>>>JB is hard on servers. I'm the softie. Many moons ago in my late teens I worked in a restaurant. I know what it's like. So long as the service doesn't royally suck I'll give 20%
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>>Can't remember where, but a long time ago, I heard someone say that when you're thinking about whether to round up or down on a tip, consider that the dollar in question means a lot more to the server than it does to you. So barring really bad service, I tend to compute 20% and round up.
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>>Tamar
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>I'm pretty much the same way. (Plus, I can't do actual math in my head to save my life, so I'm always liberal...oh my god, did I just admit I'm a liberal???)
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>Yes, unless the service is just horrible, I do at least 20%, along the same viewpoint as yours. Then again, my family goes to the same places in general area and so the servers at places like Chili's, Longhorn, etc. recognize us, and servers seem more responsive when they spot regulars.

Chili's is one of my favorites too. The last time I was there the waitress was really lousy. While waiting for my check I thought maybe she had died in back. She was not friendly or welcoming. Maybe her dog got run over. I tipped her 15%, which is as low as it goes.

When I was in college I worked in two Italian restaurants, both specializing in pizza. When my buddies came in they knew to order the "custom pizza," which was regular pizza with double the cheese and double the ingredients. The waitresses knew after a while to turn in the ticket saying custom pizza. My friends tipped heavily for starving students and everyone was happy.

It was a great place to work for the waitresses alone. The owners hired with their eyes wide open. Northwestern was not known for good looking women but you wouldn't have known it by the waitresses at the Inferno. Aptly named, as it turned out. It burned down, widely believed to be the resolution of a dispute between the two owners.