Tips on Tipping

A Gentlemen's Guide, Samy Liechti, Blacksocks.com founder

The age-old dilemma – am I tipping enough? Ideally, good service is rewarded with good tips, and bad service penalized with bad tips. But the reality can be more nuanced. Read on for basic tips on proper tipping.

• How much should I tip? 15% was the old gold standard at a restaurant, but a gentleman gives 20%. If you used a coupon or discount, calculate the tip on how much you would’ve paid without it. If there’s a tax on your bill, you should technically calculate the tip based on the pretax amount – but since the difference between a tip on the total (including tax) or the pretax amount is insignificant, this is not a recommended squabbling point!
• Not just for restaurants . . . Any service profession warrants a tip. Good service at the hand of your hairdresser, your cab driver, or your bellhop means you should be attentive to how you’re tipping them. A solid rule of thumb is about 5% of the total bill, or two dollars per luggage item.
• Extra pay for extra service. Superlative service that warrants a bonus tip – that is, an additional 5% to 10% of the amount billed – is short waiting periods, advice in the menu selection, an excellent wine suggestion, refilling of drinks, and being in the right place at the right time.
• Even if tipping is optional, offer a small tip for good service.
• Don’t be a showoff. Exorbitant tipping is as frowned upon as miserly tipping. In the catering business, money isn’t easily made, and arrogantly dropping a huge tip might make your waiter think you’re condescending. Trust me, your lady friend won’t be impressed.
• Now, where did that tip go? Don’t place your tip under small plates, behind coffee cups, folded in an ashtray, or buried somewhere in your napkin – in other words, anywhere the waiter might overlook it.
• Mind your P’s and Q’s. As you’re leaving a restaurant, you should express your thanks for the good service, and your waiter should thank you for a generous tip.

Above all, should you ever be at a loss with regard to tipping etiquette, simply allow your goodwill to guide you. Additional “A Gentleman’s Guide” tips can be found at Blacksocks.com.

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