How much do you tip?

I never tip on these machines. If there is a jar in front of me, I usually slide a dollar in there, or more, depending on the situation.

Employers need to fucking pay their workers. Enough of this nonsense. To my knowledge, the US is the only place on Earth to have mandatory tips for virtually every service. It's confusing and stressful. Stop.

Its corporate greed. They need to pay their staff higher salaries. You need to pay higher price for the item, if necessary, for the corporation to go there. But they won't.

It's not going to stop anytime soon. I usually tip around 20%. No stress.

$10 cash tip jar each Monday. Covers me for the week.

Does the person who works Monday work the rest of the week? Otherwise your tipping one person $10 and nothing to the others.

^ And you look cheap the rest of the week.

I went in to McCalister’s deli this week, paid with CC and the clerk pointed out that there was a tip option on the POS device. I went ahead and tip 10%, got me to thinking…are we that far away from tipping grocery store checkout clerks?

I tipped my dental hygienist 2 dollars and Bit-O-Honey bar.

10% for meh service, 20% for good, 25% for outstanding

"Other customers ... to see how much you tip."

No, we don't care how much you tip at all - we just want you to hurry the fuck up.

Good comments. I’ll just stop tipping.

I usually insert just the tip.

I avoid #tipfood where I can - I can tip myself by saving the money

Do you tip at the grocery store checkout, drugstore? No. Then no tip when buying a cookie and coffee either.

R11 Cool, we're super glad to know

If he looks like Ryan Gosling as Ken, then 30%.

At the hardware store: Do you want to give your change to St Jude's? No my tax deductions are for me not ACE Hardware.

Sometimes, it depends on the attitude of the server. At Subway, where everyone hates their job and are miserable to everyone, I won't tip unless they smile or make a point of being friendly.

In the neighborhood, I usually tip $1.00 for a coffee or sandwich because I have a rapport with the young people who work in those places and they provide good service. Outside my neighborhood, I tip if the person provides good, personalized service. If I get dinner food to go from a busy place that primarily does sit-down service I will usually tip 18% because it's a pain to package all of that stuff up.

R19 here. I did see a tip jar at the dry cleaners recently and it was a bridge too far.

[quote]And you look cheap the rest of the week.

As the article points out, fear of losing social status is one of the main reasons people tip.

20-25% for good service - the higher the amount, the lower the percentage within that range. Usually leave cash tip even when paying with card.

Bad service that's due to things beyond the server's control? I'll still tip similarly, maybe a bit less and then not return to that bar/restaurant. Straight up bad service by the server - I'll tip lower; though surprisingly it doesn't happen too much.

$1 for tip jars and tip screens (maybe $2 if I’m feeling generous). Normally 30% in a restaurant. I appreciate good service.

I'll leave $1-2 in jars, but don't do tip screens.

Depends on how much effort was involved in the service. Generally I’m a good tipper but it’s asking a lot to tip someone who is just ringing up a sale…? I don’t ever NOT leave a tip on one of those machines, though, and it’s always at least 15%.

Anyone who delivers food to me automatically gets 25%, though. If I can afford takeout, I can afford to tip.

Tips are taxed. Try to give cash it’s the only way to get the entirety of the money to the person doing the job.

I go to the barber shop and with my senior discount my haircut only costs $12 for a terrific scissor cut, which take about 15-20 minutes. I always give a 50% tip, cause I know they need it from all the other cheap bastard who give $2.

[quote] I don’t ever NOT ...

Good heavens! Mary!!!

Always over tip the breakfast waitress. Breakfast orders are a gigantic pain in the ass. The tips are lousy because the bill is cheap.

[quote]Grammer Troll

Kelsey?

Typical American money grubbing.

[QUOTE] Tips are taxed. Try to give cash it’s the only way to get the entirety of the money to the person doing the job.

Yes, enable people to fudge on their income taxes.

I always tip with homemade jam.

[quote]Tips are taxed. Try to give cash it’s the only way to get the entirety of the money to the person doing the job.

Pay me some untaxed income, and I'll use it to pay untaxable tips.

Tip jars have been around forever and don’t bother me - they feel very optional. I can understand why restaurant workers want a digital option, since many people just don’t have cash. And when office workers were still at home and many Starbucks and fast food-type places were understaffed I had no problem tipping. The people there were going to extra mile just by showing up and working extra hard - you could see it. And since it seemed temporary, I could understand employers not wanting to make permanent changes to comp.

But the screens are too coercive and very often the percentage amounts are inappropriate. If I grab a take out premade lunch with a drink and it’s $20 I don’t want to tip the cashier $4. But I’m not going to tap thru to enter a custom tip of $1, especially now that it’s been implied that isn’t sufficient. So, zero.

And what if you are buying for three people? It’s basically the same amount of work for the cashier, why should you tip on the dollar amount spent? It’s not like a restaurant where the server is dealing with three people.

Cashier should not be a tip-based job. They should get paid appropriately by their employer, not by me.

A take out situation where something is being made specifically for me is a gray area. I tip when I get take out from my sushi place.

Honest question here...do I tip my barber now that he owns his own shop?

He used to work for another shop. I paid $45 for a haircut and a beard trim. I would give him $15 as a tip, more at Christmas. He's very good.

He now owns his own place, and he works alone. He contacted me to let me know that he left his place of employment to work for himself. I went in before Christmas for the usual haircut and beard trim.

The price of the haircut and beard trim is now $55, and I left $11 as a tip.

It was always my understanding that you do not tip the owner.

What say you, Data Loungers?

I don’t order”a coffee”. I order coffee.

Eat at home!

Bitch, if you don't bring my order to a table that I'm sitting at, then you ain't getting shit. Moving a cup of coffee three feet isn't worth a tip.

I’ve noticed some of these options START at 20%

In Spain tipping is quite unusual, even for food delivery services. In a restaurant, 1 or 2 Euros is an unexpected and good tip for a bill of 10 or 20 Euros, respectively.

