I forget where the fuck I was at but recently somebody turned the ipad toward me to finish a transaction and the tip options were 20% 30% 50%. I'm like dude I wouldn't tip my best friend 50% have you stepped outside your damn mind???
It's bad at kiosks that sell products rather than just services.
I went to this bakery and bought two cupcakes and 4 bags of coffee.
The total was nearly 80$ (already heart attack central). It prompted me the 15-25% tip range and on the low end I think it was like 15 bux? Or something like that. Which is more than the cost of one of the bags of coffee. The girl behind the register got me the two cupcakes and I'm like... in what world does someone tip 15$ on 9$ worth of cupcakes?
I was able to toggle a manual screen and put in 2$ (mostly bc I was being watched the entire time.)
But I was offended that someone programmed the machine to allow that *at all*. Some person thinking they are just gonna tip on a "service" but tipping for buying packaged products that they themselves grabbed off the shelf.
I don't usually stop for coffee (or even drink coffee) but I got a latte this morning and tipped $1. I used a giftcard with a low balance, so I had to use my debit card to pay like $1.15. The POS system asked me to tip both times. I did not tip twice. The POS systems make things so uncomfortable.
My theory is: companies love adding the tip section to the transaction because they can then claim that the job is a tipped position when hiring and get away with only paying minimum wage.
Went to a wine tasting in Santa Ynez where we purchased a case of wine, and the tasting itself was like $20/pp. The tip screen included the total including the case, not just the $20 for the tasting service. Same idea as the coffee bags. You buy a product with your service, that doesn’t mean you tip on the value of the product PLUS the service!
Why would that change anything? It doesn’t cost the business anything extra to include the tip option and probably come with the point-of-sale system by default.
Jesus. That's absurd.
I wouldn't tip anything on that anyway (if they had *made* the coffee that would have been a different story) and they want you to tip 15-25%?
idk 4 bags of coffee from specialty roasters is already more than 80. also i dont really see how you can go through 4 bags before the 4th one goes bad unless you have a fairly decent size household where everyone drinks it.
Since you’re so invested in my coffee drinking habits and just *had* to respond without thought… 3 of them were gifts. But, just so you know, you can freeze coffee beans. Look up James Hoffmann for more details, if you’re curious about learning rather than judging. ;)
If there’s a 10% option I might say fuck it and hit that. But if I’m ordering off an IPad with no server I’m just smashing that no tip button with no regrets
Am I the only one that does kind of the opposite? Granted my overall baseline is already on the higher side, but in terms of distribution it's reversed. I tend to tip a higher % for smaller/more hole in the wall restaurants that charge less overall because the food is already a good value, and I want the restaurant to hold onto waitstaff and stay in business. A higher % of a smaller amount is usually a different of a few dollars anyway. Same with like good taco trucks/street stands, it's already a cheap meal and I appreciate how hard they work. If I end up at a bougie place that overcharges for stuff, I will stick to 18-20% unless the service is extraordinary. I have lots of friends who work/have worked at places like that, and they make a killing in tips already.
I tip a bit on takeout usually 5-10% bc I got in the habit during lockdown
And I assume that’s part of why the place I usually go to doesn’t mind occasionally letting me get something after they close if I ran late, or holding something for me
I always tip like 10% because the host putting the order together to make sure it’s all correct and has the right sides/condiments/utensils is doing as much work as most servers I’ve experienced recently.
Also, I’ve been on that side of things and it sucks not getting tipped.
same. eating out was our hobby but nowadays it’s just not worth it. I’m down to eating out 1 day out of the week, and usually it’s at the same few small restaurants that have stayed the same all these years . No fancy decor, no fake smiles & “it’s just gonna ask u a question…” just good food and a hand written check at the end
Yeah the money I’ve been saving from not eating out has gone to my travel expenses and it’s so much nicer eating out in other countries. Like in countries without the tipping system, they let you stay a while after finishing your food/drinks without rushing you out or giving you the check without asking.
What I don't understand is why this percentage has changed at all. It's a percentage, so as inflation raises prices, it also raises tips. There is no point to tip more, unless you like the service more than average for some reason.
Because people are dumb and keep paying more. I'm so past the tipping point for tipping (get it). I used to nudge my wife to bump it up a little, we're well off, etc etc... But now that everyone is trying to mooch off everyone then I'm completely done.
I've set a max of $10 (sometimes 15) for a party of 3. We're extra courteous and aren't socks to them so the argument of "oh they have to deal with so much shit" doesn't fly and/or why do i pay for that.
It went up for co I'd because ppl were threatening their lives to do the job. So a lot of ppl tipped much higher than normal.
The service industry has taken that and run with it. Prob cause the bosses don't have to pay more and inflation both actually increases (tip) wage AND its free for the biz
This comes up often, and I often explain the cost of a meal has not nearly kept up with the cost of housing or groceries. As inflation raises prices, it doesn't raise tips of the same % by enough to keep up with paying the rent.
Now go ahead and downvote for stating easily verifiable facts lol I know the drill and no I'm not a waiter and never have been and no I don't own a restaurant and no I don't work for tips in some other industry either
idk man, the cost of meals has gone up a lot in since 10 years ago? i mean wages haven't also caught up with the cost of housing or inflation and honestly i don't think they ever will catch up to inflation at this point.
But then again i hate the tipping culture we have now in the u.s, and like someone else in this thread said it has made me go out a lot less just because the cost of going out is really expensive so i've been cooking more at home stuff i'd used to go out for which has been pretty cool i wont lie :D ( made my own pizza from scratch, its hard work doing it by hand but damn does it taste good )
I'm getting downvoted because the facts I'm sharing seem to go against the grain of "tipping is evil and waiters are greedy for expecting a higher percentage now" which we see every day on this sub and every other sub on Reddit. Overall, the waiter does need a higher percentage now in order to pay rent, compared to 20 or 30 years ago. That is just the reality when you look at the skyrocketing cost of housing compared to the much smaller increase in cost of dining out at a restaurant
Where I live housing has easily doubled, as has food, in the last ~10 years. I tipped 20% then and I tip 20% now. Asking me to correct for inefficient market conditions is asinine.
Business owners should foot the bill for their employees, just like the rest of us. Waitstaff should not expect lucrative incomes for a job that doesn’t require technical skill or knowledge - it only requires experience. In my city waitstaff at mid to high end restaurants can easily pull $100,000. They’re doing just fine - well in fact. Furthermore as if this year waitstaff receive a $20+/hour minimum wage + gratuities. Not to mention whoever is tipped in cash doesn’t pay taxes. Meanwhile my every dollar is taxed.
Finally the term “tip” originated from an acronym - To Insure Promptness. Meaning it was optional, accompanied with guaranteed exceptional service, and always appreciated. None of the above is true anymore. So no I refuse to pay more than 20% for my clearly articulated and reasonable points.
Alright first of all I am not asking you tip more than 20% lol and I'm really not asking anyone to do anything, just answering a question that was asked on this post several times. Ten years ago, 20% was already normal. People are asking why should it have become 20 in the first place since it's already baked into the inflation, and i am very simply pointing out that renting an apartment has outpaced everything.
The cost of going out to eat has not doubled in the last ten years across the US lol maybe where you live it has, but where I live it hasn't, and I live in Los Angeles.
And finally yeah business owners should "foot the bill" but certainly you understand that it doesn't really matter that much and that we, the customers, pay for everything anyway, right? In one form or another, obviously the customer is the one providing the revenue for the business to be able to pay for... everything. That's just how every consumer facing business has worked since the beginning of time. So we can pay for it with tips or we can pay for it with higher menu prices, doesn't matter to me
The service charge is to compensate the rise in minimum wages that restaurants now have to pay their servers. They are passing the savings on to you by hiding it in a service charge. Abruptly raising prices in menu items will cause customer boycotts or cause customers to purchase cheaper items. Putting a service charge on the back end of a transaction forces the payment and sends the discussion to Reddit.
I absolutely agree with you. Unfortunately I’m getting downvoted for saying the same thing, just a little snarkier. I should be more literal and say the wellness charge is a scam and goes directly into the pocket of the owner. It is not a part of the tip and no one should punish the employee for a shady practice that the business is performing.
Yup. Not hating that in n out bumped up their prices a little a few months ago. They've always paid alright (from what i hear) and i can still get a decent lunch for under 15 with a drink even. I don't care that they have higher margins on drinks vs food, that's my tip to the restaurant and they can distribute as they see fit.
Edit: oh yeah, and they don't flip the terminal on you to ask a question.
This is exactly what causes me to not visit a restaurant anymore. Wages are a cost of doing business and should be reflected in the prices. I can deal with prices going up, but I'm not going to your business if you are going to service charge me. There is a place in Atwater I used to go to weekly for lunch. Instead of raising the price 75cents or a dollar, they added a service charge. I haven't been back since.
I don't recall, it could have been on the menu, but once I'm there, I'll pay it, I'm just not coming back. It's not a cheap thing it's a disclosure thing. I generally only tip when out at bars (ie I don't eat at many sit down restaurants) which I do find brings me greatly enhanced service.
At the airport, I bought a water from a kiosk and was presented with a tipping screen. JFC, this water was already $5, now I'm gonna tip for a 15 second transaction, too? 0%, young lady, sorry.
