Who changed it to 20%

[racy]

I don't tip. I give the bill to DW. She's very generous with my money...

 

[CardsFan]

Yes, I noticed that about Miami Beach when I was there a few years ago. They add the 18%, then add a line for you to write in the tip. It looks like a regular bill. People (particularly in dark bars and restaurants) can be tricked into leaving an additional amount.

I have seen that trick before, as well. Steams me. If you want to automatically add a tip, then make it clear, and that is what you get, no more, no less.

Even worse, in some European cities they add a tip line to the CC print out so the dumb Americans will tip as usual, even though the menu clearly states gratuity included (though maybe only in the local language).

 

[zippy2020]

I probably overtip, and have done so ever since I could afford it. My mother depended on tips trying to raise 2 kids on a single income, and my spouse worked as a waiter going through school.

 

[Amethyst]

Noticing and rewarding someone's extra hard work makes me feel good. Unlike meeting some obligatory "standard" amount of tip.

More than once, I've sent someone a check for $100 in a Christmas card because I felt they went over and above for us during the year (along with a note saying basically just that). The person is always surprised, as well as pleased. They thought they were just doing their job, whereas I was comparing them with others who do just enough to get by.

I have been known to quietly give an extra $20 to the restaurant person cleaning the war-zone on and beneath our table after a meal with our young grandchildren, regardless of the cost of the meal.

 

[racy]

I probably overtip, and have done so ever since I could afford it. My mother depended on tips trying to raise 2 kids on a single income, and my spouse worked as a waiter going through school.

Good on you!

 

[MrsHaloFIRE]

Agree that "tip creep" has raised the standard from 15% to 18-22% in the past several years. I usually pay the check by credit card but I usually try to carry enough cash in small bills so I can tip in cash, usually around 20% unless there was a problem with service. I believe this is beneficial to the servers for tax purposes; at least they seem to appreciate it.

Also, I don't generally tip on sales tax. I also don't tip someone for handing me a box, of carry out pizza, for example. I do tip delivery people, though few places deliver to the hinterlands where I live.

This is a thing I dont understand. Tupping in cash for tax purposes for the server. Don't they meed to pay their "fair share." ? Why should I help them con the tax man?

 

[racy]

...More than once, I've sent someone a check for $100 in a Christmas card ....

Damn, rates are going up again... I thought tipping the mail carrier and garbage guy $50 at Christmas was enough.

 

[Chuckanut]

I am against tipping for many reasons. That said, I do not wish to stiff a hard working server, and I figure the tip into the cost of my meal. If I can't afford to tip, then I can't afford the meal and I wills stay home.

Tipping wages vary by state. In my state servers get the full minimum wage, there is no special lower minimum wage for tipped jobs. So, I may not go all the way to 20%, but it's at least 15%. When I traveled out of state I noticed that many servers make less than $10 an hour, some much less. I give a much more generous tip at those time.


Overall, I think the whole tipping scene has gotten way out of hand. It's the owner's job to compensate his/her employees not mine.

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

Really, no one remembers the other thread on this?

In 1991, the national minimum wage was $4.25/hr, and the tipped minimum wage was $2.13/hr.

Today, the national minimum wage is $7.25/hr, and the tipped minimum wage is....$2.13 an hour.

That's the main reason that tipping 20% should be standard now. And anyone who wants to "send a message" to the business owner or the restaurant industry by tinkering with the income of a server should stick to writing strongly worded letters.

 

[Chuckanut]

Today, the national minimum wage is $7.25/hr, and the tipped minimum wage is....$2.13 an hour.

That's the main reason that tipping 20% should be standard now.

But, many of us live in states where the minimum tipped wage is the same as the regular minimum wage, and it is well over $10 an hour. Some cities have a minimum wage (tipped and non-tipped) close to $15 an hour.

One size does not fit all.

This is why wages should be management's responsibility, not the customer's, IMHO.

 

[Independent]

I'm bothered by the whole concept of tipping.

When I was a kid, I remember 10%. Then, at some point, it seemed that the "generous 15%" became standard. Now, standard seems to be 20%. I've been there for, maybe, 15 years.

That makes no sense, servers should make decent wages and tipping should be unusual.

However, I figure that serving is a tough job with low pay filled by people who are willing to work hard. Given that I'm stuck with the system, I am okay with paying them.

 

[Corporateburnout]

The service has to be bad for us to tip under 20% on the total bill. We usually tip 25% for good service.

