Most people waiting table could only make $7 an hour at another job, so if I am at my table for 30 minutes and they have at least one other table then I leave $1.75 tip. If that's not enough money then try telemarketing.

Automatic tipping is absurd, it never should have gotten to that point. Unfortunately it's part of everything now to the point where people get a shiatty wage *because* they're going to get tips.

I tip 15% if the service was adequate, but have almost no upper limit if the service is exceptional. If the service isn't good, the tip is less. I may have had a couple of times in my life where I didn't tip at all, but it was from the server being actively rude and insulting.

I *REFUSE* to tip at places where you go to a counter and pick up your stuff. Tipping at donut shops and sandwich places? fark them, wait on me and serve me and you get a tip.

i tip off the cops to the drug dealing in the kitchen.

It's always been 20%, cheapo!

At my favorite eatery, 24 percent on the total bill for what I usually choose. They have smiles even for those who tip considerably less too, I've noticed.

There's an "advice" tag?

Kuta follows my exact same formula.

And "Tip Jars" at walk up counters, and even better Drive-Thru windows are a joke and get nothing ... Me going to you isn't a tipworthy service.

I just tip 20% because the math is easy.

Kuta

You should never ever ever tip for subpar service. You only encourage them to feel entitled to more than what they're working for.

I don't tip based on percentage - That is lame as shiat. They work the same amount whether you order the lobster or the chicken fingers. I give more if they're busy or doing a good job, and if they are doing both they get a huge tip. I've left tips greater than the cost of my meal before.

under 10% if the service is inexcusably bad
10% if the service is acceptable
15% if they do a good job
20% if the service is really good
25%+ if its really exceptional

$1-$2 per drink at the bar.

Once a month, I bring home a huge order of groceries from the store by taxi. It's only a $5 trip, but I give $10 and tell them to keep the change - the taxi driver usually responds by spending 5-10 minutes helping me carrying my groceries from the parking lot and down the stairs. Worth it for the reduced back pain.

$5 minimum for showing up/acceptable service, 15-20% for good service, 30% if they're spectacular or I'm being a pain, 50% if I'm with my grandmother. It also depends where I am; I tip more in Arizona than in Seattle because "server wage" is BS.

Alcohol's the real sticking point for me. I'm not going to tip $40 on a $200 bottle of wine if you didn't even push it on me. If you didn't convince me to buy it, the amount of work you did isn't any more than if it were a bottle of beer.

/server and chef

My girlie and I always tip 17-20%. It's hard work, and I think they deserve it.

I wouldn't mind tipping 20% if tax on food weren't 7%

Unshavenhelga

Wait a minute. An American goes to Europe without studying the cultural expectations (ie. tipping, etc), and he's an asshat. Europeans come here and do the same and we should excuse them?

Bullshiatto, buddy.

Part of the problem here may be that some European tourists don't ignorantly tip what they would at home, but that they actually informed themselves and tipped what their ten year old guide book said they should.

They might be neither cheap, nor generally uninformed, but simply out of date.

Here are the rules

If the service is bad, I give them nothing. Sometimes I write a nasty message.

If they do what they're told and smile they get 15% - 20%.

If they're outstanding, offer advice for the wine or give free/extra num-nums they get 30% - 40%.

These people are servants. They get paid based on how well they serve. If they don't like being servants, then they can go find a job where they don't serve people. There are plenty of non-service oriented jobs that uneducated, socially ignorant people can do.

Wow with all these advice and survey threads I'm ready to hit the ground running this week.

Thank you for improving my life, Fark!

As for tipping, it's already been mentioned, but here in NYC I just double the tax and round up a little.

Oh, I have a question. I ordered delivery from a pizzeria today. It's a fairly classy one in that they recently did a renovation and it's now a nice restaurant with like a wine list and a wood burning oven and all. Classy. Anyway, I ordered a $12 lasagna and $13 dollar calzone for delivery. They charge $1.50 for delivery. I gave the guy an additional $1.20 ($30 for a $28.80 bill). Am I a douchebag?

