I refuse to tip at any time. I go out for drinks probably once a week, we order pizza once a week, sometimes more. I've never given a tip to anyone and here's why.

Servers typically take care of 5-7 tables (or more). They turn over these tables at least every hour and each bill is probably $40 on average. If they're making 15% tip on each table, they're making an additional $30+ per hour on top of their wages. I have a university degree, I busted my ass and I make a respectable wage but I work way harder than them and certainly don't make much more than $40 per hour. I know not every server is making that much because some tables don't tip and some are lower bills but if you're saying everyone should tip 15%, then you are saying that server deserves to make over $40 per hour. That's ridiculous.

When I go out to eat, I pay $16 for a hamburger I could make myself at home for $4 and I pay $6 for a beer I could buy at the store for $2. So I'm paying $16 just to have someone else cook my meal, bring it to me and wash the dishes. I think it's pretty reasonable to expect that for $14 and they should do it with a smile, but if I leave a tip, what am I paying for? I already paid $16 for the service so what is the tip for? More service? I don't understand, the service is already paid for with the crazy price of the hamburger and beer, what am I tipping for?

Something that has really bothered me lately is if my bill is $18 and I pay with a $20 bill, the server doesn't come back with my change......at all. She just keeps it, what the hell? That's my money, if I decide to give it to you then that's my choice but you don't get to just steal from customers, that's not acceptable. Once this happens I never go back to that place again. Now I carry $50 and $100 bills on me so when I go to a restaurant they have no choice but to bring me back all of the change so I get to make the choice to give them something extra.

Lastly, our government recently changed the minimum wage from about $10.50 up to $15, it was a huge jump. That means every single waitress in this city is now making 30% more per hour than they were previously. Therefore, anyone that argues that they don't make enough and deserve an extra 15% should not be tipping anymore, right? Wrong, people in this city still tip and service staff still expect you to tip, even though they're making an extra 30% from their employer, nothing changed.

Legitimate question for you:  Are you actually being serious or trolling?  I don't mean that offensively, I just honestly don't know.

 

I tip 20% for sit down restaurant, $1/drink at the bar, 15% for subpar service (and always make a joke about how stupid America is), nothing for carry out. Tipping is such a strange anti-worker part of American culture where we all just agree it's OK to pay employees basically nothing. But I guess politically we have bigger fish to fry and I don't want to make my political statements by not giving a few bucks to a waitress.

I'm being serious, they're all valid points. None of it is irrational, why else would someone pay $16 for a hamburger?

15% for sit down if my server is friendly. You get the 20%+ for the drink refills and extra.

I'll tip less or $1-$2 if it's bad

Bartenders $1 a drink
If it's crowded and I'm trying to make sure me and mine get our drinks I'll tip more per drink to bartenders and it seems to work. I don't have to wait long if I tip the bartenders good.
Local joints I frequent often I always tip the bartenders good. They'll have your drink ready before you hit the stool.

Devry don’t count bro.
 

How about another curve ball...what about some places where they charge 20% gratuity for parties of 6 or more automatically? Then tipping isn't even a choice anymore, much less an amount you can pick. Is that even legal? I believe it is not, but most people don't argue about it because it's expected to tip around that amount anyway.

And this is exactly the PROBLEM.

Tips are bribery in disguise. Suddenly we're not all getting the same service because some of us have more money.
 

The law states they are requried to remove it from the bill if asked and I have done it. I have also left payment on the table minus the automtic tip and just walked out without talking to the server.

The responses in here are hilarious, and some are pretty dickish. Not tipping at all? Justifying it because the sandwich you willfully bought was overpriced lmao a lot of servers make squat base pay. Servers tend to remember the "no-tippers" and respond accordingly too. Have you ever seen the movie "Waiting..."?

Tipping is a societal norm, nobody is requiring you to do it, but it is expected when you are being served - particularly for good+ service. My problem currently is that I haven't actually had decent service in some time, I couldn't tell you why - maybe companies are trimming their serving staff overloading them or something. Feel like I've struck out the last several times out.

