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submitted 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) by unitedwithme@lemmy.today to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

HOW do you guys tip in the US? Do you go by food total or bill total? I know it's frowned upon in other countries, I'm not here to question or debate that.

~~No matter how you split it, pre or post tax, the "gratuity" is much higher than it should be! The 18%is higher even than what actual 20% should be!~~

~~Pretax should be $14.26, tax included (ripoff) should be $15.44. So why is the "20%" up to $18.25?! That's a 25.5% tip.~~

For me, I tip "15%" but round numbers. The bill is $72, so I take 10% (7.20 but round up to 8 then add 4) which ends up $12.

If they were exceptional, I just go off 20% which is $16 by my method, and round the total to the nearest dollar... ~~but even that isn't their pretend 18%!! And technically my method is over 20% after rounding up. They're all just taking advantage of niceness and guilt for patrons having to tip everyone.~~

Edit: I fucked up being hung up on numbers, not realizing to the left was the explanation. 😅 OK, so just: how do y'all tip?

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[-] avguser@lemmy.world 43 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Suggested gratuity is calculated after taxes and before discounts.

If you add back in the comped appetizer, the math maths. Not saying I agree with the practice, but it's not fraud. They're suggesting you tip based off what you received not what you're paying per se.

[-] valar@lemmy.ca 20 points 1 month ago

I agree with calculating tips before discounts, but calculating tips after taxes is bull. I'm not tipping the government.

[-] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 month ago

Tipping culture is the reason I just avoid restaurants.

Fix your industry.

[-] i_stole_ur_taco@lemmy.ca 13 points 1 month ago

That’s the right answer.

It seems weird in this context, but the normal case is if you’re paying with a gift card. If I had a $110 dinner and had a $100 gift card that was subtracted off the total, the expected tip would be off the $110, not just the $10 paid out of pocket.

[-] roofuskit@lemmy.world 6 points 1 month ago

Calculating gratutiy before discounts and taxes is the cultural norm.

[-] schildfrosch@feddit.org 28 points 1 month ago

that qr code isn't properly censored. qrs have redundancy and you need at most like 60% visible for most of them. pulled the number aut of my ass but it's definitely a thing.

[-] Zarobi@aussie.zone 8 points 1 month ago

The centre is like the only part of the code you don't actually need lol. It's a vestigial part

[-] NorthWestWind@lemmy.zip 17 points 1 month ago
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[-] vala@lemmy.dbzer0.com 17 points 1 month ago

When I was a kid it was 10%. 15% was a really good tip.

Then it was 15% standard. Then 20% standard. Then it started being 20% of the taxed total (~22% really).

Now I commonly see 20% of taxed as the minimum and 25% of taxed as the suggested.

I strongly prefer self service restaurants. I'm not interested in being served.

[-] cageythree@lemmy.ml 7 points 1 month ago

I strongly prefer self service restaurants. I'm not interested in being served.

Meanwhile I have been asked to tip (with 15/20/25% buttons) on a burger king self order terminal in Germany lol

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[-] DankDingleberry@lemmy.world 14 points 1 month ago

wow. suggested tip in the US syart with 18%. i could NOT afford to eat out in the us

[-] toynbee@piefed.social 4 points 1 month ago

You think we can?

You could, you would just have to tolerate the side-eyeing. 🤷‍♂️

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[-] victorz@lemmy.world 12 points 1 month ago

Nothing at all. Not in our culture. Our waiters make a decent living, I suppose.

[-] Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world 10 points 1 month ago

So, the reason the math is off, is because they calculated the percentages before discounts.

See that free appetizer on there? It was part of your total when they did the math. Which seems less shady when you remember the tip goes to your server, who did the same amount of work, no matter how much of a discount you received.

[-] unitedwithme@lemmy.today 6 points 1 month ago

OK that makes a bit more sense. How did I miss that on the left of the suggested amounts? 😅

[-] lemmylump@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago

This assumes the restaurant let's servers keep their tips.

You be surprised how many restaurants fuck over servers and take their tips.

[-] Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

I probably would be. But I don't understand the reasoning behind "There's a slight chance that someone might steal this money, so I probably shouldn't even try to give it to them."

Should we stop paying out pensions because retirees are often targeted by phone scammers?

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[-] MagicShel@lemmy.zip 10 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

I disagree with tipping on tax, but agree with tipping on discounts. I baseline 20% and adjust up or down based on quality of service, while paying attention to how overworked the staff is.

