How much do you tip?

[Gloves | 12,251]

1 minute ago, Mega Tank said:

He doesn't even tip when he's being hit on. Server is trying to make a move. Just ignored 

In all seriousness, I wouldn't eat a "free food item" especially if it's not even on the menu or remotely close to it.

I do tend to throw out the free stuff I get on Uber eats, but mostly cuz they just plop it in the bag and assume I wanna eat it. I don't like Galub Jamun but the Indian places always include some with a little hand drawn smilie face to warm my cold heart, straight into the trash, and I don't like food waste. 

[fcgamer | 5,006]

2 hours ago, Gloves said:

Over here if they give you something free, you're inclined to tip even more than usual cuz "great service!" on something that was probably going in the bin otherwise. (not shitting on the food, looks dope) 

Oh that's terrible, yeah that really sucks.

As an aside, when I was living  in Germany in 2007, I had a few Canadian friends. Anyways I had heard that Canadians tipped a lot better than Americans, though you and @Code Monkey aren't setting the world in fire if that's the case. So I'm just genuinely curious, does the average Canadian tip really really well? 

Edit: I hate tipping culture myself and am not sure what I would do if I were back in the States for any length (generally when I am back I'm with my folks and if we do go out to eat, they handle it).

Edited August 29 by fcgamer

[fcgamer | 5,006]

2 hours ago, Mega Tank said:

He doesn't even tip when he's being hit on. Server is trying to make a move. Just ignored 

In all seriousness, I wouldn't eat a "free food item" especially if it's not even on the menu or remotely close to it.

Haha it's funny because when she brought the free food, I was just having a conversation with a friend back home who's in the restaurant business about a news article where a Bahn Mi stand got shut down an hour north of me due to twenty people getting food poisoning. I then mentioned that by bringing the food she was hitting on me, and similarly wondered on the quality hahaha

[Gloves | 12,251]

3 minutes ago, fcgamer said:

Oh that's terrible, yeah that really sucks.

As an aside, when I was living  in Germany in 2007, I had a few Canadian friends. Anyways I had heard that Canadians tipped a lot better than Americans, though you and @Code Monkey aren't setting the world in fire if that's the case. So I'm just genuinely curious, does the average Canadian tip really really well? 

Edit: I hate tipping culture myself and am not sure what I would do if I were back in the States for any length (generally when I am back I'm with my folks and if we do go out to eat, they handle it).

I honestly couldn't say. I've never been in a position to get tips, and people keep their spending pretty close to the chest. 

[fcgamer | 5,006]

2 hours ago, Gloves said:

I don't like Galub Jamun but the Indian places always include some with a little hand drawn smilie face to warm my cold heart, straight into the trash, and I don't like food waste. 

The Indian places here are expensive AF, and they don't give anything for free. They'll even start closing down an hour before they state that they close, and try to usher you out the door then too. 

[Andy_Bogomil | 861]

4 minutes ago, fcgamer said:

Oh that's terrible, yeah that really sucks.

As an aside, when I was living  in Germany in 2007, I had a few Canadian friends. Anyways I had heard that Canadians tipped a lot better than Americans, though you and @Code Monkey aren't setting the world in fire if that's the case. So I'm just genuinely curious, does the average Canadian tip really really well? 

Edit: I hate tipping culture myself and am not sure what I would do if I were back in the States for any length (generally when I am back I'm with my folks and if we do go out to eat, they handle it).

Our (Canada) tipping is usually 15% at sit down, but that has been inching up to a 18-20% standard. Now pretty much everywhere, even a lot of fast food places (eg. Subway) have a prompt which was never expected 10-15 years ago in my experience. The other scummy thing about that is a lot of times the workers don't get the tips, they go to the manager or franchisee if paying with a card instead of cash... one of the big reasons I don't tip at a takeout restaurant, especially major chains.

Another thing with Canada is that most provinces have a minimum wage unlike the States (not sure all) where they can pay you peanuts and expect you to make it up on tips. Even some of the sit down restaurants here, a good percentage of the tips can go to the manager and not the actual wait/cook staff.

Canada businesses have also been abusing the TFW (temporary foreign worker) program, where they can pay them below minimum wage and give them more hours with no OT. It was initially in place for agriculture but essentially every fast food place has a majority of Indian workers through the TFWP.

[Code Monkey | 2,129]

22 minutes ago, fcgamer said:

Oh that's terrible, yeah that really sucks.

As an aside, when I was living  in Germany in 2007, I had a few Canadian friends. Anyways I had heard that Canadians tipped a lot better than Americans, though you and @Code Monkey aren't setting the world in fire if that's the case. So I'm just genuinely curious, does the average Canadian tip really really well? 

Edit: I hate tipping culture myself and am not sure what I would do if I were back in the States for any length (generally when I am back I'm with my folks and if we do go out to eat, they handle it).

