When you eat out or recieve some service, do you tip?

I have been told that more people are tipping less. Do you follow any formula for the amount you do leave?

We tip 20% if we get good service, 10% if the service isn't good (if it's horrible service, such as the server being rude, it can be none).  Most often I give 20% though.

We usually do 15 to 20 percent for excellent service. 10% (or less) for less-than-excellent service and we either let the server know or manager know if something was bad so there is an explanation for a small tip.

 Question: Do you tip on the food bill or total bill (with tax)? How do you break it down? We now have an extra 2% restaurant tax added here to build our new Arena and we are paying over 9% tax when we eat out. I tip on the food bill (or food/drinks) and not on the total bill.

 I don't tip based on the food bill because the server has no control over what is being charged for the food.  Excellant service gets a great tip, adequate service is less, but if the service is bad, I leave a nickel and let them know why.

Working for a server for many years and a restaurant manager for 11 years,  I understand how hard and stressffull during peak times...being a server can be.  For okay service I leave 15%....for good service I leave 20%...for outstanding service I always leave 25%.. 

I leave 10% plus a little.  It's easy to calculate & I figure if the Good Lord gets 10%, no one else should get more than he does!

 We leave 20% for excellent service, 15% for adequate, and 10% for anything else. We never leave nothing because almost all servers these days "tip out" to the kitchen, hostess, etc., and those tips are usually calculated on the foods bills, not on what is actually recieved as tips. We don't feel it's fair that they have ot actually pay to be at work, so we leave 10%, then we talk to the manager.

At many places, servers end up getting to keep less than half their tips, and get paid just a few dollars an hour. 

I was a waitress and I know that it can be a stressful job at times, and I do keep that in mind.  On the other hand, I know how easy it is to smile and be courteous, and I keep that in mind too.  I tip on the total bill.  There was one time that I left no tip, and that was a very rude waitress, plus no drink refills, not a busy time of day (she only had our table and one other), and forgot some food that we ordered. 

mum2four:

Working for a server for many years and a restaurant manager for 11 years,  I understand how hard and stressffull during peak times...being a server can be.  For okay service I leave 15%....for good service I leave 20%...for outstanding service I always leave 25%.. 

yeah your about right sissy my sister gets good tips with the service as a waitress.

I generally leave 15-20% - the tax rate around me is between 8% and 8.5% depending on exactly where I am, and good service will usually get double the tax, so 16-17%.  Service that is better than average will get more.  I tip on the pre-tax cost.