tipping

I tipped when I got a new bed - they brought it right into the bedroom, put it exactly where I wanted it, and affixed the headboard, so there was plenty of time to think about these things

and I did sort of mean to tip for the fridge (actually a dishwasher) too, if those guys had stopped in my flat for more than 5 seconds instead of just dumping it in the hall and leaving immediately they would've been tipped - surely anyone who thought they might/should be tipped would hang around for a moment to see if wallets were reached for? Like, just the time required to say "hi, here is your dishwasher" would have been enough

So.

Barista Tipping: An Insider'z Guide

Please note: None of this applies to Starbucks. That is a completely different world. Those baristas generally make a living wage and have health insurance (though in exchange they have to deal with shitty coffee, music from corporate, automated machines, and orders like "16 oz white chocolate mocha half caff one third foam double syrup in a 20 oz cup")

It is generally considered customary to tip a dollar for a drink that involves espresso. It's also cool if you want to tip because you're going to be there all day, though honestly, if you even have this thought in the first place, I don't feel there's any need for you to pay for your presence, as you're probably not the kind of jerk that makes me wish you'd go home.

Reasons it's customary to tip:

Unless you're talking about Stumptown, Intellegensia, Four Barrel, Blue Bottle, etc. most independent coffee shops pay below minimum wage. For instance, someone working at my shop 35 hours a week (above average), with tips, makes about $15k a year. This is without any paid time off, sick leave, insurance, or benefits of any kind. My hourly pays for rent and utilities only (both of which are pretty cheap, as I live with four people.) I pay for the entire rest of my life with tips.

In order to make good espresso drinks with a manual machine, you really have to give a shit. This includes doing things like putting 30 lbs. of pressure into your tamp, which can really fuck up your wrist if you do it 5 days a week. You also have to pay really close attention to the milk, because it has to be hot enough to be a hot drink, but if it gets too hot (like, 1 second too hot), it will scald and taste awful. It takes time, practice, and care. I've been making espresso every single day (I go in and make myself a latte on days off) for something like 4 months now, and my espresso is just okay.

Now, I'm not trying to be a martyr here, I've actually got a setup where I can make this work pretty comfortably, and I'm not really complaining. But I have co-workers who will not eat that day if tips were bad because the money has to go into other living expenses.

Mind, I fucking hate the whole tipping system, and think it should be illegal to pay less than minimum for any reason, but not tipping people who depend on it is like taking out your anger at Citibank by punching their janitors.

FYI, if you're in the US, your employer is probably violating the Fair Labor Standards Act by not paying you minimum wage. Generally, employees who pool tips in a counter tip jar are not considered tipped employees for the purposes of the FLSA. As such, your employer must pay you your state's hourly minimum wage.

That's not an argument against tipping you, btw. I am pro-barrista tipping. Just letting you know you might be getting the shaft, wage and hour-wise.

Thanks, though I almost always work solo and thus the tips aren't pooled. Also my employer is a nice 68-year-old guy who really does do what he can for employees, and if he were sanctioned really in any way, the place would shut down and none of us would have jobs. This is just how this industry works in most cities.

That was a genuine, non-dismissive 'thanks', btw.

what do you guys think about ending the institution of tipping by personally tipping 20% everywhere no matter what?
it can be kind of a nation of islam type club: 20 percenters.

np, n-i-c-k

So there's me, an Australian who does not exist in a tipping culture, in a South African hotel paying the bill, and the woman says 'do you want to pay the tip with cash or by credit card?' I don't think I correctly formulated a response to that.

I mean I've come across ingrained tipping in loads of places but until then I'd never been asked how I wanted to pay a tip which had not been discussed.

http://www.mint.com/blog/goals/tipping-abroad-03022011/?display=wide

Hey, a revive! I wanted to ask – how much should a person tip for a complimentary bang trim?

xpost

10-15% in Australia? That's crazy, the going rate is whatever 5c coins you receive in change and feel like dumping in the venue's shrapnel jar.

Crazy low or crazy high? 19% here in Denver, and I assume the States in general.

That's a brillint link Ned, very useful, but I agree with Jedmond in that tipping just isn't done here unless the food/service is exceptional.

xpost

Crazy high, we just don't tip. The Australian minimum wage is $15, and most adult hospitality staff will earn a fair chunk more than that.

I wanted to ask – how much should a person tip for a complimentary bang trim?

$10, usually.

Thank you Jenny!

You're welcome!

