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20% is easy to calculate so I use that as my standard as well, whether it's fine dining, hole in the wall, take out, or buffet. If the service is poor, it drops down in steps to 0%, which I've done. If the service is superb, it scales up - highest I've gone was 50%.

And are we figuring the % on the pre- or post-tax total? Are we including wine?

Just asking. It's a constant source of fascination to me.

I'd do 18-20% usually. I wouldn't go as far as giving nothing though. The only time I've ever done that was back in high school when one of my classmates, who was also an asshole, was my waitress. She did a terrible job because of personal issues so I didn't tip her and made a huge complaint to her boss. Ha!!

Generally, 20% post tax including wine.

Recently we went to a little pizza joint primarily because it had a patio and our dog was with us. The server was pretty much summer help, but he brought water for our dog. That little courtesy bumped him up into the 30% category.

Back when I was bartending, it was not unusual for regulars to leave disproportionally large tips.

20% is standard, I go as high as 50% for breakfast waiters/waitresses, somehow 20% on a $4 diner complete breakfast seems too little...

@brooke29: the original quote is from Charles Darrow, a lawyer, in response to a women who asked "How can i ever thank you?" He replied: "My dear woman, ever since the Phoenicians invented money, there has only been one answer to that question."

@BirdDoggie - I think I like my father's version better:-)

i tip based on my service not on the food, been a waitress and i know how rotten you end up feeling when you do a great job and get left nothing or next to nothing because of what happened in the kitchen. i also seldom base my tip on percentages, just a quirk of mine.

I usually tip 18-20%, sometimes higher is if the service was really good, lower if not so good. If the service is just flat out terrible (and I mean really really bad) I'll just throw a few pennies on the table as tip. I figure that way they know for sure that I didn't care for the service.

We automatically leave 20% of the pre-tax amount. If we have to think about it, then it means the service was either exceptionally poor or really outstanding....in which case we will leave less or more based on the service.

As others have commented, there is a minimum....For an individual check under $10 it seems appropriate to leave at least 2-3 bucks depending upon the service.

There is one other aspect of tipping that many people forget about:

Remember to tip your bartender! We always leave a minimum of a dollar a drink for general bar service, which in the dives we go to is more than 20%... When ordering martinis, bloody mary's or something requiring time & equipment, we'll tip 25% or more.

And just because the booze is gratis (weddings, art exhibitions, fundraisers, etc...) that doesn't excuse you from tipping either the bartender or the wait staff. The only exception is if they have it signed "no tipping" or they refuse twice.

Somewhere between 15-20% of the post-tax total, depending on the service. Usually closer to 20%. I just go with whatever the neatest number is: for example, if the bill is 42.17, if I'm putting the tip on the credit card it'll be $7.83, if it's on the table in cash it'll be $8. If I'm just getting drinks it's $1-2 per drink. I am always friendly and polite with waitstaff, say "please" and "thank you" and look them directly in the eye when ordering.

I'm 24 and have student loans so my fine dining experience is somewhat limited. Usually "going out" means a final bill around $10 for me, including drink. The minimum I tip is $2 if it's less than $10, $3 if it's a little more. My (also mid-early 20's) friends are some of the cheapest people I have ever met, though. I remember going with a group of friends a few years ago to one of those places where you pick the raw ingredients and they cook it on a huge communal grill. The total was about $16-17/person, so most of us just threw in a $20 and then stuffed a few singles into the tip jar by the grill, but one of my friends (the one who ate the most, of course) left a ONE DOLLAR!! tip for the 2 waitresses to split, and nothing for the cooks. This despite the waitresses bringing drinks, refills, bread, etc. It made me so angry.

Wow! I wish all you Serious Eaters had been my guests back when I was waiting tables. Like many, I think I tip better having worked in the industry--always giving at least 20%. Sometimes I tip better for bad service, too. We've all had bad days that throw us for a loop and you can usually tell. A good tip, while risking rewarding bad behavior, can turn soemone's day around entirely.

I always tip post-tax and after wine or cocktails, because I know that my server will have to tip out a substantial percent to a bartender or sommelier regardless of whether or not I've tipped on those items. I also try to leave cash rather than putting the tip on a credit card; it means better money for the server.

@ huney - thanks for the perspective on not using the food to determine your tip.

what % is appropriate for take out?

Another thing - we always tip on the total amount. I didn't even think of pointing that out before, because it never occurs to us to engage in "pre-tax" and/or "pre-wine" calculations.

If we go to a buffet-style place (Chinese), we never leave less than $5, even if we were just served 2 glasses of water and it ends up being 25-30% of the total bill. I guess we don't really calculate percentages, so much as decide on the amount we want to leave (then I may check in order to make sure it's not too low, but it never turns out less than 20-25%, often more).

Takeaway - there are only two places we usually buy from (Chinese - seldom, and sushi), and we usually leave at least $5 when we pick our order.

