Tipping

[GrouchoMarx]

11 hours ago, El Presidente said:

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 

I thought there was no tipping in oz? I was there in the late 80s and every tip I offered was refused.

Have things changed there?

ANYWAYS.....

$200 meal. It was brilliant. The service exceptional.... what tip do you leave     $30 (15% is plenty for anyone IMHO)

$200 meal. It was brilliant. the service disappointing....what tip do you leave.   $0 (sometimes I'll leave whatever small change - like 40 cents - now thats an insult!)

I only tip for service, not the meal. 

[ShortFatHokie]

Good service on $200...$50 tip

Bad service on $200...$10 tip

[jazzboypro]

I never give more than 15% but then again i don't recall receiving exceptional service in a restaurant or eating exceptional food either.

[seville23]

18 hours ago, El Presidente said:

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".

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 

Here in the UK tipping is still allowed but more and more they want to make it part of the bill. If I tip, its always cash and goes to the server. What happens to it then I have no control over but I've tried to ensure that it gets to the person who provided that service.

$200 meal. It was brilliant. The service exceptional.... what tip do you leave     $30 (15% )

$200 meal. It was brilliant. the service disappointing....what tip do you leave.   $0 ( and if they ask why I tell them. Quietly and politely but I tell them. If they don't know then how can they try and improve?)

[Shaunster]

From a UK point of view, I never tip apart from leaving any loose change after paying the bill. Restaurants increasingly add a 'service charge' here and it really irritates me and its a little embarrassing for both sides asking for it to be removed when the waiter has done nothing wrong.

For me, tipping 15% or 25% of the total bill cost seems insane, totally different culture I guess.

[Cep]

I hate tipping. I hate the fact that it is pretty much expected and mandatory here in Canada.  I would prefer to just have to pay the price I see on the menu and nothing else. Just another thing to have to worry about that there really is no need to have to worry about. Just include everything in the price. Then tell me said price.

Pay your staff a decent wage and stop begging me for more money.

 

[PatrickEwing]

I'm glad this was brought up. This has been a source of consternation lately. I've never been a cheap person and I don't intend to start becoming one. However, the tipping phenomenon appears to be heading to a point where it may implode on itself and ruin the very essence of it. 

Why do I tip a cab driver? Isn't his job to get me from point A to point B safely? And the faster he gets me there, the quicker it is for him to get the next fare? Is it for service? 75% of the time they are on the phone the second the destination is disclosed. Am I supposed to be subsidizing the cab companies? 

In a coffee shop, why am I tipping when someone has simply placed liquid in a cup and then handed it to me? Isn't that the job? 

At a restaurant, and this is far more visible in Canada with the insane alcohol prices, if I get a few drinks and the total hits $50 plus, am I still expected to leave $10 or more? All for handing me a glass of liquid? Again, is the customer simply subsidizing the business? 

There is a line between generosity and foolishly throwing away money. I understand many restaurants may not survive were they not depending on the tipping of customers. But it has become a problem where the employee views it as a right and not as compensation for a job well done. 

[PatrickEwing]

To add to this. I appreciate those that are in the service industry. We all know that it can be a very difficult job. I don't dispute that. Ive often heard the statement, "I live off my tips" when one questions the efficacy or necessity of tipping. But that's not the point I'm after. The question is, whose pocket should it come from? The generosity of the customer or the owner of the business? Curious to hear answers from business owners on how they'd fare in a less tip heavy world. 

[Nino]

3 hours ago, sarkozy said:

In Spain tipping is unusual other than the gesture of leaving a few coins i.e. the change. For exceptional service and food it is not uncommon to leave 5%. Anything more would be regarded as ostentatious (and American!)

 

 

22 minutes ago, Shaunster said:

From a UK point of view, I never tip apart from leaving any loose change after paying the bill. Restaurants increasingly add a 'service charge' here and it really irritates me and its a little embarrassing for both sides asking for it to be removed when the waiter has done nothing wrong.