Yes, all my friends tip the same as everyone else posting here. People tip about 20% with people in the industry closer to 50%.

[fcgamer | 5,006]

On a different note, I've heard it's now becoming standard to tip business owners, like a barber or hair dresser who owns the place. That's really weird for me as they're setting the prices. 

[Khromak | 837]

2 minutes ago, fcgamer said:

On a different note, I've heard it's now becoming standard to tip business owners, like a barber or hair dresser who owns the place. That's really weird for me as they're setting the prices. 

I mean sure but they'd make the $15 off the haircut regardless whether they gave it or their employee did. The tip is for their time, not for the fact that they own the business.

The owner of the barber shop I go to works there sometimes, I've only gotten my hair cut by him once or twice but...I wouldn't not tip him just because he's getting paid for the haircut already. The whole point of a tip is to provide the person with EXTRA money for doing an exceptional job, not to make sure they get paid something.

My $0.02 anyway. Owners should be tipped the exact same as any other staff member (if at all) because they're the one doing the thing you're appreciative of.

[fcgamer | 5,006]

1 minute ago, Khromak said:

I mean sure but they'd make the $15 off the haircut regardless whether they gave it or their employee did. The tip is for their time, not for the fact that they own the business.

The owner of the barber shop I go to works there sometimes, I've only gotten my hair cut by him once or twice but...I wouldn't not tip him just because he's getting paid for the haircut already. The whole point of a tip is to provide the person with EXTRA money for doing an exceptional job, not to make sure they get paid something.

My $0.02 anyway. Owners should be tipped the exact same as any other staff member (if at all) because they're the one doing the thing you're appreciative of.

Owners set the price they want to receive for the service offered, hence the traditional viewpoint that owners would not ask for tips for said service.

I know some shops where the only person giving the cuts is the owner, small town murica for you. Sure extra money is always nice and to be appreciated, but in those shops is it really a situation where the owner sets the price, yet then does so with the expectation that the patron will tip due to changing societal expectations?

[Khromak | 837]

11 minutes ago, fcgamer said:

I know some shops where the only person giving the cuts is the owner, small town murica for you. Sure extra money is always nice and to be appreciated, but in those shops is it really a situation where the owner sets the price, yet then does so with the expectation that the patron will tip due to changing societal expectations?

Think about it in reverse, wouldn't he be an asshole for setting a price KNOWING some people will tip, but still set the price at what he wants to receive with no tips involved at all?

If he expects a haircut normally (at a shop you don't own) goes for $15 + tip, and he stands to make $5 off the cut (after operating costs) and the average tip is $5 [all numbers made up], should he charge $10 for his haircut because it will work out even that he makes $5 per cut?

Surely he can't tell all his customers "just pay $15 and don't tip me please" because of the existing culture but also, some customers would prefer to pay extra.

IDK. I don't believe the situation is any different for a business owner, regardless of the number of employees they have. Why would a business owner expect to earn $5 for giving a haircut and also $5 for paying an employee to give a haircut? They are adding extra value when they are the one performing the service.

[fcgamer | 5,006]

6 hours ago, Khromak said:

Think about it in reverse, wouldn't he be an asshole for setting a price KNOWING some people will tip, but still set the price at what he wants to receive with no tips involved at all?

If he expects a haircut normally (at a shop you don't own) goes for $15 + tip, and he stands to make $5 off the cut (after operating costs) and the average tip is $5 [all numbers made up], should he charge $10 for his haircut because it will work out even that he makes $5 per cut?

Surely he can't tell all his customers "just pay $15 and don't tip me please" because of the existing culture but also, some customers would prefer to pay extra.

IDK. I don't believe the situation is any different for a business owner, regardless of the number of employees they have. Why would a business owner expect to earn $5 for giving a haircut and also $5 for paying an employee to give a haircut? They are adding extra value when they are the one performing the service.

Totally disagree here, if it's a one man show it demonstrates the point. Owner sets the price they want for their time, etiquette historically dictated not to tip in such situations.

This is moreso an issue of people going overboard on tipping anyone and everyone without really thinking about the situation at hand.

[spacepup | 2,482]

Here is how I handle things in most circumstances:

If I'm getting traditional service or the people are making a server's wage (lower than minimum wage), then I tip just as is expected and customary for decades here in the US - for me it feels "required" (personally).

If it's a "new" phenomenon, such as a coffee bar, yogurt place, line service like Qdoba, etc, where tipping was not customary or expected for decades, but now they have those Square machines that have the tip option - I consider that completely *optional*, and you can too.  Don't worry about what the employee sees, just make the decision that fits your personality / situation best.  Tip if you'd like, don't tip if you don't want to, simple as that.

