Should You Always Tip 20% At (U.S.) Restaurants/Bars?

[Kitsuragi]

I always tip too generously i'm told :/ I always leave behind $10 or $20 even if the bill is like $8.
I don't see why it's an issue, but i'm told its a bad thing to do.

 

[amanda1983]

I've never tipped anyone in my life. Tipping isn't a big thing in Australian culture since we actually pay our waiters a proper wage where they don't need to rely on tips to make up most of their paycheck.

Maybe I'm just naive in saying this because I've never been exposed to it and I don't understand the proper reasoning, but to people saying "if you can't afford to tip then you can't afford to be eating at a restaurant" to me that's the same as saying if you can't afford to pay your staff properly you shouldn't be running a business. I mean, I don't get why the US seem to rely on tips, so many other jobs have people serving and helping others, yet they don't have to rely on tips, so I don't get why it's only in food related industries where they have to rely on tips? Checkout people, receptionists, and even people in repairs go out of their way to give people good service, yet they rarely get tipped because tipping culture is so immersed in food related industries. It doesn't make any sense to me and just seems really dumb that they have to rely on tips to get their proper wage.

My mother is still absolutely adamant we shouldn't "have to" tip since we're not in America lol. She's right in a way, and I don't pressure her to spend money on tips (she's on a restricted income, has health issues, and only rarely eats out to begin with - and never anywhere "good" unless it's a group booking for a family meal when we all cover her share anyway). I don't think anyone should feel pressured or obligated to tip - I certainly don't. It's a choice I make because I want to and I can, not for any external reason.

Personally, I always tip if eating somewhere that brings the bill to the table, or of there is a visible tip jar when I pay. If I don't spot one, and the service was genuinely poor, then I don't bother asking. But short of that, I tip an absolute minimum of 10% and usually more like 25% - I don't stress too much calculating the $ amount, just use small notes (our smallest is a $5) and spare change til I think I've hit a reasonable amount.

If we're paying by card we'll give the tip as cash. I've been to some places that offer to add an optional tip amount to the card transaction and I appreciate the reasons for doing that, but I absolutely loathe confusion when paying. I prefer to pay the exact bill on card and then add the tip with. Never had a problem doing it that way.

I do the same for paying for taxis, drinks, icecream and other random foodstuffs, artists, florists, bookstores.. I appreciate being treated nicely. I usually am, and I'm happy to express that in a practical way.

 

[N a t]

If you can't afford to tip that much than don't eat out point blank.

I'm sorry that people are rude to you by not tipping, and that your job sucks, because a job where you have to survive off of generosity has to be difficult I'm sure. But please do not be rude. I haven't always been able to leave big tips, I've been a couple dollars short before, but who are you to tell people to not enjoy their lives exactly? Why specifically call out people who can't tip your 20%, when there are people who don't tip at all, like you previously mentioned? I work at a crappy convenience store that gets more traffic then some fast food places. It's the only job I can get at this time. My coworkers and I work our asses off to maintain our crappy store, while also serving hundreds of people a day (We have a very popular deli/kitchen aside from registers). The place is open 24 hours, and we've been short handed on employees for some time. None of our new hires want to stay and work at our store because of how much work there is, so we have even more work to do. AND the customers still give us attitude. I was making a sandwich for a customer once while working in our deli and she just sat there and mumbled about what a bad job she thought I was doing and refused to say anything when she took it from me, and I DO NOT half ass my job because I fear the consequences if I do nor would I want to eat a poorly made sandwich if I was on the other side of that deli window. If it looks bad, I won't serve it to you, but I suppose that she expected higher quality from a freaking GAS STATION. Hell, even a "Thank you" with attitude would have shown a little bit of generosity. Our store is fairly open as far as the layout goes, so the customers can see and know how much we have to work there. While I'm still having an easier time than many people, because my family supports one another, I still have very little free time for a life and fun because I need to work and go to college to start my career in order to survive alone one day and lessen the financial burden that I am on my parents. And I'm basically still a kid. I work just barely 40 hours a week every week ( I would work 40 but then they'd have to pay me for overtime and they really don't want to apparently) and only make minimum wage while also paying bills and paying to go to college full time, and sometimes I just need that nice meal in a nice diner with a good friend of mine because life is exhausting, but I'm supposed to never enjoy myself because I can't tip what my waiter wants to be tipped...

 

[Stalfos]

Wow. I didn't realize waiters in the US had it that rough.

 

[nintendofan85]

I tip based on how much I have in my wallet. I had really good service at a pizza restaurant around a month ago, but I didn't leave a tip because I didn't have enough money to give one, just to pay for my meal and that was it.

- - - Post Merge - - -

People don't understand that waiters make money completely on tips. Even if they do a crappy job they still SERVED you. As a waitress, I worked completely off tips at a very busy restaurant. Sometimes I would have 30-40 tables AT ONCE. Some people didn't tip because of how busy I was which completely is messed up considering I still spent time serving them when I could of been helping people at my other tables. Unless your waiter obviously ignores you for no good reason, you should always tip 20%. If you can't afford to tip that much than don't eat out point blank.

Well, in the situation I described, I was eating because of a field trip for school, and my mom had forgotten to give me enough money, which is why I felt bad afterward.

 

[Soda Fox]

I always tip too generously i'm told :/ I always leave behind $10 or $20 even if the bill is like $8.
I don't see why it's an issue, but i'm told its a bad thing to do.

If you can afford to do that I don't think it's bad but what reigned in my generosity a bit was thinking how I still would like to go back to school and every little bit helps. Hence why I'm now tipping closer to 15% vs 25%+

 

[Romaki]

We don't really have something like tipping here, we also have a different job system here, so all waiters are usually the cooks themselves or high school students in bigger restaurants to earn some pocket money. Though it's still recognized as a part time job with a firm income nevertheless, but there aren't really people who like rely on 2-3 waiters job to make a living.

As for the US, and other countries with the same issues, I feel really bad for waiters. Everybody who works that many hours deserves to make a good, steady and secure living, even if the job is not as respected as it should be.