For me, tipping 15% or 25% of the total bill cost seems insane, totally different culture I guess.

Couldn't agree more.

In Germany tipping is mostly leaving some change, like the bill is 23,80 and you say "make it 25".

Staff get paid proper wages and service is mostly good - if it is above average you might leave a Euro more - everything else is deemed show-off and embarrassing.

 

[stogieluver]

On our recent trip to Italy, we were told that tipping was not expected, other than leaving the change.  I'm so used to tipping 20%, I just didn't feel right not tipping the waiters and bartenders, especially since they were all so nice and helpful, and friendly.  None of them seemed to be offended by a healthy tip, I can tell you that.

[Ken Gargett]

8 hours ago, zeedubbya said:

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....

kerry packer was famous for that sort of thing. apparently liked a young croupier in vegas once and said he wanted to leave her a tip. "how much is your mortgage?' he asked. and paid it off!

[Ken Gargett]

i have to say that seeing some people say they leave 10% or ten bucks for poor service is something i do not understand. why would you pay anything for poor service? if you leave 10%, every chance the staff think you are just a tightarse rather than that they were poor.

the comment above about places adding a service charge pisses me off (the practice, not the comment). as far as i am concerned, that is my decision and not one for them to impose on me. i have told several places (and the staff) that not only will i not pay it, i will leave nothing until they get rid of that practice (which i'm sure they won't as they'll have way more people just pay, so i simply do not go back).

another practice i detest, though it does not seem to be getting much traction, is one i noticed recently. a restaurant, which looked after us brilliantly and we all tipped very well, had also added a 'cover charge'. only a couple of bucks but seriously? i now pay just for stepping inside? discussed it with those attending later - some said no problem, others highly pissed off. i have never been back. and certainly would have otherwise.

[MPfit]

Always at least 20%. I used to work Valet as a college student. Salary was below minimum wage and tips is factored in accordingly. I know the value of a tip- and if usually isn't forgotten. We remember those who tipped well and had their cars parked up front etc.

If it is exceptionally below par; then I don't hesitate to give 10% but my average at a good restaurant is 25% if served well. Finding great waiters who go above and beyond isn't easy- and they never go unnoticed by the people they serve (hence El pres saying he would hire Ty in a heartbeat). I now make good money to afford good tips to those who have done me well.

[clutch5150]

2 hours ago, Ken Gargett said:

kerry packer was famous for that sort of thing. apparently liked a young croupier in vegas once and said he wanted to leave her a tip. "how much is your mortgage?' he asked. and paid it off!

WoW

[clutch5150]

$200 bill in the US. 50% for exceptional service, I've left more...  Terrible service (really bad I've had), ZERO and note on the restaurant copy receipt along with Manager notification.

[stunod]

20% good service 

15% crap service

[Ken Gargett]

1 minute ago, clutch5150 said:

WoW

many stories about him. a good mate of mine has many stories from his brother who was one of packer's key cricketers.

i like the one when he kept them at a casino in london too long and then they had to drive to the south of england on a sunday arvo. everything shut. went into a little pub and asked for a few sandwiches for him and the guys. about five of them including some famous cricketers. bloke said bugger off, we are closed. we only want a couple of pies or sandwiches or whatever. will pay above the odds. bugger off, we are closed.

so they drove on. there was another pub on the other side of this little village. tried it. we are closed, says the owner, but come in and i'll make you some sandwiches.

time to pay and packer said you have two options. we'll pay you well or option two, i'll give you this cheque for ten grand (the figure varies depending who is telling it but it was ridiculous) on the condition that before you bank it, you go to the owner of the other pub and show him what he missed out on. the owner took the cheque!

[jwr0201]

Southeast US;

good to excellent service:  20 - 22%

poor to outright bad service 0 - 10%

[gweilgi]

3 hours ago, nino said:

 

Couldn't agree more.

In Germany tipping is mostly leaving some change, like the bill is 23,80 and you say "make it 25".

