I usually tip 20% if the service is decent. In fact since the pandemic and closures I probably tip a little more. If the service isn't what I hope it would be I try to evaluate why. If they are short staffed then I don't penalize my waitress because she has too many customers to serve. If it's because they aren't hitting it as hard as they could then the tip may suffer a little.

Having work in food service growing up I tip well when the service is good but will reduce the tip as far down as 0 depending on how bad the service is. We mostly frequent locally owned mom and pop type places and 30% + is not unusual because they go above and beyond to take care of us.

The article is full of crap and is just trying to push an industry agenda. You should tip more, you should not base your tip on service quality, you should never not leave a tip, you are hurting everyone in the business if you don't give them extra money. It is all agenda driven bullshit.

I will not tip for counter service, the price of the sandwich i ordered should include making it and handing it across the counter to me. I will tip some for take out at a sit down restaurant. I don't even want to get into the tip cup outside the Dunkin Donuts drive through window.

And the argument about the waitstaff paying out the other employees, thats not my problem. The tipping model must be working if the cooks are upset about how much money the front staff is making. We always paid out the busboys because they (get this) went above and beyond just clearing tables for us.


ETA: a huge pet peeve is the mandatory tip where they add 10% and expect you to add to it. Nope, if you are going to mandate a tip then you are going to get what you ask for. Once, Because we won’t be back.

We are fortunate to be in an area with a lot of dining options so we can pick and choose.

The suggestions in the article are asinine.

I tip 20% for good service and more for better service.

I do tip less for poor service - and that means the waiter had a bad attitude, wasn't paying attention, etc., Not the food was poorly prepared or they were super busy and the waiter was trying their best.

I reserve the right to not tip anything at all.

If there is a 'service charge' or mandatory tip applied, I absolutely will not add an additional tip - that is just plain dumb and will never happen.

It will be a cold day in hell before I leave a tip for takeout. Again, that's just dumb.

I don't mind tipping at all.

I had lunch with a few guys from work at a decent restaurant. I bought lunch for myself and the new guy. I had a few small bills and a 100.

I paid with the 100 dollar bill. The change I was given back was two 20s, three 5s, and sixteen 1s.

Why do I always get loaded up with 10+ one dollar bills? So they can be an optimistic pain in the ass is my only guess.

Other than that, the meal was fine.

I’m a solid tipper. 20% usually. I don’t tip on tax and I don’t tip 20% on drinks which are ridiculously overpriced. I’m not paying 20 bucks plus for my wife’s 2 goofy cocktails and adding 4 bucks for delivering them to table. As for takeout, hell no I’m not tipping you for handing me a plastic bag.

We are being conditioned. I don’t do conditioning well. I also absolutely reduce a tip if the food sucks. Consider it me incentivizing you to find a better restaurant. Unfortunately for wait staff you sink or swim with the whole experience. I’m a pilot, I can get you there smoothly, safely, and early but if somebody else loses your bag the experience still sucked. Welcome to the team.

it just depends -- i'll tip way over 15% at lower cost establishments

for instance if I get breakfast at a Waffle House for $7 i might tip $5 if the waitress is hustling. (80% + tip...)

i also try to take into account how good they are -- multiple meals with odd requests, drinks refilled, coming back to check frequently etc -- great service = nice tip...

generally i would say 15% is the starting point and it gets adjusted

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Generally speaking tip based on performance. If you are at least competent I will tip 15-20%. If you suck, have a bad attitude, make excuses etc. I probably will not tip. If you are good at your job, personable and just generally above just competent I will tip 30%-50% and have been known to tip 100%.

You do have to really suck for me to leave less then 15% maybe 10% though.

Also because the pandemic has driven so much more take out I tip now for takeout as these folks are losing table income.

quote:

Originally posted by BamaJeepster:
The suggestions in the article are asinine.

I tip 20% for good service and more for better service.

I do tip less for poor service - and that means the waiter had a bad attitude, wasn't paying attention, etc., Not the food was poorly prepared or they were super busy and the waiter was trying their best.

I reserve the right to not tip anything at all.

If there is a 'service charge' or mandatory tip applied, I absolutely will not add an additional tip - that is just plain dumb and will never happen.

It will be a cold day in hell before I leave a tip for takeout. Again, that's just dumb.

My sentiments exactly.

As a former restaraunt worker in my younger years my tipping policy is based on performance.

If I get average service I generally give 15-20%. If I get good service 20-25%. If I get exceptional service the sky is the limit. This is ALL based on the service person and not necessarily the meal. If service is great but the cook burned by steak I don't take it out on the waiter.

I once tipped one penny for terrible service. Then again two weeks ago I left a $100 tip on a $104 bill at an airport restaurant. The gal was swamped with tables but had a fantastic attitude, made sure I got my beer immediately and made sure it never went empty. She had 14 tables. She came back before I left to tell me it made her day. I told her that her attitude made my day and to hang in there!

quote:

Originally posted by radioman:

quote:

Is it ever OK to leave no tip?
Answer: No, never.

