Dumb usa tipping question

[moseley2004]

Question for the guys from the USA. Me and my wife are holidaying there in may june. Now when it comes times to pay people obviously we know we leave a tip. Now one thing we are unsure of is what is A fair tip to leave. Say we go out and eat. How much do u leave? Guys carrying bags what do u give? Room service and so on. Thanks for your help

[Honkey_Kong]

Question for the guys from the USA. Me and my wife are holidaying there in may june. Now when it comes times to pay people obviously we know we leave a tip. Now one thing we are unsure of is what is A fair tip to leave. Say we go out and eat. How much do u leave? Guys carrying bags what do u give? Room service and so on. Thanks for your help

Usually you just double the tax. If it's bad service, you give less or none depending on how dissatisfied you are. And if it's exceptional, you should probably leave a better tip.

As far as people carrying your bags, a couple bucks should be fine. A few bucks to tip the taxi driver too.

[xelnaga]

You're on holiday... No need to tip, you will never see any of your waiters again!

[gixxerboy1]

waiters normal tip is 15-20%. Check where you go some place already add it in.
Valet parkers, room service and such i just give a few bucks.

[FONZY007]

It all depends for me at least the service i get.. Like for example: I went to a steak joint with the wife, she tells the waiter she wants her steak well done no pink.. Steak comes out with some sauce on it, she cuts it and there is pink.. So she sends it back, they grill it some more, so when it comes back to the table it looks burnt like hell cuz of the sauce the put on it... She wasn't very happy as she didn't eat the steak and they got no tip..

Me in simple, keep my glass full and you will get tipped...

I tip around 10%

[xelnaga]

I usually tip waiters 10-15%. Unless they are professional waiters that you find at upscale steak houses, then I tip 20%. Professional waiters are a dying bread.

[gearbox]

if your waiter is good tip what you think. if mine sucks I leave very little or nothing. Never had a problem dropping extra cash for a waiter that was awesome. the bags etc I leave a dollar most of the time. matters if I am staying at a country club or holiday in..

[DanB]

All about the service, if its service with a smile you will get a good tip,

If it seems like they there but dont want to be actually doing anything for you then they are getting the shrapnel left over from paying the bill

[cherrydrpepper]

The responses surprise me a bit. I almost never tip less than 15% and usually 20% but i've been conditioned that way by family members who have money.

[oatmeal69]

Anything less than 15% is considered an insult, or a comment of poor service.
15% is what you should give if you get standard service. 20% or more is a good tip. These people work for their tips, they are paid much less than minimum wage usually.
A tip in the USA is part of your bill when you eat out, or patronize a service oriented business. It isn't an "'extra."

[oatmeal69]

I'have never been wealthy. I know how hard these folks work, and how much it sucks to get 10% (or less) when you've lived up to your end of the deal. Believe me, we remember and pass your info along, too.

[jimmyinkedup]

I usually tip 20% in restaurants unless the service is poor. Then i'll do less. I also tip based on the srevice - not the food quality. The waiter doesnt cook the food. Are my drinks full - is the waitperson coscientous - checking back to see if all is well. Do they not make me wait forever before greeting. Are they friendly and polite. If they are exceptional (rare) i'll leave more than 20%. If they really really suck 10% is the lowest - that is also rare.
Cabs - $2-$3
Bags - $1/bag but never less than $3.

btw this wasnt a stupid question at all.

[SEOINAGE]

20% at restaurants. Only slightly less if they are bad, if they are outright rude I might give less. more if they are awesome and take extra care of you. I hate eating with other people that tip poorly. Father in law would be lucky to ever tip 15% and that is even when half his kid and him and his wife are all sharing meals, so the person has to slave over them only to get a couple bucks. If you are getting one of your meals free or something else free I usually tip as if I was paying for those meals since the server is still doing as much and deserve it.

[Nooomoto]

Eating/bartenders: if the service is great and the server is friendly I will sometimes give around 50% (especially if I plan on coming back to the place). I essentially bought myself a private bartender doing this once, it was awesome. I'd follow him around South Beach and get VIP-type service where-ever he was working that night. If the service is normal, I'll tip 15% or a bit more if the server is friendly. Bad service I don't tip anything.

Room service/valets/all others: Usually just $2-$3.

Be aware there is a trend growing here in the US of workers putting out tip jars in places where they aren't needed. I've seen them placed by the registers at small retail smoothie places, ice cream shops, bakeries, sandwich shops, etc...these people make a wage that is far beyond what real food servers get, DO NOT FEEL OBLIGATED TO TIP THEM. Food servers (waiters/waitresses) live and die on tips and make a wage that is somewhere around $2.00/hr. Cashiers make at least minimum wage which varies depending on the state you are in, but it's usually more than double what food servers get.

Ringing me up at a register does not qualify as service and should not be rewarded beyond their paid wage, commensurate to someone's ability to push buttons on a register

[Brohim]

Anything less than 15% is considered an insult, or a comment of poor service.
15% is what you should give if you get standard service. 20% or more is a good tip. These people work for their tips, they are paid much less than minimum wage usually.
A tip in the USA is part of your bill when you eat out, or patronize a service oriented business. It isn't an "'extra."

