When is it acceptable not to give a tip?

noxibox said:
If they are very jovial or keep bothering me to ask if I'm happy, then I sometimes feel like not tipping, but as a rule I just mentally add 10% to all the prices on the menu and that is what I pay. If the service is bad then I might speak to the management or simply go elsewhere in future, same as I'd do for any business.


The first case represents what tips really are, which is a way for restaurants to pretend their food is cheaper than it really is and avoid having to pay their staff a decent wage. The whole improving service argument is a load bull****. We're dealing with an industry where it was common to charge the staff if a patron left without paying, which tells me a lot about their attitude to their staff.

Tipping is basically a form of corruption.
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Same as tipping a Cop who is writing you a ticket.
 
The_MAC said:
Have you worked in the industry?
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Yup. Worked at a few places. I believe it should be compulsory to do so because a clever person learns how to manipulate customers to get better tips. This has helped me in all my job interviews
 
Baxteen said:
Yup. Worked at a few places. I believe it should be compulsory to do so because a clever person learns how to manipulate customers to get better tips. This has helped me in all my job interviews
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You don't need to be a waiter to know that being friendly and massaging a few egos gets you places... :p
 
Baxteen said:
Yup. Worked at a few places. I believe it should be compulsory to do so because a clever person learns how to manipulate customers to get better tips. This has helped me in all my job interviews
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Ok, so a good tip is based on your level of sneakiness and not necessarily on the quality of the service rendered?
 
The_MAC said:
Ok, so a good tip is based on your level of sneakiness and not necessarily on the quality of the service rendered?
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Quality is always a must. But the difference between 10% of a R500 bill and 15% on an R800 bill is all down to being able to read the table, push for the right things, suggesting the right products and being visible without being bothersome.
 
Baxteen said:
Quality is always a must. But the difference between 10% of a R500 bill and 15% on an R800 bill is all down to being able to read the table, push for the right things, suggesting the right products and being visible without being bothersome.
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So you were not suggesting that a tip is mandatory simply because a table is large or ordering a lot of items, regardless of the quality of service?
 
The_MAC said:
So you were not suggesting that a tip is mandatory simply because a table is large or ordering a lot of items, regardless of the quality of service?
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Not at all. A tip is earned.

But at the same time, I have served a 20 person table that was a single bill full of drunk guys at a Batchelors party.

Do you think they would have given me 10% of the 7 Grand Bill if the manager did not add it to the bill? Granted he discussed it with them when they got there.

They took up my entire night. They had a great time they always had drinks and food. But 20 drunk guys can't do math and won't tip.

There is a time when you add tip to the bill, and there is a time when you don't.
 
Baxteen said:
Not at all. A tip is earned.

But at the same time, I have served a 20 person table that was a single bill full of drunk guys at a Batchelors party.

Do you think they would have given me 10% of the 7 Grand Bill if the manager did not add it to the bill? Granted he discussed it with them when they got there.

They took up my entire night. They had a great time they always had drinks and food. But 20 drunk guys can't do math and won't tip.

There is a time when you add tip to the bill, and there is a time when you don't.
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So why do restaurants do this? We were 5 people, spent over their R800 threshold, and were automatically tipped. Granted the service was ok, but the principle of this irritates me.

When this happens then I tip the 10% they push onto you, nothing more, because 2 can play this game, the restaurant wants to cover their ass when people don't tip, and I want to cover my ass when the service is k@k
 
The_MAC said:
So why do restaurants do this? We were 5 people, spent over their R800 threshold, and were automatically tipped. Granted the service was ok, but the principle of this irritates me.

When this happens then I tip the 10% they push onto you, nothing more, because 2 can play this game, the restaurant wants to cover their ass when people don't tip, and I want to cover my ass when the service is k@k
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the thing is this is either a call made at the restourant, or on a franchise level. a good waiter would usually not take a deal like that.
I know I was asked if I wanted the manger to add the tip to the bill a few times, and I hardly ever said yes.

the one time I had a batchalors party, aabout 10 guys, decent bill, around 3K, only drinks no food.
manager asked if I wanted to add the tip. they were drunk, I said yes.
they tipped me 15% on the amount that included the 10% tip.
I explained to them the tip was included, they said I gave good service so it did not matter.

sometimes, you get a feeling a table wont tip. stuck up Afrikaans tannie/oom at the table? there wont be a tip.

but by the same token, less skilled waiters need the tips to be added because they are simply not good enough to give the service needed to a table that size.
 
Same as most - 10%+ ... don't expect anything from service.
That said - I really love non-tipping cultures like Japan where you get genuine friendly service with no akwardness.

Baxteen said:
sometimes, you get a feeling a table wont tip. stuck up Afrikaans tannie/oom at the table? there wont be a tip.
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Some kind of unknown Pretorian stereotype?
Never really seen any non-tipping types.. maybe yuppies.
 
GoB said:
Never really seen any non-tipping types.. maybe yuppies.
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They do exist. At places without designated waitor areas the waitors will ignore types that don't tip will and fight for the types that do.

Obviously there are exceptions, but very quickly you pick up on trends.
 
I start off by giving the waiter 10%. If the service deteriorates then i start reducing the tip. The service can be good and the food utter crap but the waiter will still get the 10% tip.
 
Stop tipping completely - cook your food at home you lazy ****s. Save some money and eat healthier.
 
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