I just hate to not tip decently. What do you think is a fair tip amount?
Are You a Good Tipper?
- Thread starter DoctorShavegood
- Start date
I don't know if I'm a 'good' tipper, but usually my rules are 25% for excellent service, 15% for average, and a measly 5% for poor. That said, SOMETIMES there's certainly reason not to at all.
I worked long enough in the laughingly-named "hospitality industry" to get the importance of tips. It's a stupid system in many ways, and here in SoCal local dives have much better staff than la-di-dah places. "I'm an actor." "Oh, yeah? What restaurant you work at?"
So, yeah I over-tip. 25% is normal, scaling down slightly if service is terrible.
So, yeah I over-tip. 25% is normal, scaling down slightly if service is terrible.
for me it largely depends on performance. my average is about 15-20%, ive had really amazing waiters and waitresses, but they are getting fewer and further between. recently ive taken to also take into account the use of ziosks. ive had a few wait staff basically force me to use them, and have proportionally given less for tips. having been working in retail and such most of my life i also try to take into account that they have had a bad day, something large on their mind, or other things. but you are in service, to me tips are earned, so give me good performance and ill tip well.
It depends on service, but in Spain 10% - 15% is generally acceptable
When I need to send a parcel, I usually set off at around 8am so I've got time for a coffee as a "heart-starter" before the Post Office opens at 8:30.
There is a Spanish bar next door to the Post Office in Palmanova, I went in there purely on the off chance when it was raining one morning last year to have a coffee so I didn't get a wet shirt.
I sat up at the bar, ordered a Cafe Americano, and when I'd finished drinking it I felt a lot better for it, left the usual 10% tip and decided to make a point of having coffee every time I needed to send a parcel.
The following week when I went back in there, after we'd exchanged the usual courteous "Hola, buenas dias", the barman nodded and said "Cafe Americano"? to which I replied "Si, por favor"
Impressed that he remembered I left 10% and a few extra loose coins.
Every time I went in after that, we'd exchange our greetings, and the barman just used to nod and automatically start pouring me a Cafe Americano. I always left 10% with a few extra coins on top
One day I was a bit later than normal and saw that there was a covered tray of croissants and American muffins on the counter, so I decided to treat myself to a croissant.
The next time I went in at my usual time of around 8:15, long before he got the croissants on the counter, when he served me my coffee he looked at me and said "Un croissant"? I replied "Si, por favor"
He brought out a croissant fresh from the oven - which tasted great.
Ever since then, and to this day, after exchanging greetings, the barman always automatically pours me a Cafe Americano and fetches a warm croissant from the oven.
Every time I go in there I always leave 10% with some extra loose change on top.
A Cafe Americano with a croissant is only 2,90 - I'll always leave a bare minimum of 30c, whenever I've got plenty of 1c, 2c or 5c coins his tip is often closer to 50c
When I need to send a parcel, I usually set off at around 8am so I've got time for a coffee as a "heart-starter" before the Post Office opens at 8:30.
There is a Spanish bar next door to the Post Office in Palmanova, I went in there purely on the off chance when it was raining one morning last year to have a coffee so I didn't get a wet shirt.
I sat up at the bar, ordered a Cafe Americano, and when I'd finished drinking it I felt a lot better for it, left the usual 10% tip and decided to make a point of having coffee every time I needed to send a parcel.
The following week when I went back in there, after we'd exchanged the usual courteous "Hola, buenas dias", the barman nodded and said "Cafe Americano"? to which I replied "Si, por favor"
Impressed that he remembered I left 10% and a few extra loose coins.
Every time I went in after that, we'd exchange our greetings, and the barman just used to nod and automatically start pouring me a Cafe Americano. I always left 10% with a few extra coins on top
One day I was a bit later than normal and saw that there was a covered tray of croissants and American muffins on the counter, so I decided to treat myself to a croissant.
The next time I went in at my usual time of around 8:15, long before he got the croissants on the counter, when he served me my coffee he looked at me and said "Un croissant"? I replied "Si, por favor"
He brought out a croissant fresh from the oven - which tasted great.
Ever since then, and to this day, after exchanging greetings, the barman always automatically pours me a Cafe Americano and fetches a warm croissant from the oven.
Every time I go in there I always leave 10% with some extra loose change on top.
A Cafe Americano with a croissant is only 2,90 - I'll always leave a bare minimum of 30c, whenever I've got plenty of 1c, 2c or 5c coins his tip is often closer to 50c
Living in Australia the tipping thing is such a foreign concept to us. My understanding is that service staff here are paid a generally higher base salary than their counterparts in the U.S/parts of Europe and thus do not rely on tips to supplement their income.. I am also under the understanding that in Australia we generally pay more for food and beverages when eating out than the average cost of eating out in other countries to cover this higher base wage.
Thus I only tip when we receive better than average service (which these days is pretty much a smile and not having to wait more than 1/2 hour for someone to take your order) and there is often a look of surprise on the face of the cashier when you say you would like to leave a tip. These tips do not go to the individual waiter but are generally shared amongst the entire "team" working in that establishment. 10% is considered an acceptable tip.
I was on vacation early in July and we had exceptional service and fabulous food and as a result I left a tip of around 18% which was considered generous by the cashier. I must say that I prefer this method of rewarding businesses that foster a culture of exceptional service rather than feeling under pressure to tip/or not in each and every service interaction.
