The Ultimate Tipping Guide

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Skipping out on a tip is not frugal. It’s cheap. Not sure when it’s appropriate to tip or how much you should tip in certain situations? Here’s your ultimate guide on how to tip. (Note: Tipping guidelines differ from country to country. This guide is intended for those who will be tipping in the United States.)

Traveling

• Housekeeping at the hotel. A good tip for housekeeping is between $2 to $5. Don’t just leave cash on the nightstand. It might not be clear to your maid that the money is for them. Make sure to leave the tip in an envelope marked for housekeeping.
• Tour guide. Tip between $1 to $5 per person in your group.
• Skycap or bell hop. $1 to $2 per bag they lug for you. If you’re running late and the skycap books your luggage to your plane so you can get their on time, bump up the tip.
• Doorman. Only tip the doorman at a hotel if he gives you a hot tip on the best places to eat or visit while in town.

Personal Services

• Massage Therapist. Give 10 to 20 percent of the total cost.
• Nurses. Usually tipping nurses at hospitals are not permitted, but don’t tell that to my wife’s grandma. She’s a retired nurse and believes you should definitely tip nurses and other health assistants. Any time she’s at the hospital you can guarantee she’s getting the best service because she gave her nurse “la boost.”
• Garage parking. $2 for your car. When you valet park, tip the person who brings you the car, not the person who parks it.
• Baristas/Smoothie Makers/ice cream scoopers. It seems like all these types of establishments have tip jars now a days. Spare change is always appreciated. If the barista starts making your order as soon as you walk in so that its ready for you by the time you get up to pay, tip a little extra.
• Hairstylist. Tip 15% of the cost of the haircut.
• Takeout. If you order takeout from a restaurant make sure to tip the cashier a bit. While they weren’t waiting on you hand in foot for, they did have to bust their butt to get your order together and ready. If they help you take your order out to the car, tip a bit extra.
• Car washer. $3 bucks is good for a basic car wash. If they take extra time in your detailing, give 10% of the cost of the wash.
• Manicure. 10 to 15% is a nice tip.
• Tattoos/body piercings. 15% of what the total cost is. If the tattoo artist does an amazing job of capturing what your mother looks like on your arm, tip extra.
• Tow truck. It depends on what services the person provides. If they jump your car or change your tire, tip about $4. If they tow it, $5 is good tip.
• Bagger at the grocery store. Now a days people no longer tip grocery baggers. It’s not necessary, but definitely a nice gesture. $1 is a good tip.

Delivery Services

• Newspaper deliverer. During the holidays, give them a card with $20. My in-laws do this every year and as a result, they have their paper delivered straight to their door instead of just thrown on the driveway.
• Pizza/Meal delivery. 10 to 15% is customary. If the weather is bad, i.e. there’s snow and ice or a tsunami, tip extra.
• Furniture/large appliance delivery. $5 per person. If they stick around and help you assemble or rearrange your furniture, tip extra.

Out On the Town

• Waiters. 15 to 20% is customary. If they do an exceptional job, pay more. If you come in with a large group make sure to ask if gratuity is added into your check so you don’t tip them twice. (Of course, as a former waiter, I always appreciated it when someone give me a little extra in addition to the gratuity.)
• Bartenders. 15 to 20%. Again, if they do an excellent job give more. If you come during happy hour and down 20 $.99 cent draws, don’t just leave 15%. Bartenders have to bust their butt to get those things poured for you and deserve more than just your change.
• Casino. There lots of people you could be tipping at a casino. First, you have cocktail waitresses. 15% is customary. Many people tip dealers when they have a successful run.
• Taxi. Standard tip is 15%. If they get you to your destination quickly, tip extra.

Holidays

During the holidays, it’s customary to give a little more for the everyday services we receive. Here is just a short list of people you should consider giving “la boost” to during the holidays.

• Mailman. It’s against federal law to tip to federal employees, but they can accept gifts of less than $20. During the holidays, give your mailman a non-monetary gift valued at less than $20. Baked goods are always appreciated.
• Garbage/recycling man. These guys have a dirty job, recognize their work around the holidays by giving them a tip. $10 per person is nice. You can also just give gifts.
• Teachers. If you have kids in school, its usually customary to give their teacher a small gift at Christmas time. It doesn’t have to be big. I remember when I was a kid, I usually gave candles.
• Babysitter. A gift in addition to their normal pay is nice. Gift cards are always appreciated.
• Cleaning person. An extra week’s pay or a nice gift.

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16 Comments

1. Katie (Mrs. FLS) on 31.10.2007 at 08:31 (Reply)

   Mailmen may not be technically allowed to take tips, but I know my parents tip them every year and they’ve never complained. I’m sure they’d like $20 a lot more than a plate of cookies.

   Don’t give teachers candles. From what I hear teachers complain that they end up with a crate full of candles, body lotions, and apple-shaped desk accessories. What they really want are gift certificates to restaurants or Borders.

2. Kaleb on 31.10.2007 at 08:56 (Reply)

   Ok this is ridiculous. I really hope your readers don’t start tipping their garbage collectors and their tow truck drivers.

3. snow_drops on 31.10.2007 at 11:55 (Reply)

   Tipping waiters, housekeeping, etc is fine by me, since they provide me with services, and services are not included in the cost of meal.

   But I am not tipping for the services (hairstylist, manicure, massage therapist, etc). After all, I pay for the services (and the service is the job description).

   I mean, will you tip your web developer for maintaining your website?

