1st,im not a math/numbers kind of person AT ALL. i found the easiest way to tip, than pulling out my cellphone and trying to find the TIP CALCULATOR is to just double the tax...anybody else do this?

THE REAL QUESTION:

if you go to the TO GO side of a restaurant, ie, me getting some wings from my favorite OUTBACK just cos i can, as opposed to going inside..do you still tip?

I do but....im wondering is it unnecessary?

what yall think?

Nvncible1 said:

1st,im not a math/numbers kind of person AT ALL. i found the easiest way to tip, than pulling out my cellphone and trying to find the TIP CALCULATOR is to just double the tax...anybody else do this?

THE REAL QUESTION:

if you go to the TO GO side of a restaurant, ie, me getting some wings from my favorite OUTBACK just cos i can, as opposed to going inside..do you still tip?

I do but....im wondering is it unnecessary?

what yall think?

Depends what the tax is where you live. Here, it's only 5.5%. If I just double the tax, I'm going to severely undertip my server. (I'm usually a 20% tipper. And a server has to fuck up royally - their fault - to get less than 15%.)

I tend not to tip for window service. Except for letting the coffee people keep the coins when I pay cash.

Depends on the tax percentage in yoour area I would guess. Mine is 5.5 or 6% so I would tip more than that most the time.

If you wanna tip 20% move the decimal over to the left one spot then double that number. That's usually pretty easy to do without a calculator. Round up (or down, depending on service I suppose) if you have to to make it easier.

example:

If your bill is $65.37

Move the decimal to get 10%-> $6.53

And most people can figure out with no calculator that $6.50ish x 2 = $13...about 20% of your bill.

FauxReal said:

Depends on the tax percentage in yoour area I would guess. Mine is 5.5 or 6% so I would tip more than that most the time.

If you wanna tip 20% move the decimal over to the left one spot then double that number. That's usually pretty easy to do without a calculator. Round up (or down, depending on service I suppose) if you have to to make it easier.

example:

If your bill is $65.37

Move the decimal to get 10%-> $6.53

And most people can figure out with no calculator that $6.50ish x 2 = $13...about 20% of your bill.

I do it on the subtotal, though. I do not tip on the tax.

Genesia said:

FauxReal said:

Depends on the tax percentage in yoour area I would guess. Mine is 5.5 or 6% so I would tip more than that most the time.

If you wanna tip 20% move the decimal over to the left one spot then double that number. That's usually pretty easy to do without a calculator. Round up (or down, depending on service I suppose) if you have to to make it easier.

example:

If your bill is $65.37

Move the decimal to get 10%-> $6.53

And most people can figure out with no calculator that $6.50ish x 2 = $13...about 20% of your bill.

I do it on the subtotal, though. I do not tip on the tax.

Good point. I usually do too, but forgot to include that.

i got a business card from the local fire company with a chart on how much to tip...so i just pull that out

Genesia said:

FauxReal said:

Depends on the tax percentage in yoour area I would guess. Mine is 5.5 or 6% so I would tip more than that most the time.

If you wanna tip 20% move the decimal over to the left one spot then double that number. That's usually pretty easy to do without a calculator. Round up (or down, depending on service I suppose) if you have to to make it easier.

example:

If your bill is $65.37

Move the decimal to get 10%-> $6.53

And most people can figure out with no calculator that $6.50ish x 2 = $13...about 20% of your bill.

I do it on the subtotal, though. I do not tip on the tax.

I usually tip 20% for really good service, but only 15% if the server was just average. If it's a 20% tip, I just multiply 20% X the subtotal to get the amount of tip and then round off. Makes it real easy if the total is close to a whole dollar amount like $30, so it would be 20 x 30 = 60 or $6.00. Fifteen percent is a little tricker in the head so what I do is multiply the subtotal by 10% and then half that and add it to the 10% making it 15%..

As a general rule, I usually tip 20%...its very easy to calculate. I unfortunately have been 20%ing the gross total, not the pre tax total.

