Tipping when dining out...

[JULIAFERNO 0]

Almost always 20%

If the service sucked for reasons that the server could have controlled, 15%

When the service was disgraceful, I've tipped 10% on a few occassions.

[Mags 112]

I'm a pretty good tipper - I have to be pretty pissed off to go lower than 18% and I almost always tip a minimum of $5 if the bill is less than $20. My favorite wait people at my regular restaurants sometimes get 30%+ which ensures I always get a good table and drinks "on the house" and what not. The waitress at my local Japanese place gives me bottles of wine and sake at Christmas. So being generous pays off.

I'm just never sure about bartenders - tipping 20% when all they did was give me a bottle of beer from the fridge seems excessive, eyt only leaving a few bucks seems cheap.

As a rule, I tip $1-$2 per drink for bartenders.

I cannot believe that anyplace in NA is paying $2-$3/hour for work. That's seriously f'd up.

Welcome to America!

[sparkofcreation 0]

my hubby's new thing is to double the tax.. and that is what he leaves for a tip , he does leave a bit more sometimes too..

I've been doing that for years.

Unless you're in NYC or somewhere else with really high sales tax, that's way low. Our tax here is 6.75%, so double that is only 13.5%. I've never heard of less than 15% being acceptable for an acceptable level of circus.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

I've never heard of less than 15% being acceptable for an acceptable level of circus.

I know that's a typo, but it's a funny typo

[tinyrosie 0]

Where I come from, we generally don't tip in when dining out. I used to live in Japan for many years, and they don't tip either (but excellent service anyway... part of Japanese culture, I guess). So I basically know very little about tipping (whom to tip and how much is appropriate). When I went for a visit to the US (also when I went to Europe), I found it troublesome to think how much I had to tip when dining out. Didn't want to overtip but didn't want to be mean by giving too little, either. Would prefer them to just include it in the food price. I guess I need to get used to tipping culture since I will be living in the US.

Interesting and useful thread

[Marilyn. 340]

my hubby's new thing is to double the tax.. and that is what he leaves for a tip , he does leave a bit more sometimes too..

I've been doing that for years.

Unless you're in NYC or somewhere else with really high sales tax, that's way low. Our tax here is 6.75%, so double that is only 13.5%. I've never heard of less than 15% being acceptable for an acceptable level of circus.

thing is from what I have heard on this thread in California where I live the servers gets paid at least minimum wage which I believe is $8.50 an hour.. our tip is usually around 4 or 5 dollars.. we never really spend more then 30 to 40 bucks at the most when we eat out...

[Saddle Bronc 124]

20% for good-to-excellent service

10-15% for mediocre service

0 for showstopper-to-lousy service.

"Showstopper"--lousy enough that I've already made a decision not to give the establishment repeat business EVER.

[Scott & Lai 12]

my hubby's new thing is to double the tax.. and that is what he leaves for a tip , he does leave a bit more sometimes too..

I've been doing that for years.

Unless you're in NYC or somewhere else with really high sales tax, that's way low. Our tax here is 6.75%, so double that is only 13.5%. I've never heard of less than 15% being acceptable for an acceptable level of circus.

In Orange County, CA, the sales tax is 7.75%, so twice the tax is 15.5%. I usually figure twice the tax and then round up to the next whole dollar.

[DeadPoolX 9]

I'll generally tip 20%, unless service was bad or slow. I do take my surroundings into account too (i.e. a busy night on a Saturday vs practically empty on a Wednesday), since that can have an effect as well. Likewise, if service was particularly good, I may increase the tip. Believe it or not, I think I once tipped 30%, but that was an unusual case.

For those of you who might be interested in knowing what the minimum wage is in various U.S. states and other places (since the topic had briefly deviated there), here are some links that provide all the relevant information.

• List of Minimum Wages in the United States
• List of Minimum Wages in Canada
• List of Minimum Wages sorted by Country

[Nessa 23]

i don't tip. that's because i don't eat out and when i do i don't pay for it.

[✿Ice Rain✿ 0]

It's my husband who gives tip 25%-30%. Back in Philippines i tip minimum of P100.