Americans - tipping etiguette?
 

I've been tipping ~the 10 to 15% mark and say $1 a drink.

I really don't get the whole tipping thing, who to and not to tip. You guys need to draw up a set of guidelines. Every motherfucker wants a tip for 15 seconds work.

Don't Tip:
Places where you order at counter, and don't have server. Some places have a "Tip" line on the credit card receipt, hoping that maybe you'll just write something in there.

For instance, Starbucks has a tip jar, but com'n... heh.

Do Tip:
Servers
Bartenders
Cab/Limo Drivers
Bell Boys/Hotel Staff (if compelled)
Movers
Hairdressers


My big issue with this too is that a lot of places have tip jars and lines on there credit card slips for tips. But we've established the service industry type people you definitely tip. So all these other places, it's like didn't I just "Buy" something from you, is that not enough? You are making a profit off of that sale (I hope).

Also with restaurants.... they pay their employees minimum wage, and pass the cost of their employees onto the customer. As if you haven't already paid enough for the food, now you are supporting their employees directly. Who ever thought of this concept is/was a brilliant business person...

(Also in some States, the restaurant owners are allowed to even pay their servers UNDER minimum wage, I've heard of servers getting like $2/hr base, because tips supposedly make up the rest)


Definitely more do's and don'ts, but those are just off the top of my head.

Thanks DJ - have pretty much guessed my way to what you have said through watching others.

How about this for an example - ask a hotel employee for directions to an area in the hotel - tip or not?

If at the end of your meal/drink you feel the need to say thanks dont tip. If you feel the need to make eye contact and say hey thanks for the great service it didn't go unnoticed, then tip what you think they're worth.

Do not tip. This should be expected of an employee of a hotel you are paying to stay at. They are not going above and beyond the call of duty.

Before doing this full time, I was a server. Yes, the restaurant industry did pay me 2.13 and hour. And I relied on my tips to make rent, eat, etc. I hear it's changed now to 4.13 per hour, which is still crap.

Servers expect minimum 15 percent and 20 percent gratuity is usually the norm. When I was a server, I worked my ass off every night. Anyone who tips less than 15 percent should eat at Burger King imho.

The definitive answer to your question can be found in the following classic GFY posts made by The Real Sinatra (an ex-pro waiter):

Bad Fucking Tippers

Mod's Please Delete "Bad Tipper" Thread

Hope this helps... :)

:stoned

ADG

I knew you're one of those penny pincher guys.

I agree with you to some extent. If I get shitty service the waiter/waitres will be lucky to get 10%.

Recently we went to olive garden for dinner and wound up with a total dumbass waitress. It seemed everytime we ask for something, like the ground red peppers or more tea or salad, she would just space us out. I ended up having to ask another waitress each time and got what I asked for right away....in the end, I gave the entire tip to the helpful waitress and I explained to the manager why I did so.

The good thing about this was, the other waitress saw us give her a tip before we left.....our terrible waitress got nothing. This is the first time I have ever done that, but I have had it with shitty servers that think they deserve a good tip for half ass service.

20% for good service

Ballers flip them Benjamins

I tip what I think the service is worth. If the servers are too busy to service me and whoever I'm with I tip less or in really bad cases not at all. Its not like its my fault if they are understaffed or whatever it is. If the servers are unhappy with that they should consider switching job to work for someone that allows them to have the needed time to service the customers or pay enough so they don't have to give a fuck about tips...

Normally I tip about 20% - 25%

Anyone who expect to be paid without providing a service should go work at burger king

Do you want boogers and spit in your food? If no then don't disparage people for their 15 seconds of work. The fact is in America where in the minimum wage is $7.25 an hour for waitresses/waiters it's $2.13 an hour. They need those tips.

It's pretty simple if you like the service then its 15% if it's REALLY good then at least 20% if it sucks then 10% or even none. I usually leave something so they know their tip sucked because of bad service and not because I just forgot to leave one. You know like maybe a quarter and a bunch of pennies. I also round up to the nearest dollar. On a $12 ticket I'm not leaving $1.80 that's kinda gay. I'll leave $2.

