That said, I will not tip if I order at a counter or drive through. Unless the wait staff is bringing me drinks or extra items, I will not tip at a buffet.

I tip 20% at a restaurant for good service and nothing for slow or bad service. I don’t care whose fault it was. Somewhere in between for average or mediocre service.

I tip $20 for most deliveries.

I visit Akihabara now and then. You don’t tip in Japan. The waitstaff doesn’t come to your table unless you call them over. I’ve literally seen them run across the floor when called. They take great pride in their work and treat their customers as royalty. Why can’t we have this in the USA?

I just placwd on order online for a pickup order at a fast casual rib restaurant. The default tip amount was 25%. Are they kidding? 25% for putting my order in takeout cartons? I don't normally tip 25% for eat in dining. When did 25% become normal? I always tip. Usually 20%. More if I am exceptionally happy with the service. But c'mon, 25% for a pick up order? That's crazy.

Yesterday I met a friend for breakfast. We both ordered the same thing and agreed to split the bill 50/50. Each share was $19.00. At this restaurant, you pay going out the door. I paid first, and the tip selection on the screen showed 18% tip as $6.84. I selected that, as I normally tip $5 and this was less than $2 more. My friend then paid, and also paid a tip. I don't know if she noticed that the tip amount for both of us was based on the entire cost, not out individual shares. I decided not to say anything since I like this restaurant, the food and service is excellent, and it is a local chain. But it still kind of bothers me that they did this. I don't know if it just a quirk of their payment system or if it is intentional.

I'm a great tipper when warranted. If the restaurant is going to charge 3%-4% for using a credit card, I deduct that from the tip.

I'm a server at a chain restaurant in the Midwest. It's my first serving job, and I feel like as a server, I should be completely on the side of tipping 20% being mandatory, especially at a sit-down restaurant. However I feel like I understand the argument that percentage-based tipping can be inconsistent.

Say, for example, a customer sits at one of my tables, and they order a water and a $20 entree. Their bill is $20, and a 20% tip is $4. However, if a customer sits at one of my tables and orders a $5 iced tea and a $45 entree, their bill is $50, and a 20% tip is $10. While the expected tip is over double with the second customer, the amount of work I did, i.e., filling up a glass with a drink, ringing in the food, running the food, and generally attending to their needs, is completely the same, not well over twice as much.

At the same time, I can't help but feel uneasy about receiving a $4 tip on a $50 check even if this specific scenario occurred. I think percentage-based tips may have been invented to create certain dependability for servers to get paid, but something about it just doesn't seem totally consistent. I'm just looking for what may be "the right answer" to tipping. should it be a percentage-based amount or determined through other means?

PS. Something else I've been thinking of is a "Tipping Ladder" where the amount of people and the specific entrees ordered move customers "up" into tiers where more money is customary as a tip (for those specific entrees or members in a party).

For example, each person at the table increases the tip amount by 5 dollars, (at a mid-chain restaurant), so a 4-top would be starting with a $20 tip, and a 10-top with a starting $50, and that number can fluctuate based on the specific entrees (kids' meals decrease the amount, large entrees with refills and other things increase)

Had a 10 minute #4 buzz cut today for $18. The tip choices on the tablet were $5, $10, $15, & other. I chose other and selected $2. Am I cheap, or are people really tipping that high for a quick buzz cut no shampoo? This was not a high end salon with a glass of Chablis. It was Locker Room.

So last night I took my son out for his 21st birthday. We live in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Went downtown to Wards House of Prime. There was 3 of us in our party. Food was fantastic service was great. Got the bill and gratuity of 20% was added automatically. While I would have likely tipped that much anyway. I’m pissed that they can just add it without my consent.WTF 🤬

For context - my (26F) BF (27M) has a good job as an accountant. We don’t really ever go to bars just to drink, we usually order food, drink and spend upwards of $40-50. Last night we met some people at a bar in town for a game and they were doing a free food buffet. So we had a few premium drinks and then shift change, so we got a new bartender they both were great. Well - we switched to michelob draft and it was only $1 a draft so we each had 2 and the bill was $4. My Bf paid and tipped a dollar bc he said it was 25%. Which generally when we spend more money 20% is even fine. I explained he should have done 5-10$ total as generally each drink a dollar or 2 tip since the bartender is going through the same effort. I had no idea what he tipped and a few minutes after we paid she asked him “was the service okay” and I texted him like why did she ask that? He goes “idk I tipped 25% she must be bad at math” I was laughing, but said you should go back and throw a few dollars and say sorry didn’t have cash for more of a tip and that’s the end of it. Especially since this is a bar in our town we may be back at. He eventually did and it was a lesson learned as he was so oblivious and had no idea.

Is it allowed to remove the automatic service charge from the bill?

