Guilt Tipping has gotten crazy! Are you pushing back at all?

I do 20% for everything. It doesn’t hurt me and I like to think it helps somebody else. I do get good service in places where I’m recognized as a regular, and that may be due in some part to the 20%, but I don’t become a regular anywhere that doesn’t provide good service in the first place.

I like seeing the fleeting expression of happiness that passes over people’s faces when they see the tip.

Firehouse Subs has a tip thing inside nowadays. Counter service is one thing, but asking for a tip for simple takeout is nasty work.

My standard rule of thumb is also 20% tip in restaurants. But I do go higher when I have really excellent service.

I really upped my tipping game during Covid, as I knew so many businesses were barely hanging on. My salary wasn't impacted, so I could help out a bit without any impact on me. If service is decent, I have no problem leaving a 20% tip (or more) at a restaurant. But I do object to suddenly being expected to tip people who never got tipped before. The cashier at a fast food take out or drive-thru? Leaving the change in the jar is one thing, but it's ridiculous to have the person whose only job is to take my money flip the screen around so I can choose a 10%, 15%, or 20% tip.

Waitstaff Tips Matter!

Tipping wouldn't be necessary if service companies paid a living wage to their employees, and the government actually helped SMEs (which make 80% of the economy), instead of engaging in corporate welfare that only benefits large corporations which, incidentally, still underpay their employees as much as possible - just look at Amazon's dastardly practices with their so-called associates.

In a world in which people cannot survive by working 40 or more hours per week, tipping is indispensable. The real question is why aren't we doing anything to correct this imbalance and eliminate inequality.

We don't dine "out" very often and more likely to pick up takeout than dine in. I get if you have a million little containers and side things like dressings or salsas or extra things you asked for, you should tip accordingly. But no, just because I decided to walk in and place my order for a burrito and you threw it in a bag doesn't mean you deserve a tip. Thusly for people handing you an iced tea that they poured out of a big canister. I think the consumer needs to push back on tipping, we are already paying $16/here in CA min wage and fast food just went up to $20/min wage here.

Cute face, nice ass = 25%

How true, R8! I always tip hot guys more. I don't shortchange the women, but a really hot guy always gets a little extra.

We have limited our eating out, and then mostly counter service, we don't tip for getting our food from the counter either, it's gotten out of hand, fewer tips all around.

R1, I get that and do the same. HOWEVER, I want to do it out of generosity and not obligation.

You could always quit being lazy and eat at home.

People who just stand there, put things in a bag and take your money (or more likely watch you charge your bank through some electronic means) expect a tip these days.

Next thing you know, Datalounge trolls will be linking to GoFundMe for tips.

R12 it's not just for eating/dining or takeout. It's for drinks, rideshare, I've seen tipping jars at the dry cleaners for god sakes. A price should be a price at a lot of businesses.

Fast food workers earn a standard wage of $10-$15 per hour - not a "tipped" wage of $2 per hour. They do not depend on tips for income the way restaurant servers do.

If their "service" consists of ringing up an order and handing you a tray or bag that someone else assembled, then that's surely not worth a special gratuity.

R8 & R9 are right on the money. One always overtips hotties. Lord help me if it's a gorgeous archtwink with plump lips and big eyes.

20% for sit-down restaurants.

Maybe a few dollars for takeout from a sit-down restaurant. I usually round up to the nearest dollar and then add $2-$3.

Pizza delivery maybe $5.

As far as food goes, that is it. Last time I was in Jersey Mike's they now have a tip option. Nope.

Tipping was/is meant to supplement wages, sure, but for those people whose wages were $2.13 an hour. Not $15.

Tipping threads on Datalounge are ALWAYS filled with new and fascinating information. What I really like is the way DLers are so willing to evolve and change their tipping habits, and the way they're open to hearing other viewpoints about tipping.

I tip very generously in hotels ($20/day).

I figure that housekeeping is physical, demanding work, and they deserve every penny of my tip. Not to mention that I assume a lot of people don't tip hotel housekeeping at all.

They appreciate it, trust me.

Pouring a glass of wine and pulling a beer get a buck each for me, unless the staff are really engaging, then I'll round it up.

Stop the tips, it's crooked anyway, young white girls get the most, the ugly, fat, old, black, males and others, never get what the white girls get, it's discrimination now.

You do realize, of course, that hotty servers can spot gay men at 20 paces, and that you are being set up to get a bigger tip?

If I figure out what they're doing, and the service is just okay to good , they get 15%. If they don't play that game, and the service is good, I'll go 20-25-30%, depending.

My local hangout that usually has my drink at my table as soon as I sit down, pours heavy, and never lets my glass get empty, often gets 30%

Chicken or the egg, i guess, but they began it.

The service has to be really good.

I don't mind tipping if I get to look at a cute male for longer than normal. That's probably the most honest reason I even earn money.

I tip in proportion to the size of the VPL.

I sure as fuck am pushing back.

* No tip over 15%

* No counter tips

* Tips for work that is finished in less than 5 minutes to not exceed 3 dollars

I tip 25% usually at restaurants and @0% for delivery drivers.

HOWEVER, I have gotten more than a little weary of others. Went to the movies last night. Got a bottle of water out of the fridge in front. The kid at the counter range me up, and I put my debit card in the machine. First screen? Would I like to tip 18%? Why no, I would not. I got the damn $6.00 water on my own.

At the Sphere in Las Vegas after the U@ show. Bought a t-shirt. The woman reached down below the counter to get it. $50 shirt. Put in my card. "Would you like to tip 20%?" A TEN DOLLAR tip for reaching into a bin to get a shirt? Nope.

I spent some time in Japan a few years ago. Offering to tip is seen as offensive because it makes the waiter feel like you think he is poor or underpaid.

Pay people a fair wage, and tipping can just go away.

Sorry, my 2/@ key is sticking.

I'm not actively pushing back. I'm just tipping the way I always did. Meaning I tip only when someone actually deserves it - sitting down at a restaurant, food delivery, transportation, carrying shit, etc. For a restaurant, that's 15% for acceptable service. 25% for good. Can be higher than that if exceptional, the meal required something unusually difficult for the server, I feel bad for the server for some reason (not them giving a sob story), or if he's hot and giving gay vibes (yes, I admit I'm totally shallow and try to help out "family" too). If you're bad, you get nothing. But that level has to be "talk to the manager" level of bad and that's only been a few times. For delivery, I use common sense and sort of wing it based on how large the order is and how difficult it will be for the person to get it to me. Everything else is a few bucks.

All that to say, fuck no I don't tip the guy at Auntie Annie's pretzels or the zillion of others that are asking for it now for no reason. Seriously, you handed me a fucking pretzel. Why is that worth a tip?

Just the tip.

It went too far when the woman who checks your ID before entering the dispensary had a tip jar. It’s one thing inside: the people behind the counter help you make your selection.

The woman at the door is performing an action required by the state by looking at an item (your license/passport/state-issued ID card) and pushing a button to unlock the door. This does not require a gratuity.

I see that all the jars are gone now. Enough people must have pushed back. When the smokista tries to give me cash at the end of transaction to reimburse me for the ATM fee or “transportation costs” or whatever, now I just tell ‘m to keep it.

I have a lot of friends - both male and female - who have worked in the service industry. I've been to their restaurants, had them as servers and observe how hard they work (and also hear about some of the shitty tips they received for their hard work). So after learning from them, I've always entered a restaurant planning on tipping 20% to start - by the end of the meal, that 20% could have increased or decreased.

If the service is really exceptional (like the service my friends give) it will go up to 30-35%. When I return to the restaurant, I always ask for the same server (I do remember their names). If it's a hot waiter who knows how to flirt with me and my friends, that tip will go up to at least 40%.

If the service is poor - and there's no excuse (such as a very busy section, or I can see the place is short-staffed) - that 20% gets decreased to 10% - 15%. If it's a hot guy, it may stay at 20% but he has to have a nice personality.

As far as take-out, no. Only - and only - if it's a hot guy who knows how to flirt. Then it's 25%.

I moved to Europe some years ago. Not to escape American tipping, but it's a nice secondary benefit.

