Who changed it to 20%

[GravitySucks]

+1
When you're a regular and overtip and tip a Christmas "bonus" it comes back to you.
My regular Monday Prime Rib special at the bar waitress just quit. The cut they gave me was terrible. I give up on the place.

People work hard for the crap I put them through. LoL

+1

I'm a regular everywhere I go. People work hard for crap wages so I get a great meal.

 

[Corporateburnout]

+1
When you're a regular and overtip and tip a Christmas "bonus" it comes back to you.

+1.

We usually tip 30% at a couple of places we frequent the most. DW always gives the wait staff a nice Christmas bonus.

 

[RobbieB]

I agree. From years of experience I find I get better food and more of it from tipping big. Even tossing dough in the tip jar at the taqueria results in a bounty, my tacos are full of meat.

So I find that my 5 to 10% overtips are more than returned with better and additional food as well as sterling service.

 

[CRLLS]

As a former IT guy, that's all pretty easy..the app has a button that shows you all ingredients in a dish. If there's a special, they describe it and how it's prepared.

And if you want someone to answer questions, the app has a "need help" or similar button..

It's probably only a matter of time until we see more technology in restaurants..it lowers cost for both the owner and the customers..and, truth be told, I've had so many experiences over the years (we used to eat out a LOT before ER) where the server didn't even understand their own menu or what was in each dish, that it would in most cases improve the customer's overall experience..

It won't happen quickly but it's only a matter of time until you use kiosks, or maybe you won't eat there. Once there aren't enough non kiosk customers to justify paying a counter person, they won't be there. And they will have employees multi-task to cover the counter and other duties as needed in the transition, versus having someone standing there full time - some fast food restaurants are already doing it. I like the kiosk, no waiting, what's not to like?

Same thing is happening with self service checkout in grocery, and many other big box stores (e.g. Costco, Target, Home Depot). I am disappointed when I have to wait in a line these days, I'd much rather do self checkout.

If you don't believe it, think full service gas stations. In most states, there's nothing but self serve gas stations now, despite folks who once insisted they'd never pump their own gas...you'll adapt. When I drive to New England, I make a point of filling up before or after New Jersey to avoid being forced to use full serve. They got me once, but never again.

Oh no! I must be turning into that old curmudgeon, my dad!

 

[target2019]

I placed $2 in the tip jar at local pizza shop. The order was $19. Not sure if that is cheap, adequate, or generous.

 

[roadtripper]

I waitressed when my kids were babies 25 years ago. It was 20% (double the total--so with tax) at the fancy steakhouse I worked at, and most people tipped over 20% at the breakfast joint I worked at. Tips are the only income servers get; their hourly wage is 2.35/hr and they are taxed on sales, so usually my paycheck was 0. Plus they tip out bus people, bartenders, sometimes hostesses. Every former server I know is a good tipper because it's a tough gig.

 

[pj.mask]

It seems more common to be 20% now than 20 years ago but my knowledge 20 years ago was based on my parents who probably got that number 30 years before that... internet made sharing information like this easier.

I’d say that minimum wages haven’t kept up with inflation. If you dine in a place that doesn’t pay their staff - you should pay your share if you eat there. If you don’t want to tip, order to go or frequent one of the many places where the listed price includes workers salary.

 

[CRLLS]

I placed $2 in the tip jar at local pizza shop. The order was $19. Not sure if that is cheap, adequate, or generous.

After pages and pages of discussion, I am still confused too.

 

[eytonxav]

If the meal is an expensive one, I tip 15%, otherwise for lower cost meals I will tip 20%, sometimes even more. For example, I attend a breakfast club once per week and always order a bowl of oatmeal and coffee; the bill is $5.17, but I leave $8.00.

 

[Midpack]

I waitressed when my kids were babies 25 years ago. It was 20% (double the total--so with tax) at the fancy steakhouse I worked at, and most people tipped over 20% at the breakfast joint I worked at. Tips are the only income servers get; their hourly wage is 2.35/hr and they are taxed on sales, so usually my paycheck was 0. Plus they tip out bus people, bartenders, sometimes hostesses. Every former server I know is a good tipper because it's a tough gig.

+1. When I was a server, unlike most other servers, I tipped busboys more than my wage rate, so in essence I was paying to work there. All the busboys knew it so I had the best busboys, and we got great tips, so we all made out. Tips are everything to servers and that can’t change without legislation - period.

 

[target2019]

After pages and pages of discussion, I am still confused too.

Last week I put $1 tip in jar after receiving a single bagel. Didn't count my change and lost $10 on the transaction. Can I credit that towards future tips?

 

[scrabbler1]

The biggest tip I ever left, on a percentage basis, was at a place out-of-town. The prices were quite low, and we ordered some extra food to go. Before we left, my LF happened to discover that the takeout food wasn't prepared correctly. The waitress, some young 20-something, took it back and redid it for us (not sure if she was the one who assembled the takeout stuff, could she have been some Avenging Angel?) before we left. I tipped her more than the total of the check (which wasn't much to begin with). She was floating on air with glee as we left the place. She could use the extra few dollars a lot more than I could, and she earned them.