Some tourists tip, but often try to add their tip onto the credit card charge for the whole meal, which is taken as an insult because it's not easily done on most machnes and because many waiters will never see the tip or any but a token part of it. Likewise insulting is leaving cash tip but on the faithfully followed bad advice of Rick Steves and others to 'leave a few small coins.' A couple 1-cent and maybe one 5- or 10-cent coin is unlikely to make any waiter's day, and yet English speaking tourists do it often thinking they are doing a good deed. A 10% tip for great service (but not less than 1 Euro except at a coffee bar where a coffee costs little more than 1 Euro) or for a waiter who finds a table for you in a full restaurant or brings your dog bowls of water is very well received, not because it's a large sum but because it's taken as a kind gesture.

The problems described in the restaurants suck now and related tipping threads don't really exist here. It is more complicated to get a table now and reservations more commonplace, and prices have climbed with inflation, but the service is still good or excellent in all but the rare instance. It does make a difference when waiters are paid as if their work matters and they are hired on as regular employees, not as a revolving door of workers; and it makes a difference where people appreciate the work of a good waiter without having to throw wads of money at him at every turn because his employer doesn't pay him or treat him properly.

r36 Charlie, yes, when we were younger, it was customary not to tip the owner. However, I no longer follow that policy (hadn't thought of it, frankly, until reading your post). I now go to a guy who owns his own shop, and I wouldn't think of not tipping him, usually $10 on a $20+ haircut. I want him to be there the next time I need to get my hair cut.

Not even the wisest of philosophers in assembly together could arrive with a final answer to this question

Thanks, R42! You make good sense. . You want to make sure he'll be able to fill you in when you're in a pinch.

I’m in a pinch. Fill me in!

[quote]Depends on how much effort was involved in the service. Generally I’m a good tipper but it’s asking a lot to tip someone who is just ringing up a sale…? I don’t ever NOT leave a tip on one of those machines, though, and it’s always at least 15%.

Agreed; if it's just ringing up a sale, why does that merit a tip? But if it's making some fancy coffee drink or something that requires work/prep, yes. I've noticed a trend of restaurants automatically adding a tip, which is fine, except that in some cases I'd tip the server more, but if you want to just go ahead & charge, be my guest.

I never tip anyone anywhere.

I went through a horrible DoorDash phase, and I tipped a minimum $10, even if it was just a latte. Anyone doing deliveries for them needs money, I can’t disrespect them by being cheap, and it really bums me out that some of you don’t realize that $1 is like throwing a penny at someone. If everyone gives that person a dollar per transaction, he/she/they might walk away with $30. Rents start at 2G’s. You need to tip $5, not $1, and that’s at a minimum. If you can’t afford that, I do get it, but if we put other people’s needs ahead of our own just once in a while, the world would be better off. No disrespect to anyone here.

I tip the owner who does my hair, R36. He's earned it, just like anyone else.

Cashiers? Oh, hell no! I do have a bit of an issue with one place I go, where I understand that the server takes your order, bringing any drinks, and later the check that is paid at the front counter. As I understand it, they do not share their tips with the runners who bring the food from the kitchen, nor with the bus people who clean up after you.

What next, tipping at drive throughs?

If I am at a counter doing a pickup, I don't tip If all I am doing is ordering and taking away.

If I am at a sandwich shop and telling a person how to build my sandwich, they are providing a personalized service.

I tip a buck or two.

OP Pay with cash. Last night my takeout order was $27.50. Handed the cashier $30 said thank you and he replied in kind. If I had eaten in the restaurant, I would have left the server 5 or 6 dollars.

20%. for sit down dining.

10% for pickup from a sit down resturant

20% haircuts

$1 per drink at a bar or 20%. Whichever is more.

That's it.

Nothing except in high end restaurants. We pay waitstaff a living wage in this country.

I once used to tell taxi drivers to keep the change but we’ve been cashless for a few years now and I’ve switched to Uber who I never tip but who I will rate.

At a bar, $1 if all they did was pull a beer or pour a glass of wine. If they mixed a drink, 20%

[quote]I’ve switched to Uber who I never tip

How proud I'd be were I you, skinflint. Oh, and it's "[bold]whom[/bold] I never tip," dear.

30%.

R53, the drivers rate you too, of course.

R55 There is no tipping culture in this country, dear - if you got out a bit you’d realise that that is the case in most countries. The Uber drivers don’t rely on tips but they do rely on reputation, hence the rating. YMMV.

Thanks for the English lesson though, you silly old queen - how can I tip you?

This reminds me of screens in CVS asking if your like to make a donation to St. Jude.. CVS takes credit for your donation and a tax advantage.

NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!!

Restaurant served told me if a credit card is used, they pay tax on the tip.

[quote]I’ve noticed some of these options START at 20%

Once in a taxi the preset tip amounts were 25%, 30%, 35%. I can't remember the city exactly but I think it was Vegas.

I tip at restaurants and at coffee places. And my hair stylist. Not doing it anywhere else.

I went to a self-serve ice cream place once and when I went up to pay for it there was a tipping jar. Ridiculous.

The tipping BS is one of the things I will never miss about the US. That and all the stupid “service fees,” “convenience fees,” “resort fees,” “kitchen appreciation fees,” and the list goes on. It is outrageous.

I believe that in Europe it's common to add a service charge just to sit at the table and dine there in some cases, no?

R65: in some countries in Europe a service charge (5 - 10%) may be added, often only in the case of a large party of guests. Menus usually have to state the policy regarding the charge, as does the bill. It's a service charge, though, not a charge to occupy a table.

In other countries in Europe, it's illegal to add a charge for anything not specifically ordered, i.e. the restaurant can't charge your for bread and a bowl of olives unless you asked. They can't apply a service charge except in special cases, such as a large party at one table or group of tables.

I go to a diner f or breakfast about once a week. Bill is usually less than $20. I always tip $5. And last week I tipped $10. They people who work there work hard, work long hours, and are very attentive to customers. I've been going there off and on for about 3 years and they are always very nice. If I go to a high end restaurant I usually give them about 18% if the service is good. If not I give 15%.

[quote]if we put other people’s needs ahead of our own just once in a while, the world would be better off. No disrespect to anyone here.

Get Mother Theresa.

I am definitely not rich, but when I go out to eat—sitting at a table, waiter/waitress, food and drinks brought to me—I tip very nicely.

