Ceara wrote:
Tip...nobody! We don't tip here. It seems like a strange practise to me. Is minimum wage so bad there?
In Kansas (where I am) the state minimum wage is
$2.65/hour. There are some businesses that are required to pay the federal minimum wage, I think that's $7.25? But that doesn't include workers that are "normally" tipped, such as waiters, hairdressers, bartenders, etc., and places will pay ONLY the state minimum. No one can feed themselves on that, much less a family.
I can't afford to go to a salon for a haircut, it's usually one of the discount chain places for me (my hair's easy to cut though). I generally try to go on a Sunday, a haircut is only $11, and I know the hairdressers each have to rent their station, so they can't be making very much money. I usually add on $5 as a tip. I only go every 6-8 weeks.
I tip the pizza delivery guy. I mentioned in the dinner thread that we'll tip older delivery people much more than we will young people.
We tip wait staff, and we generally tip 15-20%. If Jason has to ask for his water glass to be refilled, the tip goes down. He is super-critical about the servers, and will automatically do a small tip if the server isn't at the table frequently, but I will point out to him if I've noticed the server has way too many tables, or if the restaurant is super-busy.
We tip the Chinese place we go to, even though we have to actually go in and pick up the food. The owners are super-nice, they always remember our names and what we order frequently. If the food isn't ready when we get there, the family's little son entertains us with drawings he has made. We usually get free almond cookies, unless the mother-in-law is at the front.
I gave them a huge tip once. Jason and I work the day after Thanksgiving every year. One year, we decided to get Chinese takeout on the way home, so we called with our order. When we got there, the food was ready, even though there was a sign on the door that they were closed for a private party. I think I left $10 in cash, on an $18 order.
The sushi place we go to has a train that the sushi rides on around the bar. The main sushi chef makes things special for us, so I always leave cash in the tip jar for the chefs, and Jason adds a tip on the bill for the waitresses.
Bag boys at the stores I shop at aren't supposed to accept tips. I probably wouldn't tip them, anyway, as they always manage to squish something, or put 3 items in my re-useable bag and the other 3 things in a plastic bag, when I've specifically requested for everything in the re-useable bag. No bag boys here take the bags out to your car.
I don't go to bars much anymore, but when I do, I try to tip, especially if I'm drinking a mixed drink. If you tip the bartender directly, then the next time you go back to the same bartender they'll make a better (less watery) drink.
I don't generally tip at Sonic, unless the carhop is on skates, then I'll tip if I have cash with me.
