Re: Dining out and tipping.
I rarely tip. Its not very customary and at times the recipient has been embarrassed. I do most often if I’m in London (few times a year at best).
BUT in my lovely Manchester I rarely tip however restaurants sometimes add on a service charge.
Re: Dining out and tipping.
I tip only when the service above average.
Re: Dining out and tipping.
Flat 20% regardless of service. Regardless of restaurant and its standard. Regardless if gratuity is included or not Why? Because these people bring you food, work on their feet for 6 to 8 hours for a small percentage of money. Any tips is extra money for them, it helps them make a decent salary. And honestly if you can spend a fifty to a hundred bucks on dinner you can afford a 10 to 20 dollar tip.
Re: Dining out and tipping.
I tip 10-15% regardless the service…earlier this year at a restaurant, the service was exceptionally amazing like a server took my stroller to my table and put it away for me and walked me out of the car at the valet with my toddler, aslo I was 6 months pregnant as well…than I really went out of my way to tip her…mind you this was a high end restaurant in Toronto, I am a returning customer for sure despite the fact x amount of $$$ I spent that day 
Re: Dining out and tipping.
Well..i give good tip..if the service was really good. Other than..i would give 5 to 6 dollars tip.
Re: Dining out and tipping.
sory for sharing a random thought…
as tip is usually given against quality of service-given not as an act of charity this tip system becomes inequality or kind of exploitation of poor people. poor people if not able to give tip would either given no attention or given poor service.
p.s. i earn more then enough, Alhamdolillah.
Re: Dining out and tipping.
Most of the time I tip 20%. If the service is exceptional OR if I’m with others who make the server’s job more difficult by acting like an idiot…then I’ll increase it to 25%-30% without hesitation.
It’s rare for me to leave anything less than 20%. When there are issues with service and/or food…I think about whether or not it was actually the server’s fault, and if there was something they could’ve done to prevent it from happening. If I feel that the server himself/herself is actually at fault…then I’ll bump it down to 15%.
BTW, just as an FYI…servers get paid $2.13/hour. There are some (VERY few) low volume places that will pay them the state’s minimum wage…but overwhelming majority of restaurants including almost all national chains pay them $2.13/hour. And restaurants that have food runners and/or bussers…it’s common for the restaurant to have a set-up where servers are required to “tip out” those people (ie. give them a certain % of their tip or total sales).
As for gratuity being included for parties of 6+ or 8+…personally, I can’t think of a situation where this was ever a surprise. I see this “policy” stated in the menu of almost every place I’ve eaten at with large groups. And it’s usually 18%.
P.S. In case it seems that I’m just “too nice”…lol…I have worked at several high-volume places as a hostess and/or waitress for several years. People who have worked in the industry often tend to be generous/understanding b/c we know what goes on behind the scenes and can often spot when bad service isn’t actually the server’s fault.
Re: Dining out and tipping.
Always pay tip. Those guys get paid poorly, and they rely on your tips. A lot of them are college kids or they’re doing this to pay their bills, etc. You never want someone’s ill niyat on you.
Re: Dining out and tipping.
Yes.
Re: Dining out and tipping.
Yeh tu paka chori hai apne devilish.. In 20/-AED to 30/-AED, One person can have a full meal in some reasonable restaurant like Karachi Darbar, Pak Ghazi, Sind Shabaz, McDonald, KFC, Pizza hut and many many more!
Re: Dining out and tipping.
Hahahaha! Tooooo much!
Re: Dining out and tipping.
lolz I am not taking about food courts I was telling about the high fi restuarants.
Re: Dining out and tipping.
The minimum wage here in Ontario is much better - wait service get $8.90 an hour. That’s less than minimum wage for other workers who earn $10.25 and hour, and maybe not a huge sum - but it’s still leaps and bounds better than the US minimum wage 
So while I do like to tip servers, I don’t feel badly about a 15% tip, with the option of going higher based on level of service.
I was once told by a friend to tip part on the bill and part in cash. You never know how they’re going to divvy up the percentage left on the bill (how much goes to your waiter/waitress, to the cook, busboys, host, etc.) and how much your own server gets. I don’t mind the tip being shared between the other workers, but because you can’t control how the tip on the bill gets paid out, some unscrupulous restaurant owners will pocket some of the tip. Best to leave a little cash since that goes directly to the server.
Re: Dining out and tipping.
^ Some restaurants determine the amount to tip out bussers/food runners etc. based on the servers total sales. So leaving a cash tip in that case doesn’t make any difference. But yes…overwhelming majority of the time its best to leave tips in cash b/c it guarantees that the server gets to take the money home that same day (Not every restaurant gives servers their tips from credit cards at the end of their shift).
As for owners stealing…it may (and probably does) happen in smaller mom/pop places but at least in the U.S., with large retaurants that have totally computarized systems…the servers input their tip when they “close out” a tab on their screen. When they tally everything at the end of the night…each server sees their sales sheet for the night which breaks down EVERYTHING for that shift (total sales, amount charged by CC, amount paid by cash, tips etc.).
P.S. Yes the $2.13/hour is a joke. To be honest…thanks to taxes lol…I can’t remember ever actually getting a check for that when I worked was a server. Those checks were always $0 and all my income came from tips.