I like a server who can recognize that I have a mouthful of food and now is not the time to come by and ask me something. Thumbs up, head nod. It's amazing how often that happens.

This makes no sense to me. Tipping for a drink. It's literally, hey man can I have a beer, wait 2 seconds. Ok thanks. That's worth 1-2 dollars?

This makes no sense to me. Tipping for a drink. It's literally, hey man can I have a beer, wait 2 seconds. Ok thanks. That's worth 1-2 dollars? I get it if you are sitting at the bar with a tab. But if I walk my happy ass up to the bar that should not warrant a tip.

I get this. Totally. Good post.

I agree with everything you have said.

I often find tip %'s directly correlate with how much the consumer enjoyed their meals, as well.

When I worked at a well known deep dish pizza shop in college town, central Illinois...two pizzas would serve 12+ people and the bill would be outrageously cheap for families coming down from Chicago where everything is jacked up...they'd bring out their whole family, have some appetizers, pitchers of beer...two huge delicious pizzas...and I'd get $40 tips on $100 bills like it was going out of style. They'd look at their bills and laugh.

I'd look at the tip and laugh about how easy my life was.

that's a poorly ran restaurant. I've been a restaurant manager in the past. We had a policy for parties of 8 or more they get 18% added. No exceptions. It was the servers responsibility to come to the managers and get the gratuity added. If they didn't, they got written up. 3 write ups in 6 months for the same thing = fired.

ROFL

Come on man, that's beyond silly.

Seems about right for CP.

You should receive much better service at an expensive restaurant than a lower end restaurant.

I wait tables at a steak and seafood restaurants. I consider myself a very good waiter, and I know that if that wasn't true, I wouldn't have my job. I am the only waiter at my restaurant with less than 10 years of server experience. (I am only waiting tables through college) I worked at 2 restaurants back in high school, Chappell's in NKC was one of them. I can assure you that the servers where I work now are better than any of the servers at ether of the restaurants that I worked at in Kansas City. We also provide a lot more services. Tables automatically get water, every meal gets a salad (which the servers make) and fresh bread, fresh ground pepper is offered with each course, and we package the leftover food. You won't get most of those services at Applebee's. You will never have an empty glass or empty plate in front of you, and you will never have to flag down your server for your check. I am disappointed if I do not make more than 20% in tips at the end of the night. I also tip out 30% of what I make to the busser, bartender, and kitchen staff.

If you are getting equivalent service at IHOP as you do at Jack Stack, the person at IHOP should be looking for a better job, or the person at Jack Stack should be fired. I quit going to IHOP because the service was so poor.

Nah.

I'd take it off as manager if they had a good reason to complain. If the service was truly bad and the server was at fault, the auto grat is off.

However, our menus CLEARLY stated that parties of 8 or more would receive an 18% gratuity and we stuck to that and I'd stick up for my employees 10 times out of 10.

You don't go to work, have your section hoarded by a group for 3 hours, and not get tipped. That's not right when you make $2.13 an hour.

And you know what...and my managers used to use me as an example when servers would complain about their auto grat being removed...I was the go to guy for big groups (I loved working them, I was good at them) and I never once had any person (no matter what race, religion, social standing) ask for a manager to remove the auto-gratuity. They would ask ALL OF THE TIME about what it was and I'd say "oh that's the gratuity that is added for groups of 8 or more" and you could tell some of them were annoyed but no one ever complained because people aren't liars...

they weren't going to throw me under the bus after they just received IMPECCABLE service because I know who the bad tippers are and who the complainers are so that's when I give them the best service they could ever get because that's THE ONLY WAY to keep them quiet...

and they'd test me in any way you'd ever know how...they'd get their meals and "not like it", so I'd get them something else and they "wouldn't like it" and I'd never budge, just non-stop apologies and kindness until they finally gave up because they knew I wouldn't break.

It was the easiest job in the world. I just don't let those kinds of people get to me, ever. When people gave me a hard time I'd use the "at least I'm me and they are them" logic 10 times out of 10. I'd rather be their bitch for 1 hour then have to go home to whatever it is they went home to that made them so miserable.

I tip well, but have noticed more lately (maybe I'm just getting crotchety) some ridiculous establishments hinting at tips.
The worst;
The new self-serve yogurt places.
Let me get this straight. I get a cup, fill it myself with delicious yogurt, then I spoon the perfect mix of assorted ingredients over said yogurt, followed by me weighing my flawless concoction, so that you may push a button in a register, so I can pay. And you want a tip? Seriously?

well I guess you didn't work in a restaurant that would do $50,000 in sales on a Saturday night...

that paperwork would be impossible

and I doubt you worked as a restaurant manager as well; you don't know enough about the business. You're always so full of shit.

I'm different. I have no problem throwing a $1 in a tip jar at a Baskin Robins...those people have truly shit jobs that pay them maybe $0.25 more than minimum wage...if anyone deserves $5-$10 at the end of their shifts, it's those guys. I agree tip jars are lame but man, I wouldn't want to work at a Baskin Robins.

On a slower week night, I would prefer a large group. On a Friday or Saturday when I can keep a full section and turn tables over quickly, I would rather have the smaller tables. Large tables (>12 people) rarely tip more than 20%, whereas I average more than 20% on small tables. I have only placed automatic gratuity on one large party, and that was because I was advised to do so by a member of the party.

I had a realization last year that since I don't drink I don't tip as much. So if I'm in a sports bar or pub-type restaurant and I order the ribs, salad, and soda, I'm a lower-dollar tipper than the guy at the next table who ordered the ribs, salad, and two beers, even if we tip the same percentage. But I'm probably just as much work.

So I'll ask the people with restaurant experience. Do I get sneered at if I'm the 10 percent that doesn't order alcohol? Am I perceived to be a "cheap tipper" even though I tip the same amount?

I'd honestly never thought about this, but it really started bothering me. I've even started upgrading my tips if I'm in a place where most people are drinking alcohol.