# Tipping
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping/514582
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [October 21, 2009, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping/514582 "2009-10-21T06:42:13Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@BigBertha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigBertha)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2009, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping/514582/1 "2009-10-21T06:42:13Z")
I know its proper to tip at least 15% for good service, but I eat at a small family owned restaurant at least once a week, have for over a year.
When i get just fries, which is $1.80 is tipping 50 cents okay? It is 30%, but is there a base amount one should tip?
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### Author:  [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2009, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping/514582/2 "2009-10-21T06:48:19Z")
You really, really don’t want to start a tipping a debate here. It gets ugly very quickly time and time again. If you are just doing take-out though, you don’t really have to give anything even if they just hand it over the counter and you eat it there. 50 cents sounds fine if you sit and eat them there but zero is OK too.
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### Author:  [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2009, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping/514582/3 "2009-10-21T07:15:46Z")
If you’re a regular, err on the side of generosity. You’d rather be spoken of behind your back as a good tipper than as a bad one.
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### Author:  [@Eternal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eternal)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2009, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping/514582/4 "2009-10-21T09:44:04Z")
Is there any reason to tip if you’re not a regular?
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### Author:  [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2009, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping/514582/5 "2009-10-21T10:19:47Z")
Should be fine. If you are going to sit at the table and chat for hours, I’d tip like I ate a real meal. But if the restaurant isn’t full and you aren’t lingering, it’s fine.
While you don’t _have_ to tip for take-out, it is a nice thing to do. Take-out orders often take as much time as regular orders, and are often filled by people with other full-time duties they are neglecting (I did take-out orders as a hostess.) Almost nobody tips for them, so any tip is going to be greatly appreciated. It’s one of the cheapest good deeds you can do.
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### Author:  [@ajb867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ajb867)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2009, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping/514582/6 "2009-10-21T10:39:25Z")
The answer to your question is no. Give two bucks for a tip if all you get is fries and actually sit in the resturaunt. It will feel good, try it!
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### Author:  [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2009, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping/514582/7 "2009-10-21T12:37:58Z")
I generally would not leave less than a dollar in any circumstance, and probably not less than two if I was eating alone (especially if the restaurant is busy). Giving change is, in my opinion, not all that classy.
Why does the restaurant being busy matter? You’re taking up one of the server’s tables. Often, sections can be as little as four tables, and if you linger on a tiny ticket, you’re taking away income from the server. $2 isn’t going to overcome that but at least shows some courtesy to the server by being a lot more than you “need” to give.
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### Author:  [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2009, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping/514582/8 "2009-10-21T12:57:37Z")
I agree with **abj867** and **fluiddruid** - when you order very little, the tip % goes up. I’d never leave less than a dollar, and if I took up a table for more than, say, 30 minutes or so, I’d make sure to leave more than that. The 15% rule applies to full meals, not snacks.
I’d also modify it depending on how busy the restaurant is. Getting your fries at 2 in the afternoon after the lunch crowd’s left and before the dinner crowd is there and it’s slow? Not so big of a deal to be taking up a table. Fries and nothing else in the middle of rush hour when people are waiting to eat? I’d leave a big tip.
And heck, if you’re a regular, always tip a lot. It’s the right thing to do, taking care of the people who wait on you all the time.
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### Author:  [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2009, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping/514582/9 "2009-10-21T14:05:28Z")
I just want to know where to get an order of fries for $1.80.
(Could be that I’m just used to New York prices)
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### Author:  [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2009, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping/514582/10 "2009-10-21T15:26:36Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#):
>
> You really, really don’t want to start a tipping a debate here. It gets ugly very quickly time and time again.
I am going to start a thread asking how much I should tip a doctor performing an abortion.
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### Author:  [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2009, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping/514582/11 "2009-10-21T15:29:25Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#):
>
> You really, really don’t want to start a tipping a debate here. It gets ugly very quickly time and time again. If you are just doing take-out though, you don’t really have to give anything even if they just hand it over the counter and you eat it there. 50 cents sounds fine if you sit and eat them there but zero is OK too.
Listen to this man. There will always be a group of people asserting their inalienable right to tip the wait staff a penny.
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### Author:  [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2009, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping/514582/12 "2009-10-21T15:33:23Z")
I think for a small order like that 50 cents is fine, but a dollar is more classy.
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### Author:  [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2009, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping/514582/13 "2009-10-21T15:38:34Z")
To be clear, I wasn’t criticizing the dollar amount **Shag** suggested tipping; $1.80 tab is not going to yield a large tip. I was talking about the “If you don’t like the wages, don’t work in a restaurant. You will serve me, and I will tip you nada” crowd.
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### Author:  [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2009, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping/514582/14 "2009-10-21T15:39:21Z")
> [@Cat\_Fight](#):
>
> I am going to start a thread asking how much I should tip a doctor performing an abortion.
its a sliding scale depending on which month you are in.
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### Author:  [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2009, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping/514582/15 "2009-10-21T15:43:20Z")
> [@Cat\_Fight](#):
>
> I am going to start a thread asking how much I should tip a doctor performing an abortion.
A FAT doctor on a FAT woman, right? Then you’ll hit just about all the thread nightmare factors 🙂
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### Author:  [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2009, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping/514582/16 "2009-10-21T15:43:35Z")
> [@Lanzy](#):
>
> its a sliding scale depending on which month you are in.
But is it more or less than you tip the guy who declaws your cat?
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### Author:  [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2009, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping/514582/17 "2009-10-21T15:50:42Z")
I get breakfast tacos once a week. I always leave a $1 tip on my $2.70 order. It’s the least they deserve for trying to decipher my incredibly bad pidgin Spanish.
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### Author:  [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2009, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping/514582/18 "2009-10-21T15:59:20Z")
> [@Athena](#):
>
> A FAT doctor on a FAT woman, right? Then you’ll hit just about all the thread nightmare factors 🙂
You also need to ask if he’ll perform a circumcision on the fetus, and it might depend on if his cats are outdoor/indoor, and if they are declawed.
Bonus points if he sports a firearm.
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### Author:  [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2009, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping/514582/19 "2009-10-21T16:05:47Z")
I never tip less than a buck. And I always round up. Look at it as an investment. If you are there frequently, it is nice to see the waitstaff eager to serve you.😉
We eat sushi at a local place once a week or so. I tip well, both our waiter and the sushi chef. If the chef has something special, he will make us an appetizer with it. If he is trying out a new item, he will ask our opinion. And our waiter will sit and chat about “life back home” which is cool.
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### Author:  [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2009, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping/514582/20 "2009-10-21T16:09:38Z")
> [@Athena](#):
>
> A FAT doctor on a FAT woman, right? Then you’ll hit just about all the thread nightmare factors 🙂
No no, it only turns into a shitstorm if someone insinuates that her weight may be related in any way to personal choices. Then it gets… then it gets ugly.
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