You most certainly SHOULD tip the owners of an establishment! A tip is a thank you for good work. Not only is the work they perform for you valuable, but so is the work behind the scenes. The beautiful color of the walls you like so much, the soothing scent you smell as you walk in, the clean floors, the choice of magazines... happy workers... These are all things that make your visit a good one, and they are all ultimately the control of the owner. So in that respect you MOST CERTAINLY SHOULD TIP THE OWNER if they are the person you most regularly are helped by.
Meganof MA4:32PM November 25, 2012
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Eli Manning Jerseyof CO10:40PM February 10, 2012
Kimberly,
When I was a teenager (I'm 59 now) I served newspapers for the Baltimore News American ( doesn't exist anymore) and the Morning Sunpaper (in Baltimore also). The paper was expected to be on the porch, if I missed the porch, I walked up the steps and placed it on the porch. When raining if a house did not have a porch roof I walked up to the door and put the paper between the storm door and the front door. Christmas tips were a wonderful expression of thanks from my customers for servic e well provided. Today the newspapers are delivered by a nameless person who does not get out of their vehicle and they throw the newspaper at the end of my driveway. The paper is put in palstic bags every day (waste), if it is raining hard they double bag (more waste) and throw it on the lawn so it will sit up on the grass and out of the flowing rain. And every year around this time they put a Christmas card in the paper to remind us that it's the time to give. There will be no Christmas tip from me until my paper is delivered on my front porch.
Scott Hauptof MD11:25AM December 19, 2011
The reason tips are a percentage and not a set suggested dollar amount is so you don't need to adjust upward with rising prices or differing prices. I don't buy this 20% is the new 15% or whatever argument. Just greedy, IMO.
Also - tip mailmen? They are government employees with good salary and benefits. Same with garbage men.
Seems like as a culture we are trying to get more people into the world of being tipped. Not the right way to go, IMO. If they want to make tips for mailmen or garbagemen or barristas, etc, a standard thing then they should cut their pay down to wait staff levels.
Fireof WI11:11AM December 13, 2011
To everyone who thinks that if everyone stops tipping, the service industry will magically start giving everyone a fair wage:
The restaurant business relies on giving these employees a wage of 2.35/hr (yes, you read that correctly) to maximize their profits. The bus staff usually makes a few dollars more, but still less than minimum wage.
If every restaurant were to cease to do this, they would have to raise prices on everything. Not to mention, if they actually raised the wages, do you think it would be to a decent wage? No, they still have to maximize their own profits, so they'd all make minimum wage, maybe a little bit more. Which means that suddenly, every restaurant you love will have servers making as much as McDonald's workers. What do you think would happen to the quality of your service? Exactly. If you want your wait staff to act professionally, they need to be paid professionally. I'm sure certain restaurants would attempt to be fair, but then your entree costs would far exceed the 20% that is expected for good service. Which do you prefer: being able to decide how much is appropriate, or automatically being forced to always pay 20% or more because its built into the food costs now? You can't have your cake and eat it, too.
P.S. If you are a regular anywhere and only give 10%, someone, somewhere, has done something awful to your food. I never have, but I've seen it done. Oh yes. Have fun with that.
KPof PA10:33AM December 13, 2011
Is this advice for people in a certain geographical region or in a certain socioeconomic class? I've never been to a hotel that provided envelopes for tipping the service staff, nor did I think it was expected. Particularly in the case of doormen - isn't their entire job description to help patrons with their luggage? How can you do a better or worse job of that?
Also, garbage collectors? First of all, this strikes me as a job with a high turnover rate, so would the tips even reach the people who had to haul away the worst loads of the year? Also, when exactly am I supposed to deliver this tip? Next time the truck rolls around?
Finally, I also don't understand the logic of the new standard being 20%. If the point is simply that you won't get good service otherwise, fine. But citing rising prices makes no sense when we're talking percentages. I typically tip 10% (rounding to the nearest $0.50) at restaurants. I really don't see any justification for tipping more just for carrying my food to the table and refilling my drink. Nor do I see any way to improve upon this service. To be honest, I only tip because I know waitstaff don't get paid minimum wage. They don't really do more for me than the average cashier at Walmart.
Tiof AZ9:51AM December 13, 2011
Your defense that the new standard is 20% based on rising prices doesn't make any sense - purely from a logical point of view. If prices are going up, then 15% of that bill will go up too. There's no justification for the new standard being 20% and is really just being pushed by waitstaff who continue to enjoy not paying income tax on their cash tips.
I tip 10% as a standard and, every time I see a whining waitperson complain about tips online, I deduct a percentage point. There's no mechanism for increasing that so my tips sit nicely at 0%.
If everyone stopped tipping, everything would be more fair and we'd get better service. NO MORE TIPS.
Theodore Sucksof NY8:38AM December 13, 2011
The proper percentage of a waitperson's tip is a social convention. There was nothing magical about the 10% or 15% numbers, and there's nothing special about the 20% number now - but that's what the standard is, these days, and tipping less sends a message whether you mean it or not.
Instead of worrying about this addition to the cost of the meal, think of it in the same way as tax - an expected part of the price, and if you can't afford that 20%, order a cheaper meal (or bottle of wine) or eat at a cheaper place. Sure, lower it for poor service - but make your starting point 20%.
Markof GA8:05AM December 13, 2011
Does 20% for restaurants seem high to anyone? I thought that was for exceptional service. And is liquor included in that? Does it really take more effort to open $100 bottle of wine than a $20 bottle? Much of the world only expects 10%; 20% is 1/5 of your bill. With escalating food prices, servers are already earning more per seating, why should tipping % go up also? Is service getting better?
Gabby Zabbyof CO11:46AM December 07, 2011
How should I tip a pet sitter that does not have a consistent schedule? One year we had the service every day, the next about 8 weeks in the year, but this year we only used them for 3 weeks. Do we give them the same amount each year?
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Megan of MA 4:32PM November 25, 2012
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Scott Haupt of MD 11:25AM December 19, 2011
Fire of WI 11:11AM December 13, 2011
KP of PA 10:33AM December 13, 2011
Ti of AZ 9:51AM December 13, 2011
Theodore Sucks of NY 8:38AM December 13, 2011
Mark of GA 8:05AM December 13, 2011
Gabby Zabby of CO 11:46AM December 07, 2011
Lisa of NY 8:32AM December 07, 2011