How much would you tip on a $53 bill?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd have left 61 or 62 total. That's 15% and that is what I grew up with and that's fair to me. I refuse to get suckered into the higher tip percentages. The food and drinks are also a lot more expensive than they were years ago so don't give me that crap about cost of living justifying paying 20 or 25% tips over 15% tips.

They should get rid of tipping completely. Just pay the staff a standard wage. We now live overseas where there is a minimal tip culture and if one does exist it's around 5% or rounding off the bill and no one bats an eye.

Agree with 'this. The tipping culture is a big hit to the pocket for families wanting to eat out. I cap it at 15%. Refilling water and talking nice doesn't entail a tip. It's your job. People in several professions work thrice as hard with no tips and minimum wage. This is an easier job, in comparison.

You do know that wait staff doesn't get paid minimum wage, right? Cheap b@stard.

Food and restaurant prices have gone up a lot as well. So that 15% isn't on something that hasn't changed in price in the last 20 years. You're more likely paying more in tips, adjusting for inflation, than you did at only 15% in the past.

I give somewhere between 15 to 20% if the service was fine. Depends on how the bill is rounded up.

If the service is below average I don't leave much of a tip.

If the service was truly excellent, I am more generous.

No one is entitled to a tip. It's not my problem that you chose to work as a waiter.

Yeah, you and the other cheapskates mentioned this before. But it doesn't respond to the point that wait staff in most states are *excluded* from minimum wage requirements.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd give at least 20% tips. I've got tons so why not spread it around. What I can never understand is the people who say they tip only on pre-tax. So f'ing cheap. Don't go out if you can't afford the tip.

What? Why would you tip on the tax? I didn’t choose to pay that or the amount I was charged for it. I tip 20% on the amount I ordered. This is absolutely acceptable and there’s no way you will convince me I’m cheap for doing so.

NP here. It never even occurred to me to look at the pre-tax amount.
I glance at the total bill and double the first number. $53 becomes a $10 tip.
I don’t over think it. I don’t go cheap, but I also don’t over compensate for the restaurant industry’s failures.

[Anonymous]

We get a lot of bad tippers. The way they tip has nothing to do with service they received. They even say how much they loved it and then 17-15% max. We get lots of older folks who seem to think that 15% is great, foreigners who only pay what the last line says and young people on budget. We already know who tips and who doesn't and try to give the tables away. If you don't tip, I have to use my tip from another table to pay bartender, busser and food runner.
Sunday customers are the worst.
OP, why don't you tell your friend or co-worker to tip better. One day a server will tell him/her in front of everybody.
Another PP, you are probably right," no one is entitled to a tip", and you are not entitled to keep my table busy without paying for it. I don't come to your work and keep you from making money. Don't tell me that there are plenty of empty tables, those are not my tables.
People are so clueless. Best is when they come sit down and say that it's lent and they don't eat or that they are not hungry. Go sit in a bathroom even though you don't need to go. At least I can make money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Three people go out for drinks and appetizers. Server is very good. Friendly, makes multiple trips back and forth, and we sat outside so those trips were a bit longerl. (Not saying this is above and beyond, but rather noting that there was zero problems with the service.) Three drinks and three small plates add up to $53. There was a difference in opinion about how much tip to leave. How much tip would you leave?

20% on the pretax total and upward.

+1 This is standard. Anyone tipping less than that, provided the service is excellent, is being rude. If you can't afford to tip properly, perhaps you shouldn't be dining out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd have left 61 or 62 total. That's 15% and that is what I grew up with and that's fair to me. I refuse to get suckered into the higher tip percentages. The food and drinks are also a lot more expensive than they were years ago so don't give me that crap about cost of living justifying paying 20 or 25% tips over 15% tips.

They should get rid of tipping completely. Just pay the staff a standard wage. We now live overseas where there is a minimal tip culture and if one does exist it's around 5% or rounding off the bill and no one bats an eye.

Agree with 'this. The tipping culture is a big hit to the pocket for families wanting to eat out. I cap it at 15%. Refilling water and talking nice doesn't entail a tip. It's your job. People in several professions work thrice as hard with no tips and minimum wage. This is an easier job, in comparison.

You do know that wait staff doesn't get paid minimum wage, right? Cheap b@stard.

