip generously when service is good. I’ve given a 0.05cent tip to make a point. WORK FOR YOUR TIPS PEOPLE> Its your job, NOT your right.
I come from a place where tips are not something you are guaranteed. That is the way it should be. Try to be attentive, give your customers suggestions from the menu, make sure they get the right order and ON TIME. be pleasant, smile.
It annoys the heck out of me when people take on a SERVICE job and act like they are doing you a favor. I The customer is the one who pays your tip… YOU ARE NOT ENTITLED TO A TIP! WORK FOR IT!
I find the best service to be when people are attentive, offer suggestions, and are fun and not overly hovering. I agree with the Australians are right on! 5% for poor service, 15-25% for top service.
Thanks for the cool topic! I hope some waiters read this and learn.