I once sat at a hibachi table with strangers who were super demanding and then complained about the service and refused to tip so I added their tip to my bill (without saying anything because I didn't want to start an argument with them).

Waitstaff get fucked coming and going. If they do their share of the work, it's not their fault if the kitchen fucked up. I generally just add the cost of the comped item to the tip rather than 20%.

[-] Candice_the_elephant@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

I agree with paying service staff a livable wage and not having a whole class of people dependent on the generosity of random strangers. You're basically making beggars of workers, it's pretty fucked up.

[-] MagicShel@lemmy.zip 3 points 1 month ago

The system is what it is. I'm not going to fix it by not paying tips. The fix for this is political.

[-] Candice_the_elephant@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

Agreed. But it bears repeating every time tipping is mentioned.

[-] Kolanaki@pawb.social 10 points 1 month ago

I had to do a double take because I thought you got charged $14 for fucking water.

[-] elephantium@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

I'm sure it was served in a really sexy glass.

[-] blackbrook@mander.xyz 9 points 1 month ago

That tipping should be on the before tax total has long been standard practice. If that practice is breaking down it's because people are ignorant and POS systems are manipulative.

I would always tip on the total before any discount. If given a freebie, like say the bartender gave me a free drink, I tip as if the freebie were on the bill.

[-] yermaw@sh.itjust.works 8 points 1 month ago

Cant help with reality here. Not in USA.

In UK I just round it up to the nearest note with the phrase "keep the change pal". I look like a fairly generous guy if the change is 4.90. I look like a condescending prick if the change is 0.10.

At that point though im out the door so I dont have to deal with gratitude or the ol' stinkeye

[-] Aphos@lemmy.zip 8 points 1 month ago
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[-] northendtrooper@lemmy.ca 7 points 1 month ago

I only tip when I'm at a sit down restaurant. And I tip the same, 15 unless they were expectional.

[-] DempstersBox@lemmy.world 7 points 1 month ago

I don't.

Tipping is bullshit and employers need to pay their employees. Literally based in slavery.

Furthermore, taxes should be included on the fucking price tag.

[-] LemmyFeed@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 1 month ago

I never use percentage based tips, costs for everything are so inflated. I just pick a dollar amount out of my ass that I feel matches my service experience that also agrees with my wallet (when I'm flush I'll tip more). It's all a scam and I hate to participate but I feel bad for low paid workers.

[-] GreenKnight23@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago

I tip depending on what I can afford and level of service.

one time a pizza guy delivered my pizza, seemed really chill and was way early (delivered like 10 minutes after I ordered it). I only had $100 bills so I tipped him $100 on a $25 pizza.

another time my food was four hours late. I was already in bed at that time. they got zero tip. left my pizza on my front door where raccoons tore it apart and I had to hose pizza sauce off my steps and door the next morning.

[-] clifmo@programming.dev 4 points 1 month ago

Round the subtotal. Divide by 10. Multiply by 2. Smile, say thank you, and get on with it.

[-] Cocodapuf@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

20% of the bill (before tax).

In some states the tax may even be 10%, in these states it can be easy to calculate the tip by simply doubling the tax amount.

And then if I'm leaving a cash tip, I may round that resulting number up, so if it happens to be something like say 59.46, just make it $60.

[-] agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 month ago

"Suggested gratuity is calculated after tax and before discounts", right there on the check.

There's a $13.99 discount on the bill for the free chicken wings. Add that in, and the value of the food you got was a bit over $91, the calculated percentages are correct for that number.

[-] Someonelol@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 1 month ago

WTF? I was taught tipping was calculated before tax. This is just giving even more money out on top of the ridiculous 18% minimum suggested amount.

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[-] Malyca@lemmy.zip 2 points 1 month ago

I just do 20 for easy math

[-] Treczoks@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

Tip depending on the service provided. That is the most important aspect. As I don't know how your service was, I can't provide an answer.

[-] Krusty@quokk.au 2 points 1 month ago

Oh. I'll tip if they give me free stuff. That's about it.

[-] 9488fcea02a9@sh.itjust.works 4 points 1 month ago

First time i visited italy, i ended up tipping at a lot of places (even though tipping is not a thing there), because they kept giving me free drinks... at the end of my meal, i'd ask about an amaro, and they'd bring me like 3 bottles and tell me about how their grandpa used to drink this amaro every night and lived until 100 or whatever... so i'd try 3 different amaro for free.... and order one i like.... of course i'll tip 5€ or whatever....

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this post was submitted on 08 Aug 2026
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