What are your tipping standards?

[SableC.]

I eat out several times a week with friends, family, and coworkers, so tipping etiquette pops up frequently.  I typically add a 20% gratuity to my bill.  I add a little more if the service is exceptional or if my mother is eating with me because she's a high demand customer.  Since I learned that the delivery fee usually goes to the business and not the driver, I started tipping delivery people 20% too.  I wish tipping wasn't a necessity.  I'd rather the servers get paid a decent wage even if it means raising prices.

When you're eating out, picking up a to-go order, or having food delivered to your home, how do you determine how much to tip?  Do you follow a hard-and-fast rule based on a certain percentage of the bill or does the tip amount vary based on service or something else?  

[Quirah]

I am a cheap person, so it took a while for me to come up with a tipping method. For me, it comes down to the waiter's attitude and service. If they were a great waiter, I'd tip them as much as I can afford that day. For bad waiters with terrible attitudes and services, I don't tip a lot, no more than a couple of dollars.

Edited August 14, 2017 by Quirah

[lelan]

Well, like Quirah, I tend to go with the waiter's attitude and kind of service. I never see any justification in tipping a waiter or waitress with a bad attitude and if I have to, then it is equally important that I give my thoughts on the kind of service rendered. It would make sense to have a tipping standard, probably based on the amount spent.

[tonijon]

It is customary in my area lelan254, to leave a tip on the amount spent.  Being a waitress when I was in school was a good experience.   I depended on tips because I was paid so very little by management.  20% is a standard amount but if I get excellent service I tend to tip way more than that. If the service is poor, then 20% is all.  Maybe that waiter or waitress is having a bad day but they still need the money.    Isn't it funny that customs like this vary so much across cultures?  I, for one, will stick with the 20% rule where ever I am.  

[leeannhargrave]

Do you know that the tips a waitress gets are meant to compensate her for the discrepancy in salary up to the minimum wage?  If they are paid $2.35 (usual in our area) then they should make tips that would get her up to the minimum wage hence the need to report them to the owner.  It is the owner's responsibility to make sure that everyone makes at least minimum wage.  Many times, this does not happen here in New Mexico.  Small business owners are unaware of the pay laws.  

20% is the usual amount for the bare minimum. Good or excellent service always gets a big tip from me.  I used to be a waitress years ago when the sun was little bitty in the sky and there weren't no dirt, it was all rock!