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Yeah, the tipping culture in America is so insane. It drives me crazy when I visit: I have to spend so much mental energy doing a lot of math to figure out how

Yeah, the tipping culture in America is so insane. It drives me crazy when I visit: I have to spend so much mental energy doing a lot of math to figure out how much to leave: find the pre-tax total, multiply by 0.18, then subtract any stupid fees (like the "technology fee" I got at a NY restaurant) so I can pit the servers against their management. Even worse if they charge an extra fee for not paying in cash. It's so aggravating. In sane countries, there's no such bullshit: I just take the bill to the cashier, take out my card, and pay it.

standardUser 2y ago
Just give $2 per $10, very simple math. But do look out for gratuity already included on the bill.
lilyball 2y ago
Or instead of going through all that work to look for reasons to justify tipping less, you could just do a simple 20% on the subtotal.
- shiroiushi 2y ago
  I don't want to reward the restaurant for their stupid fees. Better to just avoid eating out in America anyway: the prices are utterly ridiculous and the service is annoying and terrible.
  - lilyball 2y ago
    The tip doesn't go to the restaurant, it goes to the server.
    - shiroiushi 2y ago
      Right, so if I screw over the server because the restaurant charged me a stupid fee, then maybe the server will go somewhere better. I can't easily refuse to pay the fee, so I'll just take it out on the server. The server is the representative for the restaurant after all.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
ssl-3 2y ago
For regular tips in the States, don't stress about it: It's fine to tip whatever you think the service is worth. You're just visiting anyway; it's not like you have a reputation to uphold at the place around the corner from your house where you eat twice a week or something. Just estimate whatever a "reasonable" tip is. It doesn't have to be a precise process. Rounding is OK. If the tab is $38.43, and a reasonable tip for the service in the area is 20%, then: Just round the total, slide the decimal over, and double it. $38.43 rounds to $40. The decimal slides over, and makes $40 into $4 (ie, 10%). But 20% is the target, so $4 * 2 = $8. The tip is thus $8. Write $8 on the tip line. Then add $8 to $36 to get $44. Write $44 on the total line. And then carry over the change: 43 cents. Just append ".43" to the tip line, and scribble something on the signature line, and: You're done. You tipped 21.81%, and that's fine. Nobody cares. And these are easy steps. If you round down (from $34 to $30, say) instead of up, and wind up paying around 17% instead instead of a target of 20%, then: That's also fine. Nobody cares. The wait staff isn't going to lose any sleep over this wondering what they did wrong or have to deal with buying only one new shoe for their kid to wear instead of a whole pair of them. Don't sweat it.

standardUser 2y ago

Just give $2 per $10, very simple math. But do look out for gratuity already included on the bill.

lilyball 2y ago

Or instead of going through all that work to look for reasons to justify tipping less, you could just do a simple 20% on the subtotal.

shiroiushi 2y ago
I don't want to reward the restaurant for their stupid fees. Better to just avoid eating out in America anyway: the prices are utterly ridiculous and the service is annoying and terrible.
- lilyball 2y ago
  The tip doesn't go to the restaurant, it goes to the server.
  - shiroiushi 2y ago
    Right, so if I screw over the server because the restaurant charged me a stupid fee, then maybe the server will go somewhere better. I can't easily refuse to pay the fee, so I'll just take it out on the server. The server is the representative for the restaurant after all.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

ssl-3 2y ago

For regular tips in the States, don't stress about it: It's fine to tip whatever you think the service is worth. You're just visiting anyway; it's not like you have a reputation to uphold at the place around the corner from your house where you eat twice a week or something. Just estimate whatever a "reasonable" tip is. It doesn't have to be a precise process. Rounding is OK. If the tab is $38.43, and a reasonable tip for the service in the area is 20%, then: Just round the total, slide the decimal over, and double it. $38.43 rounds to $40. The decimal slides over, and makes $40 into $4 (ie, 10%). But 20% is the target, so $4 * 2 = $8. The tip is thus $8. Write $8 on the tip line. Then add $8 to $36 to get $44. Write $44 on the total line. And then carry over the change: 43 cents. Just append ".43" to the tip line, and scribble something on the signature line, and: You're done. You tipped 21.81%, and that's fine. Nobody cares. And these are easy steps. If you round down (from $34 to $30, say) instead of up, and wind up paying around 17% instead instead of a target of 20%, then: That's also fine. Nobody cares. The wait staff isn't going to lose any sleep over this wondering what they did wrong or have to deal with buying only one new shoe for their kid to wear instead of a whole pair of them. Don't sweat it.