Hi Folks,
I've been to the US twice, the first time was on a business trip in 1990, the second time was on a package tour from California in a crescent down through Texas and up through the Eastern states.
I know that you have to tip people that give you good service, but where does this begin and end?
Reason I ask this is because a mate of mine who is still in the US, says that he has to tip at least 20% of the restaurant bill, or whatever they stipulate at the bottom of the check.
Is this a normal thing?

Sorry to be so off-topic, but when I was in the US, it was whatever you nominated when you pay the check?

Yup 15-20% is pretty much standard and it is reflected in the wages the wait staff gets paid. The assumption is they make most of their money in tips.

Greg,
That's pretty awful.
I mean, where your weekly take-home pay is based upon the gratuity you get from customers, not from your actual boss, seems a bit on the nose.
Is there a minimum wage in the US?
Sure, if you have a very minimum skill-set (like you left school with little or no qualifications), you aren't going to get paid that well.
However, I just feel that a lot of the employers (particularly in the hospo industry), use this tipping system so that they don't have to give an extra cent to the people that actually help their business run.

The thinking is that your customer IS your boss in the service industry. Your wages are influenced by the quality of your service, not the government or the whims of what your boss wants to pay. In most establishments the wait staff ends up making more money than they would from any sort of wage. If you end up in a place like McDonalds where they don't tip, you are going to be making something near minimum wage but these days even McDonalds pays more than minimum wage. There is a big push to raise the minimum wage to $15US but a lot of people think that will simply end up eliminating a lot of low wage jobs. It will also, no doubt, change our attitude on tips when prices rise to pay for that wage increase and those people in higher scale establishments where several hundred bucks a night is not unusual, might end up losing money.
I know lots of people in server world and if you work in a decent place, it ends up being a very lucrative job. Even in places like "Outback" (An OZ themed steak joint) my buddy's kid was making $300 a night on tips, in about 5 hours.

Mike:

Basically 15-20% is considered "normal" for the wait staff. Most places I know of "pool" the tips, and split at the end of the shift or night. The busboys usually get a cut also. That said, some places have a ''gratituity" (sp) charge added to the bill for parties of xx. You have to look at the bill so you don't wind up looking like a "rich guy".

My personal take is I tip based on the attitude and service the server provides to me and my wife, or group. I have left minimum (10-15%), and most times >20% for exceptional services. The local places that are sucking wind with the restrictions here usually get an extra as I feel for them. This is my personal choice, as times are tough for some.

I don't know how it works in the US but here in Canada if paying by debt or credit cart the payment terminal (or most of them) gives you the option of either allowing you to enter in a dollar amount of your choice or you can hit one of the preset buttons to select a tip %. On Saturday the pizza chain I go to had the presets at 10% 15% 18% and 20%.

The credit/debit card 'add the tip' may result in the actual amount that the servers get is reduced by the credit/debit card 'fee' that the establishment pays to the card company/bank.

I found that out by talking to a few servers. One place I frequent takes 7% of the 'tip' for "handling". So, as I am very satisfied with the service at this place, I leave the tip in cash!

Yes, there are some places that have what mbhydro listed above, and others that have a blank line to insert the $$ amount of your choice.

Dining out is becoming really tough with the restrictions here, as winter is here, and indoor is limited to 25% occupancy. NYC just closed down all indoor dining!! (Bummer)

I guess it depends on the owners. When I was an investor in a pizza restaurant 20 years ago, we as owners made the decision to absorb all the credit card costs so our staff got the full amount of the tip.

Here in Manitoba we have been the same for the last month or so as NYC with all indoor dining closed. Its just takeout (come in masked or contact less curbside) or delivery. I feel sorry for the restaurants as Skip the Dishes, Uber Eats etc take a big chunk of the bill for their service charges.

Its interesting on how things change. This time last year the banks had signs asking people to take off their sunglasses and scarves as they figured you were going to rob them if you kept them on. Now they have somebody at the door making sure your face is covered and giving you a mask if you left yours in the car or at home.

You do not "have" to tip anything, but are encouraged to do so, some will add a gratuity of whatever percentage they decide to the check for larger groups, I prefer to leave a tip at the table, myself.

I find it disgusting that some restaurants count tips as part of the minimum wage.

It is the federal government that counts tips as part of the minimum wage. The "tipped job" minimum wage, although lower, is still the minimum. The employer has to pay that no matter what.
This really still depends on where you work tho. Tips may be horrible in some low end joints but a waiter in an up scale restaurant will make so much on tips, the minimum wage check he gets is a pittance compared to what he takes home.
My sister and all 4 of her daughters have worked in server world. My wife lived around about 20-30 of them when she ran the country club. The wait staff manager refused to be put on the executive payroll because she picked up more tips as a part time, fill in server, than managers made. There were some full time servers who made as much as the general manager in season.

