15-20% after tax is pretty standard, minmum $5. If the service was really really bad (to the point where I left feeling pissed off) I'd just round up to the nearest $5 Increment. so if it was $33 I'd round to $35 and they'd only get a couple bucks, fuck em.

i would say a couple bucks for bad service is being very generous

always tipped after tax. 10% pretty standard for me.
but have left exact amount in change at a boston pizza.

but really, you tip more good for you, you tip less good for you.

For those people who say that serving tables is easy they need to open their eyes and take their heads out of their ass.

I would also say that they have probably never dined anywhere good enough to appreciate the difference from an ok server to a great server. Get out of Sammy Js and Cactus and try a real restaurant.

Main purpose of dining out is to eat food, not to appreciate the servers. I would much rather pay more for excellent food with an ok server rather than ok food with excellent server. But i know not everyone feels the same way as I do.

+ 1 on this one.

I went out to eat, not to get served like a king. If i want to be served like a king i would hire a maid or a bitch.

AS long as my food comes out delicious and made from poin A to point B, i really dont give a flying fuck

Totally depends on the service, if its bad, I'll tip 10%.
If its good, I'll tip 15%. Its sad that some waitors/waitresses think that a tip is mandatory.

THEY HAVE TO WORK FOR IT. Why should I be giving them my hard earned money if they provided shitty service?

My tip for average service is 10-15%.

I've given up to 30% a couple times when the service was absolutely outstanding, and I've given nothing for terrible service. If the service is bad, why tip anything at all? Doesn't that mean you're still rewarding bad service?

It's true that tips aren't mandatory. But speaking from the POV as a server, it is not a job that anyone can do WELL. I have to say that I'm a good server, always friendly and smiling even when I'm pissed off. I apologize for things that aren't my fault, make good recommendations and I'm efficient and speedy. I don't mind if people tip 10%, which happens from time to time (most of the time I get 15 - 20%), but it really annoys me when people don't tip at all! What most people don't realize is that servers have to pay a certain % of their bills to the kitchen and restaurant. Why should good servers have to take money out of their own pockets to serve you?

If you feel like the service is shitty, fine. Don't tip. But if you feel like you don't want to tip because you feel that the restaurants should be paying their servers more, I think you're just making an excuse to be cheap. It's not going to change just because YOU don't tip.

Also, for the people who get all annoyed and angry when there's a % tip charged onto the bill for large parties: The reason for this is that when large parties dine out, many people leave early, or "forget" to add on their tax/tip and servers end up being shorted on their tip.

P.S. It's not your server's fault if the food tastes like ass.

how do you tip a pizza delivery guy? do you tip at all?

I think you're wording your argument to twist the bias to your benefit.

You don't HAVE to pay the kitchen anything, If I'm correct. From what i recall from restaurants, it's servers and kitchen staff pool all the tips together and everything is appropriated from that.

The MAXIMUM i tip is 10% to the amount before tax. NO EXCEPTIONS!

Yes.

It would be ILLEGAL for the restaurant to dock a server's base wage for anything. So no, they should not be paying anything "out of their own pocket".

What is that % that gets sent to the kitchen - for those establishments that uses that practice?

It varies from 1% - 2% of the servers revenue, so I'm told.

False.

Servers deal with money completely by themselves. They serve as their own til. As such, they are the only ones who have access to that money. If during cash out time they are short, the restaurant will dock the money from their pay cheque.

Exactly. (At least at most white restaurants).

I personally have never had to literally take money out of my wallet to tip out. However, every time that someone does not tip, I am having to cover that amount with the tips that I earned from another table.

I'm not trying to argue that all servers deserve to be tipped. I just think that servers who give good service shouldn't have to pay to serve. It's not always a pleasant job.

I believe it goes anywhere from 2 - 6% ish.

I tip 10% mostly, unless the service is REALLY bad then I leave whatever change I got(usually a lot less then 10%)

If the service is really good then 12-15% at most, but 10% is the norm or at least for me lol

Not exactly.

Tipping out to kitchen staff and busers is not mandatory, according to the law. However, I'd assume that a restaurant which runs such a policy will probably stop giving you shifts if you didn't.

Not to mention, the kitchen staff will probably not be as quick with your orders.

And then you get people labeling you as a cheap ass when you tipped out but less than what is considered customary for your restaurant (or in some cases, if you had a good day)

When I worked for Canadian Tire way back when, all the cashiers held their own floats. At the end of the day, they NEVER had their pay deducted if they were short at the end of the day.

Sounds like someone needs to show those restaurants the Employment Standards act:

Deductions
21 (1) Except as permitted or required by this Act or any other enactment of British Columbia or Canada, an employer must not, directly or indirectly, withhold, deduct or require payment of all or part of an employee's wages for any purpose.

(2) An employer must not require an employee to pay any of the employer's business costs except as permitted by the regulations.

Like I said, I've never had wages actually docked from my paycheque. However, money from my tip pool are being docked everytime that someone leaves without a tip.

How can that not be considered money out of my pocket? It's hard earned cash and I have to pay out a portion of it just because someone else didn't tip.

Tipping out may not be mandatory by law, but, yes, as misteranswer said. It pretty much is.

I was not referring to tip pool. I was referring to paycheque. Misteranswer stated that a restaurant may dock an employee's paycheque for money that is "short", when Legally they cannot do this.

I called False on his false.

Tip pools are completely different. They are set up by agreements between staff & ownership, usually explained at start of employment. Some restaurants do not have tip pools. Either way, they cannot impact base wage.

So basically you're saying: The kitchen should not be entitled to a portion of your tip as it will reduce your overall gain?

Haha.

Though not exactly enforceable by law, but I'd bet the custom of sharing portions with the kitchen was primarly borne out of courtesy. You know... Kinda like the custom of tipping. ;)

That is far from what I meant. I don't mind tipping out to the kitchen. In fact, I often tip them more than I am required to because I'm thankful that they're making my job easier. So, no.

The kitchen deserves the tip. I just don't feel like I deserve to have my cash taken away from me to serve a customer.

Edit: It's never a large amount, mind you, but it's the principal of the matter.