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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.

@sushiburger - I stand corrected! I did not know that the employer makes up the difference to ensure actual minimum wage is met.

" Is it a little ridiculous to get paid $200 for opening a bottle of wine? Of course! But if the customer doesn't want to pay gratuity, they shouldn't have ordered the wine."

bullshit!

In the restaurant industry, the cost of the service is not "baked into the price of the product" as it is in other industries. The restaurant is only paying the server half of minimum wage because gratuity is considered a part of that server's pay. Like I said, it's not a gift. It's their pay. That's why I said it's a problem with the industry. To not live a tip would be like expecting to pay half for a DVD - to use your example.

@presenttense, among others: the tip isn't (usually) going to the restaurant though; it is going to your server. Just because you feel cheated by the wine mark-up, you shouldn't take it out on your poor server.

Your tipping percentage is based on the server's efforts, but your tip is ultimately decided by your bill. It might not seem right, and it might not seem fair, but that is the way it is. It is not about the difficulty in uncorking the wine bottle, the pouring, the choosing. Your server doesn't prepare your food for you either, but your tip is still based on what you are ordering. You would end up tipping more if you got steak instead of chicken, so you tip more if you buy expensive wine than if you don't.

Yes, it is a problem that servers aren't paid realistic wages, but withholding a tip isn't doing anything to solve that problem.

wine is already prohibitively priced in restaurants in NY, with the majority marking it up by 400%. should someone choose to lash out on an expensive bottle why doesnt the restaurant owner slip the waiter some cash for upselling the customer to a more expensive bottle? the customer has already shelled out the 400% mark-up - adding an additional 20% is ludicrous. some of the best restaurants i have eaten at around the globe cap wine mark ups once you get over about $300 a bottle to a set $$ amount, i.e. instead of incurring the standard % mark-up they will only apply a set $$ amount. This encourages consumers to trade up on their wine purchase, and would you believe it but most people find that a great bottle of wine actually enhances the whole dining experience, promotes positive word of mouth and ultimately brings people back again and again.
Opening an old bottle is not that hard that it warrant's an exhorbitant tip - and if it has been stored correctly the cork should be in good condition and not require any additional effort than a younger bottle. How about screw-caps? they are starting to appear on expensive bottles now, that blows the argument of 'being hard to open'completely out of the water.
I agree with previous poster's who point the finger at the restaurant industry, changes need to be made, the hourly pay rate is a joke and on par with sweatshops.

I have never been a waiter or a bartender, but from what I understand, it is industry standard that both positions are paid half of the state's required hourly minimum wage, which on average turns out to be about $3.62 per hour. This is a restaurant industry issue, for sure, and yes, the waiters and bartenders choose to apply for these positions, but that means a tip of at least 15% (the standard minimum) is a part of their pay in order to insure a living wage. In Europe, waitstaff and hospitality professionals are considered just that - professionals. And they are paid a living wage, unlike here in the US. Customers in Europe are also not expected to tip, the actual cost of paying the waitstaff is reflected in the bill.

That said, I knew someone who worked as a waiter at a five star restaurant in a major US city. His thought was that if you're going to wait tables, go for the high-end - the higher the professionalism, the higher the bill, the higher the pay. I've never been to Nello's, but I would think the level of training is substantial. In any other field, if you're at the top of your game, you get paid for it. Why should waiting tables be any different? Sure a customer could bring their own corkscrew, open the bottle and pour for themselves. They could also learn to change the oil in their own car, give themselves a facial, sell their own real estate, etc. but that's not the point. The customer chose to go out and pay to be served, rather than dine in and serve themselves.

If a person can afford to spend hundreds or thousands on an absurdly marked-up bottle of wine, they should be able to pay at least 15% gratuity.

The whole idea of tips being calculated on the dollar amount of the bill is ridiculous. Time spent at the table, number of diners, how much "running" your table put the waitperson through, are much better guidelines. I do tip 20% when the service is satisfactory, but I resent the hell out of anyone telling me what the "rules" of tipping are.

To everyone who thinks it is outrageous to tip more for a more expensive bottle of wine: do you tip less when you purchase a salad or a simple sandwich? There is an incredible markup on these items as well, and I don't think anyone would tip less for a salad than a more complicated entree. , and I don't see anyone up in arms about that.

@ericjpdx - There is NO way a server deserves $200 for opening a bottle of wine! I don't care if it's $1000 and has a "delicate" cork.