I love using Restaurant.com, Groupon, online coupons, or the Entertainment Book to save money on eating out. These deals allow us to stretch our date night budget.
The other night we used an email coupon and a gift card to go out. Because of the coupon, we saved $7 on our meal, but we tipped on the pre-coupon total.
It is important to remember when eating out with a coupon to always tip on the original amount. Tipping on the discounted bill is cheap not frugal and gives deal seekers a bad reputation.
We usually tip 20% as both my husband and I both worked restaurant jobs and have an appreciation for how hard servers work. People in America tip between 15-20% for good service at a restaurant. I’ve never not tipped for bad service, but I did leave 10% one time for an absolutely horrible server. What about you? What is your tipping policy?
If love to dine away from home, read my 13 Ways to Save Money Eating Out.
25-30% for great, 20% of average, 15% for poor, and ALWAYS on the original bill!
I wish everyone remembered to tip on the original amount! My parents taught me to always go 20% unless the service is terrible. My mom had worked as a server during college and, like you, she told me how hard it is to work in a restaurant. Right now I’m trying to figure out how much is appropriate to tip for haircuts and other salon services. I’ve heard 25% or more but that just makes me gulp. I go 20%, but I don’t want to offend my hair stylist if she thinks that’s cheap.
We always tip 20% or twice the tax since our tax is 9.75% in TN. We have been known to tip 100% or more before because the manager comped half the meal because the fish was raw. So paid the full bill, hence the waiter taking home more than the restaurant. He was shocked to say the least.
We usually add $5, or however much is needed to make the total after tip a nice even number.
There was, however, one waitress that got a penny tip. She was horrible and ignored us during our entire meal (no refills on drinks, took 30 minutes to get our burgers during a super slow lunch, and people that came in after us were done with their meals before we even got ours). The bus boy got the tip instead.
20% minimum. I justify this by remembering how many people are too cheap to tip at a decent rate and too math-deprived to tip on the original bill amount. (Same goes for the Commissary baggers, by the way – I tip well, regardless of the size of my order.) I tip 25% at the hair salon. (My son tips higher, but that’s because he rarely gets haircuts, so the barber does have to do extra work!)
I couldnt agree with your post more. I have been a server for almost 10 years now. What I have found was that many people think we get paid minimum wage plus tips. This couldnt be further from the truth. At my place of business I am one of the highest paid servers (I have also been promoted as high as I can be) and I make $2.77 an hour. There are days I can be in the smoking section with another girl and because few smokers come in I walk away with $20 bucks in my pocket. A great tip is always much appreciated trust me
I agree 20% even when it is hard, my question is how much do you tip the baggers at the commisary. we usually give $5 but honestly I do not do it happily when I buy $30 worth of groceries. Any suggestions
I agree 20%, my question is what about the baggers at the commisary? I normally tip $5. I have to say I do not tip happily when I have a $20 order and they insist on taking it out. They do not see that I am not happy. It is not there fault but my question is how much do you tip them
If the service is great, I tip 20%. If it is so-so, I tip 10%, and if it is awful, I don’t tip. That’s not based on the food, just service alone. Also, I tip on the full amount, tax included. I’ve never considered doing otherwise. We rarely use discount coupons, but when we eat during a kids eat free night (often), we’ll also tip the full amount.
I, too, worked as a waitress, hostess, and bus-girl for several years. I know how hard the job is, but I always tip on merit. If someone isn’t doing the job well, they don’t deserve to be paid well.
a note on commissary baggers. They dont make as much as you think they do! Most baggers keep the job because the hours are extremely flexible and make it easy to work around their kid’s schedules or hubby’s deployments. It’s NOT because they rake in oodles of money. Tip them well, even for a small order. Keep in mind that each bagger takes out, on average, 3 to 4 orders per hour on a steady day. They take turns and there is often a lot of time spent waiting for their next turn. Multiply whatever you tip them by 3 or 4. If it doesnt add up to at least minimum wage, it’s not enough. Obviously, a larger load should be more. Large orders mean more time/less orders per hour.
I am a server myself, so I over tip. So much to the point that I am usually not allowed to leave the tip. I will leave at least 40% if they did their job, but today the girl that served my family didn’t get anything. She was rude, clearly she didn’t want to be there, and I know for a fact that it was because of my kids that she didn’t want to serve us.Today her tip was: I AM A SERVER AS WELL, AND YOU SHOULD PROBABLY TRY TO BE A LITTLE MORE FRIENDLY. Did I feel bad…not at all.
20% for good service. If it’s phenomenal, a tad more – not usually a certain %, just the 20% + a little something extra. Always on the value of the meal – not the price actually paid. This includes any free kids meals as well. I also throw in extra if my kids make a huge mess and I can’t clean it up easily (like in a booth).
I give based on service, but always give something, even when we have had bad service.
I was in the restaurant business for about 15 years, working my way through high school and college, and then when I was out of college I managed restaurants for a long time. It is a crazy job, but fun too!
My husband is actually a better tipper than I am, when service is bad. I am a GREAT tipper, especially if I feel like the server went above and beyond. I love the feeling of being taken care of. So if there’s excellent service, I like to tip 25% to 30%, but if the service is bad, I’m really awful. I feel like I know exactly what it takes to be a server and I know what I did to ensure that my people received amazing service and I expect the same. That being said, my husband won’t go below 15%, even if I don’t want to leave anything. I feel like it’s rewarding bad behavior but I know I need to lighten up at times.
