When you tip a waitress or barista, what determines how much you give them?

Question

Is it their looks, their attitude, or???

What kinds of things make you give the person a bigger tip?

Answer 1

If they tried to give good service at all, I give them twenty percent.
What ever the bill is, twenty percent is the proper amount to give.
If they are rude, they get a couple of bucks and that is it. or nothing at all.

Answer 2

If it's waitress, the general rule is 15%, but if the service was really good, or they went out if their way to improve your dining experience, it is nice to leave a little something extra, say 20% or even 25% if it was really stellar. And for the barista, if it's a simple drink usually a $1 tip is all right, but for more complicated drink leave $2. Or say you get a drink that is $3.50, and you pay with a 5 dollar bill, leave your change in the tip jar. But if I get really poor service from a waitress or waiter, but the food was still good, I have gone to the manager and given them what I would have left for a tip and explained the situation and asked them to make sure to give the money to the chef and busboys. Usually the waitresses have to split their tips with the rest of the staff (chefs/cooks/busboys) so instead of stiffing the people who provided good service, I find that that is a good solution. A good attitude and competent service is a must if you are going to be in the food service industry. I have waitressed and been a barista, so this is all from personal experience. An easy way to figure a 15% tip is to double the tax on the bill (as long as your state's sales tax is above 7%) Hope this helped.

Answer 3

First of all the average tip should be 15-20%, not a couple bucks, for a server. Being a server, it's really a slap in the face if you leave $2 for a $60 bill. The better the service (you have the food in a realistic time frame and your drink is always full), the higher the tip. (I'll go up to the 35 or 40% if ti's particularly good, but that's unusually high.)

It's important to remember that in general, servers make far below the minimum wage. In 1999, I made $2.25 an hour (i.e. nothing), so I made most of my money via tips.

Baristas, on the other hand, make at least minimum wage, so the tipping is a bit different. Still, it is a service, so the nicer the person, the prompter the result, and the more they want to give you want you want, the higher the tip. This will average from change (quarters) to a dollar or two. It's usually not a ton.

Answer 4

I always give big tips because my mum used to support 3 kids while she was a waitress! I give a bigger tip if I know that the person in a single parent. This is just me though. Some people are just cheap they won't tip good no matter what you do however if you can connect with them on some level they will give you bigger tips.
If you are a women serving a couple(assuming you are female) then you should connect with both the woman and the Man, making frequent sustained eye contact with the man and offering extra care to the woman. If you are serving a group of guys then you should flirt a little, just an educated guess. If it is a group of women then you should try to build rapport by using the same words and moving in the same manner as the most vocal woman.
Good service is not frequent service. Give them an opportunity to sit. Don't overwhelm them with info. Take the order, deliver their drinks, keep them full,when you come to refill the less chit chat the better. Check on the food by asking them. Don't bother again except to refill quietly , if they say thank you then you say you're welcome. Offer of desert with the check handy. The check is there but feel free to sit and talk if you would like.
Thank them very much. Eye contact, smile - big tip. I usually tip at least 20 percent, more if the service is good.

I wish you well ,
Mr. G.

Answer 5

This apparently in a wrong section, but I'll answer anyway.
For waiters/waitresses : 15-25%, depending on their service. If they were nice, but staid out of my hair ( I personally hate it when they try to make small talk about politics or the weather), I tip more. I also tip more when they give me personal suggestions about drinks or their favorite dish.
For bartenders- I tip about 20% ( I add 15%, then I round it to the next dollar). Except when I used to go to this bar where they had an incredibly hot bartender. All the girls tipped 30% there, and the guys tipped less than 10%. Good times.

Answer 6

The standard rule is about 15%, but it can be a bit more in a really nice establishment, especially if the service was really exceptional. Sometimes, I tip at the 20% rate because I think it was worth every penny for the service I received. At the same time, if I think service is a bit poor, I'll tip a little less. That rarely ever seems to happen though.

Also keep in mind that people who work in establishments which have tips as part of the pay make most of their money on tips and rather little on their hourly pay rate.

Answer 7

It's easy for me. If my glass didn't empty once, they get 20% or more (I pay by card more often than not, so I add 20%, then round up to the closest whole dollar amount). If my glass went empty once, they get 10% flat. If my glass goes dry twice, or I get bad service (I don't blame my server for the food), I leave no tip.

I will not eat at a restaurant with a mandatory gratuity. The point is to weed out the bad servers. If they suck, and they're only making 3 bucks an hour, a lack of tips will motivate them to find better means of employment....making room for the next hopeful candidate.

Answer 8

Well to me it doesn't matter if they are good-looking, ugly, buffed up, fat or a model. If the service is good and I am treated like a good customer they will normally get between 15 -20 per cent tip of the bill. If they aren't treating me right guess I will be nice and leave them a dollar and maybe they will think of what they have done. Because when you go eat somewhere you are expected to be treated right all the time. But if not well Sorry Charlie.

Answer 9

You tip off the bat 15 percent of the bill unless the person flat out sucks. To determine if they deserve more,
1. if you are a smoker did they empty your ashtray?
2. Did they try and be friendly with me, make me feel welcome.
3.Did they ask how my food was do I need anything.
4.When I was done eating did they take my plate away.
5.Did they try to rush me out, or did they try and offer me coffee or dessert.

You should always pay attention to the extras your server actually does for you, and remember they only make 2.65 an hour and after 2 weeks don't even recieve a check because it all goes to taxes. They live off you GENEROUSITY.

Answer 10

i have worked in hospitality for around 5 years and it is true service is a big part of it. But you have to understand you have no idea what that person is putting up with chefs are crazy they kill waiters and you have no idea what kind of day this person has had but most of the time if you in hospitality your not in it by choice. 15% is the norm but what is normally preferred is just hand then $10-$20 cash

Answer 11

normally 15 or 20% of the check. Good looks should not mean a higher tip. idiot. Good attitude, smile, quick service