Tell me you tip or it is axes and cinderblocks for you.

[FeatsofClay]

Todays total sales from lunch- $128.

Todays total tips- $4

Todays toal of people who said they had "The best lunch ever" or "the best meal in Bluefield"- 7

I am very near stabbing people at random.

[Varaj]

I'm hardcore about tipping. Something has to go horribly wrong that the waiter has direct control of before I will consider hurting them on tip.
If they are having a rough day because the kitchen is slow and thus the food is slow I will often tip more because it isn't there fault and I feel for them.

[PWD]

I tip, and I tip well. I got dogpiled by indignant waitresses at one of the iterations of NTL for my tipping rate since they were conveniently forgetting that Ontario is a province up here in Canada (some of you may have heard of it), where we have universal health care, (relatively) liveable minimum wages, and mandatory basic job benefits.

So my "paltry" 20-25% tips for good service were sneered upon by idiots living in welfare states where they don't actually have to pay you to work. Some how that made me the problem. I'm still working on figuring that one out.

Customary tipping up here is in the 10-15% range. I'm well above it for good service.

[Snatch]

Customary tipping up here is in the 10-15% range. I'm well above it for good service.

That's where I hover as well. Things have to be pretty bad (and here in Edmonton there have been more than a few cases recently) to move me NOT to tip.

[Northcott]

So my "paltry" 20-25% tips for good service...

Holy fuck! Dude, waitresses must love you! Yeah, 10-15% is standard around here. My wife and I almost always tip when we go out. The only times we haven't are a couple occassions when we were younger, when waitresses got flirty. Kind of. I think. It's in dispute. :)

[Ergeheilalt]

I tip when I go out to eat, when I get starbucks, and when I order pizza.

Going out to eat - I tip 15 percent or more, depending on what gets me to the nearest round, dollar amount. At starbucks, they get whatever coinage is left over from my order. When I order pizza in, I generally give them a couple bucks for every sleeve of pizza they have to tote to the door, or only a buck or two if they charge me a delivery fee on top of the pizza order.

[TiQuinn]

15% - 20% is my norm. I think I've only left no tip once ever, and that was on a dinner in a restaurant that went very, very wrong, ending with the manager of the restaurant telling us that the service was bad because "it was Saturday night, and well, we're busy...so what do you expect?"

[PWD]

Holy fuck! Dude, waitresses must love you! Yeah, 10-15% is standard around here. My wife and I almost always tip when we go out. The only times we haven't are a couple occassions when we were younger, when waitresses got flirty. Kind of. I think. It's in dispute. :)

When I say good service, I'm emphasizing good. Not "she refilled my water once and didn't spit in my food". :)

If a waitress goes out of her way to make our dinner a pleasant experience, she gets rewarded. I think that's a good investment.

I have no problem tipping less, or not at all, for declining grades of service.

[Space Cadet B^3]

At least 15%. More for cause.

Edit: but I don't tip at counter service places or buffets unless someone comes out and gets me a refill or strikes up a conversation about my meal.

[Brynja]

I standard 15. If you blow I go to 10 or lower. If you are great 20+

[Limper]

Todays total sales from lunch- $128.

Todays total tips- $4

Todays toal of people who said they had "The best lunch ever" or "the best meal in Bluefield"- 7

I am very near stabbing people at random.

Blue hairs and the elderly in general are horrid tippers... or at least they are for the modern era.

Back when they were young a $.50 cent tip was impressive and they still seem to think it is.

If it keeps up in about a year when you would bump prices anyway add another 15% to the cost of lunches and toss it in a kitty for the working stiffs.

[Atticus_of_Amber]

I'm Australian so I almost never tip. Service has to be very good to even think about it.

It's a real adjustment when I'm overseas to keep remembering to tip.

[Harry]

The girls at Taco Bell kind of freak when I try to leave them a tip, so I stopped doing it. But I do ring the "did you like your service" bell on my way out.

[Limper]

The girls at Taco Bell kind of freak when I try to leave them a tip, so I stopped doing it. But I do ring the "did you like your service" bell on my way out.

Thats made all the funnier by the fact you are a leper.

[Black Angel]

I'm Australian so I almost never tip. Service has to be very good to even think about it.

It's a real adjustment when I'm overseas to keep remembering to tip.

What he said.

[Morbidity]

I'm Australian so I almost never tip. Service has to be very good to even think about it.

It's a real adjustment when I'm overseas to keep remembering to tip.

