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I'm in the process of designing a pin-up (40's style) of a chefly young lady with a plate of sushi in one hand, and a slice of maki in the other, along with all of the standard accoutrement of a pin up. I already have a toqued skull biting my first chef knife tatted on my other arm, in military style. Soon I will add the words 'Death From Within' in some form with that one. I will try to post up pics when they are complete!

My left over goes to the local hospitals ER breakroom. It does'nt last long there.

btw--certain restaurants include an 18-20% service charge on every check. Per Se, French Laundry, Charlie Trotters. Do you think they remove the charges for the wine? And have you seen their wine prices?

Interesting concept but I think it's appropriate to tip on the total bill. If you had a problem with his lack of serving the wine, you can factor that into your total tip and decrease the percentage a bit.

I really enjoyed reading this thread, especially after getting back from a night waiting tables at one of the South San Francisco Bay Area's busiest restaurants. I've bartended and waited tables for years, but I'm a cash-strapped grad student, so I can see both sides (although I would never hassle someone about a poor tip, much less follow a person out to their car).

Despite the fact that I work at a highly popular casual dining restaurant, and I actually give the sort of service that I would want, it's difficult for me to bring home more than 10% of my sales. 2% go to the expo, bartender, and busboys each, and here in the South Bay you get a lot of immigrants who don't know how (or care to) tip. I've worked in other cities and been frustrated at getting less than 20% for what I knew was a stellar job, but I've learned here that a few tables a night will leave me less than 10%--meaning I'm lucky to make any money on them, after tipout.

We don't sell any expensive wines, but I hate the whole premise of "rules" behind tipping. These rules are to prevent the rude guests and the ignorant from jacking us servers over, but the rude people and the ignorant will do that anyway. When I go out to eat or drink, the only rule I have is that the server/bartender gets a minimum of 20% if they were competent--that's 20% of the GROSS, folks. If I sit at the bar for a few hours, I'll probably leave a $10, even if I've only had a beer or two. How many other guests could have been served in your seat while you pay $2 for 'just pouring two beers?' If my server hooked me up with freebies, or went out of his way, I'll usually just round everything up to a nice, even number that will put a smile on the server's face and, often, a free drink or dessert, depending on the location and time of day. My mother once scolded me for this, but I explained to her that, aside from the fact that I would want a tip like that, and I like to give that for good service, establishments remember me, and guess who gets free drinks, good seating, priority service?

I'm not suggesting that everyone do as I do, but I will say what I say nearly every night: if you can't afford to leave the acceptable tip, or if you're too ignorant to have any clue what said tip should be, there's a Taco Bell across the street that would love your patronage a lot more than I would.

I'm a server.
If you order something, you take into account the tax, so why not the tip? Whether you order the $40 bottle or the $1000 bottle your going to be paying the $2 tax or the $50 tax. You can't argue with that, because its the LAW. Just because you're a dolt who orders an outrageously priced bottle means that you should tip accordingly.
At the place I work at I have to declare 10% of my sales. If my cash out says I've sold a $1000 I have to tell the government I made $100 of that sale, regardless of the idiots I serve.

hey! I saw this a few days ago and searched and searched for it so I could make it today! You might add a tag just called Candy Pie to make it easier for folks to find it. I finally remembered you calling it leftover halloween candy pie and thats how I finally found you!

Love the pie!

Actually, according to the U.S. Department of Labor the following is the case:

"An employer may pay a tipped employee not less than $2.13 an hour in direct wages if that amount plus the tips received equal at least the federal minimum wage, the employee retains all tips and the employee customarily and regularly receives more than $30 a month in tips. If an employee's tips combined with the employer's direct wages of at least $2.13 an hour do not equal the federal minimum hourly wage, the employer must make up the difference."

For New York City (where I live), the minimum they must meet is $7.25 an hour. That means that even if the server does a horrible job and receives no tips, the restaurant must make up the difference so he/she will be entitled to a federal minimum wage no matter what. That means that the tip you give will contribute to that, but also increase his wage. Why would I want to increase a person's wage that does a horrible job? If the person is putting forth minimum wage type of work, that is what he/she deserves (not an extra pat on the back).

So while you may be right in that the tip is part of their pay, they will receive the minimum wage no matter what. If they want to make anything above that, they should obviously be good at what they do.

excuse me, "to not leave a tip..."

I disagree. When you pay a tip (to anyone in the service industry) it's not something the person should assume to get. My paying for the food and drinks pays for the food and the service. You don't have the option of bringing the food to the table yourself. If it's mandatory to use the service, the cost of the mandatory service is always baked into the price of the product. This is true for everything. When you buy a DVD from Best Buy, you are paying not only for the product but the guy behind the counter and other operational costs that go into bringing the product to you. My point being that the tip you give on top of the purchased product / service (cab ride, server, hair dresser, food, etc...) is paid for how well the service was in delivering what you bought. If a server is rude and not attentive and horrible at his/her job... there's no way that person will receive a 15% tip.

@yayfood: If the waiters rely on their tips, shouldn't they work that much harder to make sure they get a good tip? Don't you think that if they put no effort into their job then they should be paid accordingly? The same way as any job. If i don't perform at my job, they don't give me a raise or I get fired. It should be the same way for everyone... I'm not giving them a 15% - 20% tip or any tip to enhance their lives if they are unable to perform their job well.

I agree with presenttense. There's a problem with the industry and I also agree that its not the server's fault. However, I don't see how anyone can say that paying $200 to open a bottle of wine (if it were a $1,000 bottle) or even pour a bottle of wine is reasonable.

When I go to a bar, I definitely tip the bartender and I'm not against the idea of tipping on a bottle. But just as you generally set a $1 per drink standard at a bar (weather it's a $7 drink or $18 drink), a same method should be applied to wine or any expensive bottle of alcohol that you might purchase at a restaurant.

THis is so very interesting to read!!!
@ yayfood: as a student of business in Hospitality Mangement, i agree with your contentions entirely! BUT, if I were ever chased and it was implied that ,'hey, lady...you need to fork over a hell of a lot more'..that would just be so very unprofessional and repellent.

Actually the more alcohol I drink the more I tip! So I've stopped ordering drinks when we go out for family dinners. What I spend in scotch at a bar for 2 drinks, will usually buy me a nice bottle for home.

I have expensive tastes for my whiskey, wine and martini desires. My alcohol component can run as much as $20 - 30 dollars - for drinks before dinner, throw in a bottle of wine and now I'm close to $70 / $80 dollars before any food comes to the table....Oy!

And yes I tip on alcohol. Good bartenders and wait staff need to compensated for their talents.

Now I enjoy a glass of water with a lime. I do reserve a few bucks for special meals out (anniversary, birthdays, big commission check etc. etc).