Food and restaurant prices have gone up a lot as well. So that 15% isn't on something that hasn't changed in price in the last 20 years. You're more likely paying more in tips, adjusting for inflation, than you did at only 15% in the past.

I give somewhere between 15 to 20% if the service was fine. Depends on how the bill is rounded up.

If the service is below average I don't leave much of a tip.

If the service was truly excellent, I am more generous.

No one is entitled to a tip. It's not my problem that you chose to work as a waiter.

Yeah, you and the other cheapskates mentioned this before. But it doesn't respond to the point that wait staff in most states are *excluded* from minimum wage requirements.

Not my problem. They *chose* to go into the industry. And even in states with minimum wage they still expect tips. It's a stupid tradition and needs to go the way of the dodo bird.

I do leave tips, but what I think is appropriate and not what they think is appropriate.

[Anonymous]

I tip 18% and then round up, so that’s $10.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Now that I'm thinking more about it, it seems like they were leaving 15% on the pretax amount??

That used to be the suggested tip amount for normal decent service. But in the DC area, the going rate for normal decent service is 18%. It should always be pretax, but lots of people argue it should be on total bill.

Says who?

[Anonymous]

I tip 50% of the post-tax bill, or $25, whichever is greater. If you can't afford that, stay home and eat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I tip 50% of the post-tax bill, or $25, whichever is greater. If you can't afford that, stay home and eat.

Most people wouldn’t be able to eat out! The industry would collapse overnight if people had to leave 50% tips.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd give at least 20% tips. I've got tons so why not spread it around. What I can never understand is the people who say they tip only on pre-tax. So f'ing cheap. Don't go out if you can't afford the tip.

What? Why would you tip on the tax? I didn’t choose to pay that or the amount I was charged for it. I tip 20% on the amount I ordered. This is absolutely acceptable and there’s no way you will convince me I’m cheap for doing so.

You probably don’t leave five bucks for the hotel maid either, do you? SMH

NP. A 20% tip on the pretax amount is fine. I also leave a $5 daily tip for the hotel housekeeper.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I tip 50% of the post-tax bill, or $25, whichever is greater. If you can't afford that, stay home and eat.

Most people wouldn’t be able to eat out! The industry would collapse overnight if people had to leave 50% tips.

I think pp was being sarcastic.

[Anonymous]

My father waited tables as a young man and always tipped generously on the pre-tax amount. I think what some people don’t realize is that was the standard and passed down by older generations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We get a lot of bad tippers. The way they tip has nothing to do with service they received. They even say how much they loved it and then 17-15% max. We get lots of older folks who seem to think that 15% is great, foreigners who only pay what the last line says and young people on budget. We already know who tips and who doesn't and try to give the tables away. If you don't tip, I have to use my tip from another table to pay bartender, busser and food runner.
Sunday customers are the worst.
OP, why don't you tell your friend or co-worker to tip better. One day a server will tell him/her in front of everybody.
Another PP, you are probably right," no one is entitled to a tip", and you are not entitled to keep my table busy without paying for it. I don't come to your work and keep you from making money. Don't tell me that there are plenty of empty tables, those are not my tables.
People are so clueless. Best is when they come sit down and say that it's lent and they don't eat or that they are not hungry. Go sit in a bathroom even though you don't need to go. At least I can make money.

What do you consider an appropriate tip? Do you calculate that on the pretax or total amount?

[Anonymous]

$10

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We get a lot of bad tippers. The way they tip has nothing to do with service they received. They even say how much they loved it and then 17-15% max. We get lots of older folks who seem to think that 15% is great, foreigners who only pay what the last line says and young people on budget. We already know who tips and who doesn't and try to give the tables away. If you don't tip, I have to use my tip from another table to pay bartender, busser and food runner.
Sunday customers are the worst.
OP, why don't you tell your friend or co-worker to tip better. One day a server will tell him/her in front of everybody.
Another PP, you are probably right," no one is entitled to a tip", and you are not entitled to keep my table busy without paying for it. I don't come to your work and keep you from making money. Don't tell me that there are plenty of empty tables, those are not my tables.
People are so clueless. Best is when they come sit down and say that it's lent and they don't eat or that they are not hungry. Go sit in a bathroom even though you don't need to go. At least I can make money.

Wow. Entitled much?
15% is a perfectly adequate tip.