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Every so often - by which I mean frequently - a thread (or three) comes up at Chowhound about tipping. Since Chowhound is a community of people who not only love food, but love to eat out in restaurants, the debates can get pretty heated. Though some feel that the new minimum tip should be 20%, the standard tip is about 15% of the check. Since most places have a significantly lowered minimum wage for tipped employees, tips are not bonuses, but a substantial part of the income of servers.
Tipping philosophies vary widely with age, life experiences and even personality. Some people tip the same percentage - no matter what. Others take into consideration every aspect of the service, as though they have a formula that deducts or adds percentage points accordingly. A few seem to begrudge the fact that they have to pay to eat out at all (despite the fact that these people often eat out frequently) and tip little to nothing.
In California, where the sales tax is fairly high, I double it to get the tip amount and usually end up tipping somewhere from 16-18%, depending on which county/city I am in. If I'm visiting friends in a state with low sales tax (6% or less), I'll triple it. This makes my calculations short and sweet, though I'll definitely consider tipping extra for excellent service or if a member of my party was difficult for some reason.
How much do you tip, and would anything about the service change the amount?
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6-01-2006 @8:33PM Jennifer said... Well first off I tip very well. I don't usually even look at the bill when I tip. I've left 100% tip before. If the service is bad then of course I don't tip as well.
I am a server and some of these things that are said really upsets me. I do not work in a super nice resturaunt, I work in a nation corporate owned restraunt and let me tell you that my tips do not average 20%, I'm lucky if they average 15%. People do not look at the bill when they are tipping. 95% of the people I wait on probably don't even know that I don't get paid minimum wage. Older couples tend not to tip as well, as well as teenagers, and parents with kids do not seem to want to act like their kids are supposed to be a part of their party.
Unfortunately the company I work for does not require a automatic gratuity for parties and a lot of times a party of 15 or so will throw down 8 dollars are so. I do get a tip per head sometimes.
I get very angry if someone tips me bad because of the food as well. My co-workers do too. It is not my fault that your food took so long. I put it in as soon as you ordered, look at the top of the bill when you get it and you'll know this. I am not supposed to go back on the grill line so the most I can do is tell the cooks that my food is taking a long time and tell a manager. I am there to make you happy. Period. I'm sorry that things happen, but 99% of the time it's not my fault. Yes there are those servers it is their fault, but you can usually tell this by the way they treat you. I keep my guests glasses full and I bring you whatever you need.
I'm not saying that I'm a perfect server, but people need to realize that I pay my bills by what you give me and that 2 dollar tip you leave everytime you come in barely helps. I appreciate and will take it, but when your bill was 30 dollars even that's not enough.
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6-01-2006 @8:49PM Bob said... Usually I tip around 20%, but, if the service is only so so I will only leave something less. I always tip to make the total an even number. For instance, if the amount were $32.54 I would tip to make the amount an even $40.
There have been times when I have left no tip because of atrocious service. In one case, I left a penny to let the server know that I didn't forget about tipping! :)
20% is easier to calculate than 15% anyway.
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6-01-2006 @9:02PM Wendy said... To anyone that "just doesn't tip:"
If you live in the States, please stop going out to eat or start eating at places that are counter service.
I worked waitstaff for a number of years while in school, and in all but on of the places that I worked, not only did we make our living off our tips, so did our bussers and food runners. By that, I mean that we tipped our support staff a set percentage of our sales, regardless of our tips. So, if you came in and did not tip, your patronage would not only have come with the opportunity cost of the tips I could have made while someone else was seated at your table, but it would have cost me money I had already earned. Let me repeat that: You would have cost me money.
And this because you think that establishments should pay their employees more? Your logic seems flawed.
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6-01-2006 @9:54PM realestatechristie said... For you non tippers - I hope you all don't go back to the same restaurant - the servers probally have you marked. Think about it - you are not tipping people who handling YOUR FOOD! As a former server, I've seen many bad things happen to people who didn't tip and had the nerve to walk into the restaurant again. Check out Bitterwaitress.com.
