I always pre-clean my room at checkout: drapes open, trash bagged and tied up, beds stripped, dirty towels in a neat pile, fan on, lights off, remote on top of the TV.
This isn’t expected, but it’s appreciated.
Which here can (if eating downtown) actually bring you to over 21% tip. Tax rules of thumb are very location dependent. In Milwaukee, that rule will get you around 11% I think. Plus you have states with no sales or restaurant taxes. Looks like the rule would be okay for at least the big cities in Florida, where it appears to be 7% sales and an additional 2% restaurant, so doubling would give you 18%.
Kind of depends where you are. Here that would be a minimum of 26%
Thing is, just figuring it out from the bill isn’t that much more difficult. Everyone knows how to take 10% of a figure, right? Just move the decimal place over to the left one. Double that and you get 20%. Or if that’s too high for you, take the 10% and then add half of it to itself for 15%.
[QUOTE=drewtwo]
Remember that even if you don’t tip well or at all, a waitstaff employee is still going to make at least minimum wage. The way it works in the US is that waitstaff can get paid an absurdly low hourly rate (like $2.50 an hour or something), but if they don’t make enough in tips to push them up to the minimum wage (varies by state but is usually around 6-8 bucks an hour), then the employer has to make up the difference.
Of course, my personal belief is that being a waiter is a ridiculously thankless job and exhausting as well, so I think they should make way more than minimum wage. I just want to point out that legally, nobody is going to starve if you don’t tip, because the employer is required by law to at least pay minimum wage if the server doesn’t make enough in tips to earn at least minimum wage.
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See, I get that on an intellectual level. I just don’t get it, when I made what amounts to 18 dollars/hour waiting tables at age 15. How on earth is an adult supposed to live on 6-8 dollars an hour? And people do this for years, and they have kids and everything, and you guys even have to pay for school and healthcare on top of that. I just can’t make sense of the numbers. 6 dollars is barely two chocolate bars, or a big mac, to me. It looks like a child’s allowance, not pay for an adult.
International economics in funny that way, I guess.
The federal MW is $7.50, so there isn’t any state where it’s less than that.
Septima: School (k-12) is funded by taxes in the US-- no one has to pay for it out of pocket. And most waitstaff make more than MW. That’s why the jobs are so popular. I’m sure there are some joints where waitstaff makes MW, but that’s not the norm, and they are more likely to be in the areas of the country where cost of living is lowest.
I go by the 15%± method, but tend to round up and calculate post tax as long as it was a pleasant experience. So I’m probably close to 20% for average service. For something really special I do more, but the hard part is when the service is less than desirable, but not flat out awful. In those cases I calculate 15% carefully, based on the pre-tax total, and start heading down from there. Don’t hold the food quality against the waitstaff though, except for instance it being cold, something the waiter could have done something about.
For very good service the best thing you can do in addition to a nice tip is stop and tell the manager what good service you recieved, and on the high quality of the food if that was the case.
That’s only true for public school. Send your kid to private school (cuz the public ones suck a lot in a lot of places) and you’re damn sure paying for it out of pocket.
If you look at the post I was responding to, then no, I stand by what I said.
Emphasis added. Have to. No, we don’t “have to” pay for k-12 schooling with after tax money and the vast majority of Ameicans don’t.
Also it depends on the drink; if the price is closer to $10 or more, $1 is probably not sufficient, and you should also consider the effort that went into making the drink, e.g. many mixed drinks are a lot more complicated to make than a simple beer or shot.
The one that kills me is the tip jar at the local food carts. These things are run by the people who own them and who are working inside them and who set the prices on things. And you want a tip? For what? Raise your prices if you’re not making enough.
I get sulky looks at the local bakery, also. If I’m buying bread: no tip. It’s a product that is made at the main baking facility, not by the person handing it to me. If I’m buying coffee or lunch: tip.
Fancy drinks=more tip. So flaming mojito bannanana dakrys are going to cost me a bit extra. I can do that.
Bread vs. breakfast is slightly more advanced thinking than I’ll be getting on with 
I’m only there for a week.
If you’re planning to pay for things on your trip w/ a credit card double-check that your card issuer doesn’t charge a Foreign Transaction fee; if they do you’re better off getting USD to pay for things. $50 or $100 notes are accepted at very few places (hotels, car rental, fancy restaurants) so denominations of $20 will be the easiest to pay with; yes, even if you pump a $50 tank of gas in your rental car the gas station likely won’t take a $50.
