Tipping at a restaurant is a norm that you have to follow. But that doesn’t mean you can’t bend the norm whenever necessary. While a tip is a right of a server, it should be earned, not taken for granted. You can abide by the 20% rule or exceed that if you can, but leaving a bad tip often tags you with the title of a lousy tipper. But don’t worry, there are a few situations in which deducting from your server’s tip is absolutely okay.
When You Had to Swallow Mistreatment
If a server indirectly or explicitly insults you about anything, you can deduct from the tip without a second thought. The mistreatment can range from your clothes and appearance to your dialect and choice of order. Now, servers are not so foolish and they often won’t go for mistreating a customer to their face. But if they throw any snide remark or a smirk at you, avenge with a lousy tip.
When You Had to Stomach Apathy
We often give the server the benefit of the doubt, but sometimes they don’t deserve it. When a particular request goes unfulfilled, you can attribute it to the server’s forgetfulness. However, needing to repeat the request several times in vain indicates that your server just doesn’t care or is not interested in serving you. As a server, this kind of apathetic behavior often results in a lesser tip and it should be so.