Do you tip? How much?
By kcoregon
@kcoregon (302)
United States
July 30, 2009 1:08am CST
Okay a few questions to you about leaving tips in restaurants...
Do you tip at buffet style restaurants? How much?
I do leave a tip because they still have to come and clear my table and refill my drinks. I don't tip as much as at a sit down but I will usually leave $2.
When you have a coupon do you calculate your tip on the amount before the coupon or after the coupon?
I always tip for the amount before the coupon. After all my waiter or waitress still had to do the same amount of work even if I didn't have to pay for a meal or paid less for the meal they still had to bring it to me.
How much do you tip in a sit down restaurant? (Percentage wise)
I will usually tip between 15-20%. 15% percent if the service was average or fair. 20% if the service was friendly. I may even go as far as tipping 25% if there was excellent service, special requests that were handled with a friendly attitude, or they went above and beyond to make me and my family happy.
When you tip do you tip with cash or do you add it to your charge bill?
I usually don't carry cash so I tend to add my tip to my bill rather than pay it in cash.
What about you?
19 responses
@rebelmel (1386)
• United States
30 Jul 09
I always tip 15-20% too because I have worked in restaurants before and I know that you don't make much money hourly! It's usually 2.63 per hour around here, and with taxes, I usually get checks for five dollars, if that. That's for a 40 hour week, too.
1 person likes this
@kcoregon (302)
• United States
31 Jul 09
You know I think that is unfair that the waiters and waitresses make so little. I really can't understand why they pay them so little. I am sure that with the prices they charge they are making more than enough profit to pay their waiters and waitresses a good salary. Unfortunately not all people tip fairly and that can leave you with little money for a hard day's work.
@rebelmel (1386)
• United States
31 Jul 09
Yes, I definitely agree. There have been times where I have worked that I have only made 20 dollars in tips, and that was for a six hour shift! But it is appealing that some nights I have walked out of work with more than five hundred dollars. I can't really live off such an inconsistant salary anymore, so I opted for a real job. I have been thinking about getting a second job waiting tables again. It's just really obnoxious that a lot of customers don't understand that the tips is really all we get paid!
@abenitez (501)
• United States
30 Jul 09
I usually tip every time I eat out, considering the service is good. If I have a coupon I calculate the tip before the coupon and at all you can eat joints I usually leave a few bucks. I try to generally tip 20% just to be generous, sometimes I even tip a little more than that.
1 person likes this
@abenitez (501)
• United States
31 Jul 09
Yeah I try to be generous with my tips. There have been occasions where I left no tip at all. I went out to eat once and our server completely forgot about us, never gave us our drinks, the service was just terrible. The place was not that busy either, the service was so bad that I left no tip.
1 person likes this
@se7enthbird (8307)
• Philippines
30 Jul 09
i do put tip but it depends what was the outcome of my stay on that place while me and my family are dinning. if the staff are very accomodative because i have a moodty three year old son then of course i will be tipping maybe around the same as you do. but most of the restaurant here has taxes that you need to pay that is 10 percent of the total cost that you will pay so sometimes i no longer put tip. they call it service sharge and it is 10% of the total of your food. so since they get 10% already i no longer give tips.
@kcoregon (302)
• United States
30 Jul 09
You know I think that having the tip already included helps to make sure the wait staff will be receiving tips as I know not everyone is generous with their tips. However 10% doesn't seem very fair. It seems that those who work as a waiter/waitress do a lot of work-running back and forth from kitchen to table, trying to be friendly even when a customer is rude, remembering orders and who ordered what, etc. I think those places that include the tip in the price should at least ask for 15%. Thanks for responding. =)
@fruitcakeliz (2638)
• United States
30 Jul 09
This has been an ongoing disagreement between some of my friends and i, to tip or not to tip at a buffet. My theory is the same as yours, i usually leave a little something for the waitstaff, as they do keep the tables clear of dirty dishes and serve and keep your drinks filled. At a regular resturaunt (not buffet style) i usually always tips at least 15%, but if the service was exception or the waitperson really impressed me or was really helpful, i give a little extra, and yes, i base my tip on the total of the bill before any discounts or coupons. I try to always tip in cash when i can, as i find this easier and more personal to the waitstaff. I have never left a resturaunt without leaving SOME sort of tip, but beleive me, i have had some bad experiences with some waiters/waitresses that tempted me to do such. If the service was horrible, they will get soemthing from me, but it might not be the full 15% i normally try to leave.
1 person likes this
@kcoregon (302)
• United States
31 Jul 09
Yes I tip a lot like you. Even with bad service I know that they depend on the tip in order to make money. Sometimes I think that maybe they are just having a bad day, maybe some unruly children, or rude customers and that they aren't normally that way. I know that I used to think that you didn't need to tip at a buffet but my mom took me out once and she tipped them and I have tipped ever since.
@tabatha1989 (314)
• New Zealand
30 Jul 09
I do not tip at restaurants.. but this is only because tipping is not a common practice here in New Zealand as it is overseas. I myself have worked as a waitress in high school and it was a rare occasion if any of the waitresses received a tip, yet our restaurant was highly regarded for providing great service. In New Zealand waitresses get paid quite well for a part time job around $16 an hour and this may be one reason why tipping is not expected.
