I was eating out with some family tonight because my aunt, uncle,

>>18167969
Your father was paying the bill. He gets to decide on the tip, and it sounds like he has a legitimate policy.

When you pay, you get to apply your standards to tipping.

>>18167969
>Was I right in this situation? When is it appropriate to reduce tip, and by how much depending on the situation, or leave no tip?
Yes, you were right. Zero tip can be justified. The waiter may actually be out of pocket due to mandatory "tip share" based on sales, but that isn't your problem.

Tip what you feel like tipping. This, coming from a former server (water) at Outback.

>>18167969
That was seriously the worst service you can ever remember having? Not getting your drink refilled? Seriously, dude?

It's not great, I agree. I'd have reduced the tip. But if your food arrived promptly, and the check came reasonably quickly, then a 0% tip would have been absolutely unwarranted. Honestly, you sound unreasonable.

I'm sorta one of those "always tip at least 15%" people, though I'll reduce it in really egregious cases, but I can still admit that what you described was sorta crappy and might have warranted reducing the tip by 5% or a few percent more if you're feeling really ornery. Not down to 0. Jesus.

And it's kinda crazy that you're still dwelling on this afterwards.

>>18167977
*(waiter)

>>18167978
Explain the logic of having to leave more than 0% for standard service.

>>18167978
The only reason it still irks me slightly is because it ruined an otherwise tasty meal. Honestly every other restaurant experience I can remember having has been some degree of reasonable.

>>18167981
Because that's how the service industry works in America. I'm not a huge fan of the system -- I would rather servers get paid a decent wage and not have to worry about tips -- but that's how it works. The restaurant pays their wait staff less, and consequently you pay less for your meal, but you're expected to tack on a tip at the end as compensation.

A tip is not "a little something extra for good service." Not in the US. If that's how you regard tips you're flatly wrong. It's not you being generous. It's part of the price of the meal.

15% is a standard tip these days. That's for standard service, not exemplary service. You raise it to 18% or 20% if the service was above-average (or if you're an unusually generous dude and you pride yourself on tipping well, as some people do, but that's optional). You reduce it by however much if the service was subpar. Your service was moderately crappy, justifying a moderately crappy tip. If the service was *terrible* (your food arrived cold, server disappeared for 20+ mins before bringing the check even though it wasn't a busy night, etc etc) then you might be justified in tipping nothing. The service you received, although subpar, did not reach that level.

I should not have to explain this to an adult.

Also, when I wrote that post I assumed I was replying to the OP. I see now that I wasn't. Consider the annoyance in that to be directed at the guy I replied to (the Outback guy?), not the OP.

Why is that a thing in America? Over here in Europe tipping is super rare, and waiters probably make much less than in America.

If a meal costs, say, 12 bucks, then you pay those 12 bucks. Simple. Why are you obligated to give the waiter more money?

Can you imagine buying something and then the cashier goes like "Give me more money, please". It's stupid as fuck.

>>18167994
>It's part of the price of the meal.
No, it isn't. You are entirely justified and within your rights to tip zero for every single meal.

I'm the anon who used to serve at Outback; I know how it is. You need not explain the social convention to me; what I asked for was the logic of having to leave a tip for standard service. The fact is that there is no logic to it.

>>18168017
>waiters probably make much less than in America
No. Depending on the state (each state has its own income tax rates and minimum wages), servers/waiters get paid as little as ~$3-4 per hour (I'm remembering West Virginia was that low, back in ~2006). The assumption is that they'll make up the difference (i.e. up to minimum wage) in tips, which are inherently unstable and in no way guaranteed. Ergo, the rules are fucked and the system is broken.

I was lucky in that I worked in WA state where the minimum wage was $8 and there was no lower rate for servers.

>>18167969
Its okay op. Half the time, i never tip, and i mainly survive through tips at my job


:D

The refills can make or break a dining experience.

I'll always tip less if my cup gets ignored.

Bitch, you see it at the edge of the table for you to grab, you could atleast stop by to check.