[ebiester]

Simple: American service has a peculiar quirk in that servers are paid (in 95% of the country) around 2 dollars an hour, and are compensated in tips instead. At minimum, 15% is expected as a tip, even for bad service, and good service has an expectation of 20%. Truly bad service should be spoken to with the manager, rather than simply leaving without any tip.

Note that servers expect you to tell them if something is wrong, so that it can be corrected.

If you have a discount, you are still expected to tip on the full amount.

When you look at the price, add about 9% (depending on locale) for sales tax and another 15% on top of that for the tip. (Tip used to be pre-sales tax, but is considered post-sales tax today.)

Many people tip 20%, but it is not required. Fast food has no tipping. Starbucks and other coffee places, a tip is appreciated but not required. Bars expect a dollar per drink.

[slurgfest]

Giving 15% for bad service is not necessary. As a tourist you might as well do it just to keep everyone happy, but if you are being actually mistreated by a jerk waiter then a full 15% is not deserved.

15% used to be the normal amount for good service not that long ago, before everyone decided that 20% was the normal amount and 15% was stingy. Pretty soon it will be 25, 30, and 50%.

Meanwhile most of the service industry does not get any tips.

[liquidcool]

Everyone has not decided that 15% is stingy. I dine out a lot and at least here in SoCal 15% is quite normal, 20% for good service or - if we're being honest - if the server is attractive.

However, I have found that people who are former servers use 20% as a minimum out of empathy. But they usually don't guilt others into doing that, either. Perhaps you frequently dine with former servers?

[tptacek]

I tip 20% because the math is easier.

I have found that if you're a regular at a restaurant or a bar, and you consistently tip 20%, you'll be remembered for it. It's a good thing.

Most of us wouldn't notice the difference between 15% and 20%, even at a Michelin-starred restaurant, by the time we're looking at our finances aggregated in Mint. My recommendation: just tip 20%. You'll be happier in the long run, and your servers will be too.

[liquidcool]

That's reasonable, but if we're talking easy math, I just add 25% to the base. Just divide by 4 and add that. Covers tax with about a 17-18% tip, and I usually round up. I also tip better to any server I see regularly, I agree that pays off.

[zampano]

I think the bit about talking to the manager is key here. Many of my friends are servers and customers will sometimes stiff them entirely on tips because they are upset about the quality of the food or some other transgression of the restaurant, but really this only affects the servers and hardly ever goes up the chain to the management. If you are having an issue, you need to talk to the manager or odds are it will never be corrected. Plus, when you've been sitting there an hour and your server might only have four tables, you could end up being a much larger portion of their tables that night than you realize. It's not uncommon to have little old ladies take over a table for a few hours drinking tea resulting in the server walking away with substantially below-average tips that night. I find the system completely unfair but have not yet found a way to protest it that wouldn't directly hurt the servers.

[slurgfest]

If the purpose of the restaurant is to serve the waiters then they should be paid at least a living wage up front, rather than requiring me to vacate my seat as rapidly as possible and be required to supply minimum wage on pain of death.

Don't blame the customers for not tipping enough when there are such problems with labor law and restaurant management.

[tptacek]

If you object to the system of tipping waiters so strenuously that you're willing to stiff someone who earns a bottom-quartile income to serve you, just don't eat at sit-down restaurants.

Going to sit-down restaurants and refusing to tip is a great recipe for becoming a pariah.

[mootothemax]

Going to sit-down restaurants and refusing to tip is a great recipe for becoming a pariah.

Quite. I really don't understand the idea of showing one's dissatisfaction with tipping by hurting the guy earning $2/hour and not the owner of the restaurant - it seems pretty obvious whose bottom line will suffer the most in this instance.

[Evbn]

Go to restaurants that refuse tips or none at all.

[euroclydon]

Not sure why this is down voted. I tip 20% IF I get good friendly service. It's not that much money because I don't drink. I know many people who consistently tip much less and some of them are cheap but others are trying to actively work against low staff wages and tip inflation.

[tptacek]

You are not, technically, required to tip the cost of your wine.

[kittxkat]

Well now, that is anything but simple.