This is correct. I usually tip 18-20%. Or 2$ for every 10$ on the bill. If the bill was 50$ I would tip 10$.

[RaginCajun]

This is correct. I usually tip 18-20%. Or 2$ for every 10$ on the bill. If the bill was 50$ I would tip 10$.

this! it all depends on the service, the better the bigger tip!

[evander87]

Restaurant they start at 15% if the food is good and service great 20%, if it's crap 10%
Bartender if I'm paying cash as I go $2 for a drink or two. Couple bucks more if there are more drinks and for cocktails
Cab $2-3 unless I catch them taking the "scenic" route.
Espresso stand usually a buck and my coin change
Valets, bellhops $2-3
Room service $5 a night if it's an upscale place (turn down service etc.)

[jasc]

20%+ for me..
I've worked in many bars/restaurants when I was younger so I know how shitty it is to get a bad tip. When I go out to eat or to a bar and someone is excellent I'll give em upwards around 40-50%

Even with shit service I find it hard giving less than 15%, maybe 10 at the lowest, but doesn't happen very often.

Someone else already made the comment, but I think it's funny that everyone puts out tip jars now.. I mean c'mon, you really expect customers to tip you on a $5 footlong or because you made them a burrito? hah

[JayBee]

waitress good service 20% is fair, gotta remember they don't even make minimum wage, $2 an hr maybe $3 if they're lucky. plus most of them have to give some of their tips to busboys & bartenders too

[Vettester]

Like Nooomoto mentioned, there's this new "entitlement" tipping going on with places that do nothing more than a general preparation of your food and/or drink, then simply ring you up at the register. I think Starbucks is probably the originator of this idea ... And amazingly, people not only pay $4.00 for that cup of coffee, they will leave a buck in the jar on the way out. It's our way of applauding the guy for turning on the switch correctly with the mocha machine ... Bravo!

[Honkey_Kong]

Eating/bartenders: if the service is great and the server is friendly I will sometimes give around 50% (especially if I plan on coming back to the place). I essentially bought myself a private bartender doing this once, it was awesome. I'd follow him around South Beach and get VIP-type service where-ever he was working that night. If the service is normal, I'll tip 15% or a bit more if the server is friendly. Bad service I don't tip anything.

Room service/valets/all others: Usually just $2-$3.

Be aware there is a trend growing here in the US of workers putting out tip jars in places where they aren't needed. I've seen them placed by the registers at small retail smoothie places, ice cream shops, bakeries, sandwich shops, etc...these people make a wage that is far beyond what real food servers get, DO NOT FEEL OBLIGATED TO TIP THEM. Food servers (waiters/waitresses) live and die on tips and make a wage that is somewhere around $2.00/hr. Cashiers make at least minimum wage which varies depending on the state you are in, but it's usually more than double what food servers get.

Ringing me up at a register does not qualify as service and should not be rewarded beyond their paid wage, commensurate to someone's ability to push buttons on a register

Those people at the smoothie shops make minimum wage. But yeah I never tip those. Sales tax is usually like around 8.25% so if you double that on your cheque you have your tip.

[spywizard]

$5 for random people.. or $2 if you won't be needing them to give you service ever again..

If its day 1, tip the room service $20... theyll keep coming back quick for you the rest of the time..

[gixxerboy1]

Those people at the smoothie shops make minimum wage. But yeah I never tip those. Sales tax is usually like around 8.25% so if you double that on your cheque you have your tip.

depends here its 6% so thats only a 12% tip and low IMO

[oatmeal69]

I don't like the "double the tax" method either. move the decimal point one place left, then double it. There's your 20%.

[slfmade]

If the service is good I ALWAYS tip 20%. Even if it's okay I still tip 20% because you never know if maybe they're just overworked and they're doing the best they can.

On the other hand....If it's horrible I tip 25 cents. IMO it's more degrading to tip a quarter than it is to tip nothing at all.

Once I was at Hooters and this waitress pissed me off so bad...I left her a quarter and the girl that waited the table next to us 50.00. The girl that wasn't even waiting on us refilled our beers 3 times because she noticed we were empty... In the hour we were there I saw our waitress go out 4 times to take a smoke break! So I left her a note that the reason her friend got a tip and she didn't was simply because she sucked and that's all she was worth to us!!!

[oatmeal69]

Even a weird number is pretty easy. -

$37.83 = 3.78 x 2 = 7.56

If you're doing it in your head it doesn't have to be exact, just close. I know that 2x 3.78 is somewhere between 7 and 8 bucks, so if it was good, I'll go $8 or more. If the service sucked, I'll do $6 - or less.

I always do it on the final bill as well, not pre-tax.

[gixxerboy1]

If the service is good I ALWAYS tip 20%. Even if it's okay I still tip 20% because you never know if maybe they're just overworked and they're doing the best they can.

On the other hand....If it's horrible I tip 25 cents. IMO it's more degrading to tip a quarter than it is to tip nothing at all.

