Who changed it to 20%

[mountainsoft]

I don't want to get known as a bad tipper.

We dine out as a treat, or for the convenience of not cooking. I don't care what my tipping reputation is, I'm not there to impress the wait staff. If the staff is pleasant and don't make me wait forever I'll tip a little to say thanks. If I ever receive bad service because I dont tip enough, I'll find some where else to dine.

 

[RobLJ]

I don't judge any of you here.
But DW, when I was in grad school, waitressed at a Denny's and a local Italian place. I always remember her counting tips before leaving at Denny's and how pleased she was by a good night.
So I always leave 20% or more and now that I think we have a lot more than we need, I should boost that.
I have left 10% maybe 2 times over the last 5-10 years when the service really, really sucked.
But I always think of my wife in her server costume counting tips, if I think about tipping at all.

 

[Montecfo]

I must be way behind or very disliked by waitstaff, as I am still firmly in the 10-15%normal, 20 % excellent service category.
We don't eat in many sit down spots, but I have noticed more of the 18/20/22% suggestions, so I guess I should move it up a bit.

Whatever "they" suggest you feel you should pay? Those suggestions have no basis.

 

[Amethyst]

Interesting, thanks. Florida at $5.54 is one of the higher minimum-cash-wage states. At $3.63, MD is chintzy.

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

 

[Just_Steve]

As they ratchet up the minimum wage for wait staff I start to ratchet down the tip. They used to get $2.65 an hour so I tipped 20% but now they get $8.00 an hour so I'm down to 15%. Supposed to go up to $15 an hour, I might be back to 10% by then.

 

[Badger]

The Amethyst family solution is simply not to go out to eat.

If it's a chain restaurant, the food is neither great nor healthy. In nice restaurants, the good food is in small portions and overpriced, and then 7% tax and 20% tip on top of it? Our definition of paying for punishment!

We probably make up for it by taking "all-inclusive" trips where gratuities are already baked into the price, though!

+1 Nothing like paying high prices and leaving hungry.

Although about once a month we will meet another couple for Happy Hour Appetizers and a beer. Also once a month I will meet with friends for a hamburger and a craft beer. Then I will eat healthy at home where I know the cleanliness and quality of the food. Absolutely do not like to eat out but those 2 things are social.

Both my wife and I have worked as servers in the distant past and have seen what goes on in the kitchen and how food is handled.

Bills are handled with cash only so the tip is cash so I know it goes to the server directly and NOT combined with the bill on a credit card where I don't know who actually gets it.


At one time a 10% tip was for good service then it became 15% and now it is up to 20%. Now I am not a math wizard but if the tip is 15% and the cost of the meal goes up doesn't the server get more money than they did before the meal cost increase? So why should there be an increase in tip percentage?



Cheers!

 

[Midpack]

I round to even dollars and tip after tax. I tip 20% for good service, more than 20% for exceptional service, and 15-18% for indifferent/marginal service. If I have really bad service (or the food is outright bad), I tell management - but it’s been many years since I last had to talk to management. Sometimes bad service is understaffing in the kitchen or too few servers, that’s not the servers fault and it’s usually easy to see - management issue.

I think tipping encourages good service after living in Europe for 4 years, and I was a server for a time in college. If you’re bright enough to manage retirement spending, you can certainly figure out a proper tip, especially these days when we all have smartphones.

If you tip 15% pretax for good service, you’re a cheapskate. That was the norm 30 years ago. The $ difference between 15 pretax and 20% after tax isn’t going to break anyone here...

 

[RetireBy90]

I pretty much follow the bold above. I go out to lunch alone sometimes when DW has an activity. I drink water. My bill, before tax, is $7. Minimum tip on this is $2.
At some places, they will automatically add 18%. Then that is what they get. I might have tipped more, but if you put it on the bill, that's what you get.

Just me.

Just left a place that added 18% to your bill. Didn't go in once I saw that.

Also have found many quick service places that you go to the counter to order and pickup your meal and they give you a screen to add a tip when paying. What is the tip for if I place my order and then go pick it up ?

I know some wait staff are under paid, but some also make up to $10/hr for standing at a cash register. If that isn't a livable wage (It isn't) then perhaps they should move to a better paying job.
Just me


[/RANT]

 

[Music Lover]

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.

If we're there for an hour then a $5 tip bring the server up to minimum that everyone else (dishwasher or gas jockey for example) gets for an hour of work.

