9 of 10 times i will tip a dollar a drink. Sometimes I'll leave 2 bucks. But, lately I've been thinking that i should only tip depending on the service. Usually, I'm pretty good at getting a drink at a packed bar, but lastnight I a bartender served three people before me and i was standing there way befor those three people. She knew i was there cause she looked right at me 3 times. So i didnt tip her. Well, some dickhead made a comment to me and i made one back to him and he didnt appreciate it. Turns out he was her friend or something.
So it got me thinking that why are we obliglated to tip even if the service is bad? This applies to restuarants and hair cuts also. I've never worked in that industry so maybe i dont undertand what it's like. The incident lastnight was no big deal, just using it as an example.

i tip based on service as well. i have worked in the industry and i always knew that my tips were based on my service and not out of obligation.

i always tip well if i can tell they're doing their best...if they treat me like i am causing them trouble to serve..they won't get as good of a tip....that's how that works...i worked in a restaurant for 3 years....i know people have bad days....but still, they know how to make their tips

My habit, in bars where I would frequent, was to tip a buck on the first, third, and every odd numbered drink until I couldn't count anymore. It was still more than 15% for simply standing there and pouring me a drink.

But don't tip if it was actually BAD service. It's not like a waiter who actually has to carry a bunch of stuff, take orders, check in on you, etc... A bartender just has to take your order and fill it, and then his relationship with you ends in 30 seconds.

--PunkDavid

gotta tip on service at the places you mentioned

the guys i enjoy hooking up are cab drivers and pizza delivery men

I've heard servers complain that since they are making way less than minimum wage then tipping should be mandatory. I find that complete horseshit.

to clarify

i never stiff servers but if they suck i tip smaller than normal

pizza + taxi guys are used to getting lousy tips so i enjoy throwing them a bone

exactly.

i was a server for 3yrs., and i got paid $2.50 hrly., BUT ~ i knew that i had to kiss some major ass to get some good tips, and i did. i was an awesome server. i usually about 5 or 6 bucks for 2 people..... and the bigger the tables, the better the tips. I had this one table of 10 that would come in every sunday. at first i was nervous, b/c they were a bunch of biker dudes and dudettes, so i was afraid they would be all shitty & stiff. But, they kicked ass & always requested me & always left me 20-25$ for a flippin TIP! And all they usually got was salads, or stuffed tomatos, or stuffed catanlopes.....it was fun being a server......

getting visual of bad ass bikers eating stuffed cantalopes [/b]

bad ass bikers gotta eat light too....

i know when i waitered, you have to claim upto minimum wage. so for example, we were paid i think (at the time) $2.05/hour, so you had to claim atleast $3.20/hour in tips.

some days you would make that much with ease, and other days, you didnt come close. maybe in a 4 hour period youd make $5 in tips. so you end up having to claim more than you actually made. but thats a day to day basis, in the end, i think it all averaged out.

but to stiff a person who waits on you for shitty service is still out of the question.

if i get a pizza delivered or eat out, my minimum tip is $5, and i work from there, the lowest ill tip is $2 + change, the most i have tipped is about 7 or 8.

if you frequent a resteraunt or a particular pizza delivery place, and you dont think they remember you stiffed them the last time, youre living in a different world

so true.

I usually tip 20% of the total cost unless Blind Melvana is with me. Then I leave change that's in my pocket.

I worked a very short stint in the lounge of a restaurant moons ago. I do always tip but I tip based on service. If your attitude & service are poor, my tip for you is poor. BUT (and I can't remember), don't bartenders make a normal wage? For some reason I thought bartenders got a regular wage while servers/busboys were paid server's wages plus tips?? I could be wrong....regardless, I still tip my bartenders based on their service. The majority of the time, it's a busy bar, the bartender is hustling and taking orders from 5 different patrons at the same time. If they want the tips, they earn them.

I just wanted to clarify that my previous statements pertained to bartenders. With servers, I always tip between 15 and 20 percent. If they were good, I round up towards 20 (or sometimes go over), and if they weren't I round down towards 15. Nobody ever gets a shitty tip from me no matter how shitty the service was.

I ain't no Mr. Pink.

--PinkDavid

I usually tip based on service. Although even when i know i want to be an ass cause of some lousy service, i still leave a little tip. i just cant be the asshole that doesnt leave a cent. The one place i wont tip is fast food coffee shop employees. everybody around here seems to deem it necessary that if you pay $1.60 for a cup of coffee then you leave the change behind. this practice annoys me cause this person did nothing but pour hot black water into a cup for me.
also me and some buds were in Hooters once in boston (cmon you know you love it there!) and when it came time to pay we all threw in about $25 each, which amounted to about a $20 dollar tip from about 4 guys. not a bad haul id say. so my buddy counts it all up and pays the server. she comes back after about 2 minutes as were putting our coats on and asks us if there was something wrong with the service. were like "no it was great"...so she says "well you only tipped like 3 bucks!"...and we were like what the fuck?! turns out my buddy used our tips to pay for his meal. greedy assholes. we made him give her 20 bucks hahaha. anyways i thought it REAL ballsy to approach people about something like that but im glad as hell she did.

don't bartenders/waitstaff pool their tips and divy them up @ closing time?

I've never tipped the dude in the bathroom at clubs/bars.

Oh, I do. That guy NEEDS the money. He still only gets the silver change in my pocket though.

--PunkDavid

im usually not caught dead in a place nice enough to have a washroom attendant