Staff get paid proper wages and service is mostly good - if it is above average you might leave a Euro more - everything else is deemed show-off and embarrassing.

 

That is true, but it's not that simple in Germany: tips are only free of income tax and social-service contributions (payroll taxes in the US) if they are given directly to the waiter and are kept by him (or her).  If a restaurant pools the tips and shares them out, tips are liable for tax.  The same if a patron puts the tip on the credit card bill and the money is later passed to the waiter by the owner: the direct and personal nature of the reward is deemed to be lost and the money will be taxed.  And this is an improvement on the old system where the tax office assumed that a waiter earned 15% of his wages in tips and would tax them on this presumed income, regardless of whether the waiter actually earned that sum.

 

[gweilgi]

3 hours ago, Ken Gargett said:

another practice i detest, though it does not seem to be getting much traction, is one i noticed recently. a restaurant, which looked after us brilliantly and we all tipped very well, had also added a 'cover charge'. only a couple of bucks but seriously? i now pay just for stepping inside? discussed it with those attending later - some said no problem, others highly pissed off. i have never been back. and certainly would have otherwise.

There was one place in Sydney that had a cover charge even on home deliveries.  We discovered this too late to cancel the order, but we never ordered again and made sure to spread the word.

This place is no longer in business.

 

[playindirty]

Had great service 1 time the tip was almost as much as the bill, Crap service usually gets a tip on a napkin or a penny on the table depending on the mood I'm in,

normally 15-20%, and I hand the tip to waiter/waitress busboys around here scarf it up if you don't 

[polarbear]

Here's a question for regular tippers

In this increasingly cashless society, how do you tip if you don't regularly carry cash?

I rarely have cash on me anymore so when I go out to dinner or a bar I almost always run a tab and pay the whole bill electronically at the end.
Do you always make sure you have some cash in your pocket purely so you've got money on hand to tip your waitresses/cab driver ect? 
What happens if the bill comes to more than you thought and you don't have enough in your pocket to cover the 20% tip?
Do you leave your date sitting at the table and go find an ATM or do you just empty your pockets and apologise for not being more prepared?

I went out to dinner with a family member once in the US and he didn't have enough cash in his pocket to cover the tip (which was sizeable at 30%) so he could only leave 10%.
Walking out of there it almost felt like we were skipping out on the bill

[Winchester21]

My standard is 20% unless service really sucks. If service is exceptional 25-30 depending on the resturant. I typically go to the same restaurants over and over. The waitstaff will remember you if you take care of them. I have been comped with free bottles of expensive wine and the like. Good tipping definitely pays off

[El Presidente]

4 hours ago, polarbear said:

Here's a question for regular tippers

In this increasingly cashless society, how do you tip if you don't regularly carry cash?

I rarely have cash on me anymore so when I go out to dinner or a bar I almost always run a tab and pay the whole bill electronically at the end.
Do you always make sure you have some cash in your pocket purely so you've got money on hand to tip your waitresses/cab driver ect? 
What happens if the bill comes to more than you thought and you don't have enough in your pocket to cover the 20% tip?
Do you leave your date sitting at the table and go find an ATM or do you just empty your pockets and apologise for not being more prepared?

I went out to dinner with a family member once in the US and he didn't have enough cash in his pocket to cover the tip (which was sizeable at 30%) so he could only leave 10%.
Walking out of there it almost felt like we were skipping out on the bill

I am old school. it was my ex state manager of the bank who insisted I keep $500 cash in my wallet at all times. 

Why?...and I asked because it was no easy task. 

$500 get's you out of trouble. 

*Credit card doesn't work. 

* you get bumped from a flight and you need emergency accom. 

* you get stung for dinner with a client (and our CC doesn't clear). 

* Crap happens 

He was dead set correct. I do the same to this day. 

 

[Fuzz]

I follow a similar rule. Always carry cash (at least $250) when I go out, just in case of emergencies. Though, with the price of things going up, I may need to adjust the amount I carry... or eat at cheaper restaurants!