I usually tip 15% and my company limits us to that for meals to be expensed. Yesterday in a Jack Astor's I ended up discussing tips with our waitress after I'd paid and asked what the average was. She said it varied but normally 20% to 25%. It was higher during the dinner hour and later than it was at lunch time. Men tipped higher than women she said and younger men higher than older. I was surprised by the 20% to 25% figure. I thought 15% was in the higher range. What do y'all normally tip?
I don't tip if the worker is paid a wage or can set a fee for their service unless the service is very good and then I might leave something extra, usually 5 to 12%. But I figure if they need more money that is up to their employer or they need to charge more for their services if they have a fee. If they don't have a wage provided by an employer or set a fee for a service (or can't) and do something for a service that is different bathroom attendants if they do their work decently buskers (if I enjoy their act), homeless doing some craft or service for me get a gratuity usually a $1.00.
Its supposed to be somewhere in the 15%-18% range...and then more if you were really wowed. I think that waitress is a little bias for obvious reasons. I have a tip calculater on my phone which comes in handy.
I always tip waiters/waitresses. But its the hair dressers that bother me. I go to an expensive hair dresser that charges close to 50 bucks for a hair cut. He leases space...which means he works for himself. I have huge problem tipping in that situation unless he gives me a new "do". In otherwards...if I go in and demand he makes me look fabulous but with a totally different cut and style of which I have no idea what that would be....I'm going to tip that guy.
10-20%, depending on the service, but if we're really impressed we make it a point to also tell the manager/owner.
I should have mentioned that there is a two tier minimum wage here. Wait staff have a lower minimum wage so maybe that's why people tip more. Have you ever tipped hotel chambermaids? My last stay in Florida the room had an envelope with 'gratuities gratefully accepted'. That was a first. - - - Updated - - - I've done that too. I'm sure those positive customer comments count for something especially when it comes to promotion.
Typically 15% if I'm out with my girlfriend. She literally makes me whip out the phone and calculate the proper tip. Otherwise, I'll just leave between 3-$5.
Funny scene in Reservoir Dogs about tipping that represents my true feelings. I usually tip 30+ % out of courtesy of my past life.
I generally tip 20% or more. I know what it's like for these guys, so if I like the job they do I always tip big. My wife still thinks I'm nuts though! On the other hand, on the few occasions where the experience is horrible, I tip one cent. Let's face it, if you leave nothing, the waiter can always justify it by saying we just forgot the tip. Someone asked about hotel chambermaids. I can't remember the last time I ever had to deal with them, but I do tip the people who deliver furniture or large appliances to my house after it's installed or suchlike. From their reaction, it's apparently a very rare practice.
Good policy.. I tip 20% ... more when I was entertaining corporate clients.. I always got super service when I returned.. They remember your name and the wine or cocktail you had before. Its was a wowzer......
You bring up a good point. That doesn't just happen with the big boys; way back when my wife and I were just starting out we almost always ate at a nearby Denny's, enough so that we were one of the regulars - and yeah, I was a good tipper back then too. My wife would always mention how the waitresses there always seemed happy to see us. She mentioned a couple of times how they would argue over which of them got our table! I'm fairly sure she was joking, but you never know - !
Since I don't feel like screwing workers who are paid, with permission by the minimum wage laws, less than minimum wage because we all tip, and because I know that at least some restaurants (read chains in particular) use part of tips as profit, I leave 20% to keep hardworking people from staving while the owners thrive. Usually I give cash directly to the waiters, not a sum on credit card to be ripped off by owners.
Our waiters and waitresses can make quite a bit here. Probably more then yours. Which is why I like the tip system though it is a hell of a thing to wade through.
I tip 10-25% depending on the service rendered - with pizza delivery on the low end and waiters tipped on the high end.
Generally 20 to 25%, usually on the high side of that range. I figure tipping to the high side is usually only an extra buck or two out of my pocket, but the extra couple of bucks means a lot to whomever I'm tipping. I travel a lot, and I always leave at least 5 bucks at hotels. I remember one time I took a 3-week vacation in LA, and stayed at a hotel near the ocean in Santa Monica. Great place, I always stay there now when I go out to LA. But instead of tipping every day for 3 weeks, I just left a $100 tip on my last day. The cleaners were a Mexican husband and wife, really nice people. One of them was always there, every day; when one had a day off, the other was working, and vice versa. Hardworking people, never had a day together to spend with their kids. I can tell you that woman appreciated the hell out of that stack of 20s. They earned it, though. Damned nice people, and they worked hard and did a good job.
Minimum 20%. I try to make it in cash, so they don't get dinged for the credit card fees, and I will add a few points if it's a split check for the extra work. If it's crappy service, then I'll go down to 15%. Thankfully, with Yelp, it never gets that bad as I don't go to any restaurant with less than 3.5 stars if I can at all help it.
I always leave a tip. I like the envelope as it gives me a place to put the cash, and know that any other cash that I leave out will be left alone. Otherwise, I leave a note on it.
