Englishmum

I don't know if I'll ever really get used to working out what should be an appropriate tip for waiters etc. (Not helped by the fact that I live close to NYC but live in New Jersey where the tax rates are different. In NYC most people just double the tax on a bill/check, but tax rates are cheaper in NJ). I do find it a bugbear having to leave a tip for the barman when I just want a couple of beers! Imagine having to do that in the UK?!

I also never seem to have change in small notes as although I tend to use my Amex card as often as possible, when I pay by cash the ATMs only seem to give out $20 denominations. It's obvious to me why the $1 coin has never caught on in the States, unlike the 1 & 2 pound coins in the UK, as leaving dollar bills ro a tip 'appears' to be more generous.

I guess the British holidaymakers in Florida have a bad reputation for stinginess with tipping? It's just not a custom in the UK as it is in the US and I wonder how many Brits actually realise how meagre the wages are for wait-staff, barstaff, bell-hops etc. compared to people doing the same job in Blighty?

Here's an interesting little site I found via my local town messageboard today:

http://www.tipthepizzaguy.com (the delivery stories are hair-raising!)

(Now I do think that pizza delivery is a welcome service, so I always ensure that the young people who deliver pizzas to our house - normally for our teenage son and perhaps his friend/s get a decent tip).

Pimpbot

I thought it was 15% at restaurants? I always consult the wife, or the next nearest American I am dining with if she isnt there.

Tipping is way out of control here though. Its almost expected whether the service is good or not, so some don't seem to bother. My friend in Austin Texas, told me that they now have a tip cup in his local McDonalds

Pulaski

I usually aim for about 15%, which I calculate by taking 10%, which is easy enough to calculate, then adding half as much again. E.g. the cost of a meal comes to $37, which makes a 15% tip $3.70 + "slightly less than $2", makes for a tip of $5.50, which if service was good I'd usually round up to $6.

Taffyles

That's what I do too Easy maths. But 15% is the norm- 20% if the service is very good (even easier to work out). Brits were getting a hell of name in Orlando a few years back- they simply aren't used to tipping and don't realise that the waitors only get paid a couple of bucks an hour- tips are their real wage.

I still get confused about tipping in other areas sometimes though- eg christmas tips- I used to leave a tip in the mailbox for the postman until I heard they are not allowed to accept money for Christmas- only gifts - and could be fired if caught! some kind person on the radio gave a list of appropriate christmas tips for service people one year- $15 or over for the paper deliverer, $20- for the hairdresser, and so on.

Tipping is expected in so many ways here- my daughters wedding was a learning experience- EVERYONE expected a tip, even the vicar, and even though a service charge was itemised on the bill for the reception - tipping was expected for all the waiters and the manager. We spent over a $1000 just on tips.

WBB

i am with mr pink on this one, i dont tip.

edwords

There's a "tip jar" at the pizza shop I frequent. I'm sorry, but I'm not going to tip someone for handing me a box over a counter. They'll have to do something more than that. Maybe tell me how handsome I look.

Pimpbot

I hope you dont frequent the same restaurants all the time?. As they are probably spitting in your food by now, ya tight ass.

Yorkieabroad

Have you noticed that some credit card printers now are showing a 10% 15% 20% calculation at the bottom? Makes life easy if you run out of fingers.......

I normally ask her indoors how much to tip - I reckon its evolutionary- americans are born knowing how to calculate 15% of a bill

Had an odd experience a few years ago, before I actually moved here. I was out on a business lunch and the guys I was with did nothing but moan about the service all thru the lunch . When the bill came there was a huge huddle tryng to work out what to tip, ranging from the "crap service/no tip" camp (me and the guy paying the bill) to the "they don't get paid much you've got to give them 15%" camp (most of the others). In the end we all went to the restrooms then the cars and left the bill payer to work it out. He claims he gave the full 15%. I can appreciate that the tips are their wages, but if the service is crap, I think the tip should be reduced - maybe not eliminated, but certainly reduced..

Duncs

Generally go for 15% its easy maths if someone is bad i go to 10%, if really bad no tip. A tip is reward for good service and i dont see why i should subsidise cheap ass employers who wont pay a living wage.

My wife makes a little over minimum wage right now working in retail but no one tips her so why should i tip a bad service from a barman or waiter?

What should really happen is employers should pay people a fair living wage and the minimum wage should be raised to a decent level. By tipping we subsidise bad explotative employers.

regards,

Duncan

Duncan Roberts

I worked as a waiter when I was a student so I usually tip 20%
its easy to work out, move the decimal to the right one place and double it!

Taffyles

And then they'd put the price of the meals up and add a service charge, which you'd have to pay regardless of quality of service.
I agree you shouldn't tip bad service, but you rarely get that here in restaurants.
I prefer it this way, servers are far more obliging and pleasant, I've found, than in UK where you pay a service charge and don't tip.

Duncan Roberts

the minumum wage for a waiter when i was one in 2000 was half that of the standard minimum wage, i dont know if this is still the case. i used to earn $2.15 p/h and as you get taxed on tips and wages the paycheck was pretty much pointless. i will tip less for poor service, but still tip something. its also unfair to penalise the server if the food is bad, they dont cook it and its a matter for the manager.

doctor scrumpy

Don't think that will worry him, after all look at how they marinade the meat in Wales !

BrigieDarling

Oooooh do I have a naughty story for this thread!

Something Todd said to me when we were dating!

Jxab12

A colleague in NYC approachs tipping in the following way: Suppose the bill comes to $100. A good tip would therefore be $20-$25. So, he lays 25 x $1 bills on the edge of the table and when the waiter comes over tells him/her that the 25 is for them if the service if good. Then for anything he doesn't like about the service, he removes $1. He tells me its amazing the service he gets. (Oh, and apparently it takes a real mess for him to actually remove any bills).