How Much Should You Tip at a Restaurant?

Should You Tip 15 Percent Just For Being Served?

July 20, 2009

There's no question in my mind that great service should be rewarded with a 20 percent tip or more. When service is less than satisfactory, not everyone agrees on what type of tip is deserved.MSNBC talked to business psychologist Debra Condren, who says 15 percent is the minimum for just being served, even unsatisfactorily, at a restaurant. Do you agree or disagree with her?

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36 Comments

tigerusfk 1 year 23 weeks

Normally I tip around 20% rounded to the next dollar. This is for average to fairly good service. Great service gets more. However, I do not tip for bad service. I will sometimes leave a penny just to make sure that there is no doubt that I did not forget to tip, and just left what he/she deserved. To the person with the undercooked steak. What makes you think your server cooked your meal? duh

2 years 50 weeks

I normally tip above 20% for good service. For bad service, I tip whatever I feel like the person deserves. Only once have I not left a tip, I was out with a group of friends, dressed semi-formal, during the meal we saw our server once to take orders, someone else brought drinks and food. We got her attention once when we flagged her down for drink refills and she then spilled it all over a friend's $200 gown, we had to send back an undercooked steak and it came back still undercooked. At this point one of the guys in our group pulled the manager aside and explained what type of service we were getting. Next thing we know there's our waitress at the table right next to us complaining that we talked to the manager to the guests at that table! We heard every word. We quietly finished our meal, found the waiter that had been refilling our drinks for us and gave him a large tip, then found the manager and explained exactally why none of us were leaving a tip.

3 years 4 weeks

Not the customer's job to pay company employees...

Modus Vivendi 3 years 38 weeks

I agree exactly with bellasugar.

3 years 38 weeks

Tipping for bad service or standard service encourages staff to keep their service at that level. Therefore it only really makes sense to tip when service is good. A tip is something "extra" for something above standard service - if you tip for standard service, you're giving the waiter/ess something extra just to do their job that they get paid for in the first place, and if you tip for bad service then you're encouraging them to keep providing bad service, knowing they'll almost always get SOMETHING off someone.

3 years 42 weeks

I normally tip 15- 20%(closer to 20) for average service. I DO complain to the manager when needed and I DO send my food back if it's not done right. I also change what is on the menu to what I want OFTEN, so if the service is very good I'll leave up to 25%. If the service is bad I leave 10%. ONE time in my life the server was rude, the food was NOT what anyone at the table had asked for, and the meal took forty minutes to get to the table from the time we place the order(and it was a slow night.) We didn't leave a tip.

dani17731 3 years 43 weeks

For those of you who say you still tip even when service is bad, where in the world do you live?!?! In my neck of the woods, crappy service=no tip at all! When me and my cousins were at TGIFriday's, it was around 3 p.m. It was practically empty and it took almost 40 minutes to get our food, and the server didn't even come back to check on us or assure us that our food was coming. Then I asked them to sing Happy Birthday to my cousin and he said OK. About 15 minutes later I asked the hostess about it and she said "oh we don't do that anymore" WTF?!?! We were pissed. And he didn't even come over to apologize or explain the misunderstanding. Another server gave us our bill, so we gave him exact change, down to the penny! And he had kind of a shitty attitude throughout the few interactions we had with him, so he definitely wasn't getting a tip.

dani17731 3 years 43 weeks

3 years 43 weeks

keep in mine that servers don't make mim. wage in most states. they work for 2.16 an hour. all thought i don't believe you should reward bad behavior you should still tip but you should let the person know what they did wrong because most of the time they think they are doing a good job.

3 years 43 weeks

I should mention, we look a lot younger than our age. People constantly think we're still in high school. And I don't like that they assume we won't tip well and consequently treat us unfavorably. That plus the fact that I don't think I should be charged an extra tax for the waiter DOING THEIR JOB!

3 years 43 weeks

I HATE the whole tipping thing. Your employer should be paying you, not me... on top of what I just paid for my meal! Because of our age my boyfriend and I are treated like little kids (we're 22) and it always feels as though we aren't as important as the middle aged or even 30 yr old couple next to us. Once my boyfriend and I went to a restaurant where the waiter was horrible! He never checked in on us and everything took forever (even drinks). I will NOT compensate such horrible service. Instead of tipping low or not leaving anything at all, we left supermarket dollars. And it felt damn good too. I wish I could've seen the look on his face. I just hate tipping. I barely have enough money for myself, I am not going to give it away. If you're getting any tip from me at all, be thankful.

3 years 43 weeks

I am a server, although only as a summer job. It is true that there is a separate "minimum wage" for servers- $2.65 an hour. Yes, our tips are supposed to cover that, but they dont always. Far too many people say, "Its okay if I only tip 10%, the next person will make up for it." But they dont. Also, how much you tip should in no way reflect the quality of the food. We are not the one making the food, we are only ferrying to your every request. By all means tell us if there is something wrong, but we cannot control how your food tastes. I am only thankful that in a month I will go back to school, but for many of my coworkers, this is there way of life. They need the money, and think, its only a couple dollars to you, but it could make their day.

rach1007 3 years 43 weeks

like many others who have commented, I am a server who makes my living based off of tips. The real issue is not whether you want to leave 15%, 5%, or whatever else--the issue is that servers are not fairly compensated employees. I work just as hard for your table whether it's a busy night or a slow night, but if it's a slow night, I'm making less money. We should change the pay system so that servers are paid a fair minimum wage (not a tipped employee wage) so that guests really can leave a "thank you" for excellent service.