Normally I give about $3 tip to deliveries from this place, and most other places. I dunno why I didn't today, it didn't take long or anything. Weird.

I tip between 15 and 20 percent for average service. A little higher for places I frequent.

I heard of a guy who put the tip out on the table when he was seated and very conspicuously removed money from it at each infraction of the waiter.

10-25% depending on the price of meal (not their fault you bought a cheap meal), quality of service, duration of stay, etc. 15% is normal/good... but I'm a Canadian, and we have a reputation for being bad tippers, so I'm told.

People who say they tip 20% or more usually tip less than 10% if at all.

i've always tipped in the neighborhood of 20% just because it's easy to calculate (carry the decimal and double it).

i tip over 20% at the restaurants i love.

Usually I tip 20%. It's just easier to calculate in my head.
I'm not afraid to leave two pennies under a glass though.
I've done that once because the waitress ignored my entire table, didn't serve us until two hours later, and when she did, she forgot my order.

TheFergus: I figure, to be honest, that lets say a server makes $8/hour. Maybe they serve three tables an hour. Even if they made a $2 tip per table they're almost doubling their income. To me, that's enough. I somewhat agree that we can offer them a gratuity for good service because they earn low wages, but I fail to understand why more than a few bucks a "serving" is necessary when cumulatively that would stand to almost double their wages in a typical setting.

What the fark are you talking about?

8 dollars?

In most places it is closer to 2 bucks an hour and all of that is eaten up by taxes.

Tips are literaly what most waitresses are living off of.

I cannot STAND tipping. Why, why, why, does this nonsensical and antiquated system still exist? Please get rid of it, for everyone's sake.

Simply incorporate it into the menu cost of items and pay the wait-staff a fair wage.

99% of professions do not get tipped by customers for a very good reason. It's a huge annoyance to them and it no longer serves a realistic purpose.

There is NO GOOD REASON for it. Other countries that have already dissolved it have the right idea.

If a server makes less than the federal minimum wage cause business is bad, they HAVE to be paid minimum wage. Not 2.13 an hour as it is in US.

I utterly fail to see why a good bartender working a busy night can make more than an RN working a busy night.

/no clue if this is judged weekly or by shift
//i am right though as usual
///flare s*cks

They charge $1.50 for delivery. I gave the guy an additional $1.20 ($30 for a $28.80 bill). Am I a douchebag?

Yes

I just round up. Sometimes it's 10% sometimes it's 40%.

I try to tip very well, usually about 20 percent, but only at places that warrent having a tip given, like a nice sit down restaurant. Somewhere like Denny's usually gets 15.

I went to a steak house last night and dropped 12 bucks on a 68 dollar tab which was in between. Now that I think about it I should have left more, the lady was very nice.

I've worked in enough food service jobs to know who deserves what. No sorry, I'm not going to drop anything except maybe my change that I don't want jangling around in my pocket into your tip cup at Starbucks or Subway.

I'll usually tip at places where some service has been made but not as much, like a buffet, for example. Someone does occasionally come by and take my dishes, but since you don't refill my coffee you only get 10 percent.

I'll tip a cabbie if he/she has to load bags, or drives me like a maniac to where I need to go and has decent conversation.

Always tip your bartender and waitress. WELL
I usually don't tip at a strip club. You're going to take them off whether I tip or not, and I'm certainly NOT getting a happy ending. You're only being nice to me because you want a tip. I'm only there because they have cheap food. Seriously, get your twat out of my burger basket.

Haircuts, usually I tip well especially if you are someone I've had a few times and make my hair look nice.

I think that's about it. I'm not too worldly so I don't have to worry about bellhops, concierge service, (whatever the hell that is) tipping my bookie, etc etc.

All in all I think it would work depending on how much you spend, if you spend more tip more, not just because of the percentage, but the percentage itself would go up, since usually the more you spend on something the nicer of an experience it is.

My girlfriend always leaves AT LEAST $5, even if it's a cheap tab. She usually tips 20% too.
Because she's waited tables, she knows how it is.