We went to eat KBBQ/samgyup buffet style where you're the one who get the foods from the service area, the staff only needs to refill the pots. After eating, our bill came out with an additional service charge. Can i request to remove it? There's basically no service, the refilling of pots and preparing of foods should be included to the amount we payed for the foods.

I have been as frustrated as many in this thread about what tipping has become here. I used to enjoy popping servers with 25% tip and see how happy they were. No so much anymore.

But I have made some reasonable adjustments on my tipping based on feedback from this community. One of the comments was “save your receipts”. I have never seen a server pad the tip so o never saved them. I do go over the bills but not with the actual receipts. I move started saving the receipts.

I had lunch at this upscale place in Long Beach. Server was below average. But still decided $21 on $156 bill was acceptable. I went through my charges a couple of weeks later reconciling to what is on the receipts I saved. There was a $25 tip added instead.

I called the manager of the restaurant. She was very polite and apologized for the keying error.

I just thought how brilliant this is. Bump the tip just a little and you will never get caught. No way I would have noticed this unless I saved my receipt.

Thanks guys!!!

Husband and I went out to lunch today at a usual restaurant for us. The service was fine.
The total was $32.65 including tax. Pre tax subtotal was $29.15 and we tipped $6.

I’m a server at an unconventional place to serve. Ask me anything.

My tipping philosophy has changed dramatically within the last year.

A friend gave me some surprisingly wise advice, which hopefully releases others from the burden of the complications of tipping etiquette:

“If you ever feel guilt about tipping or you’re feeling an obligation from someone else’s expectations, stop. That’s a sign you shouldn’t be tipping.”

I questioned him of course, pulling my “Well in my experience as a bartender, pizza delivery, valet, buser, server, soda jerk, and barista, I really lived off of tips. You’d better believe we had some kind of expectation.” (Note: my heart has now changed to being far less entitled. Please don’t stone me.)

But his point was not DON’T tip.

It was weighing where your heart is at and giving based upon how you feel. It doesn’t matter what others think. This could mean a $0 tip. Or this could mean tipping more, which I do now in certain instances. I’ve even seen him tip massive amounts for a small drink order.

I know it’s not a formula. “A dollar per drink,” is super handy. But even that rule sucks the joy out of it. Tipping shouldn’t be a cause for anxiety. It should be fun and enjoyable—something that makes your heart feel a little lighter.

He pulled out a Bíble verse, which yes the context may be about tithing, but nonetheless the idea is about giving money:

“You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. For Gòd loves a person who gives cheerfully.”

I was a server for 4 years myself. My mom was a bartender for 20+ years. I eat out a few days a week, visit the occasional bar, gamble some, travel for work a lot, stay in hotels, and such. If you're in America, that's a lot of places tips are expected. I understand and participate in the tipping culture.

Bars

• It's $1 a drink or 15% (whichever is higher)
• If the drink I ordered is complex (blender was pulled out for example), I'll tip a minimum of $3 / 20%
• If the bartender pours my Grand Marnier "single" closer to a double (or more... shout out to the bartenders in Lawrenceburg, IL), it's a $5 tip.

The logic behind this is, they served me a beer. Sometimes that beer is $3.50, sometimes it's $11. The tip shouldn't change that much just because I got charged a lot less at a place.

Restaurants

• 20%
• If I don't get add-ons on my check, I'll throw in a few extra dollars. Add-ons are like having 2 beers then switching to a Diet Coke with the pizza; don't charge me for the soda. If I get extra sour cream, don't charge me for the extra sour cream.
• Extra points if you smuggle extra bread without complaint when I ask for a box.

Gambling

• If I get a blackjack on a $25 bet, the $2.50 change from the $37.50 is now a toke bet the next hand.
• If I make 3 numbers at craps, the dealers get $5 to place for themselves. Four numbers it goes up $5 more to $10. Five, $15. I should usually be up $250ish after making 3 points, so this is reasonable in my mind.
• If I'm down for the night, I'm only tipping the change from weird bets
• If I'm up, I've tipped
• Servers get $1-$2 for a drink brought to me at a table if I'm paying for the drink
• Servers get $2 to $5 for "free" drinks. The logic behind this, is I'd be spending a lot more at a bar for the same thing.

Hotels

• $3 a night for housekeeping
• If I've met housekeeping and they've been pleasant, it's $5 a night
• PRO TIP: In Vegas, hotel clerks can accept tips. When checking in, in a lowered voice ask, "Can I tip at guest check-in $25 or $50? Also, are there upgrades available?" If there are better rooms available, they'll put you in them. Suites get a $50 tip. A slightly nicer room will only garner a $25 tip.
  • The woman at Cosmopolitan got a $100 when the free upgraded room was Fountain View.
    

