What do you Tip at Restaurants & Starbucks in New Hampshire? (hotel, luxury)

[timunh]

Originally Posted by rmcewan

Any place with a bar and you order drinks will usually have an arrangement whereby the waiters shares tips with the bar staff. The waiter didn't pour that great martini... or cook that perfect steak for that matter. Many places have a such a tip-out scheme.

Right, I understand this with a bartender, but is it also typical to have an arrangement to share tips with those working in the kitchen? I'd always assumed that folks "behind the scenes" were paid by the hour. I'm just curious because I've never worked at a restaurant.

[fishnfool]

I almost always tip 20% unless the service is horrible and I can tell that is the waitress's fault specifically.

I've never actually boughten anything at Starbucks before and the only time I've stopped at one is in airports. If I did I would not tip though.

[jgoodridge]

I may through my change in from time to time but I think them "begging" for tips is uncalled for. In regards to restaurants, I over tip. My girlfriend is a bartender, so she thinks anything less than 20% is bad. I will normally leave 20% but regularly leave 25-30%.

[Sciamedia]

I never tip at Starbucks

[Yankeehombre]

I refuse to patronize Starbucks, the California 'devil-may-care' $4.00cup of java institution that did away with the 50 cent cup of coffee nationwide.

Also Unless I am receiving service actually to my table I do not tip. Tipping has gotten way out of hand whereby pizza joint cashiers expect a tip for merely doing their job of collecting my money. Personally I am offended by the tip jar at cash registers. I walk away guilt-free from those.
Who doesn't need more money?? Should I feel guilty for not adding 20% to my Electric bill every month?
T.I.P.S. is supposed to represent to insure prompt service. Should I have to wait for somebody to take my money?? Exactly what would be the service that somebody wants me to pay extra for? Very simply its a voluntary stipend for a cashier, not prompt table service. I always tip my bartender or waitress a minimum of 20% unless the service was just horrible. In N.H., waitpersons may be paid 1/2 of the minimum wage if they receive tips.I do feel for the college kid trying to make enough money for a tank of gas to go hiking on in the mountains for the weekend. Another note, try to tip in cash to a waitron whom's service you really like. This ensures that the tip probably is not volunteered as income on federal taxes, thereby denying G.W. Bush his cut of your tip to buy guns + tanks and Hummers. Restaurant owners must rat out their employees to the IRS and divulge tipping income the whenever you tip on a credit card. By tipping in cash you automatically turn the 20% tip into 25% depending on the tax bracket of the waitron.
I pay as much as is possible in cash and let the recipient decide if they want to share their money with the govt, for furthering their diabolical little plots. Admittedly some waitpersons will report their cash tips, or get fired for not achieving the service goal of the restaurant.

[rmcewan]

Originally Posted by timunh

Right, I understand this with a bartender, but is it also typical to have an arrangement to share tips with those working in the kitchen? I'd always assumed that folks "behind the scenes" were paid by the hour. I'm just curious because I've never worked at a restaurant.

I think it is rare to tip out kitchen staff. However, I only know how a bigger chain-style restaurant does it. Obviously in a classic restaurant, the chefs are paid reasonable salaries reflecting their training and skills. However, I do wonder what goes on in the great American diner, which can live or die on the quality of the cooking, but can't pay a chef's salary to the cooks.

[CometVoyager]

I just came across this link regarding a recent ruling about Starbuck's tipping policies. Seems like there is more to this than I knew! After all if I am sitting at a bar and order a drink I always tip the bartender but why does it seem, to me, so weird to leave a tip for a Baristas? It is not like I am sitting at a bar and getting personalized service. Help me with this! Please!

Starbucks tips ruling is made to order for baristas - Los Angeles Times

[BF66389]

I always tip 20% (rounding up, so usually more), 15% & a back-of-recept "ways to improve" for bad service (which I rarely have since we moved up here). I also default to $5 for any "real" meal. If I have a $15 meal somewhere where the waitress worked just as hard as somewhere with higher food prices...I don't see why they should get stiffed on a tip.

I never leave below 15%, but I will complain to management (nicely) about a bad waitress AND leave 15%. Just because they were bad doesn't mean they should work for near-free and by leaving a tip perhaps they will actually respect my advice rather than dismissing me as a jerk.

[GregW]

I am a congenital cheapskate but I try to tip about 20% for at the table service. Some times I leave a larger tip if the service was exceptional or if the meal was a dinner and we did not order any alcohol drinks. Drinks drive meal prices through the roof. I do not tip at fast food or coffee places and never go to Starbucks although I do have a 7-eleven coffee addiction.

The last "full price" dinner was at the old railroad station steakhouse in Derry, NH for our "fortieth" anniversary and Christmas Eve dinner. The bill was about $100 and the tip $25. The meal was one of the best I have ever had. The company was even better.

[bluegreen]

It is not the decision of the employees to charge $4 for a latte, they make an hourly wage and probably truly appreciate their tips, like any barista at any other coffee shop would. I don't tip each time I visit a Starbucks, but once a week I will throw in a $1 ish.