Do you leave a tip when you eat out?
By beamsey
@beamsey (425)
Philippines
May 29, 2009 12:11am CST
I know that when you're a student, you don't have to leave a tip. Also when there's service charge, the tip you leave is much less than what you leave if there's no service charge. But even as a student, I still leave a tip. Also, I don't check if there's service charge. I just leave a tip anyway.
Do you guys always leave a tip? If yes, how much do you leave? If no, why not?
11 people like this
43 responses
@thyst07 (2079)
• United States
29 May 09
Since when are students not expected to leave tips? My college newspaper actually printed an article about how it's rude not to tip (unless the service was bad) and that if you can't afford to tip, then you probably can't afford to eat out. I do tip, and I do so generously most of the time.
2 people like this
@anonymousb (169)
• United States
29 May 09
Yeah...it is very rude not to tip! Being a student doesn't exempt you.
I agree that if you can't afford the tip...get carry out or fast food or don't eat out at all.
You are tipping for the service you recieve...not the meal or anything else. The server typically doesn't earn that great of an hourly wage...anywhere between 3 to 5 dollars per hour...they rely on the gratitude of their customers to make a decent wage. I tip a good server very generously because I understand that the job is not as easy as some people may think.
1 person likes this
@beamsey (425)
• Philippines
29 May 09
Once I ate out with some friends. I left a tip and the waiter himself told me that students weren't expected to leave a tip but he took it anyway and said thanks. Maybe it was just a store policy or something. I always make it a point to tip though even if the service was bad. I just adjust the amount I give.
I have friends who work part-time as waitresses in the US while they're studying and they say they get around $50-100 worth of tips in one day. I wonder how much our waiters and waitresses receive daily.
1 person likes this
@tbrown1227 (221)
• United States
30 May 09
i've never heard of a student not having to leave a tip. for me if they have already calculated it in the bill then i will not leave a tip, other wise yes i leave a tip, the better the service the better the tip im my book, my husband agrees with this as well. now if the service is bad i have been mean and left them a penny tip or something small, just so that they know that they need to improve the way that they handle thier tables. works really well. i've been in a restaurant one night had a wait person that their service just stunk left a small tip went back a couple of days later and the service they gave our table was much improved.
besides when you wait tables you don't make min. wage so you do count on your tips to make the rest of your money.
if anyone has ever waited tables you know it is hard work your feet, back hurt all the time. please remember htis the next time your out.
@drsenergy (159)
• United States
29 May 09
I most always leave a tip, even when the service isn't very good because I'd want someone to be merciful to me. It is RARE that I've had service so crappy that i didn't tip.
2 people like this
@xoxcharityxox (567)
• United States
29 May 09
I always leave a tip. it's not exactly the same every time. it just varies depening on what we order how much it cost how long we were there and how the service was. I think 15 percent is a good rule of thumb. I feel sorry for waitors/waitresses due to all the people who don't tip them. They get paid far less hourly then minumum wage, so it's rude not to leave a tip student or not.
2 people like this
@vivapinay (231)
• Philippines
29 May 09
Yes I always leave a tip when i eat in the restaurant. But when we eat in a carenderia or a place in the street, it is not necessary to leave a tip.
TIp depends on the services they offer. If restaurant at least Php 20.00, mostly Php 50.00 or if the service is really good Php 100.00.
But in a restaurant there is already 10% service charge so actually no need to leave a tip but I guess we are used to tipping already.
2 people like this
@jlamela (4898)
• Philippines
29 May 09
I will leave a tip when I am contented with the services rendered by waiters, even if they have a service charge. I pity those waiters who work hard and yet receive a meager salary, some of them are working students or have children to raise, so I am very generous to them.
@nashlix (186)
• Singapore
29 May 09
i am from singapoe and we dont have a habit of doing it as service charge is already incurred in the bill at 10% and another 7% charged as government and services tax. when i went to england recently i was informed to tip and i do still forget at times. howevr, i only tip when i feel like i am satisfied with the service, otherwise whatsthe tip for haha.
2 people like this
@aikhong (661)
• Malaysia
29 May 09
Ya, just as one of the member here said, actually it's just a choice whether you wwant to leave a tip or not. When i was a student, i actually don't have much pocket money too, so i was not afford to give tips. Moreover, when we eat outside, there's usually already a service charge, i think that we do not have to give the tip anymore. However, for me i'll really see if the waiter or waitress is doing a good job that he/she deserves it. If we're really happy and contented with the service provided, then there shoiuld be no harm giving a tip to them as a token of enrouragement.
2 people like this
@mimuche (163)
• Canada
29 May 09
Definitely. Even though I am a student I always do so. I completely agree that it is rude not to tip. I used to work in a restaurant myself and I know how important those tip money can be for some people. I tip depending on how much I spend but usually around 10% of the price. I know that it is supposed to be more than that but it is all I can afford for now. I am sure every tip is appreciated not only because it is some extra money but also because it is some sort of appreciation for their service.
2 people like this
@rocket1 (11)
• Indonesia
29 May 09
does not necessarily depend on it's place depending on the conditions becase we used
to see,where we eat when we in restorant leave tips that are common but if we leave the tips in the cafe is a good salary because of the cafe employees more thsn the sallary of employees in restorant is more maningful if we gift tipsto people who if you relly do not need such
2 people like this
@vaibhavratnaparkhi (170)
• India
29 May 09
I leave a TIP when i feel that the food quality was good and also the waiter serves us properly. When i say properly i unknowingly check the following...
is he polite/rude?
Is he really doing his work from the bottom of his heart or just for the sake of doing it?
Is he serving the food properly or spilling it over and in turn wasting it?
Is the quality of the food really good?
