To tip or not to tip – how to decide

More and more these days, it seems that every place we go to eat, there’s an expectation that a monetary gratuity is deserved and/or expected. It is known that servers in most sit-down restaurants receive little in wages and tips are relied upon to bring them up to a living wage for their service. But what about all the other eateries where, no matter what you’re there to get, you find a tip jar or a place on the receipt to add a gratuity?

In an effort to uncomplicate the matter of tipping, we found some basic guidelines into the common practice of tipping.

Restaurants

Full service, sit-down restaurant: 15% – 20% of the total bill before taxes (Note: some restaurants now suggest tipping after taxes because servers themselves tip out on the after tax amount). You should also tip on the full amount of the meal before coupons or other compensations.

You order at the counter but food is delivered to your table: If food is delivered solely as a convenience, tipping is not necessary. However, if seating, décor and possibly extra service compare with a standard sit-down restaurant, tip 5% – 10%.

To go orders and/or curbside service: Check your receipt first. Some places that offer this service have already added an additional charge. This may be going to the person who runs the food to your car or the one who has it ready for you at the counter, or it is going to the restaurant. You may need to ask to find out. Whoever is taking the time and effort to service customers for pick-up should not miss out on tips because they are busy packing up, ringing up and running orders out to a customer. Consider a tip of 10% – 15%.

Eating at the bar or counter service: 10% – 15%.

Cafe

Optional.  Leave 5%-10% for good service or complicated orders, especially if the staff is hired and is more dependent on tips.

Buffets

Fast food style: No tipping.

Servers who takes your drink orders and checks on you, $1 – $2 per person is appreciated.

High-end buffets: a tip of 15% to 20% is common, and this may be automatically included on your bill.

Pizza, Chinese, other food Delivery

Most restaurants that deliver add a delivery charge to the cost of your order. However, this delivery charge does not go to the delivery person, but instead goes to the restaurant.  Add at least $1 to 15% for the delivery person. You may want to consider more during bad weather or difficult delivery conditions.

Drive-thru, fast food restaurants

No tipping necessary. Tip-jar gratuities are for those who go above and beyond.

Quality of service is the determining factor in the amount that a person should tip in a restaurant. For example, you may receive a great meal but have been treated rather shabbily by the server. And the opposite could be true, you were given wonderful service but the food was less than adequate. Consider that a server isn’t responsible for bad food but they are for their bad service.

No matter the restaurant, leaving a good tip for the server who has worked particularly hard or gone out of his or her way to make your meal pleasant, acknowledges that you appreciated the service you received.

Let me leave you with this “tip”: Always check your restaurant tab for added service charges, gratuities, and errors before paying the bill.