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15% to 20% of bill.
If you receive excellent service or if it is a 4 star + restaurant or large parties, a
20% or greater tip is recommended if you receive excellent service or if it is a 4 star + restaurant or for large parties.
$20 – $100 or more depending on the occasion, the restaurant, your frequency, and of course, whether you like to be taken good care of or not
none
15% of wine bill
10-15% of bar bill
none
15% of bill
$1 for one or two coats
50 cents to $1
$1
Waitstaff
The source of many e-mails, this section is the most controversial on the site. Especially the ‘waiter / waitress entry. My opinion is: tip your waiter / waitress. But this is not to say that it should be ever considered ‘required’. Recently, most wait staff have lost sight of the fact that a tip is a gratuity and NOT a must. It is also a fact that in a lot of places, wait staff are underpaid (usually less than minimum wage) and must share tips with busboys, aides, etc. What I mean by 4 star restaurant is any restaurant that by default gives extraordinary service. Large parties are any parties over 6 people.
Maitre’d
A good maitre’d can make your dining experience extraordinary. However, they can also make it a pretty bad one. They can definitely make it better on successive visits by greeting you by name, sitting you at your favorite spot, making sure you have good service, the list goes on and on. It is my suggestion that you tip the maitre’d well, and usually as you are about to get seated. Never after you’re seated or else you loose the effect on the first visit. As you sit down is also good. Any restaurant that has a maitre’d is ‘usually’ a good one, so go ahead and splurge.
The Tip calculation should be based on the PRE-TAX amount. Also, tips involving liquor should follow the following guidelines:
- If one bottle of wine was ordered, then it is usually okay to include it’s cost into the tip calculation.
- If there is a lot of wine ordered or if the price of a single wine bottle is above $10, I think it’s cost should NOT be included in the final tip calculation.
Article at Delighted Cooking
The page below is being cached here since the original site has been down since around 2002. If the original author resuscitates the old site, I will gladly remove it. I found it thorough and relative.
Last updated on: Sunday, May 23rd, 1999
ARE YOU AN ANNOYING RESTAURANT PATRON?
Please analyze your behavior carefully and see whether you are on your favorite waitress’ hit list. Ask yourself whether you do these things…
- If you’re an unattractive, dateless man, act like your waitress is talking to you because she “likes” you. Hint: it’s her JOB to be polite to you. Save your fantasies for at-home dining.
- As the server is running past your table, yell, “WE’RE READY TO ORDER!!” She KNOWS you’re ready to order and is getting to you as quickly as she can.
- Act like waitressing is easy. It is by far the most difficult job I’ve ever had (including “professional” jobs). You need legs of iron, a memory like a steel trap, and the patience of a saint.
- If you are dining with another person, don’t look at the menu and rudely shout out “We’re ready to order right away,” without consulting your companion. Watch as he or she stammers uncomfortably and skims the menu to try and find something fast.
- Ask obscure and irrelevant questions like, “Are your cows fed with wheat grass or crab grass?” Your server is just going to make up the answer anyway.
- Be too cheap to order a drink, then ask to have your water refilled five times. (By the way, please don’t write and complain that you really LIKE water, you’re NOT cheap, and you resent the insinuation. Believe it or not I’ve gotten several such e-mails.)
- Worse yet, be too cheap to order a drink, ask for water with extra, extra lemon, and use the sugar in the caddy to prepare your own lemonade. (Thank you, Chris in Hickory, NC)
- Demand to be helped immediately, on a busy Friday night, even though others who arrived before you haven’t been helped yet.
- Complain that we don’t have what you want. Most menus are posted out front, if our food doesn’t appeal to you, go somewhere else. Your server did not design the menu.
- Let your baby throw food on the floor, then don’t clean up after it.
- Ask to have your food prepared in some bizarre way that’s not on the menu.
- Ask your server his/her first name if it’s not offered. It’s impolite to call strangers by their first names. If you need something, address him/her with “Excuse me.”