The expectation in the US is table service from someone wearing dirty clothes and a superior smirk who gives you a haughty sniff for not ordering the $200 bottle of wine, makes himself scarce until it's time to deliver the check with a generous helping of unctuousness, then expects a fat pile of $20 bills handed him. What's the hourly pay of a waiter supposed to be: $80? $120?

I do leave tips. Often. The difference is they are appreciated because they are unexpected. It's different when waiters are neither servile nor superior, just someone the equal of me doing a job well, where the respect is mutual and not thrown guiltily by one party to the other at the end of a meal.

Fuck Gen Z and their shitty customer service.

If I go into a patisserie and have them box up a few croissants and a baguette, should I put something in the tip jar? If so, how much?

When I was in NY from the UK I admit tipping the hotties with really engaging personalities higher than normal

R35 no. That's basic service - it's not like they gave you anything free.

I went to Jersey Mike's to get a sandwich for lunch today (carryout at the counter). $12 for a regular-sized turkey sandwich and a bag of Sun Chips was all they were getting out of me. Of course I was in a rare foul mood today.

R27 is wrong: the delivery drivers deserve tips more than anyone else.

Everything comes full circle.

The key to avoiding those guilt tip screens upon payment is to use cash. Unless it’s a “cashless” establishment, in which case it’s already overpriced.

Delivery drivers are working and they know what they're getting into, be lucky you get anything. That's the problem, people think they are worth more than they are, hence the tip jar everywhere.

I went to my cardio doctor last week for a six month check up (he schedules this in between my annual). I had a $10 copay, and they don't take cash in the office - just check or credit card.

Once again, they turn the device to me to use my card, and the 'gratuity screen' comes up (this is the third time this has happened, since they installed a new system a year ago).

And once again, I ask the receptionist 'Do you really expect tips from your patients ?'

And once again, she giggles and says, "Oh, I forgot to disable that. Sorry ! It comes up automatically."

I don't tip at places like Five Guys or Jersey Mike's. I usually tip $2 if ordering take-out from a real restaurant, or a place where I regularly order food. I tip 20-25% if I actually get a table or sit at the bar and get served in the establishment.

I hate the tip jar at the pot dispensary. Does Walgreens have a tip jar at the pharmacy?

Should the counter person say thank you when you out the tip in the jar? I’ve never had anyone ever thank me. They ignore it. Then I feel like a fool for the tip.

The red line was crossed at the nearby adult store when I went in to buy lube, used a credit card and there was a tipping option.

For putting a bottle of lube in a black, plastic bag.

It’s out of control.

Restaurants should tip me for entering their establishment.

I have a tip jar on the stool next to my home glory hole. I do very well.

Because of the stereotype about black people and tipping, I almost always tip 25% even when its not deserved. I can afford it and if it encourages one person not to always assume, then I've succeeded.

Everyone I know who works a tipped job would quit if they got paid a living wage like the rest of us. I keep that in mind (post covid) when I consider how much to tip.

I’m taking the food back!!!

Americans have been manipulated into this ridiculous overtipping thing for years and it's getting worse. Tips for cashiers? Give me a fucking break. Pay your workers what they deserve and add it to the price of goods. If tipping over 20% makes you feel morally superior, you've been suckered.

[quote] Because of the stereotype about black people and tipping, I almost always tip 25% even when its not deserved. I can afford it and if it encourages one person not to always assume, then I've succeeded.

That seems like weird, inside-out racism in some way.

Very nice and well-intended, but odd.

At some point it's going to be like adults who don't know each other very well all giving each other $25 gift cards for Christmas. Shuffling that shit around.

I tip my local taco truck because the food is awesome and 1/2 to 2/3 the price of a sit-down. I like the family that runs it. 15 percent for average service 20 for super service and excellent product.

[quote] If it's a hot waiter who knows how to flirt with me and my friends, that tip will go up to at least 40%.... As far as take-out, no. Only - and only - if it's a hot guy who knows how to flirt. Then it's 25%.

Ridiculous. It's a restaurant, not a titty bar.

Was given a tip screen when checking out my dog from his three night stay. They charge 95/night. I’m sure they are nice to him. But also, I have no idea. I am so sick of these screens popping up everywhere.

[quote] Fast food workers earn a standard wage of $10-$15 per hour - not a "tipped" wage of $2 per hour. They do not depend on tips for income the way restaurant servers do.

Full-time job at $10/hr. comes out to $20,800 per year.

Full-time job at $15/hr. comes out to $31,200 per year.

R13 you're 100% correct!!

R27 I think it’s great that you tip 25% at restaurants, but I don’t understand tipping zero percent for delivery. I always tip at least 20% on DoorDash orders because it is a luxury I can afford and appreciate.

Oops, I meant, R6, you're 100% correct!

R60 25% is highway fucking robbery. Are you nuts? Even 15% is excessive tipping all over the world. Nobody should put a percentage to tipping. Good service, you give what you want. Meh service, keep the coins in the change. Lousy service = zero!

I have friends who feel guilty about not leaving a tip even when we were treated like garbage, made to wait 45 minutes for our food and 15 for our check. I just get up and leave.

Why are DLers so stressed about tipping? You don't have to do it, and if you do, you can do it to whatever you like. Why the over- explanatory Ted Talks on personal tipping philosophy?

R62 with all due respect, it sounds like you can’t afford to eat out. If you think tipping 15 % is excessive please stay home. I say this as an upper middle class person who eats out once a week, I live in an affluent suburb, and there is not much incentive to employ service workers at our restaurants . They can’t afford to live here, so I’m tipping extra knowing they pay extra to commute.

🙄🙄🙄^

Alternatively, live in a country where service workers are paid a living wage and tipping is the exception, for exceptional service, rather than the rule.

I’m a cute face, nice ass tipper too!

Visited a winery in Napa while on family vacation. Ordered a good case of wine to be sent back home. Went to pay for the wine and shipping, and the touchscreen “suggested” a $120 tip.

No fucking way was I that drunk.

It’s all meant to make Jack Dorsey from Square, who unleashed this on us, a mega billionaire. He is already worth 3.2.

[quote]Delivery drivers are working and they know what they're getting into, be lucky you get anything.

But servers, hotel housekeepers, bellmen, bartenders, cab drivers, golf caddies, tattoo artists et al aren't working and don't know what they're getting into, so they should be tipped generously?

R27 here.

Since it has now come up twice, I tip 20% for delivery.

As I said when I corrected my post right after, the 2/@ key on my keyboard is sticking. Hence "U@ concert" and "@0% tip."

I would never not tip a delivery person.

I most definitely tip for delivery, my feet person, my barber - all 20%. The only place where I draw the line is the counter people. It drives me crazy when they turn the screen around or there is a tip jar. Those types should be making the full wage.

"F this noise"

Oh brother

I always assumed the tip at fast food places was a "thank you" for not spitting in my meal.

I leave a wheat penny from 1952 as a tip and tell the waitress it's very valuable.

And that's for good service.

I now enjoy hitting SKIP.

I wish we could raise the minimum wage and end this bitchfest over tipping once and for all. Unfortunately there's a lot of opposition to paying people $15 or $20 an hour. It's a lose-lose situation for the workers.

I sent a request to join a Facebook group and one of the pre-approval questions asked if I was willing to tip the admins occasionally to thank them for the time they spend moderating. WTF?

The other ridiculous request was during checkout for an online order to tip the staff who put together the order.

I tip, but I viciously face slap too

Years ago, servers appreciated a generous tip. They were well-mannered, and once they realized the tip you left them, they would come back to the table and acknowledge it with a 'thank you' before you left.

Those days are over now. You can leave a server a 50% tip, and they won't acknowledge it or give you a special thank you. They 'expect' it now, as most of the generation of servers today feel 'entitled'. As someone else said, when you throw a few dollars into the 'tip jar' on the counter (because the employee handed you a bag of food prepared by someone else) - do they even make eye contact with you (never mind thanking you) ? The ones I've dealt with just keep staring at their phone.

I went into a wine and cheese shop and when checking out I was presented with a screen for 20%, 25%, and 30% tip options. While they did cut the cheese (heehee) that wasn't pre-packaged, I picked out my own wine and brought the bottles to the cashier. Insane.

A few summers ago I got an oil change at a small mom & pop place near my office on my lunch hour.

