the sandbox guide to tipping demographics

No one has yet presented their anecdote as a truism.

Umm, judging by the rest of your post, we should be abandoning the "black people are poor tippers" notion in favor of "poor people are poor tippers" (with a related "black people are more likely to be poor").

This thread makes me wonder if servers are more likely to give the full recommended donation at museums and such.

That said, I still hate tipping for an order from any place that already charges a $5 delivery fee.

I think it's desperately unfair that people are expected to tip because the employer won't pay a proper wage but not half as unfair as making workers reliant on the goodwill of others (who don't know them or have any context to understand where they're coming from mood-wise that day) above the cost of the product (or service). As a European, tipping is definitely seen as rewarding the individual on top of their basic salary, my understanding above is that in the US and Canada people are tipped because they are not paid properly. This is awful and open to all manner of abuse as has been shown in this thread and others.

So what do I tip? Restaurants at the very minimum 10%, even if service awful, going up to (or beyond) 20% should there be a bunch of us or if the service was fun/pleasant/just as needed. At bars, I'll tip if on holiday and I know that's what's done. I don't think I've tipped all that much in bars here, it's just not the done thing but people who bring me drinks or food at my table I tip well out of guilt at my own laziness for not going to the bar! For deliveries I round up to the nearest 5 at the bare minimum and like jbr I take into account how far they have had to travel. Plumbers or electricians I don't tip, there is no need. If the job is done well though and the disruption is minor then I'll throw in extra. Taxis I tip but have recently stopped giving as much, I don't feel that most of the time anything extra is deserved with the high cost of waving one down, the rudeness that I seem to get 7/10 and the really high rates.

I'm a great believer in money over gifts. We saw it where I worked over the past while: what use is a gift voucher for lots of dosh when I've got xmas/credit card/mortgage/etc to pay off? We are ungrateful brutes for sure but to have it for something more practical would be nice!

I come off as awfully cheap I'm sure and apologise for long post. Reading through the thread I was thinking that I was lucky to work in bars in Europe, the tips weren't great but at least I had enough to live on!

PS. My nightmare involving tipping is maths. Multiples of 10% only I'm afraid, everything else is too complicated!

-- the pony-poop paradox (n!t$u...), December 21st, 2006.

i don't go to museums. i almost always give money to homeless people though. does that count?

-- lexpretend (lexusjee...), December 21st, 2006.

thanks. i needed one more reason to consider you an idiot.

here's a hint. first calculate 10% of the bill. you can round doing this. consider $32.57 to just be $30. 10% would be $3. then, take half of that, which in this case would be $1.50. add that to the original 10% = $4.50.

Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. If you guys say I'm crazy, I'll stop.

My roommate just asked me to call her a cab, I asked where she was going, etc. She said that she expected the cab to cost $14, I told her I'd drive her for $8.

Do I get tipped?

Last night ate out and the bill was 30 and change. . I tipped 6.50 and then felt bad b/c that seemed kind of chintzy right here at the holidays. I should've just gave her ten. :(

...on the other hand i'm not on probation

Shit, is there a tip db

unfortunately, then finals hit and we all moved out and completely forgot about the paper tip! aaah! we will have to do it when we get back in january. what's appropriate?

i get frustrated by a lot of waitstaff tho b/c i feel like i'm low-key and so they're not super attentive or whatever -- like just notice when i've got my arm sort of gently waving and take my order, and then notice it again when i want my check and otherwise whatever dude. even tho i always tip well, i feel like lots of places don't have this very basic concept down and so you get waitstaff totally preoccupied with this or that more demanding table or issue instead of first just trying to keep orders and bills straight.

valet parking came with my hotel room package (in chicago)...how much do i tip the dude that brings me my car tomorrow morning? and do i give it to him or the front desk (logic is that someone else parked it and they should share, or something?

If it was me, I would. I always tip more when I expect to use a service again, and would like people to think kindly of me. I realise this is a capitalist crime: using my money to get superior service, but I don't care. I tip my hairdresser well because she cuts only my hair when she is dealing with me, she doesn't flit off to talk to other clients, she doesn't stand around chatting to other hairdressers, and she gets a great cut done quickly. That earns you a big tip in my book.

One of the nice things about working in a charity shop was that people kind of gave you tips, by putting money in the collection tin on the counter. So even though the charity got the money, we all got to feel like it was our good service that was getting that little bit extra for them.

Did I miss something? Have you moved back? Or do you mean now that you live in the UK?

I did recently get completely gamed by a pizza deliveryman who seemed to refuse to understand that I wanted change from him (he did a very amusing "I no longer understand English" thing at which I point I just shrugged and let him keep it haha.)

If, tho, I'm tipping a beautician who has her hands busy with other customer (pedicure, etc) if I'm acquainted w/ someone from previous visits I put bill into apron pocket directly.

PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF CHRIST DO NOT DO THIS. It pissed me off every time someone did it - this is not The Sands circa 1962, you are not Dean Martin. Doubly bad when it's a lousy tip.

no, it's a salon, present-day where that's the usual way you tip someone

or you can put the tip in the little envelope and give it to the person behind the desk. i don't see why you wouldn't trust them - how many times are they going to get away with 'no, s/he didn't leave a tip' when the stylist person comes asking?