If you received horrible service do you tip the waiter/waitress?

Question

HI,

Tonight we went out to dinner, and the service was horrible, it took the waitress forever to get our drink order, and then it took over 45 minutes to get our food once she did come over (other people who sat after us got their food waaay before us)

and then when we did get our food it was cold...

My question is do you tip the waitress (I didn't) or do you leavy them a lousy tip like 25 cents to get your point across, what would you do?

Answer 1

Bare minimum tip. I still believe that if you take a job solely relying on tips for your income, you should do your job the best you can. A tip is a tip. And a tip means you give someone extra for their job well done. I leave $1 when I have really terrible service but that comes less often than a blue moon.

Answer 2

You don't tip and you make a formal complaint.

Return cold food - don't pay for it.

Take her name and ask for the managers name.

Follow up your complaint with a letter to the manager.

Your food was ready on time.

and your waitress didn't pick it up from the kitchen, and that is why it was cold.

Unless people point these things out service will just get sloppier and sloppier.

Answer 3

I served for 2 years.

Yes.

Tip!

At least 10%

Or talk to a manager...

I made $3.45/hr...

Servers make bs wage and depend on tips to survive all so you don't have to pay 20+ bones for a steak.

I made mishaps, but I was always friendly.

My mishaps included being new and overwhelmed...the till was confusing..I didn't have the menu memorized...ect. Alot of the times a different server would take my food, and the cook would have to make the plate over....Or generally the cooks would be to out of it to read the order right and ruin my night. The bar would be busy and they always made the bar orders first...so I'd have to wait...while you wait....Depends on the order...the other table could have ordered something less time consuming then you. If the food was cold I'd always get my Manager to talk to the table while we remade the order. They would get free food (coupuns) , and I'd always provide dessert on the house as well.

BUT

If she wasn't friendly or personable...don't tip...I'm tired of rude people....Even though I like to rise above and be a better person...I can't tolerate a rude person.

Answer 4

It depends.  WHen I get crappy service I try to look around to see whats going on in the rest of the resturaunt.  Are they short staffed? Slamed?  Other customers causing issues that are either directly or indirectly related to my problem?  Is the waitress so exhausted you can tell by looking at them?

If I can see a reason, I would still leave a tip, but it would be 10-15% as opposed to the 20-30 I would normally give.  If I cant find a reason for the poor service other than just poor service, I dont tip.

Answer 5

I would leave a few meager cents in return for the meager service.  Leaving nothing doesn't send her a message.

Answer 6

I just always tip 15%. If I have a bad day at work (we all do)and get short with a customer on the phone, they may not like it, but I am not paid any less. A significant portion of a Waiters/Waitresses' income relies on tips; without them in many cases would result in pay at or below minimum wage. We all have bad days. Just tip them.

Answer 7

No.  If I experienced what you did -- I would NOT leave a tip, not even a penny.  But, I would tell the hostess.  I have worked as a waitress, I know how things work in the food service industry, and I know how to get a message across to an incompetent wait person.

Answer 8

It depends on if it was the servers fault or not, and also where you are. I went out to eat saturday (in the UK) and the server took forever with drinks and got them wrong and  then got the food order wrong & ordered me a large portion rather than a side dish blah blah so we were overcharged and then it took a lot of argueing to get it reduced on the bill so I didn't leave a tip because she was rude about it, if she had said sorry and taken it off straight away I would have left a really small tip.

The food being cold I would just send back as its probably the kitchens fault rather than the servers.

I understand that in the US its more rude not to tip and its sort of a requirement to tip so the service would have to be really awful for me not to tip if I was on holiday there. Or I'd do what my dad does with bad service and tip in a foreign currency. As I'm not from the US I don't see tipping as a requirement so if the service is not good I don't tip but if its really good I tip generously.

Answer 9

Yes, I would tip 10-15%.  It is likely the kitchen's fault, but she could have been more proactive.

Answer 10

I would tip my glass of water on their head.

Answer 11

if the service is really bad you shouldnt give a tip that would get the point across. while leaving a lousy tip (25 cent) or whatever would only mean that the person who leaves that tip is cheap.

Answer 12

What do  you think Monopoly Money is also used for?

Answer 13

Exactly the same thing you did.But leaving 25 cents would get the message across also.

Answer 14

no

Answer 15

no way!

if you tip them

your just wasteing money

even 25 cents, wich you

coulda used for gum=]

Answer 16

If you're nearly certain it was the waitress' fault, do one or all of the above:

-Leave a two-cent tip.

-Write a note explaining said tip.

-Take it up with the manager.

If the manager wants your business again, he or she will do something about it.

Answer 17

My tip would be a hand written note that says -

TIP - if you wish to earn a proper gratuity, you should do your job properly.

Answer 18

You should only tip when you feel they have earned it.

Answer 19

i dont tip.

Answer 20

Wow, lots of answers. I have a very difficult time not leaving a tip, I just feel so sorry for the wait staff. But sounds like this one really deserved it. Definitely get hold of the manager, a letter works wonders. Include your name and address and if the manager is as horrified as I am over your experience, perhaps he will return you a coupon for a free dinner.

Answer 21

You should always tip however after getting lousey service I say skip the tip.They know what they do.

Answer 22

I still tip them.  They have to pay income tax on perceived tip money, whether they get it or not.  So I tip them 10% if it's not good service, or maybe even less than that, if they are also very unfriendly.  I tip 15-20% for very good service.

Remember that sometimes it is not their fault.  They don't cook the food, or manage the restaurant.  They may be working with a lousy crew who doesn't get their food ready in time, or doesn't tell them when it's ready.  Or maybe another waiter is taking their stuff, etc.  There is a lot of competition and things going on behind the scenes in a restaurant.

Answer 23

I would probably never tip them and never return for repeat business.

Answer 24

I would leave nothing.