Do We Really Tip Based On The Waiter's Service?
It's a question I read on Freakonomics. A waiter who works in my neck of the woods, Joshua Talley, writes:
It seems likely to me that aside from instances of extremely good or extremely poor service, most people simply tip what they normally tip. For instance, some people are 10 percenters, many are 15 percenters and some are 20 percenters, etc., and it takes either very good or very poor service to change this. Am I right?
I'm a 20 percenter, because for many years, I couldn't afford to tip much, and now I can.
I know that waitstaffing is hard work and that the employers underpay the employees. Work should be a way to make a living and I'm the one who is getting the services and paying for the services, whether I pay in the form of a tip, or I pay in the form of higher menu prices.
If service is substandard, it's frequently for understaffing, or problem management. I can overlook a lot if a mistake is explained and an attempt to correct it is made. I'll tip for the attempt.
But I'll happily undertip or no tip if I get some clown who acts like I don't deserve their attention
Walt at December 28, 2012 11:24 PM
I'm not exactly certain why this waiter finds this situation surprising.
For standard service people are going to tip their standard amount. Only when the service falls outside of the standard range are people going to make adjustments.
The reason for this I suspect is that it is too challenging to really distinguish between service that warrants a 15% tip versus service that warrants a 13% or 17% tip. At some point you are just splitting hairs over what really amounts to nickles and dimes.
Instead people make discontinuous jumps when they feel the service is really great or really poor. They do this because they feel confident distinguishing between those situations versus standard service and because those discontinuous jumps actually amount to something tangible from a monetary perspective.
If this individual expects people to tip based upon some sort of a continuum model of service they are expecting way too much thought to go into the tipping process.
That being said, if a waiter recognizes that a particular patron tends to tip 20% for standard service and another patron tips 10% for standard service they can always put a little more effort into the 20% table as opposed to the 10% table.
Orion at December 28, 2012 11:42 PM
I routinely tip 20 percent. If the service is bad I tell the manager. If the food is bad I don't take it out on the server. My wife normally tips about 15-20 percent, usually a little less than I do. I don't know why, but I'm a little freer with money in general, so I suspect that explains it.
roadgeek at December 28, 2012 11:52 PM
I think it is true for most people. For service that falls in the ordinary so does the tip. I may "pay rent" if I am hanging out and not ordering all that much.
Generally I am unaware exactly how much effort is being put in -- was it just luck that thing worked well (or not so well) for me or was it effort on the waitstaff's part? I don't usually know.
The Former Banker at December 29, 2012 1:19 AM
"It seems likely to me that aside from instances of extremely good or extremely poor service, most people simply tip what they normally tip."
Um, yeah. People do what they normally do.
Old RPM Daddy (OldRPMDaddy at GMail dot com) at December 29, 2012 4:57 AM
I'm generally in the 20% range just because it makes the calculation easier.
But at the same time I go to a local Waffle House on a regular basis, usually on third shift. If the cook is busy, I occasionally kibitz to make sure the other orders are complete and not burned. And I generally tell the cooks how they did. The cooks get an occasional tip as well.
Apparently I have made an impression, because a second shift waitress, I had never met, knew who my favorite waitress is and had an idea of what I was going to order.
Jim P. at December 29, 2012 5:46 AM
I know that waitstaffing is hard work and that the employers underpay the employees.
If by this you mean employees who make tips get paid a lower minimum wage than the regular minimum wage, then that's correct. People who are good at waiting can make very good money - it is a close to being self-employed as you can get without actually starting a small business.
If the food is bad I don't take it out on the server.
But you should mention it to your server. Some places require their wait staff to tip out the kitchen.
I R A Darth Aggie at December 29, 2012 6:05 AM
I think you are right.
I have been extremely lucky in life. If the waitstaff just manages to avoid aggravated negligence, I tip at 20%.
Anything better than that, 30%.
Jeff Guinn at December 29, 2012 6:29 AM
I need to add that the service I get in American restaurants is nearly always excellent.
Jeff Guinn at December 29, 2012 6:30 AM
As a restaurant critic I'm not spending my money, so it's easiest and most convenient for me to do Jim P.'s easy 20% calculation—and servers don't seem to mind. On extremely rare occasions I have left as little as zero when the service warrants it. Normally, my basement for pathetic service is 10%.