If service is average, I tip 15%. I completely understand that servers rely on tips, but if that's so important to them, they can be nice to my party when interacting

as far as the "to go" portion, the chefs/cooks are the ones who provided the service..the person who handed me the bag did little more than just that

[Edited 11/28/10 7:21am]

I think I'm a shitty tipper.

If someone delivers to my house, they usually get a $2-3 tip.

If I'm in a restaurant, they get around $4-5.

To-Go windows? Fuck that.

I never go by the cost of WHAT I ordered, simply because I may order a steak that cost twice as much as, let's say, the chicken would have -- but it didn't make the waiter/ess's job any harder to bring that out to me than something cheaper.

My tattoo artist however... he knows he's gonna get a SUPER SWEET tip.

Acrylic said:

My tattoo artist however... he knows he's gonna get a SUPER SWEET tip.

I always tip my beautifiers well - minimum of 20% every time. And I usually give them 3x the regular tip at my last appointment before Christmas.

The nice part about that is that my nail guy will do minor things for me - like repairing a nail or repainting my fingers if I decide to go with a different color on my toes - at no charge. (He just did this on Saturday.) And my hairdresser will come in on her day off (with advance notice) just to touch up my color. (Which she's going to do in January, so I'm fresh for the opening of the play I'm in.)

Genesia said:

Nvncible1 said:

1st,im not a math/numbers kind of person AT ALL. i found the easiest way to tip, than pulling out my cellphone and trying to find the TIP CALCULATOR is to just double the tax...anybody else do this?

THE REAL QUESTION:

if you go to the TO GO side of a restaurant, ie, me getting some wings from my favorite OUTBACK just cos i can, as opposed to going inside..do you still tip?

I do but....im wondering is it unnecessary?

what yall think?

Depends what the tax is where you live. Here, it's only 5.5%. If I just double the tax, I'm going to severely undertip my server. (I'm usually a 20% tipper. And a server has to fuck up royally - their fault - to get less than 15%.)

I tend not to tip for window service. Except for letting the coffee people keep the coins when I pay cash.

Here in Long Island, tax is 8.625% so you double the tax and you're automatically over the minimum 15% gratuity.

Funny thing is...when we traveled upstate to go pumpkin/apple picking, (three carloads of adults & kids), we stopped off at a restaurant for dinner. Service & food was good. The bill came out & my sister-in-law "calculated" the tip by doubling the tax. I looked at the bill and explained that we had to give more because it was just barely over a 10% tip. She looked at me like I had 2 heads. Couldn't quite grasp the fact that doubling the tax doesn't always work.

Fortunately my mom plopped an extra $10 on the table and that was the end of THAT.

PurpleJedi said:

Genesia said:

Depends what the tax is where you live. Here, it's only 5.5%. If I just double the tax, I'm going to severely undertip my server. (I'm usually a 20% tipper. And a server has to fuck up royally - their fault - to get less than 15%.)

I tend not to tip for window service. Except for letting the coffee people keep the coins when I pay cash.

Here in Long Island, tax is 8.625% so you double the tax and you're automatically over the minimum 15% gratuity.

Funny thing is...when we traveled upstate to go pumpkin/apple picking, (three carloads of adults & kids), we stopped off at a restaurant for dinner. Service & food was good. The bill came out & my sister-in-law "calculated" the tip by doubling the tax. I looked at the bill and explained that we had to give more because it was just barely over a 10% tip. She looked at me like I had 2 heads. Couldn't quite grasp the fact that doubling the tax doesn't always work.

Fortunately my mom plopped an extra $10 on the table and that was the end of THAT.

<--- is usually the money plopper

Nvncible1 said:

THE REAL QUESTION:

if you go to the TO GO side of a restaurant, ie, me getting some wings from my favorite OUTBACK just cos i can, as opposed to going inside..do you still tip?

I do but....im wondering is it unnecessary?

what yall think?

Oh yeah...and about this;

The way I see it, tipping is all about compensating someone for their time & attention spent on you. If I order take-out from Appleby's, Friendly's or the local chinese restaurant, I rarely ever tip because there is no work involved in getting me my food. I'm not taking up space in the restaurant, I'm not dirtying their table/floor/dishes, and I'm not taking up any of the server's time. I'm basically just using their cashier...same as going to Burger King or Taco Bell.