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6-01-2006 @10:14PM duboyoutie said... i tip max 10% in the chinese restaurants here in SGV. A friend of mine worked as a waiter in a asian restaurant, and he said they don't even get most of the tip. The owner pockets most of it.
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6-01-2006 @11:37PM kristin said... Here's what I didn't understand on chowhound and I don't understand here: WHO Decides the "standard is 15%"? Is there a "Tipping Standard Weekly" I'm missing? Everyone I know tips 20%, a majority of people here say they tip 20% (except for the morons that tip not at all - if you hate the system, lobby to change it, don't punish the server). Sounds to me like 20% is the standard and some people are reluctant to get on board?
Another note: bad service is more effectively changed if there is an explanation of why a lower tip was left.
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6-02-2006 @12:18AM Steph said... I base my tips on the service and the food (which also determines the method in which I tip).
If the service was great and the food was great, depending on the meal, I can tip upwards of 20% (though, if we have big tables, our table has been known to tip nearly 50% of our bill.)
Any server who caters (as gracefully as the restaurant will allow) to the allergies in our group gets an automatic 30% (we will deliberately get less food to tip more).
If the food was great but the service was mediocre (and we're talking cranky waitresses, no attention paid to table, etc), we'll pay by debit or credit, give a 20% tip and ask that 10% goes to the kitchen.
And, (sad to admit it, but I've also worked in a kitchen and as server staff), but if the food is crap (such as receiving a well done steak when medium rare is requested, etc) and the service is crap (cranky waitress, slow service if the restaurant is dead (and we're talking upwards of an hour for lunch), then 10% or less, rounded up to the nearest dollar is what they receive.
I busted my BUTT for tips, and was as cheerful as I could be, and I got tipped nicely. Perhaps it's because I'm from an area where wait staff get minimum wage as baseline, plus tips, I knew that the tips were there as an incentive. So I used them as such.
"Okay, so, I get paid either way, so...if I bust my booty, then I'll get at least double my wage an hour in tips, and if I'm having a lame night, I'll barely make my wage+50%"
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6-02-2006 @2:03AM toscano said...
So let me get this right then.
People tip on the quality of the service?
That's the main criterion? Sure?
Ok then. Let's take server A who has made my eating experience at the diner (or other cheap restaurant) beyond wonderful. I decide I'll tip 30-35% and hand him 5 bucks for his service that lasted 1 hour.
Conversely, server B did an adequate but uninspired job at presenting me with my expensive food at Bistro Le Francais (or something). I decide to tip my usual 15%. The guy walks out with a beautiful $20 for an hour's work.
Someone explain the rules to me again, for I don't get them. The system is antiquated and needs to be replaced. Tipping has nothing to do with rewarding good service. It is all about artifically deflating menu prices and allowing the customer to feel 'grand'. The current method should be scrapped and replaced with decent wages and benefits.
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6-02-2006 @6:24AM libby said... In Australia there is no tipping required and I certainly wouldn't think less of someone for not tipping when I worked in hospitality. However, it does seem to be becoming increasingly popular as a way of showing appreciation or perhaps just showing that you have cash to spare.
I usually tip if my experience wasn't completely catastrophic. I'd say it ranges between 10-15%.
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6-02-2006 @11:14AM alan said... So i live in a state where servers make atleast 7.63(it think thats what minmum wage is) at that point i dont think its my responsiblity to pay for their living. I tip aslong as the service is reasonable about 18-20% but if i get horrible service i never leave any type of tip. The Ironic thing is that the restraunts in my state cost the same as the ones in the neighboring state that only have to pay 2.15 to their servers. The joke is on the poor servers. I states with the low pay rate i will tip 20% almost every time unless i get ignored for 45min.
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6-02-2006 @11:30AM Jim said... 15% is what I tip if I don't notice the service. It's an adequate tip for an adequate job, and it sets a baseline (and it isn't THAT hard to do the math!) As long as prices continue to go up, I don't undertand why the "acceptable" tip needs to go up in terms of the percentage.
