Despite tipping having a long history in the nation, rampant inflation and the expectation to tip for as little as a cup of coffee being poured, have left people questioning whether it's time for unspoken tipping codes to change.
DailyMail.com took to the streets to find out what people really think about the practice - with one major bugbear being iPads at the checkout prompting them to tip as much as 30% leaving them feeling forced to fork over extra cash.
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About the only places I'll tip is for a sit down meal, if I'm at a bar (which I haven't been to in so many years it ain't funny) or my local donut shop. That's it. Oh, and the guy at the airport that went out of his way to get my elderly mother a wheelchair when she visited 5-6 years ago.
I suppose if I used the services of a cab, bellhop or valet for parking I'd tip them too, but I don't get out much.
I'll tip 20% at a restaurant if the service is satisfactory and a few bucks more if it's really good service, but I've always tipped 15-20% even when 10% was customary. My tip is always left at the table, fuck adding it on to my bill when I pay.
At the donut shop I always put a couple bucks in the tip jar no matter how small my order is, because the Laotian couple that own the place are exceptionally friendly and I like them. We're on a first name basis and we always make small talk - we discuss the weather and local news, they ask how my wife is doing, and if they see that asshole dog Jack in the truck, they'll make sure they give me a small cup of cream or whatever for him. That's worth a couple extra bucks for me.
I love my mother and father-in-law to pieces, but they are notoriously cheap when it comes to tipping to the point that it's almost embarrassing. I became aware of it when my brother-in-law invited us all out to dinner shortly after we moved out here. Tim invited us, so he paid and I offered to leave the tip, but my father-in-law Al insisted that he'd cover it. With everybody that was there, I figured the bill was close to 150 bucks, if not a little more. The service was great, by the way.
As we were getting up to leave, I saw that Al had left a 10 dollar tip. Ten bucks for a $150 meal..... We went out to our vehicles, then I told them I had forgotten my keys and went back inside and slipped the waiter another 25 bucks.
As I was firing up the truck, I looked up and saw through the window Tim's son come out of the bathroom and go back to the table before leaving the restaurant. He came over to us shaking his head and told me, "Bro, I had to go back and kick down another 30 bucks for that poor fucker. He was running his ass off for us." I started laughing and told Levi what I had done, and that we needed to start coordinating that shit.
So yeah, any time we go out to eat as their guest, I always insist on leaving the tip and I wait until everybody else is out the door, using Levi's bathroom ruse as an excuse, then I go back to the table and leave my tip so my mother-in-law won't protest that I'm leaving too much.
I always slip my server Jenny a tip at the neighborhood whore house
ReplyDeleteWhat do Laotian donuts taste like?
ReplyDeleteSame as Cambodian donuts.
DeleteOnly spicier.
DeleteMy tipping habits mirror yours and even when I thought I was not tipping well, the gals at my usual hangouts let me know I do OK and if everyone tipped like I did they would be happy.
ReplyDeleteLike everything else, some of this is an unintended consequence of the tax code. Seeing as how "tips" can be considered part of the server's compensation, restaurants are allowed to pay less than minimum wage. Then we're supposed to just go along with it and make up the difference with tipping. So we, the customers, are being shamed into tipping because the poor waitstaff are underpaid, with no mention of the greedy restaurant owners not paying them a decent wage.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I tend to tip to for good service regardless, but I stand by the 10% for ok service and 15% for exceptional. If that ain't enough, there's help wanted signs all over the place, get a better job.
Korean do
ReplyDeleteI have found it better to slip them 5 or 10 bucks before the meal comes, and then leave something more afterwards. last time in a bar, I put 20 bucks in the tip jar and I always had a cold beer there before I was done with the one I had in hand. and that was close to 25 years ago now. didn't drive home after that though.
ReplyDeleteIf service is solid, I tip very well. 25 - 35%. I paid for my undergrad working the late shift in restaurants. It's often a thankless job that doesn't pay crap except for the tips. If I can't afford to tip, I don't go out. Just me and how I feel about it.
