@zippyus So, if the tax goes up, the service you got is worth more?
I never include the tax when figuring a tip. And the service had better be more than adequate for me to leave one at all. I know, I’m something of a cheapskate – but I retired from teaching after more than 30 years, and had been given tips maybe thrice, and that’s hard work also. (Those tips were “gifts” from foreign students – Asian or Arabic, who told me that was customary in their place; seemed more like attempted bribery to me, after the final exam but before grades came out.)
@phendrick@zippyus The difference between getting tipped for being a salaried employee (teacher) and getting tipped for hourly work that is only paid about 1/3 of the amount of minimum wage is quite large. Servers make less than $5 per hour and depend on tips to make up the difference. Not leaving a tip isn’t being a cheapskate—it’s being unfeeling and callous.
Excerpt from phoenixnewtimes.com article about tipping:
With the rare exception of truly offensive service, there is a social contract that exists between the server and the public that the only way they can have a livable wage is to receive tips. You do not need to tip at a counter-service place that does not provide post-sale service. It is never okay not to tip.
@Gypsigirl213@phendrick@zippyus Thank you Gypsigirl!! I was a server for years during college, and people that don’t tip should not be allowed to eat out. In GA, a server makes around $2.15/hr. and automatically taxed 10% on every credit card charge since the IRS assumes that’s the minimum a customer will tip. Zero tip or leaving less than 10% means the server is paying the IRS to wait on you.
@msqaf00@phendrick@zippyus Wow—I didn’t know that about the tax—that’s utterly disgusting. It boggles my mind how people who already get paid next to nothing are instantly robbed by the IRS. I waited tables for a minute when I was 18, but I wasn’t properly trained, so I was terrible at it and it was an awful experience. That’s how I know how hard that job is. Even if I never had the experience, I would never not tip (abominable service aside) because etiquette.
@haydesigner@Gypsigirl213
I thought most people who were on Meh was because of their being cheapskates.
Well, servers are not losing a lot because of my tip policy. For one thing, because of my current financial situation, it’s been most of a year since I ate at a place where tips were a thing. Before that, I did make sure to tip when the service was, as I said, adequate. I know the job is hectic, and I didn’t usually blame the server for a mistake in the order, if they made an effort to correct it. But I would not tip a rude server. This is a college community and most wait staff are college. (Funny thing, it seems to me that college students are generally not very good tippers, at least at the non-five-star restaurants I would frequent. And at fast food places with no tipping, I didn’t often see students put money into tip jars at the counter, with students working behind the counter.) I believed in supporting their efforts. When I ate, I usually paid cash, and the same for tips. I very seldom did not tip at least 15% on the restaurant charge.
@msquf00 Is that just a Georgia thing? I have talked with students about waiting and their tips, and no one ever mentioned this automatic tax on credit charges to me, I think they might have. Does the restaurant have to report credit charges accepted for each employee? I also think, but am not sure, that in doing their tax return, they could report their actual income and get the difference back in a refund from their withholding.
@Gypsigirl213@haydesigner I guess that’s me – I also kick blind beggars to the curb and won’t give my dog any of that onion soup she keeps begging me for. (I’ll have to stop working at Habitat for Humanity, so I don’t ruin my reputation.)
Unfeeling and calloused – have you been observing my hands and feet?
@Gypsigirl213@haydesigner@phendrick
The reason the employers total up tips is to make sure they’re still paying their tipped staff minimum wage. They don’t give a flying fuck about the tipped staff’s taxes. The executives don’t want to go to federal prison for wage theft since we outlawed owning people outright some 150 years ago.
20% most of the time unless the service is mediocre and then it gets 15%. Bad service gets a complaint and 10% or less (I’ve not had service so bad I don’t tip at all in many years)
Percentages for this are bullshit. Bringing me something cheap takes just as much effort as bringing me something expensive. I just go with a couple bucks usually, for the hourish I was there, and try to do so in cash if possible.
@nogoodwithnames A couple of bucks minimum, sure. But if I go somewhere that my ticket is $100, a couple of bucks makes me look like an asshole, so it has to scale up whether it was harder or not.
@djslack@nogoodwithnames - I give a minimum of $5 for table service unless it’s really bad, and 15% if the bill is over $100 unless the service (or food) is REALLY good, but otherwise 20%.
I tip 20 % most of the time and sometimes more, especially if I am alone and occupying a two person table, which may result in the server being one person short at that time.
I almost always tip more than 20%. The service has to be noticeably substandard for me to even do 15%.
And the cheaper the place I’m at, I tip a lot more, sometimes 30-40%, because percentage-based tipping screws servers like that. And the ones who work in cheap places often need the money WAY more.
@haydesigner Why not tip jars? There’s a teeny taco place (formerly a taco truck, but they were able to open a little restaurant!) where when I pick up an order I always leave a couple of bucks in the tip jar.
@Gypsigirl213@haydesigner Those folks are getting paid at least minimum wage- table servers aren’t. I put money in tip jars sometimes, especially if it’s at a concert and the weather is terrible. But I don’t feel the need to.
@Gypsigirl213@haydesigner@sammydog01
Everyone is guaranteed minimum wage, if base wage + tips are less than minimum wage, the restaurant is responsible for making up the difference to ensure they do make minimum wage.
@Gypsigirl213@haydesigner@MrMark@sammydog01 this is one of those “the law days this” deals, but in practice many restaurants do not do this. the employees have zero leverage to enforce.
@Gypsigirl213@haydesigner@sammydog01@zippyus
Based on personal experience I find that surprising. Literally every restaurant I worked at verified tips were enough to cover minimum wage.
Also majority of servers will tell you they wouldn’t want to go to a flat hourly wage, even above minimum wage.
I worked at popular restaurants, so there were never any slow days, is perhaps mom and pop diner type places would view this differently
@Gypsigirl213@haydesigner@MrMark@sammydog01 i wouldnt be surprised if there’s better compliance at the chain level. but at standalone places compliance varies from stellar to “owner skims from the tips.”
What about fast casual counter service places? Where you either go get your food from the counter or they bring it to your table and take the number you were given at the register.
