Bad customer service = low or no tip?

Have you ever had service so bad and food so bland that you decided not to tip (or give a small tip) to your waitress? How do you feel about not giving a tip?

(There are two questions here, please make sure you answer both in your response)

The purpose of a tip is to reward good customer service. If the service is poor it is perfectly correct to leave less than 10%. However, if you are tempted to leave no tip then you should be speaking with the management regarding such poor service. Waitresses and waiters work hard and their salaries are computed including what is expected to be recieved via tips

DO NOT base your tip on how the food is prepared. That is the chef/cook's job and the waitress has no control over it. If the food is unsatisfactory again ask to speak to the management and have something else served.

You never have to leave a tip. It's expected, but not expected if that makes any sense. :) I always tip, however if you feel that you need to give less than 15% or nothing, it's always wise to speak to the manager. You don't want the same thing happening to other people, and what happens if you go back and get the same server as before? It's always wise to speak up for bad service.

For the food, that is out of the servers hand. You might have the best service you've ever had, but the worst food. Not the servers fault if the food was bland and they did everything that they could to make sure that you had an enjoyable time.

As a waitress myself I do know what good service is. Also as an assistant manager I do know that not all servers are good! I have left bad tips for servers If the service was bad and they made no attempt to try. If I can tell they don't care, like standing around gabbing to coworkers instead of taking care of guests I tend to be more upset than if they are maybe just having a bad day. If it is genuinely bad service not mistakes I will tip poorly. Hey I do it for a living and make excellent money, but I work had and try to make everyone have a good experience. Someone shouldn't have a customer service job if they don't care, if they don't make good money at it then maybe they will realize that it isn't a easy way to make a quick buck and quit instead of giving the rest of us a bad name!
Although I do always recommend talking to a manager about bad experiences.