Ari LeVaux at December 29, 2012 7:38 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2012/12/29/do_we_really_ti.html#comment-3534386">comment from Ari LeVauxAri writes a wonderful food column, by the way. Click on his name.
And Gregg and I tend to go to the same place over and over and we really like the staff, and he always tips well. I tip 20 percent or more because it takes just a little bit extra to make somebody feel they had a good day. I also tip at the cafe where I go, and think the people who sit there all day and give nothing to the staff, who take really good care of all of us, are piggies.
I also tip my landlord's gardener at Christmas (just did in a little card I made him) and bring him a bottle of water and offer to make him coffee when he's here. He's a sweetheart and I think it's nice to recognize people for the work they do. This also includes recognizing people like my neighbor, Mari, who voluntarily plants and tends the flowers and plants at her apartment complex next door. She makes my neighborhood a more beautiful place. I don't give her money, but I tell her how beautiful the plants and flowers look and how much I appreciate it.
I'm going to be writing a chapter on Eating, Drinking, and Parties after this one I'm working on now -- the Transportation chapter -- so I really appreciate all the thoughts here about why you tip, when you all tip, and how much. Please feel free to post related stuff. This isn't really my area, tipping, and I'm going to talk to the restaurant guy who was on Anderson Cooper with me, along with my favorite bartender at my favorite bar and the owner.
PS At my favorite restaurant, the staff with the least seniority have worked there for over five years. That says something about a place. Also, I like that the management doesn't have actor/spokesmodel waitresses -- they have promoted a number of immigrants (apparently from South/Central America) from busboy to waiter.
Amy Alkon at December 29, 2012 7:48 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2012/12/29/do_we_really_ti.html#comment-3534389">comment from Amy AlkonOh, also, and I might have said this on Anderson Cooper, if you're getting what seems to be bad service, I think it's important to consider what might be happening -- whether the waitress/waiter is getting screwed over by the kitchen, whether they might have had a bad day, etc. Sometimes, the person is just a jerk who's bad at their job, but looking empathetically at them might help you be not so pissed off, if not end up getting you better service if you ask, kindly, if they're having a bad time of it.
Amy Alkon at December 29, 2012 7:50 AM
I typically tip 20% at any place I'm a regular. Otherwise, 15% to 20% pretax - I don't feel the need to tip the server on what the government's stealing from me.
Assholio at December 29, 2012 8:14 AM
I'm a 20%er because I've been in service and it's hard, and they do work. If there are issues with my experience that don't seem to be waiter-related, I'll talk to the manager but it doesn't affect the tip. If it's waitstaff related, though, no tip and I talk to management. Sometimes-rarely but it's happened-a waiter will just be downright rude. Sorry, I don't pay for rude. If you can't behave decently to your customer, service jobs are not for you.
We were at a seafood place on the coast once, eating on the patio. A table of 10. The table collapsed midmeal. That waiter actually got a bigger tip because he was so mortified. Wasn't his fault (and the meal of course ended up free).
momof4 at December 29, 2012 8:21 AM
In common with many other Europeans I won't add a tip to a bar bill if I'm actually at the bar. The bartender, to my thinking, does nothing extra to deserve tipping.
Of course this does tend to enrage American bartenders, but I don't care. Americans!!! Don't be intimidated by your barman!!! Save the tipping for the cocktail waitress, who actually has to move ass.
As for a restaurant meal, 12%.
Martin Blaise at December 29, 2012 8:49 AM
Twenty percent across the board unless the waiter did something exceptional or was very rude. One time my filet was overcooked, and instead of merely replacing it, they comped my whole meal. I felt bad and tacked half of it onto the waiter's tip.
Insufficient Poison at December 29, 2012 9:55 AM
I always tip 20%, more if the service was particularly good, or the waiter/waitress is particularly attentive/nice. It really just depends. That said, when I'm at the bar, I tip a dollar a round, whether it's just my drink or mine + others, but then maybe I'll up it a bit if the bartender is someone I know or is nice, shares a laugh or whatever. My favorite bartender, however, always gets a big tip from me (at least $10) because he always tops off my glass without me even asking, and without charging me, and he has given BF and I a free drink with dinner on more than one occasion. When he sees us walk into the place, he has our drinks on the bar before we've even got our coats off. Now that's a great bartender!