I do NOT like a tip screen thrust at me by someone who is only taking orders. A friend told me it was for the people preparing the food, or for the staff who will yell your name to come pick up your order. I don’t understand that. When I tip a waitperson at a sit down restaurant, are they sharing the tip with the cooks, hostesses, busboys, etc?

Do I need to start tipping the Kroger cashiers so they can then give a cut to the baggers (hah, there are never any baggers)? Should the Macy’s cashier put out a tip jar?

Back in the hottest month of this year, I had two poor guys come to my second floor condo to take away my old washer and dryer and bring up my new set. I already had some cash on me for a tip, but I felt so bad for what an awful job it was that I called my boyfriend and made him bring more cash!

I always overtip and that’s not a humblebrag. These people are making my food and drink, are working for far less than I, and since I can afford to help spread some cash around, why stress or bitch about it? It’s the difference between three and four bucks.

There's a tip jar on the counter of a coffee place near me. Father and two sons are behind the counter. Figured why should I tip the owners. This week one told me the tips are for the four guys who prepare the sandwiches, wraps, paninis, mix the smoothies, and prepare the coffee, not family members. Now I tip.

[quote]Back in the hottest month of this year, I had two poor guys come to my second floor condo to take away my old washer and dryer and bring up my new set. I already had some cash on me for a tip, but I felt so bad for what an awful job it was that I called my boyfriend and made him bring more cash!

I had some guys move furniture into a pod, a job that took about 20 minutes. Tipped them each $20 and a six-pack, which they really liked.

^ that’s a classy move r72. The blue-collars appreciate the cold beers which is true hospitality. 💙

I'm a concierge at a very upscale apartment building, filled with wealthy elderly people and young professionals. Christmas is usually a great week for me and my colleagues to receive tips, since these residents know they can't tip during the year. So how did it play out this past week ?

NO ONE UNDER 55 tipped us anything this Christmas, despite the great services we gave them throughout the year (and tenants know we can't accept tips during the year - just the week of Christmas). Not one doctor, not one lawyer, not one teacher, not one college professor, not one medical professional, not one self-employed professional, not one business owner, not one restaurant server, not one bartender, etc. under the age of 55 had the decency to stick a $20 bill in a greeting card and hand it over to me (and my 4 colleagues). Not even a $5 bill. Nothing. Not even the demanding gays or lesbians who are trust fund babies and can easily afford the most expensive apartments ! Zippo.

However, those over 55 - especially those 70 - 90s - were kind enough to hand over a card with a $20 bill or a $50 check in it. These are the retired professionals, those living off retirements, investments and social security, etc. They are 'old school' and still have manners and class who remember the 'service' people at Christmastime.

The younger generations just don't have it in them to tip - it's not part of their 'culture'. We're doomed in the future.

Why is that stressful? I immediately select "no tip" and move on, as should everyone else. I'm tired of these greedy people. I don't tip on carry out either.

Why on earth is anyone leaving money in tip jars! These people get paid a regular wage!

I don't go many places where tipping is an option. When I do, I stick to local places where I know their tipping policies, and usually give between 15 and 20 percent, depending on service.

I am more wary of tipping other places or assuming a card tip gets to the right place. Because, as I learned from Connie Schultz, a writer I have followed for years, there is no guarantee that money in a tip jar or on a card goes to the employee. Often, the business keeps it.

I don't.

Define “regular wage” and where you live.

R79 The average wage for waitstaff in Australia is $A29 per hour. More than double what the average wage is in the USA.

As you asked.

Now all you Americans can pile in justifying what waiters and waitresses earn over there.

Americans, do you pay less for a product (eg a cookie, meals etc) on the understanding you top up with a "tip", or are you already paying regular price with a tip on top?

R49 non-American here. I can’t imagine having to keep track of all that and why should you have to? You are going out to eat and enjoy a meal.

This tipping culture can't change unless there is radical change in American culture to accept universal affordable health care, basically free vocational and higher education, and living wages. Affordable housing would help as well. Is that going to happen? NO.

R80 does that come with a rub & a tug?

Regular price with a tip on top r61. Over inflated regular price.

R63 same here. I had to swirl my frozen yogurt into the cup, I had to add my own toppings, I had to put my concoction on the scale. All that the employee did was take my money (there was an overflowing tip jar on the counter). And for this, I should tip??

The public should not have to subsidize employee wages. Or feel guilty for not tipping.

[quote]Restaurant served told me if a credit card is used, they pay tax on the tip.

That's the way income works, no? You pay tax above a certain amount, at rates adjusted for your level of income.

The whole system of tipping introduces an impossible system of guesswork: We throw money at someone else's problem not knowing how it lands. How much should your waiter make in a year? What should your per seat/per hour contribution be to that? Why do we single out low-base wage waiters for tips when some make a decent living at it and others do not? Why do so many at the fancy restaurant with a $150 per person meal tip the waiter 30% -- versus 15% tip for a waiter in a more casual restaurant who has a whole room full of diners to serve for a bill averaging $20 per person? Doesn't the percentage tip overcompensate the fine dining waiter and undercompensate the waiter at a cheap and cheerful diner?

A lot of tipping is less about the waiter than about the customer feeling good about himself, which can't but make for some very uneven results.

Why should you have to tip for a cashier taking your money R86?

That's unacceptable. Do we have to tip the supermarket cashier too?

R88, I did not put any money in the tip jar. Plus, this is in one of the leafy-green suburbs of North NJ where the kids who are working come from wealthy families and are just trying to see what it feels like to be "a real person." Hell if I'm putting money in that tip jar. Those kids probably drive better cars than I do.

I always, ALWAYS ignore tip jars.

As a Brit I can't imagine being expected to tip in these places as a rule. In the UK it's becoming more expected to tip but it is still optional

So many people so proud of being so fucking cheap.

I'm over 55 and I don't tip my building staff during the holidays. The doormen are lazy and gossipy and everyone knows the super is a con artist. I basically do everything myself so I take myself out to dinner every year as a thank you.

Nothing!!!

R93 do you tip the cleaning staff?

When I first moved to NYC years ago, I would tip cabbies alot. I was poor then, so I decided solely to round up the change as tip.

Once I was in a car that seemed to have no car suspension. Every bump, the car came down and hit so I'd get a shock through my back. I asked him to slow down, but he refused.

