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Old 08-22-2011, 09:55 AM
MysticCat MysticCat is offline
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Join Date: May 2002
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Quote:
Originally Posted by twinkle555 View Post
I dont understand why people think 15% is still the "minimum" now-a-days. Prices on everything have gone up, minimum wage has gone up,so why is the old-fashioned 15% minimum still standard? In any restaurant you'll notice the automatic grat is minimum 18%....but I digress.
First, as AlphaFrog pointed out, since 15% is a percentage, it's going to increase as the prices go up.

Second, maybe restaurants do sometimes put an automatic gratuity (an oxymoron if ever there was one) at 18%. (But not always -- I've seen restauarants set the automatic gratuity at 15%). That doesn't change the standard.

Which brings me to: Third, I wouldn't say 15% is the "miminum." I would say that, per most sources in this country (like the one Dr. Phil posted), 15% is the standard for average service. There's a difference between a standard and a minimum. That chart actually lists the minimum as 10% (for poor service).

Sidenote: I am a little amused that the chart Dr. Phil posted says it should be 15% of the bill "excluding tax." We have a co-worker who tips on a pre-tax basis and we all deride him for his stinginess. Now I have a moral quandry over whether to admit that he may be "correct" after all.
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