Over tipping sends a message....the message is that servers are more valuable than all other minimum wage employees.

 

[Moemg]

I tip at least 20% unless service is awful .

 

[sengsational]

I know of a server in Chicago who works as a server in a "nice restaurant" who hit $1M net worth at age 38. Lives in a nice apartment overlooking the lake. I know that's out on the tail, but I do think about it when the bill is $150, and I realize I've seen the server 4 times. $7.50 per visit to the table seems a bit high to me. Then I think of how appreciative my weekly dining place servers are for a total of $10, and they know me and the various things I order, and if the kitchen has other things I like or if they're substituting something, etc. As in "offering value". It just doesn't seem fair, as so many have said, to tip by percentage.

 

[Amethyst]

1. Globally, tipping lets a customer show appreciation for excellent service in certain endeavors (e.g. food service, hairdressing, taxis), and try to ensure similar service next time (because the server supposedly will remember).
2. Globally, how much to tip is not governed by law and is thus up to a customer. In practice, how much to tip varies across and within nations, cultures, and among individuals. Thoughts about the proper amount are strongly influenced mainly by "Usual custom," and secondly by guilt feelings about having more money/working less hard than the server.
3. In American practice, tipping subsidizes lower restaurant prices because the servers are paid less. Thus, since all customers pay the same prices, higher tippers subsidize lower ones. This seems unlikely to change, although the millennial generation has made some rumblings about it. Unfortunately, they have bigger fish to fry, such as how to ensure their children can inherit a decent planet to live on.
4. Conclusion: It's a muddle. Do what you think best.

 

[smoghat]

It’s actually way easier in the US than in many places in Europe.

1.I just leave 20% unless the service is bad or is truly fantastic.

2. I refuse to leave money for baristas or counter people unless they have done something impressive (I don’t get choco-fudge, swirled, triple spin calorific frappes so none of my drinks take time) since the interaction is minimal and $1 on a $5 tab that took 1 minute to make seems ridiculous. If somehow I have managed to make some connection with them, I will leave something. That rarely happens.

3. Compare this to, say Ireland, where I’ve been over 50 times and still don’t get it. Some of my colleagues tip 15-20% (!), some don’t tip at all, some round up (but how does that work? what if the bill is 99 Euros? Vs 96 Euros?), some just leave whatever is their pockets, randomly (what if you don’t have change?), bartenders expect nothing and are supposedly offended if you leave something but generally offer as much service as the waitstaff in the same room, and the cafe people are starting to put out tip jars. I’ve asked and people say “pay what you wish.” Which seems genuinely insulting. Oddly, my friend who is a US expat and makes a ton of money never leaves anything except maybe 5% on a 1000EU bill for ten people at a tony place whereas my Irish friends almost always leave something, even if it is variable (unless its too a bartender, which is confusing again).

 

[24601NoMore]

Also have found many quick service places that you go to the counter to order and pickup your meal and they give you a screen to add a tip when paying. What is the tip for if I place my order and then go pick it up ?

I know some wait staff are under paid, but some also make up to $10/hr for standing at a cash register. If that isn't a livable wage (It isn't) then perhaps they should move to a better paying job.
Just me


[/RANT]

AMEN to that! We went to a little bakery recently and they had one of those iPad payment screens..there was actually a place to add a tip (?!!) for the person who did nothing more than reach into a case, pull out a baked item and hand it to you.

Ditto a new pizza place that opened by us. Same iPad screen setup. Sign with your finger..but a very obvious place to add a tip - for handing me a pizza?

I'm with you on the rant. A tip is supposed to be for good service, above and beyond expectations. Handing me a pizza box or a granola bar does not warrant a tip IMHO.

Part of the problem is these new iPad payment apps. No matter the type of business, there's always a place to add a tip. Crazy.

 

[braumeister]

No matter the type of business, there's always a place to add a tip. Crazy.

How much do people tip their financial adviser (on top of the 1% of AUM of course)?

 

[Amethyst]

Why? They are graciously giving you a choice, seems to me.

II’ve asked and people say “pay what you wish.” Which seems genuinely insulting. .

 

[GenXguy]

At one time a 10% tip was for good service then it became 15% and now it is up to 20%.

I've always heard 15% was a good tip, but as I mentioned earlier, I don't tip based on a percentage, but just on what I think is a fair amount for the waitress's effort. So, it can be lower or much higher than the percent method.

