Posted on 05/27/2026 8:07:00 PM PDT by Red Badger
In many US cities tips of 20% are now expected at restaurants
The debate about tipping culture in the US has reignited in recent years, with social media posts about waiting staff angry that they haven't been left enough money going viral. Is this increased pressure to tip, and to do so generously, now spreading around the world?
Lillian Price thinks that tipping in the US is "out of control". "It's too much," she says.
"You might just be grabbing something to go, and you are expected to tip," says the animal care worker who lives in Philadelphia.
Price, who says she tips 15% in table-service restaurants, adds: "If somewhere is providing a service, that's fine, but I don't see why you need to tip in other places, or worse still, that they expect one. It's for any little thing… when do we stop giving tips?"
Price's policy of tipping 15% in a restaurant might seem generous to many people, but in certain cities in the US it could very well result in a frosty response from a waiter or waitress. In places like New York, Boston, Los Angeles and Chicago 20% is now more often expected.
For Kate Santos, a waitress who works at Sanger Hall, a bar in Queens, New York, tips are an essential part of her income.
"Servers in New York make $11 (£8.18) an hour, so basically I make my salary off tips," she says. "If people don't tip, it's a bad day for me. In New York, there's an unspoken rule that you tip 20% minimum and if the tip is less, then people think it's terrible."
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
Dear FRiends,
We need your continuing support to keep FR funded. Your donations are our sole source of funding. No sugar daddies, no advertisers, no paid memberships, no commercial sales, no gimmicks, no tax subsidies. No spam, no pop-ups, no ad trackers.
If you enjoy using FR and agree it's a worthwhile endeavor, please consider making a contribution today:
Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you,
Jim
God, these children are tedious.
I think its because they did not have fathers to straighten them out when they acted silly.
I generally leave 20% - unless the service is bad, then it’s less or nothing. I can afford it, and many of these folks can use the extra.
If Oklahomans pass the California like minimum wage bill I’ll restrict my eating out to across the state line as I will most of what were local purchases. No tips either.
It’s almost mandatory now that you leave a tip in practically every restaurant. And if you don’t or it’s too small, the next time you come in you won’t get fast or good service.
20% is waay to much IMHO. It now costs an average of 50-60 dollars for 2 people to eat out at a decent restaurant. $10- $12 for a tip is making it even more expensive.
I’m still using the old 15% rule...............
I always have and always will tip 10%. I would consider a frosty response one of the small pleasures in life.
If I get bad service, it’s zilch..................
A few simple rules I put into place a few years ago when this tipping mess started.... tipping only for food and/or drinks, no tipping if I have to go to a counter to order food and I have to be seated when the food and/or drinks arrive (unless I choose to stand such as at a high bar type table). Tipping to a 15% max.... I never order in food so I don’t have to think about that. As for taxis, I don’t recall the last time I used one but I probably would tip if the driver gave me a good discussion on the way.
It’s affected how often I have meals away from home.
I grew up with 5-10-15% being the normal range.
Spent time in Germany where anything other than rounding up to the nearest Mark was an insult.
Now tip suggestions start at 20% and often exceed 30%.
No thanks. Food & service isn’t that good in my opinion. I’ll eat at home.
The idiotic behavior of liberals is indeed bringing tipping to countries where it was considered almost insulting and where servers make good money and have full benefits.
Little point the liberals never discuss. Black Americans are notorious for not tipping and for complaining so they can get out of paying for their meal.
Back to tipping. You do not have an obligation, moral or otherwise, to give a tip to anyone.
And yes I tip, usually the 20% sometimes more.
But I despise the jerks who go around saying stuff like “If you don’t tip at least 25% you should not be going out to eat”.
Yep, eat at home.
I didn’t mind being a generous tipper during Covid because I was making good money at the time and people in service businesses were having a rough time. But now it seems expected everywhere and I don’t have as much disposable income.
Now the fast food places have prompts on the credit card reader so you have to select “none” or up to 30% just to get food at the counter.
Some of the counter help are embarrassed by it and click “none” before they turn the machine your way.
I like to cook. The food I cook at home is much healthier because its not loaded with sugar, salt and saturated fat. I probably eat out about 5 times a year or less. I tip about 20% when I do but given how infrequent that is, I don’t mind.
We do 17% normally. 20% of service is above normal.
$20 tips were not uncommon during that time. After a few weeks, those dropped, understandably.
I stick with 15%. The cost of eating in restaurants has gone up considerably over the past years, and is never coming down, so if I leave 15%, the server is already getting more based on the restaurant’s inflated prices.
My rules are:
10% - so-so, but tolerable service
15% - typical service
20% - excellent service or low-cost (i.e. Chinese) meal
I’ve worked as a waiter for a few weeks. Working in restaurants is the pits. Lunch tipping periods are very short (~75 minutes), and dinner tipping periods run about 3 hours.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.