When I was paying the owner pointed to the jar on the counter informing me a couple of the boys working in the back were going to college in the Fall and wouldn't I like to help out with their college expenses. I proceeded to invent an imaginary son of my own already in college and asked if he would discount the oil change to help out with my son's college expenses. He didn't like that...

I'm happy to say work from home has now eliminated the need to go to the nearest place for services on my lunch hour and I am more selective.

[quote]I proceeded to invent an imaginary son of my own already in college and asked if he would discount the oil change to help out with my son's college expenses. He didn't like that...

Excellent answer.

Nevermind that they, all the managers and servers, cook the books and get away with not reporting taxes.

Servers can no longer get away with not reporting tips. Back in the cash days, yes, you could get away with under-reporting, though.

[quote]You can leave a server a 50% tip, and they won't acknowledge it or give you a special thank you.

How are the servers supposed to acknowledge it or thank you. They don't know what or how much you tipped until after you've left the restaurant. Where are you eating?

R86 I'm eating a fine dining restaurants, as well as 'family restaurants'. They drop the check off, and I either give a credit card or cash. I always tip in cash. Once it's ready, I hand it over to the server with the tip in it - they always open it up before I leave. Always (they need to make sure the customer has paid before they take off, otherwise they are responsible for the bill). At that point, my party is still at the table gathering our belongings or finishing our coffee - ample time for them to come back to the table to acknowledge the tip. Often, if we're in a hurry and walking towards the exit, I used to have the server come up to me to thank me or catch my eye and wink when they mouthed 'thank you so much'.

But those days are gone - they open up the check, see the generous tip and feel entitled to it.

[quote] Why are DLers so stressed about tipping?

Because then you get high morals preachers like R64 who love to shame you if you have any personal standards.

R64 I could afford to eat every meal out if I wanted to, so go fuck yourself and the high horse you rode in on.

Why are you tipping in cash?

"Employers are legally allowed to subtract credit card processing fees from employee tips on a prorated basis. And some businesses like food delivery startups may charge fees to their workers depending on how they accept payment. Tipping via cash avoids these kinds of fees to ensure your server gets the most out of your tip."

Ever since I read about Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich (assholes) skimming MILLIONS from credit card tips to their staffs, I always tip in cash, to the server, when possible.

How do you even fairly split up those credit card/cash jar tips? Someone is getting screwed.

R89 Servers prefer cash rather than putting their tip on the CC receipt. That way the server can claim whatever they want at the end of their shift - they don't have to claim the whole tip. If the bill is $50, and I leave a $50 tip - they can claim I only left $5, for tax purposes.

What do you all consider a “fair wage”? Let’s say for a bartender or waiter in a nice restaurant in NYC or San Francisco. Because to live in a $2000 a month apt (which wouldn’t be anything special) they’d need to make at least $50/hr. I’m all for it but what say you, DL?

I just retired. My also retired partner and I have curtailed going to restaurants and even getting takeout because it's so expensive, and then there's the tipping. We will be less generous about tipping when we do go out. Probably still 20% for good table service, but not so much for takeout or counter service. We've weaned our food delivery habit because I was a guilt tipper. I was a very generous tipper, sometimes out of guilt, but also because I made a shit ton of money. That gravy train is gone. We eat at home much more now, but we have the time to shop, cook, and clean. And even look for sales and clip coupons -- something I haven't done since college.

r94, I live in SF. My perception is that bartenders and waiters here in "nice" places make a reasonable living from the local living wage and mandatory employer-provided healthcare requirements, plus tips. Some vacation and sick time might be included. But I'm not sure how people behind the counter do without the tip income.

I genuinely have to admire the gall of a self-serve checkout programmed to ask for a tip

I stopped going to dine-in restaurants during Covid and never had the urge to go back. I even cut back on take-out, not on purpose, but just naturally.

I am a pretty good cook (for my own needs) and try to eat healthy. So, it's just better for me to cook.

I am a former restaurant worker. For dine-in, usually will tip 20% (of the total price after tax has been added). If the bill is on the low side, I will round up from 20%.

For takeout, I'm still resistant to tipping, for some reason. Maybe I should rethink that.

R93 That way they can also cheat the kitchen staff out of their part.

R59 (rescue chick) is spot on with the statement that service people would simply up and quit their jobs if there were no longer tips... even if paid a so-called 'living wage'. I worked as a waiter for years and made bank. If I'd had a 'regular', office job I'd probably not have made enough to pay rent. As a waiter I made a quick fortune every day. NO WAY would I do that kind of work if tips were to suddenly disappear. One of my friends still waits tables at an Italian chain restaurant and supports a family on his income. If you really want to get into it, the fact that RE agents and sales people have been able to make ridiculous commissions while being under-educated and not working very hard... now that is insane. It's about time that came to light and is ending.

R98 The kitchen staff doesn't depend on tips. They're making minimum wage or more, depending on their experience. Why should the kitchen staff get tipped out ?

The other day, I ordered a medium-size coffee at the local hipster coffee shop. I paid via credit card. The coffee cost nearly $4.00. I swiped my card to pay, with the option of giving a tip.

The coffee shop employee handed me an empty cup. That's it.

I had to go to the end of the counter and pour my own coffee, which I didn't mind.

But please...sorry, handing my an empty coffee cup does not qualify for a tip.

20% for waitstaff or my barber.

Depends on what I'm ordering for food delivery...usually a few dollars or 5 bucks.

Where it's getting out of hand is at the bakery or the fish store where there are tip jars. At the former you're bagging an item and ringing it up. At the latter you're cutting a piece of salmon or weighing and cleaning a pound of shrimp and then ringing it. I'll leave a dollar at the latter.

I'm tired of owners and managers expecting tips. My dog groomer owns her business and expects a tip after I pay her ($75). She will even mutter something under her breath like 'No tip today?' and I've responded, "As a former business owner, I don't tip business owners." Same at the place where I get my hair cut - the woman owns the salon. I'm not tipping her.

People tend to forget that in the US many service industry people like wait staff, food delivery people, and hotel cleaning do not get minimum wage pay, and they depend on tips from customers.

R103: I tip my barber who owns the business. He does as much work as the others.

[quote] My dog groomer owns her business and expects a tip after I pay her ($75). She will even mutter something under her breath like 'No tip today?' and I've responded, "As a former business owner, I don't tip business owners."

If the shop owner actually got her hands "dirty" and groomed a dog, then I don't see anything wrong with tipping the shop owner. I would tip.

That said, I'd probably go elsewhere if I was having that kind of interaction with the person who is touching my dog.

Now that fast food workers make 20.00 an hour in CA I’m not putting anything into a jar. This is more than I’ve made in my entire life except at a union job. There’s nothing wrong with that. Minimum wage has never kept pace with the real cost of living.

All you’re getting from me is the tip of my shoe inside your ass

[quote]I tip my barber who owns the business. He does as much work as the others.

So you're not tipping to make up for sub-standard pay but because you like the job he's done.

Do you tip your doctor after he performs a physical?

Nobody cares anymore r104, people are fed up, get another job, the gravy train is coming into the station! No more crooking the books, and not paying tax, we all had tax taken out of our checks I hope, but not the servers.

R105, R106 As business owners, they have set the prices themselves which (should) include a decent wage for themselves for the job they do (including getting their hands dirty). If they are not pricing their services to cover their wages and remain profitable, and instead depend on tips from clientele, then they're in more trouble with their business than they realize.

R109 Exactly.

I tipped Capital One after I paid my bill online two days late. Don't be cheap, bitches.

What about whores expecting a tip? So ridiculous. For what? For making me believe you liked me?

R88 I think it's a safe bet that every restaurant meal you've ever ordered came with a complimentary side of saliva.

Honestly, if you are this hostile towards people waiting on you, do everyone a favor and just stay home with your miserable self and eat a Hot Pocket you absolute fucking creep.

R109 it's said people in US don't really fight high insurance rates and large hospital bills because they're so grateful to be alive, so they think the cost is worth it.

Maybe we should apply the same idea to food. Mark it up because we're so grateful to eat. Just don't let it go to the top owners, make sure the people actually doing the serving get the pay.

Pay cash to avoid that annoying tip %15 pop up. Fuck that shit.