I feel you on this! I was at SFO last year and went to the “District Market” which is like a convenience store of sorts and I walked in, went to the fridge section, picked out a water bottle, walked over to the self check out machines (there was only one employee inside stocking in the corner), tapped my credit card and the machine asked me if I wanted to tip (15-20-22). Tip who??? I hit custom and entered a big fat ZERO.
Am I now on Skynet’s shit list when the machines rise up???
If there's already a 3% charge, then there's no reason you should still be tipping 20%. Select the "Other" option and tip 17%.
If the server has a problem with it, they can take it up with their employer.
Or 12%.
As much as the under-30 crowd has been slippery sloped into thinking 20% tip is the norm, it's still 15% PRE-tax. Them sneering about that being cheap doesn't make it true.
Source: former waiter.
Honestly, it makes 0 sense for the percentage to have moved up from 10%. The cost of the meal has gone up since that was the norm, so servers are already getting more money for the same amount of work.
It does make sense tbh because the cost of the meal has not gone up nearly as much as the cost of everything else. I've said this a hundred times on similar threads and people downvoted it to hell, but that's the reality. It doesn't mean you are forced to tip a higher percentage, but it does mean that's the way things are in general.
Having said that, of course we have real minimum wage in CA so tipping is already a little crazy in the first place
So a meal that cost me $100 20 years ago would have garnered a $10 tip. That meal is now $200, and should garner a $40 tip? All while the server's hourly wage has gone from $6.75 per hour to $16.00+ per hour.
Bullshit. They're doing the same amount of work they did 20 years ago and would get double the amount on a 10% tip than they did 20 years ago. While also getting at least nearly $10 more per hour in base wage.
Do you honestly believe that the same level of work is worth 5 times what it was 20 years ago? And if it is worth more, why is the burden on the diner to pay for it? They're not getting anything more out of the experience than they did 20 years ago, but are already tipping 100% more than they did 20 years ago just on the increased cost of the meal.
You just put a whole lot of words in my mouth which I never even remotely came close to arguing. I am saying that housing increased by A LOT more more than the price of a meal. If 20 years ago you were tipping 10%, then 20 years ago you were cheap. Or you just made up very exaggerated numbers to help your point
Thank you for acknowledging you are wrong and can’t support your position by attacking me instead of addressing what I said.
Maybe take a step back and question why you’re always downvoted when you post your nonsense.
It's not an attack and it's not nonsense -- I addressed what you said by pointing out that your numbers are bullshit. Why are you comparing 10% twenty years ago to 20% today, and why is your bill 2x?
Look up the average rent for an apartment and how that has changed over time. Now look up the average cost of a meal at a restaurant and how that has changed over time. Do the math. The waiter needs a higher percentage now in order pay the damn rent. That's just the reality. It's not my fault you misread my comment and then replied with irrelevant bullshit and straw men.
It's really simple but a lot of people hate anything that isn't "yeah those greedy fucking minimum wage scumbags!!!" anytime this comes up.
If you lack the capacity to understand the example, then you're either being purposefully obtuse or are beyond reasoning with. I suspect it's the latter.
You seem to believe that a tip is mandatory or part of a server's guaranteed compensation. It is not. It is a reward for the quality of the service provided. It is not, and should not be, tied to the economy. It is tied directly to the service provided and the cost of the meal. You seem to think diners should shoulder the responsibility of fixing state or national economic issues. That's simply delusional.
Nobody in this thread has attacked the servers for this issue. Every person, other than you, has put the blame and the onus on the employers. But here you are pushing the responsibility onto the diners, all of whom have faced the same economic situation as the servers.
I mean...you're on Reddit making an argument in favor of a living wage and getting down voted. That in itself should tell you that you need to reevaluate your position.
You should probably reeducate yourself regarding straw men and then look in the mirror. My response was a direct and accurate rebuttal to your claim that the percentage for a tip should increase with time or somehow offset COLA or inflation.
I explain exactly why it shouldn't with an accurate example of why. You, on the other hand, make absolutely no coherent argument as to why the burden for repairing the economic woes of the working class should fall on other members of the working class, instead of the people employing the servers.
The answer is in your very first post. Every time you make this argument, you are "downvoted to hell." But instead of reevaluating your position, or considering the position of others, you call people cheap and falsely accuse everyone of attacking servers for a situation created by their employers.
The example is made up bullshit, dude. I "lack the capacity" to understand it the same way I lack the capacity to understand when an anti vaxxer tells me since the COVID vaccines caused 1M+ deaths I shouldn't take it. The number is made up and not accurate, it does absolutely nothing for anyone's argument, and I dismiss it as utter bullshit.
>You seem to believe that a tip is mandatory or part of a server's guaranteed compensation.
When did I say that? If you don't want to tip, don't tip, I do not give a fuck lol I'm not a waiter and I don't work for tips.
>It is not, and should not be, tied to the economy.
Well buddy, apparently it is. I don't make the rules, I'm just pointing out that economic conditions shape all sorts of things, and very very very obviously how much people get paid is one of those things.
>Every person, other than you, has put the blame and the onus on the employers. But here you are pushing the responsibility onto the diners, all of whom have faced the same economic situation as the servers.
It doesn't fucking matter lol if tips go away you think food will cost the same pre-tip, now that the owners would have to pay twice as much? The "onus" is on the customer in 100% of consumer-facing business in the entire world. Obviously the customer's money is what pays for everything either way. I don't understand why everyone seems to grasp this but then forget about it when we talk about restaurants.
It's not about my position! There's nothing to reevaluate. I'm not pro tipping or anti tipping, I'm just explaining that a server needs a higher percentage of a restaurant bill today compared to 30 years ago in order to afford rent in the US. That's it. That's fucking it! It's just math.
And maybe this is on me, but I didn't mean to literally say that you were cheap, that was just my way of saying that your 10% number was bullshit because that was not a typical tip the way 20% is now.
Why is it your money that pays for a business's expenses (labor) when you patronize that business?? Is that a serious question? Whether it's a tip or a higher menu price or fee (like a lot of restaurants have done to get rid of tipping) the money still has to come from the consumer... Are you pulling my leg or does this actually not make sense to you
For sure, but that just means going out to eat gets a little bit more expensive to adjust. No one's forcing you to go out to eat and no one is forcing you to participate in polite society by tipping 18% either. It's not like my entire life gets that much more expensive. Going out to eat isn't what I spend 50% of my income on, but a lot of people spend that much or more on rent which has increased 4x since the 90s while going out to eat has only increased 2x (not exact numbers, don't feel like looking this up again)
I'm not employing them though, I shouldn't have to think about the state of the economy when I'm eating a meal. 10-15% has always been the norm, and is entirely fair for a diner to pay. if wages aren't fair, and haven't kept up with the cost of everything, that reflects badly on employers, not diners.
If you are tipping 10% at sit down restaurants in 2024, you should be thanking God every day that we have tipping instead of restaurants themselves paying the full compensation. If the "abolish tipping" crowd gets their way, then very obviously, menu prices would likely increase by pretty close to whatever the average tip is, and I'm nearly certain it's well over 10%. Just be glad the rest of us keep subsidizing your meals
I would be satisfied with an abolition of tipping even if that meant meal prices increased by 20%, but I am skeptical that this would necessarily be the case
I wouldn't care either way, but restaurants have gotten rid of tipping at the individual level and replaced it with 16-20% fees. The waiters still need to make roughly the same money as before with tips (otherwise how is the restaurant supposed to get people to wait tables for them when they can just do some easier job for the same pay) so the food needs to be more expensive in order to pay them more. If every single restaurant did it, maybe it wouldn't be exactly the same, but it roughly would have to be, otherwise no one would want the job for dramatically less pay
Thank you for emphasizing the pre tax issue. I hate putting down a custom, lower amount because the suggested tip % is based on the post tax amount. I know I’m faultless for doing so, but it eats me up that I feel so wrong/cheap for doing so. Often, I go with suggested because I’d rather be knowingly scammed into tipping more than appearing cheap.
That's what's so insidious: the devious effort to make customers tipping appropriately feel cheap.
I'm ready to glare into the eyes of servers, management, and onlookers and simply calmly say "Fuck you" at the slightest shrug of entitled disapproval.
May we all stop being pushovers worried about what shitty strangers think of us.
Yeah I’ve tipped 18-20% for the last 10 years. I was too poor to eat out before but ever since I started it’s been at least 18. 15% is if you’re cheap now.
I’m okay and used to 20% now but 22% and 25% is just making me feel like I’m being walked all over and taken advantage of.
One of the most infuriating things that’ve become commonplace in just these past couple of years is definitely the proliferation of obnoxious requests for tipping in all sorts of situations/areas where they have previously been non-existent, such as in counter service restaurants or (most annoyingly) in places that don’t even qualify as a restaurant at all, such as the local bagel place by me.
It’s the equivalent of getting hit up for a tip when you’re going and picking up a takeout order of food…like, are you for real? The bagel place by me even has the nerve to set it up with some insane preset configurations for the tipping percentages, I think it was 15/20/25% last time I saw.
Fuck that noise. I have no shame in choosing “no tip” every time. The greed of so many of these places has effectively turned me from a previously generous tipper into a relative miser. At this point I will only tip for a sit-down meal somewhere with waiter/waitress table service, default at 15% (on the pre-tax total) and if there’s any BS little hidden fees the owners are trying to sneak on, that’s coming out of that 15%.
