Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Well, for fancy restaurants it's pretty much mandatory in expectation but I was also thinking about less fancy or formal dining places, verging on fast-food-ish (such as a take-out like place where there are also tables and chairs in a small cafe) where it's not so clear cut how mandatory/expected it is socially-- maybe it's just me but I have a feeling that the tipping culture is spreading a bit into fast food-ish places (and in the US, there is more tipping culture in those situations), but it could be me imagining things as I haven't eaten anywhere fancy in quite a while!
I tip the standard 15% in most cases anyways, 20% or even more if good or great, but maybe more like 10%-ish if it's not totally good or just okay, and rarely even less (or nothing) unless the service is really, really bad.
Anywhere where you are served by a waiter who comes and serves you at the table (food, drink), you would tip the requisite 15%. Fancy or non-fancy.
Fast food places where you take your own food from the counter and sit down at a table, don't usually expect tips but I noticed a lot of them have tip bowls now.
Buffets are iffy - you usually have a waiter but it's usually only for drinks and cutlery, etc. And for clean-up. There I'd say the rule is to tip around 10% since you are getting your own food after all.
I should say I hate all of the tipping ambiguity. In North America it is at least clear to me because I live here.
In Europe I find the "optional tipping if you want to" in many countries to be occasionally annoying. It seems like a lot of waiters won't expect a tip but in many cases you get the sense that they would be really-really-really happy if you gave them one.
Best place in the world on this front (unless things have changed): Australia. Everything is included in the price (tax, service, etc.) and there is no subtle pressure to tip.
Best place in the world on this front (unless things have changed): Australia. Everything is included in the price (tax, service, etc.) and there is no subtle pressure to tip.
Japan deserves a place in a best in the world category too. You can be chased by a waiter for "forgetting" the change
I dislike the idea of tipping to me it is like charity.
A question for those who believe that tipping is a good idea to make a living, would you be happy to make what some customer of your service believes the job is worth ?
If you live in the US, you should have been tipping all this time. The servers are dependent on tips, because server jobs pay below minimum wage. In some establishments, the servers' tips are shared with the kitchen staff as well. Baggage handlers at airports need to be tipped for the same reason--they're paid below minimum wage.
But how is that a problem of the customer??? This should be a problem between employer and employee only.......the employers are just passing the responsibility of paying the waiters to the customers......in Brazil, in almost every restaurant, the 10% tip is automatically included in the bill....you can argue that you don't want to pay, because you're not obliged to do it, but everyone does because it's also become a cultural thing here too.....the problem is, and I've heard it from waiters themselves, is that in many cases this money doesn't even get to them, or at least not fully, the owner keeps some to himself!!! .....the only restaurant I've been here where you are actually asked if you want to tip or not was Outback......
I agree with tipping since I think it does promote better service. If there is just a service charge, then where is the incentive for them to offer better service? I've heard that service in European restaurants is often poorer and this is cited as one of the reasons, plus the fact that most businesses in Europe are independently owned vs chains. (In a chain if an unreasonable customer b____ enough to the manager they will get what they want. In an independent they can just refuse to serve you.)
There has only been one time in my life when I've not tipped because the service was terrible. Usually I do 20%. Other factors are the price of the meal, for example I go above 20% when the meal is very cheap like I would never tip below $3 (2 people can eat a very fitting dinner at Waffle House or Dennys for $10). I usually don't tip when I get carry out though some folks do.
I do wonder though when people go to Sonic, do yall tip the cute roller skating girls 20% or just a dollar or two?
I've also heard that sometmes in foreign countries, especially in tourist areas, when they see that your American they expect a tip from you, even if its not customary for a local to tip. Once at a restaurant in the Florida Keys a menu had a note on tipping "for our international guests"!
In South Korea, tipping is not customary at restaurants, hotels or for taxi service.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
.....the only restaurant I've been here where you are actually asked if you want to tip or not was Outback......
