reason for and amount of tips

[frank]

I go to restaurants and leave a 15% tip, I go to the barber shop and leave a tip. I hate to tip. I wish they would just raise the price of a haircut so I would know what it would cost everybody would leave happy. restaurants are my worst, I avoid going to a sit down restaurant with waitress's because I always feel cheated when I have to pay the tab and an extra 15%. I think they should just raise the price of the meal, and subsidize the wait staff and the bus boys accordingly, so that when I look at the menu I could say this is what it cost, and we would both be happy. I know that the waitress and staff don't get paid much and they have to live, but I see a lot of people leaving huge tips, maybe for great service, I don't know, it's just gotten to the point that people are viewed as pariah's if they don't leave enough tip for the service people when their wages should be livable and paid to them. If they can't make a living working in a place they should make an effort to move up, more education, etc. I know bartenders and people who work in pizza places and they want to work the tables because they take home hundreds in tips nightly, whether its taxed or not I don't know. I just think it would be fair to everyone involve if you knew what it would cost going in and there would be not bad feelings later.

 

[travelover]

I know how much it will cost when I go in. The price on the menu, plus 15%.

 

[sheldon cornped]

Agree with you in most cases....except for restaurants which the new norm is 20%. One of my only pet peeves is when dining out, the people you are paying the meal for are telling you what you should tip......(daughter who is a waitress, plus her mom). That's my hot button.....

 

[Pajaro]

This doesn't answer your question, but after years of living in Europe and South America, I'm a big fan of the US style of tipping because it produces better service. A waiter who has to make the customer happy in order to get a nice tip typically tries to make the customer happy. A fixed price waiter will spend a lot of time avoiding the customer. I waited tables for many years in the US and can speak from experience on this.

 

[pimpmyretirement]

Tipping is a great deal. I'd hate when the amount is included in the cost of services. If someone does a bad job, I don't want to pay it. If someone does a good job, I want control of their compensation.

For eating out:

1. If you can't afford to tip 20%, you can't afford to eat there.

2. The tip applies to the price of the meal before coupons as well.

When dining with others, that couple extra bucks lets everyone know you are a generous and caring person. What an easy way to improve your reputation.

If my hair dresser does a decent job, I give her a 25% tip. It only costs an extra dollar or two and makes her feel really happy. How often can you buy happiness for so little?

 

[Webzter]

Tipping is a great deal. I'd hate when the amount is included in the cost of services. If someone does a bad job, I don't want to pay it. If someone does a good job, I want control of their compensation.

+1. We rarely eat out but we're generous tippers when we do if the service is good.

I did once leave a 200% tip but that's another story... and not a terribly interesting one at that. Oh, and a 100% tip once.... but it's almost always only in the 10-20% range (and a very rare 0%)

 

[frank]

"If my hair dresser does a decent job, I give her a 25% tip. It only costs an extra dollar or two and makes her feel really happy. How often can you buy happiness for so little? " at a 25% tip you are getting your hair done for between 4 and 8 dollars. I can see how you can afford a tip.

 

[Glo]

I agree with frank's comments, but we live in the real world and that's not how it is. If you don't want to tip, stay home and cook.

We go to a "no-tipping" salon for haircuts; the cost for both of our haicuts is $60. We do give a generous Christmas gift as we have the same person do our hair each time.

 

[samclem]

I don't mind the current system. If the prices were higher to improve the wages of waitresses/waiters, the cost would be the same (or more) and service would be worse. It's nice to be able to reward good service and to send a subtle hint when things weren't so great (always leave something. A 2% tip says "I didn't forget the tip. I wish things had been different." Don't park where they can see your car if you leave a 2% tip. And don't risk going back.) I also don't stick to a hard percentage--If the bill is very high, the waiter is probably going to get closer to 15% (plus or minus depending on service), if we're at Waffle House the waiter is more likely to get 30%. The waitress at the Waffle House is doing about the same job, working just as hard, and probably under worse conditions than the waitress at l"Flambe du Matise--if the eggs are hot and the coffee is kept topped off, then she should get a higher %.

 

[haha]

Tipping is a great deal. I'd hate when the amount is included in the cost of services. If someone does a bad job, I don't want to pay it. If someone does a good job, I want control of their compensation.

