Interesting, I usually get water with my meal, mainly because it’s what I want, but tip as if a soft drink was ordered, as the amount of work is the same - that is if they actually treat it the same, as sometimes I find that they are unwilling to refill it as often as soft drinks in which case I tip less on the total meal.
Actually, I have a tipping question as well. Do you tip the bartender for a drink, at a bar where you’re not being served? (I was 13 the last time I was in the US, so tipping was not an issue for me at the time.) Some of my friends leave a dollar on the bar for a 3-4 dollar drink. Is that standard?
I’m surprised at the tip’s being mentioned include tipping against the tax added as well.
Though mathematically it is equivalent to tipping a little extra against the untaxed bill (tax being a straight percentage of that total as well) it is important if you eat in different states.
It seems strange to essentially tip less in low tax states than you do in high tax states for the same service. I’d advocate an 18% to 25% tip against the total before tax, for good service (ie your normal expectation for decent restaurant service, more for service beyond normal expectations).
I remember this old rule, which assumed that at a nice restaurant you might be spending, say $50 on a couple of entrees, but spring for a $300 bottle of wine. Serving a single bottle of wine obviously doesn’t take much effort or deserve much tip.
Nowadays, food has gotten more expensive, while high-quality wines can be had for very cheap, so the ratios are different. Also, more people are consuming mixed drinks, which are generally more labor-intensive than wine.
Like other people here, I generally tip on the whole bill, but if you have a disporportionate amount of your bill spent on one or a couple bottles of expensive wine you might be excused for not tipping as generously on that portion. If it’s lots of bottles or lots of mixed drinks, you should tip on the whole amount, since the server is working hard.
mischievous
I don’t quite understand the question. Yes, it is standard to leave about a dollar a drink, regardless of alcohol content (tip on soft drinks, folks). If you’re not being served anything, why are you tipping?
mischievous
You can REALLY screw the server if you don’t tip (and preferably tip well) on wine/alcohol.
I am a waiter, and among the other people I am expected to tip out, I am expected to tip 10% of my alcohol sales to the bartender. If I’m not tipped at least 15-18% on the total bill including alcohol, I actually lose money on the alcohol.
Example:
$100 in alcohol, customer leaves $15 tip.
I give 10-15% of my gross tips to my busboy. That’s $2.25.
I give 10% of my gross tips to the expediters. That’s $1.50.
I give nearly 20% of my tips to Uncle Sam. That’s another $3.00
Now for that 10% to the bartender - $10 to him.
That leaves me with… -$1.75. Hooray for low tips on alcohol!
I just wanted to peek in and say that I could feed myself and a small African village for a month on $700! Holy smokes! :eek: I’m obviously a philistine…
Frankly, tipping as a percentage of the bill is effin’ barbaric. Perhaps the cost of the food is related to the quality of the service; however, I’ve yet to see this fact obtain.
That said, I frequent very few places where tipping is part of the exchange, so I tip very, very well. Because of that, I get treated very, very well. It took a coon’s age to find places that reward good tipping with treatment on par, but I did and it was—and still is—totally worth it.
That said, I can’t help the OP beyond my very specialized experience. But, I’ve got eight minutes to NaNo and I’m bloody dying with excitement, so c’est la guerre.
Anywhere between 2-5 dollars…denmark,schilling,denar,krona,euro,yen,lbs. etc.,
Oh, and this almost makes my blood boil to the point of a pitting… in fact, I will pit this one day soon, but for now let me say this -
If it is the custom in your country to only tip a few dollars regardless of the bill, fine. Do that in your country. But if you ever come to my country and I wait on you don’t expect any real service for 2 dollars for your party of 10.
(this prompted by a large party of French people some weeks ago, who tipped me about $2.80 on a $136 bill. I spent an inordinate amount of time with them trying to communicate since they hardly spoke English, and getting them everything they wanted from alcohol and wine to types of bread we don’t usually serve with our meals. Oh boy I’m going to start working on my pitting. Carry on.)