If I travel overseas I plan on tipping as I know many on the staff count on tips for a decent income. I would tip with coins at a buffet style restaurant as I do not expect the staff would get paid that well and they are still providing a service.
1 person likes this
@kcoregon (302)
• United States
30 Jul 09
That does sound like a fair amount for the work they do. I remember when my brother was a waiter they paid him just under $2/hour and so he had to rely on the tips for income. Still with tips he would make between $50-$100/night from tips-about 15 years ago. In a way I think tipping may have a chance to pay more than if the wait staff were paid salary-as on a busy night they have the potential to make a lot of money. However I think the salary is nice because they have a more reliable source of income. Thank you for the response. =)
@chiodos01 (18)
• United States
31 Jul 09
i have been a server since i started working when i was 16. from personal experience i prefer a cash tip over a charge tip but, really, a tip is a tip. you have to think that this is that persons job and we only get paid like 3 dollars an hour so every tip counts. as a server when i go out i try to leave a substantial tip, because i know how it is. if the restaraunt is busy, you should factor that into a tip as well. it can get very hard to manage so many tables and give them all perfect service. but no matter how busy, a server should always be friendly and hospitable. a %15 percent tip is good but a lot of servers look at that and feel they did better than that. it really depends on the server though. bad service=bad tip
1 person likes this
@kcoregon (302)
• United States
31 Jul 09
I am just wondering what the difference is between a cash tip and a charged tip? Do you not get the charge tip right away? I have often given charge tips because I can never seem to remember to stop by the atm on the way and I never carry cash. But I'd really like to know the answer to this question. Thanks.
@Kowgirl (3490)
• United States
30 Jul 09
Yes I do tip but sometimes the person doesn't do their job as well as expected and I tend to tip less. If I receive good service I will leave 25% or more. I know some of the restaurants do not pay well and the waiters/waitresses depend on the tips they receive. I usually add the tip to the bill. I don't carry cash anymore.
I also tip the people who work in a buffet style restaurants about 15% to 20% if I receive good service. I have noticed that even if the waiters/waitresses do a good job but the food isn't cooked right or something doesn't taste as expected the customer will tip less even though it isn't the waiters/waitresses fault. When this happens to me I will tell the waiter/waitress that their servive was excelent but the chef needs to try a little harded to prepare the food as ordered.Sometimes I give extra when I have to send something back to the kitchen.
1 person likes this
@lala501 (1532)
• United States
31 Jul 09
I always tip at resteraunts, it doesn't matter which kind it is. I just always do. I have never had a reason to not tip. At buffet type resteraunts I usually tip about 3-5 dollars. At non-buffet resteraunts like where people have to take your order I usually tip between 5-10 dollars. I have never done a percent I just usually give them what they deserve or what I have and it's usually between those two price ranges.
1 person likes this
@jambi462 (4576)
• United States
2 Aug 09
I try to tip at least five bucks each time but I can't always afford that. I work in a restaurant and the waiters and waitresses make the majority of their money off of tips because their hourly wages are only like two dollars and fifty cents an hour. A lot of the servers at restaurants have to work there a lot during the week just to try and pay their bills. Plus I know that if I help people out I will get it back through karma or good luck or something like that.
@jaizhi (260)
• Philippines
30 Jul 09
I do leave tips it deped on how much I liked the waiter/ress way of assisting me and all. If it took me forever to get my order or were they nice. Before the lowest tip I can give is 10pesos Thats $0.20 here. but my husband said be nicer so now I leave atleast 40-100 pesos thats $1-$2.50 but again it depends on the way they serve me.
1 person likes this
@grace118224 (1038)
• China
31 Jul 09
In our country peopel don't have to give out a tip when they go out to eat and stay in a hotel . When we go to tip countries some of us know that they should tip the waitress and waitors and some know nothing about it . A few years i went to Germany with some business partners . When we went out for a coffee the people who invited us didn't tip and the waitress began to stared at him . Yeah i know it's inpolite not to tip. It's a cultrue we should respect.
1 person likes this
@wanyu311 (22)
• Taiwan
30 Jul 09
No, we don't tip here in Taiwan. Actually I don't think tipping is common in Asia since I've been several countires in Asia. My dining experience in the United States, compared to the service in Asia, to my own opinion, makes no difference. It might be biased because it's just from my own experiences. When I tipped in the U.S., I expected to get more attention from my waiter/waitress which I didn't get at last. It's weird because tipping should be a way to encourage them to serve with a better attitude since it's "extra money" they earn. However, I didn't see their effort.
1 person likes this
@darbas_namie (326)
• Lithuania
30 Jul 09
it is depence where i am eating and what kind of staff.. sometimes i do not leave because a waitress looks ugly.. (long, dirty nails, or not simphaty (i mean not like she/he looks, but how talking, serving and bla bla). a maximum sum was 25 british pounds (i did not find this sign in my keyboard. minimum maybe 1 pence.. looks not nice, but it was left from all sum and i have no more money :D
i leave tips with a bill.
@lcdelmendo18 (990)
• Philippines
31 Jul 09
I tip only sometimes...When I am extremely satisfied with the crew or waiter... But most of the time I do not give tip because the waiters/crews are already paid for doing those. Its their job anyway. 