We do it because because we want to and not because we have to.

In Canada and Europe wait staff wages are higher so tips are much lower than the US. Last time we visited Canada the wait staff at our hotel was extremely happy to see us because they got 20%-25%.

 

[timo2]

So which USA states pay servers full minimum wage? That would be good to know when travelling and tipping.

 

[GenXguy]

I will pretty much do anything to not have to go to a place that tips. It is seriously not my job to decide how much someone else is "worth". Tipping a % of your meal is just the dumbest idea I've ever heard in my entire life. If I had gone out to a cheap breakfast place that has to come to my table 10 times to refill coffee, get hot sauce, etc and the meal is $6 why would I tip $1.20 and then go to some fancy place where they come to my table 4 and the meal is $60 and all of a sudden that person is worth $12.

That is why fast casual dining is so popular, I go I order, I pick up the order, I eat.

If for some reason I have to go to a service dining, I will tip according to the amount of time/effort spent and how nice they are, not anything to do with price of food...so sometimes its 10%, sometimes its 100%... ie the cheap breakfast place always gets way better tips because its just more work. Bringing me a $30 steak requires very little effort and if you are super pushy, rude or flirt with my BF I will give them 10%.

That sounds like me. I don't tip based on a percentage of the meal cost, but I tip what I think the server deserves. So, at a lower cost place, my tip may calculate out to 30% and less at a more expensive place.

I've always heard 15% as the standard or 20% for good service - no change in that, but again, I don't use a percentage, because the price of my meal is irrelevant as to what I deem to be the correct tip. In some cases at low cost places where I've hung out and had multiple cups of coffee, for example, I've tipped well over 100%, but I wasn't looking at it as a percentage, just an amount that seemed right.

 

[CardsFan]

But, many of us live in states where the minimum tipped wage is the same as the regular minimum wage, and it is well over $10 an hour. Some cities have a minimum wage (tipped and non-tipped) close to $15 an hour.

One size does not fit all.

This is why wages should be management's responsibility, not the customer's, IMHO.

That is a fair point.

And in many states, mine included, they must make sure the worker is at least paid the minimum local wage. Which also explains why cash tips help the worker, even without cheating and not claiming the tips on taxes.

Its a conundrum. In low end places I tip very well, and often in cash. High end places always a CC and tip is around the 18-20% range (unless I am greatly impressed, which is not often, I expect great service there)

I would be a fan of erasing tips, and just including them in the price, but I think the local mom and pops would suffer from the higher prices.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[HarveyS]

As I said earlier, I tend to tip on the high side. A few extra dollars to a server might make their night. However, I have to disagree with The Cosmic Avenger. Even at a 15% tip, todays server earns more than in 1991. Perhaps 15% in 1991 was too low?
Let's assume a meal for 4 people in a casual dining restaurant cost $40 in 1991.
According to calculator.net, that same meal would cost $78.33 in today's dollars. Let's round up to $80 to make the math easier. (I don't think either $40 in 1991 or $80 today for a table of 4 is unreasonable, but I could not find hard data on meal costs in 1991).
In 1991 the server would have been tipped 15%, or $6. Adding this to the minimum wage would mean a wage of $8.13/hr, or 8.13/4.25=191% of the US minimum wage.
Today, our server would earn 15% of $80, or $12. Added to $2.13 means $14.83/hr, or 14.83/7.25 = 195% of US minimum.
But, what server only serves one table per hour in a casual restaurant?
If our server had 3 tables per hour on average, then in 1991 they would earn $6+6+6=$18 plus 2.13 = 20.13/hr, or 20.13/4.25 = 474% US minimum wage.
Today our server earns $12+12+12 = $36 plus 2.13 = 38.13/hr, or 38.13/7.25 = 526% US minumum.
Of course tips need to be shared with busboys, bartenders, and maybe hostess/kitchen so the server does not take this entire amount home.
At the same time, in my home of Chicago, the tipped minimum wage is $6.40/hr, or 3x the federal minimum. In the Land of Lincoln, which includes many rural areas, the tipped minimum wage is $4.95/hr. I do not know what the tipped minimum wage was in Chicago or IL in 1991.

We should all tip whatever we feel is appropriate. But I feel, as the all-knowing google states, 15% is the standard tip in the US. The move to 18-20+% is opportunistic on the part of the server and/or restaurant and not justified by inflation.