I personally think 20% is fucking ridiculous. I usually tip servers 15%, unless they are cool as shit and I've tipped up to 50% on a fairly large bill.

why should I tip a waiter? isn't it expected of him to take orders and serve food? :1orglaugh:1orglaugh

I think you got it twisted! it is the employer who is exploiting his workers that are the problem .. if you list an item for $10 , .. then this is what I expect to be paying if I order this .. why give an extra $1.5 or $2 for the "service" ? this is bullshit!

Hmm, well that sucks, I would have done the same thing. I was always blessed to work at higher end establishments. My guest check averages were maybe 40-60 bucks a person. I worked with professionals and usually servers who do shitty jobs do not enjoy what they do.

I, on the other hand, really did. Wine service, wine recommendations, table side service, crumbers, the whole spiel. And thankfully, I rarely had under 15 percent tips. 18-20+ percent was the norm. Also, as a foot fetishist, it was cool to look at all of the rich women's feet and shit, lmfao. I dunno..., if your older and have been in the service industry, you will usually try to gain the experience and stuff to work at nicer establishments, for the clientele.

I actually consider 20% standard unless they suck, and more than 20% for exceptional service. I don't think I've ever considered 15% unless service was only so/so. Probably because my first jobs were in the service industry. I also round up to the nearest dollar on tips.

Tips buy smiles.

you sir are a moron dipshit and an asshole. fine then we'll raise the minimum wage for waiters/waitresses to $7.25 like everyone else and ban tipping. Then the restaurant will raise the price of your item from $10 to $12 anyways. except now the waiter has no motivation to give you good service.

http://www.hotelschool.cornell.edu/chr/pdf/showpdf/chr/research/lynntippingtopost.pdf

A widespread perception in the restaurant industry is that Black patrons tip less than do White customers. As a result, many waiters and waitresses dislike waiting on tables of Black parties, resist being assigned to serve Blacks, deliver inferior service to those black customers whom they must wait on, and refuse to work in restaurants with a large Black clientele. In turn, these attitudes and behavior reduce Blacks' patronage of table-service restaurants, contribute to discrimination lawsuits against restaurants, increase costs and reduce profits of restaurants with large Black clienteles, and deter restaurant chains from opening units in predominately Black communities.

This report draws on the available research to pose and answer questions about race differences in tipping and about what servers, restaurant managers, industry organizations, and restaurant chains could do about those differences. The available research indicates the following:

Tips from Blacks are, on average, lower than those from Whites;

Black-White differences in restaurant tipping are not caused solely by race differences in socio-economic status;

Black-White differences in restaurant tipping are evident among the middle-class as well as the lower-class;

Black-White differences in restaurant tipping do not disappear when both groups get comparable service;

Blacks tip less than Whites even when the server is Black;

Blacks are much less familiar with the 15- to 20-percent restaurant tipping norm than are Whites;

Blacks tip less than do Whites in many (but not all) other service contexts; and

Asian-White and Hispanic-White differences in tipping are smaller, less robust, and have drawn less attention than Black-White differences in tipping.

have fun waiting those tables, dont get too upset over some simple comments on a message board

Yep. In AZ the server minimum wage and regular minimum wage is about 3 dollars different.

In 2007 it was 3.90 or so, then was raised to 4.15...

People who serve (food or drinks) typically get paid as little as possible.

Also, there's a loophole that if a business makes less than a certain amount per year profit they can opt to pay a shift pay which is typically FAR less than the minimum server wages.

I tip 20% minimum. If service is good I tip up to 50%. I've also been working service industry for 4 years and have done everything from work the door to bartend to DJ to manage so I know how it can be. Sometimes you'll walk with 500 bucks in a night, others you don't even break even on gas to get there.

$1 per drink is the ABSOLUTE minimum if you want to continue getting decent service or service at all.

The busier the bar and the more you want to drink, the more you should tip. Most busy bartenders don't give a shit about your order. They'd rather ring a bunch of little tabs than your big drink orders if you aren't tipping well. They just want your money.

Here's the problem with people assuming servers know you tipped poorly because the service was bad...

They just assume you're a cheap fuck.

Once you leave and they see you tipped them whatever they just assume you're a cheap ass and that's it. You're going to get shit service every time you go back to that place if anyone is there that knows your server, because they assume you're going to tip like shit for them too.

If you have bad service, tell your server as you're getting shit service. Not when you're leaving. If you do and it still sucks, get up and find the manager and tell them. Ask for another server or just leave.