For eating out:

1. If you can't afford to tip 20%, you can't afford to eat there.

2. The tip applies to the price of the meal before coupons as well.

When dining with others, that couple extra bucks lets everyone know you are a generous and caring person. What an easy way to improve your reputation.

If my hair dresser does a decent job, I give her a 25% tip. It only costs an extra dollar or two and makes her feel really happy. How often can you buy happiness for so little?

Agree with all of this. It is always cheaper to eat at home, cut your own hair, mix your own drinks. Therefore, if you go out for any of these things, you are going for the experience, not for the goods.

You want a good experience? Plan to tip 20-25%, relax, and watch the servers make your outing fun. Like one of my first girlfriends said, when I was busily adding and subtracting and stressing over a check.

Come on Ha, be a sport. A girl likes a sport.

Ha

 

[FUEGO]

I just mentally add the price of tax+tip to menu items when I order. So where I live that adds roughly 25% (allowing for 15-16% tip). An $8 lunch plate just costs $10. Simple math. Just a cost of doing business. I don't necessarily like the system, but the alternative is not eating out.

 

[Gone4Good]

I don't mind tipping when service makes up a significant component of the value I'm receiving. I do mind that we've turned almost every cash register worker in the country into panhandlers complete with a collection jar and 'witty' signage . . . 'Karma's a boomerang', 'tipping only hurts cows', 'support counter intelligence' . . .

 

[Mulligan]

I pay the 20%, but remember the good old days of 10% and preferred that! I do have a tipping etiquette question though. We have been buying a bottle of wine occasionally when we eat out. My GF says you don't pay the 20% of that cost. I have continued to pay for it, but it does seem wrong. Just to walk over and uncork or twist off the top results in doubling the tip with little increased service to the whole experience. What is the correct procedure?

 

[donheff]

At restaurants I tip 20% and round up. And as others said above, always tip on the full amount before coupons or other discounts. What to tip in other situations is confusing so I just try to remember to be on the generous side. When I drove a cab 40+ years ago I depended on tips for reasonable earnings. If you don't want to tip eat at home and take the bus, don't stiff the waiter.

 

[samclem]

I do mind that we've turned almost every cash register worker in the country into panhandlers complete with a collection jar and 'witty' signage . . . 'Karma's a boomerang', 'tipping only hurts cows', 'support counter intelligence' . . .

Yep, I generally don't pitch in and make the problem worse.

Also, if we're having a meal as group and the tip is automatically added in, we pay EXACTLY that amount, and make it a point to let the waiter know that's OUR policy and that he/she probably could have done better without management's "assistance." I'll let the waiters put pressure on mgmt to change things.

 

[donheff]

I pay the 20%, but remember the good old days of 10% and preferred that! I do have a tipping etiquette question though. We have been buying a bottle of wine occasionally when we eat out. My GF says you don't pay the 20% of that cost. I have continued to pay for it, but it does seem wrong. Just to walk over and uncork or twist off the top results in doubling the tip with little increased service to the whole experience. What is the correct procedure?

I have never heard about skipping the wine price on tips. A better solution is to drink water since wine prices are vastly inflated in most restaurants. Then you can drink the good stuff at home. Go with sparkling water to splurge

 

[Andre1969]

Honestly I'm not crazy about the idea of a 20% tip, either. And I remember when 10% was the norm. The problem as I see it is that the waitstaff get an automatic raise every time the food prices go up anyway, regardless of the percentage. So what's the rationale for the percentage increase?

I waited tables 20 years ago, and back then 10% was about the norm. And on top of that, I pretty much did EVERYTHING. I took the order, brought the drinks, salads, appetizers, main courses, desserts, etc, and cleaned up the tables afterward and took the dirty dishes to the bus tubs.

Nowadays, at many places, often the waiter just takes the order. Someone else brings the drinks and refills them, you have a "foodrunner" who brings out the food, and then a bus boy who cleans the table and takes away the dishes. About all the waiter really does after taking the order is check up on you to makes sure everything's okay.

So, it seems like the waiter is getting more money, for less actual work. I realize they have to split the tip among all those other people, but at the same time, do they really NEED all those other people?

That being said, I do usually tip 20%. And if it's at a cheaper restaurant, which is usually the one where the waiter or waitress is more likely to be doing everything themselves, I tend to tip a little higher.