Flynne at December 29, 2012 10:05 AM
Also, I like that the management doesn't have actor/spokesmodel waitresses . . .
What is that? An actor waitress?
Steve Daniels at December 29, 2012 10:16 AM
Americans!!! Don't be intimidated by your barman!!!
I'm not intimidated by the bartender, I'm merely polite. Apparently, this is a not a virtue that you possess.
Steve Daniels at December 29, 2012 10:19 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2012/12/29/do_we_really_ti.html#comment-3534537">comment from Steve DanielsIt's Los Angeles. They come in all varieties!
Amy Alkon at December 29, 2012 10:19 AM
20% across the board. The service has to be exceptionally horrific to get less and less is never less than 15%. Everyone is entitled to a bad day and while that bad day should not affect my dining out experience, life isn't always black and white.
I will also for exceptional service tip a little more and make sure to compliment the server to the management both in person and an email.
Kristen at December 29, 2012 10:21 AM
Normally 20% for normal service. As others have said, it has to be outside the norm for me to tip more or less.
But, one place I don't tip is the "counter" in a place such as the bagel shop where they've put out a "tip jar." WTF? It IS your job to cut and smear with cream cheese a bagel - nothing outside the norm would make you better or worse so why should I tip? Can someone explain why they expect a tip? (other than cheap managers, I mean)
Now, this bagel shop does do lunch, and yes, if I order a burger (or something else) and go sit down in a booth, I will include a tip when I settle the bill because they brought my lunch over to me. But, otherwise, why tip at such a place? (or am I just being "mean"?)
Charles at December 29, 2012 11:03 AM
Charles, I don't think you're being mean. I grew up with a father who tipped everyone and I think often we mirror our parents with things like that and I know it drove him crazy to go into a deli or place like that and see a tip jar. It isn't the same as being waited on. Starbucks by me has the tip jar and usually I do tip but then leave resentful that my $8 for a cup of bad coffee wasn't enough.
Charles at December 29, 2012 11:06 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2012/12/29/do_we_really_ti.html#comment-3534597">comment from CharlesI tip at coffee places (I don't eat bagels or any wheat because wheat is the single worst thing you can eat -- http://www.blogtalkradio.com/amyalkon/2012/11/26/advice-goddess-radio-amy-alkon ).
Anyway, I do it because it's not a well-paying job and people who work there often have it tough and it means more to me to leave them a little something and show I appreciate them than it means to me to hang on to that 50 cents.
And actually, as I see from my fave cafe, employees who care, even about the schmear on your bagel, make a difference.
Amy Alkon at December 29, 2012 11:08 AM
>> I won't add a tip to a bar bill if I'm actually at the bar. The bartender, to my thinking, does nothing extra to deserve tipping.
I guess it depend on how strong you like your drinks, because after 1 round of not tipping the bartender, I think they will be rather weak.
Assholio at December 29, 2012 11:21 AM
"Anyway, I do it because it's not a well-paying job and people who work there often have it tough and it means more to me to leave them a little something and show I appreciate them than it means to me to hang on to that 50 cents."
I get your point, Amy, and its not that the 50 cents or dollar is so meaningful. Our local fast food restaurant had tip jars out for awhile. Where does it end? Not everyone has well-paying jobs. There's a huge difference between waiting a table and getting a cup of coffee. I do usually tip the coffee people too but just think that it gets a bit excessive.
Kristen at December 29, 2012 11:55 AM
In common with many other Europeans I won't add a tip to a bar bill if I'm actually at the bar. The bartender, to my thinking, does nothing extra to deserve tipping.
Well, well. An ugly European. Who knew? or are those drinks going to mix themselves, or that beer pour itself? and here I thought a good bartender busted their ass.
Of course this does tend to enrage American bartenders, but I don't care.
It also generally irritates us regulars, too. That you should care about.
I R A Darth Aggie at December 29, 2012 12:03 PM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2012/12/29/do_we_really_ti.html#comment-3534729">comment from I R A Darth AggieRegarding not tipping because you're European and that's not how it's done in Europe, when you travel, being respectful is playing by their ways. Also, while waiters in France are, from what I understand, paid enough to live on, waiters and bartenders here get a small hourly rate and are expected to make their money in tips. If you can't bear leaving a tip, go to a store, buy beer and take it home and drink it there.