If the waitress gives me free food, that deserves a bigger tip, not a smaller one. One example where I've tipped the waitress more is when she gave me two free dessert items as a bonus (I took them to go) because she accidentally left a small item off my order, which she brought to me later as well.

 

[Midpack]

Cheapskates stuck in the 70’s will leave less, but here are the US current norms from a source that follows industry trends (as opposed to click bait from general news sources or AARP).

I ignored tip jars when they first started appearing, but those folks are always smaller tabs and low wages, if they’re pleasant and fill the order timely/correct, who can’t afford a buck or two-three? Servers in medium and high end restaurants can make quite a bit, not so with counter peeps.

• Sit-down restaurants: 20 percent — always.
• If you go big on wines: You don’t need to tip 20 percent on whale bottles.
• Gratuity-included restaurants: Don’t tip — really!
• Food trucks: Add a buck or two.
• Bars: Dollar per drink at dives, 20 percent at cocktail bars.
• Bakeries and coffee shops: Add a buck or two.
• Fast-casual counter service: 20 percent
• Delivery: $5 minimum

https://www.eater.com/2018/11/28/18112819/tipping-in-america-guide-restaurants-how-much

 

[timo2]

We dine out as a treat, or for the convenience of not cooking. I don't care what my tipping reputation is, I'm not there to impress the wait staff. If the staff is pleasant and don't make me wait forever I'll tip a little to say thanks. If I ever receive bad service because I dont tip enough, I'll find some where else to dine.

I see it as the opposite. I've never had bad service because the staff knew that I wasn't a great tipper (some places I'm not). But I have had better service at places where I do tip at least consistently and decently. Decent or good tipping at places I eat regularly (because I like the place) allow for a better rapport with the staff, smiles, chatting, etc. As opposed to the purely transactional approach you espoused (Not that there's anything wrong with that).

 

[Midpack]

We dine out as a treat, or for the convenience of not cooking. I don't care what my tipping reputation is, I'm not there to impress the wait staff. If the staff is pleasant and don't make me wait forever I'll tip a little to say thanks. If I ever receive bad service because I dont tip enough, I'll find some where else to dine.

What’s “a little?”

At most restaurants, tips are the largest portion of what a server makes. Anyone going to any restaurant knows that going in.

 

[GenXguy]

although the millennial generation has made some rumblings about it.

I was curious about the comment at the time and looked into it a bit more. I found this in a recent article:

Millennials are most likely to stiff servers.
Ten percent of Americans ages 18 to 37 say they routinely leave no tip. Nearly one in three leaves less than the standard 15 percent tip at restaurants.

 

[Theo]

Over tipping sends a message....the message is that servers are more valuable than all other minimum wage employees.

Servers are more valuable than other minimum wage employees.

 

[Amethyst]

Many young people today seem to support raising wages and doing away with tipping. Some even see tipping as indicative of class differences..."See, I have so much more; here is something for you, my good man or woman!" (which is part of what I, myself, dislike about the practice).

"More millennials than any other generation say they would prefer to eliminate tipping, a practice that has increasingly come under assault in America...Nearly 27 percent of millennials would prefer to dine in restaurants with higher prices and no tipping, compared to 25 percent of Gen Xers and 13.5 percent of boomers." https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...-but-it-may-not-be-for-the-reasons-you-think/

Note: That I support higher prices/no tipping has no effect on how much of a tip I leave. I know servers and others still depend on tips. The one is politics, the other is real people and current custom.

I was curious about the comment at the time and looked into it a bit more. I found this in a recent article:

Millennials are most likely to stiff servers.
Ten percent of Americans ages 18 to 37 say they routinely leave no tip. Nearly one in three leaves less than the standard 15 percent tip at restaurants.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

We would eat out a lot more if tipping was not mandatory (or expected, may as well be mandatory). We never tipped in the UK/EU or very rarely anyway. We have never understood why the servers are paid this way in the US as opposed to the EU. Restaurants should bite the bullet and pay their hired help properly like most of the rest of the world.

They even expect tips at donut and bagel shops here (suggestions are on the bill) when all they do is give you a product like a shop assistant. Should be tip shop assistants too, or cashiers at supermarkets and hardware stores?

 

[Dtail]

Ate a buffet yesterday. The suggested tips were 15/18/20%. We are doing most of the work.
I did end up giving 14%.