I know there are people struggling through school or whatever and really need the money. I also know where I live, most of the time servers don’t get a check, their tips are the only income they receive. In some places that’s different (California is one) and I just feel like I can’t take that money away.
I know what going to a sit-down restaurant to eat means; it means I have to tip and if I can’t afford to tip, I don’t go out to eat.
20% for spa and salon services is more than adequate! That’s awesome and any stylist who isn’t happy with that is not ok!
http://www.ivillage.com/how-much-tip-salon/5-a-146727
I always tip at least 20%. I’ve tipped as much as 100%. I just don’t feel right about tipping 20% on a bill that is $5.
One place I notice (by the reaction to my tip) where people fail to tip is the pizza delivery man. I tip 20% & they are nearly bowing to me at the doorstep. I’m happy knowing I made their day with a few extra bucks.
When we were in NM in Sept, we stopped at this historic diner. It was me, my 18 yrd old daughter, & my 4 kids. The waitress was abysmal…her overall attitude. The diner was empty except for a couple & an homeless man. We ignored her attitude. We’d been driving & sight-seeing all day, so we were just hungry & there weren’t a lot of options around. She was one of those happy-to-throw-your-check-down before you’ve taken 2 bites. So…I happily paid the bill…and yes, I did tip her 20%. You wanna see an attitude change! She was a different person once she saw my tip. I really did it as a way to say “You never know what your attitude might cost you.”
Thanks for the info! I’m going to stop feeling guilty for going 20%!
I always tip the pizza delivery man, too. I usually go about 20% for him. I heard once (can’t remember the source) that pizza delivery people have to pay their own gas, so their pay can really be diminished by that expense. It seems to me their gas expense is really mine because I had my meal delivered, so the least I can do is tip.
Way to heap coals of fire on your waitress’s head. I think sometimes a little honey goes farther than vinegar! I usually want to tip nothing for bad service, but I like your point that sometimes you can show the server grace and give the full tip.
as someone who’s delivered pizzas, yes we had to pay our own gas9and making only minimum wage to boot)
I try to tip 15-20% off of the total bill.
The only time I don’t tip on the full bill is if we’ve order alcoholic drinks. Drinks are marked up to a ridiculous extent
I have a question about tipping for other services like a pedicure or massage. I’m getting a massage next week and it was a LivingSocial deal, so the cost was way below what the normal price is. What % should I tip and should I tip on the true cost of the massage or what I paid?
we tip 20% and more for a great server, but the other day I got a not friendly server and only tipped 15%. we have a friend that’s a server, and it blows my mind that people go to a nice restaurant and don’t tip!
I tip 20%. I think I’ve tipped 10% once for a really horrible server. I know some people who are terrible tippers, so if I eat out with them, I try to give a little extra.
Great post! I used to wait tables at a small-town restaurant and on slow nights I literally made $2.13 an hour. My husband and I are great tippers and occassionally we get very generous and just leave a ree-hee-eelly nice tip to pass on the blessing we’ve been given! My church recently skipped eating out for lunch together for a month. At the end of the month, we all went out and left the waitress a GINORMOUS tip (from saving up for the whole month). It was fun and a great way to show kindness and Christian generosity without shoving a tract in her hand and preaching at her.
We tip on service, if bad 10% or less (and yes I will leave less if very bad), 15-25% for most depending how good service is, and always on 100% off the pre-coupon amount. I used to have more sympathy for food workers, but my sister makes so much money doing that, it’s hard to feel bad for them. I think they need to earn a good tip with good service
I feel this is a misleading statement, because by law the restaurant you work for is required to ensure that over your pay period, you receive at least minimum wage per hour. So if 3 nights a week you make $20/hr, but 1 night you make $3/hr, you’re well above min. wage! Also, I hope you report your tips…I have a very big problem with those who don’t report most of their tips (most servers). We all have to pay taxes on our income, so should servers!
Yikes! Maybe your prices are lower, around here an average pre-tax bill is not less than $35 for 2 people, with a good many running closer to $40, so that’s a low tip. But I know of worse–my dad used to say a dollar per person at the table, that’s HORRIBLE in any town
As a rule we generally tip 20% and round up the amount to the nearest whole dollar. If service is bad I will complain to the manager but tip about the same.
Amazing that once a baby arrived my husband and I forgot about ourselves and started worrying about the baby and finances all the time. Just because you are parents doesn’t mean you still can’t have fun! We go out earlier for specials, restaurant week was great in NY – even with a baby, and the time spent out as a family is a great time. Luckily our little guy is well behaved:)
The vast majority of the time, I tip in the 20-25% range. Always on the before discount/coupon total. That being said? I can remember twice in my life I not only didn’t leave a tip – I got a manager involved and a server fired… so in an effort to keep things balanced, I try to tip a bit above the required scale. (the firing? The waiter thought I was someone else, and sabotaged my meal in a scary way and got caught doing so – completely justified!)
We do 20% minimum, unless it was bad service, because we used to be in the industry. As for the commissary baggers, the director of our store suggested 35-45 cents per bag, and our baggers make no money other than tips- every base we’ve been at has had a sign posted saying they work for tips only, no paycheck.
I agree that if you can’t afford to tip, you shouldn’t eat out! On the other hand, I work hard at my job and I expect the servers/busboys to do so as well. Being a server is not an easy job, and you shouldn’t get a tip just because you showed up for work.