Is it reasonable to not tip a waiter if it takes 15 minutes for a waiter to finally take your order?

Yup !

Always tip. Always.

By the way, I’m the only person in the restaraunt

I would say that the waiter still has the whole duration of the meal to make up for it (assuming that he made a mistake in the first place; maybe it was out of his control).

It doesn’t matter. You have no idea what results in the time it takes to take your order. And the worker you’re punishing for not meeting your needs is likely not making minimum wage due to US wage laws related to servers.

Could you see what he was doing? Was he playing on his phone, chatting with co-workers or was he a backup dishwasher?
That would make a difference.

“And the worker you’re punishing for not meeting your needs is likely not making minimum wage due to US wage laws and servers.”

That’s a good point.

Here is a list of minimum wages for servers by state. I’m not sure where you are located, but this person could be making as little as $2.13/hr.

If the server deliberately ignores you for no good reason, or is deliberately rude, then leave and go somewhere else. If someone serves you food, without actually throwing it at you or visibly spitting in it, tip something.

Don’t wait for 15minutes, leave or ask what the delay is.

I have walked out of places for that. My wife and I went into a restaurant on Black Friday one year. They were not busy…only about 3 tables had people. The hostess greeted us and seated us…and that was it. No one came over to give us water, ask about our drink order, see if we wanted something to eat…nothing. Two waitresses were attending to the table next to us. The manager was chatting it up with a group of service staff, laughing and joking around. We sat there for about 10 minutes and then we got up and left. I called another restaurant in the chain and asked for contact information to the district manager. After explaining the situation to him we ended up with two $50 coupons to one of their restaurants and he was dealing with the manager of the restaurant.
If it was just the waiter and he was slammed, he might have been doing his best. If it wasn’t that busy, then I would say he wasn’t doing his job and didn’t deserve much, if any, of a tip. I would base it on subsequent interaction with him, if I was still there. Tipping would be based on his service. If taking a bit to get to you was the only thing that was wrong, then tip him. If he didn’t recognize he was leaving you sitting, tell him. If he is just a horrible server, no tip and a chat with the manager.

Tips are not an obligation, despite what the others say. It is not my fault that the restaurants pay a crappy minimum wage (with the assumption that tips make up the difference.

If the service is lousy, and you don’t get your water reasonably quickly, your only recourse is reward (or not reward) the server. That person is the agent assigned by the front-of-house manager to serve you.

I’m not going to reward a lousy server out of some ambiguous obligation based on US labor department standards.

@elbanditoroso: “Tips are not an obligation, despite what the others say. It is not my fault that the restaurants pay a crappy minimum wage (with the assumption that tips make up the difference.”

Going out to eat is not an obligation. Make your own damn food.
Workers should be paid a living wage, period. These people depend on your tips. What kind of shitty political stand are you taking by this?

@elbanditoroso: “I’m not going to reward a lousy server out of some ambiguous obligation based on US labor department standards.”

Wow.

Really, you are better off just leaving, rather than sitting and stewing. Unless you are absolutely required to stay, a situation that is so unlikely as to be not even really considered, there is no reason to punish a server. Ask them why they took so long. You might be surprised. If you don’t like the answer, then just leave. Basic human interactional courtesy should prevail here.
Really.

@notnotnotnot – I have no problem with servers making a living wage. No disagreement at all. It’s not my responsibility, however. It is management’\s responsibility. The cook doesn’t rely on tips. The manager doesn’t rely on tips. So why should the server not receive a decent salary.

THe fault is with the business model. Not with the customer. And no amount of guilt tripping is going to convince me I have to pay extra for shitty service.

@elbanditoroso: “The cook doesn’t rely on tips. The manager doesn’t rely on tips. So why should the server not receive a decent salary.”

Exactly.

When you walk into a restaurant, you know this is what you are walking into. Since servers depend on you to meet your requirement, your “it’s not my responsibility” makes no sense. It is your responsibility. Pay the people. When you walk through those doors, you are taking partial responsibility for their pay.

I can’t believe you’re actually arguing that you should not pay workers.

I tip based on service, ie water, drink refills, food hot, bill brought in a timely fashion, etc…. If you are the only one there, it does seem odd to wait 15 minutes, but he may be covering someone who called in sick at the last minute, or perhaps helping in the kitchen before you walked in, something like that. If the rest is good, I’d keep the 15%.

@notnotnot Since servers depend on you to meet their requirement…. Exactly! So they should do their job if they want a good tip. Why should anyone tip well for lousy service?

@notnotnotnot Elbandito does (already) pay the worker, by visiting the restaurant and paying for his food.
The owner can then reserve a chunk of that payment for his waiter (and other staff), same as reserving parts of it for rent, stock, electricity, insurances, what have you.
The boss is the one that should, in my opinion, pay all his staff enough money to make a living.
Anything that the staff gets extra by means of tips, could be exactly that, an extra (on top of a decent salary).

Did you make a gesture to signify you were ready to place your order? If you were were bored and staring at the menu they might think you are still deciding.

Person 1: “This woman has been stabbed! Someone call 911 right away!”
Person 2: “Not my responsibility. In a perfect world, he wouldn’t have stabbed her.”
Person 1: “But this isn’t a perfect world, and there’s a living person struggling to survive here right now!
Person 2: “Don’t care.”

Person A: “Tip your waiters! Otherwise, they can’t afford food and shelter!”
Person B: “Not my responsibility. In a perfect world, their boss would be required to pay them better.”
Person A: “But this isn’t a perfect world, and there’s a living person struggling to survive here right now!
Person B: “Don’t care.”