 

[donheff]

Nowadays, at many places, often the waiter just takes the order. Someone else brings the drinks and refills them, you have a "foodrunner" who brings out the food, and then a bus boy who cleans the table and takes away the dishes. About all the waiter really does after taking the order is check up on you to makes sure everything's okay.

So, it seems like the waiter is getting more money, for less actual work. I realize they have to split the tip among all those other people, but at the same time, do they really NEED all those other people?

As I understand it, at most restaurants the tips go into a big bucket and are then distributed to the waiters, busboys, barkeeps, etc using some sort of formula. Maybe someone with recent experience can chime in on this. Do the individual waiters suffer when a patron fails to tip or do all of the staff suffer?

 

[KingB]

My former lunch group have this question.
Do you tip on the total bill which includes the tax or do you exclude the tax?

 

[REWahoo]

My former lunch group have this question.
Do you tip on the total bill which includes the tax or do you exclude the tax?

[-]Stingy[/-] [-]Tight@ss[/-] Frugal group, eh?

 

[Keim]

I must be cheap. I tend to tip in the 10-15% range. I have heard that "they" say you are now supposed to tip around 20%. When I heard that I thought to myself "Who are 'they?' Why do 'they' suddenly think the job is worth more than the traditional 10%?" When I figure out who "they" are, and why a job that hasn't changed is suddenly worth 10% more I'll think about changing.

I don't usually tip anywhere other than restaurants. But that is because I rarely use services that are tipped outside of such. I carry my own bag, avoid taxis, and go to an owner operator barber (Bud at Hairforce One is great if you are ever in Pullman, WA). When I do tip in these unfamiliar situations I have no idea what an appropriate amount is. I think I'm generous, but what do I know?

 

[donheff]

My former lunch group have this question.
Do you tip on the total bill which includes the tax or do you exclude the tax?

[-]Stingy[/-] [-]Tight@ss[/-] Frugal group, eh?

Nah, that one is pretty clear. No tip on the government's charges.

 

[Sue J]

My FIL was in the hotel and restaurant business so DH's family learned to always tip well. Around here the standard was always 15% but DH insisted on tipping more and I've learned to be generous in tipping, too. 20% is now standard. We don't eat out very often but I always include the cost of the tip in an estimate of a meal out. If I don't want to spend for a tip we'll get takeout instead.

We give the tip money to the waitress/waiter in cash. What they do with it in terms of busboys or staff who brought the plates is up to them. I like to know the person who handled our order got the cash.

 

[W2R]

I must be cheap. I tend to tip in the 10-15% range. I have heard that "they" say you are now supposed to tip around 20%. When I heard that I thought to myself "Who are 'they?' Why do 'they' suddenly think the job is worth more than the traditional 10%?" When I figure out who "they" are, and why a job that hasn't changed is suddenly worth 10% more I'll think about changing.

The percentage we use for a tip is larger when the total bill is smaller. A waitress/waiter depends on tips to earn a living, and even if working in a cheaper restaurant often will work just as hard as those employed by expensive restaurants. We never tip less than $3, and that can be 25%-30% sometimes.

 

[Andre1969]

The percentage we use for a tip is larger when the total bill is smaller. A waitress/waiter depends on tips to earn a living, and even if working in a cheaper restaurant often will work just as hard as those employed by expensive restaurants. We never tip less than $3, and that can be 25%-30% sometimes.

Back in 1989-90 when I waited tables, I remember our goal was $1 per head. So if we waited on a party of 2, we hoped for at least $2, and so forth. I'd say I averaged around $10 per hour, which was pretty good money back in that timeframe! And that was working for Denny's, in a not-the-best neighborhood. Their meals weren't that expensive, so the tips were often lower, and there were also a lot of families with small children, college kids, and elderly who came in. Things may be different now, but those weren't the most generous demographics 20 years ago!

When you factor in rising food prices, and the jump in the acceptable tip range from 10% to 20%, you'd think waiters would be cleaning up these days. For instance, if I was averaging $10/hour 20+ years ago, simply adjusting for inflation should put that up to around $18/hour today, using an inflation calculator I found online. And then doubling from 10 to 20% would put that to around $36 per hour!

However, I doubt that too many waiters and waitresses are making $36/hour, unless it's at a really swanky place.