Tipping

[El Presidente]

I love tipping for great service. I always try to ensure the deliverer of that service receives the tip as opposed to the ubiquitous "Tip jar" or "Tip on the bill". 

I am finding out that is proving more difficult to do! 

I had a local steak restaurant refuse me leaving cash in the bill envelope for the tip. They wanted it on the invoice. I said no. They said they won't take cash tips as it is against policy. I said you miss out. They got narky.   

Anyway....I am getting away from the question I wanted to ask. 

 

$200 meal. It was brilliant. The service exceptional.... what tip do you leave 

$200 meal. It was brilliant. the service disappointing....what tip do you leave. 

 

For myself (in Oz) 

$200 meal. It was brilliant. The service exceptional.... what tip do you leave     $50

$200 meal. It was brilliant. the service disappointing....what tip do you leave.   $0 

[David88]

$200 meal. It was brilliant. The service exceptional.... what tip do you leave  $25 - $40 usually

$200 meal. It was brilliant. the service disappointing....what tip do you leave.  $0. If they would let me go to the kitchen to tip the chef then I would!

[PamunkeyHub]

$200 meal. It was brilliant. The service exceptional.... what tip do you leave     $45 + 

$200 meal. It was brilliant. the service disappointing....what tip do you leave.   $20

[stogieluver]

20% is my standard tip for anything other than really bad service. 

[KRunch61]

Exceptional service: $40-$50

As for "disappointing", depends...If the waiter/waitress is not being attentive enough, then $20-$25;

if it's a matter of rudeness, snobbery, etc., then maybe $10.

 

[MrGinger]

$200 meal. It was brilliant. The service exceptional.... what tip do you leave     $40-50

$200 meal. It was brilliant. the service disappointing....what tip do you leave.   $20

$200 meal. It was disappointing. The service was disappointing....what tip do you leave.  $0  (VERY rare for this to happen.  Maybe 2-3 times in my life)

[Fuzz]

Depends on the restaurant. Some already factor in a "service" fee nowadays, which I'm not too thrilled about.

Normally I tip 5% for ok service, 10% for good, 20% for great and bupkis for substandard service.

[Andy04]

I can not understand why anybody feels the need to tip in Australia.

 

Hospitality staff in Australia are paid good salaries (AUD 17+ per hour during normal working hours), making it an extremely expensive place to eat in general.  If tipping 25% at a restaurant, can i assume that you also tip 25% if served well at a pub?  

 

Save tipping for places in the world where hospitality staff need the tip.

[Spanishcedar]

1 hour ago, stogieluver said:

20% is my standard tip for anything other than really bad service. 

I'm with @stogieluver unless it's a local "dive" where the food is really cheap and the service is personal and excellent I might go higher.

15 minutes ago, Andy04 said:

I can not understand why anybody feels the need to tip in Australia.

 

Hospitality staff in Australia are paid good salaries (AUD 17+ per hour during normal working hours), making it an extremely expensive place to eat in general.  If tipping 25% at a restaurant, can i assume that you also tip 25% if served well at a pub?  

 

Save tipping for places in the world where hospitality staff need the tip.

This is a good point since right now it's about $2.15 USD/hour minimum wage around the southeast U.S.A. for the hospitality food industry.

I'll add that some "nice" places locally will add an automatic gratuity of 10% - 15% to the bill and in that case, they lose out on an additional 10% - 5% from me, had they not been audacious enough to suggest their "excellent (typically sub-par)" service deserves a tip regardless... that being said, I'll add my usual percentage if the service really was exceptionally good.

After all what does T.I.P.S. stand for? To Insure Prompt Service!

[busdriver]

$45-50 for great service

$35-40 for mediocre service

If I didnt get paid for every time I had a bad day I would be living in my car.  Tipping is a very US thing and is really based on generosity which I think is one of the better attributes to the states (total generality).  Also servers make well below a living wage in the states and if you want to eat out its part of doing so.

[OZCUBAN]

Couldn't agree more Rob I always tip but it has to come of the back of good service,which in Oz is becoming more and more of a rare commodity 

whilst here in Singapore it is the norm especially here @the Fullerton where the service and attention to detail is second to none 

cheers ? 

[El Presidente]

1 hour ago, Andy04 said:

I can not understand why anybody feels the need to tip in Australia.