I once left a penny because the service was so horrible.

I spelled out TIP in pennies once when waited on by an ex just after high school. Was with my now-wife at the time. She didn't think any part of that was funny then.

Or now......


Much of that article was BS, but the premise of 20% being starting point for decent service is IMHO on point. We tip like drunken sailors sometimes, mainly in college towns or with great servers who also seem like they could really use the help.

quote:

Originally posted by .38supersig:


I paid with the 100 dollar bill. The change I was given back was two 20s, three 5s, and sixteen 1s.

Why do I always get loaded up with 10+ one dollar bills? So they can be an optimistic pain in the ass is my only guess.

Funny I often run into opposite problems. Say the bill is $60. I pay with a $100 bill and I get 2 Twenties back. Seriously? I have asked for the twenty to broken down into smaller bills and the tip is slightly less generous at that point.

On the other side of the coin when I had fantastic service at Le Cirque at Bellagio in Vegas, we tipped 25%, and then I gave the head waiter Marcel, who really went above and beyond to work with us, a "green handshake."

Tipping is for service - not a right, especially for take out.
You want to earn more tips (yes I said earn) then up your game.
I have no problem over-tipping when someone goes well beyond just plain good.
If you are just tryin' to get by or even inexperience then expect less - deservedly.

We know what the source is - effing Millennials (and younger) that don't want to work and feel entitled.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
I tip 20%

I tip less for unsatisfactory service.

In a past life I had many friends that were waitresses at restaurants or bars. Gives you a whole different perspective on their jobs

I echo all three points: 20% baseline (post Covid), less for unsatisfactory, and have known a lot of folks who survived on tips, and worked their butts off to earn them.

There is no such thing as a 'standard' tip in my mind. 'Your' tip is completely up to you. I've tipped 25-30% on occasion, and virtually nothing at others based solely on the service I've received. That said, as Covid BS has grown, along with the cost of dining out, I've opted to eat in much more.

15 to 20% rounded up a dollar or five depending on the size of the bill. I'll deviate from this from time to time. Service that is in control of the server, not the kitchen is considered. As a rule, I don't tip pick up orders, or food places that you stand in line, look at the menu board, order your food and pick it up and go to your unassigned seating.

On the other hand, service people I deal with on a regular basis get a better tip. For instance I tip my barber 30%. He's cut my hair for two plus years and is the only one that I just need to sit down and he knows what I want. He'll get a bit extra for my Christmas cut as well.

I never worked in food service, or any other job that was tip dependent other than I caddied all through high school years and that job was 90% tip.

I don't eat out much given the limitations/labor shortages at restaurants these days, but 20% is for decent service and good food.

But there are people who do tip regardless. Including fast food. My niece works at Dunkin and they are allowed to receive tips there. Her crew (6 people) splits $150-$200 every shift. And they start at $15 hour. Close to $20 hour for pouring coffee and wrapping croissants.

quote:

Originally posted by YooperSigs:
In several of the restaurants here you belly up to a counter to order the meal and then they bring it to your table. When you go to pay, a page on a screen pops up after you swipe your card and offers you several different amounts of $$$ they expect as a tip. No option to not tip given. Before you get your food or get a chance to see how the service is. Which for me guarantees the lowest amount option available. The mandatory regardless of service or quality tip is tyranny!

Most have a “custom” option. You may find that you can select custom, then 0 if that seems appropriate.

If it is a place I go often, I have an idea of what to expect and go ahead and tip based on that expectation. That usually seems to work out fine, but isn’t foolproof.

Tipping is complicated. I can't write my rules here - I couldn't compile them. It's a run time judgement call. The general basis is 15% and goes up / down from there based on perceived value and quality of service. But then there are tons of exceptions. Most obvious one is where I sit down for a beer or cup of coffee but there are patrons waiting. Then I factor in opportunity cost of a single diner into my tip provided the service is good; otherwise tip is based on just the cost of what I had.

quote:

Originally posted by .38supersig:
Why do I always get loaded up with 10+ one dollar bills? So they can be an optimistic pain in the ass is my only guess.

That seems ridiculous. I have gently teased servers (usually newbies) who don’t give enough small change to leave a proper tip, but there is no reason for that.

$71 in change sounds like a $29 invoice. Rounding up, 20% is close to $6.
Three twenties, a ten, and a one would be dumb.
Three twenties, two fives and a one would be reasonable.
Three twenties, a five and six ones would be better.
Two twenties, a ten, three fives, and six ones might be optimal. Plenty of options for the customer if you’re optimistic, but you aren’t weighing them down with a ridiculous number of ones.

Of course it is always possible that the till (or their roll if they make their own change) was overflowing with ones and that was what they needed to do. . .

I think tipping shouldn't be based on how much something costs. Someone explain to me why I should tip more just because the bartender poured a $50 shot of liquor vs. a $5 shot of liquor?
And why should a server get more money for a $50 plate of food vs. a $10 plate of food delivered to the table?