My liveliehood rests on gratuity (working two jobs as hotel bellman), so i tip well -

It's not uncommon for me to get free drinks when i go out at the end of a night.

I've also discovered some good ways about tipping - whenever i go out with a group, i'll get the first pitcher (to set the standard of good tipping!). Last week a pitcher came to $16, and although it was expensive i asked for a $1 back on 20. That extra wait in giving me the buck, lingered just a little longer so other ppl would have to tip at least that, to not look cheap.

We really need to standarize rules on tipping etiquette. The hotel industry is the worst, too much variation.

I have come across the opposite problem lately. When I was working in the restaurants we tended to tip over generously. But when we go out we usually get the "hook up" and end up tipping way too much. I don't go out as often anymore. And as I am now a single mom, with a steady paycheck, I find it harder to give the 50-100% tip. My brother & sisters are still in the industry, and now I look like a cheap old fart! I still tip over 20% on what the bill would have been had we been charged for everything (on drinks I usually put in a little more, normally a dollar a drink).
I have started just putting in that amount, and let the rest of the group be responsible for their own overtipping. But it still is a pain, and I feel cheap. :(

I have a friend who is a grad student, but he is a waiter at a restaurant in NYC. He complains that corporate executives give him lousy tips. Those who are students, assistants or unemployed tip him better than the execs. When we and several other friends went for dinner, he makes sure that we are generous with tipping our server despite the service that gets added to the bill.

In a somewhat related story. When I go out to a restaurant, I make it a point to give a little more than the 15% tip. One time, my mom yelled at me for giving a guy a $4 tip for $22 bill. I countered her by asking her "Have you any idea how much a waiter or waitress makes per hour? Try $2.27 (has this changed at all?) an hour, they need those tips to supplement that income." I am more sympathetic to the waiters/waitresses than with my mother when it comes to tipping.


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