Amy Alkon at December 29, 2012 12:14 PM
whether the waitress/waiter is getting screwed over by the kitchen, whether they might have had a bad day
There's another source of a bad day: bad customers. They're rude, noisy, messy (somethings with hellion offspring leading the charge), will run the server with multiple requests and generally are inconsiderate and impolite.
Actually, on the rare occasion I go out on a date with someone new, I will observe her behaviour in this regard: how she treats the wait staff is an indicator of how she'll treat me.
Like Amy, I tend to go to the same places, and I tip well, and I become known amongst the staff. And sometimes, I get to hear the stories. Messy kids, unreasonable demands, and the old "I know the owner so I should get a discount or other freebie".
I R A Darth Aggie at December 29, 2012 12:16 PM
What is that? An actor waitress?
Yes. Aspiring actors in many cases have a server job as their day (night?) job. It gives them the flexibility to show up for casting calls on short notice, especially if they are allowed to get one of their coworkers to pick up/trade a shift.
In university towns, you'll find students taking these jobs for the flexibility, so they can get to classes/do homework and still have an income.
I R A Darth Aggie at December 29, 2012 12:24 PM
I waited tables in High school. My pay checks went entirely to pay my taxes, and my tips were all I actually got to keep. I tip well because I've been in the trenches, so to speak.
Kat at December 29, 2012 1:40 PM
Here is another issue in general. The wage of the server can vary a lot from state to state. The wage maybe quite a bit more reasonable in one place than another. According to this (if I read it correctly), the minimum wage for a server is 9.04/hour in Washington State. They would get tips on top of that. http://www.dol.gov/whd/state/tipped.htm#Washington Yet next door in Idaho it is 3.35 (and that is not the lowest). I think we should do away with tipping.
The forced tip-out others is a good point. Years ago I remember my friend telling me that where he worked the others had to be tipped out. The waiter had tip out the bar & cooks & bussers. The bar tipped out the cooks only (based on food sold at the bar). Only the managers and dish washers were not tipped out (they were subject to regular minimum wage).
On travelling, when I went to Australia (maybe it was New Zealand) my guide book said tipping was not commonly done except at really nice places and then it was quite small. The tour guide on the first day noted that while many of the guides said that, it was absolutely not true -- well maybe 30 years ago -- at any place other than like McDonalds you should be tipping 10% or so. Fancy places more like 20%.
The Former Banker at December 29, 2012 2:07 PM
I waitressed in high school, so 20% from me. Exceptional service gets more. A sommelier who finds a wine both my husband and I like gets a $10 handshake of his or her own.
Regarding tip jars, I tip at my regular Starbucks. They remind me that I like a short pump of cinnamon in my coffee, which I can never remember because I haven't had my coffee. It's a big tip (as much as $10) every once in a while because I usually pay with a debit card and have no cash and they don't have a tip line on the receipt. I try to make it up to them when I have cash in my pocket.
Mary Q Contrary at December 29, 2012 2:29 PM
I tip 15% to 20% to servers. More if the service is phenomenal and less if it's poor. And this American takes care of her bartenders. If you take care of them, they will take care of you.
I left no tip once in my life, and I don't think I can do it again. On that occasion, the waitress was so mean and horrible that her absence became a relief, and the dry french fries and empty glasses were preferred over asking her for ketchup or a refill. I left no tip and I spoke with her manager, but as I drove away I started imagining that maybe her mom had just died and she couldn't miss work or something.
Tip jars at locations that don't traditionally recommend tipping annoy me. Take the frozen yoghurt shop. I dispense my own yoghurt, add my own toppings, and set the product on the scale. The scale weighs the product, the worker presses a couple of buttons, the computer calculates, and voila, he reads the total price displayed on the monitor. I then swipe my card, the register prints my receipt, and the worker hands it to me. On some occasions, I make him work when I hand him cash. He then must enter the denomination into the register, let the monitor tell him how much change I am owed, count that change from the drawer, and then hand that change to me in a wadded clump (because apparently nobody knows how to count back change anymore). This worker did nothing to enhance my experience. Hell, I could have paid a machine and had the same experience. All this worker did was guard the owner's interest. Not a bad thing, but certainly nothing that justifies a tip from me.
