Tipping Norms

[Jeepnokc]

This came up in another thread and was curious as to other people's opinion. Especially after talking to a friend that is a bartender at a nice cocktail bar. What is your normal tipping amount? Does it change from a restaurant to a bar (ie...eating dinner and being waited on versus just getting drinks? Do you tip less if it counter service versus table service? Do you tip different amounts depending on level of establishment (waffle house versus mickey mantles)?

Also, how old are you if you don't mind sharing. I thought the norm was 20% but according to my bartender friend, the norm is about 10% but the older patrons tip closer to 20% as norm.

[FighttheGoodFight]

15% is the lowest I have ever given and that was for bad service. I can't bring myself to just not tip. 18 to 20% is normal. The only time I don't really tip is when I do To-Go orders. I don't really see why I need to.

For drinks I do a dollar a drink unless the service is extremely good.

[Roger S]

Just turned 50 a few days ago and I either double the tax or up to 20%.... On a rare occasion I may tip higher but it takes some exceptional service or if I've come into some unexpected money.

[Jersey Boss]

Counter service- no tip
Bar, getting beer on tap- 15%. If I get one on "the house" tip goes up. Mixed drink is usually whiskey and water, 15%.
Table service regardless of level of establishment-20%
Tap room run by the owner or any other place that the owner serves-no tip.
Pick up order- no tip
64yoa

[pure]

I usually do 20% and round up, IE: if 20% of the bill is $4.62, I'll just leave a $5.00 tip. I may round down if I get bad service, but luckily not very typical.

For work, I'm only allowed to tip 15% on my corporate card.

to add to the conversation, what do you guys tip at a buffet? 20% seems too much to me when I'm getting my own food. If I go to a Chinese buffet, I may only leave a dollar on an $8 check.

[aDark]

Order food at a counter and clean up after myself - no tip
Order food at a counter but they bring me food and they clean up - 10%
Ordering drinks at a bar - 20% norm with 25% for good service
Table service - 20% norm with 25% for good service or a little more because my one-year-old just threw his on the ground and I can't clean it up.
Tap Room - same as ordering drinks at a bar
Pick up to-go from restaurant - ~10%. When I bar-tended at a restaurant in college I did not expect any tip for to-go foods. I only tip on to-go pickup b/c my friends tell me it is the norm. Changing times I guess

The hardest is Sonic. I don't ever have any cash or loose change. I want to tip the carhop as I know running food to cars in the elements can be grueling and pays little. Sonic needs to allow credit card users to tip. Feels bad and I rarely go to Sonic as I don't want to leave the carhop hanging. (drive thru resolves this issue)

Edited to add 31-years-old. Worked in the service industry throughout college.

[Thomas Vu]

TIp 20% unless at a buffet , then I tip 10. In my 30's

[OKCbyTRANSFER]

I'm not a fan of the country top tip jar we see in so many establishments. I find those very awkward honestly

[MadMonk]

Generally for any restaurant where I'm being waited on, it's 20% across the board unless it's my daughter waiting on me, then it's close to 50%.

For counter service, I generally don't tip. However, if it's a situation where I'm asking for advice or recommendations on a menu item or something I'll give a little bit, maybe 10% or so if they are good about it. That seems fair to me.

I'm curious more about HOW you're tipping these days. Do you add it to your credit or debit card slip, or do you leave cash? I try to leave cash as much as possible, but I carry less and less of it these days.

[Jeepnokc]

The hardest is Sonic. I don't ever have any cash or loose change. I want to tip the carhop as I know running food to cars in the elements can be grueling and pays little. Sonic needs to allow credit card users to tip. Feels bad and I rarely go to Sonic as I don't want to leave the carhop hanging. (drive thru resolves this issue).

I have started going some to Sonic to get a limeades now that you can order from the app and get 1/2 off all the time. I am also frustrated that the app does not allow you an option to tip either.

[Jersey Boss]

I also make it a point to tip using cash.

[jerrywall]

I typically tip on a card. I'd prefer to tip cash, but rarely have the cash on hand (or if I do, it's a couple of 20's). So unless the total works out right, it ends up easier to put it on the card. I'm of two minds about it, since I've worked on both ends of a tip pool.

[Johnb911]

I'm 34 and from this general area of the country (I think that probably plays into it)

I try to do around 20% (rounded to the nearest whole dollar amount) if I'm at a restaurant and being waited on. Counter service (like the Garage), takeout (Panang 2....mmmmmmmm) or drinks at a bar is going to be more like 10%. I also usually don't tip on the taxed amount but the bill before tax.

Better service and the tip goes up up up! Or, if my kids are being particularly awful, well then there's usually a guilt tip in there.

[Libbymin]

15% is the lowest I have ever given and that was for bad service. I can't bring myself to just not tip. 18 to 20% is normal. The only time I don't really tip is when I do To-Go orders. I don't really see why I need to.

For drinks I do a dollar a drink unless the service is extremely good.

For to-go orders, if it's the type of situation where it's a restaurant where the bartender or waiter is going out of their way to bring my food as opposed to someone checking me out at a counter, then I will often times tip 10%.