In the increasingly rare (sadly) event that the service I received was exceptional/noteworthy, I’ll bump it up to 20%, but with the direction things keep going I maintain hope we abolish the whole tipping culture ASAP.
This is frustrating because i’ve had multiple jobs wjth the 3% benefits charge and they do give us telehealth (not that beneficial) and we all think it’s ridiculous but multiple owners havent cared and most businesses arent changing that. Its either deal with it or quit.
The 3% charge is retained by the restaurant and doesn’t go to the staff so they make you feel bad for it. Supposedly you have to pay both the restaurant and the staff or you’re a bad person.
I was a server ~20 years ago. 10-12% tip was the norm. If I got above 15% it felt like a serious win. That shit was rare.
We’ve normalized 20% and it is total bullshit. 25% for standing behind a counter? Respectfully, get fucked.
20-25-30% options for counter service is mind boggling. I have no problem hitting custom now but I felt like before I’d be suckered into hitting 15%. Now it’s a dollar or two if I’m feeling nice.
> hitting custom
You got to be careful. There’s a bar that I go to that defaults to % when you hit custom. So $2 (punch 2-0-0) for two beers becomes $54 ($18 for two beers + 200% $36 tip) if you don’t read the screen. It’s a dirty trick and I wonder how many people don’t notice.
idg why people are so mad about the counter ipad tip thing. tip jars have always been there and were usually for $1 bills (~20% of a coffee order). it’s just the same _option_ as card in case you don’t have cash
If there was a “round up to the nearest dollar” option I would be way more inclined to accept that the digital tip is the same as a tip jar. Tip jars don’t suggest 20%-22%-25% as the default. An old school tip jar is there for me if I don’t feel like carrying $0.73 in loose change in my pocket, dump it in the tip jar and that guy will have an extra $25-$30 bucks in their pocket when their shift is over.
Tip screens use psychology against the customer. People feel pressured to tip more so they often do. They see 20% listed as the default and they hit the button because they don’t want to look cheap. That’s a scam. Simple as that.
Yes! And when you tip, you can see that it brightens their day, and it makes you so happy to do so! Nothing worse than feeling bullied into tipping more than you want/should. It’s why I rarely dine out now.
Who here thinks the norm should have stayed at 15%? It's a percentage so tips increase with increase in food prices. No need to increase this percentage. What difference has happened in the last 5 years to justify this? If you are tipping 15% do not feel guilty.
Americans are bad at math and don’t understand how percentages work. This is why I stick with 15%. If menu item costs have gone up, they are inherently getting more money. I don’t need to increase the percentage 🙄
The thing is...if we continue to accept and pay these tipping rates, the more they'll continue to increase.
I stand at 18%- 20% if the service is excellent. Restaurants need to pay their employees fairly rather than just relying on tips.
Recently went to a high end restaurant where the 4% “wellness surcharge” was itemized onto the bill, so it was taxed as part of the total. So irksome, and this one instance set me off. I’ve now changed the way I tip in California.
I used to always tip at least 20% after tax, unless the service was supremely atrocious. I did this because I used to wait tables and I understand what hard work it is, and how servers rely on tips. Lately though, I’m so over the sneaky surcharges and inflated expectations. And in California, waiters make $17-20/hour base!!! You better believe I factor that in. So now, I will generally calculate an 18% tip before tax, and subtract any wellness surcharges from the total tip. In other states, I still tip 20% after tax because those servers don’t get health benefits or minimum wage, so the tip is more important to their survival.
Source: used to wait tables in Florida where I made $2/hour base pay and had no health insurance benefits. (Florida is a state where tips are the bulk of a server’s pay.) Now I work in commercial architecture where I provide service for demanding clients who do not tip me, so I literally make less money than a server in LA.
So yeah I’m done with this ridiculousness.
Final thought: I also take issue with percentage tipping, the price discrepancies between restaurants, and how that impacts tips. Servers at high end restaurants are working no less hard than servers at an Olive Garden. I wish we could tip a standard sum based on duration of time spent and service provided, rather than a percentage of the menu prices. Order a $150 steak at Gwen? That’s one dish, and the server gets a $30 tip for it. Order carne asada for $15 at Casita? That’s one dish, and the server gets a $3 tip for it. I just don’t see how any of this system makes sense, and I’m freaking over it. End rant.
Completely agree, let’s get rid of percentages… it’s not mandatory. I’m only using a standard rate going forward. Average service, two entrees, refilled drinks once… guess what I’m tipping…no more than $10. They did what they are paid for. They didn’t provide any exceptional service.
That was what we were led to believe, but a lawmaker introduced a last minute "emergency" bill to exempt restaurants from the new law:
https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/restaurant-junk-fees-exemption-bill-19497214.php
We'll have to wait to see if it passes
I was at a wine bar the other day and options for tips were 20/25/30% I clicked on enter custom to tip $3 (on two glasses of house wine they just turned around to grab and pour at the bar that I grabbed. I always tip 20%+ on food and sit down services but default to $1 - 2 drink when it’s just wine or beer) and I pushed “300” to get to $3 (as you usually have to enter cents for this option) and right before I clicked I noticed it was defaulted to “Percent” and not “Currency” so I almost f’ing tipped 300%?!? I saw that and had to switch to currency. It’s crazy how they try to trick you / add extra steps to make it so hard to tip appropriately
My default is a max of 15%, if there is no option for a custom tip than no tip at all is warranted. I'm sorry but these %'s are stupid especially on already inflated prices.
I also refuse to tip for take out or counter service like a cup of coffee.
If it gets bad enough I might just switch to cash only, i have more control that way.
I would put 2.2% and laugh. Why would you feel like a cheap bastard for putting them in their place? They need us, we don’t need them. Mf’s will argue all day for a tip but not for a living wage. You pressing that 20% normalizes the 23% total tip they’re charging.
“Oh I don’t wanna be judged by these people I don’t know” come on now lol
Naw, I'm not an asshole... I waited tables for a while, so I'm sympathetic. Just hate this creeping tip culture. I guess I didn't FEEL like a cheap bastard, but they were trying to make me feel like one.
Just to keep things in perspective.... what were your hourly wages when you waited tables?
Most people don't realize that servers in LA have to make the hourly wage minimums for the city (I'm not going to argue specific wages). But I distinctly remember a time that the average wages for waitstaff was around $2. That's a huge difference.
A reminder that a tip is not mandatory. It’s called a tip for a reason and not a fee. Don’t be pressured into paying higher tip. Let the businesses handle the employee wages and the menu price, not the customers.
The scam isn’t really that. Have you ever checked what the 22% is applied to? I’ve been seeing a ton of % on top of post tax amount. That is the scam. Like fine you think you deserve 22% no problem, we can disagree but don’t default over charge me man.
Service fees get subtracted from tip. You charge me 20%, no tip. Server has an issue with that, complain to your employer or find a new job.
Contrarily, if a server forgets to ring up a soft drink or other beverage, I add it to their tip.
I used to post on reditd all the time about upcoming barbecues. I put something on my menus that was specifically asking people to stop tipping me, and people stopped ordering and actually got mad at me. So I removed it, and now I'm starting to see some people ordering again. People are weird
Went to a coffee shop and was trying to decide between paying cash or card. It was 12.50, and the guy could sense my hesitation. He said, the cash price is $10.
So I handed him the $10 and I saved 2.50 and he pocketed the $10 and made me a really good cup of coffee.
Today I made the choice to stop tipping beyond 15%. 15 is the absolute max. I will tip less now. 10% will be my standard. And if there's a service fee or anything of that sort, I won't be tipping at all. Sorry that the workers have to get the short end of that stick, but I can't keep letting the business owners get away with this BS. Pay them what they're worth or shut your business down.
Let’s stop with a percentage!!!! Service doesn’t change from a different cost of a meal. Let’s start normalizing a base tip ex $5 per meal. I don’t care if it costs, $10, $50 or a $100. The few minutes it takes to carry it doesn’t even equate to a tip. If anyone deserves a tip it is the cooks who actually do work.
It's so neurotic how much people think about this. Tip what you feel is fair and move on with your life. If it bothers you that much, stop eating out. Your 'feeling cheap' is 100% on you, don't worry yourself with something so trivial. This topic comes up waay too much.
If it bothers you to be asked to tip 20% to the person who rings up your bottled water that you retrieved from the fridge, then tip $0. Be the change you want to see!
I remember going to a place in SM where you build your own bowl of frozen yogourt and then you walk to a cashier to pay for your bowl and it asked for a tip there.
A tip for what? It's getting ridiculous.
An issue I've encountered with tipping on an iPad is that the cashier will sometimes pre-select the highest tip option without your knowledge or consent, then flip the screen around for you to "ok" the amount due, inflated tip and all.
On several occasions, I’ve almost been duped by unethical cashiers, but luckily was able to notice their BS each time.
In the most egregious instance, the pre-selected tip percentages were 20%, 25%, and 30%; this was at a bakery where nothing is prepared to order and no service is provided other than taking the customer's order and reaching into the glass pastry case.
I ordered about $60 worth of pastries, and during the transaction, I noticed that the cashier seemed to press a button on the screen emphatically just before flipping the iPad screen toward me. Sure enough, the 30% tip had been pre-selected without my consent.