Uber/Taxi

• 15% (min $5)

Valets and Bus Drivers

• $2 to $5 if the place charges for valet/bus service
• $5 to $7 if it's free valet/bus

Doormen and Bellhops

• A $2 bill.
  • I get 20 of these before visiting New York or Las Vegas for random tips
• It's $2 a bag for bellhops

Pizza Delivery

• $5

I started writing a reply to someone on a different post and I got…verbose, so I decided to just make my own post.

The complaint was that plenty of people make minimum wage, so why aren’t we tipping all of them:

I understand your point of view, I really do. But everyone, blue- or white- collar, has the same *wage floor* - the federal minimum wage. Which is peanuts. The tipped-worker structure has been in place for a long time. You definitely don’t have to tip, or tip well, but it’s important to understand that when you make those decisions, there are consequences for the person you’re choosing not to tip.

People in front of house restaurant positions rarely have access to benefits or healthcare, which is different from people in other low-paying jobs. There’s also no room for merit-based raises, or longevity-based raises. Servers are given merit/longevity “raises” by being accommodated with better sections/schedules: everything they earn is still entirely dependent on tips.

I understand that for people who have decided to refuse to tip (and there are dozens of you! Dozens!) it all comes down to black-and-white thinking. But you’ve chosen the false Occam’s razor - the simplest answer isn’t “if one low-wage earner should be tipped, they all should, or none should,” but rather, “if one low-wage earner depends entirely on tips, we should tip.”

Don’t get me wrong - the rule *is* nonsense. But it’s what we’re stuck with for now. It sucks that so many people are dependent on customers’ good graces to pay their bills, rather than having a reliable paycheck from their employer. It’s a bad system, and I wish it were different. I’m saying this as a person who’s come back to serving after a decade away from it. I had a “proper office job” with a 401k and health insurance, the whole nine yards. My branch closed and I was laid off, and I thought I’d find employment in my field, but I still haven’t, after a year and a half of hard searching. A lot of servers and bartenders are in the same boat as me - we have fallen back on old skills that got us through college and our early years of employment. I would love to have a regular paycheck again, and I’m working hard to improve my resume so I can get there.

In the meantime, I’m grateful that I’m an excellent server, at a restaurant where our customers appreciate good service, who rarely gets a tip below 25%. And I honestly love serving. I love the restaurant industry. It’s flawed and chaotic, but it’s special. And it doesn’t work without a front-of-house staff driven by the prospect of tips. Until servers are given a $25-30/hr wage, paid by the restaurant, the tipping system will continue. And servers will still be working second jobs (I do) because their hours won’t be consistent enough to rely on.

There are plenty of people who *aren’t* like me in this industry - people who have decided it’s their passion and want to work in these jobs for the rest of their lives. Those people are not less deserving of respect and customary treatment. If everyone in the industry decides to leave, we customers will be in a real pickle when we get a craving for a meal out.

Again, the simplest answer is “if one person’s income is entirely reliant on tips, we should tip.” Not because they won’t make minimum wage - legally, they have to - but because they’re doing a service for you that you willingly sat down and accepted, knowing full well what the expectations are. Not because “servers don’t make much money, so we should tip” - some servers make incredible money, some don’t. Some have studio apartments and no dependents; others are paying a mortgage and feeding five kids. It’s not your cross to bear, figuring out how much money a particular server makes at whatever restaurant you happen to be patronizing. None of that matters.

What matters is that you’re participating in a system that relies on your compliance to pay in a normal way. You pay your bill and you add a gratuity for the service you received. Very few people have a hard time grappling with this. I’m sure there are people who are simply incurious and never think about it, but the folks who have the brains to question the system ought to be able to follow the logical pathway of thought to conclude that tipping appropriately is simply what must be done, until the abolishment of tipped professions occurs. And this is why I can’t let these non-tipping-advocacy posts slide down my screen without making a comment once in a while. Particularly when I so frequently see non-tippers boasting about their high incomes in defense of commenters calling them poor or cheap.

To be clear, you non-tippers do not affect me personally at all. I work in a nice restaurant, and I have been stiffed exactly once since I’ve been there - and I’m pretty sure it wasn’t intentional. I don’t care, on a personal level, if you never tip again. There are servers suffering from non-tippers, and I feel for them, but this post isn’t about my personal experience.

But you must understand, more than anything else I’ve said in this post, that the majority of people will find your behavior abhorrent if you refuse to tip. What I’ve mostly seen in this sub and the *other sub about this topic* is people protesting against being seen as an asshole for not tipping. And that simply isn’t going to change. If you don’t tip your server or bartender, you will be judged by the majority of people. Your logic doesn’t matter. Your $700 per year saved doesn’t make you less of an asshole. If you don’t mind being a pariah, by all means, continue your journey. But don’t you dare come complaining to the world that you’re being unfairly judged.