If she cute and gives good customer service I usually tip more

I used to work as a pizza driver and as a waiter. I usually tip $0 - $2 bucks depending on how generous I am feeling regardless of the bill. If the pay was so bad these people should find a new job. I know I did.

Bill Frist

You also have to consider that the server has to "tip out" to the bus boy, bartender, etc. Plus, generally, only a few hours will be busy hours, the rest is dead time. How often do you have lunch at 3?

My only problem with tipping on a percentage is that waitpersons don't work any harder at fru-fru restaurants than they do Denny's - often times, less. I went to the fru-fru restaurant at the Hard Rock in Vegas about a month ago. We paid an obscene amount of money for some average food. Our total bill for four of us was about $250. A lot of it was drinks - but who cares. Is it harder to pour a 25 year old McCallan than it is to open a Schlitz? No. So am I supposed to shell out a $50 tip because I have expensive taste, when I get the same service I get at Denny's? Seriously, our waitress stopped at our table twice to see if 1) we needed anything else with our dinner, and 2) to find out if we wanted dessert. Did she deserve $50 for around 20 minutes worth of work that she did for us?

/still tipped the worthless biatch $50.

I really like the tip jars at fast food places.

People expect a tip for taking your order, when you will get your own drinks, napkins etc and carry your food to your table and are expected to clear your own table.

If its great service I'll leave 20%, decent 15%, and if they REALLY sucked, I'll leave a penny. On my credit card slip, just to get the point across.

If you're having a shiatty day put a smile on and deal with it or don't come to work. I've worked retail and was told the same thing by my supervisors.

/Callous bastard
//Yes I know I'm bitter
///fark off

Bill Frist

Those of us who live in first world countries have minimum wages that actually apply to all disciplines, including waitstaff.

I tip whatever the local custom is, which in most parts of the states is 18-20%. But, it's a stupid custom designed primarily to avoid having to pay people in the first place, which doesn't say much for the usual "I respect their professionalism" line.

As professional things go, the requisite fee should not be determined by a sick combination of begging, pity and ostentation. I prefer places where the service fee is included in everything. It's amazing how much more professional the service is and how much less abusive the behavior is from those being served.

10-15% depending on service.

20% if they are very very nice or very very HOT and nice

20% always.

/pastry chef
//only eat where I know people

0% if the service sucked
10-15% if the service is on-par
15-25% if I like the server, and they did a good job.

But lately, 25-30%, as my daughter throws food like an Olympian.

You could always go to a fast food restaurant. Tipping will get you strange looks and your food is made with no regard to how much you pay.

a tip is a performance incentive

performance sucks = crappy tip

After reading....



20% for good service, 15% for average service. I know too many people who busted their butts waiting tables for pittance.

I just had a waiter at Chili's throw away my signed credit card statement leaving him 3.85 on a 21.15 bill, and then catch an 8 dollar tip on my credit card statement. I go back to the place to say I didn't want to leave a 38 percent tip for ordinary service, and then they produce the customer copy, unsigned, with an 8 dollar tip scribbled in what was not my handwriting. And they tell me tough luck, because that's all they have record of. They couldn't care less that one of their employees, named right on the receipt, scalped me and hoped I wouldn't notice.

What planet of bad service are these people from?

20% is standard.

15-20% for "sub par"

20%+ if they did an exceptional job or made the night special

When I was waiting, I expected ~18% from the customers (unless they were European), and certainly less as I was busier and less able to attend to them.

I refuse to tip more than $1 per drink, unless it's an expensive martini/mix drink. I will tip around $3 for 5 poured shots.

If I'm out with the guys, or a group and it's more guys than gals, and we get a male waiter when there's clearly waitressess on shift, I tip zilch.

akulaalfa: They charge $1.50 for delivery. I gave the guy an additional $1.20 ($30 for a $28.80 bill). Am I a douchebag?

Yes

Yeah, that's what I thought. I figure I'll even out the karma next time and give a little more.