But if there is no expectation to tip (counter service, grocery store workers, gas station workers) why does it matter if they order something hard, or a lot of food, or mispronounce something? My daughter works at Starbucks. She gets paid exactly the same if someone orders a Venti triple pump, no foam, extra hot, with 2 Stevias as if someone orders a Tall black coffee. She’s there, she’s working, she’s paid for her time. Who should be mad about the ridiculous orders are the people behind them in line as they have to wait longer.
If you want to leave a tip, great, do it, but the person making your drink is not getting THAT tip. They pool all the tips for the whole week and then the employees get a share for the number of hours they worked that week. Yep, the person who works late in the afternoon during a lull gets the same percentage for one hour of work as the person (my daughter) who came in at 4 am when it is 30 below (she works in Wyoming). She doesn’t make much in tips.
But my point was really that the grocery store worker who is also making minimum wage may be working just as hard yet we can’t fix the fact that he’s not making a wage that can support a family and you can’t fix that economic situation by buying more groceries or not using coupons or leaving a tip (most can’t take tips, even for helping you to the car).
I’m not including full service workers at restaurant because they usually aren’t making minimum wage but a ‘restaurant’ wage. Here that’s significantly less than minimum wage and tipping is expected. If I go to that restaurant, I expect to tip.
I was just traveling in Europe with my son and he reminded me that tipping is not customary there. Of course people like restaurant servers etc. are paid a living wage and have health care unlike here. With that in mind, I tip very generously in the US. I know people work hard for their money, I can afford it and I would rather err on the side of overtipping.
That sounds nuts. Costa Rica is wonderful and the people are overwhelmingly helpful and patient. We were recently there and nearly everyone (in tourism areas) spoke English to us, to my S23’s dismay that he wasn’t using his Spanish as much as he’d like! Enjoy your trip!
OK, here’s a little quiz. There are no wrong answers (I think).
What would you put on the tip line of the credit card slip at a restaurant where the food totaled $82.90, the “service charge” was $16.58, the taxes were $5.81 and the total balance due was $105.29?
This was a lunch for a group of about 20 people who had a separate room away from the main dining room (if that’s pertinent). The menu did not mention anything about an automatic gratuity or service charge, and the credit card slip had the usual “suggested tip” amounts for 18%, 20% and 22%.
This is the first time I’ve come across this so I’m curious to know what others think.
Probably would have tipped 20%. Not sure what the service charge was. But that is 20% and there is a mandatory tip for large tables many times. Might have put in a little extra if the service charge is going to the server.
I would assume that the service charge was a required tip of 20% for a large party and would not feel obliged to tip further. But where did you get lunch for $5 per person?!?
Since deb922 and I interpreted the bill totally differently, maybe the thing to do would be to ask what the 20% service charge was for. Then go from there.
Haha, I edited my post because I think I did interpret the bill incorrectly.
I would ask the server and if the service charge was going to them, I would probably give a bit more.
Also if $82 was not for the entire table, it means the server was nice enough to do separate checks. And to me that would warrant a little more. Maybe $5 or so.
Because table for 20 and separate checks, lots and lots of work for the server.
I’ve also had restaurants that have a mandatory gratuity and still had a line for extra.
Or on the other hand, was this a pricey restaurant and the $82 was just for one person and the table might have been $82 x 20 - and then a heck of a lot of service charge??!
Oops, I should have been clearer! That was just our bill for one couple.
I interpreted it as a 20% tip and I understand that they can put a mandatory tip for large groups. I’m fine with that. I just wondered whether I should have added something more on the tip line. I didn’t, though, because I would have tipped 20% anyway if they hadn’t added that service charge.
I recently came back from two weeks in Japan. Tipping is just not done. I presume servers get paid a living wage. Service was impeccable everywhere whether it was noodles or fancy sushi.
Last night the restaurant we went to with a group of 7 had a different price for cash or credit. But did not add the 20% tip.
The lunch spot today had signs on the table that they added a mandatory 20% tip for table service. And they did. It wasn’t clear to us if they wanted us to order at the counter as there was a waiter at another table.
It is frustrating to figure out the true cost of a hotel room (tax, resort fee, other charges) and of an Air BnB (tax, cleaning, other charges).
We were in France in October and thought the prices of dinner in Paris were lower than in the NYC suburbs these days - especially when no tipping required.
We almost always tip 20% at dinner, maybe a bit less for lunch.
Oh that’s interesting. I think I tend to tip a little higher for breakfast/lunch than for dinner, considering that the prices are lower but it’s still basically the same amount of work for the server.
It clearly depends on the type of lunch. Often it is less work for the server to put down a sandwich or salad and nothing else rather than more than one course at dinner or spending time explaining specials, opening a bottle of wine and bringing an ice bucket. Also tend to occupy the table for a shorter time at lunch so the server has more opportunity to turn over the table. But if a long lunch or with drinks etc would then leave 20% or more. And I am talking about just a bit less (17-18%).
I’d have asked if the service charge was the tip, and if so, left it at that. If not, I’d have wanted to know what it was and who it went to and gone from there.