Pls Educate me on "Tipping"!

[thegajman]

Hi,

Being from a country that doesn't have tipping, I need some TIPS on the do's, don'ts, when's, how much etc. - particularly for the Road Rally ..

Here are some random questions! (...pls excuse my ignorance!!)

I get the basics, like if someone takes your bags to your room you should give them a tip.. but how much?

If you go to the hotel service desk because you want to ask them a simple question about something (eg. request a local map).. do you have to give them a tip for that?

When you buy a drink at the bar?

When you buy food at a take-away place like Burger King?

Should I bring 100 $1 notes with me to the Rally in anticipation (who even carries cash around these days? )

Thanks!
Glenn

[andygabrys]

A few of these things I have no idea about but food and drinks at a restaurant with wait staff or a bar most people fall into the 10-20% tip. Maybe with an average of 15-18%. Usually you add it to your bill to taste. Or you can go with dollar bills if that works for you .

Burger King you would likely never leave a tip and there likely wouldn’t be a place to even leave it.

There is a whole other issue about tipping - some believe it’s done to greater or lesser degrees depending on really great or really poor service.

Most jobs in restaurants and such don’t pay much in store sight wages, so tips are a way to make some decent money.

Some help huh?

[thegajman]

Thanks Andy!

[Len911]

In general, you don't tip union employees, the idea being that they make a fair wage, however, nowadays that might not necessarily be true. Wait staff, bartenders, yes. Not generally fast food per custom. Service desk, generally not. Housekeeping would be nice, they are usually forgotten. Taxi cabs, yes, generally not shuttles or bus drivers, however, if they tote your luggage it's a nice gesture. Management, generally not. Pizza delivery drivers, yes.

How much? 20% for food and beverage. I would say maybe $5 min for other services, just guessing.

Wait staff are usually exempted from the minimum wage, and therefore their salary is much less and they depend on tips for most of their income. Minimum wage usually is about four times as much, however, you usually make more than the minimum with tips, sometimes much more.

[thegajman]

Well that was most informative.

Thanks!

[funsongs]

Here's another take on it - pardon the overload: T.I.P.S. is the origin - meaning To Insure Prompt Service.
In the good-old days, you tipped a server-person based on your approval of their service to you; it was never an automatic 'gratuity', like it is now.
If you got crappy service, they got zip/nada/nunca/nothing - maybe even a word of disapproval to the manager.

These days, another 'reasonable' way to calculate a tip is to "double the tax" amount. In California, that comes out to a decent 'gratuity', if you're gonna be automatic about it... regardless of how you were treated.

From my experience, and as already stated, waiters & bartender types typically get a very low wage SO THAT they have an incentive to give service SO THAT they get good TIPS.

IMHO - no one should feel compelled or obligated to pay a TIP, should you get lousy treatment & service.
It's supposed to be a perk; not an entitlement.
Good restaurants live and die - usually - based on the quality of SERVICE to the customer.

Hope that helps.
Cheers.
(for that opinion, I accept most credit cards, or cash!)

[thegajman]

Thanks Peter - that makes perfect sense!

[Len911]

IMHO - no one should feel compelled or obligated to pay a TIP, should you get lousy treatment & service.
It's supposed to be a perk; not an entitlement.
Good restaurants live and die - usually - based on the quality of SERVICE to the customer.

For me it depends on how good the food is and if I ever wished to return,lol! I would tip well even if I got poor service if I planned to return. The reason being, I would maybe get better service next time. I certainly wouldn't want to return after not leaving a tip, either I might not get waited on at all, or for the same reason I might only send food back once!

[thegajman]

Given the fact that I doubt I'll be venturing far beyond the WestIn I'm sure I'll be returning to lots of the same places!

[billhewett]

Along the lines of what Len said, if you plan to purchase a lot of drinks at the bar then it is probably a good idea to take care of the bar tenders... if you stiff them they will remember, and then you might find yourself waiting a long time the next time you want to be served! Re: the bar, traditionally I have always left $1 for something easy like a beer or a soda, and a little more if the drink requires many ingredients, a shaker, and/or more cowbell to be properly concocted ;o)

Also, I think standards are different in different parts of the country... this is from the most recent relevant search result I got for Los Angeles (from July 2015), and it seems about right to me:
"When it comes to tipping hotel staff, allocate $1 to $2 per piece of luggage that the bellhop transports, $2 to $3 to the valet upon returning the car and $5 to $10 for the concierge depending upon the service.
And don’t forget housekeeping. Hirst says you should tip between $2 and $10 a night and write 'housekeeping' on the note so they know it’s for them.
When using a car service such as a taxi or limo, 15 to 20 percent tip is the standard. For Uber and Lift, have a few bucks ready to give your driver."

But make sure you don't let the stress of calculating tips take away from your first Road Rally!!!!

-Bill