Tipping at restaurants

Do you ever wonder what you should tip while at a restaurant? I always wonder what kind of a tip I should leave. Should I leave a larger tip because that’s 15-20% of the bill or should I tip depending on how good of a waiter/waitress they are? I believe you should tip based on multiple things. A combination of how much you ordered and had the waiter/waitress deliver to the table, how many times they came back to check on you, how crowded the restaurants is while you are there, and finally how the waiter/waitress treats your table. I once had a terrible waitress at Friendly’s who would walk around the restaurant to avoid our table and to avoid us asking her for more drinks. She filled the drinks once and never came back. She had an attitude when she did serve us and would slam cups down and just was completely rude to us. I mean I could understand if it was a stressful hour or if it was extremely busy, but there was no one there and we didn’t even order that much. So anyway the total ended up being about $19.88 and we decided to leave the $0.12 tip for her to keep for all her work and attitude. But I don’t want you to think I am a stingy person, because I am not that at all. I understand being a waiter/waitress is a difficult job and you never get much thanks for all your work, so if your nice and treat the people at my table with respect and we leave happy, I will be more than happy to leave you a large tip. One time my girlfriend and I went to Applebee’s after one of her ballet performances because I wanted to spend a little more time with her that night and all we got were some drinks and a small dessert to share. We ended up getting this woman in her 20’s who was the most amazing waitress ever. She made us laugh and have a good time. The night was kind of slow so when she brought us our food and drinks, she sat with us and talked to us about life and jobs and everything. On top of being a great person to talk to, she obviously noticed when our drinks were empty and would refill them immediately and come back and sit down and talk again. She did give a little time to talk alone, but I didn’t mind and neither did my girlfriend because we love being around people and talking to people all the time. So anyway, the total ended up being about $15 and I just put $30 down on the table when she brought us the check because I felt she deserved it. She made the night a blast and defiantly made me want to come back to Applebee’s again just so she could be our waitress. I feel if people were just chill about it and friendly and just polite, the people at the table will understand If it is busy or whatever the reason may be. But once you get an attitude with me, I lose the want to help you out with a large tip. I think you should tip for more of a reason then the total of the check or the number of times they come to the table. I think if you enjoyed your time at the restaurant, then the waiter or waitress did their job and deserve to be shown that with the tip.