Restaurant tipping: pre-tax or post-tax?

[Norelco]

pre- and post-tax is usually no more than a difference of 1.5%.

Huh? Isn't the difference between pre and post tax the amount of tax? That's usually way more than 1.5%.

$100 bill. $8 tax.

15% tip on $100 = $15.00
15% tip on $108 = $16.20

so the difference is $1.20, which is 1.2% of the bill.

It's quite obvious my math skillz fail.

[Nuriko]

I usually just double the tax also then maybe add a buck or two for good service.

My question is, if you ordered a lot of bar drinks (like...mixed drinks), which are typically over-priced already, do you take those out of your bill before you try and figure out tip? I never really did this before and it can get too complicated after the fact, but have had people tell me they don't tip on mixed drinks because according to them tip is already included in the price of said drinks. This of course only refers to drinks brought to a table, not while sitting at the bar.

[Alleya]

I'm incredibly old-fashioned in that don't tip based on calculations. I tip based on how well the service was and I eyeball it according to the bill.

What he said. Just because I bought a $100 meal doesn't mean you're worth a $15 tip.

(it's amazing how fast the bill goes up when you're a wine connoisseur with a taste for seafood)

[Mala]

I tip based on the attractiveness of my server. A hot waitress will get a nice lump of change, with my cell phone # on the bill, while a fat waitress might get $2, with the phone number to the gym on the bill. I'm a terrible person though. . .

(I don't tip waiters at all)

[Khamsin]

Depends on the service.

Restaurant: Double the tax.
Haircut: $2
Bar: Double the tax (since I'd run a tab) + $2 or so (variable depending on how much I liked the bartender)
Pizza: $2-3

[Tristam]

One other thing I do, is if there's a really good food special, like some pub/tavern/restauraunts around here will do half off some food and apps for a late night special. In that case I tip based on what the tab would be if it were a normal time in the day (so in the case of half off I'd tip 30-35% or so. I was wondering if most other people do that as well? Not sure if a waiter/waitress would expect it I guess.

[Selamis]

I usually take 10% of the total bill post tax and then add in the tax as a tip....tends to end up right around 15% total but for exceptional service obviously I add in more. For bars and ordering drinks, I tip $1 for regular drinks, $2 for a bucket. For shots I just do a general number ($1-$2) but some of my friends believe in tipping per shot....which can add up fast, and I'm not a fan of that method.

[Minions]

If you order a pizza from pizza hut they charge you like $8 more to deliver already.... just a heads up was about $18 take out $25-26 delivery.... weird that they don't mention that when you order by the phone. Prolly has something to do with gas prices. I still tip, but I'm kinda annoyed when I order a pizza though.

[archibaldcrane]

If you order a pizza from pizza hut they charge you like $8 more to deliver already.... just a heads up

That is by no means an across the board policy, so don't start shafting pizza delivery drivers more than you already do (not you specifically Minions) with that as your justification. I love hearing waiters QQ about 15% tips (and trust me, if you're tipping 15%, at least in California, your waiter thinks you're a cheap motherfucker) when I delivered pizzas for 2 summers and if I averaged 15% for the night it was a -great- night. Stiff a waiter, you waste a bit of their time. Stiff a pizza man, you've cost him money in gas and wear and tear on his car.

[Tyche]

Me and the wife usually eat at the same 3 joints everytime we go out, and the bill, fairly consistently runs $45-$50. I tell the server up front, everytime, "the tip starts at $10, everytime the beer hits the bottom without a fresh one up, you lose $1". And that's how i've tipped for the past 2 years. You find out real quick which server has been tipping their bartender. I don't really ever go to the bar to eat or drink unless all the tables are full. Id tip a bartender on a per drink basis.

[Norelco]

One other thing I do, is if there's a really good food special, like some pub/tavern/restauraunts around here will do half off some food and apps for a late night special. In that case I tip based on what the tab would be if it were a normal time in the day (so in the case of half off I'd tip 30-35% or so. I was wondering if most other people do that as well? Not sure if a waiter/waitress would expect it I guess.

I do actually. We know a local bartender here pretty well who hooks us up with heavily discounted drinks (we'd had like 3 pitchets for the price of one), so we usually just give him a huge tip cuz we figured we'd be paying that much anyway. Might as well hook up the person taking care of you. And when you do this they also start to take care of you more. I've gotten alot of "this round's on me" from many a bartender.

