Do you tip?

[PhoenixFlare500]

You've had a waiter demand a tip? That's pretty terrible... Also I still tip sometimes if the food's poor because that wasn't the waiter/waitress's fault.

[HBP]

There was no tip system where I immigrated from 4 years ago so this is one of those customs here I am facing some trouble understanding and adapting to. But like I said, I tip most of the times. The times I don't tip are when I don't believe its right. E.g. at my university, there is this cookie shop. You ask for a cookie, they hand it over to you and then when I pay by my debit card, there is this annoying "tip" screen that cannot be removed. Unless you ask the cashier to do something about it. Same thing at some pizza shops. All they do is hand over a pizza slice to you and demand a tip.

 

And for people saying its cheap not to do so or if I have loan I should not be eating out in the first place, well I borrowed the money so I can spend it on myself: my education, my housing, and the occasional eating out with my friends. Be it $2 or $2000, I do not believe I can help the world by spreading someone else's money around. I would like to think I have a big heart and that I am generous. I have lots of better ideas to help other people financially. I am waiting for the right time and resources to do so.

 

You should be able to put $0 for the takeout cookie/pizza?

[RyanMaverick]

I tend to tip a lot. At least 20%, sometimes more.

 

What gets to me is how EVERYBODY is asking for tips now - it's really getting out of hand. Somebody mentioned the pizza counter at a university, I see a tip jar at Tim Hortons, I see them at other coffee shops, I see them at bars, I see them at concession stands - it's ridiculous. Not to mention the slew of other services also expecting tips (taxi drivers, hair dressers, etc.).

 

I once picked up chinese food (not delivery, pick-up) and there was an expectation of a tip. What the hell? That's like the lady at the deli counter of a supermarket asking for a tip.

 

+1 to the people who mentioned shared bills with people who can't calculate tips/tax on their food. I also love those who don't conveniently forget their liquor bill when it's shared. When your food costs $17 and we've all been splitting pitchers and shots for the last 3 hours between the 4 of us and the liquor bill is >$150 - it is not appropriate to throw down $15 or $20.

[A-Stark]

What does being a student have to do with it? If you can't afford to go out to eat - and tipping is part of that - then DON'T. In most situations - like the coffee shop or pizza place - tipping really is just a courtesy and not necessarily expected. But in a restaurant or bar with service at your table? A must.

[swank]

No a tip is not something you give when service is exceptional. It is EXPECTED and part of the cost of eating out. Hardly a "hidden" expectation for anyone who, has, oh lived and dined in North America over the last several decades or so.

So, good luck attempting to change a custom that has existed for "40-50 years".

 

So if we shouldn't tax income or consumption, just exactly what should we tax?

 

That's the problem I have with it. People expect it and they shouldn't.

 

As for taxes, I favour direct taxation. Every year, people over 18 pay a hospital tax, education tax, roads tax, etc. This is exactly what municipalities do, I don't see how it's crazy if the federal government does it.

 

And to swank, in North America it's just customary to tip, like saying please and thank you. I suppose in Europe they have more of your type of system where the tip is just worked into the bill, but everyone knows that it's there anyways. Also as another side note, taxes pay for roads and stuff, and your children's education. And your education. Just so you know.

 

It's customary for some. I would say about 50% of the people I know tip regularily (it's customary for them) and 50% don't. I also find the people I know who tip live in cities, where a lot who don't come from smaller towns or grew up in rural areas. And again, I never said I was against taxes, just on how some are collected.

[Erk]

It's been said in this thread already: If you don't want to tip, or don't feel the money is yours to give, then don't eat out. It's that simple. When you refuse to tip, in my opinion you are essentially stealing from the server who has given their time for you. My wife has to give 5% of the cash she sells to the kitchen; if she receives a tip lower than 5%, it very literally comes out of her income. Because you were too cheap to meet an expectation you were well aware existed.

 

It doesn't matter your opinion of the custom, it's a system we live in and an established part of our culture. It's disingenuous to claim that not tipping is some kind of protest; the only person affected by such a pathetic gesture is the server you are withholding payment from.

 

And to those who tip 10 on average, dude. Come on. Nobody thinks 10% is an average tip. It's been a 15 percent average for years. You are cheap people. It's not as if servers are a wealthy elite or something.

[A-Stark]

That's the problem I have with it. People expect it and they shouldn't.

 

Why? People also expect you to hold the door for them if they're coming through right after you. Basic. Social. Customs.

 

As for taxes, I favour direct taxation. Every year, people over 18 pay a hospital tax, education tax, roads tax, etc. This is exactly what municipalities do, I don't see how it's crazy if the federal government does it.

 

Municipalities levy property taxes and sometimes sales taxes.

 

How would these taxes be calculated?

[swank]

Why? People also expect you to hold the door for them if they're coming through right after you. Basic. Social. Customs.

 

I don't think people expect others to hold a door open for them, I certainly don't. I usually do for others and it's nice if other people do it for me, but if they don't it doesn't even cross my mind.

