Gratuity? Tips?

[DebIreland]

Please bear with me because I am new to the U.S. tipping system

I was just looking at the menus on allearsnet and saw that some restaurants say gratuity is 15% extra.

My question is, when gratuity is extra is it customary to still leave a tip? so is it 15% gratuity *plus* 20% (approx) tip?

 

[kandeebunny]

This is a personal decision. If gratuity is included at 15% I add an extra 5% as a tip. I used to be a waitress though, and I know how important tips are.

 

[Bracho]

I use to be a dealer in Las Vegas and like kandeebunny, I always tip a little more then 15%.."IF" the service was good.. it it was just there or I had to wait alot longer then I felt I should had.. then 15% is enough.

 

[ryan840]

If the 15% was added on, then you don't need to leave an extra tip, but as the previous posters mentioned, I alway's add another 5% or more. I too used to wait tables, so I leave 20% as a standard for acceptable service, and more if the service was really good.

 

[n2mm]

Disney has increased their gratuity from 15% to 18% (effective in December 2004). So if you have a party of 8 or more, 18% will be added to your bill. You then have the option to increase it if you feel you want to, but are not obligated.

Also the 18% tip is added to dinner shows (HDD/Luau). Again your choice if you want to add more.

We personally try to tip at 20% when appropriate. But have left less when receiving poor service (only once in our Disney lifetime).

 

[Betsyt82]

I tend to just leave the bill alone if the gratuities/tip are already included, I feel the management has already dicided for me.....even if the wait person was awful!!! When tipping I tend to base mine on 15% the only wait persons who get more(20%) are those individuals that were exceptional at there job.

 

[webray]

Usually the minimum hubby and I tip is 20% plus. We like to encourage good service. Being a server is a hard job. Those that are good deserve the plus end of the tip. When we get really horrible service..we usually leave 10%. There have been a couple times when we have left absolutely nothing..the service was that bad.

Keep in mind..we have no problem leaving a 50% tip for outstanding service.

 

[Ask"WhyNot?"]

Really anywhere from 10% to 20% is standard. Gratuity is often added for large parties and some restruants, extra is not necessary to leave. Being restruant people, we start with a 20% tip. If service is way above and beyond, sometimes we leave more. When service is bad, we'll drop it down to 10%. And when service is beyond bad and gratuity was added, we always ask to speak to a manager. We explain *exactly* why we don't think that amount of gratuity isn't deserved, even if we still pay it.