[Sloth]

As long as we're on the topic of tipping, how does it make any freaking sense for the amount of the tip to be based on the cost of the food? We have a local place that offers a great breakfast deal, including drink, for $3.75. Even if we order an extra side item, you're looking at ten bucks or so after sales tax for my wife & I to eat there. If I tipped 15%, I'd be leaving $1.50. Then later that day we go to Red Lobster, spend $33, and the 15% tip would come to five bucks. But the server at the cheap place does about the same amount of work. Why should they be punished for working at a place that has better prices?

[discostu]

It’s a baseline. If you want to tip more go ahead. There’s a short order place I used to frequent that was insanely cheap like the place you discuss, I usually gave them $20 even though it was nearly impossible for the meal to cost more than $10. But it was $20 worth of food as far as I was concerned so what the heck.

[ArrogantBustard]

At those really inexpensive breakfast/lunch joints, I’ve several times left a 100% tip.

[BradyLS]

Here’s what I’ve heard:

General rule: Breakfast*: 10%. Lunch: 15% Dinner: 20%

*”I’m going to work” breakfast. Not “I’m finishing a pub crawl” breakfast.

Why: Breakfast sees a lot of turnover in guests during the period. Lunch less so. Dinner least.

[BradyLS]

...And as others have said, the general rule is the baseline for tippong. Get a great breakfast cheap? Leave more! Lousy service? Leave 5% or 10%. My own rule is, regardless of where you go for what meal or what you end up getting, be prepared to leave a 20% gratuity to your own bill.