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Blog
20 percent? Are you kidding?
February 6, 2008
Big tipple: But is there also a large tip in the offing?
I think it's safe to say that most chain restaurants don't sell a lot of wine (beer, cocktails, OK). I think it's also safe to assume that the savvy folks who operate them from the executive suite probably drink their fair share. And, I bet, given their salaries and expense accounts, they're capable of rinsing their tonsils with some pretty good stuff. Now, being restaurant operators I'm going to also guess they tip quite well, perhaps recalling the days when they themselves may have dealt with Joe Public.
But let's say their dinner bill (in a restaurant other than their own) comes to $1,000, with $400 built on food and the other $600 on, say, three bottles of wine. Is a 20 percent tip -- pretty much the norm today --appropriate? Before you mull it over you might want to check out New York Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni curious take on the subject in his blog.
I think it's also safe to say most table-service chains, with a few exceptions, employ hostesses. From what I can tell, they're typically teens or in their early 20s and usually wholesome-looking and (mostly) capable of focusing on the guest for the scant time it takes to lead them to a table. On the other hand, hostesses in upscale urban restaurants are another species entirely, according to this post in Bitter Waitress.
Posted by David Farkas on February 6, 2008 | Comments (3)
In response to: 20 percent? Are you kidding?
race the 1320 commented:
Did I miss something or is 20% now the the new 15%? I usually stick to the 15-20% rule but it's not based simply on what I order. I am all about the experience and if the service is on par average thus doing what is expected, then they get 15%. If I'm entertained, enjoy the service and thus gain more value for my money, I tend to go 20%. I don't typically go over say $80-100 at the most for a bottle of wine, but when I do, I still base my tip on the entire bottome line bill as that's my understanding both in terms of what's right as well as what the server may be taxed against.
In response to: 20 percent? Are you kidding?
Denis commented:
I also stick to the 15-20% rule. it depends on the quality of service, I spent many years working for tips and appreciate how hard the jobs can be and how little they earn without tips. The size of the bill doesn't impact my decision (my experience in fine dining restaurants is that the service is frequently excellent, supported by a higher staffing ratio. this in turn means your server is dividing out tips to at least 2 others sometimes more while serving less tables. That service level comes at a price and i don't think 150-200 on a 1000 bill is unrealistic - lets face it if you can afford the meal you can afford the tip-
In response to: 20 percent? Are you kidding?
Frequent Diner commented:
RE last weeks blog and tipping when there is an expensive bottle of wine on the check, while the writer eventually got to the right conclusion, when the question was first raised made me want to shout "Look, you stupid ----, if you've got enough money to go to a ridiculously overpriced restaurant that's hitting you for a hundred bucks a person for the food and then buy a $500 or $1000 a bottle wine, you can damn well give the wait staff the full damn 20%!!!!"