STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

Hermione · Kate Spade

RE: How much do you tip?

Sandy · Kate Spade

I don't follow any tipping rules... I just tip what I think a waiter deserves. I pretty much feel the same way as LMonet. I've tipped as little as 50 cents (for the absolute worst service I've ever had... we had to ask for our drink order SIX times, and our meals didn't arrive for an hour and a half. It wasn't crowded.) to 100% (the waitress was so sweet, so attentive, so good... and I overheard her talking to another waitress about how a couple didn't leave her a tip, and she definitely earned it.). Generally, for bad service I'll tip bad. For ok service, 10%. For good service, 15%. For excellent service, 25-30%.

kenzie · Chanel

LMonet wrote:

I guess I have a bit of a different perspective on this. Now granted, I have never been a server, and frankly I'm horrified at the wages .... $2.13 and hour !!! How exactly is that legal, can anybody tell me?

It's legal b/c after all the tips are in, the server makes well above minimum wage. When I was a server, I made at least $20-40/hour when all was said and done. However, there are crappy shifts that you walk out with less than minimum wage, but overall, it balances out over the course of the week. I know of some restaurants (and in some states, like Cali) servers are paid more per hour on top of their tips. And in many restaurants in Vegas, servers are paid a decent $12/hour on top of tips. But overall, most servers make less than $3/hour. I never even received a real paycheck when I was a server. They were all just voided earnings statements.

I think that tipping needs to be eliminated as well. It's a really awful thing to rely on the general public to pay your bills.

asf · Kate Spade

i generally do the double-the-tax and add up thing, too, so that ends up between 17% and 18% i think. more if the service is great, but no less unless the service was REALLY bad. i'm one of those people who checks tips when out with a group to make sure we're not jipping our waitress/waiter.

luckylily · Gucci

I usually tip 18-20% for standard service. I can't think of a time where I've gotten really bad service, but I can't imagine that I'd go less than 15% unless the waiter had a *really* bad atitude.

I usually like to make sure the tip is 25-30% of it is a big group. I big group of my friends can be a real hassle.

I also wish restaurants would just pay their staff more reasonable wages, and give increases to the outstanding staff like almost every other industry does.

sage · Dooney & Bourke

I tip based on the quality of the service. And I agree this has nothing to do with the food. The server is not the cook. So, if it is great I leave probably around 20-30%; and I am with indiekitten, sometimes I get amazing service when my bill only comes to 10.00 so I will tip a much higher percentage, but I look at it as commending the service, not the price of the meal. I have had amazing service on a 10.00 breakfast bill and really bad service on a 100.00 bill. I strongly believe the tip should not be based on the cost of the bill all the time.

sfcaligirl · Dooney & Bourke

i tip 15% for average service, 20% or more for above-average service. on a smaller bill, i usually leave much more than 20%. i tipped 10% once for truly terrible service- i probably shouldn't have left a tip at all, but i felt guilty stiffing them.

theotherjess · Chanel

Claudia wrote:

16.5%

lol, why?

halleybird · Hermes

I always tip 20% unless the service was awful, then I tip 15%. I also round up, so if 20% is, say, $7.30, I leave $8. It sounds indulgent, but my husband was a server for years, and they really do live on those tips.

I don't usually tip at restaurants where they're already making a decent wage (like Starbucks), unless the service was really good.

turtledove · Nine West

haha, nice to see you are all nice tippers!

I, like a lot of you, was also a waitress. I worked for a large coorporation, who has actually recently added even more to the server's duties! They are requiring servers to come in early, and stay even later, to CLEAN their restaurants! This is addition to cleaning the wait stations, closing and opening the bar and back of house, and everything else they had to do. They now must spend another hour or so vacuuming...still only getting paid 2.13! Now, tell me how that's legal, they're not even getting tips during that time!

Cortney1982 · Chanel

When it's just me and my bf when we go out to Red Robin or Applebee's we usually just tip $5. If the waiter was really charming, frequented our table to see how we were doing, and didn't screw anything up, they will be perhaps up to $10. I don't feel bad about it at all, since I know they make lots of money. My brother worked at a gourmet restaurant and made plenty of money especially when there was a large group. This specific group came in a lot and always left a $200 tip.

When I'm buying a hot cocoa or similar I leave maybe under 50 cents. The drink is already more than $2 and all they really did was pour, mix, and add whip cream!