When we arrived at the destination, I gave him exact change without a tip and told him I was angry at him. When he drove away, the threw the change at me out his window.

R96 did you collect it?

Does anyone here tip masseurs or escorts ? That is the question...

Masseurs = self employed as well as those working at a spa.

[quote] did you collect it?

I thought about it for a second but figured I'd walk by with my head held high.

YOU CHEAP FUCKING CUNTS!!!!

[quote]YOU CHEAP FUCKING CUNTS!!!!

[quote]So many people so proud of being so fucking cheap.

That's true. It's also true that a lot of people are a little too pleased with themselves for throwing money around.

If you do tip, you are expected to help make up for the assholes who don't, and making yourself look big against the little people who don't do as you do. If you don't tip, you're forever having to say that it's the waiter, the guy who delivered your sofa, the barber who owns his own shop who doesn't deserve the money, that he's the asshole, not you.

R74

I'd like to know what services you provided that might inspire tipping? Not trying to be unpleasant here, but genuinely curious. I sublet at a building like that over the holidays years ago; the tenant landlord of mine made it clear she was responsible for the tipping, not me.

For the person up thread who mentioned doing so, withholding tips is now a federal crime for employers.

A younger sibling who is completely detached from financial reality told me with a straight face a few years ago that I should tip plumbers and others who work in skilled trades. She didn't seem to believe they're already handsomely compensated for their time. I look forward to checking in with her once she's a homeowner.

R99 I would have picked it up, even now that I'm quite financially comfortable. Your cabbie sounds like a prick and you telling him you're angry sounds very polite. Most people would have likely given him a torrent of abuse

R100 you are a dick. Why don't the owners of these establishments pay their employees a decent salary instead of expecting customers to pay inflated prices for their products then help pay their staff on top?

Tips should be a nice bonus in thanks for good service or pleasant attitude, not expected so the staff can scrape a living

I'm generally not cheap but when every business interaction in a day asks for a tip, I get perturbed.

Forgot to mention that I do tip furniture movers, and appliance delivery people, often. No, I would not tip a plumber or an electrician.

[R102]

AS a concierge, here's what we do in this apartment building during the year:

SIgn off and check in the dozens of packages that get delivered multiple times a day by different delivery services (UPS, USPS, FEDX, Amazon, etc.) . Then keep them organized and secure in our back room, and hand them over to each tenant as they come through the lobby, or bring them up to their apartments if that's what they request.

We do the same for their laundry services as well as their food delivery services as we do for the packages.

When they themselves come home from vacation with their luggage, I go to the basement and retrieve the luggage carts, meet them in the lobby and pile their luggage on it, and then wheel the carts right to their door while they lead the way. If they're too tired to take their own luggage into their apartment, I have to do it for them (again, no tipping during the year for this).

Groceries - see above for luggage.

This is just some of the stuff we are required to do during each shift. Again, I need to point out - the majority of residents who use these services the most are the Gen Xers, Millennials, and Gen Zs - all with excellent jobs and incomes. Gay, straight, bi, trans, Caucasians and POC. Not one has enough class to slip a $5 , $10, $20 into a card and say "Merry Christmas".

Especially those in their 20s and 30s - not a generation who learned how to tip for good service / extra service. They are 'entitled' to this service. And if they're not tipping us, they are not tipping restaurant workers, bartenders, etc. - which is why that industry is suffering from staff shortages.

We are doomed.

When I tip it’s cash only. Went to an ice cream shop in Berkeley Ca. One that was completely automated. No body behind the counter at all. You just put in your order on a screen and somebody shows up in five minutes from the back with a cone. They still asked for a tip though. This shit is just weird.

It depends how hot he is

Coffee: 15%-20%

Uber or Lyft: 20%

Hairstylist: 20%

Waiters: 20%

Extraordinary service means I go up to 25%, never more ever.

[quote]We are doomed.

Honestly, failure to tip ranks pretty low as a predictor of societal collapse for me.

I like this thread because sometimes I'm generally not sure what to tip; stylists, massage therapists, waiters - got that, but there are all these in-betweens: baristas, movers, delivery guys (when you've already paid a delivery fee), etc. in which the rules aren't entirely clear.

Never less than 20% unless the person is really awful. In the US we have to pay their salaries because “business owners could never afford to” which is absolute BS. Eating out in the the costs $$$ compares to other countries that are forced to pay a minimum wage on top of tips.

Eating out in the US*

It is now common for many service workers see 90% of their customers as "rich", and the other 10% as dirt poor, and they feel that they should be making $100,000 per year to provide their services. Also, they think you're idiots.

Go check out employee subreddits for service industry workers.

I don't use any of these platforms, myself, I was snooping their subs to see how their mapping and delivery worked for an app.

It's not just delivery workers, though, look at other retail and restaurant chains' subs. They get paid enough to get drag queen eyebrow makeovers and fancy fake nails, but not enough for a $700k house like all the zillionaires who get their Aldi groceries delivered.

[quote]...but not enough for a $700k house like all the zillionaires who get their Aldi groceries delivered.

Aldi is a luxury grocer in the U.S.? Since when?

That was my point, R116.

R107 as a concierge, you are getting paid through the year to do those things, no?

R118, I’m not that poster, but come ON. A good concierge makes a point to look out for YOU, that makes it a customized service which also means that there is indeed a spectrum of quality. Of sick of pricks like you having ZERO RESPECT for the service industry. I’ve known many who were decades long fine dining servers, and the dedication to service and making your experience superb is a calling unlike any other. And you have zero respect for them.

Obviously, I’m NOT referring to cashiers. I’m talking about high level service. It is an art and a science, and I admire those who are good at this job and I reward them for it. GTFOH you cheap cheap cheap nasty whores. I am NOT wealthy. But I am generous because I too have done service jobs, and no one knows that I tip high (I never talk about it because I don’t GAF about anyone but that person I’m tipping). I want to actually make them feel happy and valued and respected. I’m only sharing that I tip well here in the pathetic hope that some of you will be inspired to give away more money to people who actually deserve it.

I want to send r119 a tip.

[quote]I want to actually make them feel happy and valued and respected.