And how about takeout that you’re picking up? Not delivery, that definitely is a tip expected service.
Both of those types of places usually have tip jars and spots on the credit card receipt to enter a tip.
My 20% is pretax. I’ve noticed a lot of places that put helpful tip calculations on the receipt include tax. Or better yet, don’t include tax on the first itemized copy but then change to include it on the credit card one you must sign.
Occasionally the tip is higher for good service. Or because it includes the amount of anything that is comped. Or lower for terrible service.
Back in my early 20’s we had service so awful at a chain restaurant that my tip was “stay in school, don’t do drugs, call 1-800-COLLECT, and pay attention to your tables” but I felt pretty bad about that afterward. That girl probably didn’t last long in that career field if she was consistently that terrible, though.
@ZeroCharisma For real though, I usually tip way higher than 20%. I don’t do restaurants much, and when I do it’s usually just coffee - no reason the server should get screwed because I ordered the cheapest thing on the menu.
I believe the entire system of tipping is fundamentally flawed and shouldn’t exist, and as a result I actively avoid eating in establishments where tipping is customary. It is the employer’s responsibility, not the customer’s, to properly pay their staff.
I also will not tip in places where no additional service was provided (e.g. carry-out orders or fast food), unless the particular staff were very exceptional. (I believe in rewarding kindness)
@PooltoyWolf I agree that tipping system is flawed and shouldn’t exist. However, there are too many restaurants that I love to just not patronize them.
I do know a few individuals that feel the need to protest the system by just refusing to tip ever, insisting it’s the “only way to bring about a change to the system”. They realize they are just sticking it to a single innocent individual who is paid less than minimum wage and has no say in the matter, but rationalize it by throwing out a bunch of “taking a stand” or “taking the first step” garbage, thinking they are Rosa Parks.
They aren’t accomplishing anything except looking like a d-bag.
@DrWorm@PooltoyWolf Agreed. Not tipping is awful, uncaring, and atrocious as it does only punish the individual and does nothing to change the system. The system has to be changed by laws or by the restaurants themselves, but the restaurants have no incentive to change, which is why laws are more likely to enact change. Contact lawmakers and demand change, that’s only way to get it done.
And for me, it’s usually more than 20%. Depends on the service and how long I stay (because always increase your tip if you’re lingering and preventing servers from turn over as it reduces their income).
$2 on every $10 on the bill. So 20%. But I round up at 4, so if the bill is $12, ya get $2. If it $14, you get $3. That being said, last time I had a dinner check that was $14 was in the 90s.
Generally 25%, sometimes a bit less or more. Never less than 20%. If the service was utterly terrible, I’ll leave the tip in cash with a bunch of pennies.
Pretty often it’s 20% rounded up to the nearest dollar or $5. Sometimes a bit less than 20% because I like the number better (say I ordered a fancy pizza that cost 1.33x the usual amount? Something like that maybe.)
What drives me nuts is that tips aren’t just for waiters. There’s a whole mysterious catalog of “Wait was I supposed to have tipped there? Am I a cheapskate for my ignorance?”
Sometimes I buy a carryout pizza with a credit card, and then they print out a receipt with a tip line, and I fill it out because the piece of paper seems to be demanding extra money, but I am pretty sure my payment is not adjusted.
I am pretty sure you’re supposed to tip hotel maids … was it every night? With some kind of special note? There’s all this stupid nonsense I’m supposed to know about that. It makes even less sense than wait staff.
@InnocuousFarmer i usually google if i’m not sure. for example, we never travel so we never stay in hotels, but awhile back we had occasion to stay in a bunch. had to google about housekeeping. i generally don’t want or need it, but when they did come we left a tip for that day, because the staff rotates. so if you stay a week and only tip on friday, then one person might get a real nice tip for one day and everyone else got nothing. have also had to google for valets, stylists, tattoo artists, furniture delivery guys, you name it. it’s confusing out there and i wish i had more money to give away.
20% always, but rounded up to the next whole dollar or more, and more for above and beyond service. except twice in my entire life when the service was just THAT BAD. (and i still tipped just not 20%.)
We usually tip around $2.50 per person we are paying for rounded to the next dollar and adjust based on service. If it is a particularly fancy place or a particularly complex order, we adjust accordingly but we never adjust downward for a cheap restaurant. That means for a really cheap meal we will sometimes tip close to 75% but the wait staff didn’t work any less hard so I fail to see why they don’t deserve to make just as much as at a Chillis or something.
Usually 20-25% PRE-TAX to the nearest dollar, although will go lower for very poor service. It would have to be very bad to go below 15%. I try to tip a little more for smaller bills, especially if the service was superb!
I despise the receipts that have suggested amounts, as they’re usually calculated AFTER tax. Tip is ALWAYS off of pre-tax!
Don’t usually tip for takeout orders, as, to me, no extra service was rendered beyond what I ordered. In my opinion, tip is for service rendered for something I could have done myself (get the food to my table, carry my own luggage, park my car) that someone else put in the effort to do for me (obviously, I don’t have a choice in restaurants).
It depends… At a coffee shop (fancy coffee, not just drip) and bars, I tip $1/drink…Unless I am running a tab, then 20%+. At restaurants usually I round up the pre-tax amount to make he nearest $10 and do 20% of that - more for exceptional service… But, if I received a discount or free item/drink (coupon or reward or the like) I usually add half the cost of the free item to my standard tip amount.
I have never received a tip, but on the other hand, I have never worked a job that literally pays less than minimum wage. So, generally 20%+. With great service comes great rewards.
I get a drip coffee refill every morning from the same shop. It comes to $1.39, I hand them 2 $1 bills and toss the 61¢ in the jar.
Restaurants I usually tip 20%. Bars $1 per drink. Hotel maid, $5 bucks a night. Taxi, depends on the fare, but somewhere between $5-10.
I usually tip around 20%, give or take. It’s usually a factor of rounding to the nearest dollar/$5 amount. Great service gets more, bad service(not kitchen related) usually gets less.
