Not sure who to tip or when...here is just a little guide. :)
The people who help us on a daily basis are in a profession called the service industry. The service industry comes in many forms from those that serve us in a restaurant to our housekeepers. These hard-working people need money just like the rest of us in order to survive. They usually are not paid much, unless they own their own business and are performing the service themselves. This is where we as consumers come in to "tip" these dutiful helpers.
In a restaurant, the server will take our order, keep our drinks filled, bring us our meals, dessert and after dinner drinks. This person will also clear away our dirty dishes and bring us our bill. In this setting, it is customary in America to "tip" our servers. This is important as the servers are being paid very little wages, as their employers know that they are getting "tipped" from us, the customers.
The server in a restaurant or bar/lounge is normally tipped 20% of the total bill. In the United States, servers are required to claim a part of all their sales to the Internal Revenue Service for tax purposes. For this reason, it is important for us to tip our server at least 10% of the total bill no matter what kind of service was provided to us during the meal. The best service should generate a 20% tip with anything in between reflecting good to poor service. Keep in mind that servers have to share their tips with their busboys and their bartenders, so it is never a good idea to not leave a tip. Just because the service is not good the bartender and busmen have probably done their job.
Servers in restaurant are not the only helpful people that we should be please continue reading at:
Very useful article. Something many of us should print out and carry with us. Point--I did NOT know you tipped waitresses 20%. I'd always thought it was 15%. When did that change? Or is it different for different parts of the country?
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