what''s the fair % for gratuity when dining out ?....

[Dancing Fire]

my wife always complain that i over tip,i usually tip 15-20%.

 

[Morticia]

I waited tables for many years. 15-20% is good. I tend to tip 20% or more, especially if the server was pleasant.

Anything less than 15% is not good. A lot of people don''t understand that servers don''t make a lot hourly (not even minimum wage in some cases), and rely on their tips..... Most of the time, they have to "tip out" at the end of the night to bartendars, hostesses, bus boys, etc. It depends on the restaurant.

 

[AChiOAlumna]

This depends largely on where you live...if the service is good, then I tip about 15%. If the service is outstanding, then I''ll tip 20%. I only tip lower than these guidelines if I have received sub-par service...if the service is horrible, I usually won''t leave a tip and complian to the manager on my way out!

 

[lost on 5th]

for the most part i agree with the 15% to 20% guideline. i however have some typical exceptions.

if im out to dinner with my girlfriend and we loose track of time ...as we usually do. i will tip more to make up for the extended time we occupied the table.

i will also tip lower on the overall percentage if the bar tab is high. (i.e. im not about to tip 20% on an $80 bottle of wine when it required the same service as the $20 variety)

hahahah... there is also the random "im soooooo sorry tip" which is usually given when some poor waitress has to put up with my father...or grandfather.... who get rather cranky at times.

 

[abradabra]

I tend to tip 20% plus whatever the difference is to round it out to a nice number for my checkbook (the next $5 or $10 increment usually). I always figured that wait staff work a lot harder for a lot less than I do. That may or may not actually be true (especially in more upscale establishments), but I think it''s a good attitude to take so you never become an obnoxious customer.

 

[FireGoddess]

I tip at least 20%. Waitstaff is usually paid minimum wage, and make the bulk of their salary through tips. In addition to that, they have to tipshare, which means they have to "tip out" or share the tips with the dishwashers and the host or hostess. So if you''re only giving them 10 or 15%...they''re still only getting part of that.

 

[mingagreen]

I would have to say Dh and I tip around 22%. We are in the "restaurant" business so we know how hard servers and bartenders work (or should). If the service is horrible it will lower.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

When my husband and I eat out, we give 20%

I always give 20% for hair treatments and other services, but I refuse to tip for ridiculous situations like fast food in the mall! I cannot believe that places like Quiznos have tip jars out

 

[psuheather]

I tip 20% standard, 25-30% if the service is really great, on a check thats around $15 or up. If it''s less than that, then I usually tip a little more cause I just feel bad about leaving a measly two bucks on a table, despite how much my actual meal was. But I also have no hesitations about tipping less than 20% if I have bad service (NOT bad food, people often confuse the two.)

 

[yellowfan]

Always tip at least 20% and if the service was more than great then more $. Waiters take a lot of crap and don''t make enough $$$ most are college kids too so I guess im a softy!

 

[bstraszheim]

I eat lunch by myself a lot of the time. If I go to a sit down restaurant I leave a tip of $4, regardless of the cost of the meal. If I get crumby service because I am by myself, then I tip lower (which means nothing to them because they didn''t know that they were going to get $4, but I''ve reduced it to $2, which just looks like I left 20%) I guess I need to work on my strategy! : ) When my husband and I go out we usually tip 20 - 25%. I usually figure out 20% and then round up to the next even dollar amount. When we get very bad service we leave a $1 tip, I think that that shows that we do actually tip, but the service was so bad, that was the tip.

I wish you well,

Bridget

 

[Regular Guy]

I usually do stay between 15 - 20 %, with the distance between 15 - 20 used to measure lots of things, including very good service, pretty bad kids, staying a bit long, and I do usually round up to the nearest dollar. Pretty rarely, I''ll deviate, going down to 10 or up to 25%. A very very rude server once, who tried to double my bill intentionally and get away with it, got a dime. Maybe only once I went over 25%. For barbers, taxis, carryout, I''ll usually do 15%, too.

With my wife out, I''ll be a bit more generous, too.

 

[Mara]

in terms of tipping...I usually do 20% as the norm. It''s just easier to figure out. Though I probably end up tipping more because I usually just double the final amount of the bill (aka $50 and we leave $10) and I never remove tax..which is an inflated 8.25% here.

When I met Greg he was an undertipper, barely making 15%! Now he''s always at least 16-20% as well. He always consults me while figuring it out since there have been a few times I have caught him with bad math....hehe.

aka the other night the bill was something like $60 and he goes...leave $7? I said what are you talking about! He was looking at TAX and taking the exact tax...not doubling it (to make 16.5%). He started laughing, can you imagine if he had actually left $7 on a $60 bill? It was one of our fave restaurants, they would have blackballed us! Instead, he left $12.

