How much do you tip at restaurants?

Question

I calculate 20% of the total bill including the tax, add it to the bill, then round up to the nearest dollar.

Answer 1

You should tip around 15% of the total bill. But it also depends on the kind of service you get, so you also should keep that in mind.

Answer 2

15%. that's the general rule according to my etiquette book.

Answer 3

most restaurants make you tip 15% to their waiters....

like rainforest cafe! they add the tip to your check!

Answer 4

15 to 20 % depending on the service.

Answer 5

you may also want to consider the fact that if you want to show your face in the place in the future , more is better . For a good meal and service Ill tip 30% .

Answer 6

I wait tables on occasion and have on and off in the last 20 years.  You would be considered a good tipper.

Answer 7

That's an excellent way to calculate the tip and most servers would be grateful.  The only time I tip more is if it was extrodinarily good service and having been a server in another life, I tip well because I know what it's like to depend on someone's mood and generosity or lack of to make a living.

Answer 8

I am a server, so even when I have terrible service I tip 25 percent. If I am at a nice resteraunt, such as Outback, Carrabas, or Bonefish, I always try to leave at least $20 (with 2 customers) as long as I have decent service. Getting a $20 tip will make your servers night. Plus if you tip him or her good, they will not be thinking horrible thoughts about you once you leave. Unless you've worked in a resteraunt, you don't realize how hard a job serving is. Imagine having three people over for dinner and individualy serving them (bringing them there food in two or three courses, keeping drinks full, etc) Then multiply that by two or three more tables. It's hard work, and we only get paid $3.50 an hour.

Answer 9

depends on the service, not the looks of the waiter/waitress.

atleast 15%.

Answer 10

It depends on the place ur eating at.

Answer 11

Its just me usually so I sit in the bar area if the place has one but here is my criteria

When I sit down am I given a menu and have my drink order attended to quickly; when my food arrives is it what I ordered and if I need a refill on my drink is it taken care of or asked about? about 5 minutes after the server brings my food is it asked about to make sure I am satisfied? Is the server making sure I have my drink taken care of (refill?) when I am done with my meal does the server ask if I want dessert and if not brings the bill at that point? Is the server pleasant and polite?  If all this is met I tip very well if not I start dinging a server. If it is things that are out of a servers control then I don't penalize them. (Like is the place busy etc)

Usually I have a bill between $12-$20 and I tip $5 on the lower end and can go up to $10 if it was an exceptional experience. I don't eat out a lot so I don't mind rewarding good service. One server asked me did I need change when it was a $20 check once and left her a $10 tip and I said no you did an exceptional and attentive job. You deserve it and she said no one left her a tip like that before. I said I like to reward exceptional effort. Plus I have worked food service/customer service so I understood.

Answer 12

I do the same thing you do when the service is good or even even semi-good.  If it is just ok, 15%.  Only a couple of times in my life have I tipped less and that was when the server was so obnoxious we couldn't wait to get out of the restaurant.  If I can't afford to tip decent, I don't eat out.

.

Answer 13

18-20% rounded up to the next dollar.

Answer 14

I usually tip around 18%, but anymore, I am taking service into consideration, and cutting back when things are not right

Answer 15

I usually give 20% depending on everything. People would tip better if their salary was based on getting tips.

Answer 16

My tipping is 100% based on the service. I could care less if someone has a bad day. I could care less if they only make 3 bucks an hour. I was a waitress and I earned every single tip I made. I knew when not to expect one, and I was often shocked when I didn't receive one ... but the next table that I provided great service too would make up for it.

Now, when I say service I don't mean if something is wrong with the food etc. UNLESS the waitress doesn't remedy the situation (if I tell them of course) And if the food is taking an hour.. I expect to see her come fill my drinks, and tell me the kitchen is taking a long time. If she wants a tip.. then she needs to work for it.

It is a job, like any other.. I start at 15-20% and work up.. last night our waitress got 6 bucks off of our 23 dollar bill. I didn't think twice she gave us great service and she deserved it. This same waitress in the past has gotten crappy tips.. once we left her like 1.26 or something (we rounded up the bill to like 25 bucks or whatever) She deserved it that night and obviously she knew it because last night she worked for her tip.

Having a bunch of tables is no excuse for me either.. as I used to serve a 19 table restaurant BY MYSELF as it was just me and a cook and very rarely we would have a dishwasher come in.. otherwise, I'd have to do the dishes, salads/drinks/toast, take orders, serve orders, stay on top of the drinks (ugh coffee drinkers are the worst), clear tables, set tables AND run the cash register.... oh did I mention you have to wash your hands between almost all of those things? So no, I don't feel sorry for the girls who have 5 tables, a bus boy and are claiming to be "busy".

A tip is earned, it isn't guaranteed and if people started tipping like it was designed for I bet service in this country would be a LOT better than it is now.

Answer 17

The standard is 20% i think. so if you have tax you can double the tax usually and add a little bit. I have a grading system that i use though. (since its a gratuity, and should be such, not a fee). so they start at 20%. if they do a pretty good job, where i'm like "dang, he was snappy" or "he wasn't that snappy, but he is doing half a packed restaurant by himself" they get 30% to 40%. if the restaurant is empty and they are standing and talking to other waiters while my food is standing right behind them ready to go, or they are rude, standoffish, inattentive etc... they get 10%, 5% or 0%. Also there are some restaurants where the waiter that helped you doesn't get the tip, all the waiters pool the tips and split it up equally amongst themselves and the busboys and the dishwashers. i think that is bullcrap so in places like that i tip 10% regardless of service.

Answer 18

20% on the cost of the meal, not the tax. If the service was bad, a lot less!

Answer 19

if it is some one i know 30-50 depending on the bill.  If you all worked in the restaurant business you would too