Tips For Tipping Etiquette [GRAPHIC]

The etiquette of tipping has always been tricky, and in this economy, people may be more sensitive to it than ever.

Depending on the personal service received, the rules for tipping vary, so it's best to be prepared for any tipping situation, business writer Richard Stribling says. To that end, he's compiled an infographic with just about every tipping circumstance you may find yourself in (hat tip: Business Insider).

The rules may be pretty standard for waiters and bartenders, but special situations call for special gratuity. For example, contractors like plumbers or locksmiths might warrant an extra few bucks if they provide services at unusual times. Likewise, things can get tricky with service providers, like limo drivers, who work for companies that prohibit tips, so it's best to call and check beforehand, according to Stribling.

Things can get even more confusing when you're travelling -- even if you're a leader of a powerful nation, as it turns out. UK Prime Minister David Cameron recently caused a bit of a stir when he didn't tip at a cafe in Tuscany while on vacation. In a testament to the minutia of tipping etiquette, employees at the cafe said he was right not to tip since he had served himself.

Here is the infographic "Tips For Tipping" by Richard Stribling:

Comments

[Danilo-11]

05:18 PM on 08/16/2011

Just another idea to punish poor people and help business owners. Just like that law that allows businesses to pay $2.15 to people that get tips (http://www.dol.gov/wb/faq26.htm) Businesses get more money while punishing the poor family that can't afford to go out to eat and tip 20%.

[Jacob Guillermo]

05:50 PM on 08/16/2011

That being said, with few exceptions restaurants are not high margin businesses. And for the restaurants that are exceptions, poor families really shouldn't be going to those high margin restaurants anyways as most of the middle class even go sparingly.
That being said, tips at many restaurants make for a pretty decent wage, which is why many people that work in the industry stay in the industry forgoing higher education. That is not to say ALL restaurants are like that, but many are.
One area that I somewhat agree is with the poor families. I think those that work in this industry should understand that not everyone coming to the restaurant can afford to buy the low end entree's and leave the tip. Due to hard times, some people have taken jobs that are low pay and far commutes making it unreasonable to wait until at home prior to eat or prepare lunches all the time. I only say this as, on one forum for people working in the hospitality industry, these staff do not seem to have any problem practically demanding everyone ante up and that those in dire straits financially have no right buying if they can't pay the 15% minimum. I always leave a minimum 15% even for far below substandard service trying to imagine that the waiter/ress may have recieved bad news or there is some other extenuating circumstance. The least they can do is extend such to others.

[Jacob Guillermo]

05:50 PM on 08/16/2011

That beings said, I tend to use the phrase "that being said" to much.

[democratsaint]

02:32 PM on 08/16/2011

where does tipping come from?why should i tip a dime?they work for the employer,they should be paid by them,not by ME.i can see in a strip club why you tip.but in a resturant,they are getting paid for their services,and i am supposed to tip for them doing their job?

[Tiggerchick]

02:55 PM on 08/16/2011

then, by all means, do not patronize restaurants and write your congressperson, the restaurant owner, etc. and say why - heck, start a movement. But if you still go out to eat and don't tip, you're rewarding the system and punishing someone who will then be serving your meal at actual cost to THEM - they are paid $2.13/hour BEFORE TAXES and they must report 10% of their sales as tip income - so if you don't tip, they're paying taxes on $ they didn't receive (never mind the fact that if you order alcohol, the server is required to tip the bartender for that)

[optimist7]

04:24 PM on 08/16/2011

... and, in some restaurants, servers are expected to share their tips with support staff who clear tables and occasionally assist servers if they're swamped, so not receiving tips from a table or two, makes their day's pay even lower.

[WiltonDiary]

04:55 PM on 08/16/2011

Why would you or anyone tip a stripper, what service are they providing? The majority of Strippers in the USA average over $100,000.00 a year annual income.

You have your priorities related to tipping and you pick and choose. Therefore if a waitress who makes $2.25 an hour doesn't provide good service, don't get upset.

If Rick Perry or Michele Bachman is elected president with an TeaBangelical Congress all USA workers will be making $2.25 an hour and this will only get worse.

The GOP Mantra is abolish the minimum wage. No one should be paid more than $2.00 an hour, including strippers.

[rockysparks]

05:08 PM on 08/16/2011

"The majority of Strippers in the USA average over $100,000.0­0 a year annual income."