lilkimbo 3 years 43 weeks

Mimo, I do agree with your point that you should be forced to tip, but it works differently in the U.S. There is a separate minimum wage for tipped employees, so tips are expected to be a part of their wage. However, employers are legally required to pay the difference between regular minimum wage and what a person is taking home. It's nearly impossible to find another serving job that pays even as well as retail jobs, but servers tend to take home more money than their counterparts in retail anyway because of the tips.

mimo1992214 3 years 43 weeks

but i also think that people SHOULDN'T be working below minimum wage, or living off their tips. i didn't get alot above minimum wage [£3.75 an hour - about 25p over minimum wage]. but if you have to live off tips, then move jobs. i realise it's easier said than done, but still, that is appalling.

mimo1992214 3 years 43 weeks

i used to be a server, but i really disagree that you 'should' be tipping 15% unless the service was really bad. i don't think that there should be any occasion when you 'should' actually tip at all [im not insinuating that you shouldn't tip, just that there is no rule that says you have to], unless you know you have been a really bad customer [as a way of an apology] or that they have provided outstanding service, because a tip is a reward for doing well, not something that you get anyway, that is called a wage. i never once actualyl EXPECTED a tip, because i should be doing my job well anyway, i shouldnt have to guess whether i have done well or not. but i guess maybe it works differently in america, but that is my view on it. besides all of that, there are some people who can't afford to tip, and i don't think that they should feel pressurised into doing it.

3 years 43 weeks

I've been a server, too. Yes, I've made WAY below minimum wage. Yes, it sucks when you serve a huge group and they stiff you. I think 10-15% in general, 20%+ if awesome. If it sucked, you should speak with the manager and if the manager is an a-hole and won't do anything about it, then no tip.

Liss 3 years 43 weeks

I leave 20% if they deserve it. I know people have to live off of their tips but they should also work for it. If they never come back and check on you and see if you need anything else and are rude they they do not deserve 20%. I think there was only once that we did not tip, we went out to lunch with my sister for her birthday and it was just a horrible experience and ruined our time out so instead of leaving money for a tip we left a note that said worst service ever! I still feel kind of bad about it but it was really bad service and it was not busy and it still took us an hour to even get our food and even then my sisters hamburger was not ready! This was at TGI Fridays.

3 years 43 weeks

As a former waitress I always tip 20% unless, like others said, it was a really bad experience -- something that was obviously in control of the server. If the food was bad or they restaurant was obviously understaffed that's not the fault of the person serving me. Most of the time you know they're trying to keep you happy because their paycheck depends on it. I always hate the mentality of it being as a Thank You, you realize servers typically make $3-$6 as base pay? In college I made $2.35 an hour and worked at Cracker Barrel in a small town where the base customers were either elderly or in college -- neither which tip well. One suggestion is to also take into account the size of your table. Handling your party of 10-20 people requires a bigger thank you, in my opinion, than your table of 2 or 4.

mondaymoos 3 years 43 weeks

I've not tipped a few times, but the service was truly awful. I'm usually at 20% tipper for average and above service.

ilanac13 3 years 43 weeks

i understand that the servers are trying to make a living, but if they are HORRIBLE - then no - i won't even give them 15%. it's my hard earned money too - and when i go to a place that's 'full service' it's because i want my experience to be easy and relaxing, and when i have awful service and i have to wait for AGES for anything, then it's truly not worth rewarding with more than maybe 10%

leslievanhouten 3 years 43 weeks

I rarely, if ever, tip less than 20% If I am getting bad service, I let someone (my server, the host/hostess/manager) know. Usually they will comp drinks or dessert or something or somehow rectify the situation. I think a big problem is that the concept of "good service" is completely subjective. Sometimes good service just means not messing up. For some of my friends, it means happy, witty banter with the server. For others, it means getting their butt kissed like they were shopping at Saks. I find it ironic that the people with the highest standards, are the ones who tip the least. Tipping is part of the restaurant experience. If someone doesn't want to tip, get take out or make your own food.

leslievanhouten 3 years 43 weeks

I rarely, if ever, tip less than 20%If I am getting bad service, I let someone (my server, the host/hostess/manager) know. Usually they will comp drinks or dessert or something or somehow rectify the situation. I think a big problem is that the concept of "good service" is completely subjective. Sometimes good service just means not messing up. For some of my friends, it means happy, witty banter with the server. For others, it means getting their butt kissed like they were shopping at Saks. I find it ironic that the people with the highest standards, are the ones who tip the least. Tipping is part of the restaurant experience. If someone doesn't want to tip, get take out or make your own food.

Spectra 3 years 43 weeks

I always tip 15% for average service (server asks at least once if you want a refill on beverages, checks in with your table more than once, doesn't screw up your drink/food orders, and is at least pleasant) and I tip 20-25% for excellent service (refills BEFORE you have to ask, asking if they can get you anything else, making sure any special requests on the food get sent to the chef, putting up with little kids that may spill stuff or make a huge mess, being very friendly and courteous and not just acting like they really don't want to be there). If I get crappy service, I tip the bare-minimum 10%. There's a reason servers get tips; it's an incentive for them to work hard and do their job.

katie225 3 years 43 weeks

let me correct what i said above, i mentioned moving the decimal point (rather than "place") one space to the left, it should read TWO SPACES to the left. i'm a middle school math teacher on summer vacay, so my brain is totally not in school mode. :)

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