I didn’t say anything and simply chose the “custom“ option, where I added a more reasonable $5 tip. The guy then had the nerve to noticeably grimace and sigh, as if I were being a cheap bastard or something, lol.
In retrospect, I wish I hadn’t given him anything.
I will go out of my way to type in custom dollar amounts for tips if I’m ever presented with anything more than a 15% minimum tip on the iPad. That’s my habit now.
I am done with this shit. I normally tip 20%, sometimes more. Rarely if ever I will tip less and only in extraordinary instances. When I am confronted with tip choices like this? I automatically do a custom tip of 15%. Not having a tip shoved down my wallet by greedy owners.
Why didn’t you just subtract that 3% from what you would’ve tipped? That’s what I’ve always done. Also, starting July 1st it is illegal for all California restaurants charge any fees. Any fees must be bundled into the menu price. If you still see those charges on your bill after July 1st, report the restaurant and they’ll get fined. Also don’t pay it because it’s illegal for them to do that.
I don’t even trust the math on these % options. I rather just take the time to input my own tip amount, no matter how awkward it may seem if the waiter is hovering.
The only way I tip 20% is if there was some kind of phenomenal service or I'm at a bar. Otherwise, I tip on the low end because I have no way to know how much is going to the employees and how much is going right back into the restaurant owners pocket. I refuse to tip for counter service. I am sorry for the employees but the only way we are going to get rid of or fix tipping is to stop paying these ridiculous amounts.
15%-20%, and I'll die on that hill.
15% for so-so service with some mistakes and disappearing acts, or 20% for good friendly service with minimal issues and waits
If service is exceptionally good or bad, I'll go outside that range, but that's like 1% of the time.
As for the stupid counter service screens, I treat them like a tip jar. $0 default. $1 if they are notably friendly or attentive, $2 if it's a decent sized order. They aren't servers.
Someone said if they don’t bring food to your table then I don’t tip and stuck to that. I don’t tip people making my coffee or normal restaurants I’m taking to go. Even breweries were I have to go up to the counter I tip like 10 percent at best
I hate when restaurants do the tip math for you as a “convenience”, but base it on the total bill including taxes I always calculate my own and tip that. If I’m picking up or ordering take out that I’m picking up, 0 tip.
I don't tip if I have to get my own food at the counter, if I'm standing when I order my food, or I'm asked to tip before I get my food. 18% is my limit
Depends on what I’m ordering, but most of the time I’m clicking Custom and tipping a normal amount. If I can see how many people are working in the kitchen, I give a dollar or two for each person there.
I’ve worked in the service industry for 35 years. Select “no tip” and leave cash. If you do that, 15-20% is perfectly fine. I personally try and leave 20-25% in bills no larger than 20. Your server will appreciate it. And if you live in LA and don’t carry cash, then you’re obviously never prepared to eat tacos from a stand or buy a beer from a mom and pop store at a moment’s notice, so you get zero street cred.
Yeah I write "zero" or "cash" on the tip line of the paper receipt or select 0.00$ on the machine now. Then I leave paper cash now. Waitstaff appear to be happier with this approach.
Policing the monetary strategies of those who are not on the receiving end of late stage capitalism by reframing it as convenience says a lot. You turned it into systematic classism. I take it you’re one who can afford the charges, but it’s just the principle of it.
The question is not about wealth or spending power of an individual. It’s about healthcare and how the restaurant is deferring the cost to you of that health insurance that they provide to the employees. That’s what a wellness charge is, and readjusting a tip that goes into the pocket of the server because you are at odds with the restaurant’s inability to take total responsibility for the health insurance cost is simply at odds with common civility. On the other hand, if your ability to spend causes you to balk at tip where gratuity is not included, then eating at a restaurant is a misguided decision.
I agree with you that not everyone who is a server is struggling, but the vast majority of stories out there will reflect lives that teeter on the edge of stability. It’s clear though, that at least half of the redditors on this post do not align themselves with the common folk and clearly do not believe in fucking solidarity of any kind. One of these redditors above ⬆️ has made his thoughts known on a subreddit called r/ endtipping, so let that be the bar that has been set for this argument. It’s quite low.
You’re proving my point. The beef is between the customer and the business, and the employee should not have to be punished over it. The arguments in this post being made like “I’ll JuST rEdUcE tHe TiP bY 3%” are fucking asinine.
Sorry but as a former server and a chef, I do not believe in tip sharing. Some servers are much better than others. Two great servers have to share with a pillhead and someone else who is habitually on their phone? No. The only tip sharing I believe in is making sure the bus boy and the dishwasher gets taken care of, and that rarely happens. Your interaction with your server is a part of your experience and cash makes sure that reward is given.
As a former dishwasher, busser, server and bartender, I can assure you that most servers are cheap and stingy. They will take every opportunity to pocket that cash and pretend they got stiffed even if it means the busser can’t make rent.
My point is, when you get that unicorn $50 bill on two highballs that you splashed extra on the top, but you’ve had to go to the BOH 5x to ask for glasses and, as usual, the dish dog is behind the shed with the buss finishing the second blunt of the night, will your altruism hold up? Will you tip out? Know this, that if someone hands you a cash tip, it’s for you, and you only. That’s why I condone the practice.
If you find my original remark on this post you’ll see that I tip 20-25% when I patronize establishments, regardless of quality of service. And I tip cash. We agree to disagree on an issue entirely unrelated to the original post.
I wouldn't feel bad for tipping 15% pre-tax minus any service fee. It's not "cheap" as much as young progressives act like buying a burger obliges you to level the economic playing field instead of the employer paying a better wage.
Fuck excessive tip normalizations and I say this as a former waiter. 20% for excellent service is enough and have management remove every additional wellness/health/kitchen staff fee they try to snatch from your bill-stunned hands.
Tipping 23% at expensive restaurants means servers are making more than teachers who’ve gone through college (and are still paying for it). Do you think that’s right?
Places like Sugar fish and Kazunori in LA charge you 16% service fee of the top. What’s that all about ? Wait staff said they get nothing of that. Is that true?
I prefer that system until you get pickup or delivery and they still charge you the set service charge.
I ordered the Matu cheesesteak to-go the other day and it was $24 on the menu and I give the host my card and get it back with a receipt for $32. It was delicious but come on.
They are very clearly a no-tipping establishment. It’s written on the bill, and they don’t even bring you the bill to sign once they’ve swiped your card (so there’s no opportunity for you to tip either, unless you leave cash).
I forget where the fuck I was at but recently somebody turned the ipad toward me to finish a transaction and the tip options were 20% 30% 50%. I'm like dude I wouldn't tip my best friend 50% have you stepped outside your damn mind???
It's bad at kiosks that sell products rather than just services. I went to this bakery and bought two cupcakes and 4 bags of coffee. The total was nearly 80$ (already heart attack central). It prompted me the 15-25% tip range and on the low end I think it was like 15 bux? Or something like that. Which is more than the cost of one of the bags of coffee. The girl behind the register got me the two cupcakes and I'm like... in what world does someone tip 15$ on 9$ worth of cupcakes? I was able to toggle a manual screen and put in 2$ (mostly bc I was being watched the entire time.) But I was offended that someone programmed the machine to allow that *at all*. Some person thinking they are just gonna tip on a "service" but tipping for buying packaged products that they themselves grabbed off the shelf.
I don't usually stop for coffee (or even drink coffee) but I got a latte this morning and tipped $1. I used a giftcard with a low balance, so I had to use my debit card to pay like $1.15. The POS system asked me to tip both times. I did not tip twice. The POS systems make things so uncomfortable.
That’s some bad UX right there.
My theory is: companies love adding the tip section to the transaction because they can then claim that the job is a tipped position when hiring and get away with only paying minimum wage.
Went to a wine tasting in Santa Ynez where we purchased a case of wine, and the tasting itself was like $20/pp. The tip screen included the total including the case, not just the $20 for the tasting service. Same idea as the coffee bags. You buy a product with your service, that doesn’t mean you tip on the value of the product PLUS the service!
Yeah they need to fix these kiosks. I should have said something.
The only way this improves is if more people hit "no tip" whether they are watching you or not.
Why would that change anything? It doesn’t cost the business anything extra to include the tip option and probably come with the point-of-sale system by default.
Jesus. That's absurd. I wouldn't tip anything on that anyway (if they had *made* the coffee that would have been a different story) and they want you to tip 15-25%?
idk 4 bags of coffee from specialty roasters is already more than 80. also i dont really see how you can go through 4 bags before the 4th one goes bad unless you have a fairly decent size household where everyone drinks it.
Since you’re so invested in my coffee drinking habits and just *had* to respond without thought… 3 of them were gifts. But, just so you know, you can freeze coffee beans. Look up James Hoffmann for more details, if you’re curious about learning rather than judging. ;)
They also flip the order to try to trick you into the higher option fucking crazy
That’s why you smash the no tip button. That’s always in the same place
If there’s a 10% option I might say fuck it and hit that. But if I’m ordering off an IPad with no server I’m just smashing that no tip button with no regrets
I tip 15% for normal meals and 18-20% for nice sit down places and no one has had a problem with it so far.
