How do you tip poor, average and great service?

[Doctor Amadeus]

What is your tipping standard when or if you do?

If they bring the food to me and provide decent service I tip 15%, if they are great or excellent meaning they went out of their way to make my experience easier 20 - 25%

However if they are rude they get nothing.

Also what’s is your best or worst customer service experience?

Mine I’d say worst Comcast. The issue was about a trip charge for coming out to fix equipment that they installed that malfunctioned and tried to get me to pay for when the technicians explained it was a problem with their equipment and stated as much on the work order.

The customer service was between incompetent and simply lazy. Took 5 calls no follow ups or call backs to get the charge removed.

The worst part is each time they actually tried to up sell me. After giving the worst phony apology for the trouble each time.

The best is Delta Airlines. Every time I’ve flown I’ve almost always gotten bumped to first class or excellent seats, always clean nice and professional. Especially flight attendants.

[Doctor Amadeus]

I don't tip people for doing the job they're employed and already paid to do.

Even if they do an excellent job.

[shadowmouse]

Even if they do an excellent job.

You know how tipping threads are going to go. Tipping culture, as you've laid it out, is mainly an American thing. I sure as hell do not miss it.

Outside of limited things like KTV, tipping isn't part of the culture here. More common is to give a good review (ride services) or a good word to a supervisor (restaurant or hotel).

[Egomaniac]

I wish tipping worked the way it is supposed to. It should just be a little extra money that you give to show how grateful you are for the fine service you received. Just something between you and the person that provided that service.

Unfortunately, it's been corrupted.

Now Restaurant Owners use tips to justify how little they pay their employees. So the tips become almost mandatory if the employee wants to make enough to get by.

[Doctor Amadeus]

You know how tipping threads are going to go. Tipping culture, as you've laid it out, is mainly an American thing. I sure as hell do not miss it.

Outside of limited things like KTV, tipping isn't part of the culture here. More common is to give a good review (ride services) or a good word to a supervisor (restaurant or hotel).

Yeah that’s fine. I do my best to not make my threads too American centric so I do appreciate when you call me out on that.

However sometimes it’s kind of unavoidable depending on the point of the thread. Here I’m just asking about tipping in general.

I did put an option for no tipping along with the general consensus on what tipping is.

So I respect your point of view and where you come from and my goal isn’t to make this about tip or don’t tip.

I’m trying to gauge if a person tips what amount of work is appropriate for what kind of tip.

I apologize if I confused that with the option not to tip but I did that as a way to keep folks like yourself in mind so you can see the results and participate it a way that is appropriate for that perspective.

[Temp name]

Even if they do an excellent job.

Yes. If they don't get paid enough from their employer, their employer sucks.

The American tipping culture is just that. An American thing. If you have to add on another 10-20%, why not just bake that into the prices and be done with it?

[shadowmouse]

@Doctor Amadeus No prob, that's cool. I wasn't trying to bust your chops, just replying to the question about no tipping even when service is excellent. I'm not sure where that poster lives, but I recall them as being of Asian heritage.

As a side note, I make people uncomfortable here because I can't shake the habit of saying please and thank you. Just thanks can cause discomfort, so I'm sure you see how tipping might not be a thing. Smaller businesses, where things are more on a person to person level, even go a bit the other direction -- maybe rounding a price down a bit to show I'm appreciated as a regular. I appreciate that, so (as expected) I'll bring them my business next time around and maybe let myself get talked into trying something they recommend. In a shop I've been going to for the last 10 years or so, the woman who owns the shop eventually got my WeChat and was revving up to auction me off to potential girlfriends.

As an additional note, I like pricing here too. The price that is posted is (except where bargaining is still possible) the price I'll pay rather than the price before layers of taxes and charges are applied.

I suppose that if I am forced back to the US, I'd have to go with poor service gets some form of round up (they're still getting screwed on pay and I don't know what else they're dealing with), I'd have to adjust up to 15% nowadays for average to good service (service is supposed to be good) and something that stood out might get me up to 20% although I'd still lean more towards putting in a good word with the manager or just leaving a flat amount not measured as a percentage but an actual expression of thanks.

[Doctor Amadeus]

@shadowmouse

Yep I totally understand. I’m not going to always agree with your criticism, but I’ll always do my best be objective because when you contribute it’s always interesting.

And yes I for sure understand not everyone does it. But again just my attempt to find a somewhat middle ground where it’s prudent.

I’m not sure I’d ever feel comfortable not tipping someone unless they were flat out rude in a service industry.

Kissing my ass and pretending some nonsense corporate line isn’t required in my opinion unless the nature of that business requires it. On the other hand there is never an excuse to be rude unless a customer crosses the line or something.

- - - Updated - - -

Yes. If they don't get paid enough from their employer, their employer sucks.

The American tipping culture is just that. An American thing. If you have to add on another 10-20%, why not just bake that into the prices and be done with it?

I understand this argument to some degree. Depending on where it comes from.

I don’t tip out of some sense of superiority but at the same time I like to reward anyone that goes above and beyond for me. I don’t like feeling uneven.

Yeah sure they are just doing their job. Great but I like those I appreciate to feel appreciated.

