5 ms·

Haha. Glad to see this. I’m new to the US and thought the tip was expected...

by n1000 8y ago

behringer 8y ago
The tip is expected only when you're at a real restaurant. No tip is required for fast food places. No tip is required up front before you're served. You should tip hair stylists and restaurant staff that brings you food or drink. I generally only tip 15 percent and I never tip at a buffet.
- fx32s 8y ago
  Why should you tip the hair stylists though. Isn't the service exactly what you pay for in the first place (same as taxi/uber)? For food I can kind of understand of since they decouple serving and preparation + ingredients. Note that I am not American and am new to tipping. Just curious
  - behringer 8y ago
    Oh no I don't think we should be tipping anybody, but these are the industries that abuse their employees. Hair stylists, taxis, sit-down restaurants, they all usually need tips. You don't tip the stylist though if it's the owner as of course they would just set their price.
  - mikeash 8y ago
    It's really just a matter of whether it's customary, which is only loosely related to whether it actually makes any sense. Your taxi driver gets most if not all of your fare, but it's still expected to tip them. A grocery store cashier gets none of your payment directly, but you don't tip them. Don't try to make sense of it, just do what others do.
    - ghaff 8y ago
      Then there are a fair number of cases where reasonable people disagree. Maid at hotel, others at hotels/parking attendants/etc., Uber/Lyft, the subject of this article, limo driver, bartender (in a bar or at an event), and so forth. You can tip in all those situations but I'd argue it's not the strong expectation that tipping at a sit-down restaurant is.
      - behringer 8y ago
        If you don't tip your bartender you won't get drinks very long!
  - laken 8y ago
    Those are amusing examples, as taxi drivers are traditionally tipped, though not as much anymore. For taxi drivers and hair stylists, it's a bit of a different scale. Taxis/Ubers, I usually just add a couple bucks to the fare, or just pay with a slightly larger bill on purpose, and have them keep the change (if a $17 fare, give a $20). Similarly, bellhops at hotels are a similar role of giving a couple dollars instead of a percentage once they've brought your bag to your room (as there is no exchange of money during the entire process). Valet drivers are another example. Hairstylists should be tipped because their payment structure is different. They aren't usually employed by the place you get your hair cut at, rather they lease a chair from the location. They are forced to use the prices displayed, and they get a small cut of that. You then tip them additionally depending on how well of a cut they did. I personally usually do (with a $15 haircut as an example) a $5-6 tip for a good cut, and $3-4 if it's just OK.
- aniketpant 8y ago
  Where exactly are these unwritten tipping laws written? I've been living in US for the last one year and I feel that the entire tipping culture is a social custom that you are expected to adhere by. I was told that I should always tip at least a $1 per drink at a bar or cafe and I've been doing that but I notice that people go for "No Tip" on these iPads. So if most people are choosing "No Tip", where did this unwritten rules of tipping go. If I should be concerned of living wage, why is there no consumer pressure on business owners to make these changes? If people keep on complying with this unwritten culture of tipping, most people will always be in a dilemma when they are expected to tip.
  - behringer 8y ago
    Not tipping underpaid staff is a dick move, that's why you have to tip. if you want to change it, lobby your government or write to the business owners. Don't penalize $4/hr staff just to make a stupid point. The unwritten rule is, tip your less than minimum wage staff that is working for you.
pbiggar 8y ago
Some advice from a less recent immigrant: tip everywhere. It's much simpler than figuring out the rules, esp (as the existence of the article points out) the rules change. The old 15% became 20%. The places you used to tip (solely personal service situations like a waiter or hairdresser) became everywhere. If it was done right, everyone would be paid well, there would be no tips, and your stuff would just cost 20% more. I find it simpler to just tip 20% on everything.
- nashashmi 8y ago
  You are the reason why everyone and their mother has a tipping jar!
  - pbiggar 8y ago
    I personally think it's because employers choose to lower wages and prices, and externalize it to their customers. Also, the government chooses to set low minimum wage boundaries. If people did not need tips, I doubt we would see tip jars everywhere.
- lotsofpulp 8y ago
  No, the old 15% is not 20% (it’s a percentage so it’s automatically inflation adjusted with the price of food), and you definitely don't need to tip everyone. I don't even mind not tipping waiters, it's not the customer's job to fix stupid minimum wage laws.