[TheirTheir]

If everything I need is completed in a reasonable amount of time, I tip 20% - as should be standard.
If I know the server, or the server has clearly gone out of their way to make my experience better, I tip more accordingly.
If I have a bad experience that I am certain the server is at fault, I tip 10%.

I don't try to rationalize tipping less. Every bartender and server in America expects a 20% tip for doing their job correctly. If your drink is $12 and you tip 1 dollar, you are not tipping enough. I'm sure those of you who tip this way will not like being told that, but it's the truth. You are not tipping your bartenders enough and if you are a regular, that is the first thing they remember about you when you walk in.

[jerrywall]

Well then coin beer night must be hell on them...

[Bullbear]

47 here.
I pretty much time 20% across the board for drinks at bar or dining.
for a great experience provided by server or bartender then it increases from 20%
Counter service I still tip closer to 10% depending on setup if I am also clearing my own tray then less or not at all.
If you are a regular at any bar and get occasional comps then you can bet your tipping well enough. and I'd say I'm over 20% on bars I frequent and get comps.

[schrist]

if everything i need is completed in a reasonable amount of time, i tip 20% - as should be standard.
If i know the server, or the server has clearly gone out of their way to make my experience better, i tip more accordingly.
If i have a bad experience that i am certain the server is at fault, i tip 10%.

I don't try to rationalize tipping less. Every bartender and server in america expects a 20% tip for doing their job correctly. If your drink is $12 and you tip 1 dollar, you are not tipping enough. I'm sure those of you who tip this way will not like being told that, but it's the truth. You are not tipping your bartenders enough and if you are a regular, that is the first thing they remember about you when you walk in.

This! This! This!

[Jeepnokc]

If everything I need is completed in a reasonable amount of time, I tip 20% - as should be standard.
If I know the server, or the server has clearly gone out of their way to make my experience better, I tip more accordingly.
If I have a bad experience that I am certain the server is at fault, I tip 10%.

I don't try to rationalize tipping less. Every bartender and server in America expects a 20% tip for doing their job correctly. If your drink is $12 and you tip 1 dollar, you are not tipping enough. I'm sure those of you who tip this way will not like being told that, but it's the truth. You are not tipping your bartenders enough and if you are a regular, that is the first thing they remember about you when you walk in.

What if the service is being lessened but the pricing isn't? You have to get your own water from a water stand or you no longer have a server at the table to take drink orders, refill waters, and take away dirty glasses but are forced to go to the bar to order or and get your own refills .....do you still tip the same 20%? What justifies the 20% when they aren't providing anything other than counter service when you tip 20% at other establishments in the same price range that have servers that take your order, gives you water, and takes away dirty glasses? (This is the question that prompted me to start thread)

[TheirTheir]

What if the service is being lessened but the pricing isn't? You have to get your own water from a water stand or you no longer have a server at the table to take drink orders, refill waters, and take away dirty glasses but are forced to go to the bar to order or and get your own refills .....do you still tip the same 20%? What justifies the 20% when they aren't providing anything other than counter service when you tip 20% at other establishments in the same price range that have servers that take your order, gives you water, and takes away dirty glasses? (This is the question that prompted me to start thread)

The 20% is only standard for good old-fashioned table service. If I'm at Cafe 501, where you order at the counter, take a number and then your order is delivered to you, I will usually tip a dollar on my credit card slip. They do fill your drinks there.

I suppose I adhere to the viewpoint that the food industry is notoriously annoying and if my extra dollar helps out the young folks working there, I'm happy to do it. However, I admittedly have a limited understanding of how pay is structured at these ever-common counter service style restaurants that are popping up. I'm not thrilled by them.

[Bill Robertson]

I have, just recently in fact, tipped as low as 10%. I pretty much was ignored that day so my wallet ignored her. That very seldom happens. Usually 20 to 25% on the grand total so that actually makes it more than that. If I get really exceptional service from someone that really seems to want to be there serving I go up from there. It’s not completely unknown for me to tip 35 to 40%.

[BBatesokc]

I’m pretty much a 15-20% tipper for good service. If the service is bad, then I don’t tip (Why anyone rewards bad service is beyond me).

EXCEPTIONS; Counter service, no tip. To go orders, no tip unless prepping the to go is complex (this is rare). Haircut, 50%. Buffet, no tip. Delivery, 20-30% tip.

I also hate when they basically shame you into tipping - either with a jar in your face, presenting you with a payment screen where you have to decline a tip or the rare occasion the staff literally verbally solicits a tip.

Though I rarely see this anymore (except at Mexican restaurants, where it’s understandable) I get really annoyed when restaurants charge a fee for sharing a meal.

[jerrywall]

Gotta ask... Haircut, 50%? Is this the norm. Growing up, it was a dollar with a $5 barber cut. Obviously, I know that's changed, but I'm used to tipping $2-3 dollars when I take my kids to get cut. I sure hope my wife isn't tipping 50% with her stylist. Might explain where the money goes...

Oh, on the buffet. Back when my kids were younger, we'd always leave a tip on the table when we ate out as a family. We don't do buffets anymore, but if we did at this point, I wouldn't feel as inclined to tip (as we wouldn't create a mess).

[OkiePoke]

What about at coffee shops? I don't tip here.

[Easy180]

20% for waiters and waitresses and $1 per drink if I’m just grabbing a drink to go at a bar.