ReplyDeleteKorean donuts are the best! In Germany, I was big on Kassebroughten, cheese topped pretzel dough baked till the cheese was brown and crisp. Holy shit was that stuff good! I always tip 15 to 20 percent if the service was good and I don't hold the waitress responsible for the food quality. If the food sucks, I just don't go back. Eod1sg Ret
ReplyDeleteNot all tipped work pays minimum wage so the server has to make enough in tips to break even and anything more is bonus.
ReplyDeleteMy fil was like that. Would leave 2 bucks no matter how high the tab was. I always pay with cash and leave a cash tip. If you put the tip on a card the waitress does not always get the money.
ReplyDeleteWhat I dislike is the “Add a tip” that comes up after placing your order at some sub shops around me. Makes me wonder if they’d mess with the food if I don’t tip. Still don’t add anything for that sort of service.
ReplyDeleteNot really any worries about the food being messed around with where I live either. Agree on the 20-30% for a sit down meal.
WiscoDave
I started seeing that at subs shops where I live, and I asked about it. The guy behind the counter said it's just the way the machines come - they have no say in that. Funny thing is I'm not seeing that at grocery stores who use the same machines.
DeleteHere is a discussion on tipping, including where you serve yourself & self-checkout, but a tip is still "suggested". Also restaurant ipads where the tip is "helpfully" filled out for 30-50%.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is getting out of control
Steve
I tip 20% on the food total, not with the tax. Yes, those little containers sitting out so you can tip someone really does irritate me. I tip other places like the person that cuts my hair and yes at the airport for the wheelchair guy that pushes my Wife.
ReplyDeleteWhoops, I forgot about tipping the barber. I generally round up to the next highest 5 bucks for him.
DeleteSome restaurant owners will not reimburse staff their tip when one leaves the tip on the credit card check/bill. If a tip is written down then it is taxed. Always leave tips in cash. Cash is king for a server.
ReplyDeleteI think that tipping needs to be done away with. The entire concept of tipping began as a response to World War II's wage freezes and is long overdue to be eliminated. Tipping creates a system where the waitress at the local diner is making much less than the one at Red Lobster, who is making much less than the one at an upscale place. Why?
ReplyDeleteTwo couples eat at the same restaurant. They sit at adjacent tables, have the same server, and receive identical service with identical food, with one exception: the first table has a bottle of house wine that costs $20, while the second table has a bottle of vintage wine that costs $300. The question is: what did the server do for the second couple that justifies the extra $42 to $60 in tip money?
The person who benefitted from the sale of the more expensive wine was the restaurant owner, and he is the one who should be paying more money to the server.
One night, me and three of my friends met at a late night bar & grill for a beer or two. We were in New Brunswick New Jersey and the place was just off the Rutgers campus. We were all there for a corporate training session and were from all over the US - KY, WV, CA, and NJ. We were there for an hour or so and had a total bill of about $50. The place was nearly empty and the waiter was okay. Nothing special, but okay. However, at the time to settle up, we couldn't come up with ten dollars in paper bills for a 20% tip. So what we did is put a five, three ones, and a stack of ten quarters on the table.
ReplyDeleteSo, after leaving that tip - which was more than adequate - we all head for the door. My friend Greg and I were the last ones out. But just as we got to the door, we heard the sound of quarters being flung across the room. We turned and looked and the waiter apparently was insulted by the coinage and had swept the stack of quarters off the table in anger, and now he was giving us the stink-eye. Greg and I looked at each other with a WTF? expression. Then Greg, who is the size of an NFL linebacker, says to me, "I think that college boy needs his ass kicked." I replied, "I think you're right, Greg. C'mon. Let's kick his ass." And we both turned started back into the restaurant, with blood in our eyes. Man, the look on that waiters face was priceless. His eyes got as big as saucers and he didn't walk, he ran through the door to the kitchen. We didn't chase him, we just turned and walked on out. (...which was probably a good thing. We avoided being a guest in the New Brunswick jail that night.)
