Tipping poll

[Audrey]

How much do you tip your waitstaff at a restaurant when the service is okay -- not spectacular, but not inadequate either? 

 

ETA:  If you would tip less than 10% or more than 20%, would you mind stating in which country you live?  I have a hunch that tipping is less here, but not sure if that compares accurately or not.

 

 

[MiMi 4under3]

On an "average" check with "good enough" service, I just double the tax... which comes out to a bit over 16% - I round up or down as needed.

At a nicer restaurant, I tip 20% minimum.

[Tap]

Average....16-19% but never less that $2 or more than $15 (unless it is a large group). .  I usually round off to the nearest dollar, so it varies though.  If the waitstaff made extra effort, had to make a kitchen run for things we forgot to ask for, or was especially good, then 20% or more. 

[Colleen]

Girl, don't even get me started on tipping ~ the now ever-present expectation in our society.  Ack! 

[Amira]

10% is pretty standard in Mexico. But there are many, many more people to tip in this country.

[Stratford]

DH worked as a waiter through college.  He's a big tipper.  I usually tip 20% unless the service was lousy.  

[Slartibartfast]

I have a six year old so we always tip *at least* 20% the tip goes up depending on how badly the six year old has harassed the waiter.

 

He's not super bad...he just has a lot to say. Sometimes these things ought not be said. I don't know where he gets that. *looks innocent*

[Catwoman]

I tip 20%, but add extra for good service.

[poppy]

I eat with two young kids, so I always tip 20%.

[Joyofsixreboot]

I tip 20%. I have waited tables. The only way I wouldn't is if the server was rude.

[creekland]

It totally depends upon the restaurant.  At a small inexpensive, but always homemade from scratch diner we go to we'll end up tipping around 33% as the waitress won't earn much if we don't.

 

At expensive places we'll tip closer to 15 - 20% for "ok" service.

 

When waiters or waitresses are really run ragged and still try their best we'll make sure we tip at least 20%.

 

When we really like a place and want to continue getting great service we tend to tip 25% or so.  It works nicely.  ;)

[Excelsior! Academy]

Usually 15ish%.  Doubling the tax would be 16-17% where we live.  We often do that. 

 

 

 

It seems to me like tipping expectations are rising!  33%, really?!?  Are we going to expect 50%, then 75% and eventually 100% ?  Will we get to a place where we actually pay all of a server's salary?  We are almost there as it is.

[Barb_]

How much do you tip your waitstaff at a restaurant when the service is okay -- not spectacular, but not inadequate either?

 

ETA: If you would tip less than 10% or more than 20%, would you mind stating in which country you live? I have a hunch that tipping is less here, but not sure if that compares accurately or not.

You are Canadian, right? We had tons of Canadian visitors in Florida and I'm embarrassed to admit that I grew up thinking Canadians were cheap because they tipped badly. I had no idea it was a cultural difference until these boards.

[creekland]

It seems to me like tipping expectations are rising!  33%, really?!?  Are we going to expect 50%, then 75% and eventually 100% ?  Will we get to a place where we actually pay all of a server's salary?  We are almost there as it is.

 

We've been known to leave a tip greater than 100% of what we paid at times.  ;)  It's totally voluntary and dependent upon the circumstances - not "expected."  We just like to help people who we feel are truly "working" for a living, esp if they are really trying to do a great job.

 

Also, our "regular" 33% tip is $5.  This diner is very inexpensive (bill for two comes to less than $15) and I don't like the idea of a server bringing us all the same "stuff" a more expensive restaurant would have, but getting "paid" far less for it.  The server is SUPER nice at this diner and knows what we tend to order without our having to tell her...

 

YMMV

[Guest]

It really would have to be atrocious for me to give a bad tip. I view the tip as part of the cost. Generally, fifteen percent. More if they really knocked my socks off. I don't dine out often, so most service experience has fallen firmly in the middle.

[ScoutTN]

15 to 20% depending on the level of effort and the attitude the server displays and how much work they have to do. Usually 20%. When there is a mistake, it is often difficult for a customer to see who in the chain really made the mistake and it is not fair to punish a server for the kitchen's mistake. If the service is outstanding I will tip 25% and speak to the manager.

 

I made my living waiting tables for years and know how hard it can be and how many people are rude and even don't tip at all.

[Audrey]

Girl, don't even get me started on tipping ~ the now ever-present expectation in our society.  Ack! 

 

That's part of the reason for the poll.  Things are just different here re: tips.  People don't seem to tip much, but then it is legally required to pay all servers at least minimum wage, so tips really do seem to be seen as "something extra for extra special service."   This is one of those areas where I haven't yet grasped the Canadian mindset.  Not that I don't respect it, but old habits die hard, I guess.

