Thoughts on Tipping

I worked as a waiter in grade 10. It started as a work experience position for high school credits but they were so impressed with me I was offered weekend hours. This was in my hometown of Fort Assiniboine and being a 'waiter' rather than a 'waitress' was not common back then in small town Alberta. This was the school year of 1995-1996 and the only time I remember seeing a waiter was in Edmonton restaurants, so I like to think of myself as a bit of a trailblazer. The restaurant I worked at was located at the old Fort Assiniboine hotel, which burned down in the summer of 1998.

Back then I was lucky to get a dollar or two as a tip. Food was cheaper back then but I also know some of the rig guys refused to tip me because I was a man. Rig guys will tip a bad waitress if she's flirty and shows off her assets but a good reliable waiter gets almost nothing from them; that's just the way it was. But at the end of the day I was proud of the tips I earned.

Now fast forward over twenty years; I have been out of the service industry since 1996 but I do frequent restaurants. Not just because I am not a good cook but I am also kinda lazy when it comes to cooking but whatever I can afford it. I do my best to tip as I know its part of the service industry. But I have a few stipulations:

1- Service has to be good (I'm not expecting to be waited on hand and foot but I do expect my refills and asking "Do you need anything" from time to time)

2- A positive attitude towards me and my family (I don't expect cart wheels or an ear to ear smile but a nice friendly attitude)

If the service is poor, the attitude bad I will not tip or tip at a lower level than I would have normally. I generally as a rule tip at 10%. I know some people say it should be 15% now but a 10% tip is fair I think for service. For example a meal out with my growing family of 5 is between $60-$90 typically, so I would leave a $6 tip to $9 depending on the actual meal, and I typically round up. So on a $63 dollar tab I would leave $7 for a tip.

Now Monday night we had supper at Westlock BP's and it was a $90 tab. But our waitress was less then impressive. She took our orders, brought us our drinks then nothing. It was other waitresses who brought us our food, I'm assuming ours was on a break. We ate our food and she did not come back. it wasn't until another waitress saw me looking around the room for our waitress did she get alerted and returned to our table. We only left a $5 tip, and when we paid for our food she said nothing to us, no "Have a nice day" or "How was your meal?", nothing. I think she noticed the $5 tip and was not happy with it. But I am sorry she was terrible and the fact we left anything was an act of kindness on our part as far as I'm concerned.

Follow my 2 small stipulations to good service and you will get a 10% tip guaranteed.