 

Hospitality staff in Australia are paid good salaries (AUD 17+ per hour during normal working hours), making it an extremely expensive place to eat in general.  If tipping 25% at a restaurant, can i assume that you also tip 25% if served well at a pub?  

 

Save tipping for places in the world where hospitality staff need the tip.

I can understand that line of thinking. I really can. Hell, I own a cafe and know all about wage impost in this country. 

I will often bemoan the lack of exceptional service in this country. From Hotels to restaurants, "professional" is about as good as you come to expect.  

So when I see, when I experience "brilliant" service then I feel the need to reward it. I want the service provider to receive tangible acknowledgement that they have provided something truly special. I just want them to "get it" and hopefully encourage others in this country to "get it" as well. It is not just the cash, but a couple of words thanking them for the experience and letting them know that they are at the top of their game. 

We are increasingly a "services" based country. We compete on a global level regardless of the higher rate our service staff are paid.

When we were around a pre dinner fire on Saturday night (out in the brisk open) and Ty the bartender came out of a busy bar to give Di a blanket.....that is exceptional service. Later in the night he was rewarded for going above and beyond. 

I would hire Ty for my cafe in a heartbeat. 

 

[polarbear]

if I'm in the US, i'll usually tip 15%-20% for regular service
great service usually gets 30% or higher

In Aus I don't make a habit of tipping but I will shake the hand of my bartender or waiter and personally thank them for a great experience. If the service has been exceptional I've even written letters to the management of certain venues praising their staff after such a good experience.
Having worked in bars before, I never remember the people who handed me $20 at the end of a night, but having my manager tap me on the shoulder the next day and tell me about the couple of people who rang in to complement the high standard of service I provided, that stays with you

That being said, if I've been sitting in the same bar all night, i'll usually empty my pockets of all my loose change into whatever tip jar they have on the bar, mainly so I don't have it weighing me down on the long stumble home

[Troels]

Tipping wasnt really a normal practice in Denmark 10-20 years back, but has recently changed. 10 pct is considered a good tip. Minimum wages like in Australia. 

Think good service should be part of the package like the standart of the food. You choose the restaurant based on expectation of both. 

When abroad id rarely tip more than 10 pct - as Ive thought of that as a good tip. Seeing what you tip, I might have to reconsider 

[Islandboy]

I’m a 20% tipper, rounding off to the nearest dollar. I round up for good service, & add a few bucks if service was great, and do just the opposite as the service declines.

[gweilgi]

Depends where I am ... 

In Australia, I tend to round up to the nearest 10, 20 or 30 depending on the service and the type of establishment.  Australian staff earn decent wages, and the culture of expecting tips has not quite taken hold yet, which can lead to embarrassing situations when a tip is pointedly refused.

In pubs, I will tip the shrapnel.  

In the US, I will tip around 20-30 per cent -- the poor shmucks doing all the heavy lifting are getting a raw deal, and short of them pouring the gravy into my lap I will do my bit to see that they have a roof over their heads at the end of the week.

In Europe, I will go up to 10%, no more, unless the service is truly exceptional.

In all cases, a golden rule of mine is never ever to tip on the bill.  It's always cash.  For one thing, the tax man gets enough as it is.  For another, this makes it much harder for restaurant management to skim the tips for themselves -- yes, this does happen.  Bastards.

That said, I will also always tip more when the tips are not just shared among the waitstaff but with the kitchen staff as well.  At the end of the day, it is for good food and wine that I patronise an establishment, rather than "merely" having it served to me, even if the waiter happens to be the love child of Jeeves and Florence Nightingale.  This, alas, is all too rare in the hospitality trade.  

It's really an odd system, though.  Why do we tip waiters and taxi drivers, but not the bus driver or the nurse in hospital?  I may shout a particularly good builder/handyman a few beers for a job done well and cleanly, but I'd never think to offer him a tip.  Nor would I tip a shop salesperson, never mind how helpful and friendly they are.  So what makes hospitality different?  

[LordAnubis]

I hate tips. I hate going to a fancy restaurant in London, and then having to pay for water on top of your 40 pound (GBP.. not weight) steak. The best value for money i've seen so far is actually fortnum and masons high tea in London. Excellent service, excellent value, thoroughly enjoyed.

