The History of Tipping…in the Boykis Household

February 10, 2010 · 19 comments

I just saw this cute infographic (via ChartPorn) of how much people tip and some of the psychological reasons behind tipping, and I decided to make my own, based on the Boykis household. And what did I learn?  Infographics are hard as hell to make.

{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }

leah February 11, 2010 at 1:36 AM

This has been a major point of contention in our family. I worked as a waitress for several months while in college, so I am all for generous tips. My husband on the other hand,m can’t understand why he should be paying the waiters’ wages instead of the restaurant owner. We usually settle it by giving averaging 20% and 0%

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Vicki February 11, 2010 at 7:01 PM

I am aware of the plight of waiters in that they get like 30 cents an hour and have to make up the rest in tips, so I definitely take that into consideration. But I am not tipping more than 15% because I’m personally in recession.

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Sophie February 11, 2010 at 2:19 AM

All I need is to print this on a handy card to give away at restaurants. 20% tip? F— no!
Also on the list of behaviour liable to cause minus tipping:
1. Calling us “girls”
2. Calling us “sweetheart” מותק

Also on the list of behaviour that makes better tips:
Free noshes.

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Vicki February 11, 2010 at 7:02 PM

I don’t think I’ve ever tipped more than 10% in Israel. If anyone gets angry, I’ll just pretend I don’t speak shekels.

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Marinka February 11, 2010 at 8:51 AM

I love pretty much everything about this, so congratulations on The Perfect Post.
I tip twenty percent because it’s easier to calculate than 15%. It’s a good thing that I’m on a budget, because otherwise, I’d just be doubling the bill to make it supereasy for me.

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Tzipporah February 11, 2010 at 4:57 PM

The easiest way is to figure 10%, then add half again. For a $20 check, the tip is 10% ($2) plus half that again ($1) to make $3.

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Vicki February 11, 2010 at 7:03 PM

Thank you, thank you. Although I think you’re not seeing clearly because of the pork roast haze. That’s why I have my handy dandy tip calculator, aka Mr. B. His engineering degree has to be good for something.

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froylein February 11, 2010 at 1:46 PM

Hilarious! This post is another gem, Vicki.

Since I started travelling to the US frequently, I’ve become a more generous tipper over here as well. In Germany, the restaurant owners pair fair – or at least minimum, union-agreed – wages, so you’re not expected to leave a high tip. You usually just round up to the next 50 Eurocents or Euro.

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Vicki February 11, 2010 at 7:04 PM

Thanks, froy :) .

I love Europe because you don’t have to tip, just like you don’t have to work. ;)

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Jane February 11, 2010 at 3:58 PM

I wish we followed the French custom of leaving a centime when the service is really bad. I’m loath to leave even a 10% tip when the service is crappy. But when everything’s good, I give 20% as a standard.

Also, question — what about hair salons, etc.? Do you tip under or over the standard at those places?

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Vicki February 11, 2010 at 7:14 PM

I wish we had that, too! I am always really hesitant about leaving bad tips, although one time I left 8 cents and a really nasty note.

I actually never spend more than $30 at hair salons (again, the cheap) so I don’t tip more than $3. Although, judging by the state of my hair, maybe I should.

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Jane February 12, 2010 at 1:15 PM

I just got my haircut on Wednesday, and I used a Groupon for it. But I still tipped for the full price of the service. I LOVED the stylist and what she did with my hair (although if I want to keep it like this, I’m going to have to learn some major skills with the blowdrier and a round brush *never going to happen*). In any case, I figure that if I want her to give good service in the future — and it’s likely that I’ll come back to her specifically — I want to be remembered as a good tipper.

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Jane February 12, 2010 at 1:16 PM

Also, I don’t think the same logic applies to restaurants any more. I tend to try out lots of different places rather than going to the same place all the time, so I’m not a regular anywhere and thus can afford to tip based on the actual level of service rather than a, hopefully, self-fulfilling promise of better service next time based on today’s tip.

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Vicki February 13, 2010 at 10:22 AM

Yeah, I saw your hair and it looked awesome. I agree with you that in restaurants, you often don’t know who’s going to serve you at any given time, so tipping based on future service makes no sense in that case.

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NG February 11, 2010 at 4:10 PM

One use plates? Sounds like Hebrish to me.

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Vicki February 11, 2010 at 7:14 PM

Well, what’s their shem in English?

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NG February 12, 2010 at 1:34 AM

Disposable plates. Or, if they’re made out of paper, paper plates.

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Mom Polina February 12, 2010 at 3:51 AM

I usually come across pretty bad in these posts. But that is perfectly fine. – I know I set a good example in cheapness that has been followed methodically.
My daughter will never be in debt and/or go broke !

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Vicki February 12, 2010 at 6:41 AM

Hey, I never said I wasn’t proud of being cheap.

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