And that’s why we get into trouble when we go overseas where it’s expected, but still don’t think to do it.

Curiously enough, I’ll tend to think of a tip if I pay in cash but almost never if I pay by card.

[Snatch]

Curiously enough, I’ll tend to think of a tip if I pay in cash but almost never if I pay by card.

I'm the opposite. I remember to tip if I use the credit card, but often forget (and the wife reminds me) when paying with cash.

[cnath.rm]

I standard 15. If you blow I go to 10 or lower. If you are great 20+yeah, that's where I normally sit, though if the service is good I normally round things up in general.

I'm Australian so I almost never tip. Service has to be very good to even think about it.

It's a real adjustment when I'm overseas to keep remembering to tip.With several of you chiming in on it I'm going to guess there is some kind of major difference in Australia vs the US on this?

And that’s why we get into trouble when we go overseas where it’s expected, but still don’t think to do it.

Curiously enough, I’ll tend to think of a tip if I pay in cash but almost never if I pay by card.I find it easier when I pay by card, with there being a line on the receipt marked for it and such, :D at least around here.

[Atticus_of_Amber]

With three of you chiming in on it I'm going to guess there is some kind of major difference in Australia vs the US on this?

Massive cultural difference. Aussies just don't tip, unless the service is exceptional.

I think it arises from our old regulated wage-fixing system where wages where pretty generous and it was considered demeaning for people to have to rely on tips - wages were high enough that they weren't seen as necessary.

Now that our wage system is much more market based, I suspect that our causal waiters aren't in that much of a better positon than their equivalents in the US, but the cultural element is still there.

In any case, even in a full market system for wages, if its known that Aussie customers don't tip, Aussie waiter wages will be somewhat higher than they would otherwise be to take account of that (though probably not to fully compensate for it).

[Morbidity]

With several of you chiming in on it I'm going to guess there is some kind of major difference in Australia vs the US on this?

I find it easier when I pay by card, with there being a line on the receipt marked for it and such, :D at least around here.

I guess I just sign it without thinking about it whereas when you pay cash you consciously make the decision whether or not you'll hang around for change.

To give you an idea of the cultural difference:

I was in a café the other day and all my friends had coffee but I asked if they could make me a hot water with lemon and honey even though it wasn’t on the menu. They picked a lemon from the lemon tree in the courtyard made me the drink which was very yummy and then when we got the bill discovered that they hadn’t charged for it as they decided it was the equivalent of serving me water which attracts no charge. As I’d collected the money from my friends I went and paid the bill and gave a tip the equivalent of the cost of an extra cup of coffee and the waiter looked astonished when I said it was a tip and I didn’t want change.

[Thoth-Amon]

At restaurants 10-15 percent. At bars a hell of a lot more say $1.00-1.50 for a drink, price of drink rounded up to $5.00. On average drinks where I go are in the $3.50 range. By tipping so much at a bar I am guaranteed to always have a drink.

[Janos]

I'm in the 15-20% range. I won't penalize for bad service, but I'll definately talk to the manager if I feel the server is responsibile, or if the server doesn't provide an explanation and leaves me hanging.

[Schizm]

I tip, and tip well except for exceptionally bad service.

Recent good experience: little Italian restaurant, nice waitress, was not upset about my kid making a mess, talked directly to my 3 year old, wasn't pushy, made real recommendations when we asked for them. Tip: 25%.

recent bad experience: Shitty late night IHOP. waiter was slow, got the orders wrong after we had to repeat them twice, didn't refill drinks, forgot part of the order and we couldn't get him until he brought the bill. Tip: 5%.

[Black Angel]

To give you an idea of the cultural difference:

I was in a café the other day and all my friends had coffee but I asked if they could make me a hot water with lemon and honey even though it wasn’t on the menu. They picked a lemon from the lemon tree in the courtyard made me the drink which was very yummy and then when we got the bill discovered that they hadn’t charged for it as they decided it was the equivalent of serving me water which attracts no charge. As I’d collected the money from my friends I went and paid the bill and gave a tip the equivalent of the cost of an extra cup of coffee and the waiter looked astonished when I said it was a tip and I didn’t want change.

That's pretty much a good example there of the Australian attitude. I guess where I do tip, it's usually if I'm at a big table of people & we're splitting the bill and can't be bothered to work out the small change. It's certainly not in terms of % of the bill. I will also leave coin change as a tip when I've been given good service. Coopers is pretty against it though...

