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From reading many threads about this kind of thing: tips in the US rised in recent years. In many places if you only tip 10% you're being asked what was wrong w

by mbirth 6y ago

From reading many threads about this kind of thing: tips in the US rised in recent years. In many places if you only tip 10% you're being asked what was wrong with your food (don't dare to only tip 5%!). 15% is considered mediocre, 20% is baseline "all good". 25% starts to be on the "very good" side.

hn_throwaway_99 6y ago
It's really weird to me how recommended tip levels have shifted in my lifetime (really in the past 15 years): When I was a kid in the 80s/90s, 15% was standard (there was even the mnemonic to calculate it: 10% is easy to calculate, then take half that and add it). 18% was for really outstanding service, 20% was for outstanding service when someone wanted to show off, and 25% was basically unheard of besides some gossip mag detailing how rich a celebrity was ("They tipped 25%!") Now I see tip amounts that default to 20%. My hypothesis, and perhaps this is a relatively sad commentary in the US, is that the level of inequality in major US cities is off the charts: for many people eating at a nice restaurant in a major city, food, even eating out, is a tiny portion of their overall budget, so adding 5% is really nothing, but people working in restaurants are really struggling to get by (and diners know it), so the increased tip rate is basically a consequence of trying to make unaffordable large cities bearable for workers.
- MeinBlutIstBlau 6y ago
  Yeah I remember distinctively that 10% used to be the go to. Then one day I mentioned that to someone and they balked and just said "Only?" I said that's fair isn't it? They said I should be doing at least 20% minimum. Ever since then I've just stopped going to places that require tipping. I just hate it. I hate knowing when to tip, who to tip, what if someone else sees me tip something that might be too low, someone balks at how much I tip. I just hate it all around. This is why I never if at all go to places that tip. I like to stick to places where I know what I'm gonna spend the moment I place my order. I don't even care if I gotta drive myself to get my order. I just hate dealing with tipping culture in general. It places a cultural onus on me that places me in a situation that I want to avoid entirely.

by mbirth 6y ago

hn_throwaway_99 6y ago

It's really weird to me how recommended tip levels have shifted in my lifetime (really in the past 15 years): When I was a kid in the 80s/90s, 15% was standard (there was even the mnemonic to calculate it: 10% is easy to calculate, then take half that and add it). 18% was for really outstanding service, 20% was for outstanding service when someone wanted to show off, and 25% was basically unheard of besides some gossip mag detailing how rich a celebrity was ("They tipped 25%!") Now I see tip amounts that default to 20%. My hypothesis, and perhaps this is a relatively sad commentary in the US, is that the level of inequality in major US cities is off the charts: for many people eating at a nice restaurant in a major city, food, even eating out, is a tiny portion of their overall budget, so adding 5% is really nothing, but people working in restaurants are really struggling to get by (and diners know it), so the increased tip rate is basically a consequence of trying to make unaffordable large cities bearable for workers.

MeinBlutIstBlau 6y ago
Yeah I remember distinctively that 10% used to be the go to. Then one day I mentioned that to someone and they balked and just said "Only?" I said that's fair isn't it? They said I should be doing at least 20% minimum. Ever since then I've just stopped going to places that require tipping. I just hate it. I hate knowing when to tip, who to tip, what if someone else sees me tip something that might be too low, someone balks at how much I tip. I just hate it all around. This is why I never if at all go to places that tip. I like to stick to places where I know what I'm gonna spend the moment I place my order. I don't even care if I gotta drive myself to get my order. I just hate dealing with tipping culture in general. It places a cultural onus on me that places me in a situation that I want to avoid entirely.