So how does tipping work in the USA?

Question

Is it compulsary? How much do you have to tip? Does it mean that the goods and services are priced lower to compensate for the cost of tipping? Do staff recieve lower pay as a consequence? And what happens if you don't tip...obviously its bad ettiquete...but can they hunt you down? Hehehe

I'm Australian and we don't have to tip here. Thanks.

Wait staff in Western Australia earn from $16 per hour to $20 per hour dependent on penalty rates (weekends they earn more as with after 7pm and before 7am and double rate on public holidays) people rarely tip here because they earn so well.

Answer 1

Compulsory: Not usually. There are a few places that automatically add a tip to the bill, but not many.

How much: 15% is the low end of reasonable. It is generally best to tip based on quality of service, in my mind. And, unfortunately, many people here don't tip at all or tip very little.

Lower prices: NOOO. Restaurants are soo expensive.

Staff pay: Very, very low pay. Waiters usually make $2.15 per hour in my state. That is $3.60 less than minimum wage!

No tipping: Generally, nothing happens. The people at the surrounding tables (if they notice or aren't jerks) will give you dirty looks, and the waiters will know to look out for you to come in again--and probably spit in your food haha.

Answer 2

ok tipping in the USA..the general rule is leave 15%. If the service did not meet your expectation you have every right to leave less. I am a waitress and my hourly wages are affected, i make $2.13 an hour when the minimum wage in the US is now supposed to be more than seven dollars. so the tips pay my bills, i never see the $2.13 because of taxes. the prices of goods are not cheaper unfortunately and if you eat at a restaurant with a group of 8 or more people a tip is automatically added to your bill. Nothing really happens if you dont tip, they wont hunt you down but they will be a little upset.

And unfortunatly tipping has gotten out of hand here. alot of people now expect tips that really dont need them.

Answer 3

Its good to at least tip 15% or 20%..now if u got bad service u tip what u want. Some restaurants take the tip out before u get the bill. Waitresses around here make most of there money on there tips alone..they usually make less then minimum wage.

Answer 4

15% is the standard, I never top less than 10.00 because those waiters and waitresses work a very hard job, the are running around on thier feet all day and deserve a good tip, even bad servers get 5.00 and if they are really good we give them 20.00 sometimes 25.00! and yes they get something like 3.50 an hour suplimental, so help em out, they are relying on tips. If the standard is different in australia it might be because they get paid more by the hour then that would make not tipping ok. But here in the states servers count on good tips to pay the bills. Good question. cheers.

Answer 5

Yes they do get paid less, most waitress only make from $2.50 -$5.50 per hour so there tips are an important part of how they pay the bills. There probably not priced lower, just like in Australia I would assume there are high priced restaurant and low priced restaurant it all depends on where you go on how the food is priced. It is bad etiquette to not tip and they could hunt you down but I've never heard of anyone doing that. I'm sure its happened though somewhere in the world. Average tip is 15% of the whole bill or more, depending on how great there service was. If it was excellent tip more... common scense.

Answer 6

from someone who is from NYC, and lived in the UK....

Tipping here is technically not compuslary but if you do not leave a tip you will be frowned upon. Most of the time waiters get paid minimum wage, and so do bartenders. This is in expectation that they will make a bulk of thier money in tips.

Some waiters etc think that tipping is absolutely compulsary and get REALLY mad if you dont tip them, but if I get terrible service, there is no tip. It is not compulary at all to tip, but is expected.

In NYC, tipping is part of life. Generally you would give a tip of 15-20% for a meal, a few dollars to a cabbie, or someone carrying something for you, or cutting your hair... No tips for doormen unless they carry up your bags. No tip for someone pumping gas... A dollar or 2 for a car wash. It is also common to give a dollar or 2 to the bartender if you get a round of drinks.

Answer 7

It depends what kind of tipping you're talking about.

In a restaurant, it's generally expected that you will tip between 15-20% of the meal price before tax. Wait staff is generally paid quite a low rate of pay and rely on their tips to make the real money.

In hotels, like for bellhops and valet drivers, it's usually a few dollars per bag (for the bellhop) and a few dollars each time the valet brings your car for you. You are also supposed to leave a tip for the housekeeping staff, the general rule of thumb is $5-$10 per night that you stay.

Here's a webpage with more details about it: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A5200011

Answer 8

usual tipping safety amount is 15%. however, if the service is not good (ie, if waitress is: too slow, forgetful, rude, or any other negative value) tip is either lessened and in some cases completely non existent. foods and services unfortunately, are not less. as a matter of fact, less expensive restaurants usually don't expect tips and more expensive restaurants even demand one. there are some restaurants that do pay their employees less in belief that the employee will recompensate with tips...i do believe it is legal...but not quite sure, i guess thats another research for me. You do not have to tip, but it is greatly frowned upon because of standards and no, they cannot hunt you down. and yes, if they remember you, there is a possibility that they will spit in your food (which of course is not legal.) hope that answered all your questions.

Answer 9

If you don't tip and the person did a good job it's rude. It's usually 15% at a standard restaurant/coffee shop 20% for up-scale fine dining. If the person was just dreadful to the point it basically ruined your night talk to the manager get free dessert and leave 2cents on a napkin and a note that simply says "since you don't have any"

Answer 10

My sister is a waitress and she only gets paid 3.75 an hour which is nothing at all! People here do not have to tip and your pay stays the same whether they do or not, but the pay to begin with is low:) This is in Arizona, but Oregon they get paid 7.50 plus tips:)So, I guess the answer to your question is that the hourly pay varys from state to state, but you dont have to leave a tip......But please remember if you dont, like the first answer, they will spit in your food:)