I give the standard 20%, not 15%, but anyway, to earn it a waitress has to make sure my glass is never empty, or she's there as soon as it goes empty. She has to be polite and smile when she greets me, and know the menu. She has to bring out my food in the correct order (as in salad first, entree, etc) and clear away plates as they empty, not just leave them on the table. I expect to be asked if I want dessert as I'm finishing my entree and if I say no, I expect my check asap. I think these are all basic things for a waiter or waitress too. I don't expect some "wow" factor, just a decent worker.

plus we only make 2.83 an hour. We rely on tips :(

You have to be a real moron not to be able to earn a %15 gratuity.

As long as my glass is never empty and the food and drinks are brought out in a reasonable time, She/he will get the 20%

I will tip more when I go out with a group of my friends. And if a guartity is already added, i tend to leave and extra dollar or two.

I've got fairly low expectations for servers - I've worked customer service and I know it's a miserable business, so I totally get it if you're flustered and busy. I just ask that you smile, do your best to stay on top of refills, etc., and if it's going to be a bit of a wait for food or if you get crazy slammed after I get seated, just stop by and say, "Hey guys, I am so sorry. It got really crazy here, sorry if you haven't seen me in a bit! Food may be a few minutes out but I'll see to it that you get it as soon as it's ready." Just something to let me know that you still know we're one of your tables and you aren't purposely ignoring us. You don't have to spend 10 minutes chatting each time you stop by - just smile, be friendly without being fake, and be honest. It's cool if there's a kitchen screw up and you bring me the wrong thing. Just say, "Oops, so sorry, let me get you the correct order."

I try to tip 15% minimum. Sometimes it's a bit less, but unless the service is downright insulting, I never go less than 10. Even bad servers get 10 percent from me. I've had bad days at work too; I'm just lucky I was in a job where my pay wasn't affected.

Thank goodness we don't have to tip here in Australia(I'm from the states, I hate tipping..  But I've also worked in cafes, so I understand the pain.). Then again, waitstaff here get on average $15.00+ per hour. As a general rule though if your server was helpful, attentive and nice, it's considerate to leave a tip. Usually $5 or whatever is in your wallet, or just round up the bill.
My mum came to visit us just recently, and at every restaurant we went to she would state that she is "American and therefore expected to tip 20%", when we told her not to she was quite baffled. Once we explained that minimum wage is higher than $2 an hour she understood, but still gave 10-20 dollar tips if she liked the waitress.
I always, even in America refused to tip if the server was rude, or a smartypants. Make an honest effort and you'll get that extra money, we all know it's the only way you can pay the bills. ^_^

if the waitress/waiter politely calls me madamoiselle with a friendly smile and makes me feel welcomed there, I'll leave a great tip:) I'll patiently wait for my order and give her/him the benefit of the doubt if it is a busy day.

For me, no. In order for me to withhold all of or part of my tip, the waiter/waitress has to actually do something wrong and it either has to be something really bad (like being rude to me), or a series of several mistakes. And I certainly take into account whether the waitress/waiter is busy with a lot of other customers or appears to be having a day when they are obviously hassled for one reason or another. :p

So, awesome isn't a factor for me, but at least making an effort to do your job the regular way is. :p If that makes sense? :/

There's your guide to eating out. Follow it or piss off.

1. CHILDREN:
If you have children, DO NOT let them, open and dump
anything on the table (ie; salt, sugar, etc). IF YOU DO, you should
leave extra money for the server to clean up YOUR CHILD'S mess & to
restock the now unusable wasted items. We are neither their babysitter
nor their parent. The least you can do is pay us for the extra work.
Also make sure you control your kids and don't let them scream or run
around the restaurant. It's very distracting not to mention dangerous
if they get ran over by a server with hot food in their hands.

2. "THE CAMPERS":
If
you feel the necessity to stay for longer than 15 minutes after you
pay, its an extra $3 every 30 minutes. We make our money from the
tables. If you are in one and we can't seat it, we don't make money.

3. COMPLIMENTS:
Telling
a server they are the best server they've ever had is not a tip. If we
are good, let us know by leaving us more money. We cant pay our bills
on compliments. Its not that we don't appreciate the praise, its just
that if you say that and then leave 10% it's an insult.

4. THE SALVATION PAMPHLETS:
Prayer
cards and any other religious pamphlet is NOT a tip. It is insulting
that you assume we are w/o religion and must save us. Again, like ..3,
we cant pay bills w/prayer cards. We'd go to church on Sundays if it
wasn't mandatory to work on Sundays because EVERYONE who goes to church
follows it by eating out.

5. TIPPING:
It is not 1960. Cost of
living has gone up dramatically since then. 20% is the amount of what
you should be tipping your servers for doing a good job. 15% is
acceptable for doing their job, with no smiling, friendliness, or chit
chat; strictly service. Remember, our companies pay us minimum wage
(minumum wage for servers is $2.13) And we are taxed on 10 percent of
your meal automatically anyway. So if your meal is $100 and you leave
$10 and we tip out $4-5 to the busser, bartender, and whoever else then
we pay tax on the amount we're left with! It seems small but it adds
up. How many times do you eat out per week and do this? A perfect
example of how little our paychecks are, last week I worked for 80
hours exactly. My paycheck was $57.18. Think every single tip doesn't
count?

6. THE COMPLAINERS:
If you get a discount because of
your food was prepared wrong or something, do not take it out of our
tip. We didn't cook it!! The cooks get paid hourly regardless if the
food sucks. However, we only make what you give us.