[Audrey]

You are Canadian, right? We had tons of Canadian visitors in Florida and I'm embarrassed to admit that I grew up thinking Canadians were cheap because they tipped badly. I had no idea it was a cultural difference until these boards.

 

I am now, yes, but I was American the first 28 years of my life.  I haven't been in the US in a very long time, though, and am wondering what the norm now is and how that compares to here, and to other countries.

[Audrey]

15 to 20% depending on the level of effort and the attitude the server displays and how much work they have to do. Usually 20%. When there is a mistake, it is often difficult for a customer to see who in the chain really made the mistake and it is not fair to punish a server for the kitchen's mistake. If the service is outstanding I will tip 25% and speak to the manager.

 

I made my living waiting tables for years and know how hard it can be and how many people are rude and even don't tip at all.

 

 

The bolded is part of what colours my perception of tipping.  When I was young and in the US, I did my share of waitressing and bartending.   I know very well how some people can be and I don't want to be perceived as being like some people, KWIM?  But then... it is not the same here.  But then again... as I said just above... old habits die hard.

[creekland]

That's part of the reason for the poll.  Things are just different here re: tips.  People don't seem to tip much, but then it is legally required to pay all servers at least minimum wage, so tips really do seem to be seen as "something extra for extra special service."   This is one of those areas where I haven't yet grasped the Canadian mindset.  Not that I don't respect it, but old habits die hard, I guess.

 

We go to Canada often as I grew up on the border (and my mom still lives where I grew up).  We don't change our tipping policy.   I just don't mind if those I perceive as working for a living get a decent payday - above and beyond wages of any amount.

 

[sassenach]

I usually move the decimal over and double (pre tax). So if the total was 48.90, I would float between $8 and $10 for tip, depending on the service (round up or round down?).

[Chris in VA]

I tip 15%, or maybe 20 if the service is spectacular.

 

In Israel, the "normal" tip was 10%.

[jewellsmommy]

Usually 15ish%.  Doubling the tax would be 16-17% where we live.  We often do that. 

 

 

 

It seems to me like tipping expectations are rising!  33%, really?!?  Are we going to expect 50%, then 75% and eventually 100% ?  Will we get to a place where we actually pay all of a server's salary?  We are almost there as it is.

 

I can remember from my childhood my mom explaining to me that one should use a base of 10% for the tip. If the service is good, then one tips 15%. The year would have been around 1990-1992 I think. But now 15% seems to be the base with 18% average and 20% for good service.  I asked my mom how she tips now. She agreed that 15% is her base and up to 20% depending on location and service.

 

So, it does seem to be shifting.

 

And I was wondering, do most tip on the total or just the food total?

[creekland]

I can remember from my childhood my mom explaining to me that one should use a base of 10% for the tip. If the service is good, then one tips 15%. The year would have been around 1990-1992 I think.

 

My parents taught us that 15% was normal and to increase from that if desired for super good service.  I'm a child of the 60s/70s.

 

[QueenCat]

And I was wondering, do most tip on the total or just the food total?

 

I tip on the total before tax, so I tip on the total cost of food and drinks.

[Excelsior! Academy]

I can remember from my childhood my mom explaining to me that one should use a base of 10% for the tip. If the service is good, then one tips 15%. The year would have been around 1990-1992 I think. But now 15% seems to be the base with 18% average and 20% for good service.  I asked my mom how she tips now. She agreed that 15% is her base and up to 20% depending on location and service.

 

So, it does seem to be shifting.

 

And I was wondering, do most tip on the total or just the food total?

 

 I think the norm is pre-tax.  We tip on the total bill. 

[Luanne]

Wow.  There are some pretty big tippers here.  If the service is just all right, I never go above 10%.  If the service is poor, sometimes I don't even give 10%.  If the service is good, I go at least 20%....sometimes more.  One time we tipped about 25% when the people at the next table (also having our waitress) were being very rude to her and she was giving excellent service.

[goldberry]

Minimum of 15%, mostly 16%-19% because I round up to even numbers.

[Colleen]

Things are just different here re: tips.  People don't seem to tip much, but then it is legally required to pay all servers at least minimum wage, so tips really do seem to be seen as "something extra for extra special service."  

 

I'm not following you because you're implying commonalities that don't hold true.  There is no norm that's true of all Canada, or the States.  On the contrary, there's likely very little difference between WA/OR and BC when it comes to tipping.  It's worth noting that servers here DO earn minimum wage ~ which in WA is already higher than in the rest of this country.  Customers often suffer from the mistaken impression that servers are slaving away, earning next to nothing without tips.  Eh, no.  Not the case here.  One can earn a pretty tidy sum waiting tables, between the highest minimum wage in the country and guilt-induced tips.  

 

The bolded is part of what colours my perception of tipping.  When I was young and in the US, I did my share of waitressing and bartending.  