Tipping to me is just wrong. Pay your workers a decent wage and i'll pay appropriately for the item. You're effectively making me pay the guys wage for you! Im sure it's a tax benefit or something but it doesn't make sense to me. The thing that annoys me the most though is that you only give it to the face you see. A good meal at a restaurant is a good experience. I'd give 5 bucks to the waiter, 5 bucks to the cook, 5 bucks to the dishwasher and 5 bucks to the manager. It wasn't only the waiter who contributed to your overall experience.

[gweilgi]

1 minute ago, LordAnubis said:

I hate tips. I hate going to a fancy restaurant in London, and then having to pay for water on top of your 40 pound (GBP.. not weight) steak. The best value for money i've seen so far is actually fortnum and masons high tea in London. Excellent service, excellent value, thoroughly enjoyed.

£40?  That's cheap.  Honestly.  At the Harrods Food Halls, they have a steak place that will charge you more than twice as much for Aussie beef, not including sides (let alone the drink).  

If you want variety, try the High Tea at the Langham.  This has the advantage that in the (English) summer, they have a pop-up cigar lounge in the Terrace Garden.

 

 

[Ken Gargett]

taxis, in australia, often don't bother. they are getting very well paid. only of a reason for excellent service. normally leave change if it is just a few bucks.

restaurants, in australia, for average/okay/decent service around 10%, probably rounded up to a convenient figure. it is not the same system as in the states. they get reasonably well paid in the circumstances, especially weekends. that pumps up the bill.

less than that, zero.

for excellent service, can be 20 to 40% plus, but it has to be good.

if the establishment automatically includes a tip without reference to me or consent, it gets removed and no matter how good they were, zero. i really hate it.

a lot of the lunches etc, i do re wines are groups and i just tell whoever is doing the bill (we split), add the 20% or whatever and then just tell them each the final amount. otherwise, it is worse than women trying to divide bills. everyone wants to leave a different amount.

as to the cash/not card, i would normally be the same but one place - GOMA in brizzy, which is just about our very best food at the moment, is in a govt building. if you leave the tip on a card, it goes to the govt and and staff get nothing. very happy to leave cash and not on a card there. and they do provide excellent service.

[2skinny]

I'm in the US.

I generally leave no less than 15% no matter what. If service is exceptional, I will leave 20%-40% depending on final price. Our wait staff get the shaft at a lot of places. We also have a lot of older people who will go sit at a restaurant all morning gossiping and drinking coffee. They leave a 50 cent tip. That is just wrong. 

[luvdunhill]

I just left 16AUD on an 84AUD tab after drinking Argentinian wine for the last couple hours. Seems to balance out.

[SticksAndSticks]

20% on exceptional service, 15% on average, 10% on poor/hostile service. However I prefer restaurants that add gratuity in automatically. Tipping just always leaves a poor taste at the end of a good experience. I much prefer places that add in 16-18% automatically and pay the employees reasonable wages it just avoids all the disutility and evaluation at the end of service.

[Drguano]

8 hours ago, stogieluver said:

20% is my standard tip for anything other than really bad service. 

Likewise. Sometimes I tip on the entire check but lately I find myself tipping 20% on the bill before tax is added. Depends on how clear my head is.

Another question is: do you tip when you bring food to the counter in a bakery/coffee shop and pay without ordering an espresso? I do 10% if I frequent the shop and get to know the staff (20% if she's sweet and the wife isn't watching...)

[TBird55]

Really exceptional service and food 30%+.

Ok service and food 20%.

Bad service,  usually a couple of bucks, this way they get a really bad tip on a $200 meal, with really bad service.

[zeedubbya]

For truly exceptional service I will tip up to 50%.  Regular service 20%, if it's below average 15%, and if it's horrendous I will leave a 5 cents or 25 cents.  The thinking is if you just leave a $0 tip the server will think you were just a dumbass and forgot.  The 5 cent tip sends a message.  I've only done this on a few occasions.  

I used to work for an extremely wealthy person who tipped incredible, unbelievable amounts.  He would give $200 to a bartender on a $20 bill.  $400 on a $200 bill and so on.  One time after the bars had closed down I took him and a group to a local open all night greasy spoon and we spend about $40.  He left the woman a $500 cash tip--she told us her house had burned down earlier in the week.  She followed us out of the door telling us she had prayed for an angel to come and he was that angel (if she only knew).  I was also instructed to leave a $100 tip on the credit card when the bill came (as I had a company credit card and had payed).  The next day when I turned in my receipts our accountant was fuming over the $100 tip on a $40 bill.  If he only knew the rest of the story....