 

[lost on 5th]

since college students was mentioned. i must say that while in school a lot of us revised our tipping.

one summer 8 of us moved to san francisco to take internship jobs. all but one of us found a professional job. she ended up taking a position at IHOP in fishermans warf. when her take home pay averaged $28 to $30 an hour.... much more than the rest of us... we revied our tipping back to below the 20% mark!



***** in addition to the origional posting. how much do you tip on delivery food???? my girlfriend has on several occasions had the sushi delivery guy come back to ASK for more tip!!!

 

[jaysonsmom]

It really rdepends on where you''re eating, but generally dh and I tip 15% for lunch (usually work lunch, quick and childless) and under $15. For dinner we''ll tip 20-25% because we usually hang out longer, and we have messy kids.

I have a co-worker who is loaded, she doesn''t even need to work because her husband is a millionaire, and she drives a porshe Carrera to work. She is THE WORST TIPPER in the world. I HATE going to lunch with her because she''ll eat a $15 dollar meal, and then throw in $2 for tax and tip! HELLO......tax alone is over a buck, which means her tip is UNDER $1. I always end up picking up the difference. How do you tell someone that they are really CHEAP?

 

[Stephan]

Wow.
Here in Belgium, I use to tip about 5%!
And 0% at Mac Donald''s...

 

[strmrdr]

1%-25% depending on the place and service.
My town is known for low tips so they are paid more to make up for it.
The average according to friends in the business around here is 5%-8%.
Honestly I think tipping is B.S. and rarely go to places where its needed.

 

[elepri]

At least 20% if the service is good, less if I''m not happy with it.

 

[aljdewey]

Date: 4/13/2005 4:57:38 PM
Author: strmrdr

Honestly I think tipping is B.S. and rarely go to places where its needed.

Storm, I have to say this.....I completely expected this reply....lmao.

We are all knowing each other far too well these days.

 

[ForteKitty]

Date: 4/13/2005 4:52:15 PM
Author: jaysonsmom
How do you tell someone that they are really CHEAP?

Look at them, and say, "That''s all you''re tipping?".

 

[zdrastvootya]

My understanding is 15% is the minimum for decent service. However, chinatown seems to have it''s own rules: 10%. Has anyone else heard this?

Z.

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 4/13/2005 5

8:41 PM
Author: aljdewey

Date: 4/13/2005 4:57:38 PM

Author: strmrdr


Honestly I think tipping is B.S. and rarely go to places where its needed.

Storm, I have to say this.....I completely expected this reply....lmao.

We are all knowing each other far too well these days.

lol
But it’s likely not for the reason you think.
Years ago I worked as a busboy for a few weeks and the owners were big on hey we don’t pay you anything but you will make money on tips.
This lead to huge fights because everyone wanted to work the 2 days there were enough tips to make it worth while and no one wanted to work the other days.
The majority of the time you were working for peanuts.

My idea of a good night out is picking up some fried chicken and pepsi and going some place and sitting around a camp fire and/or star watching not going to some overpriced place with a ton of people around.
My wifey2b agrees :}

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 4/13/2005 5:15:11 PM
Author: zdrastvootya
My understanding is 15% is the minimum for decent service. However, chinatown seems to have it's own rules: 10%. Has anyone else heard this?


Z.

According to some people I know who own one.
Chinese food places are the absolute worst places to work for tips.
People that wouldnt think of leaving a $2 dollar tip on a $40 meal anyplace else think its fine there.
They have to pay a lot more in wages to get help.
But their help seems to stay a long time compared to other places, knowing how much your going to make each week is real nice to some people.

Thats another reason I think tips are B.S.

 

[Mara]

eeee too many nights of fried chicken and pepsi and i wouldn''t be able to fit my ass around a campfire without blocking out the light!

the best thing about being a consumer is you shop with your $$...so we have our fave restaurants for certain things, aka burrito/taco stand where we just get takeout, vs mexican sit down restaurant (yum!) vs nice dressy places vs amazing chinese food vs fun SF beach/wharf meals, etc. i love ambiance in restaurants, not that it necessarily has to be NICE, just feel appropriate for what they are trying to sell you, aka don''t sell me $50 lobster in a surf shack.

i also am a huge fan of the $10 hamburger in nice restaurants, don''t ask me why but it seems to taste REALLY good. i am totally known for getting a burger at 4 or 5 star restaurants at times.

 

[jaysonsmom]

Date: 4/13/2005 5:15:11 PM
Author: zdrastvootya
My understanding is 15% is the minimum for decent service. However, chinatown seems to have it''s own rules: 10%. Has anyone else heard this?