If they aren’t bringing the food to me, refilling drinks, etc, then I’m not tipping. The tip jar or the “please add percentage to your bill when you order at the counter” is BS. (Reports I saw showed many companies simply pocket the “tip at counter” as they have no obligation to give that to employees, and the tip concept drives people to pay more when they don’t have to).
For delivery drivers, I usually shoot for $5. They get a usual salary, but they do have to drive/wear/tear on vehicle, so I factor that into the drive. That’ll end up being less than 20% there, but I don’t tend to go crazy with deliveries anyway, so overall tends to be pretty low.
@alcamar Drivers generally don’t get paid minimum, fyi. Often more than the tipped minimum, but below normal. Though depending on the place, they might make minimum while not on runs.
@spitfire6006006 Every one I’ve talked to(granted not many) were paid employees. Then there’s the adverts for hiring at pizza places and the like, giving an hourly rate plus tips. But then, I actively use the services that actually hire their employees for delivery, vs view them as contractors, so that might be a difference there.
@alcamar generally they’re all employees outside of third party companies like GrubHub, but they’re still considered tipped workers so can be paid under minimum
Interesting that there’s no discussion here about state-to-state variations. In Washington State minimum wage is minimum wage. There is no lower wage for servers.
So, in Seattle for example, servers are making at least $12-$15 per hour (depending on how big their employer is). But in Chicago, they can make as little as $6.40.
If you spend $50 on a meal in Chicago that takes ~1 hour of a server’s time and you tip 20%, you’re adding $10 to that server’s income, bringing them up to $16.40 for the hour.
If you spend the same $50 on a 1-hour meal in Seattle and tip 10% you bring their hourly up to $17-$20.
But I bet most people don’t vary how much they tip when they travel. I suspect that people in Seattle who tip 20% will still just tip 20% if they visit Chicago, and vice versa.
For waitstaff, my starting point is 20%. If I know I’ve left a mess/kept the person busy, it’ll be more. Waxers get at least $5, even if service is less than $25. Food delivery, 20-25%, depending on how screwed I think they’re getting by their contracted employer. 20% or more for takeout. A lot of those times ToGo orders require logistics and thoughtfulness people dismiss far too easily.
Tipping varies based on quality of food/service, total bill, oddball amounts. I will usually tip well over 15%, round to the nearest dollar etc. depending on the above factors. Most times it’s on my CC for the FF miles or rewards back on restaurant purchases.
BTW tips are based on the value of the meal (BOGO tip should be on the cost if you didn’t get the BOBO for instance…)
30+% because I serve tables and I know it really makes your day and makes up for the horrible garbage people that leave 10% or less and don’t understand that servers TIP OUT OTHER STAFF MEMBERS based on their sales, usually 3-4%, so if you leave $4 on $100 because you feel like that server had 4 other tables and you can’t justify them making more than you make working at the Walgreen’s register, that server either broke even or lost money on the hour and a half of extra ranch they just wasted on you… kthxbaiiiii
@mavgrad13 I don’t think that’s typical. In fact, many states do not allow tips to go to back of the house employees. It would probably be better if the tip was split between everyone who made that table’s meals, but I don’t think it’s in any way universal or even common. Of course, I always do at least 18% even for bad service except for carryout/takeout counters.
Challenge Question:
You’re eating at a restaurant, but have to leave quickly. Maybe you’re in an airport and need to catch your flight. It doesn’t matter.
You get your check and see that it’s wrong. You got charged for an extra entree you didn’t order. You don’t have time to get the bill corrected.
What do you do? Pay the full check but no tip? Put cash on the table to cover what your check should have been plus a tip and just leave? Pay the full check plus tip?
For unremarkable service, I tip 20% after tax; if the service is bad, I’ll tip 20% before tax.
lol
The difference is, like, pennies and I’m sure the server doesn’t notice either way, but it makes me feel like I’m at least making some kind of statement.
Rarely have I ever had service so remarkably bad that I’ve tipped less than 20%. I’m sure it’s happened a couple of times though, and I probably just rounded down from 20% or something like that.
I’m much more likely to tip extra for better-than-average service than to tip less for marginally bad service.
I’m an easy customer, I don’t usually complain or make special requests.
My father is a horrible customer - always giving special instructions and complaining about things. If we’re dining together and I’m paying, I definitely toss the server a noticeable extra amount along with a few looks that silently say, “I know. I’m sorry.”
It’s rare that I go somewhere often enough that I get to know a server and get personalized service, but there was one place I used to go to most Sundays for brunch, and sit at the bar. It was a busy place and the bar tender hustled her ass off, but still went out of her way to be friendly and get to know me a bit.
After a few visits, she stopped charging me for the over-priced iced tea I always ordered, and refilled it without my asking.
I would tip her an extra $5 on top of the 20% (for a $20ish meal, IIRC).
The tip line on the c.c. receipt for take-out/counter service makes me uncomfortable. lol
(No, I’m not tipping for that.)
@kazriko I have always thought of it based on pre-tax, but often do the math based on post-tax and figure then it is a little more. I usually round up a little. I can only speak to my experience, but 30 years ago we had to minimally claim a percentage of our subtotals (pre-tax). And when we had larger parties, we built-in the tip based on that as well. I have noticed that some restaurants put tip calculations at the bottom of their receipts and the are clearly based on the total (including tax).
@kazriko … it probably depends on the design of the receipt. Never thought about it that I can recall. Probably post-tax? 0.06*.2 is 0.012, and I don’t usually tip to the penny. So now that I think about it, both.
@InnocuousFarmer So about a 1.2% difference in your case, 1.6% in mine, so it would have to be a fairly large bill before it made a $1 difference, since I already round up to the nearest dollar on that.
@PlutoIsAPlanet This is how it should be IMHO. Getting rid of tipping altogether would very likely hurt great service since the staff’s pay would be the same regardless of their quality of service or hustle (notice this without fail overseas). Base pay should be covered commensurate with the job requirements and then we can tip for above-average service.
@jester747@PlutoIsAPlanet IDK I have had very few issues when traveling abroad, maybe I have been lucky - or you have been unlucky lol. Is the service better when I tip anyway (ie. hotel), of course! That said I have never really had issues at restaurants. Some waiters(waitresses) are better than others, but generally acceptable.