I suspect a significant number of people you encounter do not feel happy and valued and respected in their jobs. How do you choose which to tip and which to let wallow in their misery?

I wish someone would tip me for all the bullshit I endure at work and ridiculous timelines. But alas, I'm a salaried worker.

For those in Europe, which countries push or encourage tipping as a standard? From what I've read so far, England encourages but doesn't push tipping.

I wish someone would tip me for all the bullshit I endure at work and ridiculous timelines. But alas, I'm a salaried worker.

For those in Europe, which countries push or encourage tipping as a standard? From what I've read so far, England encourages but doesn't push tipping.

R122 (and R123 dupe). That's because, for some weird reason, the Brits love to emulate Americans at so many things (I really don't understand that AT ALL).

R107

That's just wrong, but am curious that you get a breakdown by tenant like that, rather than a building lump sum? People complain about "kids these days" but I've seen young people (in perfectly good shape) in senior/disabled seats oblivious to the fact that a not-so-spry senior was boarding.

R123, you poor poor thing. Why don’t you quit your salaried job (I’m assuming you have some benefits too) and join the service industry since they clearly have it better than you?

We will all wait for your decision.

R107, not making excuses for the younger, non-tipping residents. But do you think that if they had a choice to touch a screen to give a tip, they'd tip? Older people (including me) are used to buying cards / envelopes, having some cash on-hand, and tipping service people.

American and former bar / restaurant worker here.

Sit-down restaurants: 20%, maybe more for very good service

If I call in an order & pick it up to go: $2-3 as I only do this at cheaper places (comes out to maybe 10%)

Hair: 20%

Shuttle service (for when I get my car serviced): $5 each way / $10 total

Hotel housekeeping: $5 per night (I don't stay in luxury-type hotels)

Starbucks: Maybe $1 for my coffee. If I buy beans & ask them to grind, then I'll tip more.

Bakery: I don't tip. Usually my order is small. If I had a large order, I'd probably tip.

Subway sandwich: $1 or nothing

I sound like the Grinch, but I don't tip housekeeping; this is a trend that shouldn't have started.

Really should be charging enough to not have to Rely on tips. That way those that can afford a tip may tip and those who cannot won’t have to. My bros girlfriend is a hostess and dresses super sexy to serve in an “club” she gets way more in tips than pay. Where does service turn into hoe. America we love ambiguity when it means the possibility of a few extra dollars. Such a bunch of

[quote] I sound like the Grinch, but I don't tip housekeeping; this is a trend that shouldn't have started.

Out of all the tipped service people, these are the best people to tip, IMO. Aside from being a former bar / restaurant worker, I also used to clean vacation rentals. Some / most people leave vacation rentals in a disgusting state. Hotel rooms have business travelers who hopefully aren't that bad.

R72 Your post reminded me of a service tech who came out to install a cell signal antenna and indoor units. Was expensive as hell but needed, and the guy doing it had commented a few times about the smell (I was smoking excellent weed, in the process of a move, it was warranted). He actually asked me for some instead of a tip! It was a first for me, and totally funny, IMO. He had to come out one more time to adjust something, and as he was finished he kept asking 'so do you have ANY other questions for me?' I didn't ask him any questions, but by the third time I just asked if he'd like a bit more bud? He lit up like a damned Christmas tree.

I'm pro overtipping just to get back on topic, I know I can be a pain in the ass, so I do what I can to make up for it.

I don’t tip when I’m picking up my food. Delivery, yes. Uber, it depends on the price and the attitude of the driver. I understand that times are tough but I have to watch my pennies too. Call me ratchet and basic, but it is what it is. My money, my choice.

R127, I'm not R107 but I feel like generations who grew up online feel it is only worth it to do something nice if everyone you like can SEE you doing it and 'thumbs up' or 'heart' it. What's the point of being a decent person if you can't tweet a selfie with the help, describing what a saint you are for simply being a decent human being?

Because for people who don'tip quietly like other decent people, these people sure like to tut-tut everyone else and toot their own horns about how "kind" and generous they are compared to others.

^^^ thread closed.

I tip a dollar for coffee, 20% to wait staff. 10 to 15% for Grubhub or other deliveries.

I tip the delivery people as much as waiters, probably more. All that driving. Paying for gas. They deserve it.

I moved from an apartment to my new condo, with a stop at my storage locker. The guys showed up at 8:30 AM and worked with a 20 minute lunch break until 8 PM. THey worked their asses off including assembling some furniture. They had already agreed on $1,000. I budgeted $1600 for the move. When I saw how hard and how long they worked I told them I was paying the company ( new, independent moving company. ) $1200, and giving the three guys each $100 tip. I was sorry I couldn't give them more.

its generally not corporate greed because small businesses are the most likely places to find these. Just tip $1 if you can afford it.

R138, I think I would have tipped the individual workers more. Not sure I would have overpaid the company.

Yes R138 I would have given the agreed amount to the company then $200 to each guy, and a blowjob each if they were hot

I wanted to do as you suggested, but I was given the referral from a friend who knew the guy from her church. He was young with a new baby and had just started his own moving company, which is why he offered me such a good price. I felt I had to give him the $1200. It seemed fair. If I could have tipped more I would have, because they were SO grateful for the $100 .

R107 I'm sorry your tenants/owners are assholes.

I just gave our security/gate folks a Christmas bag full of candy and split $100 between them - $75 to the hot daddy who's here M thru F and the rest for the woman who's there on the weekend.

Yes, it's not necessary. But they've been super helpful throughout the pandemic with many deliveries.

A LOT! It takes an extreme asshole an horrible service for me not to.

I really don't get the whole "tipping is virtue signaling!" or the idea that someone is bragging about tipping.

I don't brag about it, I mentioned it upthread here because someone asked the fucking question!

And I *do* appreciate the fatigue with it in some settings. The situation described at OP can be very uncomfortable. (I often try to pay cash in those spots to bypass that command.) I can understand the resistance to tipping with some fast casual restaurants where the workers' interaction or efforts seem minimal. I have a favorite online vendor where I order some imported cheeses, etc. from and they've started to ask us what we'd like to tip - just to pack our box, mind you - and that takes me aback. (Their prices seem quite low and I wish they'd just raise them to a more sensible level.)