 

I do not have any problem with tipping. I think if you go out and enjoy your night (food is good, people are nice, etc), people should tip if they want to. What I don't like is an expectation of a tip under almost any circumstances (I know American friends who got food poisoning and still left a tip). I'd actually probably prefer to leave a big tip for the chef rather than the server. At most a server spends 30 seconds to a minute with you, while the cooks put in quite a few minutes preparing and cooking your food for you.

 

EDIT:

 

Just wanted to add, the last year or two really affirmed my "grudge" against tipping. I come from a smaller city, the kind of place where you come across people you went to high school with every once in a while. In high school it was customary for a lot of students to skip half the school day in the summer and go to the lake. Today, a lot of those girls (and even some guys) are servers at local restaurants/bars. Every time someone mentions tipping them, I think of all those afternoons I would spend suffering through calculus while they enjoyed themselves. I'm still in working through school, but for these specific people I have very little sympathy.

[Venice]

I rarely eat out, but if I do, it is for dessert. I always feel awkward when i get a 6 dollar bill... is it even worth tipping 60cents? I generally end up tipping 1.50 or 2 bucks, but to be honest it pains me haha. the difference between 6 and 8 bucks is a pretty big deal for me tbh

[LostLamb]

I agree with everyone who said that if you can't afford the tip, you can't afford to eat out at that establishment in the first place.

 

I tip 15% usually if the service was reasonable. Reasonable means I am not ignored when there is virtually no one in the establishment! I am tired of having to flag down servers who seem to have better things to do like talk to fellow servers or hang out in the kitchen.

 

I have been out with a small group where the bill was into the hundreds of dollars and the service was horrendous. I mean, every single time our glasses were empty we had to wait 15 minutes to see the server. She truly ignored us, almost intentionally. She made mistakes with orders and then tried to convince us to 'try' the beverage that she brought (on our dime) instead of correcting the order. Really? Give me a break. The tip she could have made with us would have covered the cost of the drink many times over...but it was one of those straws that broke the camels back. She got the $0.01 tip. This was an extreme case and the only time I've felt it was the right thing to do.

 

I do my best in tipping if I get good service, but I can't go and tip 50%, it just isn't in my budget. Exceptional service for me, caps out at 20%. I believe that is reasonable enough.

 

 

Somebody explain to me what is the right tip for buffet style places? I am always unsure what to tip so tip something non extravagant.

[Lactic Folly]

I don't think people expect others to hold a door open for them, I certainly don't. I usually do for others and it's nice if other people do it for me, but if they don't it doesn't even cross my mind.

I don't expect others to hold the door for me and let me go through first, but a little extra pause and push to keep the door open if someone is following close behind seems to be the usual thing around here. It's noticeable IMO if someone just lets the door slam behind them.

[swank]

I don't expect others to hold the door for me and let me go through first, but a little extra pause and push to keep the door open if someone is following close behind seems to be the usual thing around here. It's noticeable IMO if someone just lets the door slam behind them.

 

But if someone holds the door for you, do you tip them 15% or just 10%?

[PhoenixFlare500]

Somebody explain to me what is the right tip for buffet style places? I am always unsure what to tip so tip something non extravagant.

 

I often don't tip at buffets because I usually think of tips as belonging to the servers, not the cooks.

[cnb88]

Since I live in AB, I've (almost) always done the "triple the GST rule" and then usually round up to the nearest dollar. Works out to 15+%. If the service is really good, I'll tip between 15 and 20%. I've only ever not tip once in my life (at a restaurant). It was BP's lounge, and the waitress took half an hour to get over to our table to ask us what we'd like, another 15 (or more) to bring us our drinks, and then after we'd been done for about 20 minutes, she finally came over and asked if we'd like something else- we just said the bill (since we'd been there so long already). She didn't come back to our table, and after 45 minutes, we went up to the bar and asked if we could pay there since we'd been waiting for so long and asked for all our change back. She saw us leaving and looked really pissed that we didn't leave a tip. Sorry, but with that crappy of service, I don't feel like you made 1% worth of tip, never mind 15. I could have seen that long of a wait if it had been busy, but when there's a total of 5 groups (including us) in the entire lounge, and every other group had been seen every 5 or 10 minutes AT LEAST, sorry, but there's no excuse for that.

 

As for hairdressers and stuff, since I'm usually there for at least an hour (sometimes 2.5), I usually give between $20-30. But then again, she always does an amazing job and I always come out of there absolutely loving whatever she does.

 

 

As a side note, if a tip is already included, I may or may not tip extra depending on how good the service is. If it's really good, I'll round to the nearest "10" and then decreasing from there.

 

 

 

And whoever said that holding the door open isn't expected- dammit, if you're going through a door and someone is close behind you, don't be an @$$- it takes all of an extra 5 seconds to "prop/push" the door open a little longer with your hand/arm as you're going through (you don't even have to let them go first)! It's common courtesy to not let the door slam in someone's face as they're going through if they're close behind- it's completely unexpected when that happens and also a very jerkface move imo:mad: (EDIT2: As you can see I feel quite strongly about this I don't mean to come off mean/a douche, but after having a door slam in my face because someone made eye contact with me with my hands full and it seemed like they were going to hold the door open for me, and then let it slam on me/in my face and then laugh, I started resenting all people that didn't show a little respect)

 

 

 

EDIT: It threw me off when I was in Ontario this summer and looked at the tax and went to triple it.... I almost gave a 40+% tip until I thought "Gee! That seems like quite a bit!" LOL!

