Bad Waitress...??

Question

When you have a really bad waitress at a restaurant do you give a very small tip or no tip at all?

Answer 1

I would never NOT tip at all. For the worst restaurant experience I ever had, I undertipped on purpose and left $2 on a $23 tab. If it's particularly bad service, I will usually alert management.

Answer 2

no tip and I complain to the manager.  If possible, I  get the attention of the manager as soon as there is a problem and ask to have another waitress, to have him/her correct the problems, or to leave and go elsewhere.  Some time, I am with someone who strongly objects to my way of handling things so I defer and just do not tip.

Answer 3

Was she a ***** to you? Or was she really busy and trying to keep up or just simply bad at what she does? If shes still learning then leaving a smaller tip will probably make her feel bad, if she was mean to you then it will send the message across that it doesn't pay to be rude. However, never not leave a tip.

Answer 4

no tip at all

Answer 5

Well first of all, make sure that they know that you didn't like their service, then you can choose whether you want to leave a tip or not. If they were that bad, don't leave a tip. But, if they were only a little bit bad, you can leave a small tip. Just judge them on their performance and give as much as you think they deserve.

Answer 6

it all depends on the situation, if it was just crazy busy and they were bad I'd give them a medium size tip, if they were just flat rude and ignored you tiny tiny tip, as to why 'cause the waitress lives off those tips

Answer 7

Nah, work with her; she probably means well so tip her well.

Answer 8

If I have a bad experience at a restaurant I will bring it to the servers attention and then to a managers .If I leave a bad tip they will know why before hand. I have never not left anything though, I know these guys and gals work hard and have to deal with alot of crazy, because I am a server as well.

What drives me nuts is if they leave a bad tip or no tip at all and you have no clue as to why. They never complained about the meal or anything, etc. I will just chalk it up to them being stingy and hope that they'll figure out that Kharma is a *****! lol

Answer 9

In the case of poor/bad service I would first of all speak with management regarding why I felt I had recieved poor service.  I would leave a minimum tip (no more than 10%) with a note stating why I was dissatisfied.  

I will say that I try to look at why the service might have not been satisfactory.  Is this a new hire who is just learning? Is the restaurant understaffed and therefore the staff is struggling to keep up? Is the server having a "bad" day but is trying to satisfy? Is the server just not in the proper job, thus not a "people" person and should find another job.  The answers to those type of questions could influence my tip amount.

Answer 10

I would tip them a quarter and write a complaint to the management about their poor service.

Answer 11

hmm depends how bad she was >.< like if she was new or something i'd give her a small tip but if it was a waitress that was rude and mean and horrible then NO tip for sure!! No customer service skills, NO TIP! :D

Answer 12

I live in California and I give the standard tip but if the service was bad a leave a single penny because in the restaurant business a penny means bad service

Answer 13

Waiters and waitresses who do not give good service do not get tipped. The old fashioned word "TIP" means to insure prompt service. If it is rude, slow or sloppy; they don't get one. They work for a living and get a wage. If they do a good job they get tipped. It is not their fault if the dish is not cooked well; I am talking about service here.

Answer 14

I don't tip the waiter/waitress if they have given really bad service. And when I say really bad, I mean if he/she is rude and has a total bad attitude problem or is extremely unhelpful.

99.9% of the time I leave a good tip because having been a waiter myself going through college, I know how hard the job can be at times.

Answer 15

Jess, Hopflower and 2007 all have the right answer

Answer 16

If you don't leave any tip, they think you forgot.  Leave something, but not much.

I was at a restaurant where the service was horrible.  The table was dirty and the waiter grumbled when we asked him to please wipe it down.  Then, he mixed up the order.  After lunch, we ordered coffee and dessert.  He didn't clear the dinner dishes and just put the dessert on the dirty lunch plates.  He almost dumped a cup of hot coffee on my mom.

I tipped him what he deserved - 2 cents!  Of course, I left cash!

Answer 17

Bella,

You have to be more specific when you say "bad service".

Was your food not cooked to your liking- not the server's fault she's not cooking it.  Even if she did notice something amiss she could have been told to "just serve it"

Was your drink watery and tasteless? again not her fault she's not mixing the drinks.

Were you not seated promptly?  If not talk to the host or management

Did she ignore you to service a table not in what you  presumed was her section.  Possibly not her fault many places require all employees to "help out" other servers even though  the helper isn't sharring the tip and by all means avoid places where you suspect servers pool tips

Was your order totally wrong? Perhaps this was her fault. Was she rude? This was her fault.  Was your check wrong perhaps this was her fault.  Was she available did she visit at least four times.  Greet, order, food check, check collection?

Next time consider these options and tip the server generously but let the management have it!

Answer 18

no tip and ask to speak with manager and explain how bad service was.

Answer 19

If the service is horrible and you tip, thats like saying "thank you" for your crappy service. I wouldnt tip. Maybe the waitress is unaware she is doing a terrible job because people still tip her. If people didnt tip bad service then there would be less bad service.

Answer 20

i give cents as the tip. if the tab is 57.90. i will leave a ten cent tip and make my total 58 dollars. i refuse to tolerate bad service