Z.

Unfortunately, I find this to be true. Dh is a horrible tipper when it comes to chinese restaurants. He''ll tip 10-12% and say that it''s enough because they don''t expect more than that. I''m Chinese, and I find that offensive (though true).

Funny how dh is such a great tipper at Korean Restaurants (he''s Korean)....he says it''s justified because the waitresses have tons of little dishes to bring out.

 

[flopkins]

Date: 4/13/2005 5:22:47 PM
Author: strmrdr

Date: 4/13/2005 5:15:11 PM

Author: zdrastvootya

My understanding is 15% is the minimum for decent service. However, chinatown seems to have it''s own rules: 10%. Has anyone else heard this?



Z.

According to some people I know who own one.

Chinese food places are the absolute worst places to work for tips.

People that wouldnt think of leaving a $2 dollar tip on a $40 meal anyplace else think its fine there.

They have to pay a lot more in wages to get help.

But their help seems to stay a long time compared to other places, knowing how much your going to make each week is real nice to some people.


Thats another reason I think tips are B.S.

10% is standard around SF for the Chinese places, largely because at most Chinese places (and a many asian places too, I''ve heard) the tip is not given to the servers, but all goes to the owner... so why tip if the owners getting it?!! And I have to say that in general, service at Chinese places isn''t the best...

maybe it''s a circular thing? no tips, bad service... and around and around??

The standard tip I give is double tax (since I am lazy.) Around here in bay area, that tax ranges from 8.25-8.75%, so I normally tip around 17%!

Of course, extra for great service, less for super lousy service.

 

[clammer]

I’m an above average tipper. I waitressed to put myself through school. I never made over $2.65 an hour so I know what it’s like to depend on the tips. However, being a waitress is not hard. The only part that is difficult is dealing with people. I use to work at Outback and this guy use to ask whoever was serving him to cut up his food. I am not making this up. I would smile and cut it up, but seriously if he couldn’t figure out how to cut up his own food I really don’t think he should be going out to eat. He was a terrible tipper by the way.

The only people I didn’t mind leaving low tips were some older people. There generation didn’t tip like we do today, so when they would “slip” me a dollar with a smile I knew not to take offense.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 4/13/2005 4:52:15 PM
Author: jaysonsmom


I have a co-worker who is loaded, she doesn''t even need to work because her husband is a millionaire, and she drives a porshe Carrera to work. She is THE WORST TIPPER in the world. I HATE going to lunch with her because she''ll eat a $15 dollar meal, and then throw in $2 for tax and tip! HELLO......tax alone is over a buck, which means her tip is UNDER $1. I always end up picking up the difference. How do you tell someone that they are really CHEAP?

how do you think they become millionaire ,as a rule most rich people are cheap....cheap....cheap,especially chinese.

 

[Kaili]

Date: 4/13/2005 6:44:13 PM
Author: clammer
However, being a waitress is not hard.

I respectfully disagree in a big way. I waited tables and cocktailed for more years than I like to admit to. I think it depends on the type of restaurant you serve in. I was a good server and well respected by my managers. I also worked in a few high end restaurants. It is not easy Being seated with 9 tables within a 10 minute period of time, greeting them within 1 minute and having their cocktails to them within 3, having to present the specials, advising on a list of over 400 fine wines (some coming from auction houses take very special handling), explaining to people exactly what fois gras and confit mean, opening several bottles of wine and decanting them at the same time (because everyone wants everything at the same time), performing table side presentation of osso bucco etc, balancing trays of 10 martini''s at a time, making sure that every customer is either chatted up or flirted with, putting up with bitchy people taking their days frustration out on me (even physically a few times- you''d be surprised), etc, etc, etc... I could go on forever!

When cocktailing in the Hollywood nightclubs, I got men groping me constantly

, people throwing up in their booths

, young obnoxious hollywood types doing drugs in their VIP rooms and throwing tantrums, Hip Hop/ rapper thugs threatening each other and putting hits out on the night club

... not an easy atmosphere in which to work and a bit terrifying at times. Can you imagine putting up with that in your office while you are trying to make sales or run business?

Yes, I made good money and it supported the pursuit of my "real" career, but I sure put up with a lot, worked hard, and think I gave service equalling my tips.

By the way, if servers were not tipped, restaurant owners would have to pay a higher hourly wage to get quality servers, and the cost of that would raise the cost of your food- right now you pay at least a 300% mark-up on alcohol and part of the cost of your food comes from paying the chef and kitchen staff. At least this way, you decide how much to pay the server.

 

[treysar]

Anyone who says that waiting tables is "not hard" has obviously NEVER been a waiter/waitress.