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How low of a tip will you give for bad service?

I’ve only had really bad service twice that I remember in the the last decade and both times I brought it to the attention of the manager. The last time it happened the server tried to sneak a 20% tip on the bill knowing that a bad tip was coming. Numerous things were wrong that night including me never getting my meal on our 2 hour dining experience. I talked to the manager and comped our entire $230 bill for the 5 of us. I was not going to return but he handled it perfectly and we had perfect service on our next visit.
 
My father in law used to sit down at the table and say I tip x% if my glass is never empty. If it gets empty you lose a little bit, have to say I never saw him run out of anything to drink till the bill was paid.
 
aljaklaw said:
Mandatory gratuities for "large" groups are often service charges and are not typically given to the server/etc (tips are property of the employee, charges are not), and it's not like they have any power to remove it. Ask them where it goes, and ask for management to explain their ****** (possibly corporate) policies to you :ROFLMAO:
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What ever it is, it's an extra charge that I consider a tip. It's between the server, and the boss to work it out. If I know about it before hand, it's not a problem for me. In the instance I posted about above, the mandatory tip was a total surprise.

I'm pretty firm on my tipping views. Quite a few "Vegas area" servers feel they are owed a tip, no matter the quality of service they provide. To me, tips are earned, and should not be expected just because.
 
I will never leave Zero because most restaurants serve alcohol and the server tips out the bartender and host a little bit. Leaving zero means they literally paid to serve you. I will leave at least 10%. I’ve worked in the industry and know that sometimes servers just get in the weeds or have tables that eat up all their time and hurt service at others. I know sometimes it can be the server is just bad but they are making $2.13 an hour and still deserve at least something.
 
Raiderboost said:
I will never leave Zero because most restaurants serve alcohol and the server tips out the bartender and host a little bit. Leaving zero means they literally paid to serve you. I will leave at least 10%. I’ve worked in the industry and know that sometimes servers just get in the weeds or have tables that eat up all their time and hurt service at others. I know sometimes it can be the server is just bad but they are making $2.13 an hour and still deserve at least something.
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If that's the case, a quick stop at our table with an apology/brief explanation ("I'm sorry, we're short staffed and I'm handling 10 tables", "I apologize, the kitchen is really busy and they're running a bit behind", etc.) goes a long way with me. I'm empathetic because I know most servers work their butts off for not much pay, but I agree with @WLG1952 that tips are earned, not to be expected just because. Give me a reasonable explanation of why the service is lacking and we're all good. Ghost me and give off the impression that you DGAF - whelp, enjoy your $2.13 an hour, don't spend it all in one place.

(And realistically, it's been very, very rare for me that the service has ever been that bad.)
 
I’ve been known to match my bill with tip. But...


Zero service can equal zero tip (only one time, I asked her to hurry (prom) and she had my CC for an hour).
 
Luckily over here we don't have to leave tips

My stance on it is, that they are already being paid to do their job and I don't get any tips in my job

Another thing that bugs me is when some restaurants add a gratuity charge to the final bill
 
wubears71 said:
15%. From working in restaurants for years the majority of service issues are not because the server is lazy. I made $2.13 per hour as a server and counted on those tips. If I provided you bad service it was because a other table was a PITA or the kitchen/bar was having issues.
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Yep lived on the tips for 6 years and there were only a few occasions where I royally screwed things up. I always apologized profusely when that happened. Many occasions where the bar was too "blowed up" (the term we used where I worked) to get drinks fast or the kitchen got way behind and getting anything out was slow. I think a lot of service problems are just inexperienced servers. Everyone sucks when they start and has to learn what to ask and what to know at their restaurant. A good example is to just ask everyone if they want their dressing on the salad or on the side. Don't depend on the customer to tell you, they forget and then they forget that they forgot and you get blamed.
 
10% is the worst I will leave. Having worked in the industry before getting a crappy tip sucks.