Fuck that shit. Put the price into the total for the item and include the motherfucking tax in the total. No surprises, no tips, no shit. Just pay the gaddamn people and stop having it feel like retail beggarsville.

Owners need a pitchfork to the ass if they skim their employees pay. Fucking Scrooges.

R106 why? He paid her the price she set for grooming dogs -$75. If she wants more than that, she should set the price higher.

I ordered dinner from GrubHub last night. I always request that they ring my doorbell when they arrive. This guy didn’t. It wasn’t until I looked at my phone that said my food was delivered. No ringing the bell, nothing. The bag was sitting on my steps - in the rain. When they asked me via the app if I wanted to add to my tip, I said no!

r114 see r18. tipping threads attract trolls

[quote]I think it's a safe bet that every restaurant meal you've ever ordered came with a complimentary side of saliva.

Should you tip extra for that? It does take some effort to hock a loogie.

I have no problem pushing no tip for pickup, the Eldergay has been warned not to tip for counter service but I think he does anyway. I remind him that we had to do a good job when we worked or get fired, are they better than we were, no.

I don't tip. People in my country earn a living wage.

I am surprised by some of the guilt tipping scenarios in the USA described in this thread. Beyond the pale! I left 25 years ago.

I made great money waiting tables in NY and SF when I was young and creative and didn't want a professional job. I had learned how to do it by the direction of a gruff by meticulous Italian restaurant owner in my college town. I waited at Stars in SF for a year in the 80s and was rolling in cash. Fun times.

I still tip in some situations in Europe when it's not so much expected - for example generous annual tips to concierges in apartment houses. I don't over tip in restaurants however because it is taken poorly by the waiters, if they don't know you, at least. I do over tip, in cash, gig workers in Europe because they are exploited here, just as they are in the USA.

I thought gay guys never tipped just as a matter of principle

R114 You are the holier-than-thou asshole who thinks you're doing the poor some kind of amazing favor by tipping them some ridiculous percentagle of the bill so they never have to organize and fight for the decent wages they deserve without your pitiful handouts. I'm sure you go home thinking about what an amazing person you are and how this is going to earn you a seat by the Lord.

[quote]I just retired. My also retired partner and I have curtailed going to restaurants and even getting takeout because it's so expensive, and then there's the tipping. We will be less generous about tipping when we do go out. Probably still 20% for good table service, but not so much for takeout or counter service.

Your reduced circumstances do not reduce the income needs of service staff. If you can't afford to tip at the same level as you used to do, go to cheaper restaurants or eat out less. "I used to tip well but can't afford it now" is a clue to eat out less or get fewer deliveries, not reduce the amount you tip. Tipping is not an act of charity or largesse from Lady Bountiful; you tip what you think is appropriate for the service, not what you can afford: If you can't afford the tip, you don't use the service.

Asshole R126. Can't you read? Why are you attacking that poster? He specifically wrote that he has less money now so he has "curtailed going to restaurants and even getting takeout because it's so expensive" and when he does get the treat of eating out he writes that he tips 20%.

Kill yourself now.

[quote]I ordered dinner from GrubHub last night. I always request that they ring my doorbell when they arrive. This guy didn’t. It wasn’t until I looked at my phone that said my food was delivered. No ringing the bell, nothing. The bag was sitting on my steps - in the rain. When they asked me via the app if I wanted to add to my tip, I said no!

R118, delivery service drivers can tell if you've tipped at the time of order. If you don't, don't expect good service. If you routinely undertip or don't tip, don't be surprised if DoorDash or GrubHub has trouble finding a driver for your delivery or if your delivery takes an hour to get to you.

[quote]Are you pushing back at all?

Only if its got a big head.

R128 This is exactly the problem with out-of-control tipping. Many workers have come to expect tipping as their right and not as a gesture of gratitude and some will throw a fit if you don't give them what they expect or more. Haven't you see the videos?

Yes, R130. What's your point? Tipping delivery drivers is not new and is not a "gesture of gratitude." It's an expected part of the service, like tipping the waiter in a restaurant. I have seen waiters "throw a fit" because of undertipping occasionally (and, more often, give deliberately poor service to people they know to be low tippers) throughout my adult life, which long predates videos on the internet. It's not new. The drastic increase in meal delivery is what has changed, not the expectation to tip the driver.

No tipping for fast food ever….they should pay me for eating their crap

The situation I am confused about is when I order a pizza from the pizza place across the street and pick it up myself. Are we supposed to tip? If so, how much?

Learn to read and comprehend, you fuckwit R126.

Not living in America and coming from a 'Socialist' country we never tip. Pay a proper hourly rate. Yes I know it's a problem in the US... Taxes in the US should also be included in the overall price...not added on at that register...yes I know it's a problem in the US...

[quote] If you can't afford to tip at the same level as you used to do, go to cheaper restaurants or eat out less.

In other words, "Get used to having less and paying more for it". I see we have a member of the White House economic team with us.

[quote]No tipping for fast food ever….they should pay me for eating their crap

Presumably you ordered "their crap" to eat, R132.

I go to a health food store about once a week and they have a tip jar at the food counter in the health food store that really offends me especially considering the prices they charge for the items in the store. Pay your employees a proper wage I don’t force me to pay your employees wages.

I tip for the customary personal services -- a waiter in a sit down restaurant, the guy who cuts my hair, the delivery of a heavy item to my apartment, bartenders, the building Super at Christmas.

I've never really order food for delivery or take-out -- if I'm paying the restaurant price for a meal I want somebody to bring it when it's hot and clear the dishes after. Being served and spending some time out of your apartment are what the tips and extra cost over cooking are paying for. Before covid I usually ate out every day The overall increases in prices for everything have made me cut back on that, but I still tip 20 precent in a restaurant or diner. I have no problem hitting the No Tip on touchscreens everywhere else.

Will you guilt the tip?

R135 What is a server paid where you live? Say, in a fine dining establishment. How much do you bitches complaining about tipping think a server or bartender should make in a big city at a nice place if there was no tipping?

You seem rather defensive, R141, I’m not R135 but I can answer for Australia as these rates are mandated by Federal Law.

The average rate for waiters / waitresses in Australia as at 1st April 2024 is A$29.64 per hour. More detail in the link.

I live in a big city (5m) and when I go to somewhere high end then I’ll tip if the service is very good - either 10% or rounded up. In a nice basic cafe I’ll leave the change if the service is good.

In a cafe? No. Anywhere else? If someone’s lifting something heavy on delivery or for removalists on a hot day I’ll tip them a sick pack or a slab. Otherwise? No.

R141 if you want to call people for describing a different tipping experience to yours “bitches” then you’ve lost the argument.

Not everywhere is the same as the USA, so conditions differ - sometimes for the better, sometimes for worse. Get out and explore the world and you may discover this.

Actually having said that - there’s no change for me to leave as I live in a largely cashless society. But I have noticed that once ordering via QR code and paying with tap & go became the norm in cafes that prices have increased anyway.

R143 You type republican and flyoverstanian. Why so mad? I was speaking to Americans not wanting to tip in restaurants. I do, indeed, think you’re bitches. I seriously wanted to know what was considered a living wage for waiters in other countries. I live in San Francisco (and certainly travel more than your cheap ass) and a server here would need to make a minimum of $50 an hour to get by. Do you think that’s fair? I do but I’m sure restaurant owners do not. So, in Australia waiters get paid basically $19 USD per hour. Is it more in Melbourne or Sydney? Because that doesn’t seem like much.

Again with the insults, R145?

You asked a question which I answered along with referenced data.

Come back when you’ve learned to read and interpret data, R145. And good luck being a waiter in San Francisco.

R128 don’t be a scold. In my earlier posts I said that I tip well if the service is good. This time it wasn’t so I didn’t tip.

Love r118.

If responding in a rational manner to a bunch of silly insults backed up with no facts makes me a scold then I guess that I’m a scold!

Oops R118 / R147 I didn’t mean to respond to you and you weren’t replying to me.

So not only am I a scold but I’m a dizzy scold! It’s Friday, I’m winding down. Sorry for the confusion.

