About tipping, how do you know how much to tip someone?

Question

I never really understood how, because I never did it. Also, I don't understand the percentage part of it. Please explain how it works in details or step by step, in the easiest most simplest way so I can understand. Thank you so much

Answer 1

actually you don't really have to tip someone. If they served you bad than you really shouldn't tip them but its usually 15 percent of the bill or if you want, more

Answer 2

I usually tip about 15% - 20%, but I admit that trying to figure out the exact percentage of a number is sometimes annoying, so don't worry about being exact. So, here's what I do.

As an example, say your bill is $23.60.
1. Figure out what 10% of your bill is. You just move the decimal point over once toward the left, so that would be $2.36.

2. Figure out what 20% of your bill is. That's twice what you calculated in step one, so that's $4.72.

3. Just estimate what's halfway in between these two to figure out what 15% of your bill is, I'd say halfway is about $3.50 (its actually $3.54, so that was an okay guess).

4. Usually, based on how good the service was, I decide how much between 15 and 20% that I want to give the waiter. For really good service, I'll give closer to 20, or even over 20 sometimes for exceptional service. If he's average, I'll give him 15, and if he's really terrible I might even give less.


As a side note, I think if your bill is not very much, you just want to ignore this rule altogether (I know..so confusing). If your bill is like $4.00 or something but you were still waited on in a sit down setting, you probably should still give the waiter a few dollars for waiting on you. Also, at coffee shops , if you're coffee or drink is being made for you, its usually a good idea to put any change you got back from paying into the tip jar.

Answer 3

It depends really, depends where you are and what you do. In a restaurant, if they charge service charge which will be said on the bill, then you don't need to tip at all, but I usually round it to the nearest dollar plus 1 or 2 depends on the class of the service and restaurant. If they don't have service charge, then 10%, say the meal was 50 dollars then you leave a tip of 5 dollars.
If some go somewhere else, like a hotel or get a cab. Usually a dollar.

Answer 4

It depends on who and what you are tipping for.

If you are at a restaurant, a lot of wait staff are paid less then minimum wage and the rest of it is made in tips. 15-20% is the standard acceptable rate - less then that can be insulting to the server. 20% is also standard for a hair cut as well.

The percentage you tip should be based off of the subtotal (does not include tax). If you had a coupon say for buy one entree, get one free - then the tip should be based off of what the subtotal would have been for the meal.

So if your bill is $24.40, 10% is 2.40, double it for 20% (for good service), so the tip would be $4.80

Answer 5

Tipping is done to supplement a waitpersons meager pay.

Typically, it ranges between 10% and 20%, so a $10 meal would garner a tip of $1 to $2. You base it on level of service you received from that person - not on how you liked the food, or the atmosphere, but how THAT person treated you.

Also, if part of a Large group (6 or more) it is customary to leave a larger tip - sometimes as much as 25%, since there is so much more work involved in large groups. Sometimes nice restraunts will add the gratuity in to the total for large parties, so the waitstaff doesn't get ripped off.

Leaving two pennies on the table is considered a BIG insult to the waitperson, and should be done only if they were pretty much useless, or rude.

Answer 6

first of all it doesn't matter about stupid percentages. when u tip there is a scale from 1-10. well...most of the time. if they did a horrible job forget them. they don't deserve any tips. if the food was late probably a 2 or 3 dollar tip will do. if the food was late but still warm it would deserve a 3 or 4 dollar tip. if the food wasn't cooked thoroughly ask for another dish of it. and if they give u one for free and were saying sorry all the time, they deserve a 6 or 7 dollar tip for making sure you enjoyed your meal. if everything was wonderful and you enjoyed it and if you have friends and you and them want to come back again they deserve a 9 or 10 dollar tip. I know it's complicated but you'll understand eventually.

Answer 7

Easiest way by far. Look at the tax of the total bill then double it. So if the total tax is $3.50 you tip $7.00. The reason this is so easy to remember is that taxes usually amount to 7 or 8 percent, so if you double it then you are on target for the standard tip rate.

Answer 8

I've heard that 15% is considered appropriate for quality service, 10% for acceptable service, and 20% for exceptional service. The way I figure it is to first get the 10% - just move the decimal. For example, a 10% tip on a $25.00 meal is $2.50. Then, if you want to offer the 15% tip, just take half of the 10% figure and add that. ($2.50/2 = $1.25. $2.50 + $1.25= $3.75). Therefore, a 15% tip for quality service is $3.75 on a $25.00 bill.

Also, you don't really need to figure the tip on the tax. You can figure it from the "pre-tax" amount on the bill.

And just another "tip" about tipping: don't skimp on a date. Don't overdo it either, but it can make you look really cheap if you stiff your server, and that's a turn-off to most dates. :)

Answer 9

Personally I do not believe in tipping. It is just a way for service employers to get away with having to pay their help better so they depend on customers to help out with wages. But unless you tip you do not get decent service at all, and they DO remember who tips well and who doesn't. So, the accepted standard is 15% of your total bill. But, since tipping is optional, the amount is also. If you feel you got exceptional service, you can tip more, if you feel your service was poor, tip less. Different amounts apply to different services that don't involve a bill such as tipping a porter, skycap, etc. My opinion is that tipping has gotten out of hand.
But it is fun to watch how some people will fall all over themselves to suck up to you to get a good tip. I have had every waitress in a bar I frequent rub her "ample chest" in my face, and every other male customers face, to get a good tip. In other places wait staff over does it to the point of being a pest to try for a good tip, this for me is a turn off and gets a lousy tip. One last thing, even though tipping is a rip off, it does help, sitiing at the bar, people who tip decent get served immediately while those who don't are next to ignored.

Answer 10

Depends on who your tipping! But usually its 15%, 20% to be nice. So like if your resturaunt bill is 100, a normal tip would be 15-20, more if you liked the service. If the bill is like only a couple dollars like for a coffee, then just leave a dollar or 2. The pizza delivery boy usually gets 3 bucks unless you order a real lot.

Answer 11

lets say your bill was 17.08

I personally tip 20%, this is slightly higher than the 15% accepted minimum but I used to be a server and understand the difficulty of the job, it also make figuring the tip easier

to figure 10% just move the decimal one place
17.08 becomes 1.70
then to get it to 20% just double it
1.70 becomes 3.40
At this point you have left a sufficient tip, I however like even numbers for my accounting so I would leave 3.92 In order to come to a Round total
3.92 + 17.08=21.00
or if you went with just standard 20%
3.40 + 17.08=20.48