# Is a 20% tip the minimum for good service? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 28, 2005, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-20-tip-the-minimum-for-good-service/318965 "2005-08-28T10:33:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2005, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-20-tip-the-minimum-for-good-service/318965/1 "2005-08-28T10:33:10Z")
IIRC it was 15% in years past. Lately I’ve been tipping 20% (more on small dinner checks). Is 20% the new baseline tip for receiving good service? ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2005, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-20-tip-the-minimum-for-good-service/318965/2 "2005-08-28T10:36:35Z")
Not for me. Tipping evil. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21825_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2005, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-20-tip-the-minimum-for-good-service/318965/3 "2005-08-28T10:46:04Z")
My practice is 20% or more for exceptional service, 15% for decent service, 10% or less for marginal to crappy service. Frankly, I’d prefer that restaurants jack up their prices a little more, pay the servers a decent wage, and make sure they only retain good servers. Yeah, like that’ll ever happen… ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2005, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-20-tip-the-minimum-for-good-service/318965/4 "2005-08-28T10:57:05Z")
It happens here (Australia). No tipping. Although taxi drivers would tell you differently. ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2005, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-20-tip-the-minimum-for-good-service/318965/5 "2005-08-28T13:27:45Z")
15%. Any figure you hear higher than that is a campaign by restaurant workers to get paid more for doing less work. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2005, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-20-tip-the-minimum-for-good-service/318965/6 "2005-08-28T14:04:57Z")
I usually leave 20%. But that is a personal preference. Usually I eat at the same places each week and know the staff and prefer to give them a little extra. 15% is normal. I only leave less than 20 if the service was particularly bad. And then I leave 10. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2005, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-20-tip-the-minimum-for-good-service/318965/7 "2005-08-28T16:26:17Z")
My girlfriend, a server, thinks 15% is an insult. She’s crazy though, when you make $11 an hour in tips for a college job you have no reason to complain. ---
**Author:** ![PinkMarabou](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ec9cab/32.png) [@PinkMarabou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PinkMarabou)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2005, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-20-tip-the-minimum-for-good-service/318965/8 "2005-08-28T16:31:03Z")
Since I’ve worked in the industry, I leave around 20-25% for good service. Marginal service gets between 10-15%, if it’s poor service, usually less than 10% is the norm. YMMV of course. ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2005, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-20-tip-the-minimum-for-good-service/318965/9 "2005-08-28T16:41:23Z")
My tips are usually somewhere in the 30 to 50 percent range, but then again, I’m usually at Waffle House, where they all know my name, and I feel guilty only leaving 1.50 on my 7.50 check, even if it is 20 percent. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2005, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-20-tip-the-minimum-for-good-service/318965/10 "2005-08-28T16:56:41Z")
I agree with **Chaotic Donkey** that generally very low bills demand a higher percentage tip. That said, I think tipping was placed on this earth to extort more money out of people like me who feel extreme guilt at leaving anything less than 18 or 20 percent. What a sucker! But yeah, I leave about 20% almost all the time. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2005, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-20-tip-the-minimum-for-good-service/318965/11 "2005-08-28T17:21:36Z")
The only way a server is going to get 20% from me is if a blowjob was included in the service! I also feel no tip at all is appropriate if I am not satisfied with the service, either. I would never leave a tip for sub-standard treatment. ---
**Author:** ![Future\_days](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/cab0a1/32.png) [@Future\_days](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Future_days)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2005, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-20-tip-the-minimum-for-good-service/318965/12 "2005-08-28T17:48:42Z")
10% is the max I give, and it has to be very good to get that. It would appear some people worry too much about how big a tip they give. If everyone tipped a waitress 20% she’d make a bloody fortune. ---
**Author:** ![Bomzaway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e480ec/32.png) [@Bomzaway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bomzaway)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2005, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-20-tip-the-minimum-for-good-service/318965/13 "2005-08-28T18:06:35Z")
> [@Future days](#): > > 10% is the max I give, and it has to be very good to get that. > > It would appear some people worry too much about how big a tip they give. If everyone tipped a waitress 20% she’d make a bloody fortune. Oh yeah. Combined with that minimum wage they get, they’d be rolling in the dough. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![kimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f0a364/32.png) [@kimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kimera)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2005, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-20-tip-the-minimum-for-good-service/318965/14 "2005-08-28T19:28:07Z")
> [@Future days](#): > > 10% is the max I give, and it has to be very good to get that. 10% is an insult. The server has to tip out other people, so 15% is the minimum you should tip. Anything below 10% costs the server money. There will always be cheap people like you so you don’t have to worry about waitresses making too much money. Having worked as a waitress, I always tip 20% unless the service was bad. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2005, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-20-tip-the-minimum-for-good-service/318965/15 "2005-08-28T19:38:27Z")
Unfortunately, I’m seldom able to eat out anymore, but I used to work in food service, and I really appreciate a good, attentive waiter or waitress. I’ve been known to leave huge tips for really great service. Only once can I recall having deliberately left no tip, and in this case I also complained to the management about the server. Mostly I have tipped in the range of 15% to 20%. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2005, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-20-tip-the-minimum-for-good-service/318965/16 "2005-08-28T19:44:26Z")
I’ll tip 10 to 15 % if it’s just my SO and me. Not because I think the waitress is making too much, or anything, it’s just that generally, I don’t see the reason to tip that high! We’re not demanding, we don’t cause any trouble, we’re probably one of the easiest customers she’s got there. So why should I tip even more…I certainly do feel 20 % is way too high on an average restaurant. If I’m in a fancy restaurant, or more people, I’ll tip higher. ---
**Author:** ![Future\_days](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/cab0a1/32.png) [@Future\_days](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Future_days)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-20-tip-the-minimum-for-good-service/318965/17 "2005-08-29T00:12:10Z")
> [@kimera](#): > > 10% is an insult. The server has to tip out other people, so 15% is the minimum you should tip. Anything below 10% costs the server money. There will always be cheap people like you so you don’t have to worry about waitresses making too much money. > > Having worked as a waitress, I always tip 20% unless the service was bad. Insult my ass. The employer should pay them more. Here in the UK 10% is the norm. 10% is decent anyway, being a waitress is hardly rocket science, get another job if you feel you’re not being paid enough. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Future\_days](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/cab0a1/32.png) [@Future\_days](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Future_days)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-20-tip-the-minimum-for-good-service/318965/18 "2005-08-29T00:13:48Z")
I’m a keen supporter of the Mr Pink philosophy on tipping. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![SleepyDuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@SleepyDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SleepyDuck)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-20-tip-the-minimum-for-good-service/318965/19 "2005-08-29T00:14:52Z")
> [@kimera](#): > > …Anything below 10% costs the server money… huh? ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-20-tip-the-minimum-for-good-service/318965/20 "2005-08-29T01:28:11Z")
> [@Future days](#): > > Insult my ass. The employer should pay them more. Here in the UK 10% is the norm. 10% is decent anyway, being a waitress is hardly rocket science, get another job if you feel you’re not being paid enough. :rolleyes: Here in the US, 15-20% is the norm Moneybags. I suggest you go to a grocery store and cook for yourself if the price of eating out is too high for you. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-20-tip-the-minimum-for-good-service/318965.md?page=2)