yeah but smaller than usual. i've learned from those who are waiters or waiteresses that tips are essencial.

its a hard question b/c i have always worked in restaurants.there are somany things to take into consideration,the kitchen of course being first.sometimes we have a bad day where nothing seems to come together,maybe a really tough customer.i always remember that waiters only make about 2-3$ an hour and have kids to support too!i have been there many a times. if i dont get good service i write them a note, maybe that will help them step up their game for the next table.

Yes I'd still feel an obligation to tip him unless he was deliberately nasty to me in some way.

No not at all, but you need to remember tipping in Australia is not often done.

ALWAYS TIP. Poor service, small tip. Good food and service, great tip. IF I AM having a bad meal experience in a nice restuarant, I ask to be moved to another section or to speak with the Maitre d', this usually assure attentive service. WHICH is the purpose of the event, good food and pleasant service.

Yes unless the service was exceptionally bad. The pay for this job isn,t anything to write home about as far as I know, they perhaps rely on tips.

I Tip for the ones who will be there abd always be cool 2 u .Now if im there and 2 or 3 people somehow get there food before mine,ill bitch.I will always leave atleast 3-5 tip ,but thats depending if they do well.

Yes. Because I know that their hourly wage is usually just a token one and they depend upon tips to have a livable wage. I usually frequent pretty much the same places and only the ones that are the best at a particular dish. I usually tip well and get remembered. So if I have received indifferent service this time next time it is better. But I am fairly demanding. I never let them seat me in a bad location and always pick my table. I expect refills in a timely manner. And my food to be hot, not left sitting out to get cool because it is busy. And I expect my food to be good. Not just something to eat. If I just wanted to eat I could throw something in the micro. If eating somewhere is not a pleasurable experience I will take my business somewhere else. There are just too much competition between restaurants for me to settle for less. Same way with service. If it is not good I leave a tip because the waitress has to make a living too but I don't come back. There are just too many other places I can go.

like i have said, serving is one of the hardest profecions,has anyone here actually waited tables? i think that if you tried to do it you would have a whole new respect for servers! most servers i know make between 2-3$ an hour in wage and are dependent on tips to feed their families and pay rent.its a-lot harder than sitting behind a corporate desk being a yes man. i challenge anyone to get a job waiting tables and see if that changes your mind.everyone is entitled to a bad day

If the service is poor, then I will leave a tip of 1 penny. If you don't leave any tip then the waiter thinks that you are just thoughtless. The tiny tip is to tell the waiter that I did remember the tip, but I did not like the service that I got.

Of course! They work, even if it looks like they don't sometimes. I generally leave 20% minimum, and more for very good service and/or if the server's really nice. I was a bartender for a couple of years and later worked in restaurant management. Depending on the restaurant, a server may have to tip bussers, prep cooks, line cooks, and/or a bartender, out of his (the server's) tips. Sometimes what falls under the all-purpose complaint heading of "bad service" could be something beyond the server's control. I also try to remember that, just like everyone else, a server has to go to work, even if he's having a bad day. God knows, I've had a few myself here and there. Even if the service is marginal, it's almost impossible for me to leave less than 15%. The worst - being interested in a guy, then finding out he's a cheap tipper. Petty much plants the kiss of death on that relationship, as far as I'm concerned.

I always feel like I have to leave a tip, even if the service didn't deserve one. They'd get a tip, but not a very big one.

I'm grateful if they don't chuck the food down me, so yes, I always tip

Yes I always tip but the kind of service I receive will definately have a very large bearing on the percentage that I leave as a gratuity. I worked as a waitress when I was at school and yes it is very hard work , but it does not matter what the job you should do it to the best of your ability . Your best will earn you bigger rewards

The general sentiment seems to be clear. Just because they don't have manners doesn't mean you shouldn't have any either. Lead by example!

Of course not. I did work as a waitress for a long time and I appreciate that its damn hard work and not terribly well paid. But I also think you have some basic duties that you should be fulfilling if you're doing that job. You should be polite and courteous and neatly dressed, you should bring any sauces, requested drinks etc promptly, dirty plates should be cleared away in a reasonable amount of time, that kind of thing. If I thought a waiter was surly or rude, unecessarily slow or kept forgetting things I wouldn't leave a tip (and if it was really bad I'd probably complain too). When you do any job, however poorly paid, you do have a duty to do it to a reasonable standard- bad pay is no excuse for not doing something properly. To be honest, having been a waitress, and always made an effort to provide good service, I expect that the same effort should be made to serve me. If a tip is left whatever the service was like, then there's no incentive to provide good service, and waiters will feel like they can just slam the food down whenever they feel like it and still expect to get a reward. At the end of the day its still a job, and you are paid (however little)to work and you can't expect to get congratulated just for turning up.

Yes, I do. People who wait on tables work for tips most of the time and I feel like they should be paid for working. I may tip less if the service is bad; but, I still tip. Like Jodie said, the waiter may not be the reason for the service being bad.

i always tip even if it's less because the waiter is always working. i have worked a long time in the service industry and know what its like to have to serve on people even if you are having a bad day.

Yes ... unless they were actally rude or very lazy. I waitressed for a long time when I was a student and the Americans were far and away the BEST tippers! Italians Germans and French were the worst.

Yes, I always leave a tip. I may leave a bit less if the service wasn't very good. In some cases, you can tell the person is new or very busy so I would still leave the max.

No. I've had times when the only time I ever saw my waitress without me having to wait 15 minutes before flagging someone else down and that someone else called my waiter/waitress was when they took my order. After going through that routine at least 3 or 4 times in my whole meal, I didn't tip. There are some cultures that don't tip, mostly asian countries as far as I know. Basically, the waiters/waitress has their salary and if you tip, that's basically an insult because they should give their best service all the time, not just for tips. There will be some restaurants that will ask you "didn't you like the food?" or "what was wrong with the service?" if you left a tip, even if you didn't know that they didn't tip.

I would tip a little less for the poor service.