Help with a Math Formula

[daveathall]

Originally Posted by bayerische

The no is for, it wouldn't be acceptable with a 10% tip in the US. Not in your waiters eyes anyway...

That wasn't my question, you must have read it wrong, but I see what you mean, I didn't think it would have been acceptable either.

[Kingair]

Originally Posted by daveathall

I'm sort of confused here fellas, forget about corporate for a minute, when me and my wife go out for a meal if the bill was £100 or there about I give the waiter/waitress £10 (10%). What would be an acceptable tip in the US please?

Here is a minimum 15 % going to 25 %

[locutus49]

In America, 20% of the total bill (although some argue you should not pay a tip on taxes, and only pay a percentage of the non-taxed portion. To me that is nit-picking). I leave 20% minimum of total bill BUT if the bill is for a large party, some restaurants include a gratuity (tip) of 18% so I don't tip on top of that unless service was exceptional.

I should add that a most of the restaurants we go to we are regulars, so we are pretty generous in tipping. We can afford it and these waiters work hard.

Originally Posted by daveathall

I'm sort of confused here fellas, forget about corporate for a minute, when me and my wife go out for a meal if the bill was £100 or there about I give the waiter/waitress £10 (10%). What would be an acceptable tip in the US please?

[wantonebad]

Originally Posted by locutus49

In America, 20% of the total bill (although some argue you should not pay a tip on taxes, and only pay a percentage of the non-taxed portion. To me that is nit-picking). I leave 20% minimum of total bill BUT if the bill is for a large party, some restaurants include a gratuity (tip) of 18% so I don't tip on top of that unless service was exceptional.

I should add that a most of the restaurants we go to we are regulars, so we are pretty generous in tipping. We can afford it and these waiters work hard.

Agree with you, except for large parties 22-25% tax included. JMHO


Mark, sorry for the "cute" comment, that came off as combative and I didn't mean it that way, forgive me.

[Andad]

....into the wind.

[Runnin' Rebel]

I bring my own wine and pay the 20 for corkage. I'm not paying 700 for a similar 200 dollar bottle I have at home. Don't bring a wine that they carry on their wine list. It's kinda rude.

[MonBK]

Originally Posted by Runnin' Rebel

I bring my own wine and pay the 20 for corkage. I'm not paying 700 for a similar 200 dollar bottle I have at home. Don't bring a wine that they carry on their wine list. It's kinda rude.

Can you bring a steak and pay 20 steakage?

[bayerische]

Originally Posted by MonBK

Can you bring a steak and pay 20 steakage?

[locutus49]

On tipping in America, several years ago I watched Oprah (when she had her show) and she had on about 8 waitresses (and one male waiter) who talked about tipping. Here is the summary of their input:

Non-Americans are bad tippers. Some leave no tip. (probably because they don't know they should).

Women are bad tippers in general. Ex-waitresses usually tip well. Many women use a tip card to calculate to the exact penny a 15% tip.

White males are the best tippers. By far.

When there are large groups, over 6 people, customers leave low tips, thinking no one will know. Waiters hate serving large groups because it is a lot of work for low reward.

Nota bene: I'm not saying this is right or not, or even true, just reporting on the opinions of actually waitresses.

[bayerische]

Originally Posted by locutus49

On tipping in America, several years ago I watched Oprah (when she had her show) and she had on about 8 waitresses (and one male waiter) who talked about tipping. Here is the summary of their input:

Non-Americans are bad tippers. Some leave no tip. (probably because they don't know they should).

Women are bad tippers in general. Ex-waitresses usually tip well. Many women use a tip card to calculate to the exact penny a 15% tip.

White males are the best tippers. By far.

When there are large groups, over 6 people, customers leave low tips, thinking no one will know. Waiters hate serving large groups because it is a lot of work for low reward.

Nota bene: I'm not saying this is right or not, or even true, just reporting on the opinions of actually waitresses.

Although there is little tipping in Finland, I would say that sounds about right. From what I see at my place.

[ksh977]

G = Gross revenue (1000.00 in your example)
T = Total gratuity (211.37 in your example)

*********************************************

T = G x (1 - 0.081)
Food Server total gratuity = T x 0.18 x 0.86
Restaurant total gratuity = T x (0.05 + 0.18 x 0.14)

*********************************************

Or if you prefer raw percentages:
T = G x (100 - 8.1)/100
Food Server total gratuity = T x 18/100 x 86/100
Restaurant total gratuity = T x (5/100 + 18/100 x 14/100)

*********************************************

[77T]

Tipping to me is like a sales commission - IMHO it is best to gross it up into the budget you envision for the night. Remember that tips also apply to bartenders, valets, lounge stewards, etc. I have quite often had >$1000 dinner bill but also noted later that my total gratuities approached 35% when all was said and done.

It's just the cost of making a pleasant evening.

[77T]

I do like the restaurants that post a cheat sheet at the bottom of the CC slip. It shows $ amount for several tip % options.

[Runnin' Rebel]

Originally Posted by 77t

i do like the restaurants that post a cheat sheet at the bottom of the cc slip. It shows $ amount for several tip % options.

+1

[Kingair]

Originally Posted by 77T

I do like the restaurants that post a cheat sheet at the bottom of the CC slip. It shows $ amount for several tip % options.

X 2 . . . really easy ;)

[bayerische]

Originally Posted by 77T

I do like the restaurants that post a cheat sheet at the bottom of the CC slip. It shows $ amount for several tip % options.

