higgmond Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I generally start with 20% of the pre-tax total > (15% is too much mental math for my feeble brain) > and then round up or down to the nearest whole > dollar amount for the total bill (I hate coins). > So, I guess I generally end up in the 18% - 22% > range. I will knock off a few bucks if the > service was particularly bad. > > Have to take circumstances into account as well. > I once got in an arguement with a friend’s wife > who thought we were tipping $2 too much. It was > 3:00 AM at a Denny’s and the waitress was a middle > aged woman who I have to assume would have gained > a lot more utility from that $2 than us since she > was on the graveyard shift at Denny’s. My friend > was there too, btw, not just me and his wife at > 3:00 AM 
Don’t lie Higgmond. You shoulda pulled the $2 and put that towards a room at the Ramada!
jcole21 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Don’t lie Higgmond. You shoulda pulled the $2 and > put that towards a room at the Ramada! Ramada? I wouldn’t be eating at Denny’s at 3:00 AM if I could afford a high-end place the Ramada. Independent places for me.
I overtip the underpaid (Denny’s Waistress) I under tip the overpaid
5%, and 10% if I feel generous or get slightly drunk. Nothing if I don’t have coins on me. Nothing on the terrace where they charge 10% service fee. Nothing if the service is very rude. Nothing if there is a service charge included, usually 15% in the hotel restaurants. Nothing if I have a set breakfast or set lunch. Nothing if I just grab a coffee or a beer, etc. Nothing if I stand or sit at the bar stall. 5% is normal in France and Spain. I saw people who give 2.5% or less, and still it’s fine. I am just too generous. However it really sucked when I was in the US, a huge surcharge of 15-20% was killing me. If I get a 50$ bill for three drinks at a bar, I should put 10$ more? Nonsense.
I don’t do waiters, because it’s kind of bad taste. However I am often hitted on, and from time to time they get me drowned in free drinks, if I am not accompanied. After 3-5 free wines or cocktails, would you tip? I even forget to pay what I ordered by then. Even if I don’t forget to pay, it’s difficult to leave coins cause I am afraid to offend the person who has poured drinks. It would draw the line, “please get the tip, and know your place”. I just ask for tel.numbers that I throw away immediately. Down my apartment there is a sports bar, and whenever there is a game, I can be served plenty of drinks, two at a time, for three hours, in exchange I just have to be super-friendly, which I am. I don’t abuse though, I would never repeat free places more than once in two months. Or go there with friends, and we pay.
^cheap european bastard 
My language class mate just didn’t accept money for a coffee I ordered. Would you leave him 20 cents, which is 20%? isn’t that an insult?
15%-20%
If a bartender is comping you drinks, I generally try to tip 20-50% on that “free” round. Coffee, I don’t know. Leaving $0.20 just seems dumb, it’s such a piddling amount. I’d honestly probably just either pay the round or insist that after next language class, I’ll treat if he wants a coffee or whatever. Unless you guys aren’t friends, in which case…weird…
Valores Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I don’t do waiters, because it’s kind of bad > taste. However I am often hitted on, and from time > to time they get me drowned in free drinks, if I > am not accompanied. After 3-5 free wines or > cocktails, would you tip? I even forget to pay > what I ordered by then. Even if I don’t forget to > pay, it’s difficult to leave coins cause I am > afraid to offend the person who has poured drinks. > It would draw the line, “please get the tip, and > know your place”. I just ask for tel.numbers that > I throw away immediately. Down my apartment there > is a sports bar, and whenever there is a game, I > can be served plenty of drinks, two at a time, for > three hours, in exchange I just have to be > super-friendly, which I am. I don’t abuse though, > I would never repeat free places more than once in > two months. Or go there with friends, and we pay. Are you a hawt spanish chick? Hola guapa…
Muddahudda Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Valores Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > I don’t do waiters, because it’s kind of bad > > taste. However I am often hitted on, and from > time > > to time they get me drowned in free drinks, if > I > > am not accompanied. After 3-5 free wines or > > cocktails, would you tip? I even forget to pay > > what I ordered by then. Even if I don’t forget > to > > pay, it’s difficult to leave coins cause I am > > afraid to offend the person who has poured > drinks. > > It would draw the line, “please get the tip, > and > > know your place”. I just ask for tel.numbers > that > > I throw away immediately. Down my apartment > there > > is a sports bar, and whenever there is a game, > I > > can be served plenty of drinks, two at a time, > for > > three hours, in exchange I just have to be > > super-friendly, which I am. I don’t abuse > though, > > I would never repeat free places more than once > in > > two months. Or go there with friends, and we > pay. > > Are you a hawt spanish chick? Hola guapa… Mudda you have been bamboozed sir - valores is some sort of tranleshomosexual - you don’t want to get mixed up in this.