Thus I only tip when we receive better than average service (which these days is pretty much a smile and not having to wait more than 1/2 hour for someone to take your order) and there is often a look of surprise on the face of the cashier when you say you would like to leave a tip. These tips do not go to the individual waiter but are generally shared amongst the entire "team" working in that establishment. 10% is considered an acceptable tip.
I was on vacation early in July and we had exceptional service and fabulous food and as a result I left a tip of around 18% which was considered generous by the cashier. I must say that I prefer this method of rewarding businesses that foster a culture of exceptional service rather than feeling under pressure to tip/or not in each and every service interaction.
There's an incredible service I never come upon!
For me it's 20-25% for excellent service and then go down from there to match the level of service, the folks that work hard in this industry deserve every penny.
I generally tip at least 20 % these days and that is on the total bill not deducting the sales tax.
I get my tipping advice from Springs1.
Generally between 15 and 20 percent - less for bad service.
My tipping is not done by %. I normally eat cheep so 5 to 7 bucks is more than 20%. Then on ocation i might have an expensive meal 100+. Im surely not going to give then 25 to 30 bucks when they didn't do any more than the service i got at the cheep place.
Call me cheep if you will but it only seems fair. And the cook SHOULD get half but that never happens.
Call me cheep if you will but it only seems fair. And the cook SHOULD get half but that never happens.
20% to 25%. Everyone deserves to be paid for their labor.
I never understood calculating tip as a percentage of the bill.
Who cares if you had a $5 burger or a $45 three course meal? If the service was good the tip is good, and vice versa. I think it is more appropriate to tip in comparison to wages. Example: hourly wage of about $10 for a server in a particular region. I would tip an hour worth of wages for approximately an hour worth of average service. Better service yields more. Terrible service would yield no tip- my equivalent of firing that person!
Who cares if you had a $5 burger or a $45 three course meal? If the service was good the tip is good, and vice versa. I think it is more appropriate to tip in comparison to wages. Example: hourly wage of about $10 for a server in a particular region. I would tip an hour worth of wages for approximately an hour worth of average service. Better service yields more. Terrible service would yield no tip- my equivalent of firing that person!
Varies. If I order a $100 bottle of wine I am not giving them $20 for opening it, so I generally run 15-20$% of the food bill + a couple bucks for the wine. About the only place I order a bottle of wine anymore got rid of the sommeliers so the expertise on wines is gone, most the wait staff has a deer in headlights look when I ask about wines.
I tip 20% after rounding my bill up to the next $5.00 increment, a $22 bill would be tipped at $25. If the service was really bad due to the server not the kitchen I occasionally lower my tip to 15%, on extremely rare occasions %10. I also tip the barber 20% based on the same $5 increment adjustment.
Minimum wages are increasing in large jumps, $7.50/hr jumping to $12-$15/hr, based on the demand that is a living wage. When that happens my tipping will be increasingly based on the quality of the service which will have to be darned good to deserve 20 percent.
Minimum wages are increasing in large jumps, $7.50/hr jumping to $12-$15/hr, based on the demand that is a living wage. When that happens my tipping will be increasingly based on the quality of the service which will have to be darned good to deserve 20 percent.
Aaron:
Depends how good my service is (usually at least 10%).
"Good service should make you feel tip-sy". CBJ
Depends how good my service is (usually at least 10%).
"Good service should make you feel tip-sy". CBJ
The "tipping" concept as originally conceived has over the years become bastardized into what is now an entitlement. In many situations (even some mentioned here) the patron somehow is led to believe that even sub-standard service should be "rewarded", just at a lower dollar amount. That is an anomoly with which I have a hard time.
My mother worked to help support a family as a waitress for decades; tips were certainly a major concern when it came to making a living wage. Notwithstanding..I have never nor shall I ever agree with the concept of "tipping" as it is practiced today.
Should a business owner decide to raise prices on food, beverage, etc., in order to pay staff a fitting wage not dependent on gratuities, I think that is just fine. In situations where one is a "regular" in an establishment, believe me...how you are treated is DIRECTLY related to the amount of gratuity you have a history of leaving. You are essentially buying preferential treatment. I am just not sure I can support that idea.
Oh..to answer the question..18%-20%. Maybe a tad higher. I pretty much round off the pre-tax total of the bill, divide that number by 10 (easy to do..just move the decimal over one) and multiply by two. Then round off to the nearest dollar. I have to laugh when I see people whipping out the "Tip Calculating" cards or using an app on their smartphone to figure out how much to leave.
My mother worked to help support a family as a waitress for decades; tips were certainly a major concern when it came to making a living wage. Notwithstanding..I have never nor shall I ever agree with the concept of "tipping" as it is practiced today.
Should a business owner decide to raise prices on food, beverage, etc., in order to pay staff a fitting wage not dependent on gratuities, I think that is just fine. In situations where one is a "regular" in an establishment, believe me...how you are treated is DIRECTLY related to the amount of gratuity you have a history of leaving. You are essentially buying preferential treatment. I am just not sure I can support that idea.
Oh..to answer the question..18%-20%. Maybe a tad higher. I pretty much round off the pre-tax total of the bill, divide that number by 10 (easy to do..just move the decimal over one) and multiply by two. Then round off to the nearest dollar. I have to laugh when I see people whipping out the "Tip Calculating" cards or using an app on their smartphone to figure out how much to leave.
Used to be that standard was 15% and good was 20 and up. Now that they are pushing for 20 to be the new standard, I eat out less. It has to stop somewhere.