Once we did order this huge BBQ order from Famous Dave's BBQ and the people at the pick-up counter were really friendly & stockpiled us with napkins & all that stuff. We did give them a tip.

Genesia said:

PurpleJedi said:

Here in Long Island, tax is 8.625% so you double the tax and you're automatically over the minimum 15% gratuity.

Funny thing is...when we traveled upstate to go pumpkin/apple picking, (three carloads of adults & kids), we stopped off at a restaurant for dinner. Service & food was good. The bill came out & my sister-in-law "calculated" the tip by doubling the tax. I looked at the bill and explained that we had to give more because it was just barely over a 10% tip. She looked at me like I had 2 heads. Couldn't quite grasp the fact that doubling the tax doesn't always work.

Fortunately my mom plopped an extra $10 on the table and that was the end of THAT.

<--- is usually the money plopper

Funny thing is, my in-law never used to be a penny-pincher. In fact, just the opposite.

Then she hooked up with this loser (43; no car, living w/ mom, 2 baby mommas, don't last more than a year at any job) and suddenly she's watching every penny that she's not spending on him (you know; booze, dinner, train fare, etc.).

PurpleJedi said:

Genesia said:

<--- is usually the money plopper

Funny thing is, my in-law never used to be a penny-pincher. In fact, just the opposite.

Then she hooked up with this loser (43; no car, living w/ mom, 2 baby mommas, don't last more than a year at any job) and suddenly she's watching every penny that she's not spending on him (you know; booze, dinner, train fare, etc.).

Poor thing. She turned into a straight up fool!

Shyra said:

PurpleJedi said:

Funny thing is, my in-law never used to be a penny-pincher. In fact, just the opposite.

Then she hooked up with this loser (43; no car, living w/ mom, 2 baby mommas, don't last more than a year at any job) and suddenly she's watching every penny that she's not spending on him (you know; booze, dinner, train fare, etc.).

Poor thing. She turned into a straight up fool!

She is officially WHIPPED.

20% unless you're a fuckface who couldn't care less about customer service.

Genesia said:

Nvncible1 said:

1st,im not a math/numbers kind of person AT ALL. i found the easiest way to tip, than pulling out my cellphone and trying to find the TIP CALCULATOR is to just double the tax...anybody else do this?

THE REAL QUESTION:

if you go to the TO GO side of a restaurant, ie, me getting some wings from my favorite OUTBACK just cos i can, as opposed to going inside..do you still tip?

I do but....im wondering is it unnecessary?

what yall think?

Depends what the tax is where you live. Here, it's only 5.5%. If I just double the tax, I'm going to severely undertip my server. (I'm usually a 20% tipper. And a server has to fuck up royally - their fault - to get less than 15%.)

I tend not to tip for window service. Except for letting the coffee people keep the coins when I pay cash.

Unfortunately I can now just double the tax here to get pretty damn close to 20%. I agree with you about everything you said, though. 20% normal, 15% if I had a bad experience with the server, 10% if they went out of their way to be useless, rude or annoying. I don't tip at pick up windows, because that's part of the convenience of the pick up window! I don't give my change to ANYBODY at a counter, either. ESPECIALLY at coffee places. I know we've had this conversation at another board (not just "us" - as a group), but coffee places are no different than any other fast food establishment. People don't leave their change at McDonald's or Taco Bell. Makes no sense to me that they'd do so at a Starbucks. Now, if I'm going to sit down and they actually bring me something to eat or drink at my table, that would be different.

Acrylic said:

I think I'm a shitty tipper.

If someone delivers to my house, they usually get a $2-3 tip.

If I'm in a restaurant, they get around $4-5.

To-Go windows? Fuck that.

I never go by the cost of WHAT I ordered, simply because I may order a steak that cost twice as much as, let's say, the chicken would have -- but it didn't make the waiter/ess's job any harder to bring that out to me than something cheaper.

My tattoo artist however... he knows he's gonna get a SUPER SWEET tip.

