Tipping...an article...your thoughts...

[Analogman]

I use to look at this blog years ago - I see it has grown:

 

Waiter Rant

[isadorah]

Me too. My hair is absurdly thick and most barbers/stylists have no idea what to do with it.

 

I go to the Chinese ladies because they cut thick hair all the time and it doesn't really faze them.

 

And they only charge $12.95.

 

 

i used to have extremely short hair and went to an african american woman (think the movie beauty shop). she charged me $15 for the most amazing short hair cuts i have ever had, so i tipped her $15 because i thought her time was worth more than what she was charging. she stopped doing hair though and became a prison guard.

[quarter23cd]

I'm usually a pretty generous tipper, although have always marveled at what a bizarre practice it is--at least in the sense of figuring out what jobs should be tipped for and what should not. As mentioned earlier, it is so built into the culture--particularly in food-service--that workers are paid low wages because tips are expected. But, hey, I have been underpaid at plenty of desk jobs and nobody ever came up to me and said "Hey, buddy, that was a nice line of code you just wrote. Here's a $20 for ya." But that would be pretty sweet...

[watch me fall]

(think the movie beauty shop).

 

OMG that movie is awesome.

 

As for the question, I usually tip my hair dresser 15% and my manicurist/pedicurist (is that a word??) around 20%, just because I've known her longer and we're pretty good friends. I have no idea what percentage I tip in restaurants. Definitely depends on the service. Oh and also, the tip amount has to make the total round to whole dollars. I thought I was the only freak who did that until I learned my twin brother does the same thing.

[Guest Jules]

I have heard that you don't need to tip on the price of a bottle of wine, unless a sommelier helps you choose it. I always do anyway, considering it the same as if you got a few drinks.

Me too, but the markup on wine is pretty ridiculous.

[bobfrombob]

What about hotels? Do you leave a tip for the staff that clean up your dirty towels and make your bed? I try to rember to leave one but they hardly ever see me, I hardly ever see them, and you are always tipping before you get the "service".

[cryptique]

^ I've never done that, but I never really thought about it (and I don't stay in hotels very often). Is that really expected?

[bobfrombob]

I'm not sure if it's expected or not. I don't think hotel staff get paid any better than wait staff.

[Winston Legthigh]

What about hotels? Do you leave a tip for the staff that clean up your dirty towels and make your bed? I try to rember to leave one but they hardly ever see me, I hardly ever see them, and you are always tipping before you get the "service".

usually only when on vacation, and at a place for several nights.

[Good Old Neon]

Does anyone have any idea as to what sort of tip would be appropriate for a tattoo artist?

[Good Old Neon]

i used to have extremely short hair and went to an african american woman (think the movie beauty shop). she charged me $15 for the most amazing short hair cuts i have ever had, so i tipped her $15 because i thought her time was worth more than what she was charging. she stopped doing hair though and became a prison guard.

 

Well, if you ever find yourself in her prison, you have a nice haircut to look forward to.

[bjorn_skurj]

Does anyone have any idea as to what sort of tip would be appropriate for a tattoo artist?

The last tattoo I got, the dude was heading out to dinner afterwards, so I gave him $10 toward his meal, which was about 15 percent of what the tattoo bill was. He seemed genuinely touched.

[quarter23cd]

^ I've never done that, but I never really thought about it (and I don't stay in hotels very often). Is that really expected?

I have to admit that I rarely do that and never gave it a whole lot of thought until reading one of those Yahoo headlines recently about "Confessions of a hotel housekeeper" about how they were particularly lax in their room cleaning of the guests that don't tip.

 

But, yeah, like was mentioned, it is a situation where there is little or no face-to-face interaction between the guest and the housekeeping staff, so if you have no idea who you are leaving a tip for maybe there is less inclination to do so. I have noticed more hotels are putting little cards in the rooms with the name of the person who will be cleaning the room, I guess to sort of plant the idea in your mind that, hey, these rooms don't just magically clean themselves.

 

Of course, I could just as easily respond that instead of the hotels putting those cards in the rooms to guilt-trip the guests, hey, maybe they should just pay their employees better. I don't know.

[plasticeyeball]

I leave a couple bucks/day for the maid staff in hotels. I left $5 after only about an 7 or 8 hour stay a few weeks ago but I did that because my kids got coffee cake and pretzel crumbs all over the floor and beds.