@PlutoIsAPlanet There’s a handful of restaurants in the US who have gotten rid of tipping, and many more that have tried it, very few of them keep that system. A very recent freakanomics podcast discussed it.
@kazriko@PlutoIsAPlanet That’s because the restaurant’s competitors win the race to the bottom with as close to legally free labor as you can get.
Migrant farm worker pay is also why we have cheap produce and products from BigAg.
There is always someone more desperate than you wanting these lowest of the low paying jobs. And the employers lobby/bribe politicians to keep it that way.
Rather new-ish pet-peeve of mine are these counter service places where you pay upfront upon ordering, typically with a touchscreen and then you get those silly HUGE guilt-trip buttons asking for a tip amount (that everyone in line behind you can see). Huh??? I don’t even have my empty self-service soda cup yet, have no idea if you will actually hold the pickles, or if the chicken will have a rusty nail in it or not… yet I have to figure out how much to tip!!! These places should just have an email address for tipping via Venmo, Google Pay or something, AFTER we actually get some service.
@jester747 I don’t ever provide tips for carry-out/takeout/counter service, because the only thing I’m paying for in such instances is the food itself and its preparation. Nobody waited on me at a table, etc., so why should I pay any extra?
We millennials need to get paid more than the crap wages these places offer (and that are run by your fellow boomers, so blame them for this situation). So we innovated and disrupted our way to a solution.
Now take a selfie for your Instagram showing how you tipped the food customization technicians more than the other losers behind you in line so you don’t break your streak and it will go viral.
Also, why didn’t you use your influencer card to get a discount to make up for the tip?
A Boomer can be an IG influencer??? What’s next a Yankee Cajun (well, besides Ron Guidry!) ?? Dividing by zero??
Seriously though, true innovation would be as was posted above… Pay the staff well and have tipping be optional (not eliminated) and also not requested prior to service with no way to add more later. With a digital wallet type option the cashless-society conundrum gets resolved and we can tip appropriately without guessing.
Thing is, a few restaurants around here have tried to take matters into their own hands, paying well and specifying that tips are optional (with slightly higher pricing of course) and folks just can’t wrap their minds around it… “why is your courtbouillon 11 bucks when it’s 10 down the street! Pffft!”… restaurateurs should do it together at least regionally so folks get educated. Single shops doing it unfairly hurts the good guy.
Single shops doing it unfairly hurts the good guy.
And foisting “right to (not) work” and busting unions is how Walmart put all of those small-town single shops out of business. And sign up the part-time non-union anti-collective bargaining workforce for government poverty and social welfare programs to shift those costs onto the taxpayers.
Tipping-based industries and low minimum wage rates are corporate socialism. Privatize the profits to the shareholders, socialize the costs to the taxpayers, the public, and the environment.
I don’t really eat out. Ever. Just not my thing. When i do here and there I usually just leave a $20 or in increments. Cause those are the convient bills and I don’t do it enough to hurt and leaving a good tip is nice.
Also sometimes the people you are with are assholes.
I’d prefer we get away from the bullshit dodge restaurant owners do on general.
I’ve never had a nasty server but again I don’t eat out much
What about self-service buffets? There’s an Indian restaurant in town with a good lunch buffet; they do serve you drinks and any extras you get, but they’re using the system where you swipe your card at the table while the manager stands there, and it has that same set of suggested tips, so tipping less than those feels embarrassing, yet it’s not the same as full service. I waited tables for years so I believe in tipping well, but don’t like feeling forced into it. I agree that the European system is better.
What is this thing you call tips and restaurants? I know the things called grocery stores and kitchens although not this other.
/giphy long live the microwave
@unksol Maybe superman’s breakfast bowl? Although my cats would like a super bowl full of human food of the meat variety. Oh. I know! I want a super bowl of ice cream. Chocolate chip.
@Kidsandliz@unksol Years ago a friend’s little kid wondered if there was going to be a “Soup Bowl Party”, another friend responded “That’s a GREAT idea!”
So every year, for something like 15 years, there’s been a Soup Bowl Party.
20 min, usually 30 on the total with tax, because waiting tables all day is hard
work.
@zippyus So, if the tax goes up, the service you got is worth more?
I never include the tax when figuring a tip. And the service had better be more than adequate for me to leave one at all. I know, I’m something of a cheapskate – but I retired from teaching after more than 30 years, and had been given tips maybe thrice, and that’s hard work also. (Those tips were “gifts” from foreign students – Asian or Arabic, who told me that was customary in their place; seemed more like attempted bribery to me, after the final exam but before grades came out.)
Yep, cheapskate.
/giphy cheapskate
@phendrick @zippyus The difference between getting tipped for being a salaried employee (teacher) and getting tipped for hourly work that is only paid about 1/3 of the amount of minimum wage is quite large. Servers make less than $5 per hour and depend on tips to make up the difference. Not leaving a tip isn’t being a cheapskate—it’s being unfeeling and callous.
Excerpt from phoenixnewtimes.com article about tipping:
With the rare exception of truly offensive service, there is a social contract that exists between the server and the public that the only way they can have a livable wage is to receive tips. You do not need to tip at a counter-service place that does not provide post-sale service. It is never okay not to tip.
@Gypsigirl213 @phendrick @zippyus Thank you Gypsigirl!! I was a server for years during college, and people that don’t tip should not be allowed to eat out. In GA, a server makes around $2.15/hr. and automatically taxed 10% on every credit card charge since the IRS assumes that’s the minimum a customer will tip. Zero tip or leaving less than 10% means the server is paying the IRS to wait on you.
@msqaf00 @phendrick @zippyus Wow—I didn’t know that about the tax—that’s utterly disgusting. It boggles my mind how people who already get paid next to nothing are instantly robbed by the IRS. I waited tables for a minute when I was 18, but I wasn’t properly trained, so I was terrible at it and it was an awful experience. That’s how I know how hard that job is. Even if I never had the experience, I would never not tip (abominable service aside) because etiquette.
@haydesigner @Gypsigirl213
I thought most people who were on Meh was because of their being cheapskates.
