Tipping

[kenny]

We often hear people say 15% or 20%... but 15% or 20% of what?

Food before drinks and tax?
Food and drinks before tax?
Food and drink after tax?

It makes a big difference.

 

[Autumnovember]

We often hear people say 15% or 20%... but 15% or 20% of what?

Food before drinks and tax?
Food and drinks before tax?
Food and drink after tax?

It makes a big difference.

We usually tip 15 to 20% food and drinks before tax, recently we stopped being generous unless we really felt like we were getting really good service. I've had some bad experiences lately with waiters/waitresses.

 

[tyty333]

15-20% on food/drinks before tax

 

[zoebartlett]

I always thought the rule of thumb was to tip 15-20% (or whatever) of food and drink before tax. We tend to tip 15-20% of the total bill though.

 

[Iowa Lizzy]

We usually figure 20% of the total bill and go up or down from there. If the service was exceptional (server went above and beyond) then we'll do 25%-30%. If the service was well below what we would expect, it is around 10%-15%. I rarely just never tip.

Sometimes I think everyone should have to work in the service industry at least once in their life to get an understanding of what it's like to work for tips. For example, when I was in college, I worked as a cocktail waitress at a nightclub. I would watch guests slide a dollar to a bartender when all he did was take off a cap from a bottled beer and yet if they ordered from the table and I would have to go to the bar, get the beer and bring it to them, they wouldn't tip me at all. If I'm at a bar that has cocktail waitresses, I always try to order from them and leave them a nice tip. If I'm at a coffee shop and I'm ordering at the counter, I just give them the loose change. As far as I know, baristas make at least minimum wage and don't "rely" on tips.

I also try to tip in cash even if I'm using a credit/debit card to pay the bill.

When I was a server, I made $3.25/hour. That's $26 for an eight hour shift.

 

[iheartscience]

I swear you started (or at least participated) in a thread exactly like this several years ago, kenny!

And I tip 20% before taxes. Usually a little more if it's good service. I won't notice the buck or two and the server will.

 

[princesss]

We usually figure 20% of the total bill and go up or down from there. If the service was exceptional (server went above and beyond) then we'll do 25%-30%. If the service was well below what we would expect, it is around 10%-15%. I rarely just never tip.

Sometimes I think everyone should have to work in the service industry at least once in their life to get an understanding of what it's like to work for tips. For example, when I was in college, I worked as a cocktail waitress at a nightclub. I would watch guests slide a dollar to a bartender when all he did was take off a cap from a bottled beer and yet if they ordered from the table and I would have to go to the bar, get the beer and bring it to them, they wouldn't tip me at all. If I'm at a bar that has cocktail waitresses, I always try to order from them and leave them a nice tip. If I'm at a coffee shop and I'm ordering at the counter, I just give them the loose change. As far as I know, baristas make at least minimum wage and don't "rely" on tips.

I also try to tip in cash even if I'm using a credit/debit card to pay the bill.

When I was a server, I made $3.25/hour. That's $26 for an eight hour shift.

According to my friends that work in coffee shops, they actually DO rely on tips - they are paid less than minimum wage with the expectation that they will get tips.

And I generally tip between 15-20% of the total bill. Dating a waiter for so long made me a little more generous than I would have been before he was seriously relying on them.

 

[KimberlyH]

I double the tax (CA) and throw in a bit extra.

 

[elrohwen]

20% on the final bill - food, drinks, and tax included. It seems common to tip on the total bill here - all of my friends and family do it. I'll tip 15% if the service is bad.

Also, if we use a coupon or something, we tip on the amount before the bill was reduced.

 

[yssie]

We double the CA tax and round up to the dollar as the norm too. I have no problem not leaving a tip if the service is bad (without explanation or apology), and we'll do 25% if we're really happy.

 

[athenaworth]

I double the tax (CA) and throw in a bit extra.

That's what I do too. But here in LA double the tax is basically 20% so that's pretty good.

 

[OUpearlgirl]

18% of the total bill is where I start. I go up or down depending on service.

Where I waited tables, I had to tip out to the bartender's a percentage of my sales, so if you tipped me and didn't count in the drinks that would be a bit of a hit to my earnings for the evening.

