30-50%? Bull.
Sorry, but where I live, an inexpensive meal for my family will tally up to about 40-50. I am not leaving you $12-$25 tip for taking my order, filling my drinks, and bringing me miscellaneous requested items. Assuming you are serving 4 tables an hour on average, that would be $48-$100 an hour... and while I do appreciate good service, it is not worth that much.
If you want those kind of tips, work on your skills, and get hired at a restaurant where the typical bill is $250 a table. If you do, you will soon realize, that service expectations there are far higher than your typical restaurant.
Exactly.
I factor 15 percent of the bill as a minimum tip. I also consider that the waiter usually spends less than 5 minutes total on my table from the time I sit down to the time I leave.
If I even leave $5.00 - that is damn good money for an unskilled job.