Is the tipping culture getting out of hand?

[Lori Dee ✅]

I never tipped when i was in the US...i bet they hated me. But unless its on the receipt included i cant claim it back on my work expenses and wasn't going to pay out of my pocket!

Most receipts have a blank line where you can write how much you left as a tip, in case you left cash on the table for "table rent". Here, most employers accept that for reimbursement as long as the tip is reasonable. Claiming you left a $100 tip for a $30 meal might raise some eyebrows.

[ChrissyRyan]

If a tip is automatically added, it cannot be claimed by the employee as income subject to the "no tax on tips" legal annual USA limit.  A payment machine or bill can suggest a tip but the spirit of a tip is that it is a reward voluntarily given by the patron.  Thus a forced tip is not voluntary, it becomes a cost of the meal or service.  Hence those would be 100% taxable to the employee receiving that forced tip.

[Finally Anna]

Waking up a slumbering thread.
Over here, the payment terminals nowadays almost always ask about leaving a tip, but when they do I don't tip. If they don't, then I will consider rounding up the total a little bit depending on how I appreciated the service and the food.

It needs to be said that the wages paid here are fair so the staff does not rely on tip for their income. When in the US I follow the normal procedures, aka 15-20% tip - the staff does not work for free and they need their wages paid via tipping. I try to follow whatever customs in the places I visit, beacuse it is the decent thing to do.

EDIT: That applied regardless of whether I got reimbursed or not. I could afford some tipping even if not reimbursed, when I travelled for business.

[Devlyn ✅]

Like anything else, circumstances vary. It's not a monolith. Workers in budget family restaurants where the average check is low may not make much. Ask a Hooter's girl if she wants a flat rate $20 per hour wage and she'll likely laugh in your face.

[Finally Anna]

Ask a Hooter's girl if she wants a flat rate $20 per hour wage and she'll likely laugh in your face.

True that, and it's probably an indication of the tipping having gone severely out of hand.

[Devlyn ✅]

Card dealers rely on tips too, at least the last I knew.

[ChrissyRyan]

I noticed that suggested tipping percentages and their corresponding amounts on payment screens usually now  (1) base that percentage not on the before tax amount but after all taxes and service fees, and (2) the lowest optional percentage amount listed now seems to be (18%) and DEFAULT %, unless you change it, is often set to be 20% if not 22%.

[Finally Anna]

A case for lowering the tip percentage then. Tipping based on taxes and service fees feels like a kind of skimming.

[ChrissyRyan]

I have noticed that suggested tip amounts are now often calculated on the post tax and service charge amount, not the amount for just the food and beverage.

I do not think I should top on the amount of either of these, taxes and surcharges.

[ChrissyRyan]

Some carry out places ask you to tip as you place your order.  Probably because it is easier to collect tips unless there is a tip jar for cash.  Plus now fewer people pay with cash.

Should you tip on a carry out order?   

[Laura Squirrel]

The ONLY time that I tip is if one of the pizza places delivers to me. Other than that, too bad. I remember seeing a video where a restaurant owner chased down a customer because the guy didn't leave a tip. The owner screamed at him, "How the *bleep* am I supposed to make any *bleep* money?!!!!" The guy responded calmly, with "raise your prices," and he's right. Pay people a living wage, dude.

The economy in the U.S. is in shambles. I don't even order in anymore. It's not worth the money at all. I remember when 20 bucks got you two large pizzas, and I would always tip a fiver. Now? No way. Not unless I need food and I can't get to a proper grocery store, and that has only happened once in the last six months.

[Lori Dee ✅]

I only tip for services rendered. Putting my food in a bag is not a service. Delivery is a service.

I had lunch at a Village Inn pancake house. Bill: $17.67. I entered no tip on the machine. Then left $5 cash on the table. The waitress was very nice, and the food was good.

No taxes or surcharges were calculated.