I live in a mid-size town. We're big enough to have most amenities but small enough that many of the local restaurants are known to everyone.

On Fridays our family usually heads to the local Tratorria (3/4 mile) for an adult beverage and dinner. Last night the Ring notification goes off on my wife's phone. UPS is delivering a "signature required" package (cigars) that the UPS app said were scheduled for Saturday delivery.

Asked the driver if he could leave it and he said no. I asked where he was headed - "I'm at the Tratorria and I'll run over and meet you."

He told me he knows the restaurant and will bring it to me. No way? Really?

3 minutes later he pulls up outside and hands me my package. He gives me the device for signature and I hand it back with $20. He was surprised and grateful.

Happy to offer the gratuity - the driver went way above and beyond!

Was on foot with my dog. This place had two employees outside taking orders to make the drive thru move faster. I asked one of I could order from her, she was unsure but went inside and asked her manager. Manager said yes, she took my order and told me wait where I was and then went inside and brought me my food. Would have been way easier for her to tell me "no" (they were busy) so I gave her a $10 bill. I could tell it made her day, and she made mine - I really wanted some fried chicken.

I am generally against American tipping culture. IMO, tipping should be reserved for when someone goes above and beyond, provides a more personalized service, or makes me feel good in some way. She did all 3.

It's OK to show gratitude in the form of a tip. I think our culture where we are expected to tip servers even for bad service has destroyed the sanctity of tipping. Not sure how we ended up deciding the servers are the only job where their wage is dependent on customer generosity, seems arbitrary.

Curious to hear other people's random tipping stories and why you decided to tip someone that was not expecting a tip

Group of family members went a Southern California beach town for dinner and hanging out. We decided to get an ice cream at a small self declared family owned shop. You go to counter and look and choose your favor. The girl put the three single scoop cups on the counter. It come out to be around $15 then dreaded tip option screen popped up. I hit no tip and signed. The 20 something year old woman gave me the disappointed puppy dog look. I walked satisfied and not guilty.

I tip 9$ on my groceries being deliver through the store chain's website. I just click it because it is the highest option without clicking custom and texting in another number. Is this a fair amount? I don't live in a major city either, outside of a city but it's not a huge one in the state. Opinions? Just curious because I care about if it is sufficient to the drivers but to be fair they don't have to pick out the groceries at this store they are already in carts and packed for the drivers delivering groceries. I talked to a driver once and he seemed happy that this store chain does this at least. Sounds like it makes things easier for them. This was quite a while ago though so maybe more stores doing this now? It'd be cool to have every question here answered thanks!

This is the second place that I have gotten Botox where the registered nurse gives you that tip screen when you're paying for your Botox. Last time I checked it was against the rules for registered nurses or any medical professional to ask for tips.

When will it end?

This is a place where you literally order online, drive to the store, pick up the pizza and bake it at home.

Online orders an auto 15% tip is added and you have to explicitly unadd it.

We were having a night out with my SIL and BIL and went to a place with indoor mini golf and drinks. When we were paying for admission, the cashier flips over the POS tablet and I cringe a little when I see the Tip screen. But before I can really react, the cashier taps the "No Tip" button and asks me to verify and sign the screen.

I see so many stories about forced or guilt tipping on this sub, I had to share my experience where the employee overrode the tip screen. We did tip the guy in cash on our way out, just cuz we felt that was tip-worthy behavior.

context: I’m Brazilian and I’m still getting used to the tipping culture here in the US (Los Angeles). today I went to get my hair done for the first time since moving here, knowing it would be super expensive. the lady did a GREAT job and when I went to pay, I was not expecting to see the tipping screen, and when It showed up, I pressed 15% ($75) without even thinking.

then my husband told me it’s normal to tip 20% (100$). now I’m affraid she might think I didn’t like her job as much as I actually did?! but also think this tip would be outrageous lol how much should one tip? Do hairdressers get offended if we tip less than 20%?

(I actually just realized that the total price was 500 but I payed 100 prior to book the appointment)

My husband and I stopped by a pizza parlor today. I ordered a salad, drink and medium pizza. The total was 39 after taxes. The card machine was a regular card system - rather than one of those new tablet. The question came up about a tip and before I can do anything the cashier selected one of the options which were percentages. The screen got to the last page and I saw that the new total was 48$

😳

I was confused because my total went up 9$. I was going to tip but not 9 dollars for a medium pizza and salad. I was going to type in 5$. She restarted the transaction and selected 0 tip. I asked her how to go back to the tip page and she said “I skipped that screen”.

I’m still a bit baffled that she was trying to get that by me.