How clean are the plates in which the food is served.
Depending on the above factors i also decide whether to visit the same restaurant again or not....
@jcc51189 (78)
• United States
29 May 09
Yes I do. My girlfriend sometimes reminds me if i forget though lol. i use th tip calculator on my phone and i always tend to round down the next whole dollar but my girlfriend makes me round up haha. we always aim for leaving 15% tip. I am also a student so it sometimes get annoying to tip. Sometimes i think to myself "OMG if it weren't for the tip i would have left for under 20 dollars!!!"
@aseretdd (13730)
• Philippines
29 May 09
When i was still a student... i can only afford to eat at fastfood chains... so tipping is not really necessary... but when i started working... i started leaving tip when there is no service charge added to the bill... the tip depends on how great the service is... if it is not that good... i just leave loose change... but if the waitress/waiter did everything right and was quite friendly... i leave bills... depending on how much i still have...
2 people like this
@silverjam (969)
• United States
1 Jun 09
I never did left any tip before, not until my husband (was my bf then) always did when we ate in food places while he was visiting me in the Phil. I still didn't do that in my first stay here in the USA but he always told me to do so, so now am used to it. I always leave tips when eating in restaurants or having my nails done in parlors; it's just the way it is here.
1 person likes this
@rroxas08 (85)
• Philippines
29 May 09
Leaving tip, it is a choice if you wish to leave tip or not, especially if they are already charging you service charge, Me leaving tip also depends on my budget and what kind of service did I receive from that particular restaurant.
Student or not, it is your choice.
2 people like this
@jayrene (2708)
• Philippines
30 May 09
some of the responses here really amazes... i think you dont really know how much some of those people working in the restaurants earn... funny, if you only know some of them are well paid and the tip they are receiving so high they spent it on luxury... tsk tsk tsk... and to think we look on them with pity (that is how i see them before, but it all changed).... i know a lot of people who worked at restaurants, most of them friends, and they are telling me how much they earn just from tips, sure there are those poor ones, but most of them spend their money in buying new cellphones, clothes, gadgets... etc.
i give a tip when i really like the service, if not i dont. i dont know why others feel like they are obliged to give a tip, a relative of mine is like that...
just my opinion...
1 person likes this
@beamsey (425)
• Philippines
30 May 09
If you could give us an estimate of how much waiters and waitresses earn, that would be great. I don't feel obliged to give a tip. It's just that I grew up seeing my parents always leaving tips. It's become more of a habit, I guess. The only time I don't give a tip is when the service was really bad. There was one time, I was eating at this pizza place and it took around 30 minutes just to give me some water. It wasn't even bottled water. The food arrived only half-cooked and the utensils were dirty. My friends actually wanted to walk out of the place already.
@jayrene (2708)
• Philippines
30 May 09
eewww... you should have done that, just walk away, you have the right too if you we're given an order that is like that. you are going to pay it and the service and food is that bad. if i was there i could've said something to the manager...
as for the tip... my friends (couple) were able to buy a motorcycle, a second hand car, large deposit for a very nice townhouse, latest cellphone, not to mention what kind of clothing they buy mostly are branded... and recently they got married, their wedding was really well prepared i will not say the amount, and they are just waiter and waitresses in a fine dining restaurant here, i wont mention the place either... the thing is they earn more from the tip than from their salary... see what i mean? not to mention my other friends who works in other restos...
some even wants to work in restos just because of the tip and not the salary... time for us to wake up. for me tip really isnt necessary because we are already paying for the food, service charge and other charges they are adding in the bill. the workers there are getting paid by the company, they did not work there for free. the tip is just that, tip, if we like their service we can tip, if not it should not be taken as rudeness on our part as customers... they should be thankful we eat at their business establishment, if less people eat they'll go bankrupt and close. and i dont tip high... im a very practical person.
@beamsey (425)
• Philippines
31 May 09
We complained to the manager and we were given 50% percent off in the total bill. Haha. Well, they do get a lot from the tips then. 0_0 They seem to be living a a very extravagant lifestyle, considering they only work in a fine dining restaurant. I always thought that unless you own the restaurant, you wouldn't earn much. I guess I was wrong. I see your point about how it isn't rude when someone doesn't leave a tip. I totally agree with you. Leaving a tip is always just an option, sometimes it's just not necessary.
@flaredust (728)
• Indonesia
29 May 09
For me it depends on where am I eating at. If I eat at a very cheap tavern or stand, I think it doesn't fit for me to give a tip, because the food price as low as the tip itself. But if I eat at some average restaurant, of course I give a tip, whether there are service charge or not.
@GraySpirit (103)
• United States
30 May 09
I find this discussion interesting. I was told by Filipino friends that I should not tip when in the Philippines because that was not the custom. But I just have a habit of tipping because I have relatives in the restaurant industry who receive very low wages and the tips really help them.
When in the hotels, there was always an extra service fee added, so did not leave any tip unless the food and service was super good and I wanted to leave something extra.
When not eating in the hotels, I usually leave a tip, because I know the workers are struggling economically even if the service is just so-so.
But I understand if a student doesn't have money and cannot leave a tip. You are still doing business with the restaurant so the owner and workers get something because you are buying their food.
1 person likes this
@beamsey (425)
• Philippines
30 May 09
Hmm.. Really? They told you that? Tipping is normal in the country. It is even expected, actually. Maybe they said that because there are very few restaurants here that don't include a service charge in the bill. Filipinos tip all the time though, regardless of whether it is included in the bill or not.
1 person likes this
@GraySpirit (103)
• United States
30 May 09
hehe ... maybe my pinoy friends have been living in the US too long now.
But thanks for the discussion. At least now, I'll know what to do when I am in the country.