Meloni at December 29, 2012 3:02 PM
"If you can't bear leaving a tip, go to a store, buy beer and take it home and drink it there."
Amy is right. There are times I can't afford to tip, or have enough cash handy. So I just eat at home and my head doesnt explode. I tip well btw (unless service is bad but that is rare).
Remember waiters share that tip with others at the restaurant/ bar.
Ppen at December 29, 2012 4:10 PM
I think of 20% as adequate, 25% is exceptional, 15% is below average. You have to work really hard to piss me off, but when you do, I will leave a small tip and talk to your manager. If you are a great server, I will leave a great tip and talk to your manager.
My hubby and I go out to eat about twice a month, to the same little family-owned restaurant around the corner. We went in the first time, had a fantastic experience, and left a 25% tip. Back then we could afford to go out every weekend, always leaving a 25% tip. In the years we've been customers, we've never had a bad experience, there's always a table for us, no matter how packed it is, and every once in a while our server "forgets" to put an entree or an expensive drink on the bill.
The Original Kit at December 29, 2012 5:16 PM
I waited tables in high school and college and I was making around $2.13 an hour in wages. The tips were what made the job worth while. The wages paid for my taxes and my checks usually came to $0.00 at the end of the pay period. Rarely did they amount to anything and $20 was an amazing payout!
I have had tables leave no tip before and it SUCKS!! Like someone said above, if you can't afford to tip, you cannot afford to eat out.
One time it was a table of Europeans and they were very demanding and made me stay 30-40 minutes past my shift to finish with their table. $0 left for a tip! I was pissed!
For the guy who doesn't tip the bartender - how shitty! They are working for you even if they are not moving around the floor. Most places require the wait staff to tip out the bartender a percentage of their alcohol sales. Why should the person bringing you the drinks have to pay them if you don't when you are sitting in front of them? Also, as someone else pointed out, unless you want a watery drink, tip each round or they will start making for drinks light.
My grandfather, who does many shitty things, such as using his ex-wife's handicap placard when she isn't in the car, subtracts the alcohol from the total and tips the waitress on the amount left over. I have tried to tell him how rude that is but it's never gotten through to him.
I almost always tip 20%. Keeping it round makes it easier to calucate anyway. I will say something to a manager if there is something that had gone really wrong, but as Amy says, usually there is reason for less than stellar service. I have come across very few servers with bad or lazy attitudes and mostly they were people I worked with.
Esther at December 29, 2012 6:24 PM
One of my most interesting tips was a single dollar bill folded up into the shape of a collared shirt. The guy who left it came into the corner pizzaria I was working at during our busy lunch (where is was 2 waitress for the whole place packed full of business people) and ordered a sub.
All the sandwiches with 5 standard toppings but we offered additional ones at $.50-$1.00 extra each. This guy didn't understand (even though I explained it to him several times) that the 5 toppings that were free were set, you know like lettuce, tomatoes, onions, etc. and that additional topping listed on the menu would cost him, but he order 5 additional toppings anyway.
When he got his bill which had the cost of the 5 additional toppings added to it, he made a big deal about the price. Again I explained to him that those were not the free toppings and that I had explained to him that they would cost him extra.
Needless to say he was not happy and I thought I would get $0 as a tip from him. Instead he took the time to fold up that single one dollar bill and left that for me. That was 2008 maybe and I still have the little shirt he made for me somewhere as a souvenir of that day.
Esther at December 29, 2012 6:36 PM
That should be:
All the sandwiches *came with 5 standard toppings....
Esther at December 29, 2012 6:38 PM
Reading about the complaints about the Europeans, I am reminded that in some countries the "tip" is added into the bill. We had Representatives from our European parent company bring a customer to our site (we would have been doing a couple Millions $ worth of the contract) and take them out and rack up a large bill (several hundred) and left no tip. Our site manager ended up running a large tip up to the place so we could stay in their good graces.
I hate confusing menu's like Esther described. T recently ate at a place and the menu said Entree, comes with two sides. There was a list of sides on the same page. However, you didn't get to pick the sides...you could upgrade to some of the other items listed for an additional fee.