If I do happen to notice the service, the tip is adjusted - up for good, down for poor.
Oddly, I seem to tip bartenders much better than waitstaff.
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6-02-2006 @1:20PM McAuliflower said... but... what about tipping the cooks too?
Not all places share tips in the house. I want my tip to go to the cooks, wait-staff, the bus boys, and the bar tender.
All the more reason for restaurant employees to be paid *real* wages.
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6-02-2006 @2:07PM inese said... tip stands for "to insure promptness". If your server
gives you bad/slow service then you deduct from the so-called standard 15%. Bad service bad tip. If a restaurant owner pays you dirt then get another job but don't cry on my shoulder.
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6-02-2006 @4:27PM Jeremy said... My tips run from 0% - ??. I've left a few tables with nothing on it for poor service, and if the waiter/waitress just did their job, they get between 10% and 15% (and I live in San Francisco). A good server can get 25% from me if they did a killer job, but they really have to shine in all aspects.
My general philosophy is that I'm sorry that restauranteurs get away with paying sub-standard wages to their wait-staff, but a tip is a gratuity, something you get for doing something extra. If you can't go the extra mile, get out of the game, or figure out a way to get paid a decent wage. I far prefer the Japanese approach where you leave no gratuity. Your servers pay is part of your check, plain and simple.
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6-02-2006 @6:48PM Heather said... We usually double our tax and then round up so the server doesn't have to deal with change. We also will throw in $1-3 extra when the little ones are with us. I think we usually end up leaving somewhere in the 20-25% range.
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6-02-2006 @10:27PM oregoncoastgirl said... Having worked in and lived off of the food service industry for 7 of my 31 years (and lucky to have been in a state that has a mandatory [and one of the highest in the US] minimum wage- even for waiter/esses), my standard tip is 20%. Wait staff that go extraordinarily above and beyond the call of duty? Have been known to get up to 50%. Even if the service is awful, I cannot tip less than 10% without suffering a lengthy bout of guilt. But I certainly don't judge anyone else for their tipping practices- 15% IS the current 'standard' (and when I was waiting it was still 10-12% or 12-15% in the area I lived).
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6-02-2006 @11:32PM Josh said... Wow, what a frustrating thread to read! I'd like to see the tipping system go away. Because tipping is so inconsistent, it isnt' an incentive for giving good service anymore. If I tip servers 10% when they do bad, and 15% when they do good, and you tip 15% for bad service, then we're really not accomplishing anything. Why give anyone good service if working half as hard will get you 15% "standard?"
I'd rather pay more money for good food and good service, in an environment where some sort of simple feedback mechanism (non-monetary) was provided... and taken seriously by restaurant owners!
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6-03-2006 @11:37AM TC said... Hell no! Tipping is such a ridiculous idea and I'm so glad I'm Australian. I was in the States last December and found I was tipping 15% (as that was the recommended) for extremely ordinary service that you find way better here. Now y'all want 20%?? That's a fifth of the meal, and for what? It's not like the food is cheaper as result of the restaurant having to pay their waiters and waitresses less, either.
And please, why can't you guys include the tax on all your items. It's so annoying to go to the counter with something then have tax added there. Why? It's not like you don't have to pay it. Just be upfront with the damn tax and include it on the tag.
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6-07-2006 @6:46PM Jake said... I almost always double the post-tax amount and round up. However there are those "special" occasions where extremely bad service will get the server a tip of .01 just to let them know what I thought of their service. (even when paying by plastic)
In my hundreds and hundreds of meals out, I can rememeber each of the three times that's been done.
Conversley, I've give 100% of the bill also. Service and atmosphere are everything. If the server works for it, I always notice.
Just a note though: This only applies for pizza (or door delivered food); for some reason I find myself not even doing the math and just giving the person whatever change seems appropriate. $22.14? They'll get $25. Am I the only one?
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