paul

I agree. I tip 20-25% on the subtotal and I know some people who only tip 15% on the total.

party

As a party/retreat/group planner I am always booking restaurants with large groups. I have been doing this for almost 10 years and have never had an "added grat" to be figured off of the total, it was always figured off of the sub-total.

Melanie

Hi all,
I am a server and yes we are only taxed on the subtotal. It is hard to tell but I would say it is a 50/50 split on who tips on the sub and who tips in the total.
The only people I consider cheap are the ones who tip 15% on the subtotal.

x

To the happy waiter,
I drink very fine wine and have my own cellar to boot. I have studied with some of the top sommeliers and have even been a guest speaker at many food/wine affairs. I dine out 3-5 times a week and spend easily $400-$800 (much of it depending on the wine) a week doing so. And yes, I do tip on wine. Several of the places I frequent I do not need to make reservations as I am considered "a good patron" nor do I get seated by the bathrooms. I also cannot remember the last time I had a hamburger. I suggest you stop trying to judge people. You do a very poor job at it.

Carrie

I would like to know where the Happy Waiter works so I can avoid it at all costs if I am ever in that city. With an attitude like that it is amazing he even has a job.

heisanIDIOT

Happy Waiter? What time does your shift start at Fridays?
You are a "wanna be" and obviously have no clue what you are talking about. You should stop hitting the bottle before your shift.

x

I very much doubt he works at Tribeca Grill. FYI Carrie it is in New York.

LeaveEmHi&Dry

When we are out of town I just don't tip at all and go to a different restaruant each night - there are so many to chose from. If confronted by a happywaiter I accuse the busboy of stealing the tip, it works everytime.Why tip higher percent in NYC when u are already paying higher prices. Why tip at all, you never tipped the cafeteria ladies in school did u?

max

You know he doesn't work at Tribeca Grill. With an attitude like that, I doubt he would even be hired at a Burger King.

cpa

Money : I've audited a lot of companies in the last 15 years and I've never heard of a requirement on how much to tip, let alone to tip on the subtotal. On a $200 bill in NYC the difference would be $3.30 if you tip 20%. No corporation worries about $3.40. Not even cheapskates worry about $3.40 on a $200 bill. One would have to be neurotic.

jamon

i dont ever look at the bill. i look at the service i get.theres been times i didnt give a dime because i promise you the waitress didnt deserve it.but there have been times ive tipped almost the price of my meal.its not the total of the bill peoplle should worry about. its the sertvice. and remember like one poster said they picked this profession and just like any other profession you have to EARN your pay.

yyy

What happened to the posts by the happy waiter? Or am I off my rocker?

rob

Alot of sick cheap people are neurotic when it comes to tipping. I think they see tipping as a personal attack on their fiscal well-being. These types should stick to fast food, where they will surely obsess about supersizing.

LindaB

I tip well (my son's a waiter), 15% minimum for minimum service. Usually double the tax (here 8.25%) for a 16-1/2% tip, just 'cause its easy. More for attentive service. But I never tip on the tax -- just the meal.

Sympathy

To LindaB: My condolences on your son's career choice. And by the way, tipping "well" is considered to be at least 20%. I hope your son's customers are more generous than his mother.

former waiter

Used to wait tables full time. I have worked fine dining as a front-waiter and captain on Worth Avenue in Palm Beach, Downtown Atlanta, and uptown New Orleans, as well as turn-em and burn-em restaurants during the summer seasons on the Florida Panhandle. Tipping is by far one of the biggest rip-offs to happen to mankind.

Waiting tables is not rocket science. Take an order. Turn it in to the kitchen. Bring it out when it's ready. No further knowledge needed. (And if you're in a place where you have to worry about the type of wine you're drinking, if they don't have a sommelier, don't pay five times what you'd pay for it in a grocery store just because you saw it in the wine spectator and they gave it a 90)

What kills me the most is the percentage method that people in the United States use to tip. If I brought you out the $20 chicken special or the $40 filet mignon, I still performed the same task. I took an entree order and served it. Now, you think it's fair that you tip me $4 for bringing out a plate with chicken on it versus $8 for brining out a plate with a steak on it? No matter how you look at it, all I did was bring you out a plate of food.

There should be a standard tip for the same type of service you receive, regardless of cost. If the owner wants to give the waiter a percentage of profits for upselling, then so be it.

And for wines. You think you should tip me 20% of your bill on both a $20 bottle of wine and an $80 bottle of wine. Trust me, the only thing I did was open them up and pour them. Unless there was some true decanting going on, the service was the same. Why should you tip me more for pouring you the $80 bottle of wine?

And one note for those calling the others "cheapskates" and "Marty Seinfeld." Those who have money have it for a reason. They budget. There's a really old thing some of you should learn. It's a saying. It goes like this: "A fool and his money are soon parted." (That's especially true in the world of "fine" dining.)

TheHappyWaiter

Dear Former Waiter,

You are as much a former waiter as I am an OBGYN doctor. Quit the fraud. Your method to madness would be for the restaurant owner to charge for service performed, rather than a customer tipping anything at all. I doubt that is going to ever happen here in the US.

I like to have fun... and big tips bring me great pleasure.

Cheers!
*tHe hApPy wAiTeR*

morty

We always tip 20% of the total before the tax. Everyone I know deducts the tax. So according to Ted and Gigi, I guess that makes me cheap. Oh, I'm in my early forties. Does that make me old too? At least I'm not stupid.

wendy

I tip generously (I too was a server for several years) but I do not tip on the tax.

Tightwads?

On a $60. meal, 12% tax is 7.20, for a total bill of $67.20.

15% of $60. is $9.00; 15% of $10.08. Difference is therefore $1.08.

20% of $60. is $12.00; 20% of $67.20 is $13.44. Difference is therefore $1.44.

So you aren't talking about huge difference re:tip before or after tax.

Difference between 15% of $60. and 20% of $60. is $3.00. That's still not a huge difference, considering you've just paid the equivalent of almost a day and a half of work at minimum wage for one meal.

Loosen that iron grip on your wallet and let loose of those singles in it, for crying out loud. You've lost that much in change under the couch cushions.