Well, servers are not losing a lot because of my tip policy. For one thing, because of my current financial situation, it’s been most of a year since I ate at a place where tips were a thing. Before that, I did make sure to tip when the service was, as I said, adequate. I know the job is hectic, and I didn’t usually blame the server for a mistake in the order, if they made an effort to correct it. But I would not tip a rude server. This is a college community and most wait staff are college. (Funny thing, it seems to me that college students are generally not very good tippers, at least at the non-five-star restaurants I would frequent. And at fast food places with no tipping, I didn’t often see students put money into tip jars at the counter, with students working behind the counter.) I believed in supporting their efforts. When I ate, I usually paid cash, and the same for tips. I very seldom did not tip at least 15% on the restaurant charge.
@msquf00 Is that just a Georgia thing? I have talked with students about waiting and their tips, and no one ever mentioned this automatic tax on credit charges to me, I think they might have. Does the restaurant have to report credit charges accepted for each employee? I also think, but am not sure, that in doing their tax return, they could report their actual income and get the difference back in a refund from their withholding.
@ybmuG didn’t help set the clocks back.
@haydesigner @phendrick Again: Not leaving a tip isn’t being a cheapskate—it’s being unfeeling and callous.
@Gypsigirl213 @haydesigner I guess that’s me – I also kick blind beggars to the curb and won’t give my dog any of that onion soup she keeps begging me for. (I’ll have to stop working at Habitat for Humanity, so I don’t ruin my reputation.)
Unfeeling and calloused – have you been observing my hands and feet?
@Gypsigirl213 @haydesigner @phendrick
The reason the employers total up tips is to make sure they’re still paying their tipped staff minimum wage. They don’t give a flying fuck about the tipped staff’s taxes. The executives don’t want to go to federal prison for wage theft since we outlawed owning people outright some 150 years ago.
@GoneForever @phendrick @zippyus
I’m confused.
20% most of the time unless the service is mediocre and then it gets 15%. Bad service gets a complaint and 10% or less (I’ve not had service so bad I don’t tip at all in many years)
Percentages for this are bullshit. Bringing me something cheap takes just as much effort as bringing me something expensive. I just go with a couple bucks usually, for the hourish I was there, and try to do so in cash if possible.
@nogoodwithnames A couple of bucks minimum, sure. But if I go somewhere that my ticket is $100, a couple of bucks makes me look like an asshole, so it has to scale up whether it was harder or not.
@djslack @nogoodwithnames - I give a minimum of $5 for table service unless it’s really bad, and 15% if the bill is over $100 unless the service (or food) is REALLY good, but otherwise 20%.
I tip 20 % most of the time and sometimes more, especially if I am alone and occupying a two person table, which may result in the server being one person short at that time.
I try not to, but my big feet do get out from under the table occasionally. What? Oh… 20%
@hchavers heh. Yeah, not “trip.” Someone appreciated your joke!
I almost always tip more than 20%. The service has to be noticeably substandard for me to even do 15%.
And the cheaper the place I’m at, I tip a lot more, sometimes 30-40%, because percentage-based tipping screws servers like that. And the ones who work in cheap places often need the money WAY more.
Oh, and I decidedly do NOT do any tip jar tipping.
@haydesigner Why not tip jars? There’s a teeny taco place (formerly a taco truck, but they were able to open a little restaurant!) where when I pick up an order I always leave a couple of bucks in the tip jar.
@Gypsigirl213 @haydesigner Those folks are getting paid at least minimum wage- table servers aren’t. I put money in tip jars sometimes, especially if it’s at a concert and the weather is terrible. But I don’t feel the need to.
@Gypsigirl213 @haydesigner @sammydog01
Everyone is guaranteed minimum wage, if base wage + tips are less than minimum wage, the restaurant is responsible for making up the difference to ensure they do make minimum wage.
@haydesigner @MrMark @sammydog01
@Gypsigirl213 @haydesigner @MrMark @sammydog01 this is one of those “the law days this” deals, but in practice many restaurants do not do this. the employees have zero leverage to enforce.
@Gypsigirl213 @haydesigner @sammydog01 @zippyus
Based on personal experience I find that surprising. Literally every restaurant I worked at verified tips were enough to cover minimum wage.
Also majority of servers will tell you they wouldn’t want to go to a flat hourly wage, even above minimum wage.
I worked at popular restaurants, so there were never any slow days, is perhaps mom and pop diner type places would view this differently
@Gypsigirl213 @haydesigner @MrMark @sammydog01 i wouldnt be surprised if there’s better compliance at the chain level. but at standalone places compliance varies from stellar to “owner skims from the tips.”
We dont eat at restaurants.
The wife cooks, and I give her more thsn just the tip.
/giphy rimshot
@mike808
@mike808 So, you give her 30%?
@mike808 yep. My wife takes 100% too.
@TheCO2 No, the ex-wife took 30%.
What about fast casual counter service places? Where you either go get your food from the counter or they bring it to your table and take the number you were given at the register.
And how about takeout that you’re picking up? Not delivery, that definitely is a tip expected service.
Both of those types of places usually have tip jars and spots on the credit card receipt to enter a tip.
@djslack Yes, a small tip for pickup service and no, no tip necessary for counter service places. I mean, if your truly asking about proper etiquette
My 20% is pretax. I’ve noticed a lot of places that put helpful tip calculations on the receipt include tax. Or better yet, don’t include tax on the first itemized copy but then change to include it on the credit card one you must sign.
Occasionally the tip is higher for good service. Or because it includes the amount of anything that is comped. Or lower for terrible service.
Back in my early 20’s we had service so awful at a chain restaurant that my tip was “stay in school, don’t do drugs, call 1-800-COLLECT, and pay attention to your tables” but I felt pretty bad about that afterward. That girl probably didn’t last long in that career field if she was consistently that terrible, though.
@ZeroCharisma For real though, I usually tip way higher than 20%. I don’t do restaurants much, and when I do it’s usually just coffee - no reason the server should get screwed because I ordered the cheapest thing on the menu.
