Tipping in the US?

Question

As a Brit, I only tip for good service. If I was to go to the US and didn't tip because I felt the service was sub standard, how would that be looked upon?

Answer 1

I would not tip if I felt the service was substandard either.......too many service workers these days think they should get tipped for nothing. I'm glad I live in Japan where there is no tipping but I ALWAYS get EXCELLENT service!


Oh and there's a difference between someone being very busy or new, which I can understand (and you can usually tell if thats the case) but if the waiter/waitress has a snotty attitude, they will not get a tip from me.

Answer 2

as a person who works off tips, if your service sucked, leave an insult tip with a note (usually $1 or $2). Most people who work off of tips are gonna give you the best service they can to get the best tip they can. Based on experience, people from UK dont tip really good. i havent had someone prove me different yet. not quite sure what level of service you want but i guess im not doing it good enough. not tipping a person is like you running errands for your boss all day and at the end of the day all he says is "I appreciate it" and you see no monetary compensation. if its somewhere you visit frequently and you feel you are getting bad service, you may be yourself to blame. you probably dont leave enough of a tip to be recognized as someone who is worth bending their backs for.

Answer 3

if the service is really bad..I would not tip either but I always try and leave something. The service has to be really,really bad I mean like its dead slow and you can't get your waitress over to your table.To not leave a tip. Try and consider if it is slammed and your waitress is working her a-- off, it might be to busy to give you the attention you want. But if you have everything you need just not the "personal" service I would still leave a good tip.

Answer 4

Hmmm, maybe I should move to Britain.

I tip based on service, I do not feel obligated to leave a tip. Unfortunately most of the servers in the States feel that regardless of how horrible the service they give is, they deserve a tip.

While I realize that a waiter/waitress makes less than minimum wage and depend on tips my thinking is that if they cannot do the job and make a living at it then perhaps they chose the wrong vocation.

Enjoy your stay, but don't feel obligated to reward bad service no matter what people say.

Answer 5

hello Ashley as a fellow Brit that lives in the USA, the whole concept of tipping is a big jump for us..............so with the differences in mind I will tell how it works best for me.....unless the service is TOTALLY pants [and in general after the level of service we are used to in the UK you will be more than happy over here] then you leave a tip, usually in the region of 15% to 20%, you see as the waiters etc over here get paid a VERY poor wage, for instance in the local IHOP they get a grand sum of $3.75 per hour, so getting a tip is very important hence why the service is almost always good if not excellent.............in the whole five year I have been here I have only ONCE not left a tip and also told them why they was NOT getting one, in fact that entire section of the place did not leave a tip with several actually leaving before their food arrived.

regards and try to always give them a tip.................

Answer 6

The service would have to be pretty terribly if you don't tip...as in, you saw your waitress once the whole evening and all of your orders were wrong and she was rude to you.

Waitresses/waiters in the US are payed less than minimum wage (about $2-3 per hour) they depend on tips to make up the difference...

Someone that doesn't tip is seen as EXTREMELY rude...we consider the tip when we consider how much money we have to spend on the food...I don't go out to dinner if I don't have enough money to tip my waitress.

Answer 7

a common US dining etiquette is to tip 10 percent if the service is less than satisfactory, 15 percent if its just okay, and 20 or more percent if the service was outstanding

however, if the service is absolutely horrible or your server said or did something rude or inappropriate, its not completely unacceptable to tip less than 10 percent, or in some cases, not at all. but thats very uncommon; usually if the server is just unattentive, a 10 percent tip is fitting.

Answer 8

Understand that in the US, labor laws permit restaurant service employees to be paid a wage far below our already substandard minimum wage. I’m not sure, but I think that this is less than $3/hour. Restaurant employees are still expected to claim that they made at least the minimum wage in tips and wages, so if you don’t tip them, they are going into the hole. In fact, if the restaurant is audited by our income tax services, the tipped employees are expected to have claimed 15% of the food sales in the restaurant, or else.
From the perspective of custom and taxes, 15% is standard for adequate service. Some people will leave less, but they are generally considered cheapskates. There are also a lot of people who will leave 20%, because of the region they are from (New Yorkers are good tippers) or because they were once service personnel and appreciate the kindness.
Nobody leaves 0%, except of course, very rude Americans or ignorant foreigners. In this instance, I do not use the term ignorant in the pejorative sense, but only to point out someone lacking knowledge of the customs and laws of the place they are visiting.
A few additional points are in order:
The price you are paying for restaurant food in America should be cheaper because the owner is not paying much for wages. So you should be saving on the front end.
Tips are only paid when you sit down, someone takes your order and brings you the food.
The 15% I quote is for adequate service. It can go up or down, but 0% is almost never acceptable. I understand that a lot of factors are out of control for the service person, and I wouldn’t penalize them for slow food for instance. But one thing within control of the service person is attitude, and I expect a friendly presence. You can establish separate requirements, for instance, excellent communications skills.
You wouldn’t tip for what we call fast food. No tips at McDonalds.
If you were in a buffet restaurant where you get up and get your food, but someone clears dishes and gets you a beverage, you would tip less.
If you stay in a hotel, tip a buck or two per night per head. You can rationalize this as kindness, but I find that if I accidentally leave something in the room, I have a better chance of seeing it again. If you do tip the maid, leave it on the pillow.

Answer 9

If you don't tip because you are not happy with the service, you need to report the service to a manager. Otherwise a tip of between 15 and 20 percent is the standard.

Answer 10

It depends on how bad the service was. Most people I know just give a very small tip if they feel the service wasn't up to par, but not so many people leave no nip at all.