We typically double the tax and round up. However, there are many times that we DO tip 30%. If we have a waiter who really guides us through the menu, doesn't let us over-order, doesn't act like he is doing me a huge favor by asking the chef to switch out an element of the dish, etc.

Also, I tip the cab drivers more in the summer IF they have great air conditioning and use it. I know what a drain that is on gas. If they tell me the A/C is broken, they get 10%.

"Luggage - depends on size ad # of bags - and type of hotel. Minimum $2 for 1 bag and up. And if you'r staying ina $500 room - $2 is NOT enough."

I agree $2 is not enough, $5 should be the minimum, same with housekeeping if the hotel room is $500 (even $300 or $400) per night.

Margo, I would hope that a server does not ask more than once if everything is ok. Once should be sufficient. In every restaurant I've worked in, it has been a rule by the managers/owners that servers return to the table within two minutes after food is served to ask if everything is ok. And no, we don't have reason to suspect a problem, but some people are just so picky that nothing you serve them will be right and they want you to send it back to the kitchen for one reason or another. Also, the kitchen does make mistakes and as Gerda said, sometimes things need to be put back on the grill for a few minutes to be cooked a little more. And we should be in the dining room and available for our customers, I agree. However, some people just won't say anything if they aren't asked. And some people don't know how to politely get our attention (i.e., they snap their fingers or whistle). I just had someone the other day stick his arm out in the aisle as I was walking by and hit me on the thigh to get my attention...that was nice.
Travelbug, you're right, if the service is EXCESSIVELY bad, i.e. the server is just plain rude or never returns to the table after taking your order, don't tip if you don't want to. Just keep in mind that at times we are waiting on 30 different people with 30 different needs at one time, so if you can see that it's busy and it takes one extra minute for your drink refill, try not to take it out on your server. A good server shouldn't make you wait more than once during your visit, but even the best servers get overwhelmed at times. Also, I won't say exactly what I make in a year, let's just say it's not as much as you may think.
As for the 30% comments, people do leave that much and more on occasion. And just like some servers will give bad service to bad tippers, they will give better service to better tippers.
Thank you Margo, BTW, for acknowledging that our jobs are not easy. A lot of people seem to think the opposite. A lot of people also seem to think that they are better than us because we are 'just servers'. I'd like to add that I myself have a degree from a great college and choose to be a server because the people who work in the restaurant biz are just more fun to be around and because making people happy by serving them good food is a great thing!

SuCo., I am a very patient customer and I will wait but there have been times that the wait person was so bad and/or rude that they did not deserve a tip. I do also know that the job is not easy. I do know for sure tho that the money is not as bad as some might want you to think. If you graduated from a great college and you stay on the job it must be worth your while in addition to the fun.

30% is ridiculous. Places that provide all of those extra services also provide separate lines for all of those tips. Doubling the tax is a great and easy way to calculate a tip. Round up or down depending on service and your comfort zone. I tip better in places where I'm a regular - not just to curry favor but because when people get to know you the service tends to be better and/or more personal.

Good grief people, reading comprehension is sorely lacking.

Multiple times I said that tipping 30% (or more) is for the "rare" occasion when you receive extra attention from a sommelier or captain.

For example, last month at Le Cirque, the sommelier spent an inordinate amount of time with my fiancee, who is an amateur oenophile with a very discerning palate. He allowed her to try 4 glasses of different reds at no charge -- he took a real interest in her, and the captain was also at our table suggesting off-the-menu desserts.

Do you think I left a 20% tip that night? Of course not. It was closer to 40%, if I recall correctly.

My point is, and I should have made this clear in the beginning, is not to get boxed in to some pointless narrow range. 15% at every meal is as ridiculous as 30% at every meal. Service varies, which is why in my original post, way up the list, I said:

at a restaurant?

15-30% of the bill, depending on quality of service & other variables such as sommelier involvement, etc.

If anyone still can't comprehend this range, I give up. Tip 15% at Olive Garden .. I don't care.

Gekko what a snob

Why is 30% ridiculous? It is my money, not yours. Maybe you spend money on things that I wouldn't dream of spending a nickel on. Very judgemental people you are.

As Gekko said, it is not the norm, but it has been done. If you are not into fine dining, the odds are probably less that you would encounter a situation that you would pay 30%, but I assure you, there are situations where it is absolutely appropriate.

Well, more in NYC than here in Mexico: waiters - 20% food/10% wine; taxis 10%+ depending on help with bags; US$1.+ pp/pd for the hotel housekeeper.
M

You can certainly spend your money any way you want. Advising a tourist to give 30% to someone they will never see again is what is ridiculous. Other people will eventually read this and they shouldn't think they can't travel here because that sort of thing is the norm.

And I really don't think letting tourists know that they don't have to open their wallets and shake out whatever is left just because they're eating in Manhattan means we've all been sentenced to live out our lives at The Olive Garden!

Something I just don't get and maybe never will is:::::You should give more to bellhops/housekeeping, etc is you are at a more expensive hotel. If I am spending $500.00 per night why should I give the staff a larger tip. Aren't they all doing the same job? (well, I hope) same for wait staff? Why should they get a higher percentage tip?

This really does not make sense to me.

bugswife....Yes it is your money to spend, but advice was being given to Oldtrout about the norms. He does not know what percentage to tip. To tell him 30% is the norm for very good service is not fair. If you want to leave a 50% tip that is your business but should not be given as a general rule. (Best service or not)

I think all comments are positive: most think Estadounidenses tip way too much.
M

travelbug, I agreed with you before. Some people just aren't cut out to be servers. If you want to stiff them, that's your choice. I've personally never done it, but I suppose that's because I'm in the business and realize that these types (the rude or incompetent ones) won't last long. I can't and won't judge you for your choices tho.
As for the money aspect...I'd rather have a job that I loved (most of the time ) where I made OK money, than a job that I hated and dreaded going to every day even if it made me rich. That's just me tho.

And Gekko, I understand what you've been saying and you just keep doing what you've been doing...the service industry appreciates people like you!

"Estadounidenses"

You can call me Americano, you can call me gringo, but I don't answer to Estadounidenses.

travelbug, you are nitpicking. Neither Gekko nor myself EVER wrote that 30% for very good service was the norm. There are many more variables--sommalier, corkage fees, size of the party, etc. I believe Gekko gave a range.

I do not think I am nitpicking, I think I am being resonable. To each his own opinion. That is what these boards are about. No wonder Oldtrout started a new post

"Something I just don't get and maybe never will is:::::You should give more to bellhops/housekeeping, etc is you are at a more expensive hotel. If I am spending $500.00 per night why should I give the staff a larger tip. Aren't they all doing the same job? (well, I hope) same for wait staff? Why should they get a higher percentage tip?"

Well doesn't a waitress at a diner where dinner for two is $20.00, do the same job as a waiter at a restaurant where dinner for two is $200.00. Yet the first gets a $4.00 tip, the second $40.00.

Perhaps it's just me, but it seems cheap to tip housekeeping a buck or two when the hotel room costs $500.00 per night.

I don't feel like I get the same service in a $20 diner that I do in a $200 restaurant. But if they can actually make me a Lime Rickey I tip extra!

"Well doesn't a waitress at a diner where dinner for two is $20.00, do the same job as a waiter at a restaurant where dinner for two is $200.00. Yet the first gets a $4.00 tip, the second $40.00."

In the latter instance, you would likely be spending more time in the restaurant. The first server would make money due to turn around times, rather than high sales.