That was over 35 years ago. Greg is still a close friend and when we get together, we still talk and laugh about that incident.
Nowadays, I tip 20% for good service, 10% for barely adequate service, and sometimes 30% or more for great service. It takes really bad service for me to leave less than 10%, or zero. Part of the problem today is that restaurants are having a hard time keeping enough staff, so waiters are hard pressed for time enough to give outstanding service. I keep that in mind, and like others, though I will bring it to their attention, I never blame the waiter for bad food.
I am notorious for tipping a lot. My parents owned a restaurant for over 30 years, so I saw things from the other side. And if a server has a large number of tables to work and still stops in to check on me and my wife several times throughout the meal, I might tip 10 bucks for a 25$ meal. Because I know how hard a good waitress or waiter works. Trying to keep up with 8-10 tables of people, with probably at least 2 of them having assholes that complain about everything, and still having to act happy in order to get tips, can really weigh on some people. Get another job? In my small town, where my parents had a restaurant, they grossed over 300K a year. So they also employed the highest number of people in the area, other than the school system. On a busy night, pre 2000, a waitress could pull in as much as 150-200 dollars in tips. But they had to work their butts off. Find a job that they made more than that, not likely..
ReplyDeleteOne other thing that I tip is for the people that groom our dog. About 3 times a year, we have him clipped and cleaned up. It costs 50$, and I give the person who did the actual work 5-10 dollars. I base that on how the dog looks, after we pick him up.
I took my wife out for breakfast this morning. We always split the Big Breakfast that the restaurant has, eggs, potatoes, sausage links and toast, plus a coffee, my wife just has water. The bill came to 12 bucks and I tipped 3 bucks. I felt a bit cheap, but the waitress only had to come to our table once, when we told her we would have the usual, then to drop the food off. I went to the cash register and had to ask for the bill. So I figured that 3 bucks was fair, especially for breakfast, when they are not as busy.
Your waiter that day made $65 off of your family that day. Not bad. Not bad at all.
ReplyDeleteMy mom waited tables at a Lyons restaurant when I was a kid to help with family expenses. Some days she'd come home close to tears because of a rude customer who would treat her like dog shit and then leave only a pittance as a tip or no tip at all. I've always been a generous tipper because of her experiences.
I always tip at least 20% or more on a meal. Recently my wife and I were invited to a Huntsville Havoc Hockey game. For some reason I brought my debit card anyway, good thing, they no longer take cash for purchases. I noticed that all the tipping was anywhere from 15 to 30 percent by using the card. I explained to our server that I prefer to leave a cash tip, she actually thought we would not tip at all. Or snack/meal was $23. and I gave her $15 cash, and then it clicked in her head. She explained that even their tips on cards are shared with the arena. So if you’re tipping on the card thinking she gets the full percentage she won’t. I told my wife that’s the last trip to the big city, nothing but cards are to be used about everywhere. It’s all about control with those cards and our youth are fully accustomed to accepting it no questions asked.
ReplyDeleteI had an ex-girlfriend teach me about tipping. Up 'til then I just left some random amount. My parents probably thought a quarter was enough but that's the kind of places we could afford.
ReplyDeleteMy father-in-law was from the generation who thought a tip was a dollar. Fixed amount. I went back and slipped some money to many a wait person to make up for it. I did leave a French waiter a dollar in New York once, but he had earned every penny of it.
I use my credit card for paying for most things these days. I carry cash for tipping and a few other places where I'm only paying a small amount for something.
ReplyDeleteI never add the tip to the CC bill. That way neither the business nor .gov knows how much the waitress was tipped.
I was at a Denny's one time paying for breakfast and the cashier/waitress said to me "No tip sir??" when I paid by CC with no tip added. I told her to go look under the plate, then come back and apologize. She was properly chastened when she saw it was 20%.