[mfwahl]

I leave a couple bucks/day for the maid staff in hotels. I left $5 after only about an 7 or 8 hour stay a few weeks ago but I did that because ______ got _________ all over the floor and beds.

Madlib!

[Winston Legthigh]

Madlib!

If I had to answer with typical answers the last time I played madlibs (maybe aged 9?), the answers would be "FARTS" and "BOOBS"

[Guest Speed Racer]

I don't drink anymore, so going out to bars my bill is $2, if they even bother to charge me for a Diet Coke. I usually leave at least a $10 on the table, if only because it's cheaper than waking up in a bathroom with my wallet up my ass.

 

I tip a standard 20% unless the service REALLY BLOWS. I don't mean new servers - wow, if you're new to the job, you're getting a good tip. If they've clearly been doing it a while and just don't care (and they really do have to go out of their way being an ass to deserve this) I'll tip 10-15%. For places where I'm a regular, including a few places I visit monthly with more than six friends/separate checks, I'll tip 30-40%. The minimum amount I'll tip is $3.

[alison the wilca]

As a general rule, I tip 20%. However, I overtip quite often, depending if it is someone I may run into again (hair stylist) or if it seems like there is no way they could be living off of what they're paid/tipped. I tip my hair stylist $15 and the shampoo girl $5 on each of my $65 haircuts. I generally tip cabbies and diner waitresses 25-50%. A few extra dollars from me could make someones day, or at least make it better.

[caliber66]

Me too, but the markup on wine is pretty ridiculous.

From working in a wine store, and knowing how much we mark up wine, I can say the markup on wine in restaurants is pretty fucking obscene.

 

I'm also an overtipper. If a server gets less than 20% from me, he has gone out of his way to piss me off.

[Rusty Shackleford]

What about takeout? I generally tip when I'm ordering takeout from a sit-down restaurant, because the waiter/bartender/maitre d is taking time to assemble the order. But I only tip about 10% on those.

 

Where I really run into a dilemma is when I am picking up a pizza or something else at a cheap counter-only kind of place, and I pay with a credit card, because it has the tip line on it. If I were paying cash, I'd just pay cash, they'd give me change, and I'd either not tip or if there was a tip jar put change and maybe a bill or two in there. But with the tip line on the credit card slip, I feel like kind of a jackass for not tipping, or even for tipping just a little. Anyone else have this problem?

[lamradio]

15% for good service, 20-25% for excellent service.

 

Even bad service will get at least 10%... But I'm like cryptique, if it's REALLY bad, I'll throw a couple pennies on the table and talk to the manager. But that's never actually happened..

 

Oh yeah, and I throw in an extra dollar for every alcoholic beverage. I've always wondered about that.. Is that proper to do, or is that too generous?

[isadorah]

my $65 haircuts.

 

I'm glad I'm not the only one that gets the $65 haircuts, .

[Atticus]

I default to 20%, will go up to 40% if it's stellar. That's pretty much across the board (wounds from having waited/bartended).

 

I don't remember the last time I tipped at a hotel though. Probably should keep that in mind.

[cryptique]

What about takeout? I generally tip when I'm ordering takeout from a sit-down restaurant, because the waiter/bartender/maitre d is taking time to assemble the order. But I only tip about 10% on those.

 

Where I really run into a dilemma is when I am picking up a pizza or something else at a cheap counter-only kind of place, and I pay with a credit card, because it has the tip line on it. If I were paying cash, I'd just pay cash, they'd give me change, and I'd either not tip or if there was a tip jar put change and maybe a bill or two in there. But with the tip line on the credit card slip, I feel like kind of a jackass for not tipping, or even for tipping just a little. Anyone else have this problem?

I've never tipped for takeout. To me, that's the whole point of getting takeout. Well, that and I typically get my food faster that way.

[austrya]

I've never tipped for takeout. To me, that's the whole point of getting takeout. Well, that and I typically get my food faster that way.

 

I never tip for take out either. I didn't know you were supposed to. The only place I get take out is the sushi place and all the waitress does is put it in a plastic bag. The chef puts the sushi in the little plastic takeout containers and makes it look all pretty. To me, it's like paying the cashier to bag my groceries.