Well, things might be quite different in good ole England (or Germany, or France, etc. etc.) than they are here in the US.
I always tip 20%, more if service was stellar, less if there were issues. To not tip at all the server would have to be not only incompetent, but rude as well, and I can’t say that’s ever happened to me — at least in the US, where servers mostly depend on tips
Whole other story in the rest of the world.
Yep. Very different.
I have a friend who is a lawyer in Kentucky. Most of his cases are “workers rights” stuff. We chatted once about tipping and he explained how important it is to tip “appropriately” in the States. As I recall, it went something like this. Over a period of time, a restaurant server will expect to receive a certain part of their income from tips. It will be a reasonably reliable income (otherwise they just wouldnt be able to do the job and pay bills). And, of course, they declare this income to the income tax people. Now, tax people the world over are suspicious of any jobs where income is in cash. So, what they might well do, is look at a server’s tax return and say does that look a reasonable amount of tip income, bearing in mind the hours worked, type of place, etc. If not, they may make an assessment that the income has actually been higher and tax on that presumed income. So, Paul explains, if you don’t tip appropriately, not only does the server lose that money but also may be taxed as though they had received it, so doubly losing out.
Well, tips being both a gratuity and taxable income, it behooves the server to be hospitable and competent.
In the rare cases where I receive terrible service with no apologies, I leave no gratuity. When I get exemplary service, I tip lavishly. When I’m served something really good and also get bad service, I try to tip the BoH crew.
How?
Bringing this back to the UK, my favourite South Asian restaurant has this take on things. Firstly, unlike an increasing number of places, they don’t levy a service charge but use old fashioned cash tipping. The way it works is that if the tip is added to the bill and paid by credit card, then both FoH and BoH get a share of it. On the other hand, if the tip is left in cash, then only the FoH working that evening get a share - the owner keeps a note of tips received each evening and pays out the worker’s share on their next shift.
Similarly, the dining pub we go to (part of a small national chain of pubs) does something similar. All staff receive a share of card tips, through a more formalised “tronc” system. Cash tips are shared amongst the FoH team.
Of course, administration of all this is much easier if there is simply a service charge added to the bill. Of course, even easier in those countries which have a no tip culture (or a rounding-up “pour boire” as they have in the likes of France & Spain).
Oh, some of my regular haunts have approachable pass-throughs, and I know the cooks. I’ll give them a “Really good job tonight with the X” and hand them cash. Or, if the server has been nice, I’ll tip them AND hand them some cash for the BoH.
Whether or not it ends up being split with an offensive server, I don’t know. But when it all goes directly to the BoH, the signal has been sent more effectively than a complaint about service.
BoH deserves more tips than FoH, IMNHO.
I don’t disagree with this at all. But it’s hard to judge much BoH performance as deserving (or not) of tips. Where I know both cooks and they are the entire BoH, it’s easier.