Current Events > Is 15% before tax and excluding alcohol an acceptable tip at a restaurant?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Curious to see what CE thinks.

Edit: meant to say "excluding alcohol" in the poll question, but I forgot to change it there.
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excluding alcohol? why?
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you can decide for yourself whats acceptable, but thats a shitty tip
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Balrog0 posted...

excluding alcohol? why?

Spoilers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrQwN8JorDk
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Balrog0 posted...

excluding alcohol? why?

I would guess because it adds a lot to the bill and therefore disproportionately affects the tip.

Which is bullshit but this whole topic is bullshit imo
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i divide the pre-tax total by 10, double it and then round up to the nearest dollar because i'm a nice guy
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Why can;'t you people just include service costs in the hourly pay? Its not that fucking complicated and saves everyone this stupid shit.
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Just dont tip at all and tell the waiter to get a real job.
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15% including tax and alcohol at minimum (for acceptable service)

Really it should be 20% all included, but 15% is fine if you're struggling.
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There's no excuse to NOT tip 20% on the entire bill. The only exception is if the waiter/waitress was exceptionally awful.

if you can't afford to tip 20% on the bill, don't eat out.
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Scaramanga posted...

Just dont tip at all and tell the waiter to get a real job.

Why tell it when you can write it on the bill in the tip line. ^_^
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I'd say tip 15% on the entire bill, including tax and especially alcohol
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Its 2018 who drinks yeast feces anymore?

I usually tip between 20-40%, but Im a bartender and know how it is.

But, yeah, its a stupid premise in general. Unfortunately, if servers and bartenders got paid a wage instead, they would probably make a lot less money, and yet another industry would fall below the poverty line.
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spincr posted...

Why can;'t you people just include service costs in the hourly pay? Its not that fucking complicated and saves everyone this stupid shit.

^^^Bingo!
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EnragedSlith posted...

I usually tip between 20-40%, but Im a bartender and know how it is.

But, yeah, its a stupid premise in general. Unfortunately, if servers and bartenders got paid a wage instead, they would probably make a lot less money, and yet another industry would fall below the poverty line.

Depends on the restaurant really. Like when I worked in Vegas, there was absolutely no way I could make that much money on an hourly wage. I was raking in the dough. But in my hometown? I'd probably make more money if they'd switch to just an hourly wage.
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I generally cook at home more these days anyway, but I'm curious what CE thinks.
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EvalAngell posted...

There's no excuse to NOT tip 20% on the entire bill. The only exception is if the waiter/waitress was exceptionally awful.

if you can't afford to tip 20% on the bill, don't eat out.

No one should feel bad about leaving a 15% tip. The cooks at restaurants often make minimum wage for significantly harder worker, with servers making more than double what they are. Get out of here with that high horse shit.
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Giant_Aspirin posted...

i divide the pre-tax total by 10, double it and then round up to the nearest dollar because i'm a nice guy

There are restaurants in NYC that are doing this now. The issue is state law prevents restaurants from sharing tips with back of house staff so restaurants were struggling to find cooks and a lot of cooks were turning over to being servers since they could make significantly more for easier work. IMO that's how it should be everywhere and it makes no sense to tip the person who carried the food to you and not the person who made i.t
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They make minimum wage because they're often illegal immigrants working under the table. Anytime I go to an "italian restaurant" and catch a peek into the kitchen I see a bunch of Spanish cooks.
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Solid Snake07 posted...

you can decide for yourself whats acceptable, but thats a shitty tip

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spincr posted...

Why can;'t you people just include service costs in the hourly pay? Its not that fucking complicated and saves everyone this stupid shit.

Because then the quality of service goes down and you just have higher menu prices while servers get paid less. Everyone loses.
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EvalAngell posted...

There's no excuse to NOT tip 20% on the entire bill. The only exception is if the waiter/waitress was exceptionally awful.

if you can't afford to tip 20% on the bill, don't eat out.

Stupid post
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Perascamin posted...

EvalAngell posted...

There's no excuse to NOT tip 20% on the entire bill. The only exception is if the waiter/waitress was exceptionally awful.

if you can't afford to tip 20% on the bill, don't eat out.

Stupid post

you sound broke. Stop eating out and stick to your PB&J sandwiches and Ramen.
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10% is average/base. 20% is good service/you can afford it. 15% is fine. Beyond 20% is quite generous. Less than 10% is being a jerk/you shouldnt be eating out.
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Perascamin posted...

EvalAngell posted...

There's no excuse to NOT tip 20% on the entire bill. The only exception is if the waiter/waitress was exceptionally awful.

if you can't afford to tip 20% on the bill, don't eat out.

Stupid post

Don't go out and use services if you can't afford to pay for them. It's simple.
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Depends on the level of service you received tbh.
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I hate the idea of tipping at percentages. It just doesnt make sense. If you can go to a Dennys and order a shit ton of stuff from their $2-4-6-8 menu and have the waiter walking constantly back and forth to your table and pay 20% youd still be paying little compared to going to Red Lobster and ordering one expensive meal.

Red Lobster isnt even a fancy restaurant yet their pricing is much higher than a Dennys. So what sense does it make to tip someone more for less work if all they did was bring you a steamed crab? Vs the Dennys person who brought you bottomless pancakes every couple of minutes or whatever

I just tend to tip whatever I feel like is appropriate. That tends to be somewhere between 10-25%. My wife isnt a fan of how I genuinely expect good service and if Im not satisfied it actually affects the tip. She was a server for a couple of years so she feels like everyone inherently deserves 20%. So my wife tends to be the one that leaves tips since I dont carry cash. Shell be like oh Ill leave the tip and acts like I dont know why lol
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2SweetforTurtle posted...

I hate the idea of tipping at percentages. It just doesnt make sense. If you can go to a Dennys and order a shit ton of stuff from their $2-4-6-8 menu and have the waiter walking constantly back and forth to your table and pay 20% youd still be paying little compared to going to Red Lobster and ordering one expensive meal.

Red Lobster isnt even a fancy restaurant yet their pricing is much higher than a Dennys. So what sense does it make to tip someone more for less work if all they did was bring you a steamed crab? Vs the Dennys person who brought you bottomless pancakes every couple of minutes or whatever

Same here, I mean really how is carrying a steak to my table worth a better tip compared to carrying a plate of spaghetti? By the same token, why should they get a smaller tip just because I ordered water instead of tea/soda? They still do the same walking back and forth to refill my drink.
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I tip between 50 and 100% to women servers because #yesallwomen.
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I tend to tip 20% rounded up to the nearest dollar at a restaurant and 1-2 dollars a drink if I'm at a bar.
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The "it should be higher" option is now almost down to 40% of the vote. D:
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I do around 20% but with a $3 minimum at a sitdown restaurant. So if my bill is $13 or $14 for example I'll tip 3.

I like when waiters defend the racket they make bank on.

Ill tip what I tip. Dont you dare tell me that I shouldnt support a local business if I dont want to buy the waitress an iPhone.

r4X0r posted...

spincr posted...

Why can;'t you people just include service costs in the hourly pay? Its not that fucking complicated and saves everyone this stupid shit.

Because then the quality of service goes down and you just have higher menu prices while servers get paid less. Everyone loses.

Despite what youd expect, its been shown that switching from tipping to hourly wages does not reduce service quality, in fact.
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r4X0r posted...

spincr posted...

Why can;'t you people just include service costs in the hourly pay? Its not that fucking complicated and saves everyone this stupid shit.

Because then the quality of service goes down and you just have higher menu prices while servers get paid less. Everyone loses.

The cooks who can now make a humane wage dont lose. Why does everyone like to pretend they dont exist?
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