Dealing with a hungry crowd
can be difficult and exhausting, and servers are entitled to earn more than the
government's decreased minimum pay plus tips. This issue is more critical than
it was in previous years, as more people seek second employment or temp work to
supplement their income.
When it comes to tipping
etiquette, there are so many standards to follow and so many ways to go wrong.
When and how much to tip is determined by a variety of circumstances, including
the situation, service, and even location.
Tipping used to be a way to
express gratitude for outstanding service, but since the minimum wage has
remained stagnant, workers have become reliant on it.
So, how do you ensure that
individuals are fairly compensated, especially since the majority of service
industry employees rely on gratuities?
In the following, you can
find some of the main tipping guideline that can help you in any situation.
Tip
15 to 20 percent at a restaurant
Our firs tipping etiquette
concerns the amount of tip you should pay at restaurants. When it comes to
leaving a tip for the waiter at your table, you'll get a lot of advice on how
to do it properly.
The amount of a restaurant
gratuity is determined by how well you are treated, including if your order is
right and whether your waitress follows up with you after you have received
your meal. Even when the service is poor, you should leave something.
However, according to the
latest tipping guidelines, you must tip around 20% of your bill, before tax and
any coupons are deducted.
If that appears high—perhaps
you've always heard 10%, 15%—you're correct; the expected proportion has risen
over time. On the good side, it simplifies the tip calculation: Simply shift
the decimal point to the left, round down or up, then multiply the result by
two.
Don't blame your server if
your table's bill already contains a mandated gratuity (which isn't a tip but
rather a service charge which is normally 18 percent for a larger party). She's
probably not pleased, too, because that usually means less money for the
server.
Don’t
forget to tip on alcohol
According to tipping
etiquette, you shouldn’t skip tipping on alcohol. Some individuals believe that
when it comes to alcohol, you don't need to tip at all or that you could tip a
reduced amount.
Those individuals are
incorrect. For example, on a $2800 transaction, you could certainly justify
tipping a lower percentage if your lunch was $800 and the other $2000 was for a
bottle of red wine.
However, if you can buy a
$2000 bottle of red wine, you certainly afford to tip 20%.
Use
cash
This might not apply if
you're used to paying for pricey meals at high-end restaurants. It's
unrealistic to expect someone to have enough cash on them to cover a large tip
on a bill of a several hundred dollars.
But if your restaurant tips
are typically $30 or less—which they should be unless you're splurging $150 or
more on each meal—you can easily carry enough cash to follow tipping etiquette
and pay the 15 to 20% tip.
Most servers in the food
sector prefer cash tips. Instead of having to wait until the following payday
to collect credit card tips, they get the money right away.
Moreover, they'll make extra
money: Remember those credit card fees that employers have to pay? They can be
as high as 3 percent of every transaction, reducing the satisfying 20% tip to a
17% tip.
According to tipping
guidelines, if you have the cash, you should leave the tip on the table after
paying the bill with your credit card.
Rather
than refusing to tip, request a refund
Dining out may be one of the
biggest enjoyable experiences, as it relieves the stress of cooking and allows
you to relax in a pleasant setting. But you have definitely experienced a bad
food at a restaurant. However, when this situation occurs, you must remember
that it isn’t your server’s fault.
If the food or service was
so bad that a tip wasn't justified, the customer should treat the dinner like a
commercial transaction: the restaurant provided a sub-par service, so you
should provide a sub-par payment.
The good news is that most
restaurant managers will go out of their way to make things right since they
want you to leave happy. But they won't be able to do so unless you give them
the chance.
If you have a problem with a
restaurant's service, whether it's overcooked food, irritable service, or
anything else, tipping etiquette says talk to the employee and, if necessary,
the management. Please don't leave anything less than an 18% tip.
When
you're a "difficult" table, leave a larger tip
By difficult we mean when
you’re a large group splitting the check a million ways, or you're a group of
20 people who arrive late and eat for three hours rather than two.
Tipping guidelines say that
If you spend more time at a table, you may compensate by tipping more; in other
words, you're paying rent on the server's time while you're sitting there
because the table can't be turned. In some cases, a percentage of 30% (or even more)
is reasonable.
Be
generous when in doubt
Whatever the case may be,
remember that being generous is always a good idea. Why not be extravagantly
charitable if you're in a strong financial position?
Your tip reveals more about
you than it does about the person to whom you're leaving it. Tipping
effectively demonstrates gratitude for the service and a kind spirit, not
merely that you're adept at tipping.
Remember the golden tipping
guideline: If you can't afford to tip, you can't afford the service. If you
can't afford to pay an extra 15% to 20% on top of your food bill, don't go to a
restaurant with waiters.
Make
sure giving a tip is okay
Even though tipping
etiquette is very important, tipping is not a worldwide occurrence. In fact, it
is prohibited in some nations.
If you are planning to
travel outside your country, first you need to do some research about tipping
etiquette of your destination.
In many European
restaurants, for example, a 10% to 15% gratuity has already been added to your
bill. If the service was very good, you can pay more money or round up the bill
(for example, from 27 to 30 euros), but this isn't normally necessary.
In South Africa and Mexico,
practically everyone expects you to tip. In Australia, a 10% gratuity is
generally added to checks at good dining locations, but tipping is almost
non-existent in New Zealand restaurants. Tipping is also prohibited in
restaurants in Vietnam and Argentina
Know
the people who you should never tip
There are 5 types of people
that you should never tip based on tipping guidelines:
Teachers
Receiving cash from students
or their parents is usually prohibited, but you can check with the school for
guidelines on a gift and its value.
Medical
Practitioners
Money and gifts are
prohibited for many healthcare practitioners. Instead, you can show your
gratitude by thanking them directly or writing a meaningful message to show how
much their help meant to you.
Delivery
workers
There's no tipping guideline
regarding people who deliver your product. Only in one circumstance should you
tip: If it's always the same guy and you see him frequently, it's a lovely tipping
etiquette to tip something during the holidays.
Counselors
at camps and sports coaches
At the end of the season,
collaborating with other parents to provide one large gift is a completely
acceptable gesture.
Simply ask each player's or
camper's parents to donate, and make it obvious that the present is from
everyone.
Employees
Giving cash in the workplace
is wrong and can be considered fraud. With a simple gift or a clever gift card,
you can easily appreciate the staff for their hard work.
Positive feedback will often
lead to better shifts or even a promotion into management in most industries.
Conclusion
A tip, sometimes known as a
gratuity, is a little sum of money given willingly as a mark of gratitude for
services done. We tip the servers to show our appreciation for their excellent
service.
Based on tipping etiquette,
it is normally done on the after-tax amount, however there's nothing wrong with
leaving a tip on the pre-tax amount in theory. It all boils down to the quality
of service you experienced and whether you believe it worth a tip.
Standard tipping levels
often run from 15% to 20%, while anything over 20% indicating outstanding
service, although this does vary—especially in 2022, when there are more
services to tip on than ever before, and many factors to consider.
We hope our list of tipping
guidelines would be a useful source and address all of your questions.