People You Should Be Tipping And How Much You Should Tip

Tipping should be compulsory, and when a customer is served they should gladly fork over a tip to show their appreciation, but some people are so miserly with their tips it's just plain sad.

Maybe they're unaware that the federal tipped minimum wage is a meager $2.13 an hour, or that most baristas and fast food workers are working for minimum wage, so that dollar tip helps out a lot.

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In order to make sure those overworked folks in the various service industries get the tip they deserve here's a short guide to tipping:

  1. Wait staff should be tipped 15-20% or more, because they make less than minimum wage in some states
  2. Bartenders usually get a buck a drink
  3. Picking up fast food or a drink from a barista? Tip them a buck at least, and be generous if you have a large order
  4. Delivery drivers are supposed to get $5 per order, or 15-20% on a larger order
  5. Valets or parking attendants should get at least $2 when they bring you your car
  6. Bathroom attendants get a tip if they hand you anything, but if they're just running security in the can you don't have to tip
  7. Salon and spa workers should get a good 15-20% tip, especially if you want them to do a good job!
  8. Tipping hotel staff is a bit tricky, but it's usually a dollar or two to bellhops, shuttle drivers and door staff, $1-5 per night for housekeepers and a $5-10 tip for a helpful concierge
  9. Taxi drivers should get a 15-20% tip, plus a couple of bucks if they help you with your bags

-Via mental_floss


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I think you are exactly right. It's needlessly complicated and completely unfair. I'd rather have tips included in my bill. I have never had problems with service in countries where tipping is not expected! So many people in the service industry get treated badly because someone's had a bad day and need someone to take it out on (like that lovely post going around facebook a while back about putting the tip on the table at the beginning of the meal and taking dollars away). Not to mention all the issues of prejudices and racism that feed into the inequalities in American tipping practices!
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Exactly! I avoid restaurants and places where you're supposed to tip. Did anybody tip the cashier at the grocery store? Why not? What do they have to do to be included in the tip-worthy list?
I feel no guilt about it either. Just last week, a friend (who has been a college professor for many years) told me that his daughter (who is just 19) is now making more money than he is because she got a job at a bar and so many people feel sorry for her the poor working-class kid, so they tip her. Those dollars add up. Tax-free income.
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Get rid of tipping. Raise minimum wage, or strengthen unionization and allow effective collective bargaining. Tipping is such a minefield. I hate lists like these because I feel like either I'm going to get it wrong and either be yelled at and secretly mistreated in the future, or overtip and thus contribute to the evil that is "optional required tipping". I nearly always pick up food because I get nervous about tipping. Just charge me a clear delivery fee up front. Hotels are worse - the more expensive the hotel, the more confused I get about what I am "supposed" to do. I never knew that people tipped the room cleaner until I was in my 20s. I don't even want to think about taking most cruise holidays with all of its mysterious "recommended" and "customary" tipping practices. I moved to Sweden, where there are no tipped employees and tipping is rare. (Effective unionization means about $14/hour minimum wage + state health care and retirement even without a minimum wage law.) Service is as good as in the US, my confusion level has dropped, and I don't have this odd social imbalance where I'm paying "the help" who are beneath me - do you tip your doctor?
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