Even in the latter, I don't always tip but sometimes I do depending on the circumstances.  For example, there is a local bakery here that has REALLY good food and the employees are always extremely helpful and friendly.  Sometimes I've been there and I was the only one there, got one item and left, and didn't feel a tip was needed.  Another time I was grabbing food and beverages for multiple family to go to a birthday - the bakery was really busy, I had a really large complicated order, with special requests, and the employee was *extremely* accommodating and friendly.  In that scenario I gave a tip.  I wasn't required to, but I felt it'd be nice, and I frequent this place relatively often.

People have always had different opinions about tipping and when to do it, how much, etc.  I can't individually change the entire system, so aside from voting for legislation or advocating for policy changes, in the meantime I'm dealing with the current system.  And as such, if I go to a restaurant where I KNOW the servers are making a server wage and tips are part of the existing "system," then I tip just like I always have.

People may get frustrated that more places have the tablet with the tip buttons, but at the end of the day, you can do whatever YOU feel is right in every single situation.

[fcgamer | 5,006]

2 hours ago, spacepup said:

Here is how I handle things in most circumstances:

If I'm getting traditional service or the people are making a server's wage (lower than minimum wage), then I tip just as is expected and customary for decades here in the US - for me it feels "required" (personally).

If it's a "new" phenomenon, such as a coffee bar, yogurt place, line service like Qdoba, etc, where tipping was not customary or expected for decades, but now they have those Square machines that have the tip option - I consider that completely *optional*, and you can too.  Don't worry about what the employee sees, just make the decision that fits your personality / situation best.  Tip if you'd like, don't tip if you don't want to, simple as that.

Even in the latter, I don't always tip but sometimes I do depending on the circumstances.  For example, there is a local bakery here that has REALLY good food and the employees are always extremely helpful and friendly.  Sometimes I've been there and I was the only one there, got one item and left, and didn't feel a tip was needed.  Another time I was grabbing food and beverages for multiple family to go to a birthday - the bakery was really busy, I had a really large complicated order, with special requests, and the employee was *extremely* accommodating and friendly.  In that scenario I gave a tip.  I wasn't required to, but I felt it'd be nice, and I frequent this place relatively often.

People have always had different opinions about tipping and when to do it, how much, etc.  I can't individually change the entire system, so aside from voting for legislation or advocating for policy changes, in the meantime I'm dealing with the current system.  And as such, if I go to a restaurant where I KNOW the servers are making a server wage and tips are part of the existing "system," then I tip just like I always have.

People may get frustrated that more places have the tablet with the tip buttons, but at the end of the day, you can do whatever YOU feel is right in every single situation.

This sounds most reasonable as a plan if action. 

[Sumez | 3,153]

Where I live, waiters and other service people get a normal wage like everyone else, so I don't tip unless someone has something extraordinary. You know, like the system was intended. But in many establishments, leaving an unsolicited tip would be considered rude.

[guillavoie | 1,227]

1 hour ago, Sumez said:

Where I live, waiters and other service people get a normal wage like everyone else, so I don't tip unless someone has something extraordinary. You know, like the system was intended. But in many establishments, leaving an unsolicited tip would be considered rude.

Code Monkey's Heaven!

[Kguillemette | 1,606]

On 8/29/2024 at 1:12 PM, Gloves said:

I do tend to throw out the free stuff I get on Uber eats, but mostly cuz they just plop it in the bag and assume I wanna eat it. I don't like Galub Jamun but the Indian places always include some with a little hand drawn smilie face to warm my cold heart, straight into the trash, and I don't like food waste. 

I had to look up what this is. It's basically a milk donut. IF that's not your thing makes sense, doesn't sound like mine either. Especially if flavored with rose water. Maybe I'd enjoy a cardamom flavored one. Sounds like a complimentary dessert like a fortune cookie.

[fcgamer | 5,006]

5 hours ago, guillavoie said:

Code Monkey's Heaven!

All depends on which shoulder they serve across though.

[Doctornick | 421]

I don't know the last time I posted, but this thread is amazing.  I'll tip 15-20% for sit down meals, I don't for take out unless my wife wants something complicated or customized.  So I do tip for takeout often.

[xelement5x | 112]

On 8/28/2024 at 5:06 PM, Tabonga said:

Great place if you are ever in the area! (I recommend the Umami Tsunami.  Their Umami macaroni and gouda cheese with candied bacon is also awesome.)

https://www.flyingpigburgerco.com/

I love a good burger, I may have to check this place out next time I'm headed towards Estes Park or the like.

[Tabonga | 2,533]

41 minutes ago, xelement5x said:

I love a good burger, I may have to check this place out next time I'm headed towards Estes Park or the like.

Clancy's in Wheat Ridge, Sloan's in Edgewater and Teller's in Lakewood are also pretty good.

[BouncekDeLemos | 82]

I don't live in a place that has much of a tipping culture 'cept maybe a couple of places (I live in a small town), but I do give the lady that cleans our restrooms at the flea market a couple of bucks.