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

[blueonblack]

I had roommates back in the day that were servers. Heard lots of stories. I am sympathetic.
It's rare that I'll stiff, it has to be horrible. Yes, I have stiffed.
"The Man" and making sure no loose dollars float around in the economy with mandatory gratuities, and $15/hr, just sucks.
Small/medium cash biz and servers been under attack looooong before covid. Golf is definitely in that category.

 

[Afizzle2100]

I used to tip 0 when I was a kid if I thought the service was bad, but nowadays even the service is complete a** the lowest I’ll go is 10%. my standard is 20% and 25% if they are attentive. There are too many idiots out there that tip 0 regardless if it’s good service or not. After working in food industry I understand that mistakes happen and 10% of the bill should send the message to them.


However, if I feel like the restaurant wronged me and refused to take care of the issue then I’m not afraid to cause a scene lol. If we waited 45 minutes and the food comes out cold and you act like it’s not your problem, or the manager doesn’t even offer to make it right. I’m still gonna tip 10 % but I’m also going to cause 100% of a disaster giving the manager an ear full. I WILL get my moneys worth one way or the other

 

[blueonblack]

I used to tip 0 when I was a kid if I thought the service was bad, but nowadays even the service is complete a** the lowest I’ll go is 10%. my standard is 20% and 25% if they are attentive. There are too many idiots out there that tip 0 regardless if it’s good service or not. After working in food industry I understand that mistakes happen and 10% of the bill should send the message to them.


However, if I feel like the restaurant wronged me and refused to take care of the issue then I’m not afraid to cause a scene lol. If we waited 45 minutes and the food comes out cold and you act like it’s not your problem, or the manager doesn’t even offer to make it right. I’m still gonna tip 10 % but I’m also going to cause 100% of a disaster giving the manager an ear full. I WILL get my moneys worth one way or the other

No, no, and please, no.

 

[Afizzle2100]

No, no, and please, no.

Which part, the part of me causing a scene lol? I’m mean I’m not talking about the Jerry Springer show, but maybe Steve Wilkos?

 

[blueonblack]

One general observation of our "new economy:" nothing has changed as far as service levels. Getting worse, perhaps?
I no longer eat out, but at stores, etc. Very angry people everywhere. Not many customers, but they still rush to do whatever like there is no time.
I've had grocery cashiers trying to steal from me right before my eyes. BAD.

I paid over $800 for aerotechs in my irons and wedges. Went to pick them up. Some guy I didn't know sitting in for my club guy that day.
There were sleeves of balls on the counter as I give him my credit card. I ask: "are these for customers with purchase? May I take a sleeve?"
"Oh, those are for new customers." (I've been a customer since 2001. Just a FEEEWWW thousands of dollars spent there over the years, cash no less.)
I say, "well, $820 is nothing to sneeze at."
"Oh, it is here. Believe me."
WOWZERS. Thanks. I took a sleeve and walked out. ha! Haven't told my club guy about the experience yet. lol!
It was eerily quiet in there too. I feel/fear like they are on the brink of closing up perhaps due to retirement ages, economy.

 

[JonD]

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.

This. It takes a special kind of bad for me to not still give at least 15%.

Basically this. No judgement if people feel otherwise, but spending a ton of time (and still having friends) working in the restaurant business has made me sympathetic to the plight of anyone working there. I start at 15% and work up from there. It would have to be a special kind of nonsense to get me to go below that. I can't remember a time where I didn't tip at least 15%. Since COVID, we've been extra heavy on the tips, even on delivery/carryout orders. These folks are hurting with all the restrictions right now.

 

[Templet0n]

zero is fine by me for bad service. In general, and I know I am by far the minority here. And yes, I have worked in the service industry for tips so I know the deal.

But, in general. I am not a fan of tipping. I am not sure I understand paying people more to do their job.. I do my job very well and I do not receive tips.

I of course tip, but I am not really a fan of the concept.

 

[AndyL0711]

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.

the glass always being full is one of my biggest things. check on my wife's meal and make sure our glasses are full...not tough at all

 

[-CRW-]

I think 15% for me. I typically give 20%. It's rare that I give more or less.

When my golf club was under previous ownership, they tacked on a 15% "gratuity" to every restaurant bill. I figured that was the tip for the wait staff, but later found out that they didn't get a penny of that - it went straight to the club itself. I had eaten there numerous times before I discovered that, and felt bad that I had unknowingly stiffed the servers every time. I apologized to them and made sure they were taken care of after that.

Ours is an automatic 18%, but it does go to the staff. Also, they are not supposed to take any cash tips from you on a member charge and the club would prefer everything be purchased on member account.

 

[GolfinWithDad]

$6 on a $48 bill. I have a tough time giving nothing....but he's not getting 20%

That’s the same for me. I can say that I have never left $0 tip. If service is awful it will go as low as 10% but never no tip.

 

[Tenputt]

I’d file a lawsuit.

Just kidding...

I will normally leave at least 15%, no matter what the experience. Life is too short not to be kind, no matter what is happening on the other side of a transaction, experience, relationship, etc.

 

[G-Man]

with that service, entitled to zero.

no refills and a 30 MIA are terrible - means they literally did nothing...

