"How much do I tip?"

[thehuckster]

My fiancee and I went to a mexican restaurant the other night, and overheard this gem from the table next to us.

Waitress: "Here's your check, pay whenever you're ready."
Drunk Guy: "Uuh, excush meh, quick questionph... how much do I leave for a tip?"
Waitress: "Excuse me? I can't... uhh... well, I mean generally speaking people leave 15% for OK service, 18% for decent service, and 20% or above for excellent service."
Drunk Guy: "Uuuh, okay, thanksh, mish..."

...later...

Waitress: "All set?"
Drunk Guy: "Not really... I am still confushed. So let's say I wanted to leave you 18%. How much money do I give for a tip?"
Waitress: "The meal was $37, so around $7 would be roughly 18%."
Drunk Guy: "Aight, thanks."

He should be glad the waitress didn't take advantage of his inebriated state and told him to leave $20.

[scruff]

I am so so glad that round here it's 10% standard, very easy to workout, even with my lousey maths. :-)

[MoonCat]

I can figure out 10% easily enough, then I just double it.

[Slayer]

Some people are just bad with math lol

Here it's 10% ok, 15% pretty good and 20% crazy awesome.

[thehuckster]

Some people are just bad with math lol

Here it's 10% ok, 15% pretty good and 20% crazy awesome.

Several years ago I went to a small town in Quebec just over the Maine border and had lunch at a diner. The waitress kindly informed us that the gratuity was included in the bill as per local customs and we weren't expected to leave anything extra unless she did something extraordinary. Is that something that changed since then?

[Ghel]

Here it's 10% ok, 15% pretty good and 20% crazy awesome.

That's how I usually do it, too.

Last week, I went to get my hair cut. I donated my hair (I got a LOT cut off), so they didn't charge me for the haircut. So I handed the stylist $2, which would be about 15% of the cost of the haircut, if I'd had to pay for it. She seemed surpised. I don't know if folks around here don't usually tip for a haircut, or if she didn't expect me to tip her because the haircut was free. In any case, I loved the look of surprise on her face.

[Amajean]

My ex didn't know either so he almost left a $40 tip on like a $25 meal. I wish I didn't say anything.
Once at the bar I didn't want to calculate up a tip so I'm like 4 sounds about right, turns out I left a 40% tip. The bartender definitely took notice and appreciated it. It made me feel good!

[thehuckster]

My ex didn't know either so he almost left a $40 tip on like a $25 meal. I wish I didn't say anything.

Heh, last year I went to a resort in Florida and, instead of going for a $20 limo the resort offered, instead took a $5 cab ride to my destination. Having lack of coffee combined with a massive brain fart, I gave the driver $20 and told him to keep the change as a tip. His face looked like I had given him a winning lottery ticket. A few moments later I realized what I did and kicked myself a few times... especially since the whole point was to avoid taking the overpriced limo.

[sms001]

especially since the whole point was to avoid taking the overpriced limo.

But! You made someone's day for the price of the limo, which you would probably have tipped for anyway, so you got a deal.

[Jay 2K Winger]

I once tipped about 100% to a taxi driver.

This was several years ago, Valentine's Day weekend. I'd gone up to Boston to see my then-GF (for the first time, as it happens; we'd met online), taking the train up. A blizzard hit the East Coast that weekend, hitting the DC area first on Sunday (the day I was supposed to come home), then the Boston area on Monday. I ended up rescheduling my departure day to Monday because, when I called home, my folks told me, "Don't come home. We're snowed in, and the Metro isn't running to any above-ground stations."

Hey, I got an extra day with my girlfriend out of it. But I take the train home on Monday, arriving laaaate at Union Station in DC, fully intending to either find a taxi that could take me to a hotel, or just sleep in the station until morning. There are a few taxi drivers around, calling out destination areas, and I hear one call out, "Anyone for Virginia?"

I stepped forward, but didn't commit to going with him until he had a few other passengers. There were four of us, two for DC hotels, two for VA. But after he dropped off the DC passengers, the other VA passenger decided to opt for a hotel instead. This cabbie-- who was in a 4WD SUV-- took me all the way to my driveway, well out of his way. I basically gave him all the money that was left in my wallet-- tipping him basically 100% for doing so.

I got to sleep in my own bed that night, I wasn't gonna complain.

[thehuckster]

But! You made someone's day for the price of the limo, which you would probably have tipped for anyway, so you got a deal.

Sure, it was bittersweet. I was on a pretty tight budget for that trip, but in the end I was glad I made his day.

[Eevie]

My dad always tipped like this, 10% for adverage service, 20% for good service. I have seen him tip 25% seeing as our waiter then was probably the greatest waiter of all time. Seriously, I dare say the guy liked his job, he was so enthusiastic and was all smiles. When he saw my little brother's Chuck Norris shirt (this was a few years ago) he took the time to entertain us with Chuck Norris jokes. Have never had a waiter like that since.

[iPanda]

On average, I give 15$ tip for lunch time, more if service was great, and then 20% at dinner, more if there was a lot of people or if the service was great.
But I never do less than 20% at dinner. I've never done so.
However, if the service is absolutely ridiculous for no reason and im pissed and steaming, which I have yet to experience, I'd prolly leave 1 cents and a whole list explaining why. A tip is earned not an obligation to me. So even if there's a lot of mistakes I still leave 15 or 20%, depending on the time. As long as they get the food to me and my drinks, that's all I care about.
Once, I had a waitress who made a lot of mistakes and our food was totally wrong and etc... But it was her first day and she wasn't the one making food so my friend and I left her something like 25-30% tip cause we didn't want her to feel bad from us complaining so much. x.x

[Flying Grype]

I tip 15% as a rule. I'll tip as much as 20% at my favourite places, for my regular waiters or really awesome service in general.

Unless the service was really awful, I tip, because minimum wage for servers in many places is calculated on the assumption that customers DO tip.

[Peppergirl]

Speaking of tips: I always get a pedicure when I go to visit my parents in Florida over Christmas every year. It's MUCH cheaper there than where I live.

Anyway, I tip 20 percent because, hey - they're working on my FEET, for chrissakes.! The sad part is that these people remember me every year and greet me as though I tip 100 percent or something.

It makes me sad because this is a pretty clear indication that other people in the area don't tip properly if they can remember a person that comes in once a year.