Should lousy wait service be rewarded with a generous tip? Or any tip? Do you tip, no matter how bad wait service is? If you tip lousy service is it fair to the server? I went to the Olive Garden and my food was delicious and my waiter Ricky was super super great. I loved my lunch. It's my favorite place to eat. I'll be returning and I'll ask for him. Love the Olive Garden. Service is fantastic. 

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12 Answers

Jaimie  JT Profile
Jaimie JT answered

Absolutely freakin not !!! I'm a very generous tipper ... And I would never not tip wait staff because of a busy kitchen or something out of his or her control .... But if some foo' not bringing me my check cos bee-ach watching hockey at the bar .... ( that happened ) I'm flipping her a nickel and making a point of letting them know they messed up ... Something like that ....only not clothes shopping ;)

12 People thanked the writer.
Didge Doo
Didge Doo commented
I think we all enjoyed that scene. :)
Jaimie  JT
Jaimie JT commented
And we all should:) ... it's the besterest feeling to have our say or dig , when we've been treated unjustly :) it's one of my favorite scenes from film :)
Jann Nikka
Jann Nikka commented
BAM.
Didge Doo Profile
Didge Doo answered

One guy on Ask said that he was in New Zealand and left his change on the bar and returned to his table with his drinks. The bar girl brought it across to him and said, "You forgot your change." He replied, "Haven't you heard of a tip?" And she said, "Well, yeah, I've heard of them. I've never seen one."

Down here on the flip side of the planet we don't tip. But then, we don't need to. Wages are pretty reasonable without.

otis campbell Profile
otis campbell answered

Sometimes its the kirchens fault and the idiot your with keeps sending their food back. So i usually tip unless its bad bad service

Rooster Cogburn Profile
Rooster Cogburn , Rooster Cogburn, answered

Depends on the service and the person. I don't mind waiting some if they're busy but as Levi there said, if they're rude or have a bad attitude, it reflects on what I tip them and I'm usually generous. Good friendly service ? Good tip ! Fair to lousy service? Small tip at best.

Darik Majoren Profile
Darik Majoren answered

I tend to TIP like the last scene in this clip . . . (Sound tend to not match up)

Okay, NOT REALLY, but it would be funny as hell . . .

Danae Hitch Profile
Danae Hitch answered

If I go somewhere and the service is really bad, I usually talk to the manager. They have the opportunity to tell me what's going on - unexpected call-in, etc., that gives me insight on whether or not I will tip. Or, I might leave a note on the receipt - keeping it civil - on why I didn't tip.

I want there to be a correlation between the service given (or not given) and the lack of tip and I want to communicate that so if I come in again, I am not given the stink eye because I didn't tip the last time I was in.

Call me Z Profile
Call me Z answered

Nope. I tip according to the quality of service I've received. I won't hold waiters accountable for bad food preparation, but I don't reward lousy table service.  I also tend not to return to places where I've been poorly served. 

Great waiters get a great tip, crappy waiters get a crappy tip.

Levi F. Profile
Levi F. answered

The only time I wouldn't tip at all is if they were rude; but I can't think of a time when that's happened. I'm not too harsh. If they forgot something or it's a little slow, I still tip the normal amount, but rudeness I won't tolerate.

Virginia Lou Profile
Virginia Lou answered

Dear Jan,

I basically always tip, minimum 15-20%...you never know what may be going on in the person's life or even in the kitchen, the management, whatever.

And good service, I increase the tip.

Tom  Jackson Profile
Tom Jackson answered

For uninteresting reasons I have been able to acquire some useful insight into the workings of the restaurant industry.

As such, I can usually fairly quickly identify the issue of poor service---double or triple seating of the waiter; kitchen line problems vs waiter problems, etc.

I have numerous stories, but here's one that I find amusing.

I had a restaurant that I ate at once or twice a week.  One evening I went in and had absolutely deplorable service.  It was, plainly and simply, a waiter with a lousy attitude---an attitude based apparently on what size tip he would be getting from a given table based on his total potential sales to that table  (and I was a "one-top).

Long story short, I tipped him 2 bright copper pennies.  Then, the next day, I came in and requested him by name to wait on me  (the "call" party).

When he came around the corner with the menu and my water, he looked up, saw me, and stopped dead in his tracks.

We got along just fine after that.

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