Just as a matter of interest can anyone who is a waiter/ress or similar tell me who are the best tippers outside of US citizens.
I’m betting it isn’t us Brits. altho’ I tip quite well when in the USA and other countries.
I’ve long since discovered that a decent tip means the next time you go back to the restaurant/bar the service you get is much better than if I was a tight bastard.
Jesus, how much do they think you’re MAKING on tips on alcohol.
Guess that’s alright…rumor is my boss is going to announce that he’s going to start withholding 8% of our nightly tips to help pay payroll taxes. :mad: :mad: :mad:
Cyberhwk, I’m pretty sure that’s a major league illegal no-no your boss is considering. If you are legally a “tipped employee” the tips belong to you, not your boss, he can’t take them to pay his expenses. If he’s taking part of a fixed percentage “service charge” he adds to the bill, that’s probably legal, but tips (amount decided by the customer and given to you) can’t be touched.
As to the alcohol, I normally include it in the tip (20%), but it’s rarely an expensive bottle of wine. If I got expensive wine I would still tip on it, but not the full percentage.
Australians are very unpopular with overseas waiters, so it ain’t us.
I once spent a week in Thailand sitting propped on a stool at an open air bar by the beach. I’d been there before and seen the sights (and discovered this bar), so this particular trip was just a wind-down for me, and I was happy just to stay in one spot. I tipped an average-ish amount during the time I was there, but on the first day, I gave the bar staff a bottle of extra-strong Kahlua (we drank it together) and I tipped some imported smokes into a glass for the staff to smoke, and I donated a few bucks to the local temple on their behalf. I think the staff prefered that to money in a way, because it made them human. I had the best service that week I’ve ever had anywhere.
How I tip:
IN AUSTRALIA:
- The leftover $1 and $2 coins in a suburban chew ‘n’ spew if the service is average.
- Not a red cent if the service is below par.
- Some “paper money” if service is good (more of it if it’s excellent)
OVERSEAS:
- Considerably more.
IN AMERICA:
- Never been, but tipping there seems complex, arcane, and scary. I’d probably blow it somehow.
I don’t tip, at all. Exception: I might give the Taxi Driver the change if the fare comes to $7.80 and I’m paying with a $10 note, or something like that.
Waitstaff, Porters, and Other Service Staff get nothing.
Having said that, in Australia we pay our staff properly, so there’s no reason (generally) to tip them.
Tipping is absolutely verboten in New Zealand, and I outlined my views on tipping in the US in an earlier thread. Edited highlights: Since any tip I’m going to leave is clearly not going to be enough (maybe $5 on the meal- including drinks- and only then if I’m in a really good mood), it’s probably better for me not to bother in the first place, and that’s without getting into my own philosophical objections to the practice of tipping or expectations of a tip by waitstaff…
I know that in Thailand, if the service has been very bad, and you wish to make your displeasure felt, you don’t leave no tip - instead, you tip one Baht. The message gets across. Or so I’m told. Are there any other places that do this?
I’ve always tipped on the bar bill because, in my observation, it’s the most work the waitperson does (at least in the circles I run in). They bring the food once; they’ll bring drinks 3 or 4 times to me and mine. And my husband’s family never orders a shot ‘n’ a beer…it’s always some drink du jour concoction that probably has to be looked up.
I assume she meant that she isn’t being served with table service and is instead going straight to the bartender to order the drink. In these cases, yes, I tip a dollar or so because the bartender is the one serving me at that point.
Out of curiosity, why do people feel they should tip the bartender $1 for each drink? It’s not like there’s any real work involved in pulling a beer or pouring a shot of Bourbon into a glass full of ice and/or Coca-Cola.
And yes, I have worked in a bar. I stand behind my assertion that the bartender doesn’t deserve $1 per drink, even for something “complicated” which they may have to look up.
In Canada and the States, you’d be a total jerk for doing that. You’ve just cost your server money.
If you don’t understand the customs, don’t go to the country.
If you’re local, learn your own country’s customs.