This is true for the bad tippers I know. I just stopped going out to eat with them. I couldn't enjoy myself. They seems to get off on giving the waitstaff a hard time. Then add insult to injury with a measly tip.
Some of my friends and family are awful tippers, and I try to avoid going out to eat with them as much as possible as a result. I used to work as a server when I was in college, so I'm inclined to tip generously having been in their shoes. I'm glad that the incident in the news recently where that pastor left a really rude remark on the waiter's check and got her fired has drawn more attention to this. It doesn't even help to throw in some extra when your friends either refuse to leave a tip of their own or they leave something really small. They will just take advantage of your generosity and continue to do so in the future as well too. That's why I just avoid going out to eat with them completely. I consider going out to eat an occasional thing I do as a treat, I can't stand being around people who ruin the whole meal nickel and diming everything and nitpicking about every little thing, just so they can build up an argument to not leave a tip at the end of the meal.
People don't understand either. Servers don't get paid a high wage, they rely on their tips. They also have to share their tips with bus boys, and dish washers and such generally too. So you aren't just punishing one person when you tip badly.
My wife and I are good tippers because we have worked all our lives as entertainers, and we know what it is like to get stiffed. The very least people can do is give a standard tip of 15% in a restaurant, but some people just want to save that extra few dollars by not tipping. It does not matter to them how many enemies they make. Other people just simply were not ever taught the manners of tipping.
I don't mind eating out I bad tippers as long as they aren't rude to the staff or ask too much of them. I have some hesitance with tipping myself so I can understand that type of mentality, but if I know I've asked for a lot on top of just the basics of getting what I ordered then I'd definitely tip more, and that is mostly just what I expect of others I dine with. I don't hope for them to consistently tip big but just to tip in proportion.
You'll never get through to some people on the issue of tipping. If restaurants are going to continue with doing this, then they should call it a "service fee" and make it mandatory on all checks, then leave an actual box for "tipping" above and beyond that if they choose to do so. I don't buy the whole "incentive" argument with regards to tipping either. There are a number of high profile restaurants in the US which have done away with tipping and raised the wages of it's employees to a livable hourly wage, and customer service improved. Besides, many of the people who complain about leaving tips would likely be horrified if such practices existed at their own workplaces. How would they like it if each hour, their boss walked by their desk and told them they weren't getting paid for that hour, or were only getting a buck or two, because they really didn't get much done?
Well, I only consider someone a bad tipper if they have the means. It goes without saying that some of my friends only really have enough money to go out at certain places not so often. Often times they are only left with a few dollars to tip and it isn't intentional.
That's not really a problem. My brother is not just a bad tipper but one who doesn't give tips. On occasions like birthdays, our habit was to treat the family to a restaurant. When he was the one to treat us, my sister and I would be ready with money for the tip. And even if my brother would see us putting a tip on the tray, he wouldn't budge and would stick to his style of not tipping.
Tipping when eating out is not customary over here, so I wouldn't really know if any of my friends are lousy tippers, since tipping when eating out is not exactly common over here, especially in fast food chains.
I've only had a few meals with him, but my mothers boyfriend is a chef. Somehow he things that makes him the most knowledge person about restaurants in the galaxy, but anyway. He will tip 15% or odd number like 13 or 17, and thinks you aren't obligated to tip 20%. I understand tipping less for horrible service, but for other than that I always tip the appropriate amount.
I'm not really concerned about my friends being good or bad tippers, I tip my part and they'll usually tip as much as they can afford, considering how we're students. There's always at least a little tip left for the waiters, since their salaries are mostly made out of tips