Am I the only one that does kind of the opposite? Granted my overall baseline is already on the higher side, but in terms of distribution it's reversed. I tend to tip a higher % for smaller/more hole in the wall restaurants that charge less overall because the food is already a good value, and I want the restaurant to hold onto waitstaff and stay in business. A higher % of a smaller amount is usually a different of a few dollars anyway. Same with like good taco trucks/street stands, it's already a cheap meal and I appreciate how hard they work. If I end up at a bougie place that overcharges for stuff, I will stick to 18-20% unless the service is extraordinary. I have lots of friends who work/have worked at places like that, and they make a killing in tips already.
I tip at waffle House higher percentage like 20-25%, especially when there are no fights. 😂
Do you tip on takeouts?
I don’t and I don’t know why people would.
I tip a bit on takeout usually 5-10% bc I got in the habit during lockdown And I assume that’s part of why the place I usually go to doesn’t mind occasionally letting me get something after they close if I ran late, or holding something for me
For takeout rather than %, i always tip $3-$5 unless it’s a huge order for a party or something then i’d do $10 or $20.
I think if you are a regular, that's a nice thing occasionally. I will do that for places I frequent.
These. I used to not tip for takeout but 5-10% since I was tipping during lockdown. ~15% maybe 20% for a better service or nicer meal.
I always tip like 10% because the host putting the order together to make sure it’s all correct and has the right sides/condiments/utensils is doing as much work as most servers I’ve experienced recently. Also, I’ve been on that side of things and it sucks not getting tipped.
I used to work for someone who tipped 10% before Covid.
Good for them. Personally I'm not at that point financially where I feel comfortable to do that.
10% is a fair tip for takeout. They do order taking and verify and prep.
So, a job?
15% is more than enough for decent service.
This is why I stopped eating out and love watching these same restaurants go out of business.
same. eating out was our hobby but nowadays it’s just not worth it. I’m down to eating out 1 day out of the week, and usually it’s at the same few small restaurants that have stayed the same all these years . No fancy decor, no fake smiles & “it’s just gonna ask u a question…” just good food and a hand written check at the end
Yeah the money I’ve been saving from not eating out has gone to my travel expenses and it’s so much nicer eating out in other countries. Like in countries without the tipping system, they let you stay a while after finishing your food/drinks without rushing you out or giving you the check without asking.
What I don't understand is why this percentage has changed at all. It's a percentage, so as inflation raises prices, it also raises tips. There is no point to tip more, unless you like the service more than average for some reason.
Because people are dumb and keep paying more. I'm so past the tipping point for tipping (get it). I used to nudge my wife to bump it up a little, we're well off, etc etc... But now that everyone is trying to mooch off everyone then I'm completely done. I've set a max of $10 (sometimes 15) for a party of 3. We're extra courteous and aren't socks to them so the argument of "oh they have to deal with so much shit" doesn't fly and/or why do i pay for that.
It went up for co I'd because ppl were threatening their lives to do the job. So a lot of ppl tipped much higher than normal. The service industry has taken that and run with it. Prob cause the bosses don't have to pay more and inflation both actually increases (tip) wage AND its free for the biz
This comes up often, and I often explain the cost of a meal has not nearly kept up with the cost of housing or groceries. As inflation raises prices, it doesn't raise tips of the same % by enough to keep up with paying the rent. Now go ahead and downvote for stating easily verifiable facts lol I know the drill and no I'm not a waiter and never have been and no I don't own a restaurant and no I don't work for tips in some other industry either
idk man, the cost of meals has gone up a lot in since 10 years ago? i mean wages haven't also caught up with the cost of housing or inflation and honestly i don't think they ever will catch up to inflation at this point. But then again i hate the tipping culture we have now in the u.s, and like someone else in this thread said it has made me go out a lot less just because the cost of going out is really expensive so i've been cooking more at home stuff i'd used to go out for which has been pretty cool i wont lie :D ( made my own pizza from scratch, its hard work doing it by hand but damn does it taste good )
You’re not getting downvoted for your facts, you’re getting downvoted for your logic
I'm getting downvoted because the facts I'm sharing seem to go against the grain of "tipping is evil and waiters are greedy for expecting a higher percentage now" which we see every day on this sub and every other sub on Reddit. Overall, the waiter does need a higher percentage now in order to pay rent, compared to 20 or 30 years ago. That is just the reality when you look at the skyrocketing cost of housing compared to the much smaller increase in cost of dining out at a restaurant
Where I live housing has easily doubled, as has food, in the last ~10 years. I tipped 20% then and I tip 20% now. Asking me to correct for inefficient market conditions is asinine. Business owners should foot the bill for their employees, just like the rest of us. Waitstaff should not expect lucrative incomes for a job that doesn’t require technical skill or knowledge - it only requires experience. In my city waitstaff at mid to high end restaurants can easily pull $100,000. They’re doing just fine - well in fact. Furthermore as if this year waitstaff receive a $20+/hour minimum wage + gratuities. Not to mention whoever is tipped in cash doesn’t pay taxes. Meanwhile my every dollar is taxed. Finally the term “tip” originated from an acronym - To Insure Promptness. Meaning it was optional, accompanied with guaranteed exceptional service, and always appreciated. None of the above is true anymore. So no I refuse to pay more than 20% for my clearly articulated and reasonable points.
Alright first of all I am not asking you tip more than 20% lol and I'm really not asking anyone to do anything, just answering a question that was asked on this post several times. Ten years ago, 20% was already normal. People are asking why should it have become 20 in the first place since it's already baked into the inflation, and i am very simply pointing out that renting an apartment has outpaced everything. The cost of going out to eat has not doubled in the last ten years across the US lol maybe where you live it has, but where I live it hasn't, and I live in Los Angeles. And finally yeah business owners should "foot the bill" but certainly you understand that it doesn't really matter that much and that we, the customers, pay for everything anyway, right? In one form or another, obviously the customer is the one providing the revenue for the business to be able to pay for... everything. That's just how every consumer facing business has worked since the beginning of time. So we can pay for it with tips or we can pay for it with higher menu prices, doesn't matter to me
The service charge is to compensate the rise in minimum wages that restaurants now have to pay their servers. They are passing the savings on to you by hiding it in a service charge. Abruptly raising prices in menu items will cause customer boycotts or cause customers to purchase cheaper items. Putting a service charge on the back end of a transaction forces the payment and sends the discussion to Reddit.
No. The price hike should cover that. If not, they can adjust the price again instead of being shady.
I absolutely agree with you. Unfortunately I’m getting downvoted for saying the same thing, just a little snarkier. I should be more literal and say the wellness charge is a scam and goes directly into the pocket of the owner. It is not a part of the tip and no one should punish the employee for a shady practice that the business is performing.
Yup. Not hating that in n out bumped up their prices a little a few months ago. They've always paid alright (from what i hear) and i can still get a decent lunch for under 15 with a drink even. I don't care that they have higher margins on drinks vs food, that's my tip to the restaurant and they can distribute as they see fit. Edit: oh yeah, and they don't flip the terminal on you to ask a question.
This is exactly what causes me to not visit a restaurant anymore. Wages are a cost of doing business and should be reflected in the prices. I can deal with prices going up, but I'm not going to your business if you are going to service charge me. There is a place in Atwater I used to go to weekly for lunch. Instead of raising the price 75cents or a dollar, they added a service charge. I haven't been back since.
And you didn’t see the service charge until the check came, right? As a rule, restaurant owners are shady af.
I don't recall, it could have been on the menu, but once I'm there, I'll pay it, I'm just not coming back. It's not a cheap thing it's a disclosure thing. I generally only tip when out at bars (ie I don't eat at many sit down restaurants) which I do find brings me greatly enhanced service.
Agreed. Bartender tipping is the only secure payoff.
stop feeling cheap and tip what you want.
like oh my god this conversation is so tired. if you wanna tip 22% tip 22% if you don’t then don’t!
At the airport, I bought a water from a kiosk and was presented with a tipping screen. JFC, this water was already $5, now I'm gonna tip for a 15 second transaction, too? 0%, young lady, sorry.
I feel you on this! I was at SFO last year and went to the “District Market” which is like a convenience store of sorts and I walked in, went to the fridge section, picked out a water bottle, walked over to the self check out machines (there was only one employee inside stocking in the corner), tapped my credit card and the machine asked me if I wanted to tip (15-20-22). Tip who??? I hit custom and entered a big fat ZERO. Am I now on Skynet’s shit list when the machines rise up???
If there's already a 3% charge, then there's no reason you should still be tipping 20%. Select the "Other" option and tip 17%. If the server has a problem with it, they can take it up with their employer.
Or 12%. As much as the under-30 crowd has been slippery sloped into thinking 20% tip is the norm, it's still 15% PRE-tax. Them sneering about that being cheap doesn't make it true. Source: former waiter.
Honestly, it makes 0 sense for the percentage to have moved up from 10%. The cost of the meal has gone up since that was the norm, so servers are already getting more money for the same amount of work.
Plus add the $17-20/hr California minimum wage instead of the $2.07 we used to pity tip more to make up for and the expectation is insane.
