We don't generally pay tips in Australia. But I gather it's the norm in America. For those looking at a trip to the States, what is the expected tipping $ amount or %?
- Restaurant & Diner
- Hotel (cleaner, room service)
- Entertainment
- Massage parlour (w & w/out happy ending)
- Taxi
- Other(?)

And how is tipping done? Is built in to the final bill or extra you pay on top of the bill?


What doesn't require tipping?

(There are previous tipping threads but they are years old).

Thanks.

 

Typically, gratuity is most often paid for wait service in a restaurant. Usually, for smaller parties it won't be included in the check and anywhere from 10% to 20% (more if the service was exceptional or you're extremely generous), with the amount increasing depending on the quality of the service received.

Room service in a hotel would be similar, unless it's just someone bringing your bags to your room, which usually only happens in high dollar places these days. Then, usually a couple bucks is plenty. I'm sure there are folks who will probably call me a cheapskate on that front, but to each their own.

 

Restaurant tipping is usually 15% or higher. Easy way to figure out is just double the tax amount. Only sit down restaurants. Not fast food. Do tip delivery people like person delivering pizza and I guess Grubhub guys. I think you can tip in the app for those.

 

Ten to twenty percent is usually the norm for food. I would say 15% is the minimum for acceptable service.

Minor thing, but I'll say it since it hasn't been already: tips in restaurants in the US are usually limited to "sit-down" restaurants. That is, restaurants where you actually have wait staff, well, waiting on you (taking your order, bringing you food, showing you to your table, refilling drinks, etc.). Fast food or "fast casual" may have tip jars at the register, but those are usually optional.

 

Yeah restaurants or non fast food places 15-20% or more for good service. 10% for bad. 0% if you are an ass.

i get take out from a Poke bowl place and vietnamese place often. I spend about $20-22 and tip $5 each time.

Hotel if they take bag to your room a few bucks $5 or so.

cab ride/uber a few bucks.

Yeah only places you generally tip are bars and sit down restaurants. Taxis yes. Maid service tip a few bucks. Elsewhere no tipping needed. Tour guides you might.

Some sightseeing places might have a tip box, just a buck or two or spare change.

 

I never knew up until a few years ago that it was customary to tip a barber or a tattoo artist. But apparently it is.

 

I do tip sometimes if I'm the one paying but I like this tip:

Don't smoke in bed.

 

Echoing the above for 10% (minimum) to 20% (very good) restaurant service here in the states. Some folks will tip beyond that, but that assumes either insanely good service, a friendly relationship with the staff, or an evening with entirely too many drinks. For wait staff, it’s a line you add to the bill. For car staff, hotel staff, etc., it’s usually paid cash, and not recorded. In most instances, it’s something you, as the customer, decide on and calculate. Generally, only high-end restaurants will add tip/gratuity to the bill for you.

Food & service industries in general over here often pay less than minimum wage, which is why tips and gratuity are a thing in the first place. I remember my first trip to Japan - Tried to tip at a restaurant and was gently and kindly educated by the staff that tipping is somewhat insulting there, as their service industries pay a living wage sans gratuity, and a tip is an insinuation that they’re being underpaid. It was an admittedly eye-opening moment for me.

Regarding massages with happy endings - You’re in Australia, where that’s legal. Not sure if you’re planning a trip, but be forewarned that over here, it’s not. No clue what the going rate for a gratuity on that is, but tread lightly if that’s the plan.

 

If I get rude or shit service in a restaurant, I won’t leave a tip. “Standard” service earns 20%. “Great” service gets more than 20%. I never use taxis nor do I stay in hotels that are so nice that the employees expect tips (though I have left tips for cleaning staff on the rare occasion that I’ve inadvertently created extra work for them).

 

Surprisingly, I consider myself a generous tipper. Even with my general disgust and hatred towards people.

 

My mother was a career beautician and considered tips almost a part of her income. Christmas bonuses from her regulars, too. It seems almost any service related industry can include a tip. I’ve actually tipped furniture delivery folks if they are very careful and show pride in not damaging my home…

 

How does this pan out?
Do you pay the bill & walk straight out of the restaurant?
Do you let the wait staff know of your experience & therefore no tip.
Do the wait staff get aggressive / make a scene / make things rather difficult?

 

At most places where you might be expected to leave a tip, the server will bring your bill to you, you give them your credit card and they return with a credit card receipt on which you write in the tip amount you would like to give them as well as the total amount of the bill. They typically walk away after bringing you the receipt and you are free to get up and walk out after filling out the receipt and signing it. Alternatively, you can just leave cash on the table and walk out after receiving the bill in the event you don’t want to use a credit card. I have never had any confrontation with anyone…largely because it’s rare that I receive shitty service. If the service was so bad that I decided not to leave a tip, the server would typically know how shitty the service was and I doubt they would make a scene anyway. If anyone ever wanted to question the lack of a tip, I’d have no problem letting them know exactly why they didn’t receive one.

I also recognize that leaving tips is unusual in many parts of the world, and I really can’t judge people for not wanting to leave one. It’s not the customer’s responsibility to make sure staff are compensated sufficiently…that is the responsibility of their employer. In all my years, I have never seen a restaurant employee make a scene over a customer not leaving a tip.

 

Regarding tips and minimum wage, in case you're concerned about that (this is commonly misunderstood in the US as well):

It is illegal to pay below (federal) minimum wage, tipped staff or no. Employers are specifically required to make up the difference if the tips plus "direct wages" (the minimum amount employers are required to pay tipped staff) don't bring them up to that level.
Tips | U.S. Department of Labor (dol.gov)

 

Since no one else has mentioned it, I'm pretty sure that the only legal knocking shops/massage parlours in the US are in Nevada. Maybe there's one other state, I forget which it is - if there is one. So yeah if you wanna get your pud pulled Stateside, its Viva Las Vegas baby.

 

Tipping a chambermaid..

 

I dislike restaurants (minus buffets and fast food)

Its overpriced food and drinks on a limited menu you have to wait forever for, sitting in a room with a bunch of people you don't know listening to god knows what (And you can never pick where you want to sit). Then when you're done your meal, you're not allowed to just get up and leave, and feel like a child waiting for an adult telling you to be excused when ever they decide to bring you the bill. Even then, sometimes they make you wait a second time because they have to go back and get a debit machine because they didnt bring it the first time. And I swear the fancier the restaurant, the worse it is.

On top of that you're just expected to hand out free money? Lol

Yeah, i go once in a while, but I rather just not.

 

I also consider it the process of converting money into shit and piss…haha. I try to keep that to a minimum.