Tipping: what's the best tip and worst tip you left, and why?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Zero for a haircut because I didn’t know tips were only cash until I was done and I didn’t have cash on me.

Sixty dollars for a car detail because I accidentally pressed the 30% tip button and I felt two awkward saying it was an accident.

couldnt have you gone back with a cash tip later?

[Anonymous]

0%, with a note explaining why, when we were treated hostilely by a woman muttering racist things about bus under her breath (it was only a drink at a bar, and no, we didn't finish the drinks after we heard her muttering).

50-100% a few times with a combination of stellar service and/or us realizing (we have been servers before) that this person was unfairly slammed by management with all the tables and was struggling. We knew they would get crummy tips from others who wouldn't understand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:0%, with a note explaining why, when we were treated hostilely by a woman muttering racist things about bus under her breath (it was only a drink at a bar, and no, we didn't finish the drinks after we heard her muttering).

50-100% a few times with a combination of stellar service and/or us realizing (we have been servers before) that this person was unfairly slammed by management with all the tables and was struggling. We knew they would get crummy tips from others who wouldn't understand.

*us, not bus lol

[Anonymous]

Surprised, but maybe shouldn't be, by people saying 30% was the highest tip they've EVER given. 30% on an expensive meal would be very high for me, indicating awesome service. On a cheap meal, it's more what I'd tip for just very good service. I rarely tip more than that, but I certainly have, multiple times.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Surprised, but maybe shouldn't be, by people saying 30% was the highest tip they've EVER given. 30% on an expensive meal would be very high for me, indicating awesome service. On a cheap meal, it's more what I'd tip for just very good service. I rarely tip more than that, but I certainly have, multiple times.

Same. Those diner places have great, hard working staff. It’s easy to give them more and it’s much more meaningful.

[Anonymous]

Zero to an extremely rude waiter once.

Otherwise I'm generally a very generous tipper, leave 25% always as a standard.

[Anonymous]

If I eat out and it’s a $10 check I usually still leave $4-$5.

[Anonymous]

DH frequently tips 50-100%

At clubs and bars we have left some pretty large tips for hosts that have really taken care of our party.

Years ago we were at a Pizza Hut in a very rural area of NC.

DH overheard the waitress talking to a coworker about a bunch of life issues she as having and she how she was working doubles to get away from abusive boyfriend but needed 2k security deposit. He left her a 5k tip on a $40 bill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DH frequently tips 50-100%

At clubs and bars we have left some pretty large tips for hosts that have really taken care of our party.

Years ago we were at a Pizza Hut in a very rural area of NC.

DH overheard the waitress talking to a coworker about a bunch of life issues she as having and she how she was working doubles to get away from abusive boyfriend but needed 2k security deposit. He left her a 5k tip on a $40 bill.

He’s a good guy. Did you get a free red cup for that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH frequently tips 50-100%

At clubs and bars we have left some pretty large tips for hosts that have really taken care of our party.

Years ago we were at a Pizza Hut in a very rural area of NC.

DH overheard the waitress talking to a coworker about a bunch of life issues she as having and she how she was working doubles to get away from abusive boyfriend but needed 2k security deposit. He left her a 5k tip on a $40 bill.

He’s a good guy. Did you get a free red cup for that?

Don’t know what the red cup reference is. We made sure to leave before she saw the tip.

[Anonymous]

I always tip 20-25% (and always rounding up change to make an even dollar amount). If the service is subpar I tip 0% and leave a note or speak to the manager about the service. I always make sure they know when I'm unhappy with the service because I'm black and am constantly fighting the false narrative that we don't tip well, so don't want there to be any confusion. Sometimes I wonder if my service is subpar BECAUSE the server assumes that I won't tip, but that could also be in my head.

The few times I've tipped well over the norm was 1. tipped an extra $100 for movers who were able to move me last minute due to a no-show for the scheduled movers, 2. tipped $60 on a $45 bill because I was tipsy and wrote the total on the wrong line. I was in good spirits, so I left it. 3. when I went to the Nordic in Rhode Island when restaurants just started opening back up in the summer of 2020. My server was amazing and had told me about how COVID had impacted her personally when restaurants closed (I asked) so I tipped her an additional 25% on top of the standard 10% built-in gratuity

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Why didn't you ASK them to take the food back and re-do it less greasy? I mean, why didn't you just ask for what you want?

you don't ever send food back. if they bring out something you didn't order, you suck it up and eat it with your group. no way i want to sit there watching everyone else eah their food while i wait for mine, and then have everyone sit there watching me eat .

server screws up sometimes you gotta suck it up. and well the server pays the price for poor service. I still disagree with tipping. though. pay em a real wage.... and get rid of tips.

that being said Ive tipped 50% on a $100 meal. food was excellent, service was perfect. wife and I felt like we were the only two people in the room.

I"ve worked in many restaurants, and I promise you that sending food back is not a problem at all--as long as you are polite and nicely explain the issue. People working there want you to have a good experience, and the actual food quality and timing is not in the control of your server, but they can take it back and have it fixed for you. Generally the order is rushed, so it will not be as delayed as you think.

[Anonymous]

I default give 20% bc its easy math unless something particular happened. I gave 10% once when the waiter left at the end of their shift mid-service and didn't tell us and we didn't know who replaced them, so we kept looking for our original waiter with no luck for much longer than necessary on my side (I should've flagged someone down) or their side (the new waiter should've come by probably to introduce/check in).

[Anonymous]

The lowest I do is 10%, and that's when it's very clearly the server fault and can't possibly have been due to kitchen error or something else. They're the last line of defense and many problems are not their fault. The most is about 30%. There are times I wish I could do more but I'm not in that kind of financial position myself.

[Anonymous]

I think I have only ever tipped $0 once in my life, when I went to a steakhouse and ordered my steak rare but it came out well done.

I let the server know, and they brought me a new one, which was also well done. When the server asked how the new steak was, I just said "fine," not wanting to deal with it any more or get my third steak spat on.

In a very "Curb Your Enthusiasm"-esque move, she decided my response wasn't enthusiastic enough and went to check the doneness herself, and when she saw it was also well done, she insisted on taking it back once again. I told her I didn't want a new steak and she physically grabbed my plate and took it back despite my protests.

The third steak was rare, finally, but at what cost?