But to my tipping scale and reasons...
1. Sit down restaurant - start at 20% and go up or down from there. Knock it out of the park and I'll happily tip more for a better experience, make me wait for refills and I'll happily pay less (seriously refill needs can be spotted from across the room, do your job).
2. Carryout - no way am I tipping for leaving the house and using my personal time and resources to transport the food. Pizza Hut has a tip section too lol.
3. Drinks - consistently $1 per drink - the Bartenders are genuinely quicker to get you the goodz and time is money. Great point on the mixies too capn.
4. Fast Food - lmao that this was even brought up. Umm...no i will not tip a fast food company that has a goal to pump out the food by the second with minimal care/discretion given.
5. Self-Checkout Lines - I thought it was hilarious this was brought up in the vein of corporate america making us do extra work. These things are marvelous - I cannot be the only one that loves them. I hate talking to randos, if I can run solo and scan my 5 walmart goods and get going outta there then sign me up. A checkout service is not a "service" rather a necessity so apples to oranges of being waited on.

Lastly - good waiters/waitresses can make bank. If you served at a decently classed restaurant over a weekend and lit it up, you can bring home hundreds of dollars in a couple of nights.

I don’t have any $ my priorities are just completely out of order. 
 

I have low standards. Or rather, high standards for where I choose to go. Because I have not received poor service that I can recall. Maybe once or twice.

fast food/take-out: no
delivery: couple-few bucks
drinks: $1 for a beer, 2-3 for cocktails
real restaurant: 25-30%. more if I've been taken care of (discount from working friends)

Hope you don't return to those places. You're the type of customer that gets spit in his food the next time around.  

(NA right now)
Tippers: non-tippers are cheap dicks and should never go out to eat because they are harming people's welfare
Non-tippers: tippers are trying to white knight their ideals onto the masses and wasting their money in the process.

Let's all try to be a little nicer shall we? Civil discussion is possible without insults. You all know who you are.

Spitting in someone's food because they only gave you everything they were required to is the epitome of self entitlement. That would be like a kid screaming at his parents because they didn't buy him enough Christmas presents.

Hey, I'm not saying that it's right, but some servers remember getting stiffed, and some of them are out of fucks to give.

Since bootload brought it up, it seems he's sour that servers can pull a livable wage. Servers are salespeople. The tip is their commission. Don't like it? Carry out next time.

The bulk of costs in restaurants is already labor. If you want restaurant owners to forgo tips and pay livable wages, prepare to pay much higher menu prices. Much higher. Guess what, that 16 buck hamburger now costs 21 bucks.

And they should be fired immediately, as well as arrested and charged, per the law. 

It's also worth keeping in mind that the "$40 an hour" he's quoting is for the maybe 5-6 hours a week that place is slammed with that kind of turnaround.

I doubt they're still pulling that "$40 an hour" on an off night for all 6-8 hours of their shift.

And being honest (and a former bartender), tipping your bartender does help grease the wheels a bit.  I would never underpour somebody that didn't tip, but if you're tipping and getting the same thing every time, you can bet your ass it'll be sitting on the bar ready as soon as I spot you in line.

Same thing with the wait staff messing with your stuff.   If you just don't tip, they usually won't mess with your food like that.   You will just get the absolute bare minimum 100% of your portion with no extras, and they'll hold you to that single refill rule and charge you for that side of ranch.    Now if you're a cockbag on top of that, your steak is getting rubbed on their taint.

Don't mess with your waiter or cook- they're the two people that see your food before you do.
 

Sweet, you can use that degree to soak up the grease from your french fries.

I'll put you to the Pepsi challenge of you working way harder than a busy server, unless you're in a skilled trade (which I doubt since you puffed your chest out about being Degree McDegreeington).
 

Absolutely. Assuming that they get caught.

Don't a lot of restaurants divide the tips among the waiters, busboys, and others?

It's been literally decades since I worked in food service, but seriously, thank you for saying this. You are my hero.
 

It's simple - if you don't have money to tip, then don't dine in.

Depends on the place.  Some places have you tip out, but that should really only apply to wait staff tipping out bartenders if you're at an establishment that serves alcohol.

I was a busboy, cook, and dishwasher in high school and a couple summers after, and I wasn't at the kind of place that made the waitresses split tips.