Are You Tipping Appropriately Given the Circumstances?

The U.S. is a tipping nation, and you are expected to leave some kind of a tip in dozens of service scenarios, so here’s a handy guide to follow.

1. Hotels

You’ll be expected to provide tips to several different employees in your hotel.

• The bellhops should get at least $1 per bag, as should anyone else who takes your luggage.
• The housekeeper should not be left a handful of loose change, but instead, figure on around $3 to $5 per night, depending on the location. You can choose to leave the tip daily, or at the end of your stay.
• If you rent a car on your trip, it’s customary to tip a few bucks to anyone who helps put the bags in your car.
• You don’t have to give doormen money every single time they open the door, but if they hail a cab, or help you in some other way, it’s appropriate to provide a buck or two…
• You can tip the room service attendant $1 to $2 when they bring you your food, but they don’t expect it every time.
• The concierge, however, should also receive a generous tip — anywhere from $3 to $10…if they arrange show tickets, reserve tables at restaurants, or make special arrangements for your room…

2. Restaurants

…Tip your server at least 15% to 20% of the bill and, to avoid some ruthless restaurant owners pocketing the tip from a credit card slip, tip the waiter in cash.

Oh, and when it comes to buffets, or restaurants that have minimal waiter assistance, leave at least 10% as a tip, as they still have to clean up after you…

3. Bars, pubs, and clubs

Let’s start with your bartender. It’s customary to tip $1 per round, and this can be done with every round, or totaled up and added onto the bill at the end. Or you can calculate the tip as a percentage of the check. 20% is the going rate, but if your bartender rocked it, give him or her more. If they were rude, give less. However, if you want to be the recipient of the “healthy pour,” tip generously early on in cash…

4. Taxis (including Uber and Lyft) and valet parking

As a general rule, you should be putting down a minimum of 10% of the total fare as a tip, after any gratuity that has already been included automatically. If the driver goes out of his or her way to get you there faster — legally, of course — then tip more.

When it comes to Uber and Lyft, find a way to tip. Lyft offers the option to tip as part of the transaction on your app. If you’re paying by card and there is no line for a tip, do it in cash. If you have no cash, you can actually use PayPal to send money, and it’s free if you do it from a bank account. For valet parking service, $2 to $5 is customary once your car is returned.

5. Take out or food delivery

If you ever pick up food from a restaurant, you’ll see a space for a tip on your receipt. Most people draw a line through it, because they don’t believe anyone did any work for them. Well, that’s not true. The people manning the front of house, taking orders, washing dishes, cooking, they all get pretty mediocre wages so put a 10% tip on there.

When it comes to food delivery, do the same, but tip your driver a few extra dollars in cash. If it’s pizza delivery, $2 to $3 minimum is the rule of thumb, adding an additional $1 for every pizza over three. However, if the pizza is late, find out why. It may be nothing to do with the driver, and he or she should not be penalized for it.

6. Beauty services

Whether it’s a hairstylist, spa treatment, manicure, pedicure, or anything else in that industry, the expected tip is between 15% to 20%. However, it seems to fluctuate greatly depending on the service received, the interaction between the customer and the service provider, and the end result…

7. Moving, landscaping, contractors, cleaners, and manual labor

When it comes to moving, judge the situation by the complexity and load. The average is $10 per mover for half a day, and $20 for a whole day but, if you have a ton of heavy, awkward furniture, and the movers have to remove doors and windows to get things in and out, then go beyond the usual rate – and make sure you hand out tips to each mover, not just the foreman. As moving.com points out, it’s a bad idea to give the movers beer for their hard day’s work. It raises way too many liability issues.

For landscaping, cleaning, contracting, plumbing, electrical work, painting, and other services in this bucket, it all depends on the cost of the service, the amount of work put into it, and how the job was completed. Many plumbers and electricians don’t expect any kind of tip, as their hourly rate is quite high but for people working in your garden, or fixing doors and light bulbs, you can tip a percentage — usually between 10% to 15% of the total cost of service.

The comments above are edited ([ ]) and abridged (…) excerpts from the original article by Paul Michael

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