/giphy just the tip
I believe the entire system of tipping is fundamentally flawed and shouldn’t exist, and as a result I actively avoid eating in establishments where tipping is customary. It is the employer’s responsibility, not the customer’s, to properly pay their staff.
I also will not tip in places where no additional service was provided (e.g. carry-out orders or fast food), unless the particular staff were very exceptional. (I believe in rewarding kindness)
@PooltoyWolf
@Gypsigirl213 @PooltoyWolf Agree 100%! I want to move to Canada to dodge tipping.
@PooltoyWolf
^^^ THIS ^^^
@PooltoyWolf I agree that tipping system is flawed and shouldn’t exist. However, there are too many restaurants that I love to just not patronize them.
I do know a few individuals that feel the need to protest the system by just refusing to tip ever, insisting it’s the “only way to bring about a change to the system”. They realize they are just sticking it to a single innocent individual who is paid less than minimum wage and has no say in the matter, but rationalize it by throwing out a bunch of “taking a stand” or “taking the first step” garbage, thinking they are Rosa Parks.
They aren’t accomplishing anything except looking like a d-bag.
@DrWorm @PooltoyWolf Agreed. Not tipping is awful, uncaring, and atrocious as it does only punish the individual and does nothing to change the system. The system has to be changed by laws or by the restaurants themselves, but the restaurants have no incentive to change, which is why laws are more likely to enact change. Contact lawmakers and demand change, that’s only way to get it done.
Adam Ruins…Tipping
And for me, it’s usually more than 20%. Depends on the service and how long I stay (because always increase your tip if you’re lingering and preventing servers from turn over as it reduces their income).
i’ve tipped anywhere from 0-400%. i’d say average is about 25%
$2 on every $10 on the bill. So 20%. But I round up at 4, so if the bill is $12, ya get $2. If it $14, you get $3. That being said, last time I had a dinner check that was $14 was in the 90s.
Generally 25%, sometimes a bit less or more. Never less than 20%. If the service was utterly terrible, I’ll leave the tip in cash with a bunch of pennies.
@ahacksaw So you carry around a shit ton of pennies when you go out to eat…just in case?
@MrMark Sort of. I carry a purse, and whenever I get change, I throw it in. As a result, I have like a million dollars in change with me at all times.
I don’t believe in tipping, I believe in over-tipping. Funny how I never have to wait for anything or get little extras in the places i frequent.
@fitsterlee I’m glad you can afford to do that!
I tip 20%, but then I might knock off points for shitty service.
If the service was excellent I might tip 25%.
I tip 100% of the tip that I tip.
Pretty often it’s 20% rounded up to the nearest dollar or $5. Sometimes a bit less than 20% because I like the number better (say I ordered a fancy pizza that cost 1.33x the usual amount? Something like that maybe.)
What drives me nuts is that tips aren’t just for waiters. There’s a whole mysterious catalog of “Wait was I supposed to have tipped there? Am I a cheapskate for my ignorance?”
Sometimes I buy a carryout pizza with a credit card, and then they print out a receipt with a tip line, and I fill it out because the piece of paper seems to be demanding extra money, but I am pretty sure my payment is not adjusted.
I am pretty sure you’re supposed to tip hotel maids … was it every night? With some kind of special note? There’s all this stupid nonsense I’m supposed to know about that. It makes even less sense than wait staff.
@InnocuousFarmer i usually google if i’m not sure. for example, we never travel so we never stay in hotels, but awhile back we had occasion to stay in a bunch. had to google about housekeeping. i generally don’t want or need it, but when they did come we left a tip for that day, because the staff rotates. so if you stay a week and only tip on friday, then one person might get a real nice tip for one day and everyone else got nothing. have also had to google for valets, stylists, tattoo artists, furniture delivery guys, you name it. it’s confusing out there and i wish i had more money to give away.
I start at 20% and deduct from that for poor service.
20% always, but rounded up to the next whole dollar or more, and more for above and beyond service. except twice in my entire life when the service was just THAT BAD. (and i still tipped just not 20%.)
We usually tip around $2.50 per person we are paying for rounded to the next dollar and adjust based on service. If it is a particularly fancy place or a particularly complex order, we adjust accordingly but we never adjust downward for a cheap restaurant. That means for a really cheap meal we will sometimes tip close to 75% but the wait staff didn’t work any less hard so I fail to see why they don’t deserve to make just as much as at a Chillis or something.
20% is my minimum unless the service is bad. For take out I’ll still tip $1-2.
When I go out with the family it tends to be around 20-25%
When I go out on Friday’s with the work group for lunch and everyone gets their own bill it’s around 30-40%
Always above 20%
Usually 20-25% PRE-TAX to the nearest dollar, although will go lower for very poor service. It would have to be very bad to go below 15%. I try to tip a little more for smaller bills, especially if the service was superb!
I despise the receipts that have suggested amounts, as they’re usually calculated AFTER tax. Tip is ALWAYS off of pre-tax!
Don’t usually tip for takeout orders, as, to me, no extra service was rendered beyond what I ordered. In my opinion, tip is for service rendered for something I could have done myself (get the food to my table, carry my own luggage, park my car) that someone else put in the effort to do for me (obviously, I don’t have a choice in restaurants).
It depends… At a coffee shop (fancy coffee, not just drip) and bars, I tip $1/drink…Unless I am running a tab, then 20%+. At restaurants usually I round up the pre-tax amount to make he nearest $10 and do 20% of that - more for exceptional service… But, if I received a discount or free item/drink (coupon or reward or the like) I usually add half the cost of the free item to my standard tip amount.
I have never received a tip, but on the other hand, I have never worked a job that literally pays less than minimum wage. So, generally 20%+. With great service comes great rewards.
I get a drip coffee refill every morning from the same shop. It comes to $1.39, I hand them 2 $1 bills and toss the 61¢ in the jar.
Restaurants I usually tip 20%. Bars $1 per drink. Hotel maid, $5 bucks a night. Taxi, depends on the fare, but somewhere between $5-10.
20%, minimum $5.
though apparently when i’m really drunk, i have to give an extra $1 on top of the 20%. i have no idea why.