[treejuice1]

I always get confused with deliveries because it's never clear who ends up with the money... If there is like a $5 delivery fee, are you supposed to tip on top of that?

[Erk]

Do you guys tip on the pre-tax subtotal or the total bill?

 

Total bill; it seems pretty chintzy to make a difference based on tax. I mean, even on a 100 dollar bill at 15% tax, the difference is a $15 tip versus a $17.25 tip. Here in alberta, the difference is $15 versus $15.75... it's just hair splitting really.

[LostLamb]

I base my tip pre-tax, always. I tip on what I paid for. It isn't the servers fault that some provinces have higher taxes than others and I am being fair to my servers across Canada Also, the math tends to be easier to deal with pre-tip. Post tip it gets yuck.

 

New question: when you tip using your credit card and do it on the receipt, not electronically, do you fill in what the tip is or put the final balance only?

I never put the tip, just the final and leave the math to the server...

[Erk]

New question: when you tip using your credit card and do it on the receipt, not electronically, do you fill in what the tip is or put the final balance only?

I never put the tip, just the final and leave the math to the server...

 

I do both, but most servers I know prefer it when you do only one or the other... too many people suck at math and get one wrong, and it's uncomfortable to have to make a judgment call if the card owner decides to call you on it.

 

However, my math is nevah wrong. Nevah.

[psychoswim]

I do both as well, usually round off my tip. I find it funny how the majority of people tip such that the total is a round number, not like your credit card really cares!

[astrogirl]

If I'm paying in cash, I'll round it up to the nearest whatever, but if I'm paying with a card I just pick the option to type in a percent rather than an amount so I don't have to do any math.

[Cerena]

I always tip, usually around 15% or more.

 

But there is one place I go to often, the server is always nice to us (she's the manager of the restaurant) and is very accommodating. Me and my bf are regulars there, so she always gives us free miso soup and tea. So, I am happy to give her a decent tip (somewhere in the 40% range) because I only need about $8 worth of food there to feel full (the portion sizes are ridiculous!). And, being a student with often limited time to make dinner/eat, I feel like her restaurant has kept me going these past 5 years on my own and I would have starved without the place.

 

My family runs a small business. They only started a tip jar because customers told them they wanted one at the shop. I don't know why, but my father gets a ridiculous amount of tips! I think it's because he's such a friendly, good spirited person. Now he works 17 hour days, Mon-Sat (not joking) and with his tip money he's been able to put that money towards things he enjoys, like fixing up his old mustang! And he really loves riding it in the summer time, and cruises around town like a superstar haha The money from the tip jar keeps him sane, and helps my parents out quite a lot.

[MedDream]

As a former server, I always tip. A lot of people don't realize that hourly wages for servers at $8.90 instead of $10.25 - so you are EXPECTED to take home tips, and tip out to the restaurant.

 

I worked at an Italian restaurant where many Italian immigrant families would come in to eat, and the gratuity is added in many parts of Europe, so they would tip a $1 or $2 if they felt they had exceptional service. I cannot stress how hard it is to work for 5 hours on a busy night constantly running to and from the kitchen, remembering and processing orders, catching up on dishes when it gets super busy, as well as being pleasant the whole time and taking home barely more than $45. If it's a good night, you can make much more. Pleeeeeeeease tip. Until gratuity is added, servers really need it. It's NOT a fun job.

[Rebencer]

I have had friends that were servers and talked about how if they didn't get tips they paid out of their pockets to the kitchen staff, which sucks.

 

But listen, it's not my fault the pay schedule at restaurants is garbage, and if I keep tipping just because it is customary I allow it to continue. If a server adds to my experience I add money to my bill, if a server just takes and order and brings me food I'll add a couple bucks, as in $1 -$2. No tips at buffets, I don't go to booster juice but I think its bs that people tip there.

 

Kitchen staff shouldn't be getting any cut of tips since it's their job to make the food. If the food is good and they want more money they should just charge more for it.

 

I also hate it when you order a small meal and get water to drink and your service drops of a cliff, if I have exact change they'll be getting it. On the flip side, if I get a $7 meal and a water and they are great, I have no issue just leaving a 10 on the table. I certainly don't go out to eat thinking that 15% extra is the cost of going out. If the pay was really that bad there wouldn't be servers, and owners would have to figure something out.

[Erk]

But listen, it's not my fault the pay schedule at restaurants is garbage, and if I keep tipping just because it is customary I allow it to continue.

 

Sorry my friend, but that's bull. The only person you punish by doing witholding tips is the server. You aren't changing anything: the kitchen still gets their cut, but it comes out of the server's wages instead. The restaurant still gets their money for the food, so they don't care either. It's like protesting the cost of coca cola by stealing it from store shelves: you hurt the store, then, but coca cola has already been paid and couldn't care less.

[MD2015]

I tip 15% at least, unless the service is horrible (which is extremely rare).