I know how much you like tipping questions, so chew on this:

Hi EL;
 
Your Sunday column hit home regarding a situation my wife and I had last week.
 
When we attended a reunion in the East Cleveland, Ohio area, we stayed at a newly built Hilton Hotel.  We had dinner with two friends on the night we arrived; there was only employee on the restaurant floor.  She was the server, the busser and the bartender.
 
As a result, even though [she] was working extra hard, the service to our table was less than good.  So should I have tipped a full 20% because she was doing her best, or tip 5% because the service was poor?
 
Thanks;
 
CG

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 5:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (24)
Categories: Tipping
        

We've talked about tipping during Restaurant Week before, but I don't think this particular subject has come up: The unannounced gratuity added to a large party's check by the restaurant.

I'm sure the rationale is that servers get lower tips for the same amount of work with the cheaper fixed-price menu, but it seems like a good way to alienate customers -- odd when the whole point of Restaurant Week is to attract new ones.

If an establishment is going to add a 20 percent service charge to the check for larger parties, why not announce it on the menu given to the customer? Is there any argument for not doing that?

Or maybe it's just an oversight not to have it on the Restaurant Week menu. In that case, I think you let the customer tip at his discretion.

Here's the e-mail from Michael that prompted this: ...

Continue reading "The unannounced service charge" »

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (50)
Categories: Tipping
        

Continue reading "Tipping: credit card vs. cash" »

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 7:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (35)
Categories: Tipping
        

Anybody want to take a crack at this? I can't think of any other reason but custom.

Dear Ms. Large;

Why is the tip determined by the price of the meal? If I order flank steak at $10.95 or prime rib at $20.95, the tip for the waiter would be higher in the second case, but the amount of the waiter's work would be the same.

C. Grene

I'm assuming this is the same Charles Grene who last January sent me a great one-liner from a restaurant review and then later sent me more.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 3:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (28)
Categories: Tipping
        

Today for Shallow Thought Wednesday, Multimedia Editor Emeritus and Biker Dude John Lindner isn't messing around. He's even referring to himself in the third person. The video is great; I feel sorry for all of you whose work blocks it. Obviously you need to get another job. EL

This from George Orwell, Down and Out in Paris and London* (whereby jl ends, forever more, all quibbling regarding tipping practices): ...

Continue reading "Everything you ever wanted to know about tipping" »

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)
Categories: Tipping
        

I got an e-mail bringing up the subject of whether you should tip on takeout orders, and if so, how much. It's something I don't do, not on any principle but just because I never have so I don't think about it.

I don't put anything in the tip jar on the counter when I get a coffee drink, either, unless it's the change from some bills and I happen to like the person behind the counter. ...

Continue reading "Tipping on takeout orders: Is it a good thing?" »

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 3:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (92)
Categories: Tipping
        

Whether you believe in tipping 15 percent for normal service or 20 percent is, I believe, up to you. And most of us agree that bad servers should get less and good servers more. But sometimes the situation is more ambiguous.

I was reminded of this the other night when Gailor and I stopped in at a neighborhood spot to get a quick bite. It was early and not crowded, and we got pretty good service from a nice waitress throughout the actual meal. ... 

Continue reading "The tipping quiz" »

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 12:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (79)
Categories: Tipping
        

Dahlink said she'd be interested in hearing about Restaurant Week from the server's point of view. I thought that was a good idea, and it deserved a separate entry to post under, so here it is.

And by the way, when I created the link to the site, I noticed that places extending the specials for at least another week are now noted there.  

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 10:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: Tipping
        

I'm curious about what people did about tipping during Restaurant Week. The issue is whether you should tip on the actual check, or on what it would have been if it weren't Restaurant Week.

Here are some of my thoughts:...

Continue reading "Tipping during Restaurant Week" »

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 5:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (22)
Categories: Tipping
        

Dinner at the new Mosaic in Pass-A-Grille turned out to be quite an experience, and not a good one. But it raised an interesting and more general question.

There weren't that many tables occupied, and although we got sangria, bread, and soup pretty quickly, we then waited and waited and waited for our main courses. Clearly the kitchen was in the weeds, but instead of saying something, the waitress carefully avoided our eyes. She never even stopped by to ask if we wanted more sangria, water, or bread. ...

Continue reading "Tipping (or not) at Mosaic" »

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 12:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)
Categories: Tipping
        

A few years ago when I was writing a story on tipping, I interviewed Michael Lynn, an associate professor at the Cornell School of Hotel Administration who has studied the subject for years. My daughter was working as a waitress in Washington at the time, and when I told her about Lynn she thought she'd give some of his techniques to increase tips a try. Yes, they worked.

Now he's offering a free pamphlet for servers about his research. (If it helps, you can send him a "tip.") It's also interesting reading for the rest of us. Here's the link.

Some of his "tip enhancing actions" seem pretty off the wall, but he says he's got the data to back them up. For instance, waitresses who wore a flower in their hair saw a 17 percent increase in tips. (He adds that many of these wouldn't be appropriate for very formal restaurants.)

I won't list them all, but here are some of the more surprising ones: ... 

(Nanine Hartzenbusch/Sun Photographer)

Continue reading "How to increase your tips" »

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 7:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: Tipping
        

A reader e-mailed me asking if he had to tip more for a very expensive bottle of wine when the waiter was basically doing the same work as he would be if he were opening a bottle of two-buck Chuck. (He didn't phrase it exactly that way.)

The short answer is yes. If you're going to be extravagant about your wine choice, you might as well be extravagant with your tipping. And I hate to tell you this, but if the sommelier has spent some time with you and been helpful, you should tip him or her separately. I've heard  both 15 to 20 percent of the wine bill and $10 as suggested tips; but in any case, give it to him or her in cash (the better choice) or as a separate credit card charge.

(Monica Lopossay/Sun Photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 1:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Tipping, Wine and Spirits
        

These days we not only have to contend with entree creep when we eat out, we also have tipping creep. (Entree prices creep, that is -- the fact that they have crept up in the past couple of years so anything under $20 now seems moderate, even inexpensive.)

Anyway, I was struck by tipping creep once again when I ate at a high-end restaurant last night and was figuring out the tip on a large check. ...

Continue reading "Tipping creep" »

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 5:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (14)
Categories: Tipping