But in most cases, I tip for effort. I give very generous tips to one of our favorite coffee spots partly for service, and partly because they do a wonderful job of setting a great vibe and mood, and it's a joy to go there.

[R118] I am the concierge who posted earlier. Yes, I do get paid - 50 cents above minimum wage. The owners of this luxury apartment building are notoriously cheap when it comes to paying wages (they have gone through three leasing agents since July 1, and two property managers since then). The rents are ridiculous, but people don't mind paying to have a prestigious address, on-call maintenance and 24 hour concierge services a phone call away.

Overall, I enjoy this part-time job (I have a full time job as well) and really enjoy meeting new people and making their time here top notch, with the service I provide. I'm in my fifth year here. However, I also wouldn't mind being appreciated at Christmas time with a thoughtful tip inside a Christmas card.

I add 20% when offered the chance. If not, I stuff a couple of bucks in the tip jar (which is probably less than 20%).

The employees rely on tips. Your disapproval of the tipping system will not change that. If you're really unhappy, go to Chick-fil-A, which doesn't allow tipping and pays its employees better. If you don't like CfA, make your own food.

Otherwise, just tip and stop griping. "It's not about the money!" ... but really it is about the money because every person I have ever known who complained about tipping was also a cheapskate in other ways.

Ok, R146, I think it's a bit clearer now that the people who don't tip figure because their rents are very high that you are paid a lot.

R148 Rich people tend not to tip a lot, period.

[quote] people who don't tip figure because their rents are very high that you are paid a lot.

I disagree. Those people know damn well that the service people in their building aren't making a shitload of money.

[R150] - Exactly ! They know if these were well-paying jobs, there wouldn't be the turn-over which we have in every position. It's obvious in every industry where there is constant turn-over.

[R149] Again, it's the younger generation - not the older generation. The younger generation are not well-mannered in situations such as this.

I just received an 'envelope' from one the tenants earlier today. He's about 30, and is a bio-chemist at one of the major pharmaceutical companies, so you know he's paid well (and he's cute and he's single). The envelope had a $5 bill in it. It's the thought that counts.

In a strange way. If they don't tip much out if at all at restaurants and such, maybe that will be the beginning of the end of the tipping culture?

As a condo owner we pay for a management company and it's not cheap, , but they pay their employees shit. It's very sad.

Really hot guy at Auntie Anne's pretzels. Generally a friendly guy, it seemed, but turned downright flirtatious when it came time for that stupid tip screen. Kept eye fucking me. You know what? I pressed the lowest available option. 15%! Ha. That'll really show 'em.

The only service that I’m always happy to tip well is my hair stylist. I appreciate a good haircut. Starbucks? Not a chance.

I started seeing this as well. I typically ask "what is the starting rate here, my daughter is looking for a job." If it is 15 or higher an hour, sorry no tip. Next thing you know Mcdonald's workers will be asking for tips. I tip 20% no matter what to servers at a sit-down restaurant even if the service is shitty or the food is bad, because I was a server and know you cannot control a lot of what happens. I tip the cleaning staff at a hotel daily if I am staying more than one night, but I can expense that as I usually travel for work, For my own personal vacation I usually rent a VRBO so no tip is required. I will tip the valet 5 bucks, 10 if it gets me a better spot. During Covid, I tipped anyone though. Picked up a Pizza 20 bucks tip. Curbside groceries 20 bucks tip. If you were willing to brave covid so I could eat, you got a nice fat tip.

I once tipped the guy who painted my apartment with a bj

Dears, “it is what it is”. No one’s opinion of it matters.

Also, anytime someone in the US tries to buck this trend, it never works out. And it’s the employees who dislike “fair wages” more than the bosses.

$1 for everything

[quote]Dears, “it is what it is”.

Yet it doesn't have to be. Why do we have to settle for so little ?

In the UK most people will tip 10% for exceptional service. Otherwise we round up. The tipping. culture in the US is ludicrous, pay your staff a decent wage. Every time I have been to New York I have felt ripped off and exploited.

I tip my hairstylist, quite well, because he has to pay rent for his chair in the salon, and I also always feel a little bad because my hair is so difficult, and he’s one of the few I’ve ever found who can do a really good job on it.

I have never tipped my massage therapist—he owns his own practice/studio, and I already pay him $75 for an hour. I wouldn’t tip my dentist or my optometrist, so why would I tip him? If he worked out of a group massage studio or one of those chains, than yes, I’d tip.

R162, way too much to think about in each case.

R161 if tipping culture goes away the menu prices will just rise to make up the difference on the payroll. it won't make an actual difference to you, in reality the tipping culture gives you the option to eat out cheaper than you would otherwise be able to.

Yes it does r164. By skipping the tip.

R165 did you think that wasn’t what I meant by “option”?

Well, considering restaurants have already raised prices, many people have had to already start reducing the tip. The more prices go up, the less people will be tipping.

[quote]many people have had to already start reducing the tip

I don't understand this at all. Do you think the waiters can live on less because you're on a limited budget? Go to a cheaper restaurant. No restaurant owes you a meal. A 20% tip is part of the cost of dining out. If you can't afford it because prices have risen, you have to go somewhere else or eat at home.

But can you really not afford it? Or are you just a tightwad who has some arbitrary idea about what things "should cost", when in fact any discretionary item like a restaurant meal costs what the market can bear, period?

In fact, by continuing to patronize restaurants that raise their prices while also undertipping the staff, you are contributing to the problem in every possible way.

Ugh, I have to touch that gelatinous jigglypuff again. Never tips for all my hard work. And it's like trying to sculpt cottage cheese into a solid form. Ugh. Ugh. Ugh.

[R162] Your hair is 'so difficult' ? Who are you ? Diana Ross ?

I tipped $250 to our condo staff last year in my condo building but get paid on the 5th and 20th so I didn't get a chance to this year.. The cutoff date was the 19th. Then they extended it but I still won't be able to make the deadline. I got a mortgage and the condo fees to pay first. I will try to budget better next year

That is absolutely the fault of the cheap employers, not the customers r168. Your ire is misplaced.

Obviously, I can't tip any more than I already do until people start tipping me for MY job.

