Tipping?

Ijust read a review for a restaurant in vegas and it was apalling...food poor service very poor,and yet they left a tip....is this the norm in vegas? do you tip no matter how you are treated?

Tipping?

Hi,

The difference in tipping in the US and Europe has been done to death so expect either heated responses or very few responses at all! I was in the same boat as you when I was looking at tipping etiquette as I think it’s a good idea to be well informed of local customs when you travel. What I took away from searching the forums is many people in the US still give a 10% tip or no tip if the service is really bad and usually give 15% and work up as a starting point. If the food is bad it’s not the servers fault. Some places (only one in Vegas we ate at) will automatically add 15% and you can add more. It’s not a legal requirement to tip so if the food and service were poor I’d speak to the manager and leave little or no tip.

Tipping?

OK thanks for that.But if the service and the meal were bad i would,nt leave a tip...

I usally tip 20% in a restaurant. If the service is very good I will go alittle higher. If it is bad I go lower. If I had terrible service I would not tip!.

Me too. It%26#39;s your money at the end of the day and 20% is alot of money if you%26#39;re paying a few hundred $ for a meal.

I can only speak for myself but Im guessing most Americans still leave a tip even with bad service, food is another story all together.

If the food is not up to standard I would send it back. If they still could not provide food to a certain standard I would pay for my drinks and leave immediately. There are plenty of other restaurants in Vegas who would be welcome of my business.

If service is very poor I would still tip but only a small amount and would either fill out a comment card or ask to speak to the manager. Brits have a reputation for being ignorant to the tipping process in the USA and if you don%26#39;t tip because of poor service this may be the excuse the server needs. If you tip small for poor service maybe they will look at themselves and think about what they did wrong and how they need to improve on their service.

If food and service is good, we tend to go 15-20%.

DH and I usually tip about 20%. If service is not so great, only 15%, if its exceptional, up to 25%.

However, if they%26#39;re really bad, we may only leave a dollar, or nothing. Its said that a dollar or a penny left upside down is supposed to be an insult. Fitting, if they%26#39;re that bad.

Nothing to do with Vegas admittedly but in all my visits to the USA I can only count on three occasions where service has been really poor.

TGI Fridays in Times Square, New York. Server thought he was Adam Duritz and kept going on and on about the gratuity process. Unfortunately his level of service warranted very little in tip.

IHOP in the Florida Keys. Middle aged lady who was more than happy to serve the locals but tourists can go to hell. Well, that%26#39;s how it felt anyway.

and

Bennigans in Savannah. She was just plain awful. Obviously Midtown Savannah folk aren%26#39;t used to hearing many Brit voices because she really made us feel the most unwelcome we have ever felt in the USA.

All of the above got a Dollar max.

Without knowing which review you%26#39;re referencing it%26#39;s hard to offer any real thoughts on the issue.

';Poor food'; is generally not going to be the fault of the server, so if the poor food was brought quickly and accurately then the tip would still be warranted lol.

Oftentimes food might be delayed through no fault of the server, a problem in the kitchen for example. Should the server suffer because of this? Probably not...

Then there are times when the service is truly bad and doesn%26#39;t warrant a tip at all. Rare, but it happens. If the service is that bad, have a discussion with the manager, he/she needs to know about the issue.

Unfortunately not all visitors from the UK and Ireland take the time to learn the tipping customs when they visit. Leaving no tip because of bad service, without alerting management, will just have the staff shaking their heads about ';foreigners who don%26#39;t know how to tip';, rather than actually addressing the problem.

DH and I are very generous tippers. However, if the service is terrible I leave a very minimal tip with an explanation right on the bill. I%26#39;ll just write a little comment such as';Non-existent service';, no ';check-backs'; to see if we needed anything,';

If there is a problem with the food itself, a good server will know it because they have come by to check if everything is ok. I don%26#39;t blame the server for a poorly prepared meal, but they should be aware of it so they can rectify it with the chef. This has not happened often, but when it does it can ruin a nice evening.

Jan