Yeah I like that feature too! After a bottle of wine, a few beers, a bourbon etc... It schometimesch is diffikulth tho doo tsche matttsche.

[daveathall]

Originally Posted by bayerische

Yeah I like that feature too! After a bottle of wine, a few beers, a bourbon etc... It schometimesch is diffikulth tho doo tsche matttsche.

I think I have been there on a couple of occasions.

[Gagebuilder]

T.I.P. - To Insure Promptness

So, here in MI, servers are paid $2.65 an hour. That's it. And a tip credit of $4.75 per hour. I think that means that the Feds expect staff to make $4.75 per hour in tips and servers must claim the $4.75 an hour as income, for tax purposes, even if they make less. Of course, nobody claims more if they make more.

The feds. would love to get rid of tipping - they would get to claim every earned dollar that way.

I tend to go to the same restaurants, so I tip - what many would say - as too much. But, I get great service, time and time again.

Example, I have Steak Fajitas and a Coke regularly at my favorite Mexican Restaurant - Bill, with 6% sales tax, $15.11 - I'll drop a $20 on the table. If I happen to have 11 cents, I'll leave that, too. I get no hassles - treat me like the owner. I can get more chips, salsa, or soda in seconds. You get what you pay for.

I only eat out once, maybe twice a week, and they aren't huge bills. I can afford a couple extra bucks for top notch service over average to good service.

6 months old.

http://www.dol.gov/whd/state/tipped.htm

[Runnin' Rebel]

I went to dinner tonight to the best Italian Resturant in town IMO tonight with my daughter. It's right down the street from my house, I know the owner and he goes to the UNLV basketball games. He sits in the luxury suites, I sit down in row G behind UNLV's bench with the scubs lol.

All the wait staff know me, I've never had a bad dinner there. We had 2 orders of steamed clams in white sauce. For my entree I ordered blackened Salmon and my daughter had lobster ravioli, unbelievably the best. I had 2 glasses of Ruffino Chianti, very good.

I tipped 25-30% because I never have to ask for anything. I know the owner doesn't skim the tips from his workers like the hotel's do.

The white broth is incredible



Lobster Ravioli


My battery died at the resturant or I would show the Salmon. But it was sooo good


Sent -3 or -7

[daveathall]

I am just astounded at the hourly rate that these people earn, locutus49 mentioned a Oprah show that concluded non US people are the worst tippers I can see why, TBH, in this day and age, being paid what amounts to less than £1.40 an hour is just criminal, in fact it's not much more than slave labour, I would never in my wildest dreams imagine that a server would be on anything less than £6 an hour, I give a 10% tip in the UK and think that to be fair, now I know what these people earn in the US I would tip a lot more than that when I am over there. I don't think that we are bad tippers, it's just that most non US people know or wouldn't even dream about the low level of the servers wages.

Honest fellas, I'm just astounded, is this real? Do people in the civilised world earn less than £1.40 an hour? That is just outrages.

Sorry if this comes over as a rant, perhaps I am not as eloquent as some here when it comes to expressing my opinion, If I have offended anyone I apologise, I type the way I speak and without my gestures and facial expressions this may come across in the wrong way, Im certainly not having a go at anyone here.

[powerfunk]

It is illegal to pay less than the minimum wage altogether. If the server's tips are less than the gap between subminimum wage and minimum wage, the employers legally have to make up the difference. In reality, they don't always.

[adamlea]

Originally Posted by powerfunk

It is illegal to pay less than the minimum wage altogether. If the server's tips are less than the gap between subminimum wage and minimum wage, the employers legally have to make up the difference. In reality, they don't always.

In all the years I worked in the service industry, my annual wages never averaged out to be minimum wage - and not once did my employers ever make up the difference. That's been a long time ago though. I do know that employers can pay tipped employees less than minimum wage per hour, but I have no idea what that hourly rate is now. A lot of servers and bartenders do pretty well for themselves - it just depends on their location and their clientele.

[powerfunk]

Originally Posted by adamlea

not once did my employers ever make up the difference. That's been a long time ago though.

Yeah, I don't think times have changed much on that front unfortunately.

Originally Posted by adamlea

I do know that employers can pay tipped employees less than minimum wage per hour, but I have no idea what that hourly rate is now.

The subminimum wage has been frozen at $2.13 since 1996. I think that is a big reason why the "standard" USA tip has increased from 15% to 20% since then.

Also, kudos to this forum for such a civilized discussion! Tipping is the #1 crazy-argument-causing topic on the Internet.

[Runnin' Rebel]

I'm going out to dinner next week with a few people and the wine alone is gong to be $2500-$3000. It's that way all the time for this group. I haven't had to pay cause it's a corporate thing.

I'm confused on the gratuity for the wine. Add that to the dinner bill and it's north of $4000.00 so you should tip the waiter, the sommelier, bus person etc.. You open a 800 dollar of wine should the waiter get 120--160 grat ?

[Rockrolex]

In the U.S., I generally tip 20% of the total bill. In London, most restaurants automatically add 12.5% gratuity to the bill and waitstaff don't expect more. In other countries in Europe and So. America, I generally tip between 10 - 15%, depending on the country and the restaurant, unless the gratuity is automatically added to the bill.

[Thunderball57]

I always tip 20%; 25% at my usual haunts. I also tip the chefs. It's paid off big time for me over the years, not to mention I don't have to worry about my food.