 

[MishB]

I've asked this question before on forums, but never gotten a decent answer.

I'm Australian, in Australia, tipping isn't expected or the norm because restaurant staff get paid decent wages. However, lots of restaurants, bars, coffee shops here manage to make good profits while paying their staff. So in the USA, if the restaurant doesn't actually pay the staff more than a few dollars per hour, are they making huge profits? Or are the profits eaten up in other ways (govt taxes licences etc, we have those too here)?

NB - food here isn't more expensive than in the USA, a main course (entree?) in a very nice restaurant costs about 35-40 AUD.

 

[sunnyd]

I double the tax (CA) and throw in a bit extra.

That's what I do too. But here in LA double the tax is basically 20% so that's pretty good.

Me too. WA tax is 9.8% or something ridic, so we double the tax and add a dollar or something. And I completely with TravelGoddess regarding everyone working in a service type job once in their life. You can always tell the people who haven't - they're cranky when things aren't absolutely perfect.

 

[meresal]

DH and I almost always tip 20% of the final bill... unless the service was horrendous(which I don't think I have had in a couple years). As far as tipping for great service (see below). WE eat pretty quickly and I don't think you can get really great service in 30 minutes. However, if we are talking about a big group or an extended period of time, then we definitely tip alot more.

Unless we are at a sports bar/restaurant wacthing the UFC fight or some game, and use the table for an extended period of time, we will leave around $20-30.

The restaurant that I worked at also tipped out the bartenders, however, we were on the honor system to give 10% of our total tips, not total sales like OU. That would have made me alot more irritated some nights.

There was a thread recently about whether or not people tip for take-out/pick-up/and delivery... it got pretty in depth, lol.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I hate these threads. Brings up bad memories. I tip 20+% after tax. If you can't afford it, eat at home.

 

[Bunny007]

I calculate based on after tax, usually 20%, although I do tip less for terrible service.

ETA: Why would you calculate based on total before drinks? Serving drinks seems to require just as much effort as serving food, no?

 

[starryeyed]

It depends where I am. In Europe and the UK (and similar), I round up - like if the bill is 33 Euros, I leave 35.

In the US, it also depends where I am. If dinner and drinks cost $250, I leave 15-20% of the pre-tax amount, depending on the level of service. If dinner and drinks cost $30, I leave 20% of total amount if the service was good, barely 15% of the pre-tax amount if the service stunk and the waiter/waitress had attitude.

I'm at a loss at Dunkin Donuts though. I often like to buy a coffee and get rid of loose change, so I pay exact. But I'm not going to give the counter person a dollar on a $2 beverage. Then I feel dumb digging around for a quarter and holding up the line, so I wind up not tipping. That makes me feel bad too.

It bothers me that everywhere you go, there's a tip jar. Even where the counter person makes a regular wage. So next time, will they spit in my drink because I didn't put a dime in the tip jar?

 

[katamari]

For a table service meal, I always 20% of the entire bill (tax included) and more if service is great.
For carryout, I usually tip 10-15%.
$1 for a beverage (unless it is at a bar where we run a tab and pay 20% of the total tab).
$1 per person for a restaurant that has a busser or drink refiller, but no table service.

I agree with Tacori that if you don't want to pay the tip, you eat at home or at a restaurant that doesn't offer table service.
DH and I also try as hard as possible to not go out to eat at a restaurant with table service with people who tip less than 20%.

 

[Gypsy]

Hubby says AFTER taxes and that's what we do. I STILL say before taxes, and that's what I do when he's not around. Oh, and 'we' tip 20 to 25%. Hubby starts at twenty something. I start at twenty and go down if the service is bad. You really have to mess up with me to get less than 15% and the bill has to be large. At coffee shops or other places where the bill is 10 bucks or under I will give more than 20%.I don't tip at fast food, and Dunkin Donuts, to me, is fast food.

 

[meresal]

I calculate based on after tax, usually 20%, although I do tip less for terrible service.

ETA: Why would you calculate based on total before drinks? Serving drinks seems to require just as much effort as serving food, no?