Some of you get so angry about this stuff. At least in America, tipping is never going to go away and it has nothing to do with earning a living wage. It's not going away because most tipped employees walk away at the end of the night with a lot of fucking money. Even more if you work in a super high end restaurant or a resort town. And even if you work in Shoney's, you're probably going to walk away with higher pay from tips than any hourly rate.

Basically, people who make more an hour than I do guilt me into giving my lesser wage to them for carrying a plate.

Are the people taking umbrage at the negative comments on tipping waitstaff?

And why don't people tip me when I don't get drunk and fuck up their payroll?

[quote] Basically, people who make more an hour than I do guilt me into giving my lesser wage to them for carrying a plate.

You also get the privilege of paying $138 billion on the student loans of doctors, lawyers, and banking executives.

R22 Hahaha. My buddy and I went out to an upscale but not fine dining restaurant a couple weekends ago. Our server was very good looking and flirtatious late-20s/early-30s guy. He pegged us as gay men immediately and, apparently, decided to come onto my friend heavily. (I had my wedding band on.)

"Oh, how I wish I could join you guys tonight, but I don't get off until midnight."

"Hey you know, if you're still going to be at [gay club a few blocks away] then and would like, I'd love to meet up with you after my shift."

When the server dropped off the check, he passed a note to my buddy with his cell phone number and name and said, "text me at 12:00 and let me know if you'd like me to meet you."

Our check was just north of $200. My friend took out his phone and called the number. It was a fake number. So he tipped $35 and we walked out. We waited outside and watched as the waiter picked up the check and saw the amount and the note my friend wrote: "Nice try, asshole."

R141, R142 has kindly put up the hourly rates in Australia.

There's a cupcake place nearby. Only cupcakes. It's a minimalist storefront with white display cases full of a vast array of cupcakes, which are not made there, but trucked in. The counter workers only box your cupcakes; they do not bake or decorate them. It is a cashless place as well: cards or taps only. The point of sale machine goes to a tip screen that has 15, 20, 25, and 30% buttons as well as "Custom." This is not a tipped wage job but probably minimum wage, which is $17.84/hour in my city. Each time I go there, I custom tip '0' and get a prompt to verify the zero tip. Outrageous.

R150 the posters who are getting angry are those trying to defend the American tipping culture and who get defensive when posters from other countries have the temerity to respond describing the tipping (or non-tipping) culture in their countries. After being asked, btw.

I travel a lot - I know how tipping works in the USA. When in Rome etc.

But some of the posters on this and other tipping threads, which go way back on the DL, seem to see lack of tipping in other countries as a socialist assault on The American Dream. It’s all rather silly, really.

Former restaurant worker here. American. I'm okay with tipping, but I do love how it is in Japan. No tipping. Easy to split checks. (Wait staff does not bat an eye if you all want separate checks.)

They still use cash, apparently, which I like. I like it because they have reasonable money, like a $5 (500 yen) coin.

R146 I'm not a waiter but do have compassion for my fellow man and friends who are in the industry. You’re obviously some fat white log cabin Repug so, we’re done here. I hope someone shits in your food. In fact, I’m sure they have. “You ate my shit”.

You sound highly intelligent R160! I can’t try to compete with the “I hope someone shits in your food” level of discourse.

Not a fat white log cabin Repug - I’m from one of the many countries that pay workers a living wage. We don’t have the Repugs and Log Cabin here.

Not sure what my skin tone has to do with it - you’re obviously racist along with highly sensitive along with stupid.

You’re the trifecta, R160!

That shitty drive-thru coffee place have the workers ask you at your window if you want to tip. Mostly young women- hardly ever competent, warm, or charming. No tip. Nothin. I'll tip men no matter what lol

In Spain salaries are about €500 lower per month than the European average.

The minimum weekly salary is €1350 ($1457). The average salary is around €2200. Many physicians earn in the €3000-4000 range. Private practice physicians might earn an additional €1000. Annual salaries in the six figures are very few.

Health care is free. University is free. Income taxes are higher than in the US, but property tax is a token amount, local taxes are under 1%.

The key difference with regard to minimum wage workers is that the spread between their income and that of an executive or a top professor or a peak career doctor is fathomable.

Your waiter doesn't have to pretend he wants to suck your dick to bolster his token pay of $7.25/hour. He doesn't live lavishly, but he can own a house or an apartment and afford to have kids and not have to worry about what kind of charm he's going to use in customers when he's 65 and has a year or two to retire next year. He doesn't have to worry about rising taxes, college Costa for his kids, health care whether he is employed or not. He doesn't have to worry about taking time off if his wife has a kid. He doesn't have to worry about asking to use his vacation time (min. 30 days + 22 holidays); his employer will remind him to do lest he find himself in trouble.

It's simply different when the lowest paid and the highest paid salaries are apart by a multiple of 3 or 4. Sure company owners, large land owners, top execs at big corporations, the dentist who owns a big chain of clinics can make much more, but you don't have the bizarre disparities of US salaries and you don't have the indignity of waiters having to flirt and cajole and upsell and white themselves out to try to make a salary out of $7.25/hour.

"The minimum weekly salary is €1350 ($1457)."

Weekly or monthly?

R12 types poor.

R66 and R135 Nailed it. We don't tip here in Norway, people will get shocked by the prices for eating out, but the tip is generally included, so you don't need to pay extra. Same with taxes, those are included too.

Or do it like France. Service charge is always itemized in the bill by law, extra at discretion.

R164: sorry, that should read MONTHLY

About five years ago, I helped a friend of mine who managed a chain family restaurant when she needed a host on Saturday and Sunday mornings (it was a fun part time job that I made extra money to pay some bills). As a host I was making minimum wage ($7.50 / hr) so I was NOT entitled to being 'tipped out'. Just the bussers were 'tipped out' (there was no alcohol, so no bartenders).

The servers were all in their 20s and early 30s. The majority of them were hard workers. Having big groups of people in on Saturday and Sunday mornings for breakfast - especially Sunday mornings 'after church'. Most of the servers were minorities, as was most of the customer demographic.

These customers used to run these servers ragged - running them back and forth to the kitchen a dozen times , since they couldn't ask for their 'extras' and 'refills' all at once. They would monopolize the tables for at least two hours, and leaving a mess behind them (especially with children). It was usual for these families to run up a bill for 8 - 10 people of around $150+. Once the bill came, they started questioning everything on the bill, and 'why were the pancakes so expensive?'. They then tried to get items taken off the bill because 'those eggs weren't cooked like I asked them to be cooked' (yet they ate them, and never complained or sent them back). Naturally, the server couldn't do anything at that point because they cleaned their plates.

So on $150, a table of 10, sitting there for 2 + hours, and running the server ragged - what did they tip ? Usually $5, sometimes $10. Oftentimes, they would leave prayer cards and pamphlets inviting them to their church instead of money. If one of the sexy Latino waiters had a group of women, he received no tip at all - just phone numbers. These guys were pissed - can't pay their rent and bills on 'prayer cards' and 'phone numbers'. Where these people got the audacity to do this is beyond me.

But I will never forget this one Latina server who was in her late 20s and a single mom of three. She worked her ass off. She had a table of six Latina women whom she waited on as though she was their personal servant - running her back and forth to the kitchen. When she picked up the paid check, on the TIP line they wrote: "You deserve better than being a waitress here." No money for a tip, just those 'kind words'. I remember she went in the back room and cried her eyes out - she worked so hard that morning and had to deal with that.

Your story is why any table over four should be subject to pay an automatic gratuity, R169.

Reading this reddit thread and I'm baffled. Do Americans not read up on tipping before they travel to Europe? Why would Americans automatically tip 20-50 % on top of already extremely expensive food? Truly mind boggling.

This American knew that, R171, and have always left a couple euros and no more. I also noticed, however, that this past spring, when I was in Europe, there was the expectation of leaving a tip in restaurants that I hadn't encountered before. They must be playing to Americans.

[Quote]I used to work in a restaurant in Bergen. Norwegians usually just round up or give a tip if they are VERY happy with the food and service. This restaurant is very popular for its meat and would often get tourists in the summer. Was crazy when Americans came and would leave ridiculous high tips. (20-50%)

LOL. Only Americans. Smh.

R169 folks from the hood and tipping. Pandora's box.