That in itself Rollie, is what sickens me, you work your backside off and try and get above the line of (what could be poverty), but your boss is clipping your ticket, every way you go, that in itself is unfair.
You could be working a split shift (6AM -10AM) come back at 2PM and work constantly until the dinner service ends at 1 am, or what-ever time when folks won't leave.
If everyone in that restaurant tips poorly, your night is going to be not even worth you being there.
This also means that the restaurant needs to be full of customers.

Funny, the local talk radio station was discussing tipping a few times due to the holidays upon us. There quest was 'who' do you tip, and how much?

Garbage pickup, Fedex, UPS, Mailman (USPS), gas station guys, other service people, etc for holiday tips.

Some of the comments from the people who called in were shocking; "$5 when I fill up gas"; $20 to ea. guy on the trash truck, $50 to my hair stylist, and on and on.....

Wow.

That "fill up" must be a New Jersey thing. I never see a soul when I fill up. It is a card at the pump and fill it yourself.
I will grease the trash man if I have something really ugly for them to haul away like a big pile of construction debris ort something and my barber gets $5 or so. The cute girl gets $7. (haircut is $13 so I give her a $20)

Other that that it is mostly just servers in bars or restaurants.

My biggest tip ever is after Charley when the company my wife was building houses for sent over 3 Mexicans to help us clean up. I gave all 3 $100 each. It even freaked them out but it was worth every dime. It took one and a half 18 wheeler FEMA hort haulers to haul all the tree debris away. They had cut it all up and dragged it out to where the claw truck could get it.

New Jersey, & loonyland (Oregon), have no self service fuel, fueling of vehicles is performed by attendants. At least in Oregon, they get real huffy if you try do do it yourself, think they get fined if caught.

Rollie,
We must be really backward over here in New Zealand, because I have NEVER
had any vehicle operated by me filled by anyone but myself, apart from the
odd apprentice.
In saying that, I have a fuel card that means I fill up with diesel at what
could be called a truck stop, the fuel is a lot cheaper though.

I remember a few years ago, I got a right old telling off by a female staff member
at the local service station, when I refilled my own 9kg LPG cylinder for a mates
BBQ.
She was like I would imagine the industry would have as a SWAT team.
Staff were standing around witnessing this, I had weighed the cylinder and wrote
the figure on my hand and was filling the thing when she scared the hell out of me.
"You can't do that!!!"
"Where are your cold gloves and your other PPE!!!"
By then the cylinder was full and I turned off the feed valve, disconnected it
and took the final reading.
Walked into the service station counter and paid for it.
Put it into the back of my ute and drove off.

I've lost count of the number of times, fire brigades over here have had to go to
a persons house, because their refilled cylinder is now venting, because the
staff at the service station over-filled it.
I have had an LPG handlers licence for 25 years, otherwise, you wouldn't get
me near that stuff.

To my knowledge, only Oregon, & New Jersey ban self service gas, everywhere else is self serve, 50 States, 50 different sets of rules.

Yes, NORCAL has it right. NO self serve gas here in the Garden State. Yes, some get upset if we get tired of waiting & try to DIY. Most of the pumps require the attendants 'card' to activate the pump, unless you come upon a really old station. A lot of the new stations are 'set-up' for self serve, but our state fathers refuse to allow it by law.

Yes, the stations can be fined for allowing 'self serve', but I have not heard of any.

Nice to know that a guy from the west coast is aware of NJ. "Jersey GALs do not pump gas"

Back a long time ago, I remember sitting at a gas station in NY State waiting for the attendant.....My first time out of NJ. Darn, that was a long time ago!!

Ha Ha Ha Ha
That must have been pretty embarrassing, once you realised.

What is funny is other then layovers back in 2006 at the Newark airport, I have never been to NJ.

Norcal:

Well, EWR (Newark Liberty Airport) has undergone a few changes for the better since '06 in case you ever get back here.

We're a diverse state and have some interesting areas other then the airport area. Crowded? Yes.

I've been to Ca, SF down to Tijuana and back up to LAX, but that was in 1986. It was a great ride.

Stay safe.

I am 90 miles north of Sacramento, SF is quite a ways south of me, was rather strange that there was fog in SF while driving across the Golden Gate Bridge one June.

I have been through New Jersey a few times, visited AC but I also lived there for a while a couple of times. In 1965 I spent the winter in Cape May being hollared at by professionals (USCG boot camp) and I did an extended stay in Elizabeth (Tony Soprano land) in winter/spring 72 with IBM, commuting to 2 Penn Plaza on Amtrak. It is an interesting place but a little cold for me. I understand if you get out in the country it is more like Pennsylvania or central New York.

Great Discussion.

I have a funny feeling this demand to raise the minimum wage and include tipped workers may end tipping as we know it. Tips were meant to supplement a small basic wage. If that money shows up on the check, people will be less likely to leave tip.
The downside for everyone is there is no way to reward good service over bad service.

John,
I can't help but think that is quite antiquated and set in the 50's-60's when there were less motor vehicles.