Bunny, IMO it isn't really a per drink thing... to me, it really only comes into account when you purchase, say, a $75 bottle of wine. Would you tip them $15 for uncorcking the bottle and refilling your glasses the 2 times it takes to finish it off? (Not to mention, lots of restaurants upcharge wine/spirits in the 300-500% range)

We never order expensive bottles at restaurants because of this. If I feel like wine, I order one glass with my dinner. And yes, I wil give 20% of my $8-14 glass.

 

[Indylady]

About 20% of the total bill pre-tax.

 

[vip0802]

i couldn't agree more with Travel Goddess and Tacori E-ring. i always tip no less than 20% (combined food & drink after tax) and have no problems tipping more if the service was good. obviously less if it was bad, but never less than 15%. i guess i've been pretty lucky and never had completely horrible service. for carryout, i always leave 15%.

i've been a waitress, a cocktail waitress and a bartender. i've also worked at places where you had to split tips w/ bartenders, bus boys and food servers, and worked at places where i had to be all of those things. either way, that 20% is well deserved IMHO.

 

[missydebby]

Hey Kens, good question. I usually tip 15 - 20% before tax. You know, I never really mind for waitresses. What gets me is "having" to tip everyone... hairdressers, nail techs, baristas, cab drivers. Ugh. I don't want to be a jerk, and I sympathize with everyone's plight... just I hate feeling like my wallet is a sieve and never having a good sense, when I'm in the States, of how much it's all gonna end up costing me.

Here in Holland, it's so much easier it kills me. Taxes are already included in everything, so when you see the price on like a sweater or something, that's the exact price that comes up on the register. Does the price tag say $22.95? That's how much your asked for when you go to pay. No surprises. And tipping is not the custom. If you are so moved (almost no one ever is cause it's not expected), just leaving anything is like an "oh wow" moment for the server. So like if you tip 2% or a couple of Euro, you're a hero.

 

[hihowareyou]

I never tip!


Because down here it just isn't a custom and workers don't rely on them for income.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

When I was a server, I made $3.25/hour. That's $26 for an eight hour shift.

I made $2.15 but NEVER saw a paycheck. Our tips were automatically reported so it all went towards taxes. In the restaurant I was a server we HAD to tip 5% of our food sales that was split between the bartenders, bus staff, and greeters and on busy nights an additional 1% to a food runner. Also, people, tip BEFORE the discount if you use a coupon. You are already saving money so don't punish the server.

 

[stephbolt]

As another former server, I generally tip 20% on the food/drink before taxes. If the service is really bad I will go down to 15%, and if it's great up to 25%. When I used to wait tables, we had to tip out the bar and our food runner on our total sales.

If I use a coupon, I tip on the total before the discount.

And finally, I always tip at least $5 (even if my total is only like $15 or so), just because I remember how depressing those tables that only left you $2 or $3 were.

 

[steph72276]

I almost always tip 20% of the total bill, unless service was absolutely horrible. I agree, if you can't afford to give the server a decent tip, eat at home!

 

[Miss Sparkly]

I've asked this question before on forums, but never gotten a decent answer.

I'm Australian, in Australia, tipping isn't expected or the norm because restaurant staff get paid decent wages. However, lots of restaurants, bars, coffee shops here manage to make good profits while paying their staff. So in the USA, if the restaurant doesn't actually pay the staff more than a few dollars per hour, are they making huge profits? Or are the profits eaten up in other ways (govt taxes licences etc, we have those too here)?

NB - food here isn't more expensive than in the USA, a main course (entree?) in a very nice restaurant costs about 35-40 AUD.

I've wondered that myself and actually made a comment in the other tipping thread about it. In my state servers are paid $3.25 per hour and then the tips make up the difference between that an min. pay. If it's really bad service then I have no problems leaving nothing - bad being they put the food on my table, never came back and I had to hunt somebody down to get the check.

 

[Nashville]

I always tip on everything, tax included. 20% for good service, 25-30% for awesome service, 50% for exceptional service.

If the service was bad (and I mean horrid), I get a manager but usually still doll out 15%... I served for a couple years so I know how much it sucks, but I also know if you want tips you gotta earn them!