If you’re in a hurry for a quick meal, most US grocery stores have a deli section that sells wrapped sandwiches made that day along w/ various salads and sides. Plus, it’s neat (IMO) to see grocery stores in new places to get a feel for how people there really live.
You asked how people could make it on such low wages as restaurant workers; many will have 2 jobs. And while public school is free as far as tuition, parents are responsible for supplies, uniforms, some sports equipment and either a tablet or laptop necessary for the classes.
Hope you have a great trip; on behalf of the tourism industry workers of Florida thank you for giving a damn. From what I hear you’re in the minority.
[QUOTE=Nawth Chucka]
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If you’re in a hurry for a quick meal, most US grocery stores have a deli section that sells wrapped sandwiches made that day along w/ various salads and sides. Plus, it’s neat (IMO) to see grocery stores in new places to get a feel for how people there really live.
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I adore foreign grocery stores! You’re right, the contrast is sometimes huge, even between neighboring countries. We do have Deli counters, but it sounds like the american ones are much more involved. Good advice.
[QUOTE=Nawth Chucka]
$50 or $100 notes are accepted at very few places (hotels, car rental, fancy restaurants) so denominations of $20 will be the easiest to pay with; yes, even if you pump a $50 tank of gas in your rental car the gas station likely won’t take a $50.
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Thats exactly the sort of thing I’d forget to think about. Thanks.
[QUOTE=Nawth Chucka]
You asked how people could make it on such low wages as restaurant workers; many will have 2 jobs. And while public school is free as far as tuition, parents are responsible for supplies, uniforms, some sports equipment and either a tablet or laptop necessary for the classes.
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Parents in my part of europe are responsible for clothes, a backpack, a daily packed lunch and maybe writing materials and wrapping paper for schoolbooks. Everything needed otherwise is supplied for them. In Norway, it is only the first three things, by law. In fart, we had a recent scandal where a school sent home a list of supplies for the parents to buy - turns out the new principal was a foreigner, and couldn’t believe the law really was that strict. Oh, and private schools are illegal, unless you’re doing Montesorri or something.
This is turning into a hijack, sorry about that.
[QUOTE=Nawth Chucka]
Hope you have a great trip; on behalf of the tourism industry workers of Florida thank you for giving a damn. From what I hear you’re in the minority.
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Thanks, it looks like it’ll be a blast. I’ll do my best to give a damn the whole way.
One thing that would be helpful for visitors: what exactly is the correct procedure for tipping in a restaurant when you’re paying with a credit card? I always get a bit confused by this - which slip to write the tip on, etc.
There are two methods of credit card payment.
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You present your card and the waitress shows up with a wireless payment machine. Once you swipe the machine will prompt you with a tip Y/N option. When you choose “Yes” it will then come back with “Percent” or “Amount” and it’s self explanatory from there.
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You present your card, the waitress takes it, and returns with a printed bill. On the bill you need to add your tip amount on the line that says “Tip,” and then add two together for the total. And then sign the bill.
Easy peasy.
If you choose to tip in cash rather than in the same credit card charge you’ll write NONE or TABLE (if you leave the cash on your table) where it says ‘TIP’ on the slip.
If you’re sitting/standing at the bar and pay for your drink in cash, the bartender will probably lay your change next to your drink between you and them. If you leave it all there they assume you’re sticking around and will want another drink. If you pick it all up, they assume you’re done and probably won’t ask you if you want another. Don’t walk off and leave your cash there unless you mean it to be a tip.
One is marked “customer copy”- that is the one you are supposed to keep. You don’t need to write on both, just whichever one you leave behind (and I don’t know how much it matters which one, although one is labled for the vendor and one for you)
If you are expensing for business, you write the tip on both copies, leave one with the restaurant and send the other with your expense report.
Aaand it got complicated again. I suppose i can ask the waiter how they do it there? I mean, they have to be used to confused foreigners, right?
When you first walk in to the restaurant there may be a cash register right up front. Even if it’s a sit down restaurant that typically means you pay the bill yourself at that register. If there’s no register in sight, you ask the server when you ask for your bill, “Can I pay you?” and they’ll take it from there. It’s easy once you’re in the situation, you’ll see.