Calculating Tip: Include Tax or Not?

[jIM_Ohio]

Tip based on total, and there have been times I have left a dollar or less for poor service. I have also tipped 25% for good service.

Of course I have two infants at home, so the last time I went out and had to calculate this was probably close to 9 months ago or even longer.

[ActYourWage]

Tipping is a scam because it is no longer what it was designed to be - a thanks to the server for good service. Most places pool their tips so the lousy waiters get just as much as the great waiters, and they share their tips with the busboy and kitchen staff.

Tipping is a scam because the tip is based on the cost of the food rather than related in any way to the level of service. If you and I go out to dinner, each paying our own way, and I order the $30 filet mignon while you order the $15 pasta, I am expected to tip twice as much as you even though delivering my meal didn't take any more work than delivering yours.

Tipping is a scam because it allows restaurant owners to pay their employees slave wages rather than a fair salary for the work being done. And despite that, many restaurants still add an 18% "mandatory gratuity" (which is an oxymoron) to the bill if there are 6 or more people dining together. I'd much rather pay more for the food and forget about tipping entirely and have the employees paid a fair wage.

I see your point.

[JimInOK]

Pretax.

[geojen]

I waitressed for 6 years, and I agree that tipping by percentage does no one any good. For example, elderly couples are notorious for going out, sharing a plate, and having coffee. So, their bill may come to around 12 dollars, so the tip would be pretty little. However, the time I spent going to their table to refill their coffees 8 times and give them all the special little things that they need results in way more work than the 1 dollar they will leave.

I would much rather not be tipped, or be tipped per person. For example, when I go out, I tip for the amount of work that I think she did for me. If she refilled my glass 6 times without me asking, promptly delivered things I asked for, etc, I tip in respect to that, not how much my food cost.

Then, you have the days when you don't have many tables, for whatever reason. So, the restaurant expects you to "work for your wage" (which was 3.20 p/hr where I worked) which meant cleaning the restaurant. Last time I checked, cleaning services charge WAY more than 3.20 an hour for cleaning.

Sure, some nights I'd come home with 100 dollars in tips, but I would have to tip out the bus boy, the bartenders, even the cooks, even though they were ALREADY being paid for the jobs they do. I was a waitress, I got paid in tips. Why the HECK should I have to tip out these other people????

[disneysteve]

I waitressed for 6 years, and I agree that tipping by percentage does no one any good. For example, elderly couples are notorious for going out, sharing a plate, and having coffee. So, their bill may come to around 12 dollars, so the tip would be pretty little.

Due to the outrageously large portions in most restaurants, my wife and I will often share one entree or even just order 2-3 appetizers as our meal. That keeps the cost down, but we recognize that we're taking up a table and a server's time so we will tip more than 20% in those instances assuming the server did a good job and treated us well.

[scfr]

Thanks for the feedback ... because the board seems to be split and because the etiquette "rules" say tip pre-tax, I will continue to do so.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

If she refilled my glass 6 times without me asking, promptly delivered things I asked for, etc, I tip in respect to that, not how much my food cost.

If waitstaff refilled my glass 6 times, I might have to leave a nice tip for the person who keeps the restroom in order.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Due to the outrageously large portions in most restaurants, my wife and I will often share one entree or even just order 2-3 appetizers as our meal. That keeps the cost down, but we recognize that we're taking up a table and a server's time so we will tip more than 20% in those instances assuming the server did a good job and treated us well.

Similarly, if we have lingered to talk at a busy time and I think it is possible that new customers got seated in someone else's "station," because they could not fit in our waiter's, we will give a larger tip as we may have caused the waiter to lose the potential for that tip. (If we are finishing up and realized there is a line to be seated, we try to be good little boys and girls and leave to make room for the next customers.)

Actually I don't like to think too closely about how much we tip, when, and why. If feels too much like overly fastidious navel gazing.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

My DH and I were discussing this last night. I can't believe how much tipping has gone up. Before 15% was standard and now it's more like 20-25%. It's ridiculous.

I'm sorry but I think restaurants should pay minimum wage or higher and then incorporate the tip into the costs like in other parts of the world. And yes I get frustrated because you have to tip for everything in the US, not just eating out. Getting a haircut, cab, coffee (ridiculous if you ask me)!

Everywhere you go they have a STUPID TIP JAR out for what? Being a cashier and doing your job? Geez a lou. What the heck is going on with people?

[disneysteve]

Everywhere you go they have a STUPID TIP JAR out for what? Being a cashier and doing your job?

I never tip at those types of places. Those employees are not being paid as waiters. They are getting a normal hourly wage. They do not warrant tips.

[cptacek]

I tip on the pre-tax bill, and usually 15%. However, if the service is terrible, I won't tip anything. Maybe they should pay more attention to their customers instead of flirting with the bus boy.

[GrimJack]

Here in Seattle the tax on a meal is around 8+% so we just double the tax to get the tip. We may tend to tip high but we seldom get bad service. If you want an easy way to tip and have sales tax in your state it should easy to come to simple, standard calculation.
Or move the decimal one place left and add half again.

WRT that whining waiter -- the government calculates their expected income on food sales so that is what they have to claim on their taxes.

[mrpaseo]

I usually tip on the total bill too, but I tip 15% for average service, really good service 20%, and 10% for lousy service. I never gave much thought to this before.

This is exactly how I am, I could not have said it any better.

I may add, that you save 15% off the top of your bill if you get it to go. Sometimes my family and I will order from say Outback as they have curb side pick up, I do not leave a tip for services rendered as they do not wait on me at all so I pay only the bill, this saves me at least 10% and often up to 20% as noted above.

Ray

PS. I have left a cent on the table one time as the service was the absolute worst, down right rude and unacceptable. I did not want to leave without leaving something so the waitress could think I forgot to leave a tip so I left one cent. I believe my point was made.

[Coleroo]

We never tip based on cost of food....I think that's rediculous. We tip based on service alone. A fairly good server will earn between $5 and $8. We figure they work for us for an hour, they deserve at least that much. A bad server will get maybe 2-3 bucks. Snotty ones get nothing. Albeit, we don't ever eat at fancy restarurants though where high "gratuity" is expected. We never eat at restaurants where an individual meal costs more than $10.00.

[cptacek]

I went to Applebee's today so I could watch the Olympics...got rid of the cable a few months ago and the TV isn't hooked up to an antenna. NOT a good idea to cut the tv if you know you are going to watch it at a bar/restaurant anyway!

Anyway, I sat in the bar area. I had to order my own beer from the bar because the waitress ignored me. I had to go grab my own menu. I had to flag down the waitress and order. I had to ask another server for silverware after they delivered my salad. They mistakenly gave me a second beer without asking if I wanted it (hey, that part was good...at least they didn't charge me for that beer).

Bill was $14.xx. Usually I would have tipped $2.10. I left $.80.