tipping and etiquette in USA

boblibarn

HI going to new york in feb , havennt been to the states for approx 5 years and cant remember the rules re tipping etc , can someone give me a rough guide please what is an exceptible % to tip, and do i tip everyone ? thanks

phatbear

This is somewhat of a hot potato, and a regular argument point on trip advisor.

The theory is you tip 15% to 20% for anyone who gives you a service, however this doesnt extend to mcdonalds/starbucks etc, also if its a food joint it unlikely you would tip for take out food. You tip taxi drivers, but dont tip bus/subway drivers.

Personally I reckon its a croc of poop and you should tip what you want, a few years ago I got into it with a server in NY as I had'nt tipped enough, however I explained if they had actually attended to our needs, other than chuck our meals at us, then the tip would have been better.

I dont hold with the whole "they get paid less than mininum wage so they need tips to live" if this is the case then get another job!

CCFC_80

The states is a great place to visit but unfortunately spoilt by The in your face Tipping lark at just about everything and anything.

HoofeHearted

Here is some info I recently read on the M&S website on their tipping advice page.

USA
Tips are customary everywhere. Restaurants usually call for a 15-20% tip and bartenders will expect the same for the bill total, or alternatively a couple of dollars per drink, per round.
Hotel staff can expect up to $9 per day for room service and house keeping and it is common practice also to tip the concierge/doormen and tour guides around $20 to show gratitude for assistance.
You can be expected to tip a parking valet up to $5 and taxi drivers approx 10% of the total cost of the journey.

HTH

Voyager2002

phatbear wrote: »

This is somewhat of a hot potato, and a regular argument point on trip advisor.

The theory is you tip 15% to 20% for anyone who gives you a service, however this doesnt extend to mcdonalds/starbucks etc, also if its a food joint it unlikely you would tip for take out food. You tip taxi drivers, but dont tip bus/subway drivers.

Personally I reckon its a croc of poop and you should tip what you want, a few years ago I got into it with a server in NY as I had'nt tipped enough, however I explained if they had actually attended to our needs, other than chuck our meals at us, then the tip would have been better.

I dont hold with the whole "they get paid less than mininum wage so they need tips to live" if this is the case then get another job!

The thing is, their income is provided in the form of tips, rather than taken on the bill and then paid as salary. If the provide acceptable service then they should be paid the customary tip.

neilbond007

As a Brit in the US here's my take.

Restaurants (sit down)- 15% (normally rounded until the next $). $1 if bad service.
Fast food - Nothing
Barmen - $1 if 1 drink. A couple if 2 - 4
Housekeeping - $0
Hotel bag staff - Try and take my own. If not $1.
Valet parking - never done it

dzug1

CCFC_80 wrote: »

The states is a great place to visit but unfortunately spoilt by The in your face Tipping lark at just about everything and anything.

Many Americans would say tipping as one of the reasons the US IS a great place.

See how vehemently the practice gets defended on any forum frequented by Americans

victor2

I usually reckon around 15%, although it's difficult to calculate if you're getting a service you haven't directly paid for.
Had a limo in Vegas as part of a helicopter flight to the Grand Canyon. During our return, the driver was slagging off Brits to somebody over the radio for poor tipping - think I just left her my small change!
Had poor service when out for a meal for four with friends who are US citizens. Basically they forgot my main course and didn't realise until I asked where it was after the other three had been delivered. They apologised and cooked it right away, got it when the others had finished. Didn't even get offered a complimentary drink while I waited. Friends just said the amount of the tip was up to me. It was small!
Otherwise though, we usually work on 15%. BIL has been a chef in a number of hotel restaurants around the US and he always reckons on 15%.

phatbear

Voyager2002 wrote: »

The thing is, their income is provided in the form of tips, rather than taken on the bill and then paid as salary. If the provide acceptable service then they should be paid the customary tip.

Or they should get another job..............anyway we are'nt gonna agree on this.

One major issue I had on a recent visit is the tendancy to add the service charge to the bill, possibly on the expectation that you may not notice and re-tip.

Dont get me wrong Im happy tiping when the service justifies it, another instance is in Johns at bleeker street our server took our order, another chap bought our pizza out and the next time we saw the server again was when the bill was due so how does this justify a sizeable tip? Anyway he got 10% out of me and I got a snotty look but what the heck

tom717

I don't think its fair to ignore the customs of a country you are visiting. In America tipping is almost mandatory and you can't expect to tip the same way you would at home.

dzug1 wrote: »

Many Americans would say tipping as one of the reasons the US IS a great place.

See how vehemently the practice gets defended on any forum frequented by Americans

Not all Americans though, many dislike the way tipping works in their country.

ferf1223

I'm not sure the 'get another job' idea is fair...most waiters/waitresses earn much less than minimum wage on the basis these are tipped positions...the restaurant's costs are less and they can keep prices lower than they could if they had to pay their wait staff a higher wage...so the customer pays less to the restaurant than they would if wages were higher, and supplements with a tip for their waitstaff...waiters and waitresses can make a decent wage in doing a good job and ensuring decent tips.

So in the US you get a lot more people working a lot harder at giving good service because they know they have a better chance of getting a better tip and supplementing their take home wages...there are of course exceptions, but I don't think most people would say that service in the UK and the US are on par with each other, in most situations...and I personally think that's down to the tipping situation. Take the tipping away, pay a higher standard wage (which would no doubt be less than lower wage + tips and would mean increased menu prices for the customer) and most of the good waitstaff would quit and do something else...or at least lose the real incentive to go above and beyond.

Personally I prefer the US way (yeah, I'm American so I would) - to me it's much better to have waitstaff who know they can, in general, make more money if they do a better job...than waitstaff who know they're unlikely to make much in tips, and will just go with whatever their wages are...no real incentive there to do anything more than a standard job.

Other perks in the US like free refills on non-alcoholic drinks...that's one of our benchmarks for good service...if our drinks are refilled without asking, that's us happy.

As for poor service - leaving a $1 tip won't send a message, I don't think...likely it will be assumed to be a lack of understanding of tipping...a penny tip for very poor service is much more meaningful...there's no question on the intent there.

As for automatic gratuities, I've seen that much more in the UK (at least in London) than anywhere in the US...we eat out more in the US than the UK (don't eat out much when we're not on holiday) and the last few times we have eaten out in the UK a gratuity has been added to the bill...can't even recall that ever happening in the US unless we were using a voucher that the terms stated X% gratiuity would be added...may depend on where in the US people are going.