@SavoirFaire GA! Pretty much the same argument that is raging in the country about immigration. (As a matter of fact, I had that argument with a bystander at a “Keep Families Together” rally last week.)

As someone who has worked as a waitress, it’s NOT an easy job. Those who make it appear easy are the good ones!!! Before I start eating, I put an amount in my head of what my average tip should be. Then throughout the meal I add or subtract from that amount depending on the service. So, for failure to give prompt service, I would have mentally deducted an amount from their tip. Then, IF the quality of service during the meal was satisfactory or better, I’d add some back. Also, before paying, I would have gone back to speak with the manager to register a complaint. Sometimes they will either comp the meal or give a discount to help make up for your dissatisfaction.

Whether or not you agree with the system, the fact is these people are paid very little pay & they DEPEND on your tip to make a living!!! The way I see it is…IF you can’t afford to tip or you don’t agree with tipping, you really should eat at home where NO tipping is required!!!

The saddest thing I noticed is that with the link @notnotnotnot provided, the hourly pay for the wait staff has only gone up 13 cents in the last 45 years. Another thing to consider…people working for tips as incentive aren’t giving great service, just think of what kind of service you’ll receive IF they make the same pay for doing NOTHING as they do for giving good service!!!

@LadyMarissa: “IF you can’t afford to tip or you don’t agree with tipping, you really should eat at home where NO tipping is required!!!”

^ this!

Waiters typically rely on a number of support staff. There are many possible problems, that may have nothing to do with the server. Being a server, is one of the hardest jobs…

I will tip when it is obvious that slow service is due to a huge turnout overwhelming the staff, but a 15 minute wait in an empty restaurant sets my antenna on alert. Flawless service after my being “discovered” will earn the normal tip, but any additional insult and the money stays in my pocket.

@LadyMarissa wrote: IF you can’t afford to tip or you don’t agree with tipping, you really should eat at home where NO tipping is required!!!

I have no problem with tipping, as most of you understood from my previous answer and at least one person deliberately misunderstood.

@Lady – you imply that the tip should be the same regardless of the quality of the service. After all, the waiter still isn’t being paid much and still needs the money. So in your mind, do I tip the same for crappy service as I do for excellent service?

If that’s the case, where is the incentive for the waiter to do well for me. If he or she is getting the same tip no matter what, why should they hurry to bring me water, or deliver my food while it’s hot, or anything else quality related? After all, the waiter is underpaid and (according to some) it is my responsibility to tip well regardless of the service quality.

This is what I can’t reconcile – that there seems to be this implicit obligation that I owe the waiter a good tip regardless, because he/she is underpaid. That’s not right.

To
Insure
Prompt
Service

Not because: they were on the smartphone, smoking another cigarette. . . .

Maybe she’s implying the minimum amount. It could, or should be more…

I only didn’t tip ONCE (where applicable.) In my whole life. It was due to the worst service I’ve ever had. Otherwise, I would have tipped at least 10%, regardless of service. I think tipping, is kind of mandatory. If you want to give more, you can/should. But you should pretty much always give something.

@elbanditoroso: “This is what I can’t reconcile – that there seems to be this implicit obligation that I owe the waiter a good tip regardless, because he/she is underpaid. That’s not right.”

Nope.

The implicit obligation to owe the waiter a tip is because you walked into the establishment. You walk into a place with the agreement that you are going to cover the servers’ salary because the restaurant doesn’t.

You’ve expressed your distaste for this arrangement, and I agree with you that it’s unfair…to the servers.

If you still feel the need to exercise some power over poorly-paid staff as they literally serve you, then follow the general tip guidelines:

- bad/ok service = 15%
– good service = 20%
– great service = > 20%

If you’re trying to send someone a message by fucking with their livelihood, then stay home and serve yourself.

I’d give at least 10%. I don’t think I’d ever completely stiff a waiter.

Back when I was a waitress, it was common practice to leave a penny tip when not happy with the service. I never liked the idea of that because there are many factors that can create a situation out of the wait staff’s control & no matter how they try, it’s almost impossible to regain that control for the shift. When I receive really bad service, I have been known to only leave a dollar tip. I seldom do that because most of my servers give really good service!!!

During a brief waitress stint, a busy night, my tip was a penny and a note: marry a rich man. Lol, message received!

My biggest complaint with most of the wait staff is the mindset that they are only there to take the order & bring the food. Yes, that is the main part of their job; however IF you pay attention, the ones who offer a kind word or notice what it is that you need even before you realize yourself that you’re going to need it are the ones who make the best tips!!!

I worked with one girl who had an extremely nasty disposition & felt that IF she got your drink to you before closing time that she was doing her job. Well, one customer left her a nickle tip. When she saw what he had done, she ran behind him to the door & then threw the nickle at him & told him to keep it. He never sat in her station ever again. I usually got him when she & I worked together. He was a pain in the butt; but easy to please once you understood him. I never got less than a $5 tip from the guy.

Not every person who works in a server position is cut out to be a server. The bad ones are weeded out with bad income. Yet, they still did provide a service albeit rotten service. Tip them a rotten amount; but still tip them. In other words, acknowledge their service with the same zeal that they provided service!!!

I have a feeling cheap people will always be cheap. And they will lie on the internet.

If they weren’t fast enough, the fork would be dirty. If the fork was clean the water would be to cold.

And you people are probably talking about Pancake Warehouse. If you want top notch service spend 30 on a entree.

Whoa. “You people?” Racist…..

It’s subjective. You get to decide. I’m either satisfied or not, so I tip a decent amount or tip nothing.