Also, I think in general Australians are not expected to tip, so like Atticus has said, the wages are higher than the American equivalent to compensate. Anyone giving a large tip would pretty much surprise most staff I think.

[Atticus_of_Amber]

That's pretty much a good example there of the Australian attitude. I guess where I do tip, it's usually if I'm at a big table of people & we're splitting the bill and can't be bothered to work out the small change. It's certainly not in terms of % of the bill. I will also leave coin change as a tip when I've been given good service. Coopers is pretty against it though...

Also, I think in general Australians are not expected to tip, so like Atticus has said, the wages are higher than the American equivalent to compensate. Anyone giving a large tip would pretty much surprise most staff I think.

I agree with both the chick with the wings and the dead girl.

[bunny]

I'm in the 15-20% range. I won't penalize for bad service, but I'll definately talk to the manager if I feel the server is responsibile, or if the server doesn't provide an explanation and leaves me hanging.

This is where I stand.

Used to be I'd usually just double gst (7% of total) and round up. But now that they've lowered the gst to 6%, I have to just do crazy math in my head. Not usually easy on the fly, but okay when paying by credit card.


My big problem lately has been tipping for pickup orders for office lunches. I usually try to hit around 10% (easy to calculate) but it's sometimes difficult to find the change, especially when I'm low on petty cash. It's especially frustrating when I've mannaged to tip the full 10% only to get back to the office and find out I've been shorted an order or the orders haven't been labled and it's something odd like thai food where I can't figure out what's what (like spicy green curry with chicken vs mild green curry with lamb).

[Dacke]

Also, I think in general Australians are not expected to tip, so like Atticus has said, the wages are higher than the American equivalent to compensate. Anyone giving a large tip would pretty much surprise most staff I think.
Same here, but from the other side of the world. I mean, if I get a bill for 96 kr or so I leave a 100-bill and walk away, but I don't do the whole percentage-based tip thing.

[Goblin Girl]

I tip 10% - 15% for average service. Less for bad service, more for excellent. "Average" service means actually bringing me what I ordered, and refilling my drink glass once or twice.

[FeatsofClay]

Twice yesterday I had a customer come in and ask "Is it true you can dance? Show me how to X" I tangoed with one lady and showed another how to do a Vienese Waltz (stopping each time to find and play appropriate music)

One lunch guest came in with a painting which I did recent market research on and gave her an estimated auction price.

Another was asking me to let 35 pre-schoolers come through.

All of this was outside my normal job waitering. Noones food sat more than 15-20 seconds without me getting and delivering it.

This area rocks for so many reasons but the tipping is horrid.

[EhtoZed]

Tipping is nothing but a scam so employers can avoid paying their empoyees fair wages.

There's something wrong when McDonalds pay a higher wage then Chez Frenchy's.

[FeatsofClay]

Tipping is nothing but a scam so employers can avoid paying their empoyees fair wages.


I am the employer.

[EhtoZed]

I am the employer.
Then why are you working for tips!?

[Martin]

I'm going to possibly surprise a number of people. I don't tend to tip. However this goes back into the fact that I currently live in Australia where the culture is most definitely different. I'll touch on that in a second

As those people who have met me in the States can tell you, I do tip and I do tip well. In fact, service would have to be absolutely wretched for me to go under 15%. I will penalize for very bad service, but again, it must be very bad. (I did meter one waiter who provided us with almost no service whatsoever past taking our order (I watched him fawn over the next table over for most of the meal) down to 5%, at which point I got up, walked over to the counter, asked for my bill, paid for it and we left.)

As to the difference between the States and Australians in tipping, I've actually got into arguments with friends and co-workers over it. The argument that often comes up is that most of the people don't feel like they should have to pay more money for something for which they've already paid. This is a fair argument, but it fails to take into account something very basic. In the U.S., that level of service you're getting from the wait staff hasn't already been factored into your meal, at least, not completely. That's the reason why you tip, not so much out of generosity, but because you haven't actually paid for that aspect of your meal.

I think that the idea of having multiple costs applied to a single item is abhorrent in many ways to the Australian mindset. Compare the American sales tax structure to the Australian one. GST (Goods and Services Tax) didn't come into existence until recently (within the last decade if I'm correct) and it's a flat 10% that's already generally added into the price that you see on the sticker. In the States, we generally give the base price and whatever taxes from the state, county & city get tacked on afterwards. As a result, we're paying the same basic thing, however, we're just paying it in a different way.