 

[RayG]

I have NEVER left $0. It's always something. I take a few things into consideration. Although service might not have been the greatest- How new is the place?, Are they still working out the bugs (figuratively speaking)? Understaffed? (happens a LOT in a new place when they underestimate crowd). What's the manager doing to help or are they doing nothing? It also depends on the type of place. If it's a Chili's or something, I expect things to be a bit quicker. They need turnover, so they should be constantly making the rounds and checking.
If we're at our favorite $$$ steakhouse, we aren't there to be in and out in 40 minutes, so the staff should be attentive but not overbearing.
If it's REALLY bad, the manager gets called over to discuss the problem, if it doesn't meet my satisfaction, we will leave. If it happens before the food comes, I will tell them I'm not paying for it, but will give the server a few bucks if they weren't the problem. Many times it isn't the server's fault that orders get screwed up or something that causes the issue. It's the management and how the place is run overall. A few times when a place is over booked and understaffed, you can see what's happening and you can't get too worked up over it, that's not the server's fault- heck I've even given 10-20 bucks on the side to the server halfway through for at least trying their best. 99% percent of the time it isn't the servers fault, so they get something.

 

[BigMac]

...I take a few things into consideration. Although service might not have been the greatest- How new is the place?, Are they still working out the bugs (figuratively speaking)? Understaffed? (happens a LOT in a new place when they underestimate crowd). What's the manager doing to help or are they doing nothing? It also depends on the type of place. If it's a Chili's or something, I expect things to be a bit quicker. They need turnover, so they should be constantly making the rounds and checking...

Sure, I definitely take stuff like that into consideration. There could be a lot of reasonable explanations why things aren't running smoothly, and I'd never stiff them if it was obvious that there were other problems and/or it wasn't the server's fault.

 

[Jrt13]

.01

And I’ve done it once, years ago. If you don’t leave a tip, your server thinks you “forgot”.

Now, I practice tipping the customary 10-15%. But will tip at least 25% or higher for good to great service.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ArmyGolf]

Good service, good food - 20-30%
Awful service, good food - 5%
Good service, awful food - 10%

My biggest pet peeves are being ignored in a restaurant that isn't even busy, or having to wait 30 minutes for the check while my kids get more and more out of control.

 

[Jman]

I’d file a lawsuit.

Just kidding...

I will normally leave at least 15%, no matter what the experience. Life is too short not to be kind, no matter what is happening on the other side of a transaction, experience, relationship, etc.

My guy!

 

[Scott F]

Good service, good food - 20-30%
Awful service, good food - 5%
Good service, awful food - 10%

I don’t hold the server responsible if the food isn’t good. But I will write a nasty Yelp review.

 

[ArmyGolf]

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!".

Tipping is definitely a normal thing up here.
I think Canadian tourists are so shell shocked by the awful exchange rate that they can't afford to tip in the USA LOL.

 

[FrancisD]

I'm a benefit of the doubt type of person so I never go below 20% on a restaurant tip. The tip goes to more than the server so I don't want to punish other people for things out of their control. Also you never know what those servers are going through; could be brand new and not trained properly, sick kid at home, other servers called out or any other issues. If I have bad service at a restaurant and the food was good I'll give them a second chance; if the food isn't all that I'm one and done.

 

[BigMac]

Tipping is definitely a normal thing up here.
I think Canadian tourists are so shell shocked by the awful exchange rate that they can't afford to tip in the USA LOL.

Thanks for clarifying, I had heard that servers were paid more in Canada and didn't need to rely on tips, so it wasn't as common a thing up there - sounds like that was bad info. Most of our snowbirds live here for 4-6 months every year (a lot of them own second homes here) and have been coming here for years, so it's not like they're unfamiliar with the customs. The population of our city nearly doubles during the winter with all the snowbirds from the northern states and Canada.

 

[FrancisD]

Tipping is definitely a normal thing up here.
I think Canadian tourists are so shell shocked by the awful exchange rate that they can't afford to tip in the USA LOL.

I went to college/lived in Vermont for 12 years through the 90's and the exchange rate the other way was nuts! We used to goto Montreal all the time and get the most bang for our buck! It was crazy!

 

[djt311]

I don't think I have ever left 0 but if getting really bad service they are not get much that is for sure.

 

[Junkyard]

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!".

While I've heard the stereotype, it certainly doesn't apply to this guy. Actually, I can't think of anyone that I have travelled to the US with that doesn't tip.

Now the difference between Canadian and US servers is that ours aren't making two or three bucks an hour. They're not going to retire on their wage, but I believe a ten or 12 dollar per hour rate is normal. A bunch of us go to the same place in MI every year for golf and I remember the same bartender was at the hotel for three years straight. We got to talking about wages one night and I was absolutely disgusted when I found out what she made. I honestly think it's downright criminal that you're paying someone that little. Sure, if they hustle they can make far more per hour in tips, but my goodness: this is 2020 and everybody deserves a minimum standard of living. Paying someone a couple of bucks an hour to deal with Joe Public is an insult IMO.

To answer the OP's question, my average tip will be between 15 and 20 percent. For extremely poor service that is the servers fault (I'm not talking kitchen delays or mistakes) but more not being attentive/incorrect order etc. it will drop, but never less than 10 percent.

The way I look at it, I make a very decent wage for what I do. If the person serving me at a restaurant or bar is doing everything they can to make my experience enjoyable I have no reason not to share my good fortune with them.

 

[aljaklaw]

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's more the "bah humbug" crowd that tends to snowbird