 

So did I, and that's what colors my view in the other direction.  It annoys the heck out of me when people act like servers are some how deserving of tips simply because they choose to wait tables.  What the heck?  There's a culture of deservedness, imo, that increasingly permeates so many jobs in our society.  Hey, look, I'm sorry if your job is minimum wage, but the fact that you cut hair, make a latte, serve a meal, deliver a pizza does not by extension mean that you're owed a tip.  It just doesn't.

[medawyn]

I rarely tip less than 20%; the service would have to be truly bad for that.

 

I often find myself tipping more than 20%, but many of my dining out experiences include an inexpensive breakfast or lunch with small children in tow.  If a waitperson has put up with us (mostly) politely and is left with (at least some of) our resulting mess, I usually tip more.  Also I consider that my little ones split meals, so if we're taking up a table for four, we're on average a low tab for that table.  It feels wrong to leave a $3 tip, even if that would be 20%.

 

[Pamela H in Texas]

I start at 20%. I go up (sometimes considerably) from there. It would have to be pretty significantly problematic for me to go down to 10% or less! So basic service would be 20%. I'm in Texas. Hubby and I both were servers many many moons ago. We understand servers are doing it for the money. I also would never short the server for issues in the kitchen.

[Georgiana Daniels]

We generally tip 20% because it's easy to calculate, especially if I'm in a hurry, or I've had a drink.....or two....

[JBJones]

I tip nothing less than 25%. I used to be a waitress and would never do it again. LOL

[Shamzanne]

I live in Oregon where servers make minimum wage before tips. I still tip around 20% as a base. Servers often deal with split shifts and terrible hours, so I feel that tips help make up for this. I definitely don't hesitate to tip low for terrible service. I once left 2% because I felt it was more insulting than leaving nothing. And I was hoping to insult.

 

I scrape by as a single parent but I feel that tipping is part of going out. I hate it when people say they can't afford to leave a good tip.

[Heather in Neverland]

In Malaysia you don't tip for anything and the deplorable service we have here is the result.

 

When I am in the US I tip about 20% for good service (more for great service) but less for less than good service. 

 

 

[Rosie_0801]

Food must be cheap in North America if you can afford to eat and tip!

Pizza deliverers get to keep the change. Otherwise 99% of the time, I don't tip.

[eternalsummer]

Food must be cheap in North America if you can afford to eat and tip!

 

Pizza deliverers get to keep the change. Otherwise 99% of the time, I don't tip.

 

Indeed, we spend less on food than any other country - and that includes a massive amount of fast food!

[creekland]

One can earn a pretty tidy sum waiting tables, between the highest minimum wage in the country and guilt-induced tips.  

 

 

So did I, and that's what colors my view in the other direction.  It annoys the heck out of me when people act like servers are some how deserving of tips simply because they choose to wait tables.  What the heck?  There's a culture of deservedness, imo, that increasingly permeates so many jobs in our society.  Hey, look, I'm sorry if your job is minimum wage, but the fact that you cut hair, make a latte, serve a meal, deliver a pizza does not by extension mean that you're owed a tip.  It just doesn't.

 

A quick google search shows me that WA's minimum wage is $9.32/hour with a couple of places within WA going up to $15/hour.

 

Using that high amount, 15x40x50 = $30,000, so a "lucky" minimum wage earner without tips could earn 30K per year working full time.  This is, of course, before taxes.  Halve that for places where workers earn $7.50 minimum.

 

I have no regrets about our tipping for basic service and for doing our best to get someone up to a living wage for great service.  I know FAR too many who are working for college and for life to want to condemn them to low wages merely because being a server is their option as a profession.  Not everyone can simply opt for a higher paying job.  If they do their job well, they ought to be paid well IMO.

 

If we can't afford a tip, we opt to go out for fast food (or eat in).  There's no "guilt" involved for us.  It's merely wanting to "Do unto others as we'd want them to do unto us."

 

We also tip those who do our hair, pizza delivery, and maids in motels - all without guilt.  For the latter we tend to also leave a bag of Lindt Truffles (+ a monetary tip) if we're staying more than one day - just money for a single night.  Not only do we get GREAT service, we also get to offer a little bit of a "Thanks" for it.  ;)  Guilt never comes into play - not even remotely.

[creekland]

Customers often suffer from the mistaken impression that servers are slaving away, earning next to nothing without tips. 

 

Do you seriously think a full time job that pays $30,000 at best (max earning at a $15 minimum wage without tips) is a living wage? How about $15,000 ($7.50 minimum wage max earnings without tips)?  Note that I also used full time hours.  Many don't get full time hours.

 

Or do you think that everyone involved in restaurant (or other tipping jobs) should just get higher paying jobs elsewhere?  If so, where?  And how?  Not everyone is college material.  Not everyone is lucrative trade material. 