Um ... documented source, please? Just askin' ...

[h jablome]

02:26 PM on 08/16/2011

in my continued effort to demean the profession, i tip my attorney 5% with a hand written note on the bill that says "service was surly and mediocre at best".

flight attendants - $1.00 per dance
dentist - all the gold they can extract
wife - $10 at christmas or $2.50 if she celebrates Hanukah

[h jablome]

02:21 PM on 08/16/2011

how much for a happy ending?

[globality]

01:54 PM on 08/16/2011

Stop tipping. Force employers to pay decent wages.

[h jablome]

02:21 PM on 08/16/2011

that'll work. (right)

[Tiggerchick]

02:52 PM on 08/16/2011

no, stop patronizing restaurants if you want to protest the system and write the employers and say why...write your congressman...write the DOL....by not tipping because you don't "believe" in it but still patronizing the restaurant you're REWARDING the system/employer and punishing someone who can ill afford it - and BTW, since they have to declare 10% of their sales as "tip income", they're paying income tax on money they never received because of your misguided principle exercise...nice.

[Pushpin100Count]

01:01 PM on 08/16/2011

So I have a question about tipping on to go orders. Do you do it and by how much? Generally I tip, but only by 10% rather than my usual 20% for full service. I never see anything about to go anywhere, so some insight from folks would be nice. Thanks.

[Tiggerchick]

01:12 PM on 08/16/2011

The last time I worked for a chain (Outback, BTW, nicest chain I've ever worked for - respectful of their staff and their customers), I believe the peeps who manned the "to go" line and booth were paid more than server minimum wage so I believe you're OK tipping less - 10% is a good rule of thumb, unless it's a $100 order, then I think you'd still be OK with $5 or $6.

[Tiggerchick]

12:55 PM on 08/16/2011

The problem with the public "judging" a server's performance is that the public is so woefully misinformed. Did the server forget your water? Did you ask again or did you stew silently? Guess what? Servers are human & the act of waiting tables is actually extremely mental as well as physical. Did you dislike the food? Were you too much of a wimp to complain so it could be fixed? Did your food take a long time? The server is not the cook. As long as the server apologized for the wait, made you aware that they were aware;It's more frustrating for the server - do you think they get to make demands in the kitchen? Ever watch "Hell's Kitchen"-it's not far off of the mark. Cooks are notoriously abusive (let's not even talk about the dishwasher who conveniently doesn't speak English if you're trying to get clean dishes and will grab your butt at every opportunity). The managers are usually walking "what not to do's" in a sexual discrimination awareness handbook. And you spend hours after your last table cleaning, scrubbing floors, etc. while being $2.13/hourly - sometimes you work 2 - 3 hours long after you stop earning tips. You pay the bartender 10% of liquor sales ($100 bottle of wine-the server coughs up $10 to the bartender) the busboy 15% of your tips. You must declare 10% of your sales minimum as wages.You can work as many as 70 hours and see a paycheck of $0.

[jeremyemilio]

04:47 PM on 08/16/2011

I get what you're saying... but I also expect for my server to be an advocate of sorts for me. I'm not just his/her customer but also, under the tipping system, her/his employer. If it feels like s/he's more concerned with acting on behalf of the restaurant, or the cook than acting on my behalf, then the restaurant or cook can pay her/him. If the food is too slow getting to me, and cold when it gets there, then the server should make that an issue on my behalf and see that something is done about it. If s/he decides that s/he would rather avoid conflict with an abusive boss, then that's the decision s/he's made... and if that's where his/her loyalties lie, then that's fine with me, so long as I can tip accordingly... because if a server makes a conscious choice between losing her/his job and losing his/her tip, well who am I to interfere with free will?

[Tiggerchick]

04:54 PM on 08/16/2011

provided you tell them it's cold, absolutely. They should bring it back and send the manager to your table. I'm talking about people who don't like their food and say nothing and then take it out on the server. Or the kitchen is backed up, the server comes over and says that they know it's taking too long and they're working on it, the food comes out great and people punish the server for the wait. If the server is proactive, gracious, etc., these things should not affect their tip. and the "free will" justification of not tipping is a bit of an overreach, don't you think? Life isn't that complicated.