The Former Banker at December 29, 2012 9:38 PM
I'm still trying to figure out what to tip at the car wash!
G. G. at December 29, 2012 9:39 PM
And another...the sneaky group tip.
I have no problem with concept, just don't try to hide it. Our group at work went out to lunch for a guy retiring and my bill was something like this
group -- guest $0.00
Alcohol:
none $0.00
Beverages:
Ice Tea $2.59
Sweetened $0.00
Sugar $0.00
Food:
8oz Sirloin $9.99
Medium-rare $0.00
Del Brl Sprt $0.00
Sub Grn Sld $1.50
Grp Grt $2.54
Total: 16.62
tip:_________________________
Note the Grp Grt (group gratuity) If I was in a hurry I probably would not have noticed that the tip was build in because we were a "large group"
The Former Banker at December 29, 2012 9:53 PM
I do have a good tipping story. During the 1995 America's Cup in San Diego, the New Zealand camp was right across the road from a well-known restaurant/bar, the Brigantine. Every night the place was shoulder-to-shoulder with sailors and America's Cup groupies (including me). Joseph Wambaugh, who lives just up the hill from the Brig, made the scene a centerpiece of his book Floaters.
The Kiwis just didn't tip. Not a penny. Finally the manager made a formal protest to the team management -- the boys were welcome in the bar, but unless they adopted American habits (what Steve calls "politeness") they were banned from the restaurant. The wait-staff were going to refuse to serve them. So they had a meeting and grudgingly agreed to allow 10% to be added to their restaurant bills.
Martin Blaise at December 30, 2012 8:17 AM
"In common with many other Europeans I won't add a tip to a bar bill if I'm actually at the bar. The bartender, to my thinking, does nothing extra to deserve tipping."
I hope you inform the bartender of your policy up front so he or she can serve you accordingly. Shouldn't make a difference since they don't do anything extra, right?
And in case you don't realize, bartenders like waitstaff make about $2-4 an hour, which all goes towards taxes. Their sole source of income is tips. So when you stiff the bartender, you are literally stealing their time, effort, and seat at the bar by forcing them to wait on you for free. You're also selfishly free-riding on the other patrons who do actually tip, because if everyone followed your policy then management would be forced to raise prices so they could pay staff an appropriate hourly salary. If you don't want to follow American social norms, feel free return to your own country.
Shannon at December 30, 2012 10:41 AM
Regarding the tip jar, I see that not as a mandate to tip but as a place to throw extra change. I don't carry around coins because they fall out of my ID case, so I always look for somewhere to drop them at the cashier station whether that's a tip jar or a donation jar. I get annoyed if I don't see one!
And those extra couple coins add up. If 200 people each throw in 25 cents, that's an extra $50. Say it's split between 2 employees over a 5 hour shift--that's an additional $5/hr, tax free. For an employee making minimum wage, that almost doubles their post-tax salary. The higher salary enables management to attract and retain a better caliber of employee, who will in turn give even faster/friendlier/more attentive service since they know there's a possibility of a tip. In turn this attracts new and repeat customers. It's a win-win situation of value creation: capitalism in action :)
Shannon at December 30, 2012 11:23 AM
@TheFormerBank Not really a confusing menu. In three years working at this place this was the only guy who did not understand that the items listed under the heading "Additional Toppings ($.50-$1.00)" were not the free toppings that were listed as coming with all sandwiches (lettuce, tomatoes, onions etc.). I think this is pretty standard to most restaurants where lettuce is expected by customers to come automatically on a sandwich but banana peppers or something similar are not.
Esther at December 30, 2012 11:52 AM
One evening my two daughters and I had dinner at the Outback. Our waitress was a teenage girl, maybe 16 or 17 who was new there. We could see that she was working hard, and she did a good job. She gave me the bill in one of those little booklets. The total was $50.15. I put $65.25 (three twenties, a five and a quarter) in the little booklet, and when she picked it up I told her to keep the change. A few minutes later she returned and set the booklet on the table and quickly walked away. Inside the booklet was $15. She had kept 10 cents. At first my daughters and I were puzzled - was she rejecting the tip? Then it occurred to me that she didn't know what "keep the change" meant. Apparently she thought it meant she could keep the coins. We waited and when she came near our table again I gave her the $15. I told her she had done very well, and that "keep the change" meant that the amount I gave her that was more than the bill was her tip. She smiled and said, "Oh. Thank you", and looked relieved.
