SusieQ78

I've asked this in someone else's thread but thought I would repost here for answers please!

I will be travelling to the US in september for the first time from Australia, where we don't really tip at all... could anyone provide some guidelines on approximate amounts to tip? When we were in Vietnam earlier this year we really went overboard with the tipping...

Waiter in a restaurant?
Maid cleaning the room in your hotel? (and where do you leave this?)
Someone who takes your bags to your room?
A tour guide on a group day trip?
A tour guide on a personalised day trip?
Fast food restaurants?

J62

Here's my 2c (or was that supposed to be 15%)

Waiter in a restaurant?
The answer to this is the most standardized of all your questions. 15% is considered low end of the norm, 20% high end. If you pick a number somewhere from 15-20% you won't really be under or over tipping. For smaller tabs I generally increase my %, since 15% of a $10 tab doesn't go very far. For larger tabs, especially where alcohol drives up the price I'll err towards the lower end, often just flat 15%. Never less, unless service has been deficient.

The rest can vary greatly depending on personal practice.

Maid cleaning the room in your hotel? (and where do you leave this?) - as to where to leave it, these days it's common to find an envelope or tag with 'this room made up by INSERT NAME' conveniently in your room. Sometimes I'll leave a couple of $ at the end of my stay, sometimes I don't. Others can chime in with their experience and expectations of what I must or must not do.

Someone who takes your bags to your room? Usually only at higher end hotels, and I only use the service when traveling with family and numerous bags. $1/bag big bag is ok, no need to add $1 for each little bag they throw on the cart.

A tour guide on a group day trip?
$5-10 per person

A tour guide on a personalised day trip?
$10-$20/person

Fast food restaurants?
Usually $0, but sometimes I just throw the loose change into a tip bucket.

november_moon

Tip jars are showing up everywhere these days. My rule of thumb is that if I am just using counter service - ordering and picking up myself - then no one gets a tip.

twelveoaks

This can be a very controversial topic especially when the reply comes from some one who is dependent on tips. First start with the fact that TIP is short for " to insure promptness" and go from there.I generally tip a waiter or waitress ten to twenty percent. Ten percent for just doing their job and no more. Fifteen percent for going a little further as with good recommendations, very prompt service and not serving me food that is obviously not the way I ordered it and twenty percent for outstanding service. No tipping at fast food restaurants however.
General rule is one dollar per bag for a bellman and for maid service possibly two dollars per day left on the dresser at the end of the stay and only if I don't have to call down for clean towels, more Kleenex, etc.I cannot help you witha tour guide in the U.S. as I have never used one.Anyway, don't allow your self to be intimidated. Remember, tips are earned, not deserved. OBoy that comment will generate some controversey!!

TwoFatFeet

re: tip jar, I usually only throw the remaining change in, or will tip a buck or two if my order was a real pain in the ass for the workers.

dmlove

Of all the things you've read here so far, I think the most "different" will be twelveoaks "10-20%" for a waiter or waitress in a table-service restaurant. I personally tend to tip 15-20%, but I don't know anyone who tips less than 15% unless the service is deficient (in other words, I think 15% is the "norm" for "just doing their job and no more").

Tip jars - I usually ignore them if they're at the counter where I do all the work!

Maid service in a hotel - same as J62.

Bags - hardly ever use a bellman anymore (because I never have more than one bag, and that bag has wheels), but if I do, generally $4 or $5 regardless of the number of bags.

bachslunch

US Tipping--

Waiter/waitress in a restaurant: 15% minimum, 20% is not unusual, more is appreciated, based on the total check amount (no, not the total minus tax). Less than 15% is cheapskate-ville unless the waiter was really mean or really, really bad. On rare occasions (usually for parties of 6 or more) it may be already added to the bill -- check first. Normally, the tip is NOT included on the check in US restaurants.

Maid: $1.00 per day, especially if you leave any notes with special requests. I usually leave it on the bureau with a "thank you" scribbled on a small piece of paper if there's no envelope left for this purpose.

Tour guides in a group tour where you're with other people you don't know: anywhere from $1.00 to $5.00 depending on how they did.

Fast food joints: nothing. Often you'll see tip jars at the register at such places -- if you want to toss in the coins from your change, it's up to you. Not required, though.

nytraveler

Restaurants tip minimum 15% of cost without the tax - we usually leave 20% - more if servicce is special.

The same for taxis.

Leave the maid a couple of dolars a a day - we put in a envelope labled housekeeper if the hotel doesn't supply one.

Bellman a minimum of $2 and up for more than 1 bag.

Doorman $1 if he actually puts you in the cab - or has to go out in the street to search for one.

Don't do tours hear - but I would do a couple of dollars fr the massive group bus tours - a private guide I wold give 10-15%.

Fast food places nothing - yuo only tip for delivery of food to your seat.

Note this is for NYC. In some areas or smaller towns they may tip a little less.

travelinandgolfin

You tip off the restaurant bill MINUS the tax?

