I’m so lost on how to tip anymore. I remember back when 12% pre-tax was considered a really good tip, but now the kiosks recommend 20-25% (which is usually ON TOP of tax).
I already don’t tip anywhere I’m not sitting down with service, but 20-25% is crazy when I’m just trying to get fed.
I don’t want to fiddle around through a machine menu, so if it has reasonable suggestions like 12% 15% and 18% I’ll usually choose one of those.
If their automatic suggestions are at something like 20% 25% 30% I usually just press no tip instead of custom and entering in another value.
I justify it by saying the next three people paying 25% are paying for my 15% tip, because obviously they can afford it more than I can.
When I eat in at a restaurant (excluding places with no waiters or service), 15% is my standard tip. I choose the percentage on the payment machine, so I assume it’s on top of the tax. When I order take-out, I don’t tip at all.
I’m curious how much you guys tip (if at all) for things outside the restaurant industry. For example, taxis.
I’m lucky and make a decent living. Not “buy a house in Vancouver” money but I’m basically not struggling. So, I figure anyone working minimum wage is doing something I probably wouldn’t like doing and I want to help out.
I also love restaurants and bars. My favourite spots, those servers are doing hard work that I couldn’t do and they put up with all sorts of horrible nonsense. And if they don’t make enough, they leave and the place suffers. So I generally tip 20 at a place I like, 15 if it’s meh or whatever.
It’s ridiculous. Servers in Canada get the same minimum wage as anyone else. It’s not like the states where they only get $2/hour.
So I’m supposed to tip $2 every time a bartender pours a pint? Like come on. Multiply that by 8 people in the bar and suddenly my bartender is making $40/hour to open and hand me beer while I make $20/hour to be responsible for the lives of children (I’m a school bus driver).
I do believe bartenders deserve more than minimum wage, but when you look at it that way it seems our priorities as a society are super skewed and that’s why I don’t go to the bar.
And before you tell me to get a better job, I already have two better jobs but I’m low on the list and don’t get enough work through them to quit the bus yet.
Doesn’t the US force employers to pad the employee’s wage up to normal minimum wage if tips don’t cover it?
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/state/minimum-wage/tipped
It varies by state, but goes like this:
Many states that we care about (Washington, Oregon, California) require employers to pay state minimum wage before tips.
In other states (New York, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Hawaii), employers are required to pay at least the state minimum wage after tips and are required to provide a tip credit if tips don’t meet the state minimum wage threshold.
In those states where minimum wage is equal to the federal minimum, employees are required to pay at least the federal minimum wage after tips.
Nowhere is anyone legally required to be paid less than minimum wage for doing work.
For sit-down or coffee, generally 20%, as I’ve done for years. Not going to go up to 25%, and it’ll take bad service for me to dip below 18%.
Slightly different for delivery - I’ll usually do a flat $5 if they’re nearby and I’m just ordering a meal for me and my partner. If we’re getting a lot of food, I’ll add to that.
If I order takeout food (not coffee), I don’t tip at all.