I'm sure, R173, that the waiters there were happy to have Americans as customers and make some good money, and not an asshole like you as a customer.

Why would I pay more on top of already very expensive prices for the meals? The waiters earn a living wage, why would I feel bad for them? If you read the thread the waiters themselves said they expect no tip. They earn enough money as is, they don't get sad if people don't tip.

R170 These poor servers begged my friend (the manager) to do this, but corporate didn't want any of their restaurants in the chain to do 'auto tipping'. They felt it would keep large groups away (apparently, they didn't care about their workers who weren't making money).

R174 Unfortunately, very true. More unfortunate is that these same groups would show up every single weekend - and the servers would come up to the host stand when they saw them waiting in line and beg me not to seat them in their section (I would do my best to oblige). They would say, "I had them last week - give them to someone else". Unfortunately, someone would be stuck with them.

[quote] very expensive prices

You type poor, R176.

R178 Sorry, I meant expensive meals. I work in public administraction. My wage is very average. And you have no idea how much eating out costs here. You pay at least 30-50 dollars for the meal.

Fair enough, R179.

[quote]I most definitely tip for delivery, my feet person, my barber

Oh, I always tip the person who delivers my feets!

Every time I see this thread I read it as guilt [bold]tripping[/bold] and it’s driving me crazy.

I recently ordered delivery from a restaurant. The item was 23.99 on the menu. There was a 20% "service" charge added to the bill which brought the price to 28.80. What this was, god only knows but I guess many restaurants started sneaking this in this since Covid. On top of that there were the delivery fee of 7.00 (35.80 total) plus 3.75 dollars tax (39.90) and the expected tip over this which at 20% brought the grand total to 47.70 cents, more than double the price of the item.

Fuck. This. Shit.

R183 Do what I do. Order for a take out and then pick it up. I do this sometimes on my way home from work. I got wise to how a lot of businesses now gouge you for delivery orders.

Agreed, R183. That's ridiculous. I do what R184 suggests.

But eating in a restaurant, I tip 20-25%.

[quote]You pay at least 30-50 dollars for the meal.

R179, is that for a full meal (appetizer, main course, dessert, as we would call it in American English) in a nice restaurant, including tax, if any? Because, if so, that is no more than you would spend in any halfway decent American restaurant before tax and tip. Less, in fact, if you get dessert. On the other hand, if this is the price at a cheap diner, then, yes ... your restaurant prices are high by our standards.

I'm assuming the $30-50 does not include alcohol of any kind. If it does, then your price is cheap by US standards.

R184, that's what I did too, before I retired. I still do so if I'm out and about at the end of the day. But if I'm home all day, having to put on street clothes and shoes and drive to the restaurant greatly diminishes the appeal of getting takeout food in the first place.

Also, even though I live near many restaurants, the round trip - drive there, wait, pay, drive home - will take a minimum of 30 minutes, 30 minutes in which I could be doing other things.

These are the reasons it's often worth the premium to get delivery, but it is definitely a premium. It's not "gouging" because there are legitimate costs associated with delivery and drivers are hard to get these days. The big services like UberEats and DoorDash do charge a high fee, so it's best to use the restaurant's own delivery service if they offer it.

I always do pick up, R184, but this time I was sick in bed. Now you see why people are beginning to resent tipping at such high rates. I know it's not the delivery person's fault or the waiters', but that's where many are starting to revolt.

I'm sure many saw that clip of the delivery guy telling off the woman who bought the delivery because she only gave him 5.00 dollars. I'm not really sure what delivery people expect but when you do the math, say he gets 5.00 for every delivery and he delivers 5 pizzas in an hour, that 25.00 in non-taxable tips! What the hell do they expect?

Living in NYC, it's easier to go out into my neighborhood and pick up an order. I can see that driving makes it a lot less convenient.

There's a gas station in my town that makes good food. (Yes, their food is good, IMO.) Anyway, everything costs around $14 (unless you get a half order or mini order). They're super friendly and fast. They have no tip jar and never ask for a tip. I feel lucky.

The cost of living is high in my area, so $14 is a lot for lunch, but not crazy. Lots of people order, blue collar, etc.

R189, it's not the driving that makes it less convenient. Driving is easy and gives a much wider selection than walking. It's the need to get dressed to go out and go into a restaurant (no sweatpants, no sloppy but comfortable stained old t-shirts, no flip-flops) and the effort and time involved that's the killer.

God forbid you fat lazy whores on somewhat limited budgets prepare a meal at home. And you can have groceries delivered, for one fee and one tip, which can include no effort good meals for a couple days, assembled from grocery store items. Put some frozen entrees in your freezer for times you can't cook. Keep some tinned food. And some cheese and eggs around.

I was asked if I wanted a tip at one of those 10 minute oil change places.

Recently, some restaurants in LA started adding 4.5% “security fees” to checks. This is in addition to the 5-10% “healthcare surcharge.”

Revolution is coming, my friends. Menu item prices are already 40% or higher than 2019. It’s just not sustainable. The post-pandemic goodwill of people to patronize restaurants that do this stuff has worn very thin. “Business is way down,” complain owners, so they have to charge more to stay open? Screw you. Close up. Nobody will miss you.

Yeah where I am they add two separate fees. The delivery fee that is anywhere from 4-7$ depending on distance and then they add a “service fee” which is almost 7$ Then of course there is the mark up for each food item itself which can be quite a lot if you are ordering from say, a Chinese restaurant. For example, each egg roll is a 1$ more than if you ordered it by phone for pick up. Then you add the tip. I don’t know who can afford these services, but there are [italic]so[/italic] many delivery companies where I live so business must be good.

There's a locally owned family/casual restaurant which started in my neighborhood back in the late 1960s. It was 'the place' to go if you wanted a burger, a steak dinner, a salad, munchies or just a home-made dessert (which they were famous for). It was the place to go on a weekend after a late movie for coffee and desserts, or for an appetizer or sandwich. The place was packed from opening until closing every night - lines out the door, and the parking lot was packed. (At one time in the 90s, they had to knock down the building next door and expand their parking lot to accommodate another 100 cars).

Right before the pandemic, the place was sold (I believe the fourth owner since the 60s). The new owners spent a lot of money remodeling the place - which it really needed - and updated the look from the 90s. The pandemic hurt their dining business big time (their take out did extremely well). Here it is four years later, and the place is still not busy like it used to be.

They have cut way back on their hours, as well as the staff. They cut back on their menu offerings, their portions and yet their prices have skyrocketed. I still met friends there for a casual lunch / dinner but can't patronize them as often as I used to due to their new prices. Yet every time I do go, I look around the empty dining room and wonder how much longer they can survive. I always ask for the same waitress because she's great - and always tip her 30 -40%, which I know she's very grateful.

R191 You shouldn't look at getting dressed and going out as a big chore. It's better for you physically and mentally to get out of the house, even if it is just to pick up a take-out meal at a restaurant.

Perhaps the economy is shifting so that working class and average middle-class can't afford all this ordering in and eating out. I grew up in the 60s and 70s and my father was an engineer. Eating out was a treat not a weekly affair. Ordering in didn't much exist in the suburbs. Maybe pizza.

Here's the thing, tipping is totally voluntary. No one is forcing you to tip. Personally, I think it's the right thing to do, but if it's causing you this much personal agita then don't do it. And if there are service fees tacked on to delivery, then either go get it yourself or make it yourself. No one is holding a gun to your head.

And as for those service fees and increased prices, what did you think was going to happen when everyone was screaming that these types of jobs were 15-20 dollar an hour jobs. They're going to make it up somewhere.

Worse than everyone expecting a tip is being asked to “round off” fucking NO,

R197 is a straight cunt scolding someone, fuck off cunt

comma splice 🤡

I never, ever 'round up' for a charity at any cash register. Why should a big corporation like CVS, Walgreens, Taco Bell, KFC, etc use MY money for a charitable donation that they get to claim off their taxes at the end of the year ? If I want to donate to the charity, I'll do it on my own so I can claim it at the end of the year - not them.

Definitely that r203. Ended my guilt feelings for saying no at the cash register when I learned about how that works.

Tipping the hot guy.. and then what? You hope to get his number?

R197, that would be true if I haven’t been out all day, or for more than a day.

