I almost never deduct from a tip for something that was the kitchen's fault. Although never wait staff (couldn't do it) I have worked for tips and it does hurt when you do a good job and get nothing. (I wrangled for a living on guest ranches and we worked hard to provide a great experience above and beyond just leading a string of horses).

This depends on the nature of the business. If I am ordering take out food and the counter person puts the order into a point of sale machine, the kitchen prepares it,  the counter person just turns around and picks up a bag, I do not tip.  However if it is the kind of counter person as in a bar situation, that person is actually interacting with customers and I will tip them if they aren't jerks.

When I have an actual server, they get 20%, 25% if they are particularly good at their job.

And in those places that they add the tip automatically, I scream and cry like a little child until they recalculate the bill without a tip. Nobody tells me I have to tip. Automatic tipping promotes a lackadaisical attitude in the serving staff.

Edited September 26, 2017 by eddie1261

Seem that the average here is rather parsimonious.  The kitchen staff are the lowest paid workers and the hardest workers.  The wait staff at a decent restaurant can average $50K/year. (Head over to Quora - there are many discussions about this from waiters and waitresses.)  The kitchen staff is minimum wage plus a small % of the tips not left in cash.   

So why wouldn't you leave a full tip for take-out - The kitchen staff worked just as hard. Doing take-out, the only thing you missed out on was someone refilling your glass and asking if everything is OK!

I'm still trying to figure out how much to tip the electronic kiosk at McDonalds.

The way I understand it the tip jar at the counter is shared by the staff not just the person handing over the food and taking your payment.

Where I live the cooks make an actual living wage, even in smaller bars. Not 6 figures, but not 2 something an hour like wait staff makes. They have more tangible skills than the wait staff, who rely on more intangible people skills to get their tips.

Last year there was a news article about a place in Seattle that raised server wages to $14 an hour BUT tipping was then absolutely prohibited, and punishable by termination if management saw wait staff take a tip. I asked a friend here locally what she thought about that when I was in her place. She hated it. She told me that in that same $14 hour she could handle 4 tables of 4 simultaneously, and likely get a tip of $15 or more per table. That is potentially $60 for that same hour for which a lazy server earns $14 for possibly doing as little as necessary for her customers. The one I spoke to said exactly what I said earlier, that a fixed wage removes the incentive to do as much as possible for your customer rather than as little as necessary. That's the "There's nothing in it for me to work hard" theory, like this entitled generation of snowflakes has been taught by their pampering, over permissive parents. My bill was just under $12. I gave her a $20 and walked out. She got an $8 tip on a $12 check. She is that perfect server who pays attention to you without being intrusive or annoying.

Edited September 26, 2017 by eddie1261

  On 9/26/2017 at 9:32 AM, eddie1261 said:

Where I live the cooks make an actual living wage, even in smaller bars. Not 6 figures, but not 2 something an hour like wait staff makes. They have more tangible skills than the wait staff, who rely on more intangible people skills to get their tips.

How much are the prep people, dishwashers, bus people, etc., paid. Cooks are often paid a pretty decent wage, but not so much for their support staff. The kitchen doesn't run on cooks alone...

What's the difference between a Canadian and a canoe?

A canoe can tip. 

Cooking is a skill. (And microwaving a hot dog is not cooking.)  Is washing dishes or bussing tables? There are culinary schools. I have not heard of a dish washing school or a table bussing school. Important jobs to be sure to keep the flow of food going, but for sake of analogy, should the unskilled guy who just unboxes the computers make the same money as the degreed IT professional who loads and configures them? That is not to put down the dishwashers, buss boys or unboxers, but the fact is that once someone goes through some education and training, in my opinion they should be compensated for it.

So to come around to relating this reply to the topic, it is as much WHO gets tipped as how much.

I really like the pre-pay buffets (like Golden Corral) that ask if you want to add a tip to bill before you even sit down. Will never happen with me!