On 8 Aug 2006 14:45:29 -0700, "henry" wrote:

I give 20% to wait staff because I know they make a couple of bucks an
hour and depend on it. Not to mention the time setting up or clean up
making no tips. If outback gave me lousy food I might resort to 15%.
but that is wrong because it proably was the kitchen fault and not the
wait staff. The driver on the other hand is making a decent living and
not dependent on tips. The house delivery is charged extra. Even UPS
charges more for home delivery.Of course some one going the extra mile
in service would get a tip. My only confusion is tip at a buffet. I
think 10% because they can cover at least twice as many people.

I don't tip truck drivers unless they have to sit around and wait for
a while, if they show up at lunchtime, for instance- then the tip is
usually a burger. They make more money than I do anyhow.

Far as the restaurants go, I figure the service has to be really,
really poor to justify not leaving a tip. Most of those folks make
well below the minimum wage because the employers expect them to be
tipped. Don't know if buffets are the same, but I usually give them
20% at the Chinese ones- probably, they're just family employees, but
I figure it's worth leaving the tip just in case they owe money to
snakeheads. I never see any of those folks anywhere but in the
buffet, and it seems a little odd.