Tips on tipping

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Harbourboy and Cesard mentioned in another thread that tipping practices vary from country to country. Is it true that in the U.S. it's expected that you tip? What about in other countries?

In my country there's usually a built in 10% service charge and extra tipping is optional.

 

Tips are not built into the bill in the US, although some places will add an automatic gratuity for large parties. The standard is 15%, adjusted up or down to recognize the quality of the service (or, if I think we've been a difficult table ).

There are guidelines out there for how to tip properly, everyone from the shampoo girl at the salon to a waitron to your dog-walker...

 

When I was in the US I discovered:

Great service (friendly, helpful etc) - 15% or more

Okay service (brings your food, nothing more) - 10%

Bad service (ignorant and rude) - 5%

In Ireland we usually leave 10% for excellent service and not a single penny for standard, and expecially bad service.

 

In Australia I am quite sure that no one tips - it's just not something that happens...

 

Aye, here it's 15% however most people gives the equivalent of the taxes. Some people even go up to 20%.

Also here when the services is really bad we only give a single cent.

 

Here it is pretty much a given that you will give 15%. If you get really exceptional service you might go slightly higher but people look at you like you are some sort of demonspawn if you don't leave 15% regardless of how bad the service might be.

 

JSBB - Yes that happened to me. I had a rude waitress that made fun of my accent and I was not going to leave anything, and people were saying 'What the hell is wrong with you!' Well I was in a different country, so I left 10%, but I would never do that here.

 

No tipping over here.

 

No tipping here either, unless the service is of a magnitude you've never witnessed before, or maybe at some posh restaurant or something.

 

In Bulgaria you don't have a convention for tipping, although often if your bill is something like 17 leva you can just leave 20 leva and leave. I've seen some places with "service" extra percentage for larger groups, but normally that's not expected.

 

Tipping is expected but not forced. Unless we went to a really good restaurant, we just leave the change. Or nothing at all, that is also no problem. Even then 15% is probably the upper limit.

 

If you receive lousy service leave a very small amount. Over here if you leave nothing it can be assumed that you just forgot but if you leave a wee bit the server should know something was wrong. Not that it would really help.

At the London hotel I stayed in we were told we didn't need to tip but the (forgot what they were called) guys who did things for you were so great I went to their chief, told him/her I wanted to tip them. Which I did. The guys had actually refused tips! What is a poor USAian to think?

 

Personally I would think that the guys had some pride in doing their job and felt that there was no need for some extra reward as incentive for them to do so.

During my years of public accounting I often had clients try to give me gifts as a reward for a job well done and I always politely turned them down - but then again to do so was required as part of my profession's code of conduct.

 

JSBB, remember I live in a country where tipping is carried to extremes. Plus the fact that my mother was a waitress. She was paid very little and expected to make it up with tips. Without those tips she would not have had enough to feed a mouse much less me.

i think it is great that tipping is not so prevalent elsewhere but it was a form of culture shock.

 

With prices like we have overhere, i don't think anyone expects tips anymore.

 

I wish I could afford to tip

 

Sorry to disagree, but 15% is standard throughout the US for average service in restaurants. A bare minimum for excellent service is 20%. Many restaurants have noted this and charge a manditory 18% for large groups.

Most waitresses and waiters only make a fraction of the minimum wage here in the states and the tipping makes up the remainder of their wages. The US government assumes the average tip is 8% and taxes the waitstaff personal based on that.

Even with poor service I'll generally leave 2-3% to cover the amount the waiter or waitress is being charged for taxes -- rude service gets one penny.

For other services, such as taxi's, you get away with 10%. It is also customary to give $1 per bag handled to cab drivers, shuttle bus drivers, and valets.

 

Is tipping really defined on a country to country basis? I think it depends on the person and their habits more.

Just eating out with my family over the years has taught me to tip 10% in restaurants. We pay the tip by overpaying the bill by 10% and leaving. Or overpay, then take some of the change back. We're not really used to the custom of leaving money on the table. I mean, some adventurer might come along and snatch it right?

 

If service were included, I wouldn't normally give an extra tip. Without service included, I might leave a 10% extra but not necessarily so. I would grudgingly leave such a customary 10% if they didn't put it on the bill but gave me to understand I should leave it, but I wouldn't return to that place.

Also, I would never give a tip if the price had already been overblown. Or if the service failed to be friendly and trying to keep me happy. BS prices mean no tips. Grudging service means no tips. Bad comments from the service mean a complaint.

Sometimes, I round it up, or say that no charge is needed or even better just move on without waiting for change (I suppose this is more comfortable than having to look extremely thankful for a couple of coins). Or I tell them how much charge I want. For example, the stylist got a 40% tip today this way. But damn was I a pain in the side of a customer.

 

Fúck tips. They get paid for their job, just like I do. Tipping is wrong, IMO.