 

Should they be condemned to being poor always - even if they are trying their best to do a great job in what is to me a demanding profession?

 

I think I'm missing something in your reasoning. 

[Guest]

If we can't afford a tip, we opt to go out for fast food (or eat in). There's no "guilt" involved for us. It's merely wanting to "Do unto others as we'd want them to do unto us."

 

I agree. I don't give extraordinary tips, but I do think it's good karma, kinda, to be generous. If I'm dining out, I'm not trying to skate by spending as little as possible. I have agreed to pay for a service I could have stayed home and had a sandwich if it was crucial to save every cent.

[Joules]

It seems to me like tipping expectations are rising! 33%, really?!? Are we going to expect 50%, then 75% and eventually 100% ? Will we get to a place where we actually pay all of a server's salary? We are almost there as it is.

We pretty much do here. Minimum wage for waiting tables is $2.13/hr.

 

I figure 20% and round up or down to the nearest dollar depending on the quality of service.

[creekland]

We pretty much do here. Minimum wage for waiting tables is $2.13/hr.

 

I figure 20% and round up or down to the nearest dollar depending on the quality of service.

 

Doing this job full time without tips would get someone a whopping $4260/year (2.13x40x50).

 

 

[Carrie12345]

It seems to me like tipping expectations are rising!  33%, really?!?  Are we going to expect 50%, then 75% and eventually 100% ?  Will we get to a place where we actually pay all of a server's salary?  We are almost there as it is.

 

In many places, we are!  I know it's been ages since I waited tables, but I've heard people say it hasn't really changed - "paychecks" cover taxes only, if that.

When my sister left her last job, they called to tell her she could come pick up her $10 check - the balance of a week's pay.  She didn't want to spend the time and gas.

[Joules]

In many places, we are!  I know it's been ages since I waited tables, but I've heard people say it hasn't really changed - "paychecks" cover taxes only, if that.

When my sister left her last job, they called to tell her she could come pick up her $10 check - the balance of a week's pay.  She didn't want to spend the time and gas.

 

This is still true.  FICA and taxes are calculated on reported (or estimated if reports are too low) tips and withheld from the salary portion of the check.  So once they've calculated what you owe on the tips you should have made, there's not much left for the paycheck.  It's probably not as much of an issue if you are in a state with the $9 minimum wage for waitstaff, but if you travel to a state on the bottom of this list, keep it in mind when you eat out:

http://www.dol.gov/whd/state/tipped.htm

[Lady Florida.]

When it's okay I tip 18%. If it wasn't good then 15%, excellent service gets 20%. I don't tip less than 15% or more than 20%. I've never stiffed anyone no matter how bad the service was. Restaurants that add a tip to the bills of large parties add 18%, so that is still the standard.

[poppy]

 

 

It annoys the heck out of me when people act like servers are some how deserving of tips simply because they choose to wait tables.  What the heck?

 

Food prices are lower than they should be if kitchen and wait staff were actually paid minimum wage.

I don't like the system, but it is what it is. It is entirely appropriate for servers to expect tips.  They chose a profession that depends on tips, you CHOSE to eat in a restaurant that assumes you will tip for the service.

[Lady Florida.]

You are Canadian, right? We had tons of Canadian visitors in Florida and I'm embarrassed to admit that I grew up thinking Canadians were cheap because they tipped badly. I had no idea it was a cultural difference until these boards.

 

Yes! Many of them spend the winter in my area. Both my mother and I worked as bartenders and sometimes food servers in their favorite restaurant. They are such nice people, but poor tippers by U.S. standards. :)

[BigMamaBird]

We live in the American Midwest and what we tip varies based on the service.  Dh is very conscious about his drink being refilled.  If his cup is empty for any length of time he's going to tip less.  For poor service we'll tip 10%, our usual is 15% and for very good service we'll do 20%.  We don't usually allow the quality of the meal effect the tip unless it's obvious the waitress screwed up, they can't control much of what comes out of the kitchen.  But if someone is surly, uninterested, sloppy, unobservant or completely MIA we know that's their personal issue and tip accordingly.  

 

We went out to eat after my DD's ballet recital the other weekend and my Mom accidentally tipped 100%.  The waitress came back twice to say thank you and Mom didn't realize what was going on until we left.  She wasn't happy at all about making a stupid mistake, but consoled herself with the thought that maybe the lady needed some extra "atta boy" that day and Mom was the vehicle.

[poppy]

 

What is the point of tipping if the quality of the service does not matter?

 

Keeping food prices artificially low.

[ChristyB in TN]

I'm a 20% tipper. It's good energy and its never entered my mind to resent it or to even disect it. Culturally, tipping is what we do. Waiting on people is not fun, they are picky slobs. I have to say, I can't remember the last time I had bad service! All of you getting such bad service should move here! ;)