 

[Qprkid]

20% pre-tax rounded up for me.

Unless, of course, there is a service/product issue.

 

[jjuneau]

You are too young

All you responders to this must be pretty young. I saw only one response recalling that 10% was once customary. (1950's) Sometime later when I heard people suggesting 15%, I questioned why. I usually got the response the the cost of living had gone up. Well so had the cost of meals. Typical restaurant prices today are at least 10 times what they were in around 1960. If you are dealing with percentages, an increase in price automatically increases the actual amount without raising the percent. I don't mind giving a little more for good service, but I have not yet heard anyone give a rational justification for raising the percentage.

 

[aja8888]

A local bar that three of my friends and I frequent every Wednesday night after our scheduled 5 mile walk, has a waitress that we normally get. She's been great over the years that we frequent the place and tries to save us our special table near the big screen TV. We take turns paying the bill (weekly) and always leave her a 25% (or more) tip. This last Christmas, on top of the usual 25% tip, we left a $100 bill for her.

 

[Murph]

When I was a kid (35-40 years ago), 10% was "typical" and 15-20% was "generous".

+1

 

[isisdave]

Just as "standard" tip rate has increased from 15 to 20 over 50 years, people can learn to "not tip" if service is stated as a fee on the check, or just rolled into the listed price. This works just fine on other continents.

Many years' experience eating in restaurants suggests to me that abolishing tipping will work pretty well. About 10% of servers don't give a care, and we'll have to get used to telling the managers about them. About 20% are superior, and they'll still get an additional tip.

[BTW: I first started eating out in NY in 1970. Tax was 5%, so "triple the tax." And the only reason the tipping percentage should go up is if the cost of living goes up faster than restaurant prices. I don't think that generally happens...]

And, why should a tip be based on the cost of the meal? Whether I order steak or toast, it takes about the same amount of effort to bring it to me on time and at the right temperature. And especially beverages ... the cost to open and pour a $100 bottle of wine is the same as a $15 one.

I guess it's because it's easy. If I have a coffee in an empty restaurant and tie up a table for two hours using their WiFi, it's different than doing so when all the tables are full. I might tip $5 in the first case. In fact I don't think I'd ever be the guy in the second case, but if I had a broken ankle and had to do that, I'd feel as though I should add the tip I'd prevented the server from earning.

 

[fruitful]

We often have just coffee or a dessert to split. We have a $5 minimum tip rule, even if the bill is under $10.

 

[Midpack]

A waste of electrons as always with the tipping “debate.” People on forums rarely change their minds anyway, especially older people in general...

And someone will want to argue about that too I suppose.

 

[aja8888]

A waste of electrons as always with the tipping “debate.” People on forums rarely change their minds anyway, especially older people in general...

Not all older people....I'm old (76) and tip 25% or more, especially if we frequent a place a lot and the service is fine. I'm still not sure about the "in general" comment above. But, it's hard to dispute that, one way or the other.

 

[Midpack]

Not all older people....I'm old (76) and tip 25% or more, especially if we frequent a place a lot and the service is fine. I'm still not sure about the "in general" comment above. But, it's hard to dispute that, one way or the other.

You’re mixing two thoughts. Old referred to changing your mind on anything in a forum, that’s demonstrably rare.

 

[aja8888]

You’re mixing two thoughts. Old referred to changing your mind on anything in a forum, that’s demonstrably rare.

Thanks for the clarification.

 

[segfault]

We often have just coffee or a dessert to split. We have a $5 minimum tip rule, even if the bill is under $10.

Same here on the idea of a "minimum tip." Even if I get out of a place with a relatively low bill, the bartender or server has often spent as much time on me as they would have if I had a higher ticket.

I'm a regular at a couple of places near my house, and maybe once every month or two, they'll slide me a free drink that they mispoured or do some other "above and beyond" thing. In that case, I usually tip my normal 20-25% *plus* 50% of whatever the freebie would have cost if I'd pay for it, rounded up.

 

[Fermion]

I tip 20% but tipping is dumb. The servers should be paid a living wage or whatever wage above that the market will allow and the food prices charges raised to cover that wage. If the service is bad, the owner will fail based on free market.

 

[tenant13]

Wow, 13 pages of splitting hairs between 15-20% on a restaurant bill? That's $5 on a $100 dinner. Does it really make a difference if you go out once or twice a week and leave that extra five bucks to a server who unlike us is not early retired and has to work to make ends meet? Obviously if you spend $$$ on your dining activities then you are in a different tax bracket but in that case you shouldn't even pay attention to how high the tip is.

Btw. I noticed that nobody mentioned Japan. There's no such thing as tipping there. Anywhere and under no circumstances. The price you see is the price you pay. So it's entirely possible to remove tipping from the service industry.