I never heard of that one.

kerikeri

waiter - expects 15% of bill before tax. if the waiter is friendly, excellent, otherwise just makes me enjoy my meal, he gets 20% or more. it's rare it's less than 18%.

bellman- $2 per bag.
valet parker $1-$2-$5 for getting you your car, depending on the speed and the type of place it is.

maid- i kinda of still don't get this as maids are paid minimum wage, and it is their job, but $2 per pillow per night. at a resort i ask the front desk how they want it. if it is a simple check in check out hotel, these days you're supposed to leave it each night of your stay. i find that inconvenient and think the maid staff gets less overall (i'll usually leave $20-$25 for a stay of 4 or more nights with turn down service, but if i had to do it day by day they'd get less!)
you leave the bills by the phone/ on the table they will see first thing. also, don;t leave stray coins in an ashtray or dish, this could be misinterpreted.

tour guide - i don't take guided group tours, but if the personalized tour cost $50-$100 and you had a nice time, i'd tip at least 20%.

no tipping at fast food restaurants!

starbucks, etc. there are tip jars it's at your discretion. if your bill is 3.78, they get the change in my book. not obligatory.

in the long run i feel better giving someone a little more than i do counting pennies.

i thought tips stood for "to insure proper service," btw.

and all these trips to oz and new zealand and i had no idea no one expected a tip...no wonder i find people so nice there! i'm paying them!

kerikeri

Orlando_Vic

http://www.tipping.org/tips/us.html

J62

Great website vic.

I like this one

Supermarket
bagger $1 or more per bag

and this one

Pilots: 50-$100 or more per pilot.


ROFLMAO

That last one was heavily edited by me.... some of you will get it.

sarge56

SusieQ- all of the above is right and reasonable. Tip in restaurants 15% minimum (using the total bill less the tax- tax usually being somewhere in the 5-8% range). It should also be noted that if you are "comped" something (your dinner is cold when it comes out and the manager cuts the cost of your meal in half to compensate you for that), you are expected to tip on the full amount you would have paid for the meal.

The important thing to remember is that the US laws regarding wait staff are unique. The FEDERAL minimum wage in our country is $6.55/hour right now. But "tipped" employees are only guaranteed $2.13/hour. This is because the government "assumes" that their tips will make up the difference. Now, some State laws override this and have a State minimum that is higher. You can look those up if you wish, but the general rules above apply.

So, keep that in mind- that wait staff depend on those tips to earn a decent salary. This by no means indicates that you should tip someone who has provided really poor service. (In that case, I would leave 10% and ask to speak to a manager.) But 15% is standard for good service, 20% for excellent service.

And last poster was right about watching to see if they have added the tip to the bill- this will only happen if you are 6 or possibly 8 people- and it will be posted on the menu that the tip will be included in your bill.

Can't wait to read your trip report! Always interested in reading how folk from other country feel about our country. Welcome!

mlgb

I tip on the pretax total by doubling the tax in my high-tax state, and adding a dollar or so if the service is good. A lot of people do this.

However I think the safest way to avoid dirty looks from servers is to tip 15 percent minimum on the total amount. There are some places where it is expected that tips are calculated at 15% of the total bill.

In most cases it's only going to be a few dollars difference anyways.

Guenmai

As for tipping in restaurants, depending on what the tax is in the area where you're eating, you can usually just double the tax amount to figure out the tip amount. That's what we do here in L.A. Our tax is 8.25%, so when the bill comes, we just look at the tax amount and then double it since tips should be 15-20%.
Traditionally, tips were to be added to the UNTAXED amount,but these days it's expected to be added to the total/taxed amount which can really add up.
I threw myself a huge birthday luncheon and paid for all 38 guests and the bill came to $750. Well, the tip was added to the taxed amount which made a huge difference in price than if it had been added to the untaxed amount. Happy Travels!

djkbooks

I used to leave a tip for housekeeping at the end of the stay, but others on this forum have convinced me to leave one daily. I just leave it on the desk, or any other obvious place.

With tour guides, it varies depending on the size of the group and length of the tour. If they mention "showing your appreciation" or "gratuities are appreciated" more than once, I may not bother at all. Typically, those are the ones that weren't that good anyway. But, for those who are outstanding or exceptional, I'm very generous.

mrwunrfl

I usually put a maid tip on top of a pillow. No way that can be mistaken or missed.

mrwunrfl

I usually put a maid tip on top of a pillow on the bed. No way that can be mistaken or missed.

AAFrequentFlyer

Hotel maid - daily, as they do change throughout the stay. I try to leave between $2-3 per day with a Thank You note. I usually leave it on the desk.

At a busy nightclub - if there are 3-4 of you and order simple cocktails or just beers then $1-2 per order is sufficient. OTOH, if all of you order some different fu-fu drinks, then tip $1 per drink.

DinPa

We live in the Philadelphia suburbs and the norm here for tipping a waiter/waitress is 20%. I do not know anyone who leaves lower than that. 15% was 10 years ago, but not today, that would be considered an insult to the wait staff. And, at our favorite watering holes which we go to quite frequently, we will even leave more than 20%.
dave