Hi. I forgot to add that if you have drinks at the bar before dinner and transfer the tab to your table please tip the bartender before you leave.

So, the wait staff makes minimum wage? That's nice but not standard.

Yes. That's a good tip.

and mine

In my state it is.
Waiting tables is not a bad gig out here.

I meant not standard industrywide or nationwide. There are probably other places that do the same but I just haven't heard about it. Waiting tables is not a bad gig here either though it sounds like it is a better gig there.

My wait staff don't get paid but I provide free board and lodging and a car for which I pay the running cost. I belive it rewarding a good wife.

Aaggh, too many rules.

It's not a rule . It's a courtesy. Like I said I remember the bad tippers as well. It's amazing how weak your drink can get if you don't tip well!

I am so confused with tipping it is not even funny anymore, but the thing I don't get is why should I tip when I get bad service. It has happened on a few occasions now and my US partner tends to pick up the tab because she knows I really don't want to reward bad service.

What do you consider bad service? If your food takes a while that is not necessarily the server or bartenders fault. The kitchen can be backed up. Sometimes they are short staffed because someone did not show up. If there is a problem you should ask to speak to the manager immediately to see what the problem is.

That's where the system gets so fucked. If I have a problem with service received from any business then I want to be able to consider the business as being responsible, which includes its employees (who are there to represent that business). It shouldn't have to be my job to attempt to diagnose the cause of the poor service aspect - I'm the customer.

P.S. While it annoys the heck out of me I have been here long enough to play the tipping game properly and always help visitors to do so. I understand that I am the visitor and I don't try to make my point by short-changing people.

P.P.S. And while I'm on - I have to say that if I ran an establishment where any team member gave sub-standard service or product (e.g. a weak drink) to a customer due to an anticipated low tip then they'd be fired immediately.

Asking again what you consider bad service? Plate thrown on the table? Given something you didn't order? Was the steak well done instead of rare? Or was it just the bread basket wasn't delivered fast enough? Was the kitchen slow in preparing your order? Or was the server slow in hopping to attention because you wanted a refill on your drink? Did the server not hoover over you constantly to make sure that your every whim was fulfilled? Not everything is a server's fault.

At my age and with my waitressing and bartending experience, I will say that I have met up with little of what would be considered poor service. I've sat at tables that might not have been clean enough or received a utensil that needed a bit more soap and water or not received a glass of water when I sat down. But that is not poor service on the part of the server. Normally these things are the responsibility of the kitchen and bussers and I would not penalize the server.

In countries where you don't have a tipping structure, then you really have no choice in rewarding or penalizing a servers. At least in the US you have that option and can opt for leaving the customary 15-20% of the bill and/or leaving 1 cent under a plate to indicate bad service and then tell the manager about your dissatisfaction.

I never reward bad service in a restaurant, by bad service I mean being ignored by wait staff, because they are too busy flirting with customers or 'catching up' with workmates etc.

I have commented on this before, but if I do get bad service, I always let the manager know why I didn't tip. I have worked as a waitress and a cook in restaurants, so I know how hard the work is, but I still think that it's silly to leave a tip if you are leaving unhappy with the service.

Bad service is when the server is never there for you to ask drinks etc, gets your order wrong, drops stuff on you, is rude, not accommodating to your needs, doesn't give a shit if the kitchen throws out cold or badly cooked food (it's not their fault but they can be quick to offer the manager or to try and sort it out).

We're talking about bad service, not shit food.