bharatiya said:It happened to me once at Applebees. The waiter changes the tip from $1 to $4 and changed the total amount too. I never went to Applebees after that, they are the most rascist restaurant I have ever seen and not just one branch, I have dined in them all across the country. I don't know what's the deal with them or it is probably just my bad luck !

If you're leaving a $1 tip, I sincerely hope that your bill was well under $10 or your server was outright rude to you. I'm not saying it's right for a waiter to change a tip even if they feel they're being gypped. But since waiters an waitresses do tend to be human (and generally poorly paid, at that), it wouldn't surprise me if this happened to people that severely undertip more than it does to people who don't.

No I do not undertip. On an average I usually tip about 15%. But here, that guy did not come to ask me for a drink for 15 mins, certainly did not apologize after he finally came, then when he got the food, he did not bother to ask me if I needed anything else and did not offer me dessert. That's his job and if he is not doing it correctly, he does not deserve a tip.

Yeah, like I said, average is 15%. If I feel I got good service, it goes up accordingly.

Ahh I gotchya! Sorry, I misunderstood you.

Now I digress, thread continue.

jennth3 said:Ross29 said:bharatiya said:No I do not undertip. On an average I usually tip about 15%. But here, that guy did not come to ask me for a drink for 15 mins, then when he got the food he did not bother to ask me if I needed anything else and did not offer me dessert. That's his job and if he is not doing it correctly, he does not deserve a tip.

15% is undertipping...

In your situation, I think you were right though, dont give a good tip if the service sucked (this is coming from a server too).

But yeah, 15% isnt bad, but 18%-20% is our average (well, I am damn good at what I do, so that might be it)

Wow, 15% is undertipping now? I certainly wouldn't call it a generous tip (to me, 20% is a big tip given for great service), but I also wouldn't consider it undertipping. Maybe I'm just cheap?

Well, to me a big tip would be somewhere between 20-30%. However, the place I serve at is pretty high end so people have money to throw around. I have recieved 50-100% tips on several occasions. Of course that being said, we do still get those crappy 10% tips even after great service.

jennth3 said:
Wow, 15% is undertipping now?
Yes, 15% is undertipping now
20% is the new 15%

luvnspnful said:I was a server many moons ago, and averaged about 20% in tips. Mind you, I was good at my job. However, I and the other servers hated getting our tips on CC.... preferred in cash, as occasionally we didnt receive our tips from the cashier/manager who was taking the payments. They would "forget" and just stick it in the till- and I'd have to make a stink at the end of my shift for my money. Was'nt a bad place to work, just that one problem.

Plus, when you tip on a CC, the server has to declare it on taxes- and when you make a pitiful salary, that can kill ya at tax time.

I work for a bank now, and we always tell people NOT to fill in the tip line, as you're authorizing the bar/ restaurant to double swipe your card.

I always tip cash if available ... and I always round up so the server gets the extra change in dollar bills ... it just shows in a little way that you are happy with service and you have some concern for the server

So... I should tip in cash to make it easier for the server to commmit tax fraud/evasion?

I've eaten out hundreds of times and this has never happend to me yet. We keep track of our bills very closely. I've had a few times that a couple of cents were subtracted from the bill. Twice the tip wasn't even on the bill. We tip 15% almost all the time... I wonder if that make a diffrence.

I disagree with this outright. I dont like people (waiters in this forum) or articles like this telling me what percent of tip I should give someone.

As per my thumb rule, tip is ONLY given if the person meets or exceeds the level of service promised. If the service is outright excellent then I mightconsider giving 15% or 20%.... but I dont go by automatic 15%-20% calculators. Yes! I generally do not give 18-20% tips. There are times when I do not give any tip.

I do not want to sound mean, but I do not care if some waiters are not paid well by their restaurants. I have my financial goals and my extravagant tip is not going to make anyone rich. As a consumer I need to get the best for my money. There is lots of competition in the food business and there are lots of restaurants who strive to get my business.

Also people should consider sending the tip to the kitchen(instead of server) if the food is good. I have become friends with the cook/chef at few restaurants where food was good but service was not. So now everytime I go in, the chef throws in something extra for me.

Just my 2 cents....

jmz668 said:jennth3 said:
Wow, 15% is undertipping now?
Yes, 15% is undertipping now
20% is the new 15%

smithr4 said:Venturion said:If the service is that bad, pay cash, preferably with change like this guy.

[EDIT] An option might be to write out your tip as if it were a check to prevent any alteration. Usually the tip and check are segregated on your statement by the credit card company, so I don't see a way to challenge the entire bill. However, that doesn't prevent you from getting the book thrown at the idiot by calling the restaurant and informing them. (note: bold emphasis added)

Excuse me? 99.99% of the time I dine out I charge the meal and the tip onto a CC. I've NEVER ONCE seen the check and tip segregated on any of my statements. There's simply a single charge listed that covers the check and tip combined. I'm not sure what type of card you use or what bank issues this card, but I've NEVER seen this practice with Discover, AMEX, Visa, MC issued from a variety of banks. Typically, the meal and tip are entered separately (the meal is charged with the initial card swipe and the tip is added manually later), but the statement reflects only a single combined charge.

AMEX trueearnings (costco) sometimes does this. depends on the restaurant, but it does. You have to expand the charge on your statement to see the breakout. Its quite nice. Example:

DOWNTOWN STANDARD F&LOS ANGELES CA

2138928080
FOOD 11.00
TIP 3.00