I also tip my local bartender (we go weekly) pretty big at Christmas time.

[Huggo]

Hi, I'm a waiter. Lol. After working pizza delivery, and then this job, I find I have a lot of empathy for people also in tip-earning positions.

All I can really add to this is that it sucks when you totally bend over backwards for a party and you're super nice to them and their bill is about 40 bucks and they leave you 3 dollars.

[AzazaelFenrir]

I tip based on the attractiveness of my server. A hot waitress will get a nice lump of change, with my cell phone # on the bill, while a fat waitress might get $2, with the phone number to the gym on the bill. I'm a terrible person though. . .

(I don't tip waiters at all)

Wow I really hope you die in a fire.


Having been someone who worked in a restaurant I will generally do post tax and adjust from there (around 18% unless something was wrong).

Rarely will I go below 10%, just because that is the amount most states require you to claim. Every state I have worked in the min wage for waiters was less than the min wage for normal work, which is something I don't think most people take into account. Nothing was worse than it being a slow afternoon, only getting two tables and getting stiffed by one because of whatever retard reason (not service related). At that point not only am I forced to say I was given 10% but it also meant that I usually didn't make the minimum wage (5.15 or whatever) for that hour. Yes it all evens out in the end, but a streak of cheap people can really kill ya.

[Jotaru]

I tip based on the attractiveness of my server. A hot waitress will get a nice lump of change, with my cell phone # on the bill, while a fat waitress might get $2, with the phone number to the gym on the bill. I'm a terrible person though. . .

(I don't tip waiters at all)

Yeah, that pretty much makes you a jerk, hope you're joking.

20% post-tax is what I tend to do to avoid confusion, take total bill, lop off the last decimal spot, double it, kaBLAM. Never even thought of doing it pre-tax, but its a decent way to go, I suppose.

[Daahan]

I think their is a premise that tipping is absolutely a must unless you're incredibly poor or the service you received was incredibly shitty.

[Remyo]

I work @ a Ruby Tuesday, I mostly cook but occasionally do the front(hate it because everyone thinks I'm supposed to suck their dick because they ordered food or something). RT puts the the 15,18 and 20% tip amounts on the bottom of the receipt so we basically look at that and judge if that person was a dick or not, but servers usually hope for 20% post tax. Personally I don't like going to a restaurant now because I feel sorry for the waitresses or waiters, most of these people have shitty lives(based on the restaurants Ive worked at) and I feel obligated to tip more.
Just glad I'm only there part time while going to school, seriously it's sad hearing about these peoples problems when they don't make enough money.

[Tajin]

I like Tyche technique, too bad I dont drink that much


P.S. i usually leave 10% - 15%. But i have no problem leaving zero if the service sucked. (or leaving more if the service was nice)


P.S. wasnt there a thread like this one a few months ago?

[rezn0r]

i do at least 20% on everything, even if it sucked, sometimes rounding up to the next multiple of $5.00 and then 20% on that. i agree it's a waste of money, but years of bartending have turned me into this way. if you go to the same places over and over you will be remembered. (there's nothing wrong with 15% either, or even 10%, whatever, not-tipping just blows though)

edit: just noticed some people mentioned just drinks at the bar, i usually toss a $1 bill & the quarters, or $2 each order (which is usually more than a single drink). it adds up (especially when you're really boozing/caring less and less), and i've been called a shithead for it, but like i said above...

[SephYuyX]

What I never understood is why people pay a tip based on the bill. If I order an extra plate or dessert or something that adds another $30, a server gets an extra $3ish for moving their arm from their serving plate to my table? Same with fancier places, I dont care if your steak cost $20 more, you as the server do nothing extra special then they guy who serves the less expensive steak.

I base it off of how well of a job done, then again, I rarely go and sit down in a resturaunt either.

[archibaldcrane]

What I never understood is why people pay a tip based on the bill. If I order an extra plate or dessert or something that adds another $30, a server gets an extra $3ish for moving their arm from their serving plate to my table? Same with fancier places, I dont care if your steak cost $20 more, you as the server do nothing extra special then they guy who serves the less expensive steak.

I base it off of how well of a job done, then again, I rarely go and sit down in a resturaunt either.

The "fancier places" issue always bugged me too. I feel uncomfortable rewarding a bartender with a larger tip because my Jameson and Coke cost $9 instead of $5 at the other place down the road. The effort/skill/knowledge put into making it (which any 7 year old could learn, for that drink) is the same.