Do you think it is reasonable not to tip your server?

I tip as well as possible as I was a waiter a long time ago.

Jonesy, I agree with the good service rule, and on a personal note life style, color, religion or any other reason to not tip is ludicrous. period.

Japan is also a country where you don't tip most places.
but be vary careful when picking up your change at the grocery store!

How do you mean?

Wow didn't think this would get so many responses. It looks like the majority of people here tip well and understand not to punish a server for something that's not within their control.

Most servers I've worked with are going to school for something else, in which case it is a perfect job. You have the potential to actually make a livable wage, you have a flexible schedule that can work around your classes, and you can work shorter shifts to give yourself time to study.

I think people who don't tip are cheap and should stay home. I can understand if the service was very bad and there was no reason for it or if the waiter was rude. But if your appetizers come out late or the food is uncooked that is not the waiters fault it is the kitchen and not tipping is a dick thing to do. In a case like that complain to the manager. I have seen a waiter slammed with tables because someone called in sick and customers punish the waiter for not getting drinks out fast enough or getting back quickly for refills.

I think waiters should be paid a full salary and we do away with tipping. Other countries do it and don't have horrible service.

comparing McDonalds workers to waitresses is not fair Mcdonald pays at least minimum wage and used to pay a little higher. Restaurants are supposed to make up the difference in tips if it is not minimum wage but a lot don't.

Our custom in Germany is to give a small tip by rounding the bill. Any tip higher than - say - 10% of the bill would be considered generous.

Restaurants I frequent are either family-run or employ students as waiters, whom I expect to have additional sources of income.

As for the original post: such a schoolmasterly behaviour dissing other people openly for their lifestyle is just a shame. The guy probably felt good that he could demonstrate his (percieved) superiority. But any countermeasure probably just strenghtens his believe that society is going down the drain.

I think waiters should be paid a full salary (like [MENTION=9037]Elf Witch[/MENTION]) and THEN we should tip or not tip based on service.

Of course I'm old enough to have been tipped for pumping gas...

Oh and RE: Op...

tip/not tip based on lifestyle is bogus, not our place to judge. And not the time/or location to advocate for something you approve or disapprove of. Totally bogus,

Tipping? I'm firmly in the Mr Pink camp on this one.

But ... but no, in reality I tip and I tip well. I understand any job with 'Customer Service' in the description sucks and sucks hard. These people don't get paid nearly enough to deal with the crap they do and are literally counting on you to tip them. It's simply part of the cost of the meal. I get on anyone I'm with who doesn't tip or doesn't tip well. It's not right. Oh, and I like to revisit places and rule number one if you're gonna go back is Don't Bleep With the People Who Serve Your Food.

When tipping I like to go 20% - though it appears that the cultural shift in America is making that the standard rather than the high standard so I may need to up it. If I'm tipping a bartender and I'm not running a tab or it's an open bar, the rule is $1 per drink. Every time you get a drink leave them a dollar. If you run a tab 20% or over is the rule, IMO.

When I was in Greece I met quite a few Brits and we had some fun conversations. Invariably as we met during dinner or lunch tipping would come up. I found I had to defend the practice. The response to my defense was always 'you should pay wait staff more and just not tip' to which I always responded 'yes, we should but since we don't we absolutely must tip'. That's something I think a lot of people from over wherever forget. What the rules should be and what they are differ and you really should just leave a tip. Oh, and in Greece? Man, we tipped a cabby 5 Euro and he treated us like we were royalty. When people aren't used to tips they really do appreciate it. We knew we didn't need to tip but we always did - we were on vacation, yanno? Plus anything a couple of Americans can do to even marginally increase the general perception of Americans overseas is something they need to do.

Jan van Leyden said:

Restaurants I frequent are either family-run or employ students as waiters, whom I expect to have additional sources of income.

Click to expand...

Ah, you see, in the US, if you have a student as a waiter, you kind of expect them to *not* have another source of income. They're working as a waiter because they're busy studying, but the income their family provides is not sufficient for their needs.