Has Tipping Gotten Out of Hand?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly I used to be all agitated about tipping but then I thought, you know what? This hourly worker probably needs the extra $2-$5 a lot more than I do. I am fortunate to live the life I have and giving an extra $2 to the guy who hails the cab is not going to break the bank.

Exactly. At restaurants, I tip 20% standard and up to 25% for awesome service. For terrible service, I don't go below 15%. The difference to me is just a few dollars, but when they see the check they'll think "Sweet! 20%!" instead of "Ugh, only 15% again." I only waitressed one summer in college and I still remember this feeling... especially when obviously wealthy people would leave a tiny tip.

On the other hand, I only tip $1-2 on takeout (out of guilt) because what service area you even tipping for?

This is exactly what I do. Move the decimal point, multiply by 2, and round up. One caveat - my minimum restaurant tip is $5. When I go out to breakfast, and spend $15.00, I don't tip $3 - that seems insulting.

It also drives me nuts when people (typically very well-paid colleagues) remove the tax before tipping. I know it's "proper" but it's so damn cheap. On a $100 tab, the tax is $10 in DC. 20% of that is $2. You're saving yourself $2 on a $100 tab, at the most (and the people who do this typically are NOT generous tippers in the first place, so it's more like $1.70). On a $500 dinner at Cityzen, by removing the tip you're saving yourself $10. That's absurd.

That said, I typically don't tip at random coffee shops. I do throw in my change at the place I go every day. It calculates out to an astonishing $140 or so per year ($.60 per day, $3 per week), but I get better service (nothing like jumping a long line of tourists and suburbanites on the weekend!), I like the staff, and I can afford it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly I used to be all agitated about tipping but then I thought, you know what? This hourly worker probably needs the extra $2-$5 a lot more than I do. I am fortunate to live the life I have and giving an extra $2 to the guy who hails the cab is not going to break the bank.

Exactly. At restaurants, I tip 20% standard and up to 25% for awesome service. For terrible service, I don't go below 15%. The difference to me is just a few dollars, but when they see the check they'll think "Sweet! 20%!" instead of "Ugh, only 15% again." I only waitressed one summer in college and I still remember this feeling... especially when obviously wealthy people would leave a tiny tip.

On the other hand, I only tip $1-2 on takeout (out of guilt) because what service area you even tipping for?

This is exactly what I do. Move the decimal point, multiply by 2, and round up. One caveat - my minimum restaurant tip is $5. When I go out to breakfast, and spend $15.00, I don't tip $3 - that seems insulting.

It also drives me nuts when people (typically very well-paid colleagues) remove the tax before tipping. I know it's "proper" but it's so damn cheap. On a $100 tab, the tax is $10 in DC. 20% of that is $2. You're saving yourself $2 on a $100 tab, at the most (and the people who do this typically are NOT generous tippers in the first place, so it's more like $1.70). On a $500 dinner at Cityzen, by removing the tip you're saving yourself $10. That's absurd.

That said, I typically don't tip at random coffee shops. I do throw in my change at the place I go every day. It calculates out to an astonishing $140 or so per year ($.60 per day, $3 per week), but I get better service (nothing like jumping a long line of tourists and suburbanites on the weekend!), I like the staff, and I can afford it.

My father taught me to tip on the pre-tax amount. He waited on tables while supporting himself through college and has always tipped at least 20%, even for bad service. Your colleagues are not being cheap; they are being correct. Save your ire for those who tip below 15% or nitpick on the service or quality of food in order to justify a tip below 15%.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What really galls me these days is the number of times I get a receipt with tip percentages handily calculated for you, where they apply the percentage to the after-tax total rather than the pretax one. So if I tip 20% of the pretax total, it appears that I am only tipping 17-18% or so. If the point of a tip is to send a message about how pleased you were with the service, that message gets muddled when incorrect calculations show up on your receipt.

if tipping is mandatory, can you not request a menu with where the price of the items includes the cost of the tip?
is that not how it is supposed to be? The menu price is the only price you can be legally forced to pay

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

[b]It also drives me nuts when people (typically very well-paid colleagues) remove the tax before tipping.

I tip on the pre-tax amount; I actually use the tax to figure out the tip amount. I moved here from a place with no meals tax, so it seems really weird to me to tip based on a local jurisdiction's tax policies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I tell them here's a tip, find a better paying job. I'm not about to provide for someone else's lifestyle. No one tips me at my job.

But you do get paid at your job! Servers $2.77 an hour unless you leave a tip.Others make at least minimum and don't always need to be tipped.So servers are going to find a better paying job and who is going to serve you or make your drink?
For the OP, stay home, pick up your own food and how often do you get your furniture delivered.You definitely over-tip, but that's on you.

the establishment will raise prices and pay workers accordingly. i hate tipping, would much rather pay more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What really galls me these days is the number of times I get a receipt with tip percentages handily calculated for you, where they apply the percentage to the after-tax total rather than the pretax one. So if I tip 20% of the pretax total, it appears that I am only tipping 17-18% or so. If the point of a tip is to send a message about how pleased you were with the service, that message gets muddled when incorrect calculations show up on your receipt.

if tipping is mandatory, can you not request a menu with where the price of the items includes the cost of the tip?
is that not how it is supposed to be? The menu price is the only price you can be legally forced to pay

Are you European? no.

[Anonymous]

What bugs me is restaurants that impose some preset gratuity, typically 18%, and then provide a line for more.