I usually tip around 20%, give or take. It’s usually a factor of rounding to the nearest dollar/$5 amount. Great service gets more, bad service(not kitchen related) usually gets less.
If they aren’t bringing the food to me, refilling drinks, etc, then I’m not tipping. The tip jar or the “please add percentage to your bill when you order at the counter” is BS. (Reports I saw showed many companies simply pocket the “tip at counter” as they have no obligation to give that to employees, and the tip concept drives people to pay more when they don’t have to).
For delivery drivers, I usually shoot for $5. They get a usual salary, but they do have to drive/wear/tear on vehicle, so I factor that into the drive. That’ll end up being less than 20% there, but I don’t tend to go crazy with deliveries anyway, so overall tends to be pretty low.
@alcamar Drivers generally don’t get paid minimum, fyi. Often more than the tipped minimum, but below normal. Though depending on the place, they might make minimum while not on runs.
@spitfire6006006 Every one I’ve talked to(granted not many) were paid employees. Then there’s the adverts for hiring at pizza places and the like, giving an hourly rate plus tips. But then, I actively use the services that actually hire their employees for delivery, vs view them as contractors, so that might be a difference there.
@alcamar generally they’re all employees outside of third party companies like GrubHub, but they’re still considered tipped workers so can be paid under minimum
Interesting that there’s no discussion here about state-to-state variations. In Washington State minimum wage is minimum wage. There is no lower wage for servers.
So, in Seattle for example, servers are making at least $12-$15 per hour (depending on how big their employer is). But in Chicago, they can make as little as $6.40.
If you spend $50 on a meal in Chicago that takes ~1 hour of a server’s time and you tip 20%, you’re adding $10 to that server’s income, bringing them up to $16.40 for the hour.
If you spend the same $50 on a 1-hour meal in Seattle and tip 10% you bring their hourly up to $17-$20.
But I bet most people don’t vary how much they tip when they travel. I suspect that people in Seattle who tip 20% will still just tip 20% if they visit Chicago, and vice versa.
Which makes zero sense, really.
@The_Tim What makes zero sense is not having federal wage standards.
For waitstaff, my starting point is 20%. If I know I’ve left a mess/kept the person busy, it’ll be more. Waxers get at least $5, even if service is less than $25. Food delivery, 20-25%, depending on how screwed I think they’re getting by their contracted employer. 20% or more for takeout. A lot of those times ToGo orders require logistics and thoughtfulness people dismiss far too easily.
Tipping varies based on quality of food/service, total bill, oddball amounts. I will usually tip well over 15%, round to the nearest dollar etc. depending on the above factors. Most times it’s on my CC for the FF miles or rewards back on restaurant purchases.
BTW tips are based on the value of the meal (BOGO tip should be on the cost if you didn’t get the BOBO for instance…)
30+% because I serve tables and I know it really makes your day and makes up for the horrible garbage people that leave 10% or less and don’t understand that servers TIP OUT OTHER STAFF MEMBERS based on their sales, usually 3-4%, so if you leave $4 on $100 because you feel like that server had 4 other tables and you can’t justify them making more than you make working at the Walgreen’s register, that server either broke even or lost money on the hour and a half of extra ranch they just wasted on you… kthxbaiiiii
@mavgrad13 I don’t think that’s typical. In fact, many states do not allow tips to go to back of the house employees. It would probably be better if the tip was split between everyone who made that table’s meals, but I don’t think it’s in any way universal or even common. Of course, I always do at least 18% even for bad service except for carryout/takeout counters.
20% at minimum. I generally go for just whole dollars unless I’m paying in cash and just let them keep whatever change on top of the dollars.
Challenge Question:
You’re eating at a restaurant, but have to leave quickly. Maybe you’re in an airport and need to catch your flight. It doesn’t matter.
You get your check and see that it’s wrong. You got charged for an extra entree you didn’t order. You don’t have time to get the bill corrected.
What do you do? Pay the full check but no tip? Put cash on the table to cover what your check should have been plus a tip and just leave? Pay the full check plus tip?
@Limewater if I’m paying with a card it’ll take the same amount of time to get it fixed. They can do it while ringing my card.
@RiotDemon Say you’re paying cash then, or didn’t notice it until you got your card back with the receipts and it had already been charged.
@Limewater @RiotDemon leave a note explaining and leave the righr amount plus tip. Not sure what else you can do
@Limewater I don’t pay cash so I skipped that part.
If I’m in such a giant rush that a minute really matters, I’ll take the receipt and call them when I’m on my way to wherever or later that day.
@RiotDemon So in the meantime would you go ahead an put a tip on the tip line of the receipt?
@Limewater probably.
Your scenario is oddly specific.
@Limewater i correct the bill, tip my server, miss my flight, and then eat my bodyweight in airport donuts.
For unremarkable service, I tip 20% after tax; if the service is bad, I’ll tip 20% before tax.
lol
The difference is, like, pennies and I’m sure the server doesn’t notice either way, but it makes me feel like I’m at least making some kind of statement.
Rarely have I ever had service so remarkably bad that I’ve tipped less than 20%. I’m sure it’s happened a couple of times though, and I probably just rounded down from 20% or something like that.
I’m much more likely to tip extra for better-than-average service than to tip less for marginally bad service.
I’m an easy customer, I don’t usually complain or make special requests.
My father is a horrible customer - always giving special instructions and complaining about things. If we’re dining together and I’m paying, I definitely toss the server a noticeable extra amount along with a few looks that silently say, “I know. I’m sorry.”
It’s rare that I go somewhere often enough that I get to know a server and get personalized service, but there was one place I used to go to most Sundays for brunch, and sit at the bar. It was a busy place and the bar tender hustled her ass off, but still went out of her way to be friendly and get to know me a bit.
After a few visits, she stopped charging me for the over-priced iced tea I always ordered, and refilled it without my asking.
I would tip her an extra $5 on top of the 20% (for a $20ish meal, IIRC).
The tip line on the c.c. receipt for take-out/counter service makes me uncomfortable. lol
(No, I’m not tipping for that.)
Usually about 25% but never less than $5 even if it’s just me
20% rounded up for good service. Precisely 18% using a calculator for mediocre or bad service. (Was always told that 18% was the standard tip.)