However it sucks more when you provide good service and the people are cheap. Maybe he just had a bad experience with a table previously that only ordered pizza and salad. Or maybe he was just terrible who knows
 
I tend to tip on the heavy side because I know how crappy most of those jobs are. I will usually go down to 15% for bad service but I will remember the person giving me that subpar service and avoid them next time. I try to give people the benefit of the doubt. If you give me great service, I will bump up to 25%.
 
I have never given below 15% and I have been extremely pissed many many many times.

I mean the 15% is my way of saying this place is a POS and I’m not the POS so here’s your $7..
 
During Covid many of the restaurants are including the tip in the 17 to 20% range. I’m fine with that but they should let you know up front. We’ve had two restaurants not tell us and I almost left a 40% tip at one of them. That restaurant also calculated the tip after taxes were added in which is not something I would normally do.
 
I would go to 0 if the service is really bad. It would have to be terribly bad with no explanation or apology.
 
tahoebum said:
During Covid many of the restaurants are including the tip in the 17 to 20% range. I’m fine with that but they should let you know up front. We’ve had two restaurants not tell us and I almost left a 40% tip at one of them. That restaurant also calculated the tip after taxes were added in which is not something I would normally do.
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I've always calculated my tip after taxes, even though I've heard that it's supposed to be based on the pre-tax cost. It errs on their side, but I'm okay with that.

Maybe some of our Canadian members could enlighten me, but it's my understanding that tipping isn't a thing in Canada either. They come down here in the winter and people who work in the service industry say they get stiffed on tips a lot - hence one of the in-house jokes amongst the service industry here is "What's the difference between a snowbird and a canoe? A canoe will tip every once in a while!".
 
It has to be bad for us to leave 15%. Normally 20%, more if exceptionalIy good. I cannot remember ever having such a rude server that we were compelled to leave zero. For takeout, we will normally leave 10-15%, closer to 15% of late. I believe that just as diners remember good or bad servers, servers remember especially good or bad customers.

As @tahoebum did, when service is especially bad, we will seek out the MOD just to tell them we why we were disappointed in the service. We believe that it takes a team to provide good service and it takes a team to screw it up - i.e., it's usually not just the server's fault. Most managers appreciate the feedback and many will comp part or all of the meal. But it has to be pretty bad for us to approach management.
 
I would generally give 10% for poor service. It needs to be really bad for me to give 0.
 
I haven’t had table service in a restaurant in a long time. At this point, I’d love to be able to be in a place where I could leave a tip even for bad service!
 
Maybe I have a soft heart but will always leave a tip. I waited tables in my youth and rarely does anyone do it as a career. Many times the issues are not the waiters fault so I don't punish the messenger.
 
They are servers not servants, I can’t imagine asking someone to work for next to nothing. I’ll tip 15% min. Regardless of service. When I’m in a Denny’s or a similar restaurant I often see customers leaving pocket change, it’s embarrassing, I’ll often leave 50%+ as a small gesture of appreciation.
 
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I once left a penny under my plate, that was many years ago and still feel bad about it. I always leave a minimum of 10%, regardless.
 
Bad service, you get nothing. I'm sorry, but if you want a tip, you need to do the work.

As the spouse of someone who worked her way up as a server, to now be a GM, I honestly have a hard time eating out at restaurants now. I am hyper sensitive to bad service now, and see when it is going on at other tables as well as our own.

Do the little things, try, smile, be friendly..... it goes a long way.
 
smgoldstein said:
Maybe I have a soft heart but will always leave a tip. Many times the issues are not the waiters fault so I don't punish the messenger.
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I agree here. I too often encounter people who want to tip less because of things that clearly are not the fault of the servers.

Mr Moke said:
They are servers not servants, I can’t imagine ask someone to work for next to nothing. I’ll tip 15% min. Regardless of service.
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This, in most cases, describes me. Only rarely have I left a tip less than that and that was because of clearly evident issues caused by the server.
 
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