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Really frugal people wouldn't know the answer to this question because they'd never go anywhere that requires tipping! Those are places that generally require spending more money than a frugal person would be comfortable with.
i used to tip about 15-17% of the before tax amount. For example, if a bill comes out to $80 before tax and then is $87 with tax, i would typically tip about $13 which ends up at around 16% of $80.
these days i tip around 16-18% of the after tax amount so $14 on an $87 bill.
if the service is poor, i'll usually stay more in the 13-15% range after tax (so $12 on an $87 bill).
what do other people do?
i did have one incident that stands out. i was visiting boston with my family and there were 3 of us (me, wife, infant child). we went to legal seafoods in the mall and i don't remember everything that we ordered but i probably ordered a drink (i'm not a big drinker but will get a cocktail sometimes) and some food and the bill was around $80 before tax and $87 after tax. the service wasn't **** poor but it wasn't great either. our waiter was a tall asian guy who simply had no personality. he spoke in a monotone without looking at you and simply stood there saying "are you ready to order?" and would take our order without saying a word (no acknowledgements, etc.). he wasn't a bad waiter but he simply had no personality and gave off a weird vibe like he didn't want to be there and he didn't like his job. he never smiled, never checked on us, etc. i also know that it's not their job to entertain children but he didn't acknowledge my son either (usually waiters will at least start with a smile and say hello, etc.). my son just sat there and didn't eat anything or make a mess.
i ended up giving the guy $12.
boy was he pissed. i finally saw some emotion come out of the guy when he saw the tip. i knew it wasn't a great tip but i also didn't think it was a complete insult. he pressed on with questions like "did you not like your service today?" "was there anything i could have done to give you better service?" etc. but rather than asking in a manner that was apologetic or open to learning, he was challenging, rolling his eyes, etc. i didn't feel like getting into an argument with the guy so i just said "eh, you did alright..." and left.
This doesn't have anything to do with being frugal. This is more like being cheap. A frugal family wouldn't have gone out to eat in the first place if they were cutting corners so much they had to leave a bad tip, and then come here to make excuses about it.
While we can ignore the 25% wanted by servers, until it becomes the standard, 20% is "par" in New York. I'm recently removed from Boston, another place where 20% is "par". Here in Atlanta, I believe the standard is still 15% though I haven't gotten out of the habit of 20% yet - not very frugal of me.
While we can ignore the 25% wanted by servers, until it becomes the standard, 20% is "par" in New York. I'm recently removed from Boston, another place where 20% is "par". Here in Atlanta, I believe the standard is still 15% though I haven't gotten out of the habit of 20% yet - not very frugal of me.
I am just south of Atlanta, and it is indeed 20% here
I do 20%, more or less, rounded to the nearest dollar. Ir depends on the service, of course... sometimes more if the server was really good. On the other hand I'll have no remorse about stiffing the server if the service was inexcusably poor.
I also have like a two dollar minimum,such as if I'm eating at a Waffle House and only order $3 worth of food.
The tipping standard isn't 20% everywhere although some people would like it to be.
Frugal is generally what works best within your budget. It could be never eating food from someplace besides your home, only doing take out so you don't have to tip, eating in and ordering only water, or eating out all the time because you save more time and make more money because you used your time efficiently. As you can see, not everyone agrees on how much of a tip is required, but to not tip a decent amount for adequate service would be cheap and not frugal.
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