by Rip Rokken » Tue Aug 05, 2008 11:54 pm
There are some great references for tipping out there, and since the rules keep changing, I sometimes have to look at them and catch up on what's expected these days.
In restaurants with table service, I ALWAYS tip at least 20% or more, and never less than $1 for anything, even a cup of coffee. Heck, I'll even tip a bartender $1 for getting me a glass of water. For less than good service, I'll tip around 15%, but one thing I'll never do is leave an "insult" tip like some people do -- like a dime or something. Best just not to tip at all.
For self-serve restaurants like buffets and stuff where someone buses your table, not as much is expected, but at least a buck or two if it's cheap (which still may amount to 20% due to the low cost).
Delivery, a few bucks depending on the ticket and the service -- if someone went way out of their way to do something special, I'll reward them. I used to deliver pizzas for extra cash when I was 19, and this one guy always requested I stop by the grocery store and pick up some items for him... LOL! He was a GREAT tipper, and usually gave me $7-$9, so I was always happy to take his order! Don't tip delivery guys, and it's a good way to keep them from going out in the future.
In fact, I had a great way of dealing with cheap-ass tippers -- I remember this one dude who uses to ask for his change and tell me to "keep the silver"... haha! Thanks for the nickel and dime, bro! So we came up with something called the "Luthor Bill" -- GREAT idea. You take a $1 bill and just practically destroy it, wear it down, tear it near in half and tape it, and then to top it off we'd draw a mustache on Wasington and change his name to "Luthor"... LOL! So anyway, when you are giving one of these cheap tippers their money back, you always put that one on top. They most likely will look at it for a second, then give it back to you as a tip. Put it back in your case and take a nice clean $1 bill out for yourself. But some people were so cheap they kept the bill, and it took another 10-15 minutes to make another one. Those dudes, I NEVER went back.
The hardest thing for me to get used to, though, being old-school and traditional, is tip jars. I HATE them, but have finally started adding to some depending on the place and how well I like the people. It's especially bad when a place is 100% self-serve on drinks, silverware, etc., and all they do is take your money at the register. I did research this and the best resources said not to feel obligatory about adding to tip jars -- that they were volunteer only. And those things are starting to show up in Subways all over the place -- what's next, McDonald's? Pay your freaking employees, for goodness sake, and don't expect the customers to make up for bad wages. At LEAST come to my table and refill my drink or something, and I'll always tip.
