The Tipping Thread

Gratuities.....we are all presented with the opportunity to provide them on a regular basis.  Who, what, and where may have evolved over time.  There are generous tippers, cheaper tippers, and even some stiffers out there.  But who should you tip, and how much is appropriate, will determine where you are on the spectrum.

So.....what say you on tipping?

How much is standard?  Has 15% gone out the window, or is it just establishments and workers who say the standard should be 18% so their tips go up?

Should you tip, and how much, if service is bad?

Restaurants are the place we provide gratuities most, but what other service providers do you tip?  A few to consider....

Hair dresser/barber.
Ski instructor - group.
Ski instructor - private.
Bell services.
Concierge.
Mail man/woman.
Full Serve gas attendant.

Does it make a difference if the service provider is the owner?

How do you feel about automatic gratuities?

My trip to WA got me to thinking more on this, as I'm going to use a guide service for BC skiing.  Generally I'd treat like an instructor for a private lesson and tip.  However, in my case the owner question comes into play (I was taught growing up that you don't tip the owner).

What rules of thumb do you use?  NY state double the sales tax?  15% (easy to calculate in head) and round up and add a couple bucks?  Something else?  I'm probably generally a 16% to 17% tipper, more if the service is really good.

I tip bartender, barber and the dudes at the dump ---- dump dudes like Genny  and Jack Fire

for dinner I take tax and double it

If I go play golf at one of them fancy places I'll tip the cart boy 5/10 bucks

What I do when I go back to the country:

my wife and I talk about this all the time...I tip 18/20%  Dinner /Guides Etc...

If the guide shows you a great time , I would tip him 40 or 50 bucks..

I do this because the math is easy:

round up, multiply by two, then shift the decimal one place.

So say for a bill of $55.88, I round up to $56, multiply by two = $112, shift the decimal left one place = $11.20

Add that to the original.  Bam!  You could round down if you want to be less than 20%.

I tip my hairdresser/barber 25% because my wife went to HS with her and it's only $25 total.

Hotel rooms and stuff, we leave a few bucks for housekeeping.  Don't usually track it too hard.

I almost always give the 20%+ for service unless it's horrible.  I'll say something though.  Not rude, just let them know it was pretty shitty.  Then give them 10% or less.

I don't tip for pick up or take out.  I feel like a dick having to cross out the tip line, but if I'm not being served, I don't see the point.  Charge me more for the food if you need to make more money.

MikeK wrote

I do this because the math is easy:

round up, multiply by two, then shift the decimal one place.

So say for a bill of $55.88, I round up to $56, multiply by two = $112, shift the decimal left one place = $11.20

Add that to the original.  Bam!  You could round down if you want to be less than 20%.

whoa!  that is wicked cool!

ScottyJack wrote

whoa!  that is wicked cool!

Internet genius

MikeK wrote

ScottyJack wrote

whoa!  that is wicked cool!

Internet genius

Don't get carried away SJ is easily amused

I will tip slightly over 15% rounding the tip up, for restaurants.
For the barber, they charge me an outrageous amount for what I ask them to do that I give them 1 or 2 bucks. I they charged me less I'd give them more

I'm a good tipper probably because my wife was a waitress when we first got married and she was going to school.  I almost always tip 20% and higher if the service was really good.  If you get really bad service like a server that disappears and comes back smelling of smoke I will just leave a couple of bucks as a point so that they don't think I forgot to tip.

I tip my fav bartender at the LP brew pub really well.

A buck a night per person for hotels is ok

For private ski lessons $20 an hour tip is pretty normal.  Group lessons $5 is nice just to know you had a good lesson.

At the golf course I tip the kid $5 to clean my clubs and bring them out to the bag drop.

Tips might be going away for restaurants as wages go up with a mandatory service charge in its place.
http://poststar.com/news/local/davidson-brothers-goes-tip-free/article_101c2249-a3dc-5dc0-963c-e3ab649b9f09.html

20% or a little better is great. No one in the service industry expects much more.

When I worked at Pink Jeep tours I did grow a strong dislike for the people of Michigan. I had a guy from that state one day drop a couple of dimes and nickels on the ground and then he told me to pick them up because it was my tip! At that moment I weighed in what my job meant to me and if I could be fired that day. I kept my job but their is a part of me that wishes I had a time machine so I could beat his ass.

Those that abuse people in that industry need an serious ass whoopin.

i over tip bartenders especially at my neighborhood pub. i was a bartender for 17 years. i cut my own hair which will be
obvious if you ever meet me , so can't help with how much to tip the barber. i never tip the counter help at the pizza place or sub shop. my daughter worked at a pizza place and you would be surprised at how much that tip jar generates

I'm never admit to my tipping percentages.

I don't go out much and very often when I do it's the same places over and over. Basil and Wicks in North Creek, the Plattekill bar, Garnet Hill Lodge, Supercuts.

When you see the same people over and over you tip them pretty high.

IMO almost no tip if too high for a guide who keeps you safe and shows you a great time in the backcountry.  Last time I used a guide in Colorado, after I tipped him he invited me to spend a month at his ski house the following season, so I guess that was the right number for me.

I always heard Jersey boys were good tippers.

Bartenders to me are tricky, especially if they are just pouring beer!  Ok, a good Guiness pour takes some effort, but still.  Craft cocktails are worth a bigger tip.  Of course, at the bar tipping well can pay off in stronger drinks!

Bartenders are the easiest:

Do you want the barkeep to make eye contact as soon as you arrive when you are back four deep?

MikeK wrote

I always heard Jersey boys were good tippers.

Ha, in that scene Tony is being a total dick to Hesh because he had the nerve to ask for his $200K back.