Table service and tipping

Be nice, if a long wait has gotten you upset, remember it’s not your waiter’s fault. If you waited a long time, chances are your waiter has been very busy and is tired. Now that you are at the table, make a fresh start of it. You might be surprised how a little friendliness will improve the service. If you treat your waiter poorly, even the most professional waiter will have trouble rebounding and providing you with a pleasant dining experience. Remember, that’s why you waited in the first place.

What should you do if you feel your waiter is giving you poor service
If you feel you are receiving poor service from your waiter, don’t just suffer though it and leave a small or nonexistent tip.
If your waiter doesn’t properly respond to your requests, ask to see a manager.
Managers need to be aware of problems so they can fix them. A manager’s involvement might be able to save your dining experience, which is a far bigger expense than your tip.
If you don’t feel comfortable asking for a manager at your table, then do so on the way out. They still would like to know about your problems, although by waiting you have limited their abilities to help with your experience.
If you feel your waiter deserves no tip, don’t leave one. However, when you speak with a manager, you might leave a partial tip with them to pass on to your server or busboy. If the others were helpful, you still want to reward their service. This also makes it clear that you do tip for good service and that your waiter disappointed you.

What should you do if you receive excellent service from your waiter
Tell the waiter that you appreciated their excellent service so they will continue to take pride in their work.
Ask to see the manager. As with poor service, you should let a manager know when you have received excellent service. Managers need to recognize their strongest employees to encourage great customer service, telling them about your experiences will help them to do this.
Tip accordingly, if you feel your waiter has gone above and beyond your expectations and provided you with a wonderful dining experience. Hopefully, you feel that they deserve more than the standard 15% to 20% tip.
If you plan on coming back, be sure to get the waiter’s name. This way you can request them next time and have another wonderful dining experience.

How large of a tip should you leave
If you received good service, it is customary to tip at least 15% to 20% of your bill before any discounts. If your bill would have been $40.00, but your coupons brought it down to $35.00 you should leave a tip based on the $40.00. If your service was excellent, you should certainly consider leaving a larger than standard tip.
Some Restaurants will automatically include a tip, usually 15% of the bill. This is especially true if you have a large party. Although, more Restaurants are beginning to automatically include tips to all bills as a standard policy. You can check your bill for this amount to see if an additional tip is warranted.

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