Yeah. If a guy cannot tip at least 10%, eat at home. Or McDonald's.

Here in Utah it seems to be a tradition to see who can tip the least.

I always start at 20%, then round up to the nearest whole dollar. And I'm dirt-poor.

Me and my wife travel all over the world and I go to India as a part of my job, so I always take great care in finding out what the local tipping policy is before I go.

However, as a standard I only tip if I get waited on. I don't tip places where I drive up to a window and get it over the counter.

If I get waited on and the service is either non-existing or very poor, then I dont tip. Ex: I went to a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown in SF. The service was extremely poor and borderline rude. When I got my change back, I didn't leave any for tip and the lady looked at me and pointed to the bowl yelling "TIP-TIP!!" I replied "I don't think so..." and left with her curses in Chinese trailing me.
That being said - If I get a good service, I will tip well!

And interesting and potentially provocative question - are black folks truly worse tippers, or is it a sort of self fulfilling prophecy where the server expects to be stiffed, thus offering subpar service that one wouldn't tip for in any case?

My experience, along with that of friends in the service industry say it's the former, and not the latter. Of course you can't make a blanket judgement and say ALL black folks are lousy tippers, because they're not, but there certainly seems to be something to the stereotype.

Giving tip I do, whether it is not included, you get service and think it is reasonable so it is natural to give, and in many countries, where it is known that they do not have high wages

What he said. :yep:

You have your favorite waitresses and you take care of them. On the flip side of that coin you are now their favorite customer. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. But I would think it was on account how they treated you as a customer first. They are then working for that tip and I would certainly and most generously appreciate what they do just the same as you. Good service friendly atmosphere, is not personal its just good for business and good for generous tips.

But for me to pay additional monies and call it a tip because I perceive employer is stiffing the employee is not a reason for me to open up the wallet. It isn't about feeling sorry for them, they make the first move not me. I can and have on many occasion gone somewhere else to eat.

Again. What he said. :up:

And also what he said. :up:

You have the answer in your hand, :()1:

I can remember as a teen getting paid like a $1.25 and tips made up the amount to min. wage, about $2. something then. What sucks then I waited the front table, most waited 5. All tips went into a bin and were split with all employees except the cooks....and we worked our arses off.

A lot of states now have laws against tip pooling with managers or other regularly salaried employees. But I would wager that many employers do it anyways, as they're counting on servers and bartenders not knowing the law or not wanting to rock the boat.

My standard tip is a rough 20% I round to nearest whole buck, usually, sometimes down, but never below 15% unless the service stinks (and I know many in the restaurant business, and know the difference between the front and back problems wise, so I only down tip for bad SERVICE, not problems in back).

Places we go a lot I will sometimes buy drinks for the kitchen, too. Do that and you get treated very well indeed.

Again What he said :up:

I agree, it seems some of you are saying that if staff are expecting a tip or are giving the impression that it is your right to tip after being given service then that is wrong, a bit like the porters in hotels when they take your luggage to your rooom and won't leave until they receive a tip for their troubles. That to me is rude...
However, what is the current percentage of a account's sub total in the U.S. at the moment which is made up of a tip?
12-15%?
In relation to tip jars being near a cash register, i don't have a problem with that, nothing wrong with that, it's not forcing you to tip.
Also remember, what is the restaurant's policy on tips? Do the staff get the tips, or do management slice a percentage off the tip so that staff are left with the 'crumbs'?
In the restaurants i have managed over the years, i have always enforced the policy that if a certain staff member has received a tip from a customer in the form of cash, then that tip is for that person alone.
However i have laso had the policy that all cash tips received, be it from credit cards or cash, were totalled up for the month, i had a spread sheet for that to track who was working the most during that month and what days/nights, then divided the total tips up to be paid out to my staff into their nominated bank account.
I think that staff that have truly earned their tips should also receive those tips. Makes for good morale and also keeps up service standards.
So, when tipping, just remember: what is the establishment's policy on tips? Does the staff member get the tip? Or does management either slice off a big chunk of it? When tipping, who do you really want the tip to go to?