[cnath.rm]

Another question to bring up is the meaning of the word, (or at least what my father told me years ago the meaning was) To Insure Promptness.

Myself I'd like a system where I could choose what kind of service I got, sometimes I just want my food and I'm good till I call for the bill, sometimes I'd like to have an attentive waiter(ess) and see no problem rewarding the change in service.

I saw a commercial years ago where a restaurant was packed with a lot of people trying to get the attention of the one waitress, one businessman said "Waitress, we're in a hurry, and we tip well..."
She responded, "How well?"
He replied "15%" To which another patron promised more then that for the faster service and a bidding war ensued with the fastest service going to those who were wiling to pay for it.

Of course, I'm also the bastard who would be amused by putting a large tip in cash on the table at the start of things to let the waitstaff know what the ceiling was, and then subtracting as things went along if they didn't go well.

At one restaurant where I used to go regularly, I had a situation where the waitress I got was one I had dealt with a lot over the years and she was having to cover a couple of peoples tables, so I upped her tip just because she was having a really stressful/crappy day and the service I normally got was really good so I knew it wasn't her fault.

I've seen waitstaff who were credits to the establishments and to the profession, and I've seen some who... weren't.

[Bagpuss]

Todays total sales from lunch- $128.

Todays total tips- $4

Todays toal of people who said they had "The best lunch ever" or "the best meal in Bluefield"- 7


Depends what's sort of place is Bluefield?

I tend to tip around 10% in a restaurant, but with a minimum wage in the UK now, and the price of meals in the UK being already unreasonable compared with other parts of the world I occasionally tip less now.

In a cab I tend to tip up to the nearest £1.

At a bar, I occasionally leave the change but never more than say 50p on a two drink order. Most of the time nothing.

[FeatsofClay]

Depends what's sort of place is Bluefield?


11,000 in town, 60,000 in the immediate area (border town)

O ther than that I am not really sure how to answer your question. :)

[Xavier Lang]

I tip based upon things under the server's control. I've had too many friend in the service industry I can't imagine not tipping. I've watched people pay there share of rent in singles because they were a waiter.

[Bagpuss]

I am the employer.

Perhaps that's why people aren't tipping because they know the employer is dipping into them rather than it going direct to the worker? Or are you like the owner and waiter of some small cafe?

[FeatsofClay]

Perhaps that's why people aren't tipping because they know the employer is dipping into them rather than it going direct to the worker? Or are you like the owner and waiter of some small cafe?

Owner/waiter/gallery manager/rental manager/rep for all of the above. :)

[Bagpuss]

11,000 in town, 60,000 in the immediate area (border town)

O ther than that I am not really sure how to answer your question. :)

Sorry I thought that was the name of the establishment, what sort of establishment is it, were is it located, what sort of customers do you get?

I don't for example expect many tips in a say a greasy spoon cafe that mainly deals with students.

[FeatsofClay]

Sorry I thought that was the name of the establishment, what sort of establishment is it, were is it located, what sort of customers do you get?



Ah! Makes much more sense now. :)

Gallery/cafe. Historic downtown area. Mostly lawyers, bankers and rich housewives for lunch.

[doc]

About 15% or the amount of the Tax which is about the same. if the service is real good 20% and if it sucks 5% (I always leave something). Worst tip I've left was a penny at Denny's and the waitress was never there (spent time BSing to her BF at another table) and when she was she coped an attitude.

[IllusionJunkie]

When tipping I usually go above and beyond... this is because I'm likely to suck down my drink faster than the wait staff can get me another. If my cup stays full and I don't have to wait or call you over to refill, big bonus.

I once had a waitress give me my own pitcher.... loved it! and it reflected in my tip.

Probably the lowest I've left is $1 if it's truely horrible service. I also never tip if I go in a pick up my food from a restaurant. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to or not, but it seems silly... all you did was get my order correct.

I can say that I never realized I was supposed to tip my barber until several years ago. This man has been cutting my hair since I can remember so it just never came up. After I realized, I started giving him huge tips to make up for lost time... I've come down to normal now though.

[Lucita]

I have absolutely no head for numbers, so I just skip the whole "15%" thing and tip what I think is fair. Usually $2-3 for delivary or standard restaurent meal, upwards as quality of food and service increase.