On the other hand, if I got home two hours earlier from a long day of errands, work or entertainment, I don’t need to get dressed and go out again. If someone has had a long, tough week at work, it’s understandable and perfectly OK if they want a lazy at-home Saturday in slippers and sloppy clothes, with dinner conveniently delivered.

So, you’re right that it’s better to go out regularly than to stay at home in lounge attire for days on end, there are occasions when it’s reasonable and not unhealthy to want delivery rather than pickup.

R205 And why not ?

I only do it for white guilt reasons, if the barista is blq and I can tell they’re thinking “bet you ain’t gonna leave a tip, you cheap racist ass honky cracker!”

Just don't eat out. You're fat anyway.

[quote] It's better for you physically and mentally to get out of the house, even if it is just to pick up a take-out meal at a restaurant.

If I'm going to get something at a restaurant, I'm going to eat it at the restaurant. Odds are, the temperature will be right. I don't think I have ever schlepped food home from a restaurant. I've never understood doing that.

Today I made myself walk to my local grocery store. One mile round trip. I got my steps in. And it felt great to get out of the house. I spend too much time indoors.

R211 Good going. Being active is more important to health that most people know.

The delivery fees on Seamless and GrubHub and the like are outrageous. These services used to be free. They handed out technology free to corner the market on food delivery (in places like NYC, where it has thrived for decades) and bring it to smaller town America as a new kind of service. Once cornered, they jacked up all the fees. The fees are opaque and in my mind should be regulated.

Who does the “service fee” actually go to? What about the “delivery fee?”

The Biden administration recently went after credit card companies to limit late fees that cripple poor people. i would like to see them regulate the delivery industry (now that it’s an industry) and I’d love to see tipping regulations, but doubt that will ever happen.

I always promise just the tip, but I lie.

r213, lately ubereats.com has been matching their "50% off" offers with fees that nearly equal the dollar amount of the discount. I haven't pushed the button in months.

It's amusing to read the postings here from the virtue signalers and Lady Bountifuls who seem to think that tipping is about repairing economic inequalities so that the proletariat is suffering less under their cruel enslavement by the bourgeoisie and aristocrats. Tipping is and has always been simply about whether service has been good or not. If you really care about economic inequalities, stop with this penny-ante nickel-and-diming about tips on online gossip groups and join marches and rallies for higher minimum wages.

And sure, if the waiter (or whatever) is cheerful, neat, good-looking, and tries to be amiable, that enhances the experience and merits an enhancement to the tip.

For those compiling statistics: I always tip 25-30% because most of the time it's clear that the server has done everything possible to make the experience a pleasant one under the difficult circumstances which always prevail at restaurants. In those extremely rare situations in which the service has been strikingly and unreasonably neglectful . . . they get (gasp) a shocking mere 20%.

Last night, I met a friend of mine at Pizzeria Uno (haven't been there in years, but it was a convenient place for us to meet). The waitress came over (the place was empty at 5 pm), and took our order : 2 sodas, 2 individual pizzas, and an appetizer of chicken wings. A few minutes later she brought us our sodas - and that was the last we saw of her.

A food runner brought the appetizers, and then brought the pizzas. We were sitting in a smaller booth for two, with limited room on the table. Did she come by to check on us and remove the empty appetizer plates ? Nah. Did she stop by and ask us if we wanted refills on our soda ? Nope (even though we could've used a refill). Did she stop and ask if everything came out right ? Nah. Did she come by when were done and ask if we wanted anything else (they had a dessert menu on the table which we were looking at) ? Nope.

Was she busy with other tables while waiting on us ? No - she had one other two-top (looked like father and son) who ordered a whole pizza across from us - she didn't bother with them , either. I did notice her for the 90 minutes we were there standing at the bar talking to the bartender, ignoring her two tables. When it was time to drop off our check, she came to the table with a big smile and asked "Everything tasted okay tonight ?" A little too late for that. On the bottom of the check were 'suggested tip amounts' : 18%, 22%, 25%. We ignored those and left her 10%.

I find the 18% suggestion unnerving. You should have left her 0%. She did not earn a tip FFS.

R217 Do you really need to have a waiting staff being super attentive. If you needed her for something additional you can just raise your hand and call her over. Besides, nobody needs soda refills. If she provided a satisfactory level service then give a comparable tip in the 15-20% range. I only give less than 15% if the service was bad - poor.

Well, the whole idea of going out for dinner is to be pampered a little. I understand R217‘s reasoning.

Places that I didn't tip pre-Covid are getting the "No tip" or "Skip" option. Tips are not even acknowledged or appreciated 9/10 times while service is atrocious (and here in the inner Bay Area) usually seething with hostility and resentment by anyone resembling "Tech" or "Affluence."

Just came back from a week in PVR and stayed at the gay resort. Even with American pricing (i.e., $25 for a cocktail), I consistently tipped 20% (even though that's more than locals and frowned up as it disadvantages locals who tip half of that as a cultural norm). These kids were attentive and appreciative. Forgot my Kindle one day under some lounger towels and didn't even realize it until two days later. Staff knew immediately where it was and grabbed it for me.

Here in the Bay Area that'd be swiped in a heartbeat and staff would growl at you for expecting them to get off their bum to help out a patron.

I always tip with homemade jam.

I was staying at the Olimpiskaya in Moscow 35 or so years ago. We went to the restaurant after we checked in, ate, and I felt like shit because I hadn't changed any currency yet (and credit cards didn't work there then) and I had a limited amount of US currency I knew I'd need. Two things I remember - the Muzak was playing an instrumental version of "Rainy Night in Georgia" and I was thinking, "Ours or theirs?" - and only tipping $5 in US cash on the roughly $50 tab (in rubles) charged to the room for what we thought was great service. I thought I was being a cheap shit but then I saw the waiter dancing with the bill in his hand over his head to show it to his cohorts.

Tipping didn't seem to be upsetting him.

[quote]Do you really need to have a waiting staff being super attentive. If you needed her for something additional you can just raise your hand and call her over. Besides, nobody needs soda refills. If she provided a satisfactory level service then give a comparable tip in the 15-20% range. I only give less than 15% if the service was bad - poor.

1. Yes, I do need to have the wait staff be super-attentive. If I didn't need that, I would have gotten take-out instead and served myself. Why do I need to raise my hand and call her over as though I'm a kid in school who needs the teacher ?

2. If we were drinking alcohol instead of sodas, I'm sure she would have been at the table asking if we wanted another drink to boost the total up on our check (and more tip money for her). But since a free refill of soda didn't benefit her monetarily, she didn't make any effort to check on us.

3. She provided an unsatisfactory level of service, and the 10% tip reflected that. I'm certain that didn't register with her - in these young servers' minds, they believe they are entitled to the highest tip possible.

^ Ultimately No. 3 captures the problem with tipping these days. It's not the percentages (thought they're a factor) or Square effect, it's that lazy GenZ and entitled career service workers TRULY believe they should get 25% just for existing.

F you and your livable minimum wage needs. Get a real job.

r223, I was in a food court in Romania back in 2017, and I left $5 as a tip at the counter (I didn't have any singles). I was walking back to my table when one of the employees ran after me to tell $5. I told him, "That's the tip", he replied, "It's too much money!". I was puzzled- didn't they want it? The economy was shit, and yet they didn't want to accept it. I told them it was for them, and he looked at me like I was an idiot. Not even thankful.

Experiences in Russia 35 years ago and Romania in 2017 are so relevant to this discussion!

Former restaurant worker here. You're supposed to stop by a table maybe 5 minutes after you drop off the order. To ask if they need __X__ (more salad dressing) or whatever. The Pizza Uno waitress sounded like she just wanted to talk to the bartender. After that, you can leave people alone for a while.

Actually they are. Tipping in foreign countries opens your eyes to how ridiculous the "'Murican" way is on this issue.

I've tried to tip 25% in multiple other countries when service went above and beyond. They literally can't do it on a card because their systems do not allow that much. We learned to carry cash for tips for this reason.

In many countries (i.e., France and Spain), employees literally need management to adjust bills. A few Euros on the table, if you have any, are sufficient. They literally throw no attitude when we paid for the actual bill amount (it's cashless there now, so everyone just taps at when the meal/beverage total is stated).