Thanks for the heads up bramigo. Luckily I have a hawt latina wife to fall back on.
Supersadface, We are not friends, but we chat a little in the cafeteria of the language school, where he works. He attends classes for free as a job perk. I didn’t leave 20cents, of course. That’d be very weird. Leaving the whole amount would be arrogant. Actually I never think too much about this stuff. “Thanks” is enough. I get free drinks all the time, and I usually want to stay sober. So it’s not even a favor to me. Muddahudda, I am not what you think, and not what jcole says. He’s being jealous. I can more or less visualize jcole, not a pretty picture. Caddafi, as a renowned pervert, might be interested in doing bunga bunga to him.
Valores you’re crazy. I like your style.
I am doing what I can to dispel the rumor overseas that Americans are great tippers. Zilch.
I am doing what I can to dispel the rumor overseas that Americans are great tippers. Zilch.
Crazy custom for sure. Girlfriend orders chicken, I order steak. I’m supposed to give the guy that should be out digging ditches three times the coin to bring the steak compared to the chicken. Strange. Tipping is just a genius move by management. Don’t complain to me about your pay, hit up the customers. And in America for some reason, the BSDs feel good about themselves giving ten bucks or more to bring the $50 entree over. I’d rather get up, get it myself and give the ten bucks to charity. Hardly a market wage. Compare the pay of the girl at IHOP to the girl at your local steakhouse. Talk about rent seeking. And I’ve often had better service at the IHOP than the local four star. 30%+ at the Waffle House sure, but the servers at a lot of these places have become the chosen ones. And I love what serving has done to the brain. How much you tip is directly correlated to whether you are a jerk or not. Too funny. I wish restaurants would leave me out of their salary negotiations. I got off work at 6:00 or whatever, let me relax. Ok, have to go to lunch. Hitting up a fast casual, so I don’t have to determine wages, seriously. Hate it. My car gets cleaned really well and those guys don’t work for tips. Not even allowed at my local place.
^ Point taken, but there are some restaurants where the waitstaff really does earn less than minimal wage and they have to work off tips. There are other restaurants where waitstaff is compensated reasonably and even discourage customers to tip, such as Sushi Yasuda.
I think tipping really depends in large part on cultural norms. I think the reason why tipping is so minimal in other places in the world, such as South America or Europe for example, is because the average waitstaff to customer ratio is very low. As in, the restaurants are staffed much more lean, so each person working there gets a bigger take. It’s not uncommon to find a normal-sized restaurant being staffed with two or three servers, as well as the cooks of course. That isn’t the same in the U.S. where the waitstaff seems pretty bloated, so probably gratuities are a necessary portion of their income.
how much do you BSDs tip cab drivers in new york
^ Funny story, I got wrecked a few weekends back and had to take a cab as I didn’t close a deal I thought was a sure thing. In any case, this brown dude is behind the wheel and I tell him xth and xth street is where I live. I’m drunk texting trying to salvage a lay somehow and not paying much attention. I see him pass x turn where it would have been ALOT shorter.
So I bark from the back, “Dude, I told you x and x, you should have turned left there.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” the dude says in broken english.
I’m texting some more and watching him closer. I see a turn coming up and tell him, “Turn left here, don’t miss it!” He misses it, and proceeds to take a right down a one way all the while I tell him “Don’t turn right!” I’m so pissed at this point.
We get to my place, (he misses it a few more times), and I throw up a AMEX. He says, “Oh, I’m sorry, I don’t take credit cards.” The meter said like $35 or some sht. I toss up $30 and say, “Eat it Pal!” and walk out. He shouts something out the window at me but by then I was in the controlled entrance of my joint not giving a fk.
I hate you cab driver, I really do! Had you gone the right way it would have probably cost $25 giving you a $5 tip.