Here's a Tip
I over-tipped for a bad dinner. I tipped 15%, but the service was poor and the food unfit to eat. At most, I should have tipped 10%, but 5% would have better reflected the value. Why didn't I tip less, I've been made self-consicous for using tipping to sent a message.
I've noticed a creep in tipping. Although standard tip is still 15%, people boast of tipping 20% on a regular basis. Sorry to tell the readers (since I think everyone reading this fits in the category) but it irks me when people talk about tipping 20%. First, why announce it? Do you want a pat on the back? Second, when the base tip is 15%, why tip 20% for standard service? Often, people tip 20% or 25% for what I consider not even worth the 15%. I seldom do 20%, but I've been made to feel bad about not doing that. It makes it difficult to give poor tips when poor tips are deserved.
Yes, the situation of the servers is horrible, legally being paid much less than minimum wage. However, a tip needs to send a message. Routinely tipping 20% says, "the food and service don't matter to me, I just want your applause." I stick with the 15% (although I wish I could take back the tip from tonight's dinner). When I tip 20%, the food has to surpass my expectation and the service needs to be friendly and attentive without being annoying.
In the future, I'm going to try and shake off the shame of tipping under 15%. I will set 15% as the base, not tip more than 20%, and reserved the right to tip as little as 5%. A tip should mean something, not just be an additional fee routinely and meaninglessly attached to a bill.
I want to be absolutely clear on something. Tipping at a restaurant and most tips in the US is still 15%. In Bar Harbor, restaurants always put on their receipts, "to our foreign guests, it is customary to provide an 18% gratuity." See, 15% (and hope that the ignorant will give a bit more). Don't tell me that it has changed just to make it look as if a 20% change isn't sending the wrong message. (A-ha!)
Is there a guide for tipping out there? I've often thought that a book and/or web site titled Tipping Around the World would be a valuable reference. Who do you tip when and how much? It varies by service and country. In parts of the US, it is customary to give seasonal monetary gifts as well. I think in NYC they refer to it as "taking care of people," but This American Life may have lied to me.
Speaking of tipping, U always wonder if I'm supposed to tip the cleaning staff. There is an envelope on the fridge of this hotel that says "Pourboire" (i.e., Tip). According to that site, $5 a day? Either as a lump at check-out or, preferably, daily. Maybe I'll do it at checkout. My work has strange rules about reimbursment. They won't cover drinks (not unusual), but will cover reasonable tipping. Sepcifically, they will cover up to a 15% gratuity. Another source I'll site in my defense of 15% tipping.
Okay, it is way too late. I need to get to bed. Goodnight!
I've noticed a creep in tipping. Although standard tip is still 15%, people boast of tipping 20% on a regular basis. Sorry to tell the readers (since I think everyone reading this fits in the category) but it irks me when people talk about tipping 20%. First, why announce it? Do you want a pat on the back? Second, when the base tip is 15%, why tip 20% for standard service? Often, people tip 20% or 25% for what I consider not even worth the 15%. I seldom do 20%, but I've been made to feel bad about not doing that. It makes it difficult to give poor tips when poor tips are deserved.
Yes, the situation of the servers is horrible, legally being paid much less than minimum wage. However, a tip needs to send a message. Routinely tipping 20% says, "the food and service don't matter to me, I just want your applause." I stick with the 15% (although I wish I could take back the tip from tonight's dinner). When I tip 20%, the food has to surpass my expectation and the service needs to be friendly and attentive without being annoying.
In the future, I'm going to try and shake off the shame of tipping under 15%. I will set 15% as the base, not tip more than 20%, and reserved the right to tip as little as 5%. A tip should mean something, not just be an additional fee routinely and meaninglessly attached to a bill.
I want to be absolutely clear on something. Tipping at a restaurant and most tips in the US is still 15%. In Bar Harbor, restaurants always put on their receipts, "to our foreign guests, it is customary to provide an 18% gratuity." See, 15% (and hope that the ignorant will give a bit more). Don't tell me that it has changed just to make it look as if a 20% change isn't sending the wrong message. (A-ha!)
Is there a guide for tipping out there? I've often thought that a book and/or web site titled Tipping Around the World would be a valuable reference. Who do you tip when and how much? It varies by service and country. In parts of the US, it is customary to give seasonal monetary gifts as well. I think in NYC they refer to it as "taking care of people," but This American Life may have lied to me.
Speaking of tipping, U always wonder if I'm supposed to tip the cleaning staff. There is an envelope on the fridge of this hotel that says "Pourboire" (i.e., Tip). According to that site, $5 a day? Either as a lump at check-out or, preferably, daily. Maybe I'll do it at checkout. My work has strange rules about reimbursment. They won't cover drinks (not unusual), but will cover reasonable tipping. Sepcifically, they will cover up to a 15% gratuity. Another source I'll site in my defense of 15% tipping.
Okay, it is way too late. I need to get to bed. Goodnight!