Tip the servers

@gxnfly (1147)
China
May 5, 2008 5:06am CST
Do you tip the servers in your country?How much would you tip ordinary?We don't tip here in China. It's said it is both customary and expected for customers to tip the servers when going out to restaurants, bars, and coffee shops in America. At most places, servers don’t get paid usual wages. Rather, they take home their daily tips as a salary.That's so different!Is is also customary in other countries?What's the situation in your country?If so,do you have to tip everytime when you get a server?Or only in some places?
6 people like this
29 responses
@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
5 May 08
I leave a tip if I've received good service. If the server is inattentive and treats me like I'm an intruder, I leave a very small one to let them know how I feel. Here in the U.S., it's customary to tip servers. Many times when I have a surly server, I ask them what's wrong and they usually tell me. After having the relief of pouring out their problems, they generally provide superior service! I don't demand a lot when I got out but I do expect to be waited upon efficiently--that's why I'm not eating or drinking at home! Sometimes, if the server is exceptional, I'll leave a tip that's as much as 25% of the bill. They deserve it, they work hard for very little money.
2 people like this
• United States
5 May 08
Speaking of small tips for bad servers... Do you remember the old TV show called Third Rock? It's about some aliens that are trying to fit in to our society. It was pretty funny. Anyway, there was an episode where they were learning about tipping. They couldn't understand why they had to do it. So what he did was this. He told the waitress that he was planning on spending $100 on dinner and he was going to leave a $25 tip. He placed the tip on the table as a pile of $1 bills. Every time she did something that he didn't like, he took money off of the pile. It was pretty funny. I think that if some of these not so friendly servers thought about their tip that way, they would try harder. I know I would. But I honestly don't envy them. I could never be a server. Dozens of people all wanting different things at the same time and trying to keep all the orders straight and still be friendly. Whew! God bless them.
1 person likes this
@sedel1027 (17846)
• Cupertino, California
5 May 08
I only tip when the service is good. I know I should tip regardless but if you have poor service, that person is not earning their tip and should not be rewarded.
2 people like this
@stephcjh (38473)
• United States
5 May 08
We tip the servers sometimes here in the United States. It all depends on the service of the server also. It also depends on the type of restaurant that it is. If it is a fast food restaurant, we do not leave tips, but if it is a stylish restaurant, we will leave a tip if the service was good. We also leave a top for restaurants that have a buffet also.
2 people like this
• India
5 May 08
It depends on the hotel. Now, if you go to a big hotel or a bar or a Chinese restaurant here in India, you have to tip the waiter. I remember tipping the Chinese waiter around 10 INR. Whereas if I go to an icecream parlor, I tip the waiter around 2 INR. In some hotels, the custom of tipping doesn't exist at all. And if you go to a star hotel, you will have to tip in hundreds. So, you see it depends on the hotel!! Of course, the money waiters get as tips is just extra. They do get their salaries too. Cheers and happy mylotting.
@LouRhi (1502)
• Australia
5 May 08
It is not compulsory to tip here, in Australia. However there are tip jars in most bars and restaurants. As a rule I only tip if the service has been exceptional. I know that the wages here are not that bad. I also tip taxi drivers, not that I use them very often! Generally I find that the fare is just a little short of a note so the tip is only a few dollars or sometimes only cents, it just depends.
2 people like this
@gemini_rose (16264)
5 May 08
In UK it is not expected to tip, but you can if you want too. If I go out for a meal and the service and the food is good then we will always leave a tip, the only time that I will not leave a tip is if I feel that the service is poor. We are not expected to tip in every place we go, it is up to us, the customers to leave a tip if we so feel. I think that is how it should be, I hate feeling obligated to leave a tip epecially if I do not think I should for the service!!
2 people like this
@Lindalinda (4111)
• Canada
5 May 08
I live in Canada and the servers in restaurants and bars get minimum wages as a base salary. So you are expected to tip. Mostly it should be 15% if you are happy with the service. If you are not happy you don't have to tip. At coffee shops such as Starbucks you go up to the counter and get your own coffee or tea and bring it to the table. There is a jar for tips on the counter and people just leave a little change but it is not required. In Europe the service charge of 15% is mostly included in countries like France and Germany so no extra tipping is needed but I noticed that in Germany people round up to the next euro which leaves a little extra for the server above the service charge. I was in Malta last year and always ate at the restaurant at my hotel. There was no tipping required but if guests stayed a few days it was expected that you left an envelope with some money at the front desk or added some extra to your credit card bill. This money would then be distributed to the servers and other hotel staff. In Canada we also tip taxi drivers. Usually when they carry your bags to the door. There is no set rate but I give a dollar per suitcase. In North America you also tip at the end of a cruise on a cruise ship and if you are on an overland train trip and eat in the dining room of the train a tip is expected, as well as tipping the porters if they transport your baggage from the platform to the front of the station. No tips are expected at take out fast food places such as KFC, Taco Bell, McDonalds etc. etc.