4. rob in madrid on 31.10.2007 at 13:21 (Reply)

   I have to say I find at time that Americans (and Canadians) tend to be a bit tip crazy. Germans tend to leave small tips, 5% is considered generous. One main difference from most places (even in Europe) is you pay the waiter/ress directly and they make the change right at the table, so you round the bill up. For example I was in Germany over the weekend and the first stop was for a decent beer (and oh my god was it good!) didn’t even make it out of Munich airport, went straight to the Erding Sports Bar in arrivals and had the most wonderful Hefewitzen! Oh man was that good!!!!!! 2 years of crap Spanish beer washed away in a moment, it was heavenly. Anyways I digress, when I asked for the bill it was 3,40€ so I said “make it 4€” and he made change from a 5€ note.

   On the other hand the Spanish tend not to tip or leave very very little money.

   The hardest part I find is when we return to Canada trying to figure out our portion of a bill. You have to add 15% sales tax plus tip, it get confusing, how much do I owe. I usually end up undertipping becuase I’m not used to add sales tax to everything.

   As a general rule of thumb I try to be generous with my tips. Although I almost under tipped once when I got the numbers wrong, thankfully my Wife’s German is better than mine and caught it before I embarassed myself.

5. strange bird on 31.10.2007 at 16:30 (Reply)

   For Rob in Madrid: in Germany, waiters make a lot more money than they do in the US and get benefits like paid vacations and health insurance, where many here are (or have been, not sure if this is still true since I haven’t seen it in CA) paid below minimum wage and make their livings off of tips. We may be tip crazy, but it’s just the way it is done.

   And I relate to Snow_Drops because I used to think the same thing, and I was really surprised to find out I was supposed to tip the hairdresser. But I think it’s pretty common, and I don’t want to be the jerk who didn’t when I trust them with my hair.

6. crazypumpkin on 31.10.2007 at 20:47 (Reply)

   Sad to see that the comment I posted earlier never actually made it up, but now I’m kind of glad because my thoughts on this have solidified a bit more.
   I think much of the tipping that you wrote about, and what goes on, is well over the top. No wonder we’re a country in debt! We think we need to give money to everyone above and beyond what their actual cost is. Now, I totally agree with tipping wait staff. Their pay is below minimum wage and they need tips to survive on. Any industry that makes a living this way, we should be expected to tip. But for people paid above minimum wage, and many who earn well more than I, I don’t think so! When I walk into a coffee shop, I see no reason to tip the barista for regular service. I pay for a cup of coffee, thats what I expect. I do tip my hair dresser, but begrudgingly. My boss doesn’t ‘tip’ me when I finish a project ahead of time or do a task particularly well. He says thank you and I get to keep my job. He expects these things of me, it’s part of my job description. I guess my thoughts echo snow_drops’. If the cost is for the service, then I shouldn’t have to tip extra for that exact same service.

7. Jen on 31.10.2007 at 21:12 (Reply)

   I think the list is a bit much. It’s a shame in the US alot of people on the list are making minimum wage and it’s difficult to make it. I’d much rather have the owners pay a living wage, eliminate tipping and integrate it into their pay.

   Who knows how the tips are distributed after the fact?

   I always tip my hairdresser generously as my Mother did, because you are building a repoire with them and want them to spend alot of time and help you look your best!

   I

8. Christine on 01.11.2007 at 08:14 (Reply)

   I’d be afraid not to tip my hairdresser - if she makes a mistake, I have to live with it! It seems to me that a hairdresser (or anyone else who provides an esthetic service) does a lot more work than a waiter or a housekeeper… they have to focus solely on you for what can sometimes be a period of several hours - why not give them a good tip if they do a good job? I’m not undervaluing waiters - but if a waiter gets a lousy tip from one table, they may be able to make it up on one of their other tables. Hairdressers and estheticians don’t usually have multiple clients at once.

   I tip my hairdresser very well, and I think that it has had some very positive results. I went home for (Canadian) Thanksgiving and only had one day that I could squeeze in an appointment. Turns out that the day before my appointment, my stylist had had painful dental surgery. She’d cancelled all her other appointments that day, but kept mine because she knew I’d only be home for that one day and needed the appointment. If I was a lousy tipper, I doubt she’d have kept that appointment… and then I’d have had to get my hair done in the small town that I go to school in, which probably would have been disastrous.

   Also, as a former bagel store wench, I definitely encourage the dumping of extra change in the tip jar. It may only be 25 cents per customer, but it does add up…

9. Brett McKay on 01.11.2007 at 09:13 (Reply)

   Wow! I’m surprised by the aversion to tipping. Growing up, my parents always tipped these sort of service jobs, so I just thought it was normal. I guess I’m also biased towards tipping after spending years in the food service industry. I empathize with people in service jobs and know that they’re overworked and often underpaid. A tip can work wonders to make someone’s job more bearable.

   I think generally, Americans are pretty cheap when it comes to tips. When I was a waiter, it was a rarity for a customer to pay 15%. It didn’t matter how much you busted your butt off, people still wouldn’t give a full tip.

10. Matt Wolfe on 01.11.2007 at 16:35 (Reply)

    That’s a great little cheat sheet. I’ve never tipped at a car wash though… Maybe I should start doing that.

11. Neena on 02.11.2007 at 08:46 (Reply)

    It is so important to show your appreciation for good service. And, of course, a good tip will ensure continued good service. I try to build tips into my budget - so the sting isn’t quite as bad. This is a good resource, I will need it during this upcoming holiday season.

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14. Paul on 19.11.2007 at 15:18 (Reply)

    Tipping is strictly a voluntary act.
    If the service was good and worth a tip..do so.

    BUT if it was bad service/food…dont.

    Tipping for the sake of tipping is extreemly bad idea.
    Irreguardless of whether the person works only on tips or not.

    (Former service worker myself)…who made enough tips usually to invest or buy cars.

    Many of the fields spoken of above is ‘no way is that going to be tipped’.

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