So what do you do for tipping when you don't order very much, such as when sharing meals?
Yesterday for my birthday lunch, after spending several hours at Flower World, we went to a diner-style restaurant and paid cash. None of the places that I had gift cards to were even remotely nearby, and the market on property didn't have anything with which to build a lunch. I had actually heard about this diner before and thought this would be as good as any time to check it out.
Neither my husband nor I eat a lot at lunch, and neither do our daughters. In eyeing other diner's portions, it was clear we would only eat half of what what served. I know, some folks like taking leftovers home for additional meals. We don't really like to do that. I make plenty of leftovers from my own kitchen, and I don't like to pay restaurant prices for leftovers.
So my husband and I shared a sandwich meal along with a side of fruit, and my daughters shared a meal between themselves (they still needed to ask for to-go boxes, even with splitting).
I know this must be a bit of a disappointment to the server when a table doesn't order very much, hence don't spend much on which to base tipping. To our server's credit, she immediately said she'd bring extra plates. We decided to tip more generously than we otherwise would. We tipped just about 15% on what would have been the amount if we all ordered something. Although, if we'd all ordered something, we might have ordered less expensive (and smaller) meals for each of us. For us, this felt like the right thing to do. It wasn't a huge tip, but then she didn't have to do much extra work for us.
How do you handle tipping when you share a meal? Do you think patrons ought to tip based on what was actually spent, or on what might have been spent? Or do you think the tip should be somewhere in between?
By the way, the sandwich was tasty. We shared a turkey club sandwich on their diner-made bread and a fruit cup on the side. It was the right amount for my husband and myself.
