[kipperfan]

Interesting debate and one I have strong feelings about. Personally, I have no issue leaving a good tip for good service, heck, I am not even against leaving 25% (even on a large bill) if I get the great service I expect to get. But when I don’t get that great service then my tip % starts to slide dramatically. If I am having to sit with an empty glass for 10-15 minutes before I can get your attention to come back and get me a new beer….you aren’t getting a good tip (10-15% max). If it happens more then once while I’m there, you’ll barely even get a tip (5% max). If it happens the dreaded third time I simply won’t leave a tip and couldn’t care less how large the bill is, you get squat.

The “15% minimum tip” referenced in the article is pretty funny; why in hell would I give someone a “tip” for causing me to have an unpleasant experience? I think the real problem here is that the meaning of the “tip” has been lost over the years, specifically in North America. A tip is a gratuity, a gratuity is, and I quote “A favour or gift, usually in the form of money, given in return for service”. So, why would I be giving a “favour or gift” to someone who performed their job poorly, failed to provide me with appropriate service and probably caused me to have an unpleasant time?

As an aside, when discussing going out to a bar, I think it’s absurd to think one needs to be tipping the bartender every time he/she hands the drinker a bottle of beer out of the fridge behind him/her. Sorry, but I think your hourly wage (no matter how paltry) covers you handing people things without moving your legs, feet or eyes. Now if I order shots, or have a female with me getting a mixed drink then fair enough, a tip is in line. But these bartenders who expect a tip each time after they hand me a beer, my god that is great comedy, I simply cannot get enough of it. Though, if I do have any pennies or nickels in my pockets I might let them have those, not the dimes though.

I prefer how gratuities are handled in Europe (for the most part). Tips are not expected and are usually only given for great service – going above and beyond some might say. To me that makes sense, I will give you a bonus for personally making my day better with your good service. If you fail to do that then, like the rest of us, you will collect your agreed upon salary and nothing more. I would love to see some of our vaunted service industry members head over and work abroad as waiters/waitresses/bartenders for a while – unless they’re working in Australia (or a few other one off places) I can assure them that their appreciation level for Canadian tipping standards would immediately go through the roof.