Question About Tipping in a Restaurant - Page 5

lovesrecess · ‎03-14-2010

What is wrong with saving money by using a discount but still tipping the server based on the menu price? Absolutely nothing wrong with that. It’s a win-win..you save money and the server doesn’t lose any tip money.

lovesrecess · ‎03-14-2010

My niece worked as a server one summer while she was in college....the servers’ tips were collected then divided up by the manager. My nieve was a hard worker and was very courteous to the customers....yet she never got to keep large tips that she earned...two guys who worked there did the bare minimum to keep their jobs and they got the benefit of the others’ hard work. No incentive to do a good job! DH usually takes cash for a tip and tries to give it directly to the server....but sometimes they decline and say they aren’t allowed to take it...we should add it to the ticket...so that is a red flag that they won’t be getting it all .

silkyk · ‎03-03-2011

@lovesrecess wrote:
What is wrong with saving money by using a discount but still tipping the server based on the menu price? Absolutely nothing wrong with that. It’s a win-win..you save money and the server doesn’t lose any tip money.

And you can leave a bigger tip (if good service) with the money you saved with the discount on your meal! The discount is only for the food not the service...that's still full price and tips are necessary for a living wage if you are in the restaurant business. Tip on full price with + for excellent service.

Isobel Archer · ‎04-04-2015

So what do you do when the restaurant has specials? Do you ask what the regular price is so you can tip appropriately?

GenXmuse · ‎05-15-2016

No question. Tip on full amount before discount.

“Specials” aren’t typically lower priced, it’s just a meal that isn’t offered on the regular menu. No need to ask about regular price.

Bri369 · ‎11-03-2018

@Isobel Archer wrote:
So what do you do when the restaurant has specials? Do you ask what the regular price is so you can tip appropriately?

Specials usually have their own menu and the prices are listed accordingly.

If the waiter tell you a special that isn't listed on the menu, you'll see the price when the bill comes.

Venezia · ‎03-09-2010

@BirkiLady wrote:
I never take a coupon or use a senior citizen discount. I pay the price on the menu, the sales tax and add the 20% tip. If you need a discount coupon to dine out, perhaps you better eat at home. Those employees are still working just as hard for you.

@BirkiLady - Coupons and discounts are issued for a reason. I use every coupon and discount offered for the places we frequent. Yes, the employees are still working just as hard for us and we tip on the pre-discounted price.

Coupons and discounts don't hurt the waitstaff. And, yes, we could eat at home, but we prefer to eat out several times a week.

If restaurants, stores, etc. don't want you to use the coupons, they won't issue them. To me not using them is like leaving money on the table.

(Curious: so, if something that you want is on sale in a retail or online store, do you insist on paying full price? Same principle.)

"" A little learning is a dangerous thing."-Alexander Pope

NYC Susan · ‎03-13-2010

@Mmsfoxxie wrote:
@BirkiLady wrote:
I never take a coupon or use a senior citizen discount. I pay the price on the menu, the sales tax and add the 20% tip. If you need a discount coupon to dine out, perhaps you better eat at home. Those employees are still working just as hard for you.
@BirkiLady , I agree with you about tipping.😊 But I wouldn’t punish myself by never eating out because I don’t have a big pocketbook. I love eating out, it’s part of what I do to stay happy but I have to budget. I would think that being in the restaurant using a senior discount and giving a tip is better than a patron not coming at all. Twenty percent of something is better than nothing. Even on marginal service, we tip.

I belong to a restaurant wine club and one of the perks/incentives for joining is that my husband and I get $15 off of our meals during our birthday months and rewards points that accrue towards $25 off of a future meal.

Exactly. My son has been in the restaurant business for a long time, and restaurants WANT those discounts and coupons to be used because that usually means new customers are coming in and that's how a business grows.

Getting customers in the door and providing a good experience so they'll want to come back again and again is a very effective marketing tool.

(I also don't see that this always has to do with people not being able to afford the restaurant. It makes perfect sense to me that lots of people don't want to spend hard-earned money in a restaurant they've never been to and might not like. Offering incentives to come in provides the perfect opportunity to try a new restaurant. That's a win/win for both customer and restaurant.)

faeriemoon · ‎03-14-2010

We tip on the full amount including taxes.

~What a terrible era in which idiots govern the blind.~ William Shakespeare

NYC Susan · ‎03-13-2010

@Rockycoast wrote:
We Always tip on the pre-discount price. That is the correct thing to do. 20% is our starting point. We add more for great service. Wait staff work very hard for the money. We appreciate that hard work.

20% is my starting point too. I very often go higher - when service was exceptional, if we occupy the table for a long period of time, or if something out of the ordinary had been required. It would have to have been really poor service for me to want to go below 20%.