But tipping poorly with no explanation really doesn't prove any points, it just makes you look bad.

i cunt afford to tip... :(

No problem next time you're in my restaurant I'll make sure the cooks spit on your food put boogers on your food and jerk off on your food.

then you can't afford to eat out either.

If the service sucked tip one penny.

My GF disagrees... Her cunt was 'Well eaten out' She says...

So many people don't even tip when it's necessary, I'd say just tip if you feel they should be tipped..

I will make sure I don't eat the food you serve me but instead use this post in combination with the food you serve as evidence I will provide to the FDA ... :thumbsup


but seriously , .. I never tip , and of course always make sure to always change restaurants.. that way I get super service, good fucking food and no tip! works out a bit cheaper that way .. and I have nothign to worry about since I am not planning on coming back anyways :thumbsup:1orglaugh:pimp

or anyone earning 2.13/hour should be working at burgerking?

Thanks everyone.

I asked the question so that I would not short change people. I understand the minimum wages is absurd in the states.

In Australia we only tip if the service is fantastic, so it's not part of the way we do things at all. Here it seems to be the norm to hand over $1 bills to everyone.

Now the next question - what in the fuck is the use of these 1cent fucking coins? I just leave the fucking things on the counter.

This is a real problem . Americans are difficult .

i tip 10% in my country, fuck them :)

I still don't get why the customer should have to make up the wages though. Surely that's not their problem ?? Food etc is expensive enough, so another "tip" on top of that seems strange to me.

If you feel like giving a tip, then fine. And the amount should be up to you. That's how it works over here.

With the shitty service most places, hardly anyone gets a tip from me mind you...

nothing. For some reason our country believes in spending 1.8 cents making a coin with a face value of 1 cent just because. A coin that most likely will end up in the trash or in a jar where it will sit for years or decades.

The point is if waiters and waitresses got paid like regular employees your meal will cost more anyways. If you think a restaurant will pay a waitress an extra $5.12 an hour and not pass the cost onto you then you are deluding yourself.

When i am travelling in the US;
I always tip 20% min.
Service sucks = 15 %
Cool ass waiter-waitress = 30-50%

I tip very well, say $5-$10+ depending on the bill.. or I'll round it off... if the nut is $24, I'll go to $30 etc...and the reason being I tend to eat at the same places in my area on a regular basis and I get great service. sometimes if I have a good week I'll even grab the check from another table and pay it as well.... then split before the other tale finds out I did... usually families with kids... once i left a $100 tip and the manager ran after me because he thought the waiter was trying to scam the bill ;)

10% if they didnt fuck up the order and just brought me our food

15% if they did a good job and made sure we had everything and didnt make us wait for anything

20% if i really enjoyed my self

30% if it is a higher end resturant

yep, it does. This was the second time we had this person. The first time was for lunch and she sucked ass totally and I told my wife we would never sit in her section again.

The second time we went, it was Valentines Day. When we were seated, I noticed we had this same person. Even though I was very reluctant to sit in her section, my wife said lets give her another chance as she might have been having a shitty day the last time we were there, so I agreed....bad mistake.

We now sit in the section of the girl that took care of things prior and we have another waitress or two that are our fav's. We did find out that we are not the only customers that complain about her service.

If I were management, I would have let this person go along time ago. I be sure each time we go to mentioned we do not want to be seated in that persons section.

On another note, I usually tip 20% if the service is good. I was once a waiter and know how hard it is to make a living off of tips, but on the other hand, I can tell when you are a shitty server......:2 cents:

I tip $10 usually. That's 5 bucks for each butt cheek.

I agree, I don't understand why you customers are expected to make up the shortfall in their wages. You have a strange system over there.

If your base tip for dinner is not 20% you're an asshole.

I'm not try to attack you, but can you clarify one thing? so $50/person x2 = $100/table...
each table leaves 20% = $20/tip/table? you can easily handle 5 tables per hour, and so you were making $100/hr?

Fucking show off.
What difference does it make if it high end or not? Or wait, define "higher end"? Fridays?

As a generous tipper, I have probably come out ahead financially. In quite a few places I frequent, most bartenders now only charge me for a fraction of the tab, and restaurant owners and management often give us free appetizers, desserts, or outright picking up the bill entirely. I don't expect it, and would still frequent those places and tip generously even if they didn't, but it's nice to be appreciated.