The New Rules of Tipping

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As far as tipping for take out - aside from pizza deliverer - or any take out delivery I refuse to tip. Why the hell tip at Harveys, McDonalds etc when their food is extraordinarily pricey as far as take out goes. (harveys not as much) I refuse to tip at places where there are tip jars. I mean c'mon! I remember one Harveys I went to (now gone) had a tip thingy on its debit machine. I was disgusted with that.... they are the ones who twice ran out of hot dog buns at 1pm on a saturday and served me my hot dog on a hamburger bun! Should I have tipped THEM for the extra use of bread (LOL) Pubs and bars I will tip as I please - since I'm known at some of them, I will tip VERY well. I always tip ON the tax. Places I am trying out etc, we also tip well. I was out at New years with my BF and they automatically added the tip - we did NOT appreciate that as it was wayyy too much added in our opinion.. It was yes New years and yes it was a good meal - but it was not a fancy dancy type restaurant like "The Keg" it was a PUB. Not worth 20% I'm sorry...

Charlie 9:31PM January 05, 2012

The subject of tipping at the coffee shop was not brought up here. I suppose the tips are shared between the Barrista and the girl who passes the $4.00 cup of coffee through the window. Is a tip mandatory here and what is appropriate?
Also my daughter recently embarrassed me by whispering "did you add a tip?" as I had just finished signing my debit ticket for mexican take out. I had not put a tip. I was raised in the era of 15% tip for a sit down meal but usually leave 20% for sit down service. I do not usually tip for take-out. This is a tiny little local mexican restaurant run by the owners. The husband cooks, the wife serves and rings up take-out. Given, it would be nice of me to have given a tip but was it inappropriate that I did not?
Also what about hair dressers and dog groomers. When the service is provided by the owner of the establishment is it appropriate to just give what ever they tell you the fee is or should you add a tip and what percent?

vera of CA 1:12AM July 02, 2010

Well, i must say @mple of FL.... I am a server and a good so can come to my restaurant and i will take care of you, LOL. But on a serious note. I am 21 years old and I am full time student. My parent make to much money for to qaulify for financial assistance, yet not enough to really help me with school and living expenses. I am a good student and all of my tuition is covered by scholarship, but i have to buy my own books, supplies, food, gas, and anything else you can associate with being a student. Now most restaurant automatically take. 3% of the total bill from the server and give it to busser, bartenders, and hostesses. Thus, if you have a $50 dollar check i am automatically paying 1.50 to serve you. If you do not tip me. It actually cost me money to wait on you. You might as well reach into my piggy bank and take my book money for the semester, because initially that is what you are doing, stealing my time and money. Yes tipping is not required, that is a fact, however next time you out ask urself is if fair for a server to pay to wait on you.

Landy of TX 12:27PM March 20, 2010

What people seem to forget is that the servers still need to pay income tax on their tips when making minimum wage, so no it doesn't make a decent hourly wage. In some states they pay like $2/hr and don't tip the taxes. So remember that tips make up the majority of the money people earn and not minimum wage.

T of CA 4:56PM December 01, 2009

Severs in Oregon get the regular minimum wage which is $8.40 an hour. I normally tip 15% which makes for a pretty good hourly wage. Because most servers don't work an 8 hour day, it makes sense to get their hourly rate to more than $10, but if two people spend $40 and tip $6, and the server has 4 tables, he or she is making over $30 an hour. Working 20 hours a week, that is $30,000 a year.

Nancy of OR 8:07PM November 05, 2009

That doesnt even make sense, you are prolly one of the cheap skates that tip like crap and make the servers un-happy for the rest of us. I have never worked in food service but always tip with the rule of 20% if they are average, 15% if they are really bad and 25-30% if they are good. This isnt 1970 anymore and $10/hour is not a great wage lol ...some of us are blessed with good jobs that others simply cant do or get. If you cant afford a 20% tip then dont go out to eat!

LMAO of IN 10:49PM October 03, 2009

It is non of our business how much they make hourly. We should pay them how much is the rule!

Amir of CA 2:41AM August 27, 2009

Look around and see how many tables the server has at the same time. Figure that she gets $2-$3 from her boss. Tip her (considering the other tables) the amount needed to bring the wage up to $10 an hour. That's what a job is worth that it requires no formal education. If the server is not happy then she can find another better paying job!In today's econoky, 50 eople would take the job and not complain.
No way is the job more stressful or demanding than a teacher, nurse, daycare provider, charter pilot. They all start at salaries in the twenties in many parts of the country. $10 an hour is more than $20,000 a year.

mple of FL 11:56AM June 26, 2009

This is a very interesting article that you wrote. You mentioned that the 10%-15% rate on tipping is old but I must say that the "rule" still applies here in the Philippines.
It is also a common practice here to check if the restaurant has included service charges (ave. 10%) before leaving a tip. Most people would explain that the wait staff already gets a portion of this service charge.
I would just like to know if this is proper or not, in your opinion.

Edward Gador 11:17PM June 24, 2009

Most waitresses, waiters, and bartenders are paid a meager sum by the employeer (2.00-4.00 per hour), as it is known that tips will be made to off set the hourly pay rate difference. I have spent half of my adult life as a server, and rely on my tips to provide a decent wage. Please consider this scenerio;
Mary is a waitress at a nice resturant. She is paid 2.37 per hour from her employeer, and receives the remainder of her income from her customers in the form of tips. At Mary's restaurant, she is required to 'tip out' other employees that she works with, as without them and their job duties, she would not have thhe ability to make any tips. One night, the resturant was full, mostly with high school seniors on their prom dates. Mary waited on 5 tables throughout the night with combined ticket sales equaling 250.00. Her tips from four of the tables equaled 25.00. The fifth table did not leave a tip. At the end of her shift, based on her sales, and her tips being calculated by the employeer at 15%, it is determined that Mary has made at least 37.50 in tips. Based on that amount, Mary must tip out a combined total of 30% of her estimated tips to the busboy, dishwasher, and hostess. This amount comes to 11.25. Mary pays the 11.75 out of the 25.00 she was actually tipped, leaving her with 13.75. What about the 2.37 per hour her boss pays her? That is not even enough to pay for her Medicare, State, and Social Security taxes after her employer deducts 15% of her incorrectly estimated tips to be applied to FICA! In conclusion, Mary actually lost money by working that night. The one table that did not leave her a tip actually cost her money to wait on them! One can only hope she didn't have to buy gas, groceries, or pay a baby-sitter when she got home.

Kelly of ID 1:59AM May 25, 2009