Here’s a question for everyone though. Do you tip based on the pre-tax or post-tax amount? I was always told that the tip was on the pre-tax amount.
@kazriko I have always thought of it based on pre-tax, but often do the math based on post-tax and figure then it is a little more. I usually round up a little. I can only speak to my experience, but 30 years ago we had to minimally claim a percentage of our subtotals (pre-tax). And when we had larger parties, we built-in the tip based on that as well. I have noticed that some restaurants put tip calculations at the bottom of their receipts and the are clearly based on the total (including tax).
@kazriko … it probably depends on the design of the receipt. Never thought about it that I can recall. Probably post-tax? 0.06*.2 is 0.012, and I don’t usually tip to the penny. So now that I think about it, both.
@InnocuousFarmer So about a 1.2% difference in your case, 1.6% in mine, so it would have to be a fairly large bill before it made a $1 difference, since I already round up to the nearest dollar on that.
What would happen if restaurants paid their staff? And tipping was done for exceptional service? Would it be bad?
@PlutoIsAPlanet or how about a European model where restaurants pay their staff reasonably and tipping is not expected at all.
@PlutoIsAPlanet This is how it should be IMHO. Getting rid of tipping altogether would very likely hurt great service since the staff’s pay would be the same regardless of their quality of service or hustle (notice this without fail overseas). Base pay should be covered commensurate with the job requirements and then we can tip for above-average service.
@jester747 @PlutoIsAPlanet IDK I have had very few issues when traveling abroad, maybe I have been lucky - or you have been unlucky lol. Is the service better when I tip anyway (ie. hotel), of course! That said I have never really had issues at restaurants. Some waiters(waitresses) are better than others, but generally acceptable.
@PlutoIsAPlanet There’s a handful of restaurants in the US who have gotten rid of tipping, and many more that have tried it, very few of them keep that system. A very recent freakanomics podcast discussed it.
@kazriko @PlutoIsAPlanet That’s because the restaurant’s competitors win the race to the bottom with as close to legally free labor as you can get.
Migrant farm worker pay is also why we have cheap produce and products from BigAg.
There is always someone more desperate than you wanting these lowest of the low paying jobs. And the employers lobby/bribe politicians to keep it that way.
Rather new-ish pet-peeve of mine are these counter service places where you pay upfront upon ordering, typically with a touchscreen and then you get those silly HUGE guilt-trip buttons asking for a tip amount (that everyone in line behind you can see). Huh??? I don’t even have my empty self-service soda cup yet, have no idea if you will actually hold the pickles, or if the chicken will have a rusty nail in it or not… yet I have to figure out how much to tip!!! These places should just have an email address for tipping via Venmo, Google Pay or something, AFTER we actually get some service.
@jester747 I don’t ever provide tips for carry-out/takeout/counter service, because the only thing I’m paying for in such instances is the food itself and its preparation. Nobody waited on me at a table, etc., so why should I pay any extra?
@jester747 @PooltoyWolf
OK, Boomer.
We millennials need to get paid more than the crap wages these places offer (and that are run by your fellow boomers, so blame them for this situation). So we innovated and disrupted our way to a solution.
Now take a selfie for your Instagram showing how you tipped the food customization technicians more than the other losers behind you in line so you don’t break your streak and it will go viral.
Also, why didn’t you use your influencer card to get a discount to make up for the tip?
@mike808 @PooltoyWolf
Seriously though, true innovation would be as was posted above… Pay the staff well and have tipping be optional (not eliminated) and also not requested prior to service with no way to add more later. With a digital wallet type option the cashless-society conundrum gets resolved and we can tip appropriately without guessing.
Thing is, a few restaurants around here have tried to take matters into their own hands, paying well and specifying that tips are optional (with slightly higher pricing of course) and folks just can’t wrap their minds around it… “why is your courtbouillon 11 bucks when it’s 10 down the street! Pffft!”… restaurateurs should do it together at least regionally so folks get educated. Single shops doing it unfairly hurts the good guy.
@jester747 @PooltoyWolf
You can have Emeril Lagasse back, New Jersey.
@jester747 @PooltoyWolf
And foisting “right to (not) work” and busting unions is how Walmart put all of those small-town single shops out of business. And sign up the part-time non-union anti-collective bargaining workforce for government poverty and social welfare programs to shift those costs onto the taxpayers.
Tipping-based industries and low minimum wage rates are corporate socialism. Privatize the profits to the shareholders, socialize the costs to the taxpayers, the public, and the environment.
I don’t really eat out. Ever. Just not my thing. When i do here and there I usually just leave a $20 or in increments. Cause those are the convient bills and I don’t do it enough to hurt and leaving a good tip is nice.
Also sometimes the people you are with are assholes.
I’d prefer we get away from the bullshit dodge restaurant owners do on general.
I’ve never had a nasty server but again I don’t eat out much
What about self-service buffets? There’s an Indian restaurant in town with a good lunch buffet; they do serve you drinks and any extras you get, but they’re using the system where you swipe your card at the table while the manager stands there, and it has that same set of suggested tips, so tipping less than those feels embarrassing, yet it’s not the same as full service. I waited tables for years so I believe in tipping well, but don’t like feeling forced into it. I agree that the European system is better.
What is this thing you call tips and restaurants? I know the things called grocery stores and kitchens although not this other.
/giphy long live the microwave
@Kidsandliz what is this super bowl? I assume meat and cheese and maybe tomato base. Maybe some sour cream
@unksol Maybe superman’s breakfast bowl? Although my cats would like a super bowl full of human food of the meat variety. Oh. I know! I want a super bowl of ice cream. Chocolate chip.
@Kidsandliz @unksol Years ago a friend’s little kid wondered if there was going to be a “Soup Bowl Party”, another friend responded “That’s a GREAT idea!”
So every year, for something like 15 years, there’s been a Soup Bowl Party.
@blaineg @Kidsandliz do you bring your own bowls? Are they provided? Does everyone bring a soup to share or is there one soup master?
Inquiring minds want to know.
Usually with cash.