What do you consider a good tip? Something around 15 to 20 percent, right? Depending on the service? And if the wait staff goes above and beyond the usual you leave even more. That's what I do.
Well apparently I'm behind the times. According to a new report from Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration, workers are now expecting tips around 25 percent -- or even more. And people are tipping that much, too! The study looked at 9,000 receipts from a restaurant in Poughkeepsie, New York and found that 30 percent of the diners tipped over 20 percent. So dig deep, everyone. Can you afford to be a "good" tipper in the age of tipping creep?
Honestly, I don't know if I can. Look, I know housing and gas and other necessities keep getting more and more expensive. It's tough making a living and getting your wages to stretch. But it's tough for customers like me, too! Adding that five or ten percent to my bill kind of bites.
And it's not like, along with this shift to higher tips, I've also noticed a shift to better service. Customers are not getting anything out of tipping more. Not that I can tell, anyway.
So I don't know... Is this higher tipping thing permanent? I hope not. And who are these 30 percent of people tipping higher, anyway? I sure would like to have a conversation with them. My first question would be: What the hell, man?
Do you ever tip over 20 percent? If so, under what circumstances?
Image via Jeffery Turner/Flickr
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Comments 30
I'm with Rach. If you can't afford to tip then don't go out, or at least go to a restaurant where tipping isn't expected. I usually tip 10% for abysmal service, between 20% and 30% for average, and somewhere between 30% and 100% (depending on the check total) for great service. But then I was a server for 5 years (collectively, not consecutively) and now I'm bartending to pay my way through college, so I understand that many servers and bartenders earn around $3-4 an hour. Also, for every great tipper there are one or two that think tipping a dollar or two on a check is doing you a favor. Trust me, servers and bartenders aren't rolling in the dough!
I still fail to understand why it is the customer's job to pay a waiter or waitress instead of the employer's responsiblity. Tipping used to be a 'gift' for a server. Now it is expected.
Having said that, I generally keep it to 15-20%, because I AM on a budget.
I tip 15% I don't think that will change
I/we tip 20 percent unless the service is poor - then 15 percent. I often wonder how the waitress feels though. We only get water to drink and our children will often share a meal. We keep the bill as low as we can, so even 20 percent isn't a lot.
Honestly, the majority of people have such poor math skills I wonder if they even realize that our small tip is actually a full 20 percent! I know SO many people who 'can't figure out the tip' so they just leave $5 or $10 for the waitress (for a $20 order!). If customers can't figure out 20%, can the waiters and waitresses?