I find tipping to be an immoral practice, but accept that American restaurant workers rely on the income. I will be visiting the US later this year and I’m thinking about adopting a flat tip personal policy as I don’t think I should tip a server less when I decide to drink tap water instead of beer. Does anybody here do this? What’s the custom?
The custom is to tip 15 to 20% of your bill. You may not like it, but it certainly is the custom here.
No. The custom is to tip a *minimum *of 15% for average service. If you feel that the server deserves more because you didn’t order an alcoholic beverage or a more expensive meal, by all means tip more. I usually tip 20% unless the server is terrible.
I don’t know how you would determine a flat amount.
Please keep in mind that the government will tax the server based on a percentage of the value of your meal. People who don’t tip, or tip only a small amount, are actually taking money away from the server and/or bartender. Also, the server will possibly be sharing the tip with others, such as the bartender. Even a soft drink will probably come from the bar.
The bartender and server are being paid less – sometimes a LOT less – than minimum wage based on the presumption that the difference will be made up for in tips. IMHO this can be a good thing because it gives the server a big incentive to provide good service.
No. The government will tax the server based on the server’s declared income.
Yes, but the declared income, which the employer has to report, is based on the actual wage plus a presumed tip based on the amount served. It amounts to the same thing.
Admittedly I haven’t worked for the $2.14 an hour “tipped minimum wage” in a few years, but back then the government assumed that you made 8% of your sales in tips, and taxed you accordingly. You could declare more than 8% and the government would be happy to take more money, but the 8% was the presumed minimum.
Given that the tipped minimum wage hasn’t changed in what, decades? I’d guess that the 8% assumption is still in force, too.
What are you going to base your flat rate tip on? Will you be giving a twenty dollar tip when you order a five dollar sub? Or a two dollar tip when you order a hundred dollar lobster dinner?
If you must give a flat tip, at least tip per person.
Two unrealistic scenarios there. Unless things have changed a lot in the US, tips aren’t expected on subs and I don’t eat at expensive restaurants. As for what to base my tip on, that’s what I’m asking. What’s a reasonable amount?
Sounds like good advice, thanks.
I got the idea after I read that about 20% of Americans tip at a flat rate. At restaurants I’ll advise the server in advance of what the tip will be. Obviously, seeing how the practice offends me, I’ll try to avoid going to places where tipping is expected.
The custom is to tip about 15%. Years ago I remember my mother telling me that she never left less than $1 per person though, since she figured the server deserved at least that much for dealing with each person. I figure $1 doesn’t go as far as it used to, so my minimum tip for a sit-down meal is $2 per person. If 15-20% of the bill would be more than $2 per person I’ll tip the percentage instead, but if someone is taking my order and bringing me my food then they won’t get less than $2 per person unless the service is awful.
[QUOTE=The IRS]
Employees who receive cash tips of $20 or more in a calendar month while working for you, are required to report to you the total amount of tips they receive. The employees must give you written reports by the tenth of the following month…
…If the total tips reported by all employees at your large food or beverage establishment are less than 8 percent of your gross receipts (or a lower rate approved by the IRS), you must allocate the difference among the employees who received tips. The allocation may be based on each employee’s share of gross receipts or share of total hours worked, or on a written agreement between you and your employees.
[/QUOTE]
8% is the IRS limit of “You don’t fuck with us, we won’t fuck with you.” Nobody wants to deal with the abundance of accounting that would be required for strictly enforced tip reporting, including the IRS.
[QUOTE=MLS]
Yes, but the declared income, which the employer has to report, is based on the actual wage plus a presumed tip based on the amount served. It amounts to the same thing.
[/QUOTE]
Sort of. Mostly, servers pay tax on significantly less than their full income, due to the 8% IRS law stated above.
[QUOTE=Dave Hartwick]
I find tipping to be an immoral practice, but accept that American restaurant workers rely on the income.
[/QUOTE]
I won’t go so far as to say that US tipping custom is immoral, but it is pretty goddamned arbitrary and unfair. I fully participate, because not doing so does mean that under current rules, you’re fucking the server out of their wages. However, anyone who thinks that “our system” (which was imported from Europe to begin with) inspires superior service from wait staff is sorely mistaken. Good timing for this post. Slate published a great article on why tipping sucks just yesterday. Lots of good supporting articles linked in it, too. In the mean time, InternetLegend answered the OP pretty succinctly in the first reply. The custom is a minimum of 15% for reasonable service.
It’s not a law, but if you’re going to bring your own rules to the game, why are you asking for opinions about it? If you’re going to flout social convention, do whatever you want, but I think it should be kept in mind that the 8% rule mentioned above is a very real thing so tipping less than that is pretty vile. I would strongly encourage you to tip at least 10% which, if it makes you feel any better, is still a really shitty tip.