[shadowmouse]

I’m not going to always agree with your criticism

I should hope not! If you did, we'd just have boring echo chamber stuff. I expect to get called out on stuff; I'm out of touch on certain nuances of NA/EU life and frequently trying to approximate rationality across serious sleep deprivation.

[Maneo]

Growing up in a Italian household it is a requirement to tip.

poor service = 15%
Acceptable service = 25%
Great Service = 30 - what ever I may have in my wallet.

One time after a rough night I went to Dennys to have a cheese burger, fries, and a soda... and just left 200 bucks on the table because the service was that good. I think that is the most extreme .. except for the time when I had way to many shots, and the shot girl ended up getting just under 2k from me.. mistakes were made

[Amerissis]

I don't tip often, it's not common here. I do tip my hairdresser if she did a little extra, like washing my hair longer/rinsing more often (= secret head massage). Usually that's about 20%, but it's split between all hairdressers so in the end she only gets like 1-2 euro :/ But at least she knows I appreciated it.

[Unlimited Power]

Thankfully I live in a country where waiters already get paid a decent living wage so tipping is really only reserved for outstanding service rather than expected the way it is in some other countries. I frankly can't wrap my head around that sort of mentality.

[Butler to Baby Sloths]

I live in Germany. I don't usually tip when I get food to take-away. Otherwise I'll tip 10-15% for service going beyond what I expect, 20+ for service that I consider went far above what could reasonably be expected.

[Santti]

I wish tipping worked the way it is supposed to. It should just be a little extra money that you give to show how grateful you are for the fine service you received. Just something between you and the person that provided that service.

Unfortunately, it's been corrupted.

Now Restaurant Owners use tips to justify how little they pay their employees. So the tips become almost mandatory if the employee wants to make enough to get by.

That the tips were the wage itself, instead of something on top of your pay, is the legacy of slavery. That's how it worked when slavery was abolished. That's a feature, not a bug.

https://time.com/5404475/history-tip...nts-civil-war/

“These industries demanded the right to basically continue slavery with a $0 wage and tip,” Jayaraman says.

I hope you feel good about yourselves, the next time you tip, continuing the practice.

[I Push Buttons]

I don't eat places that expect tips often, but when I do, I'd say I tip well.

Usually just because, for no particular reason (probably OCD or something), I try to round off my bill so the cost + tip is an even dollar amount, and I always go at least 15%. So depending on the bill I will usually tip more than 15%.

For example, one of the places where I occasionally eat, the meal I regularly get costs $13.98... $2.02 tip would be less than 15%, so I always pay a $3.02 tip so my bill is an even $17.

[Ghostpanther]

I wouldn't tip if the service is poor or bad. Other wise, it depends on how good the service is for the amount I would.

[Maneo]

Thankfully I live in a country where waiters already get paid a decent living wage so tipping is really only reserved for outstanding service rather than expected the way it is in some other countries. I frankly can't wrap my head around that sort of mentality.

I recently asked a few of my associates who work as waiters and such if they would prefer a static wage (using the 15 per hour minimum wage). They all adamantly said no. Although they said it would be nice to have that guaranteed wage it would be a substantial pay cut if tipping became something akin to other countries.

Most said they will typically pull in a couple hundred bucks a night, in addition to there wage. However, since they have seen the minimum wage go up here for tipped employees they have seen that drop significantly w/every increase.

[Unlimited Power]

I recently asked a few of my associates who work as waiters and such if they would prefer a static wage (using the 15 per hour minimum wage). They all adamantly said no. Although they said it would be nice to have that guaranteed wage it would be a substantial pay cut if tipping became something akin to other countries.

Most said they will typically pull in a couple hundred bucks a night, in addition to there wage. However, since they have seen the minimum wage go up here for tipped employees they have seen that drop significantly w/every increase.

There's many reasons why you can't directly compare wages between countries, such as taxes, prices etc. Most Americans don't question the fact that average wages in the US have stagnated or even dropped since the 80s and they just work more hours to compensate for the lost wages.

In Denmark you can live a perfectly decent life off your wages working as a waiter 37 hours a week with no other income.

[Ghostpanther]

There's many reasons why you can't directly compare wages between countries, such as taxes, prices etc. Most Americans don't question the fact that average wages in the US have stagnated or even dropped since the 80s and they just work more hours to compensate for the lost wages.

In Denmark you can live a perfectly decent life off your wages working as a waiter 37 hours a week with no other income.

You can in the US also. If a waiter can pull in a couple hundred bucks a night, as Maneo mentioned, you know how much that adds up to in a month? Do the math.

Of course it is going to depend where you live. Like in Cal. homes are like 4 times more expensive than say Ohio. Plus we do not have all those high taxes to contend with. So a person making say $40,000 a year in Ohio? They can get along fine. Of course they may not be able to buy expensive cars or homes, but there are a lot of homes here in the $140,000 range and with the interest rates being so low, they are more affordable now than ever.

But even in Ohio, it also will depend on where you live. If you want to live in high class Dublin Ohio, then you will need to make twice that amount. Property there and high taxes make it a place only for the well to do.

Min. wages is something that should be left up to the States. $15 and even $20 min wage may be needed in some states. But across the whole nation? Na.

[Boricha]

I typically always tip around 20%, but I don't go back if the service is bad more than once. I also don't sit down to eat in restaurants that often anymore, even before covid, so it's not something I do much anyway.