 

[Amethyst]

The way our mail carrier mangles the deliveries, he should be paying me. We routinely get other people's mail (which means other people are getting ours) and the "real" mail gets stuffed between the leaves of magazines and brochures, where it is likely to get tossed out without seeing it.

Anyway, these are not "tips" I'm talking about, but gifts of thanks. Modest recognition for going above and beyond.

Damn, rates are going up again... I thought tipping the mail carrier and garbage guy $50 at Christmas was enough.

 

[Cerys]

I always overtip. I always get great service from people who are really happy to see me.

This is true. When I tip I tend to tip more, because I am a single now, so their bills are smaller. I tend to go to the same places all the time and I get treated like gold.

But my mom, who died 10 years ago, was a very strict tipper. She tipped 15% on the meal, less the tax AND THE ALCOHOL. According to her, a man who worked as a maitre de (is that right?) for years and made loads of money at it -- told her the money the restaurants made on the booze was wild, and you didn't need to tip on it.

Now -- more often than not, we drank iced tea, so there was a tip. Moreso than that, Dad paid, so there was a generous tip. So although touted it as a rule, it was not one that got put into action often, if at all.

But I do have fond memories of my mom trotting that one out every once in a while...

 

[CRLLS]

Maybe this deserves a separate thread.

Do you tip the same when dining at a place that has you pay at the table with one of those kiosks? I feel that the "service" and certainly the wait staff interaction is lacking and therefore deserves a bit less of a tip.

 

[BeWealthy]

I've recently seen bills with a separate tip line for the cook. I just leave the typical 15-20% in cash and let the staff sort it out. www.finedininglovers.com/article/restaurant-wants-you-tip-cook

 

[foxfirev5]

Maybe this deserves a separate thread.

Do you tip the same when dining at a place that has you pay at the table with one of those kiosks? I feel that the "service" and certainly the wait staff interaction is lacking and therefore deserves a bit less of a tip.

While I haven't dined at a kiosk establishment I would certainly tip less. It works both ways.

 

[24601NoMore]

Maybe this deserves a separate thread.

Do you tip the same when dining at a place that has you pay at the table with one of those kiosks? I feel that the "service" and certainly the wait staff interaction is lacking and therefore deserves a bit less of a tip.

We eat at Chilis a lot, and they have one of those kiosks (that they call a "ziosk" for whatever reason).

It defaults to 18 (?) if not 20% tip. I always dial it down to 15% unless the service was outstanding, which (hey, it's Chilis), it never is.

Aside from one waitress who's been there as long as we've been going (probably 20 years), I've never seen the same server twice. So, no opportunity to build any kind of relationship and the person that's waiting our table is basically doing some pretty simple, non-strenuous work: take our order, not mess it up (hopefully, but happens), and run food back to our table. That to me is one of the simplest jobs possible, and doesn't warrant 20% of already over-inflated prices for not so great food..now, if I'm at our favorite little romantic bistro where the food is spectacular and we're repeat customers of a particular server who's oustanding..she gets 20% and often more.

 

[24601NoMore]

Not to veer from the main subject here, but on our recent African safari, there was always a "tip box" at each camp where you were..um, "welcome" to leave a tip for not only your server, but the cook (?!) and a large number of other people who you may have interacted with at camp.

I'm not really a fan of people expecting a tip for doing their jobs, although I do out of habit tip 15% for meals - even when I don't necessarily think it's warranted, and 20% for outstanding service. More "old school" than that..if you provide GREAT service, you should get a tip. If you do your job and never exceed or miss expectations on what you should be doing anyway..why am I tipping you again? I worked for 35+ years and NEVER got a tip..probably because I did my job and didn't expect to be tipped for it.

 

[travelover]

So which USA states pay servers full minimum wage? That would be good to know when travelling and tipping.

https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/state/minimum-wage/tipped

 

[jollystomper]

What I want to know is,

If the math for 15% is So Darn Hard, how do the servers even know you left 15%? Evidently, unless you leave a percentage that is an exact multiple of 10%, nobody can tell what you left!

(That goes 200% for worrying about pre-tax vs post-tax).

They have the technology . When ringing up the bill it is easy on their systems to also show the "expected" tip at various tip levels.

We recently ate at an Olive Garden where they have the "computer" on the table that you use to pay your bill with. When you press pay, it shows several suggested percentages and the resulting amount. Interestingly, it *started* at 18%, then went to 20% and 22%. They did have a "tip other amount" option.

If we have the ability to see it at our table, you can be sure their systems can show ahead of time the expected amounts at various percentages.