20% of the total bill, unless it was really bad service, in which case I might knock it down to 15. The one and only time I didn't leave a tip was at a dive bar in Boston when I was in college -- my friend and I both ordered the cheeseburger special, and mine came 30 minutes later than his, with no explanation or apology. The waitress was also rude and ignored us all night. The total bill was about $8, and I couldn't bring myself to leave her a cent. She ended up chasing us down the street and screaming at us about how you don't just go into a person's house and eat their food for free. Very weird, especially considering we did pay for the food, just not a tip.

I wonder--a lot of you express empathy for servers because of your poor college years and tip over 20%, but as a poor college student myself, I have to say that my tipping average is 15% to begin with. Quite honestly, at this stage of my life and going ONLY to restaurants where I can get a $6-$9 entree with no appetizer, no dessert, no drinks--well, I hope the servers do understand because I might actually need that dollar more than they do! :)

Hopefully, in the future, I'll be able to increase that amount. I definitely plan to eat well, and a LOT, when I'm well-off...haha

As for buffet places, Lilla, I generally tip 20% since they are often more attentive than a regular restaurant waitperson. At least where I've gone, our drink glasses are never under half full. Our plates, bowls, etc. are immediately taken away. We usually go up several times separately and the plates are cleaned up as soon as he or I get out of our seats. I doubt think 1/4th of your average waitstaff are quite that attentive watching 10-15 tables. They even take my special orders and deliver them to me.

At a non-buffet restaurant I've had on several occasions had to wait 10 minutes for any water to come my way and then wait another 10 more minutes before they take a drink/food order. I sometimes never see them again for any sort of refill of drinks and have to flag the busboy to wrangle the waiter so we can get our check, sometimes waiting 20 minutes after our table is cleared to get a check. And then wait 10 minutes to return my credit card. For this kind of service, I have tipped a big old ZERO. I don't care if people think it's cruel, I had a craptastic time...and tell everyone I know how horrible the place is.

The manager is informed as well because my husband is usually livid that a 1 hour dinner has turned into a 3 hour ordeal. If the manager fights it, which we've had, the entire restaurant hears it. When we dined with my grandmother, who was diabetic, it was a health issue to sit around for 1 hour waiting for our meal after appetizers were cleared...esp. at restaurants with 4-5 other filled tables. Jeez, we should be paid to suffer this sort of aggravation.

@Pammeh - I understand the theory behind your perspective, but eating out is a luxury. If you're really in the position where leaving an extra dollar for the server to make the tip appropriate would stress you out, it sounds like you should be saving those dollars and eating in. Obviously sometimes that's not possible, but for the most part, crying poor isn't a good excuse for undertipping. You don't have to tip when you serve yourself rice and beans at home...

Though I have been told in the past that nondrinkers ought to tip more at restaurants where most people drink wine, and I don't do this, though I do tip at least 20% with pretty much no exception. One time I did tip less (and later complain to the restaurant management) involved a server visibly huffing when my dinner companion and I ordered mineral water and refused the wine list - after that he was practically nonexistent, service-wise. Some people don't drink not to be cheap, but simply because they don't drink!

What about tipping in NYC? I recall an episode of "Friends" where Monica said the tip amout should be double the tax. Is this in line with everyone's NYC experience? Also, has anyone served in NYC? How did you feel abou the tips you received?

I have to agree with the rule being if you cant afford the tip dont go. there have been times during the lean years we could have swung the meal but would have had to leave a short tip. we didnt go, and ended up feeling much better about a cheap meal at home. Waiters and Waitresses Work damn hard for their money and deserve not only a decent tip but some respect!

I seem to have made some people very self-righteous on the subject of "only" tipping 15% as a struggling college student. Allow me to clarify:

-First, I always thought 15% WAS the standard, not 20. Surprisingly, that's not the consensus here, but it's the one I was brought up with and that people I know abide by.

-Second...to get a bit prickly own my own, I HAVE NO KITCHEN. Yes, there's the disgusting, ingredient and equipment-free, mold-growing-in-the-sponges, crusty goo all over the counter, communal kitchen in my dorm, but, really? I can't cook often, so it's not as if I have my own well-stocked kitchen to retreat to for a good meal. In fact, also with the paucity of grocery stores around in college (convenience stores: 2, expensive Whole Foods: 1), buying ingredients AND equipment to cook can often be MORE expensive. I eat out very sparingly (I'm talking about maybe 3 times a semester here) and I don't tip generously, but I tip the amount I've been brought up thinking is the standard. Yes, it would be cheaper to eat "rice and beans at home", but I'm not at home and I don't have a rice cooker or a (clean) pot.

There. Rant off my chest.

I have to agree that 15% is the "standard" that I've been taught. I use 20% because it's easy to calculate, and then work from there (lower or higher).

I think it's ridiculous that our society has been taken hostage by tipping, where one is made to feel like a lump of sh!t for not "paying a compliment" with the "right" $$ amount. It's a TIP not a SERVICE FEE. The waitstaff should earn a regular wage, instead of earning below federal minimum wages. I doubt restaurants lowered prices when this took affect too.