R82 It’s automatic - we have been raised to figure in a tip from our mammies’ knees. (I’m only half joking). Besides, figuring out 20% of a bill is pretty easy. I figure that out then add a bit more, especially around the holidays.

Does one tip on the check total or the pre-tax amount?

If their servers that I know and like, I will just do 20% on the grand total, but otherwise I will round down a bit from 20% to account for the tax.

R175, that’s how tipping has become yet another grift. Tipping suggestions on the screen (or receipt) are based on the post tax amount. So we are tipping on taxes.

Why is tip based upon how much the final bill is? If I bought a steak or a just a side of rice—the waiter’s job is exactly the same but the tip amounts are basting different

^basting = vastly

[R171] - Who are the employees you usually tip on your 'condo staff' ?

When I did my shift the other night as part-time concierge at the apartment complex, I was talking to the woman who covered the day shift - she's a retired professor, 72 years old who has picked this job up to supplement her retirement. She was saying the same things I was saying : The younger professionals living in the building (25-50 years old) are not tipping. They are not mannered enough to know you tip at Christmas for the excellent service you receive all year (they are too entitled). God knows how poorly this generation tips in restaurants and bars.

I went to my local independent record store yesterday and browsed and selected a couple of records.

When I rang up, the owner flipped the iPad screen towards me and there was the option for tips!! WHAT?!?

I did the browsing, I inspected the records, I carried them through the store. I was never asked if there was something in particular I wanted.

No tip from me!

You still have independent record stores where you live ? I would tip just for that !

R180 did you say something? I hope you did.

[Quote] The younger professionals living in the building (25-50 years old) are not tipping. They are not mannered enough to know you tip at Christmas for the excellent service you receive all year (they are too entitled).

No, they’re trying to dig themselves out of hundreds of thousands in school debt

Hard to reconcile this parsimony with people throwing money into GoFundMes (yes, I realize you get name credit for that), Patreon (more name credit), crowd-sourcing. I contributed to a GFM once and I'll never do it again. I do tip, though.

R180

In this case, I wouldn't blame the store so much for having money grubbing employees, as that's the way the software was set up. Saying something would probably get you a retort like "Well then, just don't leave one!"

R179, is entitlement the issue? Few people are more entitled than rich New York co-op and expensive-apartment dwellers, but they tip the staff.

I think you'll find that many of these younger people grew up in suburban houses and lived in dorms and maybe big apartment complexes before they bought their condominiums. They're not used to tipping building staff and no one has told them that this is customary. Their parents - assuming parents give life advice to their children these days, which I see little evidence of - have lived in suburban houses for many decades and have forgotten, if they ever knew, about tipping building staff.

Instead of being so bitter, perhaps you could suggest to someone on the condo board that the issue be raised at a meeting and published on the website next year.

R174, well put. We're used to it, and the calculations are very easy now that 20% is standard. There's nothing to keep track of, and we have to do it because that's the way we do things here. It's part of the expense of the meal.

Is the total cost of eating out in a comparable restaurant less in the UK or France than in the US? I don't know for sure, but from what I've heard ... it isn't.

30-35% in restaurants.

Used to do 25% but inflation has made me more generous.

I only eat out on Saturday nights so the extra few bucks more isn't sending me to the poor house and it may make a difference.

On Xmas Eve, we went out and I tipped $20 on a $42 bill. Felt bad the server had to work Xmas eve (but not bad enough to not go there) and he was really hot.

30-35%?? Now it’s just getting nuts

Today I went to a coffee store and noted that, on the tip screen, choices were listed -higher on the left and lower on the right.

Again, a way to psychologically confuse tippers who are used to pressing the lower tip percentage on the left

[R186] I'm R179 - I am a part time concierge at an upscale apartment complex, not a condo - so I have no board members to address.

I must add, in late November, the building's property manager does indeed print out an updated list of all 10 employees (maintenance staff as well as concierges) who work in the building, with a very short, nice note about 'remembering us at Christmas'. It's put in everyone's rent invoice for December - just a reminder of everyone here who is paid hourly, and if they need the spelling of everyone's names. (Older people still like to write out checks).

So the younger people do know about Christmas gifts for staff at Christmastime, and if they are unsure - they can always ask the property manager the proper etiquette or one of the older residents. That's how you learn when you move to a big city apartment complex from the leafy green burbs you grew up in.

1 dollar

A few months ago, I went to my PCP for my annual (handsome, sexy guy in his 40s). When I was leaving, I had to stop at the receptionist's window to book my next appointment and pay my $10 copay. She turned the card -reader screen to me, which I had to slide my card and sign - but before I signed, a 'tip' page came up - how much would I like to tip ? 10 %, 15%, 20% 25$ or 'other' ?

I asked her if it's now customary to tip a physician for a physical. She laughed and said it was a glitch in the system and they had a call in to IT to remove this software from the screen. She quickly did something on her end and it skipped to my signature page. (How many other patients fall for this and tip something without questioning this because they don't know to question or are embarrassed ?)

I mean if Mr Sexy Doctor with the bulging biceps offered me a handjob, I'd definitely tip him.

R181, maybe they are irritated by your frequent use of the word "upscale"?

In seriousness, I agree with R186 in spirit if not in letter of his message that the the problem is not entitlement from "the leafy green burbs [they] grew up in," it's not being accustomed to doing, not having made a habit of it.

If your rental apartments were as upscale as a fussy co-op board, they would know to tip the staff. Co-ops have boards and officers and lines of communication and a community of neighbors to explain things (no one will tell you how much to give, but they will explain the process and reasoning.) Lacking that and with perhaps a large building with many tenants you're about fucked; factor in that they are renters and not owners, probably many residents --the younger in osrticular-- are there for a few years at most, and you're doubly fucked.

Blame privilege and entitlement all you want, if it doesn't occur to them to give you a tip and the message you describe goes unread or overlooked, then you're fucked by some residents and not by others. Until you have their respect and the resident thinks of it as an important gesture every year end...it's what you've got.

You could print and briefly post a thank you, naming names or apartment numbers to plant the seed that they didn't contribute but others did. Hopefully it has done effect next year, but thinking it's done spoiled generation that's cheap to everyone is off mark of the truth - the truth is more that they are oblivious to your situation. In a rental complex, however upscale, I wouldn't count in a majority of residents as tippers.