Because of that Slate article. The author mentioned that one thing I can do, seeing how the practice is harmful to all involved, is to tip a flat amount, a not so rare practice. I thought that probably some people here would be following it (or would have at least heard of it) and asked for advice. I’m beginning to have some doubts about the wisdom of that decision.
I don’t see why people assume that I’m going to tip less on average. I might decide that that the rate I want to tip is $5 a person. Seeing how I’ll have two kids with me and wasn’t planning on ordering any $100 lobsters, seems like servers would be happy enough with that.
I’m perplexed that is seems hard for you to follow the “when in Rome, do as the Romans do” aphorism. Why can’t you just tip 15 to 20%, the way Americans do it? The math isn’t THAT hard.
Adaptability is often a good thing. Sure, there are limits - if someone wanted me to “adapt” to FGM, I wouldn’t. But tipping is a relatively benign practice, if you understand the cultural expectations behind it. If you have really serious moral objections to tipping, visit some place that doesn’t have cultural expectations you are unwilling to meet.
First off, when I said “if it makes you feel any better” that was a shitty thing to say, and I apologize. I didn’t really like reading myself in your quote and I’m sorry for it. Regarding the Slate article, I think it had a lot of merit, except for the “what you can do about it” part. The US is stuck with the tipping the system for the indefinite future. Owners like it, wait staff like it and frankly (as far as I can tell), most of the US population like it. I like it when it suits my purpose (any place I’m a regular or any place I’m staying for an extended time) but as I said before, I think it’s arbitrary and unfair.
Flat tipping is an exceedingly rare practice here. The Slate author specifically stated that it’s primarily a practice of older generations and if they truly make up 20% of restaurant checks (which I doubt, and whose cite is an invitation to visit my local library), I would guess they make up well under 5% of restaurant revenue (mostly at Denny’s). The only way I, and any people I know flat tip is as a minimum. As in, I’m not going to tip $1.40 on a $7 breakfast.
As far as the assumption that you’re going to tip less on average, that just comes from the experience most Americans have with their fellow citizens who have their own personal tipping rules outside the norm. Usually it’s because they’re cheap and frankly, whatever your motivations are, they’re not going to make any difference. Your $15 flat tip, with or without an explanation, is still going to be judged against the check total because that’s just the expectation. In some cases it may be generous, in some cases it may be cheap, but it will be judged by the same standard. As a percentage of the check total. It doesn’t make sense, but all cultures have expected behaviors that don’t make sense.
Your disdain for tipping culture aside, I think trying to make a point by explaining to US wait staff how and why you’re choosing to disburse tips in a manner contrary to local custom pretty much amounts to tilting at windmills. Regardless, I do hope you enjoy your visit.
The article Jake linked says tipping creates many negative effects, from lawsuits to the perpetuation of racism. The author’s proposed solution is, in part, to tip a flat amount per person, of which the server is aware in advance.
I’m wasting my time, aren’t I. Yours, too. Sorry.
If it makes you feel better, here in Singapore, the “service charge” is fixed at 10% of the bill. It’s certainly not a tip, although it isn’t a flat rate either. I think this is standard practice all over the world, or at least I’ve paid service charges all over the world, based of a percentage of my final bill. Japan, Europe, Australia…
So, think of it as a 15% service charge.
All of the bad stuff mentioned in the Slate article relates to tipping different waitstaff different amounts based on race, gender, etc. That all goes out when you simply tip a fixed percentage on the bill, regardless of how your waitstaff did (or how you perceived your waitstaff did).
Behind that, you have the problems of tip sharing, underpaying wait staff, etc. That’s not something you can control by tipping or not tipping, or paying a flat rate. That’s for legislation and/or local influence. Who cares if a tourist tips on a flat rate? You’re not going to be around for long, and nobody is going to cater for you. Restaurants certainly aren’t going to change their business model because of tourists, and if the local population likes tipping, you aren’t going to change that.
I hate the custom of tipping. But I think Slate got it wrong by suggesting you can do something about it on an individual basis in your interactions with servers.
As long as you’re OK with tourists coming to your country and modifying your customs to meet what they think is “moral”, it’s all good.
People who tip a flat amount usually do so when they have small orders - throwing down a $1 bill when you merely ordered a cup of coffee, that sort of thing. Otherwise, it’s based on a percentage of gross receipts prior to any coupon deductions. So if I order $20 in food, have a coupon for $5 off ($15 out of pocket) and I wanted to leave a 20% tip, I would leave $4, not $3.
When in Rome, Dave Hartwick. When in Rome…
So you go to Denny’s and order 2 kids meals @ 4.99/each and an adult pancake breakfast @ $7.99, a cup of coffee @ $1.49 and 2 milks/juices (assuming they don’t come with the kids meal) @ $1.29 for a total of $22.04… and you’re going to leave a $15 tip, when the customary amount would be $3.15?
Yeah, servers would be happy with that. Seems like a good way to break your budget, but it’s not my moral principle for which you’re fighting.