Tipping culture. Can you help?
Posted by Little-bigfun@reddit | AskAnAmerican | View on Reddit | 10 comments
We are Australians and are off to California on Sunday and have never been to America before. Need some help with tipping culture. How much do we tip at:
The bag person (bellboy?) at hotels? Hotel room service? Housekeeping? Do you tip leaving a hotel? At the bar for each drink? Is it correct we don’t have to tip at fast food establishments? At a restaurant (I heard 20%)? Uber/taxis? Cafe with no table service? What do you do if the food was bad at a restaurant or you actually didn’t like the service? Do you still tip? Anything else I’m forgetting?
We hardly tip at home so nervous about this. Thank yo
Weird_sleep_patterns@reddit
You'll get a range of answers, but here is my attempt:
If the food is bad, your server probably had nothing to do with that. You still tip, but you can complain about the food to management and they may take some of it off the bill. Servers make sub-minimum wage in the US, so tips are expected, and they keep most of the tips. I don't like it, but it's the reality we live in (I used to wait tables). Also read bills carefully - some places add in a gratuity or a service fee!
Good luck! Definitely ask questions if you have any!
Responsible-Ring21@reddit
Relax. It’s not that difficult. For restaurants it usually 20% of the amount before taxes are added. For personal service like bellboys etc. just a few dollars or maybe $5 bucks. Some places like cafes or food places there may be a tip jar. Usually people will just throw their change in it. We don’t tip at fast food places like McDonald’s etc. at a bar with drinks we will leave a dollar or two for the bartender. Hope that helps.
cherrycokeicee@reddit
if you're at a bar getting multiple drinks, you start a tab. when you close out, you leave a tip for your whole check.
yes. they might have a tip prompt, but it is okay to hit "no tip."
yes, restaurants and bars. any time you have someone serving you at a table or bar, checking on you, bringing you stuff, etc
yss
not required
I seriously doubt this will happen to you. we have very good customer service here.
ReasonableNope@reddit
Never been someplace fancy enough for a bellboy, so I don’t know.
No to room service.
No to housekeeping.
Yes at the bar. There will be a tip jar at the bar. Throw a few bucks in there. Or, add it to your total if paying with card.
No to fast food.
Yes at sit down restaurants. 15%-20%. The math is usually done for you at the bottom of the receipt.
Yes to taxis.
No to cafe with no table service.
Still tip something if the restaurant sucked.
thisisntmyotherone@reddit
Hi! Correct you do not tip at fast food places or cafés with no table service. At a café there might be a cup out asking for ‘donations’ for staff tips. You’re not obligated to put anything in; if you choose to, that’s up to you.
Bubbly_Response6758@reddit
If you're foreign and want to participate in it just tip 15% for meals and $20 for the house staff on the final day of your stay.
k464howdy@reddit
5-10 for bellboy, 20 for houskeeping when you leave.
NO ONE will look at you sideye if you skip these.. most people don't.
don't tip fast food. don't tip carryout (i sometimes do $1)
restaurant is 15-20%
same for bar... keep an open tab until you leave.. i def would not tip per drink if i'm buying by the drink.
taxis depends on the length. i guess 5 for shot tips, 20 for half hour trips. i have no experience in that though.
witty__username5@reddit
Not someone from California, nor am I necessarily a good tipper, but I only tip at sit down restaurants and bars. Tipping technically is a reflection of the service, so if the service was terrible leave a bad tip. A common way to calculate a tip starting point is to double the tax (though others on here will say this is a low amount). In regards for drinks, a dollar per beer or maybe two dollars per cocktail should be fine. (I miss the Byron Bay stone and wood brewery so much...).
Modern credit card machines will most likely always ask for a top - whether at a Cafe, Chinese food takeout, etc. There is no shame in selecting $0 (though once again some on here may tell you to always tip).
Gold_Telephone_7192@reddit
The only places you are customarily required to tip is servers at a sit down restaurant, bar tenders, and to a lesser extent, Ubers/delivery drivers.
Around 20% for severs. Bartenders you can do 20% of a dollar a drink if you’re just getting beers. Ubers and taxis you can do 10% or a few bucks if it’s a short ride. Everyone else you don’t have to tip. If you want to, the housekeepers and bellboys will appreciate it, but it’s not required or even the norm. You don’t have to tip at any food establishment that doesn’t have table service. Don’t let people pressure you into tipping in non-tipping situations.
Popular-Local8354@reddit
I don’t tip for hotels.
Not at fast food.
A couple of bucks for a taxi, depending on how long the journey was.
It’s not mandatory, especially if the service was shitty.
15% at a sit down restaurant, 20% if fancy restaurant or exceptional service.
Bars I tip a dollar a cocktail and 50 cents a beer.