I tipped the waiter at a restaurant 20% on a $60USD bill tonight because they worked for it and went the extra mile and was charming and funny.

They’ve all come to expect 20% so most don’t do anything extra to earn it.

If you don’t tip at least 20%, everyone will consider you cheap and an ass so they know most will do it

Exactly r177. It's ridiculous. I'm just not doing it anymore.

Someone gave the concierge 5 bucks for the Christmas tip?

The world has gone to hell in a hand basket. People are horrible.

Well r196 I don’t usually tip that much and I’m on vacation in another state.

That's why 15% is the most I give r196. If the service is really bad I will leave less or nothing when warranted. Tipping is not mandatory. The more entitled people get, the less I'm inclined to tip.

If the tip is $8 I round up to $10.

25 per cent, times are hard.

As little as I can get away with. I love being on vacations somewhere I’ll never return. That’s an automatic 0% and makes me so happy!

[quote] In a rental complex, however upscale, I wouldn't count in a majority of residents as tippers.

Concierges in rental complexes in Boston, Manhattan, Chicago, Miami, etc. will certainly disagree with you. If they didn't get generously tipped for their service every Christmas (and throughout the year), they wouldn't be making lifetime careers out of it. I'm just curious if the younger generations tip them well in those cities - or is it like what I've experienced ?

I always tip 20-25% because I’m not an asshole and I’m not a cheap bastard.

[quote] As little as I can get away with. I love being on vacations somewhere I’ll never return. That’s an automatic 0% and makes me so happy!

What a thrill!

Here’s a “tip” for you. If you have a decent job and can afford to eat in nice restaurants and travel, then you’re doing well in life. Don’t be a prick. Leave a decent tip. I’ve never worked as a server but I’ve worked retail and it sucks. I always tip well.

25% for dining out, that’s the *minimum* because times are really really really tough.

R107 You do a lot of work, obviously, and I’m sorry it’s ignored. FWIW, my son is 20 and I taught him about tipping early on.

Thank You R209 - he will get far in this world.

People aren't really complaining about tipping waitstaff. Most of us know that a tip in the range of 15% is expected and act accordingly, and those who don't do so aren't going to start now.

The complaints are mostly with regard to those working for a set hourly wage or salary that they agreed to upon employment soliciting tips.

Oh, yes ... hotel shuttles: $1 per bag if they load them, if I do it all myself, nothing.

The maps are pretty revealing about how much to tip, where and when.

R213, that's interesting, but it's missing another key bit of information: How much do comparable restaurant meals cost in countries of comparable wealth? It's my impression that comparable meals in comparable restaurants cost more (including taxes) in Western Europe than in the US and Canada. Is that true? UK to US comparisons would be particularly interesting because of the otherwise similar cultures.

Non-North Americans seem to find restaurant tipping deeply offensive and confusing, but it's really very simple: 20%, an easy number to calculate, unless something really unusual happened.

If the bottom line cost is the same, what difference does it make if you paid more for the meal and less for the tip or less for the meal but more for the tip?

R214 as a “non-north American” from one of the blue shaded countries - we don’t tip because we pay our waitstaff a living wage, not because we can’t calculate percentages.

[Quote] $10 cash tip jar each Monday. Covers me for the week.

Make sure they see you putting it in!

20% is arbitrary. Not expected. When I was in Europe, the meal cost seemed cheaper.

Some food service people posting here act like they are ENTITLED to receive tips. Uh-uh. You’re going to have to give me first class service. Preferably with a smile unless you are going through something really tragic. Tips are EARNED AFIAC. Especially with dining out getting more expensive. No one is obligated to tip you. Customer service is one of those jobs that require you to bring your A-game, particularly when you are asking customers to part with their hard earned money.

R218 If you can't afford to dine out, or part with your hard earned money, waddle your ass over to McD's or stay at home.

I eat out for lunch or breakfast about twice a week. I typically leave 20-30% tip each time. If I ate out day like some people do I would probably give no more than 20%.

$1 for everything

Nothing. I live in a country where people earn a living wage. We don't tip here.

There are situations where I have always tipped and situations where I want to even though it’s not necessarily expected. But a place where all I’m doing is picking up an order and paying a cashier? No. Coffee? No.

I don’t do food delivery of any kind because it’s so outrageously expensive it’s become offensive. I calculated the cost of a delivery order I was thinking of getting and realized by the time you add the two fees you get charged by Grubhub (or whatever service), the mark up on the food itself and then the 25%+ tip you are expected to give where I live, I was paying more than double of what it would cost to pick it up myself.

I told the story on DL how at my dermo there is tip screen for the tech who does the laser treatments as well as tip envelopes just in case you didn’t grasp that a tip was expected. I was so taken aback that I tipped because I didn’t want to offend the woman who did the laser on me. I felt like a complete idiot later. I also changed to a different dermatologist.

R217 Nobody tips in Europe, at least not in western Europe. People here earn a living wage. I live in Norway and have never in my life tipped anything. Then again... meals are expensive af here. An Italian style pizza at a restaurant costs between 20 and 25 dollars. An alcoholic drink costs 20-30 dollars etc.

R224 My beef is with those that are coming to the USA from a country where tipping is not customary. Let's take, for instance, Australia. Aussies are big travelers, but not necessarily wise travelers. They think they are, but they are not. Aussies usually refuse to accept the custom of tipping when in the USA and so, are generally despised by those in the service industry. A good (wise) traveler is one who researches, learns, and ACCEPTS the customs of the countries they travel to, and they do not endlessly, loudly bitch, whether about the custom of tipping or anything else that is customary for a particular country. They accept what is customary and move on, period.

Ask any server what goes through their head when they approach a table and hear everyone speaking with an Aussie accent. I used to play a little game with myself. I'd provide exceptional service, in order to see if they would tip. Most often, they would not. I never complained to the customer when I was not tipped. To complain to their face would be gauche and unacceptable. However, if they were in a party of 5 to 6 or more I would sometimes ask management if I could tack a reasonable service charge onto the check. They usually said, 'OK, fine, we understand'.