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/opinion/blogs/blunt-instrument/tipping-a-legitimate-form-of-payment-or-an-excuse-for-slavery-20110414-1dehk.html

how much are you supposed to tip at a casino? I do it but I have no idea how much is ever expected, personally I think it's kinda bullshit, but there are a lot of unwritten rules here

Dollar per drink, whatever feels appropriate on a big win. Playing craps I'll usually put a dollar on something with high odds instead of just giving them a buck.

yeah for drinks, definitely gotta tip there. i do the same for craps, i think the dealers like it more anyway, but I've never hit so I feel kind of bad for that. my problem is that with restaurants and bars, I can see that maybe they only break even or don't make much money, so if you enjoy it it's kind of your responsibilty to "help out"...however a casino only really exists to take your money and they rake in so much cash that it's a little insulting to be expected to tip and allow them to continue to underpay their employees (who generally work pretty hard)

I remember started at a craps table w/ $200, lost that very quickly (went around 9-10 shooters in like 20 minutes, baaaarf), dropped another $200, lost most of it and then the table heated up, someone rolled like 7 points and I left with around $350, after I chipped out someone was bothering me, "ahem, aren't you forgetting something?? come on, man"...I was like, "ummm, I'm still down on this table" but threw them a fiver anyway. Not sure how to feel about that

Who did the ahem? part? I've never had a casino employee do that, and I've been around some rude fuckers.

$1 a drink and a little something when I win a big hand. Go by hands (or rounds, craps is crazy to me) instead of the big picture.

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/search.php?searchid=17849301

87 threads on poker tipping, dive in

no, not the employees, most of them are pretty nice, even though I am constantly throwing the dice off the table (not throwing hard, they just take odd bounces)

xp I dunno if I'd take 2+2's advice on any kind of social etiquette, that place is like Asperger's heaven

Never noticed it being any more socially stunted than ilx.

I've had an account there 4 years so maybe I'm just bitter, I do remember how many of the people who post in the hand analysis forums seem way more interested in pointing out peoples flaws rather than actually trying to help them

Hey, now that you mention it

apparently Phil Ivey took all his winnings from one of the lesser WSOP tournaments (Stud or Hi-Lo or something) and tipped it to the dealers.

So I will be paying a visit to the land of tipping next week. So remind this poor soldier, what do you tip in bars? In the distant past I remember it being something like one dollar a round, but I bet this has changed.

Also, is 15% the minimum tip in restaurants now?

Yes. 20% for very good service.

Drinks: a dollar a drink for the first round, unless you're buying like six drinks - then you could get away with tipping like three dollars. A dollar or two per round after that.

cheers.

was it always 15% minimum in restaurants?

it's mostly been 15% in my lifetime -- most servers take that to mean they were only ok though.

10% for lunch, which my parents have adhered to rigorously

i think the only times I've ever left 10% is where I've been left to nurse one beverage the entire meal (when it wasn't busy) or a server acted like a complete dick. which tbf was pretty rare.

I do hate though how at Golden Corral how you can't add the tip to your credit card. Twice I wound up there and forgot I needed cash to tip and wound up either having to stiff the waiter or leave a ridiculous assortment of coins.

At the danger of reactivating the great ILX Tipping debate, why do you leave any tip if the server acted like a complete dick?

Because tips are often pooled, with dishwashers and other staff getting tipouts from the tips collected by the waitstaff (and these tipouts often explicitly make up part of their wages, which otherwise would be below minimum wage)

i.e. by stiffing the waitron you stiff other innocent parties

About tipping calculators...all of you seem to detest them. I use them so that I don't put down too small of a tip.

10%, double it, adjust down if required = easy

wish the government would reform restaurant laws already

It's 18% here, and I have dyscalcula. (I do add a random quarter or two.) Maybe I could start doing 20%, at least so I won't be seen with a tip calculator.

I am slightly disappointed that Tracer Hand has offered a perfectly reasonable explanation for why we should still tip bad waiters.

I dunno if it's perfectly reasonable, it's a terrible system that sucks mightily, but you have to do it.

christine!! the difference between 18% and 20% on a bill of $50 is one dollar! no need for calculator, just round down to the nearest even amount.

I'm married to a man who complains about $12 chinese buffet bills, so I'll probably never have a $50 restaurant bill in my entire life. But I will try out your method.

My sister in England claims that not only are you not encouraged to tip there, but that some servers will take it as an insult. True/false?

Reportedly one reason Grant Achatz's new restaurant Next introduced a novel method of reservation by ticket is that it allows a more equitable (and legal) distribution of (mandatory) service charge among all the staff, front and back of the house, which tax law currently prohibits (I think).

haha false afaik, i tip at pretty much every meal