[cnath.rm]

I have absolutely no head for numbers, so I just skip the whole "15%" thing and tip what I think is fair. Usually $2-3 for delivary or standard restaurent meal, upwards as quality of food and service increase.I had the same problem, then I started just figuring out what 10% was (a much easier calc) and then adding half that amount again to come with 15%. :)

[Freedom Canadian]

About 15% or the amount of the Tax which is about the same.

This used to work here but last year, they lowered the tax rates. I'm betting people are tipping slightly less on average now. A lot of people use that trick. :)

[Ancalagon]

15-20%. If the service was good I make sure it's close to 20, if it was mediocre then it's more like 10-15. Bad service? 5-10, and I don't return.

[Cat of Ulthar]

I tip. I used to work in a bar. Man, do I tip.

In the Netherlands, bar staff and waiters get usually minimum wage, which is not to write home about, but ok. However, I loved my tips. I would save up all my tip money in a special tin and use it to buy shoes or clothes or trips or something, it was a proper gift from the customers to me. Tips would differ from ten cents to once 110 euros (this was the football season and I had been working my arse off) per night. As I only got paid 6,50 an hour I tripled my money that night.

I always tip restaurants, bars, taxis and food delivery. I have a minimum of 10 %.

As to the bluehairs tipping: The summer before I went to university I got a camping cleaning job. Not great work, but it involved spraying hoses of cold water over my colleagues so it was kinda fun. At one point, this old lady came when four of us were cleaning a toilet building. She remarked at how hard we were working on such a warm day, and handed one of us a guilder (approximately half a dollar), and told her she should buy all four of us an ice cream. We had deserved it.

[there_is_no_bob]

As to the bluehairs tipping: The summer before I went to university I got a camping cleaning job. Not great work, but it involved spraying hoses of cold water over my colleagues so it was kinda fun. At one point, this old lady came when four of us were cleaning a toilet building. She remarked at how hard we were working on such a warm day, and handed one of us a guilder (approximately half a dollar), and told her she should buy all four of us an ice cream. We had deserved it.

When I'm old enough to pull it off, I think I'm gonna do stuff like this.


Only I'll give 'em amounts of money that wouldn't have bought anything, even when I was young. And tell them to go buy themself something at some place that never existed, but by god, I swear it's just over there...



At least on the days when I'm not in my rocking chair, telling kids to get off my damn lawn. ...I think I'm looking forward to old age a little too much.:confused:

[Bagpuss]

Ah! Makes much more sense now. :)

Gallery/cafe. Historic downtown area. Mostly lawyers, bankers and rich housewives for lunch.

Hmm most cafe's in the UK tend to be self service, so I rarely tip in them.

In the ones where you do get service I probably won't tip if all you are bringing me is a coke and a sandwich and then I'm out of there. One visit is hardly waiting on. If I was having a full three course meal I'm going to tip.

But then the minimum wage comes into it again, although saying that employers can pay less than the minimum wage if the remainder gets made up by tips on a single-payroll scheme. It's all a little complex.

I suppose it doesn't help someone who is self employed though.

[Atropine Mama]

I tip lots. It's a factored in part of eating/hair salon/etc. service. If I can't afford to tip well, assuming the service is on par with my expectations, then I shouldn't be going out to eat/getting my hair done/whatever. If something is bad enough for me to not want to tip well, then I should speak with the manager, and I do.

As far as eating out goes, part of those tips are sympathy for the waitstaff having to deal with my kids. Even when kids behave, they're not something your average waiter or waitress looks forward to. :D

[Dark Jezter]

I'm a good tipper. 20% is the average amount of my tips, with 25% for good service. On a few occasions I've given 30% tips when the service was exceptionally good.

The wait staff at the resturants I frequent love me. I never have to wait for very long to get my drink refilled. :)

[GreyOne]

Remember when we had that big discussion about tipping and waiters?

[TiQuinn]

Remember when we had that big discussion about tipping and waiters?


You still have that "Green Lantern-like" list of the non-tippers?

[GreyOne]

You still have that "Green Lantern-like" list of the non-tippers?

Nope. I remember there was also a discussion about cell phones and somehow it was all related.

[Dr_Avalanche]

In the US, I did the 15% standard, more if service is good, less if it's bad, but rarely less than 10. In Stockholm at sit down restaurants there's no obligation to tip, but it's becoming customary to tip around 10% if you got what you expected. Elsewhere in the country, I would say tips are more unusual, typically reserved for truly exceptional service.