[Jacob Guillermo]

06:16 PM on 08/16/2011

I do try to give the server the benefit of the doubt. The only exception I make is when they are clearly more interested in talking and giggling with their co-workers or seem to be willing to talk it up with another table for long times while constantly messing up for my table due to being distracted. Only once can I recall not leaving a tip for a girl that seemed more annoyed that I expected corrections to my order because she was having a good time flirting with a bunch of other guys. In the end they stiffed her the tip prior to me finally being brought my bill and though I left quietly, I felt like telling her that they received my service so were responsible for leaving my tip.
When I have received "moody" service (I've never received out right rude service) on a restaurant I have not been to, I will give the server the benefit of the doubt that they had something bad happen that day and still leave about 15%.

[GatorAtLarge]

12:48 PM on 08/16/2011

Bartenders get a $1 per drink up to 3 orders.

[Tiggerchick]

12:25 PM on 08/16/2011

People also need to realize that 10% of your sales as a server is declared for you as tips so all of the people who think servers get out of paying income tax are dead wrong - the restaurant does that to keep themselves above board with the IRS. The restaurants also now seem to NOT pay their share of FICA on the reported tips leaving the server with the both sides of the bill. So if you don't tip, the server is tipping out the bartender and busboy and paying income tax on the value of YOUR meal - on their dime. I always read a lot of comments from people who say they "don't believe in the system and it's not their fault that they're not paid a living wage, so I don't tip" - hell of a way to protest a system. If you really feel that strongly, DON'T GO OUT TO EAT - otherwise, your principle is a flimsy self-justification for your cheapness.

[pavementends42]

11:44 AM on 08/16/2011

Bartenders, wait staff, licensed professionals should get 20% if they did their job. Most servers and the like have to pay the tips for their bar staff, bus boys, hosts out of their own tips, so giving them 15% is like giving them 8-9%, if that (not accounting for the people who don't tip, people who don't pay, etc. which is usually the responsibility of the server). I only give them less if they are terrible. Same thing with estheticians, stylists, massage therapists, etc. who usually make only a small percentage of the service cost.

[GatorAtLarge]

12:49 PM on 08/16/2011

It's a tip... You are no trying to suppliment their income.

[pavementends42]

01:56 PM on 08/16/2011

Wrong, it is most of their income in most cases. No tip often means they make no money off your table/whatever and sometimes even lose money because they 'tip out' the support staff. Unless, you are talking outside the US...?

[Sentinel37]

11:20 AM on 08/16/2011

They forgot about hotel housekeepers. I always leave $1 per person per day for long stays, or $2-3 for a single night solo stay. . In a spa hotel in Thailand, I found that if you left a tip for the maid, she would make a little animal out of a towel. The tips increased in size, and so did the animals, culminating in a little white zoo on top of the bureau with a rather large elephant made from a bath towel. Now THAT'S service!

[Matt Sibley]

12:39 PM on 08/16/2011

THANK YOU! I though I was the only person who tipped the housekeeper. I usually leave $20 on the dresser when I check out.

[stargazer13]

10:55 AM on 08/16/2011

Hey !! :)

I know ? pay them all a living wage

then these people would not have to depend on etiquette to survive :)

Just saying is all

[Dave Hellbent]

10:23 AM on 08/16/2011

what no rules for tipping tattoo artists?

[pavementends42]

11:45 AM on 08/16/2011

I'd say 20% like stylists, masseuses, etc...

[GatorAtLarge]

12:50 PM on 08/16/2011

Drugs

[blondebeblonde]

09:41 AM on 08/16/2011

I was disappointed not to see hotel housekeepers on the list. The standard for them is $2 per person per night.

We always leave the tip daily, not knowing if the same housekeeper will be coming back.

Leaving a tip often means we come back to an extra fresh room with re-stocked amenities.

Please tip your hotel housekeeper. They're among the poorest and they work very hard.

[rjzii]

09:31 AM on 08/16/2011

There are some odd tax laws that come into play for servers - read up on the Tip Credit when you get a chance, but the jist of it is that servers are supposed to be making the federal minimum wage, but because the restaurant expects them to be tipped they are only paying a nominal amount ($2.13 if I recall correctly) and expecting the customer to make up the difference. Of course, the restaurant is expected to make up the difference if the employee didn't make enough in tips to meet the minimum wage but it's any ones guess how often that actually occurs.

[bc161]

10:48 AM on 08/16/2011

Years ago I worked in a restaurant that did this to the servers and thought then it was a bit slimy.