Though I continue to pay 20% on tips, this thought has often occurred to me. Is a plate of lobster heavier than a plate with a cheeseburger on it? Did the server actually do anything extra? If anything I feel like some of that tip should go to the chef maybe for making a more impressive or harder to prepare dish.

But yet, I still tip 20%

Tax here is 5% so yeah I just quadruple that and round it off

i would say no tip to the take out window. I mean, really. what are we tipping for? If we tip at take out, then we might as well tip at Mickey D's, etc. Tips are for doing a good job. I will always leave a tip, but the idea of a tip has kind of trancended the original point of it. Even to the point employers rely on you to cough up the rest of a waiter/waitresses wages. A tip is for a job well done. I have never been a waiter, but I have had extensive work as a cook, so I know what it's like working in a resteraunt.

princeiscool said:

i would say no tip to the take out window. I mean, really. what are we tipping for? If we tip at take out, then we might as well tip at Mickey D's, etc. Tips are for doing a good job. I will always leave a tip, but the idea of a tip has kind of trancended the original point of it. Even to the point employers rely on you to cough up the rest of a waiter/waitresses wages. A tip is for a job well done. I have never been a waiter, but I have had extensive work as a cook, so I know what it's like working in a resteraunt.

I so totally agree with that. That's the reason why I don't automatically tip a certain percentage and don't feel bad about leaving a smaller tip when it's deserved.

Cerebus said:

princeiscool said:

i would say no tip to the take out window. I mean, really. what are we tipping for? If we tip at take out, then we might as well tip at Mickey D's, etc. Tips are for doing a good job. I will always leave a tip, but the idea of a tip has kind of trancended the original point of it. Even to the point employers rely on you to cough up the rest of a waiter/waitresses wages. A tip is for a job well done. I have never been a waiter, but I have had extensive work as a cook, so I know what it's like working in a resteraunt.

I so totally agree with that. That's the reason why I don't automatically tip a certain percentage and don't feel bad about leaving a smaller tip when it's deserved.

I gave a waitress at Friendly's a $5 tip on a $45 check b/c she treated us like an inconvenience.

Maybe she had a rough day, maybe she was at the end of her shift, whatever...but make an attempt to smile (or at least lose the scowl) and look at me in the eyes when speaking to me.

what's the deal with tipping in usa? i don't know if it's a myth but i heard it's because the workers don't get a wage?

personally i never tip unless service is at least excellent & if service is exceptional i tip very well. saying that i hate when people fall over themselves trying to impress but if they can do it without making me feel uncomfortable that's ok. but what really pisses me off is intimidation, those fuckers never get a tip

DoffieParker said:

what's the deal with tipping in usa? i don't know if it's a myth but i heard it's because the workers don't get a wage?

personally i never tip unless service is at least excellent & if service is exceptional i tip very well. saying that i hate when people fall over themselves trying to impress but if they can do it without making me feel uncomfortable that's ok. but what really pisses me off is intimidation, those fuckers never get a tip

Most waiters/waitresses here work for tips.

They'll get a base pay that's miniscule so they need good tips to pay the bills.

I think that hairdressers/barbers work the same way.

johnart said:

20% unless you're a fuckface who couldn't care less about customer service.

OH, and I do agree with the no-tip for pick up.
Usually give delivery guys about $5.

The only time I ever tipped at a place like Quizno's was cause a friend of ours was being a major pain in the ass and I just truly felt for the poor dude makin her sammich.

johnart said:

20% unless you're a fuckface who couldn't care less about customer service.

That's my default, too.

And I don't tip for take away orders.

And the cashier at Subway got the nerve to have a tip cup sitting up on the counter! Sometimes I give them the loose change that's left over, but I consider that is for the sandwich makers.

Can I throw a curve ball in here?

What about the car wash?

You pay more or less about $20 for a decent wash, ...then there's a tip box for the "vacuum crew" and another one for the "drying crew".

WTF?

johnart said:

20% unless you're a fuckface who couldn't care less about customer service.

I will not give a server a 20% tip if they treat ME like a fuckface. Period. End of story. If they do their job properly, fine. 20%.