• United States
5 May 08
That must be kinda nice not to have to tip anyone, it would really cut down on the awkwardness of not knowing when to tip or how much. In the United States, tipping is very common in just about every type of hospitality service or other services such as getting your hair cut or having your newspaper delivered. I don't usually tip at places where I take food out or order at a counter, but I know a lot of people who do. Most places where you are seated to eat will expect you to tip them. It's generally 15 to 20% for those places. At the better hotels, it's best to tip the maid about a dollar a day at low-end hotels and up to 5 dollars a day at the upper end. A lot of people don't know this. Cheap motels don't really count in this regard.
• India
5 May 08
yes we do tip everytime it is like a custom here
1 person likes this
@kun2349 (23381)
• Singapore
5 May 08
Actually it's depending on each individual and their cultural background.. In singapore, tipping is not a must but just an extra incentive for the servers only.. ANd depending on how good and efficient is their service, i will tip accordingly.. But once i'm in other asian countries, most of the time i will tip the servers as it's not easy for them to learn serve foreigners as they dun quite understand english.. Thus, they will have to put in extra efforts to polish the language and provide greater service.. So for that extra effort, i will tip them ^_^
@ruthinian (2309)
• United States
5 May 08
Yes. My hubby and I dine out on weekends. And we give tip. We give 20% of the total amount of the cost of the food that we ordered. And yes, the servers live on tips. They don't get paid much for thier job and the tips are the ones that add up to their take home money. It is customary, I guess in all countries. It's just a courtesy for the service that we get from them. Sometimes when the server is extra nice to us, we give more than 20%.
@Guardian208 (1095)
• United States
5 May 08
I live in the US and I tip whenever someone serves me. Usually around 20% of the bill. More if they provide exceptional service and less if they do not provide good service. It is expected that you will tip the servers since as you mentioned, they make a very low wage and live on their tips. In bars people tip a lot more but less frequently I think. In my experience men tip pretty well in bars since most servers are women and once they get a bit drunk they like to show off to the young lady. Also, people don't do math very well once they have been drinking and may tip more than is usual. But it has been a long time since I hung out in a bar so I am using old experiences.
1 person likes this
@rhane7315 (5649)
• Philippines
8 May 08
we usually tip the servers if we eat in a restaurant. our tip would be at least $0.50 lol but when we give them tips even though it's kinda small, they really appreciated it they were also happy
@Muliaman (18)
• Malaysia
5 May 08
Tipping is a way of saying thank you to the person that is serving you or he/she provides you a good service. It is purely out of your own generousity. Most restaurants especially the Chinese restaurants pay a very low basic wage, but the wage at the end of the week could be a hansome one due to the tips collected and shared among the waiters.
1 person likes this
@maddysmommy (16230)
• United States
6 May 08
We tip in the US between 10-20% depending on the service they provide. Took me a while to get use to this because we don't tip in New Zealand.
@littleowl (7157)
6 May 08
Hi gxnfly-in the UK we are supposed to tip waitresses but I only do sometimes or put a little money in the gift box-littleowl
@whiteheron (4222)
• United States
6 May 08
I normally tip unless it is a take out place when I am paying my bill at the counter and picking up my food there. Then, as I am serving myself, there is no need to tip. I wind up normally paying about $1 if the bill is less than $10 and then more if it is over $10. I know that some people use a tip calculator and sometims I do to to figure out how much to give to the wait staff... It is just a little card, a think piece of paper, that has on it the tipping guides, to give 10%, 15% or 20% of the bill. It is important to check the bill prior to paying it as, if you go to some places, a gratuity or tip is included already on the bill.
• Romania
6 May 08
YOU HAVE TO TIP THE WAITER. Mostly if it's me !. I work as a waitress and trust me waiters have the smallest salaries because it is thought they make money out of tips. You have to leave a tip ...about 10% of your bill. You can leave less or none if you didn't like how the waiter treated you . ..or more if you really liked how he served you and the food was great too. Last year for example i had a customer that really enjoyed the food and considering the fact that i recommended it to him he left me a large tip...almost half of his bill. I couldn't believe it and thought he had made a mistake and didn't count the money so i took it back. He looked at it and counted it again and said no it's no mistake that is for you. There are few customers that do that, unfortunately .
• Philippines
6 May 08
Here in the Philippines, most people don't practice leaving tips. As a personal rule, I only tip if the service was exemplary. Most often in restaurants. I'm usually nice to food servers because you would never know what they'd do if you were rude to them. They might jazz up your food with bodily fluids. LOL! Anyways, it's just a reward for a doing a great job. In other Asian countries (especially in Singapore), I found out that they don't like to get tips, which is a bit weird because it's almost always expected in the service industry.
@sang88 (5)
• India
6 May 08
Only if the service is good, then I tip. If the waiter was rude or didnt care.. then he will def.. not get a tip from me. In alot of hotels they add the tip charges as a part of the bill, so in that way, you dont have to leave anything