How do you feel about tipping when you get poor service?
 

Do you still tip?

No.
But tipping isn't as socially mandatory in Europe.

i'm guessing they get paid more in europe

anyway it has to be a spectacular level of bad service for me not to leave them something

it depends on the country you're in.

This.

Agreed... I don't know that I've ever not tipped a server...


When did it become "server", btw?

Exceptionally monstrous service would result in me tipping only 15%. Otherwise I tip generously because 1. I may come back and 2. I've worked in the service industry before.

i never don't leave anything but i'll short em time to time. sometimes i just leave a pile of ones on the table and leave

Yes. And I feel fine about it.

There was one time where a guy was being a huge asshole to us, and I think it was because we were like 16 and he assumed we would be bad tippers and we weren't drinking. He got a shitty tip. But I go out a lot and that is the only time I can remember leaving less than 15%. And 95% of the time I round up to the next whole dollar after 20%.

People who don't tip are fucking scum.

Honestly if you're going somewhere that has bad service, it's probably a cheap restaurant anyway. So the tip at a cheap place is what, five bucks? You couldn't be bothered to drop five dollars more for your meal?

Even if service is utterly despicable, which could be completely out of the server's control, you should be prepared to tip before you walk in. It's part of the deal.

My post doesn't apply necessarily outside the US. I could never figure out what to to in Europe.

True. Some places it's rude to tip? Like I don't even...

You know who tips well? Jerry Seinfeld. He basically doubles the cost of the meal and throws it down.

He also parks his cars wherever the hell he wants and just accepts getting ticketed as part of that convenience. The guy's a hero.

yeah this.

imagine if we all got judged all the time on every single thing we did at work and got docked pay if we weren't perfect

In countries like Germany restaurant staff are much better paid than their counterparts in the USA. So the culture of tipping just isn't as big of a thing. When you go to a restaurant you expect a professional level of service. You don't have to sit through a meal passing judgment on the server or (as some do here) worry that without your tip they won't make enough money to live on. And you also don't get servers who try to chat with you or make small talk in hopes of somehow getting you to like them. It's one thing I like about much of Western Europe. I order my food, they bring my food, I eat my food and I'm not interrupted or harassed by the wait staff.

The way that the service industry here is allowed to legally pay starvation wages because of the expectation of tipping is immoral. It's a perfect example of how a cultural practice (in this case to reward someone for exceptional service) has been coopted by the business class to avoid paying people a fair wage.

those severs aren't creating jobs

I often enjoy my interactions with wait staff. Don't be a turd, scotty

The last time I was in (southern) Spain I was traveling with an Indian guy who was a Vegetarian. Every time we went to a restaurant the first thing he'd say to the server in English was that he didn't speak Spanish and that he was a vegetarian. He raise his voice and almost shout to them "No Meat! No Meat in my order!" As if making a scene and getting the entire dining room full of customers to stare at us would somehow make the Server understand him better.

Every single thing he ordered that week ended up having ham in it.

The guy made no fucking effort at all to use even a single word of Spanish the whole time we were there. I'm pretty sure that most of the servers we dealt with knew English but acted like they didn't just because he was suck a complete asshole

Why didn't you say something to him

Or be like "hey I'll tell them in Spanish" to avoid that scene.

I didn't say that I never do. I just would rather not make small talk.

I tried over and over and over. He wouldn't listen to me. He's a complete tool. I don't speak Spanish but I know enough that I can read a menu or place an order at a restaurant. I would usually order for him, but he'd butt in and do the "NO MEAT" rant. If you have a dietary issue like that, wouldn't you learn a few words before hand so you could at least know how to request proper food? Or even just be able to order a drink? How hard is it to order wine and say "Vino Tinto or Vino Blanco"? I'd order a glass of wine in Spanish and the guy would do things like ask for glass of Chardonnay!

It was a work trip, so I hand no choice but to hang around with the guy the whole time.

He sounds terrible. I would die.

When I went to cuba, my friend tipped the cab driver a quarter I was so mortified, the guy just laughed at her. She really thought she was giving him some big money. I paid him a proper tip when she left the vehicle.

I've done several business trips with him. I'm doing everything I can to not do another one.

That's illegal for Americans!

aren't you expected to tip 10% (and round up) in germany? that's what i've been told. and that the people working in bars and restaurants actually don't make that much money and rely on these tips.

I tend to tip 10% everywhere in the EU. The wage issue was something that a friend in Koln explained to me. All he's said was that servers were "relatively well paid".

In the USA you can legally be paid as little as $2.13 per hour if you're working in a job that includes tips. I'm not even sure what would be considered reasonable in the EU.

What's completely fucked up is that the last time I worked in a restaurant was 25 yrs ago. I think my base rate was $2.13 at the time too.

I didn't tip a bartender once (I'd bought one drink) and I felt guilty about it for about 2 weeks afterward.

Otherwise bad service is always 15% and normal service is 20-25%. I don't go out to eat very much.