Ken R at December 30, 2012 4:46 PM
Well an etiquette tip I was told about years ago for really bad service was to make sure that whatever you paid on the bill, make sure that the physical change included only two pennies. Such as the bill $10.37. You pay $11.39. This is to say "This is my two cents."
Sometimes a note or a talk with a manager was appropriate as well.
Jim P. at December 30, 2012 5:44 PM
The article gets it basically right in my view. I tip ~15% by default, but will swing it up or down a few percentage points if I notice especially good or bad service. In the most extreme cases, which are by definition rare, I'll give no tip or I'll tip at 100%*.
*Admittedly, I don't often do this at fancy, high-end restaurants.
Kevin at December 30, 2012 8:58 PM
"My pay checks went entirely to pay my taxes, and my tips were all I actually got to keep. "
One thing I've seen mentioned, that I've started doing recently: If you pay your bill with a credit card, tip in cash rather than adding it to the bill. It saves the establishment from having to pay a card fee on the tip amount, and if the waitperson wants to fudge a bit on their tip reporting, well, that's none of my business, wink wink.
Cousin Dave at December 30, 2012 9:06 PM
I tip 20. I dint consuder it a tip. A tip is what you leave as a little extra fir the person. Twenty percent is payment fir a service like buying a ski lift ticket.just as i wouldnt swipe a ski pass,i wouldnt leave without paying my server. Unless it was so bad that i would otherwisw be demanding my money back which has happened zero times.
In Switzerland where the server is paid by the restaurant i dont have to pay the server.i leave a franc or twi
To not pay someone fir their wirk is to be a theif. Bartending is not a hobby fir most.
Pardon my typing have not got hang of iphone yet but am getting better
Nicolel at December 31, 2012 5:49 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2012/12/29/do_we_really_ti.html#comment-3536606">comment from NicolelNicoleK, it's like you had a typing stroke. It's kind of funny.
Amy Alkon at December 31, 2012 5:53 AM
Happens to everybody.
New fancypants smartphone here: Huge screen, but it's too awkward for typing out pissy blog comments. It's faster to write them out and DICTATE them to the telephone. Admirable technology, but it interferes with my decades-old habits of internet sum-bitchery. I almost want my money back.
Jesus Christ, after you've been a peckerhead commenter for a few years, shouldn't the Android software be able to anticipate what you were going to say and just phone it in?
More cellphone talk here.
Crid [CridComment at gmail] at December 31, 2012 7:11 AM
I generally tip whole dollar amounts on small checks.
I generally tip 15-20% rounded to the nearest dollar. under 0.25$ over. Unless I have exact change.
I'm willing to overlook food problems - most of the time its the kitchen dropping requests, I'm willing to overlook a bad attitutude if its obvious they are upset, and I'm willing to overlook spotty service when its obvious they are busy
Last week I stopped at Denny's. Ordered a burger and salad and fries.
My burger came out with onions which I did not order, and without bacon which I had(and it was on my bill). My salad came out without any dressing. I had to wait until my meal was dropped off to make the request for more. My water glass was filled only once in the entire 45minutes I was there and I drank it dry within five minutes of each fill.
When I got my bill I just rounded it up to the closest dollar and added one more, came to 9%.
She was standing at he kitchen entrance talking most the time and only had 2 other tables, one of which was seated after I had finnied eating and waited around an extra ten minutes
In part because I wasnt in a hurry for my nearby appointment, in part becuase I was considering ordering desert and was giving her one last chance to salvage her tip. She came up to the table right next to me and took their order and ignored my empty glass and dishes and me staring right at her
lujlp at December 31, 2012 4:12 PM
For instance, some people are 10 percenters, many are 15 percenters and some are 20 percenters, etc., and it takes either very good or very poor service to change this. Am I right?
I'd say yes.
I'm surprised the tipping "standard" hasn't been raised from 20% to 25% by now. Seems like quite a long time has passed since it was raised from 15% to 20% and don't all those hard-working underpaid servers deserve it?
JD at December 31, 2012 4:32 PM
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