@ nkedel .. do you think it may be time for the 28th Amendment to the Constitution? :D

This just gets so scarily complex for visitors [and expensive, too].

It's a terrible system, but it's the one we've got; it really would take concerted legislative action to get rid of it, and that might in turn take an amendment too be legal.

That said, In my experience, even with tipping, it's cheaper to eat out here than it is in Europe - although that may be skewed from the view on both sides by tourist-oriented places being overpriced compared to locals-oriented ones.

The one which will raise the most ire by far if you skip is tipping at full-service restaurants/bars.

Just about anything else, there will be a much greater variation among Americans; it's a good idea to try to figure the rules out, but if there's major doubt, none of the other cases are nearly such a big deal.

It's very difficult, as you suggest, to draw comparisons. My eating in the USA is a mix of local-oriented and tourist[US] eating places ... over the lest few years I've certainly seen the "local" ones cutting back on menu choices, dropping free starter salads and the like, while the "US tourist" places have hiked prices.

As to comparing the USA and Europe, it would require a team of statisticians and accountants to make any meaningful attempt at comparing "cheaper". Business base costs are significantly different for a start, before you try to examine relative incomes. I did a quick "Google" which suggested 4th quintile incomes are ... USA $100k, UK £70k. Even at the current exchange rate of around $1.50/£1, that makes the USA a "cheap" place for me to eat, even after tipping :D

I've always had a problem with tipping, as a European I'm not used to tip so spending a couple of holidays (or business trips) in the USA I'm always strugling with the appropriate way to tip... As a result I think I always tip way to much...


Restaurant: OK service: 15%, Good Service: 20%, Very good service: 25%

Bartender: About 5 to 10 USD per order

Valet: 5 to 10 USD when leaving my car, 10 USD when collecting it

Cab Driver: Depending on the distance/time: 10 to 20 USD

Bellmen: 5 to 10 USD

Hotel Reception / Concierges: 20 to 100 USD depending on the delivered service (free upgrade, decent view, other perks, etc...)


And even then I always have the feeling that I don't tip enough :(

Wow - you are very generous indeed! Your restaurant tipping is appropriate, and you can always use that as a basis for tipping others. $5-$10 per order for a drink is, imo, too much. Generally, I tip $1-$2 per drink, depending on the complexity of the drink. For cabs, I generally tip 15%-20% of the fare if the driver doesn't take unnecessary detours and helps with the bags. For hotel workers, I don't tip except for bellmen $3/bag and concierges $5-$10 if the person does something beyond normal reservation bookings.

As has already been said, except for your restaurant tipping, these amounts are FAR beyond generous. For valet parkers, there is no need to tip at all when leaving your car.

Was there supposed to be an element of sarcasm in that, or are you pouring money down the drain? :rolleyes:

FWIW, I've seen and known people who do tip in similar amounts/percentages.

Where are you leaving your car at the valet? Tips may be higher at really posh places, but at the run-of-the-mill urban restaurant or at a casino in Vegas, this one is not only very high, but unless you've got a Ferrari (or something more exotic!) or special circumstances, probably excessively so under normal circumstances. I'd expect to tip $2-$3 on top of the valet charge (at places that charge for it) or like $5 at places with free valet parking - in either case upon retrieval of your car.

The only time I'd expect to tip a valet both before AND after is if you accompany dropping it off with some special request - for the one easy example, if you expect to be in a big rush coming out and the first tip is accompanied with a "keep it nearby, please."

So ... my "neighbourhood bar/restaurant" pours me a glass of yukky pseudo-wine from CA, from a ghastly 1.5 liter bottle. Does that justify a tip at all? :D

They charge $4 a glass [WHAT!!] so I tend to make it $5. But on both levels [quality, effort involved] does that really justify a tip at all?
In fairness, we eat later, so there's at least 15% addition to the overall check, because the ladies then actually DO something. ;)

$4 a glass is pretty cheap wine, as by-the-glass goes around here. Adding a dollar to make it $5 is perfectly usual practice, if you're paying separately by the drink/round.

If it's part of an overall dinner bill or you're drinking enough there to run a tab either for the night or in general, tipping separately by the drink is not necessary, so the tip on that one drink would be $0.60-$.0.80 out of the total tip.

OK ... I'll carry on paying an extra $1 for the yukky-stuff. It's not "pretty", but it does what it says on the label, according to the Surgeon-General ... it can cause drowsiness!

Cheap and cheerful, but then that's exactly what a neighbourhood bar/restaurant should be! And our friends there [on both sides of the counter] make it great!! A good 3-week dose of assorted idiots and lovely VA people every few months helps keep us sane!!

Of course, there is no requirement to tip anyone, anywhere, but let me add one caveat here. I was the 19 year old valet parking your car, back in college. Some of the guys I worked with could be very vindictive toward guests who became known as bad tippers, ie., squealing tires/jamming gears once in the garage, stealing loose change, etc. If you happened to have a dime bag in the console, you could forget about getting high that night, it would be stolen. Who's gonna go to the manager and complain that their pot is missing from their car?

You're handing over a probably pretty valuable asset to a kid busting his butt to get by. Chances are, too, it will be a different person who brings your car back as the one who parks it. A couple bucks at least, in both directions, is pretty cheap insurance to keep your car from getting trashed. I'm not excusing this behavior, just saying it's reality.

The same can happen in the restaurant business. Of course, you can sometimes get better service when you're a regular and known to tip well.

The annoying thing about it, is that it really leaves the onus of tipping well on regulars (or longer-term guests) - if you're there once/for one night, and unlikely to be back, there's no reputation risk to not tipping.

No, it's really not that complex. Seriously, you don't have to tip everyone you walk by on the street. I've spent this week at home and I've tipped all of 1 person. That was for lunch today. Restaurants, hotels and taxis. That's the only rules you need to know.

The tipping really isn't expensive. In other countries, it is just reflected in the price of the item. Think of it this way. You have an immediate way to show someone your displeasure and can hold someone immediately accountable for their job performance.

By the way, you're not English by any chance are you?