Tipping dilema.....to tip or not to tip?

[breadman]

I've had jobs that tipping made a significant portion of my salary, so i know how important tipping is to a server. But have you ever run across a situation that leaving no tip was absolutely necessary to leave a message to the server? Im not fanatical about having round the clock service, just the occasional 'would you like a refill' or asking if you'd like another beer......

One occasion of late bring about this thread....one one occasion i met a budddy for a couple of beers and had to wait a good 10 minutes to get a beer at bar. Mind you, this bar was split in half so two bartenders could serve their respected half of the bar. The 'half' i sat on had three guys sitting in the 26 seats.....my buddy, myself and another guy who had the bartender's full attention as she tried to stare thru the back of his head thru his eyes. It took the other bartender with her 20 customers to notice i needed a beer. As i waited to get noticed by the first bartender i counted down my 'tips'....and at the end told my buddy if he left anything id have to beat the shit out of him. We both left the bar without leaving a tip.....and had the pleasure of seeing the bartender give a nice frown upon grabbing the empty's and seeing no tip for her lack of service.

Has something like this ever happened to anyone here??

P.s.. this situation brings to mind the Third Rock from the Sun episode where Dick puts down a stack of singles and tells the waitress this is her tip 'if' she does everything right....and then he starts taking away a dollar everytime she makes a mistake.

 

[Gambling Fool]

Me too

Hey Breadman,

A situation like this has happened to me too. Me and 12 of my friends go to Chez Magnan on a sunday night around 20h00. The place is empty except for about 4 patrons. When we try to sit down we ask the waiter if we can pull some of the tables together so everybody can sit together instead of being split up. To my surprise, he actually said no. After my astonishment, I tell him it will be easier for us to speak to each other. He said it will be just as easy if we are split up. I couldn't believe it. He said it was because the waiters would have a hard time to serve us if we moved the tables. Let me just tell you, he did not get a tip from me. But some people from the group actually left him something. It made for a big discussion the next day at work.

I believe a tip is representative of the service you get. I am also in the service industry and take this to heart. I have no problem leaving a big tip if the service was awesome, or a regular tip if service was adequate. But do not be afraid of making a statement with the action of not leaving a tip.

Gambling Fool
________________________________
Know the odds and play the game

 

[orallover]

i do leave descent tip (about 40% tip) when they do it right (the way I like - this is not easy, 1. they don't ask me if everything is ok more than once and don't ask me anything while I am eating, don't ask me for refill water just do it when the glass is less than 1/4 full, ask me if I want more drinks (beer, wine, etc) only if the glass/bottle is nearly empty, and some more little things. I know this is tough one to follow but I remember 3 times when they did and they got good tips from me.
for the rest of places normally they get about 15% tip as long as they don't make any big mistakes.
however it is a different story at the bars/clubs just because I start to see more and more of servers thinking $1 tip per drink is minimum and they should get it no matter what attitude. and that pisses me off big time.

 

[Minnesotah]

Breadman, you should gave her a penny tip. When you give her nothing, you're perceived as a poor penny pincher. If you really wanted to let know about her bad service, you should leave only a penny as tip. That way, if she's a pro in the hospitality industry, she will understand why you left that bar.

 

[Minnesotah]

Also, one of the issue in Quebec hospitality industry is tips must be declared on your tax report. It should not be like that, because theorically tips is a way to show off your satisfaction for the service received. Now, it is only a service tax perceived by the employee. In Europe, the case is worst since it is already included on your bill. I also dislike the way some waiters and barmans' attitude and expectations about tips.

 

[breadman]

Think we left a nickle cause one of the beers wasnt exactly even money....