Once I was at Hooters and this waitress pissed me off so bad...I left her a quarter and the girl that waited the table next to us 50.00. The girl that wasn't even waiting on us refilled our beers 3 times because she noticed we were empty... In the hour we were there I saw our waitress go out 4 times to take a smoke break! So I left her a note that the reason her friend got a tip and she didn't was simply because she sucked and that's all she was worth to us!!!

lol. My dad did something like that. He went to the car and got change and put pennies all around the table

[oatmeal69]

If the service is good I ALWAYS tip 20%. Even if it's okay I still tip 20% because you never know if maybe they're just overworked and they're doing the best they can.

Yeah, and I try to give them the benefit of the doubt too - especially stuff that isn't their fault, like management not having enough staff and she has to bust her ass to make up for it and still not get everything out promptly.

I can think of times when I've asked for the manager and told them just that. - "You are trying to save a couple bucks by having your server cover two sections, etc. She is doing an awesome job, but you and your restaurant will not get more business from me."

One time, the server was so thankful she almost cried, LOL. Most people don't care though.

I will walk without tipping, but the person REALLY has to piss me off. I haven't done it often at all.

[Sgt. Hartman]

I don't see why this is a dumb question. A lot of Americans need a refresher course in tipping anyway, let alone someone who's not from US.

Waiters - about 20%, more if service is excellent and less if service is bad. Not food, but service.
Valet/Bags - if I have ones than I tip $3+ or a $5
Room service/takeout - I just tip about 10%

Curious what you guys tip for a haircut? I always pay in cash so they don't have to report it and tip $5 (unless they fvck up my hair lol)

[slfmade]

I don't see why this is a dumb question. A lot of Americans need a refresher course in tipping anyway, let alone someone who's not from US.

Waiters - about 20%, more if service is excellent and less if service is bad. Not food, but service.
Valet/Bags - if I have ones than I tip $3+ or a $5
Room service/takeout - I just tip about 10%

Curious what you guys tip for a haircut? I always pay in cash so they don't have to report it and tip $5 (unless they fvck up my hair lol)

Same...5 bucks

[oatmeal69]

I don't see why this is a dumb question. A lot of Americans need a refresher course in tipping anyway

Absolutely!

[Far from massive]

Pretty much the same as most, if I eat out and service is average then 15% if its great more. If its bad enough so I leave pissed then a buck with a note that says I only tip for service, used to always tip till a friend of mine who owned a resturant told me that people always said this or that waitperson sucked he would say how much did you tip them and after they answered he would explain that as long as you tip them they have no reason to bother and that it was also the reason many good waitpersons don't stay good for long they see some Ahole moseying around and making 15% why should they bust ass for 18%


As far as my haircut the barbershop charges 12 for the haircut, I leave him a 20 knowing he gets half the 12 the shop charges plus my 8 works out to 14. He spends about 45 minutes so thats $17.50 an hour or the same wage I make.

[jasc]

I don't see why this is a dumb question. A lot of Americans need a refresher course in tipping anyway, let alone someone who's not from US.

Waiters - about 20%, more if service is excellent and less if service is bad. Not food, but service.
Valet/Bags - if I have ones than I tip $3+ or a $5
Room service/takeout - I just tip about 10%

Curious what you guys tip for a haircut? I always pay in cash so they don't have to report it and tip $5 (unless they fvck up my hair lol)

My barber charges $14 so I always throw him a $20 ($6 tip)

When I used to go to a salon.. 30$ for the cut, $10 tip.. too bad she moved.. she was smokin hot and did a damn good job.

[Far from massive]

Ohh one last thing that really pisses me off, and let me preface by saying I do not eat at these type of resturants any more.

What I really hate is a shitty chain expensive steakhouse where they got the waitpeople working 6 tables. I will not tip 15% as the person is not able to provide great service to 6 tables and on top of that the average bill at each table is a 75 bucks with the average seat time about an 1.5 hrs, so that would be about 45 an hour. Sorry I am not paying someone 45 dollars and hour for unskilled labor and poor rushed service, if more people did the math and followed suit I doubt these businesses would continue to adopt this way of doing business. Also most of these types of resturants have really shitty waitstaff ( I assume because they are so rushed they can not provide any real service so the tip recieved is commensurate with the bra size and amount of flirting not any waiting skills), and it really amazes me that people go there and feel obliged to tip them 15%-18%.

[Schmidty]

i tip 15-20%,carry my own bags and cut my own hair

[moseley2004]

Thanks heaps guys this info will really help us on our trip

[Honkey_Kong]

[moseley2004]

Great movie great scene too. Now do people really work for as little as $4 p/h?

[FONZY007]

Great movie great scene too. Now do people really work for as little as $4 p/h?

Well minimum wage in CA is 8 bucks while San Francisco is 10.25 I believe...

[moseley2004]

Well minimum wage in CA is 8 bucks while San Francisco is 10.25 I believe...

That's for an adult? Min wage in Australia for a 15 yo like $7