- The obvious one: meager tips. At least 15% is appropriate, and if you have 3 people sharing one entree, for example, adjust accordingly. Any confusion, please visit The Original Tipping Page.
- Say “I don’t believe in tipping.” My landlord still believes in getting a rent check.
- Order something when you don’t know what it is, don’t ask what it is, and then complain that it’s not what you wanted.
- Act superior to your server, since you have such little power in your “real” life, and ordering someone around makes you feel important. Many servers are working to pay their college tuition and have triple your IQ… and believe me, they’re all laughing about you in the kitchen!
The Waitressing Gripe Page is now WORLD FAMOUS in TWO states and another country! Read the fabulous article by Michael Bendure that appeared in the Sept. 30, 1997, issue of “The Trend,” newspaper of the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma. Also, here is a note I received:
HI. I host an afternoon talk show in Michigan, and I’m doing a show about pet peeves when customers are out to eat. I’m including quotes from your web site as part of the show (with appropriate credit of course!). It’s a great site! Thanks
Cameron Knowles
“The Cameron Knowles Show”
Weekdays 4-6 pm
WSGW News radio, Saginaw, Michigan
A reader also tells me she read about the site in Options magazine published in the UK… if anyone has seen that article or can find it on the web please do let me know! Its news to me!
I have uploaded some pictures of the good ole’ diner where I worked for four of my eight years as a waitress. After being in business since 1926, it was torn down to become a “Men’s Wearhouse.” We had a full ice cream fountain and everything… yum!
What’s the stupidest question you’ve ever been asked by a customer?
Doug in Massachusetts, who is not actually a server:
A good friend took me to a local breakfast place in a town to which he had just moved. He ordered “9 grain pancakes” from the menu, and when it was served, he asked the waitress why there were only 4 pancakes; what happened to the other 5?
Genna in Chicago:
Had a guy and his airhead girlfriend come in the other night and he asked for a glass of wine… ok sir… white or red?… (blank stare) … well sir, we have Sutter Home or Gallo in white wine and Merlot in red… “Just give me regular wine”… gee… can you define regular wine for me sir?
Chris and Dave in Louisville, Kentucky:
Q: “What kind o fish is that filet?”
A: “I’m sorry sir, the Filet is STEAK fish.”
Q: “Ya’ll got white bread?”
A: “Would you like it toasted sir, just how mama used to make it?”
Jennifer in Franklin, New Hampshire:
Waitress: (answering the phone) “Good afternoon, FAVORITES, how can I help you?”
Girl on phone: “Do you take, like, FRIENDLY’s coupons?”
Waitress: “No, but you might call FRIENDLY’s–maybe they do.”
Melissa Ambrose in Memphis, Tennessee:
I was asked today what our sweet tea is sweetened with! Um, we dump some jolly ranchers in there… yah, that’s right.
Julie in Iowa:
*I actually had a “guest” ask me once, “Is the water good here?”
*Someone asked me the other day if the drink came with the meal…it’s not McDonald’s…sheeeesh!
Darren in Victoria, British Columbia:
What is the difference in size between the 8″ and the 12″ pizza?
You’ve only scratched the surface if you’re just reading this page! There are four more sections devoted to mail I have received from readers, all updated regularly:
Please e-mail me and send me your own gripe, stupid question, or story… and I’ll include the best ones on the page! I cannot emphasize enough that I can’t air your gripe unless you include your name, city, and state! Also, please put “gripes” in the subject line. I have a junk mail filter that filters out anything with a different subject. If you’re a customer who’s reading the page and is infuriated at everyone’s horrible attitude, don’t bother writing, just take the advice I will reply with anyway: lighten up! life is a lot more fun when you learn to laugh at yourself (and your crappy job)!
Enjoy Your
Meal
Bottom Line: Be nice to your waitress. You’ll never know if she secretly spit in your food!