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Sunday, April 10, 2016

How much to tip

If you ask 10 people how much to tip in a given situation, you'll get several answers and a slew of hot-headed opinions about the "right" thing to do.

To help start your next debate, here's a quick guide to customary gratuities for various services. The guide is provided by the Emily Post Institute. Those with passionate views about how much to tip the pizza-delivery guy, please see the information in the footnote provided by two other sources.

(For a look at the real reasons we tip and whether tipping has anything to do with the quality of service we receive,click here.)

RESTAURANTS/BARS
Waiter/waitress: 15% of bill (excl. tax) for adequate service; 20% for very good service; no less than 10% for poor service
Headwaiter/captain: often gets a cut of table server's tip; so tip your server extra to reward captain, or tip captain separately
Sommelier, or wine steward: 15% of cost of the bottle
Bartender: 15% to 20% of the tab, with a minimum of 50 cents per soft drink, $1 per alcoholic drink
Coatroom attendant: $1 per coat
Parking valet or garage attendant: $2 to bring your car to you
Washroom attendant: 50 cents to $1

More

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

A lot of Europeans don't tip because tipping is not standard practice. Some don't tip because they don't get good service - the whole point of tipping is 'rewarding' for service even though now it's an assumption.

Anonymous said...

I mostly tip at about 20% of the restaurant or bar bill before tax, less if the service is lacking.
Those who don't tip at all should stand in the shoes of a server for a few days.

Anonymous said...

Europeans don't tip because wait staff is considered a career and people are well paid.

Anonymous said...

I have a question. Should I tip my dog's groomer even though she is the business owner? I do tip her assistant.

Anonymous said...

How much should you tip your beautician, barber and nail tech?
Why don't restaurants pay at least minimum wage?

Anonymous said...

We had a late lunch this past weekend and we saw our waitress all of TWICE. Once when she took the order and once when she served it. We needed napkins, drink refill, etc. Well forget it...she was too busy. We regularly leave 20 percent or more because we know that people are counting on tips because the job is low paying. Well....this time we did NOT tip. $0. (Can't remember the last time that happened). Wait staff need to know that a little kindness goes a long way and to totally ignore your customers is rude. Don't totally ignore your tables or they will return the favor.

Anonymous said...

2:57 - Thats not constructive at all. Wait staff receive $0 tips all of the time and its usually because people are assholes, not because they gave terrible service. So when they do occasionally slip up and give bad service to someone - if they see a $0 tip they dont think "oh, shit, I completely dropped the ball with them." They think, "what a cheap asshole. If you cant afford to tip, dont go out to eat."

Next time this happens, tip 5% and then provide a brief explanation as to why you only tipped 5%. Most people dont like to disappoint, so when theyre called out and also see the consequences of their actions(very small tip), it may help them be a bit more aware of their tables in the future.

Anonymous said...

Texas Roadhouse tip calculator on the register wrong,charges about 25% but says 20%.

Anonymous said...

Do you tip the hotel maid?

Anonymous said...

Tip the dog groomer 20%, owner or not. The job is the same and you want them to be good to your dog. Nobody is getting rich grooming dogs. Think about it.

Anonymous said...

are you supposed to tip when you get takeout and pay with a credit card? the receipt always has a line for tip but you wouldn't tip if you paid cash.

Anonymous said...

I tip employees that provide respectable attentive professional level of service. Should we tip less to the employee at Starbucks where professional appearance is expected than thier competition at Rise Up that takes advantage of the obvious lack of dress code to entice tips by wearing short butt cheek shorts and lycra yoga pants showing their naked form? Hmmmmmmmm...

Anonymous said...

So, if I build you a $10k home improvement, and you like my work, I'm supposed to get another $2k?

And I've been missing out on that for 43 years?

Shat!

Anonymous said...

Tips for hair stylists, nail techs, etc. $2-$3.
Tips for hotel maids, $5-$10 per night, depending on cost of lodging and satisfaction with services.
Takeout, I always give $1 to the counter person, just to be kind.
Buffet table waiters, $1-$2 per person.

Anonymous said...

I know I will get blasted for this, but tipping is not mandatory. If you don't want to tip don't. People assume you have to or they are bullied if they don't. I believe their employer should pay them reasonable wages, and don't believe they would be out if business if they did. That's just a ploy to not pay them.

Anonymous said...

4:35.. Texas Roadhouse's tip calculator is not incorrect. In fact it calculates the tip according to your pretax total. Your calculator must be wrong!

8:48.. I'm sure you have been making more than $3.50 an hour to improve peoples homes for the last 43 years. If you haven't you might want to give serving tables a whirl!!

Anonymous said...

For all the people that think not necessary to tip. Would you wait on you for no tip. No you wouldn't!!! I totally understand when someone gives you less than standard service. You give them less than standard tip! But to simply not tip because you don't have to is rude and ill mannered. Most of the people that feel that way,probably never had to work a day in their life or wouldn't work in a pie shop if you gave them half the pie! The best tips come from middle class blue collar workers. They get it. My theory the rich keep getting richer. And you just can't expect anything from trash!

Anonymous said...

Most positions where tips are expected, pay less than minimum wage. Significantly less than minimum wage. What you "believe" and what actually occurs are two different things. Stop being cheap. If you cannot afford to tip, get take out.

Anonymous said...

Delivery drivers do not get the delivery charge. They may get a portion of it and it's different at each business. Pizza delivery drivers earn less than minimum wage and they use their own cars, pay for their own gas, insurance and maintenance. Not to mention how dangerous it is to deliver to unknown people in unknown areas.

Anonymous said...

I have every right to go out to dinner etc. I also have the right not to tip, it is not mandatory. Has nothing to do with being cheap or being able to afford something. Tips should not be "expected" to help with their salary. The employer should at the very least pay minimum wages. And employees have the options to get a second job, get a higher paying job or manage their finances better til they have better wages.

Anonymous said...

The rich get richer by not paying reasonable wages and tries to force and bully people to supplement their income. It is not rude not to tip it is not mandatory ! If it was my job I would do the job whether I was tipped or not, I'm not going to bully someone into doing it. A lot if people tip not because they want to, but feel pressured to do so. I've worked all my life even had two jobs at times.

Anonymous said...

Maybe they should teach this in diversity training.