Nemo
I rarely go to restaurants and expect good service anymore. I’m actually surprised when I do get service and I tip them accordingly. I find it easier to order the food to go and just pick it up myself. Then I only have to tip the cooks since there was no server involved.
ReplyDeleteHey Kenny;
ReplyDeleteI used to work for tips, and I had to declare my tips when I got them on a credit card and they were withheld on my following check, and I was told that "you will get it back when you file your taxes", well the math never seemed to work in my favor. so I make a point to tip in cash especially in the waffle houses and other places where I do a "sit down meal". and I tip 25% sometimes more. and always cash so the IRS can't "Wet their beak"
As far as I understand, the IRS (some of the worst filth in the history of humanity) assumes that the waitstaff receives 18%. If you leave less than that, 18% of the total of your check is still what the waiter needs to claim as income. I generally leave an all cash tip, or give 18% on the card and the rest (25-30% total, barring shitty service; my wife and I both waited tables for a long time) in cash gets handed to the server.
ReplyDeleteIt's 15%, and it applies when the wait staff is paid hourly, and paid less than minimum wage. They pay income tax on that 15% whether or not you give it to them, which is total BS IMHO. Still, it's a good way to encourage good service.
DeleteI don’t worry about tipping, I can’t afford to eat out.
ReplyDeleteIt was about 10% when I was a kid back in the days when helicopters ran on steam power, then it bumped to 15% and then 20. I held the line at 15 until the bat flu beat the shit out of those people and went to 20%. If they go way far out of their way, so will I and increase that accordingly. You can generally tell if the server is working hard, and I make it a point to not penalize them if the food isn't quite up to par or it takes longer than expected for the food to come out. That's the cook's fault, not the server's. But crappy attitude and crappy service gets zero percent. Here's why, it's the no-credit theory. If the server is an asshole and you tip part of the going rate, they won't accept it was their fault, they'll think it's because you're an asshole. So, you get no credit for leaving a partial tip. I will go out of my way to see if they're just having a bad day but at some point, it's on, baby.
ReplyDeleteMy mother was a notorious low tipper, which was odd because she waited tables for years herself, and always insisted on leaving the tip if I was paying. Her sister was even worse. I never understood that, and many was the time I've caught up to the server on the way out to make things right with them and apologize.
I always tip cash and usually at 20%. I did like Australia where they do not tip but the price of the meal is 20% more and the average pub waitress make $55k a year. The upscale restaurants the waitstaff make more.
ReplyDeleteI spent 4.7 years in Japan where there is no tipping. It was refreshing. Name another business where people are not paid for their work. I was a machinist for 25 years. Did I get tips for my work? Why do waiters deserve extra? Or bartenders? It's all bullshit. If you don't give me good service I'll go somewhere else. That is the Japanese philosophy. Businesses should pay their workers what they are worth, and charge accordingly. There is a reason these are minimum wage jobs.
ReplyDeleteGo to a black neighborhood and there are tip jars on every counter regardless what business is being conducted. Before I left my hometown because I was made to feel unwelcome by the new black majority I stopped in a convenience store to buy cancer sticks. Seeing the oversized glass jar with a huge "TIPS!!!" sign on it I said to the clerks, "You want a tip? I've got one for you: plant your corn and your peas early this year." The only other white person in the place was a man standing behind who me burst out laughing and said, "By golly, that's a 'tip'!"
ReplyDeleteI've worked in restaurants and bars and tip well when it's deserved. Merely because someone wants a tip is no reason to give one.
When I worked on a German farm back in the mid-80s, I noticed a woman standing at the exit of the men's room at the Frankfort airport, and people were tipping her as they left. I was young and had no clue what to do, but I did have a few German coins on me and slipped her a Mark coin on my way out. I don't know how many times I heard the word "danke," but it was a lot, making me realize I'd tipped too much. As it was, though, she probably needed the money more than I did. First and last time I've seen an attendant manning the door at a men's restroom.
ReplyDelete