what if you get really bad service, is it different then, seems like ive been getting that alot lately
well of course not in England... but in the US or Mexico it's how the servers get paid, and pay their bills.
yeah i was just reading the minimum wage for tipped staff is just over $2 per hour, thats pretty shocking!
Exactly! Welcome to my world! Although, I make $3.09 an hour. :roll: Woooo. But, it has been said many times that I am a great server, so I make decent money. It was busy on Wednesday, I averaged $13.50 an hour after all taxes and such. It was slow Thursday, but I still averaged $10.50 an hour. Here where I live, the cost of living is average to low. Furthermore, I work pretty much for something to do and a little pocket money; the rest of my money goes to a savings account. Honey pays the bills. I'll answer your question Fletch, as a server myself I feel 'qualified' to do so. :lol: Short answer: By all means, a tip should reflect the service you receive. Awesome service, awesome tip. Bad service, bad tip. I always leave the tip when we go out, therefore I am awfully critical of servers. I expect to leave at least a $5 tip for honey and I. I say at least $5 cuz if the bill is more than $25 then I expect to leave 20%. But if the bill is just $15 I still leave $5. At the same time, I expect the service I would give. My tip does depend very much on the server as a whole. If I receive less than expected service, I will leave a less than expected tip. There was a time I left nothing because the service was that horrid. And never went back there again. There's been times I have just left a buck or two. A good server knows what's going on, she will know if her service was less than acceptable. There's times I am not on my game. If I get a tip that I think was docked, I will criticize myself and hope the person returns someday so I can try to give them better service.
Another problem with leaving no tip or a very small tip is that sometimes the bad service is not the fault of the server. There may have been problems in the kitchen, less than adequate number of servers on duty or a host of other problems which are not the fault of the server.
I have absolutely NO problems with leaving no tip or a teeny weeny tip if the service was horrible. In my mind there is NO excuse for horrible service. It doesn't take much to offer mediocre service. But to let the service drop to the level of horrible is just unacceptable. If there are problems in the kitchen, then the server should let me know that the kitchen is running a bit slow due to "whatever" so that I can then decide whether or not to order something that takes time to fix or to just order something simple like soup and salad. If the bartender is new and slow as molasses, I should be told something so I know not to order a drink that requires alot of time to make and I can just ask for a beer or something simple. If the restaurant is short on staff due to call offs, I should be told that they are short and things are a bit slower than normal. Whatever is going on that isn't relayed to me, yet directly affects me, I blame directly on the server. All she has to do is open her mouth and speak up. It's no different than being at the airport and the plane needs mechanical work. If I'm told whats wrong and how long it should take to fix, I can plan accordingly. That might mean changing my flight; going to the bar for a drink; making arraingements to stay overnight.....whatever. But to not tell me anything until the expected boarding time that we won't be boarding is just WRONG! An yes, I then blame the gate agents who knew what was going on all along and chose to keep the information to themselves because they didn't want to deal with angry customers any longer than absolutely necessary. In my mind, I really don't care what the person makes hourly. If their hourly rate sucks, it just means that they better work their tail off for the best tips possible. I tip 20% just for average service and the tip can go up or down depending entirely on how the service throughout the meal is. If the service exceeds my expectations, the tip will increase in lock step proportion. If the service doesn't meet my expectations, the tip won't meet the servers expectations. Bottom line for me....I don't feel obligated or duty bound to tip a certain amount just cause someone has a crappy hourly rate. Michelle
I still think that reflects the over all service. If the kitchen is doing horrible and your meal isn't out for 40 minutes, I am P#$%@ off. Maybe wrong, but when you get upset with a restaurant, people tend to blame it on the direct line... Which is the server. If the server has too many tables and my drink sits empty for 15-20 minutes, I am not tipping good. The server maybe the best server in the world, but if the over service is terrible due to the restaraunts negligence, my tip will reflect that. I never been a server so I really don't know how it all works, but if I am upset, tip is low. Does this make me a terrible person? What about going to buffets? What is the tip rules on those? When all they do is basically bring you a drink or 2.