Haha. Glad to see this. I’m new to the US and thought the tip was expected...

by n1000 8y ago

Haha. Glad to see this. I’m new to the US and thought the tip was expected...

The tip is expected only when you're at a real restaurant. No tip is required for fast food places. No tip is required up front before you're served. You should tip hair stylists and restaurant staff that brings you food or drink. I generally only tip 15 percent and I never tip at a buffet.

fx32s 8y ago
Why should you tip the hair stylists though. Isn't the service exactly what you pay for in the first place (same as taxi/uber)? For food I can kind of understand of since they decouple serving and preparation + ingredients. Note that I am not American and am new to tipping. Just curious
- behringer 8y ago
  Oh no I don't think we should be tipping anybody, but these are the industries that abuse their employees. Hair stylists, taxis, sit-down restaurants, they all usually need tips. You don't tip the stylist though if it's the owner as of course they would just set their price.
- mikeash 8y ago
  It's really just a matter of whether it's customary, which is only loosely related to whether it actually makes any sense. Your taxi driver gets most if not all of your fare, but it's still expected to tip them. A grocery store cashier gets none of your payment directly, but you don't tip them. Don't try to make sense of it, just do what others do.
  - ghaff 8y ago
    Then there are a fair number of cases where reasonable people disagree. Maid at hotel, others at hotels/parking attendants/etc., Uber/Lyft, the subject of this article, limo driver, bartender (in a bar or at an event), and so forth. You can tip in all those situations but I'd argue it's not the strong expectation that tipping at a sit-down restaurant is.
    - behringer 8y ago
      If you don't tip your bartender you won't get drinks very long!
- laken 8y ago
  Those are amusing examples, as taxi drivers are traditionally tipped, though not as much anymore. For taxi drivers and hair stylists, it's a bit of a different scale. Taxis/Ubers, I usually just add a couple bucks to the fare, or just pay with a slightly larger bill on purpose, and have them keep the change (if a $17 fare, give a $20). Similarly, bellhops at hotels are a similar role of giving a couple dollars instead of a percentage once they've brought your bag to your room (as there is no exchange of money during the entire process). Valet drivers are another example. Hairstylists should be tipped because their payment structure is different. They aren't usually employed by the place you get your hair cut at, rather they lease a chair from the location. They are forced to use the prices displayed, and they get a small cut of that. You then tip them additionally depending on how well of a cut they did. I personally usually do (with a $15 haircut as an example) a $5-6 tip for a good cut, and $3-4 if it's just OK.
aniketpant 8y ago
Where exactly are these unwritten tipping laws written? I've been living in US for the last one year and I feel that the entire tipping culture is a social custom that you are expected to adhere by. I was told that I should always tip at least a $1 per drink at a bar or cafe and I've been doing that but I notice that people go for "No Tip" on these iPads. So if most people are choosing "No Tip", where did this unwritten rules of tipping go. If I should be concerned of living wage, why is there no consumer pressure on business owners to make these changes? If people keep on complying with this unwritten culture of tipping, most people will always be in a dilemma when they are expected to tip.
- behringer 8y ago
  Not tipping underpaid staff is a dick move, that's why you have to tip. if you want to change it, lobby your government or write to the business owners. Don't penalize $4/hr staff just to make a stupid point. The unwritten rule is, tip your less than minimum wage staff that is working for you.

pbiggar 8y ago

Some advice from a less recent immigrant: tip everywhere. It's much simpler than figuring out the rules, esp (as the existence of the article points out) the rules change. The old 15% became 20%. The places you used to tip (solely personal service situations like a waiter or hairdresser) became everywhere. If it was done right, everyone would be paid well, there would be no tips, and your stuff would just cost 20% more. I find it simpler to just tip 20% on everything.

nashashmi 8y ago
You are the reason why everyone and their mother has a tipping jar!
- pbiggar 8y ago
  I personally think it's because employers choose to lower wages and prices, and externalize it to their customers. Also, the government chooses to set low minimum wage boundaries. If people did not need tips, I doubt we would see tip jars everywhere.
lotsofpulp 8y ago
No, the old 15% is not 20% (it’s a percentage so it’s automatically inflation adjusted with the price of food), and you definitely don't need to tip everyone. I don't even mind not tipping waiters, it's not the customer's job to fix stupid minimum wage laws.