7. THE FREE STUFF:
If
you happen to get anything for free and you did not have a problem with
your dining experience, most of the time it is because the server
thinks you will realize that they are giving it to you for free. There
should be extra tip thanking the server for the free item. They could
get in a lot of trouble giving away free stuff. You should give them
hazard pay for it.

8. THE LATE ONES:
If you come into the
restaurant 10 mins before closing or any time near closing hurry up and
order your food and get out. Closed means closed, not social hour. It
is so rude to sit there and take your sweet ass time. We can't leave
until you leave because we have to do sidework and clean the table you
are sitting at. We don't want to stand there waiting for you for an
extra hour just because you don't want to go home. We recommend 24 hour
establishments such as Dennys if you wish to sit into the wee hours of
the night.

9. THE TABLE HOGGERS:
If you only come in for
coffee or a dessert, to do paper work, or to have a meeting, don't sit
there taking up our booths for hours. We are not Starbucks or a hotel
restraunt. If you want to sit for hours, go there or else you better
leave a good tip for us and camping fee included.

10. THE GREET:
When
we come up to the table to greet you and we ask how you are doing
please let us know. We honestly want to know how you are doing. If you
are in a bad mood we want to know that from the beginning. A confused
stare or complete silence does not suffice as a reply to "How are you
doing?". Also most of us are REQUIRED to say certain things during the
greeting, so please don't interrupt our greeting and say "I want
coffee", "Can we get some bread?", or "What are the soups?" Another
thing that is very rude is to start talking on your cell phone or to
other people in your group when your server comes to greet you. Your
server doesn't want to hear your life story!

11. THOSE DAMN CELL PHONES:
Don't
ever talk on your cell phone in a restaurant. This is probably the
rudest thing to do. If you must be on your cell, at least keep your
voice down in respect for other customers. If you are on your cell
phone when we walk up to greet your table we will walk away and not
return until you get off your phone. Just show some respect and give us
your attention for a couple of minutes.

12. TAKE-AWAY OR TO-GOS:
Always
remember to tip the take-out order servers! They work just as hard as a
server, and hardly ever get tips for it! WE DESERVE TO BE TIPPED TOO!

13. GIFT CARDS:
When
you come in and use a gift card to pay for your meal, tip at least 20%
according to the original total.....NOT the total after! And if the
gift card covers your entire meal.....DON'T be the asshole that only
leaves $2 your cheap ass just got a free meal.....surprise us and throw
down a $10 or even $20, remember you did not have to pay for your meal
this evening!!!!!

14. HOSTS/BEING SAT:
And please be
gracious to the host. They follow something called rotation. It's where
they try to make it to where each server has approx. the same amount of
tables, so that they don't get yelled at. When you ask for a booth
after they try to take you to a table, you're fucking up the rotation.
If you MUST have a booth, request it while they're making their
decision on where to sit you, not as they're walking you, after you've
gotten to your table, and especially do not stop at the booth you want,
and have the host keep walking without you. It pisses them off. And
they will warn the server about you.

An addition to rule number 14:
No
one likes it when you pick out your own table. ESPECIALLY if it's
dirty. It's crazy, but people still do it, and often. It's impolite to
watch as the host cleans the table you demand to have.

15. SIDE ITEMS:
Not
every single restaurant has the same side items. The place you are
dining out is not Wendy's. We do not always have baked potatoes, fries,
chili, and whatever other side items you may crave. It's also not our
fault that we don't have them. We are not corporate employees. We do
not create the menu. Do not yell, make snide remarks, or bitch at us
because we don't accommodate every single person that may enter our
establishment.

Watch the movie "Waiting" and think about what
you're doing the next time you piss your server off. Do you really want
to go there?

@Katey8998@xanga - WHAT? 2.83 an hour!?That's a little ridiculous. What if the jerks don't tip or if the restaurant has very little customers? ):

I understand how in parts of America people MUST tip at least 20%. In Canada it's minimum wage (8 or 8.50 CAD) + tip. But I know it some parts of Asia, like most Korean restaurants (unless really really high end) there is no tip, none for taxi drivers/servers/hairstylists. They actually might even get offended, just cos they're not used to the concept.

@cindyhs@xanga, I only get paid $2.13 an hour!  (That's the minimum wage for waitresses!)  Some of the waitresses don't receive paychecks at all because taxes overrule the tiny amount we would receive.

@TheNumberScott@xanga, I do to-go orders as well as waitresses, and to-go's take a bit of work too.  We take the order, hassle the kitchen workers to make sure it's ready on time, prep sides, ensure that the ticket is correct, and try to have everything ready for you when you arrive--as well as still being hot.  This becomes an issue occasionally, especially when people pick up their orders an hour after calling them in!  When a person sits-in at my restaurant to wait on their order, I always offer them a drink (which I never charge them for) and ask them about their day.  To-go servers appreciate tips because we do ensure that your food is properly organized, take your order, and sometimes even give you free things or simply just let you rant about your day.  Tips also help because unlike waitresses, we have to wait until payday to receive the money we need for groceries and rent.  $1 is helpful for sure, but if your order was over $10 or more than two plates of food, I would say anywhere from $2 to $5 would be a kind thank you--not to mention it will help the to-go person's day get better.  :)

My first real job was in a restaurant, I was hostess, busser, I helped out the waiters and I cleaned the restaurant, we are talking hands and knees cleaning the floorboards. Still I made minimum wage which was $5.15 at the time and only 10% percent of tips. All the waiters did was take orders, I refilled glasses and helped serve. So I demand a lot for my buck. If I am eating at your restaurant you should be thankful I am spending money at your establishment anyways. In the past I have left 0% to over 100%. If you are a sucky waiter you will get a few bucks or even nothing. If you were good you get a happy note along with a good tip. I have yet to find an amazing wait staff though.