Of course, Americans will find some bumblefuck way to distinguish "we do things differently in the NO. 1 COUNTRY IN THE WORLD" but having foreign perspectives, even if ancient, should open our eyes to some ridiculous practices.

R229 I was referring more to the timing rather than the location.

Rick Steves has many enemies in Spain. Spanish waiters do not expect tips so not receiving one is no surprise no source of disgruntlement. Yet you see Americans (and Brits spurred from some other source) leaving "a few coins" -- translated as 2 or 3 of the smallest denominations of coins, maybe 7-cents as a tip. Rick Steves and others have told them that the peasant Spanish waiters will be delighted.

They consider a few small coins an insult, and why shouldn't they? They are quick and efficient and friendly if you speak with them, but leave them at least fucking 40- or 50-cents (even 20-cents is good for a simple coffee) or nothing at all. You can not tip for days on end then leave a Euro and they will be happy. But 7-cents, no. Who can blame them?

R186 You pay at least 25-30 dollars for a lagre pizza here, yes, with taxes. We don't tip. Fine dining is like at least 100 dollars per person.

R229 in America the customers are expected to supplement the measly incomes of waitstaff, I think..?

When I visited my garçonnière in the Shanghai French Concession between the wars, I tipped my rickshaw pullers very well, and the boys at Margaret Kennedy's brothel were treated like princes. To be a cheapskate in the demimondain was very dangerous.

20-30% is far too much tip unless there's sex involved, it is stupid to let companies to leave it to the diner to decide. We go mostly to counter order so no one gets a tip, it should be in their wages, how stupid people are. You are getting taken and fucked up the ass.

R233, in higher end restaurants, waiters are paid more than the minimum wage and often get benefits, too. And then they take home a lot of money in tips. Waitresses in diners might do better with a regular wage and no tips, but in any restaurant above the lowest level, the waiters would likely lose money if we did away with the tipping system.

I ate at a steakhouse tonight. There were only two of us, and the tip was $50. That waiter waited on a lot of tables, many with larger parties and, presumably, larger checks and larger tips; I'm sure he took home a very healthy amount of money in tips.

For those who've worked as waiters: When tips are paid by card, as almost all are nowadays, does the restaurant do an electronic payment to the waiter? If so, they would be required to report it to the IRS or send the waiter a 1099 or something, so the waiter has to report the income and pay taxes on it. That must have reduced their tip income from the days when most people paid cash.

R236 This is why I always leave a cash tip, even when paying by cc (as I mentioned above in an earlier post). This way the server can claim whatever they wish on the cash - it's not written down for the IRS.

Yes, we should all enable tax cheating.

The tips that are in an electronic payment are earmarked into a different category bucket than the payment earnings and taxed amount. A restaurant owner or accountant will have to go through significant shenanigans to alter the tip amounts from the original receipts . Depending on the establishment accounting disbursement the waiting staff will get their tip money either at the end of each shirt or more likely at the end of the week.

I stopped by a Dunkin Donuts yesterday, and ordered a Large Ice Decaf - black. Nothing in it. The girl with the dead eyes behind the counter (who never said a word to me - just stared at me until I gave my order) walked to the side where I couldn't see her, and made my drink - mind you, cold decaf over ice. She came back with a an 'iced mocha latte' - and insisted that was what I ordered.

So how much tip should I have left this young unfriendly lass on my $4 order, which she not only got wrong but insisted she was right ?

R238 You don't cheat on your taxes at all ?

Let's see, how accurate are you when purchasing items out of state, and itemize these purchases on your state taxes to make sure your home state collects their portion each year ? I'd say not accurate at all.

LOL. Yes, let's subsidize someone else's tax fraud. Welcome to American thinking in an election year.

Ain't no way I'm going to let some waittress/bartender do the bare minimum until it's time to settle up claim they made $0 in tips. Some of them brag about $1,000k/night tips regularly.

As someone else stated above, y'all are just fools who are willingly bending over. Bottoms do what they know best!

I would advise against adding a tip onto a card charge in restaurants in many places in Europe. Except in expensive places with lots of tourists and international travellers, adding on a tip is a pain in the ass for waiters who often feel insulted and have to negotiate with the business owner to see any part of it.

In many countries a trip is treated as untaxable income - VAT-free manna for the business. There's an implication that it will go to the waiter but the reality is rather different. Waiters are lucky to see any part of a tip added to the credit card charge.

R243 I agree. In Spain, the waiters and bartenders almost DON'T let you tip. They're super-efficient there so when they come to you it's "a what do you need, got it, I'm gone" dynamic. Same with paying, "it came out to X Euros, here's the machine, tap already so I can just do my job, then BOOM they're gone." No fake "how was everything?" or hovering over you.

Also, Spaniards seem like the ultimate penny pinchers. Not uncommon to see groups of friends scrutizing receipts and pulling out small change (i.e., coins) and dumping into the collective payment "mound." I can't see those friends calculating percentages on 3 Euros worth.

Tipping is racist

R239 They do it all the time, I've seen it and they laughed about it, they get cash tips that are never claimed at all, and yes there certainly is shenanigans going on, they told me things get changed sometimes by those in charge, with a sly smile. Pollyanna cunt you are believing people will do right.

You really need to find a new insult, R246. Your continued use of “cunt” all over the DL makes it very easy to identify you while also marking you as a fool.

[quote] in higher end restaurants, waiters are paid more than the minimum wage and often get benefits, too.

This is simply not true. The only place where I was paid more than minimum wage were unionized places in SF.

I have worked at high-end places (non-union) and received sub-minimum wage.

And then there's these places which should be burned down. Zoom hostess, works at 3 restaurants from overseas. Still gets tips.

Question:

Emeril’s at MSY airport.

Hostess points out a seat. There’s a QR code on the table to view menu and order food with your phone via their app. Waitress brings table settings, ordered food and drink.

You eat.

Waitress clears table, smiles and asks if you’d like anything else.

You pay tab with your phone through their app. It suggests a 20% tip.

Does that seem right?

Stop blaming it on low minimum wages, in the states with the highest minimum wages people are also expected to tip 20%, 25%.

What do you tip a delivery person who has their own business and charges a fee independently of the store from which they pick up the furniture? There is a guy in my area who charges $75/$100/$125/$150+ per piece depending upon size to deliver from a local store that is 1.5 miles from my home. There is hardly any gas mileage used at all so the main effort is loading and unloading.

If he owns his own business, he should not be getting tipped. He set his own prices so his business could be profitable, and he pockets the profits. Same with hair stylists (who own the salon), pet groomers, house cleaners, etc.

Hm. I've been doing it wrong tipping my hairstylist who co-own the salon, and moblie pet groomer.

I tip my dog when he pees by himself.

If the server can't be bothered to check on the table at least once during a meal, I don't leave a tip. But I'm sure to write why on their receipt or tell them directly if using some table side payment system. They should know that they're clueless. BUT, that's only if I never intend to go back. :)

But what about the livable wage of the Philippinos! 30% minimum tips given as they make $0.85/hour!!!

R251 is right.

Until recently, our SF Bay Area town had the highest minimum wage in the nation. Small businesses effectively shut down.

The big box stores (i.e., Target) shifted to self-checkout with maybe two real cashiers. Shifts were also reduced. So our progressive leaders passed another ordinance that minimum guaranteed hours AND employee time off were required. More small business shut down and the big chains cut down on staffing even more.

Progressive ideas = backwards results.

^Oh and our sales taxes went to 10.5% to fund homeless shelters for 20 people. Nothing about poor waiters making substantial minimum wage, because that's what Square percentage recommendations are for.

R247 Why are you such a CUNT? Go back to Mommy Central and fuck off, bonus if you're a pearl clutching cunt.

Thereby perfectly proving my point, R260!

R260 sad bitch. That better?

Straight women gang up just like they did here, hopefully they might die in a grease fire then get run over, it will be a good thing, watch these bitches.

I’m neither straight nor a woman, R264 but at least you didn’t call me a CUNT this time.

Fuck, you’re stupid, aren’t you, R264?

I just came back from Paris where tipping is not expected and waiters make a decent living wage. That's how it should be.