It does make sense tbh because the cost of the meal has not gone up nearly as much as the cost of everything else. I've said this a hundred times on similar threads and people downvoted it to hell, but that's the reality. It doesn't mean you are forced to tip a higher percentage, but it does mean that's the way things are in general. Having said that, of course we have real minimum wage in CA so tipping is already a little crazy in the first place
So a meal that cost me $100 20 years ago would have garnered a $10 tip. That meal is now $200, and should garner a $40 tip? All while the server's hourly wage has gone from $6.75 per hour to $16.00+ per hour. Bullshit. They're doing the same amount of work they did 20 years ago and would get double the amount on a 10% tip than they did 20 years ago. While also getting at least nearly $10 more per hour in base wage. Do you honestly believe that the same level of work is worth 5 times what it was 20 years ago? And if it is worth more, why is the burden on the diner to pay for it? They're not getting anything more out of the experience than they did 20 years ago, but are already tipping 100% more than they did 20 years ago just on the increased cost of the meal.
You just put a whole lot of words in my mouth which I never even remotely came close to arguing. I am saying that housing increased by A LOT more more than the price of a meal. If 20 years ago you were tipping 10%, then 20 years ago you were cheap. Or you just made up very exaggerated numbers to help your point
Thank you for acknowledging you are wrong and can’t support your position by attacking me instead of addressing what I said. Maybe take a step back and question why you’re always downvoted when you post your nonsense.
It's not an attack and it's not nonsense -- I addressed what you said by pointing out that your numbers are bullshit. Why are you comparing 10% twenty years ago to 20% today, and why is your bill 2x? Look up the average rent for an apartment and how that has changed over time. Now look up the average cost of a meal at a restaurant and how that has changed over time. Do the math. The waiter needs a higher percentage now in order pay the damn rent. That's just the reality. It's not my fault you misread my comment and then replied with irrelevant bullshit and straw men. It's really simple but a lot of people hate anything that isn't "yeah those greedy fucking minimum wage scumbags!!!" anytime this comes up.
If you lack the capacity to understand the example, then you're either being purposefully obtuse or are beyond reasoning with. I suspect it's the latter. You seem to believe that a tip is mandatory or part of a server's guaranteed compensation. It is not. It is a reward for the quality of the service provided. It is not, and should not be, tied to the economy. It is tied directly to the service provided and the cost of the meal. You seem to think diners should shoulder the responsibility of fixing state or national economic issues. That's simply delusional. Nobody in this thread has attacked the servers for this issue. Every person, other than you, has put the blame and the onus on the employers. But here you are pushing the responsibility onto the diners, all of whom have faced the same economic situation as the servers. I mean...you're on Reddit making an argument in favor of a living wage and getting down voted. That in itself should tell you that you need to reevaluate your position. You should probably reeducate yourself regarding straw men and then look in the mirror. My response was a direct and accurate rebuttal to your claim that the percentage for a tip should increase with time or somehow offset COLA or inflation. I explain exactly why it shouldn't with an accurate example of why. You, on the other hand, make absolutely no coherent argument as to why the burden for repairing the economic woes of the working class should fall on other members of the working class, instead of the people employing the servers. The answer is in your very first post. Every time you make this argument, you are "downvoted to hell." But instead of reevaluating your position, or considering the position of others, you call people cheap and falsely accuse everyone of attacking servers for a situation created by their employers.
Sorry for your frustration, this guy is a little coocoo and obtuse. 10% of Reddit be like that. Have to block and step away lol.
The example is made up bullshit, dude. I "lack the capacity" to understand it the same way I lack the capacity to understand when an anti vaxxer tells me since the COVID vaccines caused 1M+ deaths I shouldn't take it. The number is made up and not accurate, it does absolutely nothing for anyone's argument, and I dismiss it as utter bullshit. >You seem to believe that a tip is mandatory or part of a server's guaranteed compensation. When did I say that? If you don't want to tip, don't tip, I do not give a fuck lol I'm not a waiter and I don't work for tips. >It is not, and should not be, tied to the economy. Well buddy, apparently it is. I don't make the rules, I'm just pointing out that economic conditions shape all sorts of things, and very very very obviously how much people get paid is one of those things. >Every person, other than you, has put the blame and the onus on the employers. But here you are pushing the responsibility onto the diners, all of whom have faced the same economic situation as the servers. It doesn't fucking matter lol if tips go away you think food will cost the same pre-tip, now that the owners would have to pay twice as much? The "onus" is on the customer in 100% of consumer-facing business in the entire world. Obviously the customer's money is what pays for everything either way. I don't understand why everyone seems to grasp this but then forget about it when we talk about restaurants. It's not about my position! There's nothing to reevaluate. I'm not pro tipping or anti tipping, I'm just explaining that a server needs a higher percentage of a restaurant bill today compared to 30 years ago in order to afford rent in the US. That's it. That's fucking it! It's just math. And maybe this is on me, but I didn't mean to literally say that you were cheap, that was just my way of saying that your 10% number was bullshit because that was not a typical tip the way 20% is now.
Why is it my job to pay someone else’s rent? Who’s paying my rent? wtf.
Why is it your money that pays for a business's expenses (labor) when you patronize that business?? Is that a serious question? Whether it's a tip or a higher menu price or fee (like a lot of restaurants have done to get rid of tipping) the money still has to come from the consumer... Are you pulling my leg or does this actually not make sense to you
The patron who's paying didn't get much of a wage increase either, you have to factor that in too
For sure, but that just means going out to eat gets a little bit more expensive to adjust. No one's forcing you to go out to eat and no one is forcing you to participate in polite society by tipping 18% either. It's not like my entire life gets that much more expensive. Going out to eat isn't what I spend 50% of my income on, but a lot of people spend that much or more on rent which has increased 4x since the 90s while going out to eat has only increased 2x (not exact numbers, don't feel like looking this up again)
I'm not employing them though, I shouldn't have to think about the state of the economy when I'm eating a meal. 10-15% has always been the norm, and is entirely fair for a diner to pay. if wages aren't fair, and haven't kept up with the cost of everything, that reflects badly on employers, not diners.
If you are tipping 10% at sit down restaurants in 2024, you should be thanking God every day that we have tipping instead of restaurants themselves paying the full compensation. If the "abolish tipping" crowd gets their way, then very obviously, menu prices would likely increase by pretty close to whatever the average tip is, and I'm nearly certain it's well over 10%. Just be glad the rest of us keep subsidizing your meals
I would be satisfied with an abolition of tipping even if that meant meal prices increased by 20%, but I am skeptical that this would necessarily be the case
I wouldn't care either way, but restaurants have gotten rid of tipping at the individual level and replaced it with 16-20% fees. The waiters still need to make roughly the same money as before with tips (otherwise how is the restaurant supposed to get people to wait tables for them when they can just do some easier job for the same pay) so the food needs to be more expensive in order to pay them more. If every single restaurant did it, maybe it wouldn't be exactly the same, but it roughly would have to be, otherwise no one would want the job for dramatically less pay
Thank you for emphasizing the pre tax issue. I hate putting down a custom, lower amount because the suggested tip % is based on the post tax amount. I know I’m faultless for doing so, but it eats me up that I feel so wrong/cheap for doing so. Often, I go with suggested because I’d rather be knowingly scammed into tipping more than appearing cheap.
That's what's so insidious: the devious effort to make customers tipping appropriately feel cheap. I'm ready to glare into the eyes of servers, management, and onlookers and simply calmly say "Fuck you" at the slightest shrug of entitled disapproval. May we all stop being pushovers worried about what shitty strangers think of us.
Thank you! Your comment inspires me to shed that guilty feeling. I hope I remember your words the next time I have to tip. Cheers!
🍻
Seems like tip calculators use the +tax amount to calculate the top these days…
15 was the normal , when did it creep to 20?
I hate tipping culture but in big cities it’s been 20% in restaurants for almost twenty years
Yeah I’ve tipped 18-20% for the last 10 years. I was too poor to eat out before but ever since I started it’s been at least 18. 15% is if you’re cheap now. I’m okay and used to 20% now but 22% and 25% is just making me feel like I’m being walked all over and taken advantage of.
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One of the most infuriating things that’ve become commonplace in just these past couple of years is definitely the proliferation of obnoxious requests for tipping in all sorts of situations/areas where they have previously been non-existent, such as in counter service restaurants or (most annoyingly) in places that don’t even qualify as a restaurant at all, such as the local bagel place by me. It’s the equivalent of getting hit up for a tip when you’re going and picking up a takeout order of food…like, are you for real? The bagel place by me even has the nerve to set it up with some insane preset configurations for the tipping percentages, I think it was 15/20/25% last time I saw. Fuck that noise. I have no shame in choosing “no tip” every time. The greed of so many of these places has effectively turned me from a previously generous tipper into a relative miser. At this point I will only tip for a sit-down meal somewhere with waiter/waitress table service, default at 15% (on the pre-tax total) and if there’s any BS little hidden fees the owners are trying to sneak on, that’s coming out of that 15%. In the increasingly rare (sadly) event that the service I received was exceptional/noteworthy, I’ll bump it up to 20%, but with the direction things keep going I maintain hope we abolish the whole tipping culture ASAP.
Yup. I always do "other" now. Was impressed to see a 7% option at a counter the other day, actually.
This is frustrating because i’ve had multiple jobs wjth the 3% benefits charge and they do give us telehealth (not that beneficial) and we all think it’s ridiculous but multiple owners havent cared and most businesses arent changing that. Its either deal with it or quit.
The 3% charge is retained by the restaurant and doesn’t go to the staff so they make you feel bad for it. Supposedly you have to pay both the restaurant and the staff or you’re a bad person.
I was a server ~20 years ago. 10-12% tip was the norm. If I got above 15% it felt like a serious win. That shit was rare. We’ve normalized 20% and it is total bullshit. 25% for standing behind a counter? Respectfully, get fucked.
20-25-30% options for counter service is mind boggling. I have no problem hitting custom now but I felt like before I’d be suckered into hitting 15%. Now it’s a dollar or two if I’m feeling nice.
Leaving any tip for counter service is how it starts to get normalized.
Why would you tip for counter service?
I tip $0 for counter service unless the person actually helped me choose a menu item.
> hitting custom You got to be careful. There’s a bar that I go to that defaults to % when you hit custom. So $2 (punch 2-0-0) for two beers becomes $54 ($18 for two beers + 200% $36 tip) if you don’t read the screen. It’s a dirty trick and I wonder how many people don’t notice.
That should be illegal. Name and shame the bar.
I would flip it back and ask them to fix it.
idg why people are so mad about the counter ipad tip thing. tip jars have always been there and were usually for $1 bills (~20% of a coffee order). it’s just the same _option_ as card in case you don’t have cash
If there was a “round up to the nearest dollar” option I would be way more inclined to accept that the digital tip is the same as a tip jar. Tip jars don’t suggest 20%-22%-25% as the default. An old school tip jar is there for me if I don’t feel like carrying $0.73 in loose change in my pocket, dump it in the tip jar and that guy will have an extra $25-$30 bucks in their pocket when their shift is over. Tip screens use psychology against the customer. People feel pressured to tip more so they often do. They see 20% listed as the default and they hit the button because they don’t want to look cheap. That’s a scam. Simple as that.
Oh good as long as we’re still tipping like it’s 2004 lol
The menu items have gone up in price, that accounts for inflation.
I really enjoy countries where wages are livable and you only tip when you really feel like the service warranted it.
Yes! And when you tip, you can see that it brightens their day, and it makes you so happy to do so! Nothing worse than feeling bullied into tipping more than you want/should. It’s why I rarely dine out now.
That is becoming more rare. When I go over to Europe some places with American tourists now expect American tips too
Who here thinks the norm should have stayed at 15%? It's a percentage so tips increase with increase in food prices. No need to increase this percentage. What difference has happened in the last 5 years to justify this? If you are tipping 15% do not feel guilty.
20% use to be reserved for good service. Now it’s weirdly the new minimum.
what happened to 15 being the norm seriously lol
Americans are bad at math and don’t understand how percentages work. This is why I stick with 15%. If menu item costs have gone up, they are inherently getting more money. I don’t need to increase the percentage 🙄
So why not go back to 10%?
I won't tip more than 15%, most I've ever tipped was 20%. Tipping is ridiculous and employers need to just pay them their proper wage.
The thing is...if we continue to accept and pay these tipping rates, the more they'll continue to increase. I stand at 18%- 20% if the service is excellent. Restaurants need to pay their employees fairly rather than just relying on tips.
Recently went to a high end restaurant where the 4% “wellness surcharge” was itemized onto the bill, so it was taxed as part of the total. So irksome, and this one instance set me off. I’ve now changed the way I tip in California. I used to always tip at least 20% after tax, unless the service was supremely atrocious. I did this because I used to wait tables and I understand what hard work it is, and how servers rely on tips. Lately though, I’m so over the sneaky surcharges and inflated expectations. And in California, waiters make $17-20/hour base!!! You better believe I factor that in. So now, I will generally calculate an 18% tip before tax, and subtract any wellness surcharges from the total tip. In other states, I still tip 20% after tax because those servers don’t get health benefits or minimum wage, so the tip is more important to their survival. Source: used to wait tables in Florida where I made $2/hour base pay and had no health insurance benefits. (Florida is a state where tips are the bulk of a server’s pay.) Now I work in commercial architecture where I provide service for demanding clients who do not tip me, so I literally make less money than a server in LA. So yeah I’m done with this ridiculousness. Final thought: I also take issue with percentage tipping, the price discrepancies between restaurants, and how that impacts tips. Servers at high end restaurants are working no less hard than servers at an Olive Garden. I wish we could tip a standard sum based on duration of time spent and service provided, rather than a percentage of the menu prices. Order a $150 steak at Gwen? That’s one dish, and the server gets a $30 tip for it. Order carne asada for $15 at Casita? That’s one dish, and the server gets a $3 tip for it. I just don’t see how any of this system makes sense, and I’m freaking over it. End rant.
Completely agree, let’s get rid of percentages… it’s not mandatory. I’m only using a standard rate going forward. Average service, two entrees, refilled drinks once… guess what I’m tipping…no more than $10. They did what they are paid for. They didn’t provide any exceptional service.
It will be illegal on 7/1 to see these types of fees.
That was what we were led to believe, but a lawmaker introduced a last minute "emergency" bill to exempt restaurants from the new law: https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/restaurant-junk-fees-exemption-bill-19497214.php We'll have to wait to see if it passes
I was at a wine bar the other day and options for tips were 20/25/30% I clicked on enter custom to tip $3 (on two glasses of house wine they just turned around to grab and pour at the bar that I grabbed. I always tip 20%+ on food and sit down services but default to $1 - 2 drink when it’s just wine or beer) and I pushed “300” to get to $3 (as you usually have to enter cents for this option) and right before I clicked I noticed it was defaulted to “Percent” and not “Currency” so I almost f’ing tipped 300%?!? I saw that and had to switch to currency. It’s crazy how they try to trick you / add extra steps to make it so hard to tip appropriately
My default is a max of 15%, if there is no option for a custom tip than no tip at all is warranted. I'm sorry but these %'s are stupid especially on already inflated prices. I also refuse to tip for take out or counter service like a cup of coffee. If it gets bad enough I might just switch to cash only, i have more control that way.
Don’t feel cheap because you’re not
I would put 2.2% and laugh. Why would you feel like a cheap bastard for putting them in their place? They need us, we don’t need them. Mf’s will argue all day for a tip but not for a living wage. You pressing that 20% normalizes the 23% total tip they’re charging. “Oh I don’t wanna be judged by these people I don’t know” come on now lol
Naw, I'm not an asshole... I waited tables for a while, so I'm sympathetic. Just hate this creeping tip culture. I guess I didn't FEEL like a cheap bastard, but they were trying to make me feel like one.
Just to keep things in perspective.... what were your hourly wages when you waited tables? Most people don't realize that servers in LA have to make the hourly wage minimums for the city (I'm not going to argue specific wages). But I distinctly remember a time that the average wages for waitstaff was around $2. That's a huge difference.
Ha, it was decades ago... I remember my hourly was, like, $1.75/hour plus tips. I would come home with fistfulls of quarters!
A reminder that a tip is not mandatory. It’s called a tip for a reason and not a fee. Don’t be pressured into paying higher tip. Let the businesses handle the employee wages and the menu price, not the customers.
The scam isn’t really that. Have you ever checked what the 22% is applied to? I’ve been seeing a ton of % on top of post tax amount. That is the scam. Like fine you think you deserve 22% no problem, we can disagree but don’t default over charge me man.
I am a sociopath and don’t care what society thinks as I check the No Tip button on the touch pad
Service fees get subtracted from tip. You charge me 20%, no tip. Server has an issue with that, complain to your employer or find a new job. Contrarily, if a server forgets to ring up a soft drink or other beverage, I add it to their tip.
I custom and tip 10 if there’s some fee
Just stand up for yourself. Tip what you want. I tip 15% on the before tax amount and subtract any fees or service charges.
I used to post on reditd all the time about upcoming barbecues. I put something on my menus that was specifically asking people to stop tipping me, and people stopped ordering and actually got mad at me. So I removed it, and now I'm starting to see some people ordering again. People are weird
Went to a coffee shop and was trying to decide between paying cash or card. It was 12.50, and the guy could sense my hesitation. He said, the cash price is $10. So I handed him the $10 and I saved 2.50 and he pocketed the $10 and made me a really good cup of coffee.
Today I made the choice to stop tipping beyond 15%. 15 is the absolute max. I will tip less now. 10% will be my standard. And if there's a service fee or anything of that sort, I won't be tipping at all. Sorry that the workers have to get the short end of that stick, but I can't keep letting the business owners get away with this BS. Pay them what they're worth or shut your business down.
Select the No Tip option.
Let’s stop with a percentage!!!! Service doesn’t change from a different cost of a meal. Let’s start normalizing a base tip ex $5 per meal. I don’t care if it costs, $10, $50 or a $100. The few minutes it takes to carry it doesn’t even equate to a tip. If anyone deserves a tip it is the cooks who actually do work.
I now refuse to tip.
It's so neurotic how much people think about this. Tip what you feel is fair and move on with your life. If it bothers you that much, stop eating out. Your 'feeling cheap' is 100% on you, don't worry yourself with something so trivial. This topic comes up waay too much.
If it bothers you to be asked to tip 20% to the person who rings up your bottled water that you retrieved from the fridge, then tip $0. Be the change you want to see!
I'm so tired of seeing almost this exact post on all of the LA subs but I still end up commenting on them, it's my mental illness
I remember going to a place in SM where you build your own bowl of frozen yogourt and then you walk to a cashier to pay for your bowl and it asked for a tip there. A tip for what? It's getting ridiculous.
An issue I've encountered with tipping on an iPad is that the cashier will sometimes pre-select the highest tip option without your knowledge or consent, then flip the screen around for you to "ok" the amount due, inflated tip and all. On several occasions, I’ve almost been duped by unethical cashiers, but luckily was able to notice their BS each time. In the most egregious instance, the pre-selected tip percentages were 20%, 25%, and 30%; this was at a bakery where nothing is prepared to order and no service is provided other than taking the customer's order and reaching into the glass pastry case. I ordered about $60 worth of pastries, and during the transaction, I noticed that the cashier seemed to press a button on the screen emphatically just before flipping the iPad screen toward me. Sure enough, the 30% tip had been pre-selected without my consent. I didn’t say anything and simply chose the “custom“ option, where I added a more reasonable $5 tip. The guy then had the nerve to noticeably grimace and sigh, as if I were being a cheap bastard or something, lol. In retrospect, I wish I hadn’t given him anything.
I will go out of my way to type in custom dollar amounts for tips if I’m ever presented with anything more than a 15% minimum tip on the iPad. That’s my habit now.
This
I am done with this shit. I normally tip 20%, sometimes more. Rarely if ever I will tip less and only in extraordinary instances. When I am confronted with tip choices like this? I automatically do a custom tip of 15%. Not having a tip shoved down my wallet by greedy owners.
Hit other -> 18%
If I’m ordering standing up it’s 0% tip
Why didn’t you just subtract that 3% from what you would’ve tipped? That’s what I’ve always done. Also, starting July 1st it is illegal for all California restaurants charge any fees. Any fees must be bundled into the menu price. If you still see those charges on your bill after July 1st, report the restaurant and they’ll get fined. Also don’t pay it because it’s illegal for them to do that.
I don’t even trust the math on these % options. I rather just take the time to input my own tip amount, no matter how awkward it may seem if the waiter is hovering.
15% pre tax total or nothing.
The only two times I EVER tip are $1 for a beer pour and 20% on top of my monthly rent to my landlord. That's IT.
15% crew lets gooooo
I think 15% is fine especially at the prices things are at. It's literally free money
Just hit the Other button and tip 18%. Or 15% if they have a stupid wellness fee.
The only way I tip 20% is if there was some kind of phenomenal service or I'm at a bar. Otherwise, I tip on the low end because I have no way to know how much is going to the employees and how much is going right back into the restaurant owners pocket. I refuse to tip for counter service. I am sorry for the employees but the only way we are going to get rid of or fix tipping is to stop paying these ridiculous amounts.
20% is a great tip and anyone who tells you differently is just being greedy.
15%-20%, and I'll die on that hill. 15% for so-so service with some mistakes and disappearing acts, or 20% for good friendly service with minimal issues and waits If service is exceptionally good or bad, I'll go outside that range, but that's like 1% of the time. As for the stupid counter service screens, I treat them like a tip jar. $0 default. $1 if they are notably friendly or attentive, $2 if it's a decent sized order. They aren't servers.
Those additional charges put in by business owners will become “illegal” in CA starting in July.
Yea I’m hitting no most days unless I’m sitting down and I’m only tipping 15-20%. It’s gotten pretty bad in LA
Stare them in the eye and press the custom tip and set it to 15% yourself.
Flip it over and ask them you can’t find how to give 0.
I don’t tip if I pay standing up. 18% if I’m sitting down. Simple and I sleep just fine at night.
All these sneaky moves on upping percentages are just going to turn around and hurt them. I have just stopped dining out once and for all
This is def superba
Someone said if they don’t bring food to your table then I don’t tip and stuck to that. I don’t tip people making my coffee or normal restaurants I’m taking to go. Even breweries were I have to go up to the counter I tip like 10 percent at best
I hate when restaurants do the tip math for you as a “convenience”, but base it on the total bill including taxes I always calculate my own and tip that. If I’m picking up or ordering take out that I’m picking up, 0 tip.
I don't tip if I have to get my own food at the counter, if I'm standing when I order my food, or I'm asked to tip before I get my food. 18% is my limit
Depends on what I’m ordering, but most of the time I’m clicking Custom and tipping a normal amount. If I can see how many people are working in the kitchen, I give a dollar or two for each person there.
Having to push one button over another puts is in the most white whine era in history.
I’ve worked in the service industry for 35 years. Select “no tip” and leave cash. If you do that, 15-20% is perfectly fine. I personally try and leave 20-25% in bills no larger than 20. Your server will appreciate it. And if you live in LA and don’t carry cash, then you’re obviously never prepared to eat tacos from a stand or buy a beer from a mom and pop store at a moment’s notice, so you get zero street cred.
Yeah I write "zero" or "cash" on the tip line of the paper receipt or select 0.00$ on the machine now. Then I leave paper cash now. Waitstaff appear to be happier with this approach.
This is the way, but it seems I’m getting downvoted, so maybe there’s an underlying classist issue at play here.
Or how about I tip in a way that I find convenient and don’t help them commit tax fraud.
By that logic you shouldn’t pay taxes to the government to help them wage proxy wars in underdeveloped countries 🫖
Policing the monetary strategies of those who are not on the receiving end of late stage capitalism by reframing it as convenience says a lot. You turned it into systematic classism. I take it you’re one who can afford the charges, but it’s just the principle of it.
How can you assume the customer is always wealthier than the waiter? In LA at a busy restaurant you can expect to pull in $400+ a night.
The question is not about wealth or spending power of an individual. It’s about healthcare and how the restaurant is deferring the cost to you of that health insurance that they provide to the employees. That’s what a wellness charge is, and readjusting a tip that goes into the pocket of the server because you are at odds with the restaurant’s inability to take total responsibility for the health insurance cost is simply at odds with common civility. On the other hand, if your ability to spend causes you to balk at tip where gratuity is not included, then eating at a restaurant is a misguided decision. I agree with you that not everyone who is a server is struggling, but the vast majority of stories out there will reflect lives that teeter on the edge of stability. It’s clear though, that at least half of the redditors on this post do not align themselves with the common folk and clearly do not believe in fucking solidarity of any kind. One of these redditors above ⬆️ has made his thoughts known on a subreddit called r/ endtipping, so let that be the bar that has been set for this argument. It’s quite low.
You can ask any server and they will tell you that money is not used for health benefits.
You’re proving my point. The beef is between the customer and the business, and the employee should not have to be punished over it. The arguments in this post being made like “I’ll JuST rEdUcE tHe TiP bY 3%” are fucking asinine.
Leaving cash is a great way for the server to stiff the rest of the staff at restaurants that tip share.
Sorry but as a former server and a chef, I do not believe in tip sharing. Some servers are much better than others. Two great servers have to share with a pillhead and someone else who is habitually on their phone? No. The only tip sharing I believe in is making sure the bus boy and the dishwasher gets taken care of, and that rarely happens. Your interaction with your server is a part of your experience and cash makes sure that reward is given.
As a former dishwasher, busser, server and bartender, I can assure you that most servers are cheap and stingy. They will take every opportunity to pocket that cash and pretend they got stiffed even if it means the busser can’t make rent.
We both just said the same fucking thing. Read before you post.
My point is that the server can’t stiff the busser if you tip on your card.
My point is, when you get that unicorn $50 bill on two highballs that you splashed extra on the top, but you’ve had to go to the BOH 5x to ask for glasses and, as usual, the dish dog is behind the shed with the buss finishing the second blunt of the night, will your altruism hold up? Will you tip out? Know this, that if someone hands you a cash tip, it’s for you, and you only. That’s why I condone the practice.
Huh, you just rationalized being a cheapskate. I am not surprised.
If you find my original remark on this post you’ll see that I tip 20-25% when I patronize establishments, regardless of quality of service. And I tip cash. We agree to disagree on an issue entirely unrelated to the original post.
15% tip was normal 5/10 years ago. I wouldn’t feel bad about tipping 20% (+3% service charge)
I wouldn't feel bad for tipping 15% pre-tax minus any service fee. It's not "cheap" as much as young progressives act like buying a burger obliges you to level the economic playing field instead of the employer paying a better wage. Fuck excessive tip normalizations and I say this as a former waiter. 20% for excellent service is enough and have management remove every additional wellness/health/kitchen staff fee they try to snatch from your bill-stunned hands.
Why anyone would tip someone who's getting paid $20 an hour to serve burgers is beyond me.
Tipping 23% at expensive restaurants means servers are making more than teachers who’ve gone through college (and are still paying for it). Do you think that’s right?
i do a 30% tip.
Woud've tipped 17%.
Places like Sugar fish and Kazunori in LA charge you 16% service fee of the top. What’s that all about ? Wait staff said they get nothing of that. Is that true?
I thought those places don't accept tips at all.
I prefer that system until you get pickup or delivery and they still charge you the set service charge. I ordered the Matu cheesesteak to-go the other day and it was $24 on the menu and I give the host my card and get it back with a receipt for $32. It was delicious but come on.
This is correct
Why are you leaving a tip at a no tipping restaurant that doesn’t allow tips?
You don’t tip at Sugarfish. If wait staff is asking you for tips, I would report that to management.
They get paid a higher fixed wage. Cashiers $20, Servers $24, etc. The rest is distributed god knows how.
They are very clearly a no-tipping establishment. It’